Yes, this is going to primarily be a CFL week here on Gridiron Gossip with the 97th Grey Cup to be played this Sunday but, that doesn’t mean that we’re going to leave NFL out in the dark. We’ve got plenty of interesting NFL news and information for you on this Wednesday, November 25, 2009.

-Some of the biggest news to come out of this past weekends slate of games is Ben Roethlisberger’s concussion which knocked him out of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Things then got worse for the Steelers. Back up Charlie Batch was pressed into duty but promptly broke his wrist forcing the Black and Gold to throw 3rd stringer Dennis Dixon into action. According to the Steeler’s Big Ben is expected to get the nod this week against the Ravens. This is Roethlisberger’s fourth concussion since 2006. I hope for Ben’s sake they aren’t rushing him back into action too soon due to their unfortunate QB situation. Four concussions in 3 years is definitely not helping his longevity any and I’d imagine the Steeler’s are going to want him around for the long-haul.

-Keeping with Steeler news…Safety Troy Polamalu has been listed once again as “questionable at best” for this weekends game. I wouldn’t expect to see Troy back in the line-up for at least another 2 weeks.

-It looked like things were finally starting to look up for the poor Detroit Lions. They’re 1st Overall Draft Pick, Quarterback Matthew Stafford, had just set an NFL Rookie Record by tossing for 422 Yards and 5 TD’s in an thriller against the Cleveland Browns and star Wide-Out Calvin Johnson posted a career best 161 receiving yards and a lone TD. Unfortunately, however, Stafford dislocated his right throwing shoulder on the second last play of the game and still amazingly threw the game winning TD on the very next play. Stafford has been a bystander at practices so far this week but he has company. Wideout Calvin Johnson is also suffering from “hand and knee injuries”. It is still up in the air if either will suit up for tomorrow’s Annual Thanksgiving Game against the Green Bay Packers.

-The New York Giants runningbacks have been taking a lot of punishment this season and it’s starting to show. RB Brandon Jacobs missed most of the 4th Quarter in last Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons after his right leg was landed on awkwardly. Running back 1b Ahmad Bradshaw then took over and finished the overtime win despite learning after the game he has a severe ankle sprain and is currently in a boot. Coach Tom Coughlin has yet to make up his mind as to whether Bradshaw will make the trip to Denver. Jacobs is fully expecting to start against the Denver Broncos this Thanksgiving weekend and, in fact, stated that he could’ve finished the Atlanta game if needed.

“Yes, I could’ve went back in the game,” Jacobs said, “but we’ve got two solid backs in the game who were doing a really good job of pass protecting and running the ball well, so there was really no need.”

-The Denver Broncos have now lost 4 games in a row and find themselves now trailing the San Diego Chargers after last weekends beat down 32-2. The Chargers have now won 5 games in a row and are making a serious charge towards the post season. The Broncos are going to have to REALLY turn things around as the season begins to turn the corner into the stretch run. They’ve now split the season series with the Chargers so it’s not impossible to regain the division lead but it will be a definite uphill climb.

———
In Week 11 NFL Predictions I went a respectable 11/15 or 73%. Can’t say I ever saw the Chiefs beating the Steelers or Raiders upsetting the Bengals but hey, that’s football.

1. Colts Vs. Ravens
MY PICK: Colts
RESULT: Colts

2. Redskins Vs. Cowboys
MY PICK: Cowboys
RESULT: Cowboys

3. Browns Vs. Lions
MY PICK: Lions
RESULT: Lions

4. 49′ers Vs. Packers
MY PICK: Packers
RESULT: Packers

5. Bills Vs. Jaguars
MY PICK: Jaguars
RESULT: Jaguars

6. Steelers Vs. Chiefs
MY PICK: Steelers
RESULT: Chiefs

7. Seahawks Vs. Vikings
MY PICK: Vikings
RESULT: Vikings

8. Falcons Vs. Giants
MY PICK: Giants
RESULT: Giants

9. Saints Vs. Bucaneers
MY PICK: Saints
RESULT: Saints

10. Cardinals Vs. Rams
MY PICK: Rams
RESULT: Cardinals

11. Chargers Vs. Broncos
MY PICK: Chargers
RESULT: Chargers

12. Jets Vs. Patriots
MY PICK: Patriots
RESULT: Patriots

13. Bengals Vs. Raiders
MY PICK: Bengals
RESULT: Raiders

14. Eagles Vs. Bears
MY PICK: Eagles
RESULT: Eagles

15. Titans Vs. Texans
MY PICK: Texans
RESULT: Titans

Be sure to check out all of these highlights in the “Weekly Highlights” section of Gridiron Gossip. Just click the page at the top of the screen.

