Browns Fans Get Their Guy

Former Pats QB's Ryan Mallet and Brian Hoyer finally got stating jobs. It didn't work out for Mallet who tore his pectoral muscle last week and is out for the rest of the season.

Hoyer fought off a challenge in training camp from rookie and fan favorite Johnny Manziel, but now the Browns might finally have a QB controversy. Hoyer was pulled during their 23-21 loss to the Bills after throwing two early first half interceptions.

Manziel lead the Browns for an 80 yard TD drive on eights plays. Naturally, he had to flash his obnoxious money sign. Coach Mike Pettine said the starting QB for next Sunday would be announced on Wednesday.

Manziel fans are so excited that their man might finally get to play. He is such a hot dog for a rookie. He will learn very quickly that you can't do some of those things after a big play.

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Not Ready For Winston

Sports writers always think they have the solutions to a team's problems. One respected NY Post writer wants the Jets to select Florida State QB Jameis Winston in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Winston is a very gifted athlete and has been compared to Andrew Luck. He has many things going for him, including a great arm, speed and size. His off the field activities should raise a number of red flags for the Jets or any team.

The Jets don't need anyone who will be controversial or a behavior problem. I would have no problem selelcting him in a later round, but they can't gamble a first round pick on this guy.

UMass Season 4

I saw the UMass Minutemen close out their 3-9 season with a 41-21 los to Buffalo. The curtain comes down on a season that started with hope.

UMass has struggled to make the transition to Division 1 football. Their crowds are small, but their stadium improvements have met the NCAA guidelines to play in D1.

They will continue to play some home games at Gillette Stadium over the next two years. After 2015, they will be leaving the Middle America Conference with a plan of being independent. Conferences are not pounding on the door of UMass.

They are trying within their limitations to field a competitive team from a state school that has many doubters about their football plans. They are under a financial microscope by some in the media.

Woody Checks In

The dirt is starting to get out with the New York Jets. Coach Rex Ryan allegedly felt that GM John Idzik wanted to fire him and select his own coach. Naturally, all of the sources are unnamed, but it's making sense.

The Jets have a new billboard by MetLife Stadium. It calls out owner Woody Johnson to either fire Idzik or sell the team.

So far, all of the Jets woes are being placed on Ryan and Idzik. Johnson is now being dragged into it. There will be a big house cleaning at the end of the season. I don't know how Ryan and Idzik can go on like this.

As the fans are saying; "Rebuilding Since 1969".

Another Snyder Team

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder certainly knows how to make a lot of money, but he should stay away from making football decisions. The team has suffered losing records under his ownership and gone through a series of coaches and general managers. This year isn't any different.

Robert Griffin III was anointed the franchise quarterback and considered a future member of the Hall of Fame, but his career has imploded after injuries and confrontations with former head coach Mike Shanahan and Jay Gruden, his current one.

Gruden has publicly criticized his QB and isn't afraid to get into a war of words. It's obvious that he isn't making all of the decisions on the quarterback job. His man, Colt McCoy, gave them a two game winning streak, but that evaporated after the return of RG III.

Snyder will probably fire Gruden if he keeps Griffin. The town isn't big enough for both of them

Five To Go

All of a sudden, the Pats are being anointed by their fans to make it to the Super Bowl. That is so wrong.

There are five games left in the season. A lot can happen between now and then. Injuries can destroy playoff hopes very quickly.

I think everyone worries about Gronk getting hurt. That would change things so quickly. The same goes for Edelman, Brady and so many others.

One Word Says It All

The NFL likes to control many situations, including players access to the media. They are required to be available for questioning. Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch was fined $100,000 for not meeting his obligation.

After yesterday's game, he met with reporters and gave one word answers to questions. Some of the responses didn't make any sense, but he fulfilled his requirement.

He will get criticized no matter what he does.

Need Seven More Years

Every win by the Pats moves Coach Belichick higher up in the record books. Their next win will give Belichick 14 consecutive winning seasons and tie him with Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers.

The legendary Tom Landry had 20 years with the Dallas Cowboys. That is such an amazing record. Will Belichick coach another seven seasons to break it? That seems so far away.

Last Time Late

Pats RB Jonas Gray had the game of his life last Sunday against the Colts when he rushed for 199 yards and 4 TD's. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week and got himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The team's "All Access" show had a very revealing interview with him. Everything was going great until he overslept on Friday and was late for practice. Coach Belichick sent him home.

It will be interesting to see what type of punishment he gets. I have no doubt that he might be inactive for the game, especially since the team signed LaGarrette Blount the other day.

Coach Belichick will be sending Gray a very strong message. It will probably be the last time he ever shows up late.

The Raiders Return

Every NFL team must play at least one Thursday night game. The NFL Network must have wondered how they could get the Oakland Raiders into a game worth watching.

