Die Hard Sports Fan

ProFootballTalk.com assembled their 2008 All-Time, All-Turd Team. I love these types of things because they’re pretty funny. I summed the amount of players who ended up playing for teams in the NFC East. The Cowboys had 8 turds (This does not include T.O. because I added him to the Eagles since he was a bigger problem there), the Redskins had 5 turds, the Eagles had 4 turds, and the Giants had 2 turds. The players for each team are listed below along with the reason why they made PFT’s list.

Dallas Cowboys

• Michael Irvin, WR, Cowboys - “No one can dispute his talent or performance, but off the field the guy was King Turd. Drugs, adultery, etc. Irvin pleaded no contest to felony cocaine possession charges in July 1996. Sure, he’s in the Hall of Fame now. But even Irvin realizes that his non-football exploits arguably make him unfit for that honor.”
• Lance Rentzel, WR, Vikings, Cowboys, Rams - “Arrested for exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl. Even worse, he married Joey Heatherton.”
• Nate Newton, G, Cowboys - “Arrested for marijuana possession. 213 pounds of it. Five weeks later, he got busted again with “only” 175 pounds.”
• Duane Thomas, RB, Cowboys - “Piss-poor attitude and drug use killed a promising career. Thomas once said of the Super Bowl, “If it’s the ultimate [game], how come they play it every year?“”
• Leon Lett, DE, Cowboys - “Suspended for a year for violation of the substance abuse policy, Lett is best known for two of the most memorable blunders in league history — a premature celebration on a fumble return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl and the dumb-assed decision to try to recover a blocked field goal on the snow-covered Texas Stadium green cement that gave the Fins another chance at the kick, sealing his team’s fate.”
• Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, LB, Cowboys, Oilers, 49ers - “The original LT, Henderson’s cocaine craze ended his career not long after it started. In 2000, he won $28 million in the lottery.”
• Adam “Pacman” Jones, CB, Titans, Cowboys - “Through a string of brushes with the law and a failure to seem to understand the connection between his behavior and its consequences, Jones became the poster boy for bad behavior in the NFL.”
• Rafael Septien, K, Cowboys - “Pleaded guilty in 1987 to charges of indecency with a 10-year-old girl.”

It is no surprise that the Cowboys have more than the rest of the division. Good thing I’m not a fan of the Raiders, there’s probably dozens. So 2 Cowboys showed their package to 10-year-old girls. It’s strange because both underage girls are the same age. Most of these guys are on here because of drugs. I was most shocked by Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson who won $28 million in the lottery.

Washington Redskins

• Michael Westbrook, WR, Redskins - “One of the all-time first-round receiver busts whose most memorable moment was beating the crap out of Stephen Davis in 1997.”
• Albert Connell, WR, Redskins, Saints - “Re-defined rookie hazing as “stealing the dude’s money.””
• Kenyatta Jones, OT, Patriots, Redskins - “Busted in college for “displaying a firearm” inside a night club, Jones broke from the same-old rap sheet entries by throwing boiling water on his roommate while said roommate was on the toilet. More recently, he was busted for peeing on a dance floor at a night club.”
• Darrell Russell, DT, Raiders, Redskins, Buccaneers - “A promising career was ruined by drug use and allegations of videotaping his friends having sex with a drugged woman. Russell died in a car crash last year after a failed comeback attempt.”
• Daryl Gardener, DT, Dolphins, Redskins, Broncos - “Known for going turdish whenever he got paid big money, Gardener busted his hand in a fight outside a Denver-area IHOP after receiving a huge deal from the Broncos and never was the same again.”

