Jets hope to get answer from Brett Favre in 10 days
The countdown to The Brett Favre Decision has started. In 10 days, the Jets hope - emphasis on hope - to have an answer from Favre headquarters in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The Jets are in the same position the Packers were in the last several years and it's not comfortable. They are waiting for Favre to tell them what he's doing.
When the Jets made the trade in August, they got the entire Favre package: The leadership, the excitement, the improvisation and the interceptions. But they also acquired the aggravation of their life being put on hold as Favre takes his time deciding whether he's going to play in 2009. The Jets need to be pro-active rather than playing nice and feeding into Favre's diva act.
GM Mike Tannenbaum revealed to the Daily News that Favre's decision could be imminent. "We're putting together our offseason plan," Tannenbaum said. "We hope to have initial feedback from Brett by the combine."
The scouting combine in Indianapolis begins Feb. 18. The Jets need more than feedback. They don't need percentages. They need an answer.
Here's what Tannenbaum should tell him:
"Hey, Brett, we'd love to have you back even after you stunk it up in December. We understand if you're physically, mentally and emotional done. We think you'll love Rex (Ryan). We have cap issues, quarterback issues, it all revolves around you, so we're not asking you for a decision by the combine, but we're demanding a decision by the Feb. 27, the start of free agency. We need to know."
Of course, what leverage do the Jets have? They are not going to cut Favre even though Ryan has yet to indicate whether he even wants him. That subject has not come up internally as the Jets begin their player evaluations after Ryan put together his staff last month. But Tannenbaum and Woody Johnson are adamant they want Favre back, so it's not likely Ryan will fight them.
The Vikings may be the only team Favre wants, but as part of the trade last summer, the Packers inserted this poison pill: If the Jets traded Favre to the Vikings last year, they would have had to give Green Bay two No. 1 draft picks. If they trade him to the Vikings this year, the Jets send Green Bay one No. 1 pick. So, he's not being traded to Minnesota.
As much as Favre loves playing, he couldn't have loved it the final month of the season when he looked old and tired. His two TDs and eight INTs in December continued a trend: He melts down when it gets cold. In the last four Decembers, he has 13 TDs and 31 INTs. He's going to be 40 years old this season and he runs out of gas down the stretch.
But the Jets need an answer. Freeing up Favre's $13 million cap number would give them free-agent flexibility. Even if he plays, they still have some room to maneuver. The greater issue would be who plays quarterback? If Favre is done, the Jets can't go into camp with Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff and pray one of them turns into Matt Cassel.
At least when Favre was doing this to the Packers the last few years they knew Aaron Rodgers was next in line. The Jets don't have quality options. That's why the Jets are being patient. They might feel they need him more than he needs them.
Favre has been out hunting and if his accuracy in the woods is the same as it was at the end of last season, he's not hitting much.
The Favre Countdown is on. His answer could come in 10 days.
Reeves leaves 'Boys
Former Giants coach Dan Reeves had his own office at the Cowboys' facility in Valley Ranch and began working last Monday. He was gone by Wednesday. The money was worked out. He was going to be an adviser, concentrating on returning discipline to the Cowboys as well as being involved in personnel and game plans. It wasn't quite the powerful niche Bill Parcells carved out in Miami, but the return of Reeves, still very respected in Dallas from his days as a player, player-coach and assistant coach, and the closest link the Cowboys have to Tom Landry, would have helped Jerry Jones get this mess straightened out. I was surprised Reeves was willing to work with Jones after all the hard feelings that existed from Landry's guys after Jones fired the legendary coach in 1989. The deal fell apart when Jones, in effect, wanted Reeves to punch a clock and guarantee a certain number of hours he would spend with the team. Football is not a clock-punching business and it was an insult to Reeves. "To me, why would you want it in there?" Reeves said. "A contract should be like a handshake anyway." However, Jones saying the breakup had to do with a "time element," added, "It was just something I had to have in there." Reeves is one of the most honorable guys I've known in the NFL and for Jones to need him to guarantee he would work hard is ludicrous. Reeves clearly wants back in and probably regrets turning down the 49ers offensive coordinator job because he thought the Cowboys job was better for him.
