NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
This is the ultimate insult. My Lions do not have the worst owner if football. William Clay Ford tried as hard as he could to be the worst, but just came up short. What more could he do? He kept Matt Millen around forever. He kept Wayne Fontes around forever. He let great players leave rather than pay them. He destroyed one coach’s career after another. And most of all, Ford lost and lost and lost and lost and continues losing.

Alas, it was not enough. Al Davis is the worst owner in football. How sad for the once proud and powerful Raiders.

It’s hard to knock three Super Bowl titles, one AFL championship and 21 postseason appearances since Davis bought into the former AFL franchise. Problem is, the game has passed the Hall of Famer by and he seems to be the only one who doesn’t know it. Since the Raiders were blown out in Super Bowl XXVII, they’ve gone a league-worst 24-72 and have blazed through five head coaches since ‘01, including the fiasco over is-he-or-isn’t-he-fired Lane Kiffin this past season. All this ignores the real problem: that Davis is out of touch, refuses to adapt and continues to be infatuated with speedsters (this year the team inexplicably drafted Darrius Heyward-Bey with the No. 7-overall pick) instead of building a deep roster that can compete.
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Al Davis rules at the bottom

Look out, Al Davis, William Clay Ford has not given up!

Photo source Newscom

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As my history in the making Detroit Lions fight it out for dead last in the NFL, another sign of ineptitude shines through with a truly wimpish number 32 slot in the latest ESPN Power rankings.

Rod Marinelli says he is committed to doing things his way. Not sure if anything else needs to be added. (KS)

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It is astounding to me that the ever popular coaching haven, the Oakland Raiders, still has the number 31 slot in spite of 2 victories. The Lions need not fear as there does not even appear to be one possible victory left on their schedule.

Yes, my Lions know how to not get it done.

If they pull off the first winless 16-game season, many people will wonder: Why the Lions? Why, of all the horrible NFL teams of the last three decades, can this one go 0-16?

The poor St. Louis Rams, for example, have scored fewer points than the Lions. They have allowed more points than the Lions. And yet, through no fault of their own, the Rams have won two games.

They must kick themselves. What, they must wonder, is the Lions’ secret?
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So what is the secret?

It is a deadly combination of bad coaching, lifeless quarterbacks, lack of talent, tough scheduling (they don’t play the four other terrible teams), and an inability to do anything well.

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Oakland was very happy to get DeAngelo Hall from the Falcons and rewarded him with a 70 million dollar contract.

Interim Coach Tom Cable cut him.

Why?

Two reasons. One, DeAngelo was inconsistent in the Oakland man to man defense.

In his eight games in Oakland, Hall was beaten 40 times for 552 yards on 66 passes thrown his way, according to data compiled by STATS LLC. He gave up more yards than any defender this season and was tied for third worst in catches allowed.

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The second reason is to let everyone know they are accountable, that the Raiders mean business.

Players are not sure what to think. Asomugha, the opposite corner, is a little bothered.

Asomugha said the recent moves have led to some players being tentative on the field, afraid that they could be next to lose their starting job or spot on the team.

“There’s been some things that have been going on, some shakeups, that I haven’t agreed with,” Asomugha said. “Like I said, I’m not allowed to speak on it because we’re just supposed to shut up and play. But you ask me if I agree with it? I don’t agree with it.”

Just a week ago, interim coach Cable said that Hall was back to resembling the player he was in Atlanta, when he made it to two Pro Bowls. But in his last game, he was beaten for a 37-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins on the opening drive of a 24-0 loss to his former Falcons team.

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Darren McFadden makes the NFL Football magically float in the air

It is a crazy rookie running back year. Every team seems to have one. It was like they were on sale at Wal-Mart and everyone ran out and bought one.

Next year the Government will have to bail us out as rookie after rookie is sure to go bust, because this is the biggest bubble since the Tulip Bulb craze!

The prize rookie is Darren McFadden, but the problem with Darren is the team he plays for or maybe the owner he plays for and that would be the Oakland Raiders and Al Davis. That team is a mess. Oakland is so messed up that they already had a 1,000 yard rusher. Now wouldn’t you think that a team with an excessive amount of needs would have looked elsewhere for help?

McFadden was the rookie every owner had to have because of his playmaking ability in college. He was able to display those skills in Week 2 when he ran for 164 yards and a touchdown at Kansas City, but a toe injury slowed him down in Week 3 at Buffalo. We’ll see if he can pick it back up this week against San Diego, but McFadden will finish among the top rookie running backs. Just don’t expect him to be the best of this group. He will continue to lose carries to Justin Fargas when he’s healthy and Michael Bush.

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A very pleasant surprise has been Matt Forte of the Bears. My Lions cut Kevin Jones, because he was coming back from a severe foot injury, then, surprise, the Chicago Bears signed him. Kevin’s foot is getting better and better. So later in the season Kevin may get a few of Matt’s carries.

Forte has been the best surprise of the rookie running back class, and he’s among the running back leaders in rushing yards and total yards. He also is tied with Brandon Lloyd for most catches for the Bears, showing he’s the team’s best weapon.

