JUST FOOTBALL

[LadyHawk]

You guys went through three different coaches in the last three seasons too. Holmgren-to Mora Jr- and now finally to Carroll. I have a feeling that this time around Carroll is gonna be around for a while. That dude sure showed that he knows how to run a farm system, and he definitely has a supreme eye for talent.

His boyish enthusiasm on the sidelines has the players totally fired up...and I've seen some film of him at training camp. He works their asses off, pushes them, but still makes it fun for them. Huuuge difference from last year.

And YES! he does have an eye for talent. *Crossing fingers*

[Emeritus]

I don't know what was wrong with the Cowboys Saturday. Their offensive linemen acted like they didn't know their assignments and the defense looked confused. It was liked they hadn't practiced. I've seldom seen a team look so ill prepared. The talent is there, but they looked more like a mob than a team.

[Reecey]

This is interesting.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4462 ... eal#page/1


I remember last offseason, in my haste of missing football I went out and bought the video game Madden. I hated everything about that game from the way that it played to the flow of the game. Lol. Truly a hasty decision on my part. At least this past offseason I had Jack Bauer to carry me through a significant part of the number of months we had no football.

[LadyHawk]

I don't know what was wrong with the Cowboys Saturday. Their offensive linemen acted like they didn't know their assignments and the defense looked confused. It was liked they hadn't practiced. I've seldom seen a team look so ill prepared. The talent is there, but they looked more like a mob than a team.

I'm sure they're making adjustments...that's what preseason is all about after all.

[cklaurence]

Oops! You snooze, you lose here tonight. Bye Ms. Bags--good to see you, woman.

LadyHawk--hope you have better luck with your third coach than we had with ours. Let's see, Wannstadt, Saban, Shoot! I've completely blanked on our third guy (and yes, he was THAT
bad!). Now Sporano--and we're on our third year with him and Parcells calling the shots...

[Reecey]

Cowboys OLine were without Marc Columbo and Kyle Kosier. (RT and Starting G)
Free is still having trouble trying to learn at the LT spot too. They dropped Flozell way too quick. I don't like seeing Dallas like that.

[Reecey]

I wouldn't mind seeing Cam Cameron stay an Offensive Coordinator in Baltimore. His tenure was rough, rocky, and disastrous. Wow...I said tenure like it lasted more than one season...

But, long time coordinators are great. OC Al Saunders (I wonder where he is now), DC Gregg Williams, DC Dick Lebeau. And even Tannenbaum over with the Jets.

Marz isn't exactly a favorite amongst OC's with me. His playbooks are nothing but a bunch over-inflated pages of alphabet soup. He has to tune that crap way down. The only QB that could really handle his system was Kurt Warner (and he is a future HOF). No other quarterback could get it anywhere near close to "Getting It Down." He just overdoes it.

[Reecey]

I'm trying to find out who the Texans cut so far. I'm going to try the Houston Chronicle online, and thenESPN. I hope one works, because I would hate to have to try to look for it over at Fox. I haven't even entered in that URL in months. Lol

[cklaurence]

Cam Cameron! Thanks Reecey. For the life of me I couldn't bring his name up in my last post. I hope he has a wonderful life, far away from the Dolphins...

[Reecey]

Nor should you want to remember his name CK.

The infamous Dom Capers is back to coordinating defenses, and has found a really nice niche up in Green Bay. Capers can dial up some great defenses, but is definitely not cut out to be a head man in the NFL. Green Bay handled the first year of their 4-3 to 3-4 switch really well. So, I can only imagine what they look like this upcoming season defensively. Might be downright scary.

[Reecey]

Cameron really didn't have any offensive weapons to work with outside of his running backs though. But, picking Tedd Ginn, and annointing Cleo Lemon as your starting qb? Yeah, there was definitely a problem there.

[Reecey]

Ravens brought together a bunch of failed head coaches on their offensive side of the ball.

Cam Cameron as the OC
Jim Zorn as their QB Coach
and Al Saunders (not sure if he was ever a head coach) as an Offensive Consultant.

But, their offense nontheless looks great. When guys work within themselves, they can do great things. Zorn is a great QB coach. He was really dealt a raw deal last year though.

[LadyHawk]

Ravens brought together a bunch of failed head coaches on their offensive side of the ball.

Cam Cameron as the OC
Jim Zorn as their QB Coach
and Al Saunders (not sure if he was ever a head coach) as an Offensive Consultant.

But, their offense nontheless looks great. When guys work within themselves, they can do great things. Zorn is a great QB coach. He was really dealt a raw deal last year though.

Zorn is a GOOD QB coach...and that is (perhaps) where he should stay.

[Reecey]

Ravens brought together a bunch of failed head coaches on their offensive side of the ball.

Cam Cameron as the OC
Jim Zorn as their QB Coach
and Al Saunders (not sure if he was ever a head coach) as an Offensive Consultant.

But, their offense nontheless looks great. When guys work within themselves, they can do great things. Zorn is a great QB coach. He was really dealt a raw deal last year though.

