The Skins Are Horrendous, But At Least They're Quick About It
Here is an item that might actually cheer Skins fans about their cheerless excuse for a football team:...
Dear The Jets: What The Hell Are You Doing?
In the Year of Our Lord 2019, an NFL franchise is doing all it can to force an injured player to postpone surgery for the sake of the team, to the point of withholding his pay. What, exactly, are the Jets trying to prove by insisting that left guard Kelechi Osemele wait until after the season to hav...
Adam Gase Is Out Of Excuses
To list all the problems that plagued the Jets last night would be futile and time-consuming. That laugh-track loss to the Patriots, which snuffed out any cautious optimism that might have flowered from last week’s promising win over the Cowboys, speaks for itself. But going forward, the overarching...
Why NFL Officiating Is Such A Shitshow Right Now
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the NFL is having officiating problems. This year’s crop of rules controversies has a little bit of everything, from inscrutable procedures and points of emphasis that seem to change on a whim to inexperience within the ranks to the role of technology and the...
As Expected, The NFL's Pass Interference Replay Rule Has Been A Huge Mess
What you see above looks like a textbook pass interference penalty. Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones pretty clearly hooked the arm of Giants wideout Golden Tate before the ball arrived. No flag was thrown. Yet even after Giants head coach Pat Shurmur challenged the non-call—as the rules permit coa...
We Might Soon Learn If The NFL Exchanged Cover-Up Strategies With Big Tobacco
A New York judge gave a group of insurance companies the go-ahead to seek evidence that the NFL sought to share cover-up strategies with tobacco companies as part of a ferocious, years-long legal battle over which side will pay for claims related to the league’s concussion settlement....
The Skins Have Already Dragged Dwayne Haskins Into Their Never-Ending Cycle Of Dysfunction
Just about every time the Washington football team parts ways with an employee, the move occurs after a pattern of smears or innuendo that seems designed to tip everyone off that it’s coming. So it is now with head coach Jay Gruden. The Skins are going to shove Gruden into a volcano; at this point, ...
Why Melvin Gordon's Holdout Never Stood A Chance
Not all NFL holdouts are created equal. This is especially true for running backs, who have seen their value decline in recent years, even as the salary cap has jumped prodigiously. This summer, a pair of backs began training camp by withholding their labor in attempt to leverage a strong second con...
I Love Everything About This Deshaun Watson Exchange With A Reporter
There’s a clip making the rounds that shows part of Deshaun Watson’s press conference following the Texans’ loss to the Panthers on Sunday, and it’s fantastic:...
John Harbaugh Is Doing Everything Right
There’s still a lot of season left, granted, but Ravens fans should be pleased with the way head coach John Harbaugh has been running things through three games. Baltimore has built an offense that seems perfectly suited to quarterback Lamar Jackson’s many gifts, and Harbaugh has shown an in-game ag...
Hero At Scene Of Philadelphia Fire Drops Burn On Nelson Agholor
Three people were hospitalized and 10 people were displaced by an overnight fire at an apartment building in West Philadelphia. But the reason you’re reading about this particular local news report on this here sports website is because a man who came upon the scene and literally began catching chil...
Bill Belichick Did Not Want To Talk About Antonio Brown, Okay?
Friday press conferences for NFL head coaches tend to be fast affairs. A lot of the regular beat reporters typically take the day off, and most of the salient questions usually get asked earlier in the week. Bill Belichick’s presser today—the day after Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko published a ...
Why The Steelers Traded For Minkah Fitzpatrick
At first glance, the Steelers’ decision this week to trade for Dolphins defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was a bit of a head-scratcher. Here was an 0-2 team whose franchise quarterback is now out for the season giving up a prime long-term asset—a 2020 first-round pick—in exchange for an immediate u...
Show Us Your Best Sam Darnold Memes, Using This Generator
Our old pal Tim Burke went and made a generator for that wonderfully incongruent graphic of Jets quarterback Sam Darnold that aired this week during ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Try it for yourself!...
What's Wrong With Cam Newton?
It’s time to start worrying about Cam Newton. If that wasn’t clear before the Panthers’ 20-14 home loss last night to the Buccaneers, it’s obvious now. The only question is whether Newton is injured or washed. ...
The Cowboys Look Fun As Hell
Right, right, right: It came against a crummy opponent whose ineptitude no doubt made things far easier than they had to be, and it was only Week 1. But in terms of personnel, play design, and execution, the Cowboys on Sunday showed they’re capable of being as forward-thinking and efficient as any o...
Why Good Organizations Know How To Handle Players Like Antonio Brown
Jimmy Farris spent six seasons in the NFL as a receiver with the 49ers, the Patriots, the Falcons, Washington, and the Jaguars. He won a ring in Super Bowl 36, when he signed with New England just before the playoffs. As an undrafted rookie in 2001, Farris had an up-close look at the dynamic between...
The Raiders Have No Idea What To Do With Antonio Brown
Here’s Raiders GM Mike Mayock addressing the latest developments in the never-ending Antonio Brown opera buffa:...
Gory Days: Tell Us Your Most Embarrassing Sports Moment
Good day, readers. It’s the Friday before Labor Day, and if you haven’t yet completely checked out from work for the long weekend, you have my permission to do so as soon as you finish reading this blog. I’ve already cleared it with your boss, so no worries. Also, this blog needs your help....
What's Going On With Jadeveon Clowney?
Jadeveon Clowney is still not under contract, owing to his refusal to sign the franchise tender offered by the Texans, who were unable to sign him to a long-term contract by the tag’s July 15 deadline. But it’s nonetheless been a busy few days for Clowney, who:...