JaMarcus Russell Hits Vegas In Style

Sung to the tune of John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Crumblin’ Down”

Some people ain’t got no damn shame
Sayin’ I’m in Vegas
Instead of with the team after the game
I can’t trust ’em
I can’t love em
like I do my Bentley

Tell me what else I can I do to earn your respect
a third-string QB is what you’ll get
My legacy will not be one of greatness
when you lifted me up, I was all about fakeness
Now you’re all seeing red
and want off with my head

I saw my picture in the paper
Read the news today, oh boy
And now you people
know the real me, the rumors are all true

When the walls
Come tumblin’ down
When the walls
Come crumblin’, crumblin’
When the walls
Come tumblin’, tumblin’
Down
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Most people say I’m lazy
That I’m unappreciative
And my opinion of myself can’t see the truth
Hey, at least I don’t need to look over my shoulder
To see what I’m after
Everybody’s got their problems
but not me
I’ve got money and you don’t

Don’t confuse your problems
With my issues
To me it’s perfectly clear
You can bend me
You can break me
But you better stand clear

When the walls
Come tumblin’ down
When the walls
Come crumblin’, crumblin’
When the walls
Come tumblin’, tumblin’
Crumblin’, tumblin’
Down

 

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Saints To March In Without Charles Grant

Recently NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been tossing around the idea of extra draft picks for those teams who play their starters during an end of the season, sometimes meaningless game. 

Maybe the Saints could use such a thing to pick up a defensive end in order to make a run at Super Bowl XLV. That’s right I said Super Bowl XLV not XLIV.

Why?

Because defensive end Charles Grant is now injured. 

When did this happen?

During last weeks loss to the Carolina Panthers.

You heard correctly, the New Orleans Saints will be without starting defensive end Charles Grant for the playoffs. He was placed on injured reserve today. 

As his teammates take the rest of the week lightly, Mr. Grant gets to rest after having surgery yesterday to repair a tricep muscle injury.

Last season he missed the final eight games after surgery to repair the other tricep. An injury suffered during the Saints win over the San Diego Chargers at Wembley Stadium,  in London, England.

I understand that injuries occur during the season, it goes with the territory. I understand the lasting effects of concussions and how they occur due to the brain shaking back and forth during legal hits.

What I don’t get is how so many players are suffering from sports hernias or torn triceps.

Maybe there is room for legal muscle building additives, prescribed by doctors to help these men as the sacrifice their bodies for our entertainment.

But if its entertainment you are looking for, be sure to stay tuned in as Coach Payton has promised to use his offensive and defensive starters on special teams as well during the playoff run.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2009/10 NFL Playoffs

Now that the regular season has come to an end 12 teams are still alive, those that have made the NFL’s postseason. With several of the powerhouse teams skidding, the Super Bowl now looks to be anyone’s to take. Here’s a glimpse at those teams who will be fighting through the postseason in hopes of coming away with an NFLChampionship

Begin Slideshow

Packers Must Win Battle Upfront to Contain Warner, Cardinals

Forget Larry Fitzgerald against Charles Woodson. Ok, don’t forget it. It’s probably the sexiest player-player match-up in the first round of the playoffs, but it won’t decide the game Sunday when the Cardinals play the Packers in Glendale.

Listen to the call of an NFL football long enough and you’ll inevitably here talk about the work in “the trenches” that goes unnoticed. The color analyst will spout cliché phrases about the “warriors” or the “big uglies” that don’t get the credit they deserve.

We get it.

By now, anyone who has watched more than three football games in his or her life understands the important of winning the battle upfront (see, there I go with the clichés now).

And for as many “sexy” match-ups as there will be at University Phoenix stadium, none will weigh more heavily on the game than the Packers defensive line against the Cardinals offensive line.

Neither team has the defensive backs to cover the opposing skill players. Neither team will likely be able to disguise coverages very well. And neither team figures to do much with their ground game (where the Packers hold a decided edge anyway). So where do we go from there?

