Can't Miss NFL Playoff Picks and Updated Mock Drafts
Are you scratching your head wondering what teams to pick this week in your office NFL Playoff pool? Today, I'm going to bring you a classic, tried-and-true method to pick teams in the NFL. We will also take a look at the Updated NFL Mock Draft Database, where many Mock Drafts have been adjusted for the New Year.
You want to know how to pick these games first, huh? Okay, I'm going to tell you something that is so simple that you will wonder how you didn't think of it. Some of you kids may have heard about this method from your Father or Grandfather.
There was once a wizard prognosticator named Diane Chambers. She worked out of a bar in Boston, a nice small little place where everyone seemed to know your name. Chambers drew from the works of Charles Darwin and determined that you could predict the outcome of football games simply be looking at who would take out who if it came to blows.
This week we will apply The Chambers Theory to the NFL Playoff Games.*
Cardinals vs. Panthers (-10)
Birds are not given much credit as kick a$$ creatures, Cardinals in particular. Out of the eight playoff teams that played in the wild-card round, half of them were birds. The Cardinals took out a seemingly tougher bird in the Falcons. While that is impressive and all, the bird is no match to a Panther.
They have big claws and stuff, and when the cat is not named Sylvester, the cat usually wins this matchup.
Ravens vs. Titans (-3)
Another bird. This a bigger and scarier bird. There was once even a pretty popular story about a scary Raven. To get here they took out a big fish. It wasn't like it was a Shark or anything, if you play combine the word sissy with swimming mammal, you get Dolphin.
Dolphins don't have swords like Titans do either. This one is tough to call because if the Raven can avoid the big blade they could pull this one out. If it's straight up, take the Titans and the carving knife.
Eagles vs. Giants (-4)
Another friggen bird. Hitchcock would be inspired. The Eagles are a big bird. Not big and yellow but bigger than a Raven or Cardinal. The Eagles showed that you can take out a big unshaven guy with a sword, giving the Ravens hope this week.
We have to think though that although annoyingly flying around like a fly, they will be brushed off by the Giant. Big and sometimes clumsy, the Giant can be overcome. We have to lean in his favor though.
Chargers vs. Steelers (-6)
This is where it gets tricky. Electricity really can't hurt you if you stay away and don't mess with it. It's not going to "come after" you right? Even lightning isn't very good at that.
But what if you have to pass by it? The Colts learned. Why do you think they surround fields full of animals with electric fences out there in the country? Because the stuff hurts.
If at all possible, other than water, what do you NOT want to come in contact with electricity? Metal...STEEL. This poses a problem for the Steelers. In a normal situation, I would have to take the Steelers in this game but using The Chambers Theory, we have to go with the Chargers.
So there you have it. Your tool for gaining riches in the new year! Speaking of new year, we have had some updates already to the NFL Mock Drafts in our Mock Draft Database.
We list the top three picks for from each and then the links for you to go check them out for yourself. Let's have a look at the score for the number one pick for the Lions so far...
Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia 14
Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma 13
Andre Smith, OT, Alabama 6
Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia, 1
Everett Brown, DE, Florida State 1
Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc
Browns searching for head coach, GM as overhaul commences
The Browns fired head coach Romeo Crennel on Monday, the second major move made by owner Randy Lerner in consecutive days as he overhauls his football operations. Crennel, who was 24-40 in four seasons on the job, was fired 11 months to the day of signing a contract extension through the 2011 season and one day after the Browns fired general manager Phil Savage. But when the Browns never threatened to compete for the AFC North title, and with the club uncompetitive in the final weeks of the season, Crennel was fighting a losing battle to keep his first-ever NFL head-coaching job.
Cross ex-Steelers head coach Bill Cowher off the list of candidates to replace Crennel; Browns owner Randy Lerner said Monday that he met with Cowher on Saturday night and that Cowher, now an analyst for CBS, said he was not interested in returning to coaching in 2009. Lerner will interview Patriots vice president-player personnel Scott Pioli for the GM job. Lerner has also sought permission to interview another unnamed executive.
