To open up my new NFL weekly article I'm going to start by covering the losers. This will be a three part series, chronicling the losers and those in the middle. This week it is the losers, so fans of the Raiders, Browns, Lions, Redskins and the "vergers" like the Panthers and Buccaneers need not read.
The Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all have one thing in common: Bad front offices. Actually horrible front offices, and honestly Detroit is the closest team to breaking that barrier, because they're putting the future into place. Sort of.
Arguably (only because they horrible teams are really, really horrible) the worst franchise in the NFL over the last several years is the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders used to be awesome, you may not like them, but they scared you. You were threatened because they threatened your team. Now, you laugh, and the opposing quarterback eats a hot dog on the sideline. Sure he was sick, but he had time for a hot dog instead of a protein bar.
The Raiders, "Just win baby," "Commitment to excellence," and "Pride and Poise," haven't been proud or poised in seven years. They haven't just won more than five games since the 2003 season. Excellence is a long, long way away. Where does it start? The front office, most notably Al Davis. On a side note before I get into Al, how did he not hire Sherm Lewis? Sherm was in a retirement home, and Al is old enough and dressed like he should be.
From the front office to the players on the field the Raiders just aren't built to win. They look like they should win. They still look intimidating, but they just aren't. With a quarterback built like a linebacker, and skill players built like MMA fighters and pro wrestlers you would think they'd punch you in the eye and walk all over you.
They couldn't walk over an O Show pickup team with that coaching. Tom Cable was chosen to be the Raiders interim (now permanent) head coach after a potential coach for the future, Lane Kiffin was fired before the halfway mark of the season in 2008. Tom Cable was promoted because Tony Sporano got some publicity in Miami. I have no proof, but why else would Al Davis make the O-line coach of a pretty sub-par offensive line his head coach?
JaMarcus Russel is fifteen pounds and four interceptions away from being labeled a bust. He doesn't know what it takes to be an NFL quarterback mentally. When interviewed this week about his poor performance and benching against the New York Jets he said, "I don't think it's me personally, I really don't. It's a bad combination of one guy doesn't do something right one time. Personally, I don't think so. Do you?"
Find me another quarterback in the NFL, who is serious about his job, and knows what it takes to win who would say that. I'm still waiting. Trust me JaMarcus, it's you. A mixture of mediocre (not really willing to say Cable is horrible yet-though he looks like a truck driver and punches assistants) coaching, a horrid quarterback, and a lack of a true front office is killing Da Raidas.
Detroit Lions fans, guess what. Jim Schwartz may be the guy. Get Matt Stafford healthy, he will be the guy. Martin Mayhew seems to be a little more competent than the previous guy up there. Mayhew played the game, and he also moved on after the game and got a degree in Law. He has in-game and in-season knowledge, and off-the field smarts as well. Having "Shack" Harris helping him out can't hurt either.
As far as coaching goes they got coordinators who are coordinators. Not coordinators as coaches. Those coordinators in Detroit were over their heads as head coaches. Jim Schwarz may be over his head but I doubt it. He coached a solid D in Tennessee, but more importantly look at his pedigree. He coached under Belichick and Fisher. He coached under Ted Marchibroda as well, while his head coaching record wasn't stellar Marchibroda did coach Jim Kelly's offense for a while.
So Detroit, this season won't be a big winner, next season may not be a playoff season, but after that there is a real possibility that the Detroit Lions can be the 2011 NFC North Champions. Out of this group, this team is the most promising. How sad is that for the other guys? I head guns cocking in all the other locations.
To be continued...
Oh yeah, go get Dilla Pickles you cheap bastards.
The Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all have one thing in common: Bad front offices. Actually horrible front offices, and honestly Detroit is the closest team to breaking that barrier, because they're putting the future into place. Sort of.
Arguably (only because they horrible teams are really, really horrible) the worst franchise in the NFL over the last several years is the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders used to be awesome, you may not like them, but they scared you. You were threatened because they threatened your team. Now, you laugh, and the opposing quarterback eats a hot dog on the sideline. Sure he was sick, but he had time for a hot dog instead of a protein bar.
The Raiders, "Just win baby," "Commitment to excellence," and "Pride and Poise," haven't been proud or poised in seven years. They haven't just won more than five games since the 2003 season. Excellence is a long, long way away. Where does it start? The front office, most notably Al Davis. On a side note before I get into Al, how did he not hire Sherm Lewis? Sherm was in a retirement home, and Al is old enough and dressed like he should be.
From the front office to the players on the field the Raiders just aren't built to win. They look like they should win. They still look intimidating, but they just aren't. With a quarterback built like a linebacker, and skill players built like MMA fighters and pro wrestlers you would think they'd punch you in the eye and walk all over you.
They couldn't walk over an O Show pickup team with that coaching. Tom Cable was chosen to be the Raiders interim (now permanent) head coach after a potential coach for the future, Lane Kiffin was fired before the halfway mark of the season in 2008. Tom Cable was promoted because Tony Sporano got some publicity in Miami. I have no proof, but why else would Al Davis make the O-line coach of a pretty sub-par offensive line his head coach?
JaMarcus Russel is fifteen pounds and four interceptions away from being labeled a bust. He doesn't know what it takes to be an NFL quarterback mentally. When interviewed this week about his poor performance and benching against the New York Jets he said, "I don't think it's me personally, I really don't. It's a bad combination of one guy doesn't do something right one time. Personally, I don't think so. Do you?"
Find me another quarterback in the NFL, who is serious about his job, and knows what it takes to win who would say that. I'm still waiting. Trust me JaMarcus, it's you. A mixture of mediocre (not really willing to say Cable is horrible yet-though he looks like a truck driver and punches assistants) coaching, a horrid quarterback, and a lack of a true front office is killing Da Raidas.
Detroit Lions fans, guess what. Jim Schwartz may be the guy. Get Matt Stafford healthy, he will be the guy. Martin Mayhew seems to be a little more competent than the previous guy up there. Mayhew played the game, and he also moved on after the game and got a degree in Law. He has in-game and in-season knowledge, and off-the field smarts as well. Having "Shack" Harris helping him out can't hurt either.
As far as coaching goes they got coordinators who are coordinators. Not coordinators as coaches. Those coordinators in Detroit were over their heads as head coaches. Jim Schwarz may be over his head but I doubt it. He coached a solid D in Tennessee, but more importantly look at his pedigree. He coached under Belichick and Fisher. He coached under Ted Marchibroda as well, while his head coaching record wasn't stellar Marchibroda did coach Jim Kelly's offense for a while.
So Detroit, this season won't be a big winner, next season may not be a playoff season, but after that there is a real possibility that the Detroit Lions can be the 2011 NFC North Champions. Out of this group, this team is the most promising. How sad is that for the other guys? I head guns cocking in all the other locations.
To be continued...
Oh yeah, go get Dilla Pickles you cheap bastards.
5 comments: on "Crowding Tha Box: Losers"
You don't know pain until you've been a Browns fans.
Thanks for not really talking about them in this one. I will not read the one about them. I may just shoot myself.
An NFL article on Tha O Show. Never thought I'd see it.
Anyways, spot on about the Raiders. They won't be good until Al Davis is dead. And even then they may take a while. But nothing's going to change as long as that senile, meddling old man is trying to run the show.
You're entirely off about the Detroit Lions. That team is going to be in rough shape for the long haul. They've never really been good, and they don't have the pieces to be good anytime soon. Matthew Stafford? Really? Sorry, but to me, Stafford is the NFL's equivalent of a wrestler with a bodybuilder gimmick-just another cookie cutter who won't live up to any kind of supposed potential. His scouting report was similar to the reports of guys like Akili Smith, Cade McNown, and Tim Couch. Still want to tell me Matthew Stafford is "the guy"? Show me 15 quarterbacks who had a strong arm and nothing else, and I'll show you 15 quarterback who range from total bust to mediocre.
Stafford may not be the solution, but he's no Akili Smith, Cade McNown or Tim Couch. He'll be better than all of them. His scouting report may read like that but has several traits they didn't. He poses moxy, and the ability to make a play out of a broken play. I watched him first hand for some time and he's head and shoulders above those guys, and he's already ahead of Duante "Babyhands" Culpepper.
Even if he doesn't work out and they know it by the end of this year, they'll have another high draft pick to spend on someone like Jake Locker, or Jimmy Clausen. Their old front office would have drafted Sam Bradford in the 1st round with the injury. We can all agree they've improved in the front office. Who else has fans wanting Matt Millen or a comparable jackass to stepdown? Oh, yeah, the Carolina Panthers.
My bucs and your panters aren't looking good this year. I'm glad I have fantasy football to keep my spirits up.
I don't really feel like dissing the sick kids (Browns and you know who I'm talking about) so next week will kick the Bucs, Panthers and Redskins smack dag in the sack. I'm a Panthers fan since the late 90's when I realized they existed (before that I was and still am a Chargers fan for life, but the Panthers are closer and easier to see) and I'm not pulling punches against that group of dumbasses in the front office.
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