When the Buffalo Bills new General Manager was introduced I was perplexed like many fans.
Now that Buddy (…no not the Will Farrel elf) is in charge of personnel decisions at One Bills Drive, my attention didn’t immediately turn to who the next head coach would be.
Instead, I thought who’s this new general manager bringing in and perhaps more importantly, who’s out the door.
The first player that came to mind, and is expendable, is former first-round pick Marshawn Lynch.
It’s really incredible if you think about it. In his rookie campaign in 2007, he rushed for 1,115 yards, averaging four yards per attempt on 280 touches.
In 2008 his role diminished slightly, carrying for fewer yards (1,036) and carries (250).
And 2009 is by far his worst output on the field as a pro. He’s failed to gain 500 yards, and has only 119 attempts since Fred Jackson has solidified the feature back role.
Undoubtedly, Lynch’s three-game suspension at the beginning of the season hampered his chance to get off to a roaring start, but his off the field immaturity coupled with his average production this season leaves Buddy Nix with a decision.
In my eyes, Lynch is perfect trade bait for three reasons. Number one is that he is an average back. Second, he’s had problems off the field. Third, Lynch resembles a player from a regime Bills’ fans want to forget.
I’ll admit, I had high hopes for this Bill after his rookie season. He has a contagious personality. He’s hilarious and a good sound byte.
But it’s time for Buddy to dangle Lynch as a trading pong in the off season, maybe even the draft.
More so than a new head coach, the path towards rebuilding this inept franchise begins with weeding out the average football players.
Buddy can start with No. 23.
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More often than not, teams that rise to greatness use adversity as a springboard at some point before their ascent.
The 2003 Patriots jettisoned franchise mainstay Lawyer Milloy a week before the season opener at Buffalo. Milloy ended up with the Bills and played a significant role in Buffalo’s 31-0 Week one pasting of the Patriots. It was a stunning and brisk series of events that culminated with ESPN’s Tom Jackson proclaiming “they hate their coach.” New England proceeded to win 34 of its next 37 games and back-to-back Super Bowls.
The 2007 Giants, an exceptionally talented yet wildly inconsistent outfit, took the Patriots’ quest for a perfect season as an affront to their manhood, and spilled blood in a meaningless Week 17 defeat. The first ever moral victory in football galvanized the fragmented G-Men, and spurred them on to the biggest upset in the history of the game.
Most recently, the 2008 Cardinals were eviscerated by New England in late December. The 47-7 humiliation left them at 8-7 and returned the franchise to its familiar place atop the dubious list of gridiron laughingstocks. Somehow, less than six weeks later those same Cardinals found themselves leading Super Bowl XLIII with less than a minute to go. They may have lost the title game, but suffice to say they wouldn’t have seen the light of the second round had they not banded together after being so nearly torn apart.
Is it a coincidence that the three most stirring tales of teams overcoming adversity this decade directly involved the Patriots? I say not; the Patriots have been the gatekeepers and headline-grabbers of the NFL since 2001. They have had as much reason to hate the universe as the universe has had to hate them.
Love em or hate em, from Pats-Rams to Pats-Giants to Steelers-Cardinals—not to mention everything Brady-Manning—this decade has been the most riveting and divisive in league history. And it’s principally because of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Isn’t it fitting then, that in the final year of the 00’s (or aughts or whatever you want to call them), things have seemingly come full circle for the Pats?
Touted as a redux of the ‘07 juggernaut (by yours truly, among quite a few others), these Patriots have struggled—to say the least—uncharacteristically showing themselves to be starters and not finishers; able to throw the first punch, but not take the last. Blown second-half leads accounted for four of their five losses. The word “rebuilding” was associated with the franchise for the first time since Belichick took over in 2000.
Then the hammer dropped. After a stinging 22-21 loss to the Dolphins, the Coach preached renewed commitment and dedication to his players, a tenor undoubtedly echoed by the Quarterback. When three of those players showed up a few minutes late to a team meeting the following week because of a snowstorm, he sent them home.
Adalius Thomas pulled the proverbial twisting-of-the-knife by sounding off to the media. Randy Moss, meanwhile, remained silent but despondent. The seams weren’t just fraying, they were ripping apart.
Not surprisingly, postmortems of the ‘09 Patriots got written, Thomas was deactivated for the game vs. Carolina, and Moss submitted such an atrocious and listless performance that the team probably had to check the standings for confirmation of its “victory”.
