The time has finally come for Steve Smith Sr. one of the greatest to ever lace them up to call it a career. He may be ending his NFL journey without a Lombardi trophy, but his storied career will be remembered for generations. Smith Sr. is a five-time pro-bowler in his 16 seasons and one of the most prolific receivers during the 2000's. He holds all the franchise records for Carolina Panthers wideouts which is an amazing feat of its own. However, the even more impressive stats of Smith Sr. is him being 7th all-time in yards and 13th in receptions respectfully. These accomplishments make him a shoe-in for Canton once his time has come and there is no doubt he deserves it.

Smith is one of the greatest trash talkers the game has ever seen. For the past decade it seems like there has been a news story ever year involving Steve and his antics with players from other teams. Aside from his amazing play, this is what has made Smith Sr. standout to fans during his NFL tenure. Even though he was one of the smaller players at 5'9 he would be the toughest guy out on that field, and would make you work at 100% each play. His tenacity and work ethic gave millions of kids the idea that anything is worth obtaining if you are willing to push yourself to achieve the brass ring. Even with injuries, bad quarterbacks, and tough opponents; Smith was still able to obtain his brass ring and show the NFL Universe he meant business for the past 16 years. I will certainly miss seeing this savage putting on the uniform, every game you knew he was giving it all he had, and for that we thank you #89.

Here are some highlights of Smith killing the competition..."ICE UP SON"

​

As a football fan I've grown to appreciate Ravens-Steelers games even though I could careless about the outcome. Something about these two teams and the hate they have for one another always leads to a special game, rarely are you disappointed by the way this game plays out. I thought the rivalry would change when Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, and all the other legends that have played on these two great franchises retired, fortunately for the fans it did not. Last night was another example of why these games are so special, lead changes, bone crushing hits, and late game dramatics is what this rivalry is all about, and last night it delivered it all. It was a great Christmas present for NFL fans regardless of your team, well except if your a Baltimore fan.

The Steelers had to win this game to clinch the division, a division that seemed so out of reach when they were 4-5 just 6 weeks ago. The Ravens needed to win this game and next week to win the division, week 17 was against the Bengals, so basically this game was for the AFC North division title. The first half was all defense, the Steelers put together one nice drive early, but couldn't do anything the rest of the first half. The Ravens were able to get a couple field goals on the board, but for the most part their offense was ineffective too. The second half was pure madness though, it made up for any lack of action in the first half, 7-6 Pittsburgh going into what was maybe the craziest half of football in 2016.

Ravens struck early in the third, they picked off Big Ben on the first drive of the second half, and then Joe Flacco connects with Steve Smith Sr. for a 20 yard touchdown. Boy was Steve Smith in beast mode for this game, no surprise there, obviously one of the most fierce competitors is going to show up for the biggest game of the season, but at his age it's just remarkable how he continues to play at such an insanely high level. Steelers followed that up with a field goal on their following drive, the score was now 14-10, Ravens ahead. Ravens would kick another field goal late in the third to extend their lead to 17-10, yes Justin Tucker once again the only kicker in the NFL that puts the offense on his back, or in this case his foot. Makes me sick that a kicker is actually the best player on his team's offense, Justin Tucker is just that nice with it though. Anyways, Ben Roethlisberger would throw his second interception of the half giving the ball to the Ravens inside the Steelers 10 yard line, and the game seemed to be the Ravens to lose. The Ravens were held to another field goal, ultimately saving the Steelers hopes of winning this game. Redzone inefficiency will cost ya, gotta get 7 instead of 3, that'll make or break you in this league. The legs of LeVeon Bell would begin to save the day, on the Steelers next 2 offensive possessions they'd score on LeVeon Bell touchdowns to take the lead 24-20. All game the Ravens defense looked great against the run, that was until LeVeon decided to kick into that next gear, and take over the game. Ben was making the throws he had to and all the sudden the Steelers looked phenomenal, meanwhile the Ravens season was about to be flushed down the stinker. It was time for Flacco to show everyone why he gets paid so much damn money, prove to everyone he is elite, and he did just that. He drove down the field, got a touchdown to take the lead, and the Ravens were about to be back in the drivers seat of the division.

