For this year’s Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, I want to do a little something special.

Make a comment below with your official final score prediction. Whoever comes closest to the actual score (and result) will win the opportunity to write some guest remarks for an upcoming blog.

This includes appropriate trash talking, bragging or shout-outs to your favorite Galveston County sports entity, limited to 100 words. Not to mention, regular readers of the From The Sidelines blog will be impressed by your accurate prediction.

Here’s my official prediction:

Giants 34, New England 27

What's yours?

On Sunday afternoon, I sat in the press box at Reliant Stadium, watching both Texas NFL teams look sharp. While the Texans were comfortably rolling the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys were also putting some hurt on the Detroit Lions.

At halftime, I text messaged my cousin in Nacogdoches to congratulate her on the fact that her newborn, three-day-old baby would get to witness her first Cowboys victory in her first ever game to watch. Her parents have been diehard Cowboys fans for years, and had baby Layla been a boy, she might've been named Tony Romo.

But in the blink of an eye, baby Layla witnessed the biggest blown lead in Cowboys franchise history.

Cowboys fans around the world were devastated by the loss, and fans in Cowboys Stadium were forced to sit through the Journey song, "Don't Stop Believin'."

Just cruel and unusual punishment.

So now that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has committed fully to Romo, where do you stand, Cowboys fans? Are you prepared to go down with Romo once again?

I'm even more curious as to how many Galveston County Texans fans are urging their neighborhood Cowboys fans to jump on the Houston train?

It's going to be a wild ride.

The excitement surrounding Super Bowl XLV is heating up in Galveston County.

Many have started purchasing the snacks and drinks for watch parties, and as mentioned in Sunday’s story, Galveston-native and nose tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Casey Hampton provided plenty of tickets to his family members around the area.

Are there any other residents who were lucky enough to get tickets? Is anyone simply going to Dallas for the festivities? Shoot me an e-mail at jordan.godwin@galvnews.com or call at 409-683-5242 to be featured in this weekend’s guide for Galveston County residents making the trip.

HOUSTON — Houston Texans' left tackle Duane Brown has been suspended four games for violating the NFL's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

Brown will not appeal — perhaps a telling action — though he did say via a Texans press release that he "unknowingly took a supplement tainted with a banned substance..."

Brown will join outside linebacker Brian Cushing on the NFL's suspended list. Cushing, the Rookie of the Year in 2009, is halfway through his four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

The two suspensions are big blows to the Houston Texans image. Owner Bob McNair has long maintained that he wanted his players to be good, clean guys.

Brown's absence also comes at an inopportune time for the undefeated Texans, who are hosting the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday. Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware is one of the league's best pass rushers and Brown would likely have handled Ware most of the day.

Ware, however, went against a backup tackle last week against the Bears and failed to record a sack.

Brown was a major reason for the Texans fast offensive start, including league-leading 440.5 yards of total offense per game and 157.5 rushing yards. Brown, the Texans' first-round pick in 2006, had started every game since 2008.

Untested Rashad Butler will replace Brown. Brown will be eligible to return Oct. 17 against Kansas City.

“We are disappointed that Duane Brown has been suspended," Houston general manager Rick Smith said in a statement. "This is a significant blow to our team. Our players have to understand that they are responsible for what goes into their bodies and that they take risks anytime they use a supplement not approved by the NFL.

“Our head athletic trainer, head strength and conditioning coach as well as our team nutritionist have had many meetings and presentations constantly reminding our players about the dangers of the supplemental industry and risks associated with taking non-approved products."

As I watched the NFL Draft last week, I kept hearing the word character. So I started counting how many times commentators used it. I stopped at 15 in 10 minutes.

Character certainly counts, especially in a league as high profile and public as the NFL. But how much clout should it have? Should a team not take a player because he has a checkered past even though he might turn out to be great?

It's certainly not an easy question, one which NFL teams debate constantly. Ideally, a team wants a great employee with great character, but those don't come around all the time.

But let's turn the tables around for a moment. Let's say you own a business. And you have two potential employees. One is OK, even adequate and has no problems. The other is really talented, but received a DUI a year ago. Which one do you hire, especially if the latter has shown no problems in the last six months?

What do you think? Which employee would you choose? Has the character debate gone too far, especially with the recent news that the Miami Dolphins asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute?

Personally, I think I take the risk on the talented employee. I can always find another adequate person. Great talent doesn't come around everyday.

The rebuilding project has to be over for the Houston Texans.

With their most talented and experienced roster in eight seasons, it’s time for the Texans to finally make the playoffs this year — or changes must be made.