Dom Capers’ defense is predicated on winning individual match-ups, not necessarily exotic blitzes and tricky formations as you may think. The poor defensive outings early in the season were less schematic and more performance-based.

The Packers will not have the luxury of bringing pressure and blitzes every down because the Cardinals simply have too many weapons and Kurt Warner is just too smart and accurate with the ball on hot reads.

And Kurt Warner is the key to the Arizona Cardinals. Warner played most or all of the game in four of the team’s six losses. In those four games, he threw 11 of his 14 interceptions on the season and was sacked a total of 13 times.

Green Bay’s defense will have to generate pressure with four and five man pressures because with Al Harris out, the Packers otherwise deep secondary is vulnerable to this explosive group of receivers for Arizona.

If the Packers defensive front can win at the point without having to bring six and seven men on a pass-rush, the Packers defensive backs could be Ahmad Carroll and Antwan Edwards.

The teams who beat the Cards: the Colts, Panthers, and 49ers (twice), don’t have the talent the Packers have in their secondaries even with Al Harris out. Green Bay’s secondary features two Pro Bowl players and the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, and took more passes from opposing quarterbacks than any team in the league this year.

With the Cardinals best offensive lineman, Wayne Gandy, out with injury, it should be even easier for the Packers to take advantage of match-ups and win their individual battles at the line of scrimmage.  

Fox wants you to be watching Fitzgerald/Woodson. And you should. But if Clay Matthews and co. are near Kurt Warner as often as Woodson is near Fitzgerald (which will likely be every play), Fox won’t get to show many Fitzgerald highlight, just Warner picking himself up off the ground. On his heels, or better yet on his back, is exactly where Packer fans want him.

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Hey Denver, Where’s the Love for Josh McDaniels?

His tenure started with a bang. Down goes Cutler , in a way, is what should have rang in the ears of NFL fans everywhere.

Of course, you had your Jay Cutler haters, who shrugged off the bold move by new head coach Josh McDaniels to challenge the rising superstar quarterback.

Bold? Yes, you’d say.

Stupid? Hell no.

And in the end, that may have been the correct assumption.

But then, after the trade that for all intents and purposes landed them Knowshon Moreno and Robert Ayers came the Brandon Marshall saga.

It poured into our media outlets for the rest of the summer, quietly drowning out the pain (or happiness?) of the so-called prima dona Cutler exiting Denver.

And then the Broncos started the season with an extremely unlucky (and dare we say lucky?) win on a tipped pass that was scooped-up by Brandon Stokley and raced in for a 12-7 Denver win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Victory bred emotion. Emotion bred momentum. Momentum bred more victories, and then the hugging began.

Oh, the jumping, the hand-holding, the swearing on camera, and all that jazz.

The Broncos were 6-0, McDaniels and his odd team of no-names and over-achievers were winning the hearts everywhere, er, in Denver.

It wasn’t stylish. The offense wasn’t always pretty. But they were getting it done McDaniels’ way.

Naturally, as we’ve already learned, it’s his way or the highway.

Then came the bye week and a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Then a loss to the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oh, but these were two “good losses”. Losing to the defending champs can’t hurt one’s stock, right?

Maybe so, but it only got worse from there.

Not only did the Broncos go on to lose to the Washington Redskins the following week, but they even dropped a fourth straight game in a huge divisional match with the San Diego Chargers, and it wasn’t even close.

In fact, all four of their losses after starting 6-0 were by 10 or more points, and three of them were by 18 or more.

Josh McDaniels had apparently lost control of his team and was staring at a full collapse as the Broncos entered a pivotal Thanksgiving showdown with the New York Giants, who had already endured their own four-game losing streak.

Denver escaped that game victoriously and lived to fight another day—several other days, in fact—and were alive in the AFC wild card race until the very final week.

But it’s that final week that has developed into the most concerning aspect of Denver’s season.

Forget about the second four-game losing streak that ended their season, as they blew a close contest with the Kansas City Chiefs and then watched as a lesser team kicked them to the curb and out of the playoff race.

