NFL WEEK 4!

[stevew]

Crabtree-still not signed
Browns-Worst team in football?

Anything else?

[RomaGoth]

Green Bay/Minnesota on MNF

Yes, the Browns are the worst team in the NFL, but Tampa Bay, St. Louis, KC, Carolina, and Miami aren't far behind. The Lions aren't much better either.

If the Steelers lose this game (which they could), does that mean they can be discounted from playoff talk at this point at 1-3?

[albionmoonlight]

Baltimore/NE--Is Balt a Super Bowl team? A win here, and I say yes. On the other side, a solid win here by NE would quelch whatever doubts the Jets game raised.

Jets/Saints--If the Saints win, they will go into their bye 4-0 having faced two rookies, Kevin Kolb and Trent Edwards at QB. Which is to say we still won't really know about their defense until week 6 against the Giants. The Jets could go from the "our fans always overhype us" buzz that they have now to "these guys might actually be really good" buzz if they win.

GB/Minn--Even without Favre, this game interests me as a battle between two teams that I still don't totally trust. If one of them takes a buttkicking, I wonder if it will be a sign of things to come.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I can't imagine a team worse than the Chiefs right now. They've got a few good pieces, but it's just terrible overall.

[Bearcat729]

I'm not sure he is the worst, but I'm hoping the Browns fire him after the season ends. This team makes me sad to be a Browns fan.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ini/index.html

Mangini: Worst coaching hire ever?

I haven't come up with a new word for a while, so I want to throw one out there .. the word is "fanbole" (pronounced FAN-buh-lee).

The definition is simply: A sweeping, exaggerated and often ludicrous sports statement that a fan makes when under the influence of an emotional sports event (and perhaps various substances).

If you see a shortstop make a diving stop and throw out a runner, you might say: "That's the greatest play I have ever seen." That would be a fanbole. It might be the greatest play you ever saw, but it probably isn't. In that moment, it feels that way.

If you see the Kansas City Chiefs give up against the Philadelphia Eagles like they did on Sunday, you might say: "This is the worst football team in the history of the NFL." That too would be a fanbole. The Chiefs are terrible, but they are probably not the worst team in NFL history. Probably not.

You call a player the worst ever, a coach a genius, a general manager an idiot -- these are probably fanboles.

But one of the fun things about a fanbole is that sometimes, after uttering one (or tweeting one), you will find that after you think about it for a while -- hey, you know what? -- you ACTUALLY BELIEVE IT.

I recently tweeted this:

"Another one of those fan maybe-overstatement-maybe-not thoughts: Eric Mangini was the worst NFL head coach hire in 25 years."

Now, I'll admit -- that's pure fanbole. I cannot stand what Eric Mangini has done to the Browns, the team of my childhood. I cannot stand the lack of respect he has shown for the team's history, the Mickey Mouse game he plays with quarterbacks, the amazing knack he has for getting his players to not play hard for him or the stupid fines he hands out like he's Principal Vernon from "The Breakfast Club." Don't mess with the bull, young man, you'll get the horns.

But here's the thing: Based on the Twitter responses I've seen ... I'm actually starting to believe that I'm right. I'm actually starting to believe that Mangini really was the worst head coach hire in 25 years. The responses have mostly been to list other coaches who were worse hires than Mangini. But you know what? I don't think any of those hires WERE worse than Mangini. Remember:

1. Mangini had just been fired in New York, where he had done a terrible job. He had a losing record. His team had collapsed down the stretch, he had alienated his players, he was a pain in the neck to deal with. Point is: He'd already PROVEN how much damage he could do as a coach.

2. He came right out of the school of Bill Belichick ... and that didn't work THE FIRST TIME in Cleveland. It seems to me that Cleveland is a working-class town and Browns fans want a working-class coach -- not some pompous know-it-all who doesn't feel like he should have to explain to the commoners what he's doing.

3. What had he ever done to convince anyone he could be a head coach in the first place? Why, because he was a defensive coordinator for the Patriots under Belichick for one season? The Browns had JUST HIRED Romeo Crennel, who was ALSO defensive coordinator under Belichick. Attention Cleveland Browns owners, here's a good hint: BILL BELICHICK IS HIS OWN DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR.

