“How in the hell can u pay a man this much money that can’t run tackle or catch” -Tweet from Atlanta Falcons Receiver Roddy White
Note to Roddy White: we’ve heard enough. Continue reading “Roddy White Should Learn To Put His Money Where His Mouth Is”
RIP to Whitney Houston. Still one of the most moving performances of the “Star Spangled Banner” ever.
That’s a wrap on this NFL season. Congrats to the New York Giants on winning their second Super Bowl in four years and eighth (league and Super Bowl combined) overall. Eli Manning turned in another Super Bowl MVP performance, this time going 30/40 for 296 yards and a touchdown.
Note: Eli Manning this 2011 playoff season went (4-0) with a completion percentage of 66.4, nine touchdowns and just one interception.
Can’t forget about the defense of the Giants. They were essentially the reason New York went from (9-7) playoff question marks to the newly crowned champs that beat the number one and two seed on the road to do it. Lets put this in perspective folks: The Patriots averaged 28.3 points per game and the Giants held them to 17. That is with Brady turning in a record breaking performance halfway through the game.
Tom Coughlin basically punched his ticket to Canton with this victory on Sunday if he hadn’t done it already. All the man does is bring his teams together and coach solid football. He not only has two Super Bowl victories with the Giants but many forget his work with the expansion Jaguars in taking them to the AFC championship game in their second season of existence and turning in division titles in years three and four of the franchise. The man can coach and I think (like Eli Manning) its time to start recognizing these guys for what they are: an elite QB/coach tandem in the National Football league.
Notes:
Check out The Locker Super Bowl Live Blog tonight starting at six! All with Twitter, Facebook, and/or any other social media beyond welcome to participate. Reblog and help a guy out!
“Business is a combination of war and sport.” -Andre Maurois
The Colts had a lousy season.
There really is no other way to describe a season that saw the team go (2-14), lose its star quarterback, and go through two back-up quarterbacks; one of which was summoned out of retirement.
Things were tough in Indy, but you never got the sense that something major was going to happen because Peyton Manning would be back. He would come in and save the day and show all that despite this seasons disaster they were a good football team with him behind center. As the weeks went on the recovery process became vaguer. Things got scary in a hurry because no one knew if number 18 would even be able to throw after three neck surgeries. Coupled with the fact that there weren’t many explanations as to why the star was on the sideline looking more coach than Superman it became panic time.
Something else came with rock bottom. Something that no one else realized could have hurried the franchise and community altering quarterback out of a Colts uniform.
Andrew Luck.
What do you do if you’re Jim Irsay? Next week and you have to call Peyton Manning in for a meeting in a city he rejuvenated, a stadium his arm built, and a franchise he saved and tell him what? You’re going in a different direction despite the fact he was recently cleared to play? Do you trade the number one pick and miss out on the heir apparent to the Colts quarterback throne? Do you keep the pick and Manning and set your club back by handcuffing them with over $145 million invested in one position?
I don’t envy his position at all. On one side you’re getting the consensus number one overall pick in Luck. A franchise changing right arm (sound familiar?) and an almost sure thing; on the other you’re letting go of a player who has led your team to two Super Bowls (winning one), 141 victories, 8 division titles, and did I mention you will be playing in the stadium that will be forever know as “The Place Peyton Built?” Good luck with thos choices.
At the same time all the public back and forth, the Twitter wars, the statements, and the questions are irrelevant at this point. Eventually, Jim Irsay is going to have to sit down with Manning and decide whether now’s the time to cut ties is or not.
Manning, too, needs to go the route of Derek Jeter and keep quiet. It isn’t a coincidence those medical reports were released today because that doesn’t happen without the patients consent. Irsay was correct to insinuate some politicking was going on in the Manning camp and frankly it needs to stop until after the Super Bowl. What is being dubbed a spectacular job by the city of Indianapolis hosting the Super Bowl is being overshadowed by the sideshow that is Peyton/Irsay. Not to mention there is a great game that will be played Sunday and Peyton ought to give his brother Eli some respect and lay low.