That happened, and it’s over and done with.

The question now is who is responsible? Do we blame Kyle Orton for not doing what Jay Cutler maybe could have done?

Do we blame Brandon Marshall for causing another rift between himself and the coaching staff? Do we question his motives (or lack thereof) for sitting out the final week?

Or do we start pointing the finger at the very man who we promised not to question?

Josh McDaniels sent Jay Cutler away, and the Denver fans asked no questions. They gladly accepted the two extra draft picks (and another in 2010) and had high hopes for a Kyle Orton-led offense.

And when Brandon Marshall stood in the way of what McDaniels was trying to accomplish, many agreed that he, too, should be sent elsewhere. Let the coach be the coach, the players be the players, and so on.

As hard as it is to admit that the seemingly egotistical McDaniels is to blame for Denver’s fallout, Denver fans need to suck it up and give some much-deserved applause.

McDaniels is a rookie at this, but he didn’t coach like a rookie. He beat his former boss, started 6-0 with his first NFL team, showed a cocky quarterback the door, and lived to tell about it.

Then when his prima dona receiver started making a fuss about a sore hamstring, he calmly informed him that he’d be sitting out and didn’t guarantee him a spot in the starting lineup if the Broncos were to make the playoffs, either.

McDaniels didn’t do much to stop his team from sliding from 6-0 to 8-8, but there’s a strong argument that there wasn’t much he could do, either.

The fact is, this wasn’t (and probably still isn’t) a very good football team. McDaniels over-achieved in his first season, and he took a bunch of over-achievers along with him.

Kyle Orton isn’t the long-term solution. The defense is progressing but is inconsistent.

And as for Brandon Marshall, well, they call him “Baby T.O.” for a reason. It’s because he’s a joke when it comes to character, but he’s a phenomenal player that can change games.

Josh McDaniels knows everything we know and then some. He knows Marshall (and Eddie Royal) could have helped his team get into the playoffs.

But he also knows that guys like Marshall are what keep his team from winning it all.

It’s about the big picture for McDaniels, and it always has been.

It’s time we all start looking in the same direction he is.

This and more NFL articles can be found here .

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Mike Shanahan Signs On with the Washington Redskins: So, What Now?

Mike Shanahan has reportedly accepted the Washington Redskins’ offer to become their next head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal worth $7 million annually. 

So, what now? Who goes? Who stays? More importantly, what will happen to embattled quarterback Jason Campbell? 

Even money says that Campbell is out. Shanahan will want to bring in a new guy to mold, and Campbell has been far too ineffective to justify giving him a new contract. Besides, the kid could probably use a change of scenery.

It’s possible that the Skins will target either Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy in this year’s draft as either would fit the prototype that Shanahan loves.  Bradford’s shoulder is a concern, but in Shanahan’s system, the quarterback is protected by two elements: a good offensive line and a solid running game. 

As long as whomever he chooses can make that short to intermediate throw that is so key in a Shanahan run offense, then he should be fine. 

The offensive line is another animal altogether.

Plagued by injuries and poor play, the line could definitely use some retooling. I’m not sure where you would need to start to get things going in the right direction, but this is for sure: they need a better offseason training regimen. 

The line was piecemeal throughout the season, and that meant that guys never really gelled. 

If the line is going to get better, it will start with getting guys healthy first and figuring out who’s dispensable second. 

The run game should be fine—for now.

Clinton Portis is due a large sum of money this season, and he fits the running style that his new coach likes. Portis played for Shanahan in Denver and should have no trouble picking up any of the old schemes. 

Portis is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and the Skins could be looking to find a relative steal in the draft without having to pay a pretty penny in free agency.

That said, if he’s looking to bring back some old blood, Mike Bell of the Saints will be a free agent at the end of the season, and he ran the ball well for Shanahan in 2006 as a Bronco. 

The arrival of Shanahan in the NFC should be interesting as the East is loaded with teams that all have Super Bowl aspirations and the players in place to get them there. However, the Skins have a long way to go to get where their new coach is likely to want them to be, and that means 2010 will be as much of a crap shoot as 2009. 

