Author Archives: The Chancellor of Football

The Browns Should Fire Kevin Stefanski Immediately

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Somewhere midway through the 3rd quarter of the Bengals’ thrilling 33-31 victory over Pittsburgh, it became evident Joe Flacco’s performance wasn’t going to subside. What happened to the gun shy quarterback who was benched over in Cleveland leaving a rudderless ship with 2 rookies vying to be the starting quarterback? Moreover what does that say about the coaching prowess of Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski?

Flacco had been unceremoniously benched following a 1-3 start where he completed 93 of 160 (58.1%) for 815 yards 2TDs and a league leading 6 interceptions. He was traded to the Bengals on  October 7th and in just 9 days with his new team led the Bengals to season highs in points (33) and total yards with 470.

Bengals Coach Zac Taylor could coax this type of performance in just 4 practices with a QB new to his system? Again I ask what does this say about Kevin Stefanski as a Head Coach?? Flacco looked nothing like the player we saw on Thursday night. He looked inspired, energetic and in command of an NFL offense. The Bengals played with a belief we did not see in Cleveland through the first 4 weeks. All stemming from the quarterback position…

Isn’t this why Stefanski was hired in the first place?? He was the Minnesota Vikings QB Coach and Offensive Coordinator and he can’t develop any of his quarterbacks. Did he get the job on merit or just a product of the good ole boy network?? Look at the QBs he has run off from Cleveland in the last 5 years and ask yourself what is the common denominator:

Baker Mayfield – The people’s champ who has resurrected his career and is the front runner to be 2025 NFL MVP. In 6 games leads the NFL with 108.5 QBR, 1,539 yds 12 TDs with only 1 interception. Four come from behind victories in under 2 minutes. The year before threw for a career high 41TDs so this isn’t a fluke. Stefanski ran him off…

Jacoby Brissett & Case Keenum –  Both players have been part time starters and mainly 2nd string QBs but couldn’t be molded into a Daniel Jones type leaning on his running game and stout defense to win games?? You may chuckle but you forget Keenum went 11-3 and took the 2017 Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. Remember The Minneapolis Miracle to Stephon Diggs to beat the Saints in the NFC Divisonal Playoff??

Of course you have the strange odyssey of DeShaun Watson where his play has completely regressed since the Browns signed him to a $242 million dollar guaranteed contract. He hasn’t come close to the 3 time Pro Bowl performer he had been. He is “this close” to playing his way out of the league. After throwing for 26, 26, & 33 TDs in 2018-2020 he hasn’t thrown for more than 10 in any of the last 3 seasons.

All this before we talk about the awful treatment of Shedeur Sanders. I’d like to say Watson is playing for his career but we watched Joe Flacco with a new coach breathe life into his. Daniel Jones is on his way to 2025 Comeback Player of the Year now he is out of New York and underachieving Brian Daboll. Coaching matters and poor coaching undermines and derails careers and Stefanski is the worst coach at developing quarterbacks.

What’s worse is Joe Flacco saved Stefanski when he came in off the street to lead his underachieving 2023 team to the playoffs. He even seemed dispirited and disinterested until Thursday Night’s performance with the Bengals. He can’t develop his specialty of QB or platoon a  coordinated offense in Cleveland. He should be fired this Monday if they lose to the 1-5 Miami Dolphins. I see him being fired within the next three weeks and better sooner than later.

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Epilogue: I owe a tremendous apology to Baker Mayfield as I brought up the question of his coachability in the NFL. I was wrong and he is easily the NFL’s MVP if the season were to end today.

This picture was used by The Chancellor of Football to show where he had appeared to devolve to the point of Johnny Manziel. He has resurrected his career and is playing light’s out football and he has proven me wrong and pulling for him.

 

 

 

 

 

Jaxson Dart Takes The Reigns In New York

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Monday Morning Musings 2025 Season Week 4: Young Guns

Monday Morning Musings 2025 Season Week 4: Young Guns

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Well the first domino to fall in the replacement of a starting quarterback happened in New York this weekend. Jaxson Dart was the exlixir the Giants needed for their 21-18 upset of the undefeated Chargers. He kept a few plays alive with his legs but lets face it the young players were excited and juiced to play with him. His energy along with fellow rookie Cam Scattebo & Malik Nabers had the whole team playing with a swagger missing since the preseason.

