Oh yeah, that chill you feel is the ex-Vikings head coach making his way towards the Cleveland area—and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it.
Mary Kay Cabot reports that at this point new Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress will not be calling the plays next season—which is why he came to town instead of former Green Bay and Texans A&M head coach, Mike Sherman (who, by the way, will probably replace former Browns OC Brian Daboll in Miami). However, Cabot says that nothing is finalized and that "discussions will take place," that could change.
Okay, so Shurmur will still call the plays, but he's going to have someone help him come up with a strategy all week long. Is that going to be a help? Absolutely, positively yes. Shurmur was obviously overwhelmed at all of the jobs he had to do last year, and honestly he was really just left out to dry. I understand that the Browns didn't want to just hire a coordinator just to hire a coordinator last year, but having a rookie head coach be the only coach in the league without an offensive coordinator was seriously irresponsible—if not plain old stupid.
So what credentials does Chilly bring to the table?
Well first off, he worked with Shurmur and Tom Heckert in Philly. Childress was first the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles starting in 1999, then was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2003—at which time Pat Shurmur was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Obviously, this means that Childress was instrumental in the development of Donovan McNabb. Also, in his time with the Eagles, the team went to four consecutive NFC Championship games, and made it to one Super Bowl—the loss to the Patriots.
Of course, you should already know all this. Why? Because it's the same crap on the resumes of both Shurmur and Heckert.
What sets Childress apart from those guys is that he was, I think, a pretty successful head coach with the Minnesota Vikings. He amassed a record of 39-35 in four+ seasons with Minny, as he was fired after going 3-7 in the middle of his fifth season.
Yes, Childress is probably best known for his part in the saga that was Brett Favre—which probably ended up getting him fired—but I think it's important to note that he was the head coach of Favre's arguably best statistical season when he threw for 4,202 yards with 33 touchdowns, just seven interceptions and a career high completion percentage of 68.4.
Just how much Childress had to do with that development is an arguable point, as Childress didn't call the plays for the Vikings in the 2009 season. In fact, the only season Childress has ever called plays was in 2006—his first year as the Vikings head honcho. That's right, he never called plays in his time with the Eagles either—that's always been Andy Reid's job.
Because of that, I suppose it does make sense for Shurmur to keep his play-calling duties, at least for now.
The Browns now have three former NFL head coaches on staff as assistants—obviously Childress, defensive coordinator Dick Jauron (was head coach of the Bears and Bills) and defensive assistant Ray Rhodes (was head coach of the Eagles and Green Bay).
What does all this mean? According to Daryl Ruiter (who, if you haven't noticed by now, I think is a really fantastic source for information), those three former head coaches have a combined record of 136-159. Is that terrible? Yes. But is the experience Shurmur has around him invaluable? I'd say yes to that too.
So hopefully experienced hire will work out like Dick Jauron's hire last year, and the offense will make fantastic strides.
Do I think that'll happen?
For now, let's just say I'll keep my fingers crossed.
~MAS
Showing posts with label Vikings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vikings. Show all posts
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Moss to the Vikings? Wow
I know this isn't about the Browns nor does it have anything to do with Cleveland sports in general, but I love both football and the NFL and felt compelled to write about the trade of Randy Moss from the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings.
Anytime a player is dealt in the middle of the season in the NFL it's usually a pretty big deal. It's not like baseball, where people can be traded 3/4 of the way through the season and keep playing like pretty much nothing has ever happened. When a NFL player switches teams a lot of times everything is different. It's a different system, it's a different playbook, it's different terminology, different coaches, different team leaders, a different quarterback. The only thing familiar about this situation for Randy Moss is probably the practice facility, the stadium and the colors - although even the uniforms are different since he last played for the Vikings.
And you know that team is ecstatic that Moss is back. You've got a guy who is nearly 41 playing quarterback, and right now Brett Favre clearly needs a big play wide receiver while Sidney Rice recovers from his hip injury. I think it's safe to say right now that Favre is riding the struggle bus with only 2 touchdowns and 6, yes 6 interceptions. It's been well publicized that Favre wanted the Packers to get Moss in Green Bay a few years ago in 2007 before Raiders traded him to the Patriots. The Vikings right now are 1-2, but they've got one of the best running backs in the league in Adrian Peterson and should be able to get right back on track if the chemistry between Moss and Favre clicks early and often.
