Tag Archives: NFL

2011 Seattle Seahawks Preview

by

1

What a strange and goofy odyssey the Seahawks took their fans on last year.  They became the first team in NFL History to make the playoffs with a losing record going 7-9.  This is a team that could look completely listless as they were in a Halloween loss to the Raiders 33-3, yet look like a world beater like they did in their 41-36 wildcard victory over defending champion New Orleans.  Get this…the Seahawks gave up 97 more points than they scored in 2010 (310 for / 407 opp.) while posting the 28th best offense and 27th ranked defense. Which makes one ask the question; Who in the hell are they? Are they a division champion or a team that was just the best of an NFC West that was just terrible?? In their first year under Pete Carroll few new what to expect from this team.  Now with a season under our belt, we’re going to take a shot at it…maybe

Hasselbeck throwing the rock

Quarterback: If you were to ask me this question before last year’s playoff tilt against the Saints, I’d say it might be time to see what the Seahawks have in Charlie Whitehead.  Lets face it for much of last season Hasselbeck looked uninspired. He seemed to be an aging quarterback on a fading team and out of nowhere came this masterful playoff performance. Against the Saints he threw for 272 yards, 4TDs and only 1 interception.  He was even better in the loss to Chicago where after a mediocre first half, he wouldn’t let his team quit.  His 258 yards and 3TDs withstanding, it was his leadership and inspirational play that rallied the Seahawks to finish with a flair.  What happened?? Who was the guy wearing #8 for them in the regular season??  You know the guy who threw for 3001 yards, 12 TDs with 17 interceptions and a dismal 73 quarterback rating. Lets see if we have this right…14 regular season games 12TDs v. 2 playoff games and 7TDs. Tell him they’re all playoff games and Hasselbeck may throw for over 50TDs this season.

Obviously that isn’t going to happen but there was a button pushed psychologically for Hasselbeck going into those playoffs and it might have been the way the Seahawks were being mocked by the media. If he plays like that with his back against the wall Carroll may want to keep that fire lit with a spirited competition for the starting quarterback role with Hasselbeck and Whitehurst. In the two games that Whitehurst started, he went 57 of 99 for 2TDs and 3 interceptions.  If Hasselbeck were to go down again the season won’t be lost. However they have to plan for the future and next year may need to draft a quarterback.  When the Seahawks passed on local college star Jake Locker and didnt draft a quarterback this year, we know he thinks he can get one more good year out of ole #8.  Quarterback is average in the Emerald City

Offensive Backfield: Well here we are with the University of Cal Golden Bears backfield of 2007 with Marshawn Lynch starting and Justin Forsett backing him up.  Oddly enough Forsett had slightly better numbers when he was in the lineup with a 4.4 yards per carry average.  As with the case with Hasselbeck, Lynch didn’t seem inspired until the post season.  With that thunderous 67 yard run in last year’s playoff win over the Saints, he showcased what he can do and what he possibly could be.  That has been the problem, he showed a flash here and there in Buffalo yet would slip back into an easy to tackle, marginal running back. Last year Lynch rushed for 573 yards on 165 carries for a 3.5 yard average and that has to improve for this team to return to the playoffs.

Forsett is better suited as a 3rd down back.  He shows burst, just not the bulk you want in a runner when its time for the 10 play 75 yard clock killing 4th quarter drive. Evidence of this is he only scored twice rushing the football to Lynch’s six.  He plays better in space when a defense isn’t keying on him.  He rushed for 523 yards and caught 33 passes for another 252 yards out of the backfield.  Decent but not spectacular.  At running back the Seahawks are below average.  This group just doesn’t pass the eyeball test and when focused upon is easily stopped.  As a team, they only had 6 games where the Seahawks ran for more than 100 yards.  Thats an indictment of their line but also their backs who rarely make plays in space.  Maybe thats why the roar of the crowd was so loud on that playoff run by Lynch.  This team should have drafted a running back.

Receivers: This was a position in flux over the entirety of 2010.  First they released T.J. Houshmandzadeh before the season.  They traded Deion Branch back to the New England Patriots and shuffled their receivers to the tune of 5 different starters over the course of the season. Former USC WR Mike Williams resurrected his career and was fairly productive between the 20s catching 65 passes for 721 yards yet he only scored 2 times.  Then in the draft the Seahawks draft the same type of receiver in Kris Durham who is 6’5 and 215 lbs, another possession type receiver with not much burst. Why would you need two of the same type of receiver when you lack playmakers?? Puzzling selection to say the least.

The Seahawks did have 2 younger receivers come to the forefront in Deon Butler and Ben Obomanu, who could be the match set of receivers for this team in the near future.  Butler caught 36 for 385 yards, while Obomanu caught 30 for 496 yards, and they each scored four times.  Golden Tate out of Notre Dame rounds out this group and is trying to learn the pro game at receiver after switching to receiver from running back in college.  He did grab 21 receptions for 227 yards yet showed nervous hands which is understandable for a young receiver.  He is suited to the slot receiver role in a 3 receiver set where he can come out of cuts quickly and get up field after the catch. Unless one of these receivers has a breakout year, this group is slightly below average and doesn’t pack a punch.

Offensive Line: Aha, we found the source of the offense’s problems.  Do you realize this team was 31st in rushing yards, 30th in rushing average as a team (3.7 yds per carry) and was 16th in allowing their quarterback sacked 35 times?? Come on you have to be good at one of them don’t you?? This team could only power the football for the first down 54% of the time up the middle and 57% of the time on 3rd and 2 or shorter.  When push came to shove this line didn’t get enough push. Now here are some well spent draft picks. First they took James Carpenter in the 1st round, a 6’4, 321lbs. mountain of a man who was a blocker for 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram at Alabama. Will he be a guard or a tackle? Hmm.. They spent their 2nd selection on Wisconsin G John Moffitt, who at 6’4 319lbs can come off the ball and punish linebackers if  he gets to the 2nd line of defense.  Hopefully this team will run the football with more regularity this season keeping pressure off these rookies when it comes to pass protection.

