Roger Goodell gets a big thumbs up from me for slapping Ben Roethlisberger with a six-game suspension even if the authorities in Georgia didn't see fit to prosecute him for his college-bar bathroom escapades. But Goodell and the league get my highest mark for their smart decision to backload the schedule with division games this season. In the last 3 weeks of the season, there will be 28 division matchups, including all 16 of the games in Week 17.
Q: What effect will Roethlisberger's suspension have on the Steelers' playoff hopes?
A: Probably not as much as the departure of wide receiver Santonio Holmes and the Achilles' injuries to right tackle Willie Colon and wideout Limas Sweed.
For starters, if Roethlisberger can behave for a few months, Goodell likely will reduce his six-game suspension to four games. The Steelers play just one division game in the first month of the season - against Baltimore - and that game will be at Heinz Field. They'll rely heavily on their defense and the running of Rashard Mendenhall in Roethlisberger's absence. If Dennis Dixon or Byron Leftwich or Charlie Batch can keep mistakes to a minimum, the Steelers will be no worse than 2-2, and probably 3-1, when Roethlisberger gets back.
Q: How much better will the Redskins be with Donovan McNabb?
A: Not good enough to make the playoffs, but probably good enough to win two or three more games than they did last year when they finished 4-12. The Redskins' receiving corps isn't nearly as good as the one McNabb had in Philly, and I'm not sure what's going on at the running back position, where Mike Shanahan seems to be collecting beat-up cars with empty gas tanks. And then there's the whole Albert "I don't wanna play in a 3-4'' Haynesworth soap opera.
