Turmoil in Buffalo

Its happening again at a time that we (I refer to all Buffalo Bills Fans) least needed it, a quarterback controversy. This week it will be the Bills third round draft pick from Stanford that will take the reins of the struggling team and sadly franchise. Trent Edwards was named the starter Monday (11/26) by head coach Dick Jauron during a press conference.

This move comes after a sputtering offensive performance in Jacksonville that resulted in a 36-14 loss. The loss isn’t what pushed Jauron over the edge to make the change as much as Losman’s individual struggles. In his latest game Losman committed three turnovers, two interceptions and a fumble. The second interception proved costly as it came midway through the fourth quarter with Buffalo driving into Jaguars territory while down only 22-14. At this point the Bills were still in it and the turnover gave the game away.

"In terms of our quarterbacks, we'll make the switch and Trent will be our starter," said Jauron. "We fully understand that it's not only J.P.. That's not the only reason we've lost these couple of games in a row, but it is the focal point of the offense and we do need a lot of consistency from that position."

Edwards will get back on the field after a 5 week layoff mainly due to a wrist injury suffered during a 13-3 win against the New York Jets on Oct. 28th.

"I'm excited and anxious to get the opportunity again to get back out there and help this team win," said Edwards, whose hand has fully healed. "I hope I can use the experience I had at the start of the season and hopefully take that and run with it."

This change will hopefully help the Bills in their waning playoff hopes. The Bills are currently 5-6 and have lost two straight which and are now two games back of the 2nd wildcard spot in the AFC.

The move to bench Losman is surprising at first but when you look at his numbers it is more that understandable. Losman sputtered in his past three games, including a 13-10 win at Miami, by going a combined 54-of-89 for 541 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. The lone bright spot for the 2004 first round draft pick came against Cincinnati in a 33-21 win. In this game Losman helped the Bills produce season highs in points, passing yards and total offense.

Since his rookie year Losman has gone 10-21 as a starter. He has had his time to mature and produce and he just can’t seem to get over the hump. In this pivotal AFC game against Jacksonville fans watched as Losman bounced passes and sailed passes over wide receivers heads. Event the most loyal J.P. fans have to admit that he has had his chance in his 31 games as a starter.

I am glad that Dick Jauron came to his senses and made the switch back to Trent Edwards on Monday. I am not going to pretend to know that Trent Edwards is the future, but the Bills need to find out as soon as possible. I am willing to ride the season out with Edwards, to see if he can provide some hope heading into the off-season. If not at least we will know that the Bills have to find a new guy to play the position.

The toughest thing about benching Losman is that he is nothing but a class act and is hard not to root for. My favorite Losman moment came this summer after the 2007 NFL Draft. Losman took the new Bills rookies and showed them around the city of Buffalo a place that he now calls home as he lives in a Buffalo suburb. He helped ease players into the area and let them know that it is a great place to live and work. This surprisingly became the tour for the man that now replaces him, Trent Edwards. His move of leadership made him a fan favorite in Buffalo, but as badly as we all want him to do well it doesn’t change his performance.

However, this move proves that the Bills aren’t going to throw in the towel on our season yet. Its time that we move on and stop waiting for Losman to become an average NFL quarterback. Instead let’s put our faith into a rookie quarterback and let him prove whether or not he can lead us to the promise land. I don’t know if Edwards is the right man for the job but Losman has had his chance.

If Chicks Ran the NFL

You read the title right. Back in 2004, Sports Business News released a set of statistics that revealed an estimated 40% of the NFL’s fan base consisted of women. As an avid fan of football in general, both collegiate and professional, I am proud to consider myself a part of that 40%, and it appears that the NFL and its partners/sponsors are honing in on the group that makes up that statistic. I remember the first time I caught the Reebok commercial for NFL merchandise for women. A rewind and review was necessary and possible with TIVO in order to make sure I had really seen that right, and I must say I was truly impressed with the attempt to target the female audience.

With that said, I came across an article by another female football fan, Ivette Ricco (President of femmefan.com), who is a little less impressed with the way that the NFL supposedly attempts to appeal to its female audience. She proposes a few ideas that would make the game experience better “if chicks ran the NFL.” While a good number are silly and ridiculous, there a few where I think she may have a point. The question is do they require women running the NFL to make it happen? Below are a few of her ideas:

• Wine, because beer makes us "go" way too often, and puts on the pounds. The wine has to be the good stuff not Wyoming Valley vintage 2000 with twist off caps.


