What I Learned this Weekend

(and what I've finally figured out after 13 weeks)

1. Head Coach Job Security Report for 2010:
FIRED: G. Kubiak (Hou), E. Mangini (Cle), J. Zorn (Was)
DOUBTFUL: W. Phillips (Dal), L. Smith (Chi), J. Fox (Car)
QUESTIONABLE: P. Fewell (Buf), J. Mora (Sea), R. Morris (TB)
PROBABLE: T. Coughlin (NYG), J. Schwartz (Det), M. Singletary (SFO)

In my (somewhat) humble opinion, the teams that absolutely must find a new coach in order to reach their potential are: Houston, Cleveland, Dallas, Buffalo, Seattle, Tampa Bay, NYG, San Francisco, Green Bay, and Minnesota (congratulations to Norv Turner for finally taking San Diego off this list). Despite being 10-2, Minnesota had a very poor offensive gameplan against Arizona. Football fans all season have been debating as to whether Brett Favre deserves credit for his career-best efficiency this season or whether he has succeeded mostly as a product of the dangerous rushing attack. In the 24 offensive plays Minnesota ran between Arizona taking a 21-10 lead and my assertion that the game had gotten out of Minnesota's reach (when Arizona took over up 27-10 with less than ten minutes to go... Minnesota would next take over on offense down 30-10 with just over 4:00 remaining in the game), they ran Adrian Peterson three times. I had been yelling that Arizona had been dropping back into zone coverage, a perfect opportunity for taking the game over. Unless Childress has been hiding that Peterson is injured (not impossible), he unnecessarily forced Favre into a situation where he had to make low percentage throws and took the game out of Minnesota's control. Minnesota has too much talent to lose a game that badly.

2. The Much Discussed Romo December Collapse

has not happened yet. Romo and the Cowboys played one of their best games of the year on Sunday against the Giants... but the Giants played better. When teams are executing up to their potential, the NFC East is capable of dominating any other division with the possible exception of the AFC South (I'd still give the NFC East the edge). The division is loaded with the most talent while cursed with the worst coaches. Both teams came out with a solid gameplan in a playoff atmosphere. Defensively, the Cowboys were more aggressive with their secondary while the Giants used the "bend but don't break" approach. Dallas had some lucky breaks on tipped balls to take a 10-0 lead, but the Giants' intensity gave me confidence that Big Blue could make a comeback. My favorite play of the game was watching a pressured Eli Manning dump the ball to Kevin Boss for a 16 yard gain. I've been waiting for the Giants to run plays like this all season and wrote (in bold print) "why they’ve yet to try a dumpout screen to Boss is beyond me." The lack of the Giants' production on offense still scares me, but I fully expect the Giants to make the playoffs, especially if Minnesota returns the Giants' favor to them last year by resting their starters in Week 17. Expect Big Blue to make a lot of noise down the stretch. Great performance on Sunday- especially to Romo, Witten, and the Giants' coaching staff.

3. The NFC West: Cardinals Rule

Since winning their division for the first time since Gerald Ford was in the White House, Arizona has consistently been playing up to the potential of their offense. I owe Coach Ken Whisenhunt a lot of credit. He's done a phenomenal job since taking over in Arizona and deserves serious consideration for Coach of the Year. Conversely, I think San Francisco has a more complete team than Arizona, especially on defense. While I think Mike Singletary is a superb motivator for the defense especially, I think his inexperience running the game has hurt San Francisco- specifically in games against the AFC South. I think Singletary is best as a top defensive coordinator

4. South divisions set

In my preseason projections, I predicted the closest division race would be in the AFC North, while the easiest division title would be the AFC West. After 13 weeks, the Chargers do have a lead in the AFC West but are only ahead of the surprising Denver Broncos by one game, while the Colts and Saints have both secured their division titles already while the Vikings, Bengals, and Cardinals all have comfortable leads in theirs.

5. Bye-Bye Bye Teams

Last year the Titans, Steelers, Giants, and Panthers earned first round byes in the playoffs. If the playoffs started today, none of these teams would even qualify. My money says that of the four, only the Giants will make the playoffs this year, but I’m sure you could’ve guessed that.

6. I did to Jay Cutler what the media did to Michael Jackson.

When the media mentioned Michael Jackson the day before his death, and the many days before that, the words “crazy,” “tragic,” and “unfortunate downfall” were used much more commonly than “genius” or “King of Pop.” A headline grabbing death later? Anybody who mentioned Michael spoke in awe of how revolutionary he was for the music industry, and rightfully so. Now, I’ve always felt that the early-career struggles of Vince Young and Matt Leinart made their fellow 2006 1st round QB overrated by the media. After all, Cutler still has yet to lead an NFL team to a winning record in a season. When Chicago traded for Cutler, the new environment somehow gave me confidence that he’d succeed in ways he never did with Denver. In my defense, I had no idea the Bears’ running game would evaporate. While we’re on the subject, I must also admit that I Allen Iversoned Cedric Benson (wrote him off after he struggled in a system that didn’t fit his strengths) and Jason Kidded Peyton Manning (decided that even though he made everyone around him appear much better with his play, new personnel would mean he would regress).

7. By the Skins of their Teeth!
The Saints’ come-from-behind win over a backwards Redskins team that had been playing them all game was frankly one of the weirdest experiences watching a game I’d had all year. I had been in contact with my partner in crime as a preteen sports fanatic, Carter, and from the flashes of the game I’d seen agreed with his assessment that Washington had been playing a significantly better game of football than New Orleans. Yet, as FOX’s NFL crew tweeted that they felt the Saints were not done, I had to agree that you couldn’t count the game as over yet. After all, this game was a matchup between a team of winners and a team of losers, and their destinies were fulfilled. Shaun Suisham missed a career summarizing 23 yard field goal to put the Saints in position to take the game back. Sure enough, the Saints came storming back to win this one in overtime.

8. And on the Subject of Carter…

I’d like to wish the aforementioned Carter a happy 21st birthday (yesterday). To celebrate, I’m including a list of quarterbacks who have started for Carter’s favorite NFL team (Cleveland) and coaches who’ve coached for his second favorite NFL team (St. Louis) in the games they’ve played in the span of their last 21 victories…

Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn…
Mike Martz, Joe Vitt, Scott Linehan, Jim Haslett, Steve Spagnuolo…

Carter, this takes us back to the days before Apple even announced the iPhone… oh and in case you’re wondering, my list looks like: Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin

9. Award Update:

My awards for Most Outstanding Player and Coach of the Year look like:

MVP COY
5. Philip Rivers 5. Tony Sparano
4. Drew Brees 4. Marvin Lewis
3. Darrelle Revis 3. Ken Whisenhunt
2. Chris Johnson 2. Josh McDaniels
1. Peyton Manning 1. Sean Payton

HM: Brett Favre HM: Jim Caldwell

10. Bailing on Baltimore

Despite being a mediocre 6-6, I’m still not ready to give up on Baltimore. They’re finally hitting a soft stretch of the schedule which makes them a legitimate threat to finish at 10-6. Admittedly, I overrated Joe Flacco. I’ve seen Flacco barely miss receivers on third down conversions all year. His performance Sunday Night against Green Bay was terrible. Baltimore would be better served with a scrambling quarterback who can make plays with his feet. They’ve completely given up on Le’Ron McClain, a fantasy football gold mine from just one year ago. Baltimore needs to right the ship quickly to make a playoff run of any consequence.




Wish me luck on Finals… Don’t expect too much new stuff this week… lots more coming next week