Welcome back to Touchdowns and Kicks with Jimmy G on the team990.com
Today I’ll combine my thoughts on Week 16 and predictions for Week 17
Some Quick Hits from Week 16
(1)It took 14 games for the Cleveland Browns to gain control of their playoff destiny. It then took 2 passes to give it all away.
Down 6-0 with less than two minutes to play in the first half, the Browns got the ball at their own 43 yard line. Next play, Derek Anderson threw an interception that was returned to the Brown 5 yard line. Bengals scored on the next play. Browns trailed 13-0.
After the kickoff, Anderson took the ball again, this time from his own 20. Next play, another interception, and two plays later, Bengals score another touchdown. Browns trailed 19-0 at the half. Final score: Browns lose 19-14.
Just like that, all that hard work goes to waste. Now the Browns have to hope that Tennessee loses next week.
(2)Why was Brett Favre still on the field in the 4th quarter against the Bears? This made no sense. With 12 minutes left, Urlacher intercepted a pass and went in for a touchdown to make it 35-7. Yet Favre still played on, risking injury in what had become a sure defeat.
Why did Favre stay in the lineup? To pad his individual stats? I hope not.
(3)Tom Coughlin is Mr. Resilient.
Always on the verge of being fired, Coughlin always finds a way to upset his critics. How? By qualifying for the playoffs….yet again.
When the Giants were 0-2 and trailing the Skins 14-0 at the half, I thought that Coughlin would be fired the next day.
Instead the Giants came from behind to beat the Skins, started a 6 game winning streak and came into the Bills game on Sunday at 9-5 and in control of their playoff fate.
However, a playoff spot was not guaranteed. Why? Because a loss to the Bills would most likely mean that the Giants would have to beat the Patriots next week or else miss out.
So what happened? The Giants fell behind 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
But as always, Tom Coughlin found a way to get ahead. Final score: Giants win 38-21.
Now Coughlin has made the playoffs three straight seasons with New York, to go with the four times he made it with the Jaguars.
(4)Who told Miami quarterback Cleo Lemon to spike the ball with 1:11 in the first half?
Let’s set it up: completion to the Patriot 9 yard line with 1:25 to play, clock running, no timeouts for Miami, who trailed the Pats 28-0.
Basic clock management indicates that you have plenty of time to set up the next sequence of plays. You can even run the ball up the middle if you really want to, taking more time off the clock.
The clock was not relevant: there was no need to stop it.
Well, Cleo Lemon spiked the ball, stopping the clock and losing a down in the process. That lost down cost Miami because they ended up going for it on 4th and goal from the 5.
Did this play make a difference in the overall scheme of things? No. But if Lemon is the quarterback of the future, he better learn Football 101.
Now we’ll look at coaches on the hot seat. Who’ll keep his job and who won’t?
In the order that I think they’ll be fired, here goes:
Cam Cameron, Miami Dolphins
Are you listening to what new GM Bill Parcells is saying about Cam Cameron?
Can you hear the Big Tuna’s words?
Neither can I. If Parcells wanted to keep Cameron as coach, he would have said something by now. He has avoided any comment whatsoever.
You have to feel bad for Cam Cameron for the sequence of events that occurred in January. These events have put him in the position he’s in today.
Here’s what happened: in ’06 Cameron was the offensive coordinator for the 14-2 Chargers. After the Chargers lost to the Patriots in the playoffs, Marty Shottenheimer was supposed to be fired by GM AJ Smith and Cameron was to be named the new head coach.
However, before AJ Smith could make the announcement, Chargers ownership decided to keep Marty for one more year, against GM’s wishes.
So Cameron jumped to Miami instead. A few weeks later, Chargers ownership changed their mind and fired Shottenheimer. By this time of course, Cameron was out of the equation.
From the 14-2 penthouse to the 1-14 basement in the course of one calendar year. Annus horribulus for Cam Cameron.
Chances that Cam Cameron will be fired: 100 %
John Fox, Carolina Panthers
When the 2006 season began, every major publication predicted that the Panthers would make the Super Bowl.
Instead the Panthers went 8-8 in ’06, and are 6-9 so far in ‘07
Bill Cowher, a North Carolina resident, has indicated that he will not be coaching in 2008 under any circumstances.
The only way John Fox keeps his job is if Panther ownership decides to wait until the next off-season in the hopes that Cowher changes his mind. It wouldn’t make sense to fire Fox, hire someone else for one year, then hire Cowher.
Chances that John Fox gets fired: 75 %
Scott Linehan, St Louis Rams
Rams management is giving Linehan the dreaded public vote of confidence.
