NFL Short Notes: On the Josh Cribbs Hit; Dick Jauron Fired; Rex Breaks Down

By: dwil

I have, over time, mentioned that the Baltimore Ravens is perhaps the dirtiest team in the NFL, particularly on the defensive side of the ball (feel free to search the site for prior mentions). Monday night was just another example of the collective maliciousness with which the Ravens defenders play. On the last play of the Ravens 16-0 shutout of the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore defensive end, Dwan Edwards, laid out Josh Cribbs after he lateraled the ball to Robert Royal.

Cribbs was looking to his left and never saw Edwards hit him. Edwards, who could have simply run by Cribbs, instead hit him with a forearm in the throat and head.

The NFL was once an informal fraternity of men who played a violent sport. If an act like this took place at this time in a game, there would be league-wide, on-field repercussions for such an act. Today though, the NFL is more a loose collective of individual athletes who, too often, care little for each other and less for each other’s welfare. And some teams, like the Ravens do band together with the collective goal of inflicting the most pain on opposing players in any manner possible, even if it means taking cheap shots at opponents as did Edwards.

Addendum: One added piece to the game was Brady Quinn’s illegal cut block on Terrell Suggs earlier in the game. Now, Cribbs for Quinn? Not a good look. Quinn had more plays to play. One good all-out blitz, one high-low tackle, and the Quinn incident would have been repaid. That’s the kind of justice seen in the old NFL. Suggs is a dirty player as it is – remember he did dive at Tom Brady’s knees earlier this season –  so, in a way Quinn’s cut of Suggs is karmic kickback at its best.

But Quinn for Cribbs was not the trade the Ravens needed to make.

(Unfortunately YouTube, allegedly for copyright reasons, will not allow uploads of video showing the hit, though there are many, many NFL highlight videos from the 2009 season on the site. )

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Dick Jauron is finally out as Buffalo Bills head coach. Jauron was 24-33 during his tenure, never had a winning season, and is third on the list of men who coached the most games in the NFL – 142 – without winning a playoff game (Jim Mora is #1 – 231 games and Norm Van Brocklin is #2 – 173 games; Joe Kurarich is tied with Jauron). Jauron also hold the dubious distinction of being the most game under .500 in the history of the NFL. His teams (Chicago Bears and the Bills) were a combined 60-82, 22 games under the even point. Norv Turner is second on that list with an 83-98-1 record, 15 games under .500.

This season the Bills are tied for 28th in points per game (15.6), 29th in yards gained per game (268.2), 26th in yards allowed per game (373), 26 in point differential (-7.8) and are dead last in rushing yards allowed (173).

Jauron is replaced by defensive coordinator, Perry Fewell, who becomes the organization’s first black head coach. Sunday Cleveland plays at ——– Detroit.

Can Eric Mangini in Cleveland and Jim Zorn in Washington be far behind? Barring some unforgivable act beside presiding over grossly losing teams, both men will probably coach until the end of the season before being fired.

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When addressing his team Tuesday, New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan broke down and cried.

There’s no crying in the NFL! Oh, that was already written in a New York Daily News headline.

Really, Ryan is a pompous ass who needs a good ass-kickng. He’s been on the receiving end of that kicking in five of the last six games and now the Jets face the New England Patriots this Sunday. I know he said he’s going to reach out to other coaches like, ummmm, his father, but that should have been a plan of action Ryan began to undertake the day he was hired for the Jets job.

Was this emotional outburst planned? With the Pats on the horizon, quite possibly. After the Patriots loss at Indianapolis and since they previously lost to the Jets, New England is primed for revenge Sunday.

One more good trip to the woodshed for Ryan couldn’t hurt.

Tags: athletes, baltimore ravens, brady quinn, buffalo bills, chicago, chicago bears, cleveland, cleveland browns, crying, detroit, e trade, england, eric mangini, final, football, head coach, image, jim mora, new england patriots, new york, new york jets, norv turner, patriots, riots, tom brady, youtube

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