One of the reasons the sack total was higher than anticipated was rookie T Russell Okung settling into his LT spot.  If he meshes with the two young studs they drafted this group could come off the ball and really improve the Seahawks ability to run. The question is will the coaching staff call those running plays as often as they should? They didn’t draft these guys this high to sit the bench.  The Seahawks never adequately replaced Steve Hutchinson from a few years back.  They may have finally done so.  We’ll give the offensive line a grade of average for now until we see these guys take the field.  If they return with the regulars from last year,  completely below average.

Defensive Line: Surprisingly the Seahawks had a decent pass rush that produced 37 sacks in 2010.  Not a bad total for the league’s 27th defense.  That total was high enough to rank 13th in the NFL for rushing the passer.  Chris Clemons swo0ped in for 11 sacks, while former Colt and current pass rush specialist Raheem Brock came in for 9 sacks as well. This was the bulk of the Seahawk pass rush with several rushers coming on for 1 sack a piece.  DT Brandon Mebane teamed with Junior Savii for not only 2 sacks from the defensive tackle’s sacks they combined for 43 tackles. That isn’t enough and they need to get enough inside push to offset the pass rushing from the outside. The Seahawks were a dismal 21st against the run and couldn’t stop their opponents when they needed to.  They could use a boost here.  They did draft Levingston Lazarious in the 7th round from LSU, but at 6-4 292lbs, he seems suited to play end more than tackle.  This defensive line is below average and am surprised they didn’t make more of an attempt to address this in the draft.

Linebackers: The strength of this defense can be found in this linebacking corps. Lofa Tatupu, David Hawthorne, and Aaron Curry started all 16 games and made plays all over the field. It was OLB Hawthorne who led the team in tackles with 105 tackles, he forced 2 fumbles and did have one interception last year. Yet it looks like the brass is trying to replace him.  They used two draft picks on outside linebackers K.J. Wright in the 4th and Malcolm Smith in the 7th from Pete Carroll’s USC tree.  This could push him to have an even more spectacular 2011 campaign.  Lofa Tatupu is a solid MLB, but I expected him to make more splash plays than he does.  He’s instinctive and solid diagnosing the play but if a lineman gets on him he doesn’t shed blocks that well. He did shed enough blocks to make 88 total tackles and had 1 sack, an interception and forced one fumble. Just a little more out of Tatupu and ….

Which brings us to #1 draft pick Aaron Curry out of Wake Forest. At 6’4, 250 lbs., this is a linebacker that can really run.  He made 70 tackles, forced 2 fumbles and had 3.5 sacks when he did blitz.  His 3rd year should be a breakout year for him now that he is used to the pro game. He can get to the flank and defend against the pass and should intercept a few passes this year as well.  Last year you could see plays where he was a half step off in recognizing specific plays, with his athleticism and study those will be turnovers this year.  He should make his first pro bowl in 2010.  Watch this kid… Linebackers are good with a chance to be great if Lofa could just….

Secondary: This was an active secondary. SS Lawyer Milloy had a real good year logging 89 tackles and 4 sacks on blitzes.  He also forced two fumbles yet I can’t remember the last time I saw him intercept a pass. He has always been beatable when you can get him to cover man to man. See last year’s TD play by Greg Olsen (The U) in the playoff loss to the Bears.  He’s muscular and hips don’t swivel that well yet in a zone or phonebooth (near the line of scrimmage) he is as solid as they come.  Age is a concern though and at 38 he could age in a hurry during the season. Earl Thomas had a good year at FS leading the team with 5 interceptions and had 71 tackles which was 5th best on the team.

Corner play was up and down with Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings (The U). Jennings play picked up when he returned to the lineup from injury.  Although he missed 2 games he led the Seahawks with 13 passes defensed and may be rounding into a solid NFL corner. Trufant often got his nose dirty making 80 tackles which was 4th on the team. So where is the down side?  As a tandem, they only had two interceptions which prompted them to draft CB Richard Sherman from Stanford and CB Byron Maxwell from Clemson. One way or another they should get more active corner play.  It looks like they will move Marcus Trufant to SS to replace Milloy since he is willing to tackle and is 8 years younger.  The Seahawks are slightly above average and are the beneficiary of a weak front that doesn’t put teams in obvious passing situations. However they were exposed in the playoffs by Jay Cutler and Drew Brees and looked tired at the end of the season.  They need help from the defensive front.

Forsett

Overall: After all this research we still don’t know who the Seahawks are.  If they can get the return they expect from their top two picks on the offensive line this can be a much improved team. Lynch will have a 1,000 yard season and they could win 10 games.  Still can’t make since of their picking two linebackers when one led the team in tackles and the other is on the verge of stardom.  Why not pick up defensive line help? Puzzling… This team is puzzling and we have to wait and see which Matt Hasselbeck comes into the new season. Will they make it back to the playoffs? Still unclear however they have to watch out for the Rams.

The AFL: A True American Success Story

by

14

Unlike other leagues that popped up and died, the American Football League lives on in the American Football Conference of the modern NFL.  With a burgeoning economy after World War II, Americans turned their attention to a life of leisure during the 1950s. Sports became the outlet for most of America.

There was a clamor by many who felt slighted when it came to big league sports.  The furthest point west on the map where major professional sports was played, was Wisconsin & St Louis Missouri. Then something happened to change the landscape.  The AAFC football league folded and the San Francisco 49ers joined the NFL in 1950, along with the champion Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts.

This event helped propel the Cleveland Rams west to Los Angeles, where they joined San Francisco to be the first pro teams in California. Now other western cities wanted in on the action and all the other sports started to broaden their minds toward relocation.  Soon moves were made by an L.A. Councilwoman who massaged the beginnings of what came to be the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California in 1957.  Expansion was on soon with the Lakers in 1960 moving from Minneapolis.  Now Texans wanted an NFL team and had the money to gain an NFL franchise or so Lamar Hunt thought.

