Well, it’s nice to see that Lendale White has matured over the years.

A clearly inebriated White made some derogatory comments about his former coach Pete Carroll over the weekend and thanks to TMZ, it was all caught on camera. If you want to watch the video, head over to SPORTSbyBROOKS.com, but the text of what he said is below.

White, who was with former USC teammate Dominique Byrd (off-camera), apparently hasn’t gotten over being cut by his former college coach Pete Carroll when White was briefly with the Seattle Seahawks last season. After a somewhat unintelligible question by the TMZ cameraman, White said:

“If it ain’t Chauncey Billups or Kobe Bryant … f— ‘em. Or if it ain’t the Denver Broncos or Chris Johnson … f— ‘em. Or D-Byrd … or the Trojans … minus Pete Carroll — f— you.” “Except for Pete Carroll, he … minus Pete Carroll I have Trojans love.”

Maybe I should cut White some slack because he was drunk and clearly his inner-filter was down, but this is the exact response I would expect out of someone who clearly doesn’t get it.

Carroll traded for his former player in April of last year and probably fully intended on using him in his running back-by-committee offense. But shortly after acquiring him, word leaked out that White had failed a drug test and would be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season. Not wanting to put up with any B.S. from a backup running back in his first year with the Seahawks, Carroll released White at the end of May.

This is the second time since he’s been cut that White has sounded off about Carroll, so clearly he hasn’t learned a thing. Many people have wanted to send Carroll a nice F-You, but White was the one who screwed himself. The reason he isn’t in Seattle anymore was because he made a bad decision before arriving to the Seahawks and he put Carroll in a bad spot. Most coaches around the league would have dumped him immediately, too.

White only has himself to blame for the way his career has turned out to this point.

On any given Saturday right? Here are six quick-hit thoughts on the Seahawks’ shocking 41-36 win over the Saints on Saturday.

1. That’s why they play the game.
Gregg Williams said it perfectly this week when he told the media that if the playoffs were about predictions, the Saints would have advanced to the second round already. Everyone was so sure that the Saints would beat the Seahawks that this upset was almost set up perfectly. I don’t buy that New Orleans took Seattle for granted because there’s too much veteran know-how on that Saints’ sidelines for them to look past any opponent. But a game like this is proof that we as fans get caught up too much in records. The Seahawks only won seven of their 16 games this year but they were the ones that created momentum last week with their win over the Rams, they were the ones that had home field advantage and they were the ones that played with an emotional edge. In the end, those three factors play a bigger role in the outcome of a football game than records do (especially in the playoffs).

2. Matt Hasselbeck can still be a difference maker.
Hasselbeck had some rough games this year but when his team needed him the most, he completed 22-of-35 pass attempts for 272 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once but that came off a deflection and had his receivers not dropped a few passes, his numbers would have been even better than they were. This was by far his best game in years and without his performance, Seattle doesn’t pull off this shocking upset.

3. Roman Harper, Darren Shaper, Gregg Williams, Julius Jones and Devery Henderson.
Fail, fail, fail, fail and fail. That was one of the worst performances I have ever seen out of a safety tandem in any game, not to mention in the postseason. Safeties are supposed to act as a team’s last line of defense, yet Sharper and Harper routinely allowed Seattle receivers to get past them deep coverage. I know the Saints were hurt by Malcolm Jenkins’ injury but Sharper has to play better than that. He looked like he had never played a professional game before and retirement is calling his name. And how about Williams? This was the best he could come up with after a week of preparation? The Seahawks’ offense is the epitome of mediocre and yet they hung 41 points on a unit that was supposed to be one of the best in the NFC. Holy terrible, Batman. Offensively for the Saints, Jones cost his team three points by fumbling the ball deep in his own territory in the first quarter and Henderson couldn’t catch a cold. He dropped at least two potential first downs, including an alligator-armed attempt late in the game when the Saints only needed a touchdown to re-claim the lead.

