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Nov 10, 2009 1:14 pm US/Eastern
News & Nuggets From Around The NFL
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Another weekend of NFL football is in the books and there are several storylines coming out of the weekend that will be worth watching as the season enters the second-half. But first, there has been an interesting level of silence from the NFL on the Falcons-Redskins fight from Sunday. The incident started when Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was hit out of bounds by Redskins safety Laron Landry.
The hit drew a personal foul penalty for a late hit out of bounds, but Landry was caught in a bad position being alone on the Falcons sideline and having just tattooed the Falcons franchise quarterback. Fellow Redskin and former Falcon DeAngelo Hall came to the sideline and a verbal skirmish ensued that eventually led to pushing and shoving.
Falcons head coach Mike Smith was in the middle of the fracas and appeared to possibly throw an elbow towards Hall. Smith was pulled out of the mass of players but was visibly angry at the entire incident. Hall has a history with the Falcons franchise and has been vocally critical of the organization. Referees were able to separate the teams and no punches were thrown.
There will be no repeat of the Detroit Lions' winless season in 2009. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally won their first game of the season on Sunday, knocking off the Green Bay Packers in Tampa, and they did it wearing the creamsicle uniforms made famous by the Yucs of the 1970's who were the first team to lose every game in a season.
But, the cork remains in the champagne bottle for the 1972 Dolphins, at least for the time being. The Indianapolis Colts marched through the first half of the season undefeated. But, the Colts face their biggest nemesis in the AFC on Sunday, the New England Patriots. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has looked unstoppable this season, but every time he plays the Patriots, he typically struggles through parts of the game.
More pressing to the 72 Dolphins may be the New Orleans Saints, who also have made it through the first half of the season without a blemish in the loss column. The Saints are likely to march through their next two games without a loss as they are playing the hapless Rams and the Buccaneers. But, much like the Colts, to get through the month of November unblemished the Saints also have to go through the Patriots. If the Saints make it through the Patriots game with a win, the only significant challenges from then on are at the Atlanta Falcons and at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
Elsewhere around the league…
The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday they were cutting running back Larry Johnson. The mercurial running back had drawn sharp criticism in recent weeks after making homophobic slurs in interviews. The Chiefs had suspended Johnson, but eventually cut him after the remarks and other conduct that could have been perceived as detrimental to the team. Johnson has performed poorly in recent years and appears to be a shell of the dominating running back he once was. Of course, a horrible offensive line hasn't helped much either. And in a league that has shown it will give anyone a second, third, or fourth chance, Johnson will likely get picked up by someone looking for depth at the running back position.
The national joke that is the Cleveland Browns continued to show signs of failure even without playing a game. The Browns organization is in turmoil, the team has no quarterback, no running back, no receiving threat, no solid linebackers and no secondary, and a potential protest from fans over a lack of direction for the team. Embattled coach Eric Mangini has lost his top aides and could be a one and done coach after the season. Still, fans are most angry at the team's owner Randy Lerner, who fans say hasn't put together a winning formula for the franchise since the team re-entered the NFL in 1999.
Lerner has declared publicly that he wants a football czar to come in and take over the helm of the franchise in a mold like Bill Parcells took over the Miami Dolphins. Still, Lerner may be considering former Browns quarterback for a senior level position, which is interesting given Kosar's personal financial problems. The Browns are set to play on Monday night football this coming Monday against the Ravens and some fans want to protest by not being in their seats for the kickoff, but it remains to be seen whether that protest will materialize.
Former Colts head coach and current NBC analyst Tony Dungy said that one team that might be a good landing spot for Michael Vick after the current season would be the Buffalo Bills. If Vick would go to a team like Buffalo, it would provide for some interesting dynamics between Vick, the always controversial Terrell Owens, and running back Marshawn Lynch. But, Vick's future will be decided by the Eagles who have an option on Vick's contract to bring him back for another season.
Speaking of the Colts, the team's secondary is a shell of its former self and look for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to take aim at a pair of rookies trying to guard Wes Welker and Randy Moss. The Colts are without the top two corners on the team and have lost Bob Sanders to another injury. Peyton Manning may have to win the game against the Patriots in a shoot-out on Sunday.
If you're looking for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, you should probably first check on the ground. The Packers quarterback continues to take sack after sack this season and could be on pace for a record that's currently held by David Carr for the most sacks taken in a season. Carr never recovered from the season where he was teed off upon by opposing defenses and Rodgers may be in the same boat as his play continues to struggle as the season wears on.
And for the Dolphins, it's another week of what ifs as Ted Ginn, Jr. continues to show he couldn't catch a cold in the dead of winter if he's lined up as a wide receiver. The Dolphins have no game-breakers at receiver based upon the current depth chart and it's starting to show as good team's are learning how to defend the Wildcat offense. Without a solid receiving threat, first-year starting quarterback Chad Henne is struggling to put together a solid passing game. But without someone to stretch the field, the passing games' struggles are not on Henne's shoulders just yet.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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