NFL - Are You Ready For Some Football?! - 08/09 Season

[snoopy369]

Romeo Crennel isn't 11-25.
Marvin Lewis isn't 11-25.

Heck, are the 49ers or the Cardinals even 11-25 over the last 2.5 seansons?

[Kidlicious]

I don't know what you guys see in Marc Bulger. He doesn't have a strong arm (balls hang), and he isn't very good throwing on the run. To top that off, whatever talent he once had is gone, because he can't throw under pressure anymore.

The really huge mistake was replacing Warner.

Linehan is even worse than Martz, and that's pretty bad. He was going to get fired anyway so the sooner the better.

[-Jrabbit]

Those two are great testaments to the Peter Principle.

[snoopy369]

Martz knows how to handle a QB, you have to admit that.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Kidicious
I don't know what you guys see in Marc Bulger. He doesn't have a strong arm (balls hang), and he isn't very good throwing on the run. To top that off, whatever talent he once had is gone, because he can't throw under pressure anymore.

The really huge mistake was replacing Warner.

Linehan is even worse than Martz, and that's pretty bad. He was going to get fired anyway so the sooner the better.

God, you're one of those unpleaseable fans. You do realize that the Rams were pretty damn good for a really long time, and mediocre for quite some time after that, right?

They have some people who are legitimately worthy of praise.

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Heck, are the 49ers or the Cardinals even 11-25 over the last 2.5 seansons?

Rod Marinelli is the only HC who started in '06 to have a worse record than Linehan... but we all know whose fault that is, right?

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Jaguar

God, you're one of those unpleaseable fans. You do realize that the Rams were pretty damn good for a really long time, and mediocre for quite some time after that, right?

They have some people who are legitimately worthy of praise.

The were really good for precisely 4 years. But they do have some very good players. Chris Long is performing already. They played very well in the first half this week. I'm sure they will win games this year. In fact, the second half of the season is easy.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Kidicious

The really huge mistake was replacing Warner.

Selective memory? Have you forgotten that Warner had an injured throwing hand? In 2002 he only played 7 gms, had 3 TDs and 11 INTs. In 2003 he only played 2 as he fumbled six times in the opener, and Bulger took over. I seem to remember his wife mouthing off. Why the hell would they keep a guy who can't hang onto the ball, can't throw it like he used to, is becoming a disctraction to the team?

[Lord Avalon]

Lawsuit: NFLPA conspired with EA to cheat retired players

EA Sports makes what can only be described as mountains of money from the Madden NFL series. An update is released for every console platform on a yearly basis, and the title continually sells in the millions. Now retired NFL players are coming forward with lawsuits claiming EA isn't giving them the money they deserve for the use of their likeness and career information, and according to some damning internal communication, it appears as if the the NFL Players Association intentionally brokered a lower-than-market-value deal for retired players as a favor to the gaming giant.

How important is it for EA to have this information? "We don't believe there is a market for interactive football that is not based on real players and teams," lawyer Stuart M. Paynter told Ars about a lawsuit that claimed EA had an monopoly on electronic football. That lawsuit claimed that by signing deals with the NFL, the players union, Arena Football, and NCAA football, any competitor is effectively locked out by using any likeness of any player or team, current or past. This more recent lawsuit, Parrish, Adderley et al v. NFL Players, Inc., may show that some of those deals weren't competitive, and that both sides of the negotiation process were working towards an EA monopoly.

Jeff Nixon, who played safety for the Buffalo Bills from 1979 to 1984, has written an open letter (via GamePolitics) to John Madden detailing the corruption inside the NFLPA and Players Inc., the groups responsible for the negotiation for player compensation from EA Sports. NFLPA executive Clay Walker basically lays out the favoritism in this internal e-mail. "I was able to forge this deal with the [Hall of Fame] that provides them with 400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because of that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there." How Walker expected to be repaid for these alleged activities in unknown.

An e-mail sent November 1, 2007, is equally plain in its language. Andrew Feffer, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the NFLPA wrote to EA Sports' representative Paul Cairns that "Clay and Joe's negotiation of these discounted terms was a significant contribution to EA as you more than likely would have paid in excess of $1 million for these rights without their involvement and assistance." In other words, you saved a cool million because you had people negotiating who weren't hoping to strike the best deal for the players.

