NFL 2008

[Evil Chase K]

Well that was certainly an interesting final week.

As for the playoffs, I know everyone's high on the Colts but I'm not seeing it. They barely beat Detroit, Cleveland, and Jacksonville down the stretch. Sure they beat New England, Pittsburgh and Tennessee but the Titans rested everyone, and the Colts got some lucky breaks against the Steelers. I would not be surprised at ALL to see the Chargers beat them in round one.

As for Dolphins/Ravens. I'd love to see Miami take it, but I'd be shocked if they do.

In the NFC, it's clear to me that Arizona doesn't deserve their playoff spot and I can't see them lasting past the first round. As for the Vikings/Eagles game I don't know what to think. Could go either way.

[GhostMachine]

In the NFC, it's clear to me that Arizona doesn't deserve their playoff spot and I can't see them lasting past the first round. As for the Vikings/Eagles game I don't know what to think. Could go either way.

Agreed concerning Arizona. But I think the Eagles' D will eat Tavaris Jackson alive if he's not careful.

[gunnar hendershow]

If the NFL was truly a league that values competition it would remove Arizona from the playoffs and have New England take their place.

Also, SHOCKING that Chase wants the Dolphins to beat the Ravens.

I think in reality, going back to my predictions, whoever wins the Colts and Steelers matchup is definitely going to Tampa.

[jase12881]

So I guess the Lions took a look at the GM candidates out there and decided...you know what? To hell with it...let's just promote from within! So they promoted Martin Mayhew (Millen's assistant GM) to GM, and Tom Lewand (Chief Operating Officer) to Team President. Yay for more of the same!

Here's to back-to-back 0-16 seasons!

Maybe we can promote Jim Colletto to head coach! Afterall, whoever they get is just throwing his career away anyways

Edited December 30, 2008 by jase12881

[Maxx]

And the Cowboys give the Lions permission to speak with Jason Garrett, probably because they don't think he'll take a job there.

Personally, I hope he does. Then I hope San Diego gets knocked out in the first round and Norv Turner is fired so we can bring him back into the fold.

[livid]

Unless he comes back to San Fran.

[CQI13]

Mangini is debatable for sure, but I just don't think he'd done enough to warrant the firing. I don't care who you are, you can't out coach 22 INT's from that guy that was brought in as the savior. He has no control over that. Besides, the strength of the team is the running game why the fuck not ram the ball 4 straight times ? That's just a personal take on philosophy though. Yeah, he isn't on par with the top echelon and got a bit of an over praising, but he certainly shouldn't have been fired. I mean, now what ? The Favre experiment failed and you've probably got a hole now because he probably isn't coming back. You've got SHIT at QB. Thomas Jones and the running game overachieved so banking on that wouldn't be all that great. Mangini got out of the team what they are. 8/10 win team on the bubble of the playoffs. That's what they did. I sure as hell wouldn't want to take away the HC from a team that might be overturned at several key positions in the offseason. Get the new "key" pieces in under the same direction of the core of the team ... and THEN change philosophy if needs be.

Crennel - only four seasons. The first one doesn't really count for ANY HC. It isn't his team. He then took his lumps with the guys he brought in during his second year. Last year (his third) the team showed their capability. I think Crennel had quite a bit to do with it. 20 wins in his first three years at the Browns ? Yeah, that's as good as it's been in a hell of a long time in Cleveland. Hell, the '02 playoff season wasn't even ten wins, and Crennel got them to ten last year. Yeah, this year wasn't good but I still think injuries and a people underperforming contributed to that more than Crennel's ability to coach. And please, you're using the Patriots as a comparison ? They are an anomaly. You're taking 4 years of building/philosophy against a decade. Hell, the Patriots are proven in their system/philosophy. If I remember correctly the deal with Cassal replacing Brady is exactly what happened to Brady when he replaced Bledsoe. Using the Patriots as an example here is a bit much considering NOBODY has been able to do what they have over the last 6-8 years. I know what you're saying though and there's certainly validity in it to a degree. But if we compared what all HC's do against the patriots, there'd be less than a handful of guys with jobs next year.

