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Hillis making a fool of himself

Published Nov. 4, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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What a week in the NFL!

Is it possible to work Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Andy Reid and Ashton Kutcher into the same column? Actually, it’s rather easy.

Plus, let’s clap our hands for Peyton Hillis on being the worst person in the NFL and a total disgrace to the league.

Our weekly Sizzle and Fizzle.

SIZZLE

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers is more than the league MVP. He’s more than the quarterback of the Super Bowl champs and the undefeated Packers. Aaron Rodgers gets it. He’s the face of the league.

Rodgers was one of many star-studded guests we talked to this week on the SiriusXM Blitz. He acknowledges that the Packers are better now than last year. But in rational fashion, Rodgers says it doesn’t matter.

Rodgers explained, “Sure, we are better right now. But look at the baseball playoffs. Look at the Cardinals coming back from 10 games out and winning the World Series. Look at our path last year. It’s about getting hot at the right time down the stretch of the season and playing your best.”

On the 2011 Packers, Rodgers raves about how the returns of Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley have helped the offense sizzle. He stresses how Jordy Nelson gives him big plays. And Rodgers loves that “We have a balanced offense but we can hurt teams down field.” That’s the truth!

Rodgers rightly loves the look of his Packers, saying “One thing we have going is how we’ve been built as an organization. We’ve grown up together. We are on second contracts together. We have a different confidence. We have dealt with adversity. We’ve been behind at halftime. Our team knows what it takes. We know how to make a play and have a veteran attitude.” This is why Green Bay can take a punch in a game and still win and also deal with injuries during a season.

Rodgers says the Packers won’t be distracted by talk of an undefeated season. “That’s for outside the locker room, not inside. We don’t have guys who run to the media. We’ve dealt with distractions before.” Again, that’s the truth.

Andy Reid

The dream lives, and it lives because the Eagles have the second-best coach in the NFL. Reid told us on Thursday that the team has started to win because they have cut down the penalties and turnovers. He put the blame for the bad start on himself for the play selection, taking responsibility away from Mike Vick and the work-in-progress offensive line. Reid predicts even more consistent play from the line in the second half, pointing out, “Last week was the first time the group was together.”

Reid is 100 percent behind his hand-picked, maligned offensive line coach-turned-defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. He told us, “If I wasn’t, you would’ve heard about it ... I’m behind him and the players are behind him and the attitude is great.” Reid added, “On Sunday night (against Dallas), the defense built on what we did in the Washington game. Actually, we built on what we did in the second half against Buffalo. And we have plenty of room to improve.”

As I wrote in Tuesday’s SCHEIN 9, the Eagles are winning the NFC East. They will smack Chicago on Monday night.

Just don’t expect Reid to kick to Devin Hester, telling us, “When you are talking about the best in history, you kick it to the peanut vendor.”

Mark Sanchez

The Jets quarterback joined us on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday and shot down the notion that the Jets lacked leaders. Sanchez said, “I never bought that at all. That’s crazy talk. We have leaders. I told the guys (during the three-game losing streak) that it is a marathon and not a sprint.”

Sanchez also squashed the notion that the team needs to worry about Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes being divas. Sanchez explained, “This isn’t ‘Days of Our Lives.’ Tone and Plax want to win. They want the ball to help the team win. That’s what you want.”

Sanchez said that the identity of the offense is evolving. Earlier in the year the Jets, “were so excited about our weapons, we went one back and one tight end and all of our receivers,” Sanchez explained. “Now, it is about timely completions and third-down efficiency.” And you have seen Sanchez improve in the last two wins. You’ve seen him eliminate the big turnover.

The quarterback thinks Shonn Greene is ready for 20-25 carries a game to help the offense churn and control the clock.

Fred Jackson

The Bills star running back tells us he is very much convinced Buffalo management will take care of him with a new contract. They better. At the midway point of the year, Jackson, who ranks second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, is my choice for offensive player of the year.

Ryan Leaf

I told Ryan Leaf to his face that I thought he was perhaps the most arrogant and ignorant player in the league in the last 20 years, the way he treated his coaches, teammates and media. Sadly, he agreed. Leaf, the former first-round bust of the Chargers, has been through hell and back. In an emotional, 20-minute interview, he came across humbled and contrite. I completely believe he has changed and was honest about everything that has gone wrong in his life, and how he contributed to it.

And if you don’t believe me, take a look at what Ashton Kutcher tweeted seconds after the live interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio Wednesday afternoon.

@aplusk
Just heard an awesome interview with Ryan Leaf on #NFL radio. His humility made me a fan again.

I’m rooting for Ryan Leaf. I hope he is healthy (he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and starts radiation treatment in November). And I predict he will find success as a college football analyst.

