So, Albert Haynesworth is a big fail x2.  Twice this week he has tried to complete Coach Shanahan’s conditioning tests and twice he has failed.  Reports are that this test consists of two 300 yard shuttle runs.  Shanahan has said Haynesworth won’t be able to practice until he passes and that even when he does he will start out practicing with the reserves.  That’s what you get for holding out and mouthing off in a Shanahan organization apparently.

Haynesworth is fast becoming a guy you really love to hate.  He whined about a 3/4 defense.  Didn’t want to play it.  Wants to play what he wants to play, how he wants to play.  As if he runs the team.  Dude, they are paying you 100 million dollars if they want you to put on a tutu and tights and carry water bottles you better do it like you love it.  I’m beginning to understand now why the Titans let him go.  Lots of people wondered, why would the Titans not sign this beast of a player.  I think we are getting our answer.  He might be great on the field but off it he’s a whiny and apparently now out of shape overpaid problem.

It has been reported that Haynesworth is in trouble financially.  Owing millions to a bank for a loan.  Seems to me he needs to shut up and start playing to earn his money to get himself straightened out.  He has said that he doesn’t want to be a distraction anymore.  You think failing a conditioning test twice and having it plastered all over every sports media outlet isn’t a distraction.  There are even reports that he had to take a “bathroom break” in the middle of his shuttle runs.  Say what?!

Shanahan may be sorry Haynesworth ever came back to play at all for the Redskins.  I think he’s just an overpaid whiny problem waiting to happen and this fail x2 is just the beginning.

Deborah Horton Writing

© photo credit: marabuch

Tim Tebow is having a good week. He has signed a deal with the Broncos today, and he also agreed to a do an endorsement with Jockey.

The deal is for “five years with $8.7 million guaranteed and a $11. 25 million base value and worth a maximum value of $33 million” according to USA Today. I’m hoping with this Tebow announcement, all the hoopla about him will go bye-bye. Now it’s time for people stop talking about what this cat can do and just do it.

In the meantime, it looks like he’s going to have a great weekend.

Reports have it that Houston Nutt and Ole Miss are considering giving ex Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli another chance to play.  Word has it that Masoli may get in to Ole Miss on a little known NCAA rule.  I understand Nutt’s need for a QB since Raymond Cotton hit the road, but has he forgotten what happened with Jamar Hornsby just last year?  Nutt may be about to get burned again.

Let me state this up front – I’ve seen Masoli play and he is one of the most talented college QBs I’ve ever seen on the field.  It’s his off the field issues that are the problem.  Depending on what articles you read and what stories you believe, Masoli is most likely guilty of various felonies or he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I tend to believe the truth lies somewhere in the mid ground.  Masoli has made some very, very bad life choices.  He has put himself into some situations that he could have easily avoided.  But he made the choice to be where he was, with who he was, doing whatever he was.

Masoli was able to work a plea deal and get probation for his “alleged” transgressions.  Oregon on the other hand wasn’t so forgiving and kicked Masoli out.  Masoli has since graduated from Oregon and by doing so under NCAA rules he can enroll at another college in a graduate program and not have to sit out the required year he would have had to if he hadn’t already graduated.  Masoli and his team seem to have all their school ducks in a row.  The question remains as to where his off the field ducks are wandering to.

Nutt has to have a QB.  There aren’t a lot of play ready QB’s just laying around.  It is however a huge chance to take on someone who has been in legal trouble multiple times.  You have no guarantee whatsoever that Masoli has decided to trod the straight and narrow and keep himself out of trouble.  It’s a big risk.  For Masoli, it may  well be his last opportunity to play especially if he screws it up.  For Nutt, he may turn out to be a hero or he may get burned again by a troubled player.  Burn me once shame on you.  Burn me twice shame on me.  Somebody hide the matches.

Deborah Horton Writing

© photo credit: Matthew Tosh

The master of the dump pass, Mark Brunell has returned to the league as a backup QB to Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets.  And the former Redskin and Jaguar will battle Kellen Clemons, Eric Ainge, and Kevin O’Connell for a spot on the roster this season.

And honestly when a team signs a guy like this they might as well call him a part time coach. Because Brunell’s real role with the young quarterback will be to mentor him and teach him the ways of the seasoned vet. Brunell never had any real tremendous talent (although he did have some wheels back in the day) and the former Redskin relied on smart decision making and a strong pocket presence to remain a starting quarterback for around a decade.

