Author Archives: The Chancellor of Football

2012 NFC South Previews & Predictions

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Second year wideout Julio Jones skies over a Ravens defensive back for a touchdown in last week’s preseason opener.

As the 2012 regular season beckons, many pundits and fans are looking for the Carolina Panthers to light up this division. There will be several young stars that will come to the fore in the toughest division in football, yet there will be one second year player who should take the league by storm. Oh you thought we meant Cam Newton?? He’ll do well but the player who is about to break out is WR Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons. His play so far in the preseason along with the maturation he showed toward the end of last year. Look out his star is on the rise.

No division in football has been as competitive from top to bottom as the NFC South. Since its inception in 2002, there hasn’t been a repeat division winner and again its the only division to have every team play for the conference championship during that time. Each team can run at you physically, Atlanta with Michael Turner (1,340 yards in 2011), thunderous LeGarrette Blount (1,007 yards in 2010), former Heisman winner in Mark Ingram, and former twin thousand yard rushers DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart in Carolina. Yet with last year’s emergence of Cam Newton and 2010’s Josh Freeman (25TDs to only 6 ints), each team fields better than average quarterbacks. This is before we get to record setting Super Bowl champion Drew Brees and 3 time playoff participant QB Matt Ryan. This division is stacked on offense…

However there are several questions moving into 2012. How will the Saints fare with the suspension of Head Coach Sean Peyton?? Will their game day adjustments suffer or will the overall gameplan be inferior?? Have the Panthers made enough moves to allow Cam Newton to star again or will he have a sophomore slump?? Which team was the real Tampa Bay Buccaneers?? Was it the 10-6 2010 team that was coming on at the end of that season or last year’s 4-11 debacle that got Head Coach Raheem Morris fired??

We’ll answer a few of those later in the article….as for our predictions

2012 NFC South Predictions

Atlanta Falcons 11-5 *

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-7

New Orleans Saints 9-7

Carolina Panthers 6-10

Now that the Saints signed Drew Brees to a long term deal: How will he fare this season without Sean Payton?? Payton and Brees have been lethal these last several years with game plans but they will suffer with game-day adjustments. There should be a drop off this season as Interim Coach Joe Vitt can’t put his stamp on the team. In a single season lame duck situation?? Not going to be good. More important, without their spiritual leader on defense with the suspension of Jonathon Vilma, this defense will give up points by the bushel and will behind in the race to win the south. As evidenced in Saturday night’s preseason game against Houston, this defense struggled in a 34-27 shootout. The Texans marched to two easy touchdowns while the starters were out there. Don’t forget the Saints were at home. How do you think they will fare when they are on the road this year?? http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012082554/2012/PRE3/texans@saints#tab=recap&menu=highlights

They have a murderous schedule and will lose tie breaker advantages during the weeks of 12-15 where they face San Francisco, who beat them in last year’s playoffs. Then they face a stronger Atlanta Falcons team on the road, then travel to play the World Champion Giants in the cold, then come home to face a resurgent Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. Even though Tampa had a down year in 2011, they only lost 27-16 in New Orleans and defeated the Saints in the Superdome in 2010. At full strength with Coach Peyton, Jonathon Vilma on defense, the Saints would be in good shape against these ball clubs but with a coaching staff trying to keep the ship steady?? These are four losses waiting to happen and all to NFC teams. This is after they would have played the Packers at Lambeau in week 4, and the Philadelphia Eagle in week 9.  Too many in conference losses will doom the Saints this year.

Super Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers.

Has there been a more electrifying rookie quarterback in NFL history than Cam Newton?? The Chancellor can only think of one and that was Dan Marino’s 1983 season. Yet a closer look and Newton broke the rookie record in week 1 with 422 yards against the Cardinals, rushed for 706 yards and 14 TDs (another record), while completing 60% of his passes for 4,021 yards (another record) and 21TDs. All as a rookie?? Yikes! That dwarfs Marino’s 20TD passes and didn’t start for Shula’s Dolphins until week 6 and was no threat with only 45 yards rushing. What is he going to do for an encore??

Once upon a time Tim Tebow was given the nod over Newton at the University of Florida. My how the tables have turned as the Panthers defeated Tebow and the Jets 17-12 last night in pre-season action.