4. Basically the first thing Mangini did -- first thing -- was have them tear down a mural of great Cleveland Browns players on the wall in the Browns offices. Now, there are differing opinions about what really happened, whose fault it really was, does it all matter, etc. You know what? The Cleveland Browns have never been to a Super Bowl. Never. Not one. But Browns fans still have a whole lot of pride. Browns fans grow up on a glorious history. If you allow something stupid like that to happen on your watch ... just a horrendous hire.

Now, here is a partial list of hires Twitter people think were worse than Mangini ... and why I disagree*:

*And remember: I'm talking about WORST HIRES, not necessarily WORST COACHES. Sometimes what seems like a good hire can turn disastrous. And sometimes what seems like a bad hire turns out well. We're talking specifically about the decision to hire Mangini here.

• Art Shell (Oakland): Admittedly this was a dreadful hire ... but there's no way it comes close to Mangini. Shell is a Raiders legend, a Hall of Famer player, who was also the first African American coach in the NFL (well, second, going back to Fritz Pollard in the 1920s). He actually coached the Raiders to three playoff appearances in five years in his first stint. True, when the Raiders hired him the second time he clearly had lost his coaching marbles ... but there's no way that's as bad a hire as Mangini.

• Jim Zorn (Washington): Well ... maybe. The whole process of hiring Zorn was nutty, and it's pretty clear he was overmatched. But Jim Zorn was a fine and fun quarterback, so at least he had that going for him. Plus he had not just been fired as a head coach.

• Bobby Petrino (Atlanta): This turned out to be a disastrous hire ... but I don't think it was considered bad at the time. Petrino was one of the hottest names in college football.

• Raheem Morris (Tampa Bay): Whew, yeah, that's a bad hire. But, again, at least he was hired from within and he had not just been canned.

• Steve Spurrier (Washington): No way. Not even close. Spurrier turned out to be a horrible NFL coach, but the hire itself was exciting and had every chance to work. NFL teams were falling over each other to hire Spurrier as a head coach. This isn't even in the same ballpark as the Mangini hire.

• Tom Cable (Oakland): The Raiders should have their own category when it comes to terrible NFL coach hires. But even this hire to me is not as insulting and infuriating as the Mangini hire. I mean, everyone in New York -- players, fans, media members, everyone -- DESPISED Mangini. I mean, I'm still wondering who in New York Mangini could have put down as a reference.

• Rich Kotite (New York Jets): Well, this hire has many of the same problems as the Mangini hire -- Kotite had just been canned, nobody liked him, and so on. But at least Kotite was a New Yorker who had played in the NFL and he had a winning record as a coach. This WAS bad ... I think Mangini was worse.

• Scott Linehan (St. Louis): Bad hire, of course, but he was a longtime assistant coach who had success in various other places. He'd coached in high school, in college, he was offensive coordinator for the Vikings and Dolphins. I don't think the hire itself compares to Mangini, though I certainly feel the Rams fans pain of having to endure two and a half seasons with him as coach.

• Marty Mornhinweg (Detroit): He was considered a bright young coordinator when the Lions hired him -- and he's offensive coordinator for the Eagles now. Plus, he lasted two years with the Lions (long enough to elect to kick off in overtime). I really don't think Mangini will last the season.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...#ixzz0Scqg0PKR
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription

[JAG]

I think Barry Switzer wins hands down. It's one thing to hire an unknown (or known sucky) coach to lead a rebuilding team, it's another thing to hire a coach who had been out of work for 5 years and had never coached in the pros to lead a team coming off back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

Although if the firing (or whatever) of Jimmy Johnson had happened a few months earlier, I wonder if it might have been Norv Turner coaching the team...

[molson]

I think it's an exceptionally rare circumstance where a fan should root against his team (I hate it when fans do this just because they want a higher draft pick), but this year's Cleveland Browns team is one of those circumstances.

They need a 1-15 season or whatever it takes to get Mangini out the door.

[jbergey22]

Les Steckel from way back was just a horrible hire. He once tried to motivate a professional football team sticking peanut butter in a diaper and telling the players he wanted this game so bad he will eat shit as he stuck his face in the diaper filled with peanut butter. It didnt go over so well.

[DeToxRox]

Uh no Rod Marinelli? Not only was he never even a defensive coordinator, but the way he was hired was a joke, including giving him an OC he didn't even want. It was not all on Marinelli, but the hiring and everything that went with it was just terrible.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Les Steckel from way back was just a horrible hire. He once tried to motivate a professional football team sticking peanut butter in a diaper and telling the players he wanted this game so bad he will eat shit as he stuck his face in the diaper filled with peanut butter. It didnt go over so well.

hahaha

And I thought Marty Morningwig peeling out on his chopper was bad.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Baltimore/NE--

Jets/Saints--

GB/Minn--

These are the three games I'm most interested in this week for sure. Add in San Diego/Pittsburgh and Dallas/Denver too for me.

