Jones Calls Cowboys the Liberace of the NFL?

by | Oct 2, 2008 | NFL Random Thoughts

Pretty much any fan of the NFL (with the possibly exception of some homers in the Dallas area) realize that Jerry Jones isn’t the greatest when it comes to keeping his mouth shut.  His fine from criticizing Ed Hochuli earlier this season re-affirmed that.

But today, we noticed on ProFootballTalk.com that Jones has found a new target (or re-discovered an old target): The Houston Texans.  But at first glance, we didn’t take Jones’ verbal jab in the way he probably intended.

“The Cowboys have never been about checkered tablecloths and boots and hats,” Jones said. “They’ve been about glitz and glitter.  Leave the other stuff to the Houston Texans.”

Our first thought (as shown in the headline) was: “Jerry Jones thinks his Cowboys are the Liberace of the NFL?  While the Texans are the John Wayne?”

(more…)

Davis Fires Kiffin

by | Sep 30, 2008 | NFL News

In a move typical of Al Davis and Oakland Raiders management, the team fired head coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday.  In a move even more typical of Davis (see Shanahan, Mike), he had a press conference to announce that the firing was for cause, and that he would not honor the rest of Kiffin’s contract.

At the press conference, which was described by some as “rambling,” Davis called Kiffin a “professional liar,” showed the media a letter which apparently was sent to Kiffin on September 14th (apparently to refute that he and Kiffin had not spoken since before the season), claimed that Kiffin wanted to take the Arkansas head coaching job last season (that went to Bobby Petrino) and approached Davis in the off-season about getting out of his contract without financial penalty (which Davis said he agreed to, and even drew up a contract for), and that he had to take the blame for not firing him earlier, saying the “propaganda and lying” had “gone on for weeks and months and over a year.”

Basically, Davis confirmed that either the NFL needs to step in and force Davis to hire someone to run the organization for him (good luck), or Raiders fans can continue to count on the team not being very competitive until Al Davis dies. (more…)

Week 3 Update & Week 4 Picks

by | Sep 28, 2008 | NFL Picks

All right, time for the weekly update.  In our Ranked Picks, we actually went 13-3 last week, but again missed a couple of high pointers (15 New England, 8 Carolina), which kept us out of the money.  Head to head, I dropped another game to Andy–he went 7-1, while I went 6-2.  That leaves us at 19-4 for Andy to 12-11 for me for the year.

In straight picks, Andy went 13-3 (missing New England, Carolina, and Cleveland), while I went 12-4 (New England, Carolina, Chicago, and Indy).  Andy is 35-12 for the season, while I am 30-17.

Against the Spread, I had a great week, at 11-5, compared to 7-9 for Andy.  That puts him at 17-13-1 for the year (throwing out week 1, since we didn’t do individual picks), and puts me at 19-11-1.

Here are the picks for this week–when the byes come up in the ranked pool, college games are substituted.  We didn’t bother to pick those head to head.

UPDATE*** We were 3/3 in college games yesterday, so we’re already at 21 points for the week.  Woo-hoo!

ZoneBlitz
(Rank)
Andy
(Picks)

Tony
(Picks)

Andy
(AtS)
Tony
(AtS)
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
South Florida @ North Carolina State SF (8)
Illinois @ Penn State PS (12)
Purdue @ Notre Dame ND (1)
Atlanta Falcons @ Carolina Panthers Car (10)
Car
Car
Car (-7)
Car (-7)
Arizona Cardinals @ NY Jets NYJ (4)
NYJ
NYJ
NYJ (-1.5)
NYJ (-1.5)
Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals Cin (2)
Cle
Cin
Cle (+3.5)
Cin (-3.5)
Minnesota Vikings @ Tennessee Titans Ten (5)
Ten
Ten
Ten (-3)
Ten (-3)
Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers GB (6)
GB
GB
GB (+1.5)
GB (+1.5)
San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints NO (9)
SF
SF
NO (-5)
SF (+5)
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars Jac (13)
Jac
Jac
Jac (-7)
Jac (-7)
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs Den (16)
Den
Den
Den (-9)
Den (-9)
Buffalo Bills @ St. Louis Rams Buf (15)
Buf
Buf
Buf (-8)
Buf (-8)
San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders SD (14)
SD
SD
SD (-7.5)
SD (-7.5)
Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys Dal (11)
Dal
Dal
Was (+11)
Was (+11)
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears Phi (7)
Phi
Phi
Phi (-3)
Phi (-3)
Monday, September 29th
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers Pit (3)
Pit
Pit
Pit (-6)
Pit (-6)

Buffalo Bills Playing the Game Right

by | Sep 27, 2008 | NFL News, NFL Random Thoughts

The Buffalo Bills were one team that, had we published pre-season picks, would have been on my team to watch list.  I’ve been a fan of Trent Edwards dating back to last season, Marshawn Lynch proved last year he was solid, and their offensive line was solid.  Add a young, improving defense, and a stable of receivers that will benefit from red zone target James Hardy, and I figured they should push for a wild card berth.

Now, with Tom Brady out, and the Bills 3-0, they might be looking for even more.

Granted, they haven’t played the cream of the crop in the NFL yet, but nothing like beating up on some bad teams and winning late to build some confidence for a young team.

And, like the headline says, they’re playing the game right.  How so?

Well, last week, in their comeback win against Oakland, Raiders receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins showboated his way into the end zone on a long touchdown.  So, Bills second year safety Donte Whitner exacted revenge, tackling him eight yards into the end zone.  The play resulted in a penalty for Whitner, but earned the respect of his teammates. And former Bills. And the fans.

And most importantly, random Web site operators.

Rams Worse Than Self-Imploding?

by | Sep 27, 2008 | NFL News, NFL Random Thoughts, NFL Rumors

I think when people look back at the 2008 season for the St. Louis Rams, the one thing that will jump out is how the lack of clarity around the ownership of the team doomed their season.  And possibly their next few seasons.

There were rumors dating back to last season that coach Scott Linehan was going to get fired. Those rumors proved to be false, and then in January, team owner Georgia Frontiere passed away, and her son Chip Rosenbloom assumed control–but promised not to make any changes until he could “evaluate the team.”

(more…)