Courtesy of TSN.ca

CALGARY — The Saskatchewan Roughriders touched down Tuesday on what they consider friendly territory for the Grey Cup.

Given the number of people from Saskatchewan who live in Calgary and the car loads expected to arrive from that province this week, the players say McMahon Stadium will feel like Regina’s Mosaic Stadium when they face the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday’s CFL championship game (TSN, 6:30 p.m. ET).

“Even during the season when we come out here, it’s filled with green in that stadium,” Roughrider quarterback Darian Durant said. “To play this game out here will definitely be an advantage for us.”

The ‘Riders, 10-7-1 this season, got a taste of the support they expect this week when they were greeted Tuesday by a high school band and drill team, plus a few green-clad autograph seekers, at the Calgary airport.

“Ray Charles is going to be able to see the amount of green we have coming here on Sunday, so it’s awesome,” defensive back Stevie Baggs declared.

The Alouettes, 15-3, were scheduled to arrive with less fanfare near midnight Tuesday.

The Roughriders feel they’ll need that home-field advantage. They arrived in Calgary playing the underdog card and pointed to the Alouettes’ stellar record this season.

Montreal beat Saskatchewan in two meetings this season by a total score of 77-35.

“You look at their record, look at their statistics, look at just about everything and you would say, statistically and record-wise, they deserve to be the favourite in the game,” head coach Ken Miller said.

Saskatchewan advanced to its second Grey Cup in three years with a 27-14 win over the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division final, while the Alouettes dominated the B.C. Lions 56-18 to take the East.

The Roughriders moved into the Stampeders dressing room, which Calgary vacated Monday. Saskatchewan didn’t lose a game at McMahon this season with a win and a tie there against the Stampeders.

“It’s been a pretty good stadium for us this year,” Durant said. “With the backing we have, even if you look back at the Grey Cup in Toronto (two years ago), it was full of green there, this will be twice as better for us.”

Veteran defensive end Eddie Davis, a former Stampeder who intended to reclaim his old dressing room spot, feels his team has appeal across the country.

“It brought the whole province together and it’s bringing all the Saskatchewan people from all over Canada together,” Davis said. “I guess you could say we’re Canada’s team. We’re just trying to keep this thing rolling and this could be like a Cinderella-type story.”

While the Grey Cup game is sold out, there were plenty of options online as disappointed Stampeder fans put their tickets up for auction.

Saskatchewan and Montreal will meet in the Grey Cup for the first time Sunday. Both rosters have players with considerable Grey Cup experience. The Riders won the title two years ago by beating Winnipeg in the title game.

It will be the Als’ seventh championship game since 2000. Their lone victory over that period came in 2002.

While the countdown is on for all of Canada towards the 97th Grey Cup set to be held at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on November 29th I have my own countdown on – about 35 hours until I hit the road to Calgary to take in all the Grey Cup festivities.

I’ve been to one Grey Cup prior to this and that was the 91st Grey Cup held in Regina back in 2003. That game pitted the Montreal Alouettes against the eventual champions Edmonton Eskimos. While I enjoyed the experience I wasn’t “of age” yet so my options for Grey Cup entertainment were severly limited, but, despite that I had a great time and I’m anticipating that now at 21 I’ll have a lot more opportunity to “take in the full Grey Cup Festival”.

I can only imagine how crazy things are going to be in Calgary considering even Riders/Stamps games during the regular season the crowd is at the very least a 50/50 split. Tons of Stamps fans are in the midst of unloading their Grey Cup tickets on the internet to Rider fans who are getting set to take over Cow-Town in the coming days. My guess is a 90/10 split of Rider fans to Als fans which will give a definite advantage to the Riders, one which they’re going to need if they hope to beat the seemingly unstoppable Montreal Alouettes.

I’m planning on going more in depth into the Grey Cup match-up itself later in the week once I arrive in Calgary. I will say right now though, being a die-hard Rider fan, it will be a VERY tough task to bring down the Al’s. Having said that if I had to put money on anyone in the CFL to do it it would be the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

As I said earlier I’m heading to Calgary Thursday morning and should arrive in Calgary by about mid-afternoon, just enough time to get settled, have a bite to eat, and head out to Riderville for the evening. I’m planning on bringing the camera along and trying to photo-blog as much as I can, my goal is to give you guys an idea of what it’s like in Calgary at the Grey Cup Festival and hopefully make you feel like you’re here.

