Trivia Question from the weekend: “Which QB looked more frightened with the setting he was thrust into in these playoffs?”
A) Eli Manning
B) Chris Simms
C) Both
If you answered C, you are right. Deer in Headlights. CHutch all over again. I cannot swear that both will stink forever at this level, but right now, they look horrible. First playoff start for both, to be fair, but in the case of Simms, I saw this in every big game he has ever played. For Eli Manning, who in his last 8 games threw 10 TD’s and 15 INT’s, he has looked like that for over 2 months.
In the playoffs, if you took the team with the more seasoned QB, you went 4-0. I went 2-2, so obviously, I cannot take my own advice.
Panthers 23, Giants 0 …
It was the first shutout of the Giants since a 24-0 loss at Philadelphia in 1996. The last Giants shutout in the playoffs was in 1985, a 21-0 loss at Chicago, 15 postseason games removed from Sunday. The last time the Giants were held scoreless at home in the postseason was in 1943, at the Polo Grounds. The Panthers stifled running back Tiki Barber, the league's leader in yards from scrimmage, holding him to 41 yards rushing and 28 receiving. The Giants managed just 13 running plays, six fewer than their regular-season low.
"We knew they were going to run the ball," said Carolina coach John Fox, who was the Giants' defensive coordinator the last time they won a playoff game, in 2000. "That's a big part of their offense, so we knew that was key for our team defensively."
The Panthers' plan, working to near-perfection, was to force the second-year quarterback Eli Manning and his assortment of receivers to beat them. They could not; Manning, increasingly pressed to bring the Giants back, threw three interceptions and completed only 10 passes, none of them to Burress, the Giants' most-heralded free-agent acquisition last off-season.
Steelers 31, Bengals 17; as poor Carson Palmer blows out his knee on his first throw! …That isn’t close to fair. But it does show you how you can take nothing for granted in sports…
Palmer tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee as the Bengals lost to the Steelers, 31-17, in an American Football Conference playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium. That Palmer completed his lone pass was of little consolation. He finished his first career playoff game 1 of 1 for 66 yards.
The pass, which will be deconstructed in Cincinnati through another fruitless winter, started as scripted. Palmer lofted a deep spiral down the Pittsburgh sideline. The rookie receiver Chris Henry, who was 7 years old the last time the Bengals made the playoffs, cradled the ball against his chest. It was Cincinnati's first pass in a playoff game since 1990 and the longest completed pass in the Bengals' hollow postseason history.
Henry jumped up to celebrate. His teammates pounded their chests. The crowd let out more than a decade of frustration. Among the outpouring, no one seemed to notice the starting quarterback lying on his own 5-yard line. Perhaps no one wanted to look. The Bengals went from jubilance to devastation in the time it took to turn their heads.
“Welp, see you later!” - Vince
To the shock of no one who wasn’t delusional (Horns fans), Vince Young declares for the pros …
The Madison product will hire Bus Cook as his agent. Cook is also the agent for Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, Young's mentor, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
Young finished with 467 all-purpose yards – 200 rushing and 267 passing – in what some are calling one of the greatest performances in college football history. He is the first player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,050) and pass for 3,000 yards (3,036) in a season. In three seasons, Young is 30-2 as a starter at Texas, the best in school history.
Some draft analysts project Young could be selected among the top 5 in the April draft, possibly as high as the top 3. The Texans, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans own the top three picks in the draft.
The chance to be selected that high was one of the deciding factors in Young's decision not to return to the Longhorns.
All underclassmen must declare for the NFL draft by Jan. 15. Young will become the first underclassman to leave early in Brown's eight-year tenure at Texas.
Our guy, Mark Cuban gets fired up again, and angers the masses …
"What I don't understand is how the two most aggressive defensive teams in the league are Detroit and San Antonio," Cuban told the Dallas Morning News, "yet they've had the fewest fouls called against them. How does that happen? I don't understand it."
The Pistons are being whistled for an average of 19.57 fouls a game, the lowest in the league. San Antonio is next at 21. Cuban's team picks up 23.7 fouls per game.
