Andre Johnson isn't much of a talker by most accounts, though Cortland Finnegan got his attention last Sunday. During the Texans' 34-31 win over the Titans, Johnson and Finnegan were yapping at each other the entire day, which eventually turned into a brawl after Johnson threw Finnegan into the players on the Texans sideline.
The other sideline is a dangerous place for any player to be during a brawl, and, according to this report from Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle, one unnamed Texan took a chunk of Finnegan's red hair off the field as a souvenir of the fight. Titans defensive tackle Jason Jones was ejected from the game for throwing a punch and one of the smallest Texans, wide receiver David Anderson, was assessed an offsetting 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
When Keith Bulluck and LenDale Whitewent to town on a Terrible Towel in the waning moments of the Titans' beatdown of the Steelers in Week 16 last season, they had just clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. So, sure, they had every right to celebrate.
Plus, no way a team full of grown men would take offense at the defacing of a yellow hand towel, right. Uh, not quite. The reaction was swift, and last month, Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan even called it unacceptable.
Earlier this week, JJ pointed out that Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan admitted that defacing the Terrible Towel wasn't "... what this coach is about, that's not what our team is about. You do it in between the lines ... the rest of it is unacceptable."
He was referring to this, when teammates LenDale White and Keith Bulluckwent to town on a Terrible Towel in the closing minutes of their Week 16 beatdown of the Steelers. Myron Cope's spirit was not amused. Tennessee would lose to Baltimore in the divisional round of the playoffs, and Pittsburgh would win their sixth Super Bowl in team history.
Another NFL draft has come and gone, and it's possible that you spent much of your weekend glued to a television set laughing at the Raiders and screaming for your team to find the next Tom Brady at the bottom of the sixth-round. If you're like me, you live in an area of the country where your only option for draft day coverage is ESPN's wire-to-wire mayhem.
If you happened to miss the draft, or watched it on the NFL Network, here's what you missed.
If you were one of the billions of people who missed yesterday's Pro Bowl, consider this your recap: the NFC scored 13 fourth-quarter points and rallied to beat the AFC, 30-21. It wasn't nearly as exciting as it sounds. That's what I hear, anyway.
For me, the Pro Bowl is all about making sure nobody gets hurt. The few extra bucks that go to the winners is nice, but it's not much of a retirement plan should a player suffer a career-ending injury. Which is why these get-togethers are mind-numbingly boring.
As the Patriots continue to rebuild their front office and coaching staff following another offseason exodus, the team has announced the hiring of former Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese as a senior football advisor. According to the team's official press release, he will work alongside director of player personnel Nick Caserio and head coach Bill Belichick in "various football-related assignments, including contracts."
"We consider ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to add someone with Floyd Reese's NFL experience and expertise to our staff," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "Floyd will be a tremendous asset serving Coach Belichick in an advisory role."
We may be only three games into the season, but it's hard to image Cortland Finnegan not making the Pro Bowl.
The Titans cornerback already played a large role in the season-opening win against the Jaguars with a pair of interceptions. A week later he snared his third interception against the Bengals.
Now this week he clinched the Titans' win over the Texans by picking off Matt Schaub and returning the interception 99 yards for a touchdown. Finnegan has been in the right place at the right time in some ways, but with four interceptions and a 99-yard touchdown return in the first three games, Finnegan is going to only need to play decently over the final 13 games to earn a Pro Bowl spot.
And with the Titans front four providing a crushing pass rush, Finnegan will likely get several more picks before the season is over.
Pacman Jones may have been reinstated by the NFL, but Cortland Finnegan is helping ensure that the Titans don't miss their most-famous troublemaker. For all of his flashy plays and big returns, the reality is that Jones never made the Pro Bowl as a cornerback, Finnegan may top that this year.
Finnegan picked off Carson Palmer in the fourth quarter of today's Titans' win. He also snagged a pair of INTs against the Jaguars last week, which played a key role in the Titans' division win against the Jaguars.
Finnegan only had one interception in the first 32 games of his NFL career coming into the season, but he's been in the right place at the right time numerous times this year. It's early, but Finnegan is doing a very good job of establishing some Pro Bowl credentials while also helping the Titans to a 2-0 start. A 2006 seventh-rounder, Finnegan was picked by Pro Football Prospectus as a Top 25 prospect before the 2007 season. He lived up to those expectations with a solid first season as a starter, but now he's doing a lot more.
Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:
Here's Week 1 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.
Studs
Michael Turner, RB ATL (220 yards, 2 TDs): I guess this would be one way to introduce yourself as a starter. On a new coast that is as far from the initials "LDT" as possible, Turner ran all over a Detroit Lions defense that would have been out-hustled by a Madame Tussuad's exhibition. Breaking one for 66 yards, Turner looked like the second coming of the Dirty Bird in Atlanta.
LaMarr Woodley, OLB PIT (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception): I guess it would be fair to give this award to the entire Steelers defense, but the second-year man out of Michigan sure had a pretty salty line. A funny fact about Lamarr -- while at Michigan, T-shirts were sold that said, "Guns don't kill people, LaMarr Woodley kills people." The Houston Texans will testify to that.
It's the deadest part of the offseason, which means we'll be reading about things marginally related to football like top-50 players, doctored videos, visits to the Playboy Mansion, and, of course, Rodney Harrison, the NFL's dirtiest player.
A review of data since 2001 shows Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson with a league-high 17 personal fouls. Harrison and New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith are tied for second with 14, followed by Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour (13), Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor (12), late Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor (12) and Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Shaun Rogers (11).
Andre Johnson isn't much of a talker by most accounts, though Cortland Finnegan got his attention last Sunday. During the Texans' 34-31 win over the Titans, Johnson and Finnegan were yapping at each other the entire day, which eventually turned into a brawl after Johnson threw Finnegan into the players on the Texans sideline. 
When 
Earlier this week, 
If you were one of the billions of people who missed yesterday's Pro Bowl, consider this your recap: the NFC scored 13 fourth-quarter points and rallied to beat the AFC, 30-21. It wasn't nearly as exciting as it sounds. That's what I hear, anyway. 
As the Patriots continue to rebuild their front office and coaching staff following another offseason exodus, the team has announced the hiring of former Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans general manager 
We may be only three games into the season, but it's hard to image 
Pacman Jones
Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, 