Even so, it will still likely bring a more focused and disciplined squad than this season did. By virtue of subtraction, the Skins already look like a much better team. Zorn was simply not the right guy for the job and that showed in the overall effort, or lack thereof, of his team. 

I expect to see a bit of housecleaning in Washington once Mike Shanahan is officially introduced, and that will be a very good thing.

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Giants and Broncos Show It’s Not How You Start, But How You Finish a Season

For all of the NFL followers upset with their team falling short of the playoffs, no fan bases may be more frustrated than those of the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.

The Giants and Broncos are perfect examples of how nothing in the NFL is guaranteed, no matter what the situation seems like. Both teams appeared to be on their way to at least a Wild Card berth after the first month and a half of the regular season.

After all the talk surrounding the Giants in the offseason about how they would struggle without a top wide receiver since Plaxico Burress was serving his sentence in prison. Instead, their young receiving core consisting of Steve Smith and Mario Manningham made life easier for Eli Manning as New York jumped out to a 5-0 start. They seemed to be on their way to a second-straight NFC East title and one of the top teams in the conference.

Instead, the Giants fell harder than a school-yard kid playing tag without his shoe laces tied. Since their 5-0 start, New York suffered a four-game losing skid on their way to finishing the season 8-8. Not only did they lose their final two games of the season to the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings, but they were blown-out by a combined score of 85-16.

The Denver Broncos found themselves in a similar situation to the Giants as they started off the 2009 season 6-0. Four of the their first six wins came against teams playing in the postseason (Bengals, Cowboys, Patriots, and Chargers).

Since then, they went 2-8 over their next 10 games and fell just short of the playoffs for the second straight year, including a 44-24 loss in their final regular season game at home to the 4-12 Kansas City Chiefs. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels made the decision to bench wide receiver Brandon Marshall after he was late to a therapy session for a hamstring injury. 

Both the Giants and Broncos suffered collapses that will be fresh in their minds throughout the offseason. The fact they were able to begin the season with such impressive starts only makes their situation even more painful.

Unfortunately, none of that matters now since they can’t change the regular season has come to an end with the playoff seedings already set. All the Giants and Broncos can do now is learn from their mistakes and use this season as motivation to come back even stronger in 2010.

Dan Parzych is the founder of the new NFCEastFootball.com

 

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The Tennessee Titans’ 2010 Wishlist

They say defense wins championships.

But for next year, the Tennessee Titans would be happy if it merely bred continuity.

Yes, it’s true that coach Jeff Fisher almost always seems to find a way to rally his troops and avoid a losing record.  But most folks in Nashville long for those halcyon days of the early aughts, when year-by-year competitiveness was the norm.

Ever since then, it has been one step forward, two steps back.  

Or, in the case of this season, two steps back and one step forward.  

So, what are the ideal scenarios that could unfold over the next few months?  Here is a look at some; from the jackpot idealism to the ho-hum realism. 

 

The Players (Defense)

A few chin-stroking prognosticators point to the offense, but the defense is what seems to be in the most need of help.  

For the most part, that is.  But more on that later.  

No, the biggest difference the Titans can make in the draft and free agency (sort of, given the looming non-capped 2010) is to find leadership to replace Keith Bulluck.  

Whether or not he is actually gone next year or not is incidental—even if he stays, a successor will need to be groomed. 

In addition, a playmaking game changer is sorely needed.  Right now, the stars on the defense are solid and respected leaders, at best.    

However, Tennessee needs an Ed Reed or Dwight Freeney; players who command just as much attention and respect as their more flashy offensive counterparts.  

Let’s face it: not since Jevon Kearse, equipped with his Lawrence Taylor starter kit, have the Titans had that on that side of the ball.

Adam “Pacman” Jones showed flashes of brilliance, but was never able to sustain it.

This story’s picture of Ndamukong Suhh is perhaps wishful thinking.  Chances are, he won’t be around by the time the (in this case, dubiously) resurgent Titans get their low-ish draft choice.  

