1. The Tim Tebow story will be beaten into the ground
We get it, the kid has talent. However this story has already become tired with all the mock drafts projecting mid first round, late first round, second round! He's not going to be at the draft anyway, and that is probably a good thing since he may have to wait until Friday to hear his name called. The consensus is that he has talent and could be anywhere from a bust to a superstar, of course which other player wouldn't fit into that category?
2. Whatever the Patriots do, it will be lauded as a brilliant move
Every year the talking heads will give us their Mock Drafts (70% wrong) and after will give us their well thought out grades, usually as a letter grade like they're in school. But you can be sure, whatever the Patriots do, they will receive no less than a B+. Every year, we're forced to listen to the same talking points about New England. How they have REALLY scouted the players versus the other 31 teams who apparently just draw names from a hat. How Bill Belichick always seems to pick the right guy that others may have missed, like Chad Jackson in 2006. How they pick players that fit their philosophy versus other teams who deliberately choose players who won't work out. I get that they have made good choices in the past, but we shouldn't use that as a basis of their current choices.
3. Someone sitting in the green room will slip and we will have endless drama of watching them wait
Dez Bryant and Jimmy Clausen seem like ideal candidates for this category, although Tim Tebow could also join them (see point #1). We all remember Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn having to sit there and keep their chins up while team after team passed on them. Of course, ESPN doesn't rub it in any by keeping a cameraman on top of them through each agonizing pick. Obviously some people get off on watching the misery in others, but I think after pick 15 these guys should disappear in a back room. They're both first round talent, but maybe not as high as they would like to be.
4. Every GM, Coach or Owner will be all smiles
What do you expect? Wouldn't you like to see someone like Mike Holmgren come out and say, "Well, we have a million holes to fill and although these guys are a start we're nowhere near being a contender and we'll probably be in the top ten of the draft again next year." As refreshing as that would be to hear, what you're more likely to get is these same guys telling you how they plan to contend for the Super Bowl next year. Of course I don't expect honesty, but it is funny to listen to the same teams promise the same change year after year.
5. Mel Kiper will have the accuracy of a hack weatherman
No disrespect to Mel Kiper, the guy does his homework and knows everything about every player from shoe size to favorite color. However, after putting out mock drafts since last April he bats less than .500 when you take in to account all the picks. Of course I agree it's hard to predict what every team will do, plus all the inevitable trades, but if your weatherman was wrong this often you would show up at the station with torches and pitchforks.
Vikings at Saints - September 9th
Assuming Brett Favre comes back, opening the season with a rematch of the NFC Championship game will be an excellent way to kickoff the 2010 Season. New Orleans will be a great setting for this clash.
Giants at Colts - September 19th
Manning Bowl II is set in Lucas Oil Stadium, always an intriguing matchup between two great teams. The focus will be on the Manning brothers, but both teams have a lot of talent to go around
Patriots at Jets - September 19th
Rex Ryan has made this matchup a rivalry, so it will be interesting to see how the Jets come out in this game. Santonio Holmes will (probably) be suspended for this game, but the other new additions in New York will be fun to watch.
Redskins at Eagles – October 3rd
Donovan McNabb coming back to Philly to face is old team is enough to make sure I watch. Plus, it will be exciting to see how McNabb plays with a few games under his belt in the Mike Shanahan offense.
Browns at Steelers – October 17th *
This game is the reason for a Top 11 instead of 10. Assuming Ben Roethlisberger gets a four game suspension, this will be the teams 5th game and I’m interested to see how he responds to the time off and his embarrassing performance the last time these teams squared off.
Vikings at Packers – October 24th
Again, I’m assuming Brett Favre returns for 2010. This game still has plenty of drama to go around and should be a high scoring shootout.
Steelers at Saints – October 31st
A matchup of the last two Super Bowl Champions on Halloween will not scare us off.
Colts at Patriots – November 21st
The last four times these teams have played it has been in Indianapolis. It will be interesting to see this game played in the elements instead of the confines of a cozy dome.
