Tag: Todd Haley (Page 3 of 7)

Todd Haley refuses to shake Josh McDaniels’ hand following blowout

Following the Broncos’ 49-29 dismantling of the Chiefs on Sunday, Kansas City coach Todd Haley went to midfield and instead of shaking Josh McDaniels’ hand, he angrily pointed his figure at McDaniels and stormed off.

Just so you know I didn’t concoct this story on my own, here’s the video:

The Broncos led 35-10 at halftime and scored just once more in each of the final two quarters, but apparently Haley thought Denver should have taken a knee at the start of the third quarter.

Some will say that it wasn’t very sportsmanlike of the Broncos to keep throwing in the fourth quarter, but it’s not like the Chiefs were completely inept offensively. Matt Cassel threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns, so clearly Kansas City wasn’t content to take a loss and get out of dodge as quickly as possible. Nor should they have been.

Football games last 60 minutes. There was no give up in the Chiefs and Haley shouldn’t have expected his opponents to give up either. Just because Kansas City had the better record and was in first place at the start of the day doesn’t mean Denver should have laid down for them.

There’s an unwritten rule in baseball that I absolutely loathe. Teams that are up “big” late in games aren’t supposed to steal as a courtesy to their opponent. But if a team doesn’t want to get run on when its getting its ass kicked, then it should try throwing runners out.

I’ll offer the same advice to Haley. The last time I checked, the Chiefs were playing with 11 players on defense. They weren’t at a disadvantage so if they wanted McDaniels and company to stop scoring, then they should have stopped the Broncos. It’s that simple.

NFL Week 9 COY power rankings

This is another list that keeps evolving from week to week, because every week there is at least one upset, and usually more like three upsets.

1. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Let’s be honest, the Bucs were maybe the worst team in football a year ago. This season, Morris has them believing they could be Super Bowl bound.

2. Todd Haley, Kansas City—Another fantastic turnaround job, especially on defense.

3. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders—The Raiders haven’t been this relevant since 2002. Remember when this dude was on the hot seat for about a year?

4. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—More wins this year (4) than in the previous two seasons combined (3) and with a good chance to actually win the division.

5. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—The G-men began 1-2 and looked like bumbling idiots. Then the players and fans rallied around their coach and won five straight.

6. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans—In a small market, you lose players to free agency a lot, but this dude keeps getting the most out of his roster.

7. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—Everyone knows the Eagles are better with Mike Vick at QB and Big Andy is a common sense dude.

8. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh—It’s like he had you, me, Ryan Leaf and Tim Couch start the first four games; and came out 3-1 before getting Big Ben back.

9. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay—The Packers were hemorrhaging players, but McCarthy never gave up on the season. Now they’re on top in the NFC North.

10. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—His team is rock solid on offense and defense, and just pulled out a huge win against a tough Baltimore team.

NFL Week 8 MVP, COY and ROY Power Rankings


It’s getting tougher and tougher, isn’t it? I’m glad the people who actually vote for these categories can do it at the end of the season, but they can’t possibly have this much fun trying to pick the winners from week to week. With that, here are our Week 8 power rankings…..

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Manning’s stats have been consistent all season, but the fact that his Colts are now 5-2 and firmly in place to win another AFC South crown and possibly much more, you just can’t ignore him.

2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—With or without Randy Moss, Brady gets it done, and he has less to work with now than he has in a while. Not to mention, he has to carry a less-than-stellar (by New England standards) defense this year.

3. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Matthews now leads the NFL with 10 sacks through seven games, and he has 27 tackles, one stuff, one forced fumble and one pass deflected. More than that, he helped pitch a shutout of the Jets last week. The dude is just sick.

3 (tie). Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—Go outside. Throw a football up in the air as high as you can throw it. Before you watch the ball hit the ground, Roddy White will have appeared out of nowhere to catch it. That’s how good this dude is.

Honorable mention: Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants; Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers; LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans; James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers; Jerod May, New England Patriots, Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Last season, the Bucs were 3-13 and just flat-out awful. This season, they have almost doubled their win total through seven games (5-2) and Morris has them believing they are the best team in the NFC. It doesn’t matter if he’s right, it just matters that they believe, and thanks to Morris, it looks like they do.

2. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—If the Chiefs win Sunday against the Raiders, they and their fans can start talking about an AFC West title. Just like Morris, this comes after an awful 2009 campaign (4-12).

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—I’m sorry to continue to back my guy, but even though the Giants had a bye last week, it’s still incredible that Coughlin brought his team from 1-2 and dead in the gutter to the class of the NFC (sorry, Raheem) with four straight convincing wins.

Honorable mention: Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders; Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans, Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks;; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles, Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams; Bill Belichick, New England Patriots; Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons; Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders; Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—The kid is putting up average numbers (1674 yards, 11 TDs, 8 picks), but the Rams are a respectable 4-4 and challenging for a division title, and they are led by this dude. Who would have thought?

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—This rather large man is just a beast—a man-beast if you will—in the middle. When was the last time the Lions had a guy like that? And he’s leading all linebackers in the NFL with 7 sacks.

3. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—Yeah, the Cowboys aren’t very good this year. But this kid is one reason to watch them play.

Honorable mention: Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions; Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

NFL Week 6 MVP, COY and ROY Power Rankings

Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

Does Todd Haley now realize he needs to feed the ball to Jamaal Charles?

ATLANTA - AUGUST 13: Jamaal Charles  of the Kansas City Chiefs against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on August 13, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The RBBC in Kansas City has been a hot topic for debate in the world of fantasy football. Actually, no it hasn’t. Fantasy owners are pretty much united in the belief that Jamaal Charles is the best, most explosive running back in Kansas City, yet Thomas Jones continues to start and eat into Charles’ fantasy production. Head coach Todd Haley is nothing if not stubborn (most NFL coaches are), so we weren’t going to see him tinker with what was ‘working.’

Now with the Chiefs’ loss to the Colts on Sunday, will we finally see the 60/40 or 65/35 (Charles/TJ) split that we were expecting when we drafted Charles in the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th round this summer?

The signs are encouraging and discouraging at the same time.

On one hand, Charles got 16 carries (for 87 yards, a 5.4 ypc average) to TJ’s eight (for 19 yards, 2.4 ypc). Charles was also targeted six times in the passing game (3-14), so he received 19 touches to Jones’s eight.

But what’s worrisome is that even after an 11-carry, 66-yard first half, Jones still started the third quarter. On the Chiefs’ first drive in the quarter, he had a 3-yard carry followed by a 6-yard carry before being stuffed for a 2-yard loss on a 3rd-and-1.

Time to punt.

At this point, Jones had 22 yards on six carries, which isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible either. (Charles was averaging 6.0 ypc at this point, so the disparity was clear.) On the Chiefs’ next drive, Charles rattled off carries of 14-yards and 7-yards before being pulled on a 2nd-and-5 from the Colts’ 12-yard line. Jones got the carry and lost five yards. One incomplete pass to Dwayne Bowe later and the Chiefs had to kick the field goal.

Charles played most of the rest of the way, but the Chiefs started throwing the ball more. In the final quarter, Charles had 11 yards on four carries along with two catches for 11 yards. Jones had one carry for two yards.

It appears that Haley realizes Charles is the better back, but he simply refuses to start him. This gives Jones an opportunity to get going early, and if he does have success on that first drive in each half, he’ll continue to vulture more carries from the Chiefs’ best offensive player.

They say that it doesn’t really matter who starts, but whoever is given the first opportunity is given the first opportunity to succeed. If Jones gets the running game going early, then Charles isn’t going to see as many carries over the course of the game. If Charles were starting, he’d have the first crack (and at 6.5 ypc, he probably wouldn’t give up the ball). And it’s not like Charles hasn’t proven he can carry the load. Over the last eight games of the 2009 season, he averaged 23 touches for 141 yards. With Jones on the roster, there’s no need to wear Charles down, but 18-20 touches is a good blueprint for offensive success.

In that respect, this week’s game is a good sign for Charles owners. But Thomas Jones is still the starter in Kansas City.

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