Redskins' Vets Need Eyes Checked

There was a time when the Washington Redskins actually went about their business on and off the field in a classy, dignified manner, and expected to compete for championships year in and year out. They were a model organization that did things the right way, even if they represented a city that has so often had it wrong.

I guess, then, it's mighty decent of these current Redskins to lower themselves several notches, so they no longer stand out in Washington's sea of dysfunction.

The new version of the Redskins wouldn't know class if they were handed the book. They are run by a maniacal little creep of an owner, Dan Snyder (pictured), who's wise-guy smirk has become the face of the organization.
Their undermanned and overrated team goes about its business on the field in fits and starts, and is coached by a nice guy who was placed in a position to fail by the creepy owner.

And if all that weren't bad enough for this bumbling lot, the proud ghosts of Redskins Past, have come back to pile on and haunt this team of Redskins Present.

Over the past week or so, the Riggins, Jurgensens, Huffs and Theismanns of the Redskins glory days have come forward, and in one form or another, verbally taken apart the current team.

But even this highly decorated firing squad has managed to come off half-cocked, because as they took dead aim and fired off their brutal assessments of the coach, the quarterback, and the general manager, they somehow missed the biggest target of all -- the owner.

Go figure.

Maybe the old guys' eyes aren't what they used to be, or maybe things are so bad for tortured Redskins fans that they can't even count on the proud past to help right what's wrong with the putrid present.

But while you're chewing on the Redskins' demise, there a few other things that need answering around the NFL.
Like...

Has there ever been a coach that deserved a win more than Cincinnati's defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer?
Here's why we're asking:
Because three days before Zimmer's Bengals were to play the favored Ravens in Baltimore Sunday, he came home to find his 50-year-old wife, Vikki, had died of unknown causes.
If Zimmer had taken a pass at coaching Sunday's game, or just skipped the rest of the season for that matter, nobody would have blamed him. But Zimmer made the trip to Baltimore and coached a defense that was probably the biggest reason for Cincinnati's 17-14 win over the high-flying Ravens. Zimmer got the game ball afterward, and told the team, "I just appreciate all your effort."
We'll take a guess that that sentiment went both ways.

Didn't Sunday's Tennessee at New England matchup look like a real dandy six weeks ago?
Here's why we're asking:
Because 0-5 Tennessee has been one of the biggest disappointment of the year. Frankly, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a team that's fallen farther faster -- ever.
At 13-3, Tennessee had the best record in the NFL last year. Over the past three years, the team has sported a 31-17 ledger, so this sudden futility is hard to explain.
Much was made of the departure of DT Albert Haynesworth in the offseason, but the Titans' biggest loss might have been defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who bolted to take over as head coach of the Lions. Under the new D-Coordinator Chuck Cecil, the Titans are ranked 29th in the league in scoring defense.
Defense has always been the bread and butter of this squad. Much more of this and their fans will want them on bread and water.

Is anybody surprised Rush Limbaugh is blaming others for his for embarrassing attempt to gain admittance into the NFL owners' club?
Here's why we're asking:
Because we just feel like rubbing it in.

Moving right along...

Take your pick

For informational purposes only...some picks for Week 6 action around the NFL brought to you by folks who most likely know as much about the game as you do:
ESPN
YAHOO!
CBS Sports
CNN/SI
NBC
SportingNews
AP

College:
SportingNews
CBS Sports
NBC

This Week's Grill Room NFL 100-PROOF lock: Jacksonville over St. Louis, minus-9.5:
We admit it, we played prevent-defense with our pick last week and you got burned. We were scared of the heavy road dogs, and you got mauled. Now you are wondering what you ever saw in this place.

Instead of going with what had been working all year, riding the heavy home favorites, we went back in time and served you a messy road favorite. Problem is, we went too far back in time and Hugh Millen returned to play quarterback for the Patriots against the Broncos. Tom Brady was supposed to be the headline ingredient of that selection, but went missing.

Well, no more looking back to the days of old, my dear customers.
If heavy-home favorites are the dependable dish this year, then that's what we'll serve. And just to show you how serious we are about all this, we will even lay off the tempting No. 1 Giants and the points on the road against the Saints. How's that for discipline?

No, this week we're recommending the flaming-hot Jaguar Del Rio, minus-9.5 against the pathetic Rams, who occupy the bottom spot our NFL 100-PROOF RANKINGS. The Jags have had a whole week to digest the mess they were force-fed on the road last week in Seattle. This Grill Room heavy home favorite will come out piping hot and blow you and the Rams away.
Enjoy.

(Season record: 3-2)

Tape it up

• To get the latest on all the aches and breaks around the NFL go here.
• For the very latest in-depth information on the key injuries in the league such as to quarterbacks E. Manning, Stafford, Palmer and more go here.
  

