Football

Let’s see, the Carolina Panthers have hired the defensive coordinator who ran the little-feared Colts D, the defensive coordinator (as linebackers coach) of the Texans, and the secondary coach from the Rams. That, and Julius Peppers is probably out of there. Wow, all of that really makes me look forward to next season. Somebody tell me the ‘Skins are going to be really good. :( Update: And the Redskins might be about to sign the guy who stomped on another player’s face. Yay. ...

It’s Burgundy and Gold…never mind. Somebody wake me up when preseason starts. Link courtesy of Mr. Irrelevant.

Yes!!!! They were probably my two favorite Redskins players, and Art Monk had been languishing on the eligibility list for years due to a bias against wide receivers in the Hall of Fame. (Count them.) Darrell Green made it in his first year, a testament to how much he was respected when he played. I remember one of the best jobs in the NFL for a long time was playing the opposite cornerback position from Green, because you knew they weren’t going to throw over there. On the other hand, lining up against Monk was a miserable job, because you already knew he’d get the ball almost every third down, and yet you couldn’t do much about it. ...

I’m thinking it’s time for me to throw my hat in the ring as the Redskins’ next head coach. After all, I coached as many games as former candidate Jim Fassel this season. Seriously, somewhere in the background I hope Dan Snyder is sending Bill Cowher a small slip of paper every day with an ever-increasing number on it. :(

Jamaal Tinsley – point guard for the Indiana Pacers and apparently a bad person to party with – and his entourage were shot at after leaving a club around 3:30 AM, possibly with a .223 assault rifle. ESPN paraphrases Pacers’ coach Jim O’Brien with “Tinsley made an error in judgment by being out so late.” Wow, so the real problem is that after around 3 AM, the streets of downtown Indianapolis are crawling with gunmen looking for cars to shoot? He would have been fine if he went home earlier? Dang, now I’m really glad we didn’t move there. :) ...

Last Sunday’s games weren’t great for anyone in our league, but no one was able to accomplish what mine did: 51 points. Still in seventh place, oddly enough. QB Ben Roethlisberger: One touchdown, which put him in the top spot for points scored. Yay for ball control. WR Wes Welker: 19 yards against the surprising Browns defense. WR Calvin Johnson: 3 yards against the surprising Redskins defense. It’s a theme! ...

The team did better last Sunday, but stayed stuck in 7th place in the league. Unexpectedly good games from some players, however. QB Ben Roethlisberger: Two TDs, two INTs. Too bad about the INTs, but that’s about the production I would expect from a Steelers QB. Drew Brees, on the other hand, had a much better week than usual. He had a bye. WR Wes Welker: Wish Tom Brady wasn’t in love with Randy Moss. ...

Even later on this report. Maybe I should just accept the inevitable. :) Tried to adjust my starting lineup based on opponents. Not smart. QB Drew Brees: 4 INTs, 1 fumble. Are you kidding? He’s going to find out he’s colorblind before the end of the season. WR Marques Colston: If it’s completed, it’s completed to Colston. WR Calvin Johnson: 58 yards, and then a back injury. Hopefully he’ll still be ready to go this week. ...

Running a bit late on this week’s update, but at least I get to watch Syracuse embarrass Louisville while I’m at it. (31-14 Syracuse, right now. Their road uniforms look a lot less like they made them themselves. Here’s their home uniform from the Washington game.) I made a few adjustments to the starting lineup last week. Paid off a bit. QB Ben Roethlisberger: Seriously, I had to start him. He was going up against the Bills. However, the Steelers’ run-oriented offense is a problem for starting him all year. ...

Dum da da dum da da dum da da dum dum dum dum…Okay, so it’s not NFL Films. Only a couple of weeks ago I brought you the thrilling tale of adventure that was my first live fantasy football draft. Now you get to see how it turned out. Lucky you. (Okay, so I’m stalling instead of mowing the yard. That could be a weekly series, right?) My starting lineup wasn’t exactly one for the ages, but I was curious to see how they did. My ignorance of the usual Yahoo leagues meant that what I had been assuming was a head-to-head league turned out to be a points league, so a season is long enough to get things turned around in case my guys didn’t feel like playing the first week. ...