Dart was 13 of 20 for 111 yards 1TD while rushing 10 times for 54 yards and New York’s first touchdown. You saw his teammates around him celebrating and sharing in his enthusiasm and it propelled them this Sunday. They played with a confidence and spirit the rest of the game and played like they knew they were going to win.

There will be growing pains as Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka scaled back playcalling for #6. Its one of the reasons he did take 5 sacks in the game. However you could see clearly he was instructed to go short to his checkdowns once Nabers left injured. Yet this is who “checkdowns” are for… A young quarterback unsure of where to go with the football not a 14 year signal caller gun-shy to take hits who should have the moxie to audible to a better play.

Hopefully this new temperament won’t be quelled with the injury to Malik Nabers but is a clear reminder that players can be inspired to do great things based off emotion and camaraderie. Its a game that goes beyond “x’s & o’s”. Will players rally around their quarterback?? Does the team play together and want their teammates to ball out?  These questions were clearly on display in Gotham & this season now has some optimism for Coach Daboll.

By the way… how many Sundays are we going to keep watching the car wreck that is Cleveland’s offense under Joe Flacco?? Come on… 16, 17, 13, & 10 are the point totals through the 1st 4 games of the season. Averaging 14.75 points per game wouldn’t win you football games if we were back in the 1960’s unless you’re the NFL Champion 1963 Chicago Bears. Yet that team became legendary because of their #1 ranked defense.

Get this Cleveland’s defense is #1 against the run, 4th against the pass and #1 overall having allowed just 890 yards, well they’re 1-3 because Flacco has thrown for just 815 yards. Thats 18th in the league! Joe is 93 of 160 for 815 yards 2TDs and a whopping 6 interceptions. His 58.3% completion percentage ranks him at 31 while the Browns lead the league with 47 punts and have only scored 6TDs. Look Flacco was MVP of the 47th Super Bowl and we’re going to play the 60th edition in February.

He is a shot fighter and Father Time caught up to him 3 years ago and time to turn the reigns to Sheduer Sanders and see what he can do. Dillon Gabriel?? I watched him in the preseason and he is less athletic than “Tiny”Kyler Murray of the Cardinals & Bryce Young with the Carolina Panthers. Both of these guys won Heismans and have played poor enough their jobs are in jeopardy with the biggest reason…*drum roll* …they can’t see over the line with their short statures. Now at 5’11” and they’re being generous with that measurement, doesn’t engender confidence but they will go to him first.

Coach Kevin Stefanski you have an obligation to the other 52 players on the roster sacrificing for the team and you have a small window before you begin to lose that locker room. Especially with a defense that is playing up to a historic level. The team needs to see changes from you which show you’re trying to win now to keep them engaged. Not in your wildest dreams did you figure to have the same record as the loaded Baltimore Ravens but here you’re both 1-3 and your great defense is portable.

Knuckle up and called a scaled back offense like they’re doing in New York and give the ball to super rookie back Quinshon Judkins and play to your defense. You have a better defense and the Giants are the blueprint for what will work in Cleveland.  Time is ticking boss…

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Prime Pass Rushers Tilt The Field

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I forgot where we were having the conversation but I remember explaining to a football fan that nothing changes a team’s fortunes faster than a prime pass rusher. Not only does it improve your defense against the pass but it masks defensive deficiencies in the secondary. Its one of the reasons Taylor Blitz has Green Bay on its way to at least the NFC Championship Game this year with the acquisition of Micah Parsons.

This has been a lesson passed down from days gone by from two defensive terrorists The Chancellor has met that rushed the passer. Fred Dean & Cedrick Hardman. This especially holds true when a pass rusher in his prime is all of a sudden dropped on to a new team in a new division and I needed to elaborate further.

In 5th grade (1980) i remember the Raiders signing veteran Cedrick Hardman to rush the passer #86. He got 9.5 sacks as a designated pass rusher that helped Lester Hayes lead the NFL with 13 interceptions & they won Super Bowl XV.

The next year the idiotic move was San Diego sending a prime Fred Dean to San Francisco and they came out of nowhere to win Super Bowl XVI. It was Hardman, Dean and Lawrence Taylor that taught me the effects of great pass rushers.
To further the notion, the 1980 Chargers with Fred Dean was 6th in total defense & led the league with 60 sacks. Without Dean they gave up 1,500 more yards (4,691 to 6,136 yards allowed) and fell to a ranking of 27th and history misremembers them as Air Coryell & a terrible defense. They had finished 5th in ’79 & 6th in ’80 with Dean on the roster.
Other notables:
  • DE Charles Haley in ’92 – Cowboys were 16th in defense and rose to #1 and won Super Bowl XXVII
  • DE Jevon Kearse in ’99 – Titans had 30 sacks in ’98, they had 54 as Kearse’s Titans made Super Bowl XXXIV
  • OLB Von Miller in ’21 – Added to the #1 defense from ’20 & had 2 sacks in Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
  • OLB Haason Reddick in ’22 – Improved from 10th to 3rd in defense & 39 sacks to 770 sacks. Went to Super Bowl LVII.

In Kearse’s case he set the NFL Rookie Record with 13.5 sacks and the Titans became one of the league’s most physical defenses. Reddick was Taylor Blitz Times Defensive Player of the Year with 16.5 sacks and spearheaded one of the NFL’s historic sack totals. We hadn’t seen a sack total like that since the ’89 Vikings with 71 sacks, just 1 off the league record of 72 by Chicago. Both the Bears & Vikings were #1 defensively and the Eagles would have been had they not been in so many blowout victories.

Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick forces a first quarter fumble on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, January 29, 2023 in Philadelphia.

The NFL world is still buzzing with the idiotic trade of Dallas prime pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Moves like this completely tilt the field when a defense receives a weapon to bolster its lineup. Especially in this division. We all know of the seismic shift that took place when Green Bay signed the late Reggie White back in 1993, but remember the Bears bringing in PFHOF Julius Peppers to the division in 2010?

Chicago went from 17th in defense in 2009 to 4th and made it to the NFC Championship Game where they hosted Green Bay. Peppers was an All Pro for the 6th time in his career & 4th in NFL DPOY voting.

They did it again trading for future PFHoF Khalil Mack in 2018 leaping from 10th in defense to 3rd. They had been #1 for most of the season and Mack made his 5th straight Pro Bowl, 3rd All Pro selection, came in 2nd in voting for NFL DPOY (he won it in 2015) and led the Bears to a 12-4 record and first round bye. Mack was Taylor Blitz Defensive Player of the Year a 2nd time and The Chancellor predicted the carnage he would lay in Green Bay that first game on Monday Night. Why??

Well it was the 2nd coming of what happened when the San Francisco 49ers made the surprise move to pick up PFHoF DE Fred Dean at the start of 1981. Rivals within the division were unable to prepare for this terrorist to be dropped in their lap. They were unable to prepare via the draft or free agent personnel and here comes 4 time All Pro Micah Parsons. They were already the NFL’s 5th best defense in 2024. Yikes!

You could even bring up  PFHoF DeMarcus Ware when he joined Von Miller in Denver to win Super Bowl 50. Yet that was in his 2nd season in Denver and not the surprise element of tilting the field in the 1st.  Same can be said of fellow PFHoF DE Jared Allen. In his 2nd season in Minnesota (2009) he was among the league leaders in sacks (14.5) and led his Vikings to the NFC Championship Game featured here in a “Missing Rings” article.

Same can be said of the late Kevin Greene who tilted the field 3 times aiding 3 teams to either the conference championship or Super Bowl in 4 straight seasons. He led the league in sacks (14) in ’94 leading the Steelers to the AFC Championship then Super Bowl XXX the following season. He then joins the Carolina Panthers in ’96 leading the NFL in sacks again (14.5) and was the impetus in making the NFC Championship Game in their 2nd season of existence. He follows that up going to San Francisco as a designated pass rusher and accumulates another 10.5 sacks as they make the ’97 NFC Championship Game.
Fred Dean, Kevin Greene, Charles Haley, Julius Peppers, Jared Allen, and DeMarcus Ware are all enshrined in Canton. Von Miller will be there one day and with a few more All Pro selections Micah will be there as well. Just understand more than any other position, a prime pass rusher whether from a Defensive End or Outside Linebacker dramatically increases a team’s success more than any other position.
Starting in that 1981 season when I learned the lesson of the importance of the weak side pass rusher. All of a sudden drafting the Left Tackle became a focal point of the offense and many teams lead rebuilds around selecting one in the 1st round. It’s also when you started to see Left Tackle salaries soar. Do you realize in 2025, 23 of the NFL’s 32 teams have their LT in their top 5 highest paid players? If stopping prime pass rushers carries this type of weight what value do the pass rushers have themselves?
Nothing tilts the field for a team’s immediate fortunes like landing a prime pass rusher. Nothing… franchise QBs or all time great running backs don’t get dealt at their zenith.
Again the lessons learned have brought me as a defensive afecionado to writing about these exploits and spreading this with fellow fans. For me it started with Cedrick Hardman & Fred Dean, both of whom I had the chance to meet.
With Cedrick I used to run into him at The White House in Laguna Beach California early 2000s Talked football over many drinks. Same with Fred at the PFHoF hotel in Canton. We’re having a drink at the bar in Canton and I explained the both of them teaching me the lesson of pass rush terrorists and Dean said “Your ass is too young to remember all this zhit” I hit him back… “You know that’s the same muthaphukkin’ thing Cedrick’s ass said.” Great times ….great laughs. I had waited 37 years to shake Dean’s hand and thank him for that lesson.
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2025 AFC West Preview!

