NFL - Are You Ready For Some Football?! - Off Season

[Al B. Sure!]

Man the real reason why the Lions and Cowboys play every Thanksgiving is because they play every Thanksgiving. There's no logic to it. It's a case of we do it this way because that's the way we do it.

I guess the Lions make sense. I mean they're the Turkey role... they get carved up and feasted upon.

Here:

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/stats/thanksgiving.aspx

As you can see, it's not always been Lions and Cowboys. The last time the Lions didn't play on Thanksgiving was 1940 when the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers played. The Cowboys have been playing since 1966 but did NOT play in 1975 or 1977 when the (then) St. Louis Cardinals played in their spot. I have no idea why the Cowboys didn't play those years. It's a definite strike on Sloww's supposed logic that the team has a contract with the NFL to play every Thanksgiving.

The Detroit Lions last won their Thanksgiving game in 2003

[Al B. Sure!]

Here's something cool. Parity.

Here's how to read it: Viewing it clockwise, the team that comes first beat the team next to them who, in turn, beat the team next to them. It's not as confusing as it sounds. Look at the Steelers logo at the top. The Steelers beat the Falcons 15-9. The Falcons beat the Bucs 27-21. The Bucs beat the Browns 17-14. And so on and so forth.

[Al B. Sure!]

In some quick NFL news:

Frustrated with the fumbles and turnovers, Tom Coughlin said Brandon Jacobs will start ahead of Ahmad Bradshaw against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Really? The League's #5 leading rusher gets benched. That seems awfully unprecedented


And Clinton Portis' return was short-lived:

Clinton Portis' season has come to an early end for the second year in a row.

Teammates said Wednesday that the Washington Redskins running back was being placed on injured reserve. Coach Mike Shanahan was expected to discuss the move following the team's practice.

[Lord Avalon]

As you can see, it's not always been Lions and Cowboys.

Exceptions which prove the rule?

At the very least having the Lolcats on Thanksgiving means the NFL can say "tradition," leave them in the early slot, and not have to worry about figuring out how else to give them a national exposure game.

And many other fans can say, "man, our team is bad, but at least they're not the Lions."

[-Jrabbit]

Here's something cool. Parity.

That is an awesome graphic.

[Lord Avalon]

That wouldn't have worked in 2008.

[SlowwHand]

The Dallas Cowboys like to consider themselves America's Team. That may or may not be true, but the Cowboys certainly get a lot of national TV attention, including an annual guaranteed slot every Thanksgiving.

They didn't think up the American's Team nickname.

ACK!

I didn't say they did.

[SlowwHand]

Man the real reason why the Lions and Cowboys play every Thanksgiving is because they play every Thanksgiving. There's no logic to it. It's a case of we do it this way because that's the way we do it.

I guess the Lions make sense. I mean they're the Turkey role... they get carved up and feasted upon.

Here:

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/stats/thanksgiving.aspx

As you can see, it's not always been Lions and Cowboys. The last time the Lions didn't play on Thanksgiving was 1940 when the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers played. The Cowboys have been playing since 1966 but did NOT play in 1975 or 1977 when the (then) St. Louis Cardinals played in their spot. I have no idea why the Cowboys didn't play those years. It's a definite strike on Sloww's supposed logic that the team has a contract with the NFL to play every Thanksgiving.

The Detroit Lions last won their Thanksgiving game in 2003

The reason that you have no idea is that you don't read. You're too self-absorbed to bother.

[Al B. Sure!]

Okay, then, Sloww. Tell me why the Cowboys didn't play on Thanksgiving in 1975 and 1977 but the St. Louis Cardinals did instead.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Sloww and facts don't mix well.

[MRT144]

GO CALVIN GO!

[SlowwHand]

Lions are rocking them!

[Al B. Sure!]

It'll be so bizarre if the Patriots lose to the Lions... they already lost to the Browns. What's going on? The Pats can only beat good teams now?

[MRT144]

I really feel bad for the lions because they've lost too many close games.

[Al B. Sure!]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5849240

Terrell Owens parlayed his NFL resurgence into an off-the-field cause this week, helping to lift the spirits of a young boy in need.

Owens reached out to 6-year-old Josiah Viera with a heartfelt e-mail and a package that included a jersey and his eighth touchdown ball of the season.

Viera suffers from an rare genetic disease called Progeria.

"Josiah's face lit up like a Christmas tree as I handed him the football and said this is from Sunday's game," said Josiah's mother, Jennifer. "He gave me the biggest smile as I read what T.O. had wrote on the ball and jersey."

The life expectancy of a Progeria child is between 8 and 13 years old. Josiah, from Hegins, Pa., is aging at a faster rate than most Progeria children.

"I can only guess from the e-mail that T.O. wrote me that Josiah's story had touched him and inspired him," Jennifer said.

It was early in the second quarter last Sunday in Cincinnati that Owens caught the touchdown. It gave the Cincinnati Bengals a 14-7 lead over his former team, the Buffalo Bills.

Owens said in an e-mail Thursday he would wear gloves for the rest of the seaon with Josiah's initials on them.

Josiah had been featured in a segment on ESPN's "E:60" earlier this month. Owens later contacted Josiah's mother via e-mail.

"You may or may not know not me but who I am doesn't matter," Owens wrote. "My name is Terrell Owens, I currently play for the Cincinnati Bengals. My reason for e-mailing you is the E:60 story on your precious gift from God, your son Josiah. I was about to get ready for bed when I caught it somewhere in the middle and when I grasped the content of what was going on ... I was glued to the TV. I must say that you are a strong woman and you have an even stronger son."

"When you were in the hospital holding him for what you thought was the last time and as you went through the night and the next day Josiah was still holding on ... I said to myself 'Wow', what a blessing," Owens wrote. "We all as humans have our struggles but watching Josiah's perseverance, his passion for life and his love for baseball made me forget my own struggles and of how blessed I am. Your son was a true inspiration for me as I prepared to play the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday."

Days earlier, Owens had posted a series of messages on his Twitter account about Josiah and the E:60 feature, vowing to "get TD ball 4 him."

"I am very honored that T.O. not only took the time to write, but also to send his gear that he wore for the Bills-Bengals game," Josiah's mother said. "That is something we will cherish."

Goes to show all you naysayers about TO. Yeah, he acts the fool in the locker-room, but he's a good man and an upstanding citizen.