Hot Seats Aren't on Fire

Rams coach Jeff Fisher was fired this week- making him the first NFL coach fired mid-season this year. Fisher was pretty obviously underachieving, and there aren't a whole lot of things to criticize about the move, but I was struck by the fact that the Rams were the first to fire a coach, and that it took until week 14. 

I'm curious to see if the proverbial bye-week head coach firing will be a thing of the past, or if this year was just an anomaly in patience, but I applaud teams for staying the course with coaches. I've never thought that the bye-week coaching change was ever terribly effective for more than a few weeks, and much has been made of the mediocrity of September and October football since the new CBA was signed. That mediocrity has also led to many teams staying "competitive" later in the season, but that trend seems here to stay given the new CBA. Teams are doing the right thing by staying the course through the season, despite coaching ineptitude. 

The Rams needed to fire Jeff Fisher after he revealed publicly that he was unaware of Les Snead's contract extension. When you are that out of touch with the organization, and reveal it publicly, you need to go. The Rams have plenty of work to do still on fixing that problem, but getting rid of Fisher was definitely a part of the solution. While many franchises face a similar decision, I'm glad to see that many are choosing to do so after the season. 

Replacing a Legend

   For the last several years since Tiger Woods' life spun a 180 both on- and off the course, the golf world has been eager to find a replacement to the hype and legacy of one of its brightest stars. After that Thanksgiving, Tiger has clearly not been the same. And his struggles have undeniably left a bit of a void. Naturally, people have been looking for a generational player to turn this around and to take up the mantle. But after this week, it seems that the golf world has begun to learn that they may be fortunate enough to have a few stars who may take up the torch.
   For too long during Tiger's post-scandal decline, the pundits wanted to crown the next Tiger Woods individually. First, I think this overstates Tiger's legacy. To clarify, Tiger is undoubtedly one of the best golfers to ever live. But the very fact that people in Tiger's prime looked to players like Vijay Singh early, and Phil Mickelson to challenge Tiger is indicative of the desire to have more than one dominant figure on the main stage.
   That's what I find so great about Jordan Spieth's dominant victory at Augusta this weekend. Spieth played one of the greatest weekends in golf at the Masters, finishing in the Top 5 scores (including ties) each day of the tournament. And yet, almost all of the pre-tournament talk focused on whether anyone could beat Rory McIlroy, Tiger's next potential heir. But what Spieth's weekend taught us was that Rory doesn't need to be Tiger's only heir. Just like Tiger had Vijay and Phil, the new generation should embrace the possibility of the growing rivalry between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. Golf will be better if both of them emerge as stars, rather than one at the expense of the other.

Coaching Circus

Like many of you, I have heard all season about the rift between Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers. We could all see that there was legitimately something wrong in the 49ers front office. And after Harbaugh and the team officially divorced, I couldn't shake the feeling of how stupid it was that the division between Harbaugh and GM Trent Baalke and/or owner Jed York was able to break up one of the most successful front offices in recent history. Today it really hit me the underlying crisis of this though is how remarkably short-sighted the feud is and how it continues a trend of egotistical owners getting in the way of their teams being competitive.

Obviously no one beats the egotistical owner ineptitude of Dan Snyder, but the Harbaugh situation brings to light a seemingly systemic issue with consistently struggling franchises: an inability to hire and keep good coaches and front office managers. I can't believe that certain owners (who by the way are almost unanimously enormously successful in other business ventures) are incapable of interviewing candidates and hiring those who share a consistent vision. As an example, it's hard to pass over the late Al Davis Raiders. Even when they seemed to make the turn toward being competitive by building depth and eliminating crazy high-risk-mediocre-reward trades, there would come word that Davis wasn't content with the slow transformation.

Ironically, said Raiders may finally be on their way to becoming genuinely competitive. Mark Davis seems to have genuinely understood the mistakes of his father, and has allowed Reggie McKenzie to keep his job despite a struggling season. Why was this important? Because he was clearly brought in to clean house and eliminate unreasonably overpaid salaries. The Raiders certainly tried to get Harbaugh to be their next coach. If Harbaugh's personality is really that abrasive, then it might be a good thing that the Raiders didn't end up hiring him. Maybe his personality will be a great fit in his return to college as players graduate continuously. But struggling team owners should end this cycle of short-sightedness and make sure that they are hiring candidates to fit their overall philosophy as well as coach the team successfully. Only through that consistency will a team be able to enjoy success for more than a few year stretches.