Point is, everyone deals with injuries. Maybe part of the problem is the fact that he stuck with Derek Anderson for so long, or whatever. Their GM was fired the day before, but it has been reported he may come back if they can't find anyone else to replace him.

As for Mangini, reports are that he was told on Monday (a week ago) that he had to win to keep his job. Had he won, he would not only have kept his job, but also gotten a contract extension. After being 8-3 and being talked about the class of the AFC, possibly heading to Tampa to play the Giants, and then you collapse? Obviously Brett had a lot to do with it, but seriously, they catered their offense to him as the season went on (less motion/shifts pre-snap for example). I wonder how easily he will get a job after he came out and ratted on Belicheck about spying on other teams. There was talk that while some people praised him for it, there were also a number of teams that would wonder what he would say about them if he was hired, and down the line fired.

As for the now what? Yes the Favre experiment failed (and deservedly so -- karmically), but the owner is in absolute love with Brett and what he brought to the Jets (yes, 2 TDs, 9 INTs in the last 5 games and all). So they will do everything in their power to bring him back. If he does come back, you still have an OK team, albeit an aging one that wasn't 1 piece away last year (much less 5 pieces away), so there's speculation that they will go after an older coach as a caretaker for a year or two while keeping at least the Offensive coaches (for however long Brett decides to stay). And if the Jets somehow manage to pry Bill Cowher away from his job at CBS, it will be because Brett isn't coming back, Bill would come in and start from scratch.

As an aside, I think it's hilarious that T.O. & Romo were saying yesterday they were unhappy with the schemes. The same schemes that made Garrett the hottest commodity last year, that got them 13 wins and a #1 seed.

[Maxx]

Mangini is debatable for sure, but I just don't think he'd done enough to warrant the firing. I don't care who you are, you can't out coach 22 INT's from that guy that was brought in as the savior. He has no control over that. Besides, the strength of the team is the running game why the fuck not ram the ball 4 straight times ? That's just a personal take on philosophy though. Yeah, he isn't on par with the top echelon and got a bit of an over praising, but he certainly shouldn't have been fired. I mean, now what ? The Favre experiment failed and you've probably got a hole now because he probably isn't coming back. You've got SHIT at QB. Thomas Jones and the running game overachieved so banking on that wouldn't be all that great. Mangini got out of the team what they are. 8/10 win team on the bubble of the playoffs. That's what they did. I sure as hell wouldn't want to take away the HC from a team that might be overturned at several key positions in the offseason. Get the new "key" pieces in under the same direction of the core of the team ... and THEN change philosophy if needs be.

Crennel - only four seasons. The first one doesn't really count for ANY HC. It isn't his team. He then took his lumps with the guys he brought in during his second year. Last year (his third) the team showed their capability. I think Crennel had quite a bit to do with it. 20 wins in his first three years at the Browns ? Yeah, that's as good as it's been in a hell of a long time in Cleveland. Hell, the '02 playoff season wasn't even ten wins, and Crennel got them to ten last year. Yeah, this year wasn't good but I still think injuries and a people underperforming contributed to that more than Crennel's ability to coach. And please, you're using the Patriots as a comparison ? They are an anomaly. You're taking 4 years of building/philosophy against a decade. Hell, the Patriots are proven in their system/philosophy. If I remember correctly the deal with Cassal replacing Brady is exactly what happened to Brady when he replaced Bledsoe. Using the Patriots as an example here is a bit much considering NOBODY has been able to do what they have over the last 6-8 years. I know what you're saying though and there's certainly validity in it to a degree. But if we compared what all HC's do against the patriots, there'd be less than a handful of guys with jobs next year.

Point is, everyone deals with injuries. Maybe part of the problem is the fact that he stuck with Derek Anderson for so long, or whatever. Their GM was fired the day before, but it has been reported he may come back if they can't find anyone else to replace him.