Zorn is a GOOD QB coach...and that is (perhaps) where he should stay.

LMAO! 100% Agreed.

[Emeritus]

"When guys work within themselves, they can do great things." That's a great point Reecey. Anytime that you see a complete breakdown, it's because somebody has fail to operate within themselves. Some fine coaches aren't head coach material. The one who realize that have long and distinguished careers. Players can blow games by trying to win them by themselves (Sage Rosenfels comes to mind). Too many coaches and players throw away the game plan when things go wrong and try to be Superman.

[Reecey]

"When guys work within themselves, they can do great things." That's a great point Reecey. Anytime that you see a complete breakdown, it's because somebody has fail to operate within themselves. Some fine coaches aren't head coach material. The one who realize that have long and distinguished careers. Players can blow games by trying to win them by themselves (Sage Rosenfels comes to mind). Too many coaches and players throw away the game plan when things go wrong and try to be Superman.

Amen to that. The Sage reference made me wince pretty hard though.

In Kansas City, Romeo Crennel and Charlie Wiess (once over Haley in the coaching tree in New England) now work under him. And Mike Tice ~(what's his name that last coached in Detroit)~ are working in coordinator and position jobs with the Bears. Personally, I like that apporach. Bringing in somebody that's experienced, (and even failed at a higher posting) makes for great employable options. That "Failed Experience" is still an experience, and that's something they learn from.

[Reecey]

Mora Jr will probably take a position job somewhere this season. I doubt that he will get on as a coordinator for anyone this year.

[Emeritus]

A man can have a great coaching career without being a head coach. Who was more respected than Jim Johnson, the Eagles defensive coordinator?

[Reecey]

Very true Em. Dick Lebeau is reverred the same way up in Pittsburgh. Coordinators get inducted into the HOF too...but I can't blame a guy for wanting to strive for something more difficult than a coordinator position.

Personally, I'd rather be a coordinator though, because you get to develop more of a relationship with your guys that you work with because you're constantly with them and not the other guys on the other side of the ball. Helps you get to know them better as a player and a person. I haven't been around much, but for me, the best things have always been the relationships that I've had with people.

[Emeritus]

Absolutely. People are important and everything else is secondary. I've never enjoyed being in groups so large that I couldn't have a relationship with everybody in the group. Have you ever had classes in lecture hall so vast that it took a gang of proctors to check for empty seats? That's lousy for the students and worse for the instructors. The joy of teaching comes from seeing the light break in a student's eyes when they get it. We are at our best when we interact with others.

[Reecey]

[Emeritus]

So what does everybody think of the Peyton Manning rule? You have to wait for the ref to get set in his position behind the quarterback before you start the play. If there is too much crowd noise to hear the whistle, does the quarterback have to turn around and verify that the ref is in position before he starts the play? In my opinion, any rule that allows the refs dictate the tempo of the game detracts from the excitement of the game. But that's just my opinion. What does everybody think?

[cklaurence]

That's exactly what we were talking about the other night after the game. As if the Dolphins weren't playing an awful game that had our stomachs in knots, you have the Manning Rule, the commercials, and the bogus penalties flying on every other play to ruin any rhythm the teams have. There is no "flow" to the games any more. Every time you start to get into it, one or another of the above destroys it by stopping the play. I long for the days when the stadium rocked. Perhaps it's just preseason--with all its problems, and when season begins it won't be as bad, but I don't know. The penalty thing has got to stop! They throw the most ridiculous, nuisance flags constantly. If they can't do something about that--football will never be the same...

[Emeritus]

I hate the rule. As I said, I dislike it because it means that the refs, not the players, dictate the pace of the game. I also am against it because it penalizes the smart quarterbacks. It won't matter to the quarterbacks who have to have the playbook strapped to their arm, but it hurts those who know everything and read fast. I believe that excellence should be rewarded, not penalized.

[Emeritus]

I hate the rule. As I said, I dislike it because it means that the refs, not the players, dictate the pace of the game. I also am against it because it penalizes the smart quarterbacks. It won't matter to the quarterbacks who have to have the playbook strapped to their arm, but it hurts those who know everything and read fast. I believe that excellence should be rewarded, not penalized.

[Emeritus]

I hate the rule. As I said, I dislike it because it means that the refs, not the players, dictate the pace of the game. I also am against it because it penalizes the smart quarterbacks. It won't matter to the quarterbacks who have to have the playbook strapped to their arm, but it hurts those who know everything and read fast. I believe that excellence should be rewarded, not penalized.

[Emeritus]

How did that happen? I kept hitting the Submit button because it didn't post. It seemed hung up and and I to leave the site and come back to discover the multiple posts. I didn't mean to reiterate.

[cklaurence]

Oh, I thought you were just really passionate about that particular post .

[Emeritus]

Well, I do hate the rule. Have you thought about how much a ref can help the defense just by taking his time to assume his position?

[Emeritus]

I have company. I'll be back later.