Stubbornness sometimes pays off. The Carolina Panthers found this out on Sunday.
One week after giving up on the run way too easily in a loss to Buffalo, the Panthers mercilessly pounded Arizona's run defense into the ground, and their reward was an easy win. Of course, it doesn't mean Jake Delhomme has magically turned his season around. It just means the Panthers have found a way to hide him, while keeping him on the field. Delhomme is off our magical list for now, but other shaky starters aren't so lucky.
Some teams are entirely too stubborn. Not only will they leave bad quarterbacks in to take mental and physical beatings, but they'll insist on running offensive plays that don't seem to take the team's strengths into account, oftentimes leaning way too much on a struggling quarterback to make plays. As the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns (among others) have now learned, this is a recipe for disaster.
You really do have to feel kind of bad for Browns fans. Here's a group of people that were among the most loyal fans in football (and, truthfully, they still are) only to have their team ripped away from them in 1995 and taken to Baltimore where they won a Super Bowl five years later.
After patiently waiting for three years, Cleveland was given its team back in 1999, and this is what they were rewarded with: absolute chaos. And losing. A lot of losing.
On Sunday, the Browns were obliterated on their home turf, 31-3, by the Green Bay Packers and the fans in attendance decided to take that opportunity to amuse themselves in unique and hilarious ways.
After a 37-7 drubbing of his Chiefs on Sunday, running back Larry Johnson spent post-game energy focused on his Twitter stream instead of reflecting on the 1-6 start to the season in Kansas City. He called out head coach Todd Haley in a way most employees don't recover from when speaking poorly of their employers.
"My father played for the coach from "rememeber the titans". Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn"
Johnson is obviously upset at how the Chiefs are playing. He may even be upset at the fact that he's not getting enough touches. But, we won't know what's bothering Johnson because not only did he delete his controversial tweets, he also protected his Twitter stream from being viewed unless Johnson gives explicit permission. According to Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star, he's also not happy with the media asking about his tweets.
Mark Sanchez had a rough couple weeks. After earning the Jets starting quarterback gig in training camp, and leading the team to 3-0 out of the gate, his rookie season hit a rough patch in October. In a loss to the Saints, Sanchez had a 27.0 passer rating, and last week against the Bills he mustered a JaMarcian 8.3.
The remedy: play Oakland. Sunday, the Jets hung 38 on the Raiders and JaMarcus Russell was benched for Bruce Gradkowski. Sanchez, meanwhile, completed 9 of 15 throws for 143 yards, including a touchdown. Things were going so well that Kellen Clemens got a few late-game snaps allowing Sanchez to take it easy on the bench and enjoy a ballpark frank.
With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.
The Early Games
New England (4-2) at Tampa Bay (0-6): Tom Brady threw for six touchdown passes last week, five in one quarter alone. And to be honest, it gets easier for him this week in London against the Bucs. Expect fireworks from the Patriots offense, as Brady is beginning to click with Randy Moss, and he's extremely happy that Wes Welker is back in action.
On defense, the Buccaneers don't have the speed or skill at the cornerback position to defend against Brady and the Patriots' aerial attack. On offense, the Bucs are young and inexperienced -- especially at the quarterback position where Josh Johnson is already looking in the rear-view mirror at competition from Josh Freeman. Pick: New England
Give Derek Anderson credit. He got better. He put that "15 incompletions in 17 attempts" disaster behind him with a much more quarterback-like effort against Pittsburgh Sunday. It wasn't enough to take the Browns off this list for the first time this season, but there are indications that Cleveland has settled on their guy, no matter how many of his passes bounce off the grass.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- JaMarcus Russell's Year 3 NFL resume has had him well on track to become the greatest NFL draft bust since Ryan Leaf almost singlehandedly destroyed the Chargers.
Through Week 5, his status as the NFL's worst starting quarterback was well-established: a completion percentage of 42.1; four interceptions; four lost fumbles; 15 sacks for a supposedly big, strong 6-foot-6 man pushing 275 pounds.
How could Russell simply crumple under even a modest pass rush? How could he possibly put up a passer rating of 46.0 in a Week 2 victory over the winless Chiefs? How could he emerge, unmoved, after horrible Raiders losses wearing cue-ball sized diamond earrings and fur coats?
With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.
Yes, he won the game. However, there's no stopping Derek Anderson from showing up high on the list of quarterback controversies every week. Right there with him is the guy Anderson inexplicably beat Sunday despite only completing two of 17 passes -- Trent Edwards. After all, if you can't beat a quarterback who couldn't even complete 12 percent of his throws, who can you beat?
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
You really do have to feel kind of bad for Browns fans. Here's a group of people that were among the most loyal fans in football (and, truthfully, they still are) only to have their team ripped away from them in 1995 and taken to Baltimore where they won a Super Bowl five years later. 
After a 37-7 drubbing of his 
With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious 
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
OAKLAND, Calif. -- 
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