In other words Brunell didn’t break the NFL completions record by taking huge risks. In fact the guy only threw a few passes in that game more then five yards down the field. And for Mark Sanchez to be successful this season the best approach might be that Brunell style of dumping the ball. So who better to bring in to teach the young prospect then Brunell himself?

And Brunell might have a future in coaching with all of his backup and starting experience as a quarterback in the league. And considering it was recently reported in the news that the former Jaguar is bankrupt due to some bogus real estate deals, he might be around the game for longer then most former NFL starting quarterbacks.

So here in New York might be his first real coaching job with Mark Sanchez. But don’t expect to see the guy out on the field too much.

photo credit: edogisgod

Maurice Clarett is attending college courses once again at Ohio State. The poster boy for what can go wrong in collegiate sports was recently released from his Tulsa prison after serving three and a half years for armed robbery. And not only was the former Ohio State running back a complete idiot in college and ruined his career with the Buckeyes, but the former NCAA national champion destroyed his pro career as well before it really began by performing countless stupid acts and never putting forth the proper effort.

The first really stupid act of the running back’s career was when he filed out a “false” police report claiming thousands of dollars in bills were stolen from his on-campus vehicle. This was of course following the running back’s ridiculous Freshman season in which he scored 18 touchdowns and lead the Buckeyes to their last national championship with a perfect 14-0 record. And Clarett would follow up the report by admitting that Ohio State boosters had given him money and cars and in the process completely alienated himself from the rest of the school.

And Clarett would obviously never leave much of an impact after that debut season and the running back, after burning bridges at his former college, attempted to enter the NFL draft before his age availability was right just to cash in on his tremendous talent. Well the waiting period to become a pro was when Clarett’s character would really come into question and things would begin their turn for the worst. Clarett would begin hanging out with rappers and celebrities in California. His focus had shifted to partying and proclaiming how great an NFL player he was going to be.

Clarett lost a great deal of speed and strength when he finally attended the rookie draft combine and the former Freshman legend appeared to not be focused on football fulltime anymore. Denver still foolishly selected the back in the third round out of good faith and hope that he would adjust to an NFL lifestyle, but the troubled running back learned nothing from his past failures and was instantly a cancer for his drafted team.

Clarett allegedly drank vodka in Gatorade water bottles at practice and showed a lack of interest in hard work or learning the complicated Denver running system. And the rookie was released from the team before he ever started in a single game after signing a contract that would guarantee him nothing. And after that Clarett’s life didn’t exactly get any better as he was arrested for committing aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. He was also arrested previously for possessing an assault rifle, 9mm pistol, bullet proof vest, and hatchet. So obviously the guy was involved in some shady stuff. Clarett, himself, claimed that his rap friends were angry that he couldn’t pay back the great debt he had piled up while supposedly training to become a pro athlete and feared for his own life.

And the running back’s final notable act was one of the stupidest crimes in the history of criminology. Clarett robed two people outside of a pub which he frequently established and was seen by the bar‘s owner who he physically threatened. Of course all the people probably knew who he was and the owner had talked to him before since apparently the guy loved to drink, but Clarett decided to risk his future NFL career by robbing a few innocent people of pocket change with a gun.

And the troubled running back ruined a multi-million dollar career over the acquisition of just a stupid cell phone. Talk about a bad call.

photo credit: Genealogy Photos

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Terrell Owens is going to be on the Bengals. USA Today reports that he signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Do you know what this means? T.O. and Ochocinco on the same team? I love it!

The deal is worth $2 million for one year. T.O. will also have the possibility to earn and additional $2 million in incentives.

I think that Lane Kiffin inhabits a planet where everyone who lives there makes idiotic decisions, says stupid things, and generally acts like a moron.  Pretty sure the name of the place is moronia.  It’s the only place where a guy like Kiffin could possibly feel comfortable.

Way back in mid May I wrote a blog about USC paying Kiffin 4 million dollars to coach.  I said in that blog that it would only be a short, short time before Kiffin embarrassed himself and the university.  It is now a little over 2 months later and lo and behold Kiffin has gotten his new employer embroiled in a lawsuit.  Good thing he’s got the planet of moronia to run to as it will soon be the only place he can live.