On the flip side of that, it's interesting to take a look at the New England Patriots to see that they gave up a future hall of fame wide receiver for just a third round pick in next year's draft. In fact, Bill Bellichick sent Moss and a 7th round draft pick in 2012 to the Vikings for Moss. Sure, he hasn't had the type of production this year that he did in the past (specifically 2007, when Tom Brady threw for 50 touchdowns and 23 of them went to Moss), but I think he can still play at a very high level.
That being said, the Patriots have a reputation for not paying people once Bellichick determines they've reached a "certain age." Think about Richard Seymour, Lawyer Malloy, and Deon Branch, just to name a few and now Randy Moss joins that list. All those guys were fairly critical parts of New England's success, but, as Bellichick put it in his press conference earlier today, the Patriots have won more games than any other NFL team in the past decade. I think what we're seeing from that organization right now is clearly a trend to make the team younger as they've now stockpiled eight draft picks in the first four rounds, two in each round. I'd definitely consider the Patriots to be a dynasty team based on what they've done in the past decade - which is win all the time. I like them getting all the draft picks because they do need to get younger, and with their coaching and veterans on that team, rookies can easily make an impact (see Julian Edelman last year). To me, this speaks volumes about their organization's commitment to winning and obviously Bellichick is a big part of that.
I think this is really going to prove to be a win-win for both teams. Brett Favre gets the wide receiver of his dreams for a run that could go deep into the playoffs, while the Patriots rid themselves of a contract situation that would have distracted them for the rest of the season and acquire another draft pick for talent in the future. I'm really looking forward to the Monday Night Football match up of Vikings and Jets coming up this week as we'll get to see if Moss can escape from "Revis Island" once again.
~MAS
Anytime a player is dealt in the middle of the season in the NFL it's usually a pretty big deal. It's not like baseball, where people can be traded 3/4 of the way through the season and keep playing like pretty much nothing has ever happened. When a NFL player switches teams a lot of times everything is different. It's a different system, it's a different playbook, it's different terminology, different coaches, different team leaders, a different quarterback. The only thing familiar about this situation for Randy Moss is probably the practice facility, the stadium and the colors - although even the uniforms are different since he last played for the Vikings.
And you know that team is ecstatic that Moss is back. You've got a guy who is nearly 41 playing quarterback, and right now Brett Favre clearly needs a big play wide receiver while Sidney Rice recovers from his hip injury. I think it's safe to say right now that Favre is riding the struggle bus with only 2 touchdowns and 6, yes 6 interceptions. It's been well publicized that Favre wanted the Packers to get Moss in Green Bay a few years ago in 2007 before Raiders traded him to the Patriots. The Vikings right now are 1-2, but they've got one of the best running backs in the league in Adrian Peterson and should be able to get right back on track if the chemistry between Moss and Favre clicks early and often.
On the flip side of that, it's interesting to take a look at the New England Patriots to see that they gave up a future hall of fame wide receiver for just a third round pick in next year's draft. In fact, Bill Bellichick sent Moss and a 7th round draft pick in 2012 to the Vikings for Moss. Sure, he hasn't had the type of production this year that he did in the past (specifically 2007, when Tom Brady threw for 50 touchdowns and 23 of them went to Moss), but I think he can still play at a very high level.
That being said, the Patriots have a reputation for not paying people once Bellichick determines they've reached a "certain age." Think about Richard Seymour, Lawyer Malloy, and Deon Branch, just to name a few and now Randy Moss joins that list. All those guys were fairly critical parts of New England's success, but, as Bellichick put it in his press conference earlier today, the Patriots have won more games than any other NFL team in the past decade. I think what we're seeing from that organization right now is clearly a trend to make the team younger as they've now stockpiled eight draft picks in the first four rounds, two in each round. I'd definitely consider the Patriots to be a dynasty team based on what they've done in the past decade - which is win all the time. I like them getting all the draft picks because they do need to get younger, and with their coaching and veterans on that team, rookies can easily make an impact (see Julian Edelman last year). To me, this speaks volumes about their organization's commitment to winning and obviously Bellichick is a big part of that.
