Re: "Cincinnati"

Zartan knew damn well he would drag me out of the woodwork with his post on the results of his first-round picks. It's very likely that he didn't really mean what he said but knew it would send me into a chin-jutting, mouth-frothing-at-the rage. Either way, I am happy to oblige. To demonstrate my self-control, I shall refrain from using any sarcasm.

The Steelers have won 14 of their last 17 games against the Bengals. This season, they split their two games. The game that the Steelers won was in Cincinnati. The score of that game was 27-6, Pittsburgh, until Cincy scored a meaningless TD in the final minutes. The final score of the other game was 38-31, Cincinnati. Carson Palmer played in both games.

Yes, the Bengals would have done better with Palmer in, but even then it's absurd to believe that his presence alone would have unquestionably won the game. It was the first play, and that 70-yard pass that he completed could have been the high point of a very bad day for him.

If, despite this, you still wish to consider your pick a correct one, there is hardly anything I can do about it. But I would demand that you also consider the Oakland Raiders to have one more Super Bowl ring, the New England Patriots one less, and judge for yourself whether the Philadelphia Eagles could have defeated the Gruden-led Raiders in search of their second straight title at the 2003 Super Bowl.