Both of these men have done too much for the city and the franchise for it to be overshadowed by theatrics. Business is business, and the sooner both get down to it the better it will be for everyone.
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshh1ZhnJ896p2d6V0R7
How NOT to respond to a loss by your favorite team in the playoffs.
WARNING: LANGUAGE IS A BIT DICEY (NSFW)
On Tuesday the Colts fired Jim Caldwell after 3 seasons. Now for some they might look at the present situation and think “why wouldn’t you fire a guy who just went (2-14)?”
I’ll tell you why. Because that same guy led the Colts in the post-Dungy era to two division championships and a Super Bowl appearance. There will be many that say he only has this success because of Peyton Manning and , while Manning has a huge part in the success of this franchise, his ability should not be understated. After that Super Bowl appearance the Colts weathered a rash of injuries that included their best slot receiver (Austin Collie) , their top tight end (Dallas Clark), two of their best on defense (Kelvin Hayden and Bob Sanders) and that doesn’t even include the guy who replaced Collie (Anthony Gonzalez) going down as well.
What this firing also does is raise a serious red flag for African-American coaches in the National Football League and the rate of success they need to win in order to have adequate job security. I give credit to Irsay for staying in-house and choosing Caldwell to succeed Dungy following his retirement. But ultimately, that credit is revoked when you just terminated one of the better coaches in the league as a knee-jerk reaction to a season you entrusted to Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky and 79-year old Kerry Collins. For those of you counting at home it would have taken a modern miracle to win with those odds.
The list of replacements for the position was even more confusing.
First names out for the position were two former head coaches with a combined (15-65) record. I did say combined, and yes you read that win column correctly. Steve Spagnuolo and Marty Mornhinweg combined to win 15 games in 5 total seasons in St. Louis and Detroit. This is the direction you want your franchise to go? In the case of Spagnuolo the ink hadn’t even dried on his pink slip before he was mentioned as a candidate in Indy. Hard to understand the thinking on this one.
NFC Championship Prediction
Giants 28, 49ers 21
I’ve learned not to bet against Eli Manning, especially on the road in the playoffs. I’ve also been burned on my predictions against the 49ers all season. I wouldn’t be surprised if this score was flipped and San Francisco makes their first Super Bowl since 1994. It’s all going to depend on how Manning navigates this 49ers secondary and if Alex Smith can sustain a rejuvenated Giants defensive line that is much improved since their week ten matchup.
AFC Championship Prediction
Ravens 21, Patriots 34
I like the Ravens defense. I like coach John Harbaugh. I don’t like Joe Flacco and his ability to go bullet-for-bullet with Tom Brady. Brady was focused last week in his barrage against the Broncos and I think that singular focus will be seen in this game. Ray Lewis will have his troops ready but if their offense doesn’t move the ball efficiently against the Patriots it won’t be pretty for Baltimore.
It’s a funny thing culture. We talk about it all the time in sports regarding teams and franchises. We talk about what their philosophies are regarding the way they want to do things and the type of culture they’re trying to breed. Yet as often as it is stated it is also an afterthought in the list of things needed for a successful organization.
Looking back at this past weekend in football (college and the NFL) and the week in sports in general I saw a lot of teams and franchises going in a different directions. I noticed some things regarding culture and the way its being handled by storied teams and franchises. You, obviously, can’t talk culture without starting in Dallas. The Cowboys need something completely different. This past week, leading up to the game against the New York Giants owner/general manager Jerry Jones sounded almost desperate for a new way of running business. Jones, who spent the entire week pumping up Tony Romo and making him sound like he was going to have an historic run through the playoffs that would begin in New York, couldn’t have foreseen his teams would end like it had in Carolina (twice), Arizona, Minnesota, New York and Seattle in the years since their last Super Bowl appearance back in 1996. Only this time before making the playoffs.
Their division mates and rival Washington Redskins have looked forward (Spurrier) looked back (Gibbs) and looked lateral (Mike Shanahan) to find a winning culture in Washington DC. Yet for all the millions spent on players somehow Dan Snyder never spends much on a legitimate quarterback. No disrespect to Donovan McNabb, Mark Brunell, Todd Collins, John Beck and whichever warm bodied lamb they run out there, but you have to have someone capable of playing the position to have a shot at championships. Those names aren’t going to cut it and it has been proven. Mark Brunell and McNabb lost a combined five conference championships before arriving.
