Just hours after Cleveland's fired general manager walked down the front steps in disgrace carrying his belongings in travel bags, two disgruntled fans climbed the same steps inside the team's headquarters for a meeting with the team's camera-shy owner. One of them wore a plastic dog bone hat.
Ray Lewis took aim and a delivered a jarring hit intended to do more than break up a pass. In his bruising style, the Ravens linebacker was trying to wrap up a win. Didn't work out that way. When Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco — one of Lewis' longtime friends — smacked the ground and lost his tiger-striped helmet, a yellow flag landed at the point of impact.
The showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos on Monday night features two of the AFC's top teams, a couple of the hardest-hitting defenses in the league and a pair of the NFL's brightest young coaching minds. Hired when he was 34, Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl in just his second season in Pittsburgh last year after guiding the Steelers to a division title and a playoff…
A movie about Baltimore Ravens rookie Michael Oher is due to hit the theaters later this month, with actor Quinton Aaron playing the role of the rags-to-riches offensive lineman out of Mississippi. Oher's teammate, veteran center Matt Birk, was asked to guess who would be cast in a movie about himself.
The Ravens are looking to make a move in the AFC North when they play at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
But the only way they can move forward is stopping Bengals running back Cedric Benson in his tracks.
In an earlier meeting last month, Benson became the first running back in 40 games to gain 100 yards or more on the Ravens. It ended the eighth longest streak in NFL history.
“It goes back to the principal of winning,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “When you defend the run pretty good, you’ve got a good chance of winning the game. That’s what we did last week. We defended the run pretty good.”
Cincinnati is 3-0 this season when Benson gains 100 yards. The Ravens are 0-2 when they allow a 100-yard rusher.
The Ravens say they didn’t overlook Benson…
While a 5-2 mark has surprised most people, the next two weeks will be telling if the Cincinnati Bengals are to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
The surprising Bengals face Baltimore on Sunday and then travel to Pittsburgh next week. They are already 3-0 in the division after winning all three by three points and can gain a huge advantage in tiebreakers even with a split of the next two.
“I see this as a two-game season while coach (Marvin) Lewis is focused on nine-game season as it is just starting,” wide receiver Chad Ochocinco said. “From my standpoint with a win this week and not looking ahead but if we win in Pittsburgh it sets us up for a playoff berth and then keep winning and being successful throughout the season.”
The Bengals will…
The Browns bye week got off to an unusual start Monday when general manager George Kokinis was fired after being on the job a little over nine months. The reason, according to coach Eric Mangini, who hand-picked Kokinis, is “things didn’t work out.”
The next day two roster spots opened up after kicker Billy Cundiff and defensive back Anthony Madison were waived. Since the Browns do not play again until Nov. 16 in a Monday night game against the Ravens, they are in no hurry to add players. Mangini is confident the front office can find the right players without Kokinis’ help.
“We have a strong structure in place on both the pro side and the college side and things will continue to operate effectively on a day-to-day basis,” Mangini said.
So the Browns have two…
Pittsburgh’s once rock-solid defensive line will be missing another piece Monday night when it plays in Denver.
The Steelers lost end Aaron Smith for the season with a rotator cuff injury Oct. 11. Now comes news that his replacement, Travis Kirschke, likely will miss at least their next game with a torn left calf muscle.
Nick Eason will start at left end for Kirschke, but that leaves two rookies as their top two backups as they enter the high altitude of Denver. The Steelers like to spell their starters as it is, and have done so even more often when they play in Denver.
“We’ve played there a few times and we know what it’s like,” said veteran backup nose tackle Chris Hoke, who also could be called to play a few snaps at end in Denver.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Defensive back Ty Law has agreed to terms on a deal with the Denver Broncos.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots have released guard Kendall Simmons.