FanHouse

Plaxico Burress: 'Everybody Doesn't Have to Like Me'

Plaxico Burress basically has one true road he can take with all this suspension hullabaloo -- either accept the punishment, apologize to teammates and fans, and get ready to play once he's reinstated, or he can just tell people that he's just a football player and they don't have to like him. Yep, I'm going with B.

Burress said in a conference call with the media that he has some teammates he is close to, and they contacted him about the suspension, but other than that, nobody should really care.
"I know the people that care about me a lot. My job is to go to work and catch footballs Everybody doesn't have to like me. I don't have to be friends with everybody. Everybody has a role to play, everybody has a job to do. My job is to get on the field and catch footballs."
Well, actually, your job is to go on the field and catch footballs as well as not ditch out on a workout day without a phone call. That is what is called "being on a team" and unless Plax is thinking about getting some tennis lessons fairly soon, these rules will stick around.

David Carr, Your Mittens Are Calling


We have a special place in our heart for you here at NFL FanHouse.

It doesn't get any better than this for David Carr. For this one fleeting moment, he can forget about 262 sacks he's endured, the 67 fumbles he coughed up and the six years of NFL mediocrity in which he's frequently been stamped with the "NFL Bust" label.

Why, you ask? Because the No. 1 overall draft pick from 2002 is now a perfect 1-for-1 on this season with one touchdown strike. That gives him a 127.1 QB rating he'll never, ever sniff again for the remainder of his career. All in all, I'd say life's looking pretty good at the moment for the former Bulldog.

One little problem though. Fall is officially here, and that means colder weather. And Mr. Carr, you simply cannot keep that kind of production up without your mittens.

Fortunately, FanHouse is here to help. We know the shame you still must feel from your short venture to Carolina; the way you were mocked for your fashion sense and lack of signal-calling aptitude. So we have devised a noble quest to find all the other football players who share (or have shared) your plight, yet succeeded in their quarterbacking craft. You are definitely not alone.

Venture through our astounding discoveries after the jump. Feel the warmth. And please, for our sake and yours -- bring back the mittens.

Yes, Donovan McNabb, the Redskins Are Better Than You

In his recap of the Eagles-Redskins game, fellow FanHouser and Eagles fan Enrico Campitelli shared Donovan McNabb's assertion that the Eagles were better than the Redskins even though they lost today.

Even after all of this, the Redskins are still not respected.

All Washington did was beat the Saints, Cardinals, Cowboys and Eagles in a row. That after losing a 16-7 yawner against the Giants in the season opener. All of those teams fancy themselves as playoff hopefuls.

They've also pulled off an amazing feat by winning in Dallas and Philadelphia in consecutive weeks. Three weeks ago, experts were glowing that those were the two best teams in the NFL. Both are in the Redskins rear view mirror.

Oh, they'll see each other again. The Redskins are halfway through their division schedule. They get another crack at the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants -- but all games will be played at FedEx Field.

The Redskins should be around for the long haul. Their next three opponents (Rams, Browns, Lions) are a combined 1-11. There is a really good chance that Washington could be 7-1 before an Election Day Eve battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cowboys Avoid Becoming the First Team to Lose to Bengals


When games like this happen, the best thing to say is "good teams find ways to win these games; bad teams find ways to lose them."

You can kind of place that sentiment on the Dallas Cowboys' 31-22 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dallas jumped all over the Bengals early, building a 17-0 lead. They ran the ball down Cincy's throat and instantly put the meek Bengals on the ropes.

Yet, they seemed to let off the gas a bit. Cincinnati, sensing the opportunity, used an effective mid-level passing game to get back into the game. Carson Palmer, returning after missing last week with an elbow injury, threw 39 passes for 217 yards and two big TDs to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Bengals had a chance to tie the game in the 4th quarter, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt.

Three plays just symbolized the Bengals season.

Eagles Get Run Over at Home by Redskins

It was a pretty great day for the city of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, none of that greatness can be attributed to its football team. For the second straight week, the Eagles offense failed to convert on short yardage plays near the goal line and it cost them the game. The Washington Redskins ran all over the Eagles and simply played like the better team today.

During his post game press conference, Donovan McNabb said that he didn't feel like the Redskins are a better team than his Eagles. Comcast analyst and serious football guru, Ray Didinger, didn't exactly agree. To paraphrase Mr Diddy, "Who went down to Dallas and came away with a win? Not you. Who came into the Linc and beat you on your home field? Who made the playoffs last season? Not you. Who has won four straight games? Not you."

Yeah, things aren't going so well for the Eagles.