Too bad there was still too much time left on the clock, Big Ben and the boys had plans of winning this ball game still, and on the other side it was time for the Ravens defense to win this team one more football game. They've done it all year and have looked great up until the last couple drives of this game so shouldn't be a problem whatsoever. One side could only be victorious though, the beauty of the game, one side a winner, the other forgotten. How nieve we were to think the game would end so simply, obviously Big Ben connecting on 7 straight passes, and the touchdown being a 4 yarder to Antonio Brown who had to stretch across the goaline for the win with just seconds on the clock is the totally illogical situation that'd end up occurring. It was literally scripted, had to be, the last 15 minutes of this ball game were absurd. The Steelers were down by 10 with 13 minutes left, they take a lead, blow it, and score another touchdown to win the game on a perfect drive as time basically expired. NFL is writing fairly tale story endings on a week to week basis, if you're missing these games I honestly feel bad for you because it's better than any of this scripted crap on TV. Looks like Santa delivered a great gift to people of Pittsburgh last night, a helluva win over a division rival, and another AFC North division championship.

Let me start off by saying every AFC team should be afraid of Kansas City once the playoffs begin. They are one of the most balanced teams in the NFL, and have the ability to score at any moment during a game. All the credit in the world to the players going out each and every week making these plays happen, but it would simply not be possible without their head coach Andy Reid. This season we have seen the walrus be both conservative and aggresive with the playcalls, creating the perfect combo to confuse opposing teams. Whether it is going for it on fourth down, faking a punt, or throwing a touchdown with a 300 pound defense lineman, Andy Reid has shown he is willing to pull out all of the stops to make it to the grand stage. 

Andy and the boys solidified their realness by spanking the reigning Superbowl champion Broncos last night on primetime television. The reason behind this beatdown is due to the fact Reid had his players kept on bringing it each drive and would not give Denver any mercy until the game had ended. Between his stellar defense making big stops against the pitiful Trevor Siemien and the Travis Kelce/Tyreek Hill combo lighting up the "best defense in the NFL" there was no room for the Broncos to even smell a comeback. Tyreek Hill has turned into a star quickly in this league thanks to his quick feet, and he will 100% be the X factor two weeks from now. Although the Chiefs have the talent all-around to compete with the likes of New England it will all come down to how Reid calls his plays. If he goes out with a firey IDGAF attitude and makes creative playcalls like he did last night, I can picture this team playing in in February. However, if Reid sticks to a conservative type of playcalling like he did against the Titans last week then there is quite the possibility they will give up a lead in the fourth quarter and piss their entire season down the drain. I know Andy might prefer playing conservative, especially with Alex Smith under center; but it is far better to have confidence with your other units to make the big plays and shift the momentum of a game. I hope we get to see more fat lineman touchdowns Andy Reid, and you have my full support in the AFC if you continue with those bold choices.

That's how I feel going into this game. The 10-4 Giants are coming to Philly to play the apathetic 5-9 Eagles and I couldn't care less. How the Giants are 10-4 is beyond me but I'm praying that Carson and the gang of high school wide receivers can spoil something for the Giants. But if we beat the Giants then the Cowboys get a first round bye before they even step on the field this week so it's like beating Hitler so Satan can win. Just a real poopfest to quote Richard Sherman.

All I'm hoping for is an entertaining game that shows me some bright spots for the future. Just gonna keep dreaming of the Wentz/DJack/Alshon connection that will surely disappoint me anyway. Hopefully Malcolm Jenkins can quiet Odell and help me not call the suicide hotline for trading OBJ off my fantasy team and costing me the championship.

I said it weeks ago and I'll say it now. I don't even care what happens to the Eagles I'm just an anti-Vikings fan in hopes of our draft pick getting better. Also just praying that the Browns lose out so I can feel better about myself.

Doug, just please don't go for it on 4th down every time and don't go for 2 for no reason. This isn't high school football and we weren't trying to sign Andy Reid 2.0 when we brought you in. Just keep me hopeful for 2017 plz. 

Maybe I'll do a live blog tn IDK stay tuned.

The only guy in the history of bad injuries that can comeback way before the norm and play at the same level before he left. At least that's what we saw with his last injury in which he tore his ACL, returned 9 months later, and won the league MVP. If there's anything AP has taught us, it's to never doubt him, so I won't. I'm not going to ignore the fact that his O-line is miserable, he's 3 years older than he was when he made his original injury comeback, and he wasn't producing in the beginning of the season before he got injured as well. That could all mean nothing because after all it is AP, the regular laws of physics and human nature in general just don't apply to him. I'm starting to feel like this is the end for him though, once these older stars in any sport start getting injuries it snowballs, and before you know it he can't make it through a full season because his body just won't allow it. Especially as a running back, you get hit almost every play, you can't expect to have a 15 year career, you're lucky if you get 10 like AP has. Still this is huge for a Minnesota offense that has been able to produce next to nothing in the scoring department. Will he be Minnesota's savior, no, they're done, I'll be surprised if they can win 2 of the next 3, let alone 3 straight. Can't knock him for trying to carry this team on his back like he's done so many times before, might be too little too late though.

