Ben Ice reviews the hottest topics in the NFL this week.

It’s obvious that Jerry Jones never had an injured pinkie toe.  If he has, he doesn’t remember how it felt.  You can’t say he doesn’t know about playing the game, though. While he certainly doesn’t look the part, Jones was an offensive lineman and Co-Captain for the 1964 National Champion Arkansas Razorbacks.  Calling out Marion “The Barbarian” Barber this past week, however, after another frustrating loss that has Dallas on the brink of extinction for this year’s playoffs, has more to do with his frustration than reality.

I think Jerry is looking at the game checks and figuring that, with the money they signed Barber for, he should be playing with both legs broken if it comes to that. Something tells me Barber will be playing for the Dolphins next year.  It’s just a hunch, but I’m willing to start a rumor right here, right now. Better yet, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a big bruising back who can catch passes in the West Coast offense. I’ll put the call in to Bruce Allen personally. 

No more Plaxico stories please.  It’s just not amusing any more.

Paul Bourdett stands in for Ben Ice with weekly football thoughts

What time is it?  It's fantasy football playoff time!  Is everybody excited?  You bet your PPR I am.  I've got playoff matchups in three leagues, and it's win or go home for the final playoff spot in a fourth league this weekend.  It hasn't been easy juggling all these teams at once, but it sure has been fun.  The only downside are the multiple personalities I've developed while rooting both for and against just about every player in the NFL this season.  Ah, I love this game. 

I'll tell you what else I love - Matt Jones playing in Week 13.  Of course, I'm happy because I own him in one league.  What really makes me giggle, though, is the fact that he was reportedly busted with cocaine nearly five months ago!  Commish?  Commish?  Is anybody there?  There was a hearing on the matter this past Thursday, but there's still been no word on a punishment.  The NFL typically doesn't suspend players this close to game time, so it looks like Jones will live to play another week in 2008.  Consider it all a lesson in NFL drug policy -- take a supplement that doesn't list a banned ingredient on the label and you're going down.  Get caught with a little blow in your possession?  We'll look into it and get back to you later. 

Ben Ice reviews the important topics in fantasy football for this week.

The Bad Boys Club in the NFL has been in the news quite a bit this year, led by Adam Jones and Larry Johnson, but Chad "No longer Ocho Cinco" Johnson has been no slouch at providing tabloid fodder, either.  I really don't care what the team rule was that he broke to get him de-activated. In fact I'm fairly sure he broke more than one along the way to earning that benching.  It's not as if he is a huge loss.  In his last seven games, he's managed to gain over 50 yards twice. He's been getting the touches; he simply isn't doing anything with them.  For the year, Johnson has 41 receptions, 383 yards, and four touchdowns to go with a 9.3 average yards per catch, by far the lowest in his career.

Someone please tell me why John Carney didn't play last week? I saw the official announcement, but how do you de-activate a guy who had been one of the most reliable kickers all year?  My Fantasy Football Open Championship team needed .80 points to move on to the next round, and instead I got a big fat goose egg from Carney and a consolation bracket entry as my prize.

Ben Ice discusses all the hot topics in the NFL for this week.

So I am watching Titanic with my daughter. She is snuggled in, eating popcorn and smiling at me, pleased that we are finally watching this awesome (her words, not mine) movie together. Just hours before, I watched disconsolately as the Chicago Bears lost their way at home against the Tennessee Titans, the event that triggered this heinous punishment.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so intense about a football game. At 12, she loves being a cheerleader, but football bores her.  So I guess we are even on that account, as I agonized over the extended plot line and mushy tragic romance that is the core of the movie. As one of my writers, Mark Strausberg remarked, “…Titanic is one of the most excruciating big budget movies ever made. I wanted the ship to just hit the iceberg already and hopefully send Leo DiCaprio overboard.”

Thanks Mark. I didn’t have the energy to give that sopping mess any kind of review, but it was good to know someone else felt my pain, even as he was twisting the knife in between my ribs.

Each time the Titans made a defensive stop, a first down or a score, my daughter would pinball around the living room, squealing and dancing, once in a while shooting me with her fingers with a Cheshire Cat grin.  I tried to beg off, but she had the DVD out of the sleeve and into the player before I could get off the sofa.

Such is the suffering caused by predicting a loss by the Titans. I won’t make that mistake again.  Let someone else risk their sanity, I’m back on the Titan train, even if I’m riding in the caboose.

That’s all the penance I’m willing to pay. There isn’t a Hail Mary strong enough to wash away the pain inflicted for that three-hour tour. I definitely have to be more careful about some of my predictions from now on.