Tag: Eric Mangini (Page 12 of 13)

      Cower to the Jets?

      December 23, 2008 /

      Bob Glauber of Newsday writes that if the Jets fire head coach Eric Mangini that they should pursue Bill Cowher.

      What better coach to replace him than Cowher, a perennial winner with the Steelers who captured Super Bowl XL after the 2005 season, then stepped away a year later. Cowher was 166-99-1 during his run with the Steelers from 1992-2006 and consistently was one of the top coaches in the league. In his 15 seasons, the Steelers won eight division titles, went to the playoffs 10 times, played 21 postseason games, made the AFC Championship Game six times and played in two Super Bowls, winning one.

      Playoff disappointments? Sure. But I’d take that resume any day to lead a Jets team sorely in need of an elite coach to push it in the right direction.

      Cowher is just the kind of emotional sparkplug the Jets need, a guy who will get in players’ faces the way few coaches can. He’s a major contrast with the placid Mangini, who too often shows no emotion in a game that thrives on it. If players reflect the personality of their coach, then the Jets have adopted Mangini’s flat-line temperament.

      What concept – hire the best head coach available to replace the deadbeat that currently holds the position. This is a nice idea, but unfortunately for Glauber and the Jets, the Browns, Rams and every other team that is soon to have a head coaching vacancy is thinking the same thing.

      If (and that’s a big if) Cowher decides to come out of retirement and return to the NFL, he’s going to want complete control. The situation is going to have to be perfect and I just don’t know if the Jets or Browns job will entice him enough to return.

      NFL

      Should the Jets fire Mangini if they miss the playoffs?

      December 22, 2008 /

      Bob Glauber of Newsday thinks they should:

      If Mangini doesn’t get to the playoffs, the Jets need to show him the door. No excuses. No explanations. He was on board with the Favre decision, and he must pay the price if the collapse is completed next week.

      Yesterday, his coaching was abysmal:

      Fourth down and less than a yard from the Seattle 2 on the Jets’ first drive, and Mangini goes conservative and has Jay Feely kick a field goal.

      Early in the fourth quarter, Feely makes a field goal with room to spare from 45 yards. However, the Jets are penalized five yards, which wipes out the points. Mangini elects to punt. What?!

      With 2:21 left in the fourth quarter, the Jets face a fourth-and-2 at their 20 with all three timeouts and the two-minute warning, and Mangini goes for it. Favre’s pass over the middle to Laveranues Coles is dropped. The Seahawks kick a field goal (with 1:47 to play, meaning the Jets still had plenty of time if they’d elected to punt) to ice it.

      It all adds up to three losses in four games, with the only win a gift from the Bills last week after Buffalo coach Dick Jauron inexplicably put the ball in J.P. Losman’s hands instead of Marshawn Lynch’s in a must-run situation.

      The Jets’ playoff fate now rests in the hands of a 39-year-old quarterback who is at the end of the road — and a head coach who should be, too.

      It’s amazing how Mangini has looked so bad at times since his first year in New York when he led the Jets to the playoffs. A lot of purists compared him to Bill Belichick when he became the Jets head coach, but the difference between Belicheat and Mangenious is having the ability to make adjustments throughout the game. Belichick is one of the best in-game coaches in the league and while Mangini can game plan, he can’t deliver when opponents start to make adjustments.

      Things don’t look good for the Jets, although I think they beat Miami next week at the Meadowlands. The Dolphins have struggled there over the years and the Jets have been a better team at home than they’ve been on the road. But New England will win the AFC East. The Pats look like a juggernaut right now and I doubt they lose to the Bills next Sunday, although a game in Buffalo is always a little tougher in December than it is in September.

      NFL

      Was trading for Brett Favre a mistake for Jets?

      December 21, 2008 /

      Okay, so now what?

      Brett FavreAfter their 13-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks (another humiliating loss to a West Coast team), the New York Jets are currently 8-6 and no longer in control of their own playoff destiny. Even a win over the Dolphins next week wouldn’t be enough to clinch the AFC East if the Patriots beat the Bills in Buffalo.

      So was this Brett Favre experiment a failure in New York? If they don’t make the playoffs, than hell yes it was. The Jets didn’t trade for Favre so they could go 9-7 or 8-8 and miss the playoffs. They traded for him to make a run at the postseason and possibly even the Super Bowl. And if they didn’t trade for Favre for those reasons, then why in God’s name would you trade for a 38-year old quarterback and only sign him to one year?