But one gets the point; a difference maker is needed to compliment the good offense. 

 

The Players (Offense)

For the most part, Tennessee is set here.  

Well…maybe not “set,” but there are not exactly any gaping holes, either.  

Granted, a true number one receiver is what comes to the minds of most when looking at the free agent market.  

But that wouldn’t exactly be the best choice, considering the notorious ego’s of the money receivers and how they would potentially fit in with the Titans’ offense.  

See, as most know, the Titans offense runs through running back Chris Johnson.  The Brandon Marshalls and Terrell Owens’ of the world will most likely not get the 20-21 catch games that they enjoyed elsewhere.

They would simply be proven complements to bolster the offense, not sustain it. 

There is the possibility that a replacement might need to be groomed for the aging center Kevin Mawae or tight end Alge Crumpler.

However, the majority of the positions are solid and have much to build on going into next year.  

 

The Intangibles

Season-to-season momentum is the proverbial unicorn of the NFL, especially in this day and age of unprecedented parity.  

For instance, last year’s 13-3, number one seed success translated into virtually nothing this season for the Titans.  

And that’s with the majority of the starters returning.  

That said, consistency is the the name of the game next season.  Yes, Tennessee’s quasi-inspirational turnaround this year was a sight to see.  

But most people would take a more even-keeled, Baltimore Ravens-esque, playoff-bound season over the one that the Titans had.  

Simply put, players need to play to the level that they’re capable.  It may sound simple enough, but as was witnessed this year, it’s easier said than done.  

Throw in a few key draft picks and free agent pickups, and who knows what could happen next season.  

In a perfect world, there will be less peaks and valleys, and there won’t be two seasons to write about.

 

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Mike Shanahan To Be Named Washington Redskins Head Coach

The Washington Redskins stuck another hand in the cookie jar and, for the moment, have come out on top as big winners, yet again.

Former Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan has agreed to a five-year deal worth roughly $7 million per year.

Shanahan reportedly was also given the VP of football operations title, which will give him the final say in almost every move dealing with his players and coaching staff.

Due to Shanahan’s excellent offensive history, the Redskins can now focus (and take their time) on bringing in a strong-minded defensive guru to keep their top 10 defense playing at a high level.

The Skins’ offense, which ranked 22nd overall in the league, was an inconsistent disaster all season, and the erratic performance of the passing game and poor play-calling led to the inevitable firing of former head coach Jim Zorn.

The hiring of Shanahan bodes well for former Denver running back, Clinton Portis, while likely meaning the end for young signal caller, Jason Campbell.

There are a number of directions the Redskins will move, starting immediately, but with an offensive mind like Shanahan’s, a turnaround could be coming more quickly than some would think.

With Brandon Marshall becoming a restricted free agent and non-verbally cutting ties with the Broncos, look for Shanahan to pursue the disgruntled star receiver in a trade, as the new coach and VP begins to make a number of moves that should change the face of the Redskins offense.

For more NFL news and articles, check out the NFL Daily Dose .

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Shanahan, You The Man: Redskins Get a New Chief.

This much is for sure, Redskins owner Dan Snyder doesn’t waste time. As swiftly as he said good-bye to former head coach Jim Zorn, he gets Mike Shanahan to agree to a five year contract to take over the head coaching reigns and the added duties of Vice president of football operations for the Washington Redskins .

Shanahan will work closely with the Skins newly crowned executive vice president and general manager Bruce Allen, but will have the ultimate authority on football decisions. Shanahan will be introduced as the Redskins head coach tomorrow afternoon.

The Denver Post is reporting that Shanny’s contract will be somewhere in the Neighborhood of $7 million a year.

 

This deal of course, is of great interest to the Denver Broncos , who fired Shanahan a year ago. His deal with Washington now means the Broncos will recoup $7 million in offset money over the next two seasons, under the terms of the agreement they had with the Shanahan.

 

From a coaching standpoint, the NFC East just got a bit more competitive.

 

 

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