Walker sent another e-mail to a Players Inc. attorney that shows they snubbed a larger offer from Take Two to make sure EA nabbed the rights at below-market prices, allowing them to lock down professional football. "The per player price for most of these guys was tens of thousands of dollars less than what they were guaranteed by Take Two Interactive so it’s a real coup that we were able to pull this off so cheaply," he wrote. "You have to remember that EA's total cost is only $200,000 per year. We know that Take Two offered six-figure deals to several former NFL players, so the total cost is millions below market prices."

Why would the organizations who supposedly support the players sell them out so easily? Jeff Nixon claims the answer is simple: "Discovery information also shows that the NFLPA and Players Inc. unilaterally made a decision to take $8 million dollars of the gross licensing revenue that should have been shared with retired players and reallocate it to the administration of the NFLPA and Players Inc." he wrote. "Even though the NFLPA and Players Inc. said they would subsequently conduct an independent third-party appraisal to assess the appropriateness of their decision, they have conceded that no such appraisal ever occurred."

The communications and bookkeeping that have been made available during the discovery phase of the lawsuit seem damning to the NFLPA. While the defendants will no doubt put up a spirited defense, EA can rest easy: the company has years to go before it has to renegotiate any aspect of this sweetheart deal. With many retired players receiving a pittance in benefits compared to those who played during the eras of fat TV contracts and free agency while suffering from permanent physical damage from the game, these allegations are even more disgusting. Everyone seems to be profiting from the blood and sweat of the players who make the game great—except the people who actually wore the numbers and uniforms depicted in the game.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080930-lawsuit-nflpa-conspired-with-ea-to-cheat-retired-players.html

[-Jrabbit]

:stupid:

Great post, Lord A. Why does everyone think they have a license to screw retired NFL players? They are clearly underrepresented. With all the flap over medical benefits, I would think the NFLPA would be very cautious about screwing them over yet again.

[Lord Avalon]

Da da dum dum dum ...

... another one bites the dust.

Raiders finally fire Kiffin as coach

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders fired Lane Kiffin on Tuesday just four games into his second season, bringing finality to a situation that had been simmering for eight months.

Kiffin had a 5-15 record since being hired last year, losing his final game 28-18 on Sunday to San Diego.

The decision on Kiffin was as much about his frequent criticisms of owner Al Davis' franchise as it was the team's performance on the field. Those critiques reached a peak when Kiffin distanced himself from the defense after a blowout loss in the season opener, saying that was under coordinator Rob Ryan and Davis' control.

The Raiders said the move was made for cause, meaning they will likely try not to pay Kiffin for the remainder of his contract. He signed a two-year deal worth about $4 million with a team option for 2009 when he took over last year. Kiffin's agent Gary Uberstine had no immediate comment.

The move comes a day after the St. Louis Rams let go of Scott Linehan, marking the second firing at the quarter point of the season. The last time a coach had been fired this early in the season was when Davis got rid of Mike Shanahan after four games in 1989.

The Raiders did not immediately announce a replacement for Kiffin, but there are plenty of candidates on staff, including Ryan and receivers coach James Lofton, who both interviewed for the job when Kiffin got it in 2007. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, running backs coach Tom Rathman, offensive line coach Tom Cable and advance scout Paul Hackett also could be possible choices.

The Raiders have a bye this week so the new coach's first game will be Oct. 12 at New Orleans.

The firing was first reported by KGO radio, ESPN and NFL.com.

Kiffin's job security was in question as far back as January, when a dispute with Davis over whether he could replace Ryan as defensive coordinator led to the owner sending his coach a letter of resignation to sign.

Kiffin refused to sign it and the feud went on throughout the offseason as Kiffin questioned big-money signings and other personnel moves made by Davis.

The situation grew more heated with Kiffin's comments on Davis' involvement with the defense two days after a season-opening 41-14 loss at home to Denver. Three days after that, reports surfaced that Davis was ready to fire his coach at any time and it dragged out from there.

Kiffin did his best to deflect the controversy and never went to Davis to lobby for his job or a resolution. The team played much better the past three weeks, beating Kansas City and taking leads into the fourth quarter against Buffalo and San Diego before losing.

