Category: NFL (Page 1021 of 1282)

Peter Schrager of FOX SPORTS has 32 burning questions surrounding each NFL team.

Chicago Bears
Q: Is the Bears offense the worst unit in the entire league?
A: Well, the quarterback duo of Grossman and Orton has to be in the bottom half of the league. The running attack — a trio of unproven guys not named Benson or Jones — has to be in the bottom quarter of the league. The offensive line — anchored by a rookie tackle out of Vanderbilt — is a giant question mark. And the receivers? Well, there may be no worse depth chart in the NFL.
So, Bears fans, you tell me.

Cleveland Browns
Q: Can the Browns defense stop a Junior Varsity offense?
A: Upgrades had to be made and they were. In comes Shaun Rogers, Corey Williams and linebacker Beau Bell, a rookie projected to go as early as the first or second round but who slipped all the way to the fourth round. The offense is simmering. The defense is getting there. Cleveland’s got a real shot at the franchise’s first divisional title in 19 years.

Green Bay Packers
Q: Does life go on without Brett Favre?
A: Yes. But please give the national sports media a few years to recover. Remember, Brett Favre was and is the most important American to ever walk the Earth.

New England Patriots
Q: Can the Pats go undefeated in 2008?
A: The odds in Vegas are currently 15:1 that they do. Sure, there’s been SpyGate, that whole Nick Kaczur Donnie Brasco thing, and more arrests than the Bengals this offseason. But the Pats are playing angry and their schedule is actually more manageable than it was in ’08. Now, if they can just find someone to play cornerback.

The NFC North will be interesting on a whole this year. Are the Vikings the team to beat, even with Tavaris Jackson at quarterback? Did the Packers overachieve last year and therefore come crashing down to earth without Favre? Is the Bears’ offense that bad? Is the Lions’ defense that bad? It’s going to be a fun year.

Former Lions’ head coach Steve Mariucci took a shot at his former GM Matt Millen recently.

“Matt Millen has changed 58 coaches already, and he’s now finally changing players,” Mariucci said. “Sure I’ve stayed in touch with some of them and some of the coaches, and on occasion Bill Ford Jr. — I respect the heck out of Bill, he’ll take that team over some day.”

I hate to sound like I’m defending Millen, but it’s not like Mooch did much to keep his job while in Detroit. He was often regarded as a pushover in the locker room with certain players and he had absolutely no clue how to handle the mess that turned out to be Joey Harrington. Millen is a disaster, but it’s not like Mariucci got a raw deal in Motown.

THE SPORTING NEWS ranks the top 10 NFL coaches on the hot seat heading into the 2008 season.

1. Wade Phillips, Cowboys. Coaches from playoff teams aren’t usually on the hot seat. Then again, not many coaches preside over teams that haven’t won a playoff game since 1996, are expected to go to the Super Bowl in 2008 and have the next head coach, Jason Garrett, ready to step in at a moment’s notice.

Wade Phillips has the temperament to withstand the pressure. Besides, he’s no stranger to being fired. But it doesn’t make the pressure any less real.

So if the Cowboys don’t make the postseason, or if they don’t win a game or two once they get there, Wade won’t be back in 2009.

Phillips will lose his job because Jerry Jones wants Garrett to be his head coach, like, yesterday. It’ll have nothing to do with whether or not the Cowboys win a playoff game this year.