The question is did they do enough to move up in the competitive NFC South?? They still have the “Cash & Carry” backfield of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart, who just signed an extension last week. Ageless Steve Smith revitalized his career with Newton’s emergence and may have a running partner in WR Louis Murphy who scored in last night’s game.  On offense the answer is yes, but on defense they haven’t done enough. They did get LB Thomas Davis back but they have to keep their fingers crossed he doesn’t injure his knee for a fourth time. They need all the help they can get on a defense that was 28th last year and finished 25th against the run. In this division that last stat will be what they need to improve and the draft only brought one lineman in 4th rounder Frank Alexander. New leaders have to emerge for the Panthers to make a  move up… that can happen in 2013. The problem is it’s still 2012 so they’ll improve just a few wins on offense as a team.

Former Boise St running back Doug Martin should rush for 1,200 yards for Tampa this season.

Now a team that will be the surprise winner in this division is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last year this team dropped to 30th in the NFL in rushing and brought unnecessary heat on QB Josh Freeman. Team brass addressed that with 1st round selection RB Doug Martin out of Boise St. With the rushing attack under performing it also kept the Buccaneers defense from resting. In 2011 this was a run first, pass second team that went 10-6. Josh Freeman had the second lowest touchdown to interception ratio, 25TDs to just 6 interceptions, to a record setting Tom Brady. With the acquisition of WR Vincent Jackson from the San Diego Chargers to go along with TE Kellen Winslow Jr, WR Mike Williams and WR Arrelios Benn, this team has some big targets.

Speaking of Tom Brady, the Buccaneer defense made his life miserable in pre-season action Friday night. The Bucs pass rush harassed him all night and made him throw a pick six in a 30-28 win. Brady played into the 3rd quarter (unheard of in pre-season) and New England needed 2 4th quarter touchdowns to make the score close. One of the differences was the efficient play of Freeman and Doug Martin, who rushed for 53 yards on 13 carries and sat out more than half the game. This talent who has been a Taylor Blitz Time favorite https://taylorblitztimes.com/2011/08/02/2011-heisman-campaign-doug-martin-of-boise-st/ will tilt the balance of power for them from a tactical standpoint all year. They should return to form and match the 10-6 record of 2010. They’ll be ready to make a serious move in 2013.

However 2012 will belong to the Atlanta Falcons. They have built for this season for the last four and this is the year for the payoff. TE Tony Gonzalez can’t go forever and RB Michael Turner is about to turn 30. When the Falcons lost in last year’s wildcard to the New York Giants, it marked the second season in a row their season ended at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champions. As a matter of fact, if you include the 2009 NFC Divisional playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals, 3 of the last 4 seasons has ended at the hands of the eventual NFC Champion. Its time for their maturation and ascend to a Super Bowl themselves. Head Coach Mike Smith and Matt Ryan have to prove they can win a playoff game. They are primed as a team talent wise to make a move.

Next up: NFC North

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The Soul Of The Game: 1986 Conference Championships

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When we say “The Chancellor never sleeps”, we mean there is always football on. Whether we’re talking about the Hall of Fame exhibition game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints, or a former landmark game, there is always football on in the imagination. Although I’m writing a football book based upon the Super Bowls, my favorite week are those of the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

There you will find the last of the games between passionate fans of the home teams versus the sterile groups that attend the Super Bowl. The season ticket holder who has been cheering and screaming for 4 months… it leads to a contrast that can’t be matched by the corporate Super Bowl ticket holder.

86TaylorWhen the home team wins the conference championship the celebration reverberates throughout the stadium. The fans don’t want to leave and in some instances players take a victory lap long after the cameras are gone. On the other hand the silence that can overcome a stadium when the home team goes down can be deafening. It’s almost like something has gone wrong with your ears. How can 80,000 people go that silent?? Yet you remember last January how quiet it got in Candlestick Park when Lawrence Tynes kicked the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.

In 1986, the Championships were two tightly fought games. The New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins 17-0 and did so based upon good field position with a fierce wind in the first quarter. In Cleveland a defensive battle gave way to John Elway coming of age with “The Drive”. From there the Broncos, who had gained 216 total yards throughout the first 54:00 of the game, drove 98 yards to the tying score. Then won it in overtime.

These fiercely contested game made Super Bowl XXI anti-climactic. They had intensity that bordered on the Hatfields and the McCoy’s and all four defenses played terrific football that day. The two games before the Super Bowl are normally better games than the Super Bowl and my love for the conference finals started with these fiercely fought games.

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Chuck Foreman Should Be In The Hall Of Fame

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There are several definitions of a champion and fewer for what constitutes a Hall of Fame player. When asked a week or so ago what I thought a Hall of Fame player was I responded “If you were to talk about a decade or era in which a player participated and you couldn’t talk about that time frame without that person’s mention. If you can’t he’s a Hall of Famer.” Chuck Foreman was such a player.

