What I Saw in Week 10

[Late Monday Night Edition]
Tuesday Morning Huddle
 
What I Saw in Week 10

By David Ortega for Football Reporters Online


Vikings quarterback still fantasy stud…. 
When the season started quarterback Brett Favre was not on anyone’s radar as a number one fantasy quarterback. At 40 years of age, Favre’s better days looked to be in the rear view mirror or so we thought. In Favre’s last four starts he is averaging 300-yards passing per game with eight touchdowns and only one interception.

Marvelous McNabb throws for a mile…. 
The Eagles quarterback played very well on Sunday, but no matter how often he threw (55 times) or who he threw the ball to (seven different receivers) it wasn’t enough. While the Eagles fell McNabb’s numbers rose with 35 completions for 450 yards in the air and two touchdowns in a week 10 loss to the Chargers.

Action Jackson will not be stopped…. 
If you drafted running back Steven Jackson, but had second thoughts because the Rams offense is just bad pat yourself on the back for sticking with the stud. The St. Louis Rams may be 1-7, but that is not stopping “Action” Jackson from having a big season. On Sunday Jackson turned in his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 176 total yards against the Saints. Only twice has Jackson totaled less than 100 yards and for the season he has 1,146 yards of total offense ranking second behind Chris Johnson.
 
Worst of the Worst

When it comes to the Raiders-Chiefs rivalry, the Silver and Black know very little about home-field advantage. Thanks primarily to an inept offense that converted just 12 percent (2/16) of third downs, completed just 13 of 32 passes, and turned the ball over twice, the Raiders lost for the seventh straight time at home against the Chiefs. The Raiders are now 2-7; how did they win two games?


Jury is still Out

Has the Broncos offense finally turned the corner? Well after a fast start on Sunday against the Redskins, it certainly appeared that McDaniels had made the necessary adjustments and the offense was finally right. This was all until disaster struck. After watching Orton complete 11 of 18 for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, the Broncos offense completely disappeared with backup Chris Simms in the game for the injured Orton. With a big matchup with San Diego in week 11 and Simms the likely starter, the offense might regress some before taking any more forward steps. The Jury is going to remain out on Denver’s “Patriot’s West” offense, at least until a healthy Orton returns.



10 Things I Remember From Sunday
(Week 10)

1. The Panthers used their two-headed monster out of the back-field to take down the Falcons; Stewart and Williams combined for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
2. One of my “Four Horsemen” Sidney Rice puts up 201 receiving yards against the Lions secondary.
3. The Titan’s running back Chris Johnson plays like a stud in a league of his own totaling 232 yards and scoring two touchdowns against the Bills.
4. The Redskins offensive line just blew holes into the Broncos defense all day to the tune of 174 yards on the ground.
5. Despite their recent struggles through the air, the Broncos and quarterback Kyle Orton came out gun-slinging in week 10; Orton passed for 193 yards in the first half before leaving with an injury.
6. The “Old man” in Arizona Kurt Warner took a while to get started, but once he did he was unstoppable completing 29 of 38 passes for over 300-yards and two touchdowns.
7. The Bengals defense showed up on Sunday against Big Ben and the Steelers recording four sacks and a forced fumble in their 18-12 win.
8. Steven Jackson is a one man wrecking crew in St. Louis rushing for 131 yards and catching nine balls for another 45 yards.
9. Who is Brandon Gibson, likely the next Waiver wire darling after catching seven passes for 93 yards.
10. Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning; Sunday night against the Patriots he passed for 327 yards with four touchdowns.







 

The Fall of Johnny Smiles

The Fall of Johnny Smiles
By Michael – Louis Ingram, Associate Editor, Director of Scouting
FRO/BASN
 
“White Men Can’t Jump? They don’t have to…they own the team!”
-          Humorist Paul Mooney  
 
PHILADELPHIA (FRO/BASN): On the long running comedy series, “The Jeffersons,” main protagonist George Jefferson would always love to brag that he made “enough green to cover his Black.”
 
To a similar extent, that seemed to be the case with right – wing talk show wonk Rush Limbaugh, a smiling assassin in the minds of his legions of followers.
 
While the putrid, proselytizing purging from this pusillanimous, penile pig has contributed to the current calamitous climate in which “one lone nut” can act without fear of repercussions (because Limbaugh and others are “entertainers” and therefore, not responsible for others’ actions), Limbaugh began to really believe his trash was others’ treasure.
 
And then came the big payoff; the chance to be the “Voice of the Fan,” as a talking head at The Mouse on their flagship National Football League pre-game show, “NFL Countdown.”
 
Looked as if the little Nimrod was movin’ on up to the East Siiidde…
 
But then came the Donovan McNabb incident; as in “the media wants a Black quarterback to succeed.”
 
