Do You Need a Top Defense to Win a Super Bowl?

Can You Win A Super Bowl Without a Top Defense?

We are starting to come down the home stretch in the NFL and, as the playoff races start to shape up, I have a few thoughts on the historic aspect of what teams typically do in the NFL to get to and win a Super Bowl.  The NFL has changed dramatically in recent years as many QBs have thrown for over 5000 yards and 40 plus TD. Consequently, the running backs and defenses are becoming endangered species.  However, one thing that I noticed over the most recent years, that if your defense is really bad, it is very difficult to win the Super Bowl.  

The only team that has given up over 400 points in the modern era, since the NFL expanded to a 16 regular season schedule, is the 2011 NY Giants who gave up exactly 400.  The Giants were a team that was really injury plagued a lot of that season, but once they got healthy and Eli Manning got hot, they won the Super Bowl with tremendous play. They upset the Green Bay Packers and MVP of that year, QB Aaron Rodgers, 37-20, in the frigid cold and then gutted out a win over a very good SF 49ers team, who's defense gave up only 229 points, in overtime 20-17.

The 2006 Indianapolis Colts had a really bad run defense and did give up 360 points on the season, however the healthy comeback of Bob Sanders at Safety really put them in a good position and the Colts defense improved immensely.  This was key to Peyton Manning getting his only Super Bowl win to date.  Peyton is part of a Broncos team this year that has scored at a record pace at 535 points through 14 games, however their defense is really shaky giving up 372 points so far. As a Bronco fan this is alarming as last season they only gave up 289 points in a full season. What has gone wrong here?  I think that the injury to Champ Bailey and the loss of Elvis Dumervil to a contract snag has not helped. It is also human nature at times to let up if you have a big lead,  and their offense has scored more than 50 points in 3 games this year.  I feel the talent is there for their defense to be at least decent and give up 24 PPG, which should be more than enough to have them make a run at a Super Bowl. Their biggest competition ,the NE Patriots, have given up 289 points through 14 games and have their own big injures that they are dealing with. The loss of Vince Wilfork and Jerrod Mayo has weakened a unit that has been very good through the first 6 games. The Pats have also lost their best target for Tom Brady with Rob Gronkowski getting a torn ACL in the last game vs. the Browns.  

The Cincinnati Bengals play very good defense and should be a force to be reckoned with in the AFC playoffs. They only have given up 244 points through 13 games.  The main concern for me is that their QB, Andy Dalton, is inconsistent. One week he can throw 4 TD and the next 4 int. In the playoffs you need consistency. Can Dalton provide this? He definitely has the talent at WR in AJ Green and a super rookie Giovanni Bernard at RB, who is a double threat to both run the ball and catch out of the backfield.  Just for the record my preseason pick in the AFC to get to the Super Bowl, was Cincinnati because of the balance they have.  The KC Chiefs also have a good defense only giving up 224 points in 13 games. Their offense is sometimes a bit up and down but they do not turn the ball over and have had an excellent turnaround season. I am not so sure even with a good defense that they are ready to make a deep run this year as of yet. I am not a big fan of Alex Smith, the king of the check down or as Christina @yeswhatisaygoes said on twitter, ankle biter passes. That is very funny and very true.

The NFC when it comes to defense is clear cut. The best overall team in the NFL so far, the Seattle Seahawks are very good in this department, especially at home. They have only given up 205 points so far and can dominate. Their offense does enough as well scoring 357 points in 13 games. Seattle has won 17 straight home games and will be very very tough to beat at Centurylink field if they get the home field throughout.  The New Orleans Saints have improved big time in their scoring defense since last season when they were putrid. They have given up 243 points in 13 games and seem to play even better when in the friendly confines of the Superdome. The Saints are thought of as an offensive team with Drew Brees rolling along as usual but their defense it the season they won the Super Bowl gave up 341 points but they scored 513 and caused lots of turnovers.  A good pass rush in 2013 is underrated in my opinion.

Another team that has had a very good defense the last 3 seasons is the SF 49ers and 2013 is no exception. The have only given up 214 points, 9 more than the Seahawks and always hit hard and can physically beat you.  The thing that hurts the 49ers is that they seem to struggle on offense at times scoring only 314 points and Colin Kaepernick has been inconsistent in his 2^nd season as QB and first full year starting.