Oh, how times can change on the fly in the NFL. Less than three weeks removed from that New England win wrapped in a moral loss, the Panthers are suddenly looking like the team that went 12-4 a year ago, this after croaking the Vikings and Giants by a combined 51 points.
Simultaneously, the Patriots have been busy notching their first true road victory of the year in Buffalo and dominating Jacksonville in what was unquestionably their most complete effort of the season. The defense, which made big play after big play against the Jags, has been solidified by the returns of James Sanders and Shawn Springs to the starting lineup.
The New England secondary, for so long its Achilles heel, now boasts a formidable combination of veteran leadership (Sanders, Springs, Leigh Bodden), explosiveness (Brandon Meriweather), and depth (Brandon McGowan, Jonathan Wilhite, Pat Chung). The unit has a whole has allowed nine points per game over the last three.
On the other side of the ball, Brady is no longer being counted on to throw the ball 40 times a game; during the win streak, the Patriots have run the ball 58 percent of the time (110 rush plays/81 pass plays) for an average of 163 yards per contest. Fred Taylor’s return has certainly helped the running game. Through the air, Brady has started to find his tight ends again while Wes Welker continues to be the steadiest presence in the game.
And there’s Moss. The man so many believed would pack it in and call it quits—he who is averse to adversity—has been recharged, reinvigorated, reborn…whatever you want to call it. All that’s necessary to know is he snagged three touchdown passes last Sunday, had this exchange with the same fans who booed him two weeks ago, and gave an impassioned postgame speech that anyone who watched “Inside the NFL” was lucky enough to see and hear.
Does all this mean the Patriots are poised to capture their fourth Super Bowl as the final bell tolls on the aughts? Time shall tell, but for now it’s clear the Patriots are not the same team they were in mid-December. They met their darkest hour head on and emerged from it stronger, healthier and more balanced.
Contrary to what you may have heard, the Coach did not lose the team. The Quarterback rediscovered a bit of that mojo. The Receiver has a whole new look in his eyes. The mission is back on.
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Prior to New England’s meaningless but important game against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick discussed what every guaranteed playoff team has been discussing this week. Should they rest their starters or not?
As far as Bill is concerned, the answer is no.
Quarterback Tom Brady claims he has spoken to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick today about his desire to play this Sunday.
“You’ll play, don’t worry about that. You’ll be playing,” said Belichick to Brady.
“As players, we obviously don’t factor into any of those decisions that coach Belichick makes. It’s our job to prepare to play and I certainly am. I’m out there doing all my regular practice stuff,” replied Brady.
New England is already a lock for the playoffs this year. Houston is still clinging to a possible chance, or rather a miracle, of making it in. For Houston to appear in the postseason, they need to not only beat the Patriots, they also need a ton of other teams to lose to help their chances.
Brady summed it up nicely afterward.
“I want to play and I want to do great. I want to have a great game against a team that is fighting for their playoff lives, and has a lot of great players and really challenges you in some different ways. It’s a meaningful game for us, it’s a meaningful game for them, too. It would be great for us to go win on the road in a real tough environment against a damn good team.”
Whether or not Brady plays the entire game is a different question. If New England takes a big lead early in the game, expect Bill to go back on his word and take Brady out.
As for other New England players, it is also questionable. The sensible thing to do would be to start everyone at the beginning of the game. If things get out of hand either way, rest them. A win or a loss isn’t worth the injury risk.
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They know all about the uproar and the anger.
They can hear the booing that echoed inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 16. They also expect that the next two weeks will be filled with speculation about how one unpopular decision will affect their future. But here’s what you should realize about the Indianapolis Colts: One week of controversy might be the best thing that ever happened to this team.
We all know the story by now. The Colts had a chance to improve their record to 15-0 against the New York Jets and opted to rest their starters for most of the second half. It was a decision that didn’t merely lead to the Colts’ first loss of the season and the end of their NFL-record 23-game regular-season winning streak. It also turned team president Bill Polian and head coach Jim Caldwell into unlikely villains.
Colts fans blasted the move for days. Many ripped into Polian on his weekly radio show. The vibe inside the Colts’ locker room, however, was far more predictable Wednesday afternoon. Those same players who felt frustrated by having to sit were concerned only with what lies ahead.
“I’ll admit it wasn’t a pleasant experience, but we can be better for it,” quarterback Peyton Manning said. “There can be an edge [to the team]. We can have a chip [on our shoulder]. But we do need to move forward.”
Manning’s comments speak to a critical dynamic that average fans sometimes miss about football teams. Players often benefit from unforeseeable situations. They can take negative experiences and use them as fuel for whatever goals they’re about to pursue.
