December 31, 2008
One of my favorite annual columns of the year: Jason Whitlock's grades. If every team had a writer I trusted this much giving grades on each player, the start of my off-season preparation would be a lot easier. Whitlock manages to slam Gonzo's selfishness despite a high grade. The young Kansas City cornerbacks and T Branden Albert look like the bright spots of a dismal year. Mark Bradley could be a keeper. Tyler Thigpen is a nice find, but I agree with Whitlock that he's not a franchise quarterback. Glenn Dorsey, Tank Tyler, and Turk McBride were disasters on the defensive line. Larry Johnson? Fail.
A nice look at the Patriots roster for now and the future. They need youth everywhere on their defense, but the offense should be stable heading into next season.
The natives are restless in Buffalo. 90% wanted Dick Jauron out? Jauron will be the first Bills coach of their last three to make it to his fourth year. Continuity isn't a bad thing with a young team.
Antonio Gates says he didn't recover from his foot injury until last week. Now he's hurt again, but the ankle problem is minor. Something to keep in mind when evaluation his season.
Keith Bulluck, like Jay Cutler, doesn't believe in the Chargers.
"(The Colts and Ravens) are the strongest ones. San Diego, they have been playing great football of late, but watching them (beat Denver on Sunday night) I saw some things that we as a team could expose.
Cedric Benson is the long-term answer at running back in Cincy? That sounds like a dangerous assessment. We'll see what Marvin Lewis thinks.
The Colts allowed fewer passing touchdowns than any defense in NFL history. Tony Dungy's system doesn't get enough credit for their consistently great pass defense, no matter who is playing.
A look at Oakland needs. Tackle and wideout top the list. Sounds familiar.
Shanahan's son doesn't totally disagree with Denver's decision that it was time for both sides to move on. He thinks it might prove to be a good move for both sides.
Shanahan's drafts from 2001-2005 did him in. The last few have been solid. The only decent player from the previous four is D.J. Williams, and it looks like they overpaid him to stay around.
Jay Cutler, always willing to be honest, isn't happy about the move. But there seems to be a decent chance that some of the offensive staff, like his QB coach Jeremy Bates, will stay in place. That would indicate that a defensive head coach would be a target. That would help smooth the transition.
Tom Curran and I discuss who had the worst collapse in the NFL, what home team has the best chance to win this weekend, and look at the coaching firings. Some links coming up shortly on this New Year's Eve ...
Jerod Mayo won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, with 49 of the 50 votes. Mayo's underrated teammate, undrafted rookie Gary Guyton, did not get the other vote. That went to Injured Bengals LB Keith Rivers, who looked great before Hines Ward broke his jaw at mid-season. It wasn't a great year for rookies but here are a few players the impressed, in no particular order.
Saints DT Sedrick Ellis and CB Tracy Porter: Two bright spots on a bad defense. Both are long-term keepers.
Bengals LB Keith Rivers: Similar long-term IDP upside to Mayo. But how did he get the 50th vote while only playing seven games?
Dolphins DLs Kendall Langford and Philip Merling: Langford may have more long-term potential, but both should be 3-4 mainstays for Miami.
Chiefs CBs Brandon Carr, Brandon Flowers, and Maurice Leggett: Tough players. High grade earners. They actually should provide Kansas City with a nice based to build from in the secondary. Now if only the team could pressure the quarterback.
Falcons LB Curtis Lofton: Plug and play starter racked up 94 tackles.
Cardinals CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie: Still somewhat raw, but looks like a playmaker.
Redskins S Chris Horton: A rugged player who was a great find in the seventh round.
I'm sure I missed some. Tell me what rookie defenders impressed you in the comments.
December 30, 2008
Just yesterday I wrote that Mike Shanahan the GM needed help, so that Mike Shanahan the coach could do his thing. That's not going to happen now. I still have a hard time believing The Mastermind is gone, at least in Denver, but I can't argue with the decision. Pat Bowlen is one of the best owners in the NFL and he saw an organization that was rotting. He had a coach that covered up many of its ills with excellent gameplans, but you couldn't divorce Shanny the executive from the one on the sidelines. As Adam Schefter said, this was not a man interested in ever taking less power after 14 years on the job.
I do find it interesting that two previous Denver Post Broncos writers who subsquently went national, Schefter and Bill Williamson, seem to think this would be a win-win for both sides. I trust their judgment.
This is terrible news for Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and any future Denver back. Shanahan knew how to create, finishing second in yards this season despite losing seven running backs. (They finished 16th in points, so there were problems.) Keeper league owners can only hope that an offensive minded coach gets the Denver job, which now looks like the most desirable in football. Bowlen's loyalty and infrastructure are well respected. I don't have a lot more to add to our mammoth post, so I'll leave you with that after the jump.
Continue reading "We'll always have Mike Anderson" »
December 29, 2008
I will be posting playoff rankings tomorrow with some comments, explanations, playoff ranking strategy. But a handful of you asked for them for drafts tonight so here's my rough draft. Rankings are heavily influenced by who I think is a good bet for at least two games (Philly, Baltimore.) Don't yell at me when a few things are tweaked tomorrow.
