Even on the rare occasions when the Raiders win the battle ... they still lose. Oakland dropped their third game in four tries Sunday against Houston. And on the way to their latest defeat cornerback Chris Johnson may have been a victim of religious persecution*. During the game. By the officials.
After intercepting a Matt Schaub pass Johnson fell to his knees, pointed skyward to give thanks to The Big Guy for his good fortune, and was promptly flagged for his belief that there was a Big Guy who would actually allow the Raiders to exist in their current form.
Video after the jump (includes some naughty language).
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Tony Romo was 16 years old the last time the Dallas Cowboys won a playoff game -- Dec. 28, 1996 over Minnesota. Since then, a span of 13 seasons, America's Team has gone 0-6 in the postseason and failed to qualify for the playoffs seven times. It's a shocking drought for a franchise with the history, and more obviously, the pride that Dallas does that there has been more recent on-field success. This is a big season in Big D, for Romo, for coach Wade Phillips, for the future of the franchise. But breaking that postseason jinx won't be easy.
Bad news for anyone who enjoyed watching Tom Brady-less New England miss out on the playoffs last year -- the Patriots are the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl XLIV. And those numbers came out before Thursday's trade that brought them Derrick Burgess from Oakland.
A disgruntled Burgess, in the final year of his current contract, had been holding out of Raiders training camp in search of the pay raise and extension that he's wanted for years. Oakland refused to budge, though, and Burgess became much more expendable after Greg Ellis landed with the silver and black.
New England saw the obvious opportunity. Burgess, 30 and owed $2 million this season, should fit in perfectly as the Patriots' outside linebacker/rush end spot, currently held by Pierre Woods. Whether New England opts to use a 3-4 or a 4-3, Burgess is still capable of making sure someone's gets in the quarterback's face.
I just got finished re-reading Boys Will Be Boys, Jeff Pearlman's book that does an excellent job of spelling out just how insane the 1990s Cowboys were off the field. Cocaine, hookers and haircuts that turned into bloody fights were all just part of the day in the life of the Cowboys.
Apparently the 2000s Cowboys are just crazy on the field. While Terrell Owens was getting upset about Tony Romo throwing too much to Jason Witten, apparently on the other side of the ball, DeMarcus Ware was hiding from coaches so that his backup Greg Ellis could get some playing time.
Free agent linebacker Greg Ellis will sign a three-year contract today with the Raiders, according to a source. Ellis visited the Raiders on Friday and agreed to the deal Sunday night.
As Calvin Watkins reported first at the FanHouse a couple weeks ago, the Cowboys were looking to trade outside linebacker Greg Ellis.
But as you would expect, the market for 33-year-old outside linebackers/defensive ends with a $6 million contract is pretty small. So rather than pay his $4million-plus base salary, the Cowboys released him on Tuesday. The move will save the team more than $4 million on the salary cap.
Save the actual act of filling out the pink slip, Greg Ellis' 11-year career with the Cowboys is done. He was hailed as a team leader -- something the organization lacked in recent years -- and his DallasCowboys.com bio confirms as much:
"... Ellis has been a pillar of consistency and production for the Cowboys in his 10 seasons as an NFL player. Whether it be overcoming the adversity of a serious injury or making a position switch in the later stages of his career, Ellis has always responded."
But as you might have heard, the NFL is a business, and players -- even the good ones -- are sent on their way as soon as a coach, scout or owner determines they're no longer useful. And with 2007 first-round pick Anthony Spencer ready to assume Ellis' job, it was a relatively easy decision, at least from a business standpoint.
Based on what Jones told Dallas reporters, the team is in no rush to make the actual move. Ellis will not be attending OTAs, and Jones said he's given Ellis and his agent permission to try and arrange a trade with another team if they can. The Cowboys would rather trade Ellis than release him and have to pay the $1.5 million guaranteed portion of his salary, but his $5.6 million salary and his salary cap number of $6.25 million are likely to make a trade difficult.
The Dallas Cowboys are shopping outside linebacker Greg Ellis, multiple sources told FanHouse on Thursday. Ellis is one of the most trusted defenders the team has, but it would like to push 2007 first-round pick Anthony Spencer into a starting role.
Ellis is in the last year of his contract and if released, is owed $1.5 million by the Cowboys as part of a contractually agreed upon settlement.
Dallas is serious about a potential move because on Thursday, the final day of this week's organized team activities, the team sent Ellis home, not allowing him to practice. The Cowboys did this last year during some OTAs, and coach Wade Phillips said then it was to not wear Ellis down. He turns 34 in August.
The Cowboys practice facility received a new roof last year, but wasn't inspected by the city of Irving, Texas, according to documents obtained by the Dallas Morning News. The building collapsed on Saturday as a result of high winds, injuring 12 people.
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith expressed concern for those involved. He called Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to offer his condolences and spoke with player reps Greg Ellis, DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten about the incident. The NFL is also monitoring the situation and is leaving it up to the Cowboys and federal investigators handling the case.
Even on the rare occasions when the Raiders win the battle ... they still lose. Oakland dropped their third game in four tries Sunday against Houston. And on the way to their latest defeat cornerback Chris Johnson may have been a victim of religious persecution*. During the game. By the officials. 
Training camps have wrapped up, the 
Bad news for anyone who enjoyed watching 
I just got finished re-reading Boys Will Be Boys, Jeff Pearlman's book that does an excellent job of spelling out just how insane the 1990s Cowboys were off the field. Cocaine, hookers and haircuts that turned into bloody fights were all just part of the day in the life of the Cowboys.
As Calvin Watkins 
Save the actual act of filling out the pink slip, 
Cowboys owner 
The 
The Cowboys practice facility received a new roof last year, but wasn't inspected by the city of Irving, Texas, according to documents obtained by the 
