The word from Peter King this afternoon on the NBC halftime show -- where craziness ensues, apparently -- is that the Rams plan on firing Scott Linehan if the Rams lose to the Bills on Sunday. (Via Bills.com)
On the Notre Dame halftime show on NBC this afternoon SI's Peter King reported that if the Rams lose to the Bills on Sunday that Scott Linehan is expected to be given his "walking papers" as King put it.
A few thoughts run through my mind when I hear that. First of all, well, wow! Shocking! Or not. The Rams are horrible. They haven't been remotely involved in a close game yet this season, and they had Pacmanopenly mocking them after the first week of the season.
On the other hand, well, maybe this isn't really fair. Wait, forget I said that. Linehan is the guy who thinks benchingMarc Bulger in front of Trent Green is the right move to bring this team out of the funk. I suppose that losing to the Bills -- a clearly superior team -- is kind of a silly and unfounded way to judge whether he keeps his job (why not just fire him now?) but, hey, it worked for the Raiders.
Man, what a great time to be a Rams fan. Easily the worst team in the NFL (with, as Matt Snyder wrote yesterday, "all apologies to the Lions"), St. Louis has now decided to give up on the 2008 season three weeks in, and bench Marc Bulger for Trent Green. Because it's 1999 up in here. Or something.
"You know I was shocked, I was really shocked," Holt said. "First and foremost, I went up to Marc and I immediately apologized to him as a receiver and for our receiving group and for our offense for not making enough plays to give him an opportunity to stay on the football field with us as we move forward in the fourth week."
Holt declined to comment on whether he thought Linehan had made the right decision in benching Bulger.
"I'll keep those thoughts to myself and just go ahead and move forward with what we have," Holt said. "Trent is the quarterback for Sunday, and we have (Leonard Little) back, so let's talk about some of the positives."
Okay, Torry, let's talk about some of the positives...
Well. That was a rough week last week. Again, I blame Vegas. (Like there was any chance I was going to pull in a winning week after heading out there.) Or maybe I'm just an "every other week" type of gambler. Anyway, last week was a 6-10, with a 1-2 record on my Tungstens. So, um, yeah. 20-27 for the season. You're winning a ton of money if you're betting against me.
Let's rock.
Denver Broncos (-10) @ Kansas City Chiefs If there was ever one time to bet on this 2008 Kansas City Chiefs team, if there was ever one reason to lay money on Herm Edwards this year, if there was one excuse to pull your mortgage certificate out of your safe and hand it over to creepy guy who lives in Garner, NC, well, it was when you saw that +900 prop bet for the Chiefs to go 0-16 this year.
Broncos -10
Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) Everything is on the line this week, Derek Anderson. And I mean everything. Well, except the guaranteed portion of your contract. But pride, yeah buddy. It's all hanging out on the line for everyone to see, just like Brady Quinn's social life.
The Scott Linehan era in St. Louis is rapidly becoming one of the biggest disasters in NFL history. After starting 4-1, his Rams have gone 7-23 ... including 3-16 in the past two seasons and three embarrassing defeats this year. Earlier this week, in clearly a desperate measure, Linehan removed starting QB Marc Bulger and replaced him with Trent Green.
(O)utspoken running back Steven Jackson took care of that Thursday night on his "Rolling the Dice" radio show on KLOU (103.3 FM). Jackson said benching Bulger was the "wrong decision."
"He's our general," said Jackson, who then pointed out that you don't pay someone "$60-something million" and then sit him on the bench.
It gets better, though ...
When asked by the radio show's host, Malcolm Briggs, if there were other Rams players who were against the benching, Jackson paused and replied, "I'm not the only one who feels this way."
There are six NFL teams that have yet to win a game this season. All are sitting at 0-3 (except the 0-2 Houston Texans). Some of these teams entered the season with high expectations but are falling flat. Others are just fulfilling their destiny.
Two of the teams (Bengals and Browns) face off this Sunday.
Here is a quick look at the winless teams (I'm omitting the Texas due to the fact they've not had a home game and having to deal with Hurricane Ike).
Kansas City Chiefs
Why they are here: They've been trotting out no-names at quarterback, they have the second-worst run defense in the NFL and they can't pressure the quarterback (just two sacks). They were spanked at home by the Oakland Raiders.
Why they could turn it around: Well, they get the Raiders again! Uh, wait, that didn't go too well when they met earlier. They need Larry Johnson to have a gigantic season and all those draft picks over-performing to just knock out a few wins. Control the ball with LJ, keep the other team from getting their offense on the field and hope Dwayne Bowe can make some plays down the field.
Outlook: Herm Edwards says, "you play to win the game." Too bad Herm won't be around when Kansas City finally does win some games. The Chiefs have the look of the worst team in the NFL but they do have some nice young talent to build upon. The odd thing is that KC may have had the biggest impact in the league when Tom Brady was hurt in a game against the Chiefs.
Value Machine checks out the overall perceived value of fantasy players. If you want to commit a fantasy felony, you'll sell high on the up arrow guys and buy low on the down arrow guys.
