Ben Roelisberger will hopefully avoid the local nightlife during his suspension

Well, this isn’t really surprising, but today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reduced Ben Roethlisberger’s six-game suspension to four games.

As we all know by now, Roethlisberger was suspended earlier this year after being accused of sexual assaulting a college student in Milledgeville, Georgia on March 5th.  Although no charges were filed, Goodell elected to suspend Big Ben for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. But the Pittsburgh QB met with Goodell early this morning, when he learned he would be able to return to the team on October 17th, when the Steelers face the Cleveland Browns.  During his suspension, Roethlisberger will not be allowed to visit the team facility or have any contact with Steelers coaches or personnel.

But don’t think Roethlisberger is completely off the hook.  From NFL.com:

The league said the “reinstatement is contingent on Roethlisberger continuing to adhere to the program established by our advisors and avoiding any further violations of the personal conduct policy.”

“You have told me and the Steelers that you are committed to making better decisions,” Goodell said in a letter to Roethlisberger. “Your actions over the past several months have been consistent with that promise and you must continue to honor that commitment.

So that basically means Ben needs to stay away from bars, and keep it in his pants for the next six weeks.  Let’s see if the big guy can make it happen!

+10 points for anyone who got the Billy Joel reference in the post title

Along with the start of the NFL season, comes the beginning of Fantasy Football, giving millions of armchair GM’s an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and show off their football knowledge against their peers.

Admittedly, I’m a bit of a fantasy football geek.  I’m currently in 2 leagues, which is down from the 3 I used to play in.  With three leagues, it was just way too confusing knowing who to root for/against in any given game, and often times, you were rooting for/against the same guy!  So I knocked it down to a much more manageable 2 fantasy teams, much to the delight of my fiancee, I’m sure.

At this point, if you haven’t done your homework and ranked your players, you’re kind of screwed.  I mean, I’m sure plenty of guys fly by the seat of their pants, and they probably end up doing fine (which effing kills me) … but in general, you’re better off having a strategy going in.  I’m the kind of guy who likes to hit a home run with every pick, though this has never happened.  But after enough years doing this, I hope I’ve at least learned the kind of players to avoid, and which guys present the best value at each draft pick.  That’s the key word – value.  My strategy is to take the best player available – not entirely regardless of position – and stack your roster with people who will actually score points. You can always make trades later in the season.  I’m done with rolling the dice on rookies until they show that their talents translate to the NFL. Skip the boom or bust guys … give me the guys I can count on for 10 points every week.  Inevitably, quite a few of the players you draft won’t be on your roster come mid-season. But the draft is where you build your foundation, and determines how much you’ll have to scramble in free agency week in and out.

Reality check: Lest we forget, at the end of the day this is all really just for fun, so I try not to take it too seriously.  First and foremost, I’m a football fan, and my real-world allegiances (and overall perspective) take precedence over my fantasy world.  But you can’t help feel attached to anything you invest this much energy into, and you best believe my roster will be filled with players I like, and can cheer for on Sundays.

DRAFT NIGHT #1
12-team, standard scoring (non PPR)
Pick #4, Live Online draft

This is my work league, and I’m the commissioner, which makes me the uber-geek in the office.  But I’ve never actually won the championship, so it sort of makes all my supposed football knowledge worth bupkus.

For this league, most of the owners work together in the same office, which adds an extra element of pride/trash talk to the proceedings.  But we’ve got several out-of-town owners, hence the online draft so everyone can participate live.  Not as much fun as an in-person draft, but we’ve got the chat room to talk smack about each other’s picks.

Ray Rice is a hot fantasy prospect this season

With the #4 pick in this draft, I have a pretty good idea who I’m going to pick.  Barring any surprises in the top 3, it’ll most likely be Ray Rice, RB Baltimore.  After that, I’ll have about a half hour before my next pick, which be largely determined by who’s available.  I won’t bore you with the play-by-play, but I’ll try and keep track of any notable highlights along the way in the comments, and I’ll post my roster after it’s all said and done.  Because you know you care.

Yikes. Apparently Suh went to the Sayid Jarrah school of tackling, where the ol’ neck snap is a standard finishing move.

But that kind of stuff isn’t going to fly in the NFL, where Mr. Goodell protects quarterbacks like they’re virgin teenage girls at the Gathering of the Juggalos. So while the Lions can definitely use an injection of bad-assed-ness, they might need to take up a collection to pay Suh’ fines if he’s going to keep going after QB’s like that.

At least Jackson seemed to be a good sport about it.

In this series, we’ll dig through a few items in the days leading up to Week One — and we promise to veer away from Brett Favre and Dez Bryant (and Rex Ryan) in the weeks ahead.

Let’s deal with some of those men today, and move forward, shall we?

Jets coach Rex Ryan with his team in 2009. He's lost some weight since then -- but gained some moxie. (Source: Motleyball.com)

1. Will Favre stay healthy? It may be a stretch to question the durability of a quarterback who’s started 309 consecutive games (when I, myself, miss 20 days of work annually due to a laundry list of faked illnesses — but I digress).