They paired them up with their Western Division rival Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders had a 16 game losing streak and were 0-10 on the season. The Chiefs needed a win to keep pace with the Denver Broncos.

Strange things happen in the NFL. The Raiders won 24-20 to increase their record to 1-10. The Chiefs fell to 7-4.

Maybe the Raiders can finally turn their fortunes around. They have too much history to be the way they have been in recent years. The NFL needs the Raiders to be a playoff team.

Finding A Place To Play

In light of Buffalo getting six feet of snow and forcing the movement of Sunday's game against the Jets, the NFL should think again about playing the Super Bowl in a cold weather city.

The Buffalo region is totally buried in snow. The Bills attempted to dig out their stadium, but the task was too daunting. There is also a public safety emergency, with many roads closed.

The game will be played in Detroit on Monday night at 7pm. Buffalo fans will be shut out from watching their team. The league is just trying to get the game played within the schedule. They also have a television commitment to consider.

It's always about the money.

Barber Wants To Cut

The season is rapidly imploding on Tom Coughlin and his New York Giants. Since beating the Pats in Super Bowl XLVI, his team has gone 18-24 with records of 8-8, 7-9 and 3-7. They must run the table to make the playoffs.

It doesn't look hopeful with all of their injuries and the way they are playing. This doesn't bode well for Coughlin as we are hearing calls for his termination.

Former Giants RB Tiki Barber had his own issues when he last played for Coughlin in the 2006 season.  He said that Coughlin has lost the team. That may or may not be true, but once you have people calling for your job, the future doesn't look good. The New York tabloids are picking up the story.

Jonas

Jonas Gray had the game of his life with his 4 TD's and 199 rushing yards in the Pats win over the  Colts. He dominated the running game because of so many great blocks by other players. It was a total team effort by the Pats.

Those are the games you never forget as a fan. The team tries so hard to win.

Those Redskins

It must be tough for Washington Redskins fans to watch their beloved team slip into mediocrity under the ownership of Dan Snyder. There is no doubt that the value of team has grown during his tenure.

The Redskins are a money machine, but have a record of 105-144 during the Snyder era. It never effected the value of the team. Snyder has certainly made money on his investment. That's why he did it.

They need to play better as a franchise  They are a marque team of the league and need to do better.

Hoyer & Mallet

Tom Brady said that he would try and watch some of the game between Cleveland and Houston today. Both starting quarterbacks were his former backups.

Ryan Mallet was making his first career start in four seasons after throwing only four passes for the Pats. His trade to Houston and reunion with former Pats Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien was the break he needed. He sat behind Ryan Fitzpatrick before O'Brien decided to give him a start after their bye week.

Hoyer was signed by the Pats in 2009 after being undrafted. He lasted through the end of 2012 training camp before he was released. He was signed by the Steelers on November 20, 2012 after injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich. He served a s a backup for Charlie Batch for Weeks 11 & 12.

After being released, he was claimed by the Arizona Cardinals where he started the season finale against the 49er's. He ended up being released in May 2013.

He was signed to a two year contract by the Browns. He got a few starts before tearing his ACL in a Thursday night game. So far this year, he has fought off Johnny Manziel for the starting job.

Mallet lead his team to a 23-7 victory by throwing for 211 yards and 2 TD's. His first career toss was to DE JJ Watt who was doing his best Mike Vrabel imitation.

Vrabel must have been smiling because he is on the Houston coaching staff.

Expensive Word For Rex

Rex Ryan can't seem to catch a break from himself. After a great win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, Rex managed to utter an obscenity which got picked up by television. He was fined $100,000 by the NFL. This was not his first time using inappropriate language.

Rex is the cause for a lot of his own problems. It would be interesting to see how he would be as a commentator if he gets fired at the end of the season. He can't make too many mistakes like that on air.

Season of Gronk

I have a huge concern over whether Rob Gronkowski can make it to the last game of the season. He has been running wild over opponents, but taking some big hits on his knees.

He is such a hard guy to tackle. They are trying to knock his legs out from under him. They are hitting him legally, but I hope he doesn't have a season ending hit.

Gronk is such a star-crossed player. I want him for the rest of season. Hopefully, it happens. The history is bad on this.

A Spot For Adam

There will be a number of sub-plots when the Pats and Colts play on Sunday night. Adam Vinatieri will always have a special spot in Pats history. He booted last minute field goals in two of the team's Super Bowl wins.

It seem like ages ago that Vinatieri showed up in Foxborough as an undrafted player. Coach Bill Parcells had enough confidence in him to give him the kicking job. It was 1996 and Bill Belichick had a brief stop as a defensive coach.

