SOME WEDNESDAY MORNING QUICKIES & I'LL TELL YOU WHY I'M SO DAMN CYNICAL
Just a few quick notes for your Wednesday morning coffee break. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt resigned Tuesday afternoon, he was the Panthers' head coach for the past 6-years. The program never reached the level of national respect many thought they would achieve under Wannstedt. The former Miami Dolphin & Chicago Bear head coach & Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator tendered his resignation before school officials made the expected move to fire him. The talent level at Pitt suffered in the past few years, his recruiting had been a major disappointment. Wannstedt had but one signature win while at Pitt, the Panthers 1st ever win at Notre Dame in 2008, not a lot to hang your hat on. Many boosters believed he was given a lot of slack because he attended Pitt, playing offensive tackle for the Panthers' 1977 national championship team.
Another coaching vacancy was created when the Denver Broncos fired Josh McDaniels Monday evening. The team issued a statement today saying the next head coach would not have the same authority McDaniels & his predecessor, Mike Shanahan, had while they were the head coach. The Broncos wants an independent general manager. How weird would this be? Ben McDaniels, Josh's borther, remains as the Bronco quarterback coach, for now anyway.
In Washington, the Albert Haynesworth problem has been put to rest as Mike Shanahan has suspended the disgruntled defensive tackle for the final four games of the season. The reason given was "conduct detrimental to the team." Haynesworth angered his coaches way back in training camp, he didn't like the switch to a 3-4 defense. His pouting shot him to the top of Shanahan's sh*t list & he was inactive for more games than he played. You see Albert got himself a $100 million free agent deal from owner Dan Snyder & after receiving his $21 million signing bonus last year, he pretty much put it in cruise control & did as little as possible. I honestly believe Shanahan is as much to blame as Haynesworth for this mess. But it was Albert who lost the respect from most of his teammates because of his pitiful work ethic.
In NFL injury news, Steeler tight end Heath Miller is out for Sunday's game with the Bungles. Miller received what I perceived as a dirty shot in Sunday's game with Baltimore. Linebacker Jameel McLain laid a monster hit on Miller, hitting him square in the face. McLain was fined $40K by the league for the hit. The other tight end in the game, Baltimore's Todd Heap, suffered a hamstring injury & is unlikely to play. Rookies Dennis Pitta & Ed Dickson will share the load. Steeler punter Daniel Sepulveda suffered his third ACL injury in three years & will be out for the remainder of the season.
Look for 6th round rookie quarterback John Skelton, of Fordham, to start for the Arizona Cardinals the rest of the season. Derek Anderson has been awful & fellow rookie Max Hall has a hard time staying in the lineup with numerous injuries. Skelton was the biggest QB at the combine last February at 6' 7" 249-pounds.
As I watched replays of Rex Ryan's post-game press conference last night, I was really amazed by his defiance. At one point he said "I don't care, I'll play them again right now." I began to wonder, listening to all this bluster, if he doesn't quite understand his Jets got bludgeoned 45-3? Ryan is definitely a chip off the old block, his father Buddy, was also known for puffing his chest out & saying outrageous things. Here's the bottom line on these two teams, the Pats have beaten Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Indy, San Diego & the Jets while New York has beaten but one team with a winning record, the Pats in week 2, that's it. Another thing jumps off the schedule at me, the Jets have lost three games, to the Ravens(opening the season), Green Bay(after NY's bye week) & last night after not playing since Thanksgiving. Apparently the more preparation & practice time the Jets have, the worse they play. This team may not be as good as many thought.
The four Heisman Trophy finalists were announced on Tuesday & to no one's surprise it's Cam Newton, LaMichael James, Andrew Luck & Kellen Moore. Unless I've missed the mark, Newton will win in a landslide.
People email me complaining of my cynicism, about the Chiefs, about the BCS, about a lot of things. Yes, I am a cynic, I've been around long enough to see & experience crap that just hardens a person. Three weeks ago while watching the Ohio State-Iowa game, we were treated to the story of Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa's all-time leading receiver. He was orphaned in Campbell Ohio, just outside of Youngstown. He was adopted by a Greek-American couple who raised Johnson as their own. TV cameras showed the proud parents in the stands, cheering their son on in this crucial game. ABC broadcaster Brad Nessler commented at the time how close he was to his parents, it all sounded like such a nice story, sort of Michael Oher-like. Until this evening when it became public knowledge Johnson-Koulianos has been arrested & charged with multiple felonies such as possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of prescription drugs & keeping a drug house. The Iowa City Police found cocaine, 7-ounces of marijuana, numerous bottles of narcotic pain killers & over $3,000 in cash. Derrell admitted it all belonged to him & a quick urine test confirmed he had several drugs in his system. How proud his parents must be, how gratifying. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz quickly suspended the player until further notice, the Mizzou Tigers won't have to worry about defensing Johnson-Koulianos, he won't be at the Insight Bowl. Apparently his parents can cancel their travel plans as well, their money will be better spent on their son's defense lawyers. He can forget about going to the NFL combine in February, the league won't touch him until all this is resolved. Cynical? You bet I am, a new target pops up nearly every week to reinforce those feelings.