"Yeah, well, the two most aggressive teams have the best records, too," Ben Wallace said. "That's not a coincidence. We play aggressive defense all the time. They (Mavericks) mostly try to outscore teams."
Pistons coach Flip Saunders said that Cuban wasn't seeing the whole picture.
"He grew up in Indiana," Saunders said. "He grew up watching Bobby Knight's teams. They were the most aggressive teams in the Big Ten and they didn't pick up a lot of fouls."
Saunders' point being, the aggressive team usually gets the benefit of the whistle.
Meanwhile, in Stars News, they won two great weekend affairs after spotting the Ducks and the Red Wings each a 3-0 lead. The team was outscored by the enemy 6-0 when Marty Turco was playing and then outscored them 9-0 when Johan Hedberg entered the game. I said it before, and I shall say it again, “Marty would never lose if it weren’t for big games”. Love the dude, but whether it is Detroit, the playoffs, or just the day after an extension, it looks like the brighter the light is, the less his light is on…That should not sit well with Team Canada…
Lovie wins the NFL Coach of the year …but, tell me, seriously, how does Tony Dungy take second????
Smith also beat out his mentor, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, drawing 24½ votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Dungy was next with 20½.
"I would have voted for Tony for the award," Smith added. "I'm really happy for our assistant coaches, to get that award. Tony did a great job with his program, as a lot of other coaches did."
C’mon. Give me a freaking break. EVERYONE picked the Colts into the Super Bowl this summer. EVERYONE! So why did Dungy do such an amazing job? If you want to tell me Lovie Smith is coach of the year, I get it. Even Marvin Lewis, Tom Coughlin, or Joe Gibbs make far more sense than Dungy! Please tell me this has nothing to do with his son.
P1 blogger goofs on the Patriots …
Proof you shouldn’t kiss the dude you are about to fight …
Did you miss Letterman vs. O’Reilly? …See the video and the battle of smugness…
Don’t like soccer because it is for sissies? Click here for soccer violence …
Bang cartoon profiles Tice, Portis, Vick, and Salisbury! …stay till the end to get a good Sean Salisbury laugh…
Here is a good blog from a Special Ops Helicopter pilot in Iraq …interesting stuff indeed…
P1 Blogger on the greatest college football game ever …
Borat learns American Football …
Mailbag:
After listening today to the varying opinions of Bill’s coaching value and ability and whether the cowboys are better off with or without him, I thought it would be interesting to look at super bowl coaches. I think this would be an interesting segment for one of the shows to do, but with more info than what I’ve put in here. Maybe somebody would have more time to crunch more numbers or make more sense of them than what I’ve done.
Looking at the 39 super bowls played so far, there have been a total of 40 different coaches appearing in the 39 games. Bill is 1 of 40 coaches appearing in at least one super bowl. In those 39 games, there have been 22 different coaches to win at least one super bowl. Bill is 1 of 22 coaches to win at least one super bowl. 18 of the 40 coaches appearing in at least one bowl have appeared in 2 or more, and 10 of the 40 have appeared in 3 or more. Bill is one of those 10. There are only 2 other coaches currently coaching that have appeared in 3 or more super bowls, Bill Belichick at 3 games and Joe Gibbs at 4 games. These 3 coaches have appeared in about 25% of all 39 super bowls, with a winning % of 80%. Of the 10 coaches appearing in 3 or more super bowls, only 3 are undefeated (Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh) and 3 are winless (Bud Grant, Dan Reeves, and Marv Levy). Incidentally, the 3 winless coaches are each 0-4. Bill has appeared in more super bowls than the great (?) Vince Lombardi, and he has 2 more wins in his 3 tries than the combined totals of Grant, Reeves, and Levy of 0 wins in 12 tries. 8 coaches have won 2 super bowls (Bill is one of them). 3 coaches have won 3 super bowls, and 1 coach has won 4. So, there are only 4 coaches that have won more super bowls than Bill. You could play with the numbers and come up with all kinds of interesting comparisons, I’m sure.
