Belated Monday Afternoon TPS Report
Jan 3rd 2008eTPS Report & NFL
How to Lose to the Patriots in 6 Minutes
The Giants coaching staff did a lot of good things on Sunday. Then in the blink of an eye they put on a coaching clinic on how to let the Patriots beat you. Let’s begin early in the 4th quarter with the Giants facing 3rd and 11 and clinging to a 28-23 lead. Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride decided to call conservative little quick out that resulted in a four yard gain and a punt.
Um…are the Giants insane? Were they trying to lose? (Those are all serious questions by the way.) How could they basically forfeit a posession when they knew they would need one or two more touchdowns to win the game? A quick out is an ok call if you can realistically expect to win the game 28-23. The Giants could not do that.
Let’s pick up the action again a mere 60 seconds later. The Patriots face 3rd and 10 from their own 35. Up until that point the Giants had been able to put an incredible amount of pressure on Tom Brady with just three and four man rushes. There was absolutely no reason for the Giants to ever leave their secondary shorthanded by blitzing. So what did the Giants do? They blizted, and Randy Moss caught a 65-yard touchdown pass. It was only a five man rush, but that was still 1-2 more rushers than the Giants needed. Take away those two awful decisions by the Giants coaching staff and at this moment Bill Belichick might be starting at that ugly little “1″ in his loss column.
Don’t Play Games With Keith Traylor
The Dolphins suspended Keith Traylor for Sunday’s game after the defensive tackle got into an “altercation” with two teammates on the team plane. The reason for the altercation has finally been revealed—it all began with some trash talking over an airplane game of dominos. Somebody call Samuel L. Jackson.
Stuff You Don’t Want to Miss…
—Javon Walker on playing for the Broncos: “It’s not for Javon. It’s not for me.”
—Andy Reid is so paranoid about the Philly media he didn’t even want to tell them that Kevin Kolb was the team’s backup quarterback for Sunday’s game. “I just didn’t want [the media] making a big stink about it and I didn’t have to answer all of your questions,” Reid said.
—The Bills got a break with their travel schedule next year. And look, the Patriots got screwed. This is the beginning of the end for you Belichick. (Also, Randy Moss was overtaken by Mason Crosby.)
—The Falcons season is finally over. That means it’s time to take a field trip to Virginia.
—There’s good news for Brynn Cameron’s child support payments. Matt Leinart is still the Cardinals starting quarterback.
—The Jets finally did something to stop the drunken “show us your tits” abuse that goes on in their stadium.
—Winston Justice’s reign as the worst offensive lineman of all time may now be over. Congratulations Winston.
The 12th Man Continues to be a Bandwagon Fan
At halftime of Sunday night’s game the Colts added a “12th Man” inscription to the team’s Ring of Honor, making them the latest team to jump on the whole “we appreciate our fans” fad. Perhaps now Texas A&M and the Seahawks can put their differences aside and join forces to sue the Colts for using the term. Of course if that did happen the Colts would just say that the 12th man doesn’t refer to the crowd, but rather the guy who pumps in crowd noise when the Colts are on defense.
So Long Brian Billick
It’s tough to say whether firing Brian Billick was the right move. He never did bring any offensive firepower to Baltimore, but he won a Super Bowl and the team exceeded expectations last year by about 9 wins. Then this year he had to play most of the season without his starting cornerbacks and with Kyle Boller as his starting quarterback. The one game the Ravens were relatively healthy (against the Patriots) Billick showed what kind of things he could do with the team. Still, sometimes it’s best to just cut the cord and start fresh—that certainly worked this year for the Steelers when they chose Mike Tomlin over Ken Whisenhunt or Russ Grimm. And so, I bid you farewell Coach Billick. You will always have your place in NFL history for winning a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer.
It’s Time for Assistant Coaches in the Playoffs to Get Screwed
The Dallas Cowboys are one of a few playoff teams whose coaching staff is in high demand from teams seeking new leadership (the Falcons are already swirling overhead.) The thing is, it’s likely that none of the Dallas assistants will get jobs because the NFL idiotically allows teams to hire new coaches before the playoffs end. If Jason Garret goes to an interview he might take a few hours off from watching tape of the Cowboys upcoming opponent in order to prepare. But if an assistant from a non-playoff team gets an interview, he has days or even weeks to prepare. Who do you think is going to get the job? This is one reason it took so long for guys like Marvin Lewis and Ken Whisenhunt to become head coaches. It’s time for the NFL to do something about it.
Stat O’ the Week
168. The number of catches Marques Colston has in his first two NFL seasons. That’s the most ever by anybody in their first two years.
European Football Goal O’ the Week
Julio Baptista’s right foot makes all the difference in Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Barcelona
Also See…
No Comments »