A lot has passed over the years. Vinatieri left after the 2005 season because Coach Belichick didn't want to pay him a ton of money. Stephen Gotskowski filled his spot with ease. Vinatieri is now 42 years old and has lasted 19 seasons. He shows no signs of slowing down.

Gotskowski is 134 points behind Vinatieri as the team's all-time scorer. He needs seven to pass the great Gino Cappelletti for second place.

No matter what happens, Vinatieri deserves a spot in the Pats Hall of Fame whenever he decides to call it a career.

Wednesday Night Football

I plan to drive out to Amherst today for a football game against Ball State. It will be a nationally televised one starting at 8pm. Both schools will be getting a bundle of money from ESPN for playing at an odd time.

The campus should be hopping. It will be a first for UMass. Hopefully, it won't be the last time a game is played at night. Other schools do it without problems.

Get Into The Pool

Fans of the Jets and Giants could start a pool for when their coaches will be fired. Tom Coughlin and Rex Ryan are on the hot seat for having records of 18-23 and 16-26 respectively since the start of the 2012 season.

The Jets are 2-8 and out of the playoff picture. The Giants are one loss away from being eliminated with their 3-6 record.

New York writers continue to refer to Coughlin as a Hall of Fame coach because of his two Super Bowl wins. I disagree with their assessment, especially in light of the Giants missing the playoffs in recent years.

Ryan's career is on life support. They need to finish strongly if he has any hope of being back next year.

Roland Bailey

Roland Bailey came into the NFL as a 1999 first round selection by the Washington Redskins. He will forever be known as "Champ". His bust in Canton will give both names.

Bailey's career came to an end last week when he announced his retirement after 15 seasons, including 12 selections to the Pro Bowl. He was one of the greatest cornerbacks ever, but was released by the Denver Broncos during training camp.

He tried to catch on with several other teams, but there was always someone younger and with more potential. Bailey could have rode into the sunset after last year's Super Bowl loss to Seattle, but he wanted one more season. It didn't work out for him.

Sunday Night

It's Sunday Night Football with the Bears and Packers, the oldest rivalry in the NFL. They go back to 1921, 39 years before the Pats even existed.

They are meeting for the 190th time, with the Bears holding a slight lead over the Packers and a record of 93-90-6.

Green Bay is tough place to play in. It's a great rivalry with so much history between the two teams.

A Fine Toss

You can always count on the NFL to take the fun out of the game. Players who celebrate excessively get a fine the following week.

Julian Edelman was hit with the odd amount of $5,512 for throwing a football into the stands after an 84 yard punt return last week against the Broncos.

The league cited fan safety as the reason for the fine. They make a valid point, but players can't seem to do anything without getting punished.

Jets Crashing

The New York Jets will have their hands full Sunday when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their 1-8 season has been a disaster with GM John Idzik and Coach Rex Ryan having their jobs on the line.

The other day, a fan paid to have a plane fly over the Jets practice field with a banner saying, "Fire Idzik". It certainly got a lot of exposure through social media. The teams looks like they are spiraling out of control.

Owner Woody Johnson might have to fire them both just to keep fans happy. He probably needs a guy like John Gruden or Bill Cowher to come in and do both jobs, but would either of them really want it?

Two Backups Meet

Former Pats QB Ryan Mallet was never going to play in Foxborough unless Tom Brady went down with an injury. He sat on the bench for three years before being traded to the Houston Texans prior to the start of the season.

He continued to sit behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, but will now have his turn at the starting job against the Cleveland Browns. Mallet has waited four years for this opportunity. He will be facing former Pats QB Brian Hoyer who also sat behind Brady. Hoyer has made the most of his opportunity and fought off rookie Johnny Manziel for the starting job.

Mallet has the chance of a lifetime. He needs to have a decent game to keep playing.

Excessive Strength

Football is such a violent game. It always amazes me to see the physical punishment that players take during the game. I wonder how they can get up and return to the huddle after some of the hits. The players of today are so much bigger, stronger and faster than years past.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a great video from their weight room. It featured LB James Harrison doing pushups with center Maurkice Pouncey sitting on his back. Harrison did five of them with an extra 308 pounds of weight on his body. I don't know how he did it so easily.

More For Nick

Big-time college football programs get extreme at times. Many of them have low graduation rates. Alumnae funnel money inappropriately to players and teams.

Alabama coach Nick Saban struggled in the NFL, but hit a gold mine in his current job. His salary of $7 million is one of the highest. The Alabama boosters recently paid off the balance of his $3.1 million home that he purchased with his wife after becoming coach in 2007.

During that time, Saban has earned over $35 million. That didn't stop the group from sweetening the pot for him. Meanwhile, he continues to send players to the NFL, wins Bowl games and has a low graduation rate.