• Baby-sitting services at every stadium in the USA where you can drop off the rug-rats while you sit back and enjoy the game.


• An e-lounge where you can stay wired into every electronic gadget in your life during the game.


• Team Apparel that fits us and isn't made for men who are 6'2" and weigh in at 330 pounds.
  
• Ladies Day at least once a year in every stadium for every sport.


• We love the yellow first down line; this is the best thing since the Wonder Bra. Every network should be required to use this feature during NFL broadcasts.


• With all the technology available let's put a trailer after the ball or sensors on the goals posts that light up when the ball goes though, or how about positioning the camera above the goal post?

Perhaps Ms. Ricco is on to something. Perhaps a select handful from that 40% of football fans who are women could run the NFL and make it a better game experience. Any female football fan up for the challenge?

Ricky Returns!

Ricky Williams returns to the Miami Dolphins today, after serving an 18th month suspension for drug usage. Coach of the Miami Dolphins, Cam Cameron decided to let Williams rejoin the team after they met earlier today (Thursday, November 15th, 2007).

"The meeting was positive," Cameron said. "He'll be a member of this team and will start with us Monday. He's a Miami Dolphin."

In the last year Cameron had continued to give no comment regarding whether he would want Williams to return after the NFL lifted his suspension, actually seeming less likely too before the summer . In May, when discussing Williams' latest relapse, Cameron said it was hard to save a players career who has been troubled with drug and addiction on numerous occasions. The chances for Williams' to be let back on the team seemed slim, but his suspension couldn't have ended at a better time. The Dolphins are 0-9 for the season, currently the least ranked NFL team and reinstating Williams doesn't sound like a bad idea right now.

Williams, who played college football at Texas, was originally drafted to New Orleans Saints, 5th pick in the 1999 draft. In 2002, Williams was traded to the Miami Dolphins for two first round picks and he was the leading rusher that year in the NFL with 1853 yards and named a Pro Bowler. We can only hope that his past stats can bring aid to the painful results we're seeing from the Dolphins this season.

The only discouraging factor is his reliability, Williams has failed to abide by the NFL drug policy for years. In 2004 Williams was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and tested positive on 3 different occasions for marijuana which led him to announce an early retirement. He was out for the following year and his absence contributed to the teams low scoring year. The dolphins finished second to last in 2005, with a 4-12 record. He came back late in 2005 apologizing and jumped right back into training. After a 4th violation of the NFL drug policy in February 2005, the NFL suspended Williams for the entire 2006 season.

The Dolphins allowed Williams to play for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts during his suspension, with the terms that he return to the Dolphins when the suspension ended. Williams was required to take multiple drug tests by the NFL in order to return to the league for the 2007 season. He tested positive once again in May 2007 and applied for reinstatement in October and this brings us to today, where he was officially back on the Miami Dolphins roster. Although he isn't allowed to play until week 12, everyone is hoping he'll be able to help get a few wins for the depressing Dolphins.

Cameron said the entire team supports the decision to welcome back Williams on the roster, probably taking anything they can get to try and improve their win/loss record for the season. I think the entire fan base can't help but be somewhat excited for the extra hand being brought into play this season, we can only pray that he can stay clean long enough to help the Dolphins get out of the gutter.

Farewell Orange Bowl

It was a sad weekend for the University of Miami Hurricane fans, past and present, bidding farewell to the Orange Bowl. Saying goodbye to the home of much tradition and memories was hard on the fans, but the loss of 0-48 to no. 23 Virginia added extreme insult to injury.

There was a lot of history made in the Orange Bowl and regardless of the past few years, The University of Miami has the most successful football program of the past quarter century in the NCAA. A couple of statistics the 'canes are proud of include winning 58 straight home games, which is an NCAA record and winning 5 national titles, 3 of which were played in their very own, Orange Bowl. Since 1983, no school has won more national championships, won a higher percentage of its' games, or produced more first round NFL draft picks. With having a total of 285 players advance to the NFL which is in the top ten of NFL producing schools, and this year they have the most players currently playing in the League. In the 2007 Superbowl, the first two touchdowns were made by Devin Hester and Reggie Wayne, both of which graduated from the University of Miami. In addition, two Hurricanes have won the prestigious Heisman Trophy: quarterback Vinny Testaverde in 1986 and quarterback Gino Torretta in 1992.

