The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

After the Buffalo Bills kicked a 58-yard field goal in the final seconds to defeat the Detroit Lions 17-14 in Detroit on Sunday, some Bills players carried defensive coordinator and former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz off the field. If that wasn't a douchey enough move as it was, word later came out that it wasn't a very spontaneous move either. As Buffalo Bills linebacker Randell Johnson later told the media, "He (Schwartz) said once he plays his former team that he wanted to be carried off and chant and have fun, and we just tried to make a dream come true." That's right, Jim Schwartz had all of this planned back in the spring during Organized Team Activities. In five seasons as coach of the Detroit Lions, Jim Schwartz had a combined record of 29-51 (.363). He had one winning season and made the playoffs once in the five years he was there (2011). In those other four years, he went a combined 19-45 (.297). Last year was Schwartz's final season in Detr...

Regardless of whether or not Michael Sam plays for the St. Louis Rams this year, I have to give kudos to Rams head coach Jeff Fisher for coming to Sam's defense in light of ESPN's ridiculous report about the rookie's showering habits. With regard to this report, Fisher said: "I'm extremely disappointed in her (Josina Anderson) piece. I think it's unethical. I think it's very, very unprofessional. Not only the piece itself, the content. The manner in which [Josina Anderson] did it." He added: "Obviously she [Josina Anderson] came in, in all likelihood to see if there was gonna be a roster move at the 75 cutdown as it relates to Mike Sam. That didn't happen. But she needed to do something, and it's my understanding that she manufactured this story. She was out of line because she went and contacted several players on their personal time. Misled them with questions and then put this piece together." I give Fisher a lot of credit ...

It amazes me that so many ESPN talking heads are defending Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz's fake field goal in the Lions 37-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon. While listening to the ESPN programs Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption  yesterday, the verdict was nearly unanimous - Jim Schwartz was aggressive, playing to win the game, and in essence, made the right call. I get it. A lot of sports enthusiasts like seeing aggressive play-calling. Even if a team is facing a 4th-and-27 from their own 8-yard line, I'll hear hometown homers yell out, "Go for it!" However, while these out-of-the-ordinary play-calls might be good for sports talk radio, that doesn't make them good calls. I'm a numbers geek through and through, and this is even true when it comes to football. I can remember being at a bar for an Ohio State/Northwestern game about a month or so ago. The Buckeyes, whom had trailed almost all game, were about to face ...

While watching the Michigan State/Nebraska game on Saturday afternoon, I really started to wonder if announcer Sean McDonough has a man-crush on Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini. In the rather dominating performance by Michigan State, McDonough seemed to constantly be singing Pelini's praises, even going so far as to say any person would be "crazy" to want Pelini fired. He even defended the coach's f**k-you-fans rant which was released earlier this season.  Being from Nebraska myself, and talking to many Huskers fans, I can say a majority aren't pleased with the team's performance or Pelini's antics. The coach may have won 9 games every season he's coached in Lincoln, and may very well be on his way to another 9-win season this year, but even with that seemingly impressive number, the resume is lacking upon closer inspection. In 2008, Nebraska defeated the likes of: Western Michigan, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas, Kan...

Much has been made about Nebraska head football coach Bo Pelini's recently reported tirade where he uttered the f-bomb more within one minute than actors in a Quentin Tarantino film called  Saying F**k A Lot . Given that, here is what I imagine Mr. Pelini would say in the following situations: Situation: Ordering a pizza Pelini: "Yeah, I'd like a f**king delivery, please." Situation: Getting pulled over by a cop Cop: "Have you been drinking tonight, sir?" Pelini: "F**k no!" Situation: Parent-teacher conference Pelini: "So, I see my kid has a f**kin' 'C' - is that right?" Situation: On his kids' birthdays Pelini: "Happy f**kin' birthday, sweetie." Situation: At the end of a prayer at church Pelini: "A-f**king-men" Situation: Singing the National Anthem prior to a game Pelini: "...Some f**kin' bombs in the air..." Situation: Just prior to eating Thanksgi...

After New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan's bonehead decision to insert starting quarterback Mark Sanchez in the 4th quarter of the team's third preseason game with an inexperienced line protecting him and getting injured as a result, Sanchez, luckily listed as day-to-day, said, "I'm not here to second-guess the coaches. If they call you to play, you better be ready to play, and I was. So I went in and and played and tried to win." He added: "Look, I'm a competitor. And as a player, it's not my job to worry about when you're going in, who's in, what string, this or that. If they call your number, you've got to play and that's what I do, that's what I've always done. That's not my call. That's the coach's decision." What else did ESPN expect Sanchez to say? So long as the guy is healthy, he's going to start at quarterback for the Jets, so why publicly speak out against his coach's facepalm-inducing dec...

The Oregon Ducks football team, who was coached by Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly before this coming season, was hit with a light sanction for a recruiting violation under then coach Kelly. This wasn't a very harsh penalty. This was to the death penalty (in college football) what a paper-cut is to a gun homicide. Sure, it might sting for a little bit, but it doesn't completely end a person's life, or a program in this scenario - not by a long shot. Dan Graziano of ESPN.com then wrote an article about the matter today and I was scratching my head while reading the "piece" in its entirety, before I scrolled to the top of the website to make sure it didn't say The Onion. Graziano's article is titled, "NCAA labels Chip Kelly a cheater." Yes, things only got worse from there... Graziano started the article by saying this: "I know that the vast majority of Philadelphia Eagles fans won't care. I know that all you care abou...

It sounds like long-time Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid will be heading to Kansas City before long to coach the Chiefs. I can't really blame Reid for wanting to go to Kansas City. The Chiefs will have the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Their fan-base is great. Also, the division in which they reside - the AFC West - is lacking outside of Denver. Oakland hasn't put a winning team together in well over a decade it seems like and San Diego is heading the wrong direction with theirs. Lastly, the club went 2-14 this year. They can only go up from here. Reid won't be facing nearly as much pressure in Kansas City taking over a 2-14 squad than he would have had he continued coaching Philly. But, while I understand why Reid would be interested in the job, I don't think it'll be a good fit for him, at least in the short-term, and management will need to be very patient with Reid if they really want to see what he can bring to the club. As Eagles fans know, ...

The Philadelphia Eagles have made some very unwise moves these past couple years. A lot of it simply has to do with coaching. Before last year, Juan Castillo had never coached defense in his life. He was the Eagles' offensive line coach for 13 seasons prior to last year, when for some strange reason, he was hired as the team's defensive coordinator. The defense struggled mightily during the first half of the season, but showed enough improvement in the second half to warrant Castillo another year on the job. Well, it wasn't a full year on the job. Following a couple losses mid-season where the defense gave up 4th quarter leads, Castillo was fired. The defense was quite mediocre for the most part - ranking in the very middle of the pack in most categories. On the other side of the ball, the offense ranked near last in many important categories, yet Castillo was made to be the first scapegoat of the season and was let go. The Eagles were 3-4 at the time, far from out of the p...