Lots of stuff

Being an NFL imposter …

Gibbs names Brunell his QB, Ramsey wants a trade …

Gibbs delayed his news conference by a half hour yesterday to inform Ramsey when the quarterback returned to the Redskins Park after leaving in the morning.

ESPN reported in a telecast last night that Ramsey requested a trade at the meeting. But neither Gibbs nor Ramsey -- whose contract expires after the 2006 season -- could be reached for comment last night. And Ramsey's agent, Jimmy Sexton, didn't return a call. Gibbs said at his news conference that he expects Ramsey, 26, to be the backup quarterback.

Tom Knott doesn’t blame Ramsey at all …

Joe Gibbs never bought into Ramsey. That was abundantly clear with the acquisition of Mark Brunell last year. Even as Gibbs was proclaiming Ramsey to be his guy after last season, Gibbs used a first-round pick to secure Jason Campbell in the draft.
That had to be reassuring to Ramsey. He was the starting quarterback through the gnashed teeth of Gibbs.

And so after all the offseason proclamations and 26 snaps, we are going back to Brunell and an offense that dulls the senses.

Brunell is the master of the 2-yard dink pass, contrary to the recent assertions of Gibbs that Brunell somehow has morphed into Bob Feller at this advanced point in his career.

You saw Brunell's downfield pop-up against the Bears. It was intercepted and returned for big yardage, only to be nullified by a pass-interference penalty. Brunell no doubt makes far fewer mistakes than Ramsey. But he lacks the capacity to make big plays, too.

In nearly three quarters, Brunell threw for a whopping 70 yards, 35 fewer than Ramsey in his one-plus quarter of action.

Chaos in Sooner-Land…

Adam Morris recounts Phil Nevin’s tantrum …

In a season filled with clubhouse turmoil, the newly acquired, and very unproductive, Phil Nevin is apparently fitting right in...

The DMN's Rangers notes for Monday morning has this to say:

Phil Nevin had a frustrating day at the park on Sunday.
It started with a lineup change that dropped the Rangers designated hitter from cleanup to seventh. It ended when he was ejected after arguing a called strike three in the second inning.

When Nevin saw the lineup card that was posted before 11 a.m. in the clubhouse, he was listed as the cleanup hitter. The card showed Marshall McDougall starting at third base and Hank Blalock getting the day off.

But Blalock told manager Buck Showalter he felt good and wanted to play, so around 11:30 a.m. a new lineup card was posted with Blalock batting cleanup and Nevin hitting seventh.

Nevin said to someone walking in the clubhouse [and loud enough for everyone to hear]: "You should have been here, I was hitting fourth. It was a big day for a minute. It was going to be like old times, back when I was good."
Nevin then walked by Blalock's locker and said, "Way to go, Hank."

Wow.

And again, this is a guy that the team is talking up as being at least a semi-regular on their 2006 team.

It will be interesting to see how Buck reacts to this. Personally, I'd rather see Jason Botts get Nevin's ABs the rest of the way, anyway...

But it makes no sense, to me, that a guy who has the reputation Buck does, of being a control freak, someone who keeps a tight lid on things, is having these sorts of things erupt on the team. We had the Barajas/Drese fight, the Soriano tantrum over being benched, the Rogers/camerman incident, the ongoing public complaining by Teixeira and Young over the front office's inactivity, Soriano's ongoing refusal to hustle or run anything out...

And now, we've got Nevin throwing a tantrum over being dropped to the #7 slot, when, in light of his awful production of late, he should just be happy he's in the lineup.

Chad Johnson trashes Smoot; reveals his odd idol choice …

"How good is he? He's a good talker," Johnson said. "He's a real good talker. He's a solid corner. As a matter of fact, can we send Fred a message?"
Johnson leaned forward and said: "Smoot, let's go. That's it. That's the message for this week."

Who's the better trash talker, Chad or Fred?

"That's a good question," Johnson said. "I don't know. We have to ask him. Smoot, who talks better trash? Make sure he gets that."
Johnson has a laminated sheet in his locker listing the cornerbacks he'll face this season. The names are under the headline: "Who covered 85 in 2005." Smoot's name is next.

Speaking of names, Johnson's idol — TV celebrity Oprah Winfrey — joined world-famous poet Maya Angelou in Dayton on Monday night. Johnson wished he could've been there to meet Winfrey. "Marvin said I can't go," Johnson said. "Blame everything on Marvin."

Oprah? That is just weird.

Mike Rhyner is my favorite DJ …

Jerseys are a changing …

Chris Collinsworth with an odd description of Jerry Rice …

Rice gave it one last chance in Denver, but when he found out that he could not even be the team's third receiver, Jerry had to walk away. There was no way his competitive nature would allow him to sit and watch a game while he stood on the sideline.

Sit and watch a game while he stood on the sideline?

Dale Jr rehires Tony Jr …With Little E and Gordon out of it, why should I care so much?

Police Looting …

Liverpool marches on in Champions League …

And, finally, 2 emails. The first discusses a truth about the Eagles:

Don't overlook that The Eagles have won more Grammies than Super Bowls.

Richardson Ron. Enjoy.

Thanks, RR. I did.

Bob,

The 28 points scored by the Cowboys offense at San Diego on 9/11/05 is
the fifth most points scored in a game during Bill Parcells tenure as
Head Coach of the 'Boys.....

1. 43 Points @ Seattle- Cowboys win 43-39 on 12/6/04
2. 38 Points @ Detroit- Cowboys win 38-7 on 10/19/03
3. 35 Points @ NY Giants- Cowboys win 35-32 in OT on 9/15/03
4. 31 Points vs. Detroit- Cowboys win 31-21 on 10/31/04
5. 28 Points @ San Diego- Cowboys win 28-24 on 9/11/05

- This tells me that a the offense has not carried this team in the 2
plus years that Parcells has lead them.
During his tenure, the defense will be the barometer of what this team
will do throughout the year.....
This also tells me that if you want an offense shootout, watch this
team on the road......
Either that, or I have too much time on my hands looking up stats....

Jim Greene

Stats are fun.

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