TV Time
If you can't stop by the Grill Room, here's the college and pro football fare that's cooking on the tube this weekend:
(For our U.S. military viewers and their families overseas the games American Forces Network will be showing are in bold.)

COLLEGE:

Friday, Oct. 16
Pittsburgh at Rutgers, 8 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, Oct. 17
Oklahoma vs. Texas at Dallas, Noon, ABC
Iowa at Wisconsin, Noon, ESPN
Northwestern at Michigan State, Noon, ESPN2
Ohio State at Purdue, Noon, Big Ten Network
Delaware State at Michigan, Noon, Big Ten Network
Mississippi State at Middle Tennessee, 12:30 p.m., ESPNU
Wyoming at Air Force, 2 p.m., Mtn.
USC at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m., NBC
Arkansas at Florida, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Minnesota at Penn State, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Texas Tech at Nebraska, 3:30 p.m., ABC
California at UCLA, 3:30 p.m., ABC
North Carolina State at Boston College, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Marshall at West Virginia, 3:30 p.m., Big East Network
Houston at Tulane, 3:30 p.m., CBS CSN
Colorado State at TCU, 4 p.m., Versus
Virginia at Maryland, 4 p.m., ESPNU
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN2
BYU at San Diego State, 6 p.m., Mtn.
Illinois at Indiana, 7 p.m., Big Ten Network
UAB at Mississippi, 7 p.m., FSN
Kansas at Colorado, 7 p.m., FSN
Kentucky at Auburn, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Miami at Central Florida, 7:30, CBS CSN
South Carolina at Alabama, 7:45 p.m., ESPN
Missouri at Oklahoma State, 9:15 p.m., ESPN2
Utah at UNLV, 10 p.m., Mtn.
Washington at Arizona State, 10:15 p.m., FSN

NFL:

Sunday, Oct. 18
(Byes: Dallas Indianapolis Miami San Francisco)
Houston at Cincinnati 1 p.m., CBS
Detroit at Green Bay 1 p.m., FOX
St. Louis at Jacksonville 1 p.m., FOX
Baltimore at Minnesota 1 p.m., CBS
N.Y. Giants at New Orleans 1 p.m., FOX
Cleveland at Pittsburgh 1 p.m., CBS
Carolina at Tampa Bay 1 p.m., FOX
Kansas City at Washington 1 p.m., CBS
Philadelphia at Oakland 4:05 p.m., FOX
Arizona at Seattle 4:05 p.m., FOX
Tennessee at New England 4:15 p.m., CBS
Buffalo at N.Y. Jets 4:15 p.m., CBS
Chicago at Atlanta 8:20 p.m., NBC

Monday, Oct. 19
Denver at San Diego 8:30 p.m., ESPN
(All times EST)

Rex Ryan Big Apple of Buddy's Eye

The N.Y. Jets went down to Houston last Sunday, licked the storied Texans, and now are talking like they are the second coming of the Patriots.

Yep, Rex Ryan's team really knows how to handle success, eh? Looks like this big apple didn't fall too far from daddy, Buddy's tree.

On Tuesday, the younger Ryan (pictured) made it clear to Jets fans that, "he is not here to kiss a ring," referencing Bill Belichick's three Super Bowl rings he's won with the Patriots, the Jets foe on Sunday.

It was only only four months ago when the John Candy of coaches said on New York's WFAN, "I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick's rings," which would mean either he needs to get some new material or he has a serious jewelry fetish.

No matter, word is his players just love the guy! He's like the cool parent that let's the neighborhood kids get away with saying swear words and stuff. Neato!

On Thursday, the Jets' free safety Kerry Rhodes outdid his cool coach when he had this to say to the New York Daily News' Gary Myers about playing the Patriots:
“You go out from the first quarter on, from the first play on, and try to embarrass them. Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them. Try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don’t want to just beat them. We want to send a message to them, ‘We’re not backing down from you and we expect to win this game, and it’s not going to be luck, it’s not going to be a mistake.’ ”

At a time it seems everybody is running their mouths, from congressmen...to star tennis players... to star rappers...maybe we should just give the Jets the benefit of the doubt, and construe all this as some weird kind of childish, motivational self-talk.

Or, maybe, the laugh-a-minute Ryan would be better served reminding his team and himself that talk is dirt cheap, and widely available to all shoppers, but the cost of winning isn't.

Thing is, if any franchise should know this, it's the Jets.
This is a team that hasn't beaten the Patriots at home in eight years. This is a team that hasn't even seen a Super Bowl in 40 years. This is a team that has won three playoff games over the last 12 years, during which time the Patriots have played in FIVE Super Bowls, winning three of them.