Ray loves everybody
Ravens LB Ray Lewis would love to play for the Jets and Ryan, his former defensive coordinator. He would also love to play for the Cowboys. And the Ravens? Of course he would love to continue playing for them, too. Lewis spent Pro Bowl week professing his love for Ryan, Terrell Owens and the city of Baltimore. League insiders believe Lewis is trying to create leverage against the Ravens, who are looking for a hometown discount that Lewis says he will not provide. So, his intent is to establish a market for this his first entry into free agency. Next week, he'll say he would love to play for the Bengals. Lewis is not a good idea for the Jets, not at this point in his career. He will be 34 in May. It's the Favre factor. The Jets gave it a shot with Favre, the right thing to do, and it blew up on them down the stretch. It's time for the Jets to develop their own players instead of bringing in former stars at the end of their careers. Lewis is not the intimidating force he was early in his year. He does give the best pregame speeches and would bring passion to the locker room. Can he still impose his will on a team? The Ravens have been to one AFC Championship Game - a game they lost - since beating the Giants in the Super Bowl eight years ago.…Lewis completely lost me when he gushed about Owens even though they've had one of the best feuds in the NFL, one that started when Owens refused a trade to the Ravens in 2004 and wound up in Philly. You know this is all about the money when Lewis says, "I think T.O. is a great, great person. I just love him." Oh, please.
(c) 2009 Daily News, L.P.
Super Bowl Sunday for Browns fans is like being on the Island of Misfit Toys
Every year, on the verge of Super Bowl kick-off, Cleveland Browns fans must feel like all of the discarded, flawed toys wishing they could go with Santa on Christmas Eve on the television classic, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Every year, Charlie-in-the-Box, the spotted elephant, and the misfit doll sit outside on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa Claus' sleigh in the star-lit night sky to come and pick them up to be delivered as Christmas presents. Every year, they were disappointed.
Then Rudolph came into their lives and led Santa to the Island of Misfit Toys. Finally, the Misfit toys made it to the big show- Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve.
There have been a few Browns stars we thought might have been Rudolph over the years, when Cleveland came within one game of playing in the Super Bowl.
There were the back-to-back NFL championship games before the merger with the AFL. In 1968, the Browns lost to the Baltimore Colts 34-0. The Colts would go on to lose to Joe Namath's Jets in Super Bowl III where he famously guaranteed his team would beat Baltimore.
Back to the Island of Misfit Toys.
In 1969, the Browns lost to the Minnesota Vikings 27-7, who would lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV where the Chiefs' head coach, Hank Stram, had a mike on him the whole game, giving us some great quotes on the sidelines- "You marked it good, you marked it good."
Both of those years, Browns fans had hoped that quarterback Bill Nelson would be their Rudolph.
Back to the Island of Misfit Toys.
It would be 17 more years before Cleveland would get one game away from the Super Bowl. In 1986, the Browns lost at home to the Denver Broncos 23-20 in overtime, when quarterback John Elway manufactured "The Drive" and led the Broncos 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds left. That's the closest the Browns have ever gotten to the Super Bowl- within 37 seconds!
Back to the Island of Misfit Toys.
In 1987, the Browns lost to the Denver Broncos 38-33, this time on the road, one game away from the Super Bowl, again. This game featured "The Fumble." Running back Ernest Byner, forgetting to tuck the football, fumbled on the one yard line as he was going in to tie the game at 35 with 1:05 left in the game. The sight of a heart-broken Byner being consoled by Bernie Kosar on the sidelines is unforgettable.
Back to the Island of Misfit Toys.
The fifth and final time that the Browns came within one game of the Super Bowl was in 1989. Again, the Denver Broncos were their opponent as John Elway broke all the hearts of Browns fans. The Broncos scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and held the Browns scoreless to go on to the Super Bowl, 37-21.
All three years against the Broncos, Cleveland fans thought Kosar was their Rudolph.
Back to the Island of Misfit Toys.
Many NFL fans consider the Cleveland Browns losers because their franchise is one of only five (Detroit, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Houston) that have never played in the Super Bowl.
At least the other four cities have hosted a Super Bowl and felt the Super Bowl excitement in their city. Cleveland doesn't have a clue what playing in, or hosting a Super Bowl feels like.
