For The Weekend Warriors

What has two thumbs and is heading to Hawaii?

We may not have any football this week, but we do have some good stuff to read...

- It appears that we have moved into the the era of one-year trial periods for coaches. First, Cam Cameron. Now Lane Kiffin? [Signal to Noise]

- It looks like a three-horse race between the fans of the Packers, Raiders and Eagles for "best" fans in the NFL. At least per Fox. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

- Pete Carroll likes them young. [Rumors and Rants]

- If its Super Bowl prop bets that you're looking for, look no further. I'll be adding this one to my bookmarks. [You Been Blinded]

- Jeff Garcia is back in the Pro Bowl. Cleveland, it looks like that season was more your fault than his. [NFL]

- And finally, while magazines out there want you to frill up the Super Bowl, thankfully we have some Ladies... with their heads on straight. [Ladies...]

Have a good weekend, all.

Revenge or Hypocrite?

Maybe somebody has got to tell me the rule. I should tell the ref, 'Blow it right before he kicks it, regardless of a play time.'"

Those were the words of Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin last week after his Raiders team lost to the Denver Broncos following a missed field goal attempt as time expired.

Fast forward to this past weekend.

It would appear that Kiffin had been studying his rule book over the week, as he did the exact same thing that was done unto him by Mke Shanahan – resulting this time in a blocked kick and a win for his team.

"I didn't hear the whistle," [Browns kicker Phil] Dawson said. "I thought we won the game."

Not so much, Phil. Granted, watching the game I thought you would’ve made the second attempt being that it’s only 40 yards out, but who am I to place judgement?

Giving Phil some credit, the Browns offensive line was simply awful – allowing several Raider defenders through the gaps. Last week, Janikowski missed the second attempt. This week, the ball never even made it back to the line of scrimmage.

Yesterday’s game ends the Raiders losing streak, but keeps the Browns streak of not winning two games in a row alive and well. Kiffin is the second rookie Head Coach to knock down the Browns in three weeks. At this rate, the game against Arizona isn’t looking so hot right now. Next week’s opponents of the Browns (Baltimore Ravens) managed to win their game in the closing seconds – with the ex-Browns kicker Matt Stover bringing home the three points needed. Full circle, eh?

Kiffin’s post-game comments were as followed:

"That one was for Mike," Kiffin said. "Thanks, Mike."

The “Mike,” of course, is Mike Shanahan.

Yea…Thanks, Mike.

Timed Out [Contra Costa Times]
Cleveland Browns Lose... [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Raiders' Kiffin Learns a Lesson [San Jose Mercury News]

All My Bags Are Packed...

A year after passing on Matt Leinart due to the presence of Andrew Walter, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Walter will in fact be released once rookie JaMarcus Russell's roster exemption expires.

Many people thought that it would be Daunte Culpepper that would get moved after the exemption passed, but with the lack of snaps that Daunte has received, a trade is very unlikely at this point.

Walter will likely end up somewhere, but the weight is now firmly placed on the shoulders of Russell. The Raiders were set back a full season after passing on a quarterback last year in favor of a defensive back (Michael Huff).

There's no telling when Russell will acutally get a chance to start a game, but with the team 0-2 and playing Cleveland this week, it may come a lot sooner than later given the fact that Josh "Five Turnovers" McCown isn't exactly getting the job done.


Black QB or white, scrutiny... [San Francisco Chronicle]

Morning YouTubeness: Champ Bailey, Route Runner

Happy Monday, all. Rough weekend for some - including those who took the 'under' on the Browns/Bengals game. 700+ yards of offense?

Speaking of rough, check out this defensive stand by the Broncos yesterday, capped off by Champ Bailey running a better route than half of the wide receivers in the league. The guy is amazing. If your fantasy team has a receiver playing the Broncos any time soon, you may as well just chalk one up for the other guy.

Morning YouTubeness: Upside Potential

Happy Labor Day, all. There isn't going to be much going on in these parts today, but I figured that a little video wouldn't hurt.