As for Mangini, reports are that he was told on Monday (a week ago) that he had to win to keep his job. Had he won, he would not only have kept his job, but also gotten a contract extension. After being 8-3 and being talked about the class of the AFC, possibly heading to Tampa to play the Giants, and then you collapse? Obviously Brett had a lot to do with it, but seriously, they catered their offense to him as the season went on (less motion/shifts pre-snap for example). I wonder how easily he will get a job after he came out and ratted on Belicheck about spying on other teams. There was talk that while some people praised him for it, there were also a number of teams that would wonder what he would say about them if he was hired, and down the line fired.

As for the now what? Yes the Favre experiment failed (and deservedly so -- karmically), but the owner is in absolute love with Brett and what he brought to the Jets (yes, 2 TDs, 9 INTs in the last 5 games and all). So they will do everything in their power to bring him back. If he does come back, you still have an OK team, albeit an aging one that wasn't 1 piece away last year (much less 5 pieces away), so there's speculation that they will go after an older coach as a caretaker for a year or two while keeping at least the Offensive coaches (for however long Brett decides to stay). And if the Jets somehow manage to pry Bill Cowher away from his job at CBS, it will be because Brett isn't coming back, Bill would come in and start from scratch.

As an aside, I think it's hilarious that T.O. & Romo were saying yesterday they were unhappy with the schemes. The same schemes that made Garrett the hottest commodity last year, that got them 13 wins and a #1 seed.

Yeah, surely that offense had nothing to do with the fact that Tony Sparano was still on the staff. You know, the guy who left and turned a 1-15 team into division champs? He was Garrett's security blanket last season and he's been sadly exposed for his inexperienced and simple offensive schemes this season.

[HailtotheYo]

Point is, everyone deals with injuries. Maybe part of the problem is the fact that he stuck with Derek Anderson for so long, or whatever. Their GM was fired the day before, but it has been reported he may come back if they can't find anyone else to replace him.

True, everyone does. But to say that having BOTH of your QB's go down and then be forced to play a guy that not only doesn't really know your system, but has already washed out in SF ... is just normal, or the same as other teams isn't correct. QB is the most important position on the team. Had Quinn not gotten hurt I'd be more in line to say "hey, he's been there he should be able to produce" ... but having to actually use the 3rd/emergency/we have to have him out there to get 11 on the field ? Yeah, that's a bit of a different monster. Also, that second sentence only backs up the fact that it isn't Crennel that has issues and needs to get his shit straight.

As for Mangini, reports are that he was told on Monday (a week ago) that he had to win to keep his job. Had he won, he would not only have kept his job, but also gotten a contract extension. After being 8-3 and being talked about the class of the AFC, possibly heading to Tampa to play the Giants, and then you collapse? Obviously Brett had a lot to do with it, but seriously, they catered their offense to him as the season went on (less motion/shifts pre-snap for example). I wonder how easily he will get a job after he came out and ratted on Belicheck about spying on other teams. There was talk that while some people praised him for it, there were also a number of teams that would wonder what he would say about them if he was hired, and down the line fired.

The mess with the Pats saga aside, this points to what I was talking about with NY. Seriously, you go from all but extending the guy to hinging his future with you on the last game of the season ? Just stupid. One game win/lose doesn't appraise him. Yes, he catered the offense to Favre because ownership saw him as the golden boy. The HC is the owner's whipping boy/stooge. What, he'd have won favor by NOT catering to Favre ? Mangini was getting out of the team, what they had in them. That doesn't warrant a firing.

And yeah, Maxx hit the nail on the head with Garrett/Sporano

[Hajjhowe]

Romeo made a lot of stupid calls and terrible clock management issues early in the season when the Browns could actually have won a few games. This is before any injuries ect. Also, you have to think the HC might have some influence on guys under performing. Bad training? Not motivating players enough? I don't know, but going from 10-6 to 4-12 is just too big a step to ignore. He had completely changed the team to guys he wanted and he failed. It happens, I am sure he can still find work as a DC or whatever somewhere else.

