Rose's Rant November 29

I hope you all enjoyed yourself this past Thanksgiving, and slept fabulously after stuffing all that tryptophane filled turkey and stuffing down your throats the last four days. This was an action packed weekend filled with some unbelievable efforts, and some performances that left a lot to be desired.

I’ll start off in the NFL as the cream has started to rise to the top in every division. Monday Night’s thrashing of the Steelers leaves the Colts as the only undefeated team in the league, thus keeping the corks on Nick Bouniconti and the ’72 Dolphins cases of champagne. Only three more wins, and the Colts will have tied their mark. The Seahawks won a game they shouldn’t have, and pretty much wrapped up the woeful NFC West after knocking off the Giants in an exhilarating contest. Speaking of the Giants, their loss kept them tied with the Cowboys for the lead in the East, and they just so happen to meet Dallas this Sunday in what should be another intense game. The NFC South is a huge logjam, but the division leaders finally meet up the next few weeks and we’ll get some separation shortly. Da Bears kept their win streak alive down in Tampa, but the Vikings kept the heat turned up as well. The defending champs continue to lead the miserable AFC East even after losing in Arrowhead, and the Broncos own a comfy two-game lead in the West. The Bengals catapulted into the division lead with the Steelers loss on Monday Night, and hope to avenge their early season loss in the Steel City this Sunday.

After sitting back and watching a few of the games this past week; specifically the Detroit, Houston, and Oakland games, I came to the realization that some of these head coaches would not be around much longer.

I was actually shocked it took the Lions management till Monday to dispose of Head coach Steve Mariucci, but I was even more flabbergasted by the fact they allowed Matt Millen to survive yet another coaching change. Does this guy have nude photos of some of the Ford family females or something? What on god’s green earth has this man done to deserve to keep his job? Let’s take a look at some of his transactions. He drafted QB Joey Harrington; bust. He drafted WR Charles Rogers; bust, and they’re in the process of trying to reacquire his signing bonus money. Let’s not forget about his personal choice of Marty Morningweg to navigate his maiden voyage as General Manager. This franchise has turned into the Cincinnati Bengals of the late 90’s, and will quickly turn into the Bucs of the 80’s if they’re not careful. As stated before, I’m shocked he’s still around.

Also, keep an eye on any news coming out of Houston and Oakland. HC Dom Capers is so gone it’s not even funny after his team let a 24-3 halftime lead get away from them to the St. Louis Rams. To make it even worse, the Rams fought all the way back with their third string QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and covered in the extra period after WR Kevin Curtis galloped through the very porous Texans defense. Also, Al Davis can’t be too happy with the way his teams performed this season after dumping tons of money on WR Randy Moss and RB Lamont Jordan. Look for yet another changing of the guard to occur shortly in the bay.

And finally, what the heck happened in Lawrence, Kansas this past weekend? The Iowa State Cyclones were handed the Big 12 North division on a silver platter Friday evening after Colorado got destroyed at home by Nebraska, yet they allowed their 11-point halftime lead to go for naught as the fighting Mangino’s ultimately knocked them off in OT. You really have to question how head coaches motivate their clubs under crucial circumstances. A possible BCS Bowl, or the Micron PC.com Bowl. Hmmmmm, let me think. Gimme a break!!!