Roger Goodell Needs To Drop Hammer On Ray Rice, Jim Irsay

written by Jayden Matthews

So Ike Turner, Phil Spector and Ray Rice walk into a bar... Stop me if you've heard this one. 

Roger, Roger, Roger...why must we have these conversations? Oh, I know why. It's because you're a hypocrite. 

Many, including myself, are wondering when you are going to address the situation regarding the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Rice assault. You say that you will not tolerate any stain on your precious shield. Well, isn't dragging his unconscious fiancée, whom he conveniently married as soon as charges were filed, out of an elevator and then kicking her a stain? - http://tinyurl.com/pbs3lxk

Do you not realize, Roger, that every nine seconds a woman is assaulted at the hands of domestic violence, and it is the leading cause of injury to women? Do you also not realize that a lot of those women are fans of the NFL? 

by Matt Vargo

What kind of message would you be sending if you let Rice off with nothing? If some form of punishment is not handed down, it would be a slap to the face of the women that have suffered from this type of action and you would indirectly be an accomplice to their assaults. Ask any victim or families of victims of domestic violence, such as myself or William Gay, and we will assure you that any other reaction would be the wrong message. - http://youtu.be/dMZw8JIkOd8

The legal issues have played out in the courts and Rice agreed to an intervention program to avoid jail time. I hope this gives him the help he needs. He and his new wife Janay Palmer held a press conference on Friday, along with the usual apologies. But, basically it was a dog and pony show to show they're a happy couple now, with their "no relationship is perfect" comments. - http://t.co/qxo2eIk6o3

Intervention programs and press conferences notwithstanding, it still does not take away from the fact, Mr. Goodell, that there was video of him dragging her caveman-style out of that elevator in Atlantic City after knocking her out. He committed an act of violence against a woman. You do realize, don't you, that young men look up to these players? What kind of message is being sent to these young men? That it is OK to hit your lady and drag her around like a caveman? Really? 

In 2010, you said you did not need an arrest to hand down a punishment. Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, found that out first hand, being suspended for six games and later being reduced to four. Ben was never charged with any crime, never arrested, never had any videos of his actions, nothing. But Big Ben was made an example of because, as you put it, he put a "stain" on the beloved shield of the NFL. 

Since Big Ben’s suspension, there have been several NFL players arrested for drunk driving, domestic battery, having guns in airports and even an alleged serial killer that is now in jail. But the one thread that connects all of them is the lack of punishment handed down. None of them were stains, then?

The best one by far just might be Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who was arrested in March for alleged intoxication and operating a vehicle, he also had in his possession bottles of prescription drugs that were not his. Irsay was at the owners meeting and was seen on TV. Now if that isn't a big old glaring stain, then I don’t know what is. 

An NFL owner in possession of controlled substances that weren't even his? Oh, that’s right, you’re playing the wait-and-see and game. Well, you didn't with Big Ben. Even if he is suspended, you made it clear before anything was announced he would be punished and punished he was. - http://tinyurl.com/nr7zj3y

Ryan Clark, former Steelers' safety said it best on ESPN's First Take: “So here we have Jim Irsay, a guy, an owner, who has history of substance abuse, who's found in a car with over $29K and prescription drugs that weren't in his name, pulled over for driving under the influence, and now we're saying we need more information? What more information do we need than these aren't your prescription pills? You're obviously under the influence. You have $29K. There would be no questions asked if this was a player." -  http://tinyurl.com/papv46t

I fully agree with Clark. But what else is new when it comes to Roger Goodell and his handling of punishments? Which gets me to my point. Roger, you need to stop being all Stay-Puff-Marshmallow-Man soft and squishy and afraid of any repercussions from NFLPA, and start acting like Thor and bring the proverbial hammer down and bring it down swiftly. 

Start sending messages to these overgrown frat boys that enough is enough and that this type of behavior has no place in the NFL. If they want to do the crime, then they must do the time. Not slaps on the wrists, either - both Rice and Irsay need to be suspended. 

Because if you don’t start sending the appropriate messages, to find the biggest stain on the shield of the NFL, all you will have to do is look in the mirror. 

If It Ain't Steel's 2013 AFC North QB Rankings

by Jayden Matthews

It’s that time of year again when we at If It Ain't Steel rank the quarterbacks. First up, we start with the QBs of the AFC North. This is the division and these are the QBs we know the most about because of playing them twice a year. Though we always endeavor to remain as objective as possible whenever we write, we still realize this list may not go over well will the Raven faithful. But we're neither the NFL Network or ESPN nor am I Ron Jaworski, and you will see that when our Top 12 QBs list comes out. But without further adieu, here we go.

1) Ben Roethlisberger

This is by no means a Black and Gold-blinders pick. This is where Big Ben deserves to be ranked. Yes, I know he got hurt and missed 3 games. But, SO WHAT? He still deserves to be ranked above the other three in this division. Before Big Ben’s injury, he was arguably right in the thick of MVP talks and was putting together what could have been one of his best seasons yet. He was consistent in his play and had the best 3rd down conversion percentage of any QB in the NFL until his injury. He had only thrown four interceptions before his injury. No, he didn’t look like the superstar stud QB we all know when he came back and we lost two heartbreaking games by 3 points and missed the playoffs, but we still give Ben the No. 1 nod because we mainly rank by regular season numbers with a nod to playoff numbers.

