2
Jan
2011
Eric Mangini deserves a third season in C-Town
Feel like starting over again? Me neither. (Source: gridironfans.com)
In a season where four NFL head coaches have been fired heading into Week 17, it doesn’t look good for Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini.
There was a sense midseason that the tenuous connection between president Mike Holmgren and Mangini could work — and should be forced to work — after the Browns consecutively dismantled the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, only to lose to the hyped-up New York Jets by a hair.
All the talk about Holmgren’s coaching roots not jiving with the Belichick/Parcells tree seemed half-baked, as the team was suddenly worth three hours of your Sunday. For a shimmering moment, the Browns were the team nobody wanted to face.
Problem is, down the stretch, the same Browns team that had played far beyond expectation during a brutal stretch in the schedule — led by galvanizing rookie quarterback Colt McCoy — dissembled against soft opponents when McCoy became the third starting passer this season to suffer a high ankle sprain. Jake Delhomme took over, the offensive line took some hits, and the attack never recovered.
Had the Browns stayed relatively healthy after the Patriots win, and polished off the few teams they were favored against, Holmgren would have nothing to point to in firing Mangini. This is a coaching staff that’s enthused large segments of the Browns’ faithful — downtrodden fans who’ve watched this team closely since its return in 1999, and finally see signs of progress.
Read the rest of this entry »
31
Dec
2010
WEEK 17 NFL THOUGHTS & PICKS: NEW YEAR’S EDITION
Winners in Bold
Carolina @ Atlanta:
Carolina ends its mess of a season against the Falcons who are having a fine year. They say that John Fox might be tapped to replace Eric Mangini if he is let go in Cleveland. Something about that is wildly depressing and stinks of resigned mediocrity of the new normal: withering job prospects, no assets, low paycheck, massive debt from an education that gets you nowhere, and a marginal chance of your NFL team winning eight games.
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland:
Speaking of Eric Mangini, his under-talented Browns take on the Steelers at home in front of the faithful. Many of us at ReadAndReact headquarters are firmly behind Coach Mangini and feel he deserves one more year to right the ship. The Browns have had a tedious revolving door of coaches and quarterbacks since they re-entered the league. Their fans at this point are listless and battered, wondering why they are being tested by God, and if he will ever show them mercy. I hope for all those toiling by the lake that the Browns absolutely destroy the Steelers this Sunday, that Holmgren looks deep into his extra large soul and decides to give Mangini one more year. Curses can’t last forever, even the biblical variety, and Mangini might be able to lead this team to the promised land yet.
The process takes longer when God has arbitrarily decided the team you coach has to suffer for 40 years (AP)
Minnesota @ Detroit:
Here’s to Brett Favre for playing football one year too many. Here’s a toast for him being completely himself, whether that is leaping around the field like a 12-year old on a playground or giving a maddening self indulgent, self-serving press conference. It is rare these days for an athlete to show any of his true self, as he will be pillaged for any misstep, wrong turn of phrase, or even smiling on the sidelines by the press, blogs, and fans alike. Favre, unlike the other professionally programmed robots, happily unleashes his id upon us all and, though many times not likeable, it is real and honest. Here’s to one of the best moments of the season, of Favre making a surprise appearance, outdoors in a snowy stadium in Minnesota, leading a touchdown drive like old times, fans delirious, scripted like a movie. Then, as quick as it started, it sadly ends with his head bouncing off the frozen turf. Favre exits the league leaving fans with a lot of wonderful memories and conflicting opinions as he heads back to his ranch in Mississippi. Perhaps like Cincinnatus he waits for another team to call or maybe he just swims in bathtubs full of money or puts on his Wranglers and heads to the local high school and with joy on his face tosses pass after pass to high school kids running fade patterns, his shadow growing larger and larger as the sun sets red in the evening Mississippi sky.
Oakland @ Kansas City:
The league would be a better place if the Raiders were a better team. A win on Sunday would bring them to eight wins and forward on the road to respectability. Kansas City on the other hand is having a dream season, the fans enjoying every moment because they aren’t sure if it’s a dream or if it’s real.
Danny, Wes and Julian celebrate a Patriots victory by jumping up and down on Tom and Gisele's hand crafted $20,000 king sized bed
Miami @ New England:
I like to think of Danny Woodhead as a loveable hobbit somehow pressed into service by the mad wizard Belichik. I imagine every time he gets the ball he screams in fear and is actually just running for his life, giants and monsters around every turn as he higgledy piggledy does his best to dash to safety. I like to imagine that after each game he goes to Tom and Gisele’s apartment and hops on the bed with his pals Wes Welker and Julian Edelman, happy to be alive as Gisele and Tom try on Uggs boots and read long letters from their old friend and leftist poet Randy Moss.