With Kyle Orton at quarterback the Bears have relied on a controlled offense and mighty defense. This plays right into the hands of Matt Forte.

Speaking of my Lions, they have rookie Kevin Smith and he has looked good both running and catching the ball. The Lions have signed Rudi Johnson and he may end up cutting into Kevin Smith’s carries.

CBSSports.com 2008 projection: 985 rushing yards, five touchdowns, 13 catches, 97 receiving yards
Preseason rank: No. 24
Stats through Week 3/Ranking: 29 carries, 102 rushing yards, one touchdown, eight catches, 53 yards/No. 39

CBSSports does not have much good to say about Kevin, but it appears they based all of their comments on the game against the 49ers. Kevin did not play in the second half as Rudi was hot and Kevin only ended up with 14 yards. Keep in mind the Lions are struggling to put in an ‘establish the run’ offense this year with a bad offensive line. Not a good formula for success.

Another back worth mentioning is Chris Johnson of Tennessee. He is losing touchdown opportunities to my Fantasy Football running back LenDale White. Chris can run and already has 276 yards. Jamey Eisenberg of CBSSports.com compares his style to Reggie Bush. Say what you want about Reggie, you still want him on your team.

There are other backs so you will have to read to article to find out who they are.

It looks like 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the rookie running back!

Who is your team’s rookie running back sensation?
Photo source Newscom

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Javon Walker - Darrent Williams died in his arms

Image details: Oakland Raiders v Denver Broncos served by picapp.com

The former Denver Broncos wide receiver, now current Raider, Javon Walker, was beaten, robbed, and left unconscious, his face battered, as he was found on a Las Vegas street.

Police say he was robbed.

You remember Javon. He has been a pretty good second receiver in fantasy football the last couple of years.

Walker, 29, signed a six-year, $55 million deal with the Raiders after being released by the Denver Broncos in February.

Walker sought a fresh start after Broncos teammate Darrent Williams died in his arms in the back of a limousine on Jan. 1, 2006 in downtown Denver.

In a 2007 “Real Sports” interview, Walker said then teammate Brandon Marshall and his cousin exchanged heated words with two men who later confronted Williams and his group after taking offense when Marshall sprayed them with champagne.

The drive-by shooting remains unsolved.

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Darren McFadden - NFL football’s newest multi-millionaire

Image details: 2008 NFL PLAYERS Rookie Premiere Photo Shoot served by picapp.com

Darren McFadden learned from JaMarcus Russell. Do not go for the contract holdout. Go for the contract and get into camp.

Now McFadden can go about preparing for his rookie season knowing he won’t miss a day of training camp. He has already impressed coach Lane Kiffin with his quick grasp of the offense after just a few weeks of offseason workouts.

Kiffin said getting the deal done early will help ensure that the Raiders can capitalize on McFadden’s versatility as early as this season. In this week’s minicamp, McFadden was used in a variety of situations, including lining up wide as a receiver.

“The last thing we wanted to do with Darren because of our ideas with him was to go into a holdout and for him to miss any time in training camp,” Kiffin said. “What I think shows a lot about Darren is the fact that Darren felt the same as we did. Darren knew how important it was for him to get in here and show us his love for football.”
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Coach Lane Kiffen is putting a lot of stock in McFadden.

The Raiders hope McFadden can be an immediate contributor after the club dumped veteran running back Dominic Rhodes and entertained trade offers for fellow veteran LaMont Jordan, who probably will be released later. Starter Justin Fargas and promising youngster Michael Bush also will be in Oakland’s backfield.

Oakland may not win a lot, but should be tons of fun with young JaMarcus Russell at quarterback and Darren McFadden at running back.

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The new face of the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan

Image details: 2008 NFL PLAYERS Rookie Premiere Photo Shoot served by picapp.com

One day Matt Ryan is playing my Michigan State Spartans in a bowl game and the next day Matt is inking a contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

The name “Michael Vick” was conspicuously absent.

Atlanta is owned by Arthur Blank, an owner that desperately wants to move on, as they say. It is time to forget the Michael Vick era. What better way than to draft a new quarterback, to give the team a new face, and to get him signed and in uniform quick.

Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick in last month’s draft, signed a $72 million, six-year contract Tuesday. The announcement of the new deal came with smiles, confident talk of the future and no mention of Michael Vick, the first pick in 2001 who signed a $130 million extension, the richest in the league at the time, in December 2005.

Team owner Arthur Blank and the Falcons were especially eager to sign Ryan, avoid a holdout and help the franchise move away from the Vick era with new general manager Thomas Dimitroff, new coach Mike Smith and now a new quarterback.

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It is always dicey taking a quarterback with one of the top picks. Ask my Detroit Lions and Joey Harrington. It does not always work out.

Darren McFadden

To make it even more risky, Atlanta passed on Darren McFadden, more of a sure thing at running back and most likely soon to be one of the league’s stars. You can bet there will be some criticism of the Falcons if Matt Ryan comes out of the gate slowly while Darren McFadden gets off to the races. Matt may face some struggles with the lack of offensive weapons on the Falcons and an anemic offensive line, so expect some criticism.