[stevew]

Has an "open QB competition" ever turned out well?

[Lathum]

I wonder if Flozell Adams will get fined again?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JAG

I think Barry Switzer wins hands down. It's one thing to hire an unknown (or known sucky) coach to lead a rebuilding team, it's another thing to hire a coach who had been out of work for 5 years and had never coached in the pros to lead a team coming off back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

Although if the firing (or whatever) of Jimmy Johnson had happened a few months earlier, I wonder if it might have been Norv Turner coaching the team...

Reading Boys Will Be Boys (An Amazing read about the rise and fall of the Cowboys) it was all but certain, even during the season, that Switzer was the guy. He was Jones boy and he was going to be the coach come hell or high water. Norv was associated with Johnson which means he had no chance.

[JeeberD]

I'm going to be in Denver for a wedding this week, so I'll be sticking around long enough to go to the Cowboys-Broncos game. I haven't been to an NFL game in probably four years, so this should be fun...

[fantom1979]

Originally Posted by stevew

Has an "open QB competition" ever turned out well?

I was just talking about this at work. They don't ever seem to work very well. The Jets sorta of had an open competition this year and that has worked pretty well, San Fran is doing ok as well, and the Lions have already won more games then I thought they would. Tampa and Cleveland are just horrible.

One interesting thing that my friend brought up (and may not be completely factual with some investigation), is how well some teams do after a switch to the back up quarterback (either by injury or brought in to replace the starting qb). Just some names that come to mind over the last 15 or 20 years: Frank Reich, Scott Mitchell, Kurt Warner, Joe Flacco, Derek Anderson, Kerry Collins, Gus Frerotte, Tom Brady, Tommy Maddox, Jeff Garcia,

[Bad-example]

Rams at 49ers. Trap game?

[B & B]

If you live in south georgia, se alabama or north florida you are completely fucked this Sunday.

As you may know, the Jags games are blacked out locally and thats what your scheduled to see. Therefore you get nothing.

Oh, unless you want to turn on the FoX broadcast of the only 1pm game on cable. TAMPA BAY vs WASHINGTON.

[JPhillips]

I can't believe Pos doesn't even mention Dave Shula.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by JAG

I think Barry Switzer wins hands down. It's one thing to hire an unknown (or known sucky) coach to lead a rebuilding team, it's another thing to hire a coach who had been out of work for 5 years and had never coached in the pros to lead a team coming off back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

Although if the firing (or whatever) of Jimmy Johnson had happened a few months earlier, I wonder if it might have been Norv Turner coaching the team...

How can that be the worst hiring ever? Switzer went to an NFC championship game his first year and won a Super Bowl title in his second. He finished 10-6 in his third year and went to the divisional round.

The structure around the team was crumbling, with Jerry at the top. By the time the 10-6 year rolled around, Emmitt wasn't a 1500+ yard back who averaged 4.5 to 5.5 yards a carry. He went from his prime to very good. Alvin Harper and the ally oop TD? Gone to prove and fail at being a #1 WR. Novacek? Retired. Michael Irvin? '95 was his last huge year. Like Emmitt, he had very good years after, but never at the same level. Ditto for Daryl Johnston. Aikman never threw for over 60% again after '96. 80% of the line was done, at least with the Cowboys by '96.

Defensively, guys like Jim Jeffcoat, Russell Maryland, Ken Norton, and Charles Haley were history.

I don't want to make this seem like the move was a great one. But we can't assume Jimmy would have simply reloaded with the dawn of the salary cap era approaching. He had 4 years in Miami and never did better than 10-6 in that era.

We also can't assume Jimmy wouldn't have taken off at some point in this process either.

Barry was a horrible, horrible hire. But at the end of the day, the Cowboys were going to face the same issues with him Gailey or Jimmy. A cap that wouldn't allow them to keep their core, their core aging, a bunch of low draft picks because they were winning so much. Jimmy may have won an extra title (even that is debateable in my opinion), but I don't think you can make a case that Switzer was the worst hire ever. Just my opinion.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by fantom1979

...and the Lions have already won more games then I thought they would.