Buffalo @ New York Jets:
The Bills have been meanderingly interesting this year and the emergence of the Fitzmagic and his beard have galvanized a rust belt fan base and has inspired lonely men (and some women) in hunting cabins and ice fishing houses of upper New York to grow out their own beards in solidarity, and quite frankly for something to do. It has also inspired ReadAndReact to attempt to cajole the Amish Rifle to save his truly magnificent beard; please sign our petitionthat implores him that the world needs men with beards and he is a beacon of hope to us all. We also might create a petition to make the Jets go away. They are a wildly irritating clown show that needs to be taken down and shipped out of town.
Cincinnati @ Baltimore:
Speaking of clown shows, whether it was the poor coaching, play, or just a cavalcade of bad decisions in critical moments, this season has been an utter disaster for the Bengals. They face a typically well prepared and winning Baltimore team that could probably beat the Bengals with four guys from the practice squad and seven bottles of Gatorade.
20
Dec
2010
VIDEO: Tripgate ain’t got nothing on these guys!
Look for the hoody in the top-left corner (Image via HappyHourPolitics.com)
In the wake of the recent “Tripgate” scandal involving the New York Jets, the league is obviously taking a close look at the behavior of teams on the sideline during punts. And as it turns out, perhaps the Jets weren’t alone – or even particularly novel – in their approach to impeding the progress of gunners who drift too far into their sideline.
In fact, last week after the incident with NY strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi, former Bills pro-bowl gunner Steve Tasker actually stood up in defense of Alosi and the Jets:
“You think this is the first time [a trip] ever happened? Come on,” Tasker said. “Guys were always giving me extra shoves. You don’t want to see someone get hurt, but it’s not a big deal. Why wouldn’t you give a guy a forearm shiver? Everyone on the sideline is part of a team and they all want to win. Shoot, even the doctors are competitive.
“If [the Jets] are coached to do that, so what? Call a penalty on them. If a gunner is going to use the sideline as a weapon, like I did, why wouldn’t you want to form a road block? There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s within the rules.”
FOX Sport’s Jay Glazer also reported that in speaking with teams and special teams coaches around the league, he found that it’s actually a fairly widespread technique that quite a few teams do, in fact, coach. He even said one team has a fairly clever codename for it: “Pink Floyd”. And although some folks might consider this cheating, the fact is that if they’re operating within the rules of the game, and if the gunners drift too far into enemy territory, they can rightly be considered fair game.
But watch this incident from week 14 (the same week Tripgate occurred), where DE Tyler Brayton of the Carolina Panthers gets up off the bench to drop Falcons’ gunner Chris Owen with an elbow to the head:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
8
Dec
2010
TIME WASTER: Snack Time with Rex Ryan (game)
Not much needs to be said about this online game from Taunter.com – Goddamn Snack Time with Rex Ryan – other than it’s friggin’ FANTASTIC! The goal is fairly simple – fill Rex’s cavernous belly with delicious snacks, while avoiding the healthy food falling from above. From the game site:
Coach Rex famously wanted a goddamn snack, and now you can help feed his insatiable appetite. Take the controls of the Jets lard filled leader and try to catch every fatty treat you can. Beware of healthy snacks and the efforts of your rivals who want to foil your plan at morbid obesity.
PLAY BELOW, and keep the sound up for Rex’s hilarious commentary (like you were going to do any work for the rest of the day anyway). Instructions are in-game:
ONLINE GAME AFTER THE JUMP
6
Dec
2010
As the Jets-Pats rivalry goes, there’s never been a bigger one than this
Long simmering, the feud between the Jets and Patriots is set to explode Monday night. (Source: New York Daily News)
(Ed. note: This article was originally posted last week, but with the impending Monday night match-up on everyone’s mind today, we thought it deserved another look)
________________________
The word “rivalry” is tossed around a lot in the NFL. You hear announcers, desperate for market share, describe a pedestrian Seahawks-Chiefs tilt as a rivalry. Who’s buying that? Most “rivalries” unfold without so much as a breadcrumb on the line.