So, Browns fans have faith, as you watch our hated enemies, the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing in the Super Bowl today against the Arizona Cardinals.
Remember what Mike Ditka, the head coach of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears said:
"You're never a loser until you quit trying."
That's why Browns fans are the best in the NFL. These last 10 years have been extremely frustrating and pathetic for the Browns, but we never stop believing that one day it will be our turn.
The day the Browns make it to the Super Bowl, we'll all be jumping around like Charlie-in-the-Box on Christmas Eve.
examiner.com
Tomlin steps up and the Steelers march onward
PITTSBURGH - The guy Mike Tomlin was hired to replace did not just win lasting respect, a lot of games and a Super Bowl. He had a face practically sculpted for this steely town and a fierce personality to match.
But no one sees what's inside a coach until he gets pushed. Tomlin rarely yells, does not scowl nearly as much and his jaw does not jut out like a ship's prow the way predecessor Bill Cowher's did, practically inviting opponents to take a swipe at it. But there's little doubt left that testing either one would produce the same result.
"That's the way we've done it all year," Tomlin said moments after Pittsburgh's rock-ribbed defense stuffed Baltimore 23-14 in Sunday's AFC Championship game, booking his passage to Tampa and the Super Bowl in just his second season in charge. That would be two years earlier than Cowher and four ahead of legendary Chuck Noll.
"This has been a humble group, a grounded group, a selfless group," Tomlin said, his words vaporizing like steam in the frigid night air. "We did not start this journey to get to Tampa, but now we've got some business back there."
A moment later, he looked toward the top of the still-packed, towel-waving grandstand.
"I love you guys," Tomlin shouted.
And if the sustained howling was any indication, they love him back.
Pittsburgh is a town that long ago learned to admire toughness in all its varied shapes, sizes and colors. With the Steelers, it runs all the way from the playing field up to the front office.
When Cowher departed two seasons ago, club patriarch Dan Rooney and son Art Rooney II faced a difficult decision. Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, two of the assistants on Cowher's staff, were both NFL-tried-and-tested candidates who were along for the Super Bowl ride, and popular besides.
Instead, the Rooneys went with their gut and gave the job to a then-34-year-old Tomlin, whose resume included no head coaching experience and only one season as a defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings. Dicier still, hiring a largely untested black man to take over one of the league's storied franchises invited whispers that the Rooneys' decision was based as much on principle as good sense.
The owners' insistence that a minority candidate be interviewed for every vacant head coaching position was enshrined as NFL policy and came to be called the "Rooney Rule." But if Tomlin even heard those whispers, he quickly made clear he wasn't going to run scared.
"I can't worry about concerns other people might have," Tomlin said the day he was introduced. "I've been hired to do a job here and I intend to do it at a high level."
That was apparent last Sunday when the Steelers, reflecting their leader, played with purpose, discipline and a calm born of believing that doing things the right way would prove to be its own reward.
"He's very consistent," cornerback Deshea Townsend said about Tomlin. "He allows his players to play, but he does what it takes to get us ready. That's all you can ask from a coach -- to say one thing and mean what he says. He's that type of coach."
Tomlin's mentor was Tony Dungy, who got his break as an assistant in Pittsburgh some 30 years ago and retired just recently after head-coaching stints in Tampa Bay and Indianapolis, where he led the Colts to a Super Bowl victory. It's a safe bet Dungy feels pride knowing another black coach had booked a place in his sport's ultimate game, but moreso that one of his pupils had climbed the ladder so swiftly.
"It's not my story," Tomlin said with his usual candor. "It is our story -- the story of the 2008 Steelers."
Yet inside that singular tale are dozens of less flashy, but equally instructive ones.
It's tough to pinpoint the moment Tomlin won over the town and made this his team, but earlier this season, his authority was challenged when running back Willie Parker complained the club wasn't playing "Steeler football." What Parker really meant was he was not getting enough carries.
"Winning," Tomlin shot back, "that's my interpretation of Steelers football. Every morning I come to work I walk past five Lombardi (trophies), not five rushing titles."
Copyright (c) 2009 HeraldTribune.com
McGahee's OK, Now What to Do With Clark ...
Now that we know Willis McGahee's brain is still in one piece, we can shift our focus to Ryan Clark, the Steelers safety who leveled the running back, causing whiplash typically reserved for test dummies. Clark, who was slow to get up himself after the hit, wasn't penalized on the play, although the replay shows definitively that it was a helmet-to-helmet blow.
It appears as if Clark attempted to lead with his shoulder, but his helmet made contact with McGahee's before any other part of his body. CBS analyst Phil Simms seemed to believe it was a perfectly clean hit because, as he said, "theres no such thing as helmet-to-helmet when you have a ball-carrier down the field and you're a tackler." Um, what? So the helmet-to-helmet rule only applies to hits occurring on players who aren't running with the football? Interesting.
Elsewhere, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, a noted Steeler hater, wrote that Clark should be "suspended for the Super Bowl. Period." Deadspin's Dashiell Bennett called it a "clean" hit, and goes on to blame poor tackling technique for the injuries. I don't know, it got the runner to the ground and caused a fumble; hard to argue with a hit that accomplishes both of those.
As for me, I'll say this: it was a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit, but seemed unintentional -- Clark tried to turn his body and hit with the shoulder. Having said that, Clark also has a history of unnecessary roughness this season (see: Welkah, Wes getting de-cleated on an uncatchable pass). A fine for the hit may be in order, but suspending Clark from the Super Bowl seems a bit much. Then again, removing Clark from the game might, ever so slightly, help even the playing field a bit. I'm down for doing whatever it takes to give us a closely contested Super Bowl.
(c)2009 SportingNews.com
Arizona's Wilson: Just 'One More Week'
Pro Football Talk - Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson was excited after shocking the favored Panthers on Saturday night, and knows his team is just one win away from football's biggest stage.
"One more week. We've got to play hard one more week. No one has given us a chance the whole playoffs," Wilson said. "We know we have to continue to stay humble."
Arizona will host Philadelphia next Sunday for the right to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XLIII.
(c)2000-2008 RealGM, LLC
Florida man sues 2 former Tampa football players
TAMPA, Fla. -- A Florida man is suing two former Tampa Bay Buccaneers players, saying they attacked him at an International House of Pancakes restaurant in Tampa nearly three months ago.
Brian Gordon says he was at an IHOP on Oct. 13, 2008, when an intoxicated Anthony Davis began yelling profanities at restaurant employees. Later, Davis, Michael Bennett and a third man allegedly attacked him the parking lot.
Gordon's attorney says his client sustained skull and jaw fractures. He is also suing IHOP and Sunshine Restaurant Merger Sub, LLC, saying employees failed to intervene and provide adequate security.
An attorney for Davis declined to comment. It was not immediately clear whether Bennett had retained counsel.
A spokesman for IHOP wouldn't comment on the specific allegations.
(c)COPYRIGHT 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser
Browns make it official: GM Phil Savage is fired
PITTSBURGH -- The Phil Savage era as Browns general manager is over.
Shortly after the Browns completed a 4-12 season with a 31-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns confirmed that Savage was fired.
Owner Randy Lerner made the decision prior to the game. A source said the decision was based on problems with Savage's communication and leadership skills.
Lerner is hoping to recruit former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher or New England vice president Scott Pioli to head his revamped football operation. According to a source, Lerner was absent from the game because he was lining up a busy week of interviews this week.
He is expected to meet face-to-face this week with Cowher, who has been telling everyone that he does not intend to return to coaching in 2009.
Lerner also could do personal interviews with a couple of NFL assistant coaches to comply with the league's mandate to interview at least one minority for a head coaching vacancy. The Browns may interview Buffalo defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and Washington defensive coordinator Greg Blache.
The Browns also want to interview New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in the "window" allotted by the NFL with the Giants on a postseason bye week.
In May, Savage agreed to a three-year contract extension through 2012.
Savage had a more tumultuous year than his team in 2008. He made several public comments that applied pressure on his coaching staff, got involved in a messy spat with tight end Kellen Winslow over a suspension that ultimately was rescinded, and responded to a disgruntled fan in an email that contained an expletive.
In four years with Savage as general manager, the Browns were 24-40. The team was 25-40 with one playoff appearance in the four years prior to Savage.
(c)2008 Cleveland Live, Inc
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