ROMEO'S IN, WILDCARD NOTES & MY BCS PREDICTION
Just listened to the Chiefs' press conference to officially announce Romeo Crennel has been named the new head coach. It was typical Chiefs' blather, 30-minutes of nothing informative, dancing around questions & no indication of where they plan to go from here. Totally non-committal about the coaching staff, so who the hell knows? I've said it several times here, I like Crennel getting this job, but if Scott Pioli doesn't hold up his end of the deal to provide real NFL talent at every position, Romeo will be gone before his 3-year deal expires.
Yesterday's Steelers-Broncos wildcard game was the highest rated wildcard game in 24-years. CBS's telecast had approximately 45-million viewers. Say what you want about Tim Tebow, he's created a lot of excitement.
The Steelers sustained three serious injuries yesterday. DE Brett Keisel suffered a torn groin muscle that could require surgery. NT Casey Hamton & LT Max Starks both sustained ACL injuries that could require surgery.
Wide receiver Hines Ward is rumored ready to retire. The former quarterback from Georgia has 1,000 career receptions, 85-touchdowns & a pair of Super Bowl rings. He also was the most feared blocker at his position in the entire league. His playing time had been greatly reduced this season with the emergence of youngsters Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown & Emmanuel Sanders.
Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor was apologetic about his performance yesterday, both to the press & on Twitter. But to be perfectly honest, it wasn't all his fault. The scheme Dick LeBeau was running had more to do with it as did their lack of pass rush. On the games final play, Taylor had outside position, looking for inside safety help, but that help never came as both Troy Polamalu & Ryan Mundy walked down toward the line of scrimmage in anticipation of a first down running play. Denver had run on 1st down 20 of 21 snaps, folks that's what you call a tendency & it's the lifeblood of coordinators. They rely on assistants pumping those facts in their ear & then quickly they make the defensive call. Demaryius Thomas ran right by both safeties, cut the pattern toward the post, Tebow hit him in stride, end of story. For the first time in a long time, the Steelers didn't have an effective pass rush, which was a combination of an aging/injured defensive line & an excellent scheme by the Denver offensive coaches. Their line blocked so well in this game, it made Ike Taylor's job a helluva lot harder than it should have been.
Pittsburgh OLB James Harrison said it best after the game, "They played well enough to win & we played poorly enough to lose." That's it in a nutshell.
The Falcons ought to take a long hard look at themselves after the embarrassment they suffered at the Meadowlands yesterday. Two stinkin' points & they got those courtesy of Eli Manning grounding the ball from the endzone. Once again, no pass rush, poor tackling by the secondary, shoddy pass blocking & unimaginative play calling in short yardage situations. Here's something I never thought I'd say, Eli Manning's 14-yard scramble on 3rd & 8, was maybe the biggest play of the game. The Giants hadn't done anything, late in the 2nd quarter, they had zero first downs. He broke out of the pocket & got that initial 1st down & they moved on down the field to score their first touchdown.
Of the four wildcard losers, the Bengals & Lions have the most upside IMO. Pittsburgh needs to get a lot younger right now & the Falcons need a lot of parts on defense & the offensive line.
The Glazer family wants the lack of discipline on the Buccaneers cleaned up ASAP. That's why they are interviewing the coaches they are. All four are veteran NFL head coaches known for a no-nonsense approach to discipline. The four coaches they're looking at are Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Sherman, Brad Childress & Wade Phillips.
Former Arizona coach Mike Stoops will rejoin his brother Bob's staff at Oklahoma as defensive backs coach & co-defensive coordinator with Brent Venables.
Tonights BCS Title game between Alabama & LSU is a rematch, so it lost a lot of it's luster, especially since their previous game, played on November 5th at Alabama, ended in a 9-6 LSU overtime win. The game was littered with missed opportunities, missed field goals, untimely penalties & ultra-conservative play-calling. That being said, I think we'll see a different game this time around, we'll see actual touchdowns in this game. It's very difficult to beat a team as good as Alabama once, much less twice, but it can be done.
I lean toward LSU for several reasons.
1. Far superior special teams & close games can turn on one big play or a crucial field goal.
2. With Jordan Jefferson starting at QB for the Tigers this time, running the option will cause the Bama defense, especially their huge linebackers, to play sideline-to-sideline. By the 4th quarter, those big bodies might be winded enough to break the play of the game.
3. I like the LSU pass rush a lot & A.J. McCarron isn't a scrambler nor is he an accurate passer under duress. The Bama wideouts don't scare anybody either. This offense is built around RB Trent Richardson, as he goes, the Crimson Tide go.