Has there ever been a running back that was more emulated than this 1970s icon?? When you look back at Foreman’s numbers, they don’t jump out at you. However it was his immediate impact on the entire football landscape that made him important. Every NFL fan can remember his spin moves and patented lateral side step moves that left linebackers reaching for him instead of getting a full on shot. If you close your eyes right now you can picture the famous shot from Super Bowl XI against the Raiders as he spun off two defenders. He was one of the breath-taking runners of the 1970’s…and before we get into the full argument, remember he spent his years as a fullback. Yes, at fullback!

What impact are we talking about?? For starters the 1972 Minnesota Vikings were a run by committee team that only averaged 3.7 yards per rush as they gained 1,740 yards. Foreman’s insertion into the line-up as a rookie catapulted those numbers to 4.2 yards and a team total of 2,275 yards. Although he missed two games, he led the team with 801 yards while opening up the passing game being such a threat from the backfield. The Vikings went from 7-7 and fading from the promise of  a Super Bowl IV appearance a few years back, to 12-2 and NFC Champions in 1973.  Foreman reinvigorated the franchise.

Over the next three seasons, Foreman was as strong a force the NFL had seen when it comes to scoring production. He rushed for over 1,000 yards each season. Not only did he lead the Vikings back to the Super Bowl two more times, he set the standard for running back catching passes out of the backfield.

Did you know in 1975 he led the NFL with 73 receptions?? It was only the 2nd time a RB led the NFL and was a record at the time for catches out of the backfield. This accounted for 691 yards and 9 scores.

When you plug in his 1,070 yards on the ground with 13 trips to the endzone, Foreman accounted for an astounding 22 touchdowns. This tied the old record of 22 in a season with Gale Sayers because during the same game, OJ Simpson pushed the record to 23.

Not to be outshown Foreman scored 4TDs that afternoon while facing off against another great back. This was one of the landmark games in NFL history. Not only did OJ and Foreman (172 total yards & 4TDs) put on a show, Fran Tarkenton broke the NFL’s all time touchdown record by John Unitas throwing his 291st.

During the period 1974-1976, Foreman scored a league high 51 touchdowns. This was Chuck in his prime and before you compare his best 3 year period with any other running back’s best 3 year period remember this… Foreman had these numbers in a 14 game season, not the 16 game campaign.

  • Chuck Foreman – 1974-1976 : 51 touchdowns
  • OJ Simpson – 1973-1975 : 39 touchdowns
  • Franco Harris – 1975-1977 : 36 touchdowns
  • Jim Brown – 1963-1965: 45 touchdowns          *all were 14 game seasons
  • Marshall Faulk – 1999-2001: 59 touchdowns *Set TD record at 26 in 2000
  • Emmitt Smith – 1994-1996: 62 touchdowns    *Set TD record at 25 in 1995
  • Barry Sanders – 1989-1991: 47 touchdowns

However a closer look at his touchdown numbers reveal that his totals for ’74-’76 project to a whopping 57 scores had he maintained the same pace for a 16 game season. He measures up fairly well with these 6 Hall of Fame backs when it comes to scoring. That is the name of the game isn’t it?? It’s not just yards, its scoring, impact on the game, and winning. Even when you look at OJ Simpson’s yardage for his career it’s really a 5 year period that his work was condensed from 1972-1976.

So to talk about a players career in a condensed time frame in their prime isn’t foolish. OJ had five 1,000 yard seasons to Foreman’s three. If that was enough to make OJ NFL Films “Hero of the Decade” for the 1970s, where does that leave Foreman whose spin move was copied by fellow 70’s runners Walter Payton and Tony Dorsett?? Who also clearly outscored Simpson during their heyday.

His Vikings went to 3 Super Bowls in 4 years and only the “Hail Mary”  playoff loss to Dallas kept them from going to 4 straight.

He changed the way the game was played from the running back position. It was the Vikings realizing they could free him from the logjam of the line of scrimmage by throwing it to him instead of quick traps or dives. For his career he caught 50 or more receptions in a season five times during his career. Compare that to only 2 for Lynn Swann who is in the Hall of Fame as a receiver in the same era. For his career he ran for 5,950 yards 53TDs, which doesn’t include another 3,156 yards and another 23 scores receiving. In the end, Foreman was burned out before his time.

