captioning provided by espn, inc. straight up on "nfl live," michael vick is ready to play as an eagle, but how will andy reid juggle all his quarterbacks? sal has the latest from philadelphia. tom brady and the offense are offensive. will they find any answers and will the falcons roll into town? they say steel melts at 2500 degrees fahrenheit. why the world champs are not who we thought they were. "nfl live" right now. hi, everybody. welcome in to at edition of "nfl live." so glad you are here with us. trey wingo is here. mark schlereth is here, the coach, herm edwards is here. let's get this out on the table right away. yes, it is window paine day, we

all called each other. get the jokes out of the way now. week three was supposed to be the week when the eagles finally had all their weapons together and ready to roll on offense. key words there, supposed to be. but as we know, donovan mcnabb suffering from a fractured rib and did not practice on game plan day as the eagles prepare for the chiefs at home. sunday's game is the first one that michael vick can play in. his first nfl regular season game since his last as a falcon in december of 2006, which ironically enough, was also in philadelphia. so what to make of all those moving parts and injury news as well? sal paolantonio is in philly and joins us with the latest. what can you tell us? >> when michael vick was in leavenworth prison, he said he dreamed of this day, suiting up for a real practice, for a meaningful football game, and today is was all too real. and he said i just can't believe it. >> it is very exciting. to have an opportunity to go out there and just play

football. regardless of what i'm going to be doing this week, just to suit up and be able to go out and play in a game winning counts, i've been watching football, you know, for the last two years and this is a dream come true, season for me. in my eyes, i've always won the super bowl and this team has already won the super bowl. i'm still going to be aggressive. nothing is going to change about me on the field. i'm going to be the same player, try to be dynamic in whatever way i can and not do too much. understanding, you know, superman may not be ready to return as of now but he will in the future. >> now, andy reid would not say how much vick will play on sunday against the chiefs. he wouldn't commit to having michael vick play in the football game. don't believe that, trey. too much time and emotion has been invested by vick, by this franchise and by this city to get vick to this point and then not have him play.

now, vick gave us a little bit of a clue. he said that he is going to dress. that means he can't be the third quarterback because if he's a third quarterback, he's not eligible to play in the first three quarters. and then one and two quarterbacks would not be able to come back in the game. that means vick will be the backup to kevin cobb as a number two quarterback or andy reid will dress three quarterbacks and leave himself short one player on special teams, or forget about it, donovan mcnabb is playing and all bets are off. you got that? >> yeah. we'll have a quiz on that later, sal. we appreciate the information. donovan mcnabb still not ruled out. if he can't go sunday, the eagles won't be short on option. kevin kolb threw for 391 yards but served it up twice. jeff garcia brought in after mcnabb got hurt with one and you have the wild card, or in this case, the wildcat in michael vick who will be unleashed sunday, herme, when they play the kansas city chiefs, your old

team. as a head coach, with all this uncertainty at quarterback, how should andy reid use michael vick to maximize his ability? >> i think you'll put him into the wildcat situation. that's where he's best suited for right now, watching him in the preseason, he was not ready to play the traditional quarterback. i think if you look into preseason, he took some snaps there in the shotgun, hero watch him here, a shovel pass, did a good job in this instance here. another one is coming up now where he basically scores, he is a little bit of a wildcat if you want to call it fill in the shotgun formation because he played more quarterback against the jets in the last preseason games than in the wildcat formation. here again, he's trying to throw a pass to the tight end. sees a little pressure this is michael vick that everyone loves. >> superman he said, right? >> this is what concerns me. look where the ball is at. ball security. that's the thing that is a concern probably for andy reid and that's why i think if -- at the end, he'll be in a role in a

wildcat role. >> i agree with you. i think that's exactly what you put him in. give him ten plays, a package of ten plays, say, this is what you are, and this is what you're going to run for us. i think the one thing you have to understand about the wildcat position, and the wildcat formation, you look at miami what they were able to do on monday night. that's a power run formation for the miami dolphins. their wildcat is different than most because most formations are tricky, they're reverses, those type of things. the one element that michael vick brings to the wildcat that nobody else really has and miami has tried to do this with pat white, you got a legit prospect at the quarterback position that is also playing running back in michael vick, but he can throw it. not only do you have to defend the what if he runs, what if he plays the option, what if the shovel pass, but also what if he just draws back and throws the ball and that's something that is totally different than what anybody else can do at this particular point in time with the wildcat. >> well, yeah, you mike a great point. i think we're missing a big point here. we watch one of the best