Tainted

Apparently Coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens is one of the many people that take exception to the various scandals that have plagued the NFL in the last few years. While doing an interview with a Baltimore radio station, Harbaugh was asked his thoughts on the Saints' bounty program and reportedly said that he felt that the Super Bowls for both the Saints and Patriots were tainted by the cheating scandals.

Naturally, ESPN needed to milk this story for all it's worth, and had Tedy Bruschi, a former Patriot embroiled in the controversy to respond. Bruschi's response was that the Patriots had done all in their power to prove that they were championship teams, and that the scandal did not mean that they did not have championship caliber teams.

I think Bruschi is missing the entire point of Harbaugh's comments. In saying that the championships are stained, or somehow have asterisks attached to them, Harbaugh is not saying that the teams weren't talented. I would argue that he is completely willing to accept that the Patriots and Saints had teams capable of winning multiple Super Bowls, but his point is that they didn't do it properly.

The example of Pete Rose is telling. No semi-rational human being could possibly keep Rose out of the Hall of Fame for his statistics. No one even argues that. What they argue is that he has radically dishonored the game of baseball.

Bruschi's response is like repeating the chorus of Pete Rose's baseball statistics as though there were still someone that needed to be convinced of his numbers. It doesn't matter if you have championship quality. No one is denying the work that was put in for the Saints and Patriots to win their championships. What they are questioning is the integrity of an organization that seeks to find ways around the rules, rather than within them, to win championships.

Risk/Reward

When I first heard that the Chiefs had selected Dontari Poe as their 1st round draft pick last night. I was terribly disappointed. I agreed with all the critics that a talented workout freak that had underperformed in college against mediocre (at best) talent was not worth the number 11 pick in the draft. At #11, you should still have near-lock picks available. And for the Chiefs last night, one was even available in David DeCastro, the guard from Stanford.
I think there are two great reasons why the Chiefs didn't actually lose on this pick. First, the new draft salary structure from the new collective bargaining agreement means we're paying WAY less for Poe than we would have a few years ago. I know many Kansas City fans are tired of being tied to a defensive lineman's fate, as was the case with Ryan Sims, and until recently with Tyson Jackson. First, the Chiefs quite intelligently restructured Tyson Jackson's contract to reflect his lack of production compared to his enormous salary as the #3 pick under the old draft salary program. This was huge, and during what will probably be a contract year for Jackson, you can certainly expect him to be putting forth effort this year. But most importantly, choosing Dontari Poe as the hopeful Haloti Ngata or Vince Wilfork of the Midwest is a risk much easier to take when your franchise's entire financial future is not hanging in the balance. It is a risk much more logically taken when defensive linemen have vastly improved their formerly pedestrian production under the current head coach as well.

The other reason the Poe pick makes a lot of sense is the depth at offensive guard in the draft. It seems as though almost unanimously draft gurus are saying that the Chiefs should have picked DeCastro rather than Poe. I completely agree with them that DeCastro is a sure starter from day 1, but I think the much more glaring need for the Chiefs is at nose tackle. The argument will almost certainly be made that this draft is equally deep at defensive tackle as it is at guard, but that argument ignores the fact that nearly every defensive tackle prospect, except for Poe, was a 4-3 technique tackle, rather than a nose tackle. And in my opinion, they were all glaringly fit for the 4-3 scheme, rather than the Chiefs' 3-4 scheme. Do the Chiefs need to upgrade the guard position of Ryan Lilja? Certainly, but our run defense and ability to remove the quarterback's ability to step up and throw in the pocket on EVERY down was a much more glaring need. Add to that, that prospects like Kelechi Osemele, Cordy Glenn (who also may be able to transition to tackle if we lost Branden Albert), Amini Silatolu, or even Peter Konz, the center from Wisconsin will most likely be available when the Chiefs pick 10th in the second round this evening, and I think the Poe pick is the better choice.

The comparison of this pick to the Tyson Jackson pick that began the Pioli era is unfair and inaccurate. Yes, it is a potential reach for a position of need. But the similarities end there. There isn't nearly as much of our future success tied to Poe's success, our future has not been mortgaged to sign him, and we are still able to get a starting prospect at guard without trading up. The Chiefs scored big two years ago in landing Eric Berry and Jon Asamoah, and I think time will prove them right in selecting Poe and a guard in the second round.

Do Your Best

Today I was watching First Take, and to no surprise Skip Bayless took a hard line when asked if Nelson Cruz was to blame for last night's Rangers loss in Game 1 of the World Series. He said yes, absolutely. This wasn't particularly shocking, though as you will see I disagree, but what was even more astounding was that the entire panel seemed to vehemently agree that Nelson Cruz and basically argued that he absolutely SHOULD have caught that ball. That ball slicing away from him at top speed as he slid to make a catch!

I was talking to my girlfriend this morning and mentioned that I hadn't put up a scouting related post in awhile. She's right. And then I thought about Nelson Cruz, and how he was getting lambasted for not making an incredibly difficult catch. Before we go into Cruz's efforts, I think it is worth pointing out that the Rangers' manager, Ron Washington, pointed out that it was not his team that lost the game as much as the Cardinals won it. Too true.

I don't know what it is about the over-sensitized media juggernaut of ESPN that makes it so necessary to always ask who or how one team lost, when it seems far more appropriate to congratulate the winning team. If I were Ron Washington in the Rangers clubhouse today I think I would say, "Guys, great job last night. Let's try and be a little more patient and get better pitches to hit tonight. But remember, you just lost last night to a perennial Cy Young candidate in his own ballpark, in one of the most notorious baseball cities in America. Don't worry about it and let's get 'em tonight!"

Back to Cruz. I've seen easily 10 to 12 replays of this play at this point, and I can't shake the notion that Cruz did absolutely nothing wrong! The scout oath (even as early as Cub Scouts) says that you should do your best. I honestly and sincerely believe that that was EXACTLY what Nelson Cruz was doing in trying to catch Allen Craig's slicing liner. He was clearly running very hard for the ball, knowing that it was slicing toward the foul line. It's not like he was pulling a Hanley Ramirez from a few years ago, he was hoofing it to the ball! And here's the thing I don't understand people giving Cruz flak for: He slides. Many people have argued that he either should have kept running or dove headfirst for the ball. First of all, I cannot disagree more. Second of all, talk about the luxury of hindsight! Of all the split-second decisions in sports, I can think of only a few that are more clearly irrelevant to judging whether a player is to blame for not making a play than Cruz's decision to slide.

Add to this the fact, that you only have to go to the last playoff series of Cruz's play to reveal that diving isn't always a good option. In the Tigers 7-5 win over Cruz's Rangers in the ALCS, the Tigers monster scoring inning was begun with, wait for it... Yes! of course! A Victor Martinez triple on a slicing line drive toward the right foul line that just escaped the grasp of a DIVING Nelson Cruz! Going back to last night, while Cruz did not make the catch as his glove came within inches of the ball, his leg did trap the ball from going any further, keeping the Cardinals trailing runner at 3rd and Craig at 1st. The way I see it we shouldn't be vilifying Cruz for missing the catch, we should be praising him from keeping more damage from being done in the inning!

I realize that this is by no means the only case of pundits somewhat irrationally questioning the decisions of pro athletes without putting those decisions in the proper context, but it seems particularly preposterous to assert that somehow this was a play that Cruz SHOULD have made. There is no doubt in my mind that Cruz was, in every sense of the word, doing his best. Unfortunately, and this is a lot of people's favorite part of the game of baseball, the sport does not always reward a player for doing their best or hustle. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't recognize it and congratulate it when it occurs, despite the result.

On the Couch: Contender Week

This is your first great weekend of football fellas! We've got a great Saturday lined up with several pairings of undefeated teams vying for supremacy in divisions, conferences, and even the national title race. So, without further ado, let's get to this week's games.

Saturday's rating: Putting on the team colors
I'm so excited to have a great Saturday of college football ahead. Something has been missing the last couple weeks. I just haven't gotten the sense when out doing other things that I am missing the big game. This week is different: the big games are on. Despite a slow start at the noon hour, with the best game featuring the Tar Heels of North Carolina against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, things really get going during the 3 o'clock hour. In the weekly SEC on CBS showdown Arkansas visits Alabama. This should be a great game, but I think the Crimson Tide survive thanks largely to their defense and the lack of Arkansas's best rusher Knile Davis.

It might be worth hitting a sports bar for this hour, unless you are really confident of your remote skills, because as the Crimson Tide and Razorbacks battle it out, two of the Big 12's 3 top 10 representatives meet in College Station as Oklahoma State visits Kyle Field to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M. Though A&M has improved, I think the OSU passing offense is just too dangerous. Cowboys 42-38 in a shootout. In a battle for Atlantic division supremacy in the ACC, the Seminoles try to avenge last week's loss to OU by traveling to Clemson to face the Tigers. I visited Clemson last year, and though they love their baseball team, it is clear that people in the South love one thing more than anything: college football. Clemson enjoys the home field and marches to victory 34-24 against a Florida State team that has lost E.J. Manuel who disappointed me last week by dashing my upset prediction.

In the primetime games, Vanderbilt-South Carolina has more intrigue than normal, as does Florida-Kentucky. Though the last several years have been dominated by SEC champions, keep in mind that many 1 loss SEC teams have made the national title game. If 1 of these teams wants to try and be the surprise undefeated representative of the SEC East in the title game, they will have to take care of business against opponents who have exceeded expectations so far this year. Mizzou-Oklahoma shouldn't be too exciting, but you just never know with Big 12 powerhouses. And finally, the marquee matchup goes to the Tigers of LSU who come to Morgantown to visit the West Virginia Mountaineers. This should be a great game, but I think that LSU shuts down a potent offense, just as they did with Oregon.

For the late night menu, turn to the UFC fight, but if you are still in a football mood I think Oregon-Arizona will outshine USC-Arizona State. I'll update the NFL section later tonight, so tune in! Have a great Saturday of TV watching!

Much Ado About Nothing

Yes, I know... ESPN analysts have to have something to talk about. And yes, like it or not, the Cowboys will always command a certain amount of media attention, even as a mediocre team that underachieves in comparison to the talent gathered on the roster. That said, I cannot help but think that the criticism of Tony Romo's performance last week against the Jets was overblown thanks to the media engine that is ESPN.

I do not mean for this to take away from the praise of his performance this week against the 49ers, as it is much deserved, though perhaps equally overblown. There were a few calm heads prevailing this week that assured us that even though Tony Romo clearly blew the Jets game, he would still be fine. But, and this is what eventually tired most of the people I talk to, pundits largely stayed in two camps: Tony Romo can never be a championship quarterback or Tony Romo can't be blamed at all for the loss (absurdly championed, of course, by the one and only Skip Bayless).

I suppose I am okay with a talk show like First and 10 choosing debate topics that evaluate an entire player's legacy after a bad game if that game seems indicative of common mishaps during his career. So, I can't blame ESPN for wondering if pundits felt that the Jets game was indicative of common mistakes made by Tony Romo. In some ways, I generally agree with the many pundits who did argue that Romo does falter in big moments. BUT, Tony Romo was by no means the only reason that the Cowboys have faltered in these big games. It is a team sport, and Tony Romo should not be assigned all of the blame for everything that goes wrong.

That said, Tony Romo has individually probably lost games for the Cowboys, or at the very least been able to save a win minus his own mistakes. I can't remember whether the dropped extra point attempt several years ago was for the win or to put the game into overtime, but that drop was pretty squarely on Tony Romo. Equally, had Tony Romo not fumbled at the goal line last week versus the Jets, the Cowboys probably would not have lost the game. No, Tony Romo is not completely at fault for the loss, but the absurd argument, that for some reason continued until Friday on First and 10 that Jason Witten was to blame, is even more ludicrous. While Tony Romo is not the ONLY member of the Cowboys team, he is certainly a key member of it, and his name should certainly come up when blame is doled out after a loss.

What I mean to say is simply that most evidence points toward Tony Romo being an above average quarterback, and the knee-jerk reactions of the media after one loss promote an exaggerated reaction to both the positives and negatives of his career as a quarterback. It would be nice to see a little more perspective given to the arguments from pundits.

Interesting NFL Trends

I happened to peruse the expert picks for this week's NFL games this morning, and couldn't help but notice the number of unanimous picks. Maybe it is just the product of this year's matchups, or of important factors like injuries to star players like Peyton Manning or Eric Berry. It just seems odd to me that there are so many games that many deem so apparently predetermined.

One of the great strengths of the NFL regular season has long been that anybody seems to be able to pull out a game on any given Sunday. Perhaps the experts just don't want to go out on a limb as much and pick upsets, but the unanimity seems to suggest that most of the games are heavily favored one way. It is at least encouraging that there have been surprise starts like the Redskins possibly leading their division at 2-0 with a win this week, or the mighty NFC South having every team lose their opening game. But it would be nice to see less uniformity and more intrigue when picking games.

On the Couch: Week 3

Well sports fans, another weekend of great gridiron action is upon us. It has been awesome to get back into the swing of football weekends. This weekend promises to be pretty a solid weekend with a few more marquee games now that the season is in full swing.

Things kick off early as LSU and Mississippi State square off in an early SEC West showdown. Mississippi State will keep this game close, despite LSU's incredible talent. I won't go with a straight pick, but I will say that if the Bulldogs can intercept two Jarret Lee passes, they will win the game. Otherwise, LSU's run defense is going to be able to pack the box against Mississippi State's outstanding running back tandem.

Fans hopping on the Boise State bandwagon again this year can watch the Broncos play against a Toledo team that almost surprised in-state kingpin Ohio State last week. Don't expect this game to be anything resembling competitive though as the Broncos will try and prove that they are deserving of the lofty praise they are growing accustomed to. Then the games really get cranked up on a weekend with some interesting regional matchups and some important road games for contenders.

Saturday's rating: Laying back with a beer
There are a couple potentially great games this weekend, but I get a sense that many of the games could turn quickly into blowouts, so I'm giving this weekend's college mania an average rating.

The 11 o'clock hour features a couple interesting contests. Auburn tries to keep its title defending season equally perfect against Clemson. I think the Alabama tigers escape in a close one here. Meanwhile, further North the Mountaineers of West Virginia travel to College Park to visit upstart Maryland. I am picking the Terps as I think that Randy Edsall has finally gotten over the hump of beating the Mountaineers with last year's win with his UConn squad.

The 2 o'clock hour pits old rivals Tennessee and Florida against each other in the opening SEC on CBS game of the season. I will be rooting for the Gators, but I think that this is the year that UT gets over the hump and finally beats the Gators for the first time in 6 years. And in a testament to how average this weekend of college football will be, I am still talking about the Irish as the marquee game. I'm picking the Irish to compete again, but dash the hearts of their faithful, and put a good coach who deserves a shot and a team that doesn't turn the ball over 10 times in 2 games on the hot seat. Michigan State 31-24 with a last gasp effort by the Irish.

Unfortunately the next moderately appealing game comes at 6 when the Sun Devils who shocked Missouri last week travel to Champaign to take on Illinois. I say the fighting Dennis Erickson's keep the streak rolling and beat the Illini in a high-scoring affair. Finally, in the nightcap it may be worth heading out to somewhere with a few more TV screens as Miami and Ohio State square off and Oklahoma rolls the wagon train into Tallahassee to take on Florida State. Miami upsets Ohio State vaulted by the return of key defensive players like Sean Spence, and EJ Manuel puts forth an impressive Heisman-esque performance with a late touchdown to shock the world as Big-Game Bob continues his tradition of failing to live up to his nickname.

If you are looking for a late night sleeper game, you can always watch Andrew Luck put on a passing clinic against Nick Foles and the Arizona Wildcats.

Sunday also gets a Laying Back with a Beer rating. Some intriguing games as some contenders look to rebound from rough starts and a few marquee games make for a decent day of NFL action. We'll do straight pick'ems this week.
For the noon games: Lions over my Chiefs (it hurts), Bucs over Vikings, Raiders over Bills, North over South as the Ravens and Browns beat the Titans and Colts respectively, the Saints passing attack overwhelms an emotionally charged Bears team with Urlacher grieving, the Jets overwhelm the Jags, the Steelers recover, the Redskins are a lucky 2-0, and the Pack prove what champions are made of in the NFL to Cam Newton's Panthers.

In the 3 o'clock spot: Patriots offense is just too much for the Bolts, Tony Romo doesn't falter against the Niners, Kyle Orton silences idiotic fans who wasted tickets to the Super Bowl to put up an ad calling for Tebow in Denver, and the Texans prove they have some defensive ability against the Dolphins. Side note: this will be the Texans year into the postseason, and in a bold prediction they will be 8-2 heading into their Week 11 bye.

For the primetime games: Atlanta gets back on track in the NFC South and the Rams squeak out a win in the injury bowl on Monday Night.

That's all for this weekend sports fans, see you next Thursday On the Couch.