Read the rest of this entry »

Normally when a team is 6-8 at this point in the season, who they play at quarterback isn’t a newsworthy item (unless a rookie is about to make his debut, of course). But thanks to the ongoing suck that is the NFC West, the Seahawks’ QB situation is still worth following.

After throwing two interceptions and also losing a fumble in the end zone that resulted in a touchdown on Sunday against the Falcons, Matt Hasselbeck was benched for Charlie Whitehurst in the fourth quarter. Hasselbeck has been dealing with a hand injury for the past couple of weeks and his play the past two games has been horrendous. Whitehurst came in and moved the ball decently against Atlanta, but he was filthy bad earlier in the year when he started against the Giants so he doesn’t offer the Hawks an easy solution.

Pete Carroll has a tough decision on his hands and he was noncommittal on his Week 16 starter following the loss to the Falcons. He said he would “evaluate where we are and what we need to do and all of that,” but there has been no decision made about who will start next Sunday at the Bucs.

It’s feasible that the Seahawks and Rams could both lose next week and the NFC West crown will come down to Week 17 when the two teams meet in Seattle. One would think that making a change at quarterback now would be a bad idea but then one would have not seen how bad Hasselbeck has played the past two weeks. Again, Carroll has one tough decision to make.

Definitely a balance of power shift here. But that’s why the NFL is so great.

1. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Look at the standings in the AFC South (Falcons 7-2, Saints and Bucs 6-3). And ask yourself, “Did I see this coming?”

2. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders—Tied for first in the AFC West with the Chiefs. Really?

3. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—A bad showing in Denver, but still exceeding expectations in a big way.

4. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Seriously, no one expected 4-5 at this point and real contention, much less with a rookie quarterback.

5. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—Does anyone else think the plan all along was to run Donovan McNabb out of town and then eventually start Michael Vick?

6. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks—Is anyone going to give the Seahawks’ new coach credit for having them in first place on November 21?

7. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots—Follows up a crushing loss to Cleveland with a thumping of the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

8. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears—After they started 3-0 and then Jay Cutler was assaulted by the Giants, a tailspin ensued. But now it’s all bright and sunny in the Windy City.

9. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—Okay, so after five wins in a row, the crap hit the fan last Sunday against Dallas. But Coughlin has this way of making his team look Super Bowl bound most of the time.

10. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—It’s almost like no one is paying attention to this team, but they are serious contenders.

Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

Imagine you’re in a store and while you were shopping, someone decides to steal something and run out the door. Security then blocks all exits, takes down everyone’s information and then bans those people that were shopping at the time from the store for the next two years.

Meanwhile, the person that stole the item not only avoids punishment, but he or she winds up hitting the lottery for $52 million a couple of months later.

Is it fair that the people in the store that didn’t steal anything got punished for one person breaking the law, even though their only connection with the criminal was that they attended the same store? And is it fair that the one person who stole something not only got off scot-free but also cashed in later?

Any reasonable person would probably answer “no” to the above scenario, which is why I don’t feel the least bit sorry for Reggie Bush that the Downtown Athletic Club is expected to strip him from his 2005 Heisman Trophy. (It’s important to note that Bush hasn’t been stripped of his Heisman yet.)

Obviously my shopping analogy isn’t the best fit because Bush never stole anything, but you get the point. Bush broke the rules and the current USC players had to pay for them. Meanwhile, Bush avoids any kind of punishment and not only that, but he also receives a $52 million contract from the Saints on top of it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Seahawks and whether or not their restricted offensive line will hold them back this season.

It’s difficult to size up the Seahawks at this point in the season because nobody (not even their fans) quite knows what to expect out of this team in 2010. It appears as though fans are generally excited about the Pete Carroll hiring (how could they not after getting a taste of Jim Mora last year?), but they must be skeptical, too. Does Matt Hasselbeck have one more good season left in him? Can Leon Washington and Justin Forsett handle the rushing responsibilities? Does the defense have enough quality depth? Is Lawyer Milloy really the starting strong safety?