  • Yet when you have a player match Gale Sayers for the second best touchdown total of 22 in a season.
  • Won the 1973 NFL Rookie of The Year
  • Made 5 straight Pro Bowls (1973-’77)
  • Led the NFL in TDs in both 1974 & 1975.
  • Led the NFL in receptions w/ a record 73 in 1975.
  • He immediately turned a fading Vikings team into the winningest team in the NFC over a four-year period 45-10-1 and 3 conference championships.

If it’s about making an immediate impact and being an unforgettable talent, than Chuck Foreman needs to take his place with other great backs. One trend which has gone on too long is the omission of Minnesota Vikings from the 1970s not making the Hall of Fame because of Super Bowl losses. Foreman sits within that abyss and the situation needs to be rectified. As a one of a kind talent from “The [[_]]”, his playing style was mimicked by a generation of up & coming running backs and he hasn’t been forgotten by legions of NFL fans. If that is not enough, we have to redefine the definition of a Hall of Famer.

For induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present to you: Chuck Foreman

provided by Tony Janetto

Chuck Foreman in motion. Just as we remembered him…compliments of Tony Janetto

If you want to get in touch with Chuck…and more on this talent hit him up on his Facebook page or his official shop. 

Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate #44
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, 
OH 44708

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2012 Denver Broncos Preview

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Peyton Manning running no huddle offense during OTAs.

Has there ever been a team that had two totally different quarterbacks to fawn over in NFL history in back to back seasons?? Last year Tebow hysteria reigned supreme as the Broncos had 5 last second come from behind victories. His quarterback legitimacy was debated from coast to coast making Tim a national figure. Now all of a sudden, they have one of the NFL’s most iconic figures in Peyton Manning going under center for them. The Broncos have to be near the top in merchandising right now.

Going into 2012,  the questions that arise are: Does Manning have the receivers that will allow him to flourish in the Mile High City?? Is he going to have the same zip on the ball as the season wears on?? Can his teammates rise to the occasion and help Manning become only the second quarterback in league history to win championships with two different teams?? Most of these answers will be of the wait and see variety but Manning didn’t come to Denver just to continue his career. He wants to win another ring and solidify his legacy as one of the all time great quarterbacks. A quarterback winning two championships with two different teams has only happened once before in NFL history (Norm van Brocklin) and hasn’t been achieved in 52 years. Peyton…your mission should you choose to accept it…

Quarterback: Speaking of which, is it me or does this feel a lot like 1993 when Joe Montana joined the Kansas City Chiefs after a year away due to injury?? Of course the skeptics are wondering if Manning has totally healed while others marvel at the thought of him playing like the quarterback of old in a new city. Well from all accounts the zip on his passes in mini-camps has been there. The real question is will those same passes have the zip on them as we head toward the end of the season??

Not out of the question when you remember he sat out an entire season and this will be his 15th. Bouncing back from a neck injury had to retard the throwing of the football to a degree and it may show up as fatigue late in the season. The psychological fallout for an athlete recovering from injury is a delicate thing. What is uncertain is how Manning will take hits this season. Will he be guilty of looking down at the rush once he starts getting hit?? This is one of the tell-tale signs of an aging signal caller also. As we alluded to earlier, the Broncos were 23rd in sacks allowed with 42. https://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/03/19/peyton-manning-sweepstakes-ends-in-denver/ Yet his best asset is his ability to audible out of situations when he knows the blitz is coming. He will also have a running game to aid him when that does happen.  In Indianapolis he didn’t have that luxury the last five years. We’ll have to wait and see how he responds.

One of the intriguing early battle lines is the teams that have best defensed Manning will see him this year. The Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, & New England Patriots have shown the penchant to mask their blitzing intentions until the play clock was under :10 seconds, then come after him. Put him in position where he doesn’t have time to audible and then come. It’s proven to disrupt Manning and cause a few misreads. He faces the Steelers in week 1 at home but weeks 5, 9, and 15 he goes on the road to play those Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, and Baltimore Ravens. On paper he’s still a Super Bowl quarterback and this will be an interesting season.

McGahee was a workhorse for the Broncos last year.

Offensive Backfield: By all accounts this was a really sound rushing attack last season. Willis McGahee resurrected a career rushing for his 4th 1,000 yard season for his 3rd team. In 2011, McGahee ran for 1,199 yards on 249 carries and averaged a gaudy 4.8 yard average. However he’ll be 31 years old in October and his years are few as a featured back. In fact his play came about with the inability of Knowshon Moreno to remain healthy and has become a point of diminishing returns for the Denver Broncos.

To that avail the Broncos will go with McGahee’s more physical style and turn to 3rd round draft pick Ronnie Hillman from San Diego State barring any injury. At 5’9, 200 lbs, Hillman is a straight ahead runner with little side to side shiftiness. Reminds The Chancellor of Olandis Gary from a few years back. One cut and go… If Hillman has a good camp Moreno should be cut this preseason. Running back should be of playoff quality in Denver.

Receivers: So here it is, you’re a receiver for the Denver Broncos in the off-season. After your morning yawn and stretch you click on your computer or turn on the television and see your team just signed Peyton Manning to be your quarterback. Would that be the equivalent of Christmas in July?? For Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas, this off-season must have flown by now that they have one of the league’s best passers in-house. The wideout who stands to be the go to guy will be Decker. He will look to improve on last year’s 44  reception 612 yard season that saw him score 8 times. He grew up in a major way last year amid pedestrian quarterbacking and is the shiftier route runner of the two. Thomas is a big receiver at 6’3, 230 pounds and doesn’t really fit the mold of the receivers Manning has had during his career. We look to a new receiver across from Decker by the time the season begins. Whether it’s another free agent brought in or if Andre Caldwell or Jason Hill can quickly pick up the offense will decide on if this team can take to the air or not.

One receiver that will figure prominently will be TE Jacob Tamme. Where he was a second tight end and third option early in his career, he will become the safety outlet Manning needs. Two years ago in Indy he proved to be valuable with a 67 catch season and should finish with 80 or more in 2012. Until a solid receiver unseats Thomas this position is slightly below average and could force the Broncos to be a running team once again.

Peyton Manning’s new bodyguard Ryan Clady

Offensive Line: Well the ink is just drying on the contract extension that locks up LT Ryan Clady that should allow Manning to remain upright. This Boise St product has proven to be the best young tackle in the game today. Its paramount the line protects better than last year’s performance with 42 sacks allowed. However it was a three-fold issue. Clady didn’t have as a good a year as he had wanted giving up 9 sacks. Once you couple that with Tim Tebow scrambling around and inexperienced receivers not being able to get open and you see why the sacks totals were so high.

The line is relatively young with its most senior member G Chris Kuper entering his 7th season. They will rely on Manning getting rid of the ball quicker to lower the quarterback hits from 68 a year ago also. It was this group that led the Broncos to the #1 ranking when it comes to rushing the football. Every RB posted an average attempt better than 4.2 yards while McGahee and Moreno each averaged a gaudy 4.8. The league average is roughly 4.0 so you can see how effective this group was. This is a Super Bowl quality offensive line yet needs some help at receiver and looks to Manning’s quick decisions to improve their protection stats.

Defensive Line: Last year’s defense was extremely opportunistic while keeping games close. Overall their ranking was 20th yet tied for 10th in sacks with 41, 9.5 of them from Pro Bowl End Elvis Dumervil. They played well enough at the end of games however the first 3 quarters they gave a lot of ground. The Broncos used a hodge podge defensive front of Dumervil (33 tackles/ 9.5 sacks), Robert Ayers (41 tackles /3 sacks) on the ends, and Broderick Bunkley (48 tackles)  and Marcus Thomas (46 tackles) who manned the middle. This group gave up a lot of ground at 22nd against the run. To that avail 1st round draft pick Derek Wolfe out of Cincinnati will have a chance to start. Another was used on Malik Jackson from Tennessee in the 5th round. He should see some time opposite Dumervil on pass rushing situations. Right now he may be too green to play immediately as an every down lineman. It should shape up to be a good camp and right now the grade for this group is slightly below average. Let’s see how they come out of the summer.

The Broncos hit a home run with rookie linebacker Von Miller.

Linebackers: The real strength of this defense lies right here. Von Miller made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and had the most impact at his position this division has seen since Derrick Thomas. After a 65 tackle, 11.5 sack, 3 forced fumble season it will be interesting to see what he does for an encore. With Dumervil 100% and a young pass rusher in Malik Jackson this team could form the fiercest rush in the AFC. Only a monster of a rookie season would have us list Miller over the team’s leading tackler. All DJ Williams (The [[_]]) did was make 97 total tackles, 5 sacks while forcing 2 fumbles. Despite missing 3 games. Fast, active and aggressive were fellow linebackers were Wesley Woodyard (90 tackles) and Joe Mays (83 tackles). That was good enough for the top 3 tackling spots and 4 of the top 5.

The only issue is they need to make a few plays while the ball is in the air. Not a single interception from the group and only 11 passes defended between the 4 of them.  They’re young enough that they should see some improvement in 2012. This a playoff caliber group and if the play is more instinctive against the pass and there isn’t a sophomore slump from Miller, this group can be Super Bowl caliber.

Secondary: How abysmal can an NFL secondary be?? This team could get after the passer and all this group could muster was 9 interceptions?? In fact they are one of only two teams that had more than 40 sacks and single digit interception which tied them for second to last in the NFL. Terrible. The Chancellor has always felt Champ Bailey is overrated. Last year he did make the Pro Bowl with a  40 tackle, 2 interception season with 10 passes defended. Seriously?? The kid corners in New England had better seasons than that. It may also illustrate going into his 14th season, Bailey may no longer be an elite athlete. Keep your eye on his coverage later this season as his play might slip as the bumps and bruises pile up.

Former Saint Tracy Porter signed a one year deal with the Broncos.

Broncos brass really felt the need to do something with their weak play on the corner. They released Andre Goodman in April and signed Drayton Florence. Yet it’s the ghost of Super Bowl XLIV past that will be the starter opposite Bailey in former Saint CB Tracy Porter. You remember him don’t you?? He was the one that sealed Peyton Manning’s fate in the Super Bowl with his 74 yard interception return for a touchdown. He’s only going into his fifth season, runs a 4.37 / 40 and should be the starter for several years to come. We say that because he signed a one year deal and he’s playing for his long-term future. Another intriguing player will be 4th round pick Omar Bolden who will make the team.

After a season where neither safety intercepted a pass it was time to move on with SS Brian Dawkins. A great leader who was tough against the run yet a liability against the pass. Right now they have 5 safeties on the roster and we could see two new safeties back there. Keep your eye on second year safety Rahim Moore #26.  Has a lot of range and should have learned a ton from an old pro like Dawkins. As a secondary this group has made enough moves to be average this season.

Overall: Under normal circumstances, Peyton Manning should mean 4-5 more wins this year for the Denver Broncos. However there are too many holes in the receiving corps. Too bad they didn’t keep Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal around. These guys would have flourished with Manning. However the Broncos wouldn’t have landed DE Malik Jackson had they not dealt Lloyd. Nevertheless, the other side of the equation is everyone is expecting the Manning of old. If the Broncos try to throw it around like the 2005-2010 Colts, this team could have a losing record in 2012. They will have to play more like the 1999-2004 Colts team that ran the ball more with Egerrin James (The [[_]]) and they can with McGahee (The [[_]]). Use play action and let Manning ease into throwing more moderately than he did in his latter Colt years. This will rest a defense that was thrown into too many bad situations last year. When teams could move on them…they were blown away. The Broncos will struggle on offense early and will hit their stride by midseason. All told this team should be able to move to a record of 9-7 if Manning can hold up the full season. With a murderous start of Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Houston Texans before Manning gets baptized in the Broncos / Raiders rivalry. They will start 2-2 at best.

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Next up: Cincinnati Bengals

 

The Chancellor’s Take: Green Bay Packers & Brett Favre’s Broken Relationship – HOF Edition

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Coach Mike Holmgren being carried off after winning Super Bowl XXXI.

Originally published 24 July, 2012 w/ Postscript 13, August 2016

Former Packers coach Mike Holmgren was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and didn’t have his two marquee players there with him. Of course the deceased Reggie White couldn’t attend but Brett Favre’s absence was glaring. It would have been in Favre’s best interest to have taken the high road and gone but the lingering hard feelings are evident. It’s time to mend this broken relationship.

What is disturbing is how fast Packers fans turned on him. How hard would it be to leave a job you loved to do?? Many of us can’t answer that because our professions were something we chose to do for financial reasons not one of passion.

For every “cheesehead” Packer fan: Can you tell me anything about John Brockington or Terdell Middleton?? You remember those guys right?? How about Vince Ferragamo?? He was the quarterback that took the Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers. You do remember he played for the Packers right?? What number did he wear since #15 was obviously retired for Bart Starr?? For those of us that are 40-45, when we were kids, none of us living outside of Wisconsin could tell you we had met a Packer fan.

holmgren.packerhalloffamesnifterAfter Lombardi, it was 29 years before the Packers played for another NFL title. Green Bay was the place no one wanted to play for. In fact one of the famous quips on NFL Films by Buccaneers former coach John McKay, ” If these guys won’t get back I’ll run ’em to Green Bay.” This was during Tampa’s horrid 0-26 start as a franchise!!

The only Green Bay games of distinction during that 3 decade drought that anyone can remember was the 1982 NFL Divisional Playoff loss to Dallas 38-27 and the 1983 Monday Night win over the World Champion Redskins 48-47. The latter was the highest scoring Monday Night Game in NFL history. The Packers returned to national prominence when WR John Jefferson was traded from the San Diego Chargers for those early 80’s seasons.

Brett Favre made it fashionable to be a Green Bay Packer fan.

The real reason why folks can’t remember the aforementioned names and the two games I stated were many of you weren’t Green Bay Packer fans. It didn’t become fashionable until the era of Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren. You may have been cheering for the Los Angeles Rams, St Louis Cardinals, Dallas, or Oakland, but this nationwide surge of Packer fans is new. You can recall the rich Packers history from the 1960’s but the other years lie somewhere in the abyss.

Well in 1992 all of that changed. Brett Favre was the backup when Don Majowski fell to injury and an umproven player had to come off the bench. We remember him winning the game with a pass to Kittrick Taylor with :23 left in the game. He ran around like a child after winning his first NFL game. He did it again when he did it with less than :40 to go to win his first playoff game when he hit Sterling Sharpe in 1993. He played with passion and from the hip. He broke Ron Jaworski’s NFL record of consecutive games played at QB (114) the week of Walter Payton’s death in 1999. He was still playing in 2009??

Of course those 1st few years he made great plays and experienced some growing pains as the Packers battled for respectability. They returned to the playoffs in 1993 and ’94 but it was his 1995 season where he won the first of his 3 consecutive MVP awards:

During his 16 years he gave everything he could on the field for the Packers. Other quarterbacks are more revered as “West Coast” quarterbacks yet none of them had better seasons than he did. Do you realize the most TDs Joe Montana threw for in a season was 31 during the strike shortened season of 1987?? Brett threw for 38, 39, and 33 in 1995-1997 alone in that same offense.  He won his 3 MVPs in those same years. He gave real Packer fans and NFL fans everywhere for that matter more thrills than any other player. The “go for it” mentality is what endeared him to most fans not his stats. Although he has plenty now that he is the NFL’s all time winningest quarterback and yardage leader with 71,838 yards and 508 TDs. The question The Chancellor has if he didn’t do enough to decide on when he wanted to retire, who did??

The Packers organization decided to go with Aaron Rodgers after the 2007 season when Favre didn’t want to retire. His decision and indecision was well chronicled over the next few seasons yet it was his play that led the Packers to relevancy. Just like last year it was pointed out that the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Stadium itself, wouldn’t be in existence had it not been for Peyton Manning. Lambeau Field has been renovated twice and had a Hall of Fame built inside of it based on the relative wealth this team saw during Favre’s years. The estimated wealth of the Packers rose from less than $200 million to $1.09 Billion last year according to Forbes.

This is good enough for being the 9th richest franchise where they were in the teens in relative worth a decade ago. In fact when you google the relative worth of the Packers organization by year, every time Favre’s name is in the description.  You were able to rebuild your team for Aaron Rodgers because of Favre continuing to win for you while the young players developed. You owe your relative wealth and the development of the new Packers to him.

This is the reason I believe the Packers should reach out to him, retire his jersey on a Monday Night, and have a ceremony for him.  Do it before long-standing resentment settles in. It would be terrible to see this fractured relationship go on for decades like it did for Terry Bradshaw. By the time he and the Steelers came together, Art Rooney Sr, Mike Webster, and Steeler announcer Myron Cope had all passed on. In fact Three Rivers Stadium was even gone. It was bittersweet.

In a few years he is eligible for the Hall  of Fame and the league is going to celebrate him and its in the Packers interest to do it first. If you wait until its within a year of his induction, it will look like an afterthought or at worst a knee jerk reaction to his being brought up nationally. This way the healing can start.

Every player that leaves via free agency has wanted to show their old team they could still do it. Its nothing new. Do you remember the round robin of former Chiefs signing with the Raiders and vice versa in the mid 90s?? There were 10 players that left one team and went to the other. RB Harvey Williams, RB Marcus Allen, CB Albert Lewis to name a few. Even Buffalo Bill great Thurman Thomas even signed with the hated Dolphins.

Yet he, just like LaDainian Tomlinson this year all came back and signed a 1 day contract so they could retire with their original team. You’ve lost that chance but now you need to make sure he attends the next ceremony. Honor him before the rest of football does or you’ll come off as looking petty. After all you showed him the door…now open a new one and honor him in Packer lore. Time to get over it… now when he walks up to the podium and you see the wear and tear he gave on Lambeau’s surface, the memories will come flooding back to you.