The PFW spin
There are rumblings Pioli may be interesting in striking out on his own after a successful stint working closely with Bill Belichick in New England, and the feeling has long been he'll have his pick of jobs.
If that's the case, what would convince him to take the Browns' job? Well, Pioli once worked with the Browns before the franchise was moved to Baltimore. Lerner isn't afraid to spend big to lure talent, so that's a plus, too.
But the job has its negatives, too. The defense has one blue-chip player (DT Shaun Rogers) and a lot of question marks thereafter. Whomever takes the GM job will also have to decide whether Brady Quinn, who's made all of three career starts, will be the starting quarterback - or whether Derek Anderson, who did not play well in 2008 but helped lead Cleveland to a 10-6 mark in '07, merits a chance to compete for the job. There is also the issue of what to do with WR Braylon Edwards, who didn't play like an elite receiver this season but will want a second contract that pays him like one before or after his rookie deal expires next season. TE Kellen Winslow's future is also in question after a disappointing '08 campaign; he's signed for two more seasons.
Whomever takes the GM job will have to deal with those issues and will have to get creative to get much depth out of the 2009 draft. Savage dealt third- and fifth-round picks in '09 in trades for a pair of rookies (TE Martin Rucker and WR Paul Hubbard) who didn't make an impact this season.
As the Browns' GM search gets into full-swing, Lerner is also trying to find a head coach. Lerner has said Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a candidate. He also indicated ex-Jets head coach Eric Mangini could also be in the mix. A Pioli-McDaniels pairing would make sense, but could Pioli and Mangini work together given the nasty turn the Jets-Patriots rivalry - and the Mangini-Belichick relationship - has taken the last several years?
Lerner has left himself with a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. With several other head-coaching jobs opening, he needs to act smartly - and efficiently as possible - to find the right replacement for Crennel. And the new head coach will have to act quickly to put together a strong coaching staff. The latter point is especially important. The Browns were just simply too slow, or perhaps unwilling, to adjust this season. Back-to-back losses to Baltimore and Denver were marked by defensive collapse. The offense didn’t seem to utilize RB Jerome Harrison and WR Joshua Cribbs enough.
Lerner has suggested Crennel could stay on as an assistant coach. While Crennel is respected by the players, keeping him on the staff is precisely the wrong move. If Lerner is going to start over, it’s time to start over completely. This is a team that needs some fresh sets of eyes.
And it is not a quick fix for whomever who signs on to lead yet another attempt at a turnaround.
(c)2002-2008 by Pro Football Weekly LLC
More Proof that the Lions Have the Worst Owner in the NFL
This past Sunday the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team to start a season with 15 straight loses. They are now among the worst teams in NFL history, with a loss next week in Green Bay they will officially become the worst NFL team ever.
Of course we already knew all of that. What we didn't know is how delusional Lions owner, William Clay Ford, truly is. Right before the team's 15th straight loss Mr. Ford made some disturbing comments to reporter Tom Kowalski.
According to that report, Ford will not fire acting GM Martin Mayhew, or Executive Vice President and COO Tom Lewand. In fact Ford will sit on a panel with these two men to interview prospects for as yet undefined role of personnel man.
How anyone could expect to keep their jobs while managing the worst NFL team defies logic. Not so much in the case of Lewand who's responsibilities lie more on the business side of the team, but Mayhew who have been an integral part of the personnel decisions of this team that have gone so astray.
Mayhew was brought to this team by former President and GM Matt Millen. I defy anyone to show a hiring Millen made that actually worked out. He was unable to hire the right head coach, having three different tires at it, he was unable to secure the future of the team with five high end first round draft picks, and he was a miserable failure in every aspect of football operations.
How he could have gotten all of that so wrong, and somehow been so right about Mayhem is beyond me.
Lewand on the other hand has done a fantastic job running the business side of this team. He built Ford Field, is in the process of turning that into an entertainment venue, and has been the Lions Salary Cap guru for many years. Of all the problems this team has bad contracts are not one of them. He is very deserving of keeping his job.