You thought the Lions would go winless again?

[TroyF]

As far as week 4 games that interest me:

Cowboys/Broncos - Just how good is the Denver D and the Denver team? We find out this week.

Baltimore/NE - What a game this should be.

Jets/NO - Another terrific game. The Jets D against Brees. Looking forward to this one.

SD/Pitt - Neither AFC favorite has impressed me that much. A Pittsburgh win puts both of them at 2-2. A Chargers win means that even with an uneven start they are 3-1 and headed for a first round bye. (look at the division)

And of course. . . GB/Minn - Not as fun as the Min at GB will be later this year. But it should be a fun game to watch.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by TroyF

As far as week 4 games that interest me:

Cowboys/Broncos - Just how good is the Denver D and the Denver team? We find out this week.

Baltimore/NE - What a game this should be.

Jets/NO - Another terrific game. The Jets D against Brees. Looking forward to this one.

SD/Pitt - Neither AFC favorite has impressed me that much. A Pittsburgh win puts both of them at 2-2. A Chargers win means that even with an uneven start they are 3-1 and headed for a first round bye. (look at the division)

And of course. . . GB/Minn - Not as fun as the Min at GB will be later this year. But it should be a fun game to watch.

Good choices. I am hoping the Broncos defense is for real, I picked them up for my fantasy team.

[Dutch]

• Raheem Morris (Tampa Bay): Whew, yeah, that's a bad hire. But, again, at least he was hired from within and he had not just been canned.

I wouldn't say it was a bad hire. Maybe a bit premature though...

But the direction of the Buccaneers this off-season was clear. The head coach was fired, the GM was fired, the DC "retired", a large majority of the veterans on the team were let go, no new FA's of note were hired, a 1st round rookie QB was selected.

Read: This team is in full rebuilding mode.

Now, I wasn't completely aware of that until we went 0-3, but in hindsight...duh!

While the FOFC community loves nothing better than going "empty cupboard", I'm not sure a lot of veteran HC's are very interested in that. It's really the perfect game for younger coaches. And I think that plays a bit into it. I think the owners are really trying to see if they can get another Tony Dungy styled turnaround with the young Raheem Morris.

Now, I will say that when Tony Dungy first took over, there were certain things that he said that made you really think he had his shit together, and I haven't totally got that vibe from Morris, but he doesn't seem like a blathering buffoon that doesn't know his head from his ass, either.

So was this a bad hire? I don't think so.

[RomaGoth]

Hard to convince me that Marty Mornhinweg wasn't the worst hire outside of Mangini. That guy was awful from the beginning. Of course, so was his GM.

[JediKooter]

Jamarcus Russell: In the immortal words of Tommy Lasorda - "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of fucking boat!"


Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, Browns, Redskins and the Bucs are just really awful awful teams. 3-15 is their combined win/loss record this season. I discounted a couple of winless teams, becauase they are just not as happless as these 6 teams in my opinion.

Raiders - Oh boy, where to start? You know it's bad when the Raiders organization is lashing out at the press for not being nice to them. Raider Nation, your wahmbulance is on its way. Speaking of Raider Nation...Umm I thought you guys were the most die hard, Darth Vader masked, spiked shoulder pad, painted faced fans in the world? Always accusing other fans of being fairweather. Tell me why was the Raider game blacked out in Raider Nation Central last weekend and from the highlights, it looked more like a Braves playoff game than "Hug a Thug" night at the Coliseum?

What would happen to the time space continuum if the Raiders and Lions had to play each other? Parking shouldn't be a problem though.


My surprises so far:

Steelers, Titans and the Jets.

Steelers defense looks like it's starting show its age.
Maybe the loss of Haynsworth to the Redskins has affected the Titans more than expected. He hasn't helped the Redskins though.
Jets - Proof that a defensive minded coach will win you some games.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Jamarcus Russell: In the immortal words of Tommy Lasorda - "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of fucking boat!"


Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, Browns, Redskins and the Bucs are just really awful awful teams. 3-15 is their combined win/loss record this season. I discounted a couple of winless teams, becauase they are just not as happless as these 6 teams in my opinion.

