Free Republic

The Redskins will say they're not giving up on Robert Griffin III, that he can be developed, that he can still become the quarterback they hoped he would be -- and expected him to be -- when they gave up four draft picks for him in 2012. It's hard to believe them. Everything else suggests this is the end for Griffin in Washington.

Week 13 Thursday, Nov. 27 Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30 San Diego Chargers vs. Baltimore Ravens, 1p.m. Cleveland Browns vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. Washington Redskins vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. New York Giants vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. Carolina Panthers vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. New Orleans Saints vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. Oakland Raiders vs. St. Louis Rams, 1 p.m. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. Arizona Cardinals vs....

After a long climb, Jay Gruden finally became a head coach. And now Gruden shouldn’t allow Robert Griffin III’s problems to derail his career, too. In his first season with the Washington Redskins, people within the organization say, Gruden has seen enough to determine that Griffin at best will be a long-term project as a pocket passer. If it were up to Gruden, the Redskins would spend this offseason finding a new starting quarterback. But owner Daniel Snyder and President and General Manager Bruce Allen will make that call.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has what team officials believe is lymphoma -- a form of cancer -- and has been placed on the season-ending non-football illness list. Berry will undergo further testing at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to complete the diagnosis. "At this point in time, we don't have a definitive diagnosis," Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "But the leading consideration for what he has right now is lymphoma.

Michael Sam, the NFL’s first openly gay player, would have preferred not to come out the way he did before the NFL draft last year. “If I had it my way, I never would have done it the way I did, never would have told it the way I did,” says Sam, a former all-star at the University of Missouri, in GQ’s latest issue.

Sports fans can be idiots. This is nothing new but they continue to go where no fan has gone before. Take Tony Williams, for example. He intercepted a pass on Sunday at the Superdome (or whatever it’s called now) in New Orleans during the Saints game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Tony doesn’t play for the Saints or the Bengals. He’s a 70-year old Saints fan who intercepted a pass intended for a Bengals fan who was sitting next to him in the end zone seats. She (that’s right, SHE) was wearing a Bengals jersey. Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham scored...

We've highlighted Giants receiver Odell Beckham's skills before, but this is unreal. Check out the athleticism he employs to snag this ball with one hand and still make it into the end zone. Even Al Michaels couldn't believe what he'd seen, and he's seen everything.

Don Paul, a fierce football player for UCLA in the 1940s who went on to help the Los Angeles Rams win an NFL championship, has died. He was 89. Paul died of respiratory failure Nov. 8 in Woodland Hills after an extended illness, his family announced. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Paul earned a UCLA football letter in each of four seasons — 1943, '44, '46 and '47 — with his Bruin career split by Navy service during World War II. He played center and linebacker, was chosen team captain three times and, according to UCLA, was the first freshman player to...

Less than two years ago some believed Robert Griffin III could change the way the United States was governed. Not just change the football fortunes of the Washington Redskins, not just change the bottom line for Nike or Subway or anyone else who'd jumped in with a pleasant, charismatic and dynamic quarterback, not just change how his position is played, in his case with 4.3 speed and an accurate arm. No, he could change American governance.

Less than two years ago some believed Robert Griffin III could change the way the United States was governed. Not just change the football fortunes of the Washington Redskins, not just change the bottom line for Nike or Subway or anyone else who'd jumped in with a pleasant, charismatic and dynamic quarterback, not just change how his position is played, in his case with 4.3 speed and an accurate arm.

On October 3, 1995, O.J. Simpson was found "not guilty" of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, even though any reasonable person knew that he was guilty. Basically this was a case of "jury nullification". Reaction to the verdict was divided among racial lines. However, it is important to point out that no cities were burned and no whites retaliated by taking TVs and designer clothing out of department stores. Basically they sucked it up and got on with their lives. However, O.J. Simpson did not get away with murder after all. From that point on, O.J. Simpson's life...

Locker room leadership can be overrated. How a quarterback really loses his team is by leaving receivers open on the field. This is Robert Griffin’s biggest problem, and has been throughout his career. What’s most concerning is that he’s leaving receivers on the field out of a variety of formations and against a variety of coverages. The common thread is bad mechanics and a poor sense of timing. Here are some examples from when Griffin returned to action two weeks ago after suffering a dislocated ankle in early September. To a small degree, his struggles can be attributed to rust....

Week 12 Bye teams: Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday, Nov. 20 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders, 8:25 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots, 1 p.m. Tennessee Titans vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. St. Louis Rams vs. San Diego Chargers, 4:05 p.m. Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. Miami Dolphins...

Jaguars cornerback Dwayne Gratz’s first trip to Miami ended with a visit to jail. Gratz was arrested at 5:53 a.m. Sunday by the Miami Beach Police Department following a disturbance and was cited for disorderly intoxication and trespassing. Police were called when a store employee balked at Gratz’s request to pay for his items with bubble gum instead of money.

Well, this is becoming a bit of a weekly tradition now isn’t it? For a third consecutive week and the fourth time this season, The Walking Dead has solidly beat Sunday Night Football among adults 18-49. In the sixth episode of its fifth season, the blockbuster AMC series drew a 7.3 rating among the key demo while the New England Patriots’ 42-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts got a 6.2. That’s a 15% spread.

WASHINGTON -- In an unprecedented step, agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration conducted surprise inspections Sunday, targeting the medical and training staffs of visiting NFL teams, in an effort to determine whether they violated federal drug laws governing the handling and distribution of prescription painkillers, "Outside the Lines" has learned. A federal law enforcement official, with knowledge of the investigation, told "Outside the Lines" the inspections were motivated by allegations raised in a May 2014 federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of several prominent NFL players, who allege team physicians and trainers routinely gave them painkillers in an illegal manner...

Federal drug enforcement agents showed up unannounced Sunday to check at least two visiting NFL teams' medical staffs as part of an investigation into former players' claims that teams mishandled prescription drugs.

What can be said about a New Orleans Saints fan elbowing a young woman in the face, outmuscling her, and ripping a souvenir football from her?

The Atlanta Falcons aren't dead -- far from it. Mike Smith's team moved into a first-place tie in the lumpy NFC South with a 19-17 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Our takeaways: 1. Give the Falcons credit: They could have folded after Cam Newton led the Panthers on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives, turning a 16-3 Atlanta lead into a 17-16 deficit. But Matt Ryan led the Falcons back down the field, got the go-ahead field goal from Matt Bryant, then held on defense with the help of Graham Gano, who missed a 46-yard kick, then had...

Washington D.C.’s non-voting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill Wednesday that would strip tax-exempt status from professional sports teams that associate with the Redskins team name, which she said “has officially been found offensive." Norton’s bill is a companion measure to one offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wa. Norton, a Democrat, cited a recent decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deny the renewal of the Redskins name, which is currently under appeal by team owner Daniel Snyder. “Continued use of the current team name and mascot is not only inconsistent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark...