Ok, so as Wade Phillips looks out on the St. Louis Defense, the question must be on 3rd down... Throw? Pass? .....or Chance?
Tony Romo stole the dice and selected: Chance. As a shotgun snap flew a good foot over his head, Tony Romo showed solid hussle in retrieving the football.... kicking it.... fumbling... picking up, and in stead of rolling and firing out of bounds to save field position, he looked downfield and ran.
And ran...
...pump fake on an unsuspecting posterized Ram linebacker....
...ran some more....
... picked up a pretty good block...
...and ran...
...and ran a total of 45 yards, finally settling out of bounds for a 5 yard gain. AND the first down. A few plays later, Romo dropped back, stepped up and ran behind his WR crossing route which sent the middle linebacker flying out. He might have at least left a red carpet as Romo went 15 yards for the touchdown and the Cowboy rolled to a blowout win.
The Cowboys were on a roll, and continued to improve to a 4-0 mark and one of only two undefeated teams in the anemic NFC (The other being Brett Favre and the rest of his friends who hang out with him in Green Bay). That's the play of the week, and whether it was a sign of pure athletic ability, or the Rams were a victim of Chance, it remains a play that Rams fans will have to suffer through for the rest of this season.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
CHARGE-errrs?
Poor Norv... poor poor Norv....
Charger fans have quickly turned their back on you and now wonder why they would allow Marty Shottenheimer to leave after a 14-2 season. The same fans who reveled in the aura of Philip Rivers a year ago now only send boo's and threaten to give up already on the Turner Era in San Diego. As Rivers threw his 4th consecutive incompletion Sunday, Quallcom Park erupted with "MARTY! MARTY!" chants which must have left Shottenheimer at home laughing and twiddling his fingers like Mr Burns....
...excellent...
So now what? Where is the best player (LaDainian Tomlinson) on the team during this? Where is superman? Where is the man who defied the Patriots and ran off the field digusted a year ago. Where is this passionate leader????
He is rushing for 262 yards in 4 games... and 132 game on Sunday. He is on pace to barely reach 1000 yards for the season, and he will average 3.4 yaqrds per game on this pace; a full yard from his career average of 4.4 yards per carry. He has 2 TDs in 4 games leaving him on pace for a wopping 8 TDs this year. After 6 years where he scored 114 TDs (averaging 19 per season or almost 1 per game when you count playoffs), his .5 TDs per game is abismal. Overall, San Diego has been outscored 102-68 in four games, compared to last year when it outscored opponents 103-36 through the first four.
Questions: So who is to blame? Are the Chargers done? Is Norv Turner simply an excellent assistant coach who can't take a team?
Answers: The management. No. And we'll see in the next 12 games.
The management of Chargers GM, A.J. Smith. Smith had to think, "Marty will never win the big one, so I'll go get a coach who can't win ONE. " Why else would someone release a coach who ran a team to 14-2 and lost to a solid New England Patriot team because of PLAYERS, not coaches. Why not go find new PLAYERS to help them win. Veterans who know how to hold on and win a tough ball game. Eventually, it's not the X's and O's, it's the Bobby's and Joe's who have to win it for you... or Philip's and Ladainian's.
Are the Chargers dead? Nope. The Chargers now go to Denver which will be difficult, but then follow it with Raiders, Texans, and VIkings before going into the Lion's Den against the Colts. That should allow them to have a decent amount of confidence, or leave them feeling like Ted Kennedy after a "nice night out"... hungover, all wet, and asking "what happened?"Following that, its a trip to Jacksonville, home against a faltering Ravens team, at KC for some revenge, at the Titans, Detroit, home against Denver and then back to Oakland. If they build some momentum and it comes down to the last two weeks, look for an upset of Denver followed by a "Bet your house and your wife" game where everyone's cash should be on the Lightning Bolts.
Finally, Norv Turner. He is knowledgable, successful as an assistant coach in the NFL. But, as one blogger in San Diego would say,
"What a complete lack of effort, particularly in the second half! Norv Turner really deserves to be thrown under the bus for TOTALLY ignoring LT in the third quarter, allowing Kansas City to catch up and eventually win. And Alex Spanos and A.J. Smith deserve to be thrown under the bus for jettisoning Marty Schottenheimer A MONTH after their playoff exit and hiring this disaster of a head coach. Norv Turner is a GREAT coordinator but a LOUSY head coach. San Diego, can you say, "1-4" after next week at Denver? And can you say, "Last place?"
Most importantly, didn't Shottenheimer take blame for forgetting about LT in the 2nd half of the Playoff loss to the Patriots? Well, I guess Norv can do the same.