Even in a moment like Sunday—when a previously undefeated team turned into a target of discontent—a spark may have been lit under the Colts, one that could take them all the way to the Super Bowl in Miami.
What the Colts players had to realize after the loss is that they have more reasons than ever to stay focused on winning a championship. They can’t get caught up in the white noise around them. They can’t be deflated by what could have been a shot at joining the Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated teams in league history. All they can do is steady themselves and figure out how to be at their best when the postseason begins.
As much as people harp on how the Colts threw away an opportunity to make history, the only history that truly matters is who ends up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February.
They don’t give out rings for records. And as much as people lament the dangers of losing momentum at this time of year by “laying off the gas,” there is no guarantee that keeping players in meaningless games leads to more success in the postseason. If that were the case, we wouldn’t be seeing so many teams resting starters this week.
Momentum actually is a vastly overrated predictor of how a team will do in the postseason.
The Arizona Cardinals didn’t have it when they entered last year’s playoffs, and they eventually won the NFC title. The New York Giants weren’t exciting anybody at the end of the 2007 regular season, but they ultimately stormed to a title. Even the 2006 Colts surprised some people.
That year’s Super Bowl champions lost four of their last seven games before taking off in the postseason.
If you want to get a better feel for which teams have a shot at advancing in the postseason, think about the ones that have gone through some adversity. When you look at the teams just mentioned—or other Super Bowl champions such as the 2000 Baltimore Ravens or the 2001 New England Patriots—you see squads that had to fight through something to fulfill their dreams.
The Colts already had key injuries to deal with, including the season-ending loss of the Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders. But this latest controversy could be added incentive for them to sharpen their focus.
Now that doesn’t mean Caldwell and Polian saw this as a potential benefit of their decision. It does mean that a team that already had outstanding chemistry should have even more resolve moving forward.
“We haven’t had a lot of tough Mondays or Wednesdays around here, but it’s all about how you respond to it,” Manning said. “It’s about channeling that frustration into a better place so we can be a better team.”
That, ultimately, is what every championship contender has to do. Though the Colts aren’t saying it, they know their fans will be with them. They’ve given the people of Indianapolis too many reasons to be happy over the last decade. In fact, the mere notion that fans would be so outraged by a decision that had plenty of merit still defies logic. It’s as if they’ve forgotten what it was like when that team stank.
Those same fans need to remember that a 14-1 team would be treasured in places like Detroit and St. Louis. They also have to understand that championships can be attained through all types of routes. For the first 14 weeks of the season, the Colts were a team that found all sorts of ways to stay perfect. But now that they’ve chosen a path of imperfection—and dealt with a week as strange as this—they seem more dangerous than ever as the regular season winds to a close.
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Every season in the world of fantasy football, there are players who surprise everyone and come out of nowhere and sometimes can lead your team to championship glory.
But for every diamond in the rough there is inevitably a group of high profile players that fail miserably to live up to expectations. This season has been no different, as many players drafted in the first two rounds of your fantasy drafts have likely led your fantasy teams to the bottom of the standings rather than the playoffs.
Here is a list 2009’s biggest fantasy disappointments; highlighted by five running backs who likely went in the first round of your draft, a couple of quarterbacks that were supposed to take their teams deep into the playoffs, and three wide receivers who were set to be the focal point of offenses on bad teams.
Begin Slideshow
It’s 2010, and already the Denver Broncos are in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Again.
The team announced today that wide receiver Brandon Marshall and tight end Tony Scheffler would be deactivated for Sunday’s finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. Both players were benched with one common theme: accountability.
“There’s a number of factors that go into that, but there’s a lot of players that will play with things that are probably more difficult to play with than what he has.”
“Our word for the week has been accountability. We’re looking to put the 45 guys on the field on Sunday that want to play together. We talked about it as a squad on Wednesday that that’s what’s going to happen this week, and anyone that showed any indifference to that, we’ll play without them, and we’ll play well anyway.”
“Teams win late in the year,” McDaniels said. “If you have players that aren’t going to put that ahead of everything else, then that can certainly be detrimental to your club.”
“We’re all accountable to give our very best effort to Pat Bowlen, to this organization, to this city, to the people that support us, to each other—that’s what this is about.”
Seems a little late in the season to be benching big time receiving threats because of accountability, especially when the passing game is already enough of a liability as it currently stands.