Quarterbacks
1. Peyton Manning
2. Donovan McNabb
3. Eli Manning
4. Ben Roethlisberger
5. Jake Delhomme
6. Joe Flacco
7. Philip Rivers
8. Kurt Warner
9. Matt Ryan
10. Kerry Collins
11. Chad Pennington
12. Tarvaris Jackson
Continue reading "Playoff rankings, V.1" »
DeAngelo Williams is not suffering LenDale White gladly. The production value is impressive. If you click on any of these links, make it this one. What is it about these North Carolina folk and their attack ads?
Carlos Rogers could be on the way out in Washington. This seems too insane to be true. Perhaps Rogers will ask to leave after playing behind DeAngelo Hall late in the year, but the Redskins would be crazy to listen. Cheap, young, prime starting talent is who you hold on to. The secondary is the best part about the Redskins. Why would you want to break it up?
Mike Lombardi, who should be a lot of fun to read during the front office silly season, says Mike Tannenbaum is the new Isiah Thomas in New York. Ouch.
Lombardi also points out that Brian Schottenheimer remains under contract. There is some thought already that Schottenheimer has a decent chance at the head coaching job. Tannenbaum just fired a close friend after the team went 9-7. He probably had no choice, but it seemed more related to Mangini's style within the organization rather than his performance on game day. Mike Francessa thinks that Woody Johnson wants to keep Brett Favre, and keeping the offensive coordinator is one way to do that. The Favre part sounds like a terrible idea.
NFL Free Agency starts early this year, just like the season. And on a Wednesday, rather than the traditional Friday. More pageviews!
Jay Cutler still doesn't think the Chargers are very good. I tend to agree, but they are making it tough on non-believers. Int the end, the Colts have beaten good teams. The Chargers haven't. Even Oakland could win in Tampa with a playoff spot on the line. Denver couldn't beat the Bills at home. The Chargers are playing well now on offense, but they were a Dwayne Bowe dropped onsides kick away from being eliminated three weeks ago.
When I write the commentary portion of SNF Extra on NBCSports.com, half of the questions are about the coaches getting fired. Last night it was: Will Shanahan get fired? Why hasn't he been fired? How can Norv Turner still have a job? Do I think Norv Turner will be back next year?
The Shanahan questions, mostly from Colorado, surprised me. That was a terrible Broncos team ravaged by injuries that did very well to get to eight wins, no matter when they came. The defensive line is terrible, the linebackers are all replacements, the safety position is a revolving door, and Dre Bly expired two years ago. Even the great Champ Bailey saw his body break down on him. Watching Antonio Gates out-run him was eye-opening.
Mike Shanahan the coach is one of the best things about Denver. His offensive game plans work. His team averaged 4.8 yards--per-carry despite losing seven freaking running backs. They gained the second most amount of yards (but only finished 16th in points.)
Mike Shanahan, the GM, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. They go through a different defensive coordinator every year. They bring in every failed high draft pick from around the league, and most of them fail again. Only the Lions defense was worse and Denver's youth isn't particularly impressive on that side of the ball. Even Jay Cutler admits the Denver defense blows.
The Broncos have a great foundation of a passing game to build on, but that's all they have.
December 28, 2008
One of the reasons to love football is the sense when watching big games that you'll remember the big moments for a long time. Eagles fans will remember 44-6, with Brian Dawkins' forced fumbles, for as long as they live.
The image that will stick with me above all was right after Brett Favre's 310th career interception, his third on Sunday. Favre was driving for a tying score and just completed a perfect 21-yard dart to Laveranues Coles. He tried to quick snap the Dolphins, overthrew his receiver right into Dolphins cornerback Andre Goodman's arms. The camera panned to the terminally cranky Eric Mangini.
"What is he doing?" Mangini mouthed.
***
Monday is one of our busiest news days of the year. A lot of coaching and player updates as 20 teams start the offseason. We'll have you covered there and I'll spend the morning on the column, so the blog is likely to be quiet. Thanks for stopping by.
This is the first Sunday morning in over two years in which I'm not taping the Fantasy Fix. That left me some time to kill ...
I hope everyone got a nice break from football. Our final gift will be for the best Week 17 setup in years. What happens today will reverberate through the off-season. Here's a quick look at what games have the most at stake Sunday.
11. Falcons/Rams: Atlanta still has a decent chance for a bye, while no amount of signatures should save Jim Haslett. This could be the last game for Torry Holt and Marc Bulger in St. Louis.
10. Saints/Panthers: Carolina tries to break the road NFC South jinx in a difficult place to win. A loss will probably make Carolina have to play an extra week in the playoffs. Drew Brees goes for Dan Marino's playoff record. And Devery Henderson Deuce McAllister says a tearful goodbye to the Superdome faithful.
9. Lions/Packers: Detroit tries to avoid history. This game will be oddly compelling if it's close in the fourth quarter. I suspect it won't be.
Continue reading "What's at Stake: Final Sunday" »
The images out of Buffalo this morning are ugly. It's so windy that the goal posts are bending. Gusts could be up to 40 MPH. If you own deep threats like Lee Evans and Randy Moss, use the conditions as lineup tiebreakers. It could also be very windy in Baltimore.
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