In college there were a few teams that made some changes to breed a new culture for their programs as well. While that was nice it seemed the same ugly vices reared their ugly head.
Lets start in Georgia.
Mark Richt has won two SEC championships, over 100 games and two BCS bowls in his time as head coach of the University of Georgia. He’s run into some hard times of late. First it took him a little too long to realize Willie Martinez was not his guy as defensive coordinator and that led to Georgia going from a perennial top-10 team defensively to being sandwiched between the likes of San Jose State and Ohio. This year they were third nationally behind a 3-4 scheme led by Todd Grantham and looked great. The culture was finally changing at Georgia. Until we realized coach Richt’s old penchant for not placing enough emphasis on special teams would bite him a few times. There were missed tackles on punt returns and an All-American kicker who lost his ability to kick. Their were adjustments, but the lack of a special teams coach was apparent in a big way. Especially when it mattered the most. This year they went 10-4. Their last loss in a bowl game to Michigan State. On a missed field goal.
There are rumblings in New York that the Jets are getting tired of the culture brought by brash head coach Rex Ryan. Yet, no one was complaining when he took his team to two straight AFC championship games. for those of you who say that means nothing I pose this question: When was the last time your favorite NFL team went to a conference championship game? I can tell you the last time mine did. 2004-2005 season. Seven years goes by very quickly. Bigger picture? Before Rex Ryan arrived the last time the Jets participated in a conference championship Curtis Martin played running back, Vinny Testaverde was the quarterback and John Elway was preparing his super bowl swan song.
That was 1998-1999. How quickly we forget.
Culture is something that gets overlooked so often in sports It confuses me. We look past it like the minimal signing of a guy we don’t know, yet it is the most important thing when determining the success and failure of your favorite team. Don’t believe me? Ask the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and even the Washington Nationals how important positive new change can be. While some are moving forward with a new direction others such as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins need to start looking for something new.
That starts by changing the old.
This is going to be an obvious slight to Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
I don’t mind though. Because in the last 24 hours I’ve witnessed one of the worst All-Star snubs in sports and I can’t let it go unnoticed. How does the National Football League (and fans for that matter) justify leaving Matthew Stafford out of this years Pro Bowl? Say what you will about the game not meaning anything it is still an honor; and that Stafford has to wait another year after leading his team to a (10-5) record and the playoffs for the first time since 1999 is ridiculous.
I have nothing against Eli Manning. I liked him at Ole Miss and I have enjoyed watching him in New York. That being said, he doesn’t deserve to be in the Pro Bowl this year. A reaction most casual fans have is “well I’m sure he will get in once one of the other three decides not to go.” That may be true, but that doesn’t excuse him not being chosen for the game. Did I also mention he will probably have to wait for two quarterbacks to drop out of the game? Why? Because Cam Newton is the first alternate.
As for statistics Stafford is by far the superior player this year. Stafford has thrown for 4,518 yards, 36 touchdowns and has a quarterback rating of 96.6. Eli has 4,587 yards, 26 touchdowns and a rating of 90.7.
That doesn’t even scratch the surface.
While both are number one overall picks in their own right Stafford, who has missed considerable time due to injury, has come on to lead the Lions to a playoff berth in his first healthy season. The significance of this is that had he been healthy last year could this have happened before? Stafford has not only garnered my vote as comeback player of the year but he merits serious MVP consideration considering what the award stands for. So all that being said how do you not grant the guy a trip to Hawaii?
All things being equal there are multiple snubs for this years game but few make you jump out of your chair like this one. Hopefully he makes it in somehow, if not I’m sure the Lions are already campaigning for next year. I for one will buy a t-shirt.
Other Notable Omissions:
Victor Cruz, New York Giants
1,358 yards, 8 touchdowns, (set single-season receiving yards record for Giants franchise)
Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
1,118 yards, 12 touchdowns
Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
1,227 yards, 8 touchdowns
