SB Nation - New York Giants

New York Giants News & Notes: Playoffs? You Kidding Me? Playoffs?

cjmulrain — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:40 -0000

I hope you'll indulge me the title of this post, but much of the discussion regarding the Giants the past few days has reminded me of Jim Mora's famous rant back in 2001. Obviously the most important thing right now is for the Giants to use their bye week to figure out what has gone wrong, try to fix it, and come up with a big win against the Falcons. Bob Glauber of Newsday has 5 improvements he believes will get the Giants back to playing playoff caliber football.

Steve Serby, on the other hand, believes the playoffs are "Mission: Impossible."

Ralph Vachianno reports that the Giants still see themselves as Super Bowl contenders, and that despite the outcome on Sunday, there was a lot to like. Paul Schwartz of the NY Post offers a similar take.

Brandon Jacobs

Matt Mosley reports that Brandon Jacobs talked about the Giants skid on ESPN 1050, where he defended his now impossible 13 win prediction. Jacobs on the prediction:

"That’s one I’m going to have to deal with for making that prediction. That’s what I really thought then. We had a good team and I really believed that. It just so happened that we have not been playing as good of football as we can play and have penalties and those mistakes. [We're] really beating ourselves."

Speaking of Jacobs, Tom Coughlin sees no problem with the distribution of carries, despite the underutilization of a very effective Brandon Jacobs the past few weeks. This has been perhaps the most perplexing thing about the Giants this season: through the first 5 games, when Jacobs was struggling to a 3.6 YPC average, he was getting 20 carries a game. The past 4 weeks his YPC has gone up to 5.1, but he's only been getting 12.75 carries per game. Maybe one has to do with the other, but from watching the games it seems like the old Brandon Jacobs right from the get-go, and they're just not giving him the ball.

Coaching Questions

Sort of related to the Brandon Jacobs stuff as well as Ed's post from yesterday, Josh Alper of NBC Sports believes that the Giants must use the bye week to put their players in a position to succeed. Couldn't agree more.

Giants great Phil Simms was also critical of some of the coaching decisions on Sunday, and has the benefit of questioning them before they even happened.

Happier Days

The New York Times' Fifth Down blog continues their countdown of the 10 greatest Giants moments at Giants Stadium with a look at Jason Sehorn's incredible interception of a Donovan McNabb pass during the 2000 playoffs. Prior to Super Bowl XLII, this was my all-time favorite Giants play that I vividly remember watching live. Great memories. It's too bad they had to cancel the Super Bowl that year, I really think the Giants could have won it after that beatdown they gave the Vikings...

Interesting footnote: Check out how fast McNabb is moving at the tail end of the video - it's easy to forget that he used to be as much a running threat as he was a passing threat.

Stat of the Day: 100 Receptions

John (obviousman) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:44:39 -0000

I was around, and a San Diego Chargers fan, when LaDainian Tomlinson caught 100 passes in a season. I remember that being one of the most frustrating 4-12 teams in history. Anyways, I got an e-mail last night that I was perusing this morning when I saw this....

Rivers’ top two receiving threats -- TE ANTONIO GATES and WR VINCENT JACKSON -- are tied with 42 receptions apiece and can challenge RB LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON’s franchise record of 100 receptions in 2003.

What?!? While it's possible that I just forgot this stat, I am fairly certain that I remember his 100-reception season as a record for a running back. I had no idea that no WR in the history of the Chargers has ever caught 100 balls in a season. That's amazing, especially considering how potent the Bolts offense has been over it's history.

More to the point, only 1 of the top 3 Chargers' spots in terms of receptions is held by a WR. Here's the list.

LaDainian Tomlinson, 100 rec (2003)
Tony Martin, 90 rec (1995)
Antonio Gates, 89 rec (2005)

That's unbelievable! Even with Gates and VJ getting the majority of the catches this season, each of them is on pace for only 84 catches by season's end.

By comparison, the Denver Broncos have had 6 WRs with seasons of 100 receptions or more. The New England Patriots have had 3 WRs with 100+ catch seasons in the last decade alone. The Colts have had 5 seasons like that, with 4 coming from Marvin Harrison. Even the Chicago Bears' Marty Booker caught 100 passes in a season once. The youngest team in the league, the Houston Texans, already have 2 seasons of 100+ receptions from a WR.

This begs the question.....which teams in the NFL have never had a 100+ reception season from a WR? It has to be rare, right? Maybe not as rare as you'd think. Here's a list of them.

Dolphins Second Half Preview: What to watch for

Matty I — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:33:39 -0000

More photos » by J. Pat Carter - AP

Are we starting to see the beginning of the end of the 'Wildcat'?

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Yesterday we took a look back at the first half of the Dolphins' season and I tried to help ease some of the pain by highlighting many of the positives to come out of the first half of the season. Today we take a look ahead as I highlight just some of the story lines to watch in the second half of the season.

But before I do that, I just want to quickly state the obvious. I know that some fans will respond by saying that the only thing to watch for is if the Dolphins can make the playoffs. But let's be real for a moment. The Dolphins are 3-5 and I think it's pretty fair to say that it will take at least 10 wins to make the playoffs in the AFC. Some will argue that 9 wins can do it and will break out the remaining schedules of other teams and begin forecasting wins and losses to compute a way that a 9 win team can make the playoffs. And while it's possible, I'm simply not counting on it. That means the Dolphins will have to go 7-1 to have a real shot at a second consecutive postseason. That's a huge task - and I'm not counting on it at all, really.

But with that said, we can all hope. After all, you never know...

Other than an unlikely playoff appearance, here are some other story lines - in no particular order - that should make the second half of Dolphins football very interesting.

Is the 'Wildcat' finally beginning to lose its teeth?
I really hope it's not because it's become part of who the Dolphins are now. And it sure did look great for the first five games of the season, averaging 6.6 yards per play out of the formation. But in their last three games, the 'Wildcat' has been rather ineffective. One can't help but wonder if the formation is beginning to hurt this team more than help it at this point.

Of course, we also now have the 'WildPat' - when rookie quarterback Pat White takes snaps and executes a spread option type of offense. I'm fairly confident that we haven't seen the last of that formation, either. But the 'Wildcat' - as defined by having a non-quarterback take the snap from center - is either going to rise up from the ashes yet again or is going to continue to slowly die a quiet death. Which one will it be?

Can Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams become just the fifth running back duo to each rush for 1,000 yards?
Three games ago, it looked like Ronnie and Ricky had a very good chance to pull off this feat - an accomplishment that former Giants' teammates Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward achieved just last season in New York. But suddenly, it's not looking as good. As it stands, Brown is on pace for 1,132 yards while Williams projects to just 912. But with four of the team's remaining eight games against teams that rank 22nd or lower against the run, this dynamic duo could still pull it off. But it all has to start this week with strong showings by both players against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their 30th ranked rush defense.

Of course, for this to happen, Miami's $150 million offensive line has to start playing better than they've performed in these last three weeks. This unit looked like it was on its way to becoming one of the league's most physically dominant offensive lines. But they've looked average at best since the bye back in week six. Hopefully they get things back on track, beginning this week.

Will Chad Henne continue to improve?
Back in week five against the Jets on Monday Night Football, Chad Henne gave Dolphin fans everywhere a huge reason to be optimistic about his future. Making just his second career start, Henne completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns as he lead the Dolphins to a fourth quarter comeback win over a hated division rival. But since then, Henne has looked pedestrian at best - completing just 54% of his passes for 542 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions over his last three games while being sacked 9 times. Granted - it's not all his fault by any means. His receivers don't get much separation and, when they do, are prone to dropping passes. His offensive line has also struggled at times to protect him.

Even still, I'm hoping to see continual positive progression from Henne over these final eight games of 2009. He needs to be a little bit more decisive in his reads and does need to improve his accuracy as well. With that said, I'm slowly becoming a true Chad Henne believer. Hopefully these final eight games seal the deal for me.