Try this one out: This is the moment The Chancellor believes he left his contemporaries behind and made the Hall of Fame.

After the departure of Packer Hall of Fame coach Mike Holmgren and Reggie White’s retirement, the Packers weren’t thought of as an elite team. This was 1999 and Ray Rhodes was the coach and being the only marquee player, the team started off 1-1 and in that lone victory Favre took the Packers to the winning score beginning with 1:51 on the clock.

Their 3rd game was against the Minnesota Vikings who had unseated the Packers the season before as the bully on the NFC Central block. Randy Moss and the Vikings had scorched the Packers a season before and this was a big game. A defensive struggle that saw Moss score the apparent winning touchdown and gave the Packers the football with 1:51 (ironically) to go. Favre drove his team down and this was the finish…on the move with no time outs on 4th down and the clock running with :20 seconds to go. No way he could do it for a second straight week…. could he??

Only two times during John Madden’s career did he make his way down to the locker room to congratulate a player. The first was Emmitt Smith in 1993 when he and the Cowboys beat the Giants 13-10 when he played with a separated shoulder. This was the second. Great players respect great players and you saw Moss come across and greet Favre after the game.  A game for the ages that saw him pull off miracle after miracle and had the Rams and Kurt Warner not emerged, could have had his 4th straight MVP.

Again, as an organization step up and bring Favre in for a retirement ceremony of #4. He deserves it and it would be best for Packer fans and NFL fans everywhere.  Its time.

Postscript August 13, 2016: We fast forward 4 years and last year his return to Lambeau Field was an incredible event. Over 60,000 in Lambeau just for Farve to come on the field and offer a few words before the Packers Hall of Fame celebration. Then the jersey retirement during the season where Bart Starr made it to the game was cathartic for all NFL fans not just those of the Packers. Which brings us to last weekend and his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

VanAcker@hallPacker fans traveled far and wide to attend the enshrinement festivities last weekend. Met them from North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, all of Wisconsin and like my new fellow fanatics Ryan VanAcker (from Arizona) and his brother Ronald from Michigan, Favre fans were out in force.

You could feel the excitement emanating from Packer fans as the induction ceremony neared. The pressure building as Packer jerseys outnumbered all other teams represented 20 to 1 easily. Even on the day I toured “The Hall” for the first time I wore an autographed Jerry Kramer jersey I had received from the family a couple weeks before. Finally the emotion and love for Favre exploded in a crescendo of “Go Pack! Go!” right before Chris Berman introduced him:

Although time heals all wounds, there was still the subtle jab of the Favre Viking jersey in the locker display at the Hall of Fame. He said all the right things about “always being remembered as a Green Bay Packer” but you think about it… you can almost see him having a mischievous grin when it came time to decide what to showcase.  But that’s Favre… the fun but flawed, every man who happened to become one of the best quarterbacks in history.

Where Brett wasn’t there for Mike Holmgren’s enshrinement into the Packers’s Hall of Fame, coach was in Canton for this one. I had the chance to meet him right after the ceremony at the base of the stage and we talked as we were being led out to the shuttles for the after parties. To be feet away as they shared words words for the first time right after his speech, was to see this come full circle. Especially from the feeling when I wrote the article originally. A great experience.

favre.bust

Favre Hall of Fame Bust

Congratulations Brett Favre… Pro Football Hall of Famer!!

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Ray Rice Signs 5 Year Deal Worth $35 Million

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Rice gets new deal.

Just a few hours after Matt Forte gets his mutl-year contract for the Bears, Rice gets his. The agreement calls for 5 years  $35 million dollars with $17 to be paid in the first year alone. The suspicion on the wear and tear aspect may have a lot to do with why the  contract is so front loaded.  If a deal or release happens in 3- 4 years the cap penalty won’t be so heavy. https://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/07/13/2012-baltimore-ravens-preview/  In all reality it depends on if he is in Baltimore for the entirety of this contract. The Chancellor highly doubts it.

The Ravens feel as though they are primed for a Super Bowl run and Rice is the key to the offense. He accounted for nearly 40 % of their yardage from scrimmage and led the team in receptions with 76. The Ravens have to get him some relief. Unlike Forte in Chicago, there are no big name receivers to draw attention away from Rice. We believe in the present, he can only shoulder that heavy a workload for one more year. The Ravens are hoping it’s enough to get them to a Super Bowl

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