The Philadelphia Eagles have the NFL's best record at 10-1, thanks in part to the emergence of second-year quarterback Carson Wentz.
Barry Wilner of The Associated Press praised the Eagles for drafting Wentz in 2016 while criticizing the Cleveland Browns for their quarterback evaluation.
"In their own ways, the Eagles and Browns are setting new standards for their franchises.
"In Philadelphia, they're embracing it: 'Fly Eagles Fly.'
"In Cleveland, they're repulsing it: 'Why Browns Why?'
"Maybe those nicknames of 'City of Brotherly Love' for Philly, and 'Mistake by the Lake' for Cleveland have some merit -- at least in NFL 2017.
"There's a link here that can't be ignored, of course: Carson Wentz.
"The Browns have been searching for a quarterback since the days of Otto Graham. Well, not exactly, but certainly since they returned to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
"The opportunity was there in '99 when the Browns had the first overall draft choice. They used it on Tim Couch.
"Selecting second, Philadelphia took Donovan McNabb. He took the Eagles to a Super Bowl.
"Here comes the synergy: Cleveland had a chance to select Wentz in last year's draft, but dealt the second overall choice to the Eagles, who took him. Later on, the Browns took Cody Kessler. This year, they went for DeShone Kizer.
"Perhaps they can take inspiration from the Eagles."
Upset apple cart
Washington State Coach Mike Leach saw his Cougars drop their third consecutive Apple Cup to Washington, 41-14, on Saturday in Seattle.
John Blanchette of the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., said the Huskies wanted to win the Apple Cup more than the Cougars and that Leach, the former coach at Texas Tech, believes the game is just another game on the schedule, instead of looking at it as a rivalry game.
"While we were all still chuckling at Mike Leach's oh-so-original and comical thoughts on weddings and his incisive theories into the College Football Playoff over the past couple of weeks, his Washington State football team was losing another Apple Cup, 41-14.
"Just an estimate. Stopped paying attention at halftime, or shortly after the Cougars did, apparently.
"Do we see a trend here?
"Man, what's Leach using for the pregame speech? A collection of his tweets on sovereign immunity?
"We know what he's using for the postgame explanation.
" 'We were trying to do too much,' he said at one point.
"Where have we heard that before? Oh, pretty much after any Cougars loss, but particularly the previous four Apple Cups. Now after Saturday's ... 41-14 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Huskies, the Cougars have been outscored 162-54 in the past five meetings."
He said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald:
• "This year, small children in Nebraska are writing letters to Santa asking for 'Scott Frost' for Christmas."
• "Last week was rivalry week featuring Ohio State vs. Michigan, Alabama vs. Auburn, President Trump vs. LaVar Ball."
• "During a fourth-tier soccer match in England, a fan furious his team was losing ran on the field to shout at players. So this guy never heard of Twitter?"
• "During the Nebraska-Iowa game, an FS1 guy said of Husker linebacker Chris Weber: "Medical school beckons if the NFL doesn't work out." I'm not sure how I'd feel about a doctor who's just there because it's his rebound job."
• "It's official. Nebraska has a higher turnover rate for head football coaches than Arby's does for people who work the drive-thru window."
SPORTS QUIZ
Who was the last coach to lead Washington State to the Rose Bowl?
ANSWER
Mike Price, who led the Cougars to the Rose Bowl in the 2002 season.
Sports on 11/28/2017