      Think about it – Favre is probably done in New York after this season. He’ll do his retirement dance for another offseason and even if he does want to play again, there’s no guarantee he’ll go back to the Jets. So how did trading for him help New York? They didn’t make the playoffs and even worse, they didn’t develop anyone for the future. (They also allowed Chad Pennington to go to a division rival don’t forget.)

      Everyone was so giddy when the Jets brought Favre in this offseason. Then when he helped them beat the previously unbeaten Titans in Tennessee a month ago, everyone was ready to hop on the Brett/Super Bowl bandwagon.

      But the reality of the situation is that the Jets might have done more harm than good. Sure they were competitive this season, but what’s the point in being competitive if you’re not going to make the postseason? Furthermore, what’s the point in being competitive if you’re not going to make the postseason and not going to set yourself up for the future? You have to hand it to the Jets for trying to find the missing piece and taking a shot. But the bottom line is that this move could have cost them in the long run more than it helped.

      So I am told, Sunday was a perfect “Brett Favre Day.” The weather was cold, snowy and for most of the game, Brett Favre’s team was behind. But when it came time for Brett to be Brett, he looked like a quarterback past his prime. Granted, his offensive line didn’t and receivers didn’t help him much, but were was all of that “Brett Magic” that Packer fans talk so much about?

      And does Eric Mangini keep his job after this massive collapse over the past couple weeks? His decision to go for it on fourth down late in the game instead of punt and allow his defense to get the ball back was questionable at best. He and Brett might be looking for jobs outside of the Big Apple next year.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Do or die for the Jets Thursday in Foxboro?

      November 13, 2008 /

      Eric Mangini/Bill BelichickWeek 11 in the NFL kicks off Thursday night with a matchup between the Jets and the Patriots that could determine which team wins the AFC East. Both teams currently sit at 6-3, but New England holds the head-to-head advantage after beating the Jets 19-10 in Week 2.

      Many are deeming this a must win for the Jets and given the circumstances, that’s hard to argue. Teams that can’t win in their own division are usually the ones looking from the outside in come playoff time. And with the Jets losing to the Pats earlier this season, there’s even more onus on victory tonight.

      Unfortunately for the Jets, they’re going to see a very different Matt Cassel than they did in Week 2. Even though he led his team to victory, Cassel wasn’t asked to do too much in the offense when he first took over for Tom Brady earlier this season. But over the past month, Cassel has given Bill Belichick reason to believe he can open up the passing game more, which even means running the no-huddle at various points during games.

      Of course, this matchup always has an added dynamic to it considering Belichick would rather piss glass than lose to Eric Mangini. And it’s about time Mangini puts a great game plan together and finally knock off Belichick on a national stage. Even though they’re currently 6-3, the Pats are down this year and Mangini needs to take advantage of the situation. It might be dramatic to suggest this, but Thursday night might be now or never for Mangini to finally put the screws to his old boss and claim the division.

      Tonight should be interesting. Jet Favre is playing better than he did a couple weeks ago when he was turning the ball over like candy on Halloween and the NY defense has been very opportunistic lately. Both of these teams are playing vastly different than they did in Week 2 and it should be a great battle for those 34 people who have the NFL Network.

      NFL

      The Rams are an embarrassment

      November 9, 2008 /

      Jim HaslettRemember when Jim Haslett took over for Scott Linehan about a month ago and the Rams beat the Redskins in Washington and then crushed the Cowboys at home the very next week? Well, those wins are nothing but a distant memory.

      The Jets hammered the Rams 47-3 at Giants Stadium on Sunday, but it wasn’t even that close. St. Louis trailed 40-0 at halftime, turned the ball over five times, managed only 200 total yards and were just 4 of 10 on third downs. Even when they marched into the red zone, they still couldn’t muster any points.

      It was impressive how the Rams responded when Haslett was chosen as interim coach. They showed emotion, played inspired and actually resembled a football team. But their last two games have shown that the front office needs to completely blow this team up. They need a new quarterback because Marc Bulger has been a disaster and Trent Green should have retired two years ago. They need an offensive line. They need a secondary and they need a new direction.

      As for the Jets, I know Brett Favre gets all the attention for the team’s turnaround this year but the defense deserves a ton of credit too. Eric Mangini has the defense playing more aggressively and unsung players like Abram Elam are stepping up big. If the Jets make the playoffs this year, Favre would have played a big part. But it’ll be the defense that will determine just how far they eventually go.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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