Saints at Cowboys – November 25th
The best Thanksgiving game this year will be played in Dallas as the Saints try to beat the team who handed them their first loss in 2009.
Chargers at Colts – November 28th
The Chargers always seem to have Peyton Manning’s number and at this late stage of the season, these two teams should probably be fighting for a first round bye.
Steelers at Ravens – December 5th
Always the most physical game of the year, these two teams do not like each other. Add that to a late season matchup of divisional rivals and put it in primetime on NBC and you have the makings of an excellent game!
In the Fritos Corn Chip Bowl in Phoenix we have Baltimore and Pittsburgh in yet another hard fought game.
In the Enron / Tyco / Worldcom Bowl at beautiful Reliant Field in Houston the Cardinals and Bengals will fight it out.
Over in Tampa at the UPS Landshark Bowl we get a rematch of that great Monday night game in week 12 featuring the Saints and the Patriots.
In sunny San Diego we have Donovan McNabb and the Eagles against Tony Romo and the Cowboys in the Qualcomm Kyocera Copier Bowl
And in the last of the 'Other Bowls', we get our third look at Brett Favre and the Vikings against his old team the Packers.
Finally, with all the other games in place, Roger Goodell walks to the podium to tell us that the San Diego Chargers will be playing the Indianapolis Colts for NFL Championship in the Verizon - Bank of America Super Bowl in Miami. The winner will win the Sears Car Care Center SBT Trophy.
The Jets are stunned and disappointed, ESPN goes to a live shot of Rex Ryan bemoaning his fate saying they could only play those teams that were scheduled. Gary Kubiak and the Texans, despite beating SBT teams such as the Bengals in week 6 and the Patriots in the final week of the season were left out. Even winning their last 4 wasn't enough. It was a shock that they would be excluded from the SBT, but in 5 of the 6 computer rankings, the Steelers squeaked in because they happened to beat 2 SBT teams of their own in the last 3 games. Unfortunately for the Jets and Texans, they are relegated to the Napa Auto Parts Bowl in Detroit in celebration of their hard work.
In Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington, Seattle, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and Miami fans of these teams didn't stay up to watch. They were eliminated from the SBT before the opening day kickoff as teams not fit to compete for the title.
Could you imagine such a travesty infecting our beloved game? Neither could I, yet annually this scenario plays out in College Football. Amazingly, fans across the country still try to argue the inarguable, that College Football is superior to Professional Football. The arguments are usually the same, these guys are playing for the love of the game or it's never about money to them, it's a more pure and novel game pitting those who 'want it more' against each other. We have all heard the same tired arguments over and over and I, for one, will not continue to let this argument go unchallenged.
For starters, I like College Football. I love going to a game, seeing my Alma Mater tear the line asunder and tailgating long before the game begins. I enjoy spending my Saturdays watching it on TV, seeing a big matchup of undefeated teams. I appreciate the rivalries, the uniforms, watching Joe Paterno walk (slowly) up and down the sidelines just like he has for the past 44 years. And I will be the first to tell you that the College Overtime system is far superior to that of the NFL. However, with all the excitement leading up to the late fall matchups they completely take the wind out of the fans sails with their ridiculous Bowl system, taking 90% of the teams out of the championship picture before the season begins.
Bring this up to a college fan and they will agree, the system to determine a champion is flawed and wrong. Then you usually hear the argument that it is a more pure and real game, not one played for money or profits. And while true that players are not receiving direct payments (although some are, or at least their families are) to say College Football is not about money couldn't be further from the truth. The NFL Union reports that NFL teams averaged a $24.7 million profit in the last year -- even as the economy took a turn for the worse. (Link) However in College the disparity between the haves and have nots has never been more dramatic. Texas alone had a $65 million profit for 2008 and Alabama showed a $38 million profit. (Link) If you think this BCS Championship game is about a bunch of kids playing for the love of the sport and a championship, then you probably also believe the BCS and the entire bowl system is set up for fairness across the board.
Which leads to the discussion of the entire Bowl system. The structure alone is made for sponsors to get their names plastered across TV sets nationwide and to maximize profits for the Universities and their conferences. Do you think the Commissioners of the BCS Conferences and these University Presidents don't lose sleep thinking what a playoff would do to their bottom lines? There is a reason they haven't gone to the playoff yet, and it isn't for the 'love of the game'. The playoff would bring new teams into the fold, and quite frankly they do not want that. They love the winner take all mentality without a team like Boise State or TCU ruining the party for the major conferences. Can you imagine the upheaval if one of those teams were to capture the title? They can, and that's exactly why a playoff is a long shot in our lifetimes.
Later tonight as either Nick Saban or Mack Brown lift the AFCA National Championship Trophy in the Rose Bowl, think of how much better this sport could be with a true playoff and the admission that money is a major factor. At least you could know that the team who wins the title is a true Champion, and not one chosen by sports writers and computers. College Football has a long way to go in order to catch Professional Football in our country, implementing a playoff would be a positive and productive step in the right direction.
It was just 3 weeks ago we had two teams that were undefeated and the Vikings were 11-2. We as fans were hoping to witness a possible two perfect regular seasons headed on a collision match in Miami for the Super Bowl, but there were a few speed bumps along the way. The Cowboys didn't get the memo that they are supposed to collapse in December and beat the Saints in New Orleans. Then for good measure they played uninspired in a loss to Tampa Bay before finally waving the white flag and playing mostly backups today to finish the season on a 3 game losing streak. The Colts got to 14-0 before deciding to replace their stars in a game against the Jets and then lost their last two. The Vikings having lost their bid at perfection in October went into the tank and lost 2 of their last 3 before righting the ship against the Giants today.
These three teams still achieved their first round byes but one has to wonder as we head to the postseason, will these losing streaks affect these teams? Last year's champion the Steelers won 6 of their last 7 on their way to the title, the previous year the Giants were and uninspiring 3-2 down the stretch and Indianapolis in 2006 was a staggering 3-4 in their last 7 en route to the title. However, the Colts did go 6-1 to close out the 2007 season only to have it end in a one and done scenario against the Chargers who were riding a 7 game winning streak at the time. Incidentally the Chargers have won 11 in a row as of now and are now labeled as 'the team nobody wants to play'.
I have a feeling one of these teams is primed for an upset at home at the hands of a more hungry and more challenged team. Smart money is on the Vikings as Brett Favre has been hit or miss down the stretch, however with the Saints and Colts coming in 0-5 in their last 5 they could also be upset. Either way it will make for compelling drama as the playoffs head into the divisional round.
Unlike the talking heads in the media, the PFR doesn't consider past performance in his analysis of games today. After the draft completed and the schedules were released the Steelers were a slightly fashionable pick to repeat, save for the masses picking New England with no concrete evidence at the time. After winning the Super Bowl with the leagues hardest schedule, they were coming into the 2009 with one of the easier schedules. Rashard Mendenhall was returning at full strength and the team said goodbye to veterans Larry Foote and Bryant McFadden with replacements we were led to believe would be an improvement. We were looking for our first repeat champs in over 5 years, and this would certainly cement Ben Roethlisberger as an elite QB and complete their standing as team of the decade.
So what went wrong? It's hard to pinpoint one particular aspect of their game that went wrong so let's just say it's a 'rich tapestry' of lapses that led to their current state. After a less than spectacular opening win they lost back to back games to the Bears (2 missed FG's) and the Bengals (inability to hold a 4th quarter lead). They followed this with 5 straight wins including impressive efforts against San Diego, Minnesota and Denver. Then the floodgates opened. This latest 5 game losing streak has seen constant special teams lapses, terrible offensive execution and the inability to D up when necessary. The only loss that can be discounted is when they hung in with a tough Baltimore team using Denis Dixon, a 3rd sting QB with 1 career pass to his credit before the game, but of course that's still a loss nonetheless.
