JT the Brick

Philadelphia Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie’s knee injury might cost his team a chance to play in the Super Bowl. Ritchie is a fantastic player who can both block and catch as well as anyone, is a leader on and off the field and keeps his teammates loose for big games.

I got to know him when he played for the Oakland Raiders and was a big part of their successful running game that helped land them in the 2003 Super Bowl.

The Eagles are not a great running team and defensive coordinators will eventually figure out better ways to double-team Terrell Owens and slow down his production. With Deuce Staley now in Pittsburgh and Ritchie gone, Philadelphia does not have enough big-game running backs to win in January. Brian Westbrook will have to carry the load unless the Eagles can pull off a trade and add more depth to their depleted backfield.

Look for Donovan McNabb to take more chances by running the football, even though that might not be good. He already has thrown for eight touchdowns after three games and run for two. McNabb will try to carry the load in cold-weather games when he can't find receivers downfield. The Eagles' fan base must hope he slides for first downs or runs out of bounds.

Patriots will handle Bills
The New England Patriots will have been off for almost 23 days before they play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Don't count the Pats' win against Arizona as an actual game, because the Cardinals are the worst team in the NFL and Dennis Green has done nothing to make his team better on offense.

The Patriots knew that when they beat the Colts 27-24 on Sept. 9 they would have plenty of time to get ready for their revenge game at Buffalo.

Last year, the Bills beat the Patriots 31-0 in their home opener and embarrassed Bill Belichick and his coaching staff. Buffalo safety Lawyer Milloy was released by New England just four days before the game and enjoyed watching the Patriots struggle on offense. New England looked terrible and played with no emotion. I can't remember one NFL insider who though that they had a shot at winning the Super Bowl after that game.

A lot has changed for both teams since that game. The Patriots have won 17 games in a row — including Super Bowl XXXVIII — while the Bills look like a rebuilding franchise that might be lucky to win five games.

All on line for Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals' entire season could rest on the outcome of their next game at Pittsburgh. If they lose, the Bengals will drop to 1-3, and they don't have enough talent to get back into the division race. Marvin Lewis insists on playing Carson Palmer at quarterback, and I agree with that decision, but if they lose another division game, Lewis should let John Kitna regain his starting role.

The Bengals still have road games at Cleveland, Tennessee, Washington, Baltimore, New England and Philadelphia. They will be lucky to win two of those games. This is the classic example of a team that wants to run before they can walk.

Look for big problems down the road if the Bengals don't handle this quarterback issue head on. Palmer was named the starter because of his salary and draft position. Kitna is a much better player, in the prime of his career and deserves an opportunity to play. It is time for Lewis to circle this Sunday’s game and treat it like a do-or-die situation. You will see empty seats in Cincinnati this winter if they don't win this Sunday.

Another Bonds-gate
Here we go again with another lawsuit over a Barry Bonds home run. The Sept. 17 blast at SBC Park landed in the bleachers in left-center field. This we know as fact, the rest is hearsay. Two men claim they had sole possession of Bonds' No. 700, and we know why. The ball is worth a lot of money, but that price hasn't been set. Timothy Murphy says that he owns the ball and that Steve Williams stole it from under his leg at the bottom of the pile. I'm sick and tired of attorneys and so-called experts trying to explain who rightfully owns rare pieces of baseball memorabilia.

The ball belongs to Williams. He was the only one seen holding the ball by television cameras on the scene that night and made sure he held the ball over his head to prove it was his. Any fan has the right to jump on a loose ball at a sporting event when it enters the stands. I would hope that women and children would not get hurt during the mad scramble, but it is every fan for themselves. We live in a society where everyone wants to sue someone else for something that they think they deserve.

Murphy doesn't deserve it because it ended up under his leg for a few brief moments. He should have fought hard to hold onto it and not let go, no matter what. He didn't want the ball badly enough and the television instant replay proves this point. In the future, fans should understand the rules that apply when trying to catch a milestone homerun. Show up at the park willing and able to catch and keep the ball or trade in your seat for another in foul territory with all the fans that have no hope of obtaining the next historic home run ball.

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