Eagles' QB controversy.

PHILADELPHIA – If you are a dog lover or a Donovan McNabb(notes) hater, Sunday was a very bad day
And if you are Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, a man who devoted his offseason to eliminating a potential quarterback controversy – only to have one appear in bright Kelly green before the regular-season opener was over – you are wondering if this is going to be a very long year.
On a charged afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field, Reid rolled out a new starting quarterback for the first time since the waning days of the 20th century, and the results couldn’t have been more miserable.
The dawn of the Kevin Kolb(notes) era began poorly and degenerated from there.

Kolb, in his third career start, had a punchless first half in Sunday’s 27-20 defeat to the Green Bay Packers, completing 5 of 10 passes for 24 yards as the Eagles generated a grand total of three first downs. The ever-patient Philly fans turned on Kolb in his 29th minute as a starter: After he misfired on a short pass to Pro Bowl wideout DeSean Jackson(notes), nearly serving up an interception for a touchdown to Packers linebacker Clay Matthews(notes), some of the 69,144 fans at The Linc booed, venting the way they often did at McNabb during his 11 seasons as the face of the franchise.

As Kolb’s backup – for now – Michael Vick(notes) would later note, “This is a tough crowd, man. We had one punt and they just went nuts on [Kolb].”

It was enough to give a guy a serious headache – except Kolb already had one, having been slammed to the turf while being chased by Matthews midway through the second quarter. At halftime it was determined that Kolb had a concussion, and his day was done.

Reid’s day, however, was getting still more painful. First the coach watched Vick, the three-time Pro Bowler and notorious dogfighter, come in and give Philly an appreciable and immediate bounce, nearly leading the Eagles back from a 17-point, second-half deficit and looking suspiciously like his pre-scandal self.

In other words: Hello, quarterback controversy.

To cap things off, McNabb, the 33-year-old quarterback Reid jettisoned on Easter, was victorious in his first stint as the would-be savior in the nation’s capital, summoning a smooth, capable performance in the Washington Redskins’ 13-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys that put his new team a game ahead of his old one in the NFC East standings.

Oh, and the Eagles also lost a pair of starters (fullback Leonard Weaver(notes) and center Jamaal Jackson(notes)) to apparent season-ending injuries, and Reid is facing heat for having allowed Kolb and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley(notes) – who after hitting his head on teammate Ernie Sims’(notes) thigh slumped to the turf, got up briefly and fell back to the ground like a battered boxer – to return briefly to the game following concussions.

This is not where Reid expected to be after choosing Kolb, a 2007 second-round NFL draft pick who was impressive in two starts last season, over McNabb, who’d led the Eagles to five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl, and ultimately having the audacity to deal the six-time Pro Bowler (for a second-round draft pick in 2010 and a third- or fourth-round selection in 2011) to a division rival.

When Reid phoned Kolb on Easter and told him, “Hey, bud, I just made you the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles,” he was projecting the confidence of a man expecting to go all in and win.

He still may, but as Reid addressed reporters after Sunday’s defeat, he was practically mumbling as he answered a slew of unpleasant questions.

Why were Kolb and Bradley allowed to return to the game after the head injuries?

“They were fine. All of the questions that they answered with the doctors registered well, but as it went on, they weren’t feeling well, so we took them out.”

Why did the offense struggle with Kolb in the game and get more productive when Vick played?

“I’m going to take responsibility for this. There were a few different things going on there. It wasn’t just the quarterback or the offensive line. It was a combination of things. I’ll make sure I go back and fix that … [At halftime] we tried to make a few adjustments and do a couple of different things. We made a few adjustments there, and we were able to move the ball.”

Once Kolb is healthy, will he remain the starting quarterback?

“Yes.”

But is it really that simple? Not when Vick, now in his second year with the Eagles after an 18-month stint in a federal prison for his role in a dog-fighting ring, bears a reasonable resemblance to the quarterback who led the Atlanta Falcons to the 2004 NFC championship game – where they lost to McNabb and the Eagles in the same stadium.

On Sunday, Vick threw pinpoint passes (16 for 24, 175 yards, one TD) and showcased the jaw-slacking speed that no man at his position has ever possessed. This was not the step-slower Vick of 2009 but the vintage version: He carried 11 times for 103 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game since November 2006 and the 10th (including playoffs) of his career. He also became the third quarterback in NFL history (along with former Eagles star Randall Cunningham and ex-49ers Hall of Famer Steve Young) to eclipse 4,000 career rushing yards and gave the Eagles, in their Kelly-green throwbacks, a vivid reminder that he was once a star.

