Norv's Reply

Rex Ryan told the press that he would have two rings if he would've been named coach of the San Diego Chargers in 2007. We all know hindsight is 20/20 and Ryan might've been the man to get the job done in San Diego.

The man who coached the Chargers, Norv Turner, had a reply for Ryan after he called and apologized for his "mistaken" comments.

“It really was between he and I. I think we’ve had enough coaching drama in the league the last few days and we don’t need any more,” Turner said.



“I hadn’t seen his quote and I was a little bit surprised by the call,” Turner said. “And then after I saw the quote, I didn’t have a chance to ask him this, but I was wondering if he had those rings with the ones he’s guaranteed the last couple of years.”


That's what long suffering Jets fans are asking.



  

Lions Trade For Ronnie Brown Is Voided

It looked good at the time. What I'm talking about is the trade the Detroit Lions made with the Philadelphia Eagles for running back Ronnie Brown.

The Lions sent Jerome Harrison and a seventh round pick to the Eagles for Brown. Well, Brown will be returning to Philly after Harrison failed his physical due to "health issues", per ESPN's Adam Schefter, so the trade was voided. 

Like I said, it looked good at the time.  

Rex Ryan Is Full Of Himself

It's old news that New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan is full of bluster. Normally he's talking up his team and predicting Super Bowl wins. Now he's crsoosed the line.

With the Jets getting ready for a key AFC matchup against the San Diego Chargers, Ryan thought it would be a good idea to open his trap and stir up the hornets nest again.

Ryan said that if he were hired by the Chargers back in 2007, he'd have a couple of Super Bowl rings.

“Well, I think I would have had a couple rings," Ryan told San Diego reporters today when asked about how things would have unfolded if he were hired by GM A.J. Smith. "I'm telling you, those teams were loaded. There's no question about it. But things happen for a reason. Obviously, Norv Turner has done a great job there. And A.J. (Smith) and everybody. That's a great franchise. He was probably the best guy for the job at that time."


Now that is a slap in the face. I know he tried to cover for it at the end of the quote, but the indictment he levied against Norv Turner was that he's not a good enough coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl. Now I think that Turner isn't the greatest coach in the world, but let the fans spit that knid of venom.

Of course Ryan said the comments were a "testament to what the Chargers have built" and not a slight against Turner and made a call to Turner to clarify his statement.

Rex knew he was in deep and needed to clear it up. He needs to concentrate on his own team and live up to the expectations that he has bestowed upon them. Yes Rex it's time to deliver a championship that you've benn promising the past two years.

Oakley Not Impressed With The Current Edition Of The Knicks

One of the tough guys from years past, Charles Oakley isn't afraid to let his opinion known about anything. That would include the current make up of the New York Knicks and how they treated him and Patrick Ewing, Isiah Thomas' role with the team, and whether Amar'e Stoudemire is the man to lead the Knicks back to the promised land.

While he was in New York to launch his clothing collection at the K1X store in SoHo, he didn't have too many kind words to say about the Knicks organization.

He doesn't think too highly of Stoudemire's game and thinks he's too West Coast to play in New York.

“Amar’e’s good, he’s good in his way,” Oakley said yesterday at the launch of his clothing collection at K1X’s store in SoHo. “He’s a West Coast player trying to translate to the East Coast. And the longer he plays in the East, the more his body’s gonna get damaged, because he’s got to take a beating now.”

Gotta disagree with Oak here. The East isn't the physical beast that it was when he played. Also the league is more athletic than it was back then which suits Stoudemire's game a whole lot better than it would've been back in the 80's and 90's. The players are more multiskilled than they were back then.It's an ongoing debate, but you must agree that the players of today are more athletic than years past.

Stoudemire might not be the player to get the Knicks to the promised land but stranger things have happened. I won't say he is and I won't say he won't lead them there, but he did seem to take more of a leadership role on the team when things started going south early in the season.

I do agree with what he said about head coach Mike D'Antoni. The Knicks will tease and excite you, but when it's time to play halfcourt ball and get grimy, the Knicks fall short. Don't believe me, watch the first two games of the series against the Boston Celtics and tell me why they lost. They can't play in the halfcourt.


“I don’t think [it can be successful], but that’s his coaching style,” Oakley said. “They knew when they signed him. ... When you go buy a Bentley, you know it’s not a Volkswagen. When they signed him, they knew what they were getting.



“That conversation should be dead, because it’s a West Coast offense playing in a hard-nosed city.


“You always give somebody a chance to prove themselves. I mean, this is his fourth year. He’s had a lot of time. ... I think it’s just more half-court offense, and they need the big, tough guy. He don’t want to play that way, but finesse, it’s not gonna work.”

“I mean, they’ve got hype,” he said. “But hype don’t win nothing.”

That should've been known when the Phoenix Suns couldn't get past the Spurs when D'Antoni coached them. Run and gun doesn't win in playoff time. Check and see how many titles Doug Moe won when he was coaching.

About the Knicks organization as a whole, he still has love for them but feels disrespected by them for not offering him a job in any capacity.

“[The Knicks] don’t want nothing to do with me,” said Oakley, who played for the Knicks from 1988-98. “I don’t know why. I tried to deal with them on several occasions. I’m not gonna keep trying.


“They don’t like Patrick, either. They won’t give Patrick a job, so I know they won’t give me a job. Patrick should have a job before anyone. He’s probably the best guy since [Walt] Frazier, [Earl] Monroe ... he’s the main guy on the list.”

“My door is always open to the Knicks,” he said. “I tell them all the time. They said something about I told LeBron to go to Miami. I was like, ‘You all have to be one of the craziest organizations in the world.’


“Y’all should have tried to call me and talk to me, and maybe we could have gotten LeBron to New York. You went to Isiah [Thomas], and some of these other guys that don’t know the guy.”

True indeed. Patrick Ewing shouldn't have to go anywhere else to be an assistant or have his name mentioned with other coaching jobs. As for Oakley, I don't think anyone would be asking you to court free agents for their team anytime soon, considering your disdain for today's players.

Last but not least was the aforementioned Isiah Thomas. He doesn't like him and I doubt he ever will. Oakley gave him a piece of his mind since he happened to bring him up.


“I don’t understand how he even got a job with management,” said Oakley, 47. “He had nothing to do with the Knicks, then he talked bad about the Knicks ... If I see him, he’d better turn around and go the other way.”

Well Charles, last time I checked Isiah Thomas never ran from anyone and never will. He was one of the toughest "little guys" to ever play the game, and considering his track record I don't think he'd be turning the othere way when he saw you. He still has that Chicago swagger in him and won't back down from anyone.

Like Father, Like Son

Fred Taylor had a highly productive NFL career. If it weren't for injuries I'd say he would've been one of the best running backs ever. It's highly debatable, but if you look at the numbers there would be a case for him. And the numbers don't lie.

His son Kelvin is aiming to carry on the legacy of his father. Taylor, who is a high school running back for Glades Day in Broward County, Florida, had a crazy game against Village Academy. He rushed for 426 yards in a 35-24 win. That isn't his career high though. He had 437 yards against Jupiter Christian in a state playoff game last November. That puts Taylor a mere 655 yards away from the high school career rushing mark held by the NFL's all time leading rusher Emmitt Smith. And Taylor's only a junior, so that mark is sure to be broken, unless he is derailed by injury.

Taylor still has a shot at the all time record held by Ken Hall of Sugar Land, Texas who holds the record with 11,232 yards. Glades Day still has four games left this season plus possible playoff games. Add in he still has his senior season to play and he has a pretty good shot at breaking the record.  

For Kelvin's sake let's hope that he doesn't suffer the same kind of injuries that cut short some of his father's seasons.      

Leach And Shannon Mentioned As Possible Replacements At Florida Atlantic

With Howard Schellenberger getting out of college coaching, Florida Atlantic has been looking for a replacement to take over the football program. A few names that have been thrown into the mix are Randy Shannon, Mike Leach, and former South Florida coach Jim Leavitt.

Athletic Director Craig Angelos told the Miami Herald he would consider Shannon or Leach as candidates for the job.


"Randy is a man of integrity, a first-class guy and first-class coach,” said FAU athletic director Craig Angelos, who worked at UM when Shannon was an assistant there. “I want to see if he’s interested.”

