FanHouse KevinMawae

It's accurate to say that there aren't a whole lot of players around the league who like Hines Ward. When he's not going over the middle to catch passes, he's always looking to lay a hit on an unsuspecting defender. Heck, the NFL even passed a new rule after Ward broke linebacker Keith Rivers' jaw last year.

So it's no surprise to learn that Ward has been voted as the NFL's dirtiest player in a survey by Sports Illustrated, topping former teammate Joey Porter. With Rodney Harrison now retired, Ward was the obvious choice, which in some way is a badge of honor for the Steelers wideout. After all, how many receivers are tough enough and physical enough to be considered dirty?

The Ravens enter the game as the chic pick for most, as the Titans are the most maligned 13-3 team I've seen since the 2001 Bears.

For the Ravens, the love is well-deserved. Since losing three in a row early in the season, they have won 10 of their last 12 games. The only losses were to the Giants -- when the Giants were firing on all cylinders -- and to the Steelers in the Walt Coleman game. They have dismantled opposing offenses along the way, and Ed Reed is playing the best football of anyone in the NFL right now. Seriously, when he intercepted that ball last weekend, I would have been surprised if he didn't score.

When the Titans host the Ravens on Saturday, it appears they won't be stuck bringing the B-team defense to the game.

Albert Haynesworth (knee injury) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) will return to practice today and should be ready to play on Sunday. Haynesworth missed the Titans season finale, while Vanden Bosch hasn't played since Dec. 7 in an injury-plagued season.

It's not that Jason Jones and Jacob Ford haven't been very solid replacements, but with a spot in the AFC Championship game on the line, and the Ravens' relying heavily on their running game, Haynesworth is probably the most important player on the Titans team this week. If he can shut down LaRon McClain and Willis McGahee, the Titans' secondary should be able to handle Joe Flacco--they picked him off twice in their regular season win.

The bigger injury concern seems to be center Kevin Mawae. Mawae is questionable with an elbow injury. Backup Leroy Harris is physically talented, but asking him to figure out the infinite combination of Ravens blitzes would be a very difficult job in only his second career start.

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular: because handing out awards at the halfway point in the season seemed like the right thing to do.

You have a group of guys that everyone rants about. Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson -- these guys are great and deserve the press they receive. But what about the other guys? The players that are busting their tails for the team and aren't on the top of the Pardon the Interruption roll week in and week out. These guys are underrated, under-appreciated but better than most would expect. Who makes the list? You shall soon see...

Roddy White, WR Atlanta -- Matt Ryan might be having a great season, but a lot can be attributed to White, who has had 112 yards receiving or more in four of his last six games. Starting the season slow, White is now averaging 91.6 yards per game and has become one of the most consistent wide-outs in the league. Too bad most people still would rather have Terrell Owens or Randy Moss.

Owen Daniels, TE Houston -- Yeah, if you didn't know, he's the other option for Matt Schaub in Houston, and he's a damn good substitute for Andre Johnson. Daniels averages 66 yards per game with two touchdowns, catching at least three balls a game this season. If there is a guy you'd want on your team that nobody has heard of, Owens is him. Is it crazy to call him the best tight end in Texas?

If you listen to Titans center Kevin Mawae, the formula for going undefeated seems pretty simple: Work hard, and don't have players like Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson and Tony Romo cavorting around, acting like superstars.

No, seriously, that's basically what he said.

Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae couldn't help himself.

"We don't have a Terrell Owens," he said. "We don't have a Chad Johnson. We don't have Tony Romo dating superstars. We just have a bunch of guys that play hard and work hard."

I don't think he's that far off in terms of how an underrated group of players can succeed by busting their tails, but at the same time, it might be a bit of a stretch to simply call out the Cowboys for losing simply based on the fact that Owens is on the roster and Romo is dating a superstar. After all, isn't it really Romo not playing that's sinking the good ship Dallas right now?

As for the Bengals' inability to win, no doubt Ocho Cinco's inability to really produce a good season hurts them, but again, having Ryan Fitzpatrick calling the signals and not really employing any semblance of an offensive line.

But hey, if Mawae wants to suddenly hop on a high horse because the Titans are seemingly unstoppable, who am I to tell him that he's still hiking the ball to Kerry Collins?

Two things were proven in yesterday's clash of defense-first football teams. The Titans might be better than we first thought and the Ravens might be a little more scrappy than initially projected.

Tennessee outlasted Baltimore yesterday 13-10 in a game that saw four interceptions, two quarterback ratings in the low 50s and no running back or receiver eclipsing the 100-yard mark. The Ravens did what they have been doing for years while the Titans are getting used to this "simplify the offense, let the defense strut their stuff" mentality that appears to be working to perfection.

Titans center Kevin Mawae, who said he is getting really sick of all the paparazzi outside his house on a daily basis, said after the game that it was all they really needed to continue their unbeaten streak.

"I think it shows the character of this team, from the young guys to the most veteran guys," Mawae said. "It wasn't pretty, but we made the plays when we needed to and we won the game."

Score that two former USC players running smack ahead of the Ohio State game. Everyone's favorite not-so-slightly doughy back made sure to let everyone know what he thinks of Ohio State before ESPN cameras. There's some context of course, as it was a friendly -- if random -- comment as the Jim Rome show followed Titans lineman Kevin Mawae for a feature.

Audio

Sayeth Rome: "White's comment was a complete non sequitur"

The segment will broadcast Friday on "Rome Is Burning" (4:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN), the game will be played Sept. 13th in Los Angeles. The Trojans would probably be heavy favorites with White, but the continued noise coming from former USC players can only have the effect of working against USC in Las Vegas.

(Via: Sports by Brooks)

It's the deadest part of the offseason, which means we'll be reading about things marginally related to football like top-50 players, doctored videos, visits to the Playboy Mansion, and, of course, Rodney Harrison, the NFL's dirtiest player.

While some NFL coaches agree that Harrison is one of the league's dirtiest players, ESPN.com's Mike Sando writes that there are plenty of other guys worthy of a little finger-pointing:

A review of data since 2001 shows Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson with a league-high 17 personal fouls. Harrison and New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith are tied for second with 14, followed by Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour (13), Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor (12), late Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor (12) and Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Shaun Rogers (11).

According to 11 of 18 head coaches who responded to Sando, Cowboys' safety Roy Williams finished second behind Harrison (interestingly, Wade Phillips voted for Williams. Twice.*), followed by Antonio Pierce, Hines Ward, Kevin Mawae and Olin Kreutz.

Former Patriots teammate Deion Branch "draws a line between Harrison's hard-nosed play" and, say, Travis Johnson talking smack over a dying Trent Green. Not sure anybody would disagree on that on.

Brandon Stokley, who said he would've "bet his life savings" on Harrison earning top honors, also singled out Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan "as a player with bad intentions." And I'm pretty sure he doesn't mean that in a topless, sausage-party, "what about the kids?" way.

* Joke. Coaches were only allowed to vote once.