One more quick note. If you’re looking for every piece of Grey Cup info you can find this week I’d suggest heading over to TSN.ca. They’ve got tons of Grey Cup articles everyday as well as many videos and a daily Rountable talk with the CFL on TSN Panel.

EDIT – CFL and NFL Weekly Highlights are up on the “Weekly Highlights” page. Complete highlights from every NFL and CFL game this week are all on one page for quick easy access.

EAST FINAL:

Montreal Alouettes (56) Vs. British Columbia Lions (18)

WEST FINAL:

Saskatchewan Roughriders (27) Vs. Calgary Stampeders (17)

97th GREY CUP:

Saskatchewan Roughriders Vs. Montreal Alouettes
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
McMahon Stadium, Calgary, AB

-Much, much more Grey Cup coverage to come this week including tons of photos from Calgary and all of the Grey Cup celebrations leading up to the big game next Sunday!

Uteck Bowl:
University of Calgary Dinos (38) Vs. St. Mary’s University (14)

Mitchell Bowl:
Queens University (33) Vs. Laval (30)

VANIER CUP:

University of Calgary Dinos Vs. Queens University
Saturday, November 28, 2009 12 ET
Live on TSN!

There’s some interesting match-ups in Week 11 in the 2009 NFL Regular Season. There’s no must-see game like there was with the Pats/Colts last week, but there’s definitely some games that could have some big Playoff implications. I missed the prediction for the Miami/Carolina game last night because I was taking in Dane Cook in Saskatoon – say what you want about him but he is a funny guy and puts on a great live show.

As far as the Dolphins/Panthers game last night; Miami proved that there is life after Ronnie Brown by defeating the Panthers by a score of 24-17. Ricky Williams who started in place of the injured Brown accounted for all 3 of Miami’s Touchdowns. Panther’s QB Jake Delhomme nearly tied things up on the last play of the game when he heaved the ball into the end zone but it was batted down and effectively ended the game as the Dolphins survived a 14 point 4th Quarter by the Panthers.

Indianapolis Colts (9-0) Vs. Baltimore Ravens (5-4)

This is a game between two of the best at their respective positions. Peyton Manning is known around the football world as one of the most intelligent Quarterbacks to ever play the game, while on the flip-side Ray Lewis is feared-league wide and is the heart and soul of the Raven’s defence.

These two teams met back on October 12th at Lucas Oil with the Horseshoe’s prevailing 31-3, I’d expect a better game but ultimately it will be the same results with the Colts extending their winning streak this season to 10 and their overall regular season win streak to an impressive 19.

THE PICK: Indianapolis

Washington Redskins (3-6) Vs. Dallas Cowboys (6-3)

The best rivalry in football takes to the gridiron this Sunday in Dallas. The Redskins have struggled all season long but snapped a losing skid last weekend against the crumbling Denver Broncos. The Cowboys are coming off a tough loss to the Pack last weekend in Lambeau and will no doubt be looking to take a strangle-hold on the NFC East with a big win at home in these two teams’ first meeting of the 2009 campaign.

THE PICK: Dallas

Cleveland Browns (1-8) Vs. Detroit Lions (1-8)

Oh boy… these are the kind of games that you just know are going to be terrible. The Browns have the worst offence I’ve probably ever seen and the Lions are, well, the Lions. I might tune into this game just for the pure comedic aspect of it – hey, it’s a strange sense of humour but watching two struggling football teams turns my crank sometimes. Detroit is at least on the upswing (I guess you could call it that) with a young QB and a win which is more than they could say last year. The Browns on the other hand are getting worse and a major overhaul is going to be needed there at seasons end.

THE PICK: Detroit

San Francisco 49′ers (4-5) Vs. Green Bay Packers (5-4)

Big game for the Pack and 49′ers. Green Bay needs a win to keep their Wild Card bid alive as it is unlikely they will be able to catch the 8-1 Minnesota Vikings. The 49′ers are just 2 wins behind NFC West Division Leader’s Arizona Cardinals, meaning a win against the Pack will prevent them from falling behind as the Cards will likely dispose of the Rams this weekend.

The Packers have one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL and Alex Smith can be erratic at times which could make for an interesting afternoon.