Can we get a little bit more Wake?
It was understandable at first. Cameron Wake was a very raw former CFL standout who needed to learn how to play the game at this level. Plus, we also had two veterans who have proven track records of getting to the quarterback. But I think it's finally time to let Cameron Wake get more and more snaps now. After his 2.5 sack performance against Buffalo, many of you wanted to see more of Wake. But I understood the coaching staff's decision at the time. Buffalo's offensive line is probably the worst in football's, so that could have contributed to the success Wake had. And like I said, we didn't realize at that point how ineffective Joey Porter (and to a lesser extent Jason Taylor) would become.

But against the Patriots last week, Wake saw 11 snaps and had a sack and a quarterback pressure. And just from my hazy memory, I do recall noticing Wake was a step or two away from getting to Brady at least one or two addditional times. Porter, meanwhile, suddenly looks old. I think it's time for Wake to see a major bump in his playing time.

How much better will the three rookies in the secondary continue to get?
One of the things to amaze me this season has been how - despite all the passing yards this team has surrendered - I don't cringe whenever the opposing quarterback drops back to pass. I imagine this has a lot to do with how well rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis have been performing. Have they made some mistakes? Yes. Have they gotten beat for big gains and touchdowns? Of course. But you can just tell that both of these guys are going to become excellent players very quickly, giving the Dolphins an outstanding young cornerback tandem. Sure, they will continue to surrender big gains at times throughout the remainder of the season. When that happens, just think of it as a good learning experience for these two kids. After all, the future is very bright for these two.

There's also a third rookie in the secondary, though, that I think will continue to see his playing time slowly increase as the season goes on. His name is Chris Clemons. The rookie safety out of Clemson finally got on the field three weeks ago, even starting the game against the Saints at free safety in place of Gibril Wilson. And let's be honest - if Gibril doesn't pick up his game as a cover safety, then we are likely to see more and more of the speedy rookie. That would be fine with me.

Halfway Through: 5 Notes on 2009

ram_rod — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:14:59 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

9 days ago: St. Louis Rams running back Stephen Jackson (39) is chased by Detroit Lions Turk McBride (75), DeAndre Levy (54), Dewayne White (99), Louis Delmas (26) and Ko Simpson, left, during the third quarter of an NFL football game at Ford Field in Detroit, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Here are five ideas that I have concluded are true (feel free to disagree with me in the comments).

1. We're getting more production from unknowns then our stars

Ok, star's isn't exactly the word to use (moneymakers? dead weight?). But with the exception of the first two picks of the draft this year and Jason Brown and Steven Jackson, we aren't getting the production you'd expect from the big-shot Rams players. Marc Bulger and Chris Long are obvious (you can throw Adam Carriker in there too). But the little moves we made to grab unknown players like Danny Amendola, Craig Dahl, Daniel Fells and Laurent Robinson sure paid off a lot more then most of our bigger splashes. Speaking of big splashes...

2. We effectively traded a talented Will Witherspoon for nothing.

Nothing against Brandon Gibson, but Will Witherspoon has been quite good since we've traded him. I'm not saying the trade wasn't justified, but since Gibson hasn't done anything to help the Rams (understand that isn't a shot at him), we effectively traded veteran linebacker with probably three pretty good seasons for nothing. Don't think I thought we should have gotten two first round picks for him (Roy Williams) but so far, we got the short end of the stick.

3. Steve Spagnuolo is a good coach

The Giants brought in a bunch of coveted free agents on defense, and they still can't pull it together. Spag's doesn't have the personnel here that he did in NY, but along with the players, I firmly believe that he can put a winning team together. Pat Shurmur on the other hand...that's a wait and see. But even professional drivers can't do much with a Daewoo.

4. We should have a 1-2 punch at RB

Steven Jackson is too good of a back to never see the light. We need someone who can help him so that when the Rams get good, he won't be washed out. I'd hate to see him turn into the nice, responsible Larry Johnson. Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow aren't the answer (I'm from Seattle. I'm not throwing golden boy Jake Locker into that mess just yet). With that being said, we also need to get this offensive line in future mode. It's about time somebody created an online petition to start Jason Smith at LT.

5. How do you feel about Ryan Pickett?

Just saying...he could be a free agent...Aubrayo Franklin perhaps? Aaron Kampman? Ndamukong Suh? We need somebody to help on the D-Line. I want Gary Gibson back, but this James Hall Leonard Little combo just isn't going to cut it for much longer.

State of the AFC West Week 9

Sam (sdsuaztec4) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:15:45 -0000

Well well well, here we are after week 9, a week I'd been looking forward to for awhile. I had a crazy day on Sunday which of course had a perfect ending. Last night's game was the proverbial "icing on the cake". The Chargers are now 1 game back at the halfway point of the season with 8 games to go. The Broncos still have the advantage with the 1 game lead and a win over the Chargers as a potential tiebreaker. As far as the schedules, of the 8 games remaining, 3 are easy division games (2 KC 1 OAK), but 4 are against tough teams (SD, NYG, INDY, PHI) and their game this week at Washington. On the other hand, the Chargers get the Browns and Titans, don't have to play Indy, but they only play the Chiefs one more time. As far as momentum, it is clearly on the side of the Chargers who have capped their three game winning streak with an emotional win at the Meadowlands. The Broncos on the other hand are riding a two-game losing streak that included two disappointing second halves. Oakland and KC are still out of the picture.

Jump the break for individual teams.

AFC West Standings

	W	L	PF	PA
Denver	6	2	150	124
San Diego	5	3	206	179
Oakland	2	6	78	201
Kansas City	1	7	126	205

(updated 11.10.2009 at 1:30 AM PST)

Oakland Raiders: The Raiders had a quiet bye week getting healthy and trying not to lose any football games. Running back Darren McFadden, wide receiver Chaz Schilens, left guard Robert Gallery and right tackle Cornell Green returned to practice Monday and are expected to play against the Kansas City Chiefs this week. So that's good news. Although Tom Cable won't be charged criminally, the NFL is evaluating the situation and sending out people to determine if Cable should attend anger management classes. The National League of Women (NOW) and other women's rights groups are calling for Cable's job. The Raiders next division match-up is this week's pillow-fight of the week in Oakland. Let the battle to determine the most dysfunctional team begin, too bad nobody will see it because it will likely be blacked out.

Oakland Raiders Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cornell Green	calf	11/09/2009
Tony Stewart	chest	11/09/2009
Gerard Warren	toe	11/09/2009
Jon Alston	shoulder	11/09/2009
Ricky Brown	ankle	11/09/2009
Robert Gallery	fibula	11/09/2009
Tommy Kelly	elbow	11/09/2009
Chris Johnson	groin	11/09/2009
Chaz Schilens	foot	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
John Bowie	knee	09/30/2009
Oren O'Neal	ankle	10/14/2009

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs played a close game against the Jaguars which inevitably ended in another loss. As the Chiefs march toward another top 5 draft pick, the big story is still the rapid fall of Larry Johnson which ended in his release from the Chiefs. Although they will probably end up paying him a lot of money since I doubt anyone will pick him up, this gives Jamaal Charles more opportunity to play and gets rid of a clubhouse cancer. Chris Chambers seem to have rejuvenated their offense, at least for the moment, with two TD passes. The addition seems to have helped the Chiefs and the Chargers at the same time, and Chris will probably be happier too. As already mentioned, the Chiefs next division game is at Oakland which I'm sure will be terribly exciting.

Kansas City Chiefs Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jon McGraw	thigh	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Devard Darling	knee	09/01/2009
Jarrad Page	calf	11/04/2009
Jackie Battle	shoulder	10/14/2009
Colin Brown	undisclosed	09/05/2009

Denver Broncos: Will the real Broncos please stand up? Are they the 6-0 team or the 0-2 team? Are they the second-half juggernaut or the second-half duds? Is Kyle Orton the QB who threw one INT in 7 games or 3 INT's in one game? Are they a punishing opponents on the lines or the team that didn't get ONE rushing first-down against the Steelers? The answer is probably somewhere close to the middle. Teams are starting to key on the Broncos weakness and adjusting their game-plans as such. Kyle Orton looks nervous as opposed to the pillar of strength he looked like earlier in the season. Either way, the Broncos are much better than everyone thought but they still aren't an elite team. The Steelers were clearly the superior team last night, even at Mile High. The Broncos have lost some momentum going forward but they are still healthy and still have the advantage over the Chargers. Now is the time for Josh McDaniels to adjust to the adjustments that other teams are making. Going forward, we will see if the Broncos and McDaniels are studs or duds. The game at Washington this weekend may tell us a lot about the Broncos. Their next division match-up looks to be a huge game with playoff implications at Mile High against the Chargers.

Denver Broncos Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryan McBean	knee	11/10/2009
Peyton Hillis	other-excused	11/10/2009
David Bruton	groin	11/10/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Greisen	knee	08/05/2009
J'Vonne Parker	knee	08/08/2009

San Diego Super Chargers: The Bolts are flying high after an emotional victory at the Meadowlands and gaining the momentum in the AFC West race if not the advantage. They are finally getting healthy, emotionally and physically, as well and it looks like All-Pro center Nick Hardwick will make his return to Qualcomm Stadium this weekend against the Eagles. The Chargers are still a little banged up at the linebacker position; SP95 was injured in the Giants game and Kevin Burnett and Tim Dobbins are still ailing. It looks like Phillips and Burnett will play this weekend while Dobbins will sit. LB Jyles Tucker is also most likely out this weekend. It looks like the Eagles are having the same problem the Chargers were earlier in the season: inability to keep anyone healthy. If Westbrook is out and the Eagles must depend on the passing game, the Chargers could win big with improved pass rush from Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips. The Chargers are also only 2-2 this season and they need to improve their play at home. The game is already sold out so we know it will be loud this weekend. Our next division match-up is Week 11 at Mile High Stadium.

San Diego Chargers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tim Dobbins	knee	11/09/2009
Nick Hardwick	ankle	11/09/2009
Kevin Burnett	ankle	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryon Bingham	arm	09/05/2009
Jamal Williams	triceps	09/19/2009
Antwan Applewhite	hamstring	10/20/2009
Brandon Hughes	knee	09/02/2009

Philadelphia Eagles Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Max Jean-Gilles	shoulder	11/09/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Victor Abiamiri	knee	11/09/2009
Chris Gocong	other-excused	11/09/2009
Akeem Jordan	knee	11/10/2009
Brian Westbrook	ankle	11/09/2009
Quintin Demps	ankle	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shawn Andrews	back	09/15/2009
Stewart Bradley	knee	09/01/2009
Omar Gaither	foot	10/22/2009
Cornelius Ingram	knee	09/01/2009
Fenuki Tupou	chest	09/05/2009

Armageddon 2009: Patriots v. Colts

BigBlueShoe — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:40:02 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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This week, we get to gear up for (arguably) the most anticipated regular season game on the entire NFL schedule: The New England Patriots at the Indianapolis Colts. Despite both teams not playing in the same division, and despite both teams not facing in other in the playoffs since the now-legendary 2006 AFC Championship Game, this match-up is indeed still the best rivalry in pro football.

Hell, it might be the best rivalry in all of sports.

More people will likely watch this game than any Red Sox v. Yankees game that was played last baseball season. It will likely gain higher ratings than the World Series, the NBA Finals, or the excellent Hockey playoff match-up last season that pitted their game's best players (Capitals ace Alexander Ovechkin and Penguins phenom Sydney Crosby) against each other. And while football rivalries like Packers v. Vikings, Cowboys v. Giants, and Steelers v. Ravens feature impressive teams loaded with big stars who are followed by large fanbases, no two players get debated more than Tom Brady v. Peyton Manning. And there is a reason for this.

They are the best in the league; maybe ever.

With all due respect to Drew Brees, who is having an amazing year with the still undefeated Saints, he can't touch Tommy Terrific or Perfect Peyton. Brees has all the physical tools, but until we see him rise to the occasion and lead his team to a conference championship game win, one can't put him on Brady or Manning's level.

Personally, I have long maintained Peyton is better than Tom, and unlike many of the Pro-Brady faction, I actually have tangible evidence to back it up. Peyton has helped his team to more wins. He has more impressive career numbers than Brady. And, to put it bluntly, Peyton has had a bigger overall impact on the league than Tom.

That no-huddle, spread offense the Patriots have used since 2007? Yeah, Peyton brought that back en vogue ten years ago.

But regardless of where you fall in the debate, what many of us agree upon is that these two are, quite possibly, the best to ever play the position. And while the morons in the established media world might claim that this reason or that prevents Manning or Brady from being in the all-time discussion (remember Chris Collingsworth saying earlier this season that Peyton Manning needed to win one more championship to be considered on the same level as Dan Marino... why does this schmuck still have employment?), what we fans know is that time and again these two have DEFINED great quarterback play for an entire generation. And as these two continue to re-write history books, the classic Pats v. Colts rivalry has begun to take a turn.

More so than any other time before, the rivalry has evolved from a nasty, bitter slap fest into one of mutual respect. Sure, we think (and know) the Patriots are cheaters, and Patriots fans think our Colts are nothing but cry-babies who change the rules to help them win. However, despite the outward silliness (and name-calling fun) of the rivalry, both sides also know that both teams demand (and have earned) respect.

In addition, both fanbases also respect one another. For me, pro football suffers when the Pats v. Colts rivalry suffers. I know about a billion Patriots fans who likely agree with that sentiment.

Keep an eye out here and at Pats Pulpit for more lead-up to this excellent rivalry game.

New York Giants news & notes: Gerris Wilkinson surgery, and more

Ed Valentine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:40 -0000

Here are some of the stories making the rounds of the Inter-Google today about our New York Giants.

In case you missed this one, New York Giants reserve linebacker Gerris Wilkinson had wrist surgery Monday and might end up on Injured Reserve.

My take: Wilkinson is a guy who the Giants had high hopes for a couple of seasons ago. He just can't seem to put together a full season, though. Personally, I didn't understand why Wilkinson was active and Bryan Kehl didn't dress Sunday against the Chargers. I guess that won't be an issue anymore.
In a rather long-winded way, Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News said the only difference between this Giants team and the 2007 championship team is that this team has not made the big play at the right time.

Suddenly the Giants can't even win when they are doing nearly everything they should be doing.

You can rip Coughlin for taking the three points a couple of times, when he might have tried for seven. You can argue that Eli Manning might have looked downfield a bit more, instead of always accepting what was left for him underneath. But really, for the most part, this is how the Giants marched all the way to a Super Bowl title not so long ago. They outgained the Chargers by nearly 80 yards, owned possession of the ball for nearly 38 minutes.

This is what we wanted from them.

That 2007 championship team also took what was given. The difference was that those Giants made the big defensive stop, or that one big play on offense. David Tyree caught a football on his helmet. This team doesn't do that. This one gives up the decisive touchdown drive, leaves the receiver wide open in the end zone in the final minute. It misses the sack that Michael Strahan might have finished.
Vinny DiTrani of NorthJersey.com ponders the long and pothole-filled road the Giants have to traverse to get the playoffs.

Monday Transcripts

The Five Best Games of Larry Johnson's Career

Chris Thorman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:40 -0000

Photo source

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Just think. In a couple of weeks, all of this Larry Johnson drama will have died off and then what will we have to talk about?

So we're riding this Larry Johnson media blitz for all it's worth and giving you some more remembrances of #27 that may have slipped your memory.

I know, I know. It's not fashionable right now to talk about anything positive that Larry Johnson did but amidst the dark times, there were bright rays of light here and there.

I'm talking about the games when it was fun to cheer for Larry Johnson and the Kansas City Chiefs. You know, going back to 2004ish the Chiefs were pretty darn good. I know, my memory is foggy too. Tough to remember those times nowadays.

For a period of about two seasons, Larry Johnson and the Chiefs crushed opponents on the ground. It just wasn't fair. It got to the point when I would check the box score and it was completely normal to see LJ rack up 150+ yards rushing. Those were the days.

So let's step out of our I Hate Larry Johnson Attack Mode for a minute and remember some of the best games LJ ever had as a Kansas City Chief. These are good memories after all.

It's all there in chronological order, after the jump.

