kelley washington can danceDecided to purchase the NFL Network’s Redzone channel yesterday. It was our best NFL investment in years. We can’t remember the last $50 that as this well-spent. A brief synopsis of how amazing it is: From roughly 1:15 pm Sunday to halftime of the first set of games, there wasn’t one commercial. Ditto for the next 90 minutes. All the channel did was ping back and forth between games. (Think the MLB Network’s nightly show, but with, thankfully, much less time spent pontificating in the studio. The NBA desperately needs a show like this to be part of the cable package.) It is a simple and effective channel that prevented us from missing any highlights. This channel has nearly rendered the NBC highlights show irrelevant. We didn’t watch a second of any ESPN programming Sunday.

But yes, there were drawbacks.

tony gonzalezAs the 1 pm games were winding down, Redzone faced a difficult decision: Chiefs-Raiders, Jets-Patriots, or Redskins-Rams? To us, the decision was a no-brainer – the 1-0 Jets and 1-0 Patriots, hated rivals, should have been shown. Instead, we got a heavy does of JaMarcus Russell driving the Raiders downfield for the game-winning TD. On any other highlight reel, we would not have seen Russell complete a 28-yard strike over the middle to somebody named Todd Watkins on 3rd-and-15. (Russell was dreadful throughout – 7-for-24, the Raiders only had 166 yards, but he was poised on that final drive). And then we got the Rams’ final four downs in the final minute against the Redskins. (They had to go 96 yards, why not wait until they at least moved the football?) We were, however, mildly irate that we missed the Jets’ trying to run out the clock with about three minutes left. Luckily, we did get to see New England’s final series that ended in Brady’s incomplete pass.

Other than that 5-6 minute span, it was a flawless afternoon. It gave us an opportunity to watch a games we otherwise would have never seen: Packers unable to stop Carson Palmer, the 49ers looking sharp on the ground, and Buffalo hammering Tampa Bay. Sure, the studio host for the show is a bit cheesy at times, but the channel is what, two weeks old? The quick cuts may be nauseating to some – not us. The NFL Network has found a winner.

Coaches Already on the Hot Seat:

john-foxJack Del Rio in Jacksonville and John Fox in Carolina. The Jaguars have been Bengals-like off-the-field in recent years, but Jacksonville usually made the playoffs. Not last year. And at 0-2 this season, the outlook is bleak: Texans, Titans, Seahawks are next. Would Jack survive 0-5, an empty stadium, an overpaid QB, and a litany of questionable draft picks?

Fox is close to being a dead man walking. Bill Cowher-to-Carolina has been talked about for at least two years. We expect that talk to heat up again soon. The Panthers could still rebound mid-season thanks to a soft schedule but Fox better have 9 wins before closing the season with this brutal batch: Patriots, Vikings, Giants, Saints (a combined 7-1 now).

darren sprolesIt seems unlikely that any coach would be jettisoned after one season, but Cleveland’s Eric Mangini appears to be doing his best to try and make that happen. His players don’t seem to like him, the media dislikes him greatly, and as you’ll see below, the lack of offense isn’t helping.

Dallas Got a New Stadium!

The most annoying subplot of the week was hammered home on every series Sunday night – the Cowboys got a new stadium. Al Michaels, without a hint of irony, said shortly before halftime, “… we don’t want to over-do it, but … ” and proceeded to talk more about the stadium. Jerry Jones was on TV more than Wade Phillips and Tom Coughlin, combined. An irate reader wrote in:

“Can Al Michaels say more explicitly, without the FCC getting involved, that he’d like to blow Jerry Jones on the 50-yard line of his new stadium?  I haven’t seen such an obvious bromance since King/Favre before their ugly break-up last month.”

Which makes one wonder … when the Jets-Giants open their new stadium next season, will each team get a Sunday night game and this kind of obsessive coverage?

Tweet of the weekend, courtesy of Green Bay LB Nick Barnett. Could have used some of that fire on the field, Nick … we got knocked out of our survivor league thanks to the Packers’ swiss cheese defense.

nickbarnett1

Surprise 2-0 teams:

- San Francisco 49ers: We thought San Fran was still a QB away and a year or two away from a playoff run, but with Hasselbeck down and the Cardinals having to play the Super Bowl schedule … who knows?
- Denver Broncos: The good news is that they successfully navigated the Ohio jokers. Better news: We knew this wasn’t a team that was only going to win 3-4 games. The bad news: Every other non-conference opponent, except maybe the Redskins, will challenge for a playoff berth. Six wins would be an accomplishment.
- New York Jets: They get their own post, of course. That’s what teams that are “all the rage” get.

Offensive Ineptitude:

Here’s a team you wouldn’t expect to see in this category – New England Patriots. In seven quarters this season, they have one TD. In the final three minutes of the 4th quarter against the Bills, they scored twice. Think we’ll see a lot more hurry-up next week? Julian Edelman was effective, but he’s no Wes Welker. He’s a rookie.

mattcassel- Cleveland Browns: One offensive touchdown this season. This anemia dates back to the end of last season. Mangini will address the press thusly later today: “Bernie Kosar isn’t walking through those doors. Webster Slaughter isn’t walking through those doors. Kevin Mack isn’t walking through those doors.”

- St. Louis Rams: Blanked by the Seahawks, and then mustered just 245 yards of total offense against the Redskins. The Rams have one TD in eight quarters. Chris Johnson of the Titans had 284 yards by himself yesterday against the Texans; he scored three touchdowns.

- New York Giants … in the red zone. The Giants have not scored a touchdown in the red zone this season. When the field gets short, Coughlin gets predictable. This is the reason we didn’t pick the Giants to go to the Super Bowl. Even Michael Strahan is concerned.