3 BOWLS DOWN, JUST 30 MORE TO GO, COWBOYS SMOKE TAMPA, GORILLAS GO BIG & YOUR CHIEFS EMAIL QUESTIONS
I'll be honest, I told Linda I wasn't going to watch these bowl games today, my #1 priority was to write our annual Christmas letter & stuff & stamp a zillion envelopes so they can go in Monday's mail. I watched the Division II Championship this morning but turned the TV off so I could get my work finished. That lasted until halftime of the New Mexico Bowl. It was won by Temple 37-15, reconfirming my thoughts on boycotting today's bowls. But by halftime of the Idaho Famous Potato Bowl, I swear that's the name of the bowl, I caught myself watching football the rest of the night. Oh, I finished the Christmas letter before halftime of the Spud Bowl & I did my stuffing & stamping after the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl(just rolls off the tongue doesn't it?). The latter two bowls went down to the very last play & provided some real drama. The Cowboy-Tampa Bay game, not so much. Here's what I saw.
The Spud Bowl between Utah State & Ohio University turned into a really exciting game in the 4th quarter. This game featured 786-yards of rushing between the 2 teams. The Ohio Bobcats were fresh off blowing the MAC Championship game to Northern Illinois & I didn't think 3 quarters in, they were going to threaten the Aggies for this coveted bowl championship. I was wrong, the Bobcats came storming back, scoring the last two touchdowns in the game to win 24-23. QB Tyler Tettleton, son of former MLB catcher Mickey Tettleton, threw a pair of TD passes & ran for the winning touchdown with 00:13 left in the game to lead Ohio to the first bowl victory in school history.
The Nawlins Bowl was a passing duel(883-yards) between San Diego State & Louisiana-Lafayette. The Aztecs have the nations' 3rd leading rusher in Ronnie Hillman, but the Ragin' Cajuns shut him down all game long, he finished with just 55-yards on 24-carries. SDS kept fighting back to get within one score until QB Ryan Lindley threw his third TD pass with just 00:35 left in the game to put the Aztecs ahead 30-29. Lindley finished with a 28 of 49 night for 413-yards. But 35-seconds was just enough for Blaine Gautier as he led his team to the SDS 38-yardline with 4-seconds left. Kicker Brett Baer took the field to attempt a 55-yard field goal to win the game, but a pre-snap penalty that wasn't explained very well, moved the ball to the Aztec 33. Baer boomed a career-long 50-yard field goal as time ran out to win the game & send 40,000 Ragin' Cajuns into euphoria with their first-ever FBS bowl win, 32-30. It was their first bowl appearance in 41-years.
Dallas put another nail in Raheem Morris' coffin tonight. The Tampa Bay coach has to know he's near the end of his 3-year run with the Buccaneers. All three Florida pro teams are trainwrecks, but the Bucs are especially disappointing since they won 10-games last season & appeared headed in the right direction. A record correction was in order with a more difficult schedule, but this type of inept play wasn't foreseen. They look awful. Tony Romo took them apart in the first half with three TD passes with their 4th score coming on a Romo QB sneak. Josh Freeman had little protection, they committed too many penalties, were unable to run the ball, it was like I said....a trainwreck. After their past two losses, Dallas needed an opponent like Tampa, someone they could roll over & that's exactly what they got, winning 31-15.
The Division II championship was settled this morning when Pittsburgh State(Kansas) defeated Wayne State(Michigan) 35-21. After the Gorillas took the lead midway thru the 2nd quarter, they used a balanced attack, 190-yards passing & 187 on the ground, to lengthen their lead & keep the ball away from the Warriors. It was PSU's 2nd national title.
In other real playoff action, North Dakota State rolled Georgia Southern 35-7 to advance to the FCS championship game versus Sam Houston State slated for January 7th in Frisco Texas.
Pittsburgh Steeler center Maurkice Pouncey has already been ruled out of Monday's game versus the Forty-Niners. His ankle sprain hasn't improved enough to allow him to play. QB Ben Roethlisberger also has an ankle sprain, but he has not been ruled out yet even tho backup Charlie Batch has taken all of the first team snaps up until Saturday.
