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By Jason Comack  January 6, 2010, at 3:42 pm  At 6-0 I was drinking the Josh McDaniels kool aid.
Of course 10 weeks in the NFL can often feel like an eternity and boy has a lot changed in 10 weeks.
Like everyone else who owns a sports website I couldn’t comprehend any of the Broncos off-season moves. They fired Shanahan abruptly, owing him 14 million, to hire a blue eyed baby face coach to turn things around. Three years ago no one questions this move. Three years ago Charlie Weiss isn’t a pariah in South Bend, Eric Mangini is still the “Man-genius” and Romeo Crennel hasn’t failed so famously McDaniels was suppose to be different. After all he was the guy that developed Brady was the selling point, that was suppose to set Josh apart. So what happens? McDaniels arrives on the scene, cleans out the coaching staff, feuds with his star QB and diva WR. McDaniels put the pressure on himself. Then 6-0 happened. The Patriot game happened. The Marshall hug happened. Denver had found their new Golden Boy. I went on 4th Down and compared Josh McDaniels to Bill Walsh (gulp.).
So what went wrong?
Simply put McDaniels made every mistake that his predecessors made;
- Step 1: Alienate Players. Marshall, Scheffler and Cutler. Shaun Rogers, Cribbs, Edwards.
- Step 2: Arrogance With The Media. Check.
- Step 3: A questionable draft track record. Moreno, Smith, Ayers, Quinn. Clemens, Gholston, Schlegel.
- Step 4: Bring In Your guys. Gaffney, Leach. Barton, Coleman, Elam.
Ultimately Step 3 and 4 lead to the Broncos decline. McDaniels inherited a roster with star pieces and little depth and did his best to entirely turn it over. Only problem is he got absolutely no production from any of his draft picks and immediately cut back the playing time of the established starters. He choose “his guys” over guys that were better players. Why do you think Eddie Royal, coming of a 90 catch season, didn’t play. Why do you think Moreno, who struggled mightily played while Peyton Hillis never even got a look. Scheme and talent can make up for a lot in this league but your players have to buy in. Clearly there was a rift between the Shannahan hold overs and the McDaniels faithful. There’s no other explanation for a team failing to show up against two awful teams when it mattered the most.
Magini had the same problems in NY. He played his guys, his scheme, feuded with Farve and it got him fired. He started his Cleavland stint the same way. He exiled Rogers on Day 1, Jamal Lewis decided to retire, James Davis got hurt in “non contact practice injury” and players complained to the union about long bus rides. He painted over a mural of Jim Brown. It seemed he had learned nothing. He brought in his guys even though they failed him in NY. Then something changed. The last 4 games of the season the Browns didn’t roll over and die. They fought to save Mangini’s job and it culminated in a win streak and a Gatorade bath for the much maligned coach.
This is exactly why Cleveland hired Mangini. Remember this is the same franchise that let Belichick get away. Remember the circumstances of his firing? He exiled Kosar tried to install his guys and his system and the fans and media turned on him. It wasn’t his X’s and O’s that got him canned. He went to New England learned the error of his ways and of course the rest is history.
McDaniels undoing will never be about football knowledge it’ll be in the way they handle their football knowledge. McDaneils will know more about football then I can learn in three lifetimes but that skill alone can only take you so far.
By Anthony De Franco November 11, 2009, at 9:54 am Wow, this is officially making me feel old. LaDanian Tomlinson was once the best player in the league. He was untouchable. He was scoring touchdowns left and right, and people talked about him in the same breath as Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. Now, like most running backs who have a ton of miles on their tires, Tomlinson has fallen off and is likely playing his last season as a San Diego Charger. From Rotoworld:
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, LaDainian Tomlinson is “likely” playing his last season for the Chargers.
Tomlinson can no longer create on his own, lacks burst to the outside, and isn’t a passing-game asset. The Chargers almost certainly won’t exercise his $2M roster bonus next March, despite his “hero” status in San Diego. They’re a good bet to use a first-day pick on a running back in the 2010 NFL Draft
I agree with everything Rotoworld says in the article, but are we really willing to say that an LDT who can no longer create on his own is not better than a lot of runners that actually have jobs right now?