Allegedly, the Tennessee Titans have sued Kiffin and USC for tampering with their running backs coach Kennedy Pola and enticing him to leave the Titans a week before training camp all the while knowing that his contract stipulated that he had to get written permission from the Titans before speaking to another organization.

Kiffin’s past NCAA violations are well known and well publicized.  He became the bane of UT’s existence and I can guarantee more than a few people in that state were happy to be rid of him.  Now that he has “poached” a coach from their NFL team, I can also guarantee you that he will be roasted like a pig over a fire in the Tennessee press.  Titans head coach Jeff Fisher is on record saying that he thought Kiffin’s actions were unprofessional.  Seems the Titans lawyers think they were a little more than that.  You don’t file a lawsuit for being unprofessional if you did TO would be in jail by now.

Kiffin is a spectacle waiting to happen.  With all of USC’s problems with Reggie Bush and all that that entails, Lane Kiffin is the last thing USC needs.  Trust me, this won’t be the last incident Kiffin gets himself into and if USC adds on a losing season, Kiffin’s days are probably very, very numbered.

Deborah Horton Writing

© photo credit: erix!

Former Oakland Raider and Ohio State Buckeye Jack Tatum is dead at 61 years of age apparently from what is being reported as a heart attack.  The safety will always be remembered by football fans for his bone crushing hits that exemplified the hard nosed, mean era of the 1970′s Oakland Raiders.

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel made this statement about the college football Hall of Fame member and two time All American:

We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes. When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans.

And Tatum began his collegiate career at Ohio State as a halfback and then moved to safety before the start of his junior season.  It would end up being the best decision of the Pro Bowler’s life and following two excellent seasons as an All American at safety, Tatum was drafted in the first round of the 1971 draft by the Oakland Raiders with the 19th pick.  Tatum retired in 1981 from football following nine seasons with the Oakland Raiders and one with the Houston Oilers.

But Tatum’s lasting memory will always be as one of the toughest, hardest hitting men to ever wear the black and silver.  The safety was honored as a first team Pro Bowler on three occasions in his career and is considered one of the best defensive players of an era well known for its legendary defenders.  Tatum was involved in the legendary Immaculate Reception play and was the defender who jarred the ball loose on the long pass from Terry Bradshaw. 

Nicknamed “the Assassin” Tatum was always known as a hard working, no sense type of player with the knack to deliver the big hit on unsuspecting receivers.  On a recent poll by SI regarding the best defensive back of the last century, Tatum received 8% of the vote. 

The Assassin will be greatly missed by the Oakland Raiders and the NFL family as a whole.

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I think I’ve established by now that I have very ambivalent feelings about ex-players chiming in about how their team is doing, especially when they are critical. I just plain don’t like it. Sure, it’s nice to see one of the old legends endorse the current quarterback or say he believes the current team is going all the way, but other than that, I just get a knot in my stomach when I see them out publicly making comments. To that end, here’s Joe Namath piping in about the Jets and the their supposed interest in Terrell Owens.

Joe said via his Twitter account that, “What Jet fan would NOT want T.O. on the team!”

Well, I’m sure there are plenty of them. The Jets fans hold a high standard to their players, and aren’t always the welcoming bunch. More than that, I can’t believe Namath even has a Twitter account, let alone uses it. (On a side note, I do love that he has that great shot of him from the olden days on his page.) I’m glad Namath at least kept his comments limited to his Twitter account, and didn’t go on TV to express them. I think at this point ex-players should make news themselves, rather than get some air time because of something their former team is doing.

Poor Sergio Kindle! The Ravens draft pick just fell down a flight of stairs in his Austin, Texas home. He’s recovering and will take some time before training camp to make sure he’s back to 100%. I have no idea if this fall will hurt his chances of getting a deal now. It’s rough, especially when something like this happens right before you’re about to make your debut. He’s been a great player for the Longhorns, but you know the NFL is a bigger kettle of fish. He still has to prove that he’s “signworthy.”

photo credit: jasleen_kaur

His dad, who has the unfortunate name of Johnny Walker (and to which I will keep my snarky and inappropriate comments to myself this time) said that his son has felt that he “he has had bad luck all his life.” I hope that doesn’t translate to bad luck in the NFL. After all, a little bad luck can end an NFL career. Remember Bo Jackson and his hip injury? Or Brian Urlacher, who has proven himself but has been injured so much I doubt Chicago fans even remember what he can do?