Jerrah Jones Says Dallas Will Make Sure They Feed T.O. the Ball

Despite having 33% of the Dallas Cowboys offensive plays going to him, Terrell Owens didn't like how small his role was against the Redskins on Sunday.

Well, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones plans on changing that:
"He's a terrific playmaker, and we want to get him the ball," Jerry said on his weekly radio show that airs on 1310 The Ticket. "We'll overly try to get him the ball. There's no question about that. We should. It ought to open things up for other places on the offense."

Jerrah also dismissed the lack of balance last week as Dallas all but abandoned the run game against Washington. Jerrah said that the Redskins front seven gave the Cowboys "some problems".

Jerry, I hope that you watched that Al Davis news conference this week because someday that will be you. I know you own the team and all, but let the coaches figure out how much to give T.O. the ball. After all, you tried really hard to get him the ball last week and you lost. The previous week, he caught just two passes and you won.

Emmitt Smith Actually Makes Sense, Questions Why Cowboys Didn't Run Ball


Much has been made of the Cowboys' decision to build last week's game plan around Terrell Owens -- even at the cost of winning, apparently -- and today, Emmitt Smith, by way of example, explains to the Dallas Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor why the Cowboys can't be afraid to run the ball just because they face eight-man fronts.
"We always believed the eighth man was my responsibility," Smith said. "I either had to make him miss or run him over." So why did the Cowboys let the Redskins discourage them from running against an eight-man front?

"They didn't have the confidence or the commitment to the running game," Smith said. "They had a different agenda. They had an agenda to get T.O. the ball and make plays in the passing game, hence they throw him 18 passes and only make seven completions.

"I've never seen Michael Irvin have 18 passes thrown his way. Even when we played against eight in the box, we were committed to running the rock regardless. There was a commitment that I touch the ball 20 times a game running or receiving."

Behind Enemy Lines: Skins-Eagles Meet For Another Big NFC East Battle

As we get ready for this week's huge matchup between the Eagles and Redskins, I exchanged e-mails with Derek from the Iggles Blog. Derek was nice enough to offer some insights on the Eagles for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

Sportz Assassin: Another week, another big NFC East battle. Your Eagles are 2-2, which means they've shown you some really good things and some stuff that wasn't so good. Assess where you think Philly is at right now.

Derek
: Exactly where we thought they'd be before the season, except switch the results against Pittsburgh and Chicago. Philly is a maturing team with a lot of developing talent. The two problems last week were that too many players were hurt and sometimes "maturing" can also mean "young and untested."

Assuming a few important players can get and stay healthy, this still looks like a team that's going to be in the mix come playoff time. It's just that expectations for immediate awesomeness – rather than season-long improvement – got a little high after the first three games.

Sportz: I noticed on your blog that some questionable coaching decisions may have contributed to the loss to the Bears. How are Andy Reid and his staff regarded among Eagle fans?

Redskins May Be Around For the Long Haul


The Washington Redskins have another NFC Beast contest this week as they head to Philadelphia and face the Eagles. Washington is 3-1 and has played the toughest stretch of their schedule.

The question now is "will the Redskins be able to stay in the NFC East race or will they come back down to earth?"

Let's look at opportunities to win games. As I said, the Skins are finishing up the toughest part of their schedule. They have already played the Giants, Saints, Cardinals and Cowboys. I know they do play in the NFC East, but after Sunday they will have already taken their trips to New York, Dallas and Philly. All three still have to come to Washington.

Beyond that, there are some very winnable games for the Redskins. Washington gets three of the NFL's winless teams (Rams, Bengals, Lions) and the Cleveland Browns.

Redskins' Byron Westbrook Doesn't Think His Brother Brian Will Suit Up For Philly

(Hat tip: Hogs Haven)

For those who don't know, Byron Westbrook is a cornerback on the Washington Redskins' practice squad. He is also the younger brother of Philadelphia Eagles superstar Brian Westbrook.

Brian missed the Eagles game against the Bears last week but, according to many sources, is expected to play against the Redskins this week.

Or not, according to Byron:
Byron Westbrook said he speaks to his brother, whose presence completely changes the effectiveness and productivity of the Philly offense, nearly every day.

"I don't think he'll play," Byron Westbrook said. "The ankle injury is more serious than what the Eagles put out. You know how Andy Reid is about injuries and giving out information. Just watching him on the sidelines after he turned his ankle [against Pittsburgh two weeks ago], it didn't look good.

I'm a very interested party to this since I am a Redskins fan (and hope he doesn't play) who also has Westbrook on his fantasy team (and hope he does play). Even though Byron says he chats it up with Brian, I still don't believe him.

I mean, Brian is telling everyone else that he is optimistic that he'll play.
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