Pro Football Articles Opinion & Fantasy – Football Diner

Four Downs with Dang & Doc
by Brian Davis and Paul Hopkins
December 2nd 2010
 
This week Dang and Doc look at the increasingly fragile McDaniels regime in Denver following more embarrassment, give a points decision on the Johnson-Finnegan brawl, ask whether the bears are legitimate and look ahead to the big AFC matches up in week 13.
 
He says he won’t, but will Pat Bowlen have to admit his mistake and relieve Josh McDaniels of his duties in Denver?
 
DANG There are a number of things going against McDaniels at this moment in time, his 2010 record, overall record since appointment, bad trades, Coaching changes (losing Mike Nolan as DC was a big mistake), a new spying scandal, but I think Bowlen will stay true to his word and McDaniels will remain in charge for the foreseeable future. The team isn’t getting blown out week after week, they’re staying in a lot of the games they are losing by putting up big yardage, but not necessarily the points, and it is tough for an offence to win games when its star names have been traded away and its defence consistently gives up over 30 points a game. They have almost nobody in their front 7 this year due to injuries. The Broncos have to remain patient in this situation.
It probably won’t make business or financial sense to remove McDaniels right now and make another appointment. They’re more than likely still paying Mike Shanahan off, so the last thing they are going to want is to be paying for 3 Head Coaches in 2011. McDaniels also needs time to put his own stamp on this team after single handedly dismantling everything he had already in place. His trade of Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn looks worse and worse the better and better Hillis does week after week. The team is still in a rebuilding model and I can see him learning from his mentor Belichick in the next draft and using his picks more efficiently by moving down R1 to pick up some additional picks to really get in his own players. We mustn’t forget that this team is in probably the 2nd weakest division in football which means he’s probably only 3-4 quality players away from competing for the top spot in the division.
 
DOC I don’t think he is going to have a choice at this rate. What is happening in Denver right now is embarrassing. After starting his reign 6-0 McDaniels has bombed ever since and seems incapable of turning it around. And now in the last week, we’ve had the embarrassment of Spygate Junior rearing its head. Whilst McDaniels being found guilty and fined by the league and having to apologise is bad enough, what I found particularly damning was how compliant the Broncos were in the 10 investigation. They realised what had happened, realised the complicit role that their Head Coach had played in it and fully cooperated. That is not a good sign for this Head Coach when they in effect offer him up as the guilty party so vigorously. Bowlen staked a lot on this young man becoming the next big thing in the league. He fired a two time Superbowl winning coach; he backed him as the coach ripped through the roster, with his latest stunner being trading Peyton Hillis for a 3rd string QB and his team then not being able to run the ball; firstly alienating and then shipping out their best players, he backed him with big gambles in the Draft and he backed him after the team suffered a meltdown from a 6-0 start. But now he’s 3-8 as we come towards the end of the second season. Does he trust him to go into the draft again? I do wonder if Bowlen is digging in because he knows he staked reputation on McDaniels but at the same time, it might be better if he admitted he got it wrong and try to rectify things. Because the Broncos are heading down, the fan base is not happy and they may compel him to act, making him look weaker than he already does.
 
Should Andre Johnson and Courtland Finnegan have been suspended for their on-field brawl?
 
DANG I’ll start by saying this. The fines suck. $25,000 each for fighting, when players are getting fined $50,000 for accidental helmet to helmet hits and Chad Ochocinco gets the same $25,000 for tweeting during a game? I’m quite surprised that a one game ban wasn’t handed out, but on the other hand, when I saw the size of the fines, I remembered that this was Roger Goodell in charge and that a lot of his decisions are not consistent and at times make no sense. Players are typically fined $10,000 for their first offense for fighting during a game, according to the league’s Policies for Players Manual. We don’t often see this behavior on field in the NFL, so I thought Roger might set more of an example with this incident. There was an opportunity here to set a precedent that fighting and violence on the field is not acceptable and holds no place in the game, but he has failed. He’s basically put down for everyone that if you want to get somebody’s back up and land a low blow or beat him up, it’ll only cost you $25,000 with no suspension. Interestingly, Andre Johnson happens to be playing on NFL Network Thursday night, you have to wonder if the NFL are brushing this under the carpet to keep a star name on the field in a poor team, in what could be a blow out game.
 
DOC I think the question is more about whether they deserved to be. I’m frankly shocked that all both got were $25k fines; Finnegan, because he’s been in bother more times than anyone can recall, and Johnson because he got two proper shots in before getting hauled off his smaller foe. So both probably must have been expecting this; Johnson in his post-match apology certainly gave the tone of someone who seemed to expect it, and who was prepared to accept it like a man. This is certainly not what the scrawny cowardly weed, cheap shot artist Finnegan is. How many times must this troublesome little pipsqueak cause ructions like this with his cheap shots, dirty play and underhand tactics? Anyhow, the punishment has come down and considering how serious Random Roger has been in recent weeks about on-field conduct, injuries and so on, I am quite surprised at this. But then Roger doesn’t get the moniker of ‘Random’ from me without good reason, so maybe I shouldn’t really be surprised. I guess however, that if he’d known he was only going to be hit with a $25k fine, Johnson might have happily knocked Finnegan around a bit more, to make it up to $100k or so.
 
After their impressive win over the Eagles, are the Bears quietly one of the top teams in the NFC?
 
