Category: NFL (Page 221 of 1282)

      Should the Dolphins fire Tony Sparano?

      December 30, 2010 /

      Tony Sparano is currently in the third year with the Dolphins, which is right around the time front offices start to get antsy about the development of their teams.

      Sparano made the playoffs in his first year with Miami but the Dolphins haven’t shown much improvement since. Their defense got remarkably better under new coordinator Mike Nolan, but the offense has been a disaster under playcaller Dan Henning. In fact, only the 2-13 Panthers have scored fewer touchdowns (16) than the Dolphins (25) this season.

      Speculation is running rampant that Sparano will be fired by“Black Monday” of next week. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said that Sparano’s last game with the Dolphins will be this Sunday, although NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi reports that Bill Parcells has convinced owner Stephen Ross to keep Sparano for at least another season.

      But if they do fire Sparano, whom will the Dolphins hire as his replacement? Some rumors state that Bill Cowher’s second choice after coaching the Giants would be the Dolphins, but thus far there haven’t been any hard facts to support those claims. And if Cowher doesn’t want to take his talents to South Beach, then the Dolphins could be stuck with either another first-year head coach or a Josh McDaniels-type retread. Would someone like McDaniels really be an improvement over Sparano?

      There isn’t just one thing wrong with the Dolphins – it’s a collection of issues that are holding them back. First and foremost, they need a consistent quarterback because Chad Henne isn’t it. They have scattered talent in Brandon Marshall, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, but this team lacks an identity offensively. The defense has been fixed, but what happens if Sparano is let go? What happens to Nolan (who is behind Miami’s resurgence on defense)? If the Dolphins fix one leak, they may spring two more.

      Of course, Sparano has done very little to prove that he deserves to keep the job. His decision-making (particularly late in games) has been questioned several times this season and he shows an unwillingness to adjust and adapt. Miami’s fourth quarter collapse last week against Detroit didn’t help, nor did its massive struggles this year at home.

      The bottom line is that the Dolphins’ brass has a tough decision to make regarding their head coach position. Miami doesn’t want to waste another year if Sparano isn’t the right man for the job but as of now, it doesn’t have any clear-cut choices to replace him either.

      External Sports, NFL

      Vick out, Kolb in versus Cowboys

      December 30, 2010 /

      As expected, Michael Vick won’t play against the Cowboys in the Eagles’ season finale on Sunday. Vick hurt his quad on the first play from scrimmage Tuesday night in Philly’s loss to the Vikings and with the Dallas game being meaningless in terms of playoff seeding, the Eagles don’t want to take any chances with their star player.

      With the No. 3 seed locked up, Kevin Kolb will get the start against the Cowboys. Depending on the outcomes from Week 17, the Eagles will play either the Packers, Giants or Bucs in the first round of the playoffs next week. If Green Bay beats Chicago on Sunday, then Philly will host the Packers. If the Packers lose to the Bears and the Giants beat the Redskins, then the Eagles will host New York. If both the Packers and Giants lose and the Bucs beat the Saints, then Tampa Bay will head to Philly next week.

      Vick’s regular season ends with 3,018 passing yards, 676 rushing yards and 30 total touchdowns. He also finishes with a QB Rating of 100.2, which is a career high for him. He finished with an 81.6 QB Rating in his second year with the Falcons, which was his previous high (when he attempted at least 300 passes) before this year. If it weren’t for what Tom Brady has accomplished in New England this year, Vick would probably win the MVP award.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Vick is healthy enough to play in the first round of the playoffs. Considering he stayed in the game against Minnesota, chances are good that he’ll start against the Eagles’ first round opponent next weekend. But how effective will he be?

      External Sports, NFL

      Ladies and gentlemen, the most accurate fantasy football expert in 2010 is…

      December 30, 2010 /

      …me!