Do not pay attention to what Rams management is saying publicly.
A coach is who is 3-12 in a very weak division can never be guaranteed anything. Tory Holt’s outburst on national TV in the Steelers game was the telling point. When your quiet superstar behaves like that, you are done.
Chances that Scott Linehan will be fired: 85%
Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens
Let’s face facts: Brian Billick has two things going for him: his Super Bowl ring and his 13-3 record in 2006.
What’s not going in Billick’s favor is the fact that his team has given up on him. Let us count the games. (a) Falling behind 30-0 in the second quarter to the Colts at home on national TV, followed by (b)a loss to the winless Dolphins, followed by (c)a listless 27-6 defeat at the hands of the Seahawks.
If Billick keeps his job, it is because Ravens management believes that the 13-3 record from 2006 is more indicative of his coaching talent than the 4-11 monstrosity that we will call 2007.
Chances that Brian Billick will be fired: 40%
Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
When the Bengals were 3-7, I predicted that Marvin Lewis would be fired at the end of the season. What’s changed since then? The Bengals won 3 of their next 5, including games against the 9-6 Titans and 9-6 Browns. What does this mean? It means that the team hasn’t given up on Lewis, which is one of the barometers that owners use when judging whether to bring back a coach.
Chances that Marvin Lewis will be fired: 30 %
Mike Nolan, San Francisco 49ers
When the 49ers were 3-10 I predicted that Mike Nolan would be fired and replaced by his assistant head coach Mike Singletary.
What has changed in the last 2 weeks to make me change my mind?
(a)the 49ers have won two straight, versus the 6-9 Bengals and 9-6 Bucs
(b)the development of third string QB Shaun Hill, who has exceeded all expectations
All of a sudden the 49ers are 5-10, which is infinitely better than 3-12.
If the 49ers beat the Cleveland Browns, it will be incredibly difficult for the 49ers ownership to fire a coach on a three game winning streak.
Chances that Mike Nolan will be fired: 20%
Rod Marinelli, Detroit Lions
I weighed in on Marinelli’s job status last week. Nothing has changed.
Lions President and GM Matt Millen cannot fire Rod Marinelli without putting his own job in jeopardy.
Therefore the only way Rod Marinelli gets fired is if the Ford family decides to eliminate both he and Matt Millen as part of a package deal.
Chances that Rod Marinelli gets fired: 15%
Let’s segue into my predictions for Week 17. I was 11-5 last week. For the season: 100-59, for a winning percentage of .634. Okay, I suppose.
Here we go for the final weekend
Patriots over the Giants: Tom Coughlin will rest all his starters. For the Giants coach, this is his bye week
49ers over the Browns: the Browns are playing a meaningless game, and they’ll treat it as such. They can only make the playoffs with a Titans loss. For many players on the 49ers, such as quarterback Shaun Hill, they are playing for their future
Redskins over Cowboys: for the Cowboys, a win is getting out of DC in one piece. Another game which will be determined based on one team not caring. The Skins need to win in order to make the playoffs
Titans over Colts: the exact same thing as the Cowboys Skins game. The Colts just want to get out of this game in one piece, injury-free. The Titans must win to make the playoffs
Seahawks over Falcons: meaningless game for Seattle, they are locked in at #3 seed. The only item of interest in this game is whether interim coach Emmitt Thomas can get a decent performance from his 3-12 Falcons
Bears over Saints: who could have predicted that the two teams from last year’s NFC Championship game would both be missing the playoffs. I cannot see how the Saints can go into cold weather and beat the Bears.
Lions over Packers: Packers will rest everyone, Lions will want this badly to get to 8-8
Jaguars over Texans: Texans threw in the towel against the Colts. Why’d they do that? They had a chance to get to 9-7 (even though they’d have missed the playoffs)
Bengals over Dolphins: Marvin Lewis wants to get to 7-9. the Dolphins don’t care about their coach (taking their cue from new GM Bill Parcells)
Eagles over Bills: Donovan McNabb is playing great and will continue to do so. He wants to impress potential employers in order to be traded in the offseason
Chargers over Raiders: If the Chargers win, they get the # 3 seed, which means two things. (a)they avoid the Jaguars in the wild card round AND (b)they avoid the Patriots in the divisional round.
Vikings over Broncos: Broncos have given up
In other games: Panthers over Bucs, Cardinals over Rams, Steelers over Ravens, Jets over Chiefs
That’s it for me. I'll be back next week with my preview of the Wild Card round as well as some thoughts on the final regular season weekend.