Davis' once-proud franchise has fallen on hard times of late, with the blame going beyond one coach. Oakland has an NFL-worst 20-64 record since the start of the 2003 season, a stretch spanning the tenures of Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell and Kiffin.

Oakland has lost at least 11 games for five straight seasons, tying the dismal Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the 1980 for the worst stretch in NFL history.

Since returning to Oakland in 1995, the Raiders have had just three winning seasons and will be on their eighth head coach. The success mostly came under Jon Gruden, who led Oakland to division titles in 2000 and '01 before leaving for Tampa Bay. Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl the following season, but nothing positive has happened since that 48-21 loss to Gruden and the Bucs.

The one constant during that period has been Davis, who won three Super Bowl titles in his first 21 years with the Raiders but has had little success over the past quarter-century.

Kiffin, the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, became the latest coach unable to turn the Raiders around.

Kiffin was just a 31-year-old assistant at Southern California when Davis hired him to replace Shell following the 2007 season, becoming the youngest head coach in the NFL's modern era.

Davis said at the time that Kiffin's youth was not an issue, pointing to the success the Raiders had in the past with young coaches like John Madden and Gruden.

Kiffin instead is following the path of Shanahan, who was hired at age 35 in 1988 and then fired four games into his second season. Until this move, Shanahan had been the only coach Davis had fired in the middle of a season since joining the Raiders in 1963.

Shanahan went on to win two Super Bowls with Denver.

Kiffin had some success changing the culture of a team in his first year but was unable to generate consistent wins.

[snoopy369]

For Cause? Good luck with that one ... maybe he can go coach a team with a sane owner.

[Zopperoni]

Greg Knapp continues to be the bringer of bad fortune. Mooch (SF), Mora the Younger (ATL), and Kiffin the Younger (OAK) have all been fired when Knapp was the OC

[SlowwHand]

Bengals sign former Bears RB Benson (AP) - 5 hours ago

Haslett restores Bulger as Rams starter (AP) - 5 hours ago

[-Jrabbit]

Ah, no more drug testing...

Travis Henry arrested after alleged cocaine deal

DENVER (AP) — Former Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry has been arrested following an alleged cocaine deal, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Wednesday.

Henry and James Mack were arrested a day earlier after the two met to buy cocaine from a person who was cooperating with authorities, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Mack and Henry were in federal custody on suspicion of knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. A preliminary hearing and detention hearing were scheduled for Monday.

It was not immediately known whether either man had an attorney. Harvey Steinberg, who has represented Henry in the past, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The case has its roots in Montana, where a trooper and DEA agent stopped a car that was carrying six pounds of marijuana and about three kilograms of cocaine on Sept. 16, the affidavit said.

A passenger in the car, whose name was not disclosed in the affidavit, told authorities Mack and Henry had supplied him with the drugs, which he was supposed to deliver to customers in Billings. The man said he was supposed to be paid $5,000 for delivering the drugs and transporting about $63,600 in sales proceeds to Henry, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit indicated that separately, the passenger and another customer in Billings already owed Henry about $40,000 in drug proceeds. The passenger told authorities Henry had threatened him and his family over the debt.

The passenger agreed to cooperate with authorities and set up a drug deal Tuesday with Henry that led to the arrests of Mack and Henry, the affidavit said.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan declined comment Wednesday, saying it wouldn't be fair to say anything until he knew the facts of the case.

Henry was released from the Broncos June 2, when Shanahan said his commitment was lacking.

Henry signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Broncos before the 2007 season, but was dogged during training camp by a sprained left knee.

Also there were revelations he had fathered nine children by nine women, a fact that came out in a child support case in Georgia.

Henry rushed for 691 yards on 167 carries with four touchdowns in his one season in Denver, which was marked by a successful appeal of a one-year NFL suspension over a failed drug test. Shanahan publicly supported Henry in the matter, contending the running back was innocent, but the issue hung over the team for much of the season and the Broncos stumbled to a 7-9 record, their first losing season since 1999.

Henry was slow to return to offseason workouts after a hamstring injury this summer, and Shanahan jettisoned him in June. About a week after his release, reports surfaced that Henry had again tested positive for marijuana, his third offense putting him in line for a one-year suspension from the NFL if he signed on with another team.

The Associated Press

A federal rap, with intent to distribute. He is so screwed.