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Its amazing how week 1 looked a lot like Super Bowl LIX with Patrick Mahomes running for his life against the Chargers. To be fair their gameplan changed when they lost Xavier Worthy to injury but it’s a microcosm of what they will face in 2025.

AFC West 2025 Predictions

1 Denver Broncos 12-5 *

2 Los Angeles Chargers 11-6 +

3 Kansas City Chiefs 9-8

4 Oakland Raiders 6-11

Do you realize the Broncos defense finished ranked 7th but just 101 yards from finishing 2nd?? With twin OLB Nick Bonito (13.5 sacks) & Jonathan Cooper (10.5 sacks) speeding quarterbacks clocks into ’24 NFL Defensive POY Patrick Surtain II, this defense will be even more disruptive this year.

They led the NFL with 63 sacks last year and their two main pass rushers are just 25 & 26 years of age respectively. Now add in 24 yr old 2nd year QB Bo Nix and this team is growing into a winner right before your eyes. Nix broke the late Marlon Briscoe’s 55 year old Broncos rookie TD passing (14) record with 29. He improved throughout the season and played well early in the Wildcard playoff loss in Buffalo. This team is on the rise and watch for RB RJ Harvey as the season wears on.

The Kansas City Chiefs have fatigued and ran into a wall early in Super Bowl LIX which still lingers. Patrick Mahomes has his 5th starting Left Tackle in 5 years and his RT Jawaan Taylor  hasn’t improved has been struggling and could have had 30 false starts in 2024 has yet to improve. The officials are going to watch him closer and these penalties will sink a team that had 10 wins in 1 score games.

Having lost G Joe Thumey to the Bears, 2 of Mahomes 5 Offensive Linemen have been replaced since the Super Bowl.

With Xavier Worthy injured and Rashee Rice suspended for the first 6 games, the Chiefs have to lean on the running game with Isiah Pacheco & Kareem Hunt more. The issue is will Pacheco still run with the abandon he did before his latest injury.

Replacing KC in the 2025 playoffs will be Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers who just outdueled the Chiefs in week 1. Justin Herbert finally pulled off a win vs a quality opponent. He was 1-9 in his last 10 matchups with playoff teams. The win in Brazil over KC can go a long way to his maturing into the QB most of us thought he was on the way to being back in 2023.

The 1-0 Raiders looked solid in their win against the Patriots on opening day but lets face it, Geno Smith beat 2nd year starter Drake Maye. He won’t have the luxury of playing a rebuilding team every week. He does have 1st round pick Ashton Jeanty who The Chancellor believes will have a super rookie season. The Raiders without serious weapons at wideout must rely on the running game when they face better teams.

Geno’s history shows once teams have a bead on what he does he really struggles which will come back to haunt against the Broncos, Chargers, & Chiefs. Right now he doesn’t have enough offensive help outside Pro Bowl TE Brock Bowers. A steady performer but not specacular enough to win more than 6 games.

How far will Denver go in 2025? Well… stay tuned. Thanks for reading and please share the article.

2025 NFC North Preview

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The NFL world is still buzzing with the idiotic trade of Dallas prime pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Moves like this completely tilt the field when a defense receives a weapon to bolster its lineup. Especially in this division. We all know of the seismic shift that took place when Green Bay signed the late Reggie White back in 1993, but remember the Bears bringing in PFHOF Julius Peppers to the division in 2010?