#1 12/19/2004 - LJ's coming out party against the Broncos (box score)

I don't think this is from 2004 but it's the best I could find (via MSNBC)

Larry Johnson had a couple of nice games before the Chiefs' Week 15 match up with the Denver Broncos. But this week was his coming out party - 30 rushes, 151 yards and two touchdowns. Dante Hall added one carry and Omar Easy had four. The Chiefs destroyed the Broncos 45 to 17.

Included in those yards was a 32-yard TD run by Johnson.

From CJOnline.com on 12/20/2004: Surging Johnson is trade bait for Chiefs

"No one's ever doubted he could play," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. "He needed a better opportunity, and he needed to grow up."

#2 11/20/2005 - Larry destroys the Houston Texans (box score)

Richard Carson / Reuters

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is lifted into the air by teammate Jason Dunn after Johnson's touchdown in the first half on Sunday. Johnson rushed for a team-record 211 yards. (via MSNBC)

This is still back when the Chiefs offense was murdering opposing defenses. And Larry Johnson took great advantage of the talent around him.

Against the Texans on the road, LJ rushed for 211 yards on 36 attempts and tacked on a couple of rushing touchdowns. This was the third game into Larry's forthcoming string of amazing games at the end of the 2005 season. He finished the '05 campaign with 1,750 rushing yards and twenty-one total touchdowns.

From ESPN on 11/20/2005: Game recap

Johnson was supposed to come into the interview room after the game, but then told Chiefs officials he wouldn't talk.

"We were looking for big things from him," Chiefs quarterback Trent Green said. "It's very important for him to come up big. When Larry's had opportunities to play, he's played well."

#3 12/17/2005 Another workhorse weekend against the Giants (box score)

At this point, in Week 15 of the 2005 season, we knew we had a special running back on our hands. LJ rushed for 167 yards on 31 attempts. He ran it into the end zone twice in what would become his characteristic workhorse fashion. Larry averaged 30 attempts per game through the final seven games of the '05 season.

The Chiefs would lose this game to the Giants 27 to 17. But it wasn't because of Larry Johnson. It was because the Chiefs forgot how to tackle and gave up 220 yards rushing to Tiki Barber. Yeah, it was that game.

From The Sporting News on 12/30/2005: The punisher: Kansas City's Larry Johnson has been virtually unstoppable

Johnson has done the same thing for the Chiefs as their feature back. Since a season-ending injury to Holmes, he has seven straight 100-yard rushing games--including a 211-yard performance against the Texans-and is establishing himself as a big-time runner and the force who is keeping the Chiefs on the outskirts of playoff contention.

It's hard to find fault with Johnson as a runner. He is aggressive and seeks confrontation. Unlike Holmes, Johnson can make his own hole when one isn't provided for him.

#4 1/1/2006 2005's punctuation mark (box score)

via Sports Network

In the Chiefs' tenth win of the season, LJ angrily stomped all over the Cincinnati Bengals. He rushed for 201 yards on 26 attempts. That's an eye-popping 7.7 yard per carry average.

Larry would also have three touchdowns and if you remember one of those was a 49-yard run. That was LJ's first of two touchdowns in the first half. This is possibly LJ's most dominating day on the football field.

From the Mothership's post game notes:

On a nine-yard run in the second quarter RB Larry Johnson set the Chiefs single-season rushing record, bypassing the previous mark of 1,615 yards established by RB Priest Holmes in 2002. Johnson finished the season with 1,750 rushing yards. He also produced 2,093 yards from scrimmage, the fourth-best seasonal total in Chiefs history.

#5 10/29/2006 The Chiefs ride Larry Johnson to victory (box score)

It's the middle of the 2006 season. We're in full on, survive with Damon Huard mode. It's the Chiefs and Seahawks. What do you do?

Hand the ball off 53 times, 39 of those to Larry Johnson. LJ would rush for 155 yards on four total touchdowns on that day - three rushing one receiving.

Larry would rush for 172 yards the next week against the Rams and would have a handful of great games after this one. But it's tough to top a game where the coach basically rides you to a one touchdown victory under less than ideal quarterback conditions.

Conclusion

Yeah, I'm glad Larry Johnson isn't a Chief anymore. It got to the point where keeping him around was disrespectful to what the Kansas City Chiefs stand for.

But...for a couple of seasons, Larry Johnson was one of the most dependable, consistently producing running backs in the NFL. And that's what this post is about - looking back at the days when it was fun to cheer for Larry Johnson, not against him.

Reminisce away AP readers. I know a lot of these games won a lot of fantasy football games for you guys.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:23 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

1 day ago: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, left, tries to elude the rush of Denver Broncos' Darrell Reid (95) and a second defender during the first quarter of an NFL football game Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends. After being up late, and watching a hard-fought game go awry, I bet you're pretty bleary-eyed, and grumpy, but let's try to make this a good day. I don't want to think that the Broncos have fallen into losing habits here, and I really don't think that's the case.

Of course, those who speak, but don't know what they're talking about, will start screaming about how the Broncos have been exposed, and they're a fraud, and every other damn thing. A few persistent issues have emerged, but they can be corrected. If anything, losing back-to-back games against good teams can teach you a great deal about your own team.

Let's reflect on this, as I know the coaching staff is, and the players are. Next week, the Broncos face the Redskins, which presents a great opportunity to get back on the winning track. After that, San Diego comes to town. The Broncos still control the AFC West, make no mistake about that.

On the other side of the jump, we'll break it all down. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. It's now midseason, and the Broncos are 6-2, and in first place by a game, and having beaten San Diego on the road. Think back to August, and if I told you that's where the Broncos would be, you'd be happy to take that deal, right? It's a little less great to win the first 6 and lose the last 2, but whatever.

I mentioned some issues, and I want to talk about them briefly. I think all are fixable in the second half of the season.

a. Ben Hamilton is getting to be pretty useless, and I think it's time to see what Seth Olsen has. Hamilton has gone from being above-average before his concussion-driven missed season, to average last season, to decidedly below-average this season. Every time the Ravens and Steelers needed to get pressure on Kyle Orton, they did it over Hamilton. Every other team in the NFL has seen that, and will try to replicate that strategy.

From former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah, during the game:

I don't know what Olsen can do yet, but he's definitely bigger and stouter than Hamilton. I have to think he can anchor better than what we've seen from #50. I am pretty sure Russ Hochstein isn't the answer, but I'd like to see what Olsen looks like.

b. The Broncos need better execution overall on offense. The scheme is fine, and the players are fine, they just need to make the plays that they have a chance to make. They have had some bad penalties, some poorly-timed drops, some slip-and-falls in the running game putting them off schedule, and lately, some bad throws. Plays like Brandon Stokley coming just short of a first down, and Hamilton getting called for a (really questionable) holding penalty on a converted 4th-and-5 are what has been hurting the Broncos offense. The coaches need to send the message that if the players who are playing don't execute, they'll find somebody who will.

c. Signing Mitch Berger was a big mistake. I think it's worth working out some other punters, but really, I liked Brett Kern. If somebody better than Berger is available, I think he should be brought in. Getting a good punter needs to be a high priority in the offseason, too.

d. Interestingly, short-yardage offense has improved during the two losses, as the Broncos have shown a willingness to throw some in those situations. It is still a concern going forward, though. Olsen may help here, if he is given a shot.

e. No-huddle offenses have been problematic for the Broncos the last two weeks. They limit their ability to disguise coverages and rush packages, and they also make it hard to substitute as much as the Broncos want to. Not every team is effective in the no-huddle, but just about every team the Broncos might see in the playoffs is. They need to figure out who their best base defensive group is against the no-huddle.

I think my underlying thought right now is that the Broncos probably aren't quite ready for the Super Bowl, but they hung with a team tonight who is a real championship contender. They beat New England a couple weeks ago, who is a real championship contender. They beat Dallas and Cincinnati, who at the least are good teams. The Broncos have a ways to go, but as first halves of the season go, you have to feel pretty good about theirs. It's not time to start anything over, or blow anything up. It's time to make a few adjustments, execute better, and keep working toward winning games.