Philadelphia Eagles

• Terrell Owens, WR, 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys - “Single-handedly turned a Super Bowl contender into an also-ran with his selfishness, narcissism, and greed.”
• Bill Romanowski, LB, 49ers, Eagles, Broncos, Raiders - “Walking pharmacy who spit in J.J. Stokes’ face, ended Marcus Williams’ career with a practice field sucker punch, and intentionally broke Dave Meggett’s finger during a pile up. Admitted to steroid use only to sell a book about it.”
• Buddy Ryan, Coach, Vikings, Bears, Eagles, Oilers, Cardinals - “Though we respect Ryan for cutting Cris Carter without exposing (at the time) Carter’s struggles with drugs, this guy was a train wreck as a head coach. Too loud. Too brash. Too reckless. Too impulsive. In other words, the perfect guy to lead our All-Time collection of All-Turds to a Super Bowl.”
• Leonard Tose, Owner - “Gambling and booze caused him to lose the Eagles, and his fortune. Among other things, he once sued a casino for plying him with drinks in order to get him to keep losing money. (Ain’t that standard operating procedure at casinos?)”

New York Giants

• Lawrence Taylor, LB, Giants - “One of the best defensive players in league history, we wonder how effective he might have been if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with drugs, booze, and sex.”
• Bill Belichick, Coach, Colts, Lions, Broncos, Giants, Browns, Patriots, Jets - “He knew that the NFL and other teams were onto his videotaping scam, and yet he continued to do it. His actions created a mess that overshadowed the entire 2007 season and much of the 2008 offseason.”

When a team has an Owner like Wellington Mara for so long, it’s no surprise that there are barely any turds on the All-Time, All-Turd Team. Go Giants!!!

Share This

The offseason is so much better when the media refers to Big Blue as World Champions or Champs or something similar.  If this was a Jets blog then we could just go on-and-on about all of the problems they had in ‘07 and offer suggestions about how they need to fix it during the offseason.  We would be able to break down every free agent they added to try to fix their situation as fast as possible.  As World Champions, we don’t have to do that.  We need to talk about being on Cloud 9 until Week 1 of the 2008 Season, and about repeating.

New York Daily News:

Four NFL coaches look back on flops against Giants in playoffs - Gary Meyers wrote a great article today.  Meyers pointed out who the four coaches that lost to the Giants in the 2007 Playoffs were: Jon Gruden, Wade Phillips, Mike McCarthy, and Bill Belichick.  Meyers reminds us of what was going on at the time prior to the game as well as what happened during the game.  Then, Meyers asked each of these four coaches what they thought about losing to the Road Warriors.  This is the first time that I got to hear the thoughts of the opposing teams a while after the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.

New York Post:

CHAMPION SPARKPLUG - Paul Schwartz points out that Eli Manning is all fired up about 2008.  Eli believes that the Giants have a lot to improve on, and he is working hard at that.

Share This

Today, the media covered trade rumors, SpyGate, the Combine, and the birth of Tyree’s twin girls.  I wrote how I felt about Hall and Trufant below.  Feel free to comment on each of them.  Do you love them or hate them and let me know why?  I’ve had the opportunity to watch the Giants play the Falcons several times so I know that Hall is the real deal.  I’ve also seen the Falcons play many nationally televised games because they used to get those spots when Vick was on the team.  However, I don’t know anything about Trufant except that he was named to the Pro Bowl which isn’t an indicator of anything.  I questioned his heart in the Divisional Playoffs and based my opinion solely on that.  If you can’t bring it in the Playoffs because it’s snowing then you are missing something.  Seattle is a team that is difficult to grasp.  They don’t lose at home so it’s hard to figure out where they stand.  I picked them to beat the Redskins in Wild Card Weekend because they were home.  I picked them to cover the spread in Green Bay, but I figured that they would lose while giving Green Bay a fight.  There was no fight at all.

Giants.com:

Combine Thoughts - Yesterday, Tom Coughlin met with the media at the NFL Combine to discuss many topics.  Michael Eisen included a short version of Coach Coughlin’s press conference in the article as well as the video of the entire thing.