AFL and Kansas City Chief founder Lamar Hunt holding a platter of AFL footballs.

AFL and Kansas City Chief founder Lamar Hunt holding a platter of AFL footballs.

Then the NFL had the landmark 1958 NFL Championship overtime game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts that transformed the spark of interest into a flame. Hunt and principles moved quickly to form the American Football League since the NFL had thwarted their attempts to bring football to Texas. Now you have to understand who we’re talking about here for a second.  Lamar Hunt was son of H.L. Hunt of Hunt Brothers Oil! We’re talking seriously deep pockets here. The NFL in its arrogance thought they would outlast a fledgling league like the AAFC just a decade before….damn were they wrong.

Once the idea of the AFL gained momentum, the NFL turned to espionage and tricky double dealing to sink the new league.  The eight cities that Hunt and the other AFL owners decided on were Dallas, Houston, Denver, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Buffalo. However the NFL bent the ear of the Minnesota ownership group, and told them they would give them an NFL franchise if they would decieve their brethren, by defecting to the NFL at the last minute. It almost worked but the AFL scrambled to move the eighth team to its new home in Oakland. Meanwhile the NFL put a team in Dallas to compete with Hunt’s Dallas Texans, they were called the Cowboys.

The AFL had some seriously rich men that wanted to see it succeed in Bud Adams, Ralph Wilson, Lamar Hunt, and Barron Hilton yet there were other ownership groups that struggled to make ends meet as the league got off the ground in 1960. Many teams were losing money at record rates, some to the tune of a million dollars or more.

It was former Boston Patriot owner Billy Sullivan who coined the phrase “The Foolish Club” when listening to his colleagues joke about revenues lost.  However John Madden recalled a reporter asking Lamar’s father H.L. Hunt “What did he think of his son losing $1 million  a year??” Hunt’s answer was cryptic to the NFL and the sporting establishment’s ears when he replied “Well, he’ll be ok. At that rate he’ll only be able to go on for another 150 years.” Damn!!  On 1960’s dollars??  Yikes!!

Although the NFL had been around forever, for the first time they were up against wealthy men who gained their fortunes as titans of industry outside of football. NFL owners George Halas, Carroll Rosenbloom, Tim and Wellington Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Art Modell were primarily football men and knew their asses were in trouble.  If it came down to the AFL’s pockets they would be in for a battle they couldn’t win.

The first few years had the established sporting press scoffing at the league’s style of play, uniforms, retread players and coaches, you name it. This is an era where if you went against the establishment, you had more than an uphill battle just for acceptance….I mean the radical 60’s were not yet underway. Yet here they were continuing the plan on expanding professional football to more points within the United States.

One of the first items the AFL did was secure a television contract to assist the teams that had financial problems like the Titans and Raiders.  The Raiders had also come to a point of folding when they contacted their fellow teams and said they couldn’t sustain operation financially.  Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson stepped in and lent the Raiders $450,000 to stay afloat because the league couldn’t operate with only 7 teams. As for the Titans and Harry Wismer, the Jets needed an ownership group that had the pockets and vision to rival that of the New York Giants. Enter Sonny Werblin.

Werblin spearheaded a group that purchased the bankrupt New York Titans, renamed them the Jets and helped negotiate the most lucrative television contract to date with NBC.  Over $1.8 million dollars went to each team in 1965 and with all of their teams solvent for future operation, new stadiums went up in San Diego (Los Angeles), Oakland, & Denver. Now the next move Werblin spearheaded was to draft Joe Namath and pay him a ridiculous $427,000 contract to be the star in New York. Uh oh…this single shot turned the draft into a who is going to pay the most for a players services between the two leagues.  Talk about impact.

Super Bowl I trophy with both logos (Katie Marie Packers Hall of Fame)

An unwritten agreement existed between the two leagues to not sign each others current players.  Yet the NFL went underhanded, yet again, when the New York Giants signed kicker Pete Gogolak from the two time AFL Champion Buffalo Bills.  The AFL retaliated big time. It was recounted by Lamar Hunt, the founder of the Texans who had moved his team to Kansas City and renamed them the Chiefs, to meet Tex Schramm and discuss a possible merger. Hunt still lived in Dallas. They met at Love Field under the Texas Ranger statue and when the meeting was over, Hunt flew to Houston to elect Al Davis AFL Commissioner.  Joe Foss had been a good commissioner but now they needed a “war time President”.  Al Davis quickly helped teams realize they could bring the NFL to its knees if they created a bidding war by signing away their superstars.

The moves of signing away San Francisco quarterback John Brodie, Los Angeles’ Roman Gabriel, and Chicago’s Mike Ditka were the straw that broke the camel’s back.  The bidding for player’s talents had driven contracts up dramatically and the NFL grudgingly came to the table.  Al Davis was away about to sign another player when Hunt told him that they were going to meet the next day about a merger and they didn’t need the headlines. *Pay attention because this is the birthplace of the Chiefs / Raiders rivalry and the Al Davis against the world mentality takes place*  Davis signs the player which angers Hunt.