Today I’ll combine my thoughts on Week 16 and predictions for Week 17
Some Quick Hits from Week 16
(1)It took 14 games for the Cleveland Browns to gain control of their playoff destiny. It then took 2 passes to give it all away.
Down 6-0 with less than two minutes to play in the first half, the Browns got the ball at their own 43 yard line. Next play, Derek Anderson threw an interception that was returned to the Brown 5 yard line. Bengals scored on the next play. Browns trailed 13-0.
After the kickoff, Anderson took the ball again, this time from his own 20. Next play, another interception, and two plays later, Bengals score another touchdown. Browns trailed 19-0 at the half. Final score: Browns lose 19-14.
Just like that, all that hard work goes to waste. Now the Browns have to hope that Tennessee loses next week.
(2)Why was Brett Favre still on the field in the 4th quarter against the Bears? This made no sense. With 12 minutes left, Urlacher intercepted a pass and went in for a touchdown to make it 35-7. Yet Favre still played on, risking injury in what had become a sure defeat.
Why did Favre stay in the lineup? To pad his individual stats? I hope not.
(3)Tom Coughlin is Mr. Resilient.
Always on the verge of being fired, Coughlin always finds a way to upset his critics. How? By qualifying for the playoffs….yet again.
When the Giants were 0-2 and trailing the Skins 14-0 at the half, I thought that Coughlin would be fired the next day.
Instead the Giants came from behind to beat the Skins, started a 6 game winning streak and came into the Bills game on Sunday at 9-5 and in control of their playoff fate.
However, a playoff spot was not guaranteed. Why? Because a loss to the Bills would most likely mean that the Giants would have to beat the Patriots next week or else miss out.
So what happened? The Giants fell behind 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
But as always, Tom Coughlin found a way to get ahead. Final score: Giants win 38-21.
Now Coughlin has made the playoffs three straight seasons with New York, to go with the four times he made it with the Jaguars.
(4)Who told Miami quarterback Cleo Lemon to spike the ball with 1:11 in the first half?
Let’s set it up: completion to the Patriot 9 yard line with 1:25 to play, clock running, no timeouts for Miami, who trailed the Pats 28-0.
Basic clock management indicates that you have plenty of time to set up the next sequence of plays. You can even run the ball up the middle if you really want to, taking more time off the clock.
The clock was not relevant: there was no need to stop it.
Well, Cleo Lemon spiked the ball, stopping the clock and losing a down in the process. That lost down cost Miami because they ended up going for it on 4th and goal from the 5.
Did this play make a difference in the overall scheme of things? No. But if Lemon is the quarterback of the future, he better learn Football 101.
Now we’ll look at coaches on the hot seat. Who’ll keep his job and who won’t?
In the order that I think they’ll be fired, here goes:
Cam Cameron, Miami Dolphins
Are you listening to what new GM Bill Parcells is saying about Cam Cameron?
Can you hear the Big Tuna’s words?
Neither can I. If Parcells wanted to keep Cameron as coach, he would have said something by now. He has avoided any comment whatsoever.
You have to feel bad for Cam Cameron for the sequence of events that occurred in January. These events have put him in the position he’s in today.
Here’s what happened: in ’06 Cameron was the offensive coordinator for the 14-2 Chargers. After the Chargers lost to the Patriots in the playoffs, Marty Shottenheimer was supposed to be fired by GM AJ Smith and Cameron was to be named the new head coach.
However, before AJ Smith could make the announcement, Chargers ownership decided to keep Marty for one more year, against GM’s wishes.
So Cameron jumped to Miami instead. A few weeks later, Chargers ownership changed their mind and fired Shottenheimer. By this time of course, Cameron was out of the equation.
From the 14-2 penthouse to the 1-14 basement in the course of one calendar year. Annus horribulus for Cam Cameron.
Chances that Cam Cameron will be fired: 100 %
John Fox, Carolina Panthers
When the 2006 season began, every major publication predicted that the Panthers would make the Super Bowl.
Instead the Panthers went 8-8 in ’06, and are 6-9 so far in ‘07
Bill Cowher, a North Carolina resident, has indicated that he will not be coaching in 2008 under any circumstances.
The only way John Fox keeps his job is if Panther ownership decides to wait until the next off-season in the hopes that Cowher changes his mind. It wouldn’t make sense to fire Fox, hire someone else for one year, then hire Cowher.
Chances that John Fox gets fired: 75 %
Scott Linehan, St Louis Rams
Rams management is giving Linehan the dreaded public vote of confidence.