Newsday:

Eyeing pair of top CBs - Bob Glauber covered the rumors about the NY Giants being interested in Hall and Trufant that we covered yesterday.  I already pointed out that Hall will be traded by the Falcons because his mouth gets him into too much trouble.  DeAngelo Hall said that “he will not return to the team after new general manager Thomas Dimitroff told him the club would consider offers for him.”  Basically, he is being forced out which makes him the defensive equivalent of a Randy Moss, Keyshawn Johnson, or T.O.  Speaking of Keyshawn, did you hear is trying to make a comeback?  Where will he play?  Hall then went on to say he doesn’t want a raise, he just wants to play for a team that wants him.  So who wants him?  It seems like the Giants are interested in him because they offered their first round draft pick for him.  A first round pick for a player this good is a bargain, but you have to deal with his antics.  It’s not as much of a bargain as the Pats getting Moss for a fourth round pick, but it’s pretty good.  I don’t want Hall.  Glauber reported something different about whether Marcus Trufant could be traded, which was “Seattle has designated Trufant as their “franchise” player, meaning Seattle has virtually exclusive negotiating rights with him for the 2008 season. But that does not preclude them from making a trade.”  I don’t care if he can or cannot be traded because I don’t want him.  Go back and watch the Divisional Playoffs between the Seahawks and the Packers.  What did Trufant do in snowy Green Bay?  Nothing…not only nothing, but the entire team stopped playing once it started snowing.  He is not mentally or physically tough enough to be a New York Football Giant.  What kind of Road Warrior gives up in Lambeau Field?  I didn’t see any Giants quit in minus 24 degrees on the frozen tundra.  That is why I don’t want Trufant either.

New York Daily News:

Pat spies evaded Giants - This is the same thing that the New York Post reported yesterday.  Ralph Vacciano also went onto explain the current situation with SpyGate.  After Roger Goodell met with Senator Arlen Spector, Spector didn’t come out of the meeting a happy man.  Vacchiano wrote,

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) told ESPN.com he’s been “stonewalled” by the Jets and Patriots in his efforts to investigate SpyGate. Both organizations have retained outside counsel to handle inquiries with Specter, who met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week.

“I think that is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won’t let us talk to the witnesses,” Specter told ESPN.com. A Jets team spokesman referred all questions to the league.

Here’s some advice for the Commissioner.  Do not piss off Senators or make them feel “stonewalled”.  The Government is bigger than you may realize, and they will come after you.

NFL: Shut SpyGate door - Ralph Vacciano wrote that “The NFL’s powerful Competition Committee voiced strong support Thursday for the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has handled SpyGate, and urged everyone - including Congress - to put the episode to rest.The NFL’s powerful Competition Committee voiced strong support Thursday for the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has handled SpyGate, and urged everyone - including Congress - to put the episode to rest.”  I agree that the NFL handled the SpyGate situation (meaning Week 1 against the Jets) properly with the exception of a few things.  I don’t believe that the NFL should destroy evidence, I do believe that the game should’ve resulted in an automatic loss, and I believe that the NFL should not be albe to name a cheater the ‘Coach of the Year’.  I believe that was the fair penalty for a one-off incident.  Now, more and more stories are coming out about it being around since Bill Belichick became the Head Coach of the Patriots which has been 8 years.  Here’s the fair punishment for that.  Each Preseason game, Regular Season game, and Postseason game that the Patriots played since 2000, the same fine should apply to Belichick and Bob Kraft.  On top of the fines, the same amount of draft picks should be taken away for each game for those 8 years.  Belichick faked the funk and should be banned from coaching in the NFL and the Hall of Fame because it is clear that he is not the genius we thought he was.  So now the NFL is saying that the penalty inflicted upon the Patriots was substantial enough for all of this and they want it to go away, including Congress.  I disagree with that.  If the Commissioner was able to do his job then Congress wouldn’t have to do it for him.  The same thing is happening in baseball with the steroids.  The NFL and Congress should work together to investigate this issue to the fullest.  Rid the NFL of the scum.  Goodell has no problem making his presence known when it comes to players like Pacman Jones.  The scum may be a player just as Jones clearly is, a coach just as Belichick clearly is, or an owner just as Kraft clearly is.  The Commissioner must understand that and investigate the issues the same way.

