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Sir Purrcival
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Maybe he was part of the issue but after all the years up here and with him as HC, I think he has established himself as a good guy to work with. I think I lean my suspicions for the most part in other directions.
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Well it looks as though it takes a different skill set to succeed as an NFL HC than a CFL HC. Trestman--as decent a guy as he appears to be--has to wear much of the failure of the Bears this season. In Lovie Smith's last season (2012), the Bears went 10-6 with the same core group of players as the team had the past two seasons under Trestman. In Smith's last three seasons as Bears HC, he had a .604 winning percentage, whereas Trestman had a .406 winning percentage in his two seasons. Same core group of players, except for the retirement of Urlacher. Some of the blame for the failure of the Bears undoubtedly lies with the coordinators--OC Aaron Kromer and DC Mel Tucker, both of whom Trestman must have some part in bringing in. It's true that Cutler is a handful for any coach, but Smith was able to handle him; it appears that Trestman may have floundered in that respect. For all of Trestman's offensive acumen, he obviously lacks the authority and toughness to command sufficient respect from NFL players. It must have been different in Montreal--but CFL players aren't making $5M/year and may be more open to being coached.
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notahomer
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South Pender wrote:Well it looks as though it takes a different skill set to succeed as an NFL HC than a CFL HC. ...
Definately true, IMO, at this time.... The goofiness, IMO, of the later versions of Vermiel and Pete C. WORKS but it wouldn't always. The strictness of a Parcells or a Ditka, also WORKs but not always.

So, IOW, maybe in a different setting with different players... who knows? The chatter on NFL network laid MUCH of the blame at the feet of the GM. He was the one who signed the HUGE deal for Cutler and apparently that limited SO MUCH of what the Bears could do in so many areas. Trestmans numbers in terms of dealing with other Chicago QB's BESIDES Cutler, was apparently better.
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notahomer
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Rex Ryan, Mike Smith and Mark Trestman...given their papers.... 49ers deciding it was them and not Harbaugh.

Is it proper to contemplate others? Probably not but I'll do it anyways.

One coach I really respect but think has probably reached his end is Tom Coughlin. A coach wins you TWO Superbowls including one involving beating a team that had gone 18-0 so far that year, obviously earns you a little more rope than others. I just think there are things that need doing in terms of the Giants and the Head Coach is PERHAPs an area you'd look at.

Jason Garrett? Obviously he's fine but what if the Cowboys are one and done in the playoffs? IMO, his predecessor did NOT get nearly the chances Garrett has.

Others? Not sure.......
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Interesting observations, nota. I think that both Coughlin and Garrett are safe--for another year anyway. Looking at the other end of the coaching continuum, how about the job Bruce Arians did in Arizona? Has to be coach of the year. Pete Carroll had another good year, and John Schneider has taken steps to lock up the core of their D by extending Cliff Avril and K. J. Wright. Bobby Wagner will be extended too. With those guys, along with a good D line and superb secondary, the Hawks should continue to fly high in 2015. Mike McCarthy was solid in Green Bay, and Jim Caldwell was able to finally make the Lions a winner. Sean Payton had a down year, and that's a head-scratcher--Payton being the highest-paid HC in the NFL.
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notahomer
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Read on-line (NFL.com, IIRC) Coughlin will be back for 2015....

Garrett will be fine. I just don't understand why he's gotten some chances his predecessor didn't. A solid Oline and good performance by Romo has led them to the playoffs. Next season? Not so sure. Giants and Eagles don't have MUCH work to do in order to give the Cowboys trouble again. Who knows with the returning Gruden and RG3 in Washington?

Think you are bang on about Arians being Coach of the Year...
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NFL End-of-Season Power Rankings.

