I disagree on Morris. It’s not that he has a young team, but he seemed to completely lose control of this team down the stretch. The Buccs lost their last 10 and the last few losses were downright embarrassing. It’s one thing to lose a close one to Green Bay, or blow a 4th quarter lead against Tennessee. But Tampa lost big down the stretch:
- Lost by 19 to Carolina at home (the score was once 38-12)
- Watch Jacksonville score 41 straight the next game
- Spotted Dallas a 28 point lead in another home blowout
- Was embarrassed at Carolina by 32 (the score was once 48-10)
- Played the most inept half of NFL football in recent years in Atlanta and was down by 42 with 6 minutes to play in the first half.
They also lost 48-3 to SF and 37-9 to Houston. So out of their 12 losses, 7 were full fledged blowouts. When things went bad, the team quit. That’s on the coach. Their point differential was the 2nd worst in the league at -207. That’s entirely inexcusable for a team that’s relatively talented.
If TB posted a 4-12 record, but the games were close and the team kept fighting, I’d agree with keeping Morris. But this team flat-out quit down the stretch and that’s when you have to change the coach. I wrote before that of all the available coaching gigs, TB would be my first choice if I were Jeff Fisher and the Glazer’s agreed to spend money on this team. The talent is there, but they need a strong coach like Fisher to mold them.
I agree. He’s so far above his peers that it’s hard to argue the case that he’s not. Jim Brown was that way, but the game wasn’t nearly as big or as popular back then. But to dominate the way Rice did, for so long, in such a competitive era is just amazing.
Speaking of Denver…
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No, Denver is not as good as Dallas. The NFC East may be relatively weak this year (I don’t know if any of those teams would have claimed even 3rd place in the AFC North), but the AFC West was dismal.
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The worst-case scenario for Elway and Fox is unfolding with Tebow. He’s played horribly the last couple of weeks. Another game like that (which is easily foreseeable against a defense like the Steelers) is going really create problems.
As more stuff gets on tape, Tebow’s limitations become easier to diagnose and defense. The win streak was smoke and mirrors fueled by turnover luck, a dominating defense, excellent special teams, weak opponents with substantial injuries and substantial luck. Without substantial growth, Tebow is going nowhere in this league - his performance the last two weeks was incredibly dismal.
So what do Elway and Fox do? If they draft a young QB, the Tebow supporters will scream their heads off about the playoffs and how he’s a winner. Even if Tebow starts next year, if he doesn’t play well then those same supporters will say it’s because of the team/scheme/coaching. If he does, then they’ll scream that they wasted a draft pick - something Denver cannot afford to do after the horrible drafting during the McDaniels era.
If they don’t, then they’re putting all their chips on the table in support of Tebow. If his game doesn’t grow, then it’ll be a long, dismal year for Denver fans and the non-Tebow crowd will scream that Denver should have drafted a QB in this year’s draft.
My guess: they ride the middle line by finding a veteran QB to “back up” Tebow, who gets the starting job during the middle of next year if (when?) Tebow falters. That’s the safe move, but ultimately it’ll just put this franchise behind by another year.
Of course, if Tebow’s game does grow, then this is a non-issue. But after seeing him this year, can anyone really say that that kind of growth is likely in a 25 year old QB with 2 years of NFL experience and 4 years as a college starter under his belt?
It’s funny that ever since ESPN made that ‘all he does is win’ mashup/video Tebow hasn’t won.
There’s some housecleaning being done in Chicago.
Ninyu
6026
Good. The Bears need a change. There is no excuse for the backup QB being so woefully unprepared when Cutler went down. Someone seriously misjudged Hanie’s “talent” for the past several years. Also, the Bears’ draft picks have just been non-factors for the most part. Angelo needed to go.
Shaughahghughnessessey complaining about a 13-3 season:
This Patriots defense is just as terrible as last year’s, but one positive I’m seeing is they implode in the 1st quarter, make adjustments, then start rolling.
Last season the Patriots couldn’t make adjustments, and it burned them in all their losses. They’re better at it this year, and the AFC is the crappy conference now, so they could make a run.
No, the pass defense is far, far worse than last year’s.
Here’s the thing about New England. Nobody knows if they’re any good or not. They didn’t beat a team with a winning record all year. They were 14-0 against teams .500 or worse and 0-2 against winning teams. It’s not about the adjustments, it’s about the level of competition. That’s an extraordinarily weak schedule by New England.
Just for contrast, here’s the same stat for the other AFC playoff teams: Baltimore and Pittsburgh each played 8 games against teams better than .500. Houston played 7, Cincy 6 (winless in those games) and Denver 5.
