Last Thursday, St. Louis offensive linemen Richie Incognito criticized Rams fans for not knowing when to cheer and for being too quiet during games.
Then he did this following the Bears’ smack down of the Rams last Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome:
Before stepping into the tunnel, Incognito cupped his hands to his ears, apparently egging on angry Rams fans to spew more venom his way.
Here’s a video that also shows Incognito saying, “I can’t hear you,” to fans as he walked off the field, as well as him denying that he did any of it in a postgame interview.
What an ass. Rams fans don’t know when to cheer? Cheer for what? What have you or any of your worthless linemates given Ram fans anything to cheer about this season?
When you have people spending over $200 in a bad economy, they shouldn’t have to deal with a smug punk criticizing them for not knowing when to cheer.
This was great though:
As Incognito left the field, one of the signs hoisted by a fan above the tunnel read: “Richie, I Don’t Cheer For Bums.”
The Rams need to clean house. There are plenty of linemen out there that can act like revolving doors to the quarterback who don’t criticize fans off the field.
After waxing division rival Chicago 37-3 two weeks ago, one could have made the argument that the Green Bay Packers were on the upswing in the NFC North. But after their brilliant performance Monday night in New Orleans (a 51-29 Saints victory), it would be tough for anyone outside of Green Bay to back the Packers right now.
The Saints have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, but the Packers did them a favor by not creating any pressure on Drew Brees. It’s a sound concept to drop eight men in coverage and rush only three down linemen on a third and 15, but if you give Brees 10 seconds to find a receiver, he’s probably going to convert. Green Bay’s defensive game plan last night was passive and conservative, and the result was disastrous. (Of course Aaron Rodgers’ three picks didn’t help matters, either.)
But back to the NFC North – can anyone say with any conviction that the Bears (currently in first) are the best team in the division? The Vikings have played better over the last month, but they could lose most of their defensive line once the league starts handing out suspensions to those players who were caught using performance-enhancing drugs.
Here are the remaining schedules for the Bears, Packers and Vikings:
Bears – at Vikings, vs. Jaguars, vs. Saints, vs. Packers, at Texans
Vikings – vs. Bears, at Lions, at Cardinals, vs. Falcons, vs. Giants
Packers – vs. Panthers, vs. Texans, at Jaguars, at Bears, vs. Lions
Out of those teams, the Packers have the easiest remaining schedule. Carolina hasn’t played well in weeks, the Texans, Jags and Lions are a mess and they just crushed the Bears two weeks ago. That said, they have to figure out a way to get more pressure from their front seven or they stand zero chance at making the postseason.
The Week 16 game between the Packers and Bears might determine the division.
After he was benched at halftime of the Eagles’ embarrassing 36-7 loss to the Ravens on Sunday, there’s little doubt that the writing is on the wall for quarterback Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia.
But what about head coach Andy Reid?
After a couple of dreadful performances (and I mean dreadful), it’s hard to back McNabb at this point. His play last week in a tie against the Bengals was downright embarrassing and even hard to watch. It seriously looked like he was trying to throw into double and triple coverage just to see if he could still complete the pass. And his brilliant outing Sunday against the Ravens was JaMarcus Russell-esqe: 8 of 18 for 59 yards, two interceptions, one fumble.
But Reid deserves plenty of criticism for throwing an unproven Kevin Kolb to the wolves after the Eagles had just cut their deficit to 10-7 at halftime. They were still in the game and while McNabb didn’t necessarily deserve to go back under center, Reid’s decision was inexplicable. It’s not like Kolb had a full week to prepare – he was thrust into a horrible situation, unprepared and against one of the nastiest defenses in the league. Reid essentially sealed his, and his teams’ fate by benching McNabb when a win was still very much in reach.
So now what, Andy? Go back to McNabb in hopes he can save your fleeting playoff hopes? Or go with a second-year quarterback and pray he does his best Matt Cassel impression?
Everyone likes to criticize Mike Martz for not running the football more, but what about Reid? He’s had success throwing the ball over his career, but he also continuously kills his team by not creating offensive balance. He might be the most overrated coach in the NFL and his decision to bench McNabb might not only cost him the playoffs this season, but also his job in Philadelphia. If McNabb goes, shouldn’t Reid, too?
With their back-to-back road wins over the Patriots and previously unbeaten Titans the past two weeks, the talk of the NFL world is now Brett Favre and the New York Jets. Some are even suggesting that the J.E.T.S, Jets, Jets, Jets are even the best team in the AFC right now.