2. Information from My Eyes, Steelers at Broncos.

a. Did I mention that I think Mitch Berger sucks? Nothing has particularly changed for me on that score. John Bena coined a new term last night, Brett Kern-backers. I liked Kern, but I don't think I am a Brett Kern-backer. I am a guy who wants a consistent good performance from the Broncos punter, whoever it is.

Philosophically, not a single player or coach on this team means more to me than the team itself. I don't care who is doing it, I just want it done. As much as I love John Elway, the team always came before him to me, too. Part of his greatness, though, was that he'd never make you separate him from the team.

b. It didn't get mentioned a lot, but Tyler Polumbus struggled at RT, especially in the second half of the game. LaMarr Woodley got a lot of pressure and forced a few key throwaways. He'll be okay against most teams, but this was a tough situation for him. Ryan Harris's absence was most definitely felt.

c. I liked the work of both Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal in this game. They consistently did a good job getting open and catching the ball. Marshall had the one drop, but it was a good effort for him overall.

d. I thought D.J. Williams had his worst game of the year, by far. He was taking bad angles all night, and didn't look like he had a prayer of getting off a lot of blocks. I'm admittedly not generally his biggest fan, but he's had the best year of his career in 2009. Monday night, not so much.

e. Wesley Woodyard played a lot more snaps than he's used to, and I thought he wore down in the second half of the game. The Steelers played a tremendous amount of 3 WR sets, which kept Andra Davis on the sideline, and Woodyard in the game.

f. Kyle Orton was actually not too bad for most of the game. He had 2 bad throws, and about 3 bad decisions (one of them was picked off). He was pretty sharp the rest of the night. He needs to cut out the bad decisions, but I was generally a lot happier with his performance tonight than I was against the Ravens. (I don't care about statistics, of course.) Nobody is saying they're thrilled with his ultimate performance, of course, but there's more nuance to the situation, than just looking at the stat sheet.

g. Rashard Mendenhall was the primary reason the Steelers won the game. He got going in the second half, and it forced the Broncos to be more aggressive in the box. I used to think very little of Mendenhall, but he has improved a lot. He runs with vastly better patience and body lean than he did even just a month ago.

h. The Steelers also have themselves a find with Mike Wallace. He's very dangerous for a 3rd WR. They don't do a lot of traditional slot-type stuff, and in nickel offense, if anything, Hines Ward is their slot guy. (I think making definitive distinctions between #1, #2, and #3 WRs is silly.) Wallace has great speed, and he showed good route-running skills Monday night.

i. I liked what I saw of Ty Law in his limited action. Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins both mostly struggled in the game, neither making a great impact. Champ ought to be embarassed by letting Ward jump over him in garbage time. He knows better than that. He also got beat in man-to-man coverage several times by Santonio Holmes. Andre' Goodman was good in this game, though, even beyond his interception.

j. The Broncos use of the "mush rush" was very good in the first half, and very bad for most of the second. Robert Ayers played a key role in containing Ben Roethlisberger when he as assigned that duty, and that's what he was doing when Kenny Peterson knocked the ball free.

k. The Broncos got hosed on the Gaffney challenge, and also on the Haggan fumble recovery. Don Carey has joined my list of bad referees. I like how a return team becomes an intercepting team. I can't believe that he's related to Mike Carey, who is excellent. And he's the older brother? Wow.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. I watched a lot of the Green Bay-Tampa Bay game Sunday, for a few reasons. I haven't seen much of the Bucs this year, and I wanted to look at Josh Freeman, who I liked a lot coming out of college. He looked like a rookie at times, but he showed a lot of positives too. I thought he looked poised and confident, and I am not that surprised. I remember when he beat Texas as a freshman, and commanded the game. (My buddy lost a grand on the game, and he called me frantically looking for NFL advice for the next day, to "get back even." It was a debacle. I don't give gambling advice anymore, because of that weekend.)

Anyway, Freeman looked like a star that day in 2006, and he looked like he may be one someday in the NFL on Sunday. I think Tampa did the right thing, giving him some time to learn from the sideline, but it has to be Freeman Time the rest of the season.

b. I loved Raheem Morris's line after getting his first victory as a head coach.

Statistics are for losers, and today, we're winners.

And then, there's Chicago Bears lover/reporter/enabler/apologist Brad Biggs of National Football Post, after his beloveds got blown out again.

That's positive news? The Bears got smoked, again, Brad. Their best player, who is supposed to always play well, performed close to expectations. It's only positive news if he is on your fantasy team, which is why I don't really like fantasy football. (Well, that and the dorktastic "experts' you have to tolerate on TV.)

Cutler played alright, but he didn't do anything to elevate the play of anybody else, as usual, and the interception he threw in the 4th quarter did kill the Bears' chances of coming back.

It's amazing how the Bears team has assumed the personality of the 2008 Broncos. There's a good chance they'll get blown away on defense, and Cutler is almost definitely going to need to carry the offense. In my business, we contract with companies to take over non-core operations. We call it a lift-and-shift. You terminate your employees who work in a call center, and we'll instantly hire them. They'll work for us, and you'll pay us a fee that is less than what you pay for this operation. Meanwhile, we'll optimize, and reduce the headcount, and correspondingly, the costs.

Everybody considered Cutler's acqusition to be a lift-and-shift. The Bears got a franchise QB. Imagine what he'll do on a team that plays good defense and runs the ball. Football is such a multi-variate system, it's really amazing.

c. I would really hate to be a Bears fan. They have no high draft picks this year, and suddenly a lot of roster holes to fill. They need 3 or 4 new starters on their offensive line, to begin with. Orlando Pace is done, Josh Beekman and Roberto Garza were never starting-caliber players in the NFL, and Olin Kreutz is getting close to done. I don't care for Chris Williams, either. He's looked passable at RT, but if he was worthy of his draft slot, he would have bumped Pace, because it's clear as day that he isn't good enough. You wouldn't use a #1 on an RTO (Right Tackle Only), unless it was Jeff Otah.

They could also use some WRs, some secondary players, and a pass rusher. We're not asking for much, right?

Chicago has a cash-poor ownership group, and the cold weather and their ugly uniforms don't tend to help draw free agents. (Yes, both things matter. It's part of the problem in Cleveland too.) I just don't know how you can bring in enough players there to improve for next season.

d. On Monday I read a lot of epitaphs about the Chicago defense, which didn't get into a lot of the "why" they're so bad. As I was explaining to a friend a few days ago, a defense has to have all 11 players working well together, in order for it to be sound and effective. Because defense is fundamentally a reactive mission, there are many inter-dependencies among the three levels, and communication, like-mindedness through practice, and discipline make all the difference. That sounds simple, and it really is.

First of all, you'd better either be good against the run with 7 in the box, or have a big-time safety who can move 12 yards from a cover-2 shell to the line of scrimmage really quickly. The Bears can't stop the run with 7, so you know they'll have 8 in the box. Then, there's the passing game. When a team can't rush the passer with 4 players, they need to blitz with numbers. When they blitz with numbers, it makes it hard to play soundly in zone coverage, so you mostly have to start playing man coverage. When you play a lot of man coverage, you'd better hope you have the athletes to cover the other team's athletes - and chances are, their #3 and #4 options are better than yours. That's a simple fact of it being harder to find players with coverage skills than it is to find guys who can run a route and catch a ball, when he knows where he is supposed to go.

So you can't stop the run, you can't get pressure with 4, you can't play zone, and you can't play man. All that's left is to guess at what the offense is going to do, and play for that. The obvious problem there is what happens when you guess wrong. You get exposed, and give up huge plays. That sounds a lot like the 2008 Broncos' defense, right?

To apply this to the Bears, they used to get pressure with their front 4, but Tommie Harris is having a bad season. He was a healthy scratch for the Cincinnati game, reportedly because of some attitude issues, and they got lambasted. Then, he got ejected over some extreme foolishness 1 minute into Sunday's game. The Bears again got crushed. Harris is among the best 3-technique DTs in the NFL, when his body and attitude are right.

With no Harris, Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye have struggled to get any pressure, so the Bears have blitzed, ineffectively. They have all these tall, slow CBs who can't do anything except play zone coverage, and they got shredded in man-to-man on Sunday, as they did against Cincinnati. If you decide to be a cover-2 team, you'd better play a lot of cover-2, because your personnel can't hold up playing man.