1. SI.com: http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/12/31/nfl-po ... l-playoffs

2. NFL.com (Elliot Harrison): http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... lar-season

3. ESPN: http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings

4. CBS Sports (Pat Kirwan): http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pat ... for-repeat

5. U.S.A. Today: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/rankings/

6. SB Nation: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/12/30/ ... ts-broncos

7. Pro Football Talk (NBC Sports): http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... ankings-4/

Same top 5 in all but the Pro Football Talk ranking: Seahawks, Patriots, Packers, Cowboys, Broncos. PFT has the Broncos ranked 7th. So the betting at this point would be a Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl. But we know that there's a lot of football to be played before the big game on Sunday, Feb. 1 in the desert, and anything can happen.

Since the Seahawks will be playing either the Panthers, Cardinals, or Lions at home in the divisional playoff round, I'm bullish on the Seahawks' chances. It will be the next game--the Conference Championship round--that will present the bigger challenge, I think, for the 'Hawks--against (likely) either the Cowboys or Packers. That one will be at the CLink, but against a very tough opponent. (Of course, all of this depends on the Seahawks winning the divisional game.)

In the AFC playoffs, I think the Steelers could surprise many fans--provided they can get past the Ravens in one of the wildcard games. After that, it will likely be Steelers-Broncos in one divisional game and Patriots vs either the Colts or Bengals in the other. So it seems reasonable to crystal-ball a Patriots-Broncos or Patriots-Steelers Conference Championship game.

It's getting interesting....
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NFL Wildcard Weekend

1. Saturday, Jan. 3, 1:35 p.m. PST:

Cardinals at Panthers: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501030 ... ab=preview; Odds: Panthers by 6.5

2. Saturday, Jan. 3, 5:15 p.m. PST:

Ravens at Steelers: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501030 ... ab=preview; Steelers by 3
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3. Sunday, Jan. 4, 10:05 a.m. PST:

Bengals at Colts: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501040 ... ab=preview; Colts by 3.5

4. Sunday, Jan. 4, 1:40 p.m. PST:

Lions at Cowboys: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501040 ... ab=preview; Cowboys by 6.5

Game Notes

1. Cardinals at Panthers. Looks as though the Cardinals will have to go with 3rd-string QB Ryan Lindley again, with Drew Stanton still out. This is really too bad as this was a very good team when Carson Palmer and then Drew Stanton were behind centre. No matter whom you root for, you have to feel a bit sorry for Bruce Arians and the Cardinal fans with the developments late in the season. With Palmer or even Stanton at QB, the Cardinals would very likely have had the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Now, who knows, but I don't like their chances in Charlotte on Saturday. The Panthers have played better football in the last 4 games and with a reasonably-healthy Cam Newton will be tough.

2. Ravens at Steelers. This could be a good game. These two teams always play each other hard, and Saturday's matchup in Pittsburgh will undoubtedly be another smash-mouth smackdown. The status of Steelers' RB sensation, Le'Veon Bell is uncertain at this point, but if he doesn't start, expect to see just-signed Ben Tate pick up the slack. The Roethlisberger-Antonio Brown connection has been dynamite this season, so now the Steelers are all about offense and less so about defense, as they have traditionally been. Former Seahawks Justin Forsett has been money this season for the Ravens racking up a 5.4 yds./carry average, and Flacco has receivers. It depends, I guess, on whether the 'good' Flacco shows up or the inconsistent one. Should be a battle.

3. Bengals at Colts. This could be close, although Andy Dalton does have a habit of choking in big games. Still, the Bengals do have a much better running game with rookie sensation Jeremy Hill tearing it up this season with a 5.1 yds./carry average. Hard to bet against Andrew Luck at home, though, and his excellent receivers, T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, and TE Coby Fleener.

