Diner morning news: Six NFL bottom dwellers

It is interesting that you left Oakland of your list. They are a disgrace to watch and to root for. It is because they are beyond hope?

Hey Mike,
Once the Mangenius era is over in Cleveland, maybe Lerner can hire Charlie Weis who will soon be available... That way, they can have a trifecta of ex-Belichick assistants who can't run their own programs....

In August, I would not have said this, but I'm glad to be a Bronco's fan. McD and Cerrato both thought they had playoff teams...one of them is right and the other may be insane. So, when Zorn calls running plays and Portis can't get 4 yards a pop anymore; is that Zorn's fault? If Mike Shanahan called that same running play, Portis would gain 7, right? Give me a break. WA is horrible, but that works out, because my Broncs play them in a few weeks. =)

Mike,

Will Spags make the transition to head coach? Phenomenal d-coordinator, do you trust him with the keys?

Mike,
With the importance of offensive lines, is it still smart to spend a 1st round pick on a QB when he's going to be asked to play against a poor O-line and get pounded every week?

At what point is it better to pass on a QB at the top of the draft, in order to draft a LT for example? Or are all these O-Linemen taken early not nearly as "safe" picks as they seem, compared to the "hit or miss" nature of high drafted QBs?

I understand that this is a list of bottom dwellers; however, the Rams and Lions are making a concerted effort to improve their respective franchises. Washington will bring in another marquee free agent and will contribute nothing, Tennessee will get that ship righted...Fisher is too talented a coach to allow for another sub-par season, I am unaware as to what is ailing the Bucs, but I agree with you that the team would not be where they are now if "Chucky" were still there. The only team that has decided to give up and not make an effort to improve is Cleveland. It saddens me, as I am a life-long Browns fan (hard to admit...), but the team has made NO EFFORT WHATSOEVER to get better. Mangina has stripped the team and filled voids with players no one else wanted...what is really going on up in Cleveland? Why is this so hard for them compared to every other franchise? I know it's the "Mistake on the Lake", but hasn't Cleveland amassed enough karmic debt to get a few good seasons?

Cerrato's point was that if Samuels hadn't been lost for the season, they had a competitive team. They went 6-2 the first half last year with a worse roster, so he has some basis for his statement, even though I think we all agree he made some serious errors in not upgrading the O line.

Whatever, this season is lost. The team needs to upgrade at headcoach, GM, QB and O line. Not an impossible task by any means. The toughest slot to fill could be QB, as there do not appear to be any more Kyle Ortons being cut loose around the league and drafting a signal caller is always fraught with risk. The Skins have whiffed three times in the recent past, using first round picks on Rep. Heath Schuler, Patrick Ramsey and Jason Campbell. They let Trent Green go rather than pay him. They could have picked up Kurt Warner or Kerry Collins. This unfortunate history, more than Dan Snyder, is what has undermined their last 18 years.

Vince Young is going to play this week . I don't think Jeff Fisher wants to see Vince Young stink it up . If Vince Young doesn't do it now he will never make it in the NFL . The Titans are 0-6 & he has no expectations on him . He has had a year to learn the game & there is no need for a mental breakdown . I look forward to watching him Sunday .

I really, really, REALLY hate being a Browns fan...which makes me hate Modell even more than ever. The second version of this franchise should just move to the CFL.

Hey Mike, how about some full disclosure? Any history with you and Cerrato?

Cerrato sounds like the clueless corporate windbag that he is. He simply cannot evaluate talent. So, since he and the Boi Wonder Snyder concocted another horrible roster, it MUST be ALL Zorn's fault. Right? No way. And btw, Zorn came looking for the O-Coordinator position BEFORE a Head Coach was hired. Another zany idea brought to you by the comedy team of Wonder Boi Snyder and Cerrato. And then THEY told Zorn how great he was and that he should be THEIR Head Coach, not the other way around. What a couple of ingrates and losers.

On the Redskins: there's a saying in Washington that "if you can smile when things are going wrong, you've already figured out who to blame." Looks like Vinny has had this figured out for quite a while. One thing to note about how bad things are with the Redskins -- as of the Monday night game, the team started enforcing a policy prohibiting hand-made signs being brought into the stadium. Dan Steinberg with the Washington Post took a look through the garbage to see what had to be thrown out. A fair number of them weren't terribly kind to the owner, let's say.

On Tampa: watching the game from London against the Patriots, I don't think I've ever quite felt as sorry for anybody as Raheem Morris, in possibly the most severe case of being out of his depth in the history of the planet. Two of his assistants had worked for Belichick in Cleveland -- I'd love to know what they were thinking when working with Morris on the game plan, and at what point did "Oh, Man, we're so screwed..." enter the conversation.

Finally, on KC: I've never understood the decision to hire Todd Haley and I still don't. Everybody knew it was going to be a long rebuilding process, and emotional leaders like Haley don't do long rebuilding processes well, at least generally.