Last week we were talking about quarterbacks in trouble of riding the pine, this week there are now two coaches riding no pine. On Monday the St. Louis Rams fired head coach Scott Linehan and on Tuesday the Oakland Raiders fired head coach Lane Kiffin. The Linehan firing made a bit more sense than the Kiffin firing, the Rams actually had some talent on the offensive side of the ball. The Raiders defense was sometimes mentioned as being good, but that was in major part because there was really nothing good to say about their offense. You all remember what your mothers said to your growing up right? “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” The first quarter of the season is done for many teams, add these few key points to your football psyche heading into week 5:
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger needs to get his offense rolling sooner.
Defense Wins Championships, but Definitely Not TV Ratings
Last year when the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted a Monday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins, it was fun to watch. There was hardly any scoring, the final score was 3-0, but fun because they were playing in the rain and the field was a soaked sponge full of mud. While watching the game I thought the old NFL Films voice would chime in, “It was a rainy Monday night, and their was one thing that was for certain, this contest between the Steelers and Dolphins would be a muddy affair.” There was one time when the Dolphins punted and the ball stuck right in the ground when it landed! Now look me straight faced in the eye and tell me that’s not entertainment. This year was a little different story for the Steelers hosting the Baltimore Ravens, no mud and no rain, just a lot of ‘ugh’ from the Steelers offense. Midway through the third quarter the Steelers had amassed 69 total yards on offense, they had more punts than first downs. While most fans were about to poke their own eyes out, fans in SEC country were yelling “Now that’s real SEC football!” to their television sets. It was ugly, the fans were booing, and some were waving their ‘terrible towels‘ with the Steelers offense on the field in hopes that they would help their team. I think it did, the Steelers pushed on the gas and sent the game into overtime where place kicker Jeff Reed made the game winning field goal. After the game Reed said he gets too much credit and that his foot is the one that did it. Hmm, why do we give any quarterback credit? It’s just their arm. By that same principle, Michael Jordan deserves absolutely ZERO credit, it was all his tongue.
Bengals WR Chad Ocho Cinco might look into changing his name to "Ohno Cinco"
Cleveland is Bad, but Cincinnati is Worse
This year’s battle of Ohio wasn’t for supremacy, but rather respectability. Both teams were 0-3, struggling, and needing to reroute themselves. The fact that Carson Palmer was out did not help the Bengals, who’s now horrible season is about imminent with an 0-4 start. Chad Whoever has been a silent guy so far this season, he really has nothing to pop his mouth off about. I doubt you’ll hear ”Yeah, we may have lost, but nobody loses like we do, we lose in style!” coming from the Bengals locker room anytime soon. You know he wants to say something, but nobody would take him serious. Instead of clipping his comments up to their lockers for motivation, I’m sure opponents would read what he has to say and laugh it off like one of those silly Beetle Bailey comics. Maybe to add a little more spice we can throw Ohio State into the mix, no, that wouldn’t be fair. The Bengals and Browns would walk all over those little nuts. Here is another headline we could have used, “Kansas City is Bad, but Oakland is Worse.” The Chiefs broke an 11-game losing streak against the Denver Broncos and are eyeing November 20, their next game against the Raiders. That game may be the Chiefs only other in in 2008, these two teams will once compete for the battle of the #1 pick in next year’s draft. After the Dolphins coming out party last week, they are looking more at a pick #3-5.
Titans/Jets QB Favre showed on Sunday he is still old but not broken.
Titan Favre Not Dead Yet
Why exactly do teams wear old uniforms from when their team had a different name? Beats me, can’t wait for the Oklahoma City Thunder (who might now have the most boring uniforms and logo in NBA history) to have retro-night and don those old Seattle Supersonics jerseys. Brett Favre had a career day against the Arizona Cardinals as a Titan. Not a Packer, not a Jet, a New York Titan (slightly different from a Tennessee Titan). Favre capitalized on 6 turnovers by Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and threw for 6 touchdown passes. On the same day the Green Bay Packers has a horrendous day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Next Brett Favre to be Aaron Rodgers had his worst game yet, some were now calling out Green Bay management for not retaining Favre. Rodgers went down with a strained shoulder, with only rookies Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn to back him up, that’s not good for Packers fans. Favre would have been a lot nicer, but if they would have kept Favre then the Packers would have delayed their rebuilding process towards making a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl by one more year. There are two things that need be pointed out from this predicament. First, Rodgers played in “The Bay of Pigs” against a tough Tampa Bay defense, which Favre always struggled against. Second, Favre threw his 6 touchdown passes against the Cardinals…the Cardinals! Even largely criticized and banished Chicago Bears QB Rex Grossman could have had a hayday on them.
Tags: College Football, NBA, NFL
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Yeah, especially when they are SEC “defensive” battles…like Auburn and Mississippi State. 3-2? What a boring and sloppy game. I wouldn’t even say that it was great defenses…just plain awful offenses.