Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 568 of 1503)

      Don’t fall asleep on the Bengals

      January 7, 2010 /

      Let’s face it: The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t exactly storming into the playoffs looking for blood and ready to run over their competition as soon as the whistle blows.

      The Bengals lost three of their last four games to wrap up the regular season and haven’t beaten an opponent of significance since they produced back-to-back wins over the Ravens and Steelers in mid-November. Their passing game is severely limited, they have injury concerns and they seem to lack big play potential on both sides of the ball.

      In steps in the New York Jets, who might as well be the ’68-69 Jets compared to the Bengals. Led by Rex Ryan, New York has the No. 1 defense in the league, can run the ball behind their solid offensive line and is virtually impossible to pass on.

      And-oh-by-the-way, they also just crushed the Bengals 37-0 last week at the Meadowlands. So why should anyone like Cincinnati to beat New York this Saturday?

      Here’s why: The Bengals team that played on Sunday night won’t be the same squad that shows up this Saturday in Cincinnati.

      Anyone that thinks that the Bengals will play as bad as they did last Sunday is dreaming. They couldn’t tackle, they were unmotivated and they were depleted on both sides of the ball. And if that was Cincinnati’s full complement of offensive plays, then Marvin Lewis and his entire coaching staff should be fired immediately.

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      Charlie Weis to run Chiefs offense

      January 7, 2010 /

      It appears that Charlie Weis is heading back to the NFL, as ESPN.com is reporting that he has agreed to be the Chiefs’ new offensive coordinator.

      Weis will be reunited with head coach Todd Haley, with whom he shared an office when both were young assistants with the New York Jets. Weis also will be reunited with Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who was Patriots vice president of player personnel when Weis was the offensive coordinator for three Super Bowl championships before going to coach at Notre Dame.

      The Bears had also been in the mix to hire Weis as offensive coordinator but the Chiefs won out.

      Haley ran the offense in his first year with the Chiefs after dismissing offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Haley had expressed a desire to find a coordinator so he could better manage his head-coaching responsibilities.

      This is a good move for the Chiefs. Weis failed as a head coach at Notre Dame, but don’t forget he was successful as an offensive coordinator with the Patriots before he arrived in South Bend. Plus, ND’s offense was rarely the problem under Weis’ direction and was actually quite potent last year with Jimmy Clausen under center.

      With Matt Cassel’s experience running New England’s offense, this should be a perfect match. Plus, Haley can now concentrate on being a head coach and not having to worry about running the offense too.


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      Boldin doubtful for Packers game?

      January 6, 2010 /

      The Arizona Republic is reporting that Anquan Boldin has a sprained left MCL, as well as a high left ankle sprain.

      Receiver Anquan Boldin — He told me he has a high left ankle sprain and a sprained left medial collateral ligament. He worked with a trainer during practice but it’s questionable if he’ll play Sunday against the Packers.

      Even though the Arizona Republic reports that it’s “questionable” that he’ll play, sprains of that nature can take players weeks to recover from. That said, Boldin is extremely tough and will likely suit up. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, even if he does play, he probably won’t be close to 100%.

      This bodes well for a hot Packers team that already matches up well with Arizona’s passing attack.


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      Did Russell ditch Raiders for Las Vegas?

      January 6, 2010 /

      Beat writer David White of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting “someone using the name JaMarcus Russell checked into The Palms in Las Vegas” the day after Russell was excused from a team meeting for “personal reasons.”

      White notes that this could potentially save Tom Cable’s job in Oakland.

      Russell is believed to be the major sticking point between Cable, who benched Russell after nine games, and Davis, who preaches patience for his prized No. 1 overall draft pick.

      Russell has been criticized by Cable publicly, and teammates privately, for not working hard enough off the field. The reason reporters knew about Russell’s absence Monday was because of a tip from a teammate in the locker room who couldn’t hide his disgust.

      Cable can take Russell’s Vegas-over-team trip to show Davis the extent of his disconnect from the rest of the team. Maybe Davis will see Cable handled Russell the right way all along, that his struggles were about more than Xs and Os.

      That, or Davis says about Russell what he said about Randy Moss in September — that the Raiders failed him. If that’s his stance, then yeah, Cable is gone.

      If Davis choices Russell over Cable it would be a colossal mistake. Russell will never live up to his lofty expectations because he’s not prepared to put in the work. Furthermore, he doesn’t have the overall talent. (It takes more than a strong arm to be a quarterback in the NFL, which he has proven time and time again.)

      If this rumor/report (not sure what to call it) is true, then Russell should be released immediately. I don’t know how much proof Davis needs to unload that gigantic bust. That said, maybe Russell really did have a “personal” issue to attend to, so we’ll just have to wait and see if more details emerge.

      I don’t want to make Cable out to be Vince Lombardi, but he proved this season that he’s capable of winning games. With Russell on the bench, the Raiders showed promise down the stretch and actually fought hard under Cable. He wasn’t Oakland’s biggest problem this season and deserves a shot to see what he can do without worrying about Russell infecting the team with his horrible play.


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      Report: John Fox is interested in Browns’ job

      January 6, 2010 /

      According to Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Panthers’ head coach John Fox is reportedly “very interested” in the Browns’ job if it becomes available this offseason.

      1. Fox is “very interested” in the possibility, according to a league source.

      2. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson would be willing to arrive at a contract settlement to get out of the $6 million owed Fox for the 2010 season.

      3. Richardson, seeing a potential owners’ lockout in 2011, would not replace Fox with Bill Cowher, but might promote from within.

      4. Behind the scenes, most if not all of Mike Holmgren’s coaching and executive “ready lists” are made up of clients of agent Bob LaMonte. Fox is in that stable.

      This doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Richardson allow Fox to go if he wasn’t going to replace him with Cowher? The Panthers have been the model of inconsistency under Fox over the past couple years, but his teams always play hard and usually find a way to finish respectable. So why allow Fox to jettison if Cowher (who has been linked to Carolina before) wasn’t going to be his replacement? (Unless there’s an internal candidate that Richardson really wants to promote that I’m just not aware of.)

      The Browns have an interesting dilemma on their hands with Eric Mangini. Cleveland finished the season winning four in a row, including a 13-6 victory over the defending champion Steelers in mid December. But this was also the same team that looked completely inept for 13 weeks under Mangini, so why should Holmgren believe that Mangini has the Browns heading in the right direction? Four wins over the Steelers, Chiefs, Raiders and Jaguars is nice, but that’s the only thing they were: Four wins over the Steelers, Chiefs, Raiders and Jaguars.

      We’ll see if there’s any teeth to this Fox rumor and monitor Holmgren’s big decision regarding Mangini.


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