Cutler fined $20 K for abusing official
Posted by John Paulsen (11/13/2009 @ 7:49 pm)
Per ESPN…
Cutler was fined as a result of verbal abuse toward the back judge, which drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the Bears’ 41-21 loss to the Cardinals. The Bears (4-5) have lost four of their past five games.
Yep, this fine is from the Bears’ frustrating loss on Sunday, not the Bears’ frustrating loss last night. (You know, the one where Cutler threw five picks.)
As a Green Bay fan, the only good thing about this season is that the Bears are struggling just as much as the Packers are. Cutler was supposed to lead Chicago to the promised land, but he’s led them to four losses in the last five games. With Philly and Minnesota up next, there’s a good chance the Bears will be 4-7 heading into Week 13.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Chiefs fans petitioning franchise to dump Larry Johnson
Posted by John Paulsen (11/04/2009 @ 4:06 pm)
Johnson is only 75 yards away from becoming the team’s all-time leading rusher, and a group of Chiefs fans are petitioning the club to release him before that happens.
An online petition started by Chiefs fans asks general manager Scott Pioli to deactivate Johnson and keep him on the sideline so he cannot pass Priest Holmes for the team rushing record, or join the team’s Ring of Honor at Arrowhead Stadium.
“While we are thankful for his service, we feel that Larry has been a black eye on the organization and has no business being mentioned” among the team’s all-time greats, the petition reads.
After his Twitter blow up a few weeks ago, I don’t think Johnson is in any danger of donning a Chiefs uniform again, but you never know. These Chiefs fans are figuring it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Is there such a thing as a “clutch” QB?
Posted by John Paulsen (10/21/2009 @ 11:15 am)
The answer is “no,” according to Football Outsiders (via ESPN The Mag), with one possible exception.
They looked at NFL passer rating and their own metrics and there was “no year-to-year correlation in the difference between a quarterback’s overall performance and his performance when the game was on the line.” Good QBs were good in the clutch (with the score within seven points in the fourth quarter or OT) and bad QBs were bad in the clutch.
But there was one exception: Eli Manning. He is the only active QB who has a higher rating (albeit a small improvement most seasons) in crunch time for five straight years.