I completely feel @CodyHasek1's pain, I was too a dumb fantasy owner that decided to waste my first round pick on Todd Gurley. There's no question he's one of the biggest fantasy bust in history, normally an injury is the only way your first round pick is ineffective for your team, but Gurley was healthy, he just flat out didn't perform all season. You can say whatever you want, the offense is too predictable, the blocking sucks, I didn't hear any execuses last year when he was cutting up the field week in and week out. Now all the sudden it's everyone's fault but his own, I call bullshit. I'm glad this guy said something, obviously every fantasy owner is thinking it, I think Gurley even knows he lost a lot of people money this year. I doubt he cares, his team sucks, so his piss poor performance will be overlooked, and as long as he can step it up next year no one will remember or care about this year. Gotta respect Gurley for telling the guy to "pull up then", for older viewers that aren't aquianted with the term "pull up" it basically means come say it to my face in this context. Guy wants to talk shit, can't expect Gurley to take it, he has every right to challenge the guy that just threatened him because of his poor fantasy performance. Gurley wanted to expose this clown and he did, you really think some average pedestrian is going to take on 6'1" 220lbs of pure beast, that's laughable. Fuck you Todd Gurley for ruining my fantasy season, but I respect the shit out of him exposing this man. Now it's the trolls turn to step up and be a man of his word, pretty sure he just retweeted it, and enjoyed his 5 seconds of fame. Coward.

.For the fifth straight year the Seahawks are headed to the postseason. No surprise that they won the NFC West this year since no one else will have a record over .500 in the division besides them. They have the Cardinals collapse to thank for this smooth sailing to the NFC West division championship. Last night they took on the Rams in the most electric of games brought to us by color rush, well the game itself sucked, but the Seahawks jerseys were on some video game creation type shit. Their jerseys were every young madden players creative dreams to have a jersey like that and the NFL brought it to real life. The Rams tried countering with the white horns on offense the helmet instead of the typical gold, but in all honesty I don't think many people even realized.

Anyways their was a football game played, it wasn't a very good one clearly if I have to talk about jerseys that in depth, but still football was played last night. I was anticipating a closer game since the Rams seem to give Russell Wilson trouble all the time, his numbers against them are dreadful compared to everyone other opponent he faces in the league. He was coming off a 5 interception day against Grenn Bay the week before, so he certainly was going to play with a chip on his shoulder. It certainly looked like he did, he anihilated the Rams secondary for 226 yards, 3 touchdowns, and completed 73% of his passes. The Rams defensive front was giving him some trouble as they do every team, that's the one strength, besides special teams, that this team has. They completely shut down the run, so all the Seahawks offense essentially came through the air. Russell wouldn't have a comfy night in the pocket though, he had to use his legs to make and extend a lot of plays, and he was also drilled by pass rushers on a few occasions. Late in the game Wilson was under serious pressure, lofted up a duck since he was hit as he threw, and Alec Ogletree of the Rams picked it off. Besides that Wilson was pretty remarkable all night.

Goff and the Rams offense on the other hand, not so effective. That offense is just as bad as it's been the last 5 years, no one truly expected different results 3 days after a coaching change, but still, it's an embarrassing.Goff didn't get much help from his receivers, but he also missed some wide open guys as well. One pass that shoulda been a touchdown was dropped and another Goff just flat out missed the guy. Rams, you guys don't get many chances to score touchdowns, when you do, please take fucking advantage. On a side note, punters from both teams had a rough night. Johnny Hekker, the Rams best player, yes he's their punter, got a chance to throw the ball on a fake punt, but he short armed it, failed miserably, and everyone remembered why he was the punter. Jon Ryan, the Seahawks punter, pulled on a successful fake punt where he was able to run up a huge hole in the middle of the field for about 35 yards before getting decapitated by a Rams defender. That was it, the highlight of the game was the jerseys and a punter getting lit up, that's Thursday night football in a nutshell for ya.

