Category: NFL (Page 543 of 1282)

You stay classy, Eagle fans

Here’s how Eagle fans treated 49er fans during Philadelphia’s win over San Fran on Sunday:

I know that was mild compared to what Philly fans normally do to fans of opposing teams, but one has to wonder if God is punishing the Eagles for the way their fans act. You know, that whole thing about the Eagles always making it to the NFC Championship Game but never the Super Bowl? It’s cruel of God, but not as cruel as showering two defenseless Niner fans with hundreds of snowballs.

Refs job Redskins on Brandon Jacobs non-flag

The Giants gave the Redskins a beating of the lifetime on Monday night football, so in the end a certain non-call didn’t matter. But how the hell did running back Brandon Jacobs not get flagged for throwing a punch at Albert Haynesworth during the third quarter last night? It wasn’t like he snuck the punch in while lying underneath a pile of players and the refs didn’t see it; the punch was right out in the open.

As the saying goes, “they” always catch the second person in the act and not the instigator. But it was ridiculous when the official announced that Haynesworth was the one penalized when Jacobs clearly started the melee by tussling with Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall (no surprise that he was in the middle of something). Granted, Haynesworth should have been flagged as well, but I was shocked that Jacobs wasn’t thrown out of the game, never mind the fact that he escaped the situation without getting penalized.

Again though, the situation was just one embarrassing moment in a sea of embarrassing moments for the Redskins. The Giants crushed them 45-12, but the score wasn’t even that close. New York dominated every phase of the game and proved that they’re going to fight for one of the two Wild Card spots in the NFC.

The Cowboys might be feeling good after beating the previously undefeated Saints on Monday night. But with two losses to the Giants hanging over their heads, they might be a little worried after seeing New York’s performance on Monday night. The playoff race in the NFC is far from decided.

Waiver Wire Watch: Week 16

Week 16 is here, so it’s do or die time for most fantasy owners. I wouldn’t imagine that there are too many championship-caliber teams out there scouring on the waiver wire for guys to start in the title game, so I’ll make this WWW relatively brief. Here are a few guys that could help fantasy owners that are in a pinch at a particular position. Remember, to be eligible for the WWW, a player needs to be owned in no more than 50% of ESPN leagues.

* Alex Smith (37.2) didn’t have a very good game against the Eagles, but with Lions coming to town, he is very much startable in Week 16.

* Vince Young (27.1) has thrown nine TD in the last six games and is also making plays with his feet. The Chargers are just a so-so matchup, but the Titans will have to throw to keep up.

* Jason Campbell (30.6) doesn’t have the greatest matchup in the world (DAL), but he has played pretty well of late and is usable in a pinch.

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Mike Holmgren named Browns club president

Mike Holmgren has accepted the Browns’ offer to become the team’s new club president, according to Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Holmgren said on his weekly radio show last Friday that if he took the job, he’d give Browns coach Eric Mangini a chance to prove himself. He said “it’s not fair” to come in and fire a coach after one season, but that he understands sometimes tough decisions aren’t fair.

A league source said Lerner was hoping that whoever he brought in would see that Mangini’s plan was working — and there’s been evidence of that in recent weeks, including back-to-back victories over Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

Mangini also has the support of executive advisor Jim Brown, who said he deserves to keep his job.

Terms of Holmgren’s deal were not disclosed, but previous reports estimated it could be around $5 million a year. On Saturday, Holmgren turned down an offer for a high-level post with the Seahawks, which, according to the Seattle Times, was the president’s role.

Holmgren now has decide whether or not to give Mangini a chance to prove himself past one season, or start fresh and hire someone new to coach his team. It’s human nature to want to start with a clean slate, so I would imagine that Holmgren will let Mangini go and hire someone who is familiar with the West Coast Offense (the offense Holmgren ran in his coaching career). But then again, who knows – maybe Holmgren sees that Mangini has the Browns moving in the right direction and values him as an asset.

Regardless of what he decides to do with Mangini, this was absolutely the right hire by the Browns. Holmgren has already proven that he can win in this league and Cleveland needs someone that can build from the ground up. Great hire.

Is it time for the Bears to show Lovie Smith the door?

To his credit, Lovie Smith has one Super Bowl appearance under his belt as a head coach. But how long should one Super Bowl appearance last someone if he fails to reach the playoffs the following three seasons?

After losing to the Colts in the 2006 Super Bowl, the Bears have gone 7-9, 9-7 and are now currently 5-9. Despite trading for Jay Cutler in the offseason, Chicago is regressing and what’s worse is that it doesn’t have a first round pick in either of the next two drafts and also doesn’t have a second round pick next year.

The Bears are floundering, not prospering. So where does that leave Smith?

For all intents and purposes, Cutler’s turnover woes, the offensive lines’ blocking issues and all of the injuries on defense aren’t Smith’s fault. He can’t run, tackle and punt for his team, so maybe it’s not fair for him to be fired at the end of the season when it’s clear that the Bears’ problems run deeper than the head coach.

The problem is that his players have given up. The 31-7 shellacking they took in Baltimore on Sunday was the fourth time that the Bears have been blown out this season. They’re just 1-6 on the road this year and the problems that haunted them in Week 1 are still haunting them in Week 15. That’s a problem – a coaching problem. Even the dreadful Browns and Redskins have cut down on the mistakes that cost them earlier in the season.

The Bears finish the season at home against the Vikings in Week 16 and at Detroit in Week 17. If Chicago shows the same ineptitude over the next two weeks as it has over the past couple months, even a cheap ownership like the Bears might decide that enough is enough and hand Smith his pink slip at the end of the season.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

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