Week 17 Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- I have to believe that the Jim Zorn firing this morning probably went something like when Kramer got fired on Seinfeld…….

- The Big 10 finally showed up for bowl season. In addition to Wisconsin throttling Miami, Penn State beat LSU, Ohio State handled Oregon, and Northwestern should have beaten Auburn. After years of taking abuse for the conference losing all of its bowl games, the teams put up a pretty good showing. The ending of the Northwestern game was among the best overtime college football games I’ve ever seen (that didn’t have any real meaning) - losing the game on a fumble (then having it overturned), missing a tying field goal (then getting a first down and losing your kicker to injury on a roughing the kicker penalty), and finally losing the game by faking a 20 yard field goal because your starting kicker was injured. I’d say the fake field goal attempt probably ranked up there with the Diane Lane sex scenes in Unfaithful…..it fit in given the context of the situation, but it definitely hits you as shocking at the time and makes you rethink what you thought about her.

- Coaching will be the difference in the NFC playoffs. With both wildcard games in the NFC this coming weekend being rematches of games from Sunday, the difference will be the adjustments and strategy that the coaches make during the next week. That makes the Philly-Dallas game even more interesting because Wade Phillips is not known as a great strategy guy, and Andy Reid has a great history of choking in games that matter (see Sunday as example A).

In Arizona, Ken Whisenhunt will be tested to come up with a way to score points against the Packer defense, and find a way to slow down Aaron Rodgers. Mike McCarthy, this is your chance to show how well you can prep a team to get a road win and potentially set up a chance at Brett Favre in the divisional playoff round.

- Great gambling finish to the season for the Sports Addict, including a perfect 9-0 record in the early games on Sunday and a 12-4 record overall for the day. If I had just placed a sweet 9-team parlay bet with the early games, I could have racked up a nice 150-1 odds winning ticket…….
Oh, and of course, the only week I pick against the Packers and they come through big time in sending a message to the Cardinals what they will be bringing back to the desert next weekend.

HATE

- Eagles Coach Andy Reid must have told his team that Sunday was the beginning of the playoffs, because they switched from their powerful regular season team mode into the heartless, effortless Philly team that shows up every year in the playoffs. Donovan McNabb and company flopped like a European NBA star on a fast break. It at least makes for an interesting rematch next week when both teams try to shed their past playoff failures.

- What a pathetic showing by the Giants to finish the season the past few weeks. Tom Coughlin is probably going to keep his job based on his Super Bowl win from 2007, but after the way the team quit, you have to wonder if he and defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan should share a cab out of town. The Giants will have some major improvements to make before next season if they want to keep up with the young Eagles and the more talented Cowboys within the NFC East.

- The Broncos are in major trouble. So let’s see if we have this right. They start the year 6-0, then proceed to lose 8 of their last 10, their star WR has beef with his coach, and their QB does not look worthy of a long-term contract. So what exactly did Josh McDaniel accomplish this season? They threw up on themselves like many people on New Year’s, and their future looks worse than when McDaniels took over.

- What a strange NFL season where the top seeds in the NFC and AFC enter the playoffs on 3 and 2 game losing streaks, respectively. In addition, the 2 seed in the NFC enters having lost 3 of their last 5 games. I guess this will be the perfect year to determine whether momentum really comes into play in the NFL.

- You have to feel for Wes Welker, who blew out his knee in the first series on Sunday. It’s a crushing blow to the Patriots chances of advancing deep in the playoffs. I guess that’s the proof that the Colts need to confirm they did the right thing last week against the Jets.

- One last hate - the weather. It has been nut-rattling cold in the Northeast the past few days. Miserable.

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)