Last week the Pro Football Reference blog used some excellent research to show that the Broncos' proclamation that John Elway was the king of comebacks is not exactly accurate.
If you take away the games where Elway led the Broncos to wins in games that were tied in the fourth quarter and rely solely on fourth quarter come-from-behind victories, Dan Marino actually has the most recorded fourth-quarter comebacks with 36 compared to Elway's 34.
Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend is always a fun time to debate which players are the greatest in the history of the sport. And this weekend, the debate about the greatest quarterbacks of all time has been enlivened by new research indicating that Dan Marino -- and not John Elway -- is the all-time NFL comeback king.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
Go ahead, call me a sap -- I've been called much worse. For some reason, jersey retirement ceremonies get me every time, and Alonzo Mourning's was no exception. Sure, Pat Riley's comments were cliche, and the Creed song was a poor choice. But Mourning becoming the first actual member of the team to have his jersey raised to the rafters (Michael Jordan and Dan Marino had their numbers retired for some reason as well) was awesome, and of course, well-deserved.
Ernie Els and Dan Marino are not two athletes that you would consider "alike." One's a golfer, one's a former football player and they hail from entirely different parts of the world.
But there is one thing they have in common, and it's pretty touching: they both are heavily involved in the fight against autism, because each of them has a child afflicted with the disease.
Over the past two weeks we've heard all about the numerous connections between Pittsburgh and the Arizona Cardinals, and there are plenty. So many, in fact, that the Cardinals are jokingly referred to as "Pittsburgh west" by Steelers fans.
Rumors abounded quite frequently near the end of the 2008 NFL season as to where Bill Cowher might or might not coach next year. It turned out, he was just fine and dandy hanging out in the CBS booth, kicking it with Boomer Esiason and Dan Marino, even with the wonderful opportunity to coach Brett Favre dangling out there.
That's not entirely surprising though. What is surprising is that rumors about Cowher's potential employement for 2010 have already gotten a kickstart. From Adam Schefter, it appears that his buddy Boomer is already discussing on his WFAN radio show the possibility of Cowher as a replacement for Herm Edwards in Kansas City following 2009.
Late in the fourth quarter of a Week 2 blowout loss to the Cardinals, Dolphins rookie quarterback Chad Henne saw the first NFL action of his brief career. He completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards and, in general, didn't make a fool of himself.
Naturally, the outing was reason enough for some fans to call for a quarterback change, partly because Chad Pennington had been serviceable but uninspiring, but also because the Dolphins haven't had a franchise quarterback since Dan Marino retired in 1999.
Some eight weeks later, Miami is 4-4 and thanks to their improved play and relatively easy second-half schedule, they're legit contenders for a wild card spot. And Pennington, who has benefited from the emergence of Greg Camarillo, a revitalized running game and the Wildcat, will keep his job. Just like head coach Tony Sparanosaid he would back in mid-September.
Which is why the Miami Herald's Greg Cote thinks fans should temper their calls for Henne -- for stability's sake:
With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.
The 1s
San Diego (3-3) at Buffalo (4-1): Trent Edwards is back from being concussed (my favorite word), which is probably a good thing, since they absolutely got rolled by the Cardinals two weeks ago after Edwards went down. The bad news is that he has to face a Chargers defense that sacked Matt Cassel four times last week, basically tossing him around like the plastic bag in that video from "American Beauty." Also, always beware of the LaDainian Tomlinson bounce-back game. He's slumped before, but always has that "140-yard, three-touchdown" game when his fantasy owners are about to give up on him that makes us completely forget about what came before. I'm putting this on the table for LDT -- if he doesn't reach double-digit fantasy points this week against a team that gives up 114 rushing yards per game, he cannot appear in any more cool Nike commercials.
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 facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds. Here's Week 6 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.
Studs
Drew Brees, QB NO (26-30, 320 yards, three touchdowns) -- Brees is slowly become the elite of the elite at his position, carding his fifth game in six weeks with at least 320 passing yards. The Purdue graduate is basically picking apart opposing defenses week in and week out and is on pace to eclipse Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record set in 1984. After the game, new head coach Tom Cable of Oakland said, "You have to use him as a model if you are the Oakland Raiders." Now 3-3, Brees and the Saints will face an exposed Panthers defense next week and then host a Chargers secondary that gave up 350 yards to Jay Cutler in Week 2. Needless to say, don't expect his numbers to drop.
Last week the Pro Football Reference blog used some excellent research to show that the Broncos' proclamation that John Elway was the king of comebacks is not exactly accurate.
Ernie Els and Dan Marino are not two athletes that you would consider "alike." One's a golfer, one's a former football player and they hail from entirely different parts of the world.
Rumors abounded quite frequently near the end of the 2008 NFL season as to where Bill Cowher might or might not coach next year. It turned out, he was just fine and dandy hanging out in the CBS booth, kicking it with Boomer Esiason and Dan Marino, even with the wonderful opportunity to coach Brett Favre dangling out there.
Late in the fourth quarter of a Week 2 blowout loss to the Cardinals, Dolphins rookie quarterback Chad Henne saw the first NFL action of his brief career. He completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards and, in general, didn't make a fool of himself. 
With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.
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 facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.