Despite missing essentially three and a half games, Big Ben still finished the season with 3,265 yards 26 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. He had a 65% completion percentage and QB ranking of 97.0. Big Ben may have had his share of injuries over the past couple seasons and this may have been the longest that we have been without him, but he still deserves the No. 1 nod.

Big Ben is still the most consistent of the four in the AFC North. In his nine years, he has two Super Bowl wins under his belt and helped lead the Steelers to a third appearance. That’s pretty good for any QB, but is great for a QB playing in arguably the toughest division in football. It is hard enough to win the AFC North, let alone win the whole shebang. And we don't believe he's done yet.

The other reason I give him the No. 1 nod is because we all know that last season has to be eating at him as much as it does the fans. We believe he will come out and play like the champion we all know he is and that he will get it done. With the Steelers flying under the radar and the talking heads of mainstream media already sticking a fork in them, Big Ben and the Steelers, in one sense, have less pressure on them. That could set up to be a bad thing for the rest of the AFC North.

2) Joe Flacco

Yes, I know Joe Flacco just won the SB and the MVP. Again, SO WHAT? As we said, we mainly base this on regular season numbers and less on playoff and SB numbers. Joe Namath had a great playoff run and beat Baltimore's favorite son, the Colts. Is Namath supposed to be the best ever? Timmy Smith set a SB record by running for 204 yards, while also scoring two TDs, for the Washington Redskins in SB XXII. Did that make him a Hall of Fame running back?

Let’s be real, Flacco was hardly an MVP during the regular season. His inconsistencies reared their ugly heads a lot, in fact. While he had his ups and downs during the regular season, he is still a better player than the other two in the AFC North. Flacco owns the two worst QBR ratings of any QB in the NFL this past season and, might I add, two of the worst ever. Against a stout Houston Texans defense, he had a ranking of 0.3 and against the Denver Broncos he had a ranking of 0.4. Plus, as we'll further bring out in a moment, Big Ben had more TD passes and fewer INTs in less time. So why, again, should we have Flacco ranked higher?

That is what a lot of fans seem to overlook. Yes, again, Flacco had an amazing playoff run, but he had an inconsistent, yo yo-like season. They also leave out the fact that the playoff run was also fueled by the retirement announcement of Ravens great Ray Lewis. A lot also like to blame Cam Cameron and then are praise Jim Caldwell for Flacco's immediate turn around during the playoffs.

Time will tell if that is the case, because I personally still thinking Lewis’ retirement motivation had more to do with it. Plus, if Caldwell was so great, then why did the Indianapolis Colts tank when Peyton Manning was injured and out for the season?

This will be the season for both Flacco and Caldwell to shut critics like myself up. Are they up for the task? We will see. He finished the regular season with 3,817 yards 59.7% completion, 22 TDs to 10 INTs and a QB ranking of 87.7. Flacco is coming off a near historic playoff run, I do give him credit for that, but he is going to have to come out this season and play that good all the time for me to rank him above Big Ben.

Flacco and the Ravens also have the proverbial target on their backs that comes with being the reigning champs, so this season is by no means going to be easy. Because even bad teams show up to play the champs. Frankly, if the Ravens have any chance of taking the North for the third year in a row and making it back to the playoffs they are going to need that Flacco to show up. Especially with all the questions on their retooled defense and how it’s going to come together, more onus is on him. So this will be the year for Flacco to put up or shut up with all the attention and money he is receiving. Will he remain the media darling or the media kick stand? That is yet to be determined.

3) Andy Dalton

Andy Dalton can play and has shown that since being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. He is consistently building a nice résumé and his numbers are very good and right up there with the top two. He has helped lead the Bengals to back-to-back winning seasons and playoff appearances but has yet to get his first playoff win.

The Bengals are quietly building a very good offense around Dalton with very good young talent. Again, this is a brutal division and they still have their work cut out for them if they're going to take out the Steelers and Ravens.

Could this be the year the Bengals emerge and do just that? Time will tell, but things are definitely looking up for Bengals fans and they have every right to be optimistic with this young guy under center.

Dalton finished the season with 3,669 passing yards and a 62.3% completion, which is second behind Big Ben. We can't rank him higher than Flacco, though, until he wins some playoff games. He had 26 TDs to 16 INTs and a 87.4 QB ranking. The sky is the limit for young Dalton, and this could be the year he crosses the threshold.

4) Brandon Weeden

Weeden was drafted by the Cleveland Browns last season and was immediately thrown into the fire. He didn’t have the best of seasons, but he didn’t have the worst, either. A lot of the Browns problems are lack of weapons around Weeden. Given the fact that Trent Richardson was also hurt a lot, it just led to disaster again for the Browns offense.

The Browns have somewhat addressed their issues this offseason. It has been reported that Richardson is healthy and should be ready to go by training camp, which will help. But Weeden has felt the heat of the front office this offseason, and has a new coach to impress. This will probably be a make-or-break season for Weeden and his future with the Browns. I personally feel that is wrong because, with the dearth of weapons around him, how can the Browns' brass expect Weeden to succeed in one of the toughest divisions in football?

Will he be able to step up and improve from last season? We believe he will. Weeden finished the season with 3,385 yards 57.4% completion 14TDs to 17 INTs, with that last stat definitely needing to be cleaned up if he wants to do better. He also had a QB rating of 72.6. The best to Weeden in taking the next step, because we really think he can if given a chance. But if his numbers do not improve from last season, and the Browns don’t win a few more games, his time will be up.