The Miami Hurricanes have had much to celebrate in the beloved Orange Bowl, and I'm sure that's why the stadium was filled on the night of November the 10th. All gathered to watch another game make Miami and Orange Bowl history. With 2:26 left, Virginia's Chris Cook had a 44-yard fumble which put this final game in the Orange Bowl to be the worst shut out in Hurricane history, topping the 44-0 loss to Notre Dame in 1973. It was Miami's first home shutout since 1974 against Auburn, and the Hurricanes' worst loss since losing 66-13 at Syracuse in 1998. The last time Miami lost this badly at home was in 1944, when Texas A&M beat the Hurricanes 70-14.

Some say leaving the Orange Bowl on this note is going to make the move a little bit easier, but scanning the crowds that night, there were numerous signs expressing their upset with the decision to move to Dolphin Stadium. Besides leaving the tradition and location in the City, there are going to be some perks to moving to the home of the Miami Dolphins. The new stadium has two Jumbotrons and a higher capacity, although its highly unlikely they'll be needing that extra space. It has more concessions, is safer, and is much more modern, but it seems to lack one big thing: character.

That is what the Orange Bowl is known and loved for. The Orange Bowl is like the Fenway Park of college football. It's the tradition and history that has made it to be the historical monument it is today. The community surrounding the stadium will not be the same without Hurricane games. The houses surrounding the stadium were receiving and average of $1000 income from the games just for charging persons for parking. To think that not only would the City of Miami refuse to renovate the Orange Bowl, causing the 'Canes to relocate, but they've decided to demolish the infamous sports stadium we've all grown to love.

What's going to happen to the Miami Hurricanes now, we ask ourselves? The physical destination is known, but how can the program ever be the same again?
After their recent downward spiral way out of the rankings, we wonder if they'll ever make a comeback after the big move. After going through so much as a team, it's so hard to envision the Hurricane football program without the Orange Bowl. We can all only hope that this move to a bigger and 'better' place will only mean bigger and better things for the Hurricanes in the near future.

And In Other NFL News...

Contrary to ESPN, and most other major media outlets, there were other football games played last week besides the Colts and Patriots. Other NFL teams were in action, and no the Super Bowl was not played last week. After about two weeks of buildup, I woke up Sunday morning looking forward to watching my team, the Detroit Lions. As I was watching Sunday NFL Countdown, I became so frustrated that I had to change channels. There were countless segments about a certain "big" game, and about one minute of coverage for every other game. Don't get me wrong, I understand the significance of two undefeated teams facing each other so late in the season. There were some important implications, and the game turned out to be pretty entertaining. I just thought that some of the other NFL stories of the past week deserved more than a thirty second spot of attention. So I wanted to shed some more light on a great weekend of football action.

Many teams continued great years by improving their records and proving doubters wrong. The Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns all added another win this week, and continued to shock fans. The Packers improved to 7-1 after finishing 8-8 last year, and Brett Favre beat his 31st NFL team. The Lions destroyed the Denver Broncos and improved to 6-2 for the first time since 1999. This comes after a disappointing 3-13 season last year. Finally, the Cleveland Browns improved to 5-3 after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in overtime. All three teams have made vast improvements from last year, yet they did not get very much attention for their accomplishments.

There were two NFL records broken this week. First, San Diego Chargers defensive back Antonio Cromartie broke the record for the longest play in NFL history. He ran back a missed field goal by Minnesota's Ryan Longwell for a 109 yard touchdown. Cromartie broke the record of 108 yards that was shared by Devin Hester, Nathan Vasher, and Ellis Hobbs. There were also two other plays of 100 yards on Sunday. Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Glenn Holt of the Cincinnati Bengals each ran a kickoff back for 100 yards. It was truly a day of big plays. The other record broken this week was the record for most rushing yards in one game. Rookie running back Adrian Peterson ran for 3 touchdowns and 296 yards, breaking Jamaal Lewis' record of 295 yards. These are just a few examples of other news around the NFL. This was a great day in NFL history, unfortunately it was not very well covered. Sure, we got some highlights, but the bulk of the coverage was on the big game. It just would have been nice to see some of these stories covered more thoroughly. Thanks ESPN.