So, some thoughts on the above teams and what I believe is needed to be a Championship team. I think that if you have a top notch offense, your defense can only give up about 24 PPG but needs to have a good pass rush and cause turnovers at the right time. This was the formula that the offensive teams of the Colts and Saints have been using in the last 10 years to win.  I also think that if you have a top defense like the Seahawks, 49ers or the Bengals, you can win with a mediocre offense that does not turn the ball over. This basically has been the formula for the Seahawks the last 2 seasons. To me they are the team in the NFL to beat right now, barring any injuries.  A great home field advantage will help and if they do get to the Super Bowl, with it being in NY and a potential for bad weather, the team is built to do this.  

If I had my way, the NFL would go back to the rules the way they were prior to 2003 when the defense could get away with some contact allowed down the field, as long as it was not blatant.  I really really hate the pass interference spot foul penalties that can change the outcome of a game.  I wish the NFL would go to the college rule that even if there is PI, it would be a 15 yard max penalty and not a 45 or 50 yard penalty.  I also would like the NFL not to call so many roughing the QB penalties and let the players play.  I know concussions have been a hot topic, but it is worse to me to go low and ruin a player’s season by hitting someone in the knee and having them tear their ACL and have to have surgery. The hit on Rob Gronkowski was so uncalled for last week but the NFL does not allow defensive players to hit the middle of the player that can be a high hit as it would lead to a possible suspension and fine for them. So NFL it’s better for knee injuries as well on low hits. Brandon Merriweather who is a dirty player did say it best when he said he might tear some ACLs when hitting low to keep from getting fined and suspended.  I think he said the wrong thing but he is right that the Defensive Backs are in a no win situation on this.  It really stinks and I hope the NFL can wake up and come to some compromise that will help all parties involved.

 

I want to thank everyone for reading my humble blog. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

 

 

SNF Broncos at Patriots My Preview

My Preview of the Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

 The Denver Broncos who are 9-1 visit the New England Patriots who are 7-3 on Sunday November 24^th.   I have been a Denver Broncos fan for over 30 years and I really have been looking forward to this game. Last year was the first time I have ever seen Peyton Manning play in the 31-21 loss here in Foxboro in October.  I have a lot of respect for the Patriots and Tom Brady as he has had a Hall of Fame career and has an 80-14 career record at home. He has not lost to an AFC team at home since 2006. That is amazing. He lost only 3 times vs. the Giants, 49ers and Cardinals (not sure how Arizona won, no offense to them).  Of all the teams in the NFL, the only team that Brady is under 500 against is the Denver Broncos. He is 3-5 against them.

Over the years Brady has had the upper hand against Manning. He is 9-4 including the playoffs. Sometimes some of these games were not always about the offenses, the defenses of especially the Patriots from 2001-2004 was as good as it got in the league.  They had one of the best passer ratings against in 2003 when they won the Super Bowl.  Manning for most of his career boasted weak defenses.  This is not an excuse for either QB. Brady had some mediocre defenses as well. He made the Super Bowl in 2011 with about as bad of a defense that the Patriots had during the Belicheck era. 

On to this game.  The Broncos have had a great offensive season. They are currently averaging 39.8 PPG and have scored at least 27 points in every game. Manning through 10 games has thrown for over 3500 yards, 34 TD and only 6 Int. He has a set of wide receivers Wes Welker 61 catches, 9 TD, Demaryius Thomas 60 catches,, 9 TD and Eric Decker 54 catches, 3 TD. Super TE Julius Thomas who still struggles as a blocker but is a fantastic pass catcher has 45 catches and 10 TD.  Knowshon Moreno leads the running backs with 600 yards rushing and 8 TD. He has also caught 37 passes and is an all-around player as he has been great at pass protecting Manning by picking up the Blitz. The offensive line has done a good job by only allowing 13 sacks in 10 games.  However, Manning has probably one of the quickest releases in NFL history, so he basically makes most offensive lines look good in my opinion.  As of right now, Wes Welker is still being evaluated for a concussion and we are not sure if he will get to play against his old team. It would be a shame if he can’t go.

The Patriots defense has really improved since last year. Chandler Jones is having a fantastic season with 9.5 sacks through 10 games. Rob Ninkovich and Chris Jones each have 5 sacks.  The defense is giving up an average of 19.9 PPG. The defense however has taken some really bad hits with injuries. They have lost Vince Wilfork and Jerrod Mayo for the season. Aquib Talib has also been in and out of the lineup and is a major loss when not in there as he is having an All-Pro season with 4 interceptions.  It is too bad when any teams sustain any injuries. We all want to see the best players play when watching the NFL. I hated seeing Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler both get hurt in the same division. It hurts the product big time.

