RAIDERS COULD CLEAN HOUSE, ANTONIO CROMARTIE JUST GETS DUMBER BY THE DAY & MICHIGAN FINALLY GETS A "YES"
The Oakland Raiders, without doubt, one of the worst run NFL franchises over the past 6-8 years, is on the verge of reaching new lows in team management. They already let Tom Cable go, some thought it was a good move, I didn't, his team played hard for him & if it weren't for owner Al Davis constantly butting in, micromanaging, the Raiders could well have won the AFC West. Davis hasn't scheduled any interviews for the vacant head coaching position. I think there's a strong possibility he won't ink Cable's replacement until the CBA negotiations have turned the corner. Right now there's little coming from the negotiations that could be called positive. So why start paying a coach huge money when you might have a work stoppage. Personnel decisions have never been a coach's responsibility with the Raiders, Al Davis has the final word, so having a coach in place isn't crucial right now. Davis was at one time, one of the most shrewd talent evaluators in football. No more, whether it's his age, 81, or the fact that game has passed him by, Davis is no longer the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to NFL talent. Yesterday the club voided the contract of all-pro cornerback Nnamdi Asoguha because he failed to meet certain incentives. I thought he wasn't as good as in season's past, but at 29, he should still be very good for at least a few more years. Davis made Asoguha the highest paid corner in the league a few years ago & now he doesn't want him. He may not be the only one cast off by the Raiders. Robert Gallery, one the of the league's best offensive guards, could be sent packing this week. Also on Al Davis' "To Do" list include RB Michael Bush, TE Zach Miller, safety Michael Huff & DT Richard Seymour. Look for a franchise tag on Seymour, but the others? Who knows? Except for Huff, the other 5 are in the top-10 of Raider talent. What coach wouldn't want this job? Leading Al Davis' handpicked all-stars, what a deal.
Reggie Bush's day of reckoning might be at hand. The disgraced former Heisman Trophy winner still had his Super Bowl ring won with the Saints & there was of course his ridiculous contract. After winning the Super Bowl last January, the Saints elected to pay Bush his $8 million salary for the 2010 season. That 8-mill got the Saints 150-yards rushing & 208 receiving, pretty steep per yard pay don't you think? Well now the Saints are faced with paying Bush $11.8 miilion for next season & I think if Bush doesn't agree to something in the $4 million range, his days as a New Orleans Saint will quickly come to a close. Bush missed 7 weeks after breaking his leg on a Monday night game in San Francisco, but even when healthy, Bush simply didn't produce. How great was the BCS champion USC Trojan offense? So many of them picked in the high rounds of the NFL Draft & so many disappointments. Besides Bush, there was QB Matt Leinart, RB LenDale White & WR Dwayne Jarrett, see any all-pros here? The whole lot was horribly overrated.
I didn't write a recap of the BCS title game, I wasn't feeling well the other night. If you weren't an Auburn fan or didn't have a bet on them, they're a hard team to like. I'm still not convinced of Cam Newton's innocence in the "play for pay" controversy. I quickly grew tired of coach Gene Chizik's talk of how much God helped his team over & over, on & on. It must be nice to have an SEC fan in God. I wonder how much God had to do with Nick Fairly's continued dirty play? I had no wager on the game & I was wrong on my prediction. I doubt I will ever pick against the SEC in the title game, this marked the conference's 5th consecutive title. I picked TCU's speed over Wisconsin's size & strength in the Rose Bowl, that was my thinking Monday night, the Ducks' speed could overcome Auburn's size & strength. It didn't materialize, Auburn held the Duck running game in check, limiting them to under 100-yards when they averaged 303 during the season. It was their lowest total since they were humbled by Boise State last year. See, if we had a playoff, we'd be getting ready for Auburn-TCU, but noooooooooo.
Former Pitt coach Dave Wanstedt could resurface with his offensive coordinator from their days on Jimmy Johnson's Dallas Cowboy staff. Yes, he could very well be reunited with Norv Turner in San Diego. The defensive coordinator's job came open when Ron Rivera accepted the Carolina Panthers' head coaching position yesterday.
Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie has never been a big thinker, not one for personal responsibility either. The man has 7 children with 5 different women & he's only 27-years old. When he was traded to new York from San Diego, his agent told the Jets he would require a $500,000 salary advance to make the move. He was over $200K in arrears with his child support payments. What a guy. He was brought to New York to help the Jets beat Indianapolis. The Colts just had too many wide receivers who could hurt the Jets, it was that deficiency that cost the Jets the AFC Championship game last January. So when the Jets played at Indy last Saturday did Cromartie fulfill his responsibility to keep Colt WR Pierre Garcon in check. Well, not so much, Garcon caught 5 passes for 112-yards & a touchdown. But the Jets kicked a last second field goal to win 17-16, advancing them into the divisional round. Unfortunately that means a trip to Foxboro to play the Patriots. So maybe after being scorched last Saturday, keeping a low profile might have been a good decision. What am I saying? Antonio Cromartie & "good decision" in the same sentence? Yesterday, as reporters gathered around his locker, Cromartie gave the assembled media & the New England Patriots just what they wanted to hear. Cromartie said "Tom Brady is an asshole, f**k him." His five baby mama's might want to get in line for future child support payments because one has to wonder one, how long he'll stay in the NFL & two, his ability to manage his money. To his credit Tom Brady said "I'm sure a lot of people feel that way about me, Antonio is a very good player."