The history between the New York Jets and New England Patriots is a messy, entangled war by contrast. With both franchises notched at 9-2 atop the AFC East, you have to go back to the 1990 Monday-night meeting between the 10-1 49ers vs. the 10-1 New York Giants to find a late-season prime-time bout with equal appeal.
The lifetime record between these two teams stands at 51-50-1 in New York’s favor. Records aside, the Patriots are the Goliath, having dominated the last decade with three Super Bowl wins under the leadership of a once-per-generation quarterback talent in Tom Brady.
The Jets, after years of struggle, are at the threshold — but the long-time Jets fanatic is still haunted by ghosts: “When will the other shoe drop? When will the S.O.J.s appear from behind the Wizard’s curtain?”
A season sweep over the Patriots would send a statement league-wide: These Jets are for real.
2
Dec
2010
Li’l Bill Belichick was a fearsome O-lineman in his youth (PIC)
(Image via SportsIllustrated.com)
This photo is brilliant on so many levels. From the SportsIllustrated.com Vault: Bill Belichick as a youngster, geared up for a youth football game. In the photo, the future-HOF head coach is flanked by his parents, Steve and Debbie, in his hometown of Annapolis, MD.
Belichick’s father was an assistant football coach at Navy for 33 years, and played for the Detroit Lions before that. Li’l Bill studied closely as his father’s feet, becoming a mini-coach/film rat before the age of 10. He apparently was a pretty tenacious O-Lineman in his own right, and went on to play tight end and center at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
In this pic, Belichick looks to be around 14 years old, which would date the shot around 1966 or so. And it looks like he’s been working that same weird grimace/smile of his since at least then.
25
Nov
2010
LIVE GAME BLOG: Turkey Day Edition
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
THREE GAMES ON TAP TODAY: New England at Detroit – 12:30 p.m.; New Orleans at Dallas – 4:15 p.m.; Cincinnati at New York Jets – 8:20 p.m. (all times EST).
News and notes:
¶ New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, listed as questionable for Thursday’s early Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions with a foot injury, will start, according to Ian R. Rapoport of the Boston Herald.
¶ The Herald reports that running back Fred Taylor will also play for the Patriots.
PATS-LIONS:
¶ Lions 7, Pats 3: Detroit down inside the Pats’ 1-yard line. Shaun Hill sneaks for the first down — first and goal. As the Jets’ Damien Woody tweets, “NE is seeing what we saw in Detroit 3 weeks ago….not the same ‘ol Lions!”
¶ Next play: Maurice Morris rolls in for the touchdown.
¶ Brady pacing the sideline.
¶ Thanks to Rhino’s Sports Pub for reminding us about one the greatest Thanksgiving Day games of all time: the Miami Dolphins versus the Dallas Cowboys in a blizzard, circa 1993. The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl, but this was one of their most bizarre moments of the season — and a play Leon Lett will never forget. VIDEO ABOVE.
Game coverage and commentary continues in the comments section…
20
Nov
2010
We are family
Thanks to the New England Patriots (@realpatriots via Twitter) for this: The Pats, on a sunny, wind-swept New England morning, have just gathered to take their 2010 team photo. This on the eve of their showdown with the Indianapolis Colts. See what our very own SteveRodgers predicts for tomorrow’s game right here.
Here’s a link to the original image.
Can you find the long-haired chap who throws the passes? (Source: Patriots)
17
Nov
2010
Enter Drew Bledsoe and the 3-6 Megaton New England Patriots
In 1994, the Browns and Pats -- and their now-legendary coaches -- met in a classic post-season chess match. (Source: AP)
I want to get down to discussing a few things about this league we follow. The wife and I have a newborn and it’s been a challenge for me to get a lot of football posting done the past few weeks. We love having the little guy around — but he’s not afraid to let us know when he needs something.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about the state of NFL teams sitting at 3-6, 2-7, 4-5 (maybe because, after the loss to the Jets, I saw the Browns’ playoff hopes move from “marginal” to “wicked-slim”). Entering Week 11, we’re starting to see teams slip away for good. Staring down a gun barrel with their season on the brink, a flock of lost squads are a step away from extinction — and they know it.
Sure, they’ll play for pride, they say, but when a team is deep-sixed before Thanksgiving, with key players hitting IR, where does it draw its hope… (Hold on. baby crying—————needs to be changed——————————–)
[17 minutes later]
Some teams, on the brink of elimination, suddenly rocket to life. The 2008 San Diego Chargers opened their season 4-8 before ripping off four consecutive wins and squeaking into the playoffs at 8-8. Once there, they bomb-blasted the 12-4 Indianapolis Colts in the Wildcard (only adding to my feelings of wild apathy for Peyton Manning, but that’s another column).