New York Post:

COUGHLIN SMILES THROUGH COMBINE - That’s because T.C. just won the Super Bowl.

GIANTLY ‘INNACURATE’ - Greg Aiello, the senior vice president of public relations for the NFL, claimed that the SpyGate story released yesterday by The New York Times is “inaccurate”, and Paul Schwartz covered this story.

New York Times:

Coughlin’s Success Changes Opinions

The Star-Ledger:

Giants not alone in hunt for Hall - According to Mike Garafolo, the rumors of teams interested in DeAngelo include the Redskins, the Bucs, the Dolphins, and the Cowboys.  I hope he ends up in the AFC.  Garafolo pointed out that the Giants might be forced to add more to the trade if all of this demand truly exists.

Coughlin is still glowing

N.Y. builder to buy half of Dolphins - Mike Garafolo reported that “New York builder Stephen Ross agreed to buy half the Miami Dolphins from owner Wayne Huizenga, with an opportunity to become managing general partner. Ross would acquire 50 percent of the franchise, Dolphin Stadium and surrounding developable land, the team said yesterday. The NFL must approve the sale.”  Am I the only one that feels like I’m missing information here?  Are they staying in Miami?  Are they building a new stadium in Miami or elsewhere?

Tyree a SB hero … and a proud papa - Mike Garafolo noted that “Tyree’s wife, Leilah, gave birth to Sophia (4 lbs., 14 oz., 18¾ inches) and Hannah (5 lbs., 3 oz., 19 inches). Both baby girls and Leilah are doing well, said Tyree’s agents, Michael and Mark Clouser.”  Die Hard Giants Fan would like to congratulate David Tyree and his wife Leilah on their new twin girls.

Trades must wait a week - Mike Garafolo pointed out that the G-MEN cannot trade for Hall of anybody else until next Friday because “The 2008 league year doesn’t begin until that day — Feb. 29. That’s when free agency starts and it’s also when the trade blackout period, which began with the Oct. 16 trade deadline, will be lifted.” 

D-Hall on the Giants - Mike Garafolo lets you know what Hall thinks of the Giants and a whole lot more.

D-Hall: I’m done with ATL

Share This

Yesterday, I was wrong about why Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese were holding those press conferences.  They were holding them to discuss the Combine, not Tom Coughlin’s contract extension.  There is plenty of Giants news today which is surprising because it’s the offseason.  Most of it is revolving around the ongoing rumors about New England videotaping opposing defenses.  Now a story was written about the Giants being videotaped during a Preseason game in 2006, and another story was written on how the Patriots have been doing it since 2000.  Also, there is a rumor that the Giants are interested in trading for DeAngelo Hall of the Falcons.

Newsday:

WFAN’s Boomer, Carton ‘having a blast’ - The G-MEN are not mentioned in this article, but Newsday categorized it as a Giants article. 

New York Daily News:

Giants: We’re open to new Strahan deal - Ralph Vacchiano provided us with a few notes about Big Blue.

• The Giants announced that they might be open to redoing Micheal Strahan’s one-year deal which is currently $4 million.
• John Mara stated that all of the Giants’ Assistant Coaches were given 2-year or 3-year contracts with raises.
• Last, rookie S Craig Dahl had a torn ACL which led to him failing his physical so he was cut by the Giants.

New York Post:

GIANTS TAKING CARE OF THEIR OWN - Paul Schwartz lets us know how the Giants are taking care of their own:

• The Giants and Tom Coughlin are still working on the contract extension.
• Tom Coughlin will speak at the Combine today, and Jerry Reese will speak at the Combine tomorrow.
• Gibril Wilson and Kawika Mitchell are set to become unrestricted free agents so the Giants want to re-sign them before they hit the open market.
• The Giants already re-signed Jeff Feagles and Lawrence Tynes, but they want to bring back Reggie Torbor and Derrick Ward.
• “For the second consecutive offseason, the Giants do not figure to be huge players in free agency. However, according to a published report, they are exploring the possibility of trading their first-round draft pick (31st overall) to the Falcons in exchange for cornerback DeAngelo Hall.”