As for those halftime adjustments to which Reid referred? “We didn’t really make any changes, man,” said second-year wideout Jeremy Maclin(notes), whose 17-yard touchdown reception cut the Packers’ lead to 10 with 10:23 remaining. “I think in the second half we just tried to make plays.”
Said Packers middle linebacker Nick Barnett(notes): “They put in Michael Vick – that was the adjustment. They ran the same routes and the same offense, but we had to account for him. There were times I was chasing him and tried to take the right angle, but all of a sudden the angle changed.”

In a moment of honesty that was less calculating than it sounds, Vick, who has genuine regard for Kolb’s talents and considers him a friend, told reporters, “I feel like if I had been out there for four quarters maybe we would have had a chance to win the game.”

The Eagles might have, anyway, had they been able to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 42-yard line with two minutes remaining. Reid called for Vick, lined up in the shotgun, to get the first down with his feet, a play that surprised absolutely no one, and least of all the Packers.

“He’d been making all the plays, and we knew they were going to put it on him,” Barnett said. “We were like, ‘What’s he going to do – throw the ball on fourth-and-1? I don’t think so.’ So yeah, we were ready.”

Matthews led a charge of Packers defenders who blasted through the Eagles’ line and stuffed Vick for no gain, preventing the fantastic finish the quarterback has been playing out as a daydream in his head who knows how many times over the past three years.

“I thought we were going to come back and win that game,” Vick said.
Now it’s Kolb, at an alarmingly early stage of his development, who’ll have to summon a comeback of sorts to keep the Philly fans from howling their displeasure. Vick, meanwhile, surely made himself some money on Sunday. By demonstrating that he still has the rare skill set that made him the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 draft, Vick will likely be an attractive option for another NFL franchise when his contract expires after this season – or, perhaps, he’ll have supplanted Kolb as McNabb’s successor by then and will get paid by Philly.

As he stood in the players’ parking lot outside The Linc an hour after Sunday’s game, accepting congratulations from a group that included his 8-year-old son, Michael Jr., Vick looked as calm and comfortable as he had in the shotgun while confronting a second-half deficit to a trendy Super Bowl pick.

“That was just like the old me out there,” he said softly. “It felt good.”

I’m not sure Reid’s emotions were quite as clear-cut

NFL investigates Jets' locker-room behavior

With all the hubbub about "Hard Knocks" and the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, the New York Jets have something else to deal with – and unlike your average Rex Ryan soundbite, there's nothing funny about it. Inés Sainz of the Mexican television network TV Azteca, claimed that she was harassed by players and coaches in practice and in the team's locker room last Saturday. From the New York Times:

The New York Post reported that during drills, Dennis Thurman, the team's defensive backs coach, purposely overthrew passes that landed near Sainz on the sideline. The Post also reported that linebacker Jason Taylor(notes) volunteered to join the defensive backs. Players also reportedly made sexually suggestive comments in the locker room after practice ... In a statement released by the Jets, Johnson stressed to Sainz that "he expects all members of the Jets organization to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times."

Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins(notes) also reportedly told Sainz that "this is our locker room!" when another reporter asked Sainz if she was okay
"I die of embarrassment!" Sainz wrote in Spanish on her Twitter account. "I am in the locker room of the Jets waiting for Mark Sanchez(notes) while trying not to look to anywhere!"

Team owner Woody Johnson has said that interviews with players and coaches will begin after the season opener as part of an investigation that also involves the league office. "Right now, we're working with the league and we're doing all the fact-finding, checking the facts, doing the interviews," Johnson said. "Interviews with the players will start [Tuesday]. We've talked to some of the non-players, but [Tuesday] we'll get into it all."

Johnson offered Sainz what was described as an "open apology."

"I called her the minute I found out about it, and I finally spoke to her later on in the day," Johnson told the media. "We take this very, very seriously, as you can imagine. We want all of our reporters, female or male, to be comfortable wherever they are, on the sideline, in the locker room or at a game. We have to make the working environment professional, representing the New York Jets well."

The Association for Women in Sports Media has filed a complaint on Sainz's behalf, and Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum has spoken with Joanne Gerstner of the organization.

Judy Battista, the NFL writer for the New York Times, told me Monday afternoon that as the alleged incident would have been ongoing, she was most surprised that the PR staff wouldn't have put a stop to whatever was supposedly going on.

Battista also said that she's never encountered such behavior from the players she's covered, and that she's not aware of any other female reporter (she estimates that there are at least four who cover the New York football teams on a regular basis) dealing with stuff like that.