Matt Ryan guarantee

The Falcons are putting all Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Darren McFadden is learning how to hold the ball. Well, maybe not in this picture.

Image details: Oakland Raiders Rookie Mini Camp served by picapp.com

He is big. He is strong and he runs a 4.3. A legitimate 4.3. He is Darren McFadden, the top rated running back out of the draft.

Oakland needs him badly. They need excitement. They need Darren.

Last year they drafted JaMarcus Russell number one in the draft and he sat for most of the season with contract problems. Here is a guy that threw the ball 60 yards while on his knees. He has all the properties of a great quarterback.

Throw in Lane Kiffen, a coach that somehow has the ear of Al Davis as well as his confidence and Oakland fans have to be drooling.

Will they win a lot of games this year? Probably not.

Will they have a lot of highlights this year. It sure looks like it.

Start with Darren McFadden. Everyone is comparing him to Adrian Peterson. That is a lot to put on a rookie. Hey, Darren, go out and be as good as Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. All he did was break the single game rushing record and look like the best back since Barry Sanders played in this league.

Right now Oakland is being a bit more cautious and working on fundamentals.

But coach Lane Kiffin cautions about putting too much pressure on McFadden so early.

“He’s not here to save the franchise. He just happens to be our first pick of the draft,” Kiffin said.

One of the immediate priorities is working on McFadden’s ball security. He fumbled 15 times last season at Arkansas, although some of those came as a quarterback or kick returner as opposed to a tailback.

Rathman pointed out that McFadden carried held his elbow too far from his body when they first met before the draft last month and is working on fixing the flaw before the season.

“You’ve got to be a good fundamental football player, and that’s what we’re working on right now,” Rathman said. “Obviously, coming out of college his biggest negative was probably his ball security, so we’ve jumped on that early. He understands where we’re coming from. He’s using better technique, better decision on where he’s putting the ball at certain times. So he understands what he needs to do.”
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At some point, the season starts and Darren McFadden gets revved up and the Oakland fans will go wild.

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Stealing a look at the USA Today Mock NFL Draft that involves 6 USA Today writers and 2 writers from NFLDraftScout.com, we can count which player is picked the most for each team and thus figure out the draft. Well, sort of anyway.

Today there is also going to be a comparison of Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm, the top two quarterbacks in the NFL draft.

My comments are in italics.

Here we go.

1. Miami Dolphins - Jake Long T, UM. 8 votes.
Stayed at UM to get a National Championship, but was denied when Hart and Henne suffered various injuries.

2. St. Louis Rams - Chris Long DE, Virginia. 7 votes.
Rams need defense bad.

3. Atlanta Falcons - Glenn Dorsey DT, LSU. 7 votes.
Falcons need everything bad.

4. Oakland Raiders - Vernon Gholston, LB/DE, Ohio State. 5 votes.
Nobody really wants to be a Raider anymore. It is sad.

5. Kansas City Chiefs - Ryan Clady T, Boise State. 3 votes.
Johnson needs a tackle for his 500 run attempts per game.

6. New York Jets - Darren McFadden RB, Arkansas. 5 votes.
Guess Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are just not getting it done. Jones had over 1,000 yards, but only 1 rushing TD.

7. New England Patriots - Leodis McKelvin CB, Troy. 3 votes.
Like the Pats needed a 7th pick anyway.

8. Baltimore Ravens - Matt Ryan QB, Boston College. 6 votes.
Not that McNair has retired, this is a perfect scenario for the young Matt Ryan to compete for the starting job.

Matt Ryan vs. Brian Brohm

Is Matt Ryan better than Brian Brohm because of all the extra brains up in his helmet?

Image details: ACC Championship - Virginia Tech v Boston College served by picapp.com

First we need to look at some stats. Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Ok, USA Today titled their story with the Steelers having the hardest schedule, but that is not the real news.

The real news is the Patriots are on easy street.

Because, and you are not supposed to start a sentence with because, but then you are not supposed to give an undefeated in the regular season team an easy schedule. Because the Patriots have such an anemic division, the win percentage of the teams they face is .387.

That equates to each team being 6 - 10.

It only gets better. The Patriots play just 4 playoff teams. Just Four! How can this be?

The playoff teams are the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, Pittsburgh Rough Schedule Steelers, San Diego Philip Rivers Chargers, and Seattle completely rebuilt to run and pass Seahawks.

Even if the Patriots lose all four games, they are most likely 12 - 4. In most years that will challenge for the best record in football.

2008 NFL Schedule oddity

Get this, the Oakland Hairbraiders play only two playoff teams and still play a tougher schedule with their opponents winning at a .438 pace.

Oh, and those Steelers? They have 8 non-division games with teams that played in the playoffs last year. Ouch.

Looks like a great year for the New England Patriots and Tom Brady due to the 2008 NFL Schedule.

NFL Football special comment Who makes these schedules anyway?

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