THE PICK: Green Bay

Buffalo Bills (3-6) Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)

The Buffalo Bills enter the post Dick Jauron era Sunday against the Jags who need to keep winning to keep their Wildcard hopes alive as they are extremely unlikely to catch the division-leading Colts. Sometimes you see a team who has just recently fired their coach respond in a big way by pulling out a win the following week but I don’t think that is the case here. The Bills have a lot more wrong with them right now than just their Head Coach but getting rid of Juaron is likely the first of a flurry of moves that will be coming in the off-season.

THE PICK: Jacksonville

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) Vs. Kansas City Chiefs (2-7)

This game shouldn’t be much of a problem for the Steelers – the Chiefs beat their division rival Raiders last week to climb to 2-7 but they are all but eliminated from the playoffs. The Steelers are 1.5 games back of the division leading Cincinnati Bengals so a win is essential for them to keep pace as Cincy is up against the Raiders and are likely to win.

THE PICK: Pittsburgh

Seattle Seahawks (3-6) Vs. Minnesota Vikings (8-1)

This likely won’t be much of a game. The Vikings have a devastating ground game and Adrian Peterson continues to do what he’s been doing for the past 3 years and that’s putting up big numbers. There’s no indication that is going to stop this weekend against a struggling Seahawks team. Favre had a big game last week connecting over and over again with Sidney Rice, it’ll be interesting to see how the Seahawks handle shutting him down.

THE PICK: Minnesota

Atlanta Falcons (5-4) Vs. New York Giants (5-4)

Two teams with identical records head into this game on completely different levels. The Giants are currently the owners of a nasty 4 game losing streak and are coming off the Bye while the Falcons have had a fairly up and down year and are looking to finally settle down in a groove down the stretch run. Eli has had poor outings his last few games and I expect him to bounce back this week and put up some good numbers on his way to a win.

THE PICK: New York

New Orleans Saints (9-0) Vs. Tampa Bay Bucaneers (1-8)

Well…not much to say here folks, the Saints will cruise to 10-0 despite some key injuries at cornerback, DT, and RB.

THE PICK: New Orleans

Arizona Cardinals (6-3) Vs. St. Louis Rams (1-8)

Kurt Warner returns to St. Louis to play his former team. The Cardinals are the favourites for sure but I think this game might have the makings for an upset. The Rams have been reasonably competitive this season and they’re in a position to steal a football game at home.

THE PICK: St. Louis

San Diego Chargers (6-3) Vs. Denver Broncos (6-3)

If you’re going to watch one NFL game this weekend this is definitely the one to watch. HUGE Playoff implications with this one. The Denver Broncos had a 3.5 game lead on the Chargers at one point in the season but a four game winning streak by the Chargers coupled with a three game losing skid by the Broncos makes for two teams tied atop of the AFC West at 6-3. Broncos will have back-up Chris Simms calling their signals as starting QB Kyle Orton is out with an ankle injury.

THE PICK: San Diego

New York Jets (4-5) Vs. New England Patriots (6-3)

Jets Rookie QB Mark Sanchez goes up against one of the best in the game in Tom Brady. The Pats are coming off a huge let-down last week when they blew a 17 point 4th Quarter lead against the Indianapolis Colts. New England Head Coach Bill Belichick made an interesting call to go for it on 4th and 2 despite being ahead and on their own side of midfield. I’d look for the Pats to bounce back and take out some pent-up aggression on the Jets.

THE PICK: New England

Cincinnati Bengals (7-2) Vs. Oakland Raiders (2-7)

Another stinker joins the long list of others this week. The Bengals continue to surprise everyone this year with their continued success and unfortunately for the Raiders it’s doubtful they’ll be able to snap their 3 game losing streak. An interesting stat: if the Bengals are successful in beating the Raiders it will mark the first time in franchise history that the Bengals have won 5 straight away games.

THE PICK: Cincinnati

Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) Vs. Chicago Bears (4-5)

Philly needs to win to keep up with the NFC East leading Dallas Cowboys. The Bears have lost their last 2 games but are 3-1 this year when playing at home. The Eagles lost a close one to the Chargers last week and I’m expecting them to seize this opportunity to stay in contention for a playoff spot.

THE PICK: Philadelphia

Tennessee Titans (3-6) Vs. Houston Texans (5-4)

When these two teams met earlier in the season the Texans narrowly defeated the Titans by a score of 34-31. Don’t look now but the Titans have won 3 games in a row now after going winless in their first 6. The Texans Matt Schuab is proving that he deserves his starting role at Quarterback and I think he will be a major factor in a big win over a Division Rival.