In the subsequent negotiations, the leagues agree to a merger with the two league’s champions playing in a new championship game, the Super Bowl, for the first four years and realignment into one all inclusive league in 1970.  Pete Rozelle remained commissioner over all of football, there was a common draft starting in 1966… and Al Davis….?? They left him out in the cold sort of..

al-davis-bustThis is where he received his dubious ownership distinction and awkward title President of the Managing General Partner for the Raiders.  He had only been a coach before, yet one of the  items that seemed spineless is the NFL made the AFL’s teams pay $3 million in reparation damages each and had Al Davis been there would never have acquiesced to such a demand.  Not when they had the NFL crawling to the table.  It was this animosity toward Pete Rozelle, Bud Adams and especially the Kansas City Chiefs and Lamar Hunt that raged on for many years. *This is where the animosity between Davis and Rozelle fostered…remember the court battles of the 1980s between the Oakland Raiders v the NFL??*

The patch worn by the Kansas City Chiefs on January 11, 1970 for Super Bowl IV. The final game of the AFL

In the first two Super Bowls Green Bay bested Kansas City and Oakland respectively.  The landmark win came when the Jets upset Baltimore to show that the AFL was on a par in Super Bowl III.  Then with a twist of fate, the ownership group who traitorously tried to sink the AFL by defecting, came into Super Bowl IV against the Kansas City Chiefs and AFL founder Lamar Hunt.  In the last game ever for the AFL, Kansas City buried the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 to bring not only the Super Bowl record to 2-2 between the two leagues, but able to have the satisfaction of kicking Judas’ ass in the process.

In conclusion: It was wrong to not include Davis and to me is the one of the few black eyes in this success story.  The AFL was swallowed into the monolith that is the NFL after expanding the AFL to 10 teams with Cincinnati, and Miami emerging.  These 10 teams were joined by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Colts, yes the Baltimore Colts who gave the NFL a black eye with that first loss. They didn’t go empty handed, each club was paid $3 million to move to the new AFC.  Yet AFL loyalists such as Davis wished the two leagues stay separate, and he truly believed they would have eventually folded the NFL.

This is the ring for the Raiders triumph in Super Bowl XI. Look at the middle pic of the side of the ring. There you’ll see the AFL Block “A” along with the AFL logo and not the bold modified AFC “A”.

In fact in the 3 Super Bowls the Raiders won in the post merger NFL, Davis always used the Block “A” of the AFL and not the bold modified block “A” of the AFC on their Super Bowl rings.  He didn’t relent until the 2002 AFC championship ring where he finally used the AFC “A”.

hof-lamar-huntThere you have it…how the AFL changed the sporting landscape after the first shot was fired by the folding of their predecessors, the AAFC.  San Francisco’s entering the NFL doesn’t get the impact that it should because so much focus was on champion Cleveland coming over.  The western expansion of American Football owes a debt of gratitude to the 49ers yet even more to those original owners.

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

What I Did With My NFL This Summer by Little Jeff Taylor

by

0

Dear Mrs. Goodell,

How did it come to this? Greed, pure and simple.  Now I’m not connected nor have a pipeline into the NFL offices, yet I will just look at it objectively from an 11 year old’s perspective. The owners have locked the players out which is completely different than the players going out on strike which happened in ’74, ’82, and ’87.  What, you don’t remember the strike that took place off season back in the 70s? Ahh…whatever.

We can only speculate on what we think is going to happen.  The very first thing that comes to mind is the dishonesty in the owners not wanting to open their books when it came to fair negotiations. Players and owners are fighting over the final $1 billion out of the $9 billion that the league makes. The owners are claiming that they are losing money and its simply not true.  The act of super glueing the books closed in light of negotiations was testament of that.  Had they been losing money and their ledgers reflected this, would we be here??

Lets take a serious look at things: The NFL that Pete Rozelle and company structured had the leagues revenue sharing policies to where network money and the stadium gate be divided among the teams.  So if there was a game between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings in Soldier Field in 1979, the gate was split 65/35 by the teams.  With the home team having the bigger slice of that pie and that went on for decades.

Then the teams discovered loopholes to screw each other and came up with luxury boxes with revenue they could keep to themselves.  Think back to that middle ring that went around Texas Stadium.  Now I know they weren’t the ones that initiated this move but it’s the easiest set of boxes for all of us to remember in the mind’s eye.   So add to that stadium naming rights and exclusive deals with Nike and Pepsi, initiated by Jerry Jones in 1995, and teams had other ways to raise non-shared revenues along with concessions.  So at last count for a home game a team keeps 65%  gate revenue, concessions, jersey sales, alcohol, and parking.  All this before the $10.678 million per game from television. *number from the 2009 season*

So for emphasis, and to show the lower case scenario, try this one on: I attended the Oakland Raiders v. Seattle Seahawks on Halloween last year.  The tickets were $96, parking was $33, and I lost count of the tequila shots in Raiderville yet I digress…

This was in a 45 year old stadium with few luxury boxes.  So just to attend that game its $129 at least and thats before the $8 nachos along the mezzanine in the far endzone. Off the record the nachos were huge and had a ton of meat and cheese yet I can easily tell you that of the $280 I spent that day aside from the ticket, Oakland and not Seattle was keeping that money.  How much are things in JerryWorld in Dallas, Lucas Oil in Indianapolis, or the New Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey?? Tickets??  Losing money?? Really??

Having a tequila and chat with former Raider fullback Marv Hubbard

 

 

Furthermore there is a difference between the players not wanting to play the 18 game season and stay with a 16 game season.  The bulk of the players that have passed on recently with attention on head trauma.  The league is completely full of shit when it wants to legislate blows to the head on the field, then increase the number of games at the same time.

You can’t call it a money thing because the league’s television contracts wouldn’t change.  Furthermore there needs to be something done to insure former players.  While at that game I had the chance to sit and talk with former Oakland Raider Marv Hubbard about the former players plight.  The majority of players that have physical issues and the inability to receive insurance due to pre-existing conditions.  At what point does the league assist those in need and protect the present day player. Its disgraceful.

As for the lockout its different than the strikes that happened in the 1980s, namely 1987.  The owners are not in the same situation as they were in 1987.  Of the 28 teams only the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts had new stadiums.  Aside from the Bills (’73), Saints (’75), and Lions (’75) the rest of the league had 20 year old stadiums with nothing to pay off or were in leases. Now we have fourteen teams with stadiums less than 10 years old with another 7 within 4 years.

