The Long Journey

Pats DE Chris Long was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft when he was selected by the St Louis Rams. He spent his entire career with them before signing with the Pats prior to the 2016 season.

Although he has made a great deal of money, he was never a part of a winning team. This will be his first time in the playoffs.

The league is filled with players who have never seen the post-season. Jets WR Brandon Marshall just passed 12,000 receiving yards, but has never made a trip in 12 years. His time is running out real fast.

Times of Cyrus

The Pats selected CB Cyrus Jones in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft because of his exceptional punt return skills at Alabama. He was seen as the safe alternative to exposing Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola on kick coverage.

Jones has been a total disaster. In nine games, he has five fumbles. The one last night against the Ravens had fans calling for his benching or being cut by the team.

Coach Belichick has taken a different approach publicly by preaching the importance of ball security by all players.

Will Jones get another opportunity in a big situation? He fumbled in college, but made spectacular plays while playing on a national powerhouse.

It's a different world for him now. He can't keep making mistakes. The team has a significant financial investment in him, but it's not worth costing them the season by one bad play on his part.

Sharing Their Losses

Rex Ryan is still coaching the Bills today, but the axe fell on Jeff Fisher after five consecutive losing seasons with the Rams. Yesterday's loss tied him with Dan Reeves for the most losses by a NFL coach with 165.

Fisher has coached for 23 season. He will probably get another chance. The record will be his by next season.

A Time For Rex

Whenever the media says a coach might be fired tomorrow, they are often correct. It seems like Rex Ryan could be the one.

After losing to the Steelers today, the Bills are 6-7 and out of contention for the playoffs. Ryan spoke big about making a run at the Super Bowl, but it looks like it was all talk.

It's hard to believe that he could be gone before Todd Bowles of the Jets.

No Angels Allowed

The NFL lives up to its "No Fun League" nickname when they assessed penalties on players for making snow angels after a play.

The league can't keep itself from restricting and controlling player behavior during the games. Players run the chance of having their team penalized if they do anything that shows a sign of celebrating.

The NFL should look at itself when trying to determine why television ratings are getting worse.

Too Many Losses

Kickers can have a long career if things work out. Phil Dawson of the 49er's has lasted 18 seasons, while Sebastian Janakowski has 17 with the Raiders.

Dawson played for the Browns most of his career, while Janakowski has been with the Raiders. Both have played on too many teams with losing records.

As a result, they are number one and two for players with the most losses. It's a very dubious record, but indicates their longevity. Dawson has seen defeat 177 times and Janakowski has 159.

Bowles Almost Empty

With their latest loss, the New York Jets fell to 3-9 and have left fans angered and frustrated for another season. The tabloids are calling for Coach Todd Bowles to be fired. It will happen because someone has to pay the price. Will GM Mike Maccagnan survive?

The season has ben a total disaster, with so many questions about the future. Owner Woody Johnson knows he needs to make a big move to win back the fans.

No matter what happens, we will probably be saying the same things next year.

Bowling With BC

The college bowl selections are being announced and teams with records of .500 will have their day. Boston College and Maryland, both with 6-6 records, will face each other in the iconic Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on December 26th.

BC is on a two game winning streak, while Maryland has lost four in a row since starting the season at 6-2.

In all likelihood, there will be many empty seats for the game. The most important thing is the television audience which drives most of these meaningless bowl games.

It doesn't seem right that one of the teams will finish the season at 6-7 after playing in the post-season.

Nothing Fishy With Fisher

Rams coach Jeff Fisher added another loss to his career total yesterday against the Pats. With one more defeat, he has the opportunity to tie Dan Reeves for the most losses by a NFL coach with 165.

Yesterday's announcement of a two year extension for Fisher got a great deal of attention when it was learned that it had been done before the start of the season.

Some speculate that the team finally mentioned it because of the ongoing lobbying by Hall of Fame RB Eric Dickerson to have him fired. The Rams are headed for their fifth consecutive losing season under Fisher.

No matter what happens, the coach is very resilient. In 22 seasons, he has a career record of 173-164-1. He lasted 17 seasons with the Oilers/Titans. It doesn't look like he is going anywhere else.

Decreased Play and Pay

Jets CB Darelle Revis is at the crossroad of his career. He has taken a great deal of criticism this year because of his play on the field. Some are saying that he is finished at 31.

Revis brushed off all the talk and said he plans to return next year. He mentioned that he is willing to switch to playing safety.

He has not committed to taking a pay cut next year to stay with the Jets. They would be foolish to pay him $15 million. They will either cut him or force him to play at a reduced salary.

Is This The End of Gronk?

Fans were shocked to hear that Rob Gronkowski will miss the rest of the season after undergoing back surgery. It's the latest injury for the star-crossed player who exhibits phenomenal ability on the field, but has a career filled with injuries.

Many consider Gronk to be the greatest tight end of all time, but will he ever play again? This is his third back surgery and he is only 27.

Nobody wants to think of the inevitable, but Gronk needs to consider his long term health. He stands to lose money by not playing, but he should seek some type of injury settlement.

He has often said that he has never spent any of his NFL money because he lives of his endorsements and appearance fees. He can spend the rest of his life being Gronk.

Finish With A Winning Record

With 80 college football teams needed to fill all of the bowl spots, a number of teams will play with less than a stellar record for the season.

Boston College at 6-6 is a great example. They had easy wins over soft opponents like UMass, UConn, Wagner and Buffalo.

When they played in the ACC, they lost to Virginia Tech 49-0, Clemson 56-10, Louisville 52-7 and Florida State 45-7. These four teams outscored them 202-24.

BC is not alone in this situation. Teams are chomping at the bit to play in the post-season. It means more money for the school.