The Tiger Report: 12/05/11

Monday, December 5, 2011

There is a push to keep Sparano in Miami

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 5, 2011, 3:55 PM EST

Dolphins' Tony Sparano and Taylor smile during the second half of their NFL football game against the Bills in Miami

Reuters

On Sunday, I noted the Dolphins have to be one of the best 4-8 teams of all time.

Their recent surge has sparked the early stages of a movement in Miami that was unimaginable when the Dolphins were 0-7. There is some momentum towards keeping Tony Sparano.

Edward Pope of the Miami Herald wrote a column on Mondaysaying to bring back coach Sparano and G.M. Jeff Ireland for another season.

Armando Salguero of the same paper isn’t so sure, asking if theDolphins lack talent or did they just underperform early in the season?

This is the perfect question to ask. Even though Sparano has his team playing well now, why have they lost so many games during which they looked like the better team? This has been a recurring theme during Sparano’s tenure.

The Dolphins players have come out strongly in support of Sparano.

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Jaguars claim Taylor Price

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 5, 2011, 4:53 PM EST

Taylor Price is heading to Jacksonville.

Price, the 2010 third-round draft pick who was waived by the Patriots on Saturday, has been claimed by the Jaguars.

In two seasons with the Patriots Price played in just four games and caught only three passes, and he was one of the bigger draft disappointments for New England in the last few years.

Still, Price is a very talented athlete who’s only 24 years old. It’s entirely possible that the Jaguars just found themselves a keeper, even if he never worked out in New England.

Report: Brett Favre would listen if Chicago came calling

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 5, 2011, 2:08 PM EST

Getty Images

The quarterback situation in Chicago is dire enough that there’s actually talk about what once would have been unthinkable: Brett Favre in a Bears uniform.

A source familiar with Favre’s thinking told ESPNChicago.com that Favre would listen if the Bears came calling.

It’s hard to fathom what the atmosphere would be like for the Christmas Day Bears-Packers game if Favre were the Bears’ quarterback, with a Chicago playoff bid potentially on the line, but it’s probably safe to say that this isn’t actually going to happen: The Bears are insisting that they’re not going to add any quarterbacks, and Favre hasn’t played in almost a year and looked well past his prime the last time he did play.

But the fact that sources close to Favre are telling reporters he’s interested in hearing from the Bears indicates that he doesn’t think his football career is completely over. Or at least that he enjoys having his name mentioned.

49ers rookie Aldon Smith and the greatest celebration ever

Dan Fogarty - SportsGrid

This might be the start of something, folks. In perhaps the most subversive celebratory dance of all time, the 49ers’ Aldon Smith recorded a sack during Sunday’s win over the Rams, then… immediately ran off the field and sat on the bench. Perhaps the only way this could’ve been better is if he then ate a sandwich, or read a newspaper.

We’re not sure who Smith is making fun of here, but he’s making fun of someone. Is it NBC commentator/moral policeman Bob Costas, who last weekend decried celebrations in football during a much-talked about pregame sermon? Is it NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the man whose job it is to make sure players in the No Fun League don’t have any fun? Or maybe Smith is starting a Dada Movement in celebration dances, and his run to the bench is meant to highlight the meaninglessness of the modern world. Regardless, this man is some sort of sack dance genius, and we’re on board with what he’s started.

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Lovie Smith: We're not signing anyone

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 5, 2011, 1:40 PM EST

Perhaps the Bears considered signing Donovan McNabb last night and this morning in the wake of Caleb Hanie’s latest ugly performance.

Lovie Smith made it clear at his press conference Monday that they aren’t considering McNabb any more. Like Devin Hester, Smith seems to view any additions as a waste of time.

“That’s our group. We’re going to make improvements. We’re not looking on the outside,” Smith said. “We don’t have a quarterback tryout or anything like that.”

That group is Hanie, rookie Nathan Enderle, and recent pickup Josh McCown. Smith isn’t considering replacing Hanie after his second straight three interception game.

“Caleb’s our quarterback,” Smith said.

That should remind Bears fans of Lovie’s old catchphrase: “Rex is our quarterback.”

Smith also denied a report that Mike Martz will not be back with the team next year.

“That has to be made up. Nothing like that came from me,” Smith said.

So, to review: Nothing to see here folks.

Matt Forte has an MCL sprain, not tear

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 5, 2011, 11:15 AM EST

An MRI confirmed Monday that Bears running back Matt Forte isn’t out for the season.

He will be out at least a few weeks, and it’s worth wondering where the Bears will stand in the playoff race when Forte is able to play again.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Forte has a grade 2 MCL sprain. There was no damage to his ACL. He could be out anywhere from 2-6 weeks according to ESPN’s Trey Wingo.

Forte has to be breathing a sigh of relief. We wouldn’t blame him one bit if he didn’t rush back to the lineup until he was fully healthy considering his contract is up at the end of the year.

We made the case a few weeks ago that the Bears weren’t guaranteed to win any given week after Jay Cutler’s injury and they could go 2-4 down the stretch.

Bears fans were apoplectic, citing examples like a home game against Kansas City as sure wins.

After Sunday’s 10-3 loss against the Chiefs and Forte’s injury, all bets are off with this team. It took an injury for Cutler’s true value to show up.