Tara Sullivan of the Bergen County (N.J.) Record wrote an interesting article in which she enlisted the opinions of several New York Giants players on the matter. "Just be respectful," defensive tackle Justin Tuck(notes) said. "Some guys might not like it, but it's not that big a deal. For me, I've got six sisters. I know how I would want them to be treated. Not like that."

Giants executive VP of public relations Pan Hanlon spoke to Battista's concern.

I would expect [the PR staff] to intercede and make sure it doesn't go beyond the line. That's one of the many things we talk to the players about, that if they have an issue with the media, they should come to us. That's what we're here for. ... When we talk about the media, we don't make a distinction between male and female reporters. We remind our players that as a group, the media is to be dealt with professionally.

"No matter what you say about it, whether you want to try to be politically correct or whatever, it's uncomfortable," Giants center Shaun O'Hara(notes) said. "It's uncomfortable to me to have any media in the locker room and I think it's also for the women in the locker room. But all they want is to do their jobs and be treated fairly."

The real danger in this scenario is that amateur moralists will undoubtedly climb up on their soapboxes and claim that whether this incident happened or not, Rex Ryan's cavalier attitude toward profanity in public forums lead to a "loose" environment that would somehow predicate such incidents. That's the easy way out, for those who don't want to acknowledge that the Jets can run a professional organization and color outside the box when it comes to the "Miss Manners" stuff. Those who spend time around the Jets, as Battista does, seem to be far more surprised that this could happen at all.

It's an odd situation, and one that will get far more coverage in the days to come

Marshall gets phantom touchdown, takes sucker-punch loss vs. WVU

Marshall scores on a beautiful 96-yard pass play that ends with a premature celebration

West Virginia 24, Marshall 21 (Overtime). Marshall was the beneficiary tonight of the first hilariously obvious officiating gaffe of the 2010 season, courtesy of sophomore receiver Aaron Dobson and his slightly premature touchdown celebration at the end of an otherwise brilliant, 96-yard bomb from quarterback Brian Anderson against West Virginia. Keep your eye on the ball, kids, and pause it as Dobson crosses the goal line around the 14-second mark if necessary

This is why instant replay exists: The ball should have been ruled a live fumble and a touchback after rolling out of the end zone during Dobson's celebration, giving West Virginia a first down at the Marshall 20-yard line. Instead, the touchdown stood, giving the Thundering Herd a fairly commanding 14-3 lead. In fact, with the Herd up 21-6 in the fourth quarter and driving inside the Mountaineer 10-yard line for an icing score with eight minutes to play, it looked like any quibbling over the Dobson score was destined to go down as a quirky footnote in Marhsall's first-ever win in the cross-state rivalry.

But what the football gods giveth, they taketh away, this time in the form of one of the most gut-wrenching losses in Marshall history. Instead of putting the Mountaineers away with a field goal or touchdown to go up three scores, freshman running back Tron Martinez coughed the ball up at the West Virginia four-yard line, setting up WVU for its first touchdown drive of the night – a nine-play, 96-yard march capped by a short Noel Devine run to pull within 21-13 with a little over five minutes left. The Mountaineers got the ball back two minutes later at their own two-yard line, and proceeded to take it the length of the field, 98 yards on 15 plays, for another touchdown and the tying two-point conversion with 12 seconds on the clock. In overtime, West Virginia made a field goal in the first frame to go up 24-21; Marshall subsequently missed the answering kick by the narrowest possible margin, and Herd fans could begin their fiery meltdowns in earnest.

The comeback saved the Big East the ignominy of falling to 1-5 against I-A/FBS opponents on the season, with the lone win coming over lowly Akron. Not that rallying in overtime against a random Conference USA outfit that it's traditionally dominated is a good omen for West Virginia's BCS hopes, but at the rate the Big East is going early on, any win is a positive.

Should Denver pull the trigger on a Melo deal to NYC, Chicago?

The word around Carmelo Anthony(notes) is that, as we swing into September, the Denver Nuggets All-Star would prefer a move to Chicago or New York, and preferably well before training camp starts.

The word out of Chicago and New York? "Yes, please," as both teams have the assets to swing a deal to make things somewhat passable for the Nuggets in return, along with a willingness to extend Carmelo's contract this season, before the new collective bargaining agreement hits. The idea about what makes it passable for the Nuggies is anyone's guess, as we have no idea what plans new GM Masai Ujiri has for his team, though we assume a full and proper rebuilding might be in order.

But the point about extending Melo's deal? That would seem to be the best idea for all involved, should a trade go down. You don't want to give up assets for just one year of Anthony's services, and you wouldn't mind tossing money at a guy who averaged 28 points per game last season. And if you're Anthony, you take the money before the league's salary structure might get turned on its ear.

