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Report: Browns offer Mike Holmgren a contract

According to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, the Browns have offered Mike Holmgren a contract in the $8-10 million per year range to be their football “czar.”

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Holmgren has indicated he’d like to speak with the Seahawks about their vacant general manager position, but the team is in the process of evaluating its own situation and has hired a search firm to come up with possible candidates.
While Cleveland might be content to wait some time for an answer, the Browns can’t be put on hold indefinitely. So it will be interesting to see if Holmgren’s situation there — and a leaked pronouncement that he’s been offered a job — will prod the Seahawks into action.

Seems like this one could go one of two ways. Either the Seahawks will grow tired of being publicly pushed into a quick decision on Holmgren and eliminate him from consideration, or decide they need to move quickly to secure their man.
Meanwhile, Holmgren must decide whether he’s wants to take the first job offered to him in Cleveland, or hold out on the Seahawks or other potential openings when the season concludes in January.

Unless it’s a money issue, I don’t know why the Seahawks wouldn’t act quickly to bring Holmgren back to Seattle as their general manager. The position is open with the departure of Tim Ruskell, so unless Seattle expects to land Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher, it’s perplexing why they wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to bring back Holmgren if he indeed wants the job.

That said, I don’t blame them for not wanting to make a snap decision. But if Holmgren does go elsewhere, the Seahawks better land a capable GM, because Jim Mora isn’t a miracle worker. He’s not the type of head coach that gets the most out of his players; he needs talent in order to succeed or else he’s an average NFL coach at best.

Kudos to the Browns for being aggressive by offering Holmgren a contract. They realize they have a problem at the top and need someone with credibility to come in and rebuild the organization from the ground up. It’ll be interesting to see if they land Holmgren.


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Chris Henry suffers life-threatening injuries

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that Bengals’ wideout Chris Henry suffered life-threatening injuries when he fell out of the back of a pickup truck in Charlotte on Wednesday.

Police say Henry was involved in a “domestic situation” with his fiancee at 840 Peachtree Road. His fiancee, who police haven’t named, got into a pickup truck and drove away from the home. As she was driving, police say, Henry jumped into the bed of the truck.

The domestic dispute continued between the woman and Henry. At some point, Henry “came out” of the back of the vehicle. Police refused to elaborate on whether Henry fell or might have been forced out of the truck.

A woman who answered the door and identified herself as the fiancee’s mother but declined to give her name said Henry and his fiancee had been staying at the house while he was on injured reserve and they were making plans for their wedding.

Henry has certainly had his fair share of off-field issues, but many of his Cincinnati teammates had said that he was starting to turn his life around.

Here’s hoping that he can pull through and have a full recover. My thoughts go out to him and his family.


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Raiders choose Charlie Frye over JaMarcus Russell

Question: You know your career is in shambles when…

Answer: …Charlie Frye is named the starting quarterback over you.

From the Denver Post:

That means JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, has again been demoted. Russell was benched last month for Bruce Gradkowski, who is now out with MCL sprains in both knees.

Russell replaced Gradkowski in the second half of last week’s loss to Washington. He threw an interception and was sacked six times.
That performance was enough to make Cable turn to Frye, who has been inactive or did not play in every game this season.

This has to be the nail in the coffin for Russell in Oakland. If Cable retains his job in the offseason, I don’t see how he’ll keep Russell when he’s already chose Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye over him. Even crazy ol’ Al Davis has to see that Russell is a bust.

If he is released, some team will take a shot on Russell because of his size and arm strength. But I doubt he’ll be one of those players that resurrects his career after seeing the light of day. The guy just doesn’t have what it takes to be a professional quarterback because he won’t put in the time to succeed. He’s a mess.


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Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 15

The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week, you pick up a defensethat is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. To see how this approach performed last season, click here.

Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…

#1 Titans: 7 PA (6) + 1 SK + 5 INT + 1 RET TD = 18 fantasy points
#2 Bucs: 26 PA (0) + 1 SK + 1 FR = 2 fp
#3 Chiefs: 16 PA (2) + 2 SK + 1 INT + 2 FR = 7 fp

The Titans obviously posted a great performance, scoring the second-most points of any defense in Week 14. The Bucs were equally unimpressive, especially considering that they were facing Kellen Clemens at home. The Chiefs performed pretty well against Buffalo, as expected.

For the season, my #1 pick is averaging 9.6 fantasy points per game, my #2 pick is averaging 10.1 ppg and my #3 pick is averaging 6.7 ppg. On the whole, DTBWW is averaging 8.8 ppg, which equates to DT4 numbers. Not bad.

Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Note: If the Colts happen to be available, I think I’d take them over my #2 or #3 picks this week.

Pick #1: Arizona Cardinals (@ DET)
The Cards were embarrassed in San Francisco on Monday night, so I think they’ll have a bounce-back game against the hapless Lions. Detroit is a little less hapless with Matt Stafford under center, but the Cards defense should be able to post a nice fantasy line.

Pick #2: Seattle Seahawks (vs. TB)
The Seahawks defense isn’t great, but they have performed well at home against bad competition and the Bucs certainly qualify. Tampa looked terrible against the Jets last week, so the Seahawks DT should have a good week.

Pick #3: Houston Texans (@ STL)
Houston’s defense isn’t explosive, but it’s solid, and with Steven Jackson nursing a bad back, the Rams don’t have a lot of options on offense.


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Mets pursuing Bay, Holliday

According to SI.com, the Mets have “tweaked” their offer to free agent Jason Bay to give him a possible five-year alternative and have jumped into the race for Matt Holliday.

Mets GM Omar Minaya and Bay’s agent, Joe Urbon, spoke at length on Tuesday. Minaya is thought to have signaled a willingness to go to a five-year deal (at slightly lower dollars per year than the original four-year offer for close to $65 million), but with Bay still believed to be seeking a six-year deal from them, the Mets apparently have decided to dip back in on Holliday. The Mets, who are now believed willing to go to about $75 million for five for Bay, originally concentrated on Bay in the hope that they might be able to sign him quicker.

Minaya is expected to talk to Holliday’s agent, Scott Boras, as soon as Wednesday. Mets people suggest there could be a trade option to fill their offensive gap, but it appears that Bay and Holliday are their two top targets to enhance their power.

SI.com also reports that the Mets are trying to wrap up a deal with catcher Bengie Molina, but that talks are at a standstill because Molina wants a three-year deal for as much as $20 million. But New York is only willing to do two years at $10 million for the 35-year-old backstop.

What’s interesting about SI.com’s report regarding Bay is that ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Mets are currently at four years for the former Red Sox (not five) and that the club isn’t actively involved in the Holliday sweepstakes.

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