Colts Vs. Patriots: The Real Super Bowl

The much anticipated match up of the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New England Patriots is this Sunday and if you plan on watching the Super Bowl this February, you should watch this game as well. This game features by far the two best teams in the National Football League. No teams have come even close to match either the Pats or Colts so far this season. The so called "experts" thought the Cowboys would be a test for the Patriots, but they slammed them down, making them look like a pee wee team. Last week, the Colts faced what was thought to be a challenge in the Carolina Panthers, but handled them no problem.

The Patriots (8-0) have destroyed all opponents in their wake so far this season, coming off a 52-7 thrashing of the Washington Redskins. Brady to Moss has become a modern day version of Young to Rice. But don't forget about the other team in this game of the year. The Colts are undefeated as well (7-0) and have started out just as strong. Peyton Manning has been his same old self passing for 13 touchdowns and 1833 total yards on the season. That is the norm for this high powered Colts team, but what has been unexpected is their defense. The most points they gave up all season was 24 to the Texans on the third week of the season, but the past 3 games, they have given up a whopping total of 28 points. Their real test this season will be against the Patriots, who have yet to score less than 34 points.

The game should produce fireworks on both sides of the ball, with the two best quarterbacks of the century matching up head to head. Ratings will most definately be through the roof for CBS, as this game has been hyped since the begining of the season. Now with both teams coming in undefeated, the match up has made up good fodder for pundits all across the nation. If I were a company looking to advertise during the Super Bowl, I would highly reconisder putting my money towards this game instead.

For the Love of the Game

When you hear the name Tony Romo, what comes to mind? Maybe you think football, the Dallas Cowboys, or America's team. Maybe you think nothing at all. But when I hear Tony Romo's name words like passion, drive, and determination come to mind.

In my opinion he is one of the most, if not the most exciting quarterback to watch in the NFL. He plays with such life and energy that it's hard not to watch. This is all coming from someone who couldn't care less about the Dallas Cowboys since their reign many years ago.

Incase you have doubts about him, here is a brief background of Tony Romo's college years before his professional debut with the Dallas Cowboys. Romo attended college at the Eastern Illinois. Some of his greatest accomplishments are listed below:

• First player in Eastern Illinois and Ohio Valley Conference history to win the Walter Payton Award
• He was second in school and third in conference history with 8,212 passing yards
• selected to the Associated Press All-America third team, All-Ohio Valley Conference first team and the OVC Player of the Year

Since his NFL debut he has played great. The NFL better key an eye on this guy. He could certainly be the next up-and-coming thing in the league. Tony Romo is the only quaterback I know that can win a football game 25-24 against the Bills, while throwing 5 interceptions (2 that ended up in the endzone). Find me another quaterback who can manage to squeeze by those odds, and then we'll talk.

Looking beyond his obvious football talent, what really grabs my attention, is his passion for the game. Romo plays every game like it's his last. He lays it all on the line. You can tell he really enjoys being there, and it's not just a job. He's not there just for the paycheck. He's there because he loves football, his teammates, and the atmosphere of the NFL. There might be a handful of players that have the same on-field presence like Romo. Watching him play reminds me of young kids playing football; playing because they want to and playing because it's fun.

McNabb Makes a Bold Statement

Donovan McNabb let out a can of worms last week when, during an interview on Real Sports, McNabb claimed that “African-American quarterbacks such as himself face added pressure because there are fewer black quarterbacks -- and because some still don't want black athletes playing the position”. This takes a lot of guts for McNabb to make these claims. Race is always a tough card to play because of all the attention that is drawn from it. From a marketing standpoint, it also puts the team and the League on the radar. Commentators have been expressing their opinions of this topic also.

Being from Philadelphia I have mixed emotions about Donovan McNabb. I feel that he was once a great quarterback but he has peaked as a quarterback long ago. He is also an attention whore. I have heard numerous comments, from former Eagles’ players explaining the reason for the McNabb-TO “Thrilla in Phila” was very much Donovan McNabb’s fault. I do not disagree with this statement. I used to believe McNabb was the messiah and T.O. was trying to thwart the dreams of all Philadelphia. Now as I look back, it seems in the last 4 years since T.O., McNabb has had his fair share of problems: the Garcia vs. McNabb competition that was brought about this past summer, the numerous injuries and missed playing time, and the Eagles not being able to win “the big one”. Garcia wanted to be resigned by the Eagles and a second string and after last season Garcia was looked upon as Philadelphia’s favorite quarterback. McNabb couldn’t handle that and Garcia was forced out. The same thing happened with Terrell Owens. He was Philadelphia’s most favorite athlete. McNabb could not take it. Then the situation blew up.