Mayhew on the other hand is highly respected though out the league for some reason. I have no idea why that is.
It seems to me that his reputation with this team is staked on a trade of Roy Williams to Dallas for many draft picks, and the signing of free agent QB Daunte Culpepper.
(c)2008 Associated Content, Inc
Ice storm hits D.C.: Redskins' Zorn could be in trouble
Last week, as the Redskins clung onto their playoff lives entering Week 15, the big story was the relationship between head coach and Jim Zorn and star RB Clinton Portis. Now, following the Redskins' season-crushing loss at Cincinnati, the talk has turned to Zorn's relationship with owner Daniel Snyder and executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato. Although one-and-done head coaches in the NFL still remain rare, Snyder has pulled that move before - Marty Schottenheimer lasted one season, and Steve Spurrier somehow got two - the talk of Zorn not surviving past his inaugural season has come to the forefront of a lost season that began so promisingly with a 6-2 start that now has become a 7-7 mess.
The PFW spin
Although good feelings abounded as Zorn won six of his first eight games, the first few signs of the Redskins leveling off happened as far back as Week Six, when the Redskins inexplicably lost to the then-winless Rams at home. In the next two weeks, they beat the Browns and Lions - a combined 4-23 entering Monday night's game - by a combined 11 points and nearly blew each game. The Redskins' only win since then was a 20-17 escape job over the struggling Seahawks as Portis carried the team on his back.
Sunday's loss to the 2-11-1 Bengals was a killer, though, perhaps even a job killer. There are different rules in Washington, remember. But in any situation, Zorn's decision to call two fullback dives to Mike Sellers inside the 1-yard line, forgoing Portis both times, was a major questioning point, especially when Sellers - who had carried the ball only four times all season prior to that drive - fumbled inside the one on fourth down. On the sideline afterward, Portis appeared to be smiling incredulously.
The doubters wondered whether Zorn could handle the three jobs he was handed this season, two of which he never had handled before: coaching the quarterbacks, calling the offensive plays and being the head coach. Snyder and Cerrato engineered the long and emotional search for a new coach, hiring Zorn first to be the offensive coordinator and then deciding he was the best man for the head-coaching job. The search itself was as unorthodox as Zorn, who at times has looked enlightened and at others has appeared overmatched.
If we are to step back and look at the season as a whole, it must be deemed a partial success. Zorn installed an offense as quickly as anyone could have imagined, overcoming a brutal season opener to bounce back and appear to turn QB Jason Campbell and a solid but unspectacular group of offensive talent into a group that, if nothing else, produced results. Portis became the league's nearly unquestioned MVP as he carried the team on his back on a weekly basis.
Privately, quietly, before this season Snyder and Zorn probably imagined somewhere between six and nine wins in 2008. Given the brutal level of competition in the division and the circumstances they faced with the adjustment period, anything more would have been a fantasy. And the Redskins will finish with between the seven wins they have now and the nine they could get if they suddenly turn this thing around and win two games against teams, the Eagles and 49ers, that are playing better than they are right now. The problem was that after the hot start, the team and its followers got an inflated impression of how good the Redskins were.
That should not affect Zorn's job in theory. He probably will return as head coach next season, even with an impulsive, impatient owner. The organization has pledged over the past year to be less reactionary and willing to stick with the plan it laid out. Those seeds were sewn in an offseason that paled in comparison to previous ones; the Redskins essentially sat on their hands in free agency and almost collected more draft picks (10) than they had in the previous two years combined (11).
Now that same patience needs to be taken with Zorn. His coaching grade has yet to be completed, and although it's unlikely he'll make a strong finish with the final exam, it's probably in the C to C-plus range. You can't even get kicked out of Harvard for that. And when the Redskins sit back and evaluate their season as a whole, you'd like to think they would realize that there were cracks in the armor with an aged offensive line, one that now is a shell of itself, a shortage of ready-made skill-position talent and a quarterback who still has a ways to go before he's completely in lockstep with his coach and the offensive system.