Do not pay attention to what Rams management is saying publicly.
A coach is who is 3-12 in a very weak division can never be guaranteed anything. Tory Holt’s outburst on national TV in the Steelers game was the telling point. When your quiet superstar behaves like that, you are done.
Chances that Scott Linehan will be fired: 85%
Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens
Let’s face facts: Brian Billick has two things going for him: his Super Bowl ring and his 13-3 record in 2006.
What’s not going in Billick’s favor is the fact that his team has given up on him. Let us count the games. (a) Falling behind 30-0 in the second quarter to the Colts at home on national TV, followed by (b)a loss to the winless Dolphins, followed by (c)a listless 27-6 defeat at the hands of the Seahawks.
If Billick keeps his job, it is because Ravens management believes that the 13-3 record from 2006 is more indicative of his coaching talent than the 4-11 monstrosity that we will call 2007.
Chances that Brian Billick will be fired: 40%
Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
When the Bengals were 3-7, I predicted that Marvin Lewis would be fired at the end of the season. What’s changed since then? The Bengals won 3 of their next 5, including games against the 9-6 Titans and 9-6 Browns. What does this mean? It means that the team hasn’t given up on Lewis, which is one of the barometers that owners use when judging whether to bring back a coach.
Chances that Marvin Lewis will be fired: 30 %
Mike Nolan, San Francisco 49ers
When the 49ers were 3-10 I predicted that Mike Nolan would be fired and replaced by his assistant head coach Mike Singletary.
What has changed in the last 2 weeks to make me change my mind?
(a)the 49ers have won two straight, versus the 6-9 Bengals and 9-6 Bucs
(b)the development of third string QB Shaun Hill, who has exceeded all expectations
All of a sudden the 49ers are 5-10, which is infinitely better than 3-12.
If the 49ers beat the Cleveland Browns, it will be incredibly difficult for the 49ers ownership to fire a coach on a three game winning streak.
Chances that Mike Nolan will be fired: 20%
Rod Marinelli, Detroit Lions
I weighed in on Marinelli’s job status last week. Nothing has changed.
Lions President and GM Matt Millen cannot fire Rod Marinelli without putting his own job in jeopardy.
Therefore the only way Rod Marinelli gets fired is if the Ford family decides to eliminate both he and Matt Millen as part of a package deal.
Chances that Rod Marinelli gets fired: 15%
Let’s segue into my predictions for Week 17. I was 11-5 last week. For the season: 100-59, for a winning percentage of .634. Okay, I suppose.
Here we go for the final weekend
Patriots over the Giants: Tom Coughlin will rest all his starters. For the Giants coach, this is his bye week
49ers over the Browns: the Browns are playing a meaningless game, and they’ll treat it as such. They can only make the playoffs with a Titans loss. For many players on the 49ers, such as quarterback Shaun Hill, they are playing for their future
Redskins over Cowboys: for the Cowboys, a win is getting out of DC in one piece. Another game which will be determined based on one team not caring. The Skins need to win in order to make the playoffs
Titans over Colts: the exact same thing as the Cowboys Skins game. The Colts just want to get out of this game in one piece, injury-free. The Titans must win to make the playoffs
Seahawks over Falcons: meaningless game for Seattle, they are locked in at #3 seed. The only item of interest in this game is whether interim coach Emmitt Thomas can get a decent performance from his 3-12 Falcons
Bears over Saints: who could have predicted that the two teams from last year’s NFC Championship game would both be missing the playoffs. I cannot see how the Saints can go into cold weather and beat the Bears.
Lions over Packers: Packers will rest everyone, Lions will want this badly to get to 8-8
Jaguars over Texans: Texans threw in the towel against the Colts. Why’d they do that? They had a chance to get to 9-7 (even though they’d have missed the playoffs)
Bengals over Dolphins: Marvin Lewis wants to get to 7-9. the Dolphins don’t care about their coach (taking their cue from new GM Bill Parcells)
Eagles over Bills: Donovan McNabb is playing great and will continue to do so. He wants to impress potential employers in order to be traded in the offseason
Chargers over Raiders: If the Chargers win, they get the # 3 seed, which means two things. (a)they avoid the Jaguars in the wild card round AND (b)they avoid the Patriots in the divisional round.
Vikings over Broncos: Broncos have given up
In other games: Panthers over Bucs, Cardinals over Rams, Steelers over Ravens, Jets over Chiefs
That’s it for me. I'll be back next week with my preview of the Wild Card round as well as some thoughts on the final regular season weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment