Sundays of Our Lives: Sideline drama kings - New York Giants News at Giantsground.com

Once the province of gut checks, grace under pressure and steely-eyed comportment, the NFL sideline has become as capricious and emotional as a sorority mixer.

Terrell's tears, Chad's kisses, Andy Reid's play-calling. Can nobody keep their cool at the boundary?

NFL Week 6

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Bears at Falcons

Dolphins at Texans

Ravens at Colts

Lions at Vikings

Raiders at Saints

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Panthers at Bucs

Rams at Redskins

Jaguars at Broncos

Cowboys at Cardinals

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Of Marvins and melodrama, these are the Sundays of Our Lives.

The Eagles Have Landed (In Last Place)

The Campbell Soup Company was the only stock in the S&P 500 to go up on Black Monday last week, a testament perhaps to Donovan McNabb's power as a pitchman.

The Eagles' stock, however, has continued to plummet like an underthrown duck, leading to yet another installment of vocal criticism of the team's quarterback. This time, of course, it came from McNabb himself who wrote on his blog that he was "embarrassed" and that he "didn't do enough to win the game for my team."

How long has it been since things were actually sunny in Philadelphia? Ever since the glacial four-minute drill to end Super Bowl XXXIX in January 2005, Philly has been team turmoil. Terrell Owens embarked on a club-killing insubordination campaign, McNabb's injuries led the team to draft a quarterback and we learned more and more about the Reid family drug emporium.

Now, five weeks after Sports Illustrated predicted the Eagles would go 13-3, McNabb and Co. have taken care of the "3" part. They have proven completely inept at the goal line despite having one of the strongest, most mobile quarterbacks in the league. Their stud running back Brian Westbrook came back from an ankle injury only to fracture two ribs against the Redskins. They are buried two games deep in the basement of the unforgiving NFC East.

Poor Asante Samuel. To think he came to Philly not for the guaranteed money but to win Super Bowls.

Chad Beso Coacho

John Fox suspended star wide receiver Steve Smith for two games, the Panthers won both and sit atop the NFC South at 4-1. Tom Coughlin suspended star wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the Giants crushed the Seahawks and sit atop the NFC East at 4-0. Marvin Lewis got a peck on the cheek from (fading) star wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco, the Bengals lost and sit at the bottom of the AFC North at 0-5.

See a pattern?

Call it the kiss of death. During Sunday's 31-22 loss to the Cowboys, in which he had a meager three catches for 43 yards, Ocho Cinco came to the sideline, leaned in to hear what Coach Lewis had to say and furtively kissed his cheek.

That retching you hear from above is Bear Bryant throwing up into his houndstooth hat.

It's pretty obvious that Lewis's players neither fear nor respect him as a leader. (Imagine a player planting one on Belichick. During a loss!) And it now seems fairly certain the Bengals will be disrespecting some other coach next season. Oh, and welcome back, Chris Henry. Ick.

The Lions Get a W (sort of)

Suddenly the Lions are on a roll. No, they haven't actually secured a victory on the field, or even managed to keep a game close. But things are at least looking up off the field.

First the team removed the millstone of Matt Millen. Now the Lions have won an arbitration victory against one of Millen's biggest busts, wide receiver Charles Rogers.

Responding to a grievance filed by the Lions, an arbitrator ruled that as a consequence of a failed drug test in 2005 Rogers must return $8.5M of the $14M in bonus money he received. To which I'm sure Rogers replied, "Would you like that in cash?" While the team may never actually extract that dough from Rogers the ruling will provide some salary cap relief for execs Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew as they try to rebuild the rubble.

Maybe the 34-7 home beatdown at the hands of the Bears that featured some very tantrum-ish theatrics from (high Millen draft pick) Roy Williams will be rock bottom for Detroit. But this franchise always seems to be able to find a way to dig ever deeper. A trip to Minny likely means more pouting at the end of the bench for Williams as the defense is unable to get off the field.

Was it a Colt's 45?

As Peyton Manning upbraided Marvin Harrison last Sunday for the way he ran a pattern, maybe he had forgotten what happened to the last guy who reportedly got in an argument with Harrison.

Dwight Dixon has filed a civil suit against Harrison for the wide receiver's involvement in Dixon's shooting last April in Philadelphia. Law enforcement officials have revealed that shell casings found at the scene of Dixon's shooting were fired from a gun owned by Harrison.

Given that revelation I find it hard to believe that Harrison will escape sanction.

Let's see, a dispute breaks out between Person A and Person B. Later that night, Person B is shot with a gun belonging to Person A, but we are to believe that Person A bears no responsibility for the shooting.

I mean, if your kid goes into the nightstand, takes out your loaded revolver and shoots the neighbor's dog, you're in serious trouble, right?

An NFL spokesman refused to address the Harrison case specifically but did add that the league's personal conduct policy generally did not apply to civil matters.

Really? Even civil matters involving a discharged firearm? So if Marvin Harrison is found liable for Dixon's injuries in a civil court there will be no action taken by the NFL?

Big Detonation Looming in Big D?

Tick, tick, tick.

As if it isn't stressful enough coming into the season as the consensus favorite.

Cowboys fans are now having to endure almost weekly, tension-filled visits from the PR bomb squad as the team desperately tries to keep its more volatile members from detonating.

After a week that began with Terrell Owens complaining about his opportunities in the offense and ended with him crying on the sideline (overcome with emotion by losing a family member, his love of the Lord or both), reports surfaced that Pacman Jones got in a scrape with one of the men assigned by Jerry Jones to keep him out of trouble. Anyone who glimpsed Pac's hostility toward Tank Johnson in an eerie sequence on Hard Knocks could hardly be surprised. Apparently changing your life requires more than insisting on being called Adam.

Just three more months until the 'Boys take another crack at ending that 12-year playoff drought. What could go wrong?

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