Okay, so we can finally separate Josh McDaniels and Marvin Lewis after the former beat San Diego to reach 6-0 and the latter lost a tough home game to Houston. Here is our current power rankings for NFL Coach of the Year:
1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos—Seriously, 6-0? The schedule keeps getting tougher, but it doesn’t seem to faze this team or their confident coach. Dude is a mini-Belichick, the first “offspring” to be worthy of that title.
2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—After beating the Giants to reach 5-0, we can start talking about the very real likelihood of the Saints reaching the Super Bowl for the first time, and this guy is a big reason why. It’s still amazing that he managed to pay his defensive coordinator a quarter mil of his own cash to lure him, but it seems to have been worth it.
3. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—Just like his QB, you can’t fault Caldwell for the bye week.
4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—Now 6-0, there should be no question that Childress did himself and the city of Minnesota a huge favor bringing back #4. He sure wasn’t going to be 6-0 with Tarvaris Jackson, was he?
5. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—A tough win against the Bears, and this team is not fading any time soon. Really, the Falcons and Saints are two of the best teams in the NFC and it should be interesting when they meet.
Honorable mention: Tom Coughlin, Giants; Bill Belichick, Patriots; Marvin Lewis, Bengals
Amazingly, Josh McDaniels and Marvin Lewis are still tied atop this list. And even if they were ranked 1-2, what difference would that make? They both have exceeded expectations in a big way to this point.
1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos & Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals—After last weekend, these two are still tied, even though McDaniels’ team is 5-0 and Lewis’ is 4-1. Denver beat the Patriots and McDaniels’ mentor Bill Belichick last weekend in Denver, while Lewis’ Bengals had an emotional win over the Ravens in Baltimore a few days after defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife tragically passed away.
2. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—Really, did anyone expect the Colts to be 5-0 out of the gate? Everyone thought that with the departure of Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison, there would be a regression. Then Anthony Gonzalez got hurt, and still, Caldwell and Peyton Manning are carrying on the winning tradition.
3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—You have to give a guy credit when he has his team fully prepared each week. The last three weeks, the Giants have utterly dominated their opponents, because Coughlin and his team take no one lightly. The Giants have been hit fairly hard by injuries too, but Coughlin always seems to have a guy to plug in.
4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—With a 5-0 start, it’s time we gave this guy his due for having the balls to coax Favre back even after Favre’s waffling act teetered on the retirement side again.
5. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—His team came flying out of the gate with the same high-flying offense, but also with a much-improved defense. We’ll see if Sean is still sitting here after the big showdown against the G-men Sunday.
Honorable mention: Mike Smith, Falcons; Andy Reid, Eagles; Lovie Smith, Bears
We’re going to start something new this week….individual power rankings in the NFL for MVP, coach of the year and rookie of the year. We may expand this to separate entries, since frankly it’s difficult picking just three of each. But here is what we’re thinking so far after the first quarter of the season….
MVP
1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—With all due respect to Drew Brees and Peyton’s little brother, there is no way in hell the Colts would be 4-0 without Peyton. And he’s doing it with young receivers not named Harrison and Gonzalez.
2. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Favre mostly handed off to his stud RB Adrian Peterson the first two weeks, then made himself comfortable with a game winning pass with 2 seconds left against the Niners, and a fierce performance including 3 TDs against his former employer Monday night. Again, without Favre, is this team 4-0? Probably not.
3. Steve Smith, New York Giants—Are you kidding me? This guy has not only made everyone forget about Plaxico Burress, but he’s on pace to catch 136 passes, which would be second in NFL history for a single season. Smith is the only receiver in the league averaging 100 yards per game (102.8) and has 4 scores.
Gary Myers of the New York Daily News criticizes Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin for several poor decisions he made in his team’s playoff loss to the Eagles on Sunday.
Coughlin had a big decision to make when the Giants won the toss. He took the ball and went into the 20 mph wind in the first quarter. Manning has proven he can’t handle the wind at Giants Stadium, so Coughlin should have deferred and had the wind behind Manning to open the game. Manning never got into any rhythm after a tough first quarter.
After Ahmad Bradshaw returned the opening kickoff 65 yards to the Eagles’ 35, Manning dropped back to pass on first down. Steve Smith was wide open at the Eagles’ 15, but Manning’s pass was wobbly and Smith couldn’t get it.
