Monday Quick Hits

1. Everyone is sayin the Pack-Cards game was a classic. I only kind of agree. I dont know about you, but it was almost painful watching the defenses get blated like they did. I was more annoyed about it than anthing else. Dramatic, of course. A classic and top ten playoff game of all-time, as some writers are saying? I dont know about that.

2. Were you really that surprised by the beatdown the Ravens gave the Pats? The Pats were mediocre all season, having a worse record than last year with Matt Cassel at the helm. They also got beat by some mediocre teams. I’m surprised, yes, but not totally shocked. The Ravens defense plus their stacked backfield make them a very dangerous playoff opponent. In the end though, you’ll need to pass at least a little bit, and I’m not sure I want to trust Joe Flacco to do that.

3. Carson Palmer looked very pedestrian. I thoroughly expected more out of him. Persoanlly, I thought he was a top-5 NFL quarterback, and now I’m not so sure.

4. Running backs had some HUGE days. Ray Rice, Felix Jones, Cedric Benson, Shonn Greene…All of them put up over 150. And with the exception of Benson, they’re second-years or younger. Wowza. I look forward to watchin these guys in the future.

5. Quick predictions for next weekend: Ravens, Colts, Saints, Vikings. Had to pick one upset, right?

Relaunching Pigskin World

I’m relaunching this blog here for the new year. I really like writing about football, but trying to cover college and professional is simply too much to keep up with. I’ll be focusing on NFL news, with posts hopefully coming every day, and usually more than that.

If there are particular things you’d like to see, let me know. I’m not claiming to be a news breaker, simply a dude who likes football and has opinions about it. Chime in and make it a discussion!

Jim Mora out in Seattle, Pete Carroll next in line

ESPN is reporting that Jim Mora has been fired as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after just one season. This move comes as a huge surprise, even though Mora went just 5-11. Injuries marred the Seahawks all season, and seemed poised to be back in the playoffs if they could simply get all the pieces lined up at the same time.

What’s even more surprising is that Chris Mortensen is reporting that Pete Carroll is a near lock to become the new coach. Word on the street is that he’s been itchin for a chance to get back in the NFL, and the timing does seem right. As I said, Seattle has a lot of key pieces, they just need to be healthy. Also, with USC struggling and in the midst of some allegations of academic violations and such, now would seem a good time to ditch out.

Gut reaction: I’m still stunned by this. For Mora to be given only one injury-riddled year is a little mind-boggling. It makes me think there’s more behind the scenes to this story. Maybe there’s tension between Mora and the front office. Maybe Carroll called up and said he wanted the job. I’m not sure, but it just feels fishy. Also, Carroll would be dumb to leave USC. He has a perfect situation down there in SoCal. His team struggled this year, but still had a winning season. He certainly doesnt believe his best years with that program were behind him, does he? What do you think?

Monday Quick Hits [NFL]

No posts for the last couple days because I was in KC for a retreat. I missed a little bit of an epic week in the NFL however:

• AFC North: Really? They went 0-for the weekend. Wow. Pittsburgh has special teams issues like Minnesota did last season, but actually worse. Don’t forget to give credit to Kansas City addition Chris Chambers, though. His consistency is what the Cheifs have been dying for. He basically won that game for them in overtime. The Bengals lost in Oakland, which is certainly embarrassing, but keep in mind the Raiders also beat Philadelphia. They seem to play the good teams harder than the ones they should beat. Also give some credit to QB Bruce Gradkowski, who figures to be the starter for the foreseeable future.
• Billy Cundiff: Gotta give a shout-out to my Drake boy (I’m a DU student for those who are not aware). He tied a Baltimore franchise record with 5 field goals against Indianapolis. He did, however, miss a potential game-winning 30-yarder in the 3rd quarter. Good effort from him though.
• Brett Favre: This guy looks like he’s 25 again. When are we gonna put him the MVP race? I say right now. He has 21 TDs to just 3 picks. That’s insane for any quarterback, let alone a 40-year old gray-haired man. The Vikes have an explosive offense and a suffocating defense. Deja vu – 1998 team which lost in the NCF Championship. We have Brett though now, right?
• Division races: Minnesota is pretty clearly going to take the NCF North. The Saints are in for the NFC South. Arizona looks to be a lock for the NFC West. New England won’t forfeit the AFC East for a second year in a row. San Diego took control of the AFC West by demolishing Denver. Indy is obviously going to win the AFC South. This means there are just two races that look to be decided in the last weeks of the season. The AFC North still looks to be controlled by Cincinnati, having swept both Pitt and Baltimore. If the Bengals self-destruct though, either one of those two could come up and steal the title . The NFC East is still very open. The Cowboys have not looked good in the last two weeks. Philly looks to be resurging, and the Giants could always still surprise us. Wild-Card races are still wayyy up in the air, though.
• Terrell Owens: Had a HUGE day against Jacksonville (198 yards, including a franchise record 98-yard TD). His team still lost though. There is no way this guy is with Buffalo next season. Ryan Fitzpatrick made it a priority to get TO the ball, which won’t always happen. The guy is young and honestly not that good and needed all the help he could get.
• Wes Welker: He is easily the best possession receiver is football right now. He had 15 catches for 192 yards against the Jets. He has averaged over 7 catches per game in his 40 games with New England. That’s just plain silly.
• Not a big day for running backs in the NFL. Packer Ryan Grant led the way with a somewhat pedestrian 129. There is almost always at least one guy around 140 or 150.