Despite the large amount of problems it appears the biggest problem with this team is predictability. Rob Ryan, Defensive Coordinator of the Browns, installed a perfect game plan to keep the Steelers bogged down. He knew when to blitz and dared Roethlisberger to beat his man coverage. Unfortunately for Steeler fans, Roethlisberger had absolutely no answer for the cascading wave of defenders in his face. Once they took away the run they put Pittsburgh in constant 3rd and long situations, which the blitz of the Browns continued to snuff out. This was a defense ranked dead last in the league in total yards allowed and 26th in points surrendered. The predictability of Bruce Arians has hurt this team, and never was it more evident than tonight.
At 6-7 the Steelers will not be making the playoffs, and should at this point start looking to next season. Troy Polamalu has been too big a loss to overcome, so at this point he needs to shut it down and get ready for next year. Offensively, they can still play for a few moral victories such as Ben Roethlisberger becoming the first Steelers Quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards or Mendenhall reaching the 1,000 yard plateau. However unfortunate it may be for a team stocked with talent to miss the chance to defend their title, it brings to light an important lesson about the NFL. This is a copycat league, and if you aren't willing to change and be creative week to week then teams will find people who are. The Steelers are the latest to learn that NFL stands for 'Not For Long' when it comes to winning on reputation, and they certainly won't be the last.
11:58 PM
|
|
0
comments
In 1978, Bob Ryan of NFL Films coined the term ‘America’s Team’ in reference to the Dallas Cowboys in their Season Highlight Film. Since that time there have been several other teams that have tried to argue that they are in fact really America’s Team, however with the state of our country today they should cease their arguments and accept the claim of the Cowboys.
The United States of 1978 is much like the United States of 2009, out of control unemployment, an economy rivaling the Great Depression and a spineless foreign policy agenda remind of us a day when we elected a new and exciting leader who gave us promises of a greater day. This is the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo and Jerry Jones are the leaders that have received more hype than warranted for their accomplishments. They have a stadium that was estimated to cost $650 Million but actually cost closer to $1.15 Billion, much like the overspending by the average American. Of course the rich in this case were ‘bailed out’ by the local Government raising taxes in Arlington on Hotel stays and car rentals.
How about investments? While Americans watch their 401k’s and other accounts decline in value, the Dallas Cowboys have made one terrible investment after another. Trading a first and third round pick for Roy Williams, and then giving him $26 million in guaranteed money for someone who has not proven himself in this league is akin to hitching your wagon to Enron. Both situations also show their basic lack of understanding of the situation they are in. The Cowboys think they can ride Tony Romo and Marion Barber to victory, failing to notice that neither one has won a playoff game. It’s been so long since either has had a significant victory, one starts to wonder if they ever will again.
This is a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1996 and much like America, thinks they are on the cusp of greatness with little proof or evidence to support it. Of course this can be turned around, but it will take a fundamental shift in attitude and a lot of hard work plus an acceptance that it is no longer the past and each cannot tout their past accomplishments as guarantees of future success. Time will tell how each situation ends up, let’s just hope a year from now we aren’t calling America’s Team the Detroit Lions.
The clock hadn’t hit 0:00 on Sunday night before many in the press corps were falling over themselves in praise of the ‘genius’ Bill Belichick. Despite going for it on a 4th and 2 from his own 28 with the game on the line, many New England apologists tried to justify this decision using words such as gutsy or courageous. The word that should be used however is idiotic.
We all know the situation and the outcome so there is no need to describe why this inexplicable call was made, but why would the so called ‘smartest man in football’ do such a thing? In a word, arrogance. Coach Belichick knew the situation, he knows Tom Brady is capable of getting him the 2 yards he needs to seal the game. He also knew that Peyton Manning had been carving up his defense, the same defense that was lauded just weeks ago as returning to greatness by many of these same talking heads who are prepared to defend him for any call whatsoever. More importantly, he knew a few simple facts that made this call quite possibly the worst he had ever made in his coaching career. Despite giving up 379 yards at that point, he knew that while his defense had given up 4 scores, they had stopped the Colts a total of 9 times (7 punts and 2 interceptions). In fact, it was just 3:32 earlier that they had intercepted Manning in Colts territory to set up a field goal giving them a seemingly insurmountable 13 point lead with 4 minutes to play.
