Football Fan Site

A woman claims in a lawsuit filed only days before the Super Bowl that former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin sexually assaulted her at a South Florida hotel, an allegation labeled a false attempt at “civil extortion” Friday by Irvin’s attorney.

In a snow-covered Minneapolis front yard last week hung a purple Vikings flag at half-staff, a woeful memory of what could have been.

The way Roger Goodell sees it, more is better when it comes to NFL games.

A woman claims in a lawsuit filed only days before the Super Bowl that former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin sexually assaulted her at a South Florida hotel, an allegation labeled a false attempt at “civil extortion” Friday by Irvin’s attorney.

Unable to find outside help, the Chicago Bears have promoted Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator while rounding out their coaching staff.

“Sports Science” host John Brenkus takes a look at whether certain genetic or geographic attributes play a role in determining a championship quarterback and then applies the data to forecast a winner in the Super Bowl on Sunday.



Research shows championship quarterbacks have been at least 6-foot-4 since 2000 and haven’t weighed less than 215 pounds for two decades.



In Super Bowl history, the winning quarterback has hailed from one of 14 states. Texas has produced the most players in NFL history but never has been the home of the Super Bowl-winning QB.



New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is 6-4, 225 pounds and hails from San Mateo, Calif. So he’s prototypical in that regard.



How does this apply to Sunday? Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (6-5, 230, New Orleans) has the edge in every category. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a 6-foot, 209-pound Texan.



So there you have it. The Colts will win the Super Bowl.



As Ron Burgundy once noted, “It’s science.”



For future reference, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is 6-2, 225 pounds and is from Long Beach, Calif. Two out of three ain’t bad. Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins is 6-3, 230 pounds and a native of Wyomissing, Pa. Also two out of three.



Then there’s Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills. He has the measurables (6-4, 231, Los Gatos, Calif.), but nothing to back it up in terms of performance.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — I made no bones about being an unabashed advocate for Chicago hiring Mike Martz as its offensive coordinator. And so I don’t mind telling you that I see no upside in promoting Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator.



Marinelli has never been a coordinator in 33 years as a coach, and his new responsibilities will take at least some of his focus away from his specialty as a defensive line tutor. Marinelli wasn’t known for his organizational skills as Detroit’s head coach from 2006 to 2008 and he doesn’t seem well-suited for this job.



Frankly, I wonder if Marinelli thinks it’s a good idea. Last month, coach Lovie Smith strongly implied Marinelli didn’t want the job.



Here’s what Smith said Jan. 5: “I’ve talked to Rod about all of the different things I am going to do. Rod would like to be in his position of being an assistant head coach, and helping me with other things like that, and coaching the defensive line. That’s a full-time job.”



So Smith pursued one-time Bears assistant Perry Fewell for the job, only to be spurned when Fewell joined the New York Giants. With few other options, it appears Smith talked Marinelli into making the change. In a statement released Friday, Smith said:



“We considered outside possibilities, but I didn’t feel our defense would benefit the same way it will with Rod in the coordinator role. From the first day I became head coach of the Chicago Bears I envisioned Rod as our defensive coordinator. I considered him for the role last year, but wanted him to have the opportunity to work exclusively with our defensive line and become acclimated to our team. He will remain in our defensive line room, but will add the responsibility of the defensive calls on game day.”



Assistant defensive line coach Eric Washington was promoted to the full-time role, but it sounds as if Marinelli will split his time between the line and his coordinator duties. To me, that presents a problem on both fronts: His influence with the line will be watered down, and the Bears still don’t have a coach to serve solely as the defensive coordinator. Wasn’t that what they needed after Smith gave up those duties after the season?



There are some ways this could work, and it’s worth noting that Marinelli and Smith are united in their advocacy of the Tampa 2 scheme. It’s ingrained in their souls and they should be able to hit the ground running.



But it sure feels like the Bears targeted only one candidate for this job and were at a loss after Fewell went to the Giants. Ultimately, it seems they circled back on an emergency backup plan.



Their offense got better with the additions of Martz and offensive line coach Mike Tice. I can’t say the same about their defense after Friday’s moves.

Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice are virtual shoo-ins for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s a way for Bill Belichick and Amos Alonzo Stagg to be mentioned in the same sentence.



In a move straight out of the leather-helmet era, the New England Patriots have revealed they won’t have any coordinators for 2010. No offensive, no defensive, no special teams.



The news came to light on the team’s official Web site. The Patriots didn’t have an offensive coordinator last year. They parted ways with defensive coordinator Dean Pees last month and apparently won’t replace him, choosing to spread the duties with no designated helmsman.



“Titles are fine, nothing wrong with them, but the most important thing is each person’s role, that we do everything we can to help the players succeed — everyone collectively getting the job done,” Belichick said in the Web story.



Quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien handled most of the play-calling responsibilities last year after Josh McDaniels left to become head coach of the Denver Broncos. McDaniels, who had a similar combo role after Charlie Weis left for Notre Dame, was given the title of offensive coordinator after a year of calling plays. O’Brien apparently won’t be elevated likewise.



On Friday morning, ESPNBoston’s Mike Reiss presciently analyzed the Patriots’ staff situation.