14-year veteran and two-time Superbowl winner (!) Mike Shanahan was fired as head coach of the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. What the fuck?
Tough year for NFL coaches hovering around .500. This AP story at Fifth Down provides a plausible enough argument. Despite a career 146-89 record, Shanahan has made increasingly poor roster choices since the [...]
Shutdown Corner’s MJD is making early picks for MVP–or, as he thinks it should be known, MOP for Most Outstanding Player. Here are his nominees in alphabetical order:
Drew Brees. Broke the 5,000 yards passing barrier.
James Harrison. All over the place. A smart, aggressive player who came up with a ton of big player.
Andre Johnson. The [...]
Frustrated and Despondent, Lions Running Back Kevin Smith turns to Islam.
Welcome to 0-16.
Photo from Deadspin
As has been duly pointed out at Fifth Down and Shutdown Corner, there is something odd about Vegas’s line for the first round of the NFL playoffs.
When
Favorite
Spread
Underdog
Saturday, 4:30
Atlanta
-2
ARIZONA
Saturday, 8:00
Indianapolis
-1½
SAN DIEGO
Sunday, 1:00
Baltimore
-3
MIAMI
Sunday, 4:30
Philadelphia
-3
MINNESOTA
All the home teams (in CAPS) are underdogs. Despite the rarity (only one of eight road teams in the last two Wildcard rounds was [...]
I’ve always said that being a Jets fan is my penance for being a Yankees fan. But, Lord, haven’t I paid enough?
In the space of two days, the Jets saw: their season end; a quarterback they cut loose lead the Dolphins into the playoffs in one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history; Brett Favre [...]
You applauded the signing of Brett Favre because you thought Chad Pennington was the biggest thing standing between you and the playoffs.
Turns out you were right.
Chad Pennington, the MVP of the worst-to-first Miami Dolphins (and, if you wanna get nuts, of the National Football League) can steal the AFC east with a victory against the [...]
Plax’s self-inflicted injury will have lasting consequences.
I fell in love with Plaxico Burress when, with 45 seconds left in Superbowl XLII, he ran a little flag route to the back corner of the end zone, and caught the Eli Manning pass that buried the hopes and dreams of the New England Patriots.
Better yet, Plax acted [...]
I’ll disagree with MJD’s Shutdown Corner only slightly: One, I think the Patriots will sneak into the AFC wildcard, and the Ravens won’t.
It’s pretty simple, really. The Patriots have the easier schedule and are likelier to win out than you think (@Seattle, @Oakland, Arizona, @Buffalo). The Ravens face three playoff contenders (Washington, Pittsburgh, @Dallas) and [...]
I’m a Jets fan, and as a result don’t think much of them as a team. I’ve also expressed my skepticism about the idea that Brett Favre is doing more for this revamped offense than Chad Pennington could have. Sunday’s 34-13 slaying of the previous undefeated Titans went a ways towards changing both those opinions.
From [...]
The NFL has admitted blowing a call in Sunday’s Steelers-Chargers game.
Here’s the play:
And here’s the explanation from the Boston Globe:
“There were three passes on the play. The first was from San Diego’s Philip Rivers to LaDainian Tomlinson. The second, from Tomlinson to Chris Chambers, was initially ruled a legal backward pass but then reversed in [...]