There are a bunch of teams that have bond payments and financing to pay off these new palaces.  Why do you think JerryWorld has hosted more boxing matches than the MGM Grand??  Can you say payments??  If this lockout were to go into the season those financial obligations wouldn’t go away.  If you were to calculate the cost of missing the new season at $5.5 billion, add up the attorney fees and trust me the networks would motion for rebates or may even take the league to court for not having a product.

It would take the league over 5 years to break even for a missed season.  Thats why they will play.  These are businesses with ownership groups and not singular owners that will get nervous as the lack of revenue draws near.  This time the owners will be as nervous as the players where back in 1987 they could outlast the players easily.

So this summer I didn’t worry about things Mrs. Goodell because I knew that they’d come to an agreement. Right now its posturing and nothing more.

2011 Kansas City Chiefs Preview

by

5

What produces a good team?  Is it based upon the accumulation of top shelf talent or can you coach a lesser talented team with top shelf coaching?  Head Coach Todd Haley put together a staff with 3 former head coaches with multiple Super Bowl rings from the 00’s Patriots and 1980s New York Giants. Did you know that current defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has 5 Super Bowl rings?  Yet is overlooked when it comes to credit in formulating defensive gameplans and getting the most out of moderate talent.

The Chiefs lost Charlie Weiss, who went back to the college ranks with the Florida Gators.  Yet the offense he leaves behind was the sparkplug that powered this team to a 10-6 record and the AFC West Divisional Crown.  Haley, who was the former offensive coordinator for the 2008 NFC Champion Cardinals, should have more of a hand in the play calling.  Can the Chiefs improve on the rapid rise and improvement shown in 2010?  Has the talent on this team developed enough to take the next step?

Quarterback: Time to enter the confessional: How many of you were thinking Matt Cassel was the second coming of Scott Mitchell or Rob Johnson? Quarterbacks who filled in for an injured starter, played well, parlayed it into a big free agent contract, then faltered with his new team. Well after a lukewarm 2009 in which Cassel tossed 16 TDs and 16 interceptions, he improved dramatically in his single season under Weiss. Cassel tossed 27 TDs with only 7 interceptions while moving his passer rating to a respectable 8th in the NFL. His improvement from 69.9 in 2009, to 93 was the best turnaround in all of pro football.

These numbers even top his 2008 campaign when he filled in for Tom Brady and led the Patriots to a surprising 11-5 season, which included a 5 game winning streak to conclude the season. Going into his 7th season,, he is entering his prime as a signal caller. One way to get to Cassel is to rush him from his front side.  He seems to throw the ball away or pull it down prematurely at times when he has a split second to complete the throw.  Even though he’s intelligent enough to know when to throw it away, this contributed to his ranking of 18th in passing yards per attempt (6.9yd avg.) along with his dumpoffs. He’s a little quick to move his feet from a throwing position.  So time your front side overload blitzes and jump his short routes when you do.  The Ravens were affective with this in last year’s wildcard playoff loss. Otherwise he can play action pass the Chiefs to efficient drives and to narrow wins. Arrowhead stadium has its most effective quarterback since Len Dawson and quarterback is good in Kansas City.

Offensive Backfield:  This team is set at running back with the continued development of Jamaal Charles. Entering his 4th season he is averaging a whopping 6.0 yards per carry over 3 seasons. His 1,467 yards last year was 2nd in the NFL while snaring 45 receptions for another 468 yards, scoring 8 times overall. His yards per reception average of 10.4 shows you can’t discount Charles in the passing game.  You had better bring some healthy, in shape linebackers to  play Kansas City or you might be in for a long day. At 5’11 199 lbs., it was thought by some that Charles may not be tough enough between the tackles, coming into the NFL.  Last year showed his 1,100 yard season in 2009 was no fluke. He started only 5 games last year and the Chiefs are doing the right thing playing him with 2 backs sharing the workload otherwise Charles might break down.  This keeps Charles fresh and allows him to break big plays once the Chiefs opponents start to wear down. Many good years ahead for this talent from Texas.

One thing we can’t come to grips with at the Taylor Blitz Times is why teams have let Thomas Jones go when he has been so productive? The last two stops he was let go by teams fearing he’d get old on them and not perform which is nuts if you see this guy out of uniform.  In his last year with the Bears in 2006, he led the Bears to the Super Bowl rushing for 1,210 yards. He even ran for 112 yards in Super Bowl XLI, which was the first time since Thurman Thomas in Super Bowl XXV to do so. In his last year with the Jets in 2009, he rushed for 1,402  yards and 14 TDs, leading the Jets to the AFC Championship game.  Then released after those two years?? Are you kiddin’ me? Its no coincidence that Jones physical running style embodied the attitude of his team’s offense on a 3rd successive team that made the playoffs.  Last year was the first time in 6 years Jones didn’t cross the 1,000 yard threshold finishing with 896.

First glance at his 3.7 yard average per rush, you’d think he was slowing down when in reality he carried the ball in all obvious running situations.  The Chiefs may benefit themselves by not telegraphing that they are always going to run when Jones is on the field.  Make no mistake that Jones is in the twilight of his career. Yet this is an extreme physical specimen who keeps himself in great shape with a body weight lifters could be proud of. So even at the age of 32 we expect him to have at least two good years left in him with the current situation.  With teams focusing a little more on Cassel, WR Bowe, and first round draft pick in Pitt wideout Jonathon Baldwin, expect him to cross the 1,000 yard threshold yet again.  As a matter of fact the Chiefs may post the first 1,000 yard rushing tandem in AFC West history.  Rushing the football over 500 times last year, yikes. At running back, Kansas City is Super Bowl quality…better bring some linebackers with “big boy” pads on to play them too.