If Harris can manage to get his body and mind right, and have a dominant second half, he could personally bring a soundness back to the Bears that could send them on a 6-2ish run in the second half to finish 10-6. The more likely outcome is that he continues to sulk, the Bears continue to get gashed, and they finish 7-9 at best. And the Broncos have a nice draft pick. Thanks, guys :)

e. Funny story. My brother Chris (who did join MHR as Chris911, incidentally) and I were talking on the phone the other night, like we do sometimes.

Chris: You know, Jay Cutler has a losing record in games where he throws for over 300 yards.

Ted: You know, Jay Cutler has a losing record as a starting QB in the NFL.

Yessir. I love that draft pick more and more every day.

f. Remember the spring of 2008 when many wanted Denver to become Vanderbilt West? It hasn't worked out so well for Chicago. Earl Bennett's ceiling is to be an average starter, if he puts it all together. He can't get off bump coverage right now, whatsoever. He also runs bad routes and drops the ball a lot. In other words, everything he was supposed to do well, he doesn't. Yes, I know he had 7 catches for 93 yards Sunday, but the vast majority of it was in garbage time, against soft zone coverage. (And, yes, wise guys, I know, most of the game was garbage time.)

Chris Williams, I already discussed. He has definitely been a disappointment. This year, the Bears took D.J. Moore, a CB, who is somehow not good enough to beat out any of the pu pu platter of guys who take turns opposite Charles Tillman. He has been a gameday inactive all season, and is not even a special teams contributor.

I watched the Florida-Vanderbilt game Saturday night, and was reflecting on this. Vanderbilt has no hope in the SEC. They can't recruit talent that is nearly good enough to compete, and most of their guys have tended to underachieve in the NFL. They are on my list with Texas and Ohio State of schools whose players I am naturally suspicious of, although it's all for different reasons.

I wonder if Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Stanford, Duke, Rice,and Baylor ever thought about forming a football-only, high-SATs conference. Actually, this year, Vandy would be in the bottom half of that league, too.

g. Staying with the college theme for a minute, the best all-around QB I have seen this season at any school is Cincinnati's sophomore backup, Zach Collaros. He has completed 76% of his passes for 1,229 yards, with 10 TDs and 1 interception in the 3+ games he has appeared in. He has also rushed 43 times for 281 yards, and 4 TDs, while only being sacked 10 times.

Cincinnati's original starter, senior Tony Pike, is expected to start this week, although head coach Brian Kelly did cop to it being a tough decision. Pike is likely to be drafted on Day 1 next spring. Collaros is going to contend for the Heisman Trophy next season, and he'll be a high pick too, when he decides to leave school. He's the total package, with an above-average arm, very good poise, and outstanding accuracy and athleticism. The only knock on him is that he's 6 feet tall, but he has some definite Drew Brees-like qualities as a thrower. This is a 75-yard TD run against a South Florida team with lots of athletes. The guy is real.

h. A guy I really like on an otherwise not-great unit is Atlanta Guard Harvey Dahl. He has been getting very good pad level, and driving guys, in helping Michael Turner have his best two games of the season. I beat up Sam Baker for his pass protection last week, but he did well in the running game Sunday, too. The Redskins are normally solid against the run, but Atlanta gashed them repeatedly.

i. Michael Lombardi stole my thunder, which is an occasional hazard of writing for Tuesday mornings. (The) Other smart analysts see(s) the same things and beat(s) you to talking about them sometimes. Ray Lewis definitely looks like he's doing it more on guile and want-to than skill anymore. I respect his effort greatly, and sometimes he makes a huge play, like against the Chargers, but he's clearly hit his downside. Big up Lombardi, for consistently seeing what the reporters don't see. (By the way, it's weird and unnatural to see Lombardi stand with a mic and interview players and coaches for NFL Network. Stop the madness, and be an analyst, Mike. You're better than some locker jockey.)

j. I was pretty critical of Dallas' Mike Jenkins earlier in the season, and he deserved it. Lately, though, he's been playing fantastic football. He did a great job Sunday night, and was the largest part of the Dallas secondary's outstanding effort not to give up the big plays that Philly wins with every week.

k. The Eagles are reputed to be a West Coast team, but they are not that, and never have been since Mr. Game Management, Andy Reid, came to town. Donovan McNabb isn't a West Coast QB, who does really well with timing throws. The Eagles are a vertical, downfield team, and they finally have guys in DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brent Celek, who can get down the field and make the plays they want to make.

l. By the way, everybody knows I like Tim Tebow, but McNabb is the guy who Tebow most reminds me of. They played in similar-ish option-heavy offenses in college, and they have very similar profiles as throwers coming into the NFL. Tebow's stats are down this year, mostly due to bad pass protection, but he's throwing the ball better than ever when he gets some time.

m. The Chargers might be back. I haven't seen their LBs look as good as they did on Sunday in two years. Some of that may be due to the Giants offensive line, though, which is good in the running game, and below-average in the passing game. All this stuff about them having the best line is hogwash. (I've actually seen Michael Lombardi say that this season.) They have a natural LG, David Diehl, playing LT, and he gets owned by good pass rushers.

n. Brandon Jacobs looks really slow to the hole this season. He was never quick, but he's a different player. I have to wonder if he is hurt. Of course, I am prejudiced against tall RBs, because, definitionally, it's easier to hit them, than it is the compact guys. It's fair to say Jacobs has never been a favorite of mine.

o. I'd like to say that ST&NO favorite Alex Smith has established himself as a clear-cut solution at QB for the 49ers, but the fact is, they've lost all three games which he has played in. Two of the three interceptions he threw on Sunday were off the hands of his own players, so I don't really put those on him, personally. On the positive side, that play he made for a TD pass at the end of the first half was an All-Pro caliber play, that not many QBs could make. He kept himself alive with his feet, and made a perfect throw on the run.

This is what I know about Smith. His biggest problem is that he struggles with the mechanics of drops from under center which are more than 3 steps. It's not natural to him, and his footwork is slow, like he is thinking about it. That got him sacked on A-gap blitzes two or three times Sunday.

Smith is much more comfortable from the shotgun, and I think I would go to a medium-gun alignment with him, that is often called the Pistol. It's run a bit at some colleges, notably Nevada, and the Chiefs used it with Tyler Thigpen last season. The QB lines up 3 yards behind the center, with the RB 3 yards behind the QB. It provides better directional evenness to your running game than lining up in a full shotgun with the RB to one side or the other of the QB.

Smith can do all the things you need your QB to do; it's just a matter of putting him in position to be successful. I'll be interested to watch this game on Thursday night, against Chicago, because he could have a huge game.

p. I did like what I saw of Vince Young, again. He has played like he's fine with being part of a conservative game plan, which is what he needs. The option stuff he was running with Chris Johnson was effective, and he did hit Justin Gage deep on a couple throws. One, in particular, used all of Gage's vertical. He was actually a starter on Missouri's basketball team in his college days.

q. The Titans are suddenly playing some defense again too, especially Michael Griffin at safety. I also was impressed with William Hayes, who has taken over at LDE for Jevon Kearse, who may have finally had it, at this point. The Titans are a threat to make noise as a spoiler in the second half of the season. The return of Cortland Finnegan has helped them a lot, too. He's not the greatest cover guy, but he's a hitter, and he is always close to the ball. He compares favorably to Asante Samuel in that way.

r. The Panthers just make me shake my head sometimes. They are almost completely back to their 12-4 level from last year lately, except for their QB play. They really erred by not getting one, but John Fox and Jake Delhomme are almost married. Delhomme is going to cost Fox his job, for his sentimentality.