Houston fans have been patient long enough for this franchise to become a winner. They’ve suffered through the David Carr era, dealt with 2006 draft controversy and cheered on an 8-8 seasons the past two seasons.

Not this year. An 8-8 mark is not good enough any more. Probably not even 9-7.

The Texans have to go at least 10-6 and make the postseason for this year to be a success.

The pressure is on head coach Gary Kubiak and his staff. The franchise was in disarray when he took over, and he’s brought it back to respectability.

Kubiak’s offense was one of the best in the league last season. His staff has also helped the development of star defenders Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans (pictured below).


Photos by KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News

Those are all reasons many are talking about Houston and the playoffs in the same sentence.

Of course, any one that watched the first half of Monday night’s preseason game against the Vikings has to be worried if the Texans can indeed become a 10-win team.

The run defense, while missing starters Dunta Robinson (holdout) and Brian Cushing (knee), looked painfully slow.

The offense, save for one drive in the second quarter, looked out of sync and didn’t feature very good play from its line.

Add in an already banged up Matt Schaub — the starting quarterback sprained his ankle in Monday’s game — and there are certainly reasons to be worried.

However, if the Texans are going to struggle, the preseason is a good time to do it. Because once the regular season starts, there can be no more excuses.

If Kubiak can’t get the team over the hump, he needs to be replaced by someone can.

If Schaub can’t stay healthy, he needs to be replaced by a durable signal caller.

If the defense can’t patch up its holes, then the checkbook needs to be opened for players that can get the job done.

Houston fans are tired of waiting for a winner. It’s now or never for these Texans.

Maybe the Houston Texans are finally starting to figure out this whole “NFL Draft” thing.

After being a colossal mistake by passing running back Reggie Bush and hometown hero Vince Young last year, the Texans made perhaps their best first-round selection in years by taking 19-year-old defensive tackle Amobi Okoye.

Heading into this year’s draft, I considered Okoye the top defensive prospect available. Yes, defensive ends Gaines Adams and Jamaal Anderson, along with safety LaRon Landry went ahead of Okoye, but none of the three have as much upside.

Usually it takes defensive lineman a full year before they become dominant players in the NFL. Even if it takes Okoye two full years, he’ll still just be 21 years old.

Okoye can easily be compared to Chicago’s Tommie Harris. The former Oklahoma star has become a force for the defending NFC champs, just his speed and agility, along with his intelligence, to dominate offensive lineman. Okoye’s skills mirror a younger Harris, which could make the Texans’ pass rush one of the best in the league in the near future (assuming last year’s top pick Mario Williams pans out).

Of course, years from now, we could still look back and think the Texans screwed up again in this year’s draft. They swapped first round picks and sent a pair of second rounders to Atlanta for the rights to quarterback Matt Schaub.

Obviously, Houston thought neither of the two elite quarterback in this year’s draft would be still be around at No. 8. But with Brady Quinn’s dramatic slide to No. 22, the question should be asked — Are the Texans better off with Schaub and Okoye or Quinn and UT guard Justin Blalock (whom Atlanta selected with Houston’s original second round pick)?

If Quinn turns into a star and Schaub flops, critics will likely blast Houston for making the wrong decision on the most important position in football two years in a row.

Mario Williams finally made an impact on the game and the Houston Texans came away with an upset victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

So what does this exactly mean for the Texans? Probably just that they won't finish the season 0-16, a dubious feat that will likely be accomplished by the Raiders this year.

Houston is certainly making strides on both offense and defense. But I think Sunday's game said more about how bad Miami was than how good the Texans are becoming.

Why the grim outlook? Well look at the schedule the Texans face over the next five games:
at Dallas - Loss
Jacksonville at home - Loss
at Tennessee - Loss, only because Vince Young will be fired up in that game.
at New York Giants - Upset possibility, but still a loss
at Jacksonville - Loss

Best case scenerio is a 2-3 record, but 1-4 or 0-5 is more likely.

After that, Houston gets a little break in the schedule with Buffalo and Tennessee at home (Texans could get their revenge on Young) and Oakland on the road over the next four games. However, the Texans wrap up the year at New England, Indianapolis at home and Cleveland at home.

Judging from how things are looking a quarter of the way through the season, I'd say the Texans are looking at a record somewhere in between 4-6 wins. It's an improvement, but still a long way to go. Maybe they'll get a good enough draft pick to actually draft a good offensive tackle...