Favre’s health is an issue because, after those 309 games, he’s 41 and playing on an ankle that’s only partially healed. “There is nothing on me that’s 100 percent. There wasn’t anything that was 100 percent last year or the year before,” Favre told The Associated Press Wednesday. “The surgery made me a little better.”

Let’s say Favre hadn’t thrown that fateful pick against the Saints — would he have played in the Super Bowl?

I suppose he and the team would have done everything possible to have him in there, but if you recall the hideous photos of his ankle in the days following the game, it’s hard to imagine him on the field.

Look, I don’t doubt Favre on any level — again, have any of us not missed a day of work in 19 years? Not even the super nerds among us can talk that jive.

If Favre can do 75 percent of what he did last year, the Vikings have a strong enough supporting cast to return to the NFC championship.

If Tarvaris Jackson starts more than three games, there will be issues. When I look at the 2009 Vikings, I see a team that had everything go right during the regular season. Very few injuries, young players emerging to play pivotal roles, and the team’s star having a career year. In the NFL, this almost never happens two years running.

2. Do the Jets live up to the hype? I, for one, believe they will — to a degree. I don’t see them flopping. They have too much talent, and no matter what you think about Ryan, the man loves his players, and communicates with them well. Watching HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” it’s so clear that Ryan knows how to motivate the roster and — despite the Jets’ star-studded roster — he cares as much for his fringe special teamers as he does for his headliners.

For the Jets to mature, quarterback Mark Sanchez needs to settle into his role. To paraphrase what Marty Schottenheimer said on “Hard Knocks,” during a visit to the team’s training camp — if a rookie quarterback has a good first season, if you can simply help him equal that in Year Two, you’ve achieved something as a coach.

Amidst all the Jets madness, some forget that Sanchez, statistically, was far from perfect in 2009.

While the team was a machine on the ground, they ranked 31st in passing. Sanchez threw 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions and had a 63 rating, 28th in the NFL. By comparison, Drew Brees threw 31 touchdowns and 11 picks. Brady Quinn had a higher rating than Sanchez, on a much worse team. So did Marc Bulger and Mark Fitzpatrick.

Stats aside, what Sanchez did successfully was maintain his composure and help New York get within a game of the Super Bowl.

Understanding Marty’s point, I doubt the former coach — who knows something about losing AFC championship games — is suggesting that Sanchez simply needs to go out there and repeat last year’s numbers.

Sanchez must illustrate that he can shoulder the load when the Jets can’t run the ball and Darrelle Revis is home watching the game on television, waiting for more bags of money to arrive.

Jason Campbell has been welcomed in Oakland, and his presence makes the Raiders a threat to win the AFC West. (Source: AP)

I trust in the coaching Sanchez receives from Rex and Brian Schottenheimer — and I believe the Jets have something to teach 90% of the league when it comes to playing with confidence and a sense of destiny. They’ll be a factor all year long.

3. Which team will be 2010′s big surprise? Too often, preseason picks lack originality. It seems to boil down to a process of selecting between last year’s final four — and the Cowboys — as this year’s Super Bowl contenders.

Nobody was talking about New Orleans last August; and before Favre won with the Vikings, he was dismissed a head case following a disappointing 2008 season with the Jets.

Naturally, everyone gets on board and acts like they knew all along.

When unheralded Kurt Warner and the Rams marched through the NFC to a Super Bowl crown in 1999, it wasn’t until midseason that people took them seriously.

Who plays that role this time around?

We can’t call a 2009 playoff team a surprise (although some try).

We can’t name a team that surged at times, showing strong signs of promise. For instance, the Miami Dolphins are not a surprise team.

I’m talking about some out-of-left-field squad that people are laughing at — or entirely ignoring — today.

I see Tampa Bay, Cleveland, or Oakland as 2010′s surprise playoff team. Not all of them — but one.

With a gun to my head, I think Oakland — despite their eccentric owner — may do a job on the Chargers and take the AFC West. I also believe next August we’ll be watching Al Davis and his boys on 2011′s “Hard Knocks.”

It may be the only way to top what we’re currently experiencing.

Falcon Punch!!! (Image: ESPN.com)

You probably remember Titants rookie RB LeGarrette Blount from the above image, when Blount punched a helmet-less Idaho State player after a game last season, resulting in his suspension from the team.  Most NFL teams remembered it too, as Blount went undrafted out of Oregon due to attitude concerns.  But Blount was signed as a FA by Tennessee, hoping that he would be able to put his troubled past behind him.

Well, it looks like you can take the kid out of Oregon, but you can’t take the fight out of the kid.  At least, when the kid in question is LeGarrette Blount. On Wendesday, Blount took a swing at Titans defensive end Eric Bakhtiari at the end of practice, after having his own helmet ripped off by the defense and both units getting chippy with each other throughout the session.