quarterbacks in captivity last week struggle. and really struggle the first week of competition, tom brady. he had been out a whole year. michael vick has been out two years. so you got to look at that. that's the hardest position to play in football. we say the offensive line is and the corner is. but it is the quarterback. and i think it would be unfair to michael vick and the football team if you put him at the traditional quarterback position now. >> that's why you can only put him at wildcat and say had this is what you are and here is your package, go to it. >> you don't want to overload him right away. that's the hardest position to play in all of team sports. now, on espn.com, michael vick will play in his first regular season game in the nfl in nearly three years. howard brian evaluates what his role will be and if it will provide him a sanctuary. we're getting warmed up on "nfl live." after two games, tom brady trying to find his rhythm. find out why he's unable to shoulder the load this season so far in new england. and the steelers, come on, they're all about tough yards. but that's not the case with the

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marian barber optimistic. cowboy, little more pessimistic. he practiced wednesday despite suffering from a strained quad. barber doing everything he can to get ready for the game against the panthers on espn. but sources telling us that dallas is skaept cal. matthew hasselbeck watched practice wednesday because of a broken rib. seneca wallace took the first few snaps. even if hasselbeck doesn't practice all week, he can still play if the doctors say he can. and he said he plans to work through the pain. pain is one constant in the nfl, the other is change. players, coaches, gm schemes come and go, sometimes from week to week. one thing that hasn't changed in almost three years, there is no such thing as a losing streak in new england. yes, the patriots play a very tough atlanta falcons team sunday and they're coming off a tough loss to the jets.

remember this, new england hasn't lost back-to-back games since the middle of the 2006 season. a streak of 41 games. wendi nix has more on the preps to take that notch to 42. >> tom brady has been on the field for 21 offensive possessions in 2009. the exception of the two series in the last six minutes of the win over buffalo, the other 19 have resulted in no touchdown passes and two interceptions. unbrady-like numbers for an offense that has yet to hit its stride. >> we're all trying to understand the reasons why we haven't performed as well as we would like in the last two games. and it is a number reason. and i think the only thing we can really focus on is what we can do. i can certainly make better decisions with the ball, throw it more accurately. >> we pride ourself on having a consistent team, smart, tough players. and i think everybody is out there trying to make the right plays. we haven't been consistent enough and whether it is penalties or little things that

are drive killers, we haven't gotten into a good rhythm. there is a lot we need to learn from the last couple of weeks. >> brady was without an injured wes welker on sunday. and he's also admitted there continue to be growing pains with the newest members of his arsenal. even so, said brady, there is a reason they call it midseason form and it doesn't come in week two. in foxboro, wendi nix, espn. tom brady, the only quarterback who dropped back to pass at least 100 times. so far his longest pass play is 31 yards, that was a short pass in week one to randy moss who picked up most of the yards after the catch. tom brady has really been playing it back there. but not a lot of results, especially not what we saw from tom brady when he was completely healthy and the offense was clicking with all the moving parts in 2007. what have you seen in the first two weeks from tom brady and the way the patriots are using their offense that might explain for some of the problems? >> number one, you're coming off an injury. that's always tough.

you can sit there in preseason and say i feel great, everything is wonderful. when the regular season game starts, you see some rust, accuracy problems with tom brady. i think the other thing that you look at with this offense in particular is you're eliminating some go-to guys. wes welker hasn't been healthy. he's a guy you have a rhythm with, a comfort with. kevin faulk has not been there as much. you see joey galloway, not in sync, not in rhythm. matt light said rhythm, that's a great word for what's wrong with the patriots offense now. they're not in rhythm. and those are things that will work themselves out as they get guys back and healthy and as guys start working together. you got to work on it in the practice field and carry over it to the game. they haven't been able to do that now. >> you're right. you make a great point. wes welker hurt last game. galloway comes in, new guy, doesn't know the system very well, you talk about preseason games a little different than a regular season football game. we're talking about the varsity playing against the varsity. not the jv or second team guys. varsity against varsity, one on

one. that's hurting some. they haven't been able to run the ball. you're talking about 100 throws all of a sudden in two football games, 50 throws each week. that's a lot for a guy that has been out of football for a whole year. >> really quick, i think one of the things about this offense is that they haven't been able to run the ball. why? because that short passing game that sits everything up for them has not been there. they have been out of sync there, now they don't get to run the ball and now they don't get to go deep once they start playing the short passing game, playing wes welker underneath. that's when randy moss gets the one on one over the top. randy moss always has somebody over the top. that's the problem now. they have to work through those things. >> they're saying wes welker is expected to play sunday which will help the passing game where the patriots have struggled. it is most essential football commodity in pittsburgh, running the ball through two games. steelers are 28th on the ground in the league, averaging over 70 yards a game, 3.1 yards per carry. the cardinals have a better

running game than the steelers. coach tomlin, your thoughts? >> you can't truly be successful unless you some form of balance. can't be a one dimensional outfit with no way intending to do those things. ultimately we're interested in winning football games. i think two weeks in is too early to tell a place of persona on anyone. i think over time it will become obvious what we are. and we're not interested in, you know, giving anybody heads up. >> again, i can listen to him -- whatever you want, coach, i'm with you. win or tie or lose as well. steelers have had good success as we go next level running to the right side. every other rushing play by pittsburgh has gained them less than two yards a carry and the two number comes up. you look at third and short, essentially two yards or less this is a recurring problem for them. 29th now in that situation. last year they were 31st in that situation. converting on third and short. what is the problem with the

steelers' running game? >> a combination of things. both running backs have been nicked some. that gets you off balance. they have lost some guys on the offensive line. that's a little bit of a concern. but then again, i think their ability to sustain drives hurts you. and all of a sudden, it is easy to go through a pass when the run doesn't work. that's not the pittsburgh steelers way. they're a tough, physical football team. they like to run the ball. they like to play defense. that's how they're built. they have to get back to that. you're asking the quarterback to go back that many times, roethlisberger, and we know he's a fantastic quarterback and takes all the hits time after time, that's going to wear him out. >> even a big guy like ben who probably has 30 pounds on most of the people trying to tackle him at this point. rushing the ball is a problem, mark, for the pittsburgh offense. is getting to the passer a problem for the pittsburgh defense which was so dominant last year? >> they were dominant last year. part of that is because you're not running the ball very well. >> don't have troy polamalu. >> the bottom line is, you don't

control the clock and when you control the clock, it makes it so other teams feel like we're running out of possessions, we have to throw the ball. when the steelers get in that situation with guys off the edge, they're going to get after the quarterback. they have two sacks. they're not doing it very well. but i do agree with mike holmgren on this, curb your enthusiasm, one of the things you have to understand, they played the tennessee titans, pretty good run defense and the chicago bears, who right now defensively are playing outstanding football. so it is one of those things, you got to have a team you can get healthy on. >> i would agree with you, except chris johnson ran crazy for the tennessee titans and houston texans had a good running game in that contest as well. but you're right, there is a bunch of issues with the pittsburgh steelers that they need to get resolved. and they can't just rely on ben roethlisberger to throw 16 straight completions like he did in that season opening win against the tennessee titans week one. lots more coming on "nfl live." we'll tell you can't win if you don't run and why that's not holding true this season in terms of football. of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of football. rms of f

>> end zone, touchdown, titans! >> played for 12 seasons, mark schlereth will share perspective with us next on off the mark. the mark.

every sunday, sports center

7:00 eastern, boomer, john saunders, t.j. and trent dilfer break down all of the day's action. look at highlights, look at big plays, but we have this other thing we like to look at, the little things that sometimes are missed in the wash. and a lot of that washing is taking place on the offensive and defensive lines where you spent 12 years, mark. give us week two off the mark things that you noticed. >> things that i noticed, i can't take my eyes off the inside. ben hamilton, left guard, don't tell me they're not athletes. look at them get back there. that's a great cut. defensive players are saying offensive players always cut us. here is the quarterback. end of discussion. guys on defense. ever heard of friendly fire in look at his neck here. come on, brother. oh, grandma, that hurts. makes me glad i don't play.