I think this kid will be a great addition to a rebuilding Raiders franchise. If this isn't going to make JaMarcus Russell sign with thee team, I don't know what will.

If you look closely, he kind of looks like a young Al Davis. If you wondered what Al looked like back in 1895, this may be about as close as you'll get. Enjoy.

Big Money In Oakland

With Oakland Raiders draft pick JaMarcus Russell still holding out for big money, I'm betting that he didn't mean Gerard "Big Money" Warren. Warren has reportedly been traded to the Raiders for an undisclosed draft pick in 2008.

For those that don't remember Warren, it's not surprising. The defensive lineman was the third overall pick in the 2001 draft (Cleveland) and has failed to produce anything near what was expected of him over his career.

NFL.com says that Warren was moved due to not fitting in to the new defensive coordinator's scheme. This scheme apparently requires players to tackle the ball-carrier. Who knew?

People Still Get Mono?

"I once thought I had mono for an entire year. Turns out I was just really bored." - Wayne Campbell

Just following up on the Lane Kiffin story from a few days ago. After being hospitalized for an infection, the L.A. Times is now reporting that the Oakland Raiders head honcho may have mononucleosis - "mono" for the lay-person.

Kiffin was back at practice on Wednesday, but was not allowed to yell or "exert energy."

"I guess a lot of head coaches coach that way anyway, so I'm going to get to see what it's like," he said.

Kiffin said the doctors are 95% sure he has mononucleosis and are treating him as such. The coach has reportedly lost 11 pounds during his illness.

(h/t to MDS over at the 'House)

About Time, Darrelle

One of my first posts on this here blog was regarding the holdout of first round selection Darrelle Revis. Of course, I wanted to know why no one made a big deal about his holdout, but those of JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn (at the time) were in the news every day. And of course, I received no answers.

Well, we get back on the Revis tip this morning as the official New York Jets web site reports that the team is very close on signing the defensive back - that they traded up to draft, mind you.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said the following:

"I'd say we're very close. A couple of issues need to be resolved. We've worked very hard to try to find a solution that works for both sides. We're very close and we're going to try to see this thing through."

Tannenbaum continued on to compliment Revis' agent, saying that he's made great efforts to get his client signed. I'm not sure when we entered the world of GM's sucking up to agents, but we have...at least in New York.

They'll need to get this kid in camp as soon as possible, as I'm thinking Tom Brady can't wait to test him on week 1. No excuses Darrelle. No excuses.

Lane Who?

It's a fairly slow news day today, so I'm stuck posting on Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin. For those of you not familiar, yes...there is a team in Oakland. And yes, they're coming off of an awful season under Art Shell and are now in the hands of a 32-year old coach in is first season. That's where this Kiffin guy comes in.

Fresh off of a huge* win against the Arizona Cardinals, NFL.com is reporting that Kiffin has been taken to the hospital for what is being called a viral infection.

[Insert "got sick from watching team play" joke here.]

I find it a bit funny that this was also included in the post.

The Raiders returned to practice Monday and some players weren't even aware Kiffin was absent until they took the field.

So the team didn't even acknowledge the fact that their coach was missing? The players do know that Shell is even gone, right?

Regardless, here's to a speedy recovery for Kiffin as this is no way to start what will likely be the longest season of his career.

*by "huge" I mean worthless as it was an exhibition game in which a fellow by the name of Hiram Eugene scored on a 36-yard interception. Way to go, Hiram.

No Quarterback Challenge For You!

Bad news for all of you folks who enjoy watching the quarterbacks of the NFL wear visors and throw footballs at moving cardboard cutouts. You'll have to wait another year. This season's version of the quarterback challenge will not be televised.

Why? Because Mike Vick was a part of the challenge, which had taken place in the Cayman Islands during the month of May.

If it's any consolation, Josh McCown (now of Oakland Raiders fame) won the event so you're likely not to miss too much. We may want to add Josh to the list of Vick-haters, because no one is going to believe he won anything unless they get to witness it themselves.

If he's still in the league next year, he'll get to defend his title. Congratulations, Josh.

(h/t The Fanhouse via PFT)