Other NFL nuggets:
- I thought Daunte Culpepper looked worse in person than he does watching him play on TV. He has no touch on the short passes and can scrammble around like he used to before his injury. My pick for Miami to win the division looks pretty bad.
- The Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl this year - MARK IT DOWN. Everyone knew the Bears were dominant on defense, but their offense has been just as good with Rex Grossman healthy and confident. The only two teams I think could challenge Chicago for the NFC crown are Dallas and Carolina. But I don't think Bledsoe can beat the Bears' defense and Chicago certainly won't overlook Carolina and Steve Smith like it did last year. I think I hear a Super Bowl Shuffle making its way to Miami.
- The Jaguars are getting what they deserve. It seemed all they were worried about was getting respect from the press. Then they go out and blow two games against Indy and Washington. Stop complaining about not getting any respect and just play the game. Maybe if you win a playoff game, you'll get more attention.
- I'm calling it this week - Reggie Bush will score the first two touchdowns of his career.
- I'm glad to see former USC quarterback Matt Leinart in charge of the Cardinals offense now. He may have a few bumps in the road (can you say Monday Night against Chicago in two weeks), but I think he gives Arizona the best chance to salvage its season.
- If Art Shell makes it through the season as the Oakland head coach, I'll be shocked. I think the Raiders need to get some hot shot college coach (Bob Stoops or Jim Tressel anyone?) to turn around the attitude that team seems to have developed.
- There are plenty of strong early candidates for MVP this year, but my choice is without a doubt Peyton Manning. Without Manning, the Colts are 1-3 on the season. With him they are 4-0. No one player means as much to his team as Manning.

Boy, it's a good thing the Texans went with Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush so they could contend with the Indianapolis Colts. I'd hate to see what the score would have been like if they hadn't picked Williams.

Seriously though, I know I've said this before, but passing on Reggie Bush (or Vince Young for that matter) was a decision that will set this franchise back at least another three years. Anyone that watched Sunday's game in Indy has to agree with me.

Now the Colts don't have a dominant offensive line. In fact, the reason they among the leaders in sacks allowed is because Peyton Manning has an unmatched presence in the pocket and adjusts plays at the line to protect him even further.

During the draft, all the Texans' officials could say was what a great specimen Mario Williams was, and how he could be a dominant defensive end. That certainly wasn't what I saw against the Colts.

Williams only got around the tackle three times in the game. On each instance, Williams almost panicked when running at the quarterback, holding his hands up like he was a kid chasing an ice cream truck. The comparison I like to use, for all you Adult Swim fans, is that Mario Williams reminds me of Zoidberg from Futurama. I fully expect that Williams goes, "Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo," when he running towards the QB.

You don't see that technique from the truely elite ends. Dwight Freeney, Jason Taylor and Michael Strahan close immediately after getting around the tackle. I just don't think Williams has the instincts these guys have.

Of course, we should have seen this coming. I did a little research on defensive ends picked in the first round of the NFL draft since 2000. Of the 18 defense ends drafted since 2000 (I don't count guys like Marcus Spears and Terrell Suggs that played DE in college but moved to OLB in the NFL) only five have turned into premier players. That's even being generous and giving Cincinnati's Justin Smith a lot more credit than he probably deserves.

Now there are some geniune stars from those 18 — John Abraham in 2000, Richard Seymour in '01 and Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney in '02. But the big thing about those four, is they made immediate impacts early in their first season. So far, Williams is far from doing that.

When you look at the busts since 2000, then you start to get a little scared. Courtney Brown, the top pick in 2000, was awful for the Browns. Jamal Reynold (No. 10 in 2001) was only active in a few games his entire career. How about Michael Haynes (No. 14 in 2004) who was just cut by his second team this year. I just have a feeling Williams is going to be another name on this dubious list.

- As a Bears fan, I'm trying not to get too excited, because the Packers are truly awful. But if Chicago's offense can put up similar production for the rest of the season, the Bears have to be one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

- I really thought we might see the first decapitation in a football game when Trent Green got hit in the Chiefs-Bengals game. It wasn't a dirty hit, but Green is very lucky that he wasn't seriously injured.

- So the Patriots see how bad their offense is without Deion Branch, so then they trade him to the Seahawks. That is so arrogant and stupid on so many levels. I feel even better about picking New England to finish second in the divison.

- If the Panthers want to win the division, they need Steve Smith to be healthy. Without the speedy receiver, Carolina is a real bad offensive team.

- I hope the media stays off Michael Vick's back because he's not a pocket passer. The way the Falcons used him on Sunday was the most effective way to use Vick. He's not a pure passer, he's a multi-dimensional threat.

