Category: football

Critics pick Patriots over undefeated Saints

Bobby

If you read my blog, which nobody actually does, you know I am not a fan of the New England Patriots. One of the major reasons I don't like them is their arrogance and pride as illustrated in the video below.

The Saints are 10-0, playing some excellent ball. The Patriots are 7-3 and have already lost to the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. So what does ESPN say about the game? Marcellus Wiley and Tedy Bruschi (who is a former Patriot himself) both pick the 'amazing' Patriots to win. They give no respect to a Saints team that is undefeated, and refuse to acknowledge a Patriots team that is weak defensively.

Instead they talk about how the Patriots have played in Big Games before? Big Games? You mean like the Super Bowl where they could have become the only team since 1972 to finish a season undefeated? Why didn't you win that one Bruschi?

UPDATE:
In spite of claims by Bruschi and even Phil Simms, the Saints rose to the occasion with a 38-17 Shellacking of the Patriots. 🙂

Down the stretch – why are the Broncos, Jets and others falling apart?

Bobby

We are just past the midpoint of the NFL Season. Thanksgiving week, the pivotal point where careers are defined or lost. For many teams, every game from here on out is a critical one, while others are playing for next year.

The question weighing on my mind today is this, why do some teams come out of the gate strong and fizzle halfway through the year? The Broncos have done it several times lately. In 2008, Jay Cutler led Denver to an impressive 3-0 start, but a loss to the Chiefs in game 4 started a slide that gave them a 8-8 record on the year. Ownership decided it was time for a change, brought in a whole new coaching staff lead by Josh McDaniels, traded Cutler to Chicago for Kyle Orton, acquired Brian Dawkins from Philadelphia – basically a large part of the team was completely revamped.

The changes in Denver started off with a bang. McDaniels team won their first 6 games, an impressive start for the young, rookie coach. Chinks in the armor started with their game 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and has continued with a dismal 32-3 loss to San Diego. Their current record is 6-4 making them the only team in history to start 6-0 and lose the next 4 games. Inspite of the wholesale changes in the team, the result is starting to look the same as last year.

Likewise, the New York Jets under Eric Mangini had similar problems last year. QB great, Brett Favre was brought in, and by week 12 the Jets were looking good at 8-3. Things went downhill from there, the Jets lost all but one of their last five games finishing with a 9-7 record, missing the playoffs. Jets management also made wholesale changes, getting rid of Favre, drafting QB Mark Sanchez, firing Mangini and hiring Rex Ryan as coach.

Again, for 2009, things started will, the Jets won their first 3 games, but then lost their next 3. Their current standings are 4-6 with playoff chances looking very slim.

So what has happened to these teams, and more importantly why does this continue to happen? Why is it that some teams seem to retain the same personalities in spite off changes in coaches, GMs, players, even sometimes ownership. Some teams, like the San Diego Charges, seem to start slow, finish hard, but can”t make it to the big dance. It doesn”t matter if the coach is Marty Schottenheimer or Norv Turner. The Giants seem to put together a competitive program pretty consistently. The Falcons can have Micheal Vick or Matt Ryan and still can”t get over the hump. Even the legendary Mike Holmgren could only get Seattle as far as one Super Bowl loss.

On some level, some place, NFL teams seem to have an embedded culture that determines not only if they are successful, but how their level of success plays out.

Was Belichick’s decision to go for it on 4th down against the Colts a bad one?

Bobby

During last nights Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots game Bill Belichick risked everything on one play. In a controversial call, late in the 4th quarter, deep in his own territory, Belichick decided to go for it on a 4th down and 2 yards to go rather than punt the ball away.

Was this a bad decision on Coach Belichick's part? Conventional logic says to put it away, but it turns out that after a statistical analysis New England's decision to attempt a 4th down conversion was the right one.

Advanced NFL Stats

Bobby

If you like football and you are a bit of a nerd, you will LOVE Advanced NFL Stats. Author Brian Burke uses stats from the last 8+ years of NFL game play to make some very interesting conclusions.

Here is an excerpt from his latest post on Onside Kicks

With 4 minutes left in the first quarter of last week’s Cardinals-Seahawks game, Arizona’s Neil Rackers booted a short but high ‘pooch’ kick that was quickly recovered by the kicking team. The kick recovery was worth a very considerable +0.12 WP. The Cardinals went on to score a touchdown, taking a 14-0 lead. How smart are onside gambles like this?

Super Bowl – Cardinals vs Steelers

Bobby 10 Comments

Just got home from watching a history making Super Bowl 43. This game was one for the ages before it even started with the appearance of Kurt Warner – only the 2nd quarterback to ever lead two different teams to a Super Bowl (the other being the infamous Broncos QB – Craig Morton). This simple fact puts Kurt in the running (in my mind at least) for the title of ‘Best Quarterback Ever’.

This was a fantastic game with back and forth swings, a safety and an eventual win by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was not without it’s frustrations and controversies.

super-bowl-xliii-blurry
First off, what was with the blurriness in the camera work? This may have only been on the HD feed that we were watching, but each time the camera went to the field to show a play it started out blurry and in a second or less cleared up to the crystal clarity that we expect from the high priced HD. Initially I thought this was due to some camera malfunction, but since it went on the whole game I’m guessing it was some cutesy camera work by NBC who hasn’t televised a Super Bowl in 11 years and has apparently forgot it wasn’t supposed to have weird effects.

The second frustration was the advertisements from SkyBet Promo Code. They were extraordinarily lame. NBC had difficulty selling them out, and the advertisers must have had problems thinking up ideas. Even the highly promoted 3-D Monsters vs. Aliens promo was pretty lame (I hadn’t researched it and thought it would be a super cool AVP sequel, not a Dreamworks cartoon).

referee-reviewng-a-play
Finally, and most importantly, was the ‘fumble’ by Kurt Warner at the end of the game. With 5 seconds left on the clock LaMarr Woodley’s tackled Kurt Warner causing what might have been a fumble. The replay clearly showed the ball in Warner’s hand and moving forward, but the booth declined to force a review. If this call had been overturned, and the 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty been enforced, the Cardinals might have scored on the final play of the game. Instead the Steelers downed the ball and the game ended.

It’s only fitting that in a season full of officiating controversy that the championship game would end on yet another flub by the referees.

Super Bowl 43 was one of the most exciting ever, and I offer a hearty congratulations to both teams; the Pittsburgh Steelers for a great win and the Arizona Cardinals for playing right down to the last second. Hopefully Roger Goodell will take work out some of the problems with the refs and review process, the commercials will be back to what we expect next year and the game will go back to FOX where it belongs.

How the game has changed…

Bobby

This afternoon I watched the 1985 matchup between the legendary 85 Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. For those of you who remember those days, this is the Bears team that nearly went undefeated. This was the team with McMahon, The Fridge and the Super Bowl Shuffle.

The thing I found interesting was the intensity and the management of this game. Now, keep in mind that these replays on NFL network are shortened, so it’s difficult to really get a feel for the actual pace and feel of the game, but the final score on this game was 16-10. Last year when the Patriots had their amazing season, I’m not sure there was any game that came where the pats only scored 16 points. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I watched a 16-10 game. Maybe things are different, maybe the game favors touchdowns more than it used to, but winning teams normally score more than that. Also, if it’s a single score game, that thing is played down to the very last second.

The speed and intensity of the modern NFL just seems so much greater than it was 20 years ago. I was really amazed.

A Kinder, Gentler Bill Belichick

Bobby

Just got done watching the awesome Jets, Patriots game. It was an appropriate battle between two excellent teams fighting for first place in their division.

Now, I’m no fan of the Patriots – mainly for one reason, their attitude. Last year, on their phenomenal run at an undefeated season, they were cocky and angry. Belichick’s coaching was ruthless and classless, culminating is his refusal to shake Tom Coughlin’s hand at the end of their Super Bowl loss.

Interestingly, it almost seems to me that maybe that loss was a gut check for Belichick. This year he has been much more businesslike, much less emotional, better dressed and all around more likable. Is this a new Belichick? Did he turn over a new leaf? Was the Super Bowl loss to the Giants a wake up call reminding him of his philosophies that made him a winning coach to start with? Did he realize that attitude makes winners and pride makes losers? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Elam, no longer Number One

Bobby

Jason Elam Broncos Kicker
Jason Elam, long time kicker for the Denver Broncos, has left the building. A four year, $9 million offer from the Atlanta Falcons was just too good to pass up. At 38, I can’t really blame him.

Personally, the thing I will miss most about Elam isn’t his great kicking. What I will miss is his number. My sister and I have a long standing joke, I always tease her about being “Number One” and threaten to get her an Elam Jersey.

They are probably on discount now, maybe I’ll do a little early birthday shopping.

Favre announces retirement from NFL

Bobby

Brett Favre, possibly one of the greatest players to ever compete in the NFL, has announced is retirement. After 17 years he is going to hang it up and leave his beloved Packers.

Favre, like Unitas, and Montana before him, was different. Yes, he always had a super-human arm, but coming out of Southern Miss, Favre’s initial Q rating was not high. When the Falcons dealt him to Green Bay in February of 1992, it was not headline news in Atlanta or anywhere else outside of the Packer-mad state of Wisconsin.

Then we saw him play, a tough guy who not only loved the game but played it the way we thought we would if they gave us a helmet and a chance.

He didn’t play in fear of what the Monday morning quarterbacks, or the writers, or the radio hosts were going to say, and that kind of courage ultimately means more to the average NFL fan than the ability to throw the football from goal line to goal line. You wished you could be as tough as Favre, and you wished that you could do your job without a fear of making mistakes.

Seriously, I’m sitting here thinking how sad it is that I’ve seen Favre play his last game for the Pack. It’s unfortunate, Green Bay could have won it all this year, and their chances look good next year. Can’t believe he doesn’t want to take one more shot at the trophy, but really, he doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone.

I wish him good luck and hope he enjoys his retirement.