With the Sam Hurd fiasco, the NFL has a PR problem on its hands. It will get even worse if Hurd starts to sing and name NFL players as his clients for his alleged drug-dealing exploits.

With that, we’re getting the proverbial declarations that the NFL should be doing more about recreational drugs. Gary Myers takes his stab at arguing for tougher testing by the NFL. Here are some of the highlights:

As strict as the NFL is with its year-round random steroid testing program — it knocks on players’ doors in the offseason — that’s how easy it is to beat the recreational drug test. All players are tested once a year during a three-month window that opens around minicamp and closes with the training camp physical.

Sometime between May 1 and Aug. 1, players know they are going to have to pee in a bottle and their urine will be tested for cocaine, marijuana or other recreational drugs.

This is not so much a drug test as an intelligence test. How stupid does a player have to be — or how dependent on drugs must he be — to fail a test when he knows it’s coming?

Once a player passes his annual test, he is free and clear for at least the next nine months until the test the following year or if there is reasonable cause to believe he has a drug problem.

Dead giveaway that a player might have a marijuana problem: He comes in every day with blood shot eyes and sits in the meeting room with 10 bags of potato chips. White powder around his nose might indicate a cocaine problem.

So, a player not only has to be dumb to flunk the annual test, but awfully dumb or dependent to exhibit signs of drug use in the workplace.

The NFL considers steroids a competitive issue, but recreational drugs a medical issue. If a player has a problem, it tries to get him help. If he keeps flunking tests, he gets suspended. A first-time flunked steroids test gets four games. The union has blocked the NFL from starting a HGH blood-testing program.

He ends the column with this proclamation:

The NFL needs the same deterrent for recreational drugs as it has with steroids. It wouldn’t stop a player from dealing. Leave that to the feds. But it would stop players from using. Pee in the cup, boys.

He also spends time talking about other drug problems in the past like the Jamal Lewis conviction.

What we don’t get from Myers is any argument at all as to why the NFL should get tougher here. He just proclaims it, yet offers no reason, as if it should just be obvious.

For some people, it is obvious, but that’s why we have a failed War on Drugs. There’s this notion that we need to control people and stop them for doing stupid things. Good luck.

It’s perfectly rational for an employer to test for drugs in work environments where safety is a concern. We don’t want construction workers toking up or downing six packs at lunch. Same goes for airline pilots.

And, it’s logical for the NFL to test for performance enhancing drugs, as it affects the integrity of the game. The NFL understands, however, that smoking marijuana is not going to improve your 40 time. In fact, all the Cheetos you end up eating will slow you down instead.

I think the NFL has it right here. They are concerned about the health of players, so they have a loose policy on recreational drugs that gets tough when an obvious problem arises. But they really don’t care that much if football players who get the crap beat out of them every week decide to relax with a joint in the offseason. Kudos to the NFL.

And as far as PR goes, the NFL avoids PR problems by not testing so vigorously. If you get tough, then you’ll have more violations, and more needless headlines.

People are always quick to demand restrictions on the behavior of others. Does Myers have to submit to drug testing? Did he have too many beers when he wrote his column? Of course the notion of randomly testing journalists is absurd, but it’s not less absurd than the notion of testing football players.

Leave the players alone unless there’s an obvious problem.

Former NFL running back Jamal Lewis says he is a longtime patient of Dr. Anthony Galea, but denies that the Canadian doctor ever injected him with HGH or illegal banned substances.

From ESPN.com:

Lewis, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, is adamant that he was never injected with HGH or any illegal or banned substances. He and other athletes treated by Galea don’t face legal issues as a result of the treatments, as federal authorities have been careful to describe them as witnesses and not subjects in their on-going investigation. Lewis and his attorney, Jerry Froelich, declined to say whether he has spoken with federal investigators or NFL officials.

“It is about being a superb athlete that is very in tune with your body, knowing the right people to go to and find,” Lewis said. “He is one out of how many other doctors that I have seen. I am just more in tune with my body. No steroids, no HGH, no off-brand chemicals in my body, none of that. I am just pure hard work. I am going to out-work you. That is it. At same time, I want to be able to stay fresh. I want to make sure my muscles, my joints and everything is in tune ready to go.”

Of the charges facing Galea: “I just think it was a bad deal, bad rap they were trying to give him. He’s a great guy. Good person. Humble person. Just would never do anything to hurt a person, period.”

Something interesting that Lewis said in the article is that he sought out Galea’s opinion because he, “never really trusted team doctors or the team trainers” because they didn’t have his best interest in mind. Athletes seek second opinions all the time when it comes to injuries, but I wonder if many players share the same feelings as Lewis about not having complete trust in team doctors. If that’s the case, then it’s something the NFL should look into because players have to feel as though they can trust team doctors.

When Galea’s name comes up, I always ask the same questions: Did the players know that Galea was an in for performance-enhancing substances and that’s why they sought him out, or were they completely oblivious to his connections with substances? I would have to imagine that there are players in the league who didn’t ask questions when the doc’s name came up. They probably heard that he can heal injuries fast and that’s all some players needed to seek his advice.

Hear no evil – see no evil.

One thing is for sure: players trusted him. As Lewis notes in the article, he recommended Galea to other players around the league that had chronic problems with knees, ankles, joints – you name it.

But again, was that because players knew Galea had a “cocktail” that could heal them faster or did they really believe he was one of the best doctors outside of the league?

Following the Browns’ ugly 30-6 loss to the Bears on Sunday, running back Jamal Lewis said that he plans to retire after the season.

While he claims it wasn’t just a statement made in the heat of the moment, nobody would blame Lewis if it were. Lewis is 30, has seen his play drop quite a bit this year and he’s stuck on a morbid franchise. So why stick around?

I honestly don’t know how the Browns have won a game this year. Their defense is bad, but it pails in comparison to how atrocious Derek Anderson and the offense is, which turned the ball over five times on Sunday. Chicago’s secondary has been shredded at times this season, yet Anderson found a way to only complete 6-of-17 pass attempts for a measly 76 yards. Oh, and he also threw two interceptions and fumbled once.

I’m sure someone will raise the question of whether or not Brady Quinn should resume the starting spot over Anderson next week. But Quinn has already shown that he’s just as incapable of running the offense as Anderson is, so does it really matter? If I were a Cleveland fan (and I just threw up a little at the mere thought of that), I’d rather see Brett Ratliff given a chance to start before Quinn is given a second opportunity.

About the only reason to watch the Browns these days is to see whether or not defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will get in a fight with anyone on the sidelines. He and Jay Cutler went at it (verbally, of course) on Sunday and it was the only entertainment Cleveland provided all day.

When it comes to fumbles, nobody drops the ball more than quarterbacks, because they handle the ball more than anyone besides the center. Brett Favre has 157 of them, which leads active players (yes, we’re considering Favre active). But many times when a QB fumbles, he can pounce right back on the ball. Running backs are a different story. The ones who fumble a lot often wind up in their coach’s doghouse because most of the time it’s because of careless ball handling. As for fantasy football, you’ll want to be careful with these guys too because they take points off your scoreboard, both by negative points for fumbles, and for lost opportunities on offense. So here is the active Top 10 in fumbles by running backs…..

1. Edgerrin James (43)—James isn’t as bad as early in his career, like when he fumbled 8 times during his rookie year of 1999 with the Colts. But you tend to look the other way when the other numbers offset the fumbles—and James was an All Pro that year with 2139 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns.

2. Ricky Williams (41)—Ricky definitely comes down with fumble-it is pretty often, and that has to drive Bill Parcells crazy. I wonder if it would help if Ricky thought he was carrying a bag of..…oh forget it.

3. Jamal Lewis (39)—Lewis has improved drastically in this area, fumbling only twice last season. But he fumbled 8 times in back to back seasons in 2002 and 2003 while with Baltimore. Yikes.