Jay Gruden

The Bengals are 5-2, thanks largely to the new offensive coordinator. Gruden has done wonders with rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. Gruden told us on the SiriusXM Blitz, “Andy is the least of our concerns. He’s wise beyond his years. You can see he can handle volume.” Gruden, a first-time offensive coordinator, puts his young gunslinger in positions to succeed.

On star first-year receiver A.J. Green, Gruden told us, “He can make plays on the ball like no one else can. He can beat anyone with any route.” Gruden deserves so much credit for teaching these young pups how to be pros. At the midway point, Jay Gruden is my assistant coach of the year. What he’s done with the Cincy offense has been unpredictable and flat-out masterful.

Christian Ponder

He’s become the face of the Vikings. Ponder showed off his accuracy, leadership and poise in his first career win over the Carolina Panthers. Credit Vikings coach Leslie Frazier for making Ponder the starter before the Packers game a few weeks ago, and not listening to some foolish pundits who said that would be akin to throwing fresh meat to wolves. Ponder played well against Green Bay and it carried over to the Carolina game. Talking to Frazier this week on the SiriusXM Blitz, the Vikings coach said, “Christian has pep in his step. The team has rallied around him. We improved on third-down efficiency against Green Bay and Carolina. He showed us in the Chicago game he could play against the Bears’ first-teamers. He has been showing us in practice.”

Donovan McNabb

It’s the season to bash McNabb. So I feel compelled to relay this anecdote Frazier gave us. The Vikings coach said “Donovan has been so great with Ponder in practice, in meetings, and during games. Donovan told me that he would treat Ponder the way Doug Pederson helped him in Philly and that’s exactly what we’ve seen. I can’t say enough about his professionalism.” McNabb’s been the anti-Brett Favre, and that’s great for the Vikes and Christian Ponder.

Fizzle

Phil Simms

His comments on our radio questioning Andrew Luck as an NFL quarterback, questioning if he could make NFL throws, went viral this week. ESPN ran the audio twice an hour on SportsCenter on Thursday morning.

I give Simms credit for speaking his mind. I find him insightful. I love talking football with him. He’s one of the best minds in the game. And Simms is not a manufactured talking head. He watches. He studies. I respect Phil Simms.

On this particular subject, we couldn’t disagree more. I think Luck is the next Peyton Manning. John Madden, who has watched every game Luck has played at Stanford, thinks he is the surest thing at the quarterback position. I think Andrew Luck is going to be a star.

Peyton Hillis

Congrats, cowboy. You are the single worst person in the NFL in 2011. You have embarrassed yourself at every single turn. I know you are upset that the Browns didn’t pay you off of your one season of glory. But the sheer fact that you have turned into an unprofessional, self-centered jerk that has single-handedly derailed and dashed the Browns’ dreams is flat-out despicable. And in the process, slick, you have ruined your name around the NFL. You have deemed yourself untrustworthy. You have killed your own market value.

Hillis didn’t play in a game earlier this year because of strep throat. You won’t find me questioning a player’s toughness, but that seemed odd. Then the reports started to circulate that his teammates found it unbelievable. Then his agent started chiming in that he advised Hillis not to play. Hillis has wanted a new contract from the Browns. This was the ultimate, and most pathetic, power play. Hillis has put his own money ahead of the ability for the Browns to win. He fell into Pat Shurmur’s doghouse as a result. Thus, Cleveland started losing as the Browns started chucking it around with Colt McCoy. He’s not that kind of quarterback. The Browns don’t have good receivers. The offense was built around Peyton Hillis. Peyton Hillis doesn’t give a damn. He just cares about himself.

Then Hillis “injured” his hamstring against the Raiders. And for some reason, it just seemed to take longer than usual to heal. He was supposed to practice on Wednesday. He didn’t. This is not exactly surprising news.

And then there’s this.

Peyton Hillis missed an event on Monday. And this wasn’t just any event. He failed to show up to a Boys & Girls Club event where he was supposed to hand out candy to kids. That makes me sick.

Hillis apologized on Wednesday for the “miscommunication” and said, “There was a lot of miscommunication between me and the management that I had and if I knew the full depths of it, I wouldn’t have missed it. I’ve always made community events before (but) that shouldn’t be an excuse now. Like I said, I’m sorry about everything and hopefully in the near future we can be able to make that up.”

Come on. Do you think we are stupid, Peyton? Do you think you’ve earned the benefit of the doubt? You know what you do when you aren’t sure about an event you’ve committed to for kids, right? You pick up the phone or send an email and get it right. Former Brown LeCharles Bentley was the organizer for the event and rightly bashed Hillis.

Hillis has let down the Browns and the entire city of Cleveland. I would play with 10 on offense before I gave him the money he wanted. He is the anti-Aaron Rodgers. He is everything the NFL doesn’t stand for.

Perfect karma hit Hillis hard on Friday when he re-injured his hammy. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweeted that Hillis "looked distraught after re-injuring his hamstring today."

Kind of like those poor kids at the Boys & Girls Club.

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