Spanning the Web on a Friday
Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk has joined the bandwagon in claiming Eric Mangini is on the hot seat, writing that:
“Throughout much of the 2009 season, the question regarding Mangini wasn’t if he’d be fired or when he’d be fired, but whether the Browns would try to do it with ’cause’ and thus cut off his ongoing payments.
“His first year in Cleveland had been a disaster, damaged by a string of reports that he was too hard on the players and destroyed by a horrendous win-loss record. But then the Browns caught fire late in the season, and new team president Mike Holmgren apparently decided that giving Mangini at least one more year represented a no-lose proposition.
“If Mangini loses, Holmgren will make the easy decision to move on. And then Holmgren likely will give Jon Gruden a call.”
Can’t we even wait until the season starts to see if the team can carry over any momentum from last year? Maybe see if the offense can be a bit more productive this year? If the defense – with all the new faces – can push some people around?
Is that too much to ask?
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Via The Spoiler comes news that the England Department of Health released the findings of a survey into which soccer fans drank, smoke and ate the most. Turns out Sunderland fans are the most unhealthy, although you can’t tell from that photo of a Newcastle fan.
It would be interesting to see a similar study of NFL fans. You know Pittsburgh would be at the top.
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This collection of artwork from the covers of AFL game programs is great. The cartoon illustrations are sweet and it’s an interesting reminder of how attitudes have changed over the past 40 years. The one image I found confusing was this one: since the Browns were 52-4-3 in league play and won all four league championships, shouldn’t they have been the ones driving the steamroller? Thanks to Uni Watch for the initial link.
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EPL Talk checks in with its weekend viewing guide.
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It didn’t take very long for the Miami media to become LeBron’s new apologists. Interesting to see how long that will last.
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Finally, the Browns take the field Saturday night against St. Louis in their second preseason game. The struggles on defense were understandable with T.J. Ward and Joe Haden getting their first game experience and several new faces on defense, plus they were going against Green Bay’s talented offense.
This week they get Sam Bradford and the weak Rams offense. It’s not unreasonable to expect a better showing from the defense this week.
It will be interesting to see if the offense can show the same sense of purpose and success they had last week. It would be nice to see Jake Delhomme for a few additional series, as well, so the starters can start rounding in to shape.
Red Right 88 