You know, the only part of that asinine statement that was never sufficiently gleaned was…all of it.
 
If our bellicose butterball had done his homework, he would’ve known there has never been any concerted effort on the part of mainstream media to promote the success of any Black quarterback.
 
The ‘Wizard of Oohs & Ahs,’ Mr. Chuck Ealey goes undefeated his entire collegiate career - 35-0 – at the University of Toledo at quarterback – and his reward? Some NFL asshole telling him to try out at defensive back…
 
Jimmy Raye leads Michigan State to a national championship at quarterback; but no sniff at playing his best position in the NFL;
 
Eldridge Dickey, “The Lawd’s Prayer” gets drafted in the first round to play quarterback – and he still can’t play it because the big bad Oakland Raiders were too chicken shit to follow through after he proved he was better than the others in camp (including Ken Stabler);
 
Joe Gilliam goes 4-1-1 after winning the starting QB spot for Pittsburgh, but has the job taken from him because they couldn’t think of a palatable enough lie;
 
Warren Moon wins the Rose Bowl at quarterback, but in spite of a stellar career, he’s told to move to another position if he wants to make it in the NFL (and all Moon did was become a Hall of Fame quarterback in two leagues! No thanks to the NFL!)
 
And let’s not forget the brothers who went north to Canada to rock the house: Condredge Holloway, Roy DeWalt, the fantastic Damon Allen, Tracy Ham, Marcus Crandall, Gilbert Renfroe, J.C. Watts, Danny Barrett, Casey Printers; all champions, all quarterbacks. I don’t remember the American mainstream media singing their praises…
 
Doug Williams takes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from ‘worst to first’ at quarterback, but he’s treated like a Nigger because he dared to want to be paid on a par with his peers, many of whom with pro credentials far less than but paychecks far greater than his?
 
And last (but not least for now) Kerry Joseph wins an NFL Europe Championship at quarterback, but unlike Kurt Warner or Brad Johnson, is told to play safety, plays out of position for four full seasons in Seattle, and finally, given the opportunity to play the position he was supposed to play in the first damn place, wins a Grey Cup Championship for the Saskatchewan Roughriders – at quarterback.
 
Now that didn’t happen in 1957; that was 2007.  
 
Nobody said it then, so I’ll say it now – where the fuck have you been, Peaches?       
 
And that woeful unpreparedness, the disdain for real football fans – on top of the other bullshit you spewed on that panel, is why you had no business being there in the first fucking place!
 
So The Mouse shows you the door (‘either he goes, or I go’ – you figure out among that bunch who said it!)  but like Chuck Taine, he rocks, skates, rolls and bounces along with his career, becoming a money making misanthrope, merrily mixing a maelstrom of madness,  motivating millions of mindless myrmidons into believing he’s not only one of them – he is their conduit to the corridors of power.  
 
He dogs out the newly – elected President of the United States, and is then offered a shot to buy into the Ultimate Boys’ Club – and snag a piece of the Saint Louis Rams, who have fallen on hard times…
 
Hard times, my Black ass! The team is only worth about $950 million; in an economy that has been in recession mode for at least eight years.   
 
But, there’s a problem; seems some of his words have come back to bite him in the ass; making analogies about NFL games being like the Bloods & Crips goin’ at it (not the smartest thing to say in an organization with 65% Black players as members).
 
Someone far wiser than I once said a long time ago that “quiet money always speaks the loudest.” Admittedly, that took a day or two to sink in; but the point was made to say real money usually has a little taint on it – and the last thing anyone wants is – attention…
 
(“I’m Johnny Smiles” lyrics by Skar, arranged by K. Lynch; from” Mob Story – A Hip Hopera”)
 
Well I’m Johnny Smiles
New kid on the scene…
And when I get done shinin’
Bet those shoes are clean…
I pour the coffee and even park the cars
I get to drive the Fat Bastards straight home from the bars…
And all of these jobs I do ‘em with pride
I gain their trust and soon I’ll live large and start to thrive
See in This Thing of Ours, this is the only way
A kid from the street can climb the ladder and make crime pay.
Growing up where I did you get to see a lot of things
The guys in this club were like a local Kings
They had the finest broads all willing and able in any restaurant
They got the best damn table!
Pinky rings and rockin’ Cuban cigars
They had Chinese suits by the dozen in the trunks of their cars
To a kid like me to get this far
Andrea Doria Social Club just ain’t some local bar…
I had dreamed of this life since I was ten
Finally made it straight to the center of the lion’s den…
So to make my bones, see, I’ll do what they say
Cause I’m looking to a future, to a brighter day.
When I’m a full Goumba
A made Gummie Gump
Runnin’ scams for friends or for some straight-laced chump
All of these petty tasks; it ain’t just for nothin’
It’ll all be worthwhile when I get my button…
 
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get paid (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not
You’re just nothin’ (big shot)
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get made (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not you’re just nothing…
 
So enough about me let’s break it down to the crew
I’ll tell ya who the hell they are
And what the fuck they do;
I’ll start at the bottom and then I’ll move up the line no matter what I say
They’re all friends of mine….
So even though I know this guy’s a little bit slow
Every operation needs some muscle to make it go
Bobby Bats
The guy’s a soldier like iron…
Made his bones 20 years ago stuck a guy with an eye jamb…
Quick with the club so when push comes to shove
If the shit hits the fan he’s the man you gotta love 
Tony Fingers
Another cat in the crew
Just hijacked an armored truck; the driver turned up blue;
Tight with the Don and a stand up guy
He’ll hit the trigger on his gun before you blink your eye
The guy knows the biz; at the track he’s a whiz
So good with the ladies you hear
The pussy fizz…
And speaking of chicks, the Don’s consiglieri Vic
With whose foot fetish is enough to make everybody sick  
He may be a Queen, but buddy keeps the record clean
Money filtered through Geneva
Important guy on the scene (big shot);
 
Gotta get my button cause I gotta get paid (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not
You’re just nothin’ (big shot)
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get made (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not you’re just nothing.
 
Now Don DeVito’s a large man and a legend with us all
Coming up as a soldier they used to call him Brass Balls (swing low!)
Prince on the street the man with the master plan
Took me in at 15 so I’m his biggest fan
But he’s not without critics even in our own crew
That would entertain Paulie ga-ga if he ever knew…
 
To me he’s the best to that I will attest
Came up from the streets and I know he wears the crest
 
The Don is the Don
Regardless of what it is he does
So De Vito’s the Boss
‘Cause because just because
Then there’s this girl I’ve known all my life
I wouldn’t call her a slut, but still she’s far from a wife (she gets around…)
When I was a kid on Delancey Street I knew
She’d be goumba to bringin’ drama to somebody’s crew…
 
Sexy and smart her name is
Gabrielle
With a whiff of her perfume you’ll be under her spell (I’m just playin’…)
The girl’s got it all but still she’s well adjusted
Word has it she‘s the only one the Don’s trusted
She’s not just a moll
Like us she’s on call
With all Gabrielle is, even the Don might fall…
 
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get paid (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not
You’re just nothin’ (big shot)
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get made (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not you’re just nothing;
 
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get paid (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not
You’re just nothin’ (big shot)
Gotta get my button ‘cause I gotta get made (big shot)
When you’re made you’re the man; when you’re not you’re just nothing.
 
As I complete this column, word has come out that Dave Checketts, point man for the group wanting to snag the Rams, has stated Rush Limbaugh is now out of the group.
 
While I may feel some mild elation over this, I say it never should have come to this – so fuck you too, Checketts – first for including his drug addict ass, second for thinking you could skate on it, and third for having the same mindset as this cum stain!
 
Ultimately, cash condones crass, but can’t consume class.
 
Sorry, Sweet Cheeks – you’ve been shut out.
 
Editor’s Note: Although I know BASN will never get the credit, the information regarding Limbaugh was constantly served “Straight, No Chaser” by our colleague Desi Cortez months before it was a ripple on Mouse Pond. ‘Way to go, brother man.
mike@footballreportersonline.com
 
 

LIMBAUGH IS GIVEN THE SHAFT

 
LIMBAUGH IS GIVEN THE SHAFT
 
By The Gambler [J.Gamble] For Football Reporters Online
 
When did American’s become so damn judgmental?  Land of the free. Home of the brave. Remember that? Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. Does any of this exist anymore?
 
Now, I’m no Rush Limbaugh fan. I don’t dislike him either. He is an American with his own ideas, friends, beliefs and opinions. No different than the rest of us. What makes him stand out is the fact that he has had a radio show for many years. And on his show he is staunchly dedicated to furthering the beliefs, core values and lifestyle of the right-wing, conservative, rich, white society he is immersed in. He has a unique and advantageous professional platform, and he uses it. It is an opinion show. There are no right or wrong answers. But his opinion is the overriding one on his show.
 
All things being said, Limbaugh should have been allowed to continue as part of a group seeking to buy the Rams. Limbaugh was to be a limited partner in a bid led by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts, but Checketts said in a statement Wednesday that Limbaugh's participation had complicated the effort. The group would move forward without him. The group succumbed to a wicked media backlash and a vocal protest by the head of the NFL Players Union. Colts owner Jim Irsay said he would vote against the bid as well. Commissioner Roger Goodell even threw his two cents in, saying Limbaugh’s “divisive” comments would not be tolerated.
 
