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Deion Sanders deserves a beatdown

Bear with me for another "misunderstood Chargers injury" post, but I think Deion Sanders is in line to be socked in the face. His criticism of Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson feels way, way, way out of line. Said Deion, via the AP:

“I have expectations, and when you don’t meet my expectations, you open yourself for us to try to guess,” Sanders said. “Now what’s the problem? You’re a big-time player. And big-time players must play big-time games.”

Sanders also said he thought Tomlinson’s injury would need to warrant a surgery “for him to get a pass on this one.”

Well, he doesn't need surgery, Deion. I guess all Tomlinson can do now is hope to find some kind of meaning in his life now that he has to go on without your precious "pass."

Tomlinson defended himself:

“He’s never been a running back and had a sprained MCL. You tell me what running back has played with a sprained MCL and been effective. You might go out there and try to limp around and play,buy NFL Jerseys, but it’s not going to happen. I don’t know how information gets passed on, but until you talk to the source of the problem, what’s going on with me, I think it’s ridiculous when people make comments like that.”

“I think the funny thing to me is, all the things I’ve played with through my career and haven’t missed a game,nfl football jersey, now all of a sudden I’m not tough? You think I just wanted to sit on the sideline and not go, in the championship game? You think,NFL Football Jerseys, me? Come on, man, that’s ridiculous.”

Ridiculous ... that's a good word for it. And it's especially weird coming from Deion, because he's always been so player-friendly as a broadcaster. Deion could go do an interview with Pacman Jones, and at the end, he'd have you feeling like Pacman's a noble, misunderstood gentleman who simply has a dream to help all of America's strippers pay their way through law school.

I've traditionally been one of Deion's biggest fans, too. I like the work he does in the studio, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen a better nfl jerseys cheap player than Deion Sanders. Tomlinson owes him a punch in the face, though.  

It also doesn't help Tomlinson's case that Philip Rivers is getting so much love for playing Sunday without, I believe, an ACL, a pancreas, either elbow, toenails on his left foot, and absolutely no hair in his right nostril. But they're different positions, different injuries, and each player had to do different things with them. You can't compare the two.

I'll only accept criticisms of LaDainian Tomlinson's toughness if you're either 1) a licensed medical practitioner who examined Tomlinson's knee during the game, or 2) a running back who's played with the exact same MCL injury. If your only qualification is 3) being Deion Sanders, then you can stuff it, mister.

The next time LaDainian gets Deion on his couch, he should hold a pillow over his face for about 10 minutes.

• L.T. fires back at Neon Deion's criticisms / MSNBC
• Tomlinson's knee won't need surgery / San Diego Union TribuneTopics related to the article:

• 以没有机会与彼得森

Please stop cranking that, Eli

,nfl football jersey

Yesterday,buy NFL Jerseys, we had an embarrassing musical tribute to Brett Favre.  Today,NFL Football Jerseys, it's Eli Manning's turn (ironically, by "bostonfan911"). Thankfully, it's shorter ... and it actually wouldn't shock me to learn that Eli himself recorded this.

Oh, oh, oh, indeed.

• eli manning soulja boy / YouTubeTopics related to the article:

• 充电器，得克萨斯网站仍然未定

Might your Cadillac Williams jersey already be a t

Bucs running back Cadillac Williams certainly won't be ready to go in time for training camp,NFL Football Jerseys, and he might not be able to go at all in '08. And this morning, Pro Football Talk, the nfl jerseys rumor capital of the world,nfl football jersey, says they're hearing rumors that Cadillac's might not be ready to go, ever again.

If I were you, though, I'd hold off on chucking those Cadillac Williams jerseys into a Salvation Army bin. PFT is just saying that it's a rumor  going around Mobile, Alabama,buy NFL Jerseys, where players and coaches are gathered for the upcoming Senior Bowl. There's not even a hint about it anywhere else in the media.

Rumor Rumor Rumor. Can't stress that enough.

Said Bucs GM Bruce Allen recently of Cadillac's injury:

"Yes, it's a serious injury.  He has excellent medical care, and the equipment and recuperation time is completely different than it was six or seven years ago. Yes, I'm confident that if it can be done, he can do it."

But either way, retirement on the horizon or not, two things seem like a pretty good idea right now. 1) Not drafting Cadillac Williams in your fantasy league, and 2) that contract extension for Earnest Graham the Bucs have been talking about.

• Cadillac Done? / Pro Football Talk
• Draft's RB depth might be handy / St. Petersburg Times
• Graham Up For Extenstion? / Pewter ReportTopics related to the article:

• 海盗要求穆尔价格低

Super Bowl XLII line Pats favored by 13½ o

,nfl football jersey
A glorious Championship Sunday has now given way to a Bledsoe-slow 14 days of hype for Super Bowl XLII.  Tom Brady and the Patriots wait eagerly for Emmitt Smith to decide what else the Giants need to do to qualify.

If Emmitt does decide to put the Giants in the Super Bowl,buy NFL Jerseys, though (I'm thinking he'll put Eli Manning and Brandon Jacobs through a series of Double Dare-style physical challenges first),NFL Football Jerseys, they'll be 13½-point dogs when they get there.  That's a pretty healthy line considering that the Pats, just 23 days ago, could only beat the Giants by a field goal.