4. Ahman Green (37)—He hasn’t fumbled since 2006, but that’s only because Green has carried the ball just 144 times since then.

5. Michael Pittman (31)—Pittman was one of like 15 running backs used by the Broncos last season.

6. Shaun Alexander (31)—For a few years there, Alexander was putting up such ridiculous numbers that Mike Holmgren was forced to accept some drops.

7. Warrick Dunn (26)—He’s never had more than 4 fumbles in a season, but he’s been playing for so long that he wound up on here. Dunn may be one of the most underrated RBs in the history of the NFL.

8. Fred Taylor (26)—Taylor has fumbled less in recent years, but he’s also carried the ball less. It should be interesting to see if his career is re-ignited in a Patriots’ uniform.

9. LaDainian Tomlinson (25)—He fumbled 8 times in his rookie year, and only 17 times since. With 2657 total carries, that’s not bad at all.

9 (tie). Clinton Portis (25)—Portis is a solid RB, but he does have two quirks—he’s injury prone and he drops the ball a few too many times.

Source: Pro Football Reference

Running back Jamal Lewis is starting to publicly question the Browns’ play-calling this season.

“You see it for yourself,” Lewis said. “The worst thing about it is how you prepare. You prepare to come out here and do your job and be the best you can be. Then, the most disturbing thing is when you’re not really able to get out there and put that stuff to work on the field. You do all you can do, and then it’s just put to rest come game time.”

He attributed the botched handoff between him and Anderson in the fourth quarter to a bad call. He also said he was surprised by quarterback Brady Quinn’s benching because Anderson hadn’t taken any first-team snaps all week. Anderson was charged with the fumble.

“It’s kind of an awkward position to put the quarterback in, a new quarterback that hadn’t practiced with the starters,” he said. “It’s an awkward handoff, and I think it was just the exchange. I don’t even know if I actually had the ball.”

Lewis said perhaps the coaches rested him for much of the first half because he was dinged on the play on which he coughed up the ball.

“It was bad ball-handling – I should’ve had it up high and tight,” he said. “Somebody came and blindsided me. I was trying to make something happen. I was OK after that, but coach wanted to make sure everything was good with me.”

Lewis stressed that “everyone has to be on point, not just the players that suit up.”

This has more to do about wins and losses than it does play-calling. Lewis is just frustrated that the Browns are losing and that he’s not more involved in the offense. When Cleveland was scoring 25-plus points a game last year, nobody was questioning anything. This is what happens when a team starts to lose – players and coaches start pointing fingers.

Tonight marks the much-anticipated NFL debut of Brady Quinn as the second-year quarterback will make his first career NFL start when his Cleveland Browns host the Denver Broncos on the NFL Network at 8:15 PM ET.

Quinn has been given a fantastic opportunity to succeed tonight. Not only does he make his first start in the comforts of the Dawg Pound, but he’s also facing a Broncos’ defense that has been shredded by air, ground and sea this year, and will also be without cornerback Champ Bailey, who continues to nurse a torn groin muscle.

Some feel that starting Quinn is a final desperation move by Romeo Crennel to save his job. That might be, but former starter Derek Anderson didn’t give him a lot of choice either. He was plagued by dropped passes (see Edwards, Braylon) and injuries (see Winslow, Kellen), but outside of a great game against the Giants and a decent first half against the Ravens, DA flat out hasn’t made as many plays as he did last year.

Quinn is going to be fine…at least tonight. The Browns have done a nice job building a solid offensive line and if they can get the running game going with Jamal Lewis, it’ll allow Quinn to take what the Broncos give him (which should be a lot) in the passing game. As long as offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski doesn’t ask him to do too much, Quinn shouldn’t have any problem moving the ball.

Looking ahead, Quinn has both favorable and nasty defensive matchups. Buffalo will be a decent test next week, but after that he faces two mediocre defenses in Houston and Indianapolis before getting his first huge challenge in Tennessee. He’ll also face Jim Johnson’s blitz-happy Philadelphia defense, as well as the Steelers at the end of the year so we’ll see what kind of mettle the young man has over the next two months.

But the thing to remember over the final eight weeks is that Quinn is still a pup. The torch has been passed, but everyone should give him time to develop. He might have a dazzling performance tonight, but fizzle next week; that’s just what you get from young quarterbacks. Regardless, the Browns have presented a great opportunity for him to succeed tonight. Let’s hope for Quinn’s sake that the offensive line opens holes for Lewis and the onus can be off of their young quarterback. As long as he doesn’t turn the ball over, he should be fine.

Since Denver and Cleveland square off on Thursday night, I thought I’d throw out a few recommendations of some Browns and Broncos that you’ll want to start (or sit) this week. My regular “Love ‘Em/Leave ‘Em” post will go up Friday morning as usual.

LOVE ‘EM

Jamal Lewis has a great matchup with a Broncos rush defense that is 26th against the run. On average, they allow 5.1 ypc (2nd worst in the league) and 1.3 rush TD per game. The Browns are likely planning to establish the running game to help Brady Quinn get settled in his first game as the starter. Lewis should gain 80-100 yards and find the endzone at least once…Braylon Edwards is also a solid start against the Denver pass defense, which is 27th in the league…Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal are both worth starting against a Browns secondary that hasn’t been great against opposing WRs. On the whole, the Browns have a pretty good pass defense, but they allow quite a few fantasy points to wideouts…Ryan Torain looks like a sneaky good start against a Browns rush defense that is 28th in the league and yields an average of 148 yards and 1.1 rush TD per game. Be warned, Mike Shanahan is just as likely to pull a free agent off the street and go with a RBBC as he is to give Torain a full load.

LEAVE ‘EM

There are no players that I would bench based on the matchup, but I’m not feeling good about the chances of Tony Scheffler returning this week. He’s listed as questionable and didn’t sound positive earlier in the week when asked about the injury.

Racking up yards in the NFL looks easy, but these guys take a beating like nobody else in football. The ones that do it year in and year out are just tough physical specimens who are also quick and elusive, and probably work their butts off in the gym. Here is a list of the active career rushing leaders…..

1. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals (11,970)—Most of these yards were in Indianapolis playing in one of the best offenses in NFL history. But Edge is still only 30…and no, that’s not a typo.

2. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (11,096)—LT needs to get over his toe injury and have a few LT-like games to climb past James. If he doesn’t do it this season, he will in 2009.

3. Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars (10,957)—Taylor and WR Joey Galloway are those older players who just won’t go away. Just when you think they have reached the peaks of their careers, they drink from the fountain of youth, as Taylor did last year with 1202 yards.

4. Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay Bucs (10,604)—Dunn only has 48 career touchdowns, but this guy has always had breakaway speed in the open field.

5. Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns (9508)—He tormented Cleveland for years with those “former Browns” known as the Baltimore Ravens. Now he’s one of the good guys.

6. Shaun Alexander, Washington Redskins (9437)—Was it as weird for you to see Alexander in a Redskins uniform last week as it was for me? Clinton Portis has rushed for the equivalent of a few country miles the last few weeks, so Alexander could see some action soon.

7. Ahman Green, Houston Texans (8929)—He can’t seem to stay on the field, but when he does, he still has skills. Could Green now be used as a touchdown vulture to Steve Slaton?

8. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins (8533)—I always want to avoid this guy in my fantasy drafts, but then he always comes back to haunt me when I play against him.

9. Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins (7363)—Williams, who likes to smoke reefer, missed the 2004 season, the 2006 season, and 15 games of the 2007 season. Yet, he’s still on this list. Well, those 1853 yards in 2002 have something to do with that.

10. Thomas Jones, New York Jets (6981)—Julius’ older brother has had a nice career, but you get the feeling he is on the downside of it, don’t you?

Source: Pro Football Reference