I think this is really going to prove to be a win-win for both teams. Brett Favre gets the wide receiver of his dreams for a run that could go deep into the playoffs, while the Patriots rid themselves of a contract situation that would have distracted them for the rest of the season and acquire another draft pick for talent in the future. I'm really looking forward to the Monday Night Football match up of Vikings and Jets coming up this week as we'll get to see if Moss can escape from "Revis Island" once again.
~MAS
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fav-re!
I had been sort of a harsh critic of Brett Favre for the past couple of off seasons, but I've gotta say that without him the Vikings probably wouldn't have even made the playoffs. Statistically he had one of the best - if not the best - season of his career, and that's saying something for a 40 year old who's been in the NFL every season that I've been alive. Even more amazing about the Vikings season is that they were able to make it to the championship game with a greatly decreased emphasis on the running game, which had been their forte the last few years with arguably the best running back in the league, Adrian Peterson.
But the Vikings problem with the game today seemed to have less to do with Brett Favre and more to do with the phrase "high and tight." If you get one fumble in a conference championship game it can be detrimental, but six?? That's just unreal. They only lost three, but it speaks to the coaching priorities of Brad Childress when the ball pops out of your players six times in a CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. And as I watched the game, I saw even more opportunities for the Saints to strip the Vikings because the ball was held low like the player was walking a loaf of bread home from the store.Visanthe Shiancoe was a particular loaf of bread violator, but Peterson and Chester Taylor seem to have the same problem. It's probably worth noting that the Saints also fumbled three times as well, losing one. Definitely something they're going to need to work on before the Super Bowl because Peyton Manning and the Colts offense always capitalizes on points off of turnovers.
I'm of the camp who believes that Favre will be back for another season next year. I think he'll still have that itch that needs to be scratched. He probably won't attend training camp again (and, really, should he? I mean, after this year it's pretty apparent that he doesn't really need it...) but I definitely think he'll be in the NFL. If not with the Vikings - who would be incredibly stupid to not welcome him back with open arms - then with some other NFL team who could use a veteran quarterback with a laser-rocket arm. I would say that the Browns could be an option but... I don't think we want chapter two of Favre-Mangini. Although chapter two of Favre-Holmgren could be interesting...
But if you do retire, Brett Favre, know that you have had a wonderful career. You will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. You will be a great coach, if that's what you want to do. And your presence on the field and in the locker room will be missed. Guess we'll have to find someone else to smack asses and go "WHOO!" for the clips on the NFL pregame shows every week.
But the Vikings problem with the game today seemed to have less to do with Brett Favre and more to do with the phrase "high and tight." If you get one fumble in a conference championship game it can be detrimental, but six?? That's just unreal. They only lost three, but it speaks to the coaching priorities of Brad Childress when the ball pops out of your players six times in a CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. And as I watched the game, I saw even more opportunities for the Saints to strip the Vikings because the ball was held low like the player was walking a loaf of bread home from the store.Visanthe Shiancoe was a particular loaf of bread violator, but Peterson and Chester Taylor seem to have the same problem. It's probably worth noting that the Saints also fumbled three times as well, losing one. Definitely something they're going to need to work on before the Super Bowl because Peyton Manning and the Colts offense always capitalizes on points off of turnovers.
I'm of the camp who believes that Favre will be back for another season next year. I think he'll still have that itch that needs to be scratched. He probably won't attend training camp again (and, really, should he? I mean, after this year it's pretty apparent that he doesn't really need it...) but I definitely think he'll be in the NFL. If not with the Vikings - who would be incredibly stupid to not welcome him back with open arms - then with some other NFL team who could use a veteran quarterback with a laser-rocket arm. I would say that the Browns could be an option but... I don't think we want chapter two of Favre-Mangini. Although chapter two of Favre-Holmgren could be interesting...
But if you do retire, Brett Favre, know that you have had a wonderful career. You will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. You will be a great coach, if that's what you want to do. And your presence on the field and in the locker room will be missed. Guess we'll have to find someone else to smack asses and go "WHOO!" for the clips on the NFL pregame shows every week.
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