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Donovan McNabb to second-string. Then to third-string. Then no guarantee that he’ll be back next season. Maybe he’s no John Elway after all. The ever-dramatic Washington Redskins upset the NFL apple cart once again Friday when coach Mike Shanahan annou…
At the beginning of the season, the games played on Thanksgiving looked like they would be great games and have meaning to them. How drastically that has changed. This year, the games on Turkey Day feature the Patriots in Detroit, the Saints in Da…
NFL Week 8 Picks have a frightening feel to them with plenty of upsets possible on Halloween.It starts in the Big Apple, where the Jets are big early favorites against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers coming off Sunday’s win over the Vikings.Elsewhere, th…
Ah, getting back to the old routine, isn’t it great? Here I am, back at the helm, writing more articles and once again commenting on JaMarcus Russell’s situation.
In my time away, I found myself pondering the NFL a little during my everyday travels.
At times, I couldn’t help but feel out of the loop a little, as if I may have missed some kind of Brett Favre signing news, or a new possibility for still homeless wide receiver Terrell Owens to sign with this season.
However, now that I have returned, I have come to the conclusion that the NFL world is as boring as everyday life.
Sure it isn’t as dull as sitting through a 20-inning baseball game during the cold months in St. Louis, but for the most part nothing much happens, and when it does, it normally takes weeks for any real headline to form.
So here we are, edging closer to the regular season. Most teams are willing and eager for the season to begin, while others have a few loose ends to tie up before September rolls around the corner.
But aside from teams themselves though, this NFL offseason has been notable due to the struggles that just about each and every player has faced thus far.
Yes, Brett Favre is still unsure of his decision, and yes, Terrell Owens may never play in the NFL again, but what about the forgotten “soldiers” of the NFL?
Well, I guess calling JaMarcus Russell a soldier is a little bit of a stretch, but still, doesn’t he still deserve some kind of playing time in what appears to be his final chance in the NFL?
Maybe, after all this question is quite debatable, but personally I feel that despite JaMarcus’ struggling early years with the Oakland Raiders, he does deserve that final second chance to prove himself in this ever-so-tough league.
So let me ask you all a question, where does JaMarcus Russell sign in 2010?
It’s a question that we would all like an answer for. Realistically, about 60 percent of America would prefer to see JaMarcus Russell rot away in the free agency pool, while a small group of fans have stuck together and kept the candle burning for his future.
Recently, the speculation for Russell has been quite slim. It appears that most teams are quite steady at the quarterback position, and even if a gunslinging thrower is needed, Russell’s number isn’t at the top of the speed dial.
Still, there is one team that has shown the slightest amount of consideration for Russell, up until now.
I’m talking of course about the New York Jets, the trigger-happy team that signs players at will and isn’t scared to take on some of the most controversial players in the current age of football.
But before we go ahead and get to excited, according to NFL.com’s Steve Wyche, JaMarcus Russell isn’t going to The Big Apple anytime soon.
Why? I hear you ask, well it’s simple, the New York Jets would prefer to sign a veteran quarterback such as Mark Brunell, rather than a seemingly “dead” player who could struggle to hit the ground running.
Therefore, according to the New York Jets, the possibility of Russell wearing green and white this season is currently 10 percent.
Fortunately for the Jets though, not much is lost. With Marc Bulger fresh off a signing to the Baltimore Ravens as of late, the possibility of New York gaining a veteran quarterback to help coax Mark Sanchez and stabilize the young roster is still very high.
Unfortunately for Russell, this setback only further acts as a disadvantage. Although there are 30 other teams in the NFL that may be willing to try JaMarcus, if a top-notch team such as New York is willing to disregard Russell, the possibility of him signing with any major franchise now seems quite low.
However, it is, of course, important for JaMarcus to keep his chin up. Any team may come knocking in the near future, and it is important that he appears fit and healthy, as God knows he hasn’t in recent years.
As I always tell readers, just sit tight. This time though, don’t be surprised to see Russell take a one-year layoff. The New York Jets did ask Russell what he had been up to recently, and unfortunately for No. 2, the answer wasn’t overly convincing.
Perhaps we are in store for a calm in the JaMarcus Russell storm, or perhaps Russell will indeed sign with someone soon. As for New York, it’s just about all but dead.
Any other team?
I won’t jump the shark, but interest may pick up for the troublesome free agent very shortly.
Ryan Cook is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report . He is also an NFL columnist for Real Sports Net and a Green Bay Packers writer for Fan Huddle and PackerChatters . Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter .
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In a move as significant as the NFL-AFL merger, the inception of free agency and Brett Favre’s recent ankle surgery, the NFL owners voted Tuesday to send the Big Game to the Big Apple in 2014.
All right, so maybe it isn’t quite that big of a deal, but it’s true: Super Bowl XLVIII will be played outdoors in the New York City metro area at New Meadowlands Stadium, the new home of the Jets and Giants.
With the move, the owners are breaking the warm-weather and domed stadium precedent of all 44 Super Bowls played thus far, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
As great as professional football is, it’s always a little bit better when inclement weather gets involved. The game becomes even more unpredictable and the players have to sharpen their focus more than usual in order to perform the way they want.
Leaping catches and precision passes are impressive enough, but those kinds of plays become almost other-worldly when players make them in howling winds, frigid temperatures, and flying precipitation. Cold-weather feats are the things of legend. Who would care about climbing Everest if it was a sunny 70 degrees at the summit?
The broken precedent also brings several untapped markets into the fold to hold a Super Bowl. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Seattle, and Philadelphia would all make great host cities for future Super Bowls, but the one place the league needs to play the Super Bowl now that cold-weather cities are invited to the party is Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
Any discussion about Green Bay as a Super Bowl host starts and ends with history. Lambeau Field is to football what Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are to baseball. Except Lambeau isn’t crumbling under the weight of its decades of existence. In fact, it’s one of the most modern venues in the league thanks to extensive renovations inside and out in 2003. The original bleachers remain, but that’s part of the stadium’s charm.
Having a Super Bowl in Green Bay would be a football purist’s dream. The Packer Hall of Fame is one of the best in all of sports, and seeing the names and championship years immortalized on the ring of honor is akin to strolling through Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
Detractors of a Green Bay Super Bowl point out the city’s size, which is a concern, but Milwaukee, Madison, and summer resorts in Door County and the Wisconsin Dells aren’t far away. There’d be plenty of vacant rooms in these tourist traps in January and February.
Some are also worried that playing the Super Bowl in such an extreme environment would alienate many casual fans and eliminate a lot of the parties that take place in the week leading up to the game. That would be fine with me. I really don’t need Ryan Seacrest interviewing Hugh Laurie on the Super Bowl red carpet about the fact that Laurie had never seen an American football game before. Man, I wish I could say I had made that last sentence up, but it actually happened.
Super Bowl Week should be about football, and for my money, there’s nothing that says football more than Green Bay and cold weather. As George Carlin once said: “Football is played in any kind of weather. Rain, sleet, snow, hail, mud, can’t read the numbers on the field, can’t read the yard markers, can’t read the players numbers. The struggle will continue.”
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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