So how do we swing this? And, for whatever side, should things be swung?

Start with the Knicks. Danilo Gallinari(notes) is a fine player working on a cheapo rookie contract, but at best I'm seeing fringe All-Star from this guy. If you have a chance to take Eddy Curry's(notes) expiring contract -- seems like just yesterday Knicks fans were rolling in the high street at their luck after Curry's sign-and-trade with Chicago -- and Danilo's promise and turn them into an up-tempo All-Star, you do it.

Adding Anthony to a team with Amar'e Stoudemire(notes) up front and Mike D'Antoni off to the side won't guarantee a championship, but it does guarantee the Knicks as becoming somewhat dangerous. I had the team in the playoffs as it is without Anthony. With his pick-and-roll prowess and ability to put up points in a pell-mell system -- who knows what could happen in either the first or second round of a playoff run?

And with all those Knick contracts that are set to expire in 2012? I'll stop there. Starting to sound like one of those message board kids from 2005.

Chicago's a different story altogether. Though Anthony is a clear step up offensively from Luol Deng(notes) because of his ability to create shots, Deng is superior in several other areas. He's far, far better than Anthony defensively, better on the glass and he's a more efficient scorer when he does look toward the hoop.

Toss in the loss of Taj Gibson(notes) (and, to a far lower extent, James Johnson(notes)) in the deal for it to work out cap-wise, and you have to wonder if this is at all worth it for Chicago, especially if it has to throw 2010 money at a player who will be playing in a post-2011 league.

You have to factor in need, though. And while Luol Deng's all-around gifts remain underrated, Chicago's most pressing need still is scoring. And that's what Anthony brings. Would the fit alone be worth possibly giving up more than Chicago should? That's tough to say. Anthony scores, but he doesn't do it all that efficiently. Then again, he still does it consistently, especially down the stretch of close ballgames. Love Luol, but you're not looking to him with the seconds ticking down.

For the Nuggets, well, I'm still of the opinion that they need to hang onto Anthony despite his bleatings, because they still have a good chance at putting themselves right into the thick of it in the Western playoffs. Few pull off the "us-against-the-world" tripe better than George Karl, and if he can rally these players in the face of a front office that, to them, has done it so, so wrong? Then you could have a Laker-challenger on your hands. Should have had that last season, were it not for Karl's illness.

And what about Anthony possibly jetting for nothing this summer? Let's see him try it. There aren't that many teams to Anthony's liking with cap space next offseason, and that's even assuming the 2011 cap will in any way resemble what we're used to. Anthony wants his cake and to eat it too, with the extension (money, naturally, comes first) and a team to his liking. But the Nuggets are under no obligation to help Carmelo get two servings of what he wants.

Because they've spent around him, in spades. And Anthony hasn't really developed much beyond getting better at the one thing he entered this league being great at -- scoring expertly from 20 feet on in.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets paid the luxury tax for years, put up with Anthony's off-court worries and they couldn't even get out of the first round until 2009. They were beat by better teams in every year from 2004 to 2008, but one can't help but wonder how things could have gone had Carmelo improved his all-around game. Maybe they wouldn't have beaten the Timberwolves, Spurs and Lakers in those first-round series. But with a better Carmelo and a better seeding, maybe they wouldn't have had to.

And now they have to take on the pittance of Danilo Gallinari or Luol Deng's big contract just to make their would-be former All-Star happy? Why, exactly?

Which is why you wait for the three-way deals to start rolling in. Which is why you heard the rumor about Chicago considering involving Joakim Noah(notes) in any deal for Anthony. Not in a straight-up deal with the Nuggets (because the Nuggets would still have to take on Luol Deng's contract), but in some three-way scenario that would land the Nugs more salary help and the Bulls a passable big along the way.

(And that's just a rumor, from a "league source" no less. Noah will in all likelihood sign a contract extension with the Bulls soon enough.)

Anyone can talk big in August and September. If life in Denver is so untenable, then let Anthony sit out games. Let him give money back. If he doesn't play ball, let the Nuggets ship him to a team that can offer immediate salary relief. The Nuggets, as frustrating as this might be, are still dealing from a position of power -- even with Anthony's contract set to expire next summer. The confluence of bad options, new CBA requirements and Anthony's love of quick cash demand it.