But here they are, all big and bad at 1-0, a rookie coach and quarterback at the helm, and talking like they own the NFL. Truth is, they don't even own their own city.

Should the Jets back up their big talk with a victory Sunday, bar the door, Katie, because they will become positively insufferable to deal with, and moving targets in every NFL stadium they visit this year.

Really, the best thing that could happen to this group would be to get knocked off their soap box fast. It'll hurt a lot less that way, because right now, they really don't have that far to fall.


Here's what else is on the Football Friday Menu in the Grill Room:

Take your pick
For informational purposes only...some picks for Week 2 action around the NFL brought to you by folks who most likely know as much about the game as you do:
ESPN
YAHOO!
CBS Sports
FOX
CNN/SI
NBC
SportingNews

College:
SportingNews
CBS Sports
NBC

This Week's Grill Room NFL 100-PROOF lock: Washington over St. Louis minus-9.
Warning: Week 2 might be the most dangerous forecasting week of any football season. Why? Because all the teams have film on their opponents, and are able to set their game plans accordingly.

Week 1 is much more of a guessing game, where, with little else to go on, the best talent often simply wins out. There are loads of so-called experts in the soup line each year after Week 2 because they put too much stock, and money, into what a team did, or didn't do, in Week 1.

With that in mind, and even if we did hit our pick last week right on the number making our patrons in the GR boatloads of cash, don't expect us to go all Rex Ryan on you with this week's offering. We practice what we preach around here, and will let our picks do the talking.

No. 19 Washington was outclassed by the No. 3 Giants last week on the road, but did a decent job limiting the Jints' vaunted rushing game to 103 yards on 31 carries.
This week, the Redskins' defense will face a St. Louis offense that was positively anemic on the road in a 28-0 loss at Seattle.
Expect DT Albert Haynesworth and the gang to play downhill and in the Rams' backfield all day long. The Redskins open at home with an easy 24-10 win over the No. 31 Rams.

Tape it up
Injuries are part of the game around the NFL as this week's injury report certainly bears out.
No. 2 Philadelphia isn't ruling out QB Donovan McNabb for this week's showdown with the No. 11 Saints.

TV Time
If you can't stop by the Grill Room, here's the college and pro football fare that's cooking on the tube this weekend:
(For our U.S. military viewers and their families overseas the games American Forces Network will be showing are in bold.)

COLLEGE:

Friday, Sept. 18
Boise State at Fresno State, 9 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, Sept. 19
California at Minnesota, Noon, ESPN
East Carolina at North Carolina, Noon, ESPN2
Boston College at Clemson, Raycom
Duke at Kansas, Noon, Versus
Eastern Michigan at Michigan, Noon, Big Ten Network
Northern Illinois at Purdue, Noon, Big Ten Network
Temple at Penn State, Noon, Big Ten Network
Wofford at Wisconsin, Noon, Big Ten Network
Louisville at Kentucky, Noon, ESPNU
North Texas at Alabama, 12:21 p.m., SEC Network
Tennessee at Florida, 3:30 p.m., CBS
USC at Washington, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Nebraska at Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Arizona at Iowa, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Michigan State at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.
Utah at Oregon, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Tulsa at Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m., FSN
Indiana at Akron, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU
Virginia at Southern Miss, 3:30 p.m., CBS CSN
Cincinnati at Oregon State, 6:45 p.m., FSN
Florida State at BYU, 7 p.m., Versus
Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Air Force at New Mexico, 7:30 p.m., CBS CSN
Georgia at Arkansas, 7:45 p.m., ESPN
West Virginia at Auburn, 7:45 p.m., ESPN2
Texas Tech at Texas, 8 p.m., ABC
Kansas State at UCLA, 10:15 p.m., FSN
Hawaii at UNLV, 11 p.m., Mtn.

NFL:
Sunday, Sept. 20
Carolina at Atlanta 1 p.m., FOX
Minnesota at Detroit 1 p.m., FOX
Cincinnati at Green Bay 1 p.m., CBS
Arizona at Jacksonville 1 p.m., FOX
Oakland at Kansas City 1 p.m., CBS
New England at N.Y. Jets 1 p.m., CBS
New Orleans at Philadelphia 1 p.m., FOX
Houston at Tennessee 1 p.m., CBS
St. Louis at Washington 1 p.m., FOX
Tampa Bay at Buffalo 4:05 p.m., FOX
Seattle at San Francisco 4:05 p.m., FOX
Pittsburgh at Chicago 4:15 p.m., CBS
Cleveland at Denver 4:15 p.m., CBS
Baltimore at San Diego 4:15 p.m., CBS
N.Y. Giants at Dallas 8:20 p.m., NBC

Monday, Sept. 21
Indianapolis at Miami 8:30 p.m., ESPN
(All times EST)

(Associated Press photo)