We caught a glimpse of vintage Willie Parker in week one, and have since seen a steady decline. The points -- we'll round and generalize, as many leagues use different scoring formats -- have gone from 30 to 10 to 2. And now he's hurt. He will not play in week four. He didn't score a TD in the past two weeks after putting a three-score hurtin' on the Houston Texans in week one. Even if he comes back, you have enough evidence to worry about durability and week one being fluky (for what it's worth, he did have a 100-yard game in week two ... but that was on less than four yards per carry).
In light of this, Willie Parker is your top this week.
On the flip side, your top in value is Rashard Mendenhall. Fast Willie received 53 carries in the first two weeks, so you know the Steelers like to run the football. Mewelde Moore becomes the de facto backup to Mendenhall, and he's nothing more than a third-down back. Expect Mendenhall to get 20-plus touches per game while Parker sits. Also, Mendenhall's value will never be higher, because people love the "new guy" starter ... and Mendenhall's likely to get stuffed all night against the Ravens this week.
Value Machine checks out the overall perceived value of fantasy players. If you want to commit a fantasy felony, you'll sell high on the up arrow guys and buy low on the down arrow guys.
We caught a glimpse of vintage Willie Parker in week one, and have since seen a steady decline. The points -- we'll round and generalize, as many leagues use different scoring formats -- have gone from 30 to 10 to 2. And now he's hurt. He will not play in week four. He didn't score a TD in the past two weeks after putting a three score hurtin' on the Houston Texans in week one. Even if he comes back, you have enough evidence to worry about durability and week one being fluky (for what it's worth, he did have a 100 yard game in week two ... but that was on less than four yards per carry).
In light of this, Willie Parker is your top this week.
On the flip-side, your top in value is Rashard Mendenhall. Fast Willie received 53 carries in the first two weeks, so you know the Steelers like to run the football. Mewelde Moore becomes the de facto backup to Mendenhall, and he's nothing more than a third down back. Expect Mendenhall to get 20+ touches per game while Parker sits. Also, Mendenhall's value will never be higher, because people love the "new guy" starter ... and Mendenhall's likely to get stuffed all night against the Ravens this week.
The St. Louis Rams have been horrible in their first three games, and when a team is horrible, the quarterback is often the first player to take the fall.
But it's still a move that has to be questioned, for the simple reason that not many people who have watched the Rams this year think the problem is Bulger, Many more people think the problem is on the Rams' offensive line. And given that Green is one of the most fragile players in the league, it's hard to see that line keeping Green upright.
So this benching seems more like a temporary move than a permanent one, if for no other reason than Bulger will have to come off the bench to replace an injured Green, probably sooner rather than later.
The selection process is tough, because there are a ton of factors. You have referees botching the coin flip, NFL players celebrating straight to the ambulance, and others that just aren't sure which direction they're going. All of these are problematic, and all will find themselves in the list. So, without further ado, let's get to the best of the brainless! Leon Lett -- Super Bowl XXVII and 1993 Thanksgiving Game -- It really takes a special person to make this list twice, but I guess Lett is that special. In one of the biggest botches ever in a Super Bowl, Lett recovered a fumble against the Bills in the fourth quarter, and as he waddled to the end zone, he decided the 10-yard line was the perfect spot to start the celebration. Little Don Beebe knocked the ball out of his outstretched hand, forcing a touch-back and a place in the Moron Hall of Fame. Previously that year, Lett actually lost a game for the Cowboys because of his clumsy maneuvers. Up 14-13 over the Dolphins with just seconds left in a snowy game in Dallas, the Cowboys blocked Miami's field-goal attempt and as everyone with four ounces of common sense stayed away from the ball, Lett slid in, hitting the football, thus making it live. The Dolphins recovered on the one-yard line, kicked a game-winning field goal, and forever made Lett a true Thanksgiving Day turkey.
So it begins. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of the Patriots 2008 season. New England's first game in the post-Brady era comes against the New York Jets, coached by Bill Belicick's former protégé-turned nemesis, Eric Mangini.
Maybe it's hubris, or denial, or, perhaps, they're right: New England is without it's on-field leader, but there are plenty of other guys on the team capable of stepping into that role. If that doesn't convince you, this certainly will: Troy Aikman AND Brad Johnsonhave faith in Matt Cassel.
"There's no doubt that you don't lose a Tom Brady and get better," said Troy Aikman, the former Cowboys star quarterback who is Fox's lead NFL analyst. "But I think that this team is resilient enough, we've seen it for too many years. I believe this team is still going to have a really good year. I expect Matt Cassel to play well, I really do.
Kurt Warner stepped in and [the Rams] won a Super Bowl [in 1999]. That's how Tom Brady got his opportunity. I know this, there's something about Matt Cassel that they saw that they liked when they drafted him."
Man, what a great time to be a Rams fan. Easily the worst team in the NFL (with, as Matt Snyder wrote yesterday, 
The 
There are six NFL teams that have yet to win a game this season. All are sitting at 0-3 (except the 0-2 Houston Texans). Some of these teams entered the season with high expectations but are falling flat. Others are just fulfilling their destiny.
Value Machine checks out the overall perceived value of fantasy players. If you want to commit a fantasy felony, you'll sell high on the up arrow guys and buy low on the down arrow guys. 
this week. 
in value is 
The St. Louis Rams have been horrible in their first three games, and when a team is horrible, the quarterback is often the first player to take the fall.
So it begins. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of the Patriots 2008 season. New England's first game in the post-Brady era comes against the New York Jets, coached by 
