A FEW MONDAY NOTES PLUS A LOAD OF EMAIL
After toiling for 13-seasons as one of the very best interior offensive linemen in the NFL, Patriots guard Brian Waters finally experienced a playoff win, beating the Broncos Saturday night. The 6-time pro Bowl guard was released after 11-years with the Chiefs. Think playing in front of Tom Brady doesn't rejuvenate your career? Winning playoff games could extend Waters' career yet another season.
Darrell J. pointed out to me the Tampa bay Buccaneers don't have a coach yet, he's right. I mentioned last night the Raiders & Dolphins still needed coaches, but I forgot about the Bucs. Despite the interviews with Marty Schottenheimer, Brad Childress & Mike Sherman, I like Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell for this job, we'll see.
If there was any doubt about why the Texans laid out big money to lure cornerback Jonathan Joseph away from Cincinnati, look at the stats. In two playoff games Joseph held speedsters Torrey Smith(1 catch for 9-yds) & A.J. Green(5 catches for 47-yards) to no touchdowns & basically took them out of them game. Both receivers held to less than a 10-yard average per reception. That's the true definition of a shut down corner.
The AFC South has had the NFL's rushing leader three consecutive seasons. Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew led the league this year, Houston's Arian Foster led last year & Tennessee's Chris Johnson was the league leader in 2009 with over 2,000-yards. No real point here, just thought it was interesting.
Interesting stat for this weekend's Championship games. The home teams are 7-1 so far, with two games remaining, get this. Never has there been 9-home winners in the NFL playoffs, never. Only twice has there been 8 home winners. So from a statistical trend angle, both road teams have a real chance this Sunday.
Now for your emails. TonytheTiger wondered if I noticed New England tight end Aaron Hernandez carried the ball out of the backfield Saturday night? Yes Tony, I did notice it, I did fail to mention it tho in my recap. He was in fact the Pats leading rusher with 61-yards on just 5-carries. It was a completely new wrinkle for the mad scientist, Bill Belichick. Hernandez had five carries during the season, but they were end-arounds, not from a backfield set.
DTS asked me about Texans rookie defensive end J.J. Watt. He said "Watt had an interception for a touchdown last week & 3.5 sacks in the two playoffs games. That's a lot better than Tyson Jackson has in his entire career." Man, you're preaching to the choir. I've been complaining about Tyson Jackson almost from the moment he was drafted. Yes, Watt is far superior in both current production as well as being a future star. Jackson is mediocre at best, not worth the 3rd overall pick in the 2009 draft. A first round that had such defensive stalwarts as OLB Brian Orakpo, ILB Brian Cushing, OLB Clay Mathews, DL B.J. Raji, DL Ziggy Hood, ILB's James Laurinaitis & Rey Maualuga, S's Patrick Chung & Louis Delmas, all selected within 32-picks after Jackson. Throw in WR's Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin & Hakeem Nicks in to that group as well. It's real easy, Pioli blew the pick, the Chiefs paid Jackson tens of millions of dollars & he's never going to make the kind of impact they(Pioli) envisioned.
John B. Good asked if the Hail Mary in yesterday's New York-Green Bay game was the "beginning of the end for the Packers?" Actually John, it was the play that proceeded the Hail Mary touchdown to Hakeem Nicks. With 15-seconds remaining in the half, the Giants were trying to run the clock out & go into the locker room up 13-10. They ran the ball left, but Ahmad Bradshaw cut back clear across the field & ran out of bounds at the Packers' 37-yard line, stopping the clock with 5-seconds left. The Giants had no timeouts remaining, so getting out of bounds was so crucial. It allowed Eli manning to chuck one up from the 45 into the endzone for the completion to put them up by two scores. The pack battled uphill the rest of the day.
MarciaMarciaMarcia asked if "the Packers coach, who lost his son, caused their less than great performance yesterday." Joe Philbin, Green Bay's offensive coordinator, did indeed lose his 21-year old son last Sunday when he drowned in the Oshkosh River. He returned to the team on Saturday & clearly he was on the minds of many Packer players. But to say it was the cause of their terrible offensive performance, well we just don't know how it affected the team. head coach Mike McCarthy calls the offensive plays with input from Philbin. But the dropped passes, overthrows & poor pass protection can't all be laid at Philbin's doorstep.
GeorgeB. thinks the officiating in this season's playoffs had been "terrible." I agree George, it's been abysmal. Way too many mistakes. In yesterday's NYG-GB game, referee Bill Leavy clearly blew a replay on a fumble that should have given the ball to the Giants. The Packers retained possession & scored a touchdown shortly afterward. In the 2nd half, a bogus roughing the passer call on Osi Umenyiora kept a Packer drive alive & they scored a touchdown shortly afterward. See a pattern? This game really wasn't as close as the 37-20 score.