REPORT: PATRIOTS* TAPED GIANTS IN 2006 - The NY Post continues to use an asterisk next to anything related to the Patriots.  The Post Staff Report wrote this “The Patriots were caught videotaping Giants assistant defensive coaches in the final preseason game of 2006, according to a new report.”  Nowhere does it say ‘allegedly’.  But seriously, nobody cares about the Preseason.  Following that, the Post Staff Report went on to say “The incident led the NFL to send out a letter to teams detailing interpretations of the rule against taping an opposing team’s signals, the New York Times reported today.”  It’s funny though.  You never heard of any of this stuff until the Jets allegedly tipped off the NFL about the Patriots stealing signals in Week 1.  Since then, other teams keep adding their two cents.

New York Times:

New Claim of Taping Emerges Against Patriots - When you open up the article, the picture is of Bill Belichick and Drew Bledsoe so you know it’s old.  John Branch and Greg Bishop wrote that this videotaping of opposing teams supposedly began in the preseason of 2000 (which is when Belichick became the Head Coach of the Pats), and those are the words of a “former Patriots player”.  I find that interesting because in 2007, supposedly none of the players knew what the coaches were doing…hmmm, makes me wonder.  Belichick told Commissioner Goodell that he misinterpreted the rules.  Many people have been questioning how much of an advantage this gives the Pats, so Branch and Bishop included on-the-field examples of how the Patriots would execute play calling by recognizing the formation of the defense.  I wrote it when the New York Football Giants won Super Bowl XLII, and I’ll write it again…God set things straight in the Super Bowl because the Patriots cheated.  The same thing happened in the World Series when the Tigers cheated and lost to the underdog Cardinals.

Giants Set to Reward Coughlin With Multiyear Deal

The Star-Ledger:

Coughlin’s press conference - Mike Garafolo provided the transcript of Tom Coughlin’s press conference.

DeAngelo is in Indy - Mike Garafolo lets you know the rumors why Hall is in Indianapolis.

NY Giants pursuing Falcons’ CB Hall - I already included the rumor about DeAngelo Hall, but he went on to discuss the topic more in depth.  The Giants originally were interested in Marcus Trufant (Seattle) and N’namdi Asomugha (Raiders), but both of them were franchised by their respective team.  Good thing we didn’t end up with Trufant because he was part of that Seattle team that quit once it started snowing in the Divisional Playoffs in Green Bay.  Trufant looked soft and did nothing.  Another player that the Giants were interested in was Asante Samuel (Patriots), but the Giants believe that most of his success has been due to the scheme rather than his individual talent.  Now back to Hall, he’s the real deal as far as Cornerbacks are concerned.  With that said, Hall comes with a whole lot of baggage.  He was fined $100 thousand last season for shouting at the Coach of the Falcons, Bobby Petrino.  Personally, I don’t want any part of DeAngelo Hall.  I don’t want the clowns of the NFL on the Giants.  We have Strahan and that is more than enough for me to handle.  The Giants are expected to cut R.W. McQuarters very soon, and they would cut Sam Madison as well if they work out this deal with Hall.

Coughlin’s deal a matter of time - We already covered the status of Coach Coughlin, but here’s a sidenote at the bottom of the article that I found interesting, “The Giants coaches and scouts had dinner last night at Shula’s Steakhouse in the Westin Hotel that’s connected to the RCA Dome. The irony of dining in a restaurant owned by the coach of the 1972 Dolphins a few weeks after preserving their spot as the only perfect Super Bowl champ in history wasn’t lost on Mara.  “I was a little disappointed to find out Coach Shula wasn’t picking up the tab,” Mara joked.”

Share This