So while the rumored deals from the Bulls and Knicks are more than passable, the Nuggets (as presently constructed) will at worst be as good as Chicago this season and far better than New York. They're the good team with the very good player, and they're working in a league that is rife with capologists and heaps of players with expiring contracts or rookie deals that are ready to move. Trades involving players who score 28 a game -- however those points are scored -- shouldn't be limited to a three- or four-player deal

the wait is over.The NFL is here

Minnesota 9
New Orleans 14

Raiders RB Bush questionable for Sunday

Raiders RB Bush questionable for Sunday

Mayweather living on the edge

Almost a year ago to the day, Floyd Mayweather Jr. drove through the most downtrodden area of Las Vegas, hopped onto the back of a truck and handed out food and drink to the city’s homeless.

On Friday, minutes after posting $3,000 bail, Mayweather emerged from the Clark County Detention Center, hopped into the back of a luxury car and sped off, leaving behind a small pack of reporters and photographers who wanted an answer to the unanswerable

Why would a man with so much to lose sit in front of his computer, turn on his webcam and broadcast a hateful, racist, homophobic tirade to the world? Why would the most physically gifted boxer in the world, a man to whom so much has been given, go not once, but twice, in the middle of the night to the home of the mother of three of his four children and wind up getting himself arrested on charges of grand larceny as part of a domestic violence case?

No one can answer that, likely including Mayweather himself.

Mayweather spent a few hours in jail Friday, beaming for his police mug shot as if he were at an amusement park with his children rather than in the middle of a place no one wants to be.

Mayweather is the epitome of calm and grace in the ring, a wise and patient boxer who rarely makes the wrong move and is always completely in control.

It’s outside of the ring where he seems to lose control. He’s no stranger to the court system in Nevada and he’s no stranger to domestic violence charges. Both of the women who have borne him children, Melissa Brim and Josie Harris, have accused him of assaulting them.

He was acquitted of felony domestic battery against Harris in 2005 when she recanted her prior allegations and called Mayweather “a teddy bear.” He had two misdemeanor battery convictions involving Brim.

Police were at Harris’ home in Las Vegas twice early Thursday. At 3 a.m., police escorted Mayweather off Harris’ property after she phoned them and said Mayweather “let himself in,” according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The paper reported that Harris said Mayweather was angry that she was dating another man. She told police he said to her he would “have me and my guy friend taken care of.”

Mayweather returned at around 5 in the morning, Harris told police, let in after knocking by his son. Harris told police that Mayweather hit her in the head, pulled her hair and tried to break her arm. She was taken to Southern Hills Hospital, where she was treated and released for what were termed minor injuries.

The incident may forever cause corporate America to keep him beyond arm’s length, but it will have no other tangible impact upon his boxing career. If he stays out of jail, he’ll remain the world’s most in-demand, highly paid boxer.

Mike Tyson made nearly $100 million in his first three fights after being released from an Indiana prison in 1995 after serving three years on a rape conviction. If anything, the conviction served to make Tyson even more notorious and he became a bigger draw than ever. Four of the five highest-grossing fights in boxing history involved Tyson and each of them occurred after he was released from prison.

From a business standpoint, a jail sentence wouldn’t be the worst thing that happened to Mayweather. Upon his release, there would be a media circus like never before and his first fight back would likely set records, regardless of his opponent.

There is, however, one clear difference between Tyson, the one-time heavyweight champion, and Mayweather, the 41-0 welterweight. Tyson was just 28 when he was released from prison, while Mayweather is 33 now. The last thing a boxer loses is his power and Tyson clearly retained his power when he returned to the ring.

Mayweather, though, is a different type of boxer. He relies on speed, defense and timing, and those deteriorate with age. Those skills decline even more rapidly when a fighter is inactive.

Mayweather is a long way away, however, from a jail sentence. He has retained Richard Wright, one of Las Vegas’ sharpest defense attorneys, who will make certain Mayweather gets elite representation. Be very certain that Wright will not allow police to railroad Mayweather.

Plus, to gain a conviction, the police will need cooperation from Harris, who isn’t the strongest witness. Her 2005 recanting of her prior allegations and her subsequent description at trial of Mayweather as a “teddy bear” will be prime fodder for Wright.

Whether Mayweather is guilty of a crime is for a jury to decide. Clearly, however, he’s guilty of extremely poor judgment. There can be no rational explanation for going to Harris’ home in the middle of the night, considering the history between them and considering that his young children were sleeping.

If there was an issue with the children’s care, Mayweather more than had the means to deal with it. And the time to deal with it properly is during the day, not at 3 or 5 a.m.

Mayweather isn’t a guy you’d likely want your daughter to meet. His history would suggest that, at best, it would be a stormy relationship.

Never think for a moment, though, that this signifies the end of his boxing career. His reputation as a man, as a decent person, is taking a beating here.

His earning potential is probably greater than ever. People are going to want to pay to see him get his comeuppance.

You’d better get used to him then, because Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. isn’t going anywhere anytime soon