A memorable turn for San Diego, but I don’t see that scenario unfolding in… (Baby melting——-will be————————-back)
…in this year’s AFC race. The conference looks prepped to send nothing less than 10-win teams to the playoffs.
Looking at which teams can still mathematically win 10 games, the bleakest starting point would be 3-6.
Do we have examples of 3-6 teams winning out? If so, not many. By Week 11, three-win teams (often sitting at three wins because of a genuine lack of talent or debilitating injuries) don’t often transform into world-beaters.
Still, do we have any examples?
Yes. We do.
The best that comes to mind — the 1994 New England Patriots, coached by Bill…
(baby needs to be rocked and stilled into sleep using vacuum cleaner sounds———————-be back in 35 minutes or so—————-)
…Parcells, with a 22-year old, coming-of-age Drew Bledsoe, in his second season. The team got off to a rocky start but showed promise by playing with proven opponents nobody expected them to compete against.
This young Patriots team forged a rather non-Parcells identity down the stretch by throwing the ball all over the place.
People were surprised by Parcells’ — well — flexibility to embrace a team that relied on the air attack.
Sitting at 3-6, and knowing the season was on the line, Parcells shocked football land by utterly unleashing Bledsoe against an unsuspecting 7-3 Minnesota Vikings team. The Pats had nothing to lose and Bledsoe lit up the sky, completed 45 of 70 passes for a whopping 426 yards and three touchdowns, with zero interceptions.
It was transformative.
New England went on to win seven games in a row
That ’94 Pats team ultimately met the 11-5 Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wildcard.
The Browns, led by a raw, less-experienced Bill Belichick, allowed the fewest points in the AFC that season. The showdown between Parcells and his prized student had everything you could ask for in a playoff game.
8
Nov
2010
Suddenly, the Cleveland Browns
Long disregarded, Mangini's Browns have forged an identity. (Source: Getty Images)
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
The National Football League, thinking so little of the Cleveland Browns heading into the 2010 season, scheduled them for 16 consecutive games at 1 p.m. EST.
Games cloistered away on local TV affiliates in Ohio factory towns on the cusp of another winter. Towns, today, seeing its young become Steelers fans — making the simple choice between a Teflon, Super Bowl-winning house of power dressed to kill; and a Browns team endlessly in search of itself.
In 2009, when Eric Mangini preached “process” in press conferences sandwiched between tumbling losses to every team with a nickname, it played like further double-speak from a coach angling to collect a few more paychecks before the hammer dropped.
He asked Cleveland to patiently wait as he crafted a team of “football players” — using the lessons he learned in New England under Bill Belichick and which he employed, to some extent, with the New York Jets.
Browns fans, audience to a laundry list of traveling salesmen promising a “culture change,” were numb to Mangini’s vision. In the eyes of most, he was unconvincing in the role and asking for trust before he’d earned it. Brutalized in the press, he refused to lash out, but maintained his composure through a 1-11 start.
Working with a bottom-of-the-barrel roster, Mangini was defined by the mess he inherited from Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage.
Five-hundred miles away, Rex Ryan inherited a Jets team built largely by Mangini — one that looked strikingly familiar to Mangini’s evolving Browns squad — and was lauded as a savior.
Rex took over a house that needed painting and the garden fixed up. Mangini took over a smoldering mess. His first season was spent hauling away the wreckage, clearing the ground, and starting over — with football players.
In consecutive wins over the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, Browns fans are seeing the substantive results of Mangini’s blueprint.
Gone are the hotheads and divas, now someone else’s problem.
Case in point: Braylon Edwards. Now a Jet, Edwards has underachieved in New York, continued to flap his mouth and been nabbed in a drunk driving incident — in short, a distraction for Ryan and the Jets when they least needed one.
If there is a player who should walk with humility, it is Edwards. Instead, as the Browns and Jets prepare to clash Sunday, Edwards tweets, “all you Cleveland Browns fans, 17 is coming back and you better bring ya damn popcorn.”
Considering Edwards’ underwhelming body of work, the last thing he needs to do is provide bulletin-board material for the Jets’ opponents.
This is exactly what Mangini saw as poisonous.
The Browns roster may lack a game-breaking wideout, and that will cost them until they find one — but they’re also free of the cancerous locker room elements that divided the house for so long.
(Part 2 coming later this week.)