12/5 Monday morning one-liners

Posted by Josh Alper on December 5, 2011, 9:52 AM EST

Green Bay Packers Nelson makes a catch next to New York Giants Blackmon helping set up the game winning field goal in the the fourth quarter during their NFL football game in East Rutherford

Reuters

The best day of Bills RB C.J. Spiller’s career wasn’t enough to get the team a victory.

Edwin Pope of the Miami Herald thinks Dolphins coach Tony Sparano is making a strong case to keep his job.

WR Matthew Slater saw a fair bit of time in the Patriots secondary against the Colts.

LB Aaron Maybin made another big play for the Jets when he sacked QB Rex Grossman and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.

Ravens rookie CB Jimmy Smith intercepted a pass in his first start of the season.

It wasn’t the best day of the season for Bengals QB Andy Dalton.

Said Browns DL Scott Paxson, “We got slaughtered. They kicked our butt up front. We’ve just got to swallow it and move on.”

Antonio Brown finally broke a big return for the Steelers.

Texans LB DeMeco Ryans said he has never heard Reliant Stadium louder than it was on Sunday.

QB Dan Orlovsky played well in his first Colts start although he wasn’t dwelling on that after the game.

The new look Jaguars have their coming out party on Monday night.

Injuries forced the Titans to scramble in their secondary against the Bills.

A big day by LB Mario Haggan meant that the Broncos didn’t miss Von Millertoo much.

Chiefs rookie LB Justin Houston had three sacks in his best game of the season.

A lack of explosiveness on offense caught up to the Raiders in Miami.

The Chargers are trying to put off the inevitable for another week.

RB Felix Jones played a bigger role in the Cowboys offense this week.

LB Chase Blackburn had an interception in his return to the Giants.

A look at the Eagles with the most to gain and most to lose in the final four weeks.

The Redskins will lose two of their few remaining offensive talents with the suspensions of TE Fred Davis and T Trent Williams.

Allowing seven sacks on Sunday is just one reason why it might be panic time for the Bears.

T Jeff Backus set a Lions record with his 172nd consecutive start on Sunday night.

Packers WR Jordy Nelson put some more highlights into a season filled with them on Sunday.

Another huge day for DE Jared Allen was made less enjoyable by another Vikings loss.

A holding call on CB Dunta Robinson cost the Falcons their best chance at beating the Texans.

It was quite a day for Panthers QB Cam Newton.

Jimmy Graham became the first Saints tight end to record 1,000-plus receiving yards in a season.

Buccaneers DE Da’Quan Bowers had 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits in his second NFL start.

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Devin Hester: Signing McNabb would be a waste of time

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 5, 2011, 10:01 AM EST

Getty Images

The report that the Bears might consider signing Donovan McNabb doesn’t sound like a great idea to one of the Bears’ starting receivers.

Devin Hester said on Mike and Mike in the Morning that he doesn’t think there’s any way McNabb could show up in Chicago this week and get up to speed fast enough with the Bears’ offense to make a difference. And Hester even suggested that McNabb’s arrival could be counterproductive, as any time spent working with McNabb would take away from time the rest of the offense needs to work with Caleb Hanie, who is struggling in his role as the replacement for the injured Jay Cutler.

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Week 13 Monday 10-pack

Posted by Mike Florio on December 5, 2011, 8:48 AM EST

The 13th Sunday of the NFL season brought bad luck for plenty of teams. But good luck for others.

And that’s the extent to which I’ll force a triskaidekaphobia-inspired introduction onto this week’s edition of the Monday 10-pack.

Actually, I could also expand the normal list of 10 takes to 13. Luckily enough, I know not to take on the extra work.

1. Packers close in on 16-0.

Many believed that, if the Packers could get past the giant-killing Giants in Week 13, the defending Super Bowl champs would be virtually guaranteed a perfect regular season.

Given the current state of the four remaining opponents, that outcome is looking more and more likely.

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Schwartz and Raiola's reaction to stupid penalties

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 5, 2011, 7:52 AM EST

Getty Images

Everyone who watched Sunday night’s Lions-Saints game wondered the same thing: How on earth can Detroit commit so many stupid penalties?

Lions coach Jim Schwartz sounded after the game like he’s wondering that, too, and he said he’s particularly disappointed that the Lions picked up three different post-play personal fouls, indicating that his team didn’t learn from Ndamukong Suh getting a two-game suspension for a post-play personal foul.

“I’ve been very understanding on penalties that occur within the play,” Schwartz said, via MLive.com. “Something that has to do with the play, whether it’s pass interference or holding or something like that. There’s no excuse for the multiple penalties we had today.”

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Lions continue to play stupid, undisciplined football

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 4, 2011, 11:49 PM EST

Getty Images

The Lions got another national television audience Sunday night. The opposition changed, but the bone-headed penalties by Detroit remained a constant.

Even with Ndamukong Suh suspended, the Lions still fielded the least disciplined team this side of Oakland. At some point, this has to come back to coach Jim Schwartz.

The Saints beat the Lions 31-17 for many reasons on Sunday;Drew Brees being primary among them. But Detroit could have been so much more competitive if not for penalties.

The Lions took three personal foul penalties after the whistle, including tight end Brandon Pettigrew’s shove of an official. Each penalty came at a critical moment and cost the team dearly.

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