That’s it for now. College Football quick hits coming later.

Peace out Pigskin lovers.

Headlines of the Day: 11/19/09

Not much news in the football world today. Most of it, in fact, has to do with injuries. I guess it’s that time of year. A lot of teams are missing big-time players this week.

• Guys not likely to be playing: Cedric Benson (RB, Bengals), Kyle Orton (QB, Broncos), Clinton Portis (RB, Redskins), Michael Turner (RB, Falcons) and obviously Ronnie Brown (RB, Dolphins). Look for their replacements in fantasy leagues.
• The other big news of the day is misconduct in college football: Mark Mangino (head coach, Kansas) apparently abuses players and Nick Collaros (QB, Cincinnati) could face jail time for showing a fake ID. Bad news all around.

That’s about it for today!

Peace out Pigskin lovers.

Headlines of the Day: 11/18/09

A recap of the day’s stories:

• Ronnie Brown (RB, Dolphins) is done for the season. This will certainly hurt the Dolphins, but Ricky Williams is clearly capable of handling a full-time load. Keep in mind the Wildcat can still be run very effectively with rookie QB Pat White.
• Vikes close to contract extension for Brad Childress. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one yet. I don’t hate the man, but he has incredible players to work with. I would hope he’d be making the playoffs. We’ll see how this works out once Brett Favre is gone.
• Raiders bench QB JaMarcus Russell in favor of Brad Gradkowski. About time. I could play better than Russell.
• Bills bench QB Trent Edwards in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Doesn’t matter who’s playin QB for these Bills, the result is the same.

Will Favre Stick Around Another Year?

I’m a life-long Minnesota Vikings fan. That is no secret. The addition of Brett Favre has been a blessing, but still weird to adjust to. It has been assumed that Brett’s two-year contract with the Vikes is really a one-year contract and that he’d retire for real after this season (as much, of course, as it can be assumed that he’s actually retiring).

One St. Paul Pioneer Press writer, however, is wondering if Favre might actually stick around another season or two (or five). I think it is actually very much a possibility. He’s surprisingly playing some of the best football of his career. If (big if) he keeps playing this way he’ll end up with one of his best statistical seasons quite easily. His QB rating is over 100 (107.5) for the first time, he’s on pace for just 6 interceptions (his career low is 13). The biggest question is obviously his health and stamina, but if he does in fact stay intact this season, I can easily see him coming back next year without even questioning it. The Vikes have an incredible supporting cast for him and you can almost see it in his face that he’s having some of the most fun he’s ever had playing.

What do you guys think?

Peace out Pigskin lovers.

Bills Fire Coach Dick Jauron

In a somewhat surprising move, the Bills have fired 4th year head coach Dick Jauron according to NFL.com.

This season was ripe with expectations for Buffalo, as it is with every team to start a new season. Injuries, though, to their top QB (Trent Edwards) and RB (Marshawn Lynch), along with the absolute no-show of Terrell Owens and the Bills are sitting at 3-6.

In week one they lost to New England by one point, perhaps setting the bar too high for themselves. That was, unfortunately, the highlight of the season. In reality though, they have lost to some decent teams and are in a relatively competitive conference with New England, New York Jets and Miami.

I think the timing for this move is all wrong. Give the guy a chance when he has all the pieces together and isn’t suffering through the pressure of having TO on your team. The Bills should be desperate, but not this desperate. At least play out the full season.

Peace out Pigskin lovers.

Dwayne Bowe Suspended Four Games

ESPN is reporting that Kansas City Chief WR Dwayne Bowe is being suspended four games for violating the league’s drug policy.

This is a blow to the already beleagured Chiefs. Bowe leads the team in receptions and receiving yards and has four TDs. The recent addition of Chris Chambers relieves the pain a little bit, but Matt Cassel is getting absoultely no help in his first year at the helm for this new team.

Also consider the next three weeks for the Chiefs: Pittsburgh, at San Diego and Denver. I would say that they have virtually no shot of winning any of these games unless Mark Bradley and Bobby Wade fill the significant gap left by Bowe. Even before his departure they didn’t really have hope.

With the obvious distraction of the Larry Johnson story, and now this, the team is in turmoil. I see them winning one more game (against Cleveland in week 15), at most.

Cassel was supposed to bring hope, but the misbehavior of his surrounding cast has overshadowed that significantly.

Peace out Pigskin lovers.

Brian Westbrook Likely Done for Season

Eagles RB Brian Westbrook suffered his second concussion in three weeks against the Chargers on Sunday. One thing the NFL has done right with injuries the last couple years is making sure that players with head traumas get tested and tested and tested until the doctors are absolutely sure there will be no further damage.

Back in the eraly years, players would often just ignore concussions, and go right back into the game because they didn’t know any better. One concussion is relatively common and easy to come back from, but having two in three weeks is cause for alarm.

It looks as if the Eagles will need to find another back for the rest of the year, and potentially beyond. Westbrook has never played a full season, and his talent has clearly already climaxed. LeSean McCoy has certainly shown he can play in a dual-back system, but can he carry a full-time load? I would expect them to sign a veteran running back once they get official word that Westbrook will be recommended to be shut down. Even if that’s not the case and he does come back, they would be wise to pick up a veteran, just for some security.

Too bad the Bengals jumped on the Larry Johnson train before they did. It now looks like Atlanta might also be needing a RB also with the injury to Mike Turner this last weekend. Lots of RB moves!

Peace out Pigskin lovers.