So I don’t think anyone really knows what the Patriots are like this year. We’ll find out if/when Pittsburgh or Baltimore visits New England in the playoffs.
That does sound pretty damning, but it’s a tad worse because they were 13-1 against .500 teams or worse. You’re forgetting the early season loss to the Bills.
sluggo
6030
AJ Smith and Norv Turner WILL return to the Chargers next year.
San Diego Chargers Chairman of the Board & President Dean Spanos today officially ended speculation and confirmed that General Manager A.J. Smith and Head Coach Norv Turner will return in 2012.
“Bottom line, I believe these two men give us the best chance to get back to the playoffs,” Spanos said. “A.J. Smith is the best man to improve our roster, and Norv Turner is the best man to lead that roster on the field.
“Together, we have stability and experience that’s hard to find in the NFL. They’ve both been in this league a long time. I don’t think there is anything they haven’t seen or experienced. They’ve led us through some difficult situations.
Wow. If I was a Chargers fan, this would not be the news I wanted to hear today.
Just came in to post the same thing, I can’t understand why they kept Norv as a coach.
Sarkus
6032
Word is that Rivers wanted Norv back. Franchise QBs usually get what they want.
Heh. It’s amazing. Schottenheimer goes 14-2 and gets fired and Norv goes 8-8 in the easiest division in the AFC and gets to come back.
Well, I’m happy. Last thing I wanted to see was Norv looking for a job when the Rams are looking for a coach.
Sarkus
6034
Martz isn’t coming back in Chicago.
I guess I was expecting more firings by now. One thing I am starting to wonder about is what the hell Hue Jackson thinks he is doing. I don’t think he’s going to lose his job, but he sure seems rather vocal about flexing his power.
“I would hope that as the head coach of this football team I would hope that the organization understands that I have a pretty good idea of where we need to go. Because if not, then I shouldn’t be where I’m sitting,” Jackson said via the Oakland Tribune.
This was in response to a question of whether he should be involved in hiring the GM the Raiders are expected to want to bring in. Jackson’s contract was written in such a way that he only had to answer to the owner, so there has been some question about how things will work out in Oakland now.
If I was the owner I’d be calling him up and telling him to shut his pie hole.
You’re operating under the assumption that they care about winning more than any other factor, and I doubt that is the case.
Tebow is a ratings and fan magnet right now - his jersey is still the #1 seller by a wide margin, and Denver gets a cut of that. I don’t have the numbers, but I’d bet a premium beer that the local and national ratings for the Denver games have shot through the roof since he started, and I’d likewise bet that attendance for Bronco games has improved over last year no matter where they played since he started.
Given a proven money-maker like that, they’d be fools to bench him, even they’d have a slightly better shot at winning with someone else. Now, given a MUCH better shot at winning (and a deep run into the playoffs) then maybe they’d start thinking in that direction.
Contrai
6036
Wasn’t there some sort of rumor earlier in the year after Davis passed away, that Jackson was going on some sort of power trip and threatening players that he could cut them?
Sarkus
6037
Angelo is out as GM in Chicago as well.
There is an obvious power vacuum in Oakland right now and until the ownership settles that things are going to be in flux. I just think Jackson is being too public about his desire to be given more of it, even if you can understand his reasons.
My gut agrees with this, but a couple weeks ago, I looked at the attendance numbers at Denver and they were pretty much unchanged for the past year in the numbers I could find. That doesn’t account for TV ratings, or second hand ticket sales prices (which would show increased demand), but I didn’t see an obvious Tebow effect.
I do completely agree that the important thing isn’t winning games, it’s making money. If Tebow can do that, he’ll stick around no matter how well or badly he plays.
Zuwadza
6039
Tebow isn’t going anywhere until there is absolutely no doubt remaining with the majority of his fans that he is a complete loser. Like Tin Wisdom said, his job is safe as long as he sells tickets. I suspect something like an 0-4 start next season would bench him pretty fast, especially if they are one-and-done in the playoffs; that would amount to an 8 game losing streak for Tebow. If I was Elway right now I’d sign a vet to back him up and focus on building the rest of the team.
The front office still needs to decide how long it will last, just like any entrepreneur looking at a market. If Tebow stops being a ratings magnet and they aren’t prepared to transition from that immediately, then you should really shake your fist at senior management.
I hadn’t realized Green Bay and New England not only have bad defenses, but statistically they’re the two “worst” in the league. (I’m open to contrarian analysis that questions the basic numbers.) I don’t watch many games but I like following the trends in the NFL.