Remember when the Chargers whacked Marty Schottenheimer coming off the 14-2 record? It was the right move. So would cutting ties with Delhomme have been, after last season. Of course, the Chargers blew the second part by hiring Norv Turner. The Panthers will get their chance to do something in the offseason, but they have no first-round pick. If San Francisco decides Alex Smith isn't their guy, he'd be perfect for a team like Carolina, who runs the ball and attacks downfield off of play action. Marc Bulger might be a possible fit too, as the Rams will almost certainly be drafting a QB this year. The Panthers will likely need to get a retread, though.

s. The Saints deserved to get beat on Sunday, but they managed to win anyway. That's something championship teams do, is win without their best stuff.

t. The Texans are really close to being a serious playoff contender, but a Chris Brown goal-line fumble and a Kris Brown missed field goal have basically cost them two games. People haven't noticed, but Matt Schaub is putting up Pro Bowl numbers in Houston. Old friend Gary Kubiak needs to get his team to execute better in key situations.

u. I said I wasn't going to pick the addict Jaguars again, but I did on Sunday, because the Chiefs are horrible. The addicts then proceeded to almost give the game away. Shocker! ST&NO favorite Reggie Nelson had a very good game for the Jags, and so did Brandon Marshall's best friend from college, Mike Sims-Walker.

v. Matt Cassel was the bright spot for the Chiefs, again, and he continues to do pretty well with very little help. I guarantee that the Chiefs don't regret trading for him, especially at the price they paid.

4. In honor of Veterans' Day, I wanted to blaze a different path by doing something apolitical and propaganda-free. It's Tangential Story Time, in ST&NO. Yay!!!

Most regular readers are at least generally aware that I spent 4 years in the United States Navy. I don't think I have ever mentioned that going to sea is basically my family business, though. My dad was in the Navy for 14 years, and then has worked as an executive for companies which supply the Navy for the last 20+ years. His brother recently retired as a long-time civilian mariner for the Navy, and his other brother was a Marine, who rode a Navy ship or two. My youngest brother is currently employed as a Naval civilian mariner, presently working for a ship stationed in Gaeta, Italy. There's lots of salt in my family.

So, I woke up early on Sucker-Free Saturday, and a headline popped into my RSS reader that grabbed my attention.

Navy ship built with WTC steel to go into service

I clicked the link to read the article, and saw something very interesting in the first sentence.

NEW YORK — The Navy is commissioning its newest battleship with a bow forged from steel that once held up the World Trade Center.

The Navy decommissioned its last four remaining Iowa-class Battleships in the early 1990s, and I didn't think that they had any plans to bring them back, despite some misgivings from parts of the Marine Corps that current Naval Gunfire Support programs wouldn't be sufficient for a Normandy-like shore landing.

A Battleship is a specific type of ship, like in the children's game of the same name. The Iowa class had wooden decks, and three turrets with three independent 50-caliber 16-inch guns each, for a total of 9 guns. The shells were 16 inches in diameter, and weighed 2,700 pounds each. (Modern Cruisers and Destroyers have one or two (mostly two) 5-inch, 54-caliber guns each, by comparison. Those shells are 5 inches in diameter, and weigh 70 pounds.) Each Iowa-class turret took a crew of 94 men to operate, and I actually served with a guy who was working in Turret #3 on the Iowa in 1989, when Turret #2 exploded and killed 47 men.

Battleships played a large part in the Pacific theater in World War II, and somewhat minor parts in Korea, Vietnam, and the first Persian Gulf War. The primary missions of Battleships were shore bombardment, and ship-to-ship combat. The advent of precision-guided munitions (like Harpoon missiles, for ship-to-ship combat), and the reality that 5-inch, 54-caliber guns are considered by the Navy to be sufficient for Naval Gunfire Support, largely made battleships unnecessary, and the last Battleships were decommissioned not long after World War II, with a few held in reserve status. Iowa, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Missouri were each re-commissioned several times over the coming decades, with the Missouri being the last active battleship, being decommissioned for the last time in 1992. (The picture below is of the Iowa, shooting her guns to starboard.)

So, there's this new ship, called the USS New York, and the AP says it's a battleship. At first, I was skeptical, because I know that the Battleship mission is obsolete. Thinking about it, though, it is named after a state, like US battleships have historically been. I also know that the Bush Adminstration Pentagon had some meat-heads in high places of their procurement organization, who favored weapons systems with some badass factor to them, whether they were strictly necessary or not. But I would have heard about new Battleships, right? Hmmmm.

I called the guy who would know, my father Ed, who has appeared in ST&NO before, and I got my answer.

Ted: Hey, what do you know about this new ship, New York, that was partially built from World Trade Center steel?

Ed: Well, it's being commissioned this morning.

Ted: What kind of ship is it?

Ed: It's a piece-of-(bleep) LPD-17 class. A Gator Freighter. (Note: Gator Freighter is the ~~somewhat~~ very derisive name for Amphibious Navy ships which primarily carry Marines. Surface combatant guys, like me, don't think too much of Amphibs, or the people who ride them.)

Ted: Oh, OK. This AP reporter called it a battleship, and it's named after a state, which lends that some coincidental level of plausibility. I was skeptical, so I thought I'd ask somebody who knows.

Ed: <Scoffs> The media doesn't know what the hell they're talking about.

The media doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. Hmmm... Where have I heard that before?

5. What's New In Cleveland Update:

We have a great local brewery here called Great Lakes Brewing Company, that puts out this great stuff they call Christmas Ale every year, at this time. It tastes like cinnamon, but it's 7.5% alcohol by volume, so if you're like me, and you drink them like they're just expensive Bud Lights, they can really creep on you quickly.

So, I was at a the Cleveland State University bar called Becky's last Thursday, for my fraternity's monthly alumni happy hour. I was pleased to discover that they had Christmas Ale on tap, which I would later find out was running me $18 per pitcher, times 3 pitchers. Whatever. I am drinking some fine seasonal beer, and one of the guys says, "Hey, that's Mike Trivisonno right there, like 5 feet away."

Trivisonno is the local Radio Idiot, who I have disparaged on here before a few times, as being part of the Browns problems. I am not sure what he was doing at Becky's, of all places, but he was hanging out with some uglo-Americans, who may or may not have been related to him. He's holding court, and talking about the Browns, and how the city is cursed, and blah blah blah. (I hate it when people say "blah blah blah" in a conversation, but for some strange reason I just felt the strong need to type it there, like my ex-wife possessed my body momentarily, or something. Deal with it.)

It seems the work of the Radio Idiot is never finished. He bloviates even off the clock. I wonder if Rush Limbaugh does too.... That was a little deeper than a Shallow Thought. Focus.

OK, here's the deal. There's no such thing as curses. There's only confusing hope for a plan (hat tip to Michael Lombardi). That's what they do here, in all sports - even the Cavs, to some extent. (Let's face it: the Shaq acqusition is all about hope.)

Randy Lerner, by all accounts, is an OK guy, and he wants to win. He doesn't know anything about football, and I don't think he particularly wants to, either. He's actually a soccer guy, and he owns Aston Villa. He needs somebody to establish and run a program for him. It can't be a Head Coach, because he's too hands-off for that kind of arrangement. (That works fine with appropriately engaged owners like Robert Kraft, Bud Adams, and Pat Bowlen.)

He needs a Bill Parcells-type situation, which is why he is reportedly pursuing Mike Holmgren. I think Holmgren is going to end up saying he'd rather coach than head a front office, but it's a good idea to try. Whoever ends up being the head honcho is going to fire Eric Mangini, and start over from scratch, again. This is increasingly clear. The trick is going to be hiring the right honcho, for the first time since they came back into the NFL in 1999.

Ron Wolf and Ernie Accorsi aren't going to want the job, but if I were Lerner, I'd put on a full-court press to get one of them to help me find the right honcho. A guy I would make a run at is Jimmy Johnson, but only as a team president, not a coach. You hire him, tell him he only has to work 30 hours a week, some of it from Florida, and let him hire a focused GM, (maybe Chris Polian, or Marty Hurney if he is let go at Carolina?) and let them decide what to do with the coaching staff. Then, the chain of command is clear: Owner, to President, to GM, to Head Coach.

As a side note, I expect Mangini to struggle to find future work in coaching. His credibility in the NFL is shot at this point, and what college is going to hire a guy like that? Can you see him talking a kid into coming to play at State U? Absolutely not.

