2011 NFL Thread: ENDGAME

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This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]376073[/split]

 

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This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]375885[/split]

 

[Matt]

I'd say that Daddy Harbaugh had the toughest day, he had to watch both of his boys lose.

 

[SpideyInATree]

That did have to suck for the Harbaugh family. Those games were so close and you give or take a certain play or two and they are in the Super Bowl together.

 

[steintym]

At least they can all still get together for that annual Harbaugh Super Bowl party ... All will be in attendance.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

So, is anyone gonna watch the Pro Bowl?

 

[KalMart]

So, is anyone gonna watch the Pro Bowl?

The Giants and Pats might.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

I might put it on and graze at the TV every few minutes, only cause my main man Roddy White is playing. t:

 

[Venom'sDad]

I will watch...I watch every year. Have had a ProBowl Bar-B-Que/Card Party twice in the last 6 years. Won't have one this year however.

 

[Raiden]

I'd say that Daddy Harbaugh had the toughest day, he had to watch both of his boys lose.

It's too bad, because although I picked Pats to win I was hoping for a Harbaugh Bowl this year, and both brother ended up losing the game due to some unfortunate event. But I see bright future ahead for both Niners and Ravens, if they can address their shortcomings in the off-season.

 

[Darthphere]

Didn't feel like going into the old thread but Matt did you hear that teams are going after Arians, including the Cardinals?

 

[Matt]

Didn't feel like going into the old thread but Matt did you hear that teams are going after Arians, including the Cardinals?

That is standard practice of Coach Whisenhunt. Pick up Pittsburgh's scraps. He has built Arizona on that philosophy. To Arians credit, he is a good enough quarterback coach, having mentored Peyton Manning and Ben Rapistberger to success. If I were another team, I wouldn't hesitate to sign him as a position coach. But I wouldn't give him a head set or let him call plays.

Still, he should've maybe waiting a bit before looking for a job. Kind of makes it obvious that he was fired rather than retired.

 

[Matt]

It's too bad, because although I picked Pats to win I was hoping for a Harbaugh Bowl this year, and both brother ended up losing the game due to some unfortunate event. But I see bright future ahead for both Niners and Ravens, if they can address their shortcomings in the off-season.

I have my doubts. The Ravens are going to need to rebuild some key positions very soon (especially on the defensive side of the ball) and if they stumble while doing that, their entire team will fall apart (due to their dependence on the defense).

Meanwhile, San Fran feels a whole lot like the Jets of the West to me. Harbaugh needs to reign in players, tweak his philosophy a bit, and upgrade at quarterback before they have a bright future.

 

[Matt]

GREAT article.

Bruce Arians: A Precursor of Things to Come For the Steelers

There was no retirement. And if you think otherwise, you need check your glass and stop drinkin’ the Arians kool aid. There was no ‘firing’ in the traditional sense either. But, like Dave Wannstedt and Pitt, the Steelers mysteriously ran out of pens when it came time to renew Arains contract. So how does this resonate with the rest of the team?

Arians joined the Steelers as the wide receivers back in 2004 and was promoted as the OC in 2007. I know for myself I was a little unsettled when Arians became the coordinator simply because of his back ground as a receivers coach. Within 5 short seasons, Arians successfully dismantled the blue collar hard nosed running game that defined the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some of the best full backs in the league came and went, never to be replaced. Tight ends became an extension of the offensive line in the Red Zone rather than a threat. And, the bubble screen pushed out the RB screen. We could sit here all day and have an Arians vs Steelers Nation debate – but the bottom line is Arians came ‘this close’ to completely obliterating the heart and sole of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That did not sit well with Rooney. In fact, Rooney fired off a warning shot in the form of voicing that the team needed to run the ball more this season. And like a defiant teenager, Arians just kept doing his thing.

