Here’s a neat look at one of Griffin’s dunks in super slow-mo.
Category: External Sports (Page 334 of 821)
After Mike Singletary laid the blueprint on how not to manage quarterbacks during his short stint in San Francisco, the 49ers’ next head coach had to be someone who knew how to develop that position.
As soon as they jettisoned Singletary in Week 16, they targeted Jim Harbaugh as their top choice. The work he did with Josh Johnson at the University of San Diego and likely future No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck at Stanford was proof that he could effectively develop quarterbacks. The fact that Harbaugh didn’t have any experience as a NFL assistant didn’t matter because that wasn’t the Niners’ top priority. It would have helped, but it obviously wasn’t a deal breaker because the team agreed to terms with the former Stanford coach on a five-year, $25 million contract on Friday.
Harbaugh takes over a team that is certainly not short on talent. The Niners already have a top-13 defense and with players like Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, the offense is in good shape, too.
But the one position that has held the 49ers back over the years has been quarterback. Whether it’s Alex Smith, Troy Smith or Shaun Hill, the quarterback position in San Francisco has been a black hole. Part of the blame falls on Singletary because he was overmatched as a head coach from the start. The fact that the team could never settle on an offensive coordinator didn’t help either. But Alex Smith has been the model of inconsistency. At times he’s shown that he has what it takes to succeed but he’s never taken that next step to become a reliable starter.
Now it’s up to Harbaugh to determine if he can work with Smith or if the team should go in another direction. At this point, it might be wise to clean house and start over, which I’m sure Harbaugh will consider. After all, why not try to win with your guy as opposed to someone elses?
Either way, Harbaugh was the right choice for this team all along and San Francisco was the right fit for him. There’s no guarantee that he’ll succeed and if history is any indication, he won’t because he was a highly sought after college coach. And maybe in a couple of years we’ll look back and say that he should have stayed in the college ranks and coached at his alma mater Michigan.
But at least right now, the deal works for all parties involved.
Here’s some fade material for your NFL weekend…
Saints @ Seahawks, 4:30PM ET, Saturday
I don’t have the stones to predict an outright win for the Seahawks and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to be accused of going against the grain just for the sake of going against the grain. Plus, I don’t think Seattle has enough weapons to slow down Sean Payton’s offense for four quarters. That said, I love the 10.5 points here. When I first saw the spread for this matchup, I racked my brain trying to figure out if I had ever seen a road team lay that many points in a playoff game before. I couldn’t think of one because there hasn’t been. The Seahawks are the biggest home underdog in NFL playoff history. Look, this isn’t college football. It’s hard enough for a home team to cover as a double-digit favorite in the NFL, let alone a road team to cover such a large spread. And considering the Saints won’t be able to run the ball, the Seahawks should be able to keep this game somewhat close. Seattle is still one of the toughest environments to play in – I don’t care how poorly the Seahawks are performing. This one will be much, much closer than most people think.
THE PICK: SEAHAWKS +10.5
Jets @ Colts, 8:00PM ET, Saturday
By now, everyone is aware of the hold Peyton Manning has on Rex Ryan. He’s 5-1 against Ryan-led defenses and has thrown for 1,513 yards and 12 touchdown passes to only two interceptions. That said, I think the Jets will control the tempo of this game from the start and leave Manning on the sidelines. The best way to beat Peyton is to limit his opportunities to beat you. You’re never going to be able to completely shut him down (even in his four-interception game against the Chargers he still tossed two touchdown passes), but allowing him to speed up the tempo of the game is forbidden. He wants to have the ball in his hands so that he can attack your defense. Therefore, the Jets have to run the ball with success and grind the tempo of this game to a screeching halt. I expect this game to be boring and if it is, the Jets win outright.
THE PICK: JETS +2.5
As I did with the Saints-Seahawks preview, below I break down how the Jets can beat the Colts on Saturday and vice versa.
THE JETS WIN IF: Obviously Mark Sanchez needs to be productive for the Jets to have a shot, but I’m going to focus on Rex Ryan’s defense. If Ryan finally wants to get the Peyton Manning monkey off his back, he could learn a lot from watching how the Patriots, Chargers and Cowboys defended the Colts in Indy’s three-game losing streak in Weeks 11-13. In those three games, the Colts averaged just 2.6 yards per rush. Granted, they didn’t have Joseph Addai then, but the key to defusing Manning might start with taking away his running game. Obviously the Jets need to get pressure on Manning. All teams facing quarterbacks like Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers need to dial up pressure to beat those guys. But despite the popular belief that the Colts can’t run the ball, most of Manning’s success comes from Indy’s balance on offense. The Colts might not rack up a lot of rushing yards, but that doesn’t mean their ground game can’t be effective. The Jets need to focus on shutting down the Colts’ rushing attack first and make them one-dimensional. If Manning is constantly in third-and-long situations, then eventually the Jets will come up with a big play (just as the Patriots, Chargers and Cowboys did). Disguising blitzes and sending pressure from the secondary is all well and good, but those things won’t matter if the Colts can move the ball on the ground. Peyton is going to make plays – that’s just what he does. But it’s those times when the Jets force him to throw in third-and-long when they need to capitalize.
THE COLTS WIN IF: Peyton continues his domination of Ryan-led defenses. Over the past month of the season, quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Jay Cutler were able to strike for big plays because Ryan constantly had to send extra defenders to help his feeble pass rush. If Manning can strike for a couple of long-gainers and put the Jets back on their heels, then it will force Mark Sanchez to beat the Colts with his arm. Another thing Indy must do is control the tempo. If the Jets are able to play their game (i.e. running the ball and playing good defense), then Manning may get frustrated that he can’t attack, attack, attack like he’s used to doing. Nothing infuriates him more than having to stand on the sidelines and watch the time tick off the clock. But if the Colts can establish rhythm early, get into the fast tempo they want to play and make Sanchez and the Jets’ offense scramble to catch up, then Indy wins this one running away.
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