Tiki Barber threw away his NFL career by retiring in his prime, and then he threw away a budding TV career after all the buzz about his relationship with a young blonde bombshell, Traci Lynn Johnson. Now he married her just eight days after his divorce was finalized, so at least he gets a pretty nice WAG on his arm.
Page 135 of 2955
Every year there’s a team that gets zero respect from many in the national media. Last year it was the Cincinnati Bengals, who many thought could win a game with their rookie quarterback. Of course the Bengals went on to make the playoffs.
That’s the NFL these days. Things change so much from year to year that many preseason predictions end up looking foolish. This year the team getting little respect is based in Cleveland, as many NFL gurus seem to be weighing the last 12 years of futility more than what’s really going on in Cleveland.
Of course there are many questions surrounding the Browns, and they may end up as a very bad team this year, mostly because the team is very young, with rookies expected to start at quarterback, running back, right tackle and possibly wide receiver. We can all expect some growing pains.
But last year the defense was much better, led by the improbably resurgence of D’Qwell Jackson. Jackson had missed two years in a row from 2009-2010 as a result of tearing each of his pectoral muscles in consecutive years. many doubted he would ever play again, let alone return as a top player at his position. But Jackson defied all the odds, and he flourished under the new 4-3 scheme implemented in Cleveland under the new regime last season. Jackson is a tackling machine and he helped the young defense post solid numbers, keeping the Browns in many ballgames despite one of the worst offenses in franchise history.
Jackson will be counted on again, and naturally he needs to stay healthy. But the Browns are young and talented on defense, so that side of the ball should be fine if they stay healthy.
It’s the offense that has some around the NFL predicting a long season for the Browns, but here they seem to be counting on a worse-case scenario. Sure, Brandon Weeden will be a 29-year-old rookie playing quarterback, and he may have some serious growing pains. But he has an amazing arm, and even if he struggles he should be a significant upgrade over Colt McCoy.
Trent Richardson is a rookie at tailback, but talented rookies often excel carrying the football, and a back like TRich can completely transform an offense.
As mentioned above, the Browns may also have rookies at right guard and wide receiver, but in 2nd round picks Mitchell Schwartz and Josh Gordon (supplemental draft), the Browns have added serious talent to positions of need.
The upside for this offense is significant. If Richardson reaches his potential, every defense will now need to respect the Browns running game, yet they also have to contend with Weeden’s strong arm. When you consider the young defense led by Jackson and the revamped offense, the Browns are one of those teams where it’s dangerous to predict an outcome for 2012, as anything is possible.
This is one of the hottest athlete videos I’ve seen in a while. Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke is warming up before a trial heat during the Junior World Championships in Barcelona 2012, and she’s all smiles as she’s dancing away. The video is getting shared everywhere.
We’ve heard all sorts of wild speculation about the concussion lawsuits and how they might “bring down” the NFL. I guess anything is possible, but as usual we have a bunch of sportswriters playing lawyer and speculating about the most extreme possible results.
I have no idea what is going to happen. I haven’t studied the briefs and I certainly haven’t seen any of the discovery materials that may or may not be produced. I’m a lawyer, and I know that it’s impossible to predict the outcome of a case like this because so little information is available. Maybe there’s a “smoking gun” memo in the NFL files that proves the owners intentionally withheld medical information about concussions from the players. Maybe such a thing doesn’t exist. We’ll all have to wait and see.
But I do know that the assumption of risk by the players will be a major element in these lawsuits, and NFL attorneys will have plenty of examples to draw upon. The latest statements from Troy Polamalu helps the owners’ case, not that of the players:
Polamalu said on the Dan Patrick Show that he has lied about symptoms of concussions so that he’d be cleared to stay on the field.
“Yes, I have, for sure,” Polamalu said.
But he distinguishes between major injuries and minor ones where he’s just banged up. But he also applies that to getting his bell rung.
“I’ve had, I believe, eight or nine recorded concussions. We’ll have another conversation after I’m done playing football,” Polamalu said. “When you get your bell rung they consider that a concussion — I wouldn’t. . . . If that is considered a concussion, I’d say any football player at least records 50 to 100 concussions a year.”
So why is Polamalu willing to lie? He says it’s all about being there for his team.
Polamalu has the drive of a great player and intense competitor. This is the culture of the NFL, and players like him are rewarded in many ways by his team, his teammates, the media etc.
The question in the lawsuits will be how can players hold ownership liable when most players would avoid coming off the field? Are the owners liable as a result of this culture, or is it something that’s just a part of football, meaning that all the players assumed this risk?
The New York Knicks made it official last night. The declined the opportunity to match the offer sheet from the Houston Rockets, so Jeremy Lin is moving on and Linsanity is officially over in the Big Apple.
FOLLOW US!
CATEGORIES
© 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