Football Playoff Weekend

Ben Blows Up Early
I was able to actually watch some the first round of post-season NFL play this weekend. Here are some observations.

It is very hard to win, even if you are playing at home, if your quarterback throws three first half picks. Yea I know - that's not a bulletin.

Such was the case with the Steelers losing to the Jaguars on Saturday. Big Ben had a horrible first half. He bounced back nicely in the second half, but the Jaguars are a playoff caliber team - obviously. That second half comeback could have worked against a lesser opponents, not this one. In the end, Ben's horrible first half was the difference.

Secondly, the QB draw call by Jacksonville when needing two yards to keep the game-winning drive alive was outstanding.

By the same token, the third and six call by the Steelers on their last possession let the world know they were playing not to lose. A first down there literally puts the game away. I hate when teams don’t give themselves a chance to pick it up.

Get the ball to your best receiver – whoever you deem deserves that honor. Instead, they (Steelers) went to the back pages of their playbook and dusted off a loser.

Yes, they were both quarterback keepers. The difference was this - the Steelers’ defense was thinking pass on the Garrod draw while the Jaguars were expecting run on Ben’s nimble maneuver. One call had the element of surprise and one didn’t.

D-Cutt
Hey, did you notice who caught a late fourth quarterback third down pass against the Steelers for the Jaguars? That’s right – Dennis Northcutt. The same guy who dropped a huge one thrown by Kelly Holcomb in the Browns only playoff appearance since 1999.

That catch brought back memories - bad ones.

Garcia & Young
Two of my favorite quaterbacks went "one and out" in the post-season.

Jeff Garcia was harassed all day by the Giants’ defensive front and couldn’t make plays because of it. The difference in that game – like most games – was up front where the Giants’ front four dominated while Ely Manning had much more time to find open receivers.

As for Vince Young, he tried to make plays strictly with his arm and not his legs against the Chargers. That’s not his game. Perhaps he wasn’t healthy enough going in. If that was the case, he should not have played.

Unlike immobile quarterbacks who can play with an injury that limits mobility, Young needs his legs to be effective. In order to win that game, Young needed to be able to pick up big chunks of territory with his feet. He didn’t. And he didn’t make plays with his arm either.

Again, the Chargers’ pass rush had something to do with that as well. But the facts are the facts.

A footnote – it would be nice if the Titans’ front office get him (Young) some talent at wide receiver and some speed in the backfield this coming off-season. They set him up to fail in year #2 by not improving the talent around him. We saw this coming on draft day.

If the Titans improve their offensive personnel in year #3, we should get a much better read on Young and his ability. I am still extremely high on him - unlike others who will jump ship at the first sign of water.

On this day, he was clearly not good enough.

Offensive Line
I say probably 10 quarters of pro football this weekend – which is a lot for me, and came away with this thought – I saw more quarterbacks hit in those 10 quarters than I saw DA hit all year in Cleveland.

I know this gets old hearing it from me for some of you, but I can’t help it. The Browns’ offensive line performance in pass blocking in 2007 – post week #1 - was absolutely amazing. We may never see that again in Cleveland – 19 sacks allowed all year long.

I wonder if the NFL keeps statistics on what teams allowed the fewest quarterback hits? That would be an interesting stat to keep and would also be very revealing.

Romeo’s Agent
You have to love agents. Romeo Crennel just completed his third year of a five year deal with the Browns. He has a losing record over that period and has not taken any of his teams to the playoffs to date. Those are the facts. Yet, his agent is using the media to try to get the Browns to negotiate an extension.

Let’s hope the Browns don’t fall for it. How about the Browns reach the post-season in year #4 before we talk extension. Does that sound unreasonable? Of course not.

Expect Romeo’s agent to try again as long as the Dolphins are without a head coach. That’s his job. We just think it's comical.


West Virginia
Why is West Virginia getting kudos from the national media for hiring their new head coach from within after winning their bowl game?

My question is this – had the Mountaineers lost that game against the Sooners, would he still have gotten the job? No.

If he clearly was the guy they wanted to run their team for the next several years, why not name him the head coach BEFORE the game?

I know it makes a good story from a PR standpoint – longtime assistant takes over late, leads team to huge bowl win, then gets named head coach. The problem is this -that isn’t the way it should be done.

Another object lessons boys and girls - just like you do not evaluate player talent based on one game, you do not choose a new coach based on the same criteria either. There is simply too much at stake.

That is clearly what WVU did. That is the only conclusion you can come to since they did not name him the full-time coach before the win. Hell, I don’t even know the guy’s name and am too lazy to google it.

That doesn’t make him unqualified, it just reinforces what I said. The powers that be at West Virginia know this man very well. He's been on their payroll a long time. If he deserves the job, give it to him.

Don’t give him a one-time/60 minute audition using someone else’s talent. That’s juts dead wrong any way you look at it. It's not fair to him, the players, the alums, the program, etc.

Trust me, the same media that is lauding this move will be the first ones to run down the program and this decision if the Mountaineers underachieve next fall.