Chicago went from 17th in defense in 2009 to 4th and made it to the NFC Championship Game where they hosted Green Bay. Peppers was an All Pro for the 6th time in his career & 4th in NFL DPOY voting.

They did it again trading for future PFHoF Khalil Mack in 2018 leaping from 10th in defense to 3rd. They had been #1 for most of the season and Mack made his 5th straight Pro Bowl, 3rd All Pro selection, came in 2nd in voting for NFL DPOY (he won it in 2015) and led the Bears to a 12-4 record and first round bye. Mack was Taylor Blitz Defensive Player of the Year a 2nd time and The Chancellor predicted the carnage he would lay in Green Bay that first game on Monday Night. Why??

Well it was the 2nd coming of what happened when the San Francisco 49ers made the surprise move to pick up PFHoF DE Fred Dean at the start of 1981. Rivals within the division were unable to prepare for this terrorist to be dropped in their lap. They were unable to prepare via the draft or free agent personnel and here comes 4 time All Pro Michah Parsons. They were already the NFL’s 5th best defense in 2024. Yikes!

NFC North 2025 Prediction:

  1. Green Bay Packers 14-3 *
  2. Chicago Bears 10-7 @
  3. Detroit Lions 9-8
  4. Minnesota Vikings 6-10

The team best equipped to deal with Micah are the Detroit Lions with Pro Bowl Tackles Pinei Sewell (3rd) & Taylor Decker (1st). However the surprise retirement of 4 time Pro Bowl Center Frank Ragnow along with replacing Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson will bring the Lions back to the pack and may have closed their window.

The best offensive line in football losing their Center is bigger than fans think. Blocking audibles and slide protections aside, he’s being replaced by an older (33 yrs) Graham Glasgow. Some of those holes for Jamyr Gibbs & Montgomery on stretch plays may be missing the 1st part of the season. We know what happens when Jared Goff has pressure up the middle also.

The schdule isnt kind with the Packers, Ravens, and Chiefs out of the gate where a 3-3 record is likely. One game is where they take on their old OC Ben Johnson now with the Bears. At least that game is home where they start in Lambeau and face the Ravens & Chiefs also on the road. Then have back to back road games in Washington & Philadelphia. The two teams that played in last year’s NFC Championship after the Commanders upset Detroit. They could be 5-5 after 10 weeks.

Much like the memo that went out to Packers QB Jordan Love, the same can be said in Chicago. The Bears fortifying their front line trading for Pro Bowl G Joe Thuney & Jonah Jackson and bringing in C Drew Dalman from Atlanta are proof positive the front office has done everything to make you a winner. No excuses.

Williams is set to make the jump 2nd year NFL players experience if by nothing else the talent put around him to win. This new look like with RB D’Andre Swift, WR DJ Moore & Rome Odunze will score more points under HC Ben Johnson. He has to produce and will but not to the degree of winning the division.

The Vikings will take a significant step back with JJ McCarthy taking over for Sam Darnold. Many thought the Vikings overreached for him in the 1st round two years ago coming out of Michigan. Last year he was injured and missed the entire season so this is his true rookie year.

Can he pick up and perform where Sam Darnold left off? No, Darnold was at least going into his 7th season and learned under Kyle Shanahan the season before coming to Coach McConnell. You have to give grace to McCarthy learning on the job and will have his ups and downs. This division is too stout for a 1st year starting QB though.

That Green Bay Packers memo I joked about? Well Jordan Love, last year management gave you workhorse back Josh Jacobs. He responded with 1,329 yards & 15 TDs to keep the pressure off. You might have the best corps of young receivers in all of football in Reed (55 rec. 857 yds 6TDs), Doubs (46 rec. 601 yds 2 TDs), then Watson & Wicks. Who will emerge or will they stay the hungry group fighting to outperform their counterparts?

Pick your poison as this team has weapons and I’ve already forwarned how the defense should improve. Its Watson who has to stay healthy and make the plays early in games to give the Packers leads against quality opponents. This was missing last year but was front and center in 2023 when he played his way into the divsional round & contract extension.

With all the talent around him plus the move to add Micah to the defense, management feels this is a Super Bowl push season. Where does Taylor Blitz have Love & the Packers?? At least in the NFC Championship Game.

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