Watch as Blount – who is ironically not wearing his own helmet this time around – unleashes his now patented Falcon Punch on Bahktiari, who was wearing a helmet (around the :20 mark):

Blount immediately apologized to head coach Jeff Fisher after the incident, saying he promised to “put it behind him”.  He also claimed that the defense had been consistently egging him during practice on by pulling off his helmet before he snapped.  Fisher not only accepted Blount’s apology, but went further in defending his rookie RB:

“I am not disappointed whatsoever,’’ Fisher said of Blount, who’d miss practices on Monday and Tuesday following the death of his grandmother. “His past is his past. Is that the first punch you’ve seen at camp this year? No. OK. I am not disappointed whatsoever. I have great confidence in the young man that he has learned from his mistake and is very competitive.’’

All I know is if Blount ever squares off against me, I’m covering up.  This guy has a vicious right hand, and if Blount doesn’t make it in the NFL, I’m sure the MMA will have a home for him.

Apparently Mathias is not a fan of shirts, haircuts or melody, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s about the lyrics, and the sheer passion oozing from his pores:

WHOOOO!!!  I am FIRED UP! Shoulder SMACK!!!

Note to Jerry Jones: pipe this song through the sound system at Cowboys Stadium, and you’re sure to go undefeated this year.  No doubt about it.

Adrian Peterson and Shaquille O’Neal are in there too … words don’t really do it justice, so just watch for yourselves:

I just can’t help but enjoy anything with Busey in it … he’s so fascinating to watch, and you know he could go postal at any moment.  Fortunately, the director on this ad did a superb job of capturing Busey’s bubbling insanity in all it’s natural glory.

Of course, I’m not sure what any of this has to do with energy drinks, but its still good stuff.

Eli Manning is a bloody mess. Not what Giants fans wanted to see tonight (Photo: Tim Farrell, US Presswire via ESPN.com)

UPDATE: Eli Manning left the game in the 2nd quarter with a 3-inch laceration on his forehead, requiring 12 stitches.

Watch Eli get bloodied on NFL.com

With the Giants driving and inside the 15, Manning dropped back to pass and ran into Brandon Jacobs, knocking the ball out of his hands.  When Manning grabbed for the ball, LB Calvin Pace drilled him from behind, knocking Eli’s helmet flying through the air.  As he went down, sans helmet, Manning fell forward into S Jim Leonard, cutting his head on Leonard’s facemask.  Eli walked to the sidelines and was replaced by backup QB Jim Sorgi.

From TheBlueScreen:

The Giants have sent Eli Manning home after he got 12 stitches in his forehead. The team says X-Rays were negative and there were no signs of a concussion.

“I feel fine,” Manning said. “I feel normal. … I’ll be back as soon as I can. It’s really not an injur. Nothing serious. I really feel like I could go back out and play right now if I had to.

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UPDATE #2: It’s the Victor Cruz show for the Giants in the 2nd half!  Cruz, a rookie WR from Massachussets, has 6 catches for 145 yards and 3 TDs in the 2nd half. The highlight of the night was undoubtedly this one-handed circus catch Cruz takes 64 yards for the score:

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The NFL is officially back after the first full week of pre-season games, culminating in tonight’s Monday Night Football match-up between the Giants and Jets. And we. are. fired. UP!!!

The New York Jets are the current darlings of the media after their AFC Championship appearance last season, and adding players like LaDanian Tomlinson, Antonio Cromartie and Santonio Holmes.  Meanwhile, the Giants – who have long held claim to the football throne in New York – have added lots of talent on the defensive side of the ball, and will look to rebound from a horrible finish to the 2009 campaign.  Both teams will be looking to plant their flag in the New Meadowlands Stadium with a win tonight.

We’ll be following all the action and posting our running thoughts in the comments section … join us, won’t you?

(Photo by Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Tonight’s Giants/Jets pre-season clash marks the NFL debut of the New Meadowlands Stadium, which is still inexplicably being shared by 2 teams in the world’s largest sports market. And while the stadium has yet to sell naming rights to the highest bidder, the fact that it’s no longer called “Giants Stadium” should certainly help the Jets shed their image of second-fiddle team in their own home town.  But more than anything, winning will determine that.

In just a few hours, the teams will fight it out for bragging rights in their new digs (well, as much as you can after pulling the starters midway through the 2nd quarter, anyway).  While the stadium has been used for a few concerts and sporting events, this will the be the first time rowdy Giants and Jets fans will get to kick the tires on the new $1.6 billion building., which features 82,500 seats, four’ 40×130′  HD video screens, and separate home locker rooms for each of the tenant clubs.

Video screens are located in each corner of the stadium ... noticeably not looming above the field (Photo by Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

There have been some early complaints about the leg room in the new seats, obstructed views, as well as an overall gray/drab feeling about the building to go with the exorbitant PSL price tags. But tonight, the New Meadowlands will be lit up in Jets green (since they are the home team for this game), and we’ll get a taste of what a real gameday will feel like. ESPN’s Lomas Brown and Jon Ritchie took a walk around the stadium to give a preview of what fans can expect:

VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP

We’ll be watching tonight’s action and posting our running thoughts, so if you don’t have anything better to do, join us!