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Wednesday TIME: US | UK WEATHER: US | UK HOME THE NEIGHBORHOOD "Life in the UK" American Groups Essential Contacts Money Education Driving WHAT'S ON US Group Events Diary Dates Music Live FEATURES Politics blog SPORTS Features Sideline blog NFL Draft THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE ONLINE |
SIDELINE ARCHIVE Santa's Sackings January 01, 2009 Ready for the Turkey November 27, 2008 Making it to the Big Dance November 26, 2008 Brighter Days Ahead for Chargers? November 5, 2008 Unnecessary Hits To The Pocket / Upset: BYU October 17, 2008 Romo's Pause / Seattle Seahawks October 15, 2008 Weekend Prep: Red River and More October 10, 2008 College Football's 'Crossroads' Weekend October 9, 2008 Gramatical Error October 7, 2008 Turning The Page September 30, 2008 So Cal 'Quizzed — But Who Will Answer? September 26, 2008 3rd Tuesday Panic Button / Forté Yard Dash September 23, 2008 Two and Oh; Oh and Two September 22, 2008 No More NCAAffeine September 11, 2008 Week 1 College Football September 6, 2008 How To Spell Heisman / Chad Ocho Cinco September 1, 2008 Why the Favre story STILL won't go away August 18, 2008 Olympic Notes / Ricky's Still Relevant August 14, 2008 Committee Meetings August 9, 2008 Let the QB Battles Begin August 8, 2008 Slinging The Slinger — More Favre August 6, 2008 Welcome to the 2008 season July 28, 2008 Plus One May 27, 2008 Draft: The Morning After April 28, 2008 Draft: Thinking the Unthinkable April 25, 2008 Draft: Ready For The Long Haul April 23, 2008 Sofa–bound Sport April 16, 2008 Post–Winter Wonderland April 11, 2008 Six Impossible Things February 4, 2008 Brady's Misdirection Play February 3, 2008 Colorful Language January 23, 2008 Let the Romo–bashing begin: Dallas lost January 14, 2008 Bowl Bites: The Wrap January 10, 2008 All About The Coaches January 1, 2008 Bowl Bites 3 and A Communication Breakdown December 29, 2007 Bowl Bites 2 December 27, 2007 Bowl Bites 1 December 23, 2007 The Empty Chair - Coach Situations Vacant December 22, 2007 For Some, The Playoffs Are Now December 15, 2007 A Certain Lack Of Welcome December 13, 2007 Unrelated Notes November 29, 2007 Two Thanksgiving thoughts November 22, 2007 Halftime: NFC November 9, 2007 Halftime: AFC November 8, 2007 London, Part 2 / A Tale of Two Chads / A Game of Intimidation November 4, 2007 Damp Squib / Other London Notes October 29, 2007 Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em / Dolphins – The Aftermath October 23, 2007 The Dolphins Did What? October 18, 2007 Notes on the Defenses October 13, 2007 Habits to be Broken October 12, 2007 Overtime October 13, 2007 This Week's Starters October 6, 2007: USF: Covering The Spread / Fantastic Football September 27, 2007: Grossman: The Final Act? / McNabb, the Epilogue September 24, 2007: Eagles QB in Slight Controversy September 21, 2007: Leftwich's Parting Gift to Jacksonville? / Boos cruise September 18, 2007: Notre Dame M.I.A. September 16, 2007: Looking Beyond NFL Wk. 1 September 12, 2007: Best Hope For Heisman September 10, 2007: Coaching Hot Seats / AP Poll Feeling ’Appy September 7, 2007: The NFL’s Prime Cuts September 5, 2007: Michigan Falls to Killer Apps September 3, 2007: Look Out Couch / The Taint's On You, Bud September 1, 2007: |
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SPORTS SIDELINE 
Observations, Opinion & Occasional Silliness by Richard L Gale THE NFL’S PRIME CUTS The final days of preseason prompts NFL teams to make slashing cuts for the sake of balanced rosters and affordable futures. Usually that means trimming a sixth-string cornerback, a fourth-string quarterback, or an aging defensive lineman. The last few days have been brutal to back-up passers, however – and even borderline starters aren't safe. Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio had been unhappy enough with his choices at QB, that he considered – and reportedly lobbied for drafting – eventual Brown Brady Quinn, but was instead left with often-dinged Byron Leftwich or his rival for action, David Garrard. Leftwich, a former 1st round pick, could hardly be tossed aside while still being their starter, so this past weekend he was demoted to being Garrard's back-up. Momentarily. And then tossed aside. Doug Johnson is also out at the Bengals, although rather than dumping him, Cincinnati traded him to the St Louis Rams in exchange for their No.3 play-caller, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick arrives with no familiarity with the Cincinnati system, but at least has a Harvard grad's mind when it comes to learning quickly (and if you're wondering precisely what the Bengals wanted him for, no, he didn't major in Criminal Law). Among other QBs emptying their lockers: Tennessee No.3 and former 49ers starter Tim Rattay; Chris Leak, a National Champion with Florida last year, was surplus to requirements for Chicago; Vinny Testaverde moved on from his seventh job, this time cut by New England. Heisman winner Troy Smith did survive the cuts at Baltimore, however, and Chris Simms (who lost his start job after rupturing his spleen during a game last season) was among four passers retained by Tampa Bay. With a number of teams starting the season with only 2 active QBs, including Atlanta, Dallas, Carolina – I can't help feeling that Leftwich won't be wandering the streets for too long. The Jaguars gave him up without seeking trade compensation because they were seeking a clean break without any locker-room split of support between Leftwich and Garrard. The problem for many teams who may be tempted to sign Leftwich is that he is just good enough to eventually spark a quarterback controversy somewhere else. Non-QB cuts: Longtime Cowboy Aaron Glenn was cut but almost immediately signed by the Jaguars; Safety Donovin Darius, considered a decent free agent acquisition for the Raiders, was cut by the Raiders; and the Patriots parted company with Reche Caldwell, their leading receiver from last year (I think they'll probably get by just fine). One non-cut note: Lawrence Tynes won the job as New York Giants kicker despite a far from stellar pre-season. For publicity reasons alone, the Scottish-born kicker should hang onto the role until the end of October when the Giants play the Dolphins in the United Kingdom. While this sort of detail is usually the reserve of fantasy football geeks only, I can't help but notice that the highlights above include three former Gators – Johnson, Leak and Caldwell – who have failed to make an impact in the NFL. They are just some of a long line of statistically huge passers and catchers from Florida that have failed to translate as superstars in the NFL, unlike counterparts from Miami and Florida State. Even coach Steve Spurrier couldn't make the transition. Was there ever a time when future University of Florida pass-catching alumni needed Rex Grossman to settle down and show they're worth a No.1 pick? Poll Prejudice: Following up on my last entry, I see that Michigan did fall from both the AP and Coaches' top 25 polls. They did, however, only fall into the next 10 spots, with 39 points from the AP and 132 points from the Coaches. Now, I realize that these are the FBS polls, so Appalachian State aren't eligible to appear (shame), but I still wonder how Michigan can LOSE to a FCS team and still get more points than Brigham Young, who WON 20-7 over Pac-10 team Arizona, and by-the-way have now won 11 games in a row. Answer: Lazy, lazy voters. |
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