Wrong veteran got traded on deadline day

by | Oct 15, 2008 | NFL News, NFL Random Thoughts

Tony Gonzalez is 32-years-old. He’s in the middle of his 12th season with the Kansas City Chiefs. During those 11-plus seasons he’s played in 179 of a possible 181 games. He’s caught 841 passes for 10,075 yards and caught 68 touchdowns while becoming a serviceable blocker as well.

After a couple seasons where his yardage and touchdown numbers fell, he played 16 games in 2007, catching 99 passes for 1,172 yards and five scores, showing he was far from done.

Gonzalez arrived in Kansas City in 1997. During his rookie year, the Chiefs went 13-3. They were upset in the divisional playoff round by Denver, but Gonzalez must have thought that the NFL was a piece of cake. That was the end of a collection of playoff runs for the Chiefs, however. In the five years that followed, the Chiefs won seven, nine, seven, six, and eight games.

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Mangini Names Son after Brett Favre

by | Oct 12, 2008 | NFL News, NFL Random Thoughts

New York Jets coach Eric Mangini’s wife gave birth to their third son Friday.  Apparently fulfilling a promise made by Mangini to Brett Favre while convincing him to join the Jets earlier this year, the child was named Zack Brett, joining thousands of parents in Wisconsin that made a similar mistake.

Even more ironic–Friday was also Favre’s birthday.

But, we have to wonder what Mangini will think of having a son named Brett when Favre is throwing picks late in the season.  Or knocking the Jets out of the playoffs.

Or playing his “Yes I will, No I won’t” retirement game again this offseason.

Bengals sign Benson – what a shock

by | Oct 1, 2008 | NFL News

During his three years with the Chicago Bears, Cedric Benson was reportedly disliked. He supposedly had poor work habits and he proved himself this past summer prone to getting arrested.

He was arrested twice in a couple months, once for boating while intoxicated and the other time for drunken driving in Austin, Texas.

A grand jury acquitted him of both drinking-related offenses, but he reportedly in the past had guys on his own team rooting against him and for Thomas Jones when the two were battling for a starting position. Despite being a first round pick, Benson rushed for just 10 touchdowns and 1,593 yards – in three seasons.

So how fitting is it, then, that the team willing to take a chance on letting Benson resurrect his career is the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that has collected lawbreakers and violent-but-underachieving personalities over the years.

Still, a poll at www.cincyjungle.com indicates that 60 percent of 165 voters as of 10:30 central time this morning approve of the move. Bengals fans must have become numb.

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…)

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.”

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