Nobody can say with any certainty that this will be a bad team this year, but it’s unlikely that anyone is ready to anoint them NFC West champions either. It’s just a hard team to figure out right now.

I had a difficult time deciding whether or not to go with the Seahawks’ offensive line or defensive line for this series. I view both as question marks, but in the end, the defensive line should get by as long as Brandon Mebane doesn’t take a step back and the unit gets solid contributions from new addition Chris Clemons and tackle-turned-end Red Bryant, who replaces the ultra-disappointing Lawrence Jackson.

But the offensive line may be a different story.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to blame Seantrel Henderson for getting out of his letter of intent at USC to join another program like Miami, Ohio State or Minnesota (which were three schools, along with USC, that he was reportedly interested in). Thanks to the fairly recent sanctions handed down by the NCAA, the Trojans won’t be able to compete in a bowl game over the next two years and obviously that’s important to a player like Henderson, who was considered the second best recruit from the class of 2010 according to Rivals.com.

But will Henderson inevitably miss out in the long run?

The 6’7”, 295-pound offensive lineman, who played for Cretin-Derham High School in Minnesota, committed to USC in February before waiting to sign his letter of intent with the Trojans until the NCAA had wrapped up its investigation. Then, after reportedly meeting with Miami head coach Randy Shannon over the weekend, Henderson wanted to opt out of his commitment to USC, which Lane Kiffin and the Trojans granted by releasing him from his LOI with zero penalties or restrictions. (If USC wanted to, they could have made Henderson sit out an entire year before transferring because he had already signed with the program.)

On the surface, it appears as though Henderson is making the right decision. After all, what blue chipper would want to go through the next two seasons without the opportunity to play in a bowl game or perhaps a national title? It couldn’t have been a hard sell for someone like Shannon to sit the young man down and say, “Come to Miami and have the opportunity to play in four postseason games over the next two years, or go to USC and be limited to two.”

But let’s keep in mind that USC is a NFL-producing factory. Last year, the Trojans sent seven players to the NFL, while in 2009 they sent 11 and in 2008 there were 10 USC players drafted.

Read the rest of this entry »

While appearing on Clay Travis’ radio show on 104-5 The Zone in Nashville, former Titans and Seahawks’ running back LenDale White had some unflattering things to say about Pete Carroll and his former coach’s involvement in the USC scandal surrounding Reggie Bush.

On USC (from Larry Brown Sports):

“I don’t want to bad mouth nobody, but as big as this scale is and as much as they (the NCAA) saying somebody took, for you not to know anything is kind of unbelievable to me. I don’t know. If you’re the athletic director I’m pretty sure you get wind of something, that somebody’s put something in your ear. When I was going to school there, and we were partying too much on campus, coaches could show up at our dorm room and tell us to calm the partying down. But you can’t tell if somebody took a $750,000 home? I don’t know. It’s weird to me.”

On his release from the Seahawks:

“I was shocked. I’m still shocked. I would figure if there was a problem or anything needed to be said or done, that my old coach would grab me to the side and whisper something in my ear and tell me step it up or do something different. I would figure that.”

“Thursday (the day before the release) when I was leaving practice, Pete Carroll hugged me and told me everything was going well. I thought everything was fine. I went to Vegas, just having fun for Memorial Day weekend and then I get a call Friday morning telling me they’re going in another (direction). I never really got an explanation.”

“I actually called Pete and asked Pete what was going on. Pete never knows why anything, right? Pete, he beat around the bush. He just said it wasn’t going to work out. He didn’t really give me an answer. He didn’t give me a clear explanation.”

When he showed up to the NFL scouting combine in 2006, White was so out of shape that one GM was actually quoted as saying that he “needed a bra.”

Read the rest of this entry »