The office pool picks will be posted later tonight in time for the Thursday night game.
Another coaching vacancy was created when the Denver Broncos fired Josh McDaniels Monday evening. The team issued a statement today saying the next head coach would not have the same authority McDaniels & his predecessor, Mike Shanahan, had while they were the head coach. The Broncos wants an independent general manager. How weird would this be? Ben McDaniels, Josh's borther, remains as the Bronco quarterback coach, for now anyway.
In Washington, the Albert Haynesworth problem has been put to rest as Mike Shanahan has suspended the disgruntled defensive tackle for the final four games of the season. The reason given was "conduct detrimental to the team." Haynesworth angered his coaches way back in training camp, he didn't like the switch to a 3-4 defense. His pouting shot him to the top of Shanahan's sh*t list & he was inactive for more games than he played. You see Albert got himself a $100 million free agent deal from owner Dan Snyder & after receiving his $21 million signing bonus last year, he pretty much put it in cruise control & did as little as possible. I honestly believe Shanahan is as much to blame as Haynesworth for this mess. But it was Albert who lost the respect from most of his teammates because of his pitiful work ethic.
In NFL injury news, Steeler tight end Heath Miller is out for Sunday's game with the Bungles. Miller received what I perceived as a dirty shot in Sunday's game with Baltimore. Linebacker Jameel McLain laid a monster hit on Miller, hitting him square in the face. McLain was fined $40K by the league for the hit. The other tight end in the game, Baltimore's Todd Heap, suffered a hamstring injury & is unlikely to play. Rookies Dennis Pitta & Ed Dickson will share the load. Steeler punter Daniel Sepulveda suffered his third ACL injury in three years & will be out for the remainder of the season.
Look for 6th round rookie quarterback John Skelton, of Fordham, to start for the Arizona Cardinals the rest of the season. Derek Anderson has been awful & fellow rookie Max Hall has a hard time staying in the lineup with numerous injuries. Skelton was the biggest QB at the combine last February at 6' 7" 249-pounds.
As I watched replays of Rex Ryan's post-game press conference last night, I was really amazed by his defiance. At one point he said "I don't care, I'll play them again right now." I began to wonder, listening to all this bluster, if he doesn't quite understand his Jets got bludgeoned 45-3? Ryan is definitely a chip off the old block, his father Buddy, was also known for puffing his chest out & saying outrageous things. Here's the bottom line on these two teams, the Pats have beaten Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Indy, San Diego & the Jets while New York has beaten but one team with a winning record, the Pats in week 2, that's it. Another thing jumps off the schedule at me, the Jets have lost three games, to the Ravens(opening the season), Green Bay(after NY's bye week) & last night after not playing since Thanksgiving. Apparently the more preparation & practice time the Jets have, the worse they play. This team may not be as good as many thought.
The four Heisman Trophy finalists were announced on Tuesday & to no one's surprise it's Cam Newton, LaMichael James, Andrew Luck & Kellen Moore. Unless I've missed the mark, Newton will win in a landslide.
People email me complaining of my cynicism, about the Chiefs, about the BCS, about a lot of things. Yes, I am a cynic, I've been around long enough to see & experience crap that just hardens a person. Three weeks ago while watching the Ohio State-Iowa game, we were treated to the story of Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa's all-time leading receiver. He was orphaned in Campbell Ohio, just outside of Youngstown. He was adopted by a Greek-American couple who raised Johnson as their own. TV cameras showed the proud parents in the stands, cheering their son on in this crucial game. ABC broadcaster Brad Nessler commented at the time how close he was to his parents, it all sounded like such a nice story, sort of Michael Oher-like. Until this evening when it became public knowledge Johnson-Koulianos has been arrested & charged with multiple felonies such as possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of prescription drugs & keeping a drug house. The Iowa City Police found cocaine, 7-ounces of marijuana, numerous bottles of narcotic pain killers & over $3,000 in cash. Derrell admitted it all belonged to him & a quick urine test confirmed he had several drugs in his system. How proud his parents must be, how gratifying. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz quickly suspended the player until further notice, the Mizzou Tigers won't have to worry about defensing Johnson-Koulianos, he won't be at the Insight Bowl. Apparently his parents can cancel their travel plans as well, their money will be better spent on their son's defense lawyers. He can forget about going to the NFL combine in February, the league won't touch him until all this is resolved. Cynical? You bet I am, a new target pops up nearly every week to reinforce those feelings.
The office pool picks will be posted later tonight in time for the Thursday night game.
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