Awww crap. First Marty gets fired in San Diego and now word is Norv Turner will leave the Niners to take over the coaching gig.
So blow up the last paragraph in the previous post. Who knows what the hell to expect from Alex Smith and Frank Gore now. Still gotta draft LT2 #1 though. Phillip Rivers, Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson? Ummmm... I'll get back to you later. I just had a baby! :)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Coaching Carousel Arousal
While other FFB writers are snuggled in their beds, with visions of sleepers dancing in their heads (I’m looking at YOU, Mr. Mike “I think Michael Jenkins will become a go-to receiver” Harmon), I’ve decided to take a more common sense approach. So I patiently waited for all the coaching vacancies to be filled before posting my thoughts regarding not only the new faces in new places but also the faces that stayed behind.
Let’s start with the most recent move – Wade Phillips going to big D. The D is appropriate, as he was hired mainly to fix the 3-4 defense that Parcells installed last year and will most likely leave the offensive side of the ball to O-coordinator Jason Garrett. Jerry Jones also retained the guy who called the offensive plays last year (whose name escapes me). So, you’re Wade Phillips. Half of your staff was already hired FOR you and it really looks like you’re a stopgap until Bill Cowher comes out of retirement. Do YOU think you’ll have the respect of the locker room? Do YOU think you’ll be able to get the most out of T.O.? Will you even have a say as to how the RB platoon situation between Julius Jones and Marion Barber shakes out? After you’ve finished this little role-playing exercise, you tell ME how far you can trust any offensive player in Dallas this coming year. Do YOU (the reader, not Wade) want your players in the hands of a coach who will probably get his own 'face' from Bill Simmons this fall/winter?
Now, onto a couple of moves I’m legitimately excited about. The first is Ken Wisenhunt to Arizona from Pittsburgh. He’ll bring his playbook with him, I’m sure. You know the one - the one with a power running game but with just enough aerial stuff and trick plays to keep defenses honest. Assuming he gets the O-line fixed during the off-season, you can expect big things from Edge and maybe another back (Marcel Shipp?). He’ll simplify the O for Matt Leinart so he can continue his maturation. The one thing I’m worried about is he’s never had two stud WRs like Bolden and Fitzgerald. Will he keep both happy or will he lean towards one and make him the “Hines Ward of the West”?
I also like Cam Cameron going to Miami. He’ll find Ronnie Brown to be a younger version of LT2, I’m sure. He’ll find a nice TE in Randy McMichael. And he’ll find some decent, if underappreciated, WRs in Chris Chambers and Marty Booker. Sadly, he won’t find a QB. No, Cleo Lemon is NOT the answer.
Mike Tomlin was a good hire by Pittsburgh (I was going to make a House-inspired Omar Epps joke, but decided not to). I can’t say I LIKE the move, but I don’t hate it, either. If you look at the staunch run defense he had in Minnesota, you can tell he knows games are won in the trenches. He’s not hiring his own O-coordinator either; they’re promoting from within. So it’ll just be more of the same in Steel City. Yawn.
Bobby Petrino taking over Atlanta confounds me. What will he get out of Michael Vick, besides a source for trick water bottles? Will he find any go-to receivers, whether they be named ‘Michael Jenkins’, ‘Roddy White’ or someone else? How will his college offense translate to the pros? What RB will emerge, if any? Too many questions, too few answers. You should draft base on answers, not on the questions, by the way.
As for who stayed behind, consider Norv Turner. He’ll continue as O-coordinator for the 9ers, which should mean big things for Frank Gore and improved things for Alex Smith. Also consider poor Marty Schottenheimer, who now has to hire new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The odds that he reverts to full-on Martyball are high. This is good for LT2 and Antonio Gates and MAYBE Phillip Rivers, but bad for any WR, including Vincent Jackson (who I’m sure will be a big honkin’ sleeper come June/July).
Let’s start with the most recent move – Wade Phillips going to big D. The D is appropriate, as he was hired mainly to fix the 3-4 defense that Parcells installed last year and will most likely leave the offensive side of the ball to O-coordinator Jason Garrett. Jerry Jones also retained the guy who called the offensive plays last year (whose name escapes me). So, you’re Wade Phillips. Half of your staff was already hired FOR you and it really looks like you’re a stopgap until Bill Cowher comes out of retirement. Do YOU think you’ll have the respect of the locker room? Do YOU think you’ll be able to get the most out of T.O.? Will you even have a say as to how the RB platoon situation between Julius Jones and Marion Barber shakes out? After you’ve finished this little role-playing exercise, you tell ME how far you can trust any offensive player in Dallas this coming year. Do YOU (the reader, not Wade) want your players in the hands of a coach who will probably get his own 'face' from Bill Simmons this fall/winter?
Now, onto a couple of moves I’m legitimately excited about. The first is Ken Wisenhunt to Arizona from Pittsburgh. He’ll bring his playbook with him, I’m sure. You know the one - the one with a power running game but with just enough aerial stuff and trick plays to keep defenses honest. Assuming he gets the O-line fixed during the off-season, you can expect big things from Edge and maybe another back (Marcel Shipp?). He’ll simplify the O for Matt Leinart so he can continue his maturation. The one thing I’m worried about is he’s never had two stud WRs like Bolden and Fitzgerald. Will he keep both happy or will he lean towards one and make him the “Hines Ward of the West”?
I also like Cam Cameron going to Miami. He’ll find Ronnie Brown to be a younger version of LT2, I’m sure. He’ll find a nice TE in Randy McMichael. And he’ll find some decent, if underappreciated, WRs in Chris Chambers and Marty Booker. Sadly, he won’t find a QB. No, Cleo Lemon is NOT the answer.
Mike Tomlin was a good hire by Pittsburgh (I was going to make a House-inspired Omar Epps joke, but decided not to). I can’t say I LIKE the move, but I don’t hate it, either. If you look at the staunch run defense he had in Minnesota, you can tell he knows games are won in the trenches. He’s not hiring his own O-coordinator either; they’re promoting from within. So it’ll just be more of the same in Steel City. Yawn.
Bobby Petrino taking over Atlanta confounds me. What will he get out of Michael Vick, besides a source for trick water bottles? Will he find any go-to receivers, whether they be named ‘Michael Jenkins’, ‘Roddy White’ or someone else? How will his college offense translate to the pros? What RB will emerge, if any? Too many questions, too few answers. You should draft base on answers, not on the questions, by the way.
As for who stayed behind, consider Norv Turner. He’ll continue as O-coordinator for the 9ers, which should mean big things for Frank Gore and improved things for Alex Smith. Also consider poor Marty Schottenheimer, who now has to hire new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The odds that he reverts to full-on Martyball are high. This is good for LT2 and Antonio Gates and MAYBE Phillip Rivers, but bad for any WR, including Vincent Jackson (who I’m sure will be a big honkin’ sleeper come June/July).
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