Receivers: The Chiefs wanted to ensure that teams couldn’t concentrate solely on Dewayne Bowe last year by running effectively, and this year by drafting him a running mate in Pitt’s Jonathon Baldwin.  As for Bowe, he had an explosive year pulling in 72 receptions for 1,162 yards and 15 TDs.  A physical specimen at 6’2 221lbs with good speed, is only going into his 5th season and should be there for the Chiefs for years to come.  With a strong running game to force more 8 man fronts Bowe had a field day against undersized DBs. With the addition of 6’4 228 lbs Baldwin, the Chiefs will field one of football’s largest set of receivers. They will be a team that can move the chains yet we have to see how Bowe comes back after this lockout.  If he’s worked out fiendishly so that his hamstrings hold up, he will be the deep threat with Baldwin the itermediate target. With wideouts this big Oakland had better think twice about Namedi getting out of town as a corner.

The Chiefs are serviceable at TE with Leonard Pope and Tony Moeaki combining for 57 receptions and 5 TDs. Its hard to think of that being productive after Tony Gonzalez manned this spot for so long but these guys are better blockers.  Also 3rd down back Dexter McCluster ate into some of this group’s production running the up and under routes that the tight end would usually run.  With some of the division’s defenses in flux, this should be a good receiving group in Kansas City.

Offensive Line: After leading the NFL in rushing attempts (556), rushing yards (2,627), and finishing tied for 4th in rushing attempts with a 4.7 yards per carry average, this team comes off the ball with consistency.  The seven man sled is alive and well in Kansas City practices.  This team had 72 runs of over 10 yards or more and pushed for first downs on 3rd or 4th and 2, 73% of the time up the gut. Coach Haley has to love that!  How they only had one Pro Bowl lineman in LG Brian Waters is embarrassing.  As always it takes the league 1 year after a performance to recognize emerging talent.  With a heavy dose of running the football, you have to say RG Ryan Lilja and RT Barry Richardson are getting the job done.  They are in their 7th and 3rd years respectively and should be able to maintain their level of play for the foreseeable future.

One of the ways to get after the Kansas City offensive line is to get on top of this team by 7 or more points.  Since they are a heavy run offense they aren’t conditioned to come back or protect the quarterback for extended drives consisting of a majority of passing.  This team ranked 12th in the NFL allowing 32 sacks, and 18th allowing 74 hits on the quarterback.  So they are better suited in pushing off the ball than they are at protecting the passer.  With this line I’d definitely overload blitz in the face of Matt Cassell who gets the ball out a tad early which couples with the tendency that he gets hit a lot on dropbacks.  All told this team has a lot of leads and stays committed to the run so they don’t fall too far behind.  Offensive line is superior in Kansas City and may be a shade better than New England.

Defensive Line: Surprisingly the Chiefs aren’t getting the return they had originally envisioned in DE Glenn Dorsey out of LSU.  This is partially the team’s fault for drafting a 3 technique 4-3 tackle then converting to a 3-4 defense the next season.  He got caught in the middle, just ask former Green Bay Packer DE Aaron Kampman.  Now that isn’t an excuse for an anemic showing with only 2 sacks in nickle situations when they employ 4 man fronts, but he isn’t effective as a DE.  The Chiefs should trade him to a team committed at a 4-3 defense like Chicago, Minnesota, Atlanta, or home to New Orleans and getting something in return.  His build is conducive to be a “rooter”, to shove the middle of a pass pocket and not come from the additional 3 yards away at DE. Since the Chiefs are 14th in rushing yards allowed and average with 1,764 and 4.3 respectively they could use more help on this line.

The combined 5.5 sacks amongst the front 3 needs to be higher, especially for a defense that should be that rested on a team that ran the most in the NFL. DT Ron Edwards and DE Shaun Smith are decent players yet could improve as pass rushers.  The issue is that in year’s 9 and 6 respectively, this is as good as they will be and play for the aging Edwards could slip. To that avail the Chiefs drafted specimen Allen Bailey from Miami to help with that interior push.  The question is where will they play him.  He seems suitable to rush from the inside on nickle and dime packages with his explosion and strength. He should be able to play special teams to keep him engaged in games but again his body type doesn’t lend to a DE, maybe part time DT. He could be disruptive if he learns to fight better with his hands.  The defensive line is slightly below average yet it could make a few strides this season if Bailey disrupts on 3rd down.

Linebackers: The Patriots flat out gave Scott Pioli and the Chiefs brass a gift when they traded Mike Vrabel to them.  A heady linebacker who’s veteran leadership and 3 Super Bowl rings give him the locker room clout to have the ear of his younger teammates. He has shown invaluable in helping the Chiefs grow up fast under Romeo Crennel’s watch.  He is showing signs of wear in not making any splash plays but he just made the right ones yet father time may be catching this 14th year vet. Star of this defense is Tamba Hali closing in at the right side OLB spot.  The Chiefs were hoping he’d improve on his 2009 and he didn’t disappoint charting 14.5 sacks (1st in AFC) and second in the league to DeMarcus Ware with 15. Hali forced 4 fumbles, recovered 2 and knocked down 3 passes and should have been to the Pro Bowl.  He’s only 27 years of age and has steadily improved with now 3 years with over 8 sacks.  Only going to get better.

Inside linebacker Derrick Johnson #56 led the team with 120 combined tackles and returned his only interception for a TD.  He gets to the football and along with Jovan Belcher’s 84 tackles this may be the best younger set of inside ‘backers in all of football.  Combined they had 2 sacks and 4 forced fumbles bringing some thump with their tackles.  Belcher was a rookie and Johnson is only entering his 6th season.  Couple that with the ages of the Jets and Raven’s inside tandem and this could be the AFC’s best within a year or two.  Linebacker is really good in Kansas City.