- Cowboy fans will find out TO is not a problem in Dallas. It's Drew Bledsoe. The Tony Romo watch is officially on.

- Finally, the Texans looked like they were ready to turn the corner with their opening drive of the season. Unfortunately, Houston still has no offensive line. If the Texans draft anyone other than offensive lineman with their first three draft picks next season, the entire front office needs to be fired.

Okay, going back to part one of my NFL preview, here are my eight predicted division winners this year: Miami, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, San Diego, Dallas, Chicago, Carolina and Seattle.

In the AFC, I think Indianapolis and Miami will get the first round byes, with Cincinnati as the No. 3 seed and San Diego No. 4. As for the two wild card spots, those belong to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. The Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens lose out on tie-breakers.

In the NFC, Carolina and Chicago will get the two byes, while Seattle comes in at No. 3 and Dallas at No. 4 (because of their schedules). Look for Atlanta to take the first wild card spot, with the final one going to the New York Giants in a tie-breaker over the Arizona Cardinals.

Wild card weekend
- In the premier game of the first round, Cincinnati scores a late touchdown to defeat New England, 35-31. The Bengals advance to face Miami.

- Pittsburgh marches into San Diego and shuts down the Chargers' offense, winning easily, 24-7. That sets up a rematch between the Steelers and the Colts.

- Seattle shows that it is on a mission to return to the Super Bowl, cruising to a 34-17 win. The Seahawks match-up with the Bears in round two.

- Atlanta makes it close, but the Cowboys' defense forces a late Michael Vick fumble to win, 24-20. The Cowboys move on to face the top-seeded Panthers.

Divisional weekend
- Cincinnati scores on its first three possessions and never lets Miami back into the game, winning 31-10.

- Peyton Manning learns from last year's upset and disects the 3-4 defense in a 28-17 victory.

- Chicago and Seattle go into overtime, before Bears' cornerback Nathan Vasher intercepts a Matt Hasselbeck pass and races in for a touchdown and a 16-10 victory.

- In a game of big plays between Steve Smith and Terrell Owens, Owens gets the last laugh. He scores on a slant play with :48 seconds remaining to give the Cowboys a 30-28 win.

Conference championships
- Defense? Not in the Cincinnati-Indianapolis game. Putting up record offensive numbers for a conference championship game, Indianapolis holds on for a 42-38 win to advance to the Super Bowl.

- Defense? You bet. The Bears seem content to take the game into overtime at 6-6, but Thomas Jones breaks free on a run up the middle for a 72-yard touchdown that puts Chicago into its first Super Bowl since 1986.

Super Bowl XLI
- The Bears defense gives Manning fits in the first half, as Chicago takes a 10-7 lead into the half. But Manning makes the proper adjustments and throws two touchdowns in the third quarter. The defense does the rest, as the Colts hang on for a 21-13 victory. Manning wins the Super Bowl MVP award and finally gets the monkey off his back.

Regular season awards
Co-MVPs - Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis and Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati
Offensive player of the year - LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego
Defensive player of the year - Brian Urlacher, LB, Chicago
Coach of the year - Nick Saban, Miami
Offensive rookie of the year - Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans
Defensive rookie of the year - DeMeco Ryans, LB, Houston
Comeback player of the year - Daunte Culpepper, QB, Miami

One of the fun things about the NFL season is going back and looking at preseason predictions to see how wrong all the experts were. Sure everyone correctly predicted Indianapolis to win the AFC South in 2005, but almost no one saw the Chicago Bears rolling in the NFC North.

It’s like that every year in the modern NFL — at least two teams that no one gave a chance come out of nowhere to win their division and make a run in the postseason. It’s so expected now, that everyone tries to make bold predictions on which team will be the next Seattle or Cincinnati.

Sad to say, I’m no different. So, with that in mind, here are my division breakdowns for the 2006 season.
On Wednesday, I’ll release my playoff predictions, as well as my year-end awards.

AFC East
1. Miami
2. New England
3. New York Jets
4. Buffalo

I know I’m going against the norm here, but I just think Miami is ready to make a big jump this season. Culpepper’s knee looks to be healthy, and that means the Fins offense could be really good.
New England’s passing game will suffer without Deon Branch and the defense is another year older. I just think this could be a down year for the Patriots, much like the 2002 season.

AFC North
1. Cincinnati
2. Pittsburgh
3. Baltimore
4. Cleveland

Pittsburgh may be the reigning World Champs, but it didn’t even win the AFC North last year. If (and it’s a big if) Carson Palmer’s knee holds up during the 16-game schedule, the Bengals could be even better this season.
The Steelers may even have a hard time making the playoffs this year, with the improvements Baltimore made in the offseason. If quarterback Steve McNair stays healthy, the Ravens could claim one of the two wild card spots.