The Giants eventually settled for a field goal. After holding Philly on its first possession, the Giants were forced to start on their own 13. After seeing the pass to Smith fail to navigate its way through the wind, Coughlin should have ordered Gilbride to give the ball to Brandon Jacobs to get the Giants away from the end zone.
Gilbride sent in a play-action pass. Manning rolled right and sailed it over the head of Domenik Hixon, right to Asante Samuel, who finally picked off Manning after dropping that huge one on the Giants’ game-winning drive in the Super Bowl. He returned it to the Eagles’ 2, setting up Donovan McNabb’s touchdown run.
It made no sense to throw in that spot.
When the Giants trailed 20-11 early in the fourth quarter, Coughlin lost a third down replay challenge when he thought Ward had a first down at the Giants’ 44. He went for it on fourth and inches. Manning failed on a quarterback sneak. Johnson anticipated it.
“A quarterback sneak is as elementary as it gets,” O’Hara said. “And to not be able to get a few inches on a fourth down, that is inexcusable.”
Why not let Jacobs, who is 6-4, 264, try to bully his way to the first down?
I find it rather ironic (and almost comical) that Myers criticized Coughlin’s decisions on Sunday, yet he was the one last week that prolifically wrote that there was no way that the Eagles would beat the Giants. It’s almost like Myers wrote his latest column in anger that Coughlin made him look bad on his prediction.
Either way, Myers is right in his observations. I fail to see why taking the ball at the start of the game is a wise decision when you know your offense will be working into the wind. Put your defense on the field first, force a punt and then you have momentum, field position and the ball first in the second half. And even if the Eagles march down the field and score, you have an entire game to come back. I also felt that Jacobs was underused and a sneak with Manning was questionable at best, but it’s also easy to play Monday morning quarterback and question everything a losing team did wrong.
At the end of the year, it’s always interesting to look back at all that has happened in the world of sports over the last 12 months. 2008 brought us a host of compelling sports stories, including the culmination of the Patriots’ (unsuccessful) quest for perfection, a Bejing Olympics that featured incredible accomplishments by the likes of Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the Redeem Team, and, of course, Brett Favre’s unretirement, which managed to hold the sports news cycle hostage for a solid month or more.
As is our tradition, we’ve once again broken our Year End Sports Review into three sections. The first is “What We Learned,” a list that’s packed with a number of impressive feats. And when there are feats, inevitably there are also failures.
The New England Patriots weren’t so perfect after all.
After rolling through the 2007 regular season unscathed, the Patriots entered the 2008 Super Bowl as overwhelming favorites to roll over the pesky, but seemingly inferior New York Giants. The Pats were just one win away from staking their claim as the best football team in NFL history. But thanks to a dominating Giants’ defensive line, an improbable catch by David Tyree, and a virtually mistake-free performance by Eli Manning, the unbeatable New England Patriots were beat. It’ll go down as one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, and considering Tom Brady’s season-ending injury in 2008 cost the Pats a chance for redemption, it seems that many have forgotten how New England stood just one win away from perfection. – Anthony Stalter
Michael Phelps is part fish.
Eight gold medals in one Olympiad? No problem. Michael Phelps made the seemingly impossible look (relatively) easy en route to one of the most – if not the most – impressive Olympic performances ever. Phelps had to swim all four strokes, compete in both sprint and endurance races, and deal with the constant media attention and pressure that came along with his quest. Sure, NBC turned up the hype, but what Phelps accomplished is simply incredible. – John Paulsen
Usain Bolt is part cheetah.
First, Usain Bolt made Jamaica proud by setting a new world record (9.69) in the 100-meter sprint. Then, he broke the 12 year-old 200-meter world record with a time of 19.30 seconds. He showboated during the first race but cleaned up his act to win the second race in a professional manner. Some even say that Usain Bolt – not Michael Phelps – was the biggest story to come out of the Bejing Olympics. – JP
The Big 12 has the best quarterbacks in the nation.
The Big 12 housed some of the best quarterbacks in all of college football in 2008. Texas’s Colt McCoy, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell were all considered Heisman candidates at least at one point during the season, while McCoy and Bradford are still in the running. Amazingly, Bradford and McCoy aren’t done; both will return in 2008. And although they don’t receive as much attention as the top signal callers in the conference, Kansas’s Todd Reesing and Baylor’s Robert Griffin certainly turned heads this year as well. In fact, the highly versatile Griffin is only a freshman and could make the Bears a very dangerous team for years to come. – AS
Everyone wonder what really happened the night Plaxico Burress shot himself in a club? Well the guys at Bang! Cartoons have the lowdown, illustrated in their latest hilarious ‘toon. Apparently Burress had motivation to get hurt…
That jab at Shockey was great. Head on over to Bang! to check out all of their NFL cartoons and podcasts!