THE PICK: Houston

——————————————-
SATURDAY NFL NEWS

- Recently retired coach Mike Holmgren’s name has been thrown around the last few days in regards to the Cleveland Brown’s continued offensive struggles. Holmgren stepped down as the Head Coach and GM for the Seattle Seahawks last year and is now enjoying his retirement in Phoenix.

“I’m very flattered by my name being tossed around like that,” Holmgren said by telephone from Phoenix. “It makes me feel good when I’m riding around on my motorcycle, enjoying the sun. But I hope it’s true, that someday we get a chance to talk.

Holmgren is widely regarded as one of the best offensive minds in football and would definitely give the floundering Browns offense a much needed boost.

-Saints running back and return specialist Reggie Bush will not be making the trip to Tampa Bay this weekend due to a knee injury. Also not making the trip for the Saints is Defensive Tackle Sedrick Ellis.

-The 100 Million Dollar Man Albert Haynesworth is listed as questionable for this Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. Haynesworth has made the trip to Dallas and will be a game time decision according to ‘Skins head coach Jim Zorn

-Apparently Bronco’s QB Kyle Orton could potentially get the start this Sunday against the Chargers despite word coming out earlier in the week he was all but officially sitting this week out. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has been quoted as listing Orton as a game-time-decision.

Well, I’m not going to lie – I literally couldn’t fall asleep last night because I am so excited for this Sunday’s CFL Playoff games, I was still tossing and turning at 4 a.m. playing all of the different scenarios through my head. One thing I concluded despite my insomnia was that the 4 best teams in the CFL are playing this weekend, which is the way it should be.

The only “upset” last weekend was the Hamilton Ti-Cats losing to the BC Lions. The Tabbies were in a situation they hadn’t been in since about 2003 and that’s in the role of the favourite. I’ll admit I was pulling for Hamilton all the way and I think it’s unfortunate that they lost. They did make some huge strides this year though and they’ll have an interesting situation in camp deciding between Quarterbacks Quinton Porter, who was the original starter for the Ti-Cats this year before being benched by CFL Veteran Kevin Glenn who re-ignited the Tabbies offence. Personally, I stick with Glenn – he showed he still has what it takes and when he calls it quits you can hand Porter the reigns.

As far as the Lions go – I think they could give Montreal a run for their money, I’ll get into that more later though.

GAME 1: British Columbia Lions (8-10) Vs. Montreal Alouettes (15-3)
This is going to be a lot closer game than the two teams records indicate. Montreal has been the beast of the East (and the entire CFL for that matter) all season long. In fact, Marc Trestman’s record of 15-3 this year will tie for 2nd place in the “Most Regular Season Wins” category (1st is the 1990 Edmonton Eskimos with a record of 16-2). The Als and Lions have played each other tough all season and there’s no reason why this Sunday’s game should be any different. BC went 1-1 against the Al’s this season and this is the ultimate Rubber Match with a berth to the 97th Grey Cup at stake.

The Alouette’s have offensive superiority over the Leo’s led by Western Most Outstanding Player Candidate Anthony Calvillo at the trigger and all-purpose back and CFL All-Star Avon Cobourne in the backfield. The Amazing thing about the Alouette’s offense is how everyone gets so caught up with the personnel and not the amazing system that Marc Trestman has created there. The Alouettes have 3 Quarterbacks that have taken snaps at some point this season, Calvillo, Adrian McPherson, and Chris Leak – All 3 have a QB rating over 100 and a combined completion percentage of 70.9 which is nothing short of unbelievable.

The BC Lions have Casey Printers as their starting pivot for the time being. The Hamilton cast-off has been the Lions starter for only 4 games this season but has proven that he can still get the job done despite his struggles in Hamilton. Printers was knocked out of a game a couple weeks ago with a injury to his thumb on his throwing hand but all indications point towards that injury being healed up.

In the end, the Lions will keep this one close but the Alouettes are too good not to be in the Grey Cup this year.

MY PICK: Montreal

GAME 2: Calgary Stampeders (10-7-1) Vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-7-1)

This is the game that kept me tossing and turning last night. When you look at it from the angle that the Stampeders are 0-2-1 against the Riders this season and the odds are that the Stamps are due for a win it definitely worries me. Not very often in Proffesional Sports do two teams that are so evenly matched go winless against the other in 4 games, the odds of it happening in fact are probably astronomical. The good news is that odds, statistics, and previous games have absolutely zero bearing on Sunday afternoon’s clash in Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field.

