The owners of two NFL teams–the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins–both reached out to their sad fanbases earlier this week. The teams, who are 1-7 and 2-5 respectively, enjoy two of the most loyal fanbases in all of sports, but those fanbases have had their patience tested with front office instability and questions over the the long-term prospects of their current personnel, especially at quarterback. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said he was “apologetic” to a small group of reporters after a fundraising event.
“We feel frustration and are disappointed for our fans,” Snyder told the crowd. “Obviously our performance to date is not what we expected, and we hope to turn that around.”
“I feel bad for the fans. I feel sorry for the fans, and we’re very, very appreciative of our loyal fan base,” he said. “We just feel terrible. We’re disappointed. We’re embarrassed, and we hope to get it going soon.” –ESPN.
Browns owner Randy Lerner actually met with two members of Cleveland’s famed “Dawg Pound” during a two-hour meeting earlier today.
The season-ticket holder, aka “Dawg Pound Mike,” one of the best known members of Cleveland’s rabid bleacher section of fans, spent two hours on Tuesday meeting with Lerner, who stepped away from a turbulent week and his busy schedule for the visit.
Randall and his friend, Tony Schafer, have been encouraging others to stay out of their seats for the opening kickoff of Cleveland’s next home game on Nov. 16 to protest the Browns’ futility.
“It was great,” Randall said. “How many owners would spend two hours meeting with two fans? None.” –Tulsa World.
Of course, other crappy franchises have found other ways to combat oncoming fan apathy. Like the Bengals, who sit at 5-2 and atop the AFC North division. That sounds a lot better than any apology.
Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini is 0-4. He’s the aberration of the Parcells-Belichick pedigree, who already has alienated his players faster than a ex-stripper widow from a Charlie Sheen movie. But things were looking up in Cleveland yesterday… He managed to take the Bengals, who had been playing very well of late, to overtime. Guess how that turned out?
After Palmer and his teammates convinced their coach to gamble on fourth-and-11 with just over one minute left, Palmer scrambled for 15 yards to set up Shayne Graham’s(notes) 31-yard field goal on the final play of overtime, giving Cincinnati a 23-20 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday. via.
This was after Cleveland blocked a field goal and an extra point earlier in the game. And then the other opposing coach HAD TO BE CONVINCED BY HIS QUARTERBACK TO PLAY FOR THE WIN IN OVERTIME. The Bengals, longtime authors of The Suck Book in the AFC North, are 3-1 and have a realistic shot at the wildcard, if not the division. Cleveland, however, seems to have nowhere to go but down. If you enjoyed watching the Lions go 0-16 last year, watching Mangini and the Browns do it will be even better.
Bengals wideout Chad Ochocinco actually scored in Cincinnati’s win over Green Bay yesterday, burying both the promise of the Packers’ offense and my chances in the With Leather suicide pool. But Ochocinco said that he’d execute the famed “Lambeau Leap” if he found the endzone Sunday, and execute he did.
We’re looking for a sharper image, but even here you can make out the enterprising young Packers’ fan who decided to send a message to the rest of the football-watching world. It’s good to know that some people out there will tell you that you’re No. 1. It’s pretty tame compared to what he could have done, but I appreciate the fact that he came up with something on the fly. I’m a sucker for improv.
Video’s after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
Seriously, if I wanted to sing about the exploits of ignorant people that don’t seem capable of accomplishing anything, I would have had a kid. But Chad Nacho Pinko is back at it, defying the collectivity of what may very well be the worst excuse for a “team” in the National Football League. No-Show and the Bengals are heading to Green Bay this Sunday, and he’s already thinking about celebrating that touchdown that he probably won’t score:
If he scores on Sunday, Chad Ochocinco says he’s going to do the Lambeau Leap, and that it won’t be a disrespectful display, rather, he’d like Packers fans to embrace him. via.
If he scores, which is like saying “if Michael Jackson comes back from the dead,” which, come to think, would be totally awesome. It’s about time they made a sequel to that “Thriller” video, anyway…I can’t be the first person to have made that comment…
Here’s the amazing Brandon Stokley catch from last week in Tecmo Bowl form. I’m blown away that somebody decided to reincarnate the play in this way…and do it well. Hey, that could be the play of the year, and we saw it in the first week of the season. Week Two will have its work cut out for it on Sunday. But with all the games potentially blacked out this weekend, it’s not like we’d ever know. as seen here.
People are tripping over themselves to laugh at the contract that sixth-overall pick Andre Smith signed with the Bengals last week. Smith, who held himself out of training camp only to injure his foot on the first day of practice, apparently is as discriminate with his reputation as he is with his diet.
Smith essentially signed what is really a six-year contract (don’t believe the four-year claim, the team can easily buy the last two years) worth an expected value of $42 million, assuming he hits all the normal thresholds. If Smith hits all the “Superman” clauses in the contract (he basically has to go to the Pro Bowl and Cincinnati has to get to the playoffs every year), he can make a maximum of $50 million.
Now, compare that deal to what quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes) got from the New York Jets at No. 5 and what wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey(notes) got from the Oakland Raiders at No. 7. Sanchez signed a five-year deal in which he will make $47.5 million if he hits the normal thresholds and can max out at $60 million. via.
Additionally, Hayward-Bey can make up to $38.5 million on his five-year deal. Andre Smith’s pro career is not off to the start that he could have hoped. Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. He’s playing for the Bengals. If he’s not drunk now, he will be…