This is where his ego took over. Following the touchback, 1 first down would have sealed this game for all intents and purposes. In the blink of an eye it’s 4th and 2 and time to send the punt team in pin them back and play defense, the same defense we were used to hearing all night was elite and in the upper echelon of the league. No, not the ‘mastermind’, he takes his final timeout (yet another blunder) and calls a play that doesn’t yield enough yards. The rest is history.
Granted, many pundits have not given him the free pass. They have discussed how it was a terrible call and the mistakes made that led to the 1 point loss. However they fail to recognize how they got in this position in the first place. Most notably, is how truly awful this defense is. While the stats say they are #8 in yards per game allowed on the year, we all know how they feasted on the pathetic offenses of Buffalo, Tennessee and Tampa Bay. Further, when they face a more dynamic offense such as Indianapolis or Miami you see the yards against rise 25% and 10% respectively. Belichick has always been regarded as a defensive ‘genius’ first, so why this turnaround? It appears the players are not of the same caliber, and while most were praising the moves to jettison Seymour, Vrabel and ultimately Bruschi it appears their leadership actually counted for something in the huddle. This was a major miscalculation by Belichick. Granted, with 2 minutes left there is no time to point fingers so instead of proving to his defense that he has the ultimate faith in them he sells them out. And in another arrogant blunder, he assumes he can regain their trust later in the season when he will need to count on them in a crucial situation.
Those of us who accept the reality of the Patriots winning years and are not willing to give them a free pass on Spygate realize how they have gotten to this point. Long story short, those years of feasting on lesser opponents with a vast array of knowledge about the other teams playbook has led them to be cocky and arrogant, thus causing them to make seemingly puzzling decisions. While the so called experts at ESPN are willing to grant a pass to their anointed savior, the fans of the Patriots may start to see an alarming trend as the years progress. As the competition stiffens and the Patriots don’t have their pick of Grade A talent to go along with their game plans, they will fall closer to the middle of the pack. They are lucky for now that the three other teams in their division happen to be incompetent and continue to hand New England a division title on an annual basis.
The future is not bright for this organization, and Sunday night pointed out a great many flaws in the vaunted New England empire. The erosion of talent and arrogance on the part of the coaching staff and players will lead this team to their ultimate demise unless they realize who they are and what they have. Much like the fall of other dynasties, the decline begins before people are ready to accept or recognize the warning signs. I believe in this instance, the collapse has already begun.
Another thrilling week in the NFL this past weekend, punctuated with a great Monday Night matchup. But what did we learn from watching the games this week? The Pro Football Realist will be happy to tell you.
- Falcons played well enough to dump the Redskins, although at this point who isn’t beating the slumping boys from DC. Things aren’t getting any easier for Washington with a home game against Denver and consecutive road matches against Dallas and Philly. Atlanta shook off their first two game losing streak under Mike Smith and let Michael Turner run wild to the tune of 9.2 yards per carry.
- The Cardinals are who we thought they were (funny little skit by Ken Whisenhunt at the press conference). After Kurt Warner played so poorly the week before, he came back to throw 5 touchdown passes. The Bears are in disarray, it turns out Jay Cutler wasn’t the answer he was touted to be and the defense isn’t helping giving up 438 yards of total offense to the Cardinals.
- Bengals are looking like the real deal after sweeping the Ravens. Tough to lose Chris Henry for the season, but Cedric Benson is playing well and the Defense is making plays. Their next match against the Steelers will truly show how far they have come.
- Speaking of the Steelers, their second half offensive explosion against the previously #1 rated Denver Defense was quite impressive. As for the Broncos, it’s back to the drawing board. Josh McDaniels needs to do something to make the offense less one dimensional, it appears they are struggling with blitzing physical defenses.
- A team the Broncos should be concerned with, the surging Chargers. A great comeback by Philip Rivers and the Bolts to send the Giants to their 4th consecutive loss. If I’m a Giants fan, I am concerned with the coaching of Tom Coughlin. With a chance to seal the game late he took the easy FG and a 6 point lead which came back to bite them in the end. At this point they need to use the weapons they have to put these games away.