So where did Arians really go wrong? The running game wasn’t a complete failure this season. The team did average 4.1 yards per carry. But I think if you are going to go against the team president you better get the wins to back up your defiance. The offense may have broken records this year in offensive production, but was pretty awful when it came to scoring points – 21st in the league. 12-4 isn’t too shabby, but two of your loses came to your most hated rival in your division. The team had success in moving the ball, but when it seemed to count the most – producing Red Zone TD’s or critical 3rd downs – the ‘genius’ that was Bruce Arians disappeared faster than you could say ‘yoi.’ This ‘hot then cold, cold then hot’ productivity from Arians offense is what drove Steelers fans mad and yet somehow kept Tomlin confident in his right hand man. The running back and tight end positions became more of an afterthought in Arians’ schemes, which would end up (in my opinion) being his fatal wound.

So what does this mean for the future of the Steelers? ROONEY HAS SPOKEN. That’s what it means. This is a huge power move by Rooney II (but not in that a-hole Jerry Jones kind of way). It says, ‘Hey Mike, I told you all what I wanted to see happen. You didn’t listen, so I’m making Bruce walk away. Make sure you choose your next guy wisely because now I’m looking at you.’ Ok so maybe that last part isn’t quite true…. yet. But you have to think that Tomlin is a little bit in the hot seat for being a staunch defender of Arians, allowed Bruce to change the face of the offense and then came up short two years in a row in nabbing another Lombardi trophy. I really believe that were the Steelers to win last year’s Super Bowl, we wouldn’t be having this conversation – even though Arains wouldn’t listen about the running game, at least he would have helped produce a Super Bowl win. But they didn’t. Rooney has struck the bell and is letting that sound resonate through the rest of the team that he owns that team and is currently not happy with the way things are going.

The Steelers usually hire from within for this kind of coordinator position. Kirby Wilson would have been great as the replacement, but with his health in jeopardy after that terrible fire incident, I doubt he will be ready in time for next season. That leaves this hire as an outside one. There are all sorts of candidates out there – just don’t pick Todd Healey or Jim Caldwell. The most important thing for Tomlin is to trust the wishes of his team president and find a coordinator who will bring back the importance of the running game. This probably won’t sit well with Tomlin, but if he wants to keep HIS job, then he better step up and produce that kind of coordinator. Sooner or later there will be accountability for the teams successes or misgivings. Arians became the example. The scapegoat (you didn’t really think he was the ONLY reason this team lost to Green Bay and Denver did you?). I think Rooney really likes Tomlin, but is pissed about his coaching over the last two years. I think he feels Tomlin is letting things slip away out of his grasp of control and is complacent with that. That probably isn’t sitting well with Rooney. This week will be a time for the team to turn a corner. It’s time to move on from the Arians era, and it’s time for Tomlin to step up and coach this team the way it’s supposed to.

To give this article some context:

Mike Tomlin Did Not Want to Fire Bruce Arians

I'm surprised that the Rooney would micromanage Tomlin in such a way, but at least someone in the organization has their head on straight.

 

[Yurka]

Very few franchises would consider largely re-vamping their organizations after 2 consecutive 12-4 seasons. I hope it works out for the Steelers. I think Tomlin's a great coach, many teams would kill for a coach who's had the type of success he's had already.

 

[Matt]

The thing is, it hasn't been his success. It's been Bill Cowher's success. The majority of this team are still Cowher players. The majority of the coaching staff are Cowher hires. Mike Tomlin has yet to build his own team. We'll see what kind of coach he really is over the next couple of years and based on the decisions he's made so far....I am thinking he is more likely to become the successor to Barry Switzer than Bill Cowher.

 

[Yurka]

That's true Matt, but coaching isn't a small factor in the game. Look at San Francisco. 6-10 last year, new coach, predominantly the same team, 13-3 and almost went to the Super Bowl.

I don't hold it against Tomlin that he inherited a great team. The 08' team had alot of the same DNA that the 05' team did, but most recently the 2010' group had evolved quite a bit. He's made it to the Superbowl twice in 5 years, I think he deserves some credit.

 

[Themanofbat]

What happens to the Pats & Giants' players that have been invited to the Pro Bowl?

Do they go? Or do they get substitute players?

I thought the Pro Bowl used to be AFTER the Super Bowl...

 

[Matt]

That's true Matt, but coaching isn't a small factor in the game. Look at San Francisco. 6-10 last year, new coach, predominantly the same team, 13-3 and almost went to the Super Bowl.