Coughlin, fired by the Jags in 2003, coached the New York Giants to the Super Bowl title last season and is the prohibitive favorite to win yet another championship this season. If Coughlin wins his second Super Bowl, he is almost a shoo-in to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The reason we bring this up is because — with the struggling Jaguars (4-5) hosting Fisher’s unbeaten Tennessee Titans (9-0) Sunday — it’s hard not to play the what-if card. What if Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver had stuck by Coughlin like Titans owner Bud Adams stuck by Fisher? Isn’t it possible the Jags would be Super Bowl contenders today instead of one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL?
This is no knock on current Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio. He was a decent hire and has taken the Jaguars to a couple of playoff appearances in his six years as head coach. But he’s certainly no Coughlin. In the NFL coaching hierarchy, Coughlin is Casablanca; Del Rio is the ABC Movie of the Week.
In this day and age, we all want to change coaches like we’re changing rolls of toilet paper. Use ‘em, flush ‘em and move on to the next one.
It’s a little easy to suggest that the Jags should have kept Coughlin when he’s currently sporting a Super Bowl ring and Jacksonville has vastly underachieved under Jack Del Rio this season. Just because Coughlin won a title in New York, doesn’t mean that he would have won one in Jacksonville. Sometimes it’s time for a team or coach to move on.
Sunday’s Best:Giants (7-1) at Eagles (5-3)
If you don’t like a good ‘ol fashion NFC East battle than you don’t like America. The Giants need a win to stay two games up on the Redskins in the division while the Eagles need a victory just to keep pace. Neither team has huge injury concerns so we’re about to see the best each squad has to offer. The G-Men swept the series between these two teams last year and sacked Donovan McNabb 12 times, which tied an NFL record. But the Eagles have won three straight and have averaged 31 points per game in those victories. Keeping McNabb healthy and upright has been the key, which will again be a main concern for the Eagles against a stout Giants’ pass rush. Perhaps no team in the league plays better on the road than Tom Coughlin’s bunch, but Philadelphia is always a tough environment to play in and the Giants will look to neutralize Jim Johnson’s blitz-happy defense by running the back effectively with Brandon Jacobs. Neither team turns the ball over very much, so this game will likely come down to which squad forces their opponent out of their game plan first.
Upset Watch:Seahawks at Dolphins, 1:00 PM ET
An easier upset to call might be Detroit over Jacksonville with how bad the Jaguars have looked the past two weeks. But I’m willing to bet the Jags can handle Daunte Culpepper much better than they did Ryan Fitzpatrick last Sunday. There’s everything to love about the Dolphins and nothing about the Seahawks, but that’s exactly why I like Mike Holmgren’s bunch this week. Typically teams that travel from the West to East don’t fare well, but the Hawks were just in Florida to play the Bucs so they’re used to the travel preparations. Miami has been the talk of the NFL the past two weeks, which means they’re in uncharted territory. They’re due for a letdown and while the Seahawks are missing six starters and have zero offense, the underdog has covered the last six games involving the Dolphins. Okay, so Miami might win. But the Hawks cover the 9-point spread after falling behind early.
Intriguing matchup:Titans at Bears, 1:00 PM ET
Even though pundits have been impressed with the Titans’ start, you get the feeling that everyone is waiting for them to stumble eventually. They aren’t blowing teams out by any means and narrowly escaped defeat last week at home against Green Bay. Chicago starts a pissed off Rex Grossman this weekend and while that normally spells trouble, he did rally the Bears last week against Detroit. Word is that it’s supposed to snow in Chicago this Sunday, which only plays into the Bears’ hands. They’re so banged up on defense that the Titans still have the advantage, but don’t be surprised if this is the week Tennessee is finally tripped.