- The Saints again find a way to win downing the Panthers 30-20. I love their never give up attitude, but I think their defense is showing signs of wear. 371 total yards to the Panthers is 25% more than their usual output. They have 2 weeks to correct this with the Rams and Bucs on the schedule before welcoming in the Patriots.
- Is there any other team that gets more hype than the Patriots? I think they are a fine team, and at 6-2 are definitely one of the better teams in the league but the teams they have beaten lately haven’t shown me much. Let’s talk after their next 3 games when they have to travel to Indy and New Orleans with a rematch against the Jets in between.
- What a terrible loss by the Packers in Tampa Bay, especially while wearing those hideous throwbacks. The amazing thing about the Packers is that they are #3 in Team Defense and #7 in team offense, however they are constantly losing the field position battle. Aaron Rodgers is taking too many sacks by refusing to throw the ball away and they are dead last in Net Yards punting. Constantly giving your opponent short fields like this will not help you as the season goes on.
- A great comeback by the Texans, but Indy is still the class of the AFC South. With a full 3.5 game lead on the Texans this race could be over by Thanksgiving. Houston matches up well with the Colts, but a win could have reduced their deficit to only one game with the win in hand. Houston is making strides though and is definitely in the running for a wild card berth, a fact not lost on the Colts if they should meet in the playoffs.
- SOL – Same Old Lions. To snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is just another way they have lost 24 out of their last 25. Up 17-0 at the end of the first quarter, they proceeded to be outscored 32-3 down the stretch. And even late in the game only down 5, they couldn’t muster any offense while Matthew Stafford threw a pick 6 to seal the loss, his 5th interception of the game. Give Seattle credit though for never getting down and fighting back. They have a big matchup to go with the Cardinals next week, win that and the NFC West race becomes somewhat interesting.
- Titan fans have to be pleased with Vince Young coming in and making some plays to win. Over the last two weeks he has completed 73% of his passes and compiled a 105.3 QB rating in 2 consecutive victories. He may not prove to be the game changer he was drafted to be but he could game manage 4 more down the stretch and turn what was looking to be an awful year into a slightly better one and possibly disrupt some opponents playoffs plans down the stretch.
- The Chiefs attempted a furious comeback down the stretch scoring 14 points in 91 seconds, however it still wasn’t enough. Jacksonville is in a comfortable spot with a 4-4 record with Maurice Jones-Drew having a very quiet, yet spectacular season averaging 5.1 ypc with 11 touchdowns. If they shake off their on-again off-again nature from the first 8 games, I could see them winning 5 or 6 games and possibly qualifying as a wild card.
- The Cowboys have quietly ascended to first place in the NFC East with a hard fought victory in Philadelphia. Sure, Brian Westbrook was missing, but they had several opportunities to win this game and didn’t capitalize. Donovan McNabb’s 2 Interceptions led to 10 Dallas points and proved to be the difference. Unless New York decides to get back in the race, it looks like these 2 teams will battle for the division crown to quite possibly be decided January 3rd in Dallas for their rematch.
1:07 PM
|
Broncos,
Indianapolis Colts,
New Orleans Saints,
NFL,
Patriots,
Pro Football,
Steelers,
Week 9
|
0
comments
Another great week of football. We’ll cover our top 10 and bottom 5.
1. New Orleans – Their offense is putting up record numbers, and if they secure Homefield Advantage they may be punching their ticket to Miami.
2. Indianapolis – Not a pretty win, but sometime you have to win ugly.
3. Minnesota – Brett Favre has now beat his former team twice, you could almost hear Ted Thompson’s teeth grinding.
4. Denver – We knew they wouldn’t win them all, but Josh McDaniels needs to work on that blitz pickup with the Steelers coming to town next week.
5. Cincinnati – A bye week, but they still remain atop the AFC North.
6. Pittsburgh – Also enjoying their bye week, they had 2 weeks to prepare for Denver. I’m guessing Dick LeBeau saw what Baltimore did this past weekend.
