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.
The Washington Redskins came under fire for bringing in Sherman Lewis, a guy that had started his NFL season pulling out Bingo balls in Detroit. Last night, Lewis’ balls were spared, as the Redskins committed almost every conceivable error (except for the delay of game that everyone expected) as the Philadelphia Eagles trudged over their their NFC East rival, 27-17.
“You can say but so much,” defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said. “You’ve got to actually want to. So once we get to that point — where we want to do something — then we’ll do something. But if we just keep going our separate ways, then we’ll just keep getting slaughtered like we have.”
Aside from DeSean Jackson’s heroics (167 total yards, 2 TDs), last night’s telecast was plagued with the same tedium that we’ve come to expect from recent Monday night games: unimpressive offensive play from both teams and outlandish, overly excited hyperbole from former coach Jon Gruden. Honestly, Gruden could watch a busload of Rwandans get gunned down and make it sound like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I don’t know what those guys are drinking up in the booth, but I want a case of it. Read the rest of this entry »
Word hit the street yesterday that former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan was contacted by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder about his availability as a midseason head coaching replacement for the embattled Jim Zorn. Suddenly, football coaches are episodes of “Burn Notice” that can be plugged in interchangeably at a moment’s notice. That’s the Dan Snyder we know and loathe.
“Shanahan told the franchise there was little he could do in the middle of the season for them and that changing coaches during the season in the NFL rarely works,” a Redskins management source told FanHouse. “Several people that Dan Snyder trusts have suggested, if he makes a move, he should turn it over to secondary coach Jerry Gray. That could still happen.
“We are trying to give Jim every chance to turn it around. The move to [bring in offensive consultant Sherm] Lewis is to take more off Jim’s plate, especially the play-calling, because it is not working, and that is where Jim is spending much of his time. Now he can coach the entire team. Let’s see where that gets us.” via.
The Redskins are running out of winless teams in the league to play, and one only wonders how much good Snyder and his antics will be in fixing this mess. It’s hard to believe somebody that’s friends with Tom Cruise could find himself in such competitive peril. Even if the Danielskins could get Xenu to call the plays, it still wouldn’t fix a team that’s so schematically flawed. I blame Jason Campbell. And the Jews. But mostly Campbell.
To say that Jim Zorn is the frontman for the underachievingest team in the NFL is like saying that the Great Wall of China is kinda big, or that women on reality shows kinda like attention. But after the Redskins dropped a game to the Detroit Lions–the first team in nearly two calendar years to do so–the calls for Zorn’s head have only grown louder. But I’d argue that Zorn isn’t going anywhere before the end of the season. Here’s why.
Moving his workload would be a pain in the ass. Noted NFL writer and self-appointed travel expert Peter King pointed out on Sunday Night Football that Zorn is performing three roles with that team: head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach. Replacing Zorn, King said, would involve two or three different people, people that would have to come from within the organization at this point.
Nobody wants to be Dan Snyder’s bitch. There’s a reason that Jim Zorn was “promoted” from offensive coordinator to head coach last winter–nobody else wanted the job. The league’s coaches have seen the way he handled Norv Turner and heard about how he treated Mike Nolan. It took a truckload of money to pull Joe Gibbs out of retirement, but that truck has sailed…if you will. Snyder won’t get any tangible jump on finding his next underling by pulling the rug out from under Zorn before the end of the year.
A regime change would almost certainly end the Jason Campbell Era in the District. The 2009 season will be Campbell’s fifth as a pro–with his third offensive coordinator. Scrapping Zorn’s system now would be counterproductive at the very least for Campbell, whose development has suffered from the revolving door in front of the Redskins’ coaching offices. A new coach would be better served, sadly, to bring in his own guy (a la Chiefs coach Todd Haley with Matt Cassel, or even Vikings coach Brad Childress bringing in Brett Favre). Such a move–for better or for worse–almost certainly sends Campbell to the junk heap. Probably for good.
Redskins fans don’t really care if their team sucks. The team has already sold out every game. Hell, they have so many fans that they’re suing the ones that aren’t fanatic enough. Fan response has nothing to do with how the team’s performing on the field, leaving Zorn free to mismanage his team through the next 14 weeks of the season, which will be, granted almost certainly his last in DC. also.
The old Gunslinger still has it. Down 24-20 with 87 seconds remaining, Brett Favre led the Vikings offense on an 80-yard touchdown drive, culminating with a 32-yard yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with two seconds left on the clock, as Minnesota pulled one out of their ass and beat the San Francisco 49ers 27-24.
In the end, I feel bad for the 49ers. They played their hearts out and all they have to look forward to is an eyeful of Mike Singletary dong.
Oh yeah, and the Detroit Lions snapped their epic fail 19-game losing streak, beating the Washington Redskins 19-14. Panic in the streets of D.C. Jim Zorn, I believe the bell tolls for thee.
The Washington Redskins’ name trademark has once again come under fire as Native American groups have once again challenged the 1967 trademark of the team so named in 1933. The group cites the Lanham Act, which supposedly prohibits trademarks that “disparage” specific persons.
“It is the worst thing in the English language you can be called if you are a native person,” said Suzan Shown Harjo, a Native American writer and public policy advocate who is the lead plaintiff in one of the most compelling lawsuits in sports history.
Seventeen years after challenging the Washington Redskins trademark, Harjo and six others have renewed their fight, petitioning the Supreme Court to examine a lower-court ruling that denied their challenge on a technicality. via, via.
The group challenging the name compares it to putting Aunt Jemima on a football helmet, which, I gotta admit, sounds like a mighty tasty football helmet. Just to be contrarian here, why would an image for a football team be any different than such for pancake syrup? I’m not a big fan of the name–or the team, really. These groups that find the name of the team so offensive have obviously never seen them play.