Other notable games: Saints (4-4) at Falcons (5-3), 1:00 PM ET
This game is going to reach the mid-50’s or 60’s by its conclusion. Even without Reggie Bush, the Saints’ offense is a juggernaut, but they’ve struggled defensively and will be without DE Charles Grant for the rest of the year due to injury. Rookie Matt Ryan has been nothing short of phenomenal this year and has the Falcons thinking playoffs. Teams have forced him to beat them through the air, which he has. This is one of the more underrated rivalries in the league and a sure bet for a shootout this weekend.
Bills (5-3) at Patriots (5-3), 1:00 PM ET
Bill Belichick should be ashamed of the way he game planned for the Colts last week and will no doubt be looking to smoke division rival Buffalo to get back on track. The Bills, meanwhile, have lost two games in a row because Trent Edwards can’t keep the turnovers low. The Jets are right in the mix too, but a win in this game is huge for the division.
Colts (4-4) at Steelers (6-2), 4:15 PM ET
Indy got back on track last week with a win over the Patriots, now they have to show that they can be consistent. The Steelers thumped the Skins on the road last Monday, but are coming off a short week and could be without Ben Roethlisberger. Can Byron Leftwich lead Pittsburgh to another victory? Or has the return of Bob Sanders lifted the Colts?
Move over Manny Ramirez – Plaxico Burress is taking over your philosophy. Gary Myers of The Daily News writes that in the wake of Burress returning to the team following a team-based one-game suspension that Plaxico is just being Plaxico.
He plays hurt, he plays great. He’s not getting arrested and he’s not testing positive for drugs. Not a bad investment, right? He’s just in his own little Plaxico world on issues like showing up on time and then acting indignant having to explain what he did to get himself suspended.
Plaxico’s Sept.22 predicament? He had to take his young son, who is not quite 2, to school that day. It sounds better than the dog ate his playbook, but not quite something that normally falls into the category of being the emergency he said it was. He indicated there were other circumtances involved, but would not elaborate.
He said “there is nothing to tell” about domestic disturbance calls from his house in June and August.
For anybody who has been faced with the dilemma of getting a child to school when you are the only option, it can be a challenging situation when you also have a job that requires your presence. But there are usually solutions: You drop them off and go to work, assuming they are going to school in the same time zone in which you live. Or in a household where transportation for a child is an issue, you hire a babysitter, which for those in Burress’ tax bracket, doesn’t put a strain on the checkbook. Or you ask a friend for a favor. At the very least, you call the boss and say the car pool broke down.
Not when Plax is being Plax.
“It’s not like I purposely missed out or that was my intention,” Burress said Monday. “It just seemed to happen that way and I didn’t feel any reason to explain to them what happened or why I missed because I don’t feel it is really anybody’s business. It is like I told them, if I had a decision to make as far as my family and my son and things like that, I wouldn’t change anything about it.”
Myers goes on to make a good point that while family comes before football, Burress could have gotten a babysitter or someone else to take his child to school that day. Of course, nobody knows Burress’s personal situation, so maybe he didn’t feel comfortable leaving his child in the hands of someone else.
But that isn’t Myers’ point anyway. His point is that Burress continues to do what he wants to do and sticks it in the Coughlin and the Giants’ faces. And what a shame too, because he’s a fantastic player on a fantastic team that could potentially win another Super Bowl this year.
Growing up in the shadow of a famous father can be overwhelming for a child, and the challenge of following the footsteps of an older sibling can also be harmful for a kid’s ego. Then, there is Eli Manning’s childhood; his father (Archie Manning) was a football hero in the Deep South and his brother (Peyton Manning) is the advertising face of the NFL with countless commercials. And all he does is become the MVP of Super Bowl XLII, in which he led the New York Giants to an upset victory over the previous undefeated New England Patriots.
While having a successful senior year as a high school football player, Manning was still undecided on which university to attend in the fall. That changed after receiving a call from David Cutcliffe. The Manning family was familiar with him, as Cutcliffe was offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, and helped older brother Peyton elevate his overall game. He was named Head Coach of the University of Mississippi football team, and was hoping Eli Manning would become his first prize recruit in rebuilding the Rebel program. Upon hearing Cutcliffe’s recruiting pitch; Manning followed his father’s footstep, and became starting QB at Ole Miss.
Manning’s collegiate career was a lot like his personality: quiet but successful. He set or tied 45 single-game, season, and career records at Ole Miss. In his senior year, Manning won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best all-around collegiate player, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and finished in third-place for the 2003 Heisman Trophy Award behind eventual winner Jason White, quarterback of Oklahoma, and University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