Also, Mangini kind of blew his 8-3 record with terrible moves but I agree he shouldn't be fired. Still better than when Marty was fired after going 14-2. That was just ridiculous.

[naiwf]

Seriously, you go from all but extending the guy to hinging his future with you on the last game of the season ? Just stupid. One game win/lose doesn't appraise him. Yes, he catered the offense to Favre because ownership saw him as the golden boy. The HC is the owner's whipping boy/stooge. What, he'd have won favor by NOT catering to Favre ? Mangini was getting out of the team, what they had in them. That doesn't warrant a firing.

Under normal circumstances you would be correct. Except when you're dealing with the New York Jetropolitans collapsing the way they did on top of four decades of futility, it was pretty much a given that he'd get whacked. The last thing the ownership of the Jets want when going into a new stadium is the fans revolting against a head coach they haven't liked for the last 2 years. Even when they were 8-3, a lot of their fans wanted him out because he didn't show THE FIRE AND THE PASSION~! of a head coach. That doesn't make sense but it takes a little bit of crazy to be a Jets fan in the first place, so there you are.

[Green Demon]

Another thing about Crennel and the browns record last year is that they had argueblly the easiest schedule in the NFL and still played almost all of the games close even against teams such as the rams which they should have beat handily. The personel decisions that he has made throughtout his time here have been suspect at times such as choosing Charlie Frye above anybody else and giving Anderson way to long before finally pulling him and as has been mention his clock management at times was downright horrible. This offseason I wouldnt be suprised to see Anderson gone along with Edwards probably being shown the door since he cant even catch a cold. I expect alot of moves to happen this offseason and the only people I likely seeing being for sure with the Browns next year are Quinn and Shaun Rodgers, I really woundnt be sad about losing anyone else this season was a disaster and a dissapointment.

[Evil Chase K]

If the NFL was truly a league that values competition it would remove Arizona from the playoffs and have New England take their place.

Also, SHOCKING that Chase wants the Dolphins to beat the Ravens.

I think in reality, going back to my predictions, whoever wins the Colts and Steelers matchup is definitely going to Tampa.

Haha. Yeah, the Ravens are a damn scary team.

Also, the Colts? Seriously?

While everyone is worshiping at the altar of Peyton I present to you 10 of Indianapolis's 12 wins this season:

Minnesota - Completely outplayed all game long. No running game and defense can't stop Adrian Peterson. Only thing that keeps the game close is Tarvaris Jackson and the offense not punching home touchdowns and a missed field goal by Minny.

Houston 1 - Colts need a complete and total meltdown by Sage Rosenfels in the final 5 minutes that includes 2 fumbles, one of which was returned for a TD

New England - Need a Jabar Gaffney dropped TD pass to win.

Steelers - Need two Ben Roethlisberger INTs that set up TD drives and another TD scored off of what should have been an interception that is deflected right to Wayne for a TD

Houston 2 - Again Indy can't stop the run and again the Colts require a Sage Rosenfels meltdown at the end of the game to win. Not quite as epic of a meltdown this time though

San Diego - A 50 yard FG by Vinatieri to win it. LT is hobbled. Colts get a field goal on a drive aided completely by multiple bullshit PI penalties and a disallowed fumble that would have been returned for a TD by the Chargers.

Cleveland - Indy's offense doesn't score a TD the entire game against the 26th ranked defense in the NFL. Indy needs a defensive TD to win the game (Sound familiar?)

Detroit - Against a team that is 0-13 and playing at home needing to win one game to make the playoffs the Colts find themselves tied with the fucking Lions in the 4th quarter.

Jacksonville - Needing a win to officially clinch a playoff spot and the #5 seed the Colts need a last second TD as well as a giant David Garrard fuckup when he takes a sack with no timeouts left and only a few seconds left in the game. Jax was forced to use their last timeout when MJD is injured inside the 5 yard line with under a minute to go.

