It seems like every other week we are reminded of the importance of a good backup quarterback. The NFL is on it’s way to start more backup quarterbacks this year than ever before. This past week it was Byron Leftwich is slipped in beautifully for injured Ben Roethlisberger. You never know when your starting quarterback is going to go down, or when they are going to suck. For the Cleveland Browns it’s the latter, which is why Brady Quinn will get his first start after watching from the sidelines all last year and through the first 8 games of this year. The only two backups in the league that never think about playing are the ones behind Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. Between the two quarterbacks they have 429 consecutive starts! 

DeAngelo Hall has been freed from Raider bondage.

Oakland Raiders are in Shambles

The Oakland Raiders are the most dysfunctional franchise in the NFL, perhaps in the history of sports. I don’t believe anyone in their right mind would argue that point. After owner Al Davis fired head coach Lane Kiffin earlier this year, a handful of former players and coaches came out saying what a nut job Davis is. Al Davis is like the little kid that doesn’t know how to play monopoly but always wins. Those house rules will get you every time. After trading away 2 draft picks to Atlanta for DeAngelo Hall, Davis signed him to a very lucrative deal worth about $70 million over 8 years. After 8 games he got waived. Hall has got to be feeling like one of the most fortunate men on Earth right now. He got paid $70 million to play 8 games in a Raiders uniform and then they cut the ball and chain off his ankle themselves. In a 24-0 loss to the Atlanta Falcons last week, the Raiders racked up a whopping 77 yards of total offense with 3 first downs. That’s the fewest yards that the Raiders have managed since 1961 (Al Davis was an assistant coach on that team). Perhaps Davis could use that money from waiving Hall to go get some help on offense. No, that would make too much sense, and Davis is all about being non-sensical. He’ll probably go out and sign another defensive back, hey, house rules! 

The Cowboys' decline started will before Tony Romo's injury.

It’s Great to be Mediocre

At the halfway point of the season, there are a plethora of teams sitting with 4 losses that are still in the hunt for the playoffs. With the way this season is going, it’s not a stretch to say they are also still in the hunt for the Super Bowl. In what is turning in to be one of the most topsy turvy seasons in recent history their are six 4-loss teams that still have a fighting chance. In the AFC there are the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins, and the Denver Broncos. In the NFC there are the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Green Bay Packers. While the Colts, Dolphins, Vikings, and Packers are making steady improvements, the Cowboys and Broncos are free falling. There are a lot of people in the press right now holding their heads between their legs who picked Dallas to go all the way. The loss of starting quarterback Tony Romo has no doubt hurt the Cowboys chances of winning, the Cowboys’ problems started well before Romo’s finger injury. The Dallas Cowboys are “America’s Team,” and just like America, the Cowboys are going through a recession.

Tags: NFL

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.