Angelos also has a good relationship with Leach: “I would consider Mike,” he said

He also said he would give a call to Jim Leavitt, who put South Florida football on the map and is now the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

Leach does plan to coach again and has been mentioned with a few jobs since being fired by Texas Tech. That's if a school can get past the "issues" he had with Texas Tech. Apparently Maryland couldn't and that's why he's not coaching there now.

Shannon is rumored to be seeking a high profile west coast job and might be interested in the Arizona opening.   

The best bet for the job would be Leach, who has been linked to the job at New Mexico and recently UCLA if they happen to get rid of Rick Neuheisel. But I think they will land neither since I think Shannon prefers a bigger job and Leach might find a landing spot at Arizona. Just my opinion.

 

Ex- Bear Waddle Lashes Out At Meriweather For Dirty Play

I remember when Tom Waddle played in the NFL. He was like the annoying kid you couldn't catch in a game of tag, only because it seems like he caught everything thrown his way and took some big hits for it. Yet he still held on to the ball. The guy was like a human pinata.

During an interview on ESPN 1000 on the Waddle & Silvy show which he co-hosts, Waddle took the time to lash out at Chicago Bears safety Brandon Meriweather for being a dirty player.

"I don't approve of the way he plays the game," Waddle said. "And you can call me a sissy all you want. OK? I was on the receiving end of a lot of head-to-head hits. And maybe it's the reason I act the way I do. But in football there are going to be moments when a guy is trying to make a tackle and his helmet hits yours. It's going to happen, and in today's game you're going to get flagged for it. And that's the way it is.

"Intent, to me, means a lot. If you make helmet-to-helmet contact and you're just trying to play good, solid NFL football and you get flagged I'll give you a pass. You have to be aware of it, maybe you need to work on your tackling technique, get the head to the side and wrap your arms, but I can give you a pass. When I interpret the way you go about your job that you have the intent to hurt somebody, I've got no time for you. I've got no place for you. The game's got no place for you."

"He's going to hurt himself, and he's going to hurt someone else because of the intent," said Waddle, who played for the Bears from 1989-94. "And maybe that intent is not in his heart. I don't know Brandon. I haven't had a discussion with him. But it sure looks by the way he plays the game that the intent isn't to put a big hit on someone and legally knock them out, it's to hurt someone."

"I didn't watch Brandon Meriweather on a week-to-week basis in New England," said Waddle, who also is an analyst for the NFL Network. "I thought the signing of Brandon Meriweather was a good idea. You were weak at safety, had some issues, you had some injuries. [Bears general manager Jerry Angelo] gave him over $3 million to come in.



"I did not realize how undisciplined a player Brandon Meriweather was. He comes with two Pro Bowls. And he came with a lot of interceptions. But ... red flag goes up when a guy like Bill Belichick decides to let you go."

"I'm giving [Meriweather] a shorter leash because I don't approve of the way he plays the game," Waddle said. "The game is vicious enough. If you're a player whose intent is to hurt another member of your football fraternity ... the Brian Urlacher hit on Tony Scheffler yesterday was clean. It was a clean hit, he led with his shoulder. I've got no problem with Brian Urlacher. I thought that hit was legit. Brian Urlacher -- if his intent was to hurt or maim -- he would have dropped his head and led with his head.



"What Brandon does is he leads with his helmet all the time. There's no place in the game, brother, at this particular time for that. It's vicious enough. And when your intent, in my humble opinion, is to hurt or maim, I've got no time for you, and I don't think the game's got any place for you."

I guess Meriweather gives him flashbacks of Andre Waters trying to take out someone's knees.

Seriously, Waddle took his share of hits so I would think he'd be somewhat of an authority on what is a clean shot and a dirty play. He definitely said a mouthful and shouldn't have flamed Meriweather this bad, but if the shoe fits, you know the rest. Maybe that was something Bill Belichick knew already and quickly jettisoned Meriweather much to everyone's surprise.

If you ask Patriots fans they would tell you that they're glad he's gone and would agree with Waddle's assessment of Meriweather. They would also say that he's a detriment to his own teammates when going for the big hit.