7. Philadelphia – The way they dismantled the Giants shows they are ready to compete for the NFC East.
8. New England – the PFR was not impressed by thumping 2 teams with no wins. Remember, they are one bonehead play and 2 bad calls from being 3-4.
9. Houston – 5-3 at the midpoint of the season helps them crack the top 10. Let’s see what they can do against the Colts this week.
10. New York Giants – Barely clinging to the top 10. That;s what 3 straight losses will do to you, but their next 2 (SD and ATL) will show what this team is made of.
Poised to spring into the Top 10 – Dallas, Atlanta, Green Bay
Bottom 5
28. St. Louis – Way to end that 17 game losing streak, but remember you did that against a team that has lost 22 out of 23.
29. Kansas City – It’s hard to believe this team was in the playoffs in 2006. It’s even harder to believe they have actually won a game this year!
30. Cleveland – Firing your General Manager is a start, but is it too late to now fire the coach and all the players who have quit also?
31. Detroit – Familiar territory for the Lions. Losing at home to a terrible Rams team is not progressing. That one win seems like it was years ago,
32. Tampa Bay – The bye week can’t make us forget that they are now the only winless team in the league. However, the throwbacks this weekend can’t hurt!
Teams trying to avoid slipping in - Tennessee, Oakland, Washington
But seriously we are talking about 2 of the worst ever teams going head to head to probably determine the number 1 pick in the draft, although Tennessee and Tampa Bay will have something to say about that. These teams are ranked in the bottom quarter of the league in offensive yards per game, and just in case you wonder if anyone will score they also rank near the bottom of team defense as well. Let’s say you want to throw the stats out the window on this one (and both teams will thank you for it). It also features 2 rookie head coaches with a combined 1-12 career record, a half full Ford Field and virtually no marketable stars or highly valued fantasy players. In other words, this game has it all!
If you dare to tune into this frightening matchup (those in Detroit will not be watching as the game will be blacked out on local television) you will likely see a game marred by turnovers, sloppy play and lack of offensive execution. Expect a lot of flags for false starts, holding and the like while Daunte Culpepper and Marc Bulger battle to see who can look worse throwing the ball to the other team. The announcing team of Ron Pitts and John Lynch will be stifling their laughter searching for positives to discuss. This will easily be the worst game you watch all season, and will not help your upset stomach after all that candy you ate last night. Consider yourself warned.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Tennessee Titans were 13-3 last year led by a rejuvenated Kerry Collins and the two headed monster of Chris Johnson and LenDale White. On defense Albert Haynesworth was the leader of a squad that was ranked 2nd in points allowed and 7th in total yards. They were riding high heading into the 2009 playoffs as the #1 seed when it all came apart in a loss to Baltimore.
Since that time a lot has changed. Haynesworth is playing in the Nation’s Capital, former Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz is coaching the Lions and the Titans are entering their 11th straight month without a win. At 0-6 most would admit the season is lost, which is precisely why owner Bud Adams has publically called for Vince Young to start
The Titans are ranked 29th in the league in passing yardage and Collins has slipped into 30th place with a passer rating of 62.0. Yes these are terrible statistics and of course it can get worse, but at this point the Titans have to figure out if Vince Young’s career is salvageable. Young signed a 5 year contract in 2006 with $25.7 million in guaranteed money, and with an 0-6 record it’s time to see what he can do. The hope for Titan fans is that he can ignite this team or make himself valuable enough to trade in the offseason.
The consensus seems to be that the reason Young hasn’t gotten the nod is because he is truly that bad. This judgment has been handed down by the same people who make a living as football ‘experts’. It was just 3 years ago that Vince Young was named Rookie of the Year as he completed a decent season going 8-5 while they drooled over his playmaking ability and declared him to be the future of the NFL.
My take is at 0-6 and going nowhere, it’s time to see what he can do for you especially considering the amount of money he is being paid. The schedule lightens up over the last 10 weeks with 6 of those contests being played at home and 3 straight in December before the finale in Seattle. The upside remains tremendous and the downside is that the team performs exactly as it has been over the first 6 games. It’s time for the Young to prove to all of us he was drafted as high as he was for a reason.