Tennessee 2 - Titans mail it in last game of the year

The Colts had the fortune of playing against backup QBs in games against:

Houston (twice)

Tennessee (twice)

Cleveland

Cincinnati

Detroit

New England

That amounts to half their games this year. And the Colts are picked by many as one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs this year. For as prolific as everyone thinks the Colts offense is, they finished 15th overall this year. They have the 31st ranked rushing offense in the league and the 24th ranked rushing defense. They won 9 games by a grand total of 44 points.

But you can go through this exercise with EVERY playoff team. The Colts could just as easily be 2-14 as they were 12-4. Every team plays close games. The ones that win them are deemed good. The ones that don't we say suck.

On the flip side you have a team like San Diego, whom everyone seems to agree that with an 8-8 record doesn't deserve a playoff game and should get blown out by Indy in the first round. Yet if you examine San Diego's 8 losses you find they lost their 8 games by a grand total 34 points. The Chargers had 7 games they lost by one score or less and they won only 2 games decided by less than a score. They could just as easily be the #1 seed with a 15-1 or 14-2 record if things break their way.

[HailtotheYo]

In real news, the Broncos just fired Shannahan. Wow.

[Evil Chase K]

In real news, the Broncos just fired Shannahan. Wow.

Yeah that was a shocking firing.

[Meacon Keaton]

In real news, the Broncos just fired Shannahan. Wow.

Yeah that was a shocking firing.

It is if you knew about Denver Bronco football. I've been a fan my whole life, and I'm completely blown away. I was speechless (my father called me as I was leaving work to tell me the news). I couldn't begin to comprehend Shannahan being out in Denver. He's been such a mainstay in Denver, and I seriously thought he'd have the job for as long as he wanted it. It's indeed a sad day to be a Bronco fan, but maybe this will bring on happier days, filled with playoff appearances. In fact, let's call Cowher.

[HailtotheYo]

Week 2: Pitt gets a lucky INT to end the first half after Cleveland drove 71 yds, ends up being the difference in the game.

Week 4: Lucky fumble return for TD to put them up and get the momentum in the game, otherwise they lose to Baltimore who controlled the game to that point. (Oh, and it was Flacco's third career game)

Week 11: Lucky fumble again that gets them a safety and provides the winning margin.

Week 14: Lucky interception return for TD gives them the game.

Week 15: score with :50 seconds after a miracle 92yd drive and then get another lucky INT to seal the game.

That's five of their wins (by a grand total of 19pts). The Steelers don't rank above 17th in ANY major offensive category yet are the #2 seed. They easily could be 7-9 or worse.

Clearly though, these types of things only matter when speaking about teams other than the Steelers. Clearly, Pittsburgh is just good and not lucky.

[Hajjhowe]

LOL.

LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!

It's not like their defense earned these fumbles and picks by playing in the right areas, making massive hits, stripping the ball, tiring out the team the ENTIRE GAME with their stifling D which is ranked near the top fo the league in every category. I forgot how you watched every Steelers game and that the only explanation for any fumble ever is luck, right? It couldn't be the actual skill of the defenders at all, correct?

Sometimes you really are a fucking moron. This is one of those times.

[Kyle_]

LOL.

LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!

It's not like their defense earned these fumbles and picks by playing in the right areas, making massive hits, stripping the ball, tiring out the team the ENTIRE GAME with their stifling D which is ranked near the top fo the league in every category. I forgot how you watched every Steelers game and that the only explanation for any fumble ever is luck, right? It couldn't be the actual skill of the defenders at all, correct?

Sometimes you really are a fucking moron. This is one of those times.

I think he was more mocking Chase for his reasoning for Indy's wins.

[Mr Evil Guy]

He was just comparing it to the other guy who was all "COLTS GAY COLTS SUCK LUCKY AGAINST STEELERS LUCKY"

Colts and Steelers are both great teams that have won Superbowls recently, it wouldn't be surprising to see either of them win another one.

Also, I'm going to be in Quebec City on Superbowl day with like 40 people and it'll be gay if I stay and watch football for one of the four days. Gay gay gay gay.