In terms of the argument that black quarterbacks are more scrutinized than white quarterbacks, I do not feel McNabb’s argument has any truth behind it. I understand there are only five starting quarterbacks in the NFL that are black. That is a shame. I am not going to hide that fact. I feel the quarterback position is transitioning though, and there will definitely be more black quarterbacks in the future. In terms of criticism of black quarterbacks, I feel all quarterbacks get more criticism than praise 99% of the time. This does not matter if you are black, white, yellow, green, or blue. Quarterbacks are the leader of the team, and will be the first ones criticized. McNabb gets criticized because he is a player in Philadelphia. Philadelphians are some of the harshest critics in the world. If you do not win a championship, you probably will be greeted with tons of hate. If you do bring home a trophy, you will be revered forever.

From a marketing standpoint, the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL should really brush this topic under the table. It is a very touchy subject, and I feel has no value. McNabb is just looking for a way to grab some more unnecessary attention. If he wants attention, he should bring home a championship. Besides that, he should just be worrying about the wins. He has not been doing that at all this season.

How does the Patriots organization bounce back?

It has been a full week since the world exploded for the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick. The hype surronding the espionage shows no sign of dying down. The harsh penalties imposed by Commissioner Goodell only serve to further amplify the questions surronding the Patriots organization, especially from a marketing perspective. Although Belichick's gruff attitude has made him a less than popular guy around the country, in Foxborough, he is a God and I'm pretty sure a big seller of the famous New England Patriots sweatshirt. Will this cheating scandal ruin Belichick's image of a role model for young kids? I would say yes, if I was a parent I would not endorse merchandise, a team, or a person cheating because it is not a good example for kids.

The marketing department for the Patriots needs to find a way to put the scandal in a positive light in order to counteract the damage this negative publicity has had on the organization. I wonder what sort of a plan they will come up with because I would have assumed that Robert Kraft would distance himself from Belichick. Interestingly enough the opposite has happened with Kraft and the rest of the organization standing behind Belichick. The organization seems to have no problem with Belichick and is confident in his ability as he is rumored to agreeing to a five year extension-- albeit before the scandal but there have been no rumors of the extension offer being rescinded. I think it will be interesting to see how many fans turn out for the first game in Foxborough against the Chargers tonight and how many people watch the game.

Cheating obviously is something that cannot be controlled in sport. It is only possible to catch a few and set them out as examples and hope that it serves as a deterrent. I wonder what effect the new marketing strategies all of the NFL-- not only the Patriots-- will have to implement in order to attract fans, new and old, to a sport with the image of cheating.

Is the Patriots "Scandal" Being Overhyped?

In a matter of a weeks time, the New England Patriots have gone from the NFL's model franchise to cheats. Who knew that video taping the opposing teams signals could tarnish 3 Super Bowl victories and a coaches legacy. Is it really that big of deal? Do other teams around the league do it too? Is stealing signals just another form of gamesmanship in order to give your team the best chance to win?

At this point, none of those reasons are good enough to excuse the Patriots and Bill Belichick from what they did. People around the country have been waiting for an opportunity to dethrone the Patriots and this is their chance. Belichick has not been liked nationally since he left the Jets to coach the Patriots. I'm sure Belichick haters around the country were salivating when they heard that he was caught. People need to be honest with themselves and realize that they are scrutinizing the Patriots not only for the video taping, but also because of their genuine dislike for Belichick and his team. If it was Herm Edwards caught cheating, would there be as much of a hoopla?

It has been said on ESPN and other media outlets that the Patriots are probably not the only team that has taped other teams signals on the sidelines. However, since they were caught, the Patriots are therefore the cheats and their past wins should be questioned. How does this logic make any sense at all? Yea it is impossible to prove that other teams have been doing this as well, but there have been hints from coaches, players, and former players around the league that this is a more common occurrence then we may think.

Yes the Patriots were wrong to do this and yes Bill Belichick was not very smart to try this stunt on Eric Mangini, but I think fans and the media are blowing this way out of proportion. The Steelers Heinze Ward even had the audacity to say that the Patriots playoff win in 2001 should be questioned. Come on Heinze, you know that your team was beat fair and square, get over it. The Patriots are on the ground, bleeding, and people are taking every chance they can to get a shot at them.