The University of Michgan fired Rich Rodriguez after the humiliating bowl appearance. One would think there would be applicants lining up to take the vacant Wolverine job. Not so. Jim Harbaugh told them no. Then LSU's Les Miles was also asked to take it, for the 2nd time in 4 years, Miles told them no. That left the Blue with their 3rd choice, San Diego State coach Brady Hoke. Unlike Harbaugh & Miles, Hike didn't go to school in Ann Arbor, but he was an assistant coach for Lloyd Carr from 1995 to 2002. Hoke returned to his alma matter, Ball State, to take over a sagging program. In 2008, he led the cardinals to their most wins ever with 12. He then departed for San Diego State & after a 4-8 debut season, Hoke's Aztecs finished at 9-4 with a convincing 35-14 win over the Naval Academy. Hoke told SDSU officials when they interviewed him "if I'm offered the head coaching job back at Michigan, I'll take it, otherwise I'll be your coach as long as you'll have me." By the way, for his repeated loyalty to LSU, Miles was rewarded with a 3-year contract extension, but no raise. Who ever heard of that? A 3-year extension for the same money hot on the heels of LSU's impressive 41-24 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M.
My wrapup on the Chiefs will be tomorrow along with answer to all your Chiefs' questions.
Reggie Bush's day of reckoning might be at hand. The disgraced former Heisman Trophy winner still had his Super Bowl ring won with the Saints & there was of course his ridiculous contract. After winning the Super Bowl last January, the Saints elected to pay Bush his $8 million salary for the 2010 season. That 8-mill got the Saints 150-yards rushing & 208 receiving, pretty steep per yard pay don't you think? Well now the Saints are faced with paying Bush $11.8 miilion for next season & I think if Bush doesn't agree to something in the $4 million range, his days as a New Orleans Saint will quickly come to a close. Bush missed 7 weeks after breaking his leg on a Monday night game in San Francisco, but even when healthy, Bush simply didn't produce. How great was the BCS champion USC Trojan offense? So many of them picked in the high rounds of the NFL Draft & so many disappointments. Besides Bush, there was QB Matt Leinart, RB LenDale White & WR Dwayne Jarrett, see any all-pros here? The whole lot was horribly overrated.
I didn't write a recap of the BCS title game, I wasn't feeling well the other night. If you weren't an Auburn fan or didn't have a bet on them, they're a hard team to like. I'm still not convinced of Cam Newton's innocence in the "play for pay" controversy. I quickly grew tired of coach Gene Chizik's talk of how much God helped his team over & over, on & on. It must be nice to have an SEC fan in God. I wonder how much God had to do with Nick Fairly's continued dirty play? I had no wager on the game & I was wrong on my prediction. I doubt I will ever pick against the SEC in the title game, this marked the conference's 5th consecutive title. I picked TCU's speed over Wisconsin's size & strength in the Rose Bowl, that was my thinking Monday night, the Ducks' speed could overcome Auburn's size & strength. It didn't materialize, Auburn held the Duck running game in check, limiting them to under 100-yards when they averaged 303 during the season. It was their lowest total since they were humbled by Boise State last year. See, if we had a playoff, we'd be getting ready for Auburn-TCU, but noooooooooo.
Former Pitt coach Dave Wanstedt could resurface with his offensive coordinator from their days on Jimmy Johnson's Dallas Cowboy staff. Yes, he could very well be reunited with Norv Turner in San Diego. The defensive coordinator's job came open when Ron Rivera accepted the Carolina Panthers' head coaching position yesterday.
Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie has never been a big thinker, not one for personal responsibility either. The man has 7 children with 5 different women & he's only 27-years old. When he was traded to new York from San Diego, his agent told the Jets he would require a $500,000 salary advance to make the move. He was over $200K in arrears with his child support payments. What a guy. He was brought to New York to help the Jets beat Indianapolis. The Colts just had too many wide receivers who could hurt the Jets, it was that deficiency that cost the Jets the AFC Championship game last January. So when the Jets played at Indy last Saturday did Cromartie fulfill his responsibility to keep Colt WR Pierre Garcon in check. Well, not so much, Garcon caught 5 passes for 112-yards & a touchdown. But the Jets kicked a last second field goal to win 17-16, advancing them into the divisional round. Unfortunately that means a trip to Foxboro to play the Patriots. So maybe after being scorched last Saturday, keeping a low profile might have been a good decision. What am I saying? Antonio Cromartie & "good decision" in the same sentence? Yesterday, as reporters gathered around his locker, Cromartie gave the assembled media & the New England Patriots just what they wanted to hear. Cromartie said "Tom Brady is an asshole, f**k him." His five baby mama's might want to get in line for future child support payments because one has to wonder one, how long he'll stay in the NFL & two, his ability to manage his money. To his credit Tom Brady said "I'm sure a lot of people feel that way about me, Antonio is a very good player."
The University of Michgan fired Rich Rodriguez after the humiliating bowl appearance. One would think there would be applicants lining up to take the vacant Wolverine job. Not so. Jim Harbaugh told them no. Then LSU's Les Miles was also asked to take it, for the 2nd time in 4 years, Miles told them no. That left the Blue with their 3rd choice, San Diego State coach Brady Hoke. Unlike Harbaugh & Miles, Hike didn't go to school in Ann Arbor, but he was an assistant coach for Lloyd Carr from 1995 to 2002. Hoke returned to his alma matter, Ball State, to take over a sagging program. In 2008, he led the cardinals to their most wins ever with 12. He then departed for San Diego State & after a 4-8 debut season, Hoke's Aztecs finished at 9-4 with a convincing 35-14 win over the Naval Academy. Hoke told SDSU officials when they interviewed him "if I'm offered the head coaching job back at Michigan, I'll take it, otherwise I'll be your coach as long as you'll have me." By the way, for his repeated loyalty to LSU, Miles was rewarded with a 3-year contract extension, but no raise. Who ever heard of that? A 3-year extension for the same money hot on the heels of LSU's impressive 41-24 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M.
My wrapup on the Chiefs will be tomorrow along with answer to all your Chiefs' questions.
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