DT584ever wants to know where my outrage is over the commercialism of Martin Luther King Jr. Day? He says "you always rant over the commercialism of Veteran's day, what about MLK day?" If you would have waited for MLK Day to actually come, you would have seen some ranting. I do my Veteran's Day rant on Veteran's Day, not the day before. I hate when U.S. Corporations use holidays that commemorate very important people or groups to sell their crap. Today being Martin Luther King Day, we're seeing more of this crass marketing. I got two emails today offering free shipping if I took advantage of their "free MLK Day shipping." I saw an ad this morning on TV for Sears' "big MLK appliance sale." They don't even acknowledge it's Martin Luther King, they just call it MLK. The whole thing, just like Veteran's Day, leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.
Jerry wants to know if I really believe the Chiefs are bugging offices & tampering with cell phones. I hate to think it's true, but I guess it could be. I think it would be the worst business decision made by an NFL franchise since.......well maybe ever. I'm not a lawyer, but I think that kind of crap is against federal law. Maybe one of my readers who practices law could give us the exact interpretation. I have a very close friend who spent 20-plus years at Arrowhead & his tales of what happened after the Clark Hunt/Scott Pioli regime took over is both weird & scary. I do believe if Todd Haley has evidence he was bugged or his phone was taped, he better come forward & tell his story. Such vague accusations can be poison. I do believe Scott Pioli is spending entirely too much time sweating parking spaces & venetian blinds & not enough assembling a quality roster. Speaking from personal experience, I worked for a real micromanager, micromanaging is like a drug, it's hard to quit & I believe Pioli is a true micromanager. The other issue is Hunt, please don't confuse Clark with his father Lamar. He's vastly different. Clark is a business man who practices fear as a management tool, something his father never would have tolerated.
Dokie suggested "Alex Smith should have taken a knee instead of scoring a touchdown with 2:11 left in the game. Then they could've kicked a field goal as time ran out to win the game 26-24. Brian Westbrook did it against the Cowboys & Maurice Jones-Drew did it too & both times it worked to their advantage." Dokie, tho that's good in theory, scoring touchdowns is in their competitive DNA. It's tough to make that split-second decision to take a knee at the one-yard line. As Sam & I watched the game, he brought up the same question. It's tough, if the Niners hadn't scored that last touchdown, taking a knee would have been a major issue today, but they did, so I think any second-guessing will die very quickly.
Tonight is another big radio broadcast with Rich's Football Report on KRMS 1150AM 7 by live audio stream on the internet. We'll discuss the NFL playoffs, the Chiefs, Rams & another edition of "Predict the Score" for a great package of free golf at Old Kinderhook & a $25 giftcard from the Trophy Room. Join me tonight at 6:08 CST.
Darrell J. pointed out to me the Tampa bay Buccaneers don't have a coach yet, he's right. I mentioned last night the Raiders & Dolphins still needed coaches, but I forgot about the Bucs. Despite the interviews with Marty Schottenheimer, Brad Childress & Mike Sherman, I like Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell for this job, we'll see.
If there was any doubt about why the Texans laid out big money to lure cornerback Jonathan Joseph away from Cincinnati, look at the stats. In two playoff games Joseph held speedsters Torrey Smith(1 catch for 9-yds) & A.J. Green(5 catches for 47-yards) to no touchdowns & basically took them out of them game. Both receivers held to less than a 10-yard average per reception. That's the true definition of a shut down corner.
The AFC South has had the NFL's rushing leader three consecutive seasons. Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew led the league this year, Houston's Arian Foster led last year & Tennessee's Chris Johnson was the league leader in 2009 with over 2,000-yards. No real point here, just thought it was interesting.
Interesting stat for this weekend's Championship games. The home teams are 7-1 so far, with two games remaining, get this. Never has there been 9-home winners in the NFL playoffs, never. Only twice has there been 8 home winners. So from a statistical trend angle, both road teams have a real chance this Sunday.
Now for your emails. TonytheTiger wondered if I noticed New England tight end Aaron Hernandez carried the ball out of the backfield Saturday night? Yes Tony, I did notice it, I did fail to mention it tho in my recap. He was in fact the Pats leading rusher with 61-yards on just 5-carries. It was a completely new wrinkle for the mad scientist, Bill Belichick. Hernandez had five carries during the season, but they were end-arounds, not from a backfield set.
DTS asked me about Texans rookie defensive end J.J. Watt. He said "Watt had an interception for a touchdown last week & 3.5 sacks in the two playoffs games. That's a lot better than Tyson Jackson has in his entire career." Man, you're preaching to the choir. I've been complaining about Tyson Jackson almost from the moment he was drafted. Yes, Watt is far superior in both current production as well as being a future star. Jackson is mediocre at best, not worth the 3rd overall pick in the 2009 draft. A first round that had such defensive stalwarts as OLB Brian Orakpo, ILB Brian Cushing, OLB Clay Mathews, DL B.J. Raji, DL Ziggy Hood, ILB's James Laurinaitis & Rey Maualuga, S's Patrick Chung & Louis Delmas, all selected within 32-picks after Jackson. Throw in WR's Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin & Hakeem Nicks in to that group as well. It's real easy, Pioli blew the pick, the Chiefs paid Jackson tens of millions of dollars & he's never going to make the kind of impact they(Pioli) envisioned.
John B. Good asked if the Hail Mary in yesterday's New York-Green Bay game was the "beginning of the end for the Packers?" Actually John, it was the play that proceeded the Hail Mary touchdown to Hakeem Nicks. With 15-seconds remaining in the half, the Giants were trying to run the clock out & go into the locker room up 13-10. They ran the ball left, but Ahmad Bradshaw cut back clear across the field & ran out of bounds at the Packers' 37-yard line, stopping the clock with 5-seconds left. The Giants had no timeouts remaining, so getting out of bounds was so crucial. It allowed Eli manning to chuck one up from the 45 into the endzone for the completion to put them up by two scores. The pack battled uphill the rest of the day.
MarciaMarciaMarcia asked if "the Packers coach, who lost his son, caused their less than great performance yesterday." Joe Philbin, Green Bay's offensive coordinator, did indeed lose his 21-year old son last Sunday when he drowned in the Oshkosh River. He returned to the team on Saturday & clearly he was on the minds of many Packer players. But to say it was the cause of their terrible offensive performance, well we just don't know how it affected the team. head coach Mike McCarthy calls the offensive plays with input from Philbin. But the dropped passes, overthrows & poor pass protection can't all be laid at Philbin's doorstep.
GeorgeB. thinks the officiating in this season's playoffs had been "terrible." I agree George, it's been abysmal. Way too many mistakes. In yesterday's NYG-GB game, referee Bill Leavy clearly blew a replay on a fumble that should have given the ball to the Giants. The Packers retained possession & scored a touchdown shortly afterward. In the 2nd half, a bogus roughing the passer call on Osi Umenyiora kept a Packer drive alive & they scored a touchdown shortly afterward. See a pattern? This game really wasn't as close as the 37-20 score.
DT584ever wants to know where my outrage is over the commercialism of Martin Luther King Jr. Day? He says "you always rant over the commercialism of Veteran's day, what about MLK day?" If you would have waited for MLK Day to actually come, you would have seen some ranting. I do my Veteran's Day rant on Veteran's Day, not the day before. I hate when U.S. Corporations use holidays that commemorate very important people or groups to sell their crap. Today being Martin Luther King Day, we're seeing more of this crass marketing. I got two emails today offering free shipping if I took advantage of their "free MLK Day shipping." I saw an ad this morning on TV for Sears' "big MLK appliance sale." They don't even acknowledge it's Martin Luther King, they just call it MLK. The whole thing, just like Veteran's Day, leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.
Jerry wants to know if I really believe the Chiefs are bugging offices & tampering with cell phones. I hate to think it's true, but I guess it could be. I think it would be the worst business decision made by an NFL franchise since.......well maybe ever. I'm not a lawyer, but I think that kind of crap is against federal law. Maybe one of my readers who practices law could give us the exact interpretation. I have a very close friend who spent 20-plus years at Arrowhead & his tales of what happened after the Clark Hunt/Scott Pioli regime took over is both weird & scary. I do believe if Todd Haley has evidence he was bugged or his phone was taped, he better come forward & tell his story. Such vague accusations can be poison. I do believe Scott Pioli is spending entirely too much time sweating parking spaces & venetian blinds & not enough assembling a quality roster. Speaking from personal experience, I worked for a real micromanager, micromanaging is like a drug, it's hard to quit & I believe Pioli is a true micromanager. The other issue is Hunt, please don't confuse Clark with his father Lamar. He's vastly different. Clark is a business man who practices fear as a management tool, something his father never would have tolerated.
Dokie suggested "Alex Smith should have taken a knee instead of scoring a touchdown with 2:11 left in the game. Then they could've kicked a field goal as time ran out to win the game 26-24. Brian Westbrook did it against the Cowboys & Maurice Jones-Drew did it too & both times it worked to their advantage." Dokie, tho that's good in theory, scoring touchdowns is in their competitive DNA. It's tough to make that split-second decision to take a knee at the one-yard line. As Sam & I watched the game, he brought up the same question. It's tough, if the Niners hadn't scored that last touchdown, taking a knee would have been a major issue today, but they did, so I think any second-guessing will die very quickly.
Tonight is another big radio broadcast with Rich's Football Report on KRMS 1150AM 7 by live audio stream on the internet. We'll discuss the NFL playoffs, the Chiefs, Rams & another edition of "Predict the Score" for a great package of free golf at Old Kinderhook & a $25 giftcard from the Trophy Room. Join me tonight at 6:08 CST.
Interestingly enough, Aaron Hernandez played some D as well, and recorded a tackle.
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Darryll,
I didn't recall him playing defense, was his tackle after Brady's interception? I know Edelman plays both ways, but hadn't seen Hernandez doing it, maybe I was foggy after a few cold Buds.
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