[Grumble]

Slumgullion Spitteler, on Dec 30 2008, 11:08 PM, said:

Holy Shit! Broncos fired Shanahan! Didn't see that one coming...

Welcome to the ranks of the unemployed, Mike. Though I doubt he'll be out of a job for long....

Yep it's true ....... what do you make of that TT

[Sparkimus]

[Grumble]

I guess 146 ~ 89 record counts for nothing ....... Detroit may disagree

[Sparkimus]

Yeah those poor bastards need anything they can get their hands on...and probably stopping trading away their best receivers might help too.

[Slum]

Lions would be LUCKY to get Shanahan. Of all the teams that will be courting him, I imagine the Lions won't be his first pick.

He works wonders w/ young RBs.

[Sparkimus]

Sure wish the Bucs would get rid of Gruden.. I'd gladly trade him for Shanahan.

[Thelomen Toblerone]

FUCK ME.

Pat Bowlan must have started drinking early for new years, either that or he's gone fucking MENTAL. Shanahan is an AWESOME coach, fair enough the Broncos didnt do great this year, but look atthe injuries - 7 running backs! Not to mention the defensive injuries! Year on year he pulls great HBs out of thin air, they've got themselves a promising young QB in Cutler and a good O-line, all it would take is less injuries and a defensive pick in this year's draft and they'd be post-season contenders next year for sure.

Shanahan IS Denver - he's been there as long as I remember, he was definitely there in 1998, when I first watched abit of NFL. You gotta be concerned about what's gonna happen without him at the helm.

Who the hell do they think they're gonna get that's any better?!? God they better not get Crennel.

Now Im a sad panda.

[Binder of Demons]

While i was surprised to see Shanahan get the sack, I think it might actually be good for both parties. From what little i've seen of Denver over the last 2 years I thought Shanahan looked jaded. He did pretty well this year considering injuries, but having gotten in a good position they did manage to throw it away.

The rumour I've heard is that Denver will go for Cowher, since he's basically said there's 2 things he wants to see in any potential coaching position
1. A franchise quarterback in place already
2. The ability to bring in staff he trusts to make personnel decisions.
As Denver are one of the few clubs that have allowed their head coach a lot of front office control, it shouldn't be a big issue for them to have Cowher come in and bring his own front office people to allow him to concentrate on coaching. And Cutler does seem to have the tools to be a good quarterback.

Other than that I have no idea who they'd get. You have pretty much the same names getting mentioned around the league for the coaching vacancies but I don't know why you'd want to hire Crennel, or Mangini (although I may reserve judgement on him). Schottenheimer built an impressive side at San Diego. And as soon as the Giants are finished everyone will be scrambling to interview their defensive co-ordinator Spagnulo.

I'll be interested to see how long Shanahan stays out of the game though.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I think the broncos sold out shannahan. It's not like he won them 2 superbowls or anything. Jeez, blow one 3 game lead in 3 games and miss the playoffs, and you're to the curb.

[HoosierDaddy]

Why couldn't Denver win just one of those damn games? I don't want to play the Chargers because that is going to be a hell of a game. Denver is the Colts best buddy in the playoffs.

If Cowher goes anywhere it is Dallas or Denver for the reasons stated above. Mangini to the Browns, where I think he'll keep Crennel as D. Cord. Schottenheimer to the Jets. Detroit finally gets a break and hires Vince Lombardi. Poor Lions.

Btw...

GO HORSE

[Sparkimus]

Wll my Bucs lost 3 straight to miss the playoffs and they still suck Gruden's cock. I think the Glazers secretly hate Tampa Bay and strive to make us miserable as subtly as they can.


I'm going to start a petition to pick up Shanahan. I mean we're losing Kiffin for fucks sake!!! We CANNOT let Gruden be anywhere near our damn defense.

[HoosierDaddy]

I am very sad. See?

I no longer have any faith in the Colts ability to win in the playoffs. We won the superbowl in '06 because we could run the ball, and our defense played extremely well. Both concepts which are not what our team has been based on, and we won inspite of our strategy. I am now a solid believer in heavy run offense and a team designed to stop the run. Hopefully the Colts will begin building that sort of team, and they can start by releasing Harrison, and using that money to buy linemen who specialize in run blocking and not pass blocking.

[amphibian]

HoosierDaddy, on Jan 5 2009, 04:14 PM, said:

I am very sad. See?

I no longer have any faith in the Colts ability to win in the playoffs. We won the superbowl in '06 because we could run the ball, and our defense played extremely well. Both concepts which are not what our team has been based on, and we won inspite of our strategy. I am now a solid believer in heavy run offense and a team designed to stop the run. Hopefully the Colts will begin building that sort of team, and they can start by releasing Harrison, and using that money to buy linemen who specialize in run blocking and not pass blocking.

But you have easily one of the top ten quarterbacks ever to play the game. Look, it's not necessarily the Colts offense that's the problem, and a healthy offensive line helps more than bringing in high-priced linemen (unless that lineman's the H dude who moved from Seattle to Minnesota).

It's their maddeningly inconsistent defense. The CBs did alright, the pass rush was decent to good, but the middle of the field and run gaps (usually linebackers and one safety) were horribly covered. Sproles is quick as heck, but he had some help that day.