The season from hell continues for the Cardinals, once a favorite to win the NFC, now just struggling to get to the end of the season. Everything that could've gone wrong for the Cardinals seems like it has, Palmer is showing signs of aging, the offensive line is a disaster, and now off the field problems are beginning to circle the organization. This tends to happen a lot when a team that was supposed to be good ends up not meeting expectations, players have a tendency to check out. Michael Floyd is a prime example of that. A former first round pick, Floyd had solidified himself as the Cardinals #2 WR. He's had a down year, no denying that, but so has Palmer, so has the entire offense as a whole. Arians made the right call here, I love it, no bullshit. This team has been awful, expectations haven't been met, and if you think it's time to screw around Arians will show you otherwise. Ask Michael Floyd, I'm sure he's a little shocked that he was cut. Wide receivers in my opinion are very expendable, if you don't have that once in a generation type guy at the position, I feel like a lot of these guys are very interchangeable. Look at what New England has done, it's the perfect example, Brady has had so many different WR's, and he never seems to miss a beat. Arians knew Floyd's deal was up, he knew he could easily replace him, and he decided to make an example out of him. Pure genius Arians, Cardinals got a real keeper with that guy as their head coach.

Earlier this week it was announced that Lane Kiffen would be leaving Alabama, where he's been the offensive coordinator for 3 years, to become the head coach at FAU. Didn't come as a surprise to many, everyone knew Kiffen wanted a head coaching job, the mystery was just where would he end up. Florida Atlantic was the answer, not the sexiest job in the country, but it's a stepping block for Lane to get back to an elite job. Many skeptics have been critical of Lane for the way he conducts himself and his business, needless to say it's understandable that people are this way with his coaching history. He's had elite jobs that he didn't take seriously enough and was ran out of town in all of them. People thought that he finally had changed his ways under Saban in Bama, maybe he was ready for that next step up, he finally got it with this opportunity at FAU.

Unfortunately, it seems like Lane is still Lane, just a day after being announced the head coach, the first recruit he brings in is a community college player who was supposed to be the QB for FSU before a domestic violence incident came about. There's a reason that this extremely talented QB, DeAndre Johnson, is playing at a community college and not a D1 school, he's a certified piece of human waste. I'll give players a pass on a lot of things like drugs, altercation with the police, mistakes happen man, but if a grown man lays his hands on a women, especially to the capacity that he did, you don't deserve the privilege of playing D1. This kid doesn't deserve the second chance that Kiffin is giving him and Kiffin should be the last person handing out second chances to anyone. This has disaster written all over it already. Disgust's me how this scumbag will get to play D1 football again just because he's gifted athletically. The message we send with allowing these athletes to continue to play after committing pure acts of malice is an abomination. If you're athletic enough you can do whatever you want essentially, I mean we got murders, drug dealers, and wife beaters throughout the NFL so obviously they don't see it as an issue. C'mon Lane, you're better than this, well actually maybe we shouldn't have expected better from you.

Jeff Fisher has been a head coach in the NFL for as long as I can remember, so the fact he's no longer going to be standing on the sideline sporting one of the NFL's most legendary mustaches is a real shame. In his 20 years as a head coach he's accumulated the most losses in NFL history, well he's tied, most Jeff Fisher thing ever, he can't even be the best at losing. The fact he couldn't even break the record for most losses by a NFL head coach sums up the legacy of Jeff Fisher perfectly, he's the definition of mediocrity. As much as some fans might've appreciated his longevity, mustache, and football guy aura, at the end of the day we can all admit he wasn't a very good head coach. His offense was stuck in the late 90's and his defenses were good yet never elite. Somehow he managed to be one of the longest tenured coaches ever, despite never winning anything, or having many winning seasons. In 22 seasons as a head coach, 6 of them resulted in being over .500, truly remarkable he was able to hang around all these years.

That brings me to my next point, is this the end of Jeff Fisher coaching in the NFL. I doubt he'll be a defensive coordinator anywhere, you don't go from top dog for 22 years back to being just a guy on the staff. I can't see him going into the college game, although I'm sure one these desperate colleges would hire him just for the name. I can see Fisher working in the league offices doing some irrelevant job for the NFL, he's that type of guy. He needs to be around football, but no one is going to want him after 22 years of pure mediocrity, so he's just going to collect millions the next two years, and maybe get a cushiony gig collecting a paycheck for ultimately doing nothing in the league office as well. That's kinda what he's done his whole career though, so the trend continues. Nobody needs to worry about Jeff, he'll be doing just fine.