offensive line for the bengals this is embarrassing. >> false start. the whole offensive line, five-yard penalty. >> really, ed? the whole offensive line. by the way, you guys are fat, you smell funny and i don't think you're very good looking. marvin lewis doesn't even like you. >> have to better assess what he's seeing out there. take some shots down the field. >> i agree with you, t.o. better assess, take shots down the field. oh, you couldn't walk out there. this is poetic justice. shut your mouth. chris johnson, tennessee titans, love this. nobody is going to cover him. gets down the field. this is why the tennessee titans aren't going 0-3. they'll play for one another. this is it. lendl white, look how excited lendl white is. don't step on the field, coach that is perfect. love it. >> that was the greatest off the mark ever. i can't compose myself. chris johnson, big game, texans

ran for 204 yards, titans ran for 204 yards. cowboys ran for 251 rushing yards in the loss to the giants, marion barber 124. felix, 96. they lost and as we saw in monday night, the dolphins control the clock for 45 minutes, racked up 239 rushing yards and they also somehow lost. so four teams rushing for at least 200 yards but three of them lose, that's crazy talk. consider that for 2005 to 2008, teams that rushed for 200 yards won 90% of the time. 119 of 132 games. so far in '09, six teams have rushed for 200 yards and only three of them have won. there is three fundamental truths to football. you run, you stop the run, and you don't turn it over, you're going to win. except this year. is this an anomaly or is this seeds of change?

>> this is after two games. slow down, big fella. >> just checking. >> look after six games and see what happens. >> your defense stays fresh this is one of those fluke things that happens occasionally. >> the last year alone, to show you how different things have been, two games in, you rush for over 200 yards last year, 36-2. so far this year, 50/50. >> two of the three teams turned the ball over, right? >> don't run my stats with your stats. that's something else completely. coming up on "nfl live," drama in washington. hear when a former hall of famer is calling out jim zorn and what he did wrong. wrong. he did wrong. welcome to race day on the now network. right now, 7,100 people are listening to live race audio on nascar sprint cup mobile. the most commonly overheard phrase: - ( thud, tires screech ) - what the... 21 women just sent a text message from their phone to a giant video screen. - ( phone rings ) - hello. where? and 17 people who saw their friend on television

are calling that friend now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wrong. he did wro

college football action thursday night presented by appleby's is part of tailgate week presented by kings for charcoal, thursday night 7:30 eastern. quick hits. brett favre says he believes the fines levied by the nfl for his absence from last year's new york jets injury report were quote/unquote very unfair. he' flozell adams fined $12.5,000

for this trip of justin tuck. fined $5,000 for week one for unnecessary roughness. offense has been a problem for the skins despite their win over the rams. they were 0 for 5 for tds in the end zone. p that play did not please sonny jurgensen and he let us know about it. >> third down, i'm the quarterback, you're the quarterback, and you call the halfback throwing the ball for me, i'm calling time-out or calling an audible. i'm not letting halfback throw it. that's what you pay me for. >> i would have to take you out of the game as soon as you called time-out, i would say what's wrong with my play? >> it didn't work. >> but i called it to work. we called it to work. it didn't work. there was a lot of plays that didn't work. and i take you out of the game, sorry, sonny. >> happy times. >> sonny is a legend.

>> he's a legend. you would know having spent six seasons in washington. let's start with the zorn/jurgensen throwdown. what is the biggest problem for you? >> where do we start? i think the quarterback now doesn't have a lot of presence. they drafted three guys in the second round, malcolm kelly they g got, devin thomas, fred davis. they haven't produced for them. they have issues in the red zone. >> in the red zone. they have to unleash the quarterback and let him play. they're very conservative with the quarterback's play now. that's hurting them too along with the red zone. >> nothing is working in the red zone. 20 seconds left. team under the most pressure to win week three, you can always hit the line. >> i go with tennessee titans. they cannot go 0-3. >> i agree. they cannot go 0-3 now. that's not good. >> that will do it for this's edition of "nfl live

>> welcome to "jim rome is burning." i'm jeff chadiha filling in for jim and i have a great wednesday show. vitali klitschko will join me. san diego chargers linebacker shaun phillips will check in as our latest correspondent. first, here is what i'm burning on. [captioning made possible by espn, inc.] >> mr. burress said that he apologized to his family, to his wife, his son, to his unborn daughter. he thanked them for their support. he apologized to fans and thanked them for their prayers and support. and he said -- and i quote -- we will all get through this. >> one of the saddest supports stories of the year had to be plaxico burress finally going to jail yesterday. he's taken plenty of criticism for the gun charms that led to the two-year prison sentence.