My prediction is LSU 20 Alabama 13
Radio show tonight 6:08-7PM on KRMS 1150 AM or by live streaming audio on the internet. www.krmsradio.com
Give me a call with your prediction on tonight's BCS Championship game, you could win two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook plus a $25 gift card at the Trophy Room. Local phone is 573-302-7000 or toll free 877-330-1150.
Yesterday's Steelers-Broncos wildcard game was the highest rated wildcard game in 24-years. CBS's telecast had approximately 45-million viewers. Say what you want about Tim Tebow, he's created a lot of excitement.
The Steelers sustained three serious injuries yesterday. DE Brett Keisel suffered a torn groin muscle that could require surgery. NT Casey Hamton & LT Max Starks both sustained ACL injuries that could require surgery.
Wide receiver Hines Ward is rumored ready to retire. The former quarterback from Georgia has 1,000 career receptions, 85-touchdowns & a pair of Super Bowl rings. He also was the most feared blocker at his position in the entire league. His playing time had been greatly reduced this season with the emergence of youngsters Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown & Emmanuel Sanders.
Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor was apologetic about his performance yesterday, both to the press & on Twitter. But to be perfectly honest, it wasn't all his fault. The scheme Dick LeBeau was running had more to do with it as did their lack of pass rush. On the games final play, Taylor had outside position, looking for inside safety help, but that help never came as both Troy Polamalu & Ryan Mundy walked down toward the line of scrimmage in anticipation of a first down running play. Denver had run on 1st down 20 of 21 snaps, folks that's what you call a tendency & it's the lifeblood of coordinators. They rely on assistants pumping those facts in their ear & then quickly they make the defensive call. Demaryius Thomas ran right by both safeties, cut the pattern toward the post, Tebow hit him in stride, end of story. For the first time in a long time, the Steelers didn't have an effective pass rush, which was a combination of an aging/injured defensive line & an excellent scheme by the Denver offensive coaches. Their line blocked so well in this game, it made Ike Taylor's job a helluva lot harder than it should have been.
Pittsburgh OLB James Harrison said it best after the game, "They played well enough to win & we played poorly enough to lose." That's it in a nutshell.
The Falcons ought to take a long hard look at themselves after the embarrassment they suffered at the Meadowlands yesterday. Two stinkin' points & they got those courtesy of Eli Manning grounding the ball from the endzone. Once again, no pass rush, poor tackling by the secondary, shoddy pass blocking & unimaginative play calling in short yardage situations. Here's something I never thought I'd say, Eli Manning's 14-yard scramble on 3rd & 8, was maybe the biggest play of the game. The Giants hadn't done anything, late in the 2nd quarter, they had zero first downs. He broke out of the pocket & got that initial 1st down & they moved on down the field to score their first touchdown.
Of the four wildcard losers, the Bengals & Lions have the most upside IMO. Pittsburgh needs to get a lot younger right now & the Falcons need a lot of parts on defense & the offensive line.
The Glazer family wants the lack of discipline on the Buccaneers cleaned up ASAP. That's why they are interviewing the coaches they are. All four are veteran NFL head coaches known for a no-nonsense approach to discipline. The four coaches they're looking at are Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Sherman, Brad Childress & Wade Phillips.
Former Arizona coach Mike Stoops will rejoin his brother Bob's staff at Oklahoma as defensive backs coach & co-defensive coordinator with Brent Venables.
Tonights BCS Title game between Alabama & LSU is a rematch, so it lost a lot of it's luster, especially since their previous game, played on November 5th at Alabama, ended in a 9-6 LSU overtime win. The game was littered with missed opportunities, missed field goals, untimely penalties & ultra-conservative play-calling. That being said, I think we'll see a different game this time around, we'll see actual touchdowns in this game. It's very difficult to beat a team as good as Alabama once, much less twice, but it can be done.
I lean toward LSU for several reasons.
1. Far superior special teams & close games can turn on one big play or a crucial field goal.
2. With Jordan Jefferson starting at QB for the Tigers this time, running the option will cause the Bama defense, especially their huge linebackers, to play sideline-to-sideline. By the 4th quarter, those big bodies might be winded enough to break the play of the game.
3. I like the LSU pass rush a lot & A.J. McCarron isn't a scrambler nor is he an accurate passer under duress. The Bama wideouts don't scare anybody either. This offense is built around RB Trent Richardson, as he goes, the Crimson Tide go.
My prediction is LSU 20 Alabama 13
Radio show tonight 6:08-7PM on KRMS 1150 AM or by live streaming audio on the internet. www.krmsradio.com
Give me a call with your prediction on tonight's BCS Championship game, you could win two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook plus a $25 gift card at the Trophy Room. Local phone is 573-302-7000 or toll free 877-330-1150.
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