I get the fact that runners are a dime a dozen at this point, and that on day two of the draft, they could find a guy like Steve Slaton. Just don’t think that Tomlinson is going to ride into the sunset. He’ll be back with another team.
By Matt Soldano November 4, 2009, at 12:46 pm Despite the 2009-10 NBA Season being a week old, I have come to the decision that Donnie Walsh blew it in June’s Draft when he had the number eight overall pick. I understand that Walsh had his hands tied when Stephen Curry and Ricky Rubio were already picked but I still cannot come to terms as to why Donnie Walsh believed that with their lottery pick Jordan Hill was the best option.
In my mock drafts, specifically leading up to the actual night of, I pegged the Knicks selecting Hill only because of the admiration the organization had for the former Wildcat. It is obvious though that there were two players that Walsh should have selected two guys before the thought of Hill crossed their minds. Ty Lawson and more specifically, Brandon Jennings, fit the Knicks plans and design and unfortunately, Donnie swung and missed…big time.
Hill has played in one game this year and has played a grand total of two minutes. Now no one thought he would come in and be a rookie of the year caliber type of player but no one thought he would be this far behind in terms of getting up to NBA speed and development. Compare those stats to Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets who is currently averaging 9 points and 3 assists in a backup role to Chauncey Billups in less than 20 minutes of play. I always thought Lawson would be a guy who could perfectly fit the bill with D’Antoni’s run and gun style. He is averaging a 5:1 Assists/Turnover ratio. That is how you play point guard folks.
Without Blake Griffin, Brandon Jennings has stolen the spotlight for this year’s rookies putting up ridiculous numbers for the Milwaukee Bucks. With a line of 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, Jennings has stolen the show and makes the departure of Ramon Sessions a forgotten thought. While he drew criticisms for leaving Arizona to play in Italy, Jennings has proven the inconsistency shown overseas was all a fluke, and his American game translates much better.
So where does Jordan Hill fit? Mike D’Antoni has already converted Wilson Chandler to the 4 to play similarly to Shawn Marion when D’Antoni was in Phoenix and he has David Lee at center. With Gallo and Al Harrington also being able to play the 3 and the 4, the need for Hill is perplexing. If Donnie Walsh felt there was a pressing need for a big man, why did he not draft Brook Lopez over Gallinari in 2008? Has Gallo proven anything in the NBA besides the fact that 75% of his shots this season have been 3 pointers? If I wanted that, give me Jason Kapono for a fraction of the money and draft Lopez.
The track record for Donnie Walsh’s draft picks have been less than impressive. Here are a list of the first round picks since Walsh began drafting with the Indiana Pacers.
The Good: Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Al Harrington, Danny Granger,
The Bad: George McCloud, Dale Davis, Travis Best, Erick Dampier, Vonteego Cummings
The Ugly: Malik Sealy, Scott Haskin, Eric Piatkowski, Austin Croshere, Primoz Brezec, Fred Jones, David Harrison, Jonathan Bender, Shawne Williams
The names don’t lie. Walsh has put all of his chips onto the table by acquiring expiring contract after expiring contract. If Walsh is unable to land Lebron James, what will the reaction be then from Knicks fans? With no 2010 first round pick (which would have surely land them in the lottery) when can the Knicks address the point guard situation? Can Toney Douglas actually assume the full-time position next year? Doubt it. All Knicks fans can do now is watch Jordan Hill continually disappoint hopefuls by sitting on the bench while Brandon Jennings continues to soar in Wisconsin. Who knows, maybe he will start to take Packer fans minds off of Brett Favre.
By Anthony De Franco October 20, 2009, at 10:51 pm I love the way that most Jet fans are reacting to their team this week. After winning their first three games, every single one of them started thinking Super Bowl. Mark Sanchez was the greatest rookie quarterback of all time, and Rex Ryan was the most brilliant man to ever coach a game of football. This was the season that every Jet fan was waiting for since Joe Willie trotted out of Super Bowl III as the most popular athlete in the world for that one day in 1969.
Now, after three straight losses everyone has jumped off the bandwagon as if it was on fire. They have basically denounced their teams, and started talking about how they wished they were fans of a real football team. They are all doing everything short calling Mark Sanchez a bust.
The reality of the situation is that the 3-0 start clouded the judgment of a fan base whose team has serious holes. The team simply needs improvement in many areas, and they are nowhere ready to win now. In fact, they are probably still a few years away from serious competition, but no one wants hear that.