now i can't help but feel sorry for the guy. he leaves behind a pregnant wife and 3-year-old son. he also doesn't have a great chance of resuming his career after the sentence because he will be nearly 34. burress has to spend the next 20 months wondering how he put himself in such a lousy situation in the first place. as far as i can tell as you good man that is paying a heavy price for a stupid mistake. >> down the sidelines and it is intercepted by darrelle revis. he beat moss to the ball. moss throws him town at the jets 16-yard line. >> it is time for darrelle revis to get more respect from opponents. he didn't get much from randy moss after he hell moss to four receptions in the jets' win over new england sunday. he also didn't get it from andre johnson in week one. that was after revis held johnson to just 35 receiving

yards in that victory. it is time for these players to realize revis didn't make the pro bowl last year for nothing. see, moss and johnson can make all kinds of excuses for how the jets defense covered them but it doesn't matter. they get credit when they make plays so he deserves the same thing when he shuts them down. sounds like former baltimore ravens head coach brian billick isn't feeling the wildcat. >> looking at the tape all last year against a good defense it just doesn't do anything. and the constant changes, maybe if you have an offense that goes with the wildcat you are taking your best player off the field, your quarterback. if that isn't your best player, then do it but you won't win any way. >> to be honest i have to agree with him. the only good defense that has been hurt by the wildcat was new england because miami surprised them with it last year. since that time it has always

been good for a few yards on the ground here and there. maybe philadelphia will show us new dimensions when michael vick gets on the field but let's be honest there are not that many teams with a weapon like that. the fact is that billick is right. the wildcat may be sexy and different but it is also way overrated. >> youkilis for the second out. he has a count of 2-2 to david ortiz. strikes him out, too. >> the competition for this year's american league cy young award just ended with zach greinke's win over boston last night. i'm bias because i live in kansas city but he has made a strong case for himself. he's leading the american league in e.r.a. and second in strikeouts. he is 3-0 in the last five starts and allowed just one earned run during that time. look, i realize that felix hernandez, justin verlander and

cc sabathia have had great years but they also haven't been stuck on a team as miserable as the kansas city royals. that is why i give greinke the nod. they have been going nowhere since june but he never stopped produci producing. let's hope lane kiffen and urban meyer finally have stopped bickering. first meyer bashed kiffin for running an ultraconservative offense in florida a's win saturday. then kiffin blasted meyer for suggesting that the flu affected some of florida's players in that game. look, this is the same tired sniping that started over the summer and it really is time for a break. meyer has the best team in the country so he should be above this. as for kiffin, he should worry about winning games instead of talking his team back into the spotlight. sure, it would be great to see florida and tennessee become a big rivalry again but i would rather see the players make that happen instead of a couple of coaches who need to move forward.

coming up next wbc heavyweight champion vitali klitschko will

>> from los angeles it is "alone with rome" with jeff chadiha. >> welcome back. my guest is the wbc heavyweight champion and takes on chris arreola this saturday in los angeles. vitali klitschko joins me. how are you doing today? >> thank you. i'm doing fine. just finished a workout and right now looking forward to saturday night for the night against chris arreola to defend my title. >> chris arreola is undefeated and hasn't had one fight go past

eight rounds. what are your impressions of him as a fighter? >> you know what? i'm prepared for all problems but i doubt the fight will be all 12 rounds because he is a big puncher. i'm also not easy to fight me and almost all my fights i send my opponents to the floor. and that is why i don't think this fight will be pretty long. >> how long do you think it will go then? >> you know what? nobody is perfect and i study chris arreola very well, and if i find some mistakes of his defense i use this make immediately and beat him very badly. and use everything to send him to the floor. >> some people think chris arreola's inexperience might be a factor, that he hasn't faced an opponent of championship caliber. what do you think of that

impression? >> chris arreola has all skills. he is fast. big punch, big cut. have all skills to be the world champion. but not yet. >> you have been away from boxing, you were away from boxing for four years. since you have been back you are 2-0. what did you gain in that time you were away from the ring? >> my weight will be about 250 and sweat is not important in boxing. it is the size is also important. not just as important. and actually chris is a little bit heavier than me and we will see what the fight is going to be, much movement, legwork and of course the fist work is much important. i think i'm much faster, much lighter than chris arreola, and that is why much sharper. >> when you left boxing at age