The Stampeders will likely look to get Joffery Reynolds established early and often. I expect the West Nominee for Most Outstanding Player to have a heavy workload on Sunday with the hopes the Stamps can piggy-back on Reynolds and grind their way to the Grey Cup in their own backyard at McMahon. The dangerous thing about when Joffery gets established is they start to run that zone read play. Basically Burris takes the snap in Shotgun with Joffery to his side. Joffery goes to receive the hand off while Burris sticks the ball in Joffery’s gut, Burris keeps his hands on the ball and reads the Defensive End, if the DE crashes down and loses contain while trying to make a tackle on Joffery Burris will simply pull the ball back out of Joffery’s hands and bootleg around to the outside. Edmonton had a great deal of trouble stopping this play but it really isn’t that difficult to stop in theory. If you make sure you don’t bite down and collapse on the run as a Defensive End and keep contain Burris will be forced to hand the ball off to Joffery every time – hopefully you can rely on your DT’s and Linebackers to limit Reynolds’ gains.

As for the Riders, they’re going to have to have long, sustained drives on offence and make sure they don’t turn the ball over. The less time the Stamp’s offence is on the field the better chance the Riders will win this game. Darian Durant has had great sucess against a Stampeders defence that loves to play man-to-man. Durant, no doubt, will have some butterflies going into this game and he will be a major factor in the final result of the football game. If Durant has nerves he’ll have to get over them quickly if the Riders hope to advance to the Grey Cup on November 29th in Calgary.

MY PICK: Saskatchewan

So there you go, you heard it here first folks. The 97th Grey Cup will be the Montreal Alouettes Vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders.

-As reported on Gridiron Gossip a few days ago Bill’s Head Coach Dick Jauron was fired and is being replaced for the balance of the season by Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell. News out of Buffalo is that Mike Shanahan is on the top of owner Ralph Wilson’s wish-list. According to NFL.com a meeting between the former Denver Bronco and SuperBowl winning coach and the Bill’s management team will likely take place next week, and the Bills are rumoured to be offering him full control of Football Operations. Apparently Bill Cowher of Pittsburgh Steeler’s fame is also on the Bill’s radar if Shanahan declines the offer. It’s also rumoured that the Washington Redskins will be looking to dump Head Coach Jim Zorn at the end of the season and the ‘Skins are also bidding to have Shanahan head to Washington. Any way you look at it I believe it’s going to be an interesting story to follow for the next couple of months. Another source says that Montreal Alouette’s Head Coach Marc Trestman is also a darkhorse candidate for Buffalo. The Bills are saying that they will give Interim Coach Perry Fewell every opportunity to earn his Head Coaching title for next season but I call BS. With the Bills allegedly willing to offer “any salary necessary” to reel in Shanahan it’s painfully obvious that no matter what poor Perry Fewell does in the remaining games he will not be the one calling the shots in Buffalo in 2010.

-The Original Star of the much hyped “Wildcat Offence” is officially out for the season with a right foot injury. Ronnie Brown was placed on the IR by the Dolphins yesterday after seeing a specialist. This is obviously a huge blow to the Dolphins who are blatantly a run-first team. Brown was on pace to have a great season already posting 648 yards along the ground as well as 8 rushing Touchdowns and 1 passing TD. Ricky Williams will likely have to carry the load for the Dolphins Offence, something that I don’t personally think he’ll be able to do very well. Ricky isn’t an every-down back anymore and he is quite injury prone himself. If you’re a Fantasy Football player I’d urge you to go and pick up Dolphins 3rd string RB Lex Hilliard. He’s yet to get a carry this season but with Brown going down you know he’s going to be thrust into duty soon.

-Back to some more coaching news. The Minnesota Vikings are reportedly close to signing a deal with current Head Coach Brad Childress to a multi-year contract extension. This comes as no surprise as the Vikings are sitting on top of the world (and the NFC North) right now. At 8-1 the Brett Favre signing has defied all odds and ignited the Vike’s passing game which now compliments the strongest and most consistent running game in the NFL. I’m personally not the biggest Childress fan, but the guy is obviously doing something right, and like they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

-Philadelphia Eagles running-back Brian Westbrook’s prognosis is looking a little brighter than it was just a couple of days ago. Westbrook suffered his second concussion in three weeks last Sunday against the Chargers – and honestly if I was Brian I’d be thinking about just taking the rest of the season off. Westbrook went through a battery of tests over the last couple of days and the results were reasonably favourable. It’s still up in the air if Westbrook will return this season or not but we do know for sure he won’t be playing this Sunday against the Chicago Bears. LeSean McCoy will now become “the guy” for the Eagles. The University of Pittsburgh star was drafted to replace Westbrook but obviously no one thought it’d be so soon.

“I just want to help out the offense as much as possible,” McCoy said Wednesday. “I never really expected to play a big role like this. But I got drafted for a reason. I have my chance, my opportunity, and I have to make the best of it.”

-Things are quickly deteriorating in Denver. The Broncos had a 3.5 game strangle hold on the division just a few short weeks ago but now they’ve been caught by the San Diego Chargers who are riding high on a four game winning streak while the Bronco’s are on the opposite end of the spectrum currently stuck in a nasty three game losing streak. Things keep getting worse though, Denver Quarterback Kyle Orton will miss at least this week’s game and potentially more with a torn ligament in his left ankle. Back-up Chris Simms will get the starting nod this weekend against the Division Rival San Diego Chargers. This game has huge playoff implications and the Bronco’s are in desperate need of a win, unfortunately all signs seem to be pointing to their fourth straight loss.

-Cleveland Browns QB Brady Quinn has been fined for his low hit against Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Terrell Suggs during last Monday Night’s game. Suggs will be forced to miss this weeks game with a lower body injury due to the cheap-shot. Quinn remains adamant it was an accident:

“I wasn’t trying to go for him,” Quinn said. “I was trying to go for the ball carrier. Unfortunately, a thing like that can happen. I’m praying for him. Hopefully he’ll be all right.”

Ravens All-Star Middle Linebacker Ray Lewis isn’t buying it though, and I’m telling you that’s one guy you don’t want to have pissed off at you.

“Go back and look at it 15 times the way I have,” Lewis said. “You say you respect the game the way the game is played. I understand what Brady Quinn is saying after the fact, but you go dive at a man’s knee that doesn’t even have the football. You get penalized so much as a defensive player for going in and just doing your job, and then you see a person not doing his job and goes and spears a man in his knee.”

-Also worth mentioning is that Browns Wide Receiver Josh Cribbs was released from hospital but has yet to return to practice due to a sore neck. Cribbs was injured on the final play of the game when he was flattened by Raven’s Defensive End Dwan Edwards after Cribbs had pitched the ball away. My Question: Why would Cribbs pitch it on the last play at all if they were down 16-0 – it’s not like they could win the game…

-Last but not least (well, actually this is definitely least) Baltimore Raven’s Kicker Steve Hauschka has been cut after going a brutal 9/13 for 69.2%. Ravens brought in veterans Mike Nugent and Billy Cundiff for a workout last week with Cundiff winning out and cracking the Ravens squad.

LeBron James is a name that’s now synonomous with Basketball. You can’t watch an NBA promo without seeing LeBron plastered all over it, and for good reason, he’s the best in the game right now undoubtedly. After the Cleveland Browns embarassing 16-0 performance on Monday Night Football again the Baltimore Ravens LeBron (who is a die-hard football fan) shared that he believes he could help the Browns or any team he played for in the NFL.

“If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good, no matter what team I was on.”

Although LeBron was obviously just joking around it does bring up the question: If LeBron decided to switch proffesions and become and NFL Player would he be able to make the adjustment? Everyone knows at 6’8 and 250lbs LeBron has definitely got the size, and if you watch him play just one game of basketball you’ll know that he is one of the most gifted athletes on the planet today. But as Browns Defensive Tackle Shaun Rogers says, it takes a lot more than athleticism and size to play in the NFL.

“It’s a punishing game. I just don’t think you can step off the basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football. From that standpoint, I just don’t think it’s possible. You have to weather and condition your body to take this punishment.”

A very valid point, one which LeBron agrees with

“I’d be in football shape during football season, then I’d go to basketball and feel like I was out of shape,” LeBron said. “It’s totally different. And another thing you have to get used to is getting hit again.”

Although it is just a pipe-dream it’s tough not to imagine LeBron wearing a #23 Cleveland Browns jersey and lining up at Tight End. It’s worth noting that LeBron was a standout Wide Receiver in High School before quitting to focus solely on basketball. Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini is now to the point where he’s pretty much open to anything after orchestrating one of the poorest offences in NFL history to this point.

“I think he should come on down,” Mangini said

A sentiment that was echoed by Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn.

“That’d be great,” Quinn said. “Tell him to suit up and let us know, we’ll get him working. Obviously he’s an incredibly talented athlete. If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we’d be more than willing to pick him up.”

It seems even Shaun Rogers can’t help but fantasize about LeBron lining up beside the tackle.

“Yeah, he might make a heckuva tight end,” Rogers said. “I’d like to see him out there running down the seam.”

I’m going to have to agree with Shaun, after all, could you imagine the excitement of watching Le”Brown” do this every Sunday?

Today the CFL All-Star team was announced and I’m going to be honest here, I think it’s a pretty shotty list. Maybe I’m still a little confused as to why Stevie Baggs wasn’t given an All-Star nod in the West considering his stats were as good or better than John Chick’s. In my opinion both Baggs and Chick should’ve been named Western All-Stars at Defensive End. Another perplexing question is why is Corey Banks listed as a Defensive Back? He played that “tweener” Linebacker position this year similiar to what Sean Lucas plays with Saskatchewan. Also, 10 Montreal Allouttes have been named All-Stars while there were only 10 All-Stars named in the entire West Division. Yes, I know the Al’s have had a great season and posted a league best 15-3 record but I don’t think it’s right that Anwar Stewart gets named a CFL All-Star with 38 tackles and 9 sacks while Defensive End Stevie Baggs had 55 tackles and 12 sacks and doesn’t get so much as a mention. Regardless, here is your 2009 CFL All-Star Team:

OFFENCE

QB Anthony Calvillo MTL
RB Avon Cobourne MTL
RB Joffrey Reynolds CGY
R Arland Bruce III HAM
R Jeremaine Copeland CGY
R Fred Stamps EDM
R Kerry Watkins MTL
T Ben Archibald CGY
T Dan Goodspeed HAM
G Scott Flory MTL
G Gene Makowsky SSK
C Jeremy O’Day SSK

DEFENCE

DT Doug Brown WPG
DT Keron Williams MTL
DE John Chick SSK
DE Anwar Stewart MTL
LB Chip Cox MTL
LB Markeith Knowlton HAM
LB Jamall Johnson HAM
CB Brandon Browner CGY
CB Jovon Johnson WPG
DB Korey Banks BC
DB Jonathan Hefney WPG
S Barron Miles BC

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Damon Duval MTL
P Damon Duval MTL
ST Larry Taylor MTL

Article Courtesy of TSN.ca

The return of football to Ottawa appears to be one step closer.

Ottawa city council voted in favour of a $250 million redevelopment plan for Lansdowne Park on Monday, which could pave the way for a new outdoor stadium and, in turn, an expansion CFL team.

By a vote of 15-9, councillors approved in principle an amended plan that would give the city more control over design and more return on their $12 million financial investment.

A group of four prominent and reputable Ottawa businessmen – Ottawa 67′s owner Jeff Hunt and Ottawa developers Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and Bill Shenkman – have been granted a conditional expansion franchise by the league, dependent upon the group’s ability to secure a stadium deal with the city.

“You need the right local owners, and I think that’s what we have here with these four gentlemen,” said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon last week. ”And that, coupled with the new stadium, is a recipe for success.”

The group is now in partnership with the city on the project and they must now satisfy five further conditions prior to another vote by council in either May or June.

“We had a passionate and very real debate,” said Ottawa mayor Larry O’Brien. “Many issues came out, there was a lot of changes to the original proposal and I think the citizens of Ottawa are the big winners today.”

Lansdowne Park has been without football since the Ottawa Renegades left town after the 2005 season and the facilities have fallen into disrepair.

“This is not Lansdowne Park. This is Lansdowne Dump. It’s time for somebody to do something about it,” councillor Rainer Bloess told the Ottawa Citizen after the decision.

But not all parties celebrated the news.

“It’s a sad day because of the division. It’s divided us, shattered the city. It was through love of my city that I tried to protect Lansdowne Park,” a tearful councillor Clive Doucet told the newspaper.

According to CFL TSN Insider Dave Naylor, Ottawa could return to the CFL in time for the 2013 season.

My Take: I’m extremely happy with this news, in fact, I was watching the Ottawa City Council meeting live last night via a webcam set up in the Council Chambers. Many I’ve spoken with are very hesitant to believe that Ottawa will be able to succesfully support a franchise as the last two attempts have ended with disaster.

The main difference this time around is a solid Ownership Group consisting of Jeff Hunt, Bill Shenkman, Roger Greenberg and John Ruddy who are all extremely succesful businessman who are committed to making the Ottawa CFL dream come alive. My only hope is they stick with the Renegades name and don’t revert back to Rough Riders, let’s be honest here – it’s silly to have two teams with the same name in a 9 team league.