Why did everyone think that Mark Sanchez wasn’t going to go through his share of growing pains? I’m not suggesting that anyone could have predicted the five interception debacle that was last Sunday afternoon, but did anyone really think that he was going to be perfect the entire season? Looking like Vince Chase from Entourage only gets you so far.
Why did anyone in the world think that Rex Ryan was going to be a perfect head coach in his first season? For all the good he did with the defense in weeks one and two, he hasn’t really done a whole lot since. Kerry Collins spent the second half of the Titans game doing his best impression of Joe Montana, The Saints moved the ball well, Ted Ginn made Darelle Revis look terrible, and this week, the coup de grace, his defense lost to Havard grad Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Why did anyone think that this team would remain in perfect health? After all, this is a club that has one of the league’s thinnest rosters. Now that Kris Jenkins is out for the year with a torn ACL, Sione Pouha is going to be anchoring the most important position in the Jets 3-4 defense. When Lito Sheppard was out, opposing wide receivers were left quivering in fear of Dwight Lowery. Jerricho Cotchery missed time and the Jets had to call Danny Woodhead up to the active roster AND change his position from running back to wide receiver. Every single NFL team is going to deal with injuries, but the ones that are prepared are the ones that contend for championship. Quality depth is just as important as having good starters. The Jets simply don’t have it.
Instead of the Super Bowl team that Gang Green fans thought they had, the Jets are simply another mediocre football team. Sanchez is still a work in progress. Ryan, while an excellent defensive coordinator, is still a first year head coach. Most importantly, the Jets roster is just not set for a push deep into the playoffs.
Rather than leaping off the cliff, Jets fans simply need to see the big picture. Work in progress means that there is potential there. Sanchez will be the franchise QB of the New York Jets. Rex Ryan can be a winning coach with some experience. One more good draft can be enough to get the depth they need.
Just don’t expect the world from this team so quickly, and you won’t be disappointed.
By Anthony De Franco October 17, 2009, at 3:48 pm We might be about to see one of the greatest NFL draft experiments ever unfold.
We are stuck in a college season where we are seriously considering calling Jake Locker the best quarterback available. Every potential “franchise” signal caller was fallen flat on their face, and the ones that have been good are not NFL-type players.
What we do have is one of those potential franchise guys who hasn’t played badly. That’s cause he hasn’t played. Sam Bradford has now separated his throwing shoulder and now reinjured it today against Texas. What will this do to his draft stock? Well, that doesn’t depend on him as much as it does on all the other QBs stepping up and pushing him down the board.
Let’s look at what he have so far from all the potential 1st Round QBs this year:
- Jevan Snead, Ole Miss – 46.8 Completion Percentage, 9 TDs, 9 INTs. He’s been awful.
- Colt McCoy , Texas – 73.8 Completion Percentage, 10 TDs, 6 INTs, and even more questions about his potential as an NFL QB. Does he have the tools? Can he learn a pro offense? Can he succeed when he isn’t the best athlete on the field?
- Tim Tebow, Florida – 65.5 Completion Percentage, 7 TDs, 2 INTs; Had concussion earlier in the year. His play style has not suited the NFL anymore this year than it did last year. The arguement is well stated, but to quote 49ers beat writer Matt Maiacco “This kid is a winner doesn’t translate to the NFL.”
- Jake Locker, Washington – 57.1 Completion Percentage, 10 TDs, 4 INTs. Probably the best prospect of all of these, but I don’t know if he has great tools eithier. However, his knowledge of Steve Sarkasian’s pro style system give him an edge.
- Sam Bradford, Oklahoma – 58.7 Completion Percentage, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. Two shoulder injuries this season. Separated his shoulder in the first game of the year, and just reinjured today against Texas. Severity unknown.
So, out of all those guys, who would you put ahead of Bradford? There are teams out there like the Panthers (who don’t have a first round pick), 49ers, Browns,and Seahawks that are going to be looking into QBs. Will we see another player like Alex Smith get pushed up the board, or has the league learned from the 49ers mistake? Is it possible that we could see Eric Berry or Taylor Mays be the first overall pick? Will Tim Tebow go first overall? (God help me if that happens.)
This could get very interesting.
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