Raiders - Oh boy, where to start? You know it's bad when the Raiders organization is lashing out at the press for not being nice to them. Raider Nation, your wahmbulance is on its way. Speaking of Raider Nation...Umm I thought you guys were the most die hard, Darth Vader masked, spiked shoulder pad, painted faced fans in the world? Always accusing other fans of being fairweather. Tell me why was the Raider game blacked out in Raider Nation Central last weekend and from the highlights, it looked more like a Braves playoff game than "Hug a Thug" night at the Coliseum?

What would happen to the time space continuum if the Raiders and Lions had to play each other? Parking shouldn't be a problem though.


My surprises so far:

Steelers, Titans and the Jets.

Steelers defense looks like it's starting show its age.
Maybe the loss of Haynsworth to the Redskins has affected the Titans more than expected. He hasn't helped the Redskins though.
Jets - Proof that a defensive minded coach will win you some games.

At first I thought this was a call to Jim Rome....

[JAG]

Originally Posted by TroyF

How can that be the worst hiring ever? Switzer went to an NFC championship game his first year and won a Super Bowl title in his second. He finished 10-6 in his third year and went to the divisional round.

The structure around the team was crumbling, with Jerry at the top. By the time the 10-6 year rolled around, Emmitt wasn't a 1500+ yard back who averaged 4.5 to 5.5 yards a carry. He went from his prime to very good. Alvin Harper and the ally oop TD? Gone to prove and fail at being a #1 WR. Novacek? Retired. Michael Irvin? '95 was his last huge year. Like Emmitt, he had very good years after, but never at the same level. Ditto for Daryl Johnston. Aikman never threw for over 60% again after '96. 80% of the line was done, at least with the Cowboys by '96.

Defensively, guys like Jim Jeffcoat, Russell Maryland, Ken Norton, and Charles Haley were history.

I don't want to make this seem like the move was a great one. But we can't assume Jimmy would have simply reloaded with the dawn of the salary cap era approaching. He had 4 years in Miami and never did better than 10-6 in that era.

We also can't assume Jimmy wouldn't have taken off at some point in this process either.

Barry was a horrible, horrible hire. But at the end of the day, the Cowboys were going to face the same issues with him Gailey or Jimmy. A cap that wouldn't allow them to keep their core, their core aging, a bunch of low draft picks because they were winning so much. Jimmy may have won an extra title (even that is debateable in my opinion), but I don't think you can make a case that Switzer was the worst hire ever. Just my opinion.

You make some good points. When I called Switzer the 'worst ever', it's a matter of semantics. In my opinion (and what do I know) there's almost no one who would have turned down the head coaching position at that time and Jerry Jones gave it to someone that no other team would have hired. That to me is the greatest disparity for a coach ever hired in terms of 'value of position available' and 'ability of person hired to fill position'. There's no lack of coaches who proved they have no ability to coach, but a lot of those guys are also hired into bad situations where they don't have much chance to have a positive impact even if they're the second coming of Lombardi.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by JAG

You make some good points. When I called Switzer the 'worst ever', it's a matter of semantics. In my opinion (and what do I know) there's almost no one who would have turned down the head coaching position at that time and Jerry Jones gave it to someone that no other team would have hired. That to me is the greatest disparity for a coach ever hired in terms of 'value of position available' and 'ability of person hired to fill position'. There's no lack of coaches who proved they have no ability to coach, but a lot of those guys are also hired into bad situations where they don't have much chance to have a positive impact even if they're the second coming of Lombardi.

Don't you think that any coach hired under Jerry Jones is really just a "yes" man though?

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

At first I thought this was a call to Jim Rome....

Can't stand Jim Rome, but, I can see what you're talking about.

[fantom1979]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

At first I thought this was a call to Jim Rome....

Rack'em

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Can't stand Jim Rome, but, I can see what you're talking about.

I don't really mind him some of the time, but his "clones" are morons. Who calls a radio show and talks shit during the day? Don't they have jobs?

Originally Posted by fantom1979

Rack'em

Manual buzzer.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Jamarcus Russell: In the immortal words of Tommy Lasorda - "He couldn't hit water if he fell out of fucking boat!"


Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, Browns, Redskins and the Bucs are just really awful awful teams. 3-15 is their combined win/loss record this season. I discounted a couple of winless teams, becauase they are just not as happless as these 6 teams in my opinion.

Raiders - Oh boy, where to start? You know it's bad when the Raiders organization is lashing out at the press for not being nice to them. Raider Nation, your wahmbulance is on its way. Speaking of Raider Nation...Umm I thought you guys were the most die hard, Darth Vader masked, spiked shoulder pad, painted faced fans in the world? Always accusing other fans of being fairweather. Tell me why was the Raider game blacked out in Raider Nation Central last weekend and from the highlights, it looked more like a Braves playoff game than "Hug a Thug" night at the Coliseum?

