Tag: 2011 NFL Playoffs (Page 4 of 13)

How did the Packers get here?

January 19, 2011 / John Paulsen

With the Green Bay Packers getting ready to face the Bears in the NFC Championship Game this weekend, it’s a good time to stop and reflect on a franchise that was in a serious state of flux as recently as two-and-a-half years ago, when Aaron Rodgers took the reins from Brett Favre.

Ted Thompson is the man who made that call (and countless others) over the past six years, so he’s ultimately responsible for the Packer roster as it stands. A roster that is playing very good football and has enough depth to withstand 15 players on injured reserve, including starters Jermichael Finley, Nick Barnett, Ryan Grant, Brandon Chillar and Mark Tauscher.

Let’s go year-by-year and look at each draft, along with any major transaction that Thompson made.

2005

Thompson took over in January of 2005, with the Packers coming off a 10-6 season and a first round loss to the Vikings at Lambeau Field. Mike Sherman was stripped of his personnel duties, and Thompson was brought in to call the shots.

The 2005 season was a rough one. The Packers went 4-12. Favre tossed 29 interceptions and the Packers were 31st in turnover ratio. It was an excruciating season as Green Bay was just 1-5 in games decided by three points or less. Part of the problem was Thompson’s unwillingness to pay free agent (and Pro Bowl) guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle. The O-line struggled, and so did the Packers.

Here’s a look at that Thompson’s ’05 draft: (1) Aaron Rodgers, (2) Nick Collins, (2) Terrence Murphy, (4) Marviel Underwood, (4) Brady Poppinga, (5) Junius Coston, (5) Mike Hawkins, (6) Michael Montgomery, (6) Craig Bragg, (7) Kurt Campbell, (7) Will Whitticker

Note: Players in bold are starters. Players no longer with the team are in italics.

Of the 11 players selected in that draft, just three remain. But they’re three good ones. Collins was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl this season and if Rodgers isn’t a top 5 QB, he will be soon. He also landed a starter-caliber LB (Poppinga) in the fourth. Thompson knew that he had to be patient with Rodgers, especially with Favre still on the roster and capable of MVP-type numbers. He passed on a player that could help immediately in order to draft the QB of the future, and he took some grief for it.

Obviously it worked out for the best.

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Three keys for the Steelers to avoid another upset at the hands of the Jets

January 19, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

One factor that the Jets have to their advantage this week is that they’ve already beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh once this season (22-17 in Week 15). But things could prove to be more difficult for New York this time around.

Below are three keys for the Steelers to avoid another upset.

1. The O-line must rebound.
The play of the O-line continues to be the biggest question mark surrounding this team. Flozell Adams was sick last week with the flu and could barely stand up, which is why he struggled so much against the Ravens. Ramon Foster deserves praise for moving to tackle when Adams left the game, but he continues to be a marginal blocker. Jonathan Scott gave up a handful of pressures and a sack against Baltimore and while Maurkice Pouncey played well overall, he had trouble moving the Ravens’ big defensive tackles at the goal line. In fact, the entire Steelers’ O-line had trouble at the goal line, which includes Chris Kemoeatu (who also made some stupid decisions after the whistle had been blown). What’s interesting is that the Steelers gained 377 total yards against the Jets in Week 15, which included 146 on the ground. They also had touchdown drives of 96 and 74 yards, so they’ve already proven that they can move the ball on Rex Ryan’s stingy defense. But can the O-line elevate their game after last week’s performance? They better, because Ryan has proved over the past two weeks that he can put together some of the best defensive game plans in the NFL.

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Should the Bears extend Lovie Smith’s contract?

January 19, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

If Bear fans were presented with this question before the season started, half of them would have probably said that Lovie Smith would have to win the Super Bowl this year and the other half would have given an empathetic: “No.”

If the hated Packers wax the Bears this Sunday at Solider Field, it stands to reason that Chicago fans will return to the same mindset they had before the season and wish Smith the best as he heads out the door. But what if the Bears win? Then what? Even if they lose to the Steelers or Jets in the Super Bowl, Smith would be responsible for taking the Bears to the title game twice in the past five years. Doesn’t he deserve a contract extension because of that?

Smith has one more year left on his current deal and at least one of his players thinks that he deserves an extension (from ESPN.com):

“I believe he has done a great job here. He’s the reason we’ve won,” [Brian] Urlacher said Wednesday on “Mike & Mike In The Morning” on ESPN Radio. “I think he’s been here seven years and this is our second NFC Championship [Game], and it hasn’t been that way around here in a long time. There were a few years where we were 7-9, 8-8 and that was good. People were excited about that because it meant we were getting better.
“Now if we’re not in the playoffs or the NFC championship people are disappointed, and that’s because of him. That’s how he makes people believe around here, and that’s what he expects out of us. I believe in him. I don’t see why he wouldn’t get an extension. He’s earned it, and I don’t want to play for any other coach.”

Urlacher makes a fair point but fans aren’t going to forget how Smith has struggled with game preparation and in-game management over the years. Good coaches put game plans together that take advantage of their opposition’s weaknesses throughout the course of a game. The better ones are not only good game-planners, but they make solid halftime adjustments to win in the second half.

The best head coaches, guys like Bill Belichick, Sean Payton and even Rex Ryan from a defensive standpoint, can make adjustments on the fly. They don’t stray from their game plan, but they can attack opponents series-to-series and strike when the iron’s hot. Whether fans like to admit it, Smith can put together a good game plan more times than not. But he doesn’t always make sound halftime adjustments and he rarely makes in-game adjustments to attack his opponent when they’re not looking.

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Should Dolphins be miffed that Parcells recommended Ryan to Jets?

January 19, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Former NFL player Marcellus Wiley once told me that if you took Bill Parcells out to a practice field and told him he only had five minutes to evaluate 100 players, he could still tell you the strengths and weaknesses of every man on that field to a T. So it’s not surprising that the “Big Tuna” knew that Rex Ryan was going to be successful in the NFL.

According to a ESPNNewYork.com report, Parcells advised Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum to hire Ryan two years ago. In fact, had Parcells not be so close with current Dolphins’ head coach Tony Sparano when they two of them coached together in Dallas, he would have hired Ryan in Miami.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Parcells said.
“I was very impressed with Rex when I met with him,” Parcells said Tuesday night by phone. “I could just sense that, ‘Hey, this guy’s going to have a chance.'”
“I had a fierce rivalry with Rex’s father when I was coaching the Giants,” Parcells said, “but I held Buddy in high regard. What made Buddy a dangerous adversary was that he knew what he was looking for personnel-wise, and Rex is the same way. That’s a pretty good head start for Rex because there are quite a few coaches in this league who don’t know what they’re looking for.”

Parcells was very clear in the interview that he takes no credit for Rex’s development, or even for Tannenbaum’s decision to hire him. And why would he? He still receives paychecks with the Miami Dolphins’ logo on it, so why would he want to admit to helping a division rival?

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