Greensboro, NC -- It's time for some musings on the relevant teams. With a shaky 5-4 record, the Redskins are about to fall back to .500 with "Dallas week" ahead of them. Yes, the Skins have an easy schedule this year, but losses to an over-the-hill Eagles team in the 4th quarter shouldn't happen. Somebody should be fired for that loss -- the Skins have enough coaches to let one loose.
The Cowboys are better than what I thought that they would be. I'm not a fan of coaching changes -- I think it can derail offensive and defensive continuity. It's kind of shocking that Dallas is right behind the Pats in total offense. Who would have thought that a rookie offensive coordinator would be in that position? Then again, I remember over the summer that Jerry Jones was contemplating the hire of Jason Garrett as head coach. Garrett always came in for mop-up duty after Aikman slaughtered the other team. I always hated when he played.
Is Bill Belichek the new evil empire of the NFL? With the cheating incident, running up the scores, and his abrasive demeanor, do teams now see him as the league's villain? It wasn't too long ago that they were the heavy underdogs in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Teams that I thought would be better: Saints, 49ers, Rams, Dolphins, Jets, Ravens, Broncos
Teams that I thought would be worse: Browns, Lions, Packers, Texans, Cowboys, Raiders
Expected: Chargers -- Call it "The Norv Turner Effect"
Chiefs -- A good coach, but no QB
Falcons -- They were doomed before training camp
Stay tuned for that Pittsburgh-New England game during week 14. The Pats could be 12-0 at that time and that's usually the week when undefeated teams lose their first.
One of these days, somebody needs to do an analysis of building a football team; free agency vs. the draft. I'm a huge proponent of the draft, especially after reading John Fienstein's "Next Man Up." This book takes you through a season with the Ravens, and if there's a need to fill, the draft is the number one source. The Pats rely on free agency (more so recently), and the Colts utilize the draft. The Redskins don't know what the draft is. I really value the model of the Ravens despite their down-year. If the Redskins could stop throwing away draft picks like they're an unwanted flyer, we might have something.
2 comments:
I feel like the NFL needs a bad guy, and with the Raiders down and out, the Patriots are it.
I expected a drop of in San Diego from the Norv Turner Effect, but not this bad. They just aren't the same team at all. They don't scare anyone.
I'm really happy to see the Ravens doing as poorly as they are. Ray Lewis can spout off about the offense all he wants, but his D isn't getting the job done either.
The Redskins...oy...what can you say? They are frustrating to watch. They have games where it looks like they have turned a corner, only to see all the progress stop the following week. I was actually much happier with them after the loss to Philly than the week before against the Jets. Yeah they lost, but at least they opened up the offense. I'll take that loss if we actually continue that trend philosophically on O. Thats all for now.
Other than the 5 game winning streak to close out the 2005 season, the Redskins haven't been consist since 1991.
Norv is a good guy... for offense. But he cannot put it all together. One of his major faults when he was the Skins' head coach was special teams. He never understood the value of a reliable kicker. And when he had one, David Akers, he let him go.
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