New doubters have spoken up regarding my selection of the Philadelphia Eagles over the New York Jets. I picked Philly for one simple reason, the Jets have never beaten the Eagles, never. Philadelphia is the only NFL team the Jets haven't beaten at least once. They're 0-8 lifetime versus Philly. Since I don't believe in the "Due Theory" I chose the Eagles. See I'm not just throwing darts or flippin' coins here folks, I do have reasons for my picks.
Bombarded with a number of emails about the Chiefs this week so I thought I'd answer a few of them. If your specific question doesn't get answered, I'll try to get to it next time.
Twenty-one of you wanted to know my best guess for the next Chiefs head coach. Sorry to disappoint the Jeff Fisher fans(of which I'm one) but I think Scott Pioli is going to hire someone he's worked with before either in Cleveland(Kirk Ferentz) or New England(Romeo Crennell or Josh McDaniels). I don't think he wants to be surprised again by another Todd Haley. If your job is on the line, it makes sense to go with someone you know very well. I'm sorry to say I expect Josh McDaniels to be the pick. I hope I'm wrong, the damage he's done to a very promising Rams offense is inexcusable. Ask the folks in Denver how glad they were to be rid of him as well.
Nine readers wanted to know the chances of the Chiefs acquiring Peyton Manning before next season in a trade. Not a fan of this strategy either, Manning might have 3 good seasons left if & that's a very big if, his neck is healed enough to last 3 more seasons. Second point would be "why would Manning want to come to Kansas City?" Especially if McDaniels is the coach. The Colts are obligated to pay Peyton a $28 million dollar roster bonus around March 1st, if they cut him before then, he'd cost them nearly $35 million against the salary cap, which is a mighty expensive pill to swallow. Indianapolis can't trade him until the league begins a new business year which would be after he's paid the roster bonus. I know the Chiefs have this wonderful habit of never developing their own quarterbacks, they simply trade for them, but the time has come to take a 1st round pick & do it right.
I do see a possible opportunity to make a trade for a quarterback but not for another established NFL signal caller. If the Rams are sitting with the 2nd or 3rd pick in April's draft, I don't see them using it to draft another quarterback. They have Sam Bradford, what they need is high quality players around him. If Kansas City is sitting with a pick in the 6-10 range, trading with our cross-state neighbors might make sense for both teams. But another consideration is the Vikings might trade their pick, 2nd or 3rd, to a team desperately seeking a QB. Picking third & getting the third quarterback isn't a viable option. If you pick that high you don't want the third best of anything.
Three of you think I've washed my hands of Matt Cassel, which isn't quite true. If his salary can be renegotiated down somewhat, I'm all for keeping him, for a backup at best, starter in worst case scenario. I've always said Cassel isn't an elite QB, nor will he be. In fact, I don't know that he's even above average. It's tough enough getting to the Super Bowl, even tougher with the 17th best quarterback & that might be what we have in Matt Cassel.
Last but not least, two of you wanted to know my definition of "High caliber NFL depth." Look no further than the 2010 Green Bay Packers, the Super Bowl Champions, who had 16-players on injured reserve, six of them starters, three on offense, three on defense. Plus the NFL suspended DT Johnny Jolley for the entire season. That's when you know you have NFL caliber depth. They lost ILB Nick Barnett, their leading tackler. Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins & CB Al Harris. On offense they lost 1,000-yard rusher Ryan Grant, TE Jermichael Finley & RT Mark Tauscher. Well built teams(GB, Pitt, Balt, NO, Houston) survive thru injuries because they spend all of their salary cap & spend it well. When saving $57 million in cap money over two seasons is apparently priority one, that "High caliber NFL depth" thing kinda goes out the window.
