NFL - Are you Ready For Some Football?! - Wild Card Round!

[SlowwHand]

With the picks from Dallas, Detrot could have an excellent draft.

[Ben Kenobi]

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

What a hell of a night. I was very, very happy to see LT running, but disappointed that he called it a night after getting to 95 yards.

Only two men have 8 consecutive seasons with at least 1100 yards rushing, LT and some loser who once played for the Lions. Barry somebody? Anyways I've never heard of him so he couldn't be THAT good!.

At least he takes over number 2 on the TD list. Take that Faiders!

As much as I'm happy for PR, 300 yards rushing makes everything right in the world again.

[Ben Kenobi]

I'm a huge fan of Cutler, not because of his passing, which isn't that great, but because he's type 1 diabetic, just like me.

I've been a Charger fan since the year after their 1-15 season, when they acquired a player named Doug Flutie. Best QB who I ever saw play in the CFL ever, and he's about my height.

Everyone called him too small. I hope one day he'll be elected to the NFL hall of fame based on his CFL and NFL work. It's a damn shame he never started a playoff game in his entire career.

At least the Flutie curse is still going strong for both Buffalo and Wade Phillips. He lost the only playoff game he coached for the Chargers too.

I liked the Chargers because they took Flutie and gave him a chance to start. Then I started liking this amazing running back named LT who came from the Horny Frogs and this QB nobody ever heard of that was drafted in the second round...

[Ben Kenobi]

And Cutler looks like dog**** tonight, compared to Rivers. Ben was right, Rivers deserves Pro Bowl more than Cutler, easily. A case could certainly be made for Tomlinson, too.

Thank you slowwy.

I just wish your damn Cowboys were still in it too. I was worried about those Eagles since they had a chip on their shoulder, but I figured they'd show up. 44-6? Never would have predicted that.

[Jaguar]

Rivers should have made the Pro Bowl over Favre, not Cutler.

[Lord Avalon]

Here are some notable Lions stats:

• They are the 1st team to give up two 100-yd rushers and two 100-yd receivers in a game (GB DeShawn Wynn, 7-106, Ryan Grant, 19-106; Donald Driver, 6-111, Greg Jennings, 5-101).
  
• Opposing QBs for the season averaged a 110.9 rating. Philip Rivers was only 105.5.

[Zopperoni]

Tampa Bay keeping it classy:

teve flew down to Tampa to watch his Raiders play the Buccaneers. After cheering for the away team, he was handcuffed, detained, frisked, and ejected with no explanation. He'd like one.

Full letter from Steve: http://consumerist.com/5119410/tampa...-football-team

[reismark]

I call bull****. I've been to enough games down in Tampa to know that there's always a decent-sized complement of opposing fans in the stands (especially when we play the Giants) and I've seen drunken idiots rooting for the opposing team doing **** like throwing popcorn at other people who weren't removed even after security was called in. This guy must have done something that he isn't sharing.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Story of how bad Peyton's knee actually was this offseason

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/12/29/Week17/1.html

How is he not the MVP this year?

[-Jrabbit]

It's a damn shame he never started a playoff game in his entire career.

You're a bit of a johnny-come-lately on the whole Flutie thing, Ben.

Actually, he started one playoff game for Chicago -- after the 1986 season, the year after the Bears won the Super Bowl. McMahon was hurt, Tomczak was hurt, so they traded for Flutie (on the LA Rams developmental squad) late in the season. At that point, he was a young hotshot, 2nd year out of college with no NFL experience. He won his only regular season start with the Bears in December. In the playoff game (early January '87), he did not distinguish himself, although he did complete a 50yd bomb to Willie Gault in the first half.

Bears lost to the Redskins 27-13 in that game after leading 13-7 at the half. (It was really a failure of the vaunted defense, sprinkled with offensive turnovers and special teams gaffes. A team loss, but Flutie was scapegoated by many.)

Flutie was not well liked in Chicago, neither by the fans nor his teammates. He was brash and cocky, and never had a chance to bond with the team. Plus, there's a lot of Notre Dame love in Chicago, so many considered Flutie to be evil from the get-go.

Coach Ditka liked him a lot though.

He was traded to New England in October of 1987.

[-Jrabbit]

Actually, doing a little research, Chicago fans were more justified in blaming Flutie for the playoff loss than I remembered. He was a dismal 11-for-31, 134 yds (50 on one play), with one TD and 2 INTs.

Oh and BTW, Flutie also had a playoff loss for Buffalo in 1999.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It appears that Mangini is out in New York.

And in no surprise, Marinelli is soon to be gone in Detroit.

[-Jrabbit]

Romeo Crennell will reportedly be gone by Tuesday in Cleveland. Should be a lot of coaching vacancies this year.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Hey, Slow, I wonder what you think of this:

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/36142?eref=fromSI

The Cowboys' Tony Romo is the worst big-game quarterback in recent memory. We were all too eager to ordain him the next great quarterback. Romo doesn't have it in him right now.

True, false? If true, then should the 'Boys start looking for a new QB?

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Romeo Crennell will reportedly be gone by Tuesday in Cleveland. Should be a lot of coaching vacancies this year.

Confirmed

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- The Cleveland Browns have fired coach Romeo Crennel following a 4-12 season.

The firing came one day after general manager Phil Savage was dismissed. Owner Randy Lerner met with Crennel on Monday morning and the team announced the coach's firing moments before a news conference was to begin.

Crennel had three years left on a contract extension he signed in January after the Browns went 10-6 and just missed the playoffs.

Crennel went 24-40 in four seasons with the Browns, who entered 2008 with huge expectations but collapsed amid a series of injuries and uneven play on offense and defense. They didn't score an offensive touchdown while losing their last six games and posted their fifth season of at least 10 losses in six years.

Although Crennel's dismissal had been expected for some time, Lerner waited until after the season out of respect for the 61-year-old coach and former defensive coordinator, who had never been a head coach at any level before taking over the Browns in 2005.

Lerner is expected to make a strong run at former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who has been working as a studio analyst for CBS since stepping down following the 2006 season. Cowher has given no indication he is ready to return to coaching.

Crennel was regarded as the top coordinator available when the Browns hired him shortly after they brought in Savage. Crennel accepted Lerner's offer in the hours after winning his third Super Bowl as New England's defensive coordinator. Crennel won two previous Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach with the New York Giants.

Crennel's vast experience, defensive knowledge and even-keeled demeanor were vital at the time for the Browns, who were coming off a 4-12 season under Butch Davis. Cleveland went 6-10 in Crennel's first year and just 4-12 in 2006, when they lost six of their last seven games.

But after a 10-6 season in 2007, Crennel was given the contract extension through the 2011 season. With an explosive offense and six Pro Bowlers, the Browns were tagged as one of the league's rising teams entering '08. They were rewarded with five prime-time TV appearances but their schedule proved to be too much.

They were also ravaged by injuries as quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn were lost for the season, forcing Crennel to start recently signed Bruce Gradkowski in the season finale at Pittsburgh. The Browns were beaten 31-0, dropping Crennel to 0-8 in his career against the Steelers -- the only full-time Browns coach not to beat Cleveland's rival.

Crennel was genuinely respected by the Browns. The players referred to him as RAC, his initials, and were disappointed they didn't play better for him.