Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- We discovered the key to life at brunch yesterday with a group of friends. We decided that if you want the world to be your oyster, you really only need to have three talents: (1) be good at charades, (2) be good at shotgunning beer, and (3) be good in bed. I mean, if you have that, I think the world is your playground. And that discussion may or may not have taken place after our 5th cocktail. So there’s your roadmap to success, now get out there and practice kids!

- Mark Sanchez is now tied for the most playoff wins by a Jets quarterback with two. Drew Brees has the only wins in Saints playoff history. That gives you a sense of two of the franchises that will be playing in the conference championship games this weekend. The other two quarterbacks have slightly more playoff experience – maybe you’ve heard of them? Favre and Manning.

- The Colts probably should have knocked the Jets out of the playoffs before they got in. Karma brings the Jets back to Indy with a renewed sense of confidence and momentum. You have to believe the Bengals and Chargers are wishing they would have played the Texans rather than Rex’s hard-charging Gang Green.

- Brett Favre is playing better than he ever has in his entire career. He has 37 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions including the playoff game. The first touchdown pass he threw to Sidney Rice could not have been placed in a better spot if Favre was right next to him. I’m pretty sure he was singing “Just the Two of Us” in the locker room after the game. Well, maybe not. But he is playing better than even when he was going to back-to-back Super Bowls with Green Bay.

- Reggie Bush may have finally realized how to play in the NFL. The guy is a great athlete and he may have finally figured out that he has the ability to lower his shoulder and just plow forward on some plays and use his incredible video game moves on other plays. He played with a purpose and ran over Cardinals defenders on some occasions and stopped and cut on a dime for the next move. There was one screen pass where he caught the ball, and put on the brakes and cut back, leaving two Arizona defenders diving at air. If he can play like that, not only will the Saints have a great chance at winning the Super Bowl, but he will have a better chance of getting a big payday when his contract is up. And maybe we’ll finally talk about him for something other than his girlfriend.

HATE

- The Chargers choked. And not just Nate Kaeding for missing 3 field goals. Phillip Rivers was not clutch and Norv Turner lived up to his awful reputation in big games. Why did he go with an onside kick? Had he kicked it deep, on that 4th and 1, the Jets would have been deep in their own territory and would have had to punt. Once again, Norv proved that he does not have what it takes to take a team to the championship.

- Can we please stop the retirement talk as soon as a team loses in the playoffs? Kurt Warner, LaDanian Tomlinson, Ed Reed, etc. all may have played their final games. Give them some time to let their emotions calm down, let their bodies heal up a little, and let them talk with their families. Then again, if you’re Kurt Warner, maybe you need a job to keep you out of the house and away from that hair. (And the streak continues) They’ve all been great players, give them time to figure out what they want to do.

- Keith Brookings is a clown. Yes, it was aggressive that the Vikings threw the ball on 4th down with 2 minutes left in a blow out. Yet we celebrate the players for playing hard the entire game – that includes the last two minutes. So the Vikings did exactly that – they played to the final whistle. And Brad Childress can only coach his team. If the Cowboys are not able to stop the Vikings, that’s a Cowboy’s problem, not a Vikings problem. You’ve been getting your ass handed to you all day long, Keith. Don’t compound it by trying to talk to the Vikings bench and spouting off to the media after the game. You sound like a whiny little biyatch. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was watching Grey’s Anatomy because you were whining more than Ellen Pompeo.

- Think Arizona is looking for a defensive coordinator today?

- C’mon Brett you pansy. Crying in the post game presser after WINNING the game? A blow out game at that. Honestly – you’re such a drama queen. Grow up.

Tuesday Ramblings - Worst Coach in the NFL?

Wow, so yesterday was among the better sports viewing days in recent memory. We get two walk-offs in baseball and a solid comeback to stay unbeaten in the NFL. Can you remember another day that had that many dramatic finishes in games of serious consequences?