I don't hold it against Tomlin that he inherited a great team. The 08' team had alot of the same DNA that the 05' team did, but most recently the 2010' group had evolved quite a bit. He's made it to the Superbowl twice in 5 years, I think he deserves some credit.

Some? Sure. He gets more than some credit. Do you think any other coach would be forgiven as easily for what can only be described as absolutely baffling in game decisions, clock management, challenges, staffing decisions and player decisions? Tomlin has come out of an absolutely idiotic last 5 weeks of the season, relatively unscathed by the merit of the things you described. Tomlin gets free passes on issues where other coaches would be raked over the coals because of his accomplishments (with another man's team).

 

[Yurka]

^Substitute players, themanofbat. As far as I can remember the Pro Bowl has been before the Super Bowl.

Actually, my mistake, they only started doing it a couple years ago.

 

[Yurka]

Some? Sure. He gets more than some credit. Do you think any other coach would be forgiven as easily for what can only be described as absolutely baffling in game decisions, clock management, challenges, staffing decisions and player decisions? Tomlin has come out of an absolutely idiotic last 5 weeks of the season, relatively unscathed by the merit of the things you described. Tomlin gets free passes on issues where other coaches would be raked over the coals because of his accomplishments (with another man's team).

It's easy to look at the last few games in retrospect and say Ben should have been rested, but they had a chance for the 1 or 2 seed and the bye so I can't blame them for trying. Who's to say if Cowher would have approached the situation any differently? He needs to work on the clock management skills no doubt, and we'll see where he lands on staffing decisions, but I think Carnell Lake was a great choice and it was visible during the season the impact he had, (maybe they were over-rated, and they sure blew it against Tebow) but it was certainly an improvement over the unit we had in 2010'.

If that article you posted is any indication, he'll be on the relative hot-seat this upcoming season so 2012' could be quite telling. I'm really excited for the draft and what the offseason brings, this upcoming Steeler team could be quite different than the ones we've seen most recently.

 

[SpideyInATree]

^Substitute players, themanofbat. As far as I can remember the Pro Bowl has been before the Super Bowl.

The Pro Bowl always used to be after the Super Bowl but, I think, last year they started doing it before the Super Bowl. I think the reasons were they got more ratings this way because after the Super Bowl many lost interesting in the Pro Bowl.

 

[steintym]

So, is anyone gonna watch the Pro Bowl?

I always say I'm not going to and then I usually end up putting it on. I'm not locked in on it, but I usually have it on as background. Every once in awhile there's something interesting going on.

 

[Yurka]

The Pro Bowl always used to be after the Super Bowl but, I think, last year they started doing it before the Super Bowl. I think the reasons were they got more ratings this way because after the Super Bowl many lost interesting in the Pro Bowl.

Yeah I guess I thought all the outrage when they started doing it was farther back then a couple years ago. My mistake.

 

[Matt]

It's easy to look at the last few games in retrospect and say Ben should have been rested, but they had a chance for the 1 or 2 seed and the bye so I can't blame them for trying. Who's to say if Cowher would have approached the situation any differently?

Bill Cowher has said that he would have done it differently.

But seriously, it isn't looking at it in retrospect. People have been saying rest Roethlisberger since BEFORE the San Fran game. They may have had a shot, but they've never controlled their own fate. It was a mistake to play him based on "what if."

He needs to work on the clock management skills no doubt, and we'll see where he lands on staffing decisions, but I think Carnell Lake was a great choice and it was visible during the season the impact he had, (maybe they were over-rated, and they sure blew it against Tebow) but it was certainly an improvement over the unit we had in 2010'.

If that article you posted is any indication, he'll be on the relative hot-seat this upcoming season so 2012' could be quite telling. I'm really excited for the draft and what the offseason brings, this upcoming Steeler team could be quite different than the ones we've seen most recently.

I don't think anyone is saying he is on the hot seat. Just that he no longer has a scape goat in the form of Bruce Arians. Dick LeBeau will be no man's scape goat. Buck stops with Tomlin now.