DANG I Wrote Da Bears off pre-season, saying they were nothing other than an average football team and have copped a lot of flak on a weekly basis about that since. I still don’t think this is a great team offensively though and Bears fans everywhere have been saying that nobody is yet giving them credit and it’s always because the other team did something wrong or didn’t turn up that they are where they are. I think there is an element of truth in that and maybe the Bears are better than I and others thought they were, but I still can’t buy them as one of the top teams. I just don’t see the quality offensively that is saying to me, this team are a top NFC team. I’m not buying Jay Cutler as a top 16 Quarterback, I don’t like the combination of Martz and Cutler together, the Offensive line is a shambles, and the star running back and best pass catcher have been both woefully underused until the last couple of weeks. Defensively, I do like what I see there. Peppers and Idonije off the edge of the DL have been immense so far. Urlacher looks as good as he has done before his injuries, Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisamoa have been more than adequate next to him and the Secondary and Special Teams units is one of the best around, I just don’t know if they can ride the momentum of the Defence much further than one playoff game. If I’m ranking the NFC teams right now then I’d put them like this: Atlanta, Green Bay, Philadelphia (despite Sunday’s result) New Orleans, New York Giants, Chicago/Tampa Bay. Chicago’s run in is brutal. If they come out of this year with 11 wins, then I will start to believe, (and the 9th win is a gimme on Sunday) but until then, they aren’t in the top bracket with Atlanta, Green Bay, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
 
DOC You bet they are. Considering I still think the Eagles are going to win the East, the Bears are just as good as anyone right now. Granted, the game turned against the Eagles with the Vick interception in the red zone and if that hadn’t have happened we don’t know how the game would have ended up, but Chicago took advantage of it and played a strong game across all three facets. Cutler played like he could and should play more often. It all clicked because they got the big plays their offence cries out for, and the defence did an excellent job shackling Michael Vick. They still have to go to Green Bay which might determine who gets the #2 seed in the conference since it seems likely that the Falcons will close out and seal the #1 spot. But if they can get that then there is a good chance they could go far as, on their own turf they look as good as anyone. If they have to go on the road however, I would have a lot less faith in them because I wouldn’t have any confidence in the right Jay Cutler showing up to play.
 
Pick the two big AFC match-ups this week; Steelers @ Ravens and Jets @ Patriots.
 

DANG There aren’t many 17-14 games that you can say are enjoyable, yet every season, the Steelers and Ravens hammer each other, by playing probably the two toughest and hard fought games of the season that generally end up as low scoring, hard hitting, tough talking match and the best bit about it again, prime time TV coverage for everybody to see how football should be played. The Ravens have been dominant at home and are on an 8 game winning streak. The Steelers have been less than convincing over the last few weeks and Big Ben is a little nicked up and is going to be wearing a protective boot all week in order to be fit. You have to think that’s going to be a point of attack for the Ravens when coming after Roethlisberger. Anquan Boldin has been quiet of late. Boldin is a big game player; look for him to be the big difference in this game with a 100 yard game and a score as Joe Flacco continues his rise up the Quarterback rankings in the league. The Ravens for me are the team with the least things to worry about all round. My prediction; Ravens 24-17 Steelers.
The Patriots will be looking for revenge after a week 2 defeat to the Jets and I believe they will get it. The Patriots actually look better to me since Randy Moss’ departure and distinctly similar to the teams that took them to Super Bowl success in the early 2000’s and they are heating up in a big way heading down the stretch. Their defence is starting to look better than they started the season, the running game is taking shape, and there aren’t many things not to like about this Patriots team right now.
The Jets, like (and more so than) The Steelers have been pushing their luck of late with 3 very close games, 2 of which went to Overtime and to the last play of the game before closing the deal. Last week they were less than convincing in disposing of a pathetic Bengals outfit.
The conditions for Sunday’s game look to be snowy and blustery. That falls perfectly into the hands of Tom Brady and until I see what Mark Sanchez can do in those conditions then I will be sticking with Tom all the way to the Super Bowl. Prediction; New England 34-24 New York Jets.
 
DOC These two games are what football is all about; rivalries that mean something in the context of the season. Steelers and Ravens is going to be rough, tough and physical. But for me, the Steelers haven’t looked themselves of late; they got off lightly on Sunday in Buffalo thanks to Steve Johnson getting the dropsies, but have been scraping through in recent weeks with the exception of the Raiders game and even that was because they just never showed up to play. The Ravens on the other hand are quietly going through their schedule, doing their business quietly and effectively. And when Big Ben has a sprained foot, even though he’s tough, his ability to move around is going to be limited. I think the Ravens have the edge this year over the Steelers so I’m giving them the win that will not only effectively give them the division after a clean sweep but give them a chance to make a run at the #1 seed.
Over in the AFC East is the biggest game though. The Jets have always tended to shoot off at the Pats, but this time they have a team to match. And they already hold a win over their illustrious rivals. But as much as I really admire the Jets for the way that they just come through in the clutch, and whilst part of me thinks that they could play up to the big occasion and shock the Patriots and put themselves at the forefront of the race for the #1 seed; I just can’t see it. Ever since they were embarrassed by the Browns, the Patriots have been taking it out on everyone and everything in their path. Tom Brady looks as motivated (and hairy) as ever, the law firm is very impressive in the running game and they’ve got so many options in the passing game, all of whom can be the difference. Defensively, they might remain suspect in many people’s eyes but the early season tinkering to find a secondary that works look to have yielded something that works. Even though Holmes, Keller and Edwards will get yards, I still think the Patriots will find a way to come out on top.