While there is still some debate over which team is the best in the AFC (remember, the Titans are still pretty damn good at 10-1), there’s no question that the New York Giants are the top team in the NFC, especially after they knocked off the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale on Sunday.
What are the chances that we could see an all-New York Super Bowl come January?
Let’s look at the Giants first. With their win over the Cards, they improved to a conference-best 10-1 on the year and sit comfortably atop the NFC East Division by three games with only five remaining. However, they have a tough schedule down the stretch: at Washington, vs. Philadelphia, at Dallas, vs. Carolina, at Minnesota. NFC East games are always tough, and the Panthers and Vikings will be competing for playoff berths themselves, so they won’t be pushovers either.
Barring a total collapse, the G-Men will make the playoffs and of the top teams in the NFC – Arizona, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Washington, Atlanta – nobody outside of maybe the surging Cowboys should scare the Giants. (Although the Bucs’ defense should keep o-coordinators up at night.)
Conversely, the Jets have an easier road. They play the inconsistent Broncos next week, travel to San Fran, home against Buffalo, at Seattle and home against Miami to end the season. Considering they just crushed the Titans, one could probably assume the Jets finish no worse than 11-5.
The one main thing to consider in all of this is that the Jets would have a tough road in the postseason. The Steelers are flawed, but they’re a veteran team with a solid defense, while the Pats and Colts remain dangerous, although they’re more beatable now than ever. And if the Jets have to go back to LP Field, they can probably bet the Tennessee defense won’t surrender 400 total yards like it did Sunday.
Still, the possibility of an all-NY Super Bowl is a reality and it would be a cool sight come playoff time. And think about the story lines: Favre leads Jets to Super Bowl; Giants try to defend title; Clash of New York; etc, etc.
Tom Brady threw three passes his rookie season; Brett Favre threw four. Bart Starr and Joe Montana each started one game as rookies. Troy Aikman had to be benched midway through, having gone 0-11 as a starter. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his first season. John Elway completed 47.5 percent of his rookie passes, Terry Bradshaw 38.1 percent.
Joe Namath was 3-5-1 as a lavishly salaried — he was making $400,000 — rookie. Fran Tarkenton was 2-8 as a first-year starter; Johnny Unitas was 4-3, Bob Griese 3-7. Ben Roethlisberger was 13-0 as a rookie quarterback on a loaded Pittsburgh team but didn’t start until Week 3. Sammy Baugh made All-Pro as a rookie but threw six more interceptions than touchdown passes. Bob Waterfield was league MVP as a rookie but started only four games. (Doubtless he got bonus points for being married to Jane Russell.)
Dan Marino is considered the gold standard of rookie quarterbacks, but his first start only came in Week 6, and he joined a team that had reached the Super Bowl the previous season. And now we consider Matt Ryan, who has started from Day 1 for a dilapidated team the Sporting News pegged to finish 1-15, who stands now as the chief reason the refurbished Falcons are 7-4.
Ryan has been unbelievable, but I think we should wait until the end of the year before making claims that he’s the best rookie quarterback ever. What Big Ben did his rookie year was pretty astonishing, although Bradley’s point about him playing on an already stacked Steelers team is just. Still, Ryan still has five games left and if he leads the Falcons to the playoffs, then maybe we can talk about him being the greatest ever.
That said, he is absolutely remarkable. Pundits figured the Falcons would win no more than two or three games not only because Ryan is a rookie, but also because the roster is devoid of overall talent. But with a little help from Michael Turner, John Abraham and Roddy White, Ryan has done some amazing things as a rookie. His poise, confidence and demeanor have been incredibly impressive and he looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.
“I have been over it. It is a game, so what?’’ White said. “You would like to win it, but it is one game, so what? … I only played three plays so I really couldn’t tell you what happened, I don’t really know, I wasn’t paying attention, I didn’t care really.’’
White wouldn’t say if the game would’ve been different had he played. Rookie Chris Johnson had 46 yards on 10 carries, but had a fumble that led to a touchdown.
“You never know, man,” White said. “I can’t tell you that. I don’t know if I would have gotten the ball 30 times if we would have won the game or not. I would like to be involved more, but if I am not involved I would like somebody to tell me what’s going on. Coming into these games, you expect to get certain carries or see certain things going on at least that’s what they tell you.
“And then you get in these games and then randomly you only play three plays. I just wish somebody would let me know what’s going on before I go out there. Three plays, I don’t know what you want me to do with three plays. I don’t know what three plays is helping me do.”
White said he had not had a conversation with coaches, and wasn’t sure if he would.
“I ain’t got no conversation for nobody, I don’t care,’’ White said. “If they have something to tell me, if they need to tell me I’m not going to play, then they should tell me, you know?”
I know he’s frustrated, but there’s no reason for White not to be paying attention on the sideline. This shows a lack of maturity on his part for not always being involved in the game, whether he’s on the field or not. It is befuddling that the Titans would only use him for three plays, but they’re 10-1 on the year and don’t need White to become a distraction.
Towards the conclusion of the first half of the game between the Giants and Cardinals Sunday, Neil Rackers attempted a free-kick field goal from 68 yards out, which took all of 47 minutes to set up.
Thanks to the reemergence of Kurt Warner as a MVP candidate, the Arizona Cardinals have been a nice story this season. But as the Giants proved in their 37-29 win in Arizona on Sunday, the Cardinals still have a long way to go before anyone should consider them Super Bowl contenders.
With how absolutely brutal the NFC West is, the Cards are going to win their division – they might even clinch next week. But a lot of people are talking about how their game Sunday might be a preview of the NFC Championship Game.
Let’s not forget that if Arizona doesn’t secure one of the top two spots in the NFC, they’ll have to travel to the East Coast in the second round of the playoffs, assuming of course they win Wild Card weekend. Making the long trip is tough enough, nevertheless for a team who has struggled on the road over the past couple years like the Cards have.
There’s no doubt that Warner’s performance this year has made ‘Zona an incredibly dangerous team. Not many of their opponents can match up against what the Cards do offensively, although the Giants made them one-dimensional Sunday by limiting Tim Hightower to only 21 yards. But this team has had issues defensively this year and good teams like New York will shred them in the playoffs.
This was a Giants team that didn’t have Brandon Jacobs (the backbone of their offense), but still managed to total 321 yards. This was a great test for the Cards to see how they stack up against the best in the NFC, but they clearly have some work to do before the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see how this team responds next week on the road against Philadelphia, and then again on the road in Week 16 when they take on the Patriots in Foxboro.
The NFC South just got more interesting with the Falcons’ 45-28 stomping of rival Carolina. The Panthers are now tied with the Buccaneers at 8-3 for the division lead, while Atlanta sits one game back at 7-4.
This game featured two teams heading in different directions. They might be 8-3, but Carolina has really struggled the past couple of weeks thanks to ineffective play by Jake Delhomme and a defense that can’t limit the big play. Things don’t get any easier for the Panthers either, with the Packers, Bucs, Broncos, Giants and Saints remaining on the schedule.
Meanwhile, this was a massive win for the Falcons. Mike Smith’s decision to go for it on fourth and goal midway through the fourth quarter up 24-21 showed that this team is aggressive. The play resulted in a Michael Turner touchdown (his third of four on the day) and provided a huge spark of momentum for the Falcons, who added two more scores with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
The Falcons finish by traveling to San Diego and New Orleans before facing the Bucs at home in three weeks. They also play in Minnesota and host the Rams at the end of the season, so a 10-6 finish isn’t out of the question, although beating the Saints and Bucs will be imperative in making the playoffs.
The East might get more attention, but the South is highly underrated in the NFC. If the Falcons don’t stumble last week against the Broncos, three teams would be 8-3 right in South. The title race in this division is going to be thrilling to watch over last five weeks.
The most fraudulent team in the NFL right now has to be the Denver Broncos. After a comeback victory over the Browns two weeks ago and an impressive win last Sunday in Atlanta, the Broncos got stomped by Oakland 31-10…they lost…to the Raiders…at home.
Somehow the Denver defense limited the Falcons to 20 points last week, but surrendered 31 to a previously two-win Raider team. Not only that, but JaMarcus Russell only attempted 11 passes and completed 10 of those attempts for 152 yards and a touchdown. How does Oakland only attempt 11 passes and win 31-10? Better yet, how do you only score 10 points against the Raiders when you average 24.8 points per game? It’s mind-boggling.
Hey, maybe the Broncos just had an off day. But 31-10 to the Raiders? That’s just embarrassing. I realize that the Raiders do have some talented players and Denver’s defense has been atrocious this season, but how does this happen? The Broncos had zero interest in trying to tackle Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden.
For the Broncos to lose to the Raiders and fall to 6-5 on the season but still lead their division shows you how absolutely brutal the AFC West is this season. It’s a shame that a team like the Colts, Ravens, Patriots or hell, even the Dolphins might miss the playoffs this season, yet this crap Denver team gets in because they play in a joke of a division.
Last Thursday, St. Louis offensive linemen Richie Incognito criticized Rams fans for not knowing when to cheer and for being too quiet during games. 