Josh McDaniels is certainly making a statement, though nobody is quite sure if he is completely in the right here. There obviously is something beyond accountability, because for the second year in a row, the Broncos have to win their last game to make the playoffs.
It would seem as though a team would want all hands on deck, especially two of your top receiving threats. Marshall and Scheffler have allegedly put themselves above the team, and McDaniels feels the team is more important than winning, which is gutsy and borderline arrogant.
Brandon Marshall has been the team’s biggest offensive weapon this season, and has stayed out of the news for anything not positive. He set the NFL record for receptions in a game, and is statistically having the greatest season of his young career, and he is doing it injured and knowing that no CBA agreement means he will not be able to test the free agent market.
On the surface, it seems Marshall has put the team before himself. He has accepted his role, and he has taken advantage of opportunity. Here is what Marshall had to say about the situation.
“He hadn’t really said anything to me. He just came in today and told me I was deactivated. I have to respect that. That’s the head coach. He makes the decisions around here, and he has to do what’s best for the team.”
“I don’t think coach ever played in the NFL, so for my hamstring to be feeling the way it felt, it’s tough for me to go out there and expect to play at a high level.”
“I played last year with a tear in my hip, so I don’t think my toughness is in question here.”
“When you have a muscle injury, that thing doesn’t heal overnight. I got to do my best to be there for the playoffs.”
“It has nothing to do with accountability.”
Clearly Marshall is unhappy with the situation, and he may have a point, but if what he is doing is enough that McDaniels has suspended him for the final game, there must be more to the story than what is being told.
No one can question Marshall’s toughness. He misses offseason activities with regularity, but he constantly plays through injury. Last season, he played with a bad hip and nerve damage in his arm.
This season, he has battled various injuries to his hamstring, yet he hasn’t missed a single contest.
As for tight end Tony Scheffler, his situation is being characterized as an attitude issue, which comes as virtually no surprise. Scheffler was vocal about the offseason situation happening in Denver in 2009.
With the deactivations, the Broncos will have to rely on Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Stokley, Brandon Lloyd, Daniel Graham, and rookie Richard Quinn.
The Broncos are going to certainly need top tier efforts from all of these players on Sunday if they are going to take down Kansas City and prepare for postseason play.
It certainly would go a long way to erasing this awful start to 2010.
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The Content
One of my B/R associates wrote an article which mentions the need for continuity. The fact that he has identified the need for continuity points to the reality of the existence of “discontinuities” in the performance of the Oakland Raiders.
A definition of continuity, from a mathematical standpoint, can help us study the structural and functional problems in the performance of the Oakland Raiders. This is the job of an analyst, and it can certainly help us see more clearly what is happening to the Oakland Raiders without regard to flaws in personalities and other factors which may not be measurable, but are definitely observable.
The Context
Another way to look at the data to see the pattern, showing the gaps, and oscillations is presented:
I defined a mapping using 0 value for loss, and 5 for win. Notice the three consecutive losses at two different time periods. It indicates the “gaps” in effective performance.
During 2009, there were two time periods where the Oakland Raiders experienced three consecutive losses. There was no time period where the inverse behaviors existed. In other words, there is no time period during the 2009 season that the Oakland Raiders won three consecutive games.
Now, the oscillation is demonstrated near the end of the season. The pattern is W-L-W-L-W-L. Even in the medical world, this would be interpreted as an irregular heartbeat, indicating a sign of abnormality.
Now the breaks occurred when the injuries occurred, especially to our quarterback who gave us a good indication that the pattern could be significantly altered.
The Conclusion
Eventually a variety of techniques will be used to study the performance of the Oakland Raiders, both globally and locally, and the team and the individual players.
Sometimes it just helps us face reality when we communicate data in several ways, using words, pictures, numbers, and symbols.
On New Year’s Day 2009, we, therefore, ask for a re-commitment to excellence so that when we analyze, graph, and interpret the data for 2010 and beyond, we will see new patterns of growth and excellent performance.
I might add that in a mathematical discussion, we have two types of discontinuities: removable, and essential (or non-removable).
Is Al Davis contributing to an essential discontinuity, which is not removable (at least not easily)?
The removable discontinuities requiring us to “define or re-define” the places where gaps occur can be compared to players who are traded, drafted, and more. Oakland can “define” a new dynamic in the team if and when they bring the right people onto the playing field.
Oakland can “re-define” what happens on the playing field by re-structuring, or benching those players who have questionable performance. Those players who have not had a chance to “show their stuff” ought to be considered in the future.
Again, Happy New Year, Raider Nation and Oakland Raiders!