33 you had knee problems, back problems, shoulder problems. why come back? >> i'm sorry. >> why come back to boxing? >> how i come back to boxing? i make the break four years, actually, and make my comeback after four years break. i stay always in shape. i live healthy, no drinks, no smoke. and i visit fitness every day and right now i'm excellent shape at 38 and ready to show my performance for the audience. >> so when you left was there a sense that you would come back to the ring? that is what i'm wondering about. what made you ultimately want to come back to boxing? >> why come to boxing? >> yeah. >> because i like the sport.

it happens i never have a big dream to be the boxer, but one day i'm studying with a boxer and coach ask who want to be as muhammed ali. i begin with boxing and one day in soviet union this professional boxing was forbidden. one day we saw with our friends mike tyson was the youngest heavyweight in history who gets the wbc title. i promise my friends one day i beat mike tyson. nobody believe me but 15 years later i invite all my trends and get the same thing and put it on the table and say you remember this evening, you don't believe me and i made my dream true. and everybody was excited. >> you and your brother vladimir have lee of the four titles in

the heavyweight divisions but this division has taken a lot of criticism over the last few years. people think they don't have a legitimate heavyweight contender or champion. what do you make of the criticism of the heavyweight division of boxing? >> i [inaudible] for everybody who doubts me or my brother is give me being motivation to show my skills and to show how good i m. and actually right now we have three from four most important belts and control all heavyweight division. yesterday my brother takes the belt ring magazine belt, same belt what i have before, same belt what have joe louis many, many years ago. and we are very happy to be the strongest in the world and to be

the strongest heavyweight brothers. because never happened that heavyweight two brothers have world titles at the same time. >> vladimir, i appreciate your taking the time to talk to me today and i wish you the best of luck against chris arreola on saturday. thank you for joining me. >> thank you very much. it will not be easy fight. don't miss the fight. it will be the real heavyweight championship of the world. >> next on the forum yankees clincheded a playoff spot are they the team to beat?

>> joining me today are the host of "petros and money show" matt "money" smith and eamonn mcamaney. we start with the yankees winning the playoffs spot but do you believe that this team is going to have a long run in the postseason? >> they clinched right here in los angeles where they were giving them some trouble about when you look at the yankees there is clearly one thing you see and that is the line-up. when people talk about the 1927 yankees and murderer's row i don't know if you went man for man whether you would give them the edge. that first six is as ridiculous a line-up as i have seen in my regular baseball viewing days.

granted i'm not that old but over 30 years that is as impressive a line-up as you can field. if you were to ask which roster do i want to put my name behind it has to be that because i don't know how you keep that offense down. >> with that line-up this team is built for the long haul that is the regular season. the problem for the yankees is i don't know how confident you can be with that pitching staff in a short series. i don't think the yankees match up well in a short series against boston or anaheim the way the angels are pitching recently. they have major problem with the inconsistency of a.j. burnett. cc sabathia doesn't have great postseason numbers but the fans are pretty confident with him. andy pettite has a nice postseason pedigree back to 1996. burnett has been inconsistent and had spectacular meltdowns against the red sox in fenway. if he is horrible he can lose it in a hurry and that is one game they need against beckett and lester and kazmir on the angels

who pitches very well. >> you are a yankees fan. do you believe in cc sabathia in do you think he is going to -- >> yankees follower. i do believe in cc from what i have seen. he has pitched very well against the red sox in yankee stadium and again wachlt he had a rough outing against the angels right before the all-star break but he has pitched well the second half. now that he has lived up to the contract in new york all season long and i also think that he will get a start under his belt against the twins or tigers which he should be able to handle will help him the next round. >> this is great segue bus sabathia is in the race for the cy young award but zach greinke had a great outing last night. who do you like? >> i like greinke. when it comes to the awards the thing i like to point out is all of these people are worthy of winning the awards. you can make case for greinke, hernandez, sabathia, feldman and it is hard to poke holes in it.