      I’m happy to report that I held onto the #1 spot in the FantasyPros accuracy contest and have been named this season’s most accurate fantasy expert. After finishing #1 in Week 14 and #2 in Week 15, I didn’t have the strongest Week 16 (#22 overall, though I’d like to note that I finished #1 in DT and #2 in K, which don’t count towards the competition), but my 0.9% lead still held strong. Here’s an excerpt from the FantasyPros article summarizing the results:

      Was there any doubt that John Paulsen would finish on top as 2010’s Most Accurate Fantasy Football Expert?! After leading the competition for an astounding 11 consecutive weeks, Paulsen held on in the final week of the season to take home the top prize. The key indicator of Paulsen’s dominance was that he was the only expert in the competition to rank in the top 10 for each of the 4 positions that factor into our overall scoring: WR (#1), RB (#3), QB (#10), TE (#1). Heck, he even finished as our #3 rated DST expert so you know he had the magic touch. Simply put, his player rankings were a one-stop destination for advice seekers looking for any kind help. And as a guy who helped so many people win their league titles, it’s certainly fitting to crown him as this year’s accuracy champ. Congrats, John!

      By position, I finished #1 in both TE and WR, #3 in RB and DT and #10 in QB. (Damn quarterbacks!)

      I’d like to thank the fine folks over at FantasyPros for running this contest — it has obviously given me and TSR a lot of exposure, and it has been fun having a level playing field to compete against the big boys.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      49ers targeting Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach?

      December 30, 2010 /

      Jim Harbaugh continues to be one of the hottest names in football and if he wants to leave Stanford for a bigger job next season, he’ll likely have opportunities at both the college and pro level.

      According to Matt Maiocco of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, the 49ers are interested in Harbaugh as head-coaching replacement for Mike Singletary (who was fired on Monday). The Niners view Harbaugh’s work with Josh Johnson and NFL prospect Andrew Luck as a sign that he can develop quarterbacks. And seeing as how that was one of Singletary’s downfalls, they would love to secure a head coach who knows how to manage signal callers.

      Maiocco also confirms that Trent Baalke will be promoted from V.P. of Player Personnel to General Manager. The team wanted to have a GM in place before they sought a head coach and now that they have one, you can expect them to start interviewing coaches once their season wraps up this Sunday (if not sooner).

      One name I keep throwing onto the table is Jon Gruden, and for the same reasons the Niners like Harbaugh: he can work with quarterbacks. Gruden had success in the NFL with Rich Gannon, Brad Johnson and Jeff Garcia, so if San Fran is looking for a coach who knows QBs then “Chucky” may be the perfect fit.

      That said, who knows if Gruden wants to come out of the booth right now. He enjoys working with the Monday Night Football crew and he may not be ready to return to the sidelines yet. But if he does, I don’t see why the Niners wouldn’t at least pick up the phone and gauge his interest in returning to the Bay area. Harbaugh would be a fine choice, but if San Fran is looking for more pro experience, then you can’t beat Gruden’s resume, which includes hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      Strength of Schedule (SOS): Week 17

      December 30, 2010 /

      What am I looking at?

      Below you’ll see a table with a list of team names on the left and a list of positions (including PPR data) along the top. If a square is pink, it means that the matchup is tough. If it’s green, it means it’s a favorable matchup.

      It’s important to note that this is NOT straight fantasy points allowed. I removed the bias of schedule by looking at the opponents of each defense and how they fared in their other games. For example, if a particular defense faced a series of great QBs, then that is taken into account in these tables.

      How do I use SOS?

      Generally speaking, I use strength of schedule as a tiebraker between two similarly ranked players. Let’s say I’m trying to decide between starting BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Cedric Benson. All else being equal, these two players are very close in my mind. But if BGE has a great matchup and Benson has a bad matchup, the choice is clear. In fact, if BGE just has a mediocre matchup while Benson has a bad matchup, I’d probably go with the Law Firm.

      Be careful not to read too much into these tables. You aren’t going to bench Chris Johnson in a bad matchup unless you have a bona fide RB1 with a good matchup waiting in the wings.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

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