Secondary: Of all the playoff teams out of the AFC last year, the Chiefs were fair larsonists with 11 interceptions between their starters. They had solid play out of free safeties John McGraw and Kendrick Lewis who combined for 5 interceptions and benefitted from teams throwing away from Pro Bowl SS Eric Berry.  In 2010 Berry had 4 interceptions while making 87 tackles.  Of his 4 interceptions he did take one back for a pick 6 from 54 yards out.  This guy is a playmaker.  At the corner position, high draft pick Javier Arenas could only make the field in obvious passing situations as a nickle back. Why?? Ask the Chiefs brass about the play of corners Brandon Flower with 14passes defensed, and Brandon Carr’s 23.  An active group.  Now throw in Arenas’ 7 passes defensed and 1 interception to go along with the 2 Brandon’s 3 picks and teams had better not throw into this secondary.  With their top three corners all being 24 years old or less, this is the best secondary fielded by the Chiefs since the million dollar secondary of Kevin Ross, Albert Lewis, Lloyd Burrus, and Deron Cherry of mid to late 80s fame.  Superior is the only grade to be given out here and if this team can get another pass rusher to force more errant throws….yikes!!

Overall: Still the best in the AFC West, and if they could take something from the intensity they faced in the wild card round against Baltimore, this team could be headed to the AFC Championship Game or beyond.  Last year early on the question was were they as good as their 3-0 record. They weren’t.  They were better as evidenced by their 5-2 stretch to win the division crown when the pressure was on at the end of the season.  As strong as they are in the phases of running the football and defending the pass, if they get a lead its curtains.  They are well coached and they could make a conference splash this year if age shows up in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.  A team with no obvious weaknesses that has to see Head Coach Haley scout himself and not get pass happy with another big target opposite Bowe. He could get flashbacks to his offensive co ordinator days with the Arizona Cardinals and take to the air.

Careful Coach Haley, you have a good thing building in Kansas City and this team could make a Super Bowl run in these next two seasons.  One of the chances for this team to see growth is in week 10 with a Monday night matchup in New England.  Kansas City comes through with a win there in a championship building block game, this team could be the AFC’s sleeper.  I know that sounds crazy to say of a possible two time division champion, but they are not the sexy pick and most pundits would list them as the 5th or 6th best AFC team. They should finish with a record of 11-5 or 12-4 with another AFC West Title. Plenty of bar-b-que and handwarmers come playoff time in Kansas City.

1964 AFL Champion Buffalo Bills

by

9

To the casual football fan, the legacy of the Buffalo Bills is that of a four time Super Bowl participant that lost them consecutively, or OJ Simpson and what later became of his life with a double murder trial.  Yet a further look into the legacy of MY beloved Buffalo Bills and you’ll find out about Robert Kalsu: The only professional football player to give his life serving his country in the Vietnam War.  You will also find that in the AFL, the Buffalo Bills came within a game of becoming a THREE-PEAT champion…and one of the most powerful champions in history.

Well when you think of the AFL you think of wide open offenses and high scoring football games.  It was the wild west up until this defensive mountain rose up to stop the onslaught of points.  It happened in Buffalo. Joe Collier developed a 4-3 defense that took advantage of cocking defensive end Tom Day #88 in the gap between the center and guard.  This was later made famous by Joe Greene and the Pittsburgh Steelers a decade later….yet I digress

A  solid front four that stopped the run with big Tom Sestak #70 that could get after the quarterback.  This team believed in roughing up the quarterback with safety blitzes the first to do so, George Saimes was the AFL pioneer with this tactic. Furthermore this was the first team to employ the bump and run tactics at cornerback, not the Oakland Raiders, in Charley Warner and Butch Byrd.

Byrd was arguably the best cornerback in Bills history and maybe the best in AFL history. He was 6-1 215 lbs, or 1 inch shorter and same weight as Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham a decade later. He punished receivers at the line of scrimmage yet could swoop in and pick off quarterbacks, leading the league with 7 interceptions.  Along with Mike Stratton, this defense sent 3 to the Pro Bowl and MLB Harry Jacobs should have gone.

On offense, the late Jack Kemp was quarterback yet the fuel to this team was Cookie Gilchrist.  Cookie ran for 948 yards and was the game closer when they needed to run the ball at the end of games.  He was the AFL version of Jim Brown with his power and speed.  Kemp had arrived a season before when he was placed on injured reserve by the San Diego Chargers.

Lamonica hands off to Cookie.

There was some technicality that kept him from returning to the San Diego Chargers and the Bills were off and running.  Gilchrist and Daryle Lamonica (yes Oakland “The Mad Bomber”) each ran for 6 TDs in the regular season while Elbert “Wheels” Dubenion was the deep threat catching passes for 1,139 yards and 10TDs. Jack Kemp led a steady ball control offense and was a Pro Bowl performer in 1964 with Gilchrist, Dubenion, and TE Ernie Warlick.  They went 12-2 in the regular season and the two games they lost were by a combined 9 points.  Going into the 1964 AFL Championship they would have to take on the defending Champion Chargers.  How strong were they??

Buffalo AFL Championship Trophies

If you take a look back to 1963, the Chargers nearly became the first team in pro football to have two 1,000 yard rushers in Paul Lowe (1,010 yds) and Keith Lincoln (826 yds).  They teamed with Hall of Fame WR Lance Alworth and ancient Tobin Rote, who was Jack Kemp’s backup, to roar to the AFL Title with a 51-10 pasting of the Boston Patriots. The widest margin of victory during the 10 years of the AFL for a championship game.  The following year the team transitioned into John Hadl as the starting QB and with a bullseye on their back returned to the ’64 championship game. Only this time they had to travel to Buffalo’s War Memorial Stadium.

The Bills were the only team that could defense the Chargers of that era and did so to win the title 20-7.  In fact the most famous play in AFL history took place in this game when early on when Keith Lincoln was leveled by Linebacker Mike Stratton on a swing pass breaking several ribs.  The Chargers fighting spirit dissipated as they watched their star running back writhe in the mud in obvious pain.  A rubber match took place in ’65 out in San Diego and the Chargers didn’t come close to scoring in a 23-0 defeat. Buffalo was back to back AFL Champions.

Yet a look back at the 1964 Buffalo Bills and our fans would tell you “we could have beaten the Packers”.  However it was the Browns who won the NFL Title in 1964 with a great balanced team. Yes they had Jim Brown but “Lookie lookie, here comes Cookie!” We had the AFL’s version of Jim Brown in All Pro RB Cookie Gilchrist.

Lets take a look at the tale of the tape:

1964 Buffalo Bills: 400 pts for 242 against or a 158 point differential: All #1 AFL rankings

  • Jack Kemp 119 of 269 2,285 yds 13TDs 26 Ints (sucks teeth)
  • Cookie Gilchrist 230 car. 981 yds 6TDs
  • Defense held 3 teams to 10 pts or less, 50 sacks, 28 ints

1964 Cleveland Browns 415pts for 293 against or a 122 point differential: Which rank 2nd & 5th, over in the NFL

  • Frank Ryan 174 of 344 for 2,404 yds 25TDs 19 Ints
  • Jim Brown 280 car. 1,446 yards 7TDs
  • Defense held 2 teams to 10 pts or less, 28 sacks, 19 Ints

Yes I’m biased and the Bills would rope them into a defensive struggle like they did the high flying Chargers in the AFL Title game and win by a similar score.

Coach Lou Saban, Pete Gogolak, and Jack Kemp

Alas this team doesn’t get its due yet many firsts started with this team.  Another issue that took place a year before was the fact that the Oakland Raiders had run out of money and were on the verge of folding.  Knowing the league couldn’t operate with only 7 teams, it was Ralph Wilson that stepped in lending the Raiders $425,000 for a stake in the team.  Which is illegal but it had to be done to save the league.

Each team lives on in the present NFL for having done so. Another full circle situation with Lou Saban’s defense is defensive co-ordinator Joe Collier who built the AFL’s first superior 4-3 defense.  He would move on to become the Denver Broncos defensive co-ordinator in the post merger NFL and was the second team to make it to the Super Bowl playing the 3-4 defense in Super Bowl XII.  Take a wild guess as to who was his assistant at that time he taught the 3-4 defense to?? Bill Belichick who would take it with him and Bill Parcells to New York and the Giants and Lawrence Taylor with Harry Carson was born.

Another notable is longtime NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer was a linebacker on this team. Then you have Pete Gogolak who was the first soccer style kicker.  How important was he? It was the New York Giants signing him to a contract with the rival NFL that touched off the bidding war that forced the AFL / NFL merger.  Which goes to show that the legacy of the 1964 Buffalo Bills is a lasting one and they were one of the best teams in AFL history.

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

1956 NFL Championship Ring

by

1

You are looking at the first championship ring won in the NFL by both Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi. Each would go on to become legendary head coaches but they were offensive and defensive coordinators for the New York Giants at the time.  The 1956 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears was won by New York 47-7.  In the fabled house of the New York Yankees, these two teams fought it out in the first ever nationally televised NFL championship game.  Its notoriety reduced because of the blowout and the famous game held in the same stadium 2 years later between the Colts and Giants…uh…you may have heard of it.

Furthermore this ushered in a new era that saw the Giants rise to prominence after copying Philadelphia Eagle coach Joe Kuharich’s defensive scheme, the 4-3, and cruising to the championship.  In the ensuing years Sam Huff became a household name along with DE Andy Robustelli, DTs Rosie Grier, and Jim Katcavage, LB Karl Karilivacz, S Jim Patton, and Hall of Fame CB Emlen Tunnell.

This team dominated the league for the next 7 years. They became household names and the first chants of “De-Fense- De-Fense” was first heard in Yankee Stadium.  This was the first time in the history of professional football where a defense was introduced before games. Although the team of the 1950’s was the Cleveland Browns, who had played in 6 championship games during the 1950s, it was this stalwart defensive unit that kept the Browns out of the championship game the rest of the decade.

This team had a few offensive players of mention in halfback Frank Gifford, QB Charlie Conerly, WR Kyle Rote, K Pat Summerall, and RB Alex Webster.  These men really did play their roles well.  Frank Gifford was a Hall of Fame RB who was as dangerous catching passes out of the backfield as he was a runner.  He was the Marshall Faulk of his day and later in his career was switched to receiver.

Now he did star on television and became a game analyst who saw further fame with his nearly 30 year run on Monday Night Football. Alex Webster was a steady fullback who later became the Giants head coach in the late 1960s once New York couldn’t lure back budding legends in Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry from championship situations in Green Bay and Dallas respectively.

Did you know the original Marlboro Man was Giants quarterback Charlie Conerly? LOL Go take a look at those first posters. Guess what?? He didn’t smoke!  Being a champion in New York allowed this team to break down barriers unheard of in other places.

Kyle Rote was a good receiver for this team yet needs to be remembered for his courageous stance in spearheading the movement that became the first players association (Union) fighting for equal opportunities for all players.  Not for money like today’s lockout!! For the equal treatment of all players of all races when the teams played on the road.  This WASN’T the radical 1960s, so be respectful of these movements in rememberance.

Now Pat Summerall?? You know his smooth voice as being one that helped lead the NFL to further prominence as a character and announcer with Tom Brookshier for one generation (60s-1980), then brough the game to another generation (1982-2000) while being teamed with Hall of Famer John Madden. Now lets throw in legendary coaches Vince Lombardi (team of the 60s) and Tom Landry (nearly team of the 70s) overall league contributions and you see why this team is to be held up reverently.  Talk about pillars of the league…

This group would go on to play in famous championship games later  in 1958, ’59, ’61, ’62, and ’63. They kept the once powerful Cleveland Browns out of the championship so much that all time RB Jim Brown had to wait until their run was over to win a championship in 1964.  Although they only won 1 championship, this team should never be forgotten.  These men helped reshape the league and are one of the reasons we love the game. What would the league have been like without ’em?