The Spud Bowl between Utah State & Ohio University turned into a really exciting game in the 4th quarter. This game featured 786-yards of rushing between the 2 teams. The Ohio Bobcats were fresh off blowing the MAC Championship game to Northern Illinois & I didn't think 3 quarters in, they were going to threaten the Aggies for this coveted bowl championship. I was wrong, the Bobcats came storming back, scoring the last two touchdowns in the game to win 24-23. QB Tyler Tettleton, son of former MLB catcher Mickey Tettleton, threw a pair of TD passes & ran for the winning touchdown with 00:13 left in the game to lead Ohio to the first bowl victory in school history.
The Nawlins Bowl was a passing duel(883-yards) between San Diego State & Louisiana-Lafayette. The Aztecs have the nations' 3rd leading rusher in Ronnie Hillman, but the Ragin' Cajuns shut him down all game long, he finished with just 55-yards on 24-carries. SDS kept fighting back to get within one score until QB Ryan Lindley threw his third TD pass with just 00:35 left in the game to put the Aztecs ahead 30-29. Lindley finished with a 28 of 49 night for 413-yards. But 35-seconds was just enough for Blaine Gautier as he led his team to the SDS 38-yardline with 4-seconds left. Kicker Brett Baer took the field to attempt a 55-yard field goal to win the game, but a pre-snap penalty that wasn't explained very well, moved the ball to the Aztec 33. Baer boomed a career-long 50-yard field goal as time ran out to win the game & send 40,000 Ragin' Cajuns into euphoria with their first-ever FBS bowl win, 32-30. It was their first bowl appearance in 41-years.
Dallas put another nail in Raheem Morris' coffin tonight. The Tampa Bay coach has to know he's near the end of his 3-year run with the Buccaneers. All three Florida pro teams are trainwrecks, but the Bucs are especially disappointing since they won 10-games last season & appeared headed in the right direction. A record correction was in order with a more difficult schedule, but this type of inept play wasn't foreseen. They look awful. Tony Romo took them apart in the first half with three TD passes with their 4th score coming on a Romo QB sneak. Josh Freeman had little protection, they committed too many penalties, were unable to run the ball, it was like I said....a trainwreck. After their past two losses, Dallas needed an opponent like Tampa, someone they could roll over & that's exactly what they got, winning 31-15.
The Division II championship was settled this morning when Pittsburgh State(Kansas) defeated Wayne State(Michigan) 35-21. After the Gorillas took the lead midway thru the 2nd quarter, they used a balanced attack, 190-yards passing & 187 on the ground, to lengthen their lead & keep the ball away from the Warriors. It was PSU's 2nd national title.
In other real playoff action, North Dakota State rolled Georgia Southern 35-7 to advance to the FCS championship game versus Sam Houston State slated for January 7th in Frisco Texas.
Pittsburgh Steeler center Maurkice Pouncey has already been ruled out of Monday's game versus the Forty-Niners. His ankle sprain hasn't improved enough to allow him to play. QB Ben Roethlisberger also has an ankle sprain, but he has not been ruled out yet even tho backup Charlie Batch has taken all of the first team snaps up until Saturday.
New doubters have spoken up regarding my selection of the Philadelphia Eagles over the New York Jets. I picked Philly for one simple reason, the Jets have never beaten the Eagles, never. Philadelphia is the only NFL team the Jets haven't beaten at least once. They're 0-8 lifetime versus Philly. Since I don't believe in the "Due Theory" I chose the Eagles. See I'm not just throwing darts or flippin' coins here folks, I do have reasons for my picks.
Bombarded with a number of emails about the Chiefs this week so I thought I'd answer a few of them. If your specific question doesn't get answered, I'll try to get to it next time.
Twenty-one of you wanted to know my best guess for the next Chiefs head coach. Sorry to disappoint the Jeff Fisher fans(of which I'm one) but I think Scott Pioli is going to hire someone he's worked with before either in Cleveland(Kirk Ferentz) or New England(Romeo Crennell or Josh McDaniels). I don't think he wants to be surprised again by another Todd Haley. If your job is on the line, it makes sense to go with someone you know very well. I'm sorry to say I expect Josh McDaniels to be the pick. I hope I'm wrong, the damage he's done to a very promising Rams offense is inexcusable. Ask the folks in Denver how glad they were to be rid of him as well.