Just thought this info was interesting. There is more I’d like to know, like how many different super bowl teams were coached by the same coach (like bill coached the Giants and Patriots), how many total coaches have coached a team in the past 39 years and how many of these coaches that have appeared in a super bowl have lost in a conference champion game, furthering the argument for how good a coach may have been. In Bill’s case, didn’t he take the Jets to a conference championship game but lose?
I really don’t want to sound like a Bill homer, but let’s get real. I think Bill gives the Cowboys the best chance to win than any other available coach on the market. During the 5-11 seasons, the consensus was that we needed a good coach. The consensus was that Jerry needed a football guy and he needed to let that football guy do his thing. Well, we got it, so why are there so many complaints now? Who are we going to get that has a track record like his and is available? So what if he’s difficult with the media and so what if he’s egotistical? The guy has got quite a history and it seems to me a lot of the players actually do like playing for him, imperfections and all. When it comes to a coach that gets his team to the big game and wins, you can only argue that Bill is one of the best coaches in the 39 year NFL history during the Super Bowl era. New Jersey con man…glorified gym teacher? Whether the hardliners have a personal problem with Bill or not, he is what he is.
Sorry for the length of this.
Brian
That is well done, Brian. Nice work.
27 comments:
Good luck in the NFL, Vince. I wish you had stayed, but totally understand the reasons for leaving. Thanks for bringing the title back home to AWWWSTIN TEXUS, BAYBEE. ;)
Smart move Vince. Your stock would NEVER be higher. Do you need an agent?
Carolina looked awfully tough and the Bears QB situation isn't much better than the Giants/Bucs. Take the 3 points & bet the farm
Bob went 2-2, not bad since Palmer lost a leg early.
Yeah, he did the right thing. In the end, Vince will be ok (as long as the Titans pick him and not the Saints), and the Longhorns will be fine too with 3 highly rated freshman QBs on the roster (Snead, Harris and McCoy).
On behalf of Sooner fans everywhere...
Thank you, VY, for turning pro.
And I have to take a little issue with your criticism of Chris Simms, Bob. If Edell Shepherd hangs onto that ball in the end zone to tie the score, we're not having this conversation. Both of his picks were tipped at the line and he was going against the hottest defense going in the NFL right now.
Take your signing bonus and go on down the road, Vince. That will be the only money you ever earn in the NFL.
Arena Football anyone?
Jay, are you serious? Maybe not as a starting QB, but he could be a WR or something.
He has too much talent to not be able to suceed in the NFL as a player.
What sayeth the Sturminator?
I think an NFL team would be hard pressed to spend a 1st round pick on a player who they would use at a position that he had never played before (at least at a high level).
Eric Crouch anyone?
jay, i think/hope you are doing a bit here. you are seriously comparing eric crouch to vince young? eric crouch could not play qb near the level of vy, nor did he have the athletism to play wr. young has shown not only the ability to throw the ball with great accuracy, he is 6'5 with incredible speed, and he also is an incredible leader who can change a game. even if he doesnt workout at qb, he is tall, taller than randy moss and has speed and a high football iq, which makes him a much better prospect than crouch.
if you think an nfl team would be hard pressed to spend a 1st round pick on him, then why is he projected to go top 5?
Obviously there is some intentional shock value in the previous posts. But my point remains:
A quarterback cannot be successful if he poses no serious passing threat to opposing defenses. Show me one pass that Vince made last week to a receiver who wasn't wide open (and no further than 10 yards down-field).
Frikkin Vick poses more of a passing threat, and the NFL defensive coordinators have already figured out how to contain him.
( I apologize in advance) Mel Kiper (shutters) has projected Vince going mid first round...around 10 or so.
His stock is falling faster than...Mel Kiper's.
I think Tony Dungy getting second place in Coach of the Year voting has less to do with the death of his son, and more with the total domination his team had over the rest of the league. Coach of the Year doesn't just have to go to the coach who's team came out of nowhere from being spare; it can also go to the coach who COACHED his team to the best year...
Show me one pass that Vince made last week to a receiver who wasn't wide open (and no further than 10 yards down-field).
Wait, so he's being penalized because he consistently found the open receiver? I only wish all QBs had this problem.