What would happen to the time space continuum if the Raiders and Lions had to play each other? Parking shouldn't be a problem though.


My surprises so far:

Steelers, Titans and the Jets.

Steelers defense looks like it's starting show its age.
Maybe the loss of Haynsworth to the Redskins has affected the Titans more than expected. He hasn't helped the Redskins though.
Jets - Proof that a defensive minded coach will win you some games.

1) It's easy to say the Steelers defense is showing it's age with Troy Polamalu injured. Despite that they are 8th in the NFL in points and yards allowed, better in both catagories than a healthy Ravens team who has already played the Cheifs and Browns. I think their bigger problem is offensive line.

2) The Titans are struggling. Not having Haynseworth is a part of that problem.

3) It's proof a good coach and an already solid talent base will win you some games. Dick Jauron is a defensive coach. Raheem Morris is a defensive coach. Put Ryan on either of o their teams and I'd bet money they'd still struggle.

[MikeVic]

Go Steelers!

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by TroyF

1) It's easy to say the Steelers defense is showing it's age with Troy Polamalu injured. Despite that they are 8th in the NFL in points and yards allowed, better in both catagories than a healthy Ravens team who has already played the Cheifs and Browns. I think their bigger problem is offensive line.

2) The Titans are struggling. Not having Haynseworth is a part of that problem.

3) It's proof a good coach and an already solid talent base will win you some games. Dick Jauron is a defensive coach. Raheem Morris is a defensive coach. Put Ryan on either of o their teams and I'd bet money they'd still struggle.

The Steelers problem IS their offensive line. With or without Polamalu, they could have beaten both Cinci and Chicago with a running game.

[DataKing]

It's a shame that flex scheduling doesn't kick in until later in the year, because I would love to see the Pats/Ravens game. That one just smells like a Game Of the Week.

[Honolulu_Blue]

This week we get:

NYJ/NO
DET/CHI
DAL/DEN

Not bad. If the NE/Baltimore game is the game of the week, NYJ/NO has to be a close second. Personally, I am sick of watching the Cowboys, but I am interested in seeing how the Broncos match up against them.

[larrymcg421]

The one good thing about Pennington being out for the season is that he can now win Comeback Player of the Year for the third time.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

I don't really mind him some of the time, but his "clones" are morons. Who calls a radio show and talks shit during the day? Don't they have jobs?



Manual buzzer.

Yes, I think the 'clones' are morons. "Hey, I don't have my own radio show, so let me just copy the guy who does and call in."

There's podcasts now, do your own show.

Maybe they are hired by Rome to call in?

Originally Posted by TroyF

1) It's easy to say the Steelers defense is showing it's age with Troy Polamalu injured. Despite that they are 8th in the NFL in points and yards allowed, better in both catagories than a healthy Ravens team who has already played the Cheifs and Browns. I think their bigger problem is offensive line.

2) The Titans are struggling. Not having Haynseworth is a part of that problem.

3) It's proof a good coach and an already solid talent base will win you some games. Dick Jauron is a defensive coach. Raheem Morris is a defensive coach. Put Ryan on either of o their teams and I'd bet money they'd still struggle.

Even when Polamalu was in, something just didn't seem right about the Steelers defense. As much as I dislike the Steelers, I am extremely jealous of the defense they have put together and wish the Chargers would use them as a model. Without TP, I'd still take the Steelers defense any day. They just seem a bit slow right now.

Titans are definitely struggling and I'm amazed that they are sitting at 0-3 even with Haynesworth gone.

My comment about having a defensive minded coach was a poke at Norv "The Most Uninspiring Play Calling in the Universe" Turner. The dude is a yellow bellied chicken shit in the Red Zone and I think if he had more of a defensive mind set and a killer instinct to the game, he wouldn't turn into the Little Engine that Can't during crucial moments of the game. Granted, the run blocking of the Chargers is down right horrid and I actually like seeing Rivers air it out like the good 'ol Air Coryell days, but, you have to score in the Red Zone and his play calls are not getting it done.

[Izulde]

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Tyler Thigpen being traded to the Dolphins for an undisclosed draft pick. While I don't see him unseating Henne at this particular moment, if Henne bombs, at least Thigpen has some experience and shown flashes as a starter for Kansas City last year.