[Sparkimus]

Sproles is going to be an absolute beast by next year. I can imagine LT getting phased out as soon as the beginning of the season.

[amphibian]

Sparkimus, on Jan 5 2009, 05:35 PM, said:

Sproles is going to be an absolute beast by next year. I can imagine LT getting phased out as soon as the beginning of the season.

Are you serious? You're going to make a 5'6'' change-of-pace back who got 330 rushing yards on the season your feature? Over a healthy LaDanian Tomlinson?

I like him, but I don't think that's a wise decision to make at this point. Letting Turner go was a bad beat, but LDT is still a great player (who I admit gets hurt a bunch lately). I'd wait to see whether Sproles can produce a full and effective season in a bigger role than he enjoys now before letting LDT go wreak havoc elsewhere.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 05 January 2009 - 11:27 PM

[Sparkimus]

It's just looking more and more that LT is getting to the end of his career. The Chargers have said repeatedly that they are focusing on the pass, and that front line isn't what it used to be. LT needs a strong front line, especially now that his cutting ability is all but gone. Sproles is the perfect fit for their (apparent) new system, being short, fast and strong, he's got the ability to weave in and out of the traffic to find holes in the line. Also using him would save the Charges the need to reenforce their line and focus on what they want to...receivers.

[cjd262e]

LT has been hurt all year. It is great to have a RB like Sproles, but keep in mind, Sproles missed his whole first year because of injury.

he is an oustanding 3rd down back kind of guy, and a guy to bring in for 4-5 series a game, but I don't know that he could take the beating week to week. He's getting a lot of pub right now, rightly so, but as a big Charger fan who watches every game, I can tell you that he cannot run up the middle at all. Everything they do with him is created on the edges or from screen plays. He gets all his yards in bunches, where LT will grind you down up the middle and then break one.

It is great having Sproles, but he is no LT. Once LT is healthy he will still run for 1200-1500 yards. Don't give up on LT yet, he's just had an injury year.

On that note, I can't believe the Chargers are still playing. Maybe they are a team of destiny. It would sure be nice to see them beat Pitt this weekend.

[Sparkimus]

As an avid Steelers hater I'm with you on that one. The prblem isn't with LT being hurt, it's with him not HEALING. Having hardly practised all year, you would think that he would be getting steadily healthier, but his age is showing.

Don't get me wrong, I love LT, and I'm not liking seeing him produce poorly (especially since he was on my fantasy team). But at a certain point you gotta ask yourself "what's left in him? And what's best for the team?"

[Thelomen Toblerone]

I think he's still got at least one year of top quality production left in him, you could see in the Chargers broncos game (admittedly against a piss poor defence) that if LT's on his game, he can still make the cuts and block tackles that you need. Besides which, the name alone is enough to persuade opposing defences to focus on the run a bit more, which frees up space for Rivers and the receivers to work with. I like Jackson, I think he's got good hands and skills, and if they can draft a receiver high up this year, they should have a mean passing game.

Sproles does look good though, I like his strength - apparently he benched 225lbs 23 times at his combine, which is pretty good for a guy that makes even me look like a giant - Im not sure I could manage one!

I recorded all the wildcard games and am in the process of watching them (Doplhins Ravens in a sec, wootage), saw Atlanta Arizona yesterday and I felt so bad for Matt Ryan. He didnt have a particularly bad game, but his offensive line let him down BIG TIME. There was pressure on him fast constantly, the running game got zilch, Im amazed he wasnt sacked about 10 times. Whether it was just a one off bad game or they need to strenghten I dont know, they did seem that bad throughout the regular season, but then again, the cardinals D-line isnt exactly tip top.

And the Falcons Defence in general was disappointing. Milloy looked old and slow, they got to Warner a few times but didnt grab his arms to ensure the sack, and that 3rd and 16 play at the end was abysmal. How do you allow that much space to a receiver on a play that could win you the game around the first down marker? Grim.

Im still unconvinced about the Cardinals though. I think Carolina are gonna maul them next game. As for the Colts, they need to draft linemen that can run-block, or an outstanding HB, stat.

[HoosierDaddy]

Re: Colts LBs

They are actually pretty decent. They are young players and the Colts were missing their starting middle linebacker. I was extremely pleased with the Colts defensive performance in the Charger game. If your defense gives up 17 in regulation and you are the Colts you must win the game. They are built to beat teams by scoring upper 20's, so anytime they hold a team to under 20 points they almost always win. The Chargers punter's pinning them back inside the 5, which forced the Colts to run to get out of the shadow of their own goal line and to avoid possible safeties, absolutely destroyed the Colts chances of moving the ball in the 4th quarter because of how pathetic their run offense has been. The Colts have 2 decent running backs, they just don't have a line to block for them.

I expect the Colts draft to focus heavy on O-line and DT.

As for the person who said that Manning was top 10 QB: I agree. I am completely biased and think he is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. But, it isn't the pass game that wins in the playoffs. I know this. I've seen it the past 6 years when the Colts one 12 games each regular season and then got shut down in the playoffs. With Clark, Wayne, and Manning locked up the Colts potential play-action pass capabilities are absolutely enormous with a running attack that is dominant.