but to some degree i guess they are popularity contest and the precedent was set with lincecum and he did it for a losing team. when you look at the numbers the fact that he only had two starts where he legitimately lost the game for his team, allowed over five runs in the first couple innings, cc has had six. when you go through the roster that is one thing that speaks to me, e.r.a., wins. that particular statistic. >> if we were having this discussion a week ago i would have lobbied very hard for mariano rivera. back to the pop tear ly contest. if he is not going to win now when will he ever win it. but also because he was having a remarkable year that i thought was going overlooked. 36 straight saves. had not blown one since april 24. but then he blew the save friday night and he needed to be perfect to get it and he blew that game against the mariners. i thought greinke solidified it

by shutting out the red sox. when i heard he had not pitched fence the red sox or yankees all this year, roy halladay probably faces he faces them on the throw day. and they do wear you down and they are ridiculous line-ups, much different than the twins, indians or tigers. but he shut them out, the numbers are ridiculous. greinke is the cy young award winner and i don't think the last that starts are relevant. >> cleveland browns 0-2. brady quinn's passer rating is 67. are the browns going to stick doctor should they stick with him? >> you ask what is the long-term vision for the browns. what do they expect to get out of the year. when you talk about a team with a lot of holes, i think of the draft and names out there for the 2010 draft and what fan bases do when they say colt mccoy, sam bradford, i think they need it figure out what their quarterback situation is because i don't see them in that division making in noise and

likely having a pretty high pick so they need to assess what they have in that organization at that position before that draft comes up. because it will be quarterback heavy the first round. >> a new coach doesn't want a quarterback shuchl and derrick anderson has had success makes it a controversy. but one thing that surprises subcommittee brady quinn isn't playing with confidence and it seems that the browns don't have confidence in him. week one first and goal from the six, run a play and run two straight snaps out of the wildcat. if he is the quarterback, let him make a play. >> thanks, guys. we will talk again document. when we come back shaun phillips checks in. (kara) when my dry contacts bother me,

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>> linebacker shaun flichs is not only one of the anchors of the chargers defense he will be a regular correspondent here at "jim rome is burning." he checks in with the first installment. >> how are you doing. shaun flims, linebacker san diego chargers. i'm here to be the correspondent. let me introduce our outside linebacker first-round draft pick larry english. we got a friendly wanger because he got the big bank account. let us know about the rookie game. how did that make you feel? >> the rookie dinner was

something. it has been around this organization for a long time so i think it was something that comes with the territory. it was hard. that $14,000, it was pushing $16,000 after the adjustments. >> this is the special teams captain. two-time pro bowler. soon to be three times. i won't jinx him. hopefully three times. what is the take on your blond hair. more women? >> more blond women are approaching me saying is there any truth we have more fun so i'm part of that. that is a good crowd to be part of. >> blonds have more fun. >> we can't go without the beads. where my ear phones at? nothing like game day. wouldn't trade nothing to in the world for game day. we take a ride. we will break the bentley out.

we will go with the speed today. rock star lifestyle. call mom, call my mom before the game. always gives me a little motivation. what up, mama? what you know? working? on a sunday? got your jersey on at work >> good, good. don't worry, i'm about to do work. i will call you after the game. i always make a pit stop and get a monster. i get a free promotion. they need to send me some of those. >> you good? >> yes. >> ready for today? >> i'm ready. >> always a monster. call me.

you get a complimentary monster. my biggest fan. got they monsters. appreciate it. maybe they will give them to me for the rest of the season. send out my last tweet before i get in trouble letting everybody know i arrived at the stadium. head is on straight. jay-z up loud. >> two hours left, two hours left. let's go. >> they give to clayton back across to ray rice and ray rice to the 30, tripped up at the 29. down he goes thanks to shaun flims. rice right into shaun phillips after a gain of three. phillips stands him up. >> ray lewis up the middle and

it is all over. what a play! >> it was a tough game. unfortunately we were not able to come out on top. we did some good things, did some bad things but thank you for hanging with me. >> nice job, shaun. we will check in with you again soon. now it is time for my final burn. chip kelly might have gotten off to a rocky start in oregon but he has gained at least one life-long fan. tony seminary was angry at having wasted $439 in the game against boise state. he sent him an invoice and demanded a refund. to his shock kelly wrote him a check and thank you note. seminary said i think coach kelly is a totally different person. i have a totally different bond. >> i bet you do. the bond between someone who received a lot of money from

somebody else. it is a that's p.r. gesture from a program in need of good buzz and underscores the turnaround they have made. after that nightmare in the blue turf they have bounced back and show glimpses of the offense that kelly was supposed to provide. when it comes to paying back fans for lousy performances i can think of a few coaches who better hope their fans don't catch wind of this but i don't want to talk about carly wloois or al groh or pete carroll so i will say nice job, chip but i feel you have may have set an expensive precedent for your peers. i want to thank vitali klitschko and my forum guests and thank you for tuning in. i'm seal you next time. i'm out.