4. Lions at Cowboys. Looks as though thug DT Ndamukong Suh will play, having been fined $70,000, but not suspended, for his stomping on Aaron Rodgers' leg last Sunday. And it looks as if he will be joined by DT Nick Fairley, who has been out for two months. The Lions are big and tough up front, and DeMarco Murray may find it hard going. Surprisingly, the Boys have been worse at home this season than on the road, so this could be a decent game, but Tony Romo is red hot, and I can`t see the Cowboys losing (even if I`d like them to). If the Lions win, they go to Seattle for the divisional game. If the Cowboys win, they go to the `frozen tundra`that is Lambeau Field.
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Ran across this piece by Gregg Rosenthal, one of the more knowledgeable guys at NFL.com. It's his year-end Quarterback Index rankings of the starting QBs. It's an interesting read. See whether you agree with his rankings:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... 0_20150102
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Saturday wildcard games. Panthers beat Cardinals. I was hoping for a Cardinals win in that one, what with all the hardships they've suffered this season. Bruce Arians is a helluva coach, but a playoff win with a completely inexperienced 3rd-string quarterback was just a bridge too far, particularly with no running game to speak of. Cardinal fans will be very disappointed, but they have a great team, and I expect them to be very tough again next season. Here's the recap of the game:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501030 ... &tab=recap

Ravens at Steelers. Two of my least-favorite teams. Once again we see what happens when a key offensive element is missing. Le'Veon Bell was sorely missed, with Ben Tate having little success on the ground. Big Ben threw for 334 yards, with 117 to the sensational Antonio Brown, but it wasn't enough. Here's the recap:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501030 ... &tab=recap
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KnowItAll
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what I wouldn't give to have a spare 25K floating around to put down on Dallas. Will Detroit score any points?
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Toppy Vann
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KnowItAll wrote:what I wouldn't give to have a spare 25K floating around to put down on Dallas. Will Detroit score any points?
You'd be freaking out but with 5:30 left Dallas is just down 3 pts. Yes DET scored 20 so far.
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KnowItAll
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Toppy Vann wrote:
KnowItAll wrote:what I wouldn't give to have a spare 25K floating around to put down on Dallas. Will Detroit score any points?
You'd be freaking out but with 5:30 left Dallas is just down 3 pts. Yes DET scored 20 so far.
well I think Dallas spotted them the first 14 just to make it interesting.

I see they brought in CFL refs to work the game just to make sure Dallas wins :wink: :tp:
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Yeah, agree about the officiating of that game. The big call or non-call was on the PI call against the Cowboys. First the refs called it--correctly, according to Mike Pereira, who weighed in on it--but then picked up the flag without any explanation. It's rare that a single ref call changes the outcome of a game, but that one might have. The Lions were driving and would likely have picked up a FG at least. And then, after that, there were the two (I think) calls against the Lions' D that sustained the Cowboys' drives leading up to their last TD. Those seemed pretty minor and could well have been overlooked.

Here's some discussion of the PI non-call:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2319 ... th-quarter

Edit: Just ran across discussion of the call on Pro Football Talk:

Refs give Cowboys a gift with pass interference no-call
Posted by Michael David Smith on January 4, 2015, 7:19 PM EST

With the Lions facing third-and-1 at midfield in the fourth quarter today in Dallas, Matthew Stafford threw a pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The pass fell incomplete, but the officials called pass interference, giving the Lions a first down.

And then something bizarre happened: Referee Pete Morelli, who announced the pass interference call, didn’t enforce it. He signaled fourth down and didn’t explain why he was waving off the penalty on the Cowboys.

It was obviously pass interference (and Pettigrew also had his jersey grabbed on the play, so it should have been defensive holding if it weren’t pass interference), but for some reason there was no penalty, and the Lions punted on fourth down.

Former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira, working the game for FOX, said he had never seen anything like it.

“It is clearly pass interference,” Pereira said. “I strongly believe that was not a good pickup of a flag.”

We’ll have to wait until after the game to find out what on earth Morelli was thinking when he called off the penalty. But he gave the Cowboys a huge gift in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game.
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And here's a recap of the game:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501040 ... &tab=recap

In the AFC wildcard game today, the Colts easily took care of the Bengals. Andy Dalton once again came up small, going 18 of 35 (51%) for only 155 yards while Andrew Luck shredded the Bengals defense for 376. Not a very interesting game.... Here's the recap:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501040 ... e=boxscore

So the divisional match-ups are now set for next weekend:

Cowboys to to Lambeau to take on the Packers;

Panthers go to Seattle;

Ravens go to Foxborough to take on the Patriots; and

Colts go to Denver.
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Some 'morning-after' thoughts from Pro Football Talk--poor officiating and a look ahead:

NFL morning after: The NFL has a problem

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 5, 2015, 6:52 AM EST

The NFL has a problem on its hands. That problem was magnified on Sunday when a terrible call went against the Lions in a crucial moment in their playoff loss to the Cowboys. But that problem goes far beyond one play or one game.

The problem in the NFL is that too many officials are bad at their jobs, the rulebook is overly complex, and the league office stands by and does nothing about it.

In Sunday’s Lions-Cowboys game, a pass interference penalty was correctly called on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens. Referee Pete Morelli turned on his microphone and announced the penalty. And then he inexplicably picked up the flag, decided not to enforce it, and didn’t turn his microphone back on to explain why.

This was a terrible call, and it turned out to be a season-ending call for the Lions. Detroit, to be blunt, got screwed.

Let’s get all the conspiracy theories out of the way: No, I do not believe NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino fixed the game for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones just because Blandino was seen on Jones’s party bus. No, I do not believe NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered the officials to make sure the Cowboys win because the Cowboys bring big TV ratings. No, I do not believe one of the officials is the NFL’s version of Tim Donaghy. No, I do not believe there was any type of conspiracy against the Lions.

What I believe went against the Lions is incompetence. And incompetent officials blow calls every week in the NFL. And the league office lets it happen, week after week after week.

Players get cut every week when they screw up. Coaches’ jobs are on the line every season. When was the last time a referee got fired for a pattern of bad calls?

This isn’t a call to fire Pete Morelli because this isn’t just about Pete Morelli. In fact, I don’t think Morelli is even close to the worst referee in the NFL. That honor belongs to Jeff Triplette, whose blown calls are so legion that I’d get depressed if I listed them all here. (It says something about Triplette that he once seriously injured a player by throwing a weighted-down penalty flag in his eye, and that wasn’t even close to his biggest blunder.) Triplette is so bad that when he blew a replay review last year, the NFL responded not by firing him but by changing the entire replay review system. Now all referees have to get on the phone with Blandino while they’re reviewing a replay to make sure they’re not screwing it up. Triplette can’t be trusted to get it right on his own.

Triplette keeps his job because NFL officials aren’t held to anywhere near the same high standards that NFL players and coaches are held to. That’s a big part of the NFL’s problem. The NFL needs to fire the officials who get the lowest scores on their evaluations, just as players and coaches lose their jobs when they’re at the bottom of the league. And the NFL needs to replace those fired officials with the best officials in college football, just as the best college players push veteran NFL players out of their jobs every year. That’s the way football works.

Rather, that’s the way it should work. In the NFL, it doesn’t work. In the NFL, officials are handled with kid gloves and coddled with perks like playoff assignments even if their work is below average in the regular season. What the NFL should do is assign the four best officiating crews to the playoffs and have them each work one wild-card game and one divisional game, then have the two best officiating crews work the conference championship games and the best officiating crew work the Super Bowl. Instead, the NFL allows 10 different officials at each position to work in the playoffs, and the league mixes and matches those officials so that they’re often working with fellow officials they’ve never worked with before.

There was obviously some kind of communication breakdown that led Morelli to wave off the flag on the crucial pass interference penalty against the Cowboys. Perhaps if these officials had worked together before Sunday, they would have been better able to communicate together and get the call right.

It should be noted, in defense of the officials, that the NFL puts them in a bad spot with an overly complex rulebook that is incredibly difficult to decipher, even for the professionals. And the NFL draws some odd distinctions about which kinds of plays are reviewable on replay and which plays aren’t. If Lions coach Jim Caldwell had been permitted to challenge the pass interference non-call on replay, perhaps Morelli would have gotten the call right.

Every year the NFL tweaks the rulebook and makes changes to the way the officials do their jobs, but if you’re hoping for real improvement, don’t hold your breath. The league office knows that Americans love their football so much that they’ll keep tuning in. Even when a game gets ruined by the refs.

Here are my thoughts on the four winners from wild card weekend, and their divisional-round matchups:

Ravens at Patriots

Baltimore has a knack for playing well in New England in the playoffs. The Ravens won the AFC Championship Game at New England two years ago, and a year before that the Ravens were a missed field goal away from forcing overtime in the AFC Championship Game at New England. Six years ago the Ravens blew out the Patriots in New England in the playoffs.

I believe the Ravens present a real threat to the Patriots this time around in large part because Baltimore is a complete team: On offense, defense and special teams, it’s hard to find a weakness in the Ravens. Even their injury-riddled secondary held up very well against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers on Saturday.

Can the Ravens play that well again in New England this week? I believe the Ravens will play well, but actually going to New England and beating the Patriots is going to be a tall order. The Ravens are going to have a tough time stopping Rob Gronkowski, and it’s easy to see why the Patriots are favored.

Panthers at Seahawks


The Panthers have won five straight games, by an average margin of 16 points a game. Yes, it’s true that they haven’t exactly played a murderer’s row of opponents — they closed the regular season with the Saints, Buccaneers, Browns and Falcons before playing the Ryan Lindley-led Cardinals on Saturday — but winning five in a row by 16 points a game isn’t easy against anyone in the NFL.

As for beating the Cardinals on Sunday, obviously, those were not the same Cardinals teams we saw earlier in the season when they were quarterbacked by Carson Palmer, and even when Palmer went down and was replaced by backup Drew Stanton. Lindley is a bad quarterback, and the Panthers took advantage of that. There are no Ryan Lindleys left in the playoffs, and so the Panthers won’t get that lucky again. Luke Kuechly, don’t expect to have another playoff quarterback throw a pass right to you the way Lindley did.

Still, even with Lindley at the helm the Cardinals managed to rack up 397 total yards a week earlier against the 49ers. The Panthers held the Cardinals to 78 yards on Sunday. Let’s give the Panthers Defense plenty of credit.

And then, after we’ve given the Panthers credit, let’s acknowledge that it’s very unlikely they’ll beat the Seahawks. Seattle is the best team in the NFL right now, and it’s really, really hard to see them losing at home in January. The Seahawks are the team to beat in the NFL this postseason.

Cowboys at Packers

I love the way Tony Romo played against the stellar Lions Defense on Sunday. That Detroit pass rush was devastating, getting to Romo all day, and Romo said after the game that the Lions were the best defense the Cowboys faced this year, by far.

And yet Romo hung in there and completed 19 of 31 passes for 293 yards, and two touchdowns. He was sensational.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys have to expect Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to be sensational in Green Bay on Sunday. And the Cowboys’ defense is going to struggle mightily both with Rodgers and with Packers running back Eddie Lacy. Beating the Lions at home was a struggle for the Cowboys. Beating the Packers in Green Bay will be a much bigger struggle.

Colts at Broncos


Andrew Luck had a good answer when asked about facing Peyton Manning in next weekend’s divisional game.

“We face the Broncos,” Luck said. “I’ve never been into the quarterback vs. quarterback thing. We’re not on the field at the same time.”

Prepare to get sick of the overplayed storyline of Manning against his old team and its new franchise quarterback this week, because you’re going to hear too much of that — and not enough about the matchups that will actually determine that game, like Broncos cornerback Chris Harris against Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton, or Colts offensive tackles Anthony Castonzo and Joe Reitz against Broncos pass rushers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

My own feeling is that at this point, Luck just might be a better quarterback than Manning, who began to show his age late in the regular season. But the difference in the Colts-Broncos battle won’t be at quarterback. The difference will be that the Broncos’ defense is a lot better than the Colts’ defense, which means Manning won’t have to do everything himself. That’s why this game will be so tough for Luck and Co.

What we’re left with, then, is four games in which the home team appears to have the advantage. Especially if they get a hometown referee.
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