There absolutely have been times to doubt Zorn's game-management ability. It started in Week One, with the lack of a two-minute offense being installed or implemented, and it has come full circle with his bizarre goal-line play-calling. But we also can point to a lot of good in between, considering the circumstances. Has Zorn improved as a head coach? Debatable. Has this team been better than or on par with expectations? On the whole, yes.
There's no predicting what Snyder will do, even he has vowed to take more of a long-term vision. We know that he and Cerrato certainly do not want to look for a head coach again after what happened this past February and part of March, sifting through candidate after candidate before settling on Zorn, who already was in their pocket under a different title. But what we do not know is if they'll think they'll need to do it again. If they are true to what they say they believed, they will give Zorn another year to make progress. If not, we could see another strange offseason in D.C. After the past few weeks with this team, the fans will be well adjusted to the oddity.
(c) 2002-2008 by Pro Football Weekly LLC
Another 'L' of a Monday in Motown
Move over Tampa Bay. You've been replaced.
Time to start writing the obituary. Here lies the 2008 Detroit Lions: The Greatest Losers Ever.
How do you feel, Detroit, with the Lions three losses from 0-16? Do you want to see history made?
I don't. I imagine the way writers will use this Detroit Lions team for decades as an example of how things can always be worse. You could be suffering through the Detroit Lions season of 2008! At least we're not them!
Maybe no other NFL team will ever match the 0-16 mark. Maybe this Lions team would symbolize ultimate football failure forever.
We don't want that, right?
Writers across the country are already waxing poetic about the Lions and their bumbles.
From today's Los Angeles Times: "From Detroit came only silent tiptoeing down the stairs toward Tampa Bay '76, as the Lions got the ball with 22 seconds left and 71 yards to go and went sack, spike, sack and definitely, definitely sad sack."
The Canton Republic cracked, "The Detroit Lions are Vanderbilt without the diploma. All you get is the defeat."
Here in Detroit, Freep columnist Drew Sharp scolds the Lions for their affinity to produce garbage.
Sharp writes: "They're the worst NFL team ever because they're the most wasteful. They're throwing away special chances and special players."
ProFootball Weekly jumps into the fray with some unnamed sources who provide this juicy tip: Matt Millen was pretty lousy on draft day.
They quote: "(Lions WR) Calvin Johnson is soft. He's still learning how to play the game, but he is going to be a great one. ... When you look at the players (Matt) Millen has drafted, there's really two that stand out -- Johnson and (LB) Ernie Sims. He's their best player on defense. When you have had as many high picks as they have, it's disheartening to look at their roster. (Millen) has left a big mess for someone to clean up."
With three games to go, it will likely get bigger. What's the Lions best chance now at avoiding 0-16?
Maybe a rare Midwestern earthquake will destroy Lambeau Field and the Lions will get their season finale against the Green Bay Packers on neutral turf.
Maybe before next Sunday, Indy's Peyton Manning will pull a Ricky Williams, quit the NFL and move to Thailand to live in a tent.
Maybe the New Orleans Saints will lose Thursday in Chicago, vanquishing their playoff hopes and decide to do the friendly thing against the Lions and forfeit the game, a handout from one weary American city to another.
freep.com
Something missing in Jags' loss
Veteran Jaguars running back Fred Taylor tackled the question head on.
"We're not a good team, T.E.A.M.," Taylor said, calling out the letters. "We have good players, but the mix is all wrong and that's what it is."
Team chemistry became an even bigger issue on Sunday when the Jaguars fumbled away 14 points in the first one minute and 41 seconds of the game and allowed the visiting Minnesota Vikings to coast to a 30-12 victory. What is wrong with this team? It's the question that was on everyone's lips.
This is the identity the Jaguars carved for themselves against the Vikings: Thirty-five yards rushing on 14 rushing plays, 286 yards passing on 45 pass attempts, five turnovers and a slew of holding penalties that sabotaged comeback efforts.