Nine readers wanted to know the chances of the Chiefs acquiring Peyton Manning before next season in a trade. Not a fan of this strategy either, Manning might have 3 good seasons left if & that's a very big if, his neck is healed enough to last 3 more seasons. Second point would be "why would Manning want to come to Kansas City?" Especially if McDaniels is the coach. The Colts are obligated to pay Peyton a $28 million dollar roster bonus around March 1st, if they cut him before then, he'd cost them nearly $35 million against the salary cap, which is a mighty expensive pill to swallow. Indianapolis can't trade him until the league begins a new business year which would be after he's paid the roster bonus. I know the Chiefs have this wonderful habit of never developing their own quarterbacks, they simply trade for them, but the time has come to take a 1st round pick & do it right.
I do see a possible opportunity to make a trade for a quarterback but not for another established NFL signal caller. If the Rams are sitting with the 2nd or 3rd pick in April's draft, I don't see them using it to draft another quarterback. They have Sam Bradford, what they need is high quality players around him. If Kansas City is sitting with a pick in the 6-10 range, trading with our cross-state neighbors might make sense for both teams. But another consideration is the Vikings might trade their pick, 2nd or 3rd, to a team desperately seeking a QB. Picking third & getting the third quarterback isn't a viable option. If you pick that high you don't want the third best of anything.
Three of you think I've washed my hands of Matt Cassel, which isn't quite true. If his salary can be renegotiated down somewhat, I'm all for keeping him, for a backup at best, starter in worst case scenario. I've always said Cassel isn't an elite QB, nor will he be. In fact, I don't know that he's even above average. It's tough enough getting to the Super Bowl, even tougher with the 17th best quarterback & that might be what we have in Matt Cassel.
Last but not least, two of you wanted to know my definition of "High caliber NFL depth." Look no further than the 2010 Green Bay Packers, the Super Bowl Champions, who had 16-players on injured reserve, six of them starters, three on offense, three on defense. Plus the NFL suspended DT Johnny Jolley for the entire season. That's when you know you have NFL caliber depth. They lost ILB Nick Barnett, their leading tackler. Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins & CB Al Harris. On offense they lost 1,000-yard rusher Ryan Grant, TE Jermichael Finley & RT Mark Tauscher. Well built teams(GB, Pitt, Balt, NO, Houston) survive thru injuries because they spend all of their salary cap & spend it well. When saving $57 million in cap money over two seasons is apparently priority one, that "High caliber NFL depth" thing kinda goes out the window.
I won't debate where Cassel stands as a QB, but he is better than 17th, and might not care if he is our starter. I see it this way. Cassel is above average when he has good coaching (his time with NE and under Weiss) and when he is given the time. I'm not apposed to drafting a QB first, but our glaring weakness is on the OL and DL.
After McD dismantled the Donkeys, I don't see how he is hired as head coach anytime soon.
Thanks
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Andy,
I'm trending toward Romeo Crennel & not because he beat the Packers Sunday. I like having a solid defense & this is the best it's been in over a decade. I fear for McDaniels tho, I don't want him either.
As for Matt Cassel's standing within the league I offer this.
Is there any of the following QB's you wouldn't trade Matt Cassel for straight up?
Brady-Brees-P.Manning-Roethlisberger-Ryan-Romo-Eli-Vick-Stafford-Schaub-Rivers-Cutler-Cam-Stafford-Bradford & Dalton.
Those are 16 QB's I believe are or will be better than Matt Cassel.
We could debate Sanchez, Ponder, Flacco & Fitzgerald. IMO Cassel is better than any of them.
As I've said for all three years I've been here, they need a tackle...desperately. They need an impact defensive lineman. The pitiful part of this team is regardless of who the coach is, the same draft day mistakes continue to haunt this franchise.
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Your Eagles over Jets: You DO have a crystal ball!
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