The Angels got right back in the series, but need to continue their roll against CC tonight. The Phillies put their foot on the Dodger’s throats by taking out their vaunted bullpen. And while Josh McDaniels didn’t repeat the fist-pumping victory celebration, might the Broncos actually be a Super Bowl contender!?!
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Why is the NY media jumping on Joe Girardi so hard for changing pitchers last night? Yes, the move didn’t work out, but he had logic behind the move. He went to a guy that doesn’t rely on his fastball and uses curves and off-speed pitches to get guys out against a hitter that doesn’t hit curves and off-speed pitches well. So it didn’t work out. But his decision made sense before the hit. If he would have left Robertson in the game and he would have given up the hit, Girardi would have been roasted more than Grady Little. So it was basically a no-win situation. And these are the same idiotic fans/media that said Torre stayed with guys too long and didn’t do enough. Guys like Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post seem to think they have more baseball knowledge than a guy like Joe Girardi. Vaccaro would be better suited to tell the story of the game and not ramble on about strategy like some drunken Vinny from Queens.
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Who is the worst coach in the NFL? There are some really poor teams, but who are the worst head coaches? Not just a bad record can contribute to who is the worst coach, and it says something about the sorry state of coaches when a guy like Eric Mangini, hated by his own players, doesn’t even crack the top (bottom?) 5 worst coaches. Here’s my list……….

1. Jim Zorn – almost doesn’t qualify because it is the worst kept secret in the world that he’s getting fired. They’re basically treating him like Milton in Office Space – having him move his desk to the basement, and taking away his Swingline stapler. The guy was woefully under qualified for the position in the first place. Adding a “consultant” that then takes over play-calling within 2 weeks is a precursor to “Your Ass is Getting Canned” as soon as they decide who can be the interim coach.

2. Norv Turner – Mr. Roper has always done less with more. He has a pro bowl QB, a hall of fame RB, a pro bowl returner/backup RB, 2 pro bowl LBs and a pro bowl CB. Yet his teams start every year with a losing record by week 7 and scramble to get to the playoffs, where they will fizzle and become a disappointment. This is his third head coaching job, and he has been awful at all of them – career record of 79-98-1. And he was 58-82-1 when he got the job in San Diego – what did they expect?

3. Wade Phillips – The Son of Bum is a bum. Similar to Norv Roper, this guy always flops when it matters or when he has talent. Also in his 3rd head coaching stint, he does have an overall winning record of 73-51, but he has NEVER won a playoff game in 8 full seasons as the head coach, with an 0-4 record. Pathetic.

4. Tom Cable – Similar to Zorn, he was sadly under qualified for the position. But then again, someone had to say yes to Al Davis. However, someone didn’t have to (allegedly) do something to an assistant coach that resulted in the assistant coach having a broken jaw. Also similar to Zorn, he’s working in a terrible situation with an owner that is his own worst enemy and doesn’t know it.

5. Dick Jauron – We know Jauron is a smart guy – he has the Ivy league degree from Princeton to prove it. But that does not make him a good head coach. I’m not sure how he ever got the job in Buffalo. He has a career record of 59-80, and was 35-45 in 4 years in Chicago and 1-4 in relief in Detroit prior to the Bills job. In his 10 seasons as a head coach, his teams have only ranked higher than 23rd in the league in points once. And only once higher than 23rd in yards, and that was his first year in Chicago in 1999. So why are we surprised that the Bills offense is awful this year and they don’t know how to use Terrell Owens?

Honorable Mention:
Eric Mangini – flamed out in NY, and somehow got another gig immediately with Cleveland and managed to alienate his team and fan base before the half way point of the season. Think he’s jealous of the way Josh McDaniels is performing?

Raheem Morris – compared to Mike Tomlin when he got the job, he has a serious lack of talent on the Bucs, so he gets a short-term pass.

Todd Haley – has the youngest team in the league with the Chiefs, so he also gets a pass.

Not on the list of worst coaches but will be fired this year or this off season:
John Fox, Jeff Fisher, Gary Kubiak and Jack Del Rio (though his owner’s struggles with ticket sales and tight wallet might save his job)