NFL's Separation Anxiety

Here we are in Week 7 and it is becoming more and more clear which teams are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and which ones are out and out pretenders.

So, let's see who is going to make a statement this time around and who's going to take a step backwards in the wrong direction, with a quick reminder that the Guru is now 46-25 after going 9-5 last week:

Green Bay at Cleveland -- This one should be an easy one to pick as the Browns can't seem to get out of their own way. So why do I get a strange feeling that we could be looking at a repeat of last week's Eagles-Raiders upset? Nah. Aaron Rodgers is coming into his own and with Ahman Green back in a Packers jersey to give Ryan Grant some help, Green Bay will keep pace in the NFC playoff race, although it will be closer than it should be.

Packers 23, Browns 21

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Time for Quinn to Get Out of Cleveland

I've always hoped that Brady Quinn could make it in Cleveland, just like I root for all Notre Dame players to do well in the NFL.

But it was more than that. I thought that it would be a story-book scenario if the Ohio native/matinee idol could star for the team he rooted for as a child. That's why I was thrilled when the Browns drafted him, even though it was painful watching the kid get hung out to dry as he dropped through the draft.

Now, however, I'm thinking it might be best for Brady to get out Cleveland, which is still a mess and will have trouble winning two more games (Last week's 6-3 victory over Buffalo has to be one of the ugliest games in NFL history.) Let him go some place more stable, which would be about 25 other teams in the league.

(Continue to Bob Birge's Irish Eyes Are Smiling)

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Solid D + Late TD = Ugly W

You hardly know what to make of a win that looked much like a loss, but if you’re somebody who cheers for the Cleveland Browns, you’ll settle for a 6-3 victory regardless of how ugly it looked.

Think about it: The Browns had been rolling nightmarishly toward a futility that would match what the Detroit Lions did a season ago. Sixteen losses, although hardly guaranteed, did seem reachable, and coach Eric Mangini and the Browns did nothing Sunday to suggest they could win a game.

They dropped passes, slogged around in the wind and, essentially, played as if it were an exhibition game. One thing that helped the Browns was a Buffalo Bills team that couldn’t get out of its way. The Bills stumbled and false-started from the opening whistle to the game’s end.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

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No-Huddle Predictions

The Guru is going to try something different today, and the main reason is because we are less than three hours away from kickoff of the 1 p.m. games. So this is my version of the no-huddle offense, and I'm even going to break protocol this one time when it comes to the Dolphins.

Without any further delay, let's get the ball rolling:

Cleveland at Buffalo -- Ugh. Two teams headed in the same direction -- DOWN. Playing at home gives the Bills the edge in this never-to-be-seen-in-prime time match up.

Bills 16, Browns 13

Dallas at Kansas City -- Back-to-back losses to two AFC West non-juggernauts? Not in the cards for the Cowboys. Romo will snap out of it and DeMarcus Ware will make Matt Cassel wish he never left New England.

Cowboys 31, Chiefs 7

Minnesota at St. Louis -- Trap game? I think not. This one could get REAL ugly.

Vikings 45, Rams 14

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The Jets' Big Catch?

I think there's somebody other than Mark Sanchez who has to be breathing a big sigh of relief that the Jets got another weapon at the wide receiver position in Braylon Edwards. I can't wait to see how this acquisition helps their former (still current?) number one receiver, Jerricho Cotchery.
Cotchery has actually had a good season so far - very quiet, but productive (so quiet I didn't realize he had had some decent games). He's gone for 90, 87, 108, and 71-yard games (one touchdown) so far this season. It doesn't seem like he's been thrown to an awful lot. You might say he hasn't built up a relationship with Mark Sanchez...but I would argue that he hasn't had much of a chance.

Cotchery has been in a tough spot to this point. If you're the opposing team going up against the Jets, are you paying much attention to Cotchery, Chansi Stuckey, or David Clowney? I think you make Stuckey and Clowney and their combind 500 career receiving yards beat you, and you devote your coverage to Cotchery. I don't know if teams have been doing this, but if so, it's a wonder Cotchery has had the types of productive games he's had.

(Continue to 200 Miles From the Citi)

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Good Riddance to Braylon Edwards

Braylon Edwards came to Cleveland in 2005 totting more baggage than a Pullman porter. He was a Michigan man, and Michigan men don't receive the warmest of receptions in what is Ohio State country.

Yet Browns fans aren't so closed-minded as not to give a Michigan man like Edwards a chance to prove his mettle, even if doing so might offend the late Woody Hayes. For they wouldn't care if the man came straight from the netherworld if he could throw, catch or tackle.

It didn't take long to discover that Edwards, a No. 1 draft choice, couldn't do any of these at an elite level.

He never blossomed into the football star people hoped he would become. While his talk was big and bold and brash, his play was small and inconsistent, which is to be expected from somebody who once suited up for the Maize and Blue.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

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Why the NFL Rules in America

The NFL has become as dependable as a juicy steak and a cold brew, and as unpredictable as the sassy dame you can't keep your eyes off of.

And that's why we love it so much in the Grill Room...

...because in yesterday's early action, while the Patriots and Ravens were delivering on a promised slugfest between two of the heavyweights in the AFC, Cleveland -- Cleveland! -- was battling back from 14 points down to take the Bengals to overtime.

...because while Chicago was predictably bashing Detroit back to earth, Tennessee was somehow spiraling toward disaster and 0-4.

(Continue to The Grill Room)

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All Around the Big City

So as we wait for the Yankees to get ready for the playoffs, the Mets to end their season, and the Jets and Giants to get ready for their next opponents, here’s a few thoughts to that crossed my mind:

-- Does anybody miss Eric Mangini? Really, the effort his Cleveland Browns put up Sunday in a 34-3 loss to Baltimore was pathetic. His team is winless, and the quarterback situation is still a mess. Meanwhile, the Jets are 3-0, the defense is vastly improved from a year ago and Rex Ryan looks like he’s a better coach than his old man. Miss Mangini? Don’t think so.

(Continue to New York Minute)

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Mangini's Browns Not Any Better

It might not matter who coaches the Cleveland Browns these days, because the coach has absolutely nothing to work with. The team was closer to being decent when it returned to town 10 years ago than it is today.

This second incarnation of the Browns, a franchise the NFL recreated from scraps after Art Modell spirited the original off to Baltimore in 1995, hasn’t been much to talk about. Nor is the team’s most recent performance: a 27-6 loss Sunday to the Broncos.

Losing to the Broncos is not unusual; those old Browns did so with regularity. But at least they routinely made a game of things in Denver; at least they went onto the field and looked like a polished NFL team.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

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Waiting to See Quinn? Not Worth It

So, Brown fans waited for this?

For two years, they have clamored for Brady Quinn to take the reins of the team’s offense. Quinn, a first-round refugee of the Phil Savage regime, had the pedigree: an Ohioan, a Notre Dame alum with the golden boy’s persona.

Derek Anderson, Quinn’s rival for the job, was the rifle-armed gunslinger from Oregon – the outsider who never caught the fancy of Browns fans. For no matter what he did -- and Anderson did plenty during his Pro Bowl season of 2007 – he couldn’t get out from under Quinn’s shadow.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

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