6. So, I know you've been wondering what a guy like me does on a Friday night. My gameplan changes every week, like any good team's (except the Colts); and this past Friday, my friend Ashley was looking for somebody to go with her to a happy hour event at the Cleveland Museum of Art. It sounded like fun, so I emailed her, and we went.

I'd like to tell you that I am a really cultured, artsy guy, but the truth is that I'm not. I'm kind of a rugged football, business, and politics guy. Somewhat embarassingly, it was the first time I had gone to the Museum in 7 1/2 years of living in Cleveland. Ashley is really smart, though, and I figured correctly that I would learn some stuff from her.

There was a Paul Gauguin exhibit, which was included in the price of admission. I looked up Gauguin on the interwebz, and learned that he was a contemporary of Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh's brother Theo was actually Gauguin's agent, and he got them to work together in 1888. They spent 9 weeks together at Van Gogh's famous Yellow House in Arles, and they quarreled constantly, because they saw the right way to paint very differently. (At the CMA, there were several examples, side-by-side, where both men painted the same thing, and they looked extremely different.) Both men had bouts of depression and suicidal tendencies. When Gauguin fled the tense situation after Van Gogh threatened him with a razor blade, Van Gogh freaked out, and went to a brothel, where he famously cut part of his ear off. They never saw each other again.

When I saw the news that the Chiefs cut Larry Johnson on Monday, the thought of his relationship with Todd Haley made me think of Gauguin and Van Gogh. Haley is a talented coach, and Johnson is a talented player. Both men have reputations for being difficult, though, and many (including me) were skeptical about the pairing when Haley was hired. Johnson's actions, around callng out Haley on Twitter and using gay slurs, were stupid. Really, it's not too different from cutting your ear off, on the foolishness scale.

Haley couldn't have Johnson play for him again, just as Gauguin couldn't return to Arles to work with Van Gogh. If you're betting on futures, take Haley's (like it would have been wise to take Gauguin.) Johnson is 30 and well-worn, old for a RB; Haley is 42, which is young for a Head Coach. Van Gogh died two years after the ear incident, while Gauguin had 13 more years, and a lot of productivity after that. Go with the guy who knew it was time to cut the cord, rather than the one who cut off his ear to spite his face.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. The worst thing about November is the jewelry commercials during football games. (Well, I guess I should be glad not to see Chevy commercials with any Mellencamp songs.) I have found the answer, friends, if you're into man-cavery like me.

If you have Sunday Ticket with SuperFan, the setup works like this. Watch games on a muted TV (or two, if you can manage it, like I do). Watch the Red Zone channel on a laptop, with SuperConnect, and listen to the sound on the laptop, preferably over some decent speakers. Red Zone has no commercials, so when they come on TV, you can just ignore the visual stimulus, and listen to the sounds of what's going on on the laptop screen. I spent the whole day Sunday with this, so I got to see a lot of football, without hearing incessantly about how you're no kind of man if you don't go to Jared, the Galleria of Jewelry, and that every kiss begins with Kay. Damn, it's great to be single. (This is Ourrrrrrr Country!!!!!)

Have a good week, and let's get ready for a Broncos victory in Washington on Sunday. No hysterics are necessary, let's just take some comfort in the fairly safe assumption that our coaching staff is driving the players to learn from and improve on their mistakes. See you next Tuesday!

Giants' coaching staff has much to re-evaluate during bye week

Ed Valentine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:00:27 -0000

I listen to way too much talk radio, though blabbermouth Mike Francesa is on my 'avoid at all costs' list. I have even learned, in small doses, to tolerate ESPN's Colin Cow~~dung~~, er, herd

I guess this is what happens when you have as much time on your hands as I have had for the past year or so.

Anyway, I don't bring this up to discuss the quality of sports talk radio (although I will say I miss Tony Kornheiser on the radio). I bring this up because of a discussion Cowherd has Monday with ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer.

Dilfer was discussing the New England Patriots, and why they continue to be a dominant force year-in and year-out despite loads of changes to both the personnel and the coaching staff.

Dilfer was a middling quarterback, but he is a terrific analyst. He made the point that Bill Belichick and the Patriots identify the strengths and weaknesses of their personnel better than any team in the NFL, and do a tremendous job of making sure players are asked only to do things they are good at.

It's a great point. The job of a coaching staff is to put players in the best possible position to succeed. That means identifying what they do well, and what they do poorly, and not putting them in positions where they are bound to fail.

This brings me, of course, to the New York Giants. After four straight losses, the direct question has to be this. Have head coach Tom Coughlin and coordinators Bill Sheridan and Kevin Gilbride been consistently putting the players in the best position to win football games?

Before I answer, a little disclosure. You guys know I come at this debate as a huge supporter of Coughlin. Four straight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title means I think he deserves support. Not to mention eight playoff appearances in 13 season as a head coach. There are a lot of NFL teams who would love to have TC on their sideline. TC is not perfect, but he does know what he is doing.

You also know that I have supported Gilbride on many occasions, and will continue to do so when it is warranted. He is hardly to blame for every ill that befalls the Giants. That said, I am not blind to his imperfections. As for Sheridan, he has a lot to prove before anyone can say he is up to his job.

Anyway, back to the original question. Has the Giants' coaching staff consistently been putting players in the best possible position to succeed?

Undeniably, the answer to that has to be no. During the four-game losing streak I would say not even close.

The Defense

How many more times are we going to see the zone blitz before Sheridan understands that Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora cannot cover tight ends, and should not be asked to?
The final San Diego drive Sunday included two ill-conceived defenses. Mike Garafolo nearly had a stroke going off on Sheridan for leaving Corey Webster singled up on Vincent Jackson on the decisive play. The other badly-designed defense was asking Michael Boley to cover Darren Sproles one-on-one, which resulted in a huge play for the Chargers. Boley had no chance, and no help.
We watched the Giants try to use C.C. Brown as a deep cover safety for weeks, despite the fact that in four years in Houston he was never asked to do that. Brown is terrible, sure, but that was never going to work. The Giants should have known that.
We are seeing blitzes, sure, but we are seeing blitzers run straight into blockers. That means the offenses are seeing exactly what is coming. We are also seeing a lot of blitzes that come from way off the ball, and will never get there.

The Offense

I do not believe offense is the biggest problem for the Giants. I have said that repeatedly. That said, there are things that deserve to be picked on.

Brandon Jacobs is the Giants best offensive player, and the tone-setter for the unit. Yet, week after week he is under-utilized. The past three weeks Ahmad Bradshaw has carried 35 times for 92 yards, a 2.6 yards per carry average. Jacobs has carried 44 times for 229 yards, a 5.2 average. He had 20 of those carries in the blowout loss to the Eagles, which is kind of bizarre. I love AB, but Jacobs has got to see the ball more often. Eleven carries against the Chargers, when Bradshaw had 14, are not enough.
Steve Smith is a great short-yardage and intermediate receiver. The Giants use him that way, but a couple times each game they try to push the ball to him deep. It never works. Let Smith do what he does, and throw that deep ball to somebody else. You might actually connect on one.
The Red/Green Zone. I don't have all the answers here, but it has been a problem for years.The Giants seem to have no real answer for how to fix it. In any type of short-yardage, though, I want to see the Giants stop trying to just blast straight ahead. To say the least, they don't do it well.
Can we please remember to use Kevin Boss as a weapon all the time, instead of just in the Red/Green Zone?

Special Teams

Breakdowns every week, it seems. I want to focus on the punting game, though, and I am going to hit Coughlin here. Jeff Feagles has been terrible in recent weeks, and I am pinning some of the blame for that on TC. It seems he has become afraid of his punt coverage unit, and wants everything kicked out of bounds. I know the kickoff return coverage can be suspect, but when is the last time the Giants gave up a big punt return? I think part of why Feagles has been shanking punts all over the place is that TC has him paranoid about leaving anything in bounds, which is silly for one of the game's best directional punters. Show some faith, Tom!

Conclusion

There are plenty of breakdowns that can be pinned on the players, and plenty of players not performing up to their reputations. That is hardly all on the coaching staff. I do think, though, that Coughlin and his staff need to take a hard look at what they are asking, and the approach they are taking, each week.

Maybe the bye will allow them to do that. Let's hope so.