Limbaugh’s reputation as a “hate monger” -- as FOX Sports columnist Jason Whitlock called him in a recent column – hit a pentacle when he was ousted as part of The MNF team back in 2003, after making racially charged comments about Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. He was also caught in a pill-popping illegal prescription drug dependency, which made him look like a hypocrite.  Still, he continued to express his deeply conservative and often offensive views on his radio show. And that made him too hot. It seems his boys had to back out on him in order to get this done. Either way, I’m sure he’ll still remain as a “silent partner” of sorts. A lot of people see this as a victory for the left and racial sensitivity in sports. Al Sharpton was vocally ecstatic. Limbaugh has said this is a direct attack by Democrats and liberals to destroy prominent conservatives.  I don’t particularly agree with either of those assertions.
 
I do however agree with Limbaugh when he says “this is about the future of The United States of America and what kind of country we’re going to have. “ 
 
I don’t think he should have been dropped. I think his team should have stood behind him and fought this issue to the fullest extent of the law. NFL owners shouldn’t be able to deny a bid based on anything but financial health.  If Limbaugh is stopped because of some touchy views he had about McNabb, then anyone can be stopped from purchasing a team just because they have different views than the other owners.
 
No wonder there aren’t any black NFL owners yet. Reggie Fowler attempted to buy the Vikings in 2005 for $625 million dollars. Fowler was to become the first African-American principal of an NFL team, and he seemed to have all his ducks in a row. But the owners didn’t approve his purchase. He couldn’t get into the old boys club. The basis of this denial, however, was discrepancies and a lack of confidence and in Fowler’s financial portfolio.
 
Everyone is so touchy these days. Noone can say what they really feel any more in fear of being persecuted and cast aside as a bigot. America is a country where every man has an opportunity to pursue the many offerings of life.  A person’s beliefs should never deny them that opportunity. If Rush has the doe. Let him buy the team. There are rules, systems and bodies put in place to police bigotry and biased practices in the work place.
 
This opens up a can of worms that can affect all ethnicities and beliefs. The NFL is openly stating that if you don’t share the values and morals of the majority, then you are subject to being cast aside and labeled a “hate monger”. That is a dangerous direction for our country. Nets owner Jay-Z has admittedly sold drugs and continues to glorify it in his songs, but he is still considered fit to own a pro franchise. Why is Limbaugh attacked with such fervor?
 
Diversity has been the fabric of our uniqueness and success as a nation. People with different opinions and believes having to co-exist for the good of society. We can’t pretend people grew up the same. We are not robots. We all disagree with people who don’t share our core values. That’s what makes us strong people. Debate.
 
Limbaugh deserves the opportunity to mess up, before he is shown the door. His dream was taken because he was man enough to speak his mind. Right or wrong, my granddad told me America was built on the backs of people with strong beliefs and foundations. These days, I guess as long as you are spewing nonsense on a reality show, you are safe. If you discuss real issues, that spur emotion and conflict, you don’t fit in anymore. The image-conscious NFL doesn’t need right-wing radio hosts drawing attention away from the product on the field. We understand that. But I think down the line, we will see the negative effects of NFL owner decisions that are based on no real criteria other than a difference of opinion.      
 

St. Louis Rams Release Veteran G Adam Timmerman

Rams Release Veteran G Adam Timmerman See my ending.....
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams have released veteran guard Adam Timmerman, a team stalwart who played in two Super Bowls for the team.

Timmerman was informed by Rams coach Scott Linehan on Monday that he was being released from the club, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. Timmerman, 35, has no plans to retire.

"I think they just wanted to make a change," Bartelstein said. "It's a difficult thing for Adam. He feels great and he's looking forward to having a great season.

"His body feels great and he's ready to go. This is a tough part of the business."

The Rams were expected to announce the release on Wednesday, though Bartelstein said it could happen as early as Tuesday. Linehan was at the NFL's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Timmerman ended this season with a rib injury.

The Rams signed Timmerman as a free agent from Green Bay after the 1998 season. He became part of the starting lineup at right guard and stayed there the next eight seasons, earning two Pro Bowl selections and appearing in 10 playoff games and two Super Bowls for the Rams.

Timmerman had a streak of 204 consecutive games, including the playoffs, since his rookie season in 1995 with the Packers. However, he missed the Rams' last three games last season due to cracked ribs.

The Rams brought in a young offensive line that included Richie Incognito at Timmerman's right guard spot. Incognito will have that spot at the start of training camp.

Rams offensive coordinator Greg Olson said in January that the team has some "aging veterans up front who have done a tremendous job for the team," but who eventually would be replaced.

So another team is cutting veteran depth and veteran salary to get Young....too Bad because Timmerman still had some fuel left to burn.....