The day began with an embarrassing botched center-quarterback exchange between Brad Meester and David Garrard. Garrard accepted blame for not reminding his offense that he would be in shotgun formation. Meester ended up snapping the ball to himself, causing the ball to fall to the turf, where it was recovered and run into the end zone by linebacker Napoleon Harris.
"His not knowing I'm in the shotgun; tough way to start the game. Nobody feels any worse than I do. Jack (Del Rio) said he's never been a part of a game that went down like that and I haven't either," Garrard said.
Garrard experienced his first-ever 300-yard passing game, but he was often betrayed by his receivers. Matt Jones fumbled following a catch, a couple of passes were dropped and Mike Walker allowed one to slip through his hands and into the hands of a Vikings defender. Right tackle Tony Pashos was penalized three times for holding and Garrard was sacked four times.
Even the Jaguars' reliable special teams had a bad day. Josh Scobee missed two field goal attempts and kick-returner Brian Witherspoon's fumble led to the Vikings' second touchdown and Witherspoon nearly lost a fumble near the Jaguars' goal line.
The lone star for the Jaguars is running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who caught nine passes for 113 yards.
"We just need a few more guys playing the way he is," Del Rio said of Jones-Drew.
Del Rio was sharp in his postgame comments. "It might be the all-time great practice team," he said of his club. "There's something missing. You would've thought we drew things up with no practice."
At 4-7, the Jaguars are likely to be the underdog in each of their remaining five games. They next play in Houston on Monday Night Football, Dec. 1.
"I will sink with the ship. Win, lose or draw, I'm on it," Taylor said.
The Jaguars got within 17-10 and could've cut the lead to a point at halftime, had Scobee not missed field goal attempts of 46 and 38 yards right before halftime. In the second half, however, the Jaguars offense failed to score a point for the second consecutive week.
Minnesota clinched the outcome when running back Adrian Peterson burst off left tackle for 16 yards and a touchdown with 6:55 to play.
"They played hard but we beat ourselves," Garrard said.
Copyright (c) 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars and the NFL. All Rights Reserved
Another word on overtime in the NFL
I disagree with C. Trent that overtime in the NFL is fair. Sourcing a Time Magazine article, he writes that 44% of the teams that win the overtime coin toss, go out and win the game without allowing the opposition an opportunity to touch the ball. Nearly half of the time the other team doesn't touch the ball, and that's fair? That's the argument against overtime in the NFL; give the other team a shot on offense, that's the only thing being asked. Want to have a regulation format (kickoff, return, punt)? Fine.
Once Team A gets rid of the ball (either through scoring or punting or turnover), then Team B gets a shot. After that, if the score is tied, it's sudden death. Next score wins. Drop that 44% to zero. The clock starts on the very first possession, and still applies like it does now. Luck for actions that are not performed by the players should never be in the equation of who wins. Ever.
I don't believe in suggesting that the NFL should suddenly become college football's format either; rules applied and enforced exactly as they're written. Though I tend to find myself enjoying college overtimes a hell of a lot more than the NFL's version. But why can't there be some effort at refining the existing format? Give the other team a shot. If Team A doesn't score on their first possession, then it doesn't matter; sudden death applies anyway.
Comparing general overtime regulations to the Bengals tie Sunday doesn't make sense either. Ties are so rare, that before Sunday, no one talked about them and a frightening revelation was learned when a high-profile player didn't even realize they existed. One tie since 2002 isn't a problem; it's an aberration between two teams that aren't going to the playoffs anyway. Though I do agree, if the NFL is going to change the format anyway, discover ways to eliminate rules in which allows a tied final score. But to react to this game? Nah. No big deal.
Based on watching Sunday's game, I don't think either team would have scored in a second overtime anyway. Once you play 75 minutes worth of football, something needs to be decided. These players can't play for that long, they are not conditioned to do so, and for the Bengals, they only have three days to rest before Thursday night's game against the Steelers.
Copyright 2008 Sportsblogs, Inc
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