The Patriots have not been as good on offense as they have been in the past as they have had their share of injuries as well.  Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski have both missed significant time and it has been difficult for Brady to get into rhythm when this has happened. He is still doing not too badly with 2500 passing yards with 14 TD and 7 interceptions. Not up to his standards but not bad nonetheless.  Julian Edelman has picked up the slack with the opportunity to play more by catching 52 passes and 2 TD.  Aaron Dobson has had some problem with drops as a rookie but has been better lately with 35 catches and 4 TD.  Amendola even when not playing all of the time has 29 catches and Gronkowski has 24 catches in his first 4 games back. Another wild card who has missed a lot of the season but is very talented is Shane Vareen. Vareen has 15 catches in 2 games and rushed for 102 yards over this span.  Stevan Ridley leads the rushing with 562 yards and 7 TD. Ridley however has had some fumbling problems including a huge one last week inside the red zone at Carolina.

Now the Broncos are not known for their defense and have struggled at times by giving up an average of 25 PPG.  They have recently improved though and have given up 21, 20 and 17 over the last 3 weeks.  Shaun Phillips leads with 9 sacks and has been a Godsend since Elvis Dumervil left after the whole contract snafu with the fax machine (I still don’t know how this happened in 2013, pretty sad really).

Von Miller has struggled in his return over the 4 games with only 2 sacks.  Miller should get better over time as he is a very talented Linebacker and probably in the top 5 defensive players when he is at his optimum. Robert Ayers and Derek Wolfe have contributed with 4.5 and 4 sacks respectively. Others that have an impact on the defense are Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie with 2 interceptions and Danny Trevathan who has 81 tackles 3 interceptions and 1 sack. He has done a fantastic job this year coming out of nowhere.  Wesley Woodyard is the defensive captain and has 56 tackles. This unit is only what will hold back the Broncos from being the team they want to be. The talent is there for them to be very good.  Jack Del Rio does like to gamble. It is high risk high reward. When you go after the QB on the other team, if they are able to get the ball away on a blitz. Then there is a chance for big plays against. Tony Romo lit them up for 48 points and 500 yards in the wild 51-48 Broncos win in October.

Now my finally prediction is that the Broncos are going to buck some of the tough trends for teams in Foxboro by winning 31-24.  The offensive talent to me will be the difference as the Patriots defense has so many injuries.  I think that Manning with his ability to change the play at the line of scrimmage that he does better than anyone else in the NFL in my opinion will be very difficult to stop with a banged up Linebacking and secondary.  I do believe that the Patriots will score against the Denver defense but the injuries are the key in the Bronco victory.

 

 

My Best All Time NFL Defenses

Best All-Time NFL Defenses

 

Because the game is played so differently now than it was in the 1970s, ranking some of the best all-time defenses is extremely difficult.  The defense that sticks out from that era is the Pittsburgh Steelers.  They had so many Hall of Famers on that team; Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, and LC Greenwood led that bunch.  However, if these players played today like they did back then, they would be getting pass interference penalties, fines and suspensions. It was a much tougher NFL in that era, the constant asking the refs for the flag, like some wide receivers do today, would not happen.  Those WR would get their heads knocked off for sure.  Mel Blount was the NFL defensive player of the year in 1975 during that great run of Super Bowl Championships.   1976 Steelers did not win a Super Bowl, but had a legendary year on defense. They only gave up 28 points over the last 9 games played and 11 PPG over the season.  They got hurt during that playoffs on offense and eventually lost to Oakland in the AFC Championship game.

Jack Lambert was one of the meanest players to ever play in the NFL, he was probably as good a tackler that has ever played. Lambert was so dominant a linebacker that he won defensive rookie player of the year in 1974 and defensive player of the year in 1976.  Lambert went to 9 Straight Pro Bowls and was a huge cog of the Steel Curtain of this era.   Fear was huge during this time and Lambert along with Mean Joe Greene were the ring leaders.  Running backs would were not happy when Lambert hit them so hard that their bell rung. Jack Ham never won defensive player of the year, but was an All Pro 6 times and was one of the fastest linebackers in the history of the NFL.  Ham’s specialty was in forcing fumbles, he forced 59 over the years. This is just astounding.  The Steelers defensive unit was mainly responsible for the team winning 4 Super Bowls. The first 2 they were the