[Big Fo]

Thigpen was mentioned, it must have been in last week's thread. The undisclosed pick better have been a 6th or 7th rounder.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Thigpen was mentioned, it must have been in last week's thread. The undisclosed pick better have been a 6th or 7th rounder.

Oh okay, I only heard about it a couple days go, so I thought it'd be in this thread.

[Big Fo]

I guess Pat White hasn't looked too impressive throwing the ball in practice. I'm still pissed that Miami used a 2nd round pick on him instead of someone that might have been able to contribute immediately.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I guess Pat White hasn't looked too impressive throwing the ball in practice. I'm still pissed that Miami used a 2nd round pick on him instead of someone that might have been able to contribute immediately.

Amazing they took him that early in the draft. I think Parcells missed the boat with that one.

[TroyF]

Jedi,

What exactly did you think was wrong with the Steelers D before he got hurt? By my totals the Steelers D allowed around 130 yards and two FG attempts in almost a half before he got hurt. After he left, they gave up 71 in a single drive and then gave up over 200 yards the rest of the game.

[stevew]

Yeah, the struggles are primarily Polamalu based. I think if you took a top 5(or 10 if you guys want to be that way) defensive player in the league off of any team they'd be hurting. Seriously, I'm a homer but the dude makes plays unlike almost anyone else. They're in trouble until he gets healthy again.

The O-Line is obviously not that good. But what's plauged Steeler football as far as I can remember is the fact that they always seem too content with a 10 point lead. Cowher never lost those games(look it up, his record was rediculous), and Tomlin hasn't been nearly as good. But as a fan I can remember far too many games that were too close cause they were content with a lead.

Then again, if guys make plays(looking at you Santurdio vs. the Bears, and Manos:Hands of Sweed vs the Bengals), the team is 3-0 right now.

I'm not panicking, and actually I really don't care as much as I used to. The titles have me fat with goodwill right now. If they lose to San Diego this week, I'm going to get concerned though.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Jedi,

What exactly did you think was wrong with the Steelers D before he got hurt? By my totals the Steelers D allowed around 130 yards and two FG attempts in almost a half before he got hurt. After he left, they gave up 71 in a single drive and then gave up over 200 yards the rest of the game.

Definitely not bashing the Steelers D here.

They looked slow, not that they look bad. Harrison doesn't seem to be blowing by people as frequently as well. He did finally get his first sack last weekend. I don't think they are in any danger of a collapse or anything like that. The opening night game was one heck of a fun game to watch. Probably a heart stopper for Steelers fans though.

It may be that TP has been bitten by the Head and Shoulders curse, but, I'd take the Steelers D any day of the week, with or without Troy. I really enjoy watching the Steelers D (except when they play the Chargers) and how they normaly dictate the game. Even in the Super Bowl last season, it was the D that won it for them or that last minute drive by Ben and Co. would not have mattered.

Their O-line, looks pretty much the same as it did last year, to me.

When I watch the Steelers D, I just think, "Damn, why can't the Chargers D be as agressive as these guys?" The Steelers are still agressive, just look a little slow to me. Who knows, this weeks game may be the game they work out the kinks and back to their normal selves, since the Chargers O-line is just a wreck.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Don't you think that any coach hired under Jerry Jones is really just a "yes" man though?

Jimmy Johnson and Parcells weren't, but that does fit the other four.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I guess Pat White hasn't looked too impressive throwing the ball in practice. I'm still pissed that Miami used a 2nd round pick on him instead of someone that might have been able to contribute immediately.

Why did they need someone to contribute immediately? They're 0-3 now, chances are one player wasn't going to turn this into a Super Bowl season.

[Julio Riddols]

If Cincinnati wins by 14 or more this week, I will be ready to believe the culture is changed there, at least for this season. Can't afford to play down to competition if they really do have the mental toughness that has been missing for so long.

Pretty stoked about the Jets/Saints matchup, I think the Jets win due to a better balance of Defense/Offense. Sanchez might have a statement game here. Ravens/Pats looks nice too, I think the Ravens will expose the Pats and win fairly easily though. The Patriots are not the same this season, and it seems obvious.. And Joe Flacco is not the guy I thought he was. He seems to have taken HUGE steps this offseason, which is scary as shit, considering that the D in Baltimore is always stout with Ray Lewis in the lineup.