AFC South
1. Indianapolis
2. Jacksonville
3. Tennessee
4. Houston

No surprise here. Indy is the by far the best team in this division, even without Edge.
It was tough picking between Tennessee and Houston for the division cellar. But I think the Titans will be able to win both head-to-head match-ups especially if Vince Young starts for Tennessee in the Dec. 10 game in Houston.

AFC West
1. San Diego
2. Denver
3. Kansas City
4. Oakland

Raise your hand if you honestly think Jake Plummer can go through a whole season with only throwing seven interceptions again. That’s what I thought.
San Diego may have an inexperienced quarterback in Philip Rivers (who I went to high school with), but they also have a great defense and one of the three best offensive players in football with LT.
Oakland is the worst team in the AFC this season.


NFC East
1. Dallas
2. New York Giants
3. Washington
4. Philadelphia

A lot of people are picking the Giants. But their schedule is brutal this season.
The Cowboys to me seem like they will be the best all-around team. Awesome defense, balanced offense and a strong kicking game makes Dallas the most complete of the East teams. As long as TO doesn’t cause too much trouble.

NFC North
1. Chicago
2. Detroit
3. Minnesota
4. Green Bay

Chicago is returning 21 of 22 starters from last season and has an even easier schedule. Even if the offense continues to struggle, the defense is too deep and too dominant in this cupcake division.
Don’t buy into the hype of Minnesota being a playoff team. They are counting on the likes of 80-year-old Brad Johnson and running back Chester Taylor (who couldn’t even win the Ravens’ starting position, when Jamal Lewis was in jail). I’m not a big fan of new head coach Brad Childress, either.

NFC South
1. Carolina
2. Atlanta
3. Tampa Bay
4. New Orleans

This division could be almost as tough as the NFC East. It also has some of the most exciting players in the NFL — Carolina receiver Steve Smith, Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick and New Orleans running back Reggie Bush.
I have to give the edge to the Panthers, though, for their playoff experience. Atlanta should be back in the playoffs this year, though.

NFC West
1. Seattle
2. Arizona
3. St. Louis
4. San Francisco

Arizona is improved, but it is still no match for Seattle. The Seahawks may have lost offensive guard Steve Hutchinson, but they made improvements at receiver with Nate Burleson and linebacker with Julian Peterson. They will go undefeated in divisional play.
San Francisco should be in the hunt for the top pick in the draft again, where they could make up for the Alex Smith mistake by drafting Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.

Check back tomorrow for the playoff predictions.

It's beginning to look more and more that Texans running back Domanick Davis will be placed on injured reserve by Sunday, ending his season before it ever got started. Even if he avoids a trip to IR at the beginning of the season, he's still likely out until October at the earliest.

Honestly, this will turn out to be another black eye for the Houston front office, which certainly hasn't won over many fans in the last few years.

The Texans could have sold the Mario Williams selection to the fans, if he helped the defense improve. But they also needed Davis to rush for his usual 1,000-plus yards and 8-10 touchdowns. Instead they have rookie Wali Lundy and second-year man Vernand Morency lining up behind David Carr in the backfield...not good.

Now I think Lundy can have a solid season in Gary Kubiak's offense, but he won't be as good as Davis or Reggie Bush, the player Houston should have drafted. I know the Texans said they needed more than a star running back to turn around the franchise. But I said then and I will continue to say now, you don't pass on getting the next Barry Sanders or Gale Sayers.

Williams could turn out to be a special player on defense, but if Davis doesn't return to his old self, the Texans will regret passing on a special talent like Bush. And their fans won't let them forget it!

The season hasn't even started yet and I am already sick and tired of Terrell Owens.

Now I thought the TO signing by Dallas was a good one this offseason, and I still think so. But hamstring gate has officially gotten out of control. Here's what we know about TO: He's a bad teammate, he loves his money and he will play hurt.

That's why I had a hard time understanding why the Cowboys didn't just wait for Owens to tell them he is 100 percent. It's not like he was going to miss a game once the regular season came around. Keep in mind, this is the same guy that played in the Super Bowl on a broken leg that wasn't completely healed.

Instead Bill Parcells forced him to come back early. Now TO is really hurt and might not be ready for opening day. It's also given the Cowboys camp a lot of unneeded drama to start what could be a very successful season.

Here's hoping the Tuna just backs off and lets TO get ready on his own timetable. He may be surprised to see what the results could be.