Finally, do you see what I see?
Source: USAToday
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Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren has made his first move of the New Year and that is to approve a contract extension for playmaker Josh Cribbs.
Cribbs, who was announced as the kick returner who will represent the Browns and the AFC in the 2010 Pro Bowl earlier in the week, has finally let his hard work and play speak for itself.
Now he will get a big payday because of his unselfishness, his abilities, and his team-first attitude.
“Holmgren already gave the word to the coach and to the organization here,” said Cribbs.
“I’m trying to get it done as soon as possible,” he said. “It’s going to get it done. I’d prefer it be done before the end of the season, by tomorrow.
“But I’ve waited this long, and it’s for a reason. Just think what it would’ve been if I had gotten it before everything I did this season. Everything works out for a reason.”
Holmgren, who will officially take over the Browns football operations on Monday, Jan. 4, has made his first correct decision as President, and the fans couldn’t be happier.
Details were not released regarding the length of Cribbs’ extension or how much more money he will receive, but in all honesty, whatever the Browns pay him will not be enough, because you cannot put a price on his talent and heart.
Cribbs is the Cleveland Browns, and now it looks like he will probably retire as a Cleveland Brown, too.
(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper)
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As the second decade of the 21st century begins, the Denver Broncos have done a complete 360 degree turn and are right back where they started this past summer.
As training camp commenced last summer, Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall was demanding a trade and head coach Josh McDaniels was forced to suspend Marshall for the most of the preseason due to his antics during practices.
His idiocy started when Marshall “tweaked his hamstring” in a practice. He was then caught on tape punting balls away instead of just handing them off to ball boys like more mature players do.
Now it’s the first day of 2010 and here we go again. The Broncos playoff hopes are on life support and Marshall once again has been benched by McDaniels. It was reported earlier in the week that Marshall “tweaked his hamstring” during practice, but it seemed that he would good to go for the season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Instead McDaniels benched his Pro Bowl receiver and made it publicly known that some players playing Sunday have injuries that are worse than Marshall’s. In the situation earlier in the year, most fans stood on McDaniels’ side in how he handled Marshall’s childish behavior.
To quote the great Vince Lombardi, Broncos fans have to be asking “What the hell is going on out there?”
McDaniels and Marshall have once again engaged in a “he said, she said” public debate. Marshall claims that since McDaniels never played in the NFL, he has no idea what it’s like to play hurt. The player is watching out for his own health. Marshall has been on his best behavior all year and should be given the benefit of the doubt here.
McDaniels, meanwhile, has said that this is all about accountability and that the team wants “45 guys on the field on Sun that want to play together,” and that “…anyone that showed indifference to that, we’ll play without them and play well anyway.”
Way to throw some of your players under the bus, coach. It’s the most arrogant Belichickian statement McDaniels has made all season. In fact, benching his number one receiver for this season finale in which the Broncos still have a chance of making the playoffs is the dumbest move McDaniels has made all year. Herm Edwards needs to remind McDaniels that “YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!”
Now before anyone piles on McDaniels, there is a possibility there is more to this story that the media and fans do not know. McDaniels never shows his hand on these things and we saw a great example of this during the Jay Cutler fiasco last spring.
It’s possible Marshall did something as stupid as what he did last summer and we just don’t know it. That said, in this age of YouTube, if something did happen we’ll know sooner rather than later.
Until then, Marshall is innocent until proven guilty. McDaniels needs to produce some better evidence and fast or fans will be calling for his head. What started with whispers after the latest Broncos collapse will turn into screaming is McDaniels made this move without just cause.
Happy New Year Broncos fans. It looks like 2010 will be a sequel to the soap opera that was 2009.
Oh, joy.
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The Denver Broncos’ playoff hopes took a huge blow today after head coach Josh McDaniels said receiver Brandon Marshall will not play in the final game of the season.
The Denver Broncos, currently with an 8-7 record, are one of the many teams still alive for an AFC playoff birth.
Starting the season 6-0, the team has lost seven out of the last nine, and needs a win along with help from other teams to enter the postseason.
But McDaniels revealed Marshall—who is believed to have injured his hamstring during practice this week—will not line up against Kansas City, saying “several other players will play Sunday with injuries worse than Marshall’s.”
Marshall and McDaniels had their issues earlier in the season, but improved the relationship when the Broncos got off to the hot start.
With the Broncos now fighting for their playoff lives, they are now in a much tougher position, with Marshall being the most targeted player on the Broncos offense.
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