The biggest thing is that this team misses its identity. It is not being held together. The stars are not happy, and that is what a head coach does. Playcalling are for coordinators. But organizing, managing, motivating, and adding the necessary emotion whether it be a "Calm before the storm" intellectual approach like Bill Belichick, or a "Fire and Brimstone" demeanor of Brian Billick or Bill Cowher. The team will usually follow its coach to victories, and in doing so will take on the attitude of its coach. Norv Turner has neither an edge nor a confidence, he is not enthusiasm nor is he business. Norv Turner simply is a football mind, and without his own identity, this team will not make it. Last year, Shottenheimer brought an intensity and a fun attitude to football, a passion, and his team played like such.
Maybe that's why they lost in the playoffs, or maybe it's cause they were never a true 14-2 team in terms of talent... but coaching can make great seasons happen. How about we stop looking at marty as a choker, and start looking at him as a man who helps good teams become great. They just happened to run into a better team.
Charger fans have quickly turned their back on you and now wonder why they would allow Marty Shottenheimer to leave after a 14-2 season. The same fans who reveled in the aura of Philip Rivers a year ago now only send boo's and threaten to give up already on the Turner Era in San Diego. As Rivers threw his 4th consecutive incompletion Sunday, Quallcom Park erupted with "MARTY! MARTY!" chants which must have left Shottenheimer at home laughing and twiddling his fingers like Mr Burns....
...excellent...
So now what? Where is the best player (LaDainian Tomlinson) on the team during this? Where is superman? Where is the man who defied the Patriots and ran off the field digusted a year ago. Where is this passionate leader????
He is rushing for 262 yards in 4 games... and 132 game on Sunday. He is on pace to barely reach 1000 yards for the season, and he will average 3.4 yaqrds per game on this pace; a full yard from his career average of 4.4 yards per carry. He has 2 TDs in 4 games leaving him on pace for a wopping 8 TDs this year. After 6 years where he scored 114 TDs (averaging 19 per season or almost 1 per game when you count playoffs), his .5 TDs per game is abismal. Overall, San Diego has been outscored 102-68 in four games, compared to last year when it outscored opponents 103-36 through the first four.
Questions: So who is to blame? Are the Chargers done? Is Norv Turner simply an excellent assistant coach who can't take a team?
Answers: The management. No. And we'll see in the next 12 games.
The management of Chargers GM, A.J. Smith. Smith had to think, "Marty will never win the big one, so I'll go get a coach who can't win ONE. " Why else would someone release a coach who ran a team to 14-2 and lost to a solid New England Patriot team because of PLAYERS, not coaches. Why not go find new PLAYERS to help them win. Veterans who know how to hold on and win a tough ball game. Eventually, it's not the X's and O's, it's the Bobby's and Joe's who have to win it for you... or Philip's and Ladainian's.
Are the Chargers dead? Nope. The Chargers now go to Denver which will be difficult, but then follow it with Raiders, Texans, and VIkings before going into the Lion's Den against the Colts. That should allow them to have a decent amount of confidence, or leave them feeling like Ted Kennedy after a "nice night out"... hungover, all wet, and asking "what happened?"Following that, its a trip to Jacksonville, home against a faltering Ravens team, at KC for some revenge, at the Titans, Detroit, home against Denver and then back to Oakland. If they build some momentum and it comes down to the last two weeks, look for an upset of Denver followed by a "Bet your house and your wife" game where everyone's cash should be on the Lightning Bolts.
Finally, Norv Turner. He is knowledgable, successful as an assistant coach in the NFL. But, as one blogger in San Diego would say,
"What a complete lack of effort, particularly in the second half! Norv Turner really deserves to be thrown under the bus for TOTALLY ignoring LT in the third quarter, allowing Kansas City to catch up and eventually win. And Alex Spanos and A.J. Smith deserve to be thrown under the bus for jettisoning Marty Schottenheimer A MONTH after their playoff exit and hiring this disaster of a head coach. Norv Turner is a GREAT coordinator but a LOUSY head coach. San Diego, can you say, "1-4" after next week at Denver? And can you say, "Last place?"
Most importantly, didn't Shottenheimer take blame for forgetting about LT in the 2nd half of the Playoff loss to the Patriots? Well, I guess Norv can do the same.
The biggest thing is that this team misses its identity. It is not being held together. The stars are not happy, and that is what a head coach does. Playcalling are for coordinators. But organizing, managing, motivating, and adding the necessary emotion whether it be a "Calm before the storm" intellectual approach like Bill Belichick, or a "Fire and Brimstone" demeanor of Brian Billick or Bill Cowher. The team will usually follow its coach to victories, and in doing so will take on the attitude of its coach. Norv Turner has neither an edge nor a confidence, he is not enthusiasm nor is he business. Norv Turner simply is a football mind, and without his own identity, this team will not make it. Last year, Shottenheimer brought an intensity and a fun attitude to football, a passion, and his team played like such.
Maybe that's why they lost in the playoffs, or maybe it's cause they were never a true 14-2 team in terms of talent... but coaching can make great seasons happen. How about we stop looking at marty as a choker, and start looking at him as a man who helps good teams become great. They just happened to run into a better team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