Given the news on VY.. what does the preseason college rankings look like now...
Before Vince Youngs decision:
UT #1
OU #8
Now, who is the best team in the Big 12 going into next year?
I believe that UT brings back a whole lot of talent, but let's see if they go through some growing pains just like OU did this year with Bomar.
Are OU and UT in the top 5 going into next year? maybe. There was a collective sigh of relief north of the Red River after this weekend. See you at the Red River shootout!!!
anyone have any projections on where huff goes in the draft? he would be a nice hometown addition to lineup next to roy....that give the cowboys that coverage safety we're in such desperate need of...
Joe Gibbs - one less year back, one more playoff win than The Big Fat Tuna.
Suck on that Cowboy fans!!
I believe that UT brings back a whole lot of talent, but let's see if they go through some growing pains just like OU did this year with Bomar.
I don't think the pains will be as severe for a couple reasons, most notably most of the OL will be returning(unlike OU this season). Also, UT won't be losing that much of their D either, and those spots where they are losing seniors had many kids getting reps in games this year. It's one of the positives of having Chizik as a DC, he rotated in players so much that plenty of younger talent got a lot of reps. I don't think Texas goes undefeated, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a 9-2(maybe 10-1 with a couple lucky bounces) mark when all is said and done.
As a side note, I think OU has some struggles next year too. They lose even more of their OL and - possibly more important - JD Runnels, the fullback that opened up a lot of those holes for Peterson to run through. Both teams will be good next year, but both have serious question marks.
anyone have any projections on where huff goes in the draft?
Kiper has Huff #9 on his board, though that board doesn't include juniors yet. He also names Huff as the best senior safety prospect, so I'm guessing they're picking Huff to be drafted in the 1st round.
Jay must be an aggy. His delusional and wishful thinking comments give him away. He probably thought that Fran would win a national championship before Mack, so take his comments for what they are worth.
Eric in Keller
Vince made the right call on coming out now. I figured that Mack would be able to convince him to stick around but I was wrong. His stock can only go down from here (for example I think that if Adrian Petersen would have been able to enter the draft after his freshman year, he would have been a top 5 pick. Not so sure he's top 20 now).
Take the money and run.
As far as what happens to the Big 12 next year, I think OU climbs back to the top of the heap while UT is setting their house in order and A&M is still wandering around under Fran.
Anon at 2:12pm has ZERO clue.
go back and watch the season, JD was not always used as the true "fullback"
And Chizik is probably gone to the NFL, so forget the defense.
OK...so I'm a former student of Texas A&M. But that doesn't mean that I can't form reasonable opinions of t-sip...I mean U.T. players.
Stephen McGee = next big thing
You're right, Runnels just happened to line up in the FB position and play lead blocker in the I-formation 80% of the time. The other 20% was spent pass blocking and once in awhile running out into the flat. Just wait, you'll see how much you miss him next year when Peterson's yards go from 5-6ypc to 3 and Bomar spends even more time on his butt because of a young OL and a FB that isn't bailing them out for their missed blocks.
And Chizik is probably gone to the NFL, so forget the defense.
Chizik doesn't want to go to the NFL, he wants to be a college head coach. If Texas loses him anywhere, it will be to another college team hunting for a HC.
"Former Student" - does that mean you didn't graduate? Most of us who GRADUATED from an institution of higher learning refer to ourselves as Alum.
I know you are aggy, so maybe you didn't take the SAT. But for the rest of us, here is a problem that might lok familiar:
"Stephen McGee" is to "next big thing" as "my johnson" is to "12 inches"
No matter how much you wish it were true doesn't make it so.
Obviously you know nothing of A&M tradition. Those of us who have graduated from Texas A&M refer to ourselves as Former Students (as opposed to Texas "Ex's", which indicates that you are no longer part of the crowd).
Higher learning?? UNT must be gaining prestige.
I'll take your mom out for a steak dinner, and NEVER call her back!!
Nobody knows about ATM tradition because nobody cares.
There's a great documentary about "Former Students" on PBS right now.
good soccer video
shows why roy keane might be the biggest prick in premiership history
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