• New England heavily favored / Courier News
• Championship Edition Of Countdown: Open Thread / Awful Announcing

• Eli Manning has me reconsidering the Citizen Eco-D

Eli Manning has me reconsidering the Citizen Eco-D

When I start preparing for my 2008 fantasy football draft, I'm not going to buy one of those overpriced,buy NFL Jerseys, trashy magazines.

You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to call up the people at the Citizen Watch company, and just ask who they like.

They are football savants, the Citizen people. They can predict future quarterback play better than Ron Jaworski, Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth,nfl football jersey, or any other analyst in the world.  

It took a huge pair for them to start running those Eli Manning ads when they did. When they first aired, Eli was throwing interceptions like a Girls Gone Wild producer throwing around beads at Mardi Gras. 

The commercial would come on, and the guy would say, "Unstoppable ... Eli Manning is," and you'd wonder if you were watching a Saturday Night Live sketch. At the time,NFL Football Jerseys, Eli was only "unstoppable" in fantasy leagues that gave points for interceptions and confused facial expressions.  

But here he sits, with a 99.2 QB rating in the playoffs, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, with wins over Tony Romo and Brett Favre on the road, and having outlasted his 2004 draft cohorts, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger.  The goofball actually has become unstoppable.

If the Citizen people are that good with quarterback prognostication, they must make one hell of a timepiece.

• Citizen Eco-Drive / CITIZENWATCH.com

Eric Mangini's earned another year, hasn't he

A question: When you're heading into a season in which your choices at quarterback are Brady Quinn(notes) or Derek Anderson(notes), your running back is Jamal Lewis(notes), your best receiver is traded in Week 4, and your defense is regarded as almost completely devoid of talent,NFL Jerseys Cheap, what is your record expected to be?

I'd put the ceiling for that team at about 5-11.

As it happens, that's the exact record the Browns finished with. Over the last five weeks of the season, they gave the Chargers a battle, and went on to beat the Steelers, Chiefs,MLB Jerseys, Raiders and Jaguars. They improved as the season went on, and at the end, when other teams were packing it in, the Browns showed a hell of a lot of character.

The team's in better shape now than it was when the season started. Jerome Harrison(notes) looks like the running back of the future. Young guys like Eric Wright(notes), Kaluka Maiava(notes) and Kamerion Wimbley(notes) are contributing on defense. Josh Cribbs has turned into one of the league's most dangerous players. Mohamed Massaquoi(notes) has shown signs that if there's ever a capable quarterback around, he could be a fine receiver.

To me, these are all reasons to keep moving in the same direction, not change again to a completely different direction. There's more value in stability than there would be in a new coach. Personally, I don't believe there's a coach alive who would do better than 5-11 with Quinn and Anderson at quarterback.

Everyone keeps saying that Mangini's as good as gone because Cleveland's new football czar,NFL Jerseys, Mike Holmgren, has a completely different football philosophy. I say the onus should be on Holmgren to adjust. Mangini's made progress here. Why throw it away?

I know Browns fans didn't want to go 5-11 this year,buy NFL Jerseys, but that's life. That's what their talent dictated they could do. Unlike most of the bad teams in the league, the Browns can honestly say that they got better as the year went on. They stayed together, they didn't quit,Cheap NFL Jerseys, and they grew as a team.

Mike Holmgren should think long and hard before he just throws that away.

• Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

Redskins and Jim Zorn were a bad match from the st

Jim Zorn was doomed from the beginning.

Daniel Snyder had originally hired the former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach to serve as Washington Redskins offensive coordinator in January 2008. But after a 32-day coaching search ended with Snyder either being spurned (Bill Cowher, Steve Spagnuolo), unimpressed (Gregg Williams,buy NFL Jerseys, Jim Schwartz) or scared away by the press and fans (Jim Fassel) about candidates, he promoted Zorn to head coach even though he had never so much as called a play in the cheap nfl jerseys.

On the bright side, Zorn was supposed to provide the 'Skins with a fresh perspective. No more splashy hires (Steve Spurrier),MLB Jerseys, nfl jerseys cheap retreads (Marty Schottenheimer) or nods to the past (Joe Gibbs). Zorn was the unknown quantity. And that proved to be his undoing in Washington.

The news that Jim Zorn was fired this morning as head coach of the Washington Redskins was as surprising as news of the sun rising in the east. It had been expected since Week 3 of the nfl jerseys season and was all but assured when the coach was stripped of his playcalling duties in October. Neutered, Zorn looked defeated and lost on the sideline. His team followed suit on the field.

Dan Snyder is like the rich playboy who always has his eye on the next conquest. Jim Zorn was the homely girl he got stuck with one night in a bad spot and couldn't get rid of for two years. The ink had yet to dry on the signatures on Zorn's contract before reports trickled out that Snyder would be looking to Bill Cowher if Zorn struggled in his first season. Snyder wanted out from the get go.

But Zorn acquitted himself nicely in his first two months on the job. The Redskins started 6-2 in his inaugural campaign and the coach became something of a cult hero (albeit a cheesy one) in Washington. His rallying cry of "hip, hip hooray" and the quick start had fans ignoring the warning signs that were already becoming evident.

The third-down playcalls, the fourth-down decisions, burning timeouts, a lack of discernible two-minute drill, poor choices on challenges and penalties; these were the hallmarks of Zorn's teams,NFL Jerseys Cheap, even when they were winning. Eventually it catches up with a team though. The Redskins,Cheap NFL Jerseys, who won six of Zorn's first eight games, would go on to win only six of his next 20. By September of this year, it was clear Zorn had lost the team and many (including us at Shutdown Corner) thought he should have been fired early in the year.

But it wasn't all Zorn's fault. Though he didn't need any help being mediocre, he sure got it. Injuries befell the team during its epic 2008 collapse and got worse this year when Pro Bowlers like Clinton Portis(notes), Chris Samuels(notes), Chris Cooley(notes) and Randy Thomas(notes) all went down with season-ending injuries. And thanks to inane personnel moves over the past half-decade by Snyder and his now-deposed yes man Vinny Cerrato,NBA Jerseys, there was almost no depth to speak of. 

But as the saying goes, you can't fire the owner, so the axe fell on Zorn today. He was classy for the duration, never stooping to the level of Snyder and Cerrato and never complaining. That being said, nobody in D.C. will be very sad to see him go. Jim Zorn was never the right fit for the Washington Redskins. Nobody ever is. The excitement will be high when it's likely announced in a few hours or days that Mike Shanahan will be the next head coach of the team, but all that means is that he's just signed up to be Dan Snyder's next ex.

• Eric Mangini's earned another year, hasn't he

Yesterday's five least valuable players (plus ever

Everyone, Every Position, New York Giants. Is an explanation required? They lost their last two games of the year by a combined 69 points. It's been a prideless, gutless, embarrassing two-week display that ownership shouldn't tolerate. That's the task for the Giants this offseason: Find the guys who quit, and don't let them ever wear a Giants uniform again.

Brandon Carr(notes), Cornerback, Kansas City Chiefs. I hate to include a Chief here in a week when they won, but I'm sorry, that's what happens when Jabar Gaffney(notes) catches 14 balls for 213 yards on you. Brandon Stokley(notes) got a touchdown on him,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, and Brandon Lloyd(notes) hit him for a deep ball, too. If it had been Brandon Marshall(notes) lighting him up, that would be one thing. I probably wouldn't even mention it. Gaffney, Stokey and Lloyd, though,NHL Jerseys, is not exactly a murderer's row of receivers.

Tyler Thigpen(notes), Quarterback, Miami Dolphins. With Chad Henne(notes) and Pat White(notes) both knocked out of the game, the Dolphins called on Thiggers to lead a comeback against the Steelers. I thought he was going to do it, too, when he made this play, which can be described only as Thigpen-esque. But then he did this. And then he did that same thing again, and the Dolphins were dead. I guess the silver lining is that this was not, as it was expected to be,NFL Jerseys Cheap, a completely Thigpen-free season.

Ahmard Hall(notes),NFL Jersey, Fullback, Tennessee Titans. What did the Titans fullback do to earn a spot here? He got called for a holding penalty that negated a 62-yard touchdown run by Chris Johnson. The call was legit, and he did hold,Cheap NFL Jerseys, though it was completely unnecessary. A legal block would've gotten Johnson by the guy, just the same. Johnson still had a nice day and all, but if the 62-yarder had stood, he'd have had a real shot at taking down Eric Dickerson's record. Nice going, Hall. Thanks for robbing everyone of that suspense.

Hiram Eugene(notes), Safety, Oakland Raiders. Mr. Eugene is the gentleman wearing No. 31 in black on this play.

Cast aside like a side order of soggy green beans. Ouch. I hope his family wasn't watching.

Related: Most and Least Valuable

• Marty Schottenheimer would be the ideal choice for

Yesterday's five least valuable players (plus ever

Everyone,NFL Jersey, Every Position, New York Giants. Is an explanation required? They lost their last two games of the year by a combined 69 points. It's been a prideless, gutless, embarrassing two-week display that ownership shouldn't tolerate. That's the task for the Giants this offseason: Find the guys who quit, and don't let them ever wear a Giants uniform again.

Brandon Carr(notes), Cornerback,buy NFL Jerseys, Kansas City Chiefs. I hate to include a Chief here in a week when they won,MLB Jerseys, but I'm sorry, that's what happens when Jabar Gaffney(notes) catches 14 balls for 213 yards on you. Brandon Stokley(notes) got a touchdown on him,NBA Jerseys, and Brandon Lloyd(notes) hit him for a deep ball, too. If it had been Brandon Marshall(notes) lighting him up, that would be one thing. I probably wouldn't even mention it. Gaffney, Stokey and Lloyd, though, is not exactly a murderer's row of receivers.

Tyler Thigpen(notes), Quarterback, Miami Dolphins. With Chad Henne(notes) and Pat White(notes) both knocked out of the game, the Dolphins called on Thiggers to lead a comeback against the Steelers. I thought he was going to do it, too, when he made this play, which can be described only as Thigpen-esque. But then he did this. And then he did that same thing again, and the Dolphins were dead. I guess the silver lining is that this was not, as it was expected to be, a completely Thigpen-free season.

Ahmard Hall(notes), Fullback, Tennessee Titans. What did the Titans fullback do to earn a spot here? He got called for a holding penalty that negated a 62-yard touchdown run by Chris Johnson. The call was legit, and he did hold, though it was completely unnecessary. A legal block would've gotten Johnson by the guy, just the same. Johnson still had a nice day and all,NHL Jerseys, but if the 62-yarder had stood, he'd have had a real shot at taking down Eric Dickerson's record. Nice going, Hall. Thanks for robbing everyone of that suspense.

Hiram Eugene(notes), Safety, Oakland Raiders. Mr. Eugene is the gentleman wearing No. 31 in black on this play.

Cast aside like a side order of soggy green beans. Ouch. I hope his family wasn't watching.

Related: Most and Least Valuable

• Marty Schottenheimer would be the ideal choice for

Chris Johnson's 2009 Best ever season by a runnin

Trying to judge the best ever season by a running back would, of course, be very difficult and very subjective, but Chris Johnson can at least mount an argument.

He ended up falling 99 yards short of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record,NFL Jerseys Cheap, but Johnson did break Marshall Faulk's(notes) single-season yards from scrimmage record. Dickerson's mark probably holds a more prominent place in nfl jerseys cheap history, but if you look at it from the more practical, "Hey,NBA Jerseys, yards are yards" perspective, Johnson's season starts to look like the better one.

Only five other gentlemen have rushed for 2,NHL Jerseys,000 yards in a season: Dickerson in 1984, Jamal Lewis(notes) in 2003, Barry Sanders in 1997, Terrell Davis in 1998, and O.J. Simpson in 1973.

Of those, only two did it with fewer carries than Johnson: O.J. needed only 332 (and of course, played only 14 games back in '73) and Sanders needed only 335. Johnson had 358.

No one among the 2,000-yard rushers, however, got anywhere close to Johnson's 503 yards receiving. Sanders was the closest with 305 in his 2,000-yard year. Poor O.J.  caught only six balls for 70 yards in his 2,NFL Jersey,000-yard season. Someone really should have told him to take off those bloody gloves.

It may be worth looking at supporting casts, too. If a team has a better passing game, the defense is less likely to stack the box against the run, giving the guys with a weaker passing game a higher degree of difficulty.

Johnson's degree of difficulty was pretty high. The Titans ranked 24th in passing yards this past season, and certainly, Johnson was considered their main weapon, week in and week out. Of course, if Jamal Lewis in '03 had a passing game with those kinds of numbers, he'd have felt like he was playing with a Pro Bowl roster.

The '03 Ravens had the worst passing game in the league (Kyle Boller(notes) and Anthony Wright(notes) shared quarterbacking duties,NFL Jerseys, if you're curious), and Lewis still pounded out his 2,000. Dickerson's '84 Rams had the league's 27th-ranked passing game (Jeff Kemp at QB), and O.J.'s '73 Bills had the 26th-best passing game (Joe Ferguson). Barry's '97 Lions were 12th in the league at throwing the ball, which is shockingly good, given that Scott Mitchell was the quarterback. Of course, Terrell Davis's '98 Broncos were a John Elway team and ranked seventh.

Obviously, there are other great seasons that could be considered, as well as a ton of other factors. If there's a way to declare one season clearly better than another, I don't know what it is, but it's fun to argue about it. No matter how you look at it, though, Johnson's season was historic and one of the greatest in modern history.

Related: Chasing Dickerson

• Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

The Patriots will be just fine without Wes Welker

Aside from the playoffs themselves, yesterday's biggest story was probably New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker(notes) crippling himself early in the game against the Texans. Welker's foot went one way, his body went another, and his ACL and MCL paid the price.

Naturally, I feel bad for the guy, and it's a blow to the Patriots. I don't believe it kills them, though. In fact, it wouldn't shock me at all if the offense cruised right along and didn't miss a beat.

There are two reasons I believe this. First,MLB Jerseys, Welker's missed games before, and Julian Edelman(notes) has stepped in and been just about as effective. Welker was out in Week 2, and Edelman stepped in and made 8 catches for 98 yards. In Week 3 with Welker out, Edelman had 3 catches for 20 yards. Yesterday, post-Welker, Edelman caught 10 balls for 103 yards.

In those three Welker-less games, Edelman's averaged 7 catches for 73 yards. Welker's per-game averages on the season? 8.8 catches for 96 yards. It's a drop-off, but it's not a huge one.

I don't mean at all to trivialize the contributions of Wes Welker, but from what I've seen, it seems like Edelman can reproduce them pretty well. It's not like we have to replace Randy Moss(notes) here. Edelman's routes may not be quite as precise as Welker's, and his hands might not be quite as reliable, but he's excellent after the catch. He can make guys miss in the open field.

The second reason the Pats can live without Welker,NHL Jerseys, though,NFL Jerseys, and this is the big one, is that Tom Brady's(notes) made a career out of working with lesser receivers. Troy Brown(notes),Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Reche Caldwell(notes),NFL Jersey, David Givens(notes), David Patten(notes) ... none of those gentlemen will ever be in the Hall of Fame without purchasing a ticket first, and Brady's made heroes of them all at one point or another. I fail to see why he couldn't do the same with Julian Edelman.

• Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

The Patriots will be just fine without Wes Welker

Aside from the playoffs themselves, yesterday's biggest story was probably New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker(notes) crippling himself early in the game against the Texans. Welker's foot went one way, his body went another, and his ACL and MCL paid the price.

Naturally, I feel bad for the guy,NBA Jerseys, and it's a blow to the Patriots. I don't believe it kills them, though. In fact, it wouldn't shock me at all if the offense cruised right along and didn't miss a beat.

There are two reasons I believe this. First, Welker's missed games before, and Julian Edelman(notes) has stepped in and been just about as effective. Welker was out in Week 2, and Edelman stepped in and made 8 catches for 98 yards. In Week 3 with Welker out, Edelman had 3 catches for 20 yards. Yesterday, post-Welker,NFL Jerseys Cheap, Edelman caught 10 balls for 103 yards.

In those three Welker-less games, Edelman's averaged 7 catches for 73 yards. Welker's per-game averages on the season? 8.8 catches for 96 yards. It's a drop-off, but it's not a huge one.

I don't mean at all to trivialize the contributions of Wes Welker, but from what I've seen, it seems like Edelman can reproduce them pretty well. It's not like we have to replace Randy Moss(notes) here. Edelman's routes may not be quite as precise as Welker's, and his hands might not be quite as reliable, but he's excellent after the catch. He can make guys miss in the open field.

The second reason the Pats can live without Welker,NFL Jersey, though, and this is the big one, is that Tom Brady's(notes) made a career out of working with lesser receivers. Troy Brown(notes),MLB Jerseys, Reche Caldwell(notes), David Givens(notes),Wholesale NFL Jerseys, David Patten(notes) ... none of those gentlemen will ever be in the Hall of Fame without purchasing a ticket first, and Brady's made heroes of them all at one point or another. I fail to see why he couldn't do the same with Julian Edelman.

• Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

Chris Johnson may race Usain Bolt. Does he have a

Since Usain Bolt burst onto the worldwide scene in the spring of 2008, no sprinter has been able to touch him. Now,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the self-proclaimed "fastest man in the cheap nfl jerseys" is going to try.

ESPN reports that cheap nfl jerseys rushing champ Chris Johnson is in talks with the three-time gold medalist to run a charity race that will determine the world's fastest human. The camps are still discussing the distance of the race. Johnson wants a shorter sprint,NFL Jersey, which would theoretically favor him, and Bolt would prefer to keep things closer to 100 meters.

Short or long,NFL Jerseys, it doesn't matter. Let me write this slowly so there's no confusion: Johnson. Doesn't. Have. A. Chance.

I don't want to hear about his fast 40 times at the combine or how Bolt is a notoriously slow starter or how if you sync up Bolt's blazing 100 from the Beijing Olympics, it looks like Johnson could hang with him for the first half of the race. Those facts are minor distractions obscuring the most important point of all: Usain Bolt is the fastest human being who has ever walked the Earth. Running a 4.24 at the combines and having the ability to outrun a safety for the Houston Texans doesn't mean Johnson can compete with that.

If they're running in pads or on turf maybe Johnson could have a shot. Not on a track though. Sprinting is a discipline. There are nuances to running a race. It's not just outrunning the guy taking an angle.

The reason Usain Bolt is a slow starter is because it fits in best with his racing style. He builds to peak speed in the 100. That Johnson's sprint matches up with the beginning parts of Bolt's race makes as little difference as the Broncos leading the AFC West on Halloween. All that matters is how you finish. And in a race of 10 meters or 1,000, it would be stunning if Bolt didn't finish ahead of Johnson.

There was some chatter during the last Olympics that an nfl jerseys cheap team could give Usain Bolt a workout based solely on his speed. But people came to their senses and realized that speed doesn't necessarily make a football player. The same logic applies here. Just because Chris Johnson is fast doesn't mean he can hang with a world-class sprinter.

I'd certainly watch a Bolt-Johnson race. And I certainly won't be surprised when Usain Bolt crosses the finish line first, as usual.

Update: Bolt's agent denies the ESPN report and has asked for a retraction,buy NFL Jerseys, according to universalsports.com:

"There is no truth to the story and I have contacted ESPN in an effort to get them to take the story down because we don't want this to spread like wildfire," [agent Ricky] Simms said in a phone interview with Universal Sports. "Usain doesn't follow the nfl(national football league) too closely and is not really familiar with all of the players. He likes (international) football and cricket. But more importantly,NHL Jerseys, he has a schedule and a coach to follow and there is no chance that we would set up this type of event."

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• Marty Schottenheimer would be the ideal choice for

Marty Schottenheimer would be the ideal choice for

The perpetual knock on Marty Schottenheimer is that he chokes in playoff games. How does a man develop such a reputation? Well, the first step is to make the playoffs a lot.

How's that sound to you, Buffalo fans? Do you like the idea of the playoffs? Does that sound like an appealing alternative to, I don't know,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, say, 6-10? Or 7-9? Then Marty Schottenheimer is your guy.

I know, you probably wanted Bill Cowher. He comes with a couple of Super Bowl rings, the intimidating chin, uncontrollable spittle and a few more headlines. He's younger and more exciting than Schottenheimer. If he's your first choice, that's fair enough.

If you can't get him, though (and it looks like you can't),Cheap NFL Jerseys, wouldn't his mentor be a nice consolation prize? Cowher and Schottenheimer have very similar football philosophies. They both consider themselves teachers more than coaches. As football coaches,NFL Jersey, they're just about the same guy, only one's proven that he can win a Super Bowl, and the other hasn't.

What Schottenheimer will do is come in and teach your guys how to play football. He'll focus on the fundamentals and playing together as a team, and it will work. He just wins football games. In his 21 years as a head coach in the nfl jersey, he's made the playoffs 13 times.

Will he win you a Super Bowl? Probably not, but you're the Buffalo Bills. Let's take baby steps here.

Schottenheimer coached the Chargers for five years, and then was fired because the team couldn't believe he could get them over the hump and bring home a Lombardi trophy. In those five years, though, Schottenheimer took the Chargers from a mediocrity team to a level where they felt like a Super Bowl win was in play.

Maybe that makes me biased,NBA Jerseys, or maybe it makes me a guy who knows what Schottenheimer brings to the table. I see him as a guy who teaches, builds and wins, and I see the Bills as a team that needs a guy like that.

If the Bills hire him,NFL Jerseys, and then one day fire him because they don't feel like he's the guy to get them over the Super Bowl hump, he will have done his job.

• Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

Raheem Morris, having just finished a less-than-spectacular first season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will get at least one more season as head coach. Ownership said yesterday that they're "committed to the plan that [they] began 12 months ago with coach Morris."

So the rebuilding continues,NBA Jerseys, as it should. Yes,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the Bucs went 3-13, and under no circumstances can a 3-13 season be seen as a success (outside of Detroit), but that's sort of the point of rebuilding, isn't it? You take some lumps. Did the level of talent and experience in Tampa Bay warrant anything better than 3-13? Maybe, but not much better.

Morris and rookie quarterback Josh Freeman(notes) will get a chance to grow together. Freeman threw a pretty healthy 18 interceptions in just 10 games,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, but he also showed some spectacular bursts of playmaking ability. If and how quickly he can mature into a legitimate nfl(national football league) quarterback will have a lot to do with how long Morris gets to keep his job.

But whether we're talking about Raheem Morris, Eric Mangini, or any other first-year head coach, don't they all deserve more than one year? Unless they go 0-16, or they sell the team's blocking sleds and use the money to go on a three-day PCP binge in Reno, I don't think a second year is too much to ask.

Again, the concept is rebuilding. You tear down, you build back up, and you expect some losses along the way. No one wants to do it, but sometimes you gotta. How do you expect to build anything if a guy doesn't get more than 16 games to do it? What are you going to do, start again every single year?

The Bucs hired Morris for a reason. And whatever that reason was, it's still there. When a team fires a head coach after one year, to me, it's the same as admitting,MLB Jerseys, "We made a very big mistake in hiring this guy." Maybe Morris didn't have the greatest of years, but I don't think he did anything that makes him a clear-cut disaster, either.

I like the decision, Bucs. Give Morris another chance, see if he can make some strides next year, and hopefully,NFL Jerseys Cheap, your initial instincts about the guy turn out to be right.

• Raheem Morris will return to coach the Bucs; Good

Sunday Spotlight The Steelers-Ravens survivor poo

In 2008, it was the nfl jerseys cheap's best rivalry, and it's still tough every time these two teams face off. Today, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will face off at Heinz Field for the right to continue on and hope for the playoffs. The Ravens stand at 8-6 with a 6-4 conference record, having beaten the Steelers, 20-17, in Week 12. But Ben Roethlisberger(notes) was out of that game,MLB Jerseys, and the 7-7 Steelers know that it took the Ravens an overtime period to beat a Pittsburgh team with Dennis Dixon(notes) taking the snaps.

Coming off a 37-36 win over the Green Bay Packers in which Big Ben threw for 503 yards, the Steelers are confident in their approach -- throw the ball all over the field, and hope that their pass rush can make up for the deficits in a secondary that desperately misses Troy Polamalu(notes). Ben will get a break in that Baltimore's dominant safety counterpart,NBA Jerseys, Ed Reed(notes), will also miss this game, and the Tyrone Carter(notes)/ Tom Zbikowski(notes) duo doesn't put quite the same fear in opposing quarterbacks. We're used to these games being smashmouth affairs, but both formerly dominant defenses are experiencing a recession these days.

The Ravens haven't beaten the Steelers at Pittsburgh since 2006,NFL Jerseys, and they're facing a team that swept them 3-0 in 2008. To get revenge and knock their division mates out of the playoffs, the Ravens must give control of their offense to Ray Rice(notes),NFL Jerseys Cheap, the running and receiving Raven from Rutgers (hat tip: Rich Eisen). Rice isn't just a breakaway threat; he's also a guy who can keep drives churning, which keeps Big Ben from torching that vulnerable Baltimore secondary.

The Steelers will have James Harrison(notes) in the lineup -- no time to let a biceps injury keep you out of this one. Harrison and his edge-rushing buddies must pressure Joe Flacco(notes) consistently,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, making up for Pittsburgh's own secondary issues. They'll have an interesting challenge in that left tackle Jared Gaither(notes) has been ruled out for this one -- rookie Michel Oher will slide over to left tackle and use his nasty, physical style in a way that will define this game. Oher isn't great against speed rushers yet, and that most likely leaves tight end Todd Heap(notes) in to block and takes a weapon away from Flacco.

As it generally is, today's Ravens-Steelers game is as evenly matched as you could imagine, and defines Must-See TV in Week 16,

• Shutdown Corner defensive player of the week -- Hu

Welcome to Blowout Central!

There were a couple of interesting games among the early Sunday offerings. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens battled as expected,NHL Jerseys, with Pittsburgh coming out on top of a 23-20 score, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shocked everyone by beating the New Orleans Saints 20-17 in overtime, and the Miami Dolphins came back from a 27-0 first-half deficit against the Houston Texans to score 20 unanswered points and make it close enough that the Texans' recovery of a Miami onside kick with 2:29 left in the game saved the contest for Houston.

Overall, though ... really bad blowouts were the order of the day. The Seattle Seahawks traveled to Lambeau Field, where they had problems a few years ago when they weren't the excruciatingly horrible team they are now. In their 48-10 loss to the Packers, the Seahawks saw the second team this season pull their starting quarterback in the third quarter (Tarvaris Jackson(notes) for Brett Favre(notes)) with the game out of reach.

The New York Giants were trying to keep playoff hope alive and give Giants Stadium a good sendoff,NBA Jerseys, and they did neither. The Carolina Panthers wiped the floor with Big Blue in an inexcusable performance for Tom Coughlin's team. The Giants' beat-up secondary allowed three touchdowns from Matt Moore(notes), and Jonathan Stewart(notes) ran wild over that formerly great front seven for 208 yards on 28 carries -- the most ever given up by the Giants at Giants Stadium. Eli Manning(notes) didn't have a bad game in the air, but he fumbled three times, losing one, and his receivers were dropping easy passes and losing fumbles of their own. Carolina's Steve Smith won the battle of the Steve Smiths by putting up what might be the "Oh my GOD!" catch of the season, breaking his forearm on a hit from Giants defender Michael Johnson and still taking the ball in for the score.

The Atlanta Falcons beat the tar out of the Buffalo Bills, 31-3, giving them a chance at 8-7 to finish with consecutive winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. And the Cleveland Browns beat the Oakland Raiders,NFL Jerseys Cheap, 23-9, behind the 39 carries and 148 rushing yards of new star Jerome Harrison(notes). Meanwhile Raiders "quarterback" Charlie Frye(notes) put up what may be the most impressive statistic of the 2009 season: He threw 45 passes, and not one touchdown. Last but not least, the New England Patriots destroyed the Jacksonville Jaguars,NFL Jersey, 35-7, clinching the AFC East title in the process, as Tom Brady(notes) completed 23 of 26 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns. For the eighth time in 2009, Jags quarterback David Garrard(notes) did not throw a touchdown pass in a game.

We've also got a 17-0 Arizona beatdown of the Rams at the half of one of the late games,buy NFL Jerseys, but the other three contests look halfway competitive if the Broncos can do something about Brent Celek(notes). Stay tuned, folks!

• Taking my eraser to the Pro Bowl rosters

Did the Colts outsmart themselves

I saw Curtis Painter(notes) in Lucas Oil Stadium before most people did. Every year at the scouting combine, a group of reporters are allowed to go into the building during quarterback and receiver drills, and watch the prospective draftees go through their prescribed motions. The tradeoff is that you are assigned one quarterback and one receiver and you must write a pool report about each player. I drew Purdue's Painter and Oregon receiver Jaison Williams. Williams did nothing for me (or anyone else),NFL Jerseys Cheap, but I liked a few things about Painter:

What really impressed me was his ability to gear his throws up or down based on the speed of the receiver he was throwing to. When you're throwing your two 12-yard comebacks or 30-yard go routes,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, each pass is to a different receiver, and the chances that you've ever thrown to him before are very slim. I liked Painter's ability to seemingly get a sense of a receiver's break off the line and adjust his throws accordingly. Of all the quarterbacks in the drills I saw, he has the fewest instances in which his receiver had to slow down or speed up to get the ball. I was less concerned about incompletions,NHL Jerseys, because these aren't game conditions and those missed connections tend to be about 50/50 when it comes to who's at fault. Painter looked particularly good on the 30-yard post corner, which is known as the toughest route to throw for most guys.

Painter impressed the Colts enough for them to take him in the sixth round. What I never expected was to see Painter on the field against the New York Jets, without all the weapons Peyton Manning(notes) has available to him, when head coach Jim Caldwell decided to pull Manning in the third quarter. Painter had Indy's starting offensive line,NFL Jersey, but Reggie Wayne(notes) and Dallas Clark(notes) were quickly out of the picture, and Painter was left to try and decipher Rex Ryan's defense with half a gun in his holster.

Painter fumbled almost immediately, threw a pick that Lito Sheppard(notes) would have intercepted if Dwight Lowery(notes) didn't, and generally looked very much like the rookie he is. The Colts were up, 15-10, when Manning was pulled, and they never scored another point as the Jets went on to a 29-15 victory.

Manning became the fourth quarterback in nfl jerseys cheap history to pass the 50,000-yard mark (I'm assuming that's the only reason he was in the game at all), but I have to wonder how this will affect the team's momentum going forward.

Chris Chase will be along soon with the full-game analysis, but in the larger sense,NFL Jerseys, I'm a firm believer in the notion that there are no meaningless games. "Uncle Mo" can mean a lot. The Colts may have outsmarted themselves here.

• Real Randy Moss and Fake Randy Moss entertain them

Caldwell's questionable decision leads to Colts' f

,NHL Jerseys

Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell has been saying for weeks that going undefeated was "a secondary goal" for his team. On Sunday he showed he meant it.

With his 14-0 Colts holding a five-point lead over the visiting New York Jets late in the third quarter, the first-year coach pulled Peyton Manning(notes) in favor of rookie Curtis Painter(notes). It was the football equivalent of waving the white flag. New York would go on to score 19 unanswered points, thus handing Indianapolis its first loss of 2009.

In theory,buy NFL Jerseys, the benching of Manning wasn't a surprise. Caldwell had foreshadowed such an event for weeks. But you always got the sense that if it was going to happen, the coach would have done so at halftime or when the Colts had a big lead or small deficit. Taking the presumptive nfl(national football league) MVP out of the game with a five-point lead in the middle of the third quarter felt strange. It felt like Jim Caldwell wanted to lose. 

Painter was the 201st pick of the 2009 nfl jersey draft and entered the season as Indy's emergency quarterback. An injury to longtime Manning backup Jim Sorgi(notes) bumped Painter up a spot on the depth chart and he saw his first nfl jersey action today. The odds that Painter was going to hold a lead against a stout Jets defense were slim. (Check out Doug Farrar's post about Painter for more.)

If the Colts lose in the playoffs next month, some will look back on today's decision as the catalyst for said loss. And if Indy runs the table and wins the Super Bowl,NBA Jerseys, some will claim that it was Caldwell's Week 16 decision that spurred the championship. Those will be equally dubious claims. It's doubtful that whatever happened today will have an effect on a game played 28 days from now.

But,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, for this afternoon at least,NFL Jersey, I think it was the wrong call. The benefit of resting Peyton for four series isn't enough to outweigh the historic implications of going 16-0. Caldwell is right when he says going undefeated is secondary. You play to win the Super Bowl. But how does throwing away a winnable game bring that ultimate goal any closer to fruition? Peyton Manning has never missed a game due to injury. What were the odds he'd get hurt in the final 22 minutes today? They were probably about the same as Curtis Painter holding the lead.

• Real Randy Moss and Fake Randy Moss entertain them

Saints owner Tom Benson prematurely celebrates Sai

It was one of the greatest moments in recent New Orleans Saints history. A 37-yard field goal by kicker Garrett Hartley(notes) sailed through the uprights as time wound down in Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The narrow three-point win gave New Orleans a 14-1 record and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

It so pleased Saints owner Tom Benson that he celebrated with his wife, Gayle, like they had just won a Super Tuesday primary; arms raised and clapsed triumphantly in the air as conquering heroes, with deep eye contact that seemed to say "we did it," both of which built into a slow embrace that was part exultation part relief. Finally!

But then Tom realizes something's up. The only cheering in the Superdome is coming from his owner's box. Everyone else is silent. His wife's hug and the pom-pom waving in his face are distractions from the slowly growing realization that something is amiss,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, namely the kick from Hartley's foot.

"Hey. Hey... hop off for a second. I don't think it was good. No,buy NFL Jerseys, he missed it. Seriously, Gayle, he pushed it left. I thought it was good! The ref put his hands up,NHL Jerseys, I swear! Can we challenge this? Somebody get me Sean! I want to dance! 

Unlike Donovan McNabb, however, Tom Benson knew that a missed kick in a tie game leads to an extra session of play called "overtime." But Benson's disappointment would only compound there,MLB Jerseys, as the Bucs successfuly kicked a game-winner of their own during OT.

Benson will have plenty of chances to celebrate over the next few weeks. The Superdome will host a rare playoff game and New Orleans figures to be the NFC favorite to make it to the Super Bowl. If any of that happens though,Cheap NFL Jerseys, I bet Tom Benson will wait until the last possible moment to began his celebration.

The full animated GIF can be seen at mocksession.com

• By pulling starters on Sunday, did Colts 'violate