Coach Killers: Week 16 Edition

SRW · Dec 23, 2007

Coach Killers, Week 16: Puntin' Is Hard Work

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Jon Ryan, Packers
Here's all you need to know about the Packers second-year punter: Green Bay attempted to punt six times, and Ryan got off three of them. And one of the successful boots went nine yards. Nine. In chronological order, here's how Ryan's Chicago Adventure unfolded:

* Fumble snap
* Blocked punt
* 47-yard punt
* 9-yard punt
* Blocked punt (returned for TD)
* 39-yard punt

It's worth pointing out that the wind chill was -1 in Chicago Sunday, and Packers quarterback Brett Favre didn't exactly help things; he tossed two interceptions, one a pick-six. The loss gives the Cowboys homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, which might be fine with Favre, who described the conditions in Chicago as the worst he's seen in 17 seasons.

Silver lining for Ryan: he manged to successfully hold for kicker Mason Crosby on the Packers' lone extra-point attempt. So there's that.

Derek Anderson, Browns
Anderson has lousy timing. The former backup-turned-bona fide starter laid an egg at the worst possible time Sunday. With a win against the five-win Bengals, the Browns had a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2002.

Instead, Anderson gifted Cincinnati 13 points on two late first-half interceptions. Just to show that he was in the giving mood this holiday season, Anderson threw another in the Bengals' end zone, and added one more for good measure. Unlike picks that are a consequence of a tipped ball, or a wide receiver running the wrong route, all four were squarely on Anderson. If he wasn't forcing passes into coverage, he was missing his targets by four and five yards.

One of the knocks on Anderson is his occasional bouts with inaccuracy. It's certainly not enough to change anyone's opinion of him as the team's starter, but now the team's postseason fate is out of their hands. If the Titans win next week -- no matter how the Browns fare -- Tennessee heads to the playoffs and Cleveland heads home.

Scott Linehan, Rams

It's hard to get too worked up over the three-win Rams but when future Hall of Fame wideout Torry Holt goes T.O. on his second-year head coach, it merits a mention. No one blames Holt for being frustrated -- by the time he blew his stack, the Steelers were up 41-24, the game was all but decided, and the nine-year veteran had only three receptions.

What makes the outburst noteworthy, though, is that Holt is one of the NFL's nice guys; a hard worker who is known more for his amazing route-running skills and soft hands than for running his yap like so many of his peers. Linehan tried to downplay the episode after the game -- and rumors have him coming back next season, so it likely won't affect his future with the team -- but there's a reason Holt went ballistic.

To be fair, Linehan did win eight games in his first year on the job in 2007, and the Rams have been beset by injuries this season, but, hey, every team is battling injuries ... it's hardly an excuse for losing 12 times (even if Gus Frerotte was your quarterback on seven different occasions). Or, worse, making your mild-mannered superstar wideout go bonkers in a sideline tirade.

Warren Sapp, Raiders
Sapp is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore. Actually, I'm guessing he's fed up with playing for the Raiders, and was just looking for an early exit against the Jaguars. Jacksonville was in the middle of a 49-11 shellacking, and after a strange series of officials' calls and recalls, Sapp snapped. He earn a hat trick of unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties, which is one more than you need to get tossed.

Oakland trailed 28-3 when Sapp was red-carded just before the half -- his loss didn't affect the outcome -- but by the time it was over, seldom-used Jags backup Quinn Gray had tossed two touchdowns, Fred Taylor had 111 rushing yards on seven carries, and Matt Jones snagged an amazing 37-yard touchdown reception ... for his only catch of the game (typical Matt Jones).

Raiders fans, altogether now: One more week, one more week, one more week.

Michael Clayton, Buccaneers

The Buccaneers lost to the four-win 49ers by two points. Josh McCown, in for Jeff Garcia, led a late touchdown drive to cut San Francisco's eight-point lead to two. On the two-point conversion, McCown found wide receiver Michael Clayton in the back of the end zone, but the former first-round pick inexplicably only got one foot in bounds.

Clayton also dropped what could have been a potential first down earlier in the drive, but thank God for Jerramy Stevens, who hauled in McCown touchdown pass two plays later. The former LSU star who's seen his productivity drop in each of his four NFL seasons, was only in the lineup because Ike Hilliard came out of the game in the first half. Clayton's only started three games this season, and has just 17 receptions for 241 yards. This comes three seasons after Clayton started 13 games and hauled in 80 passes for 1,193 yards.

The loss doesn't affect Tampa Bay's postseason aspirations -- the Bucs won the NFC South so they'll have one home game -- but it moves them from the No. 3 to the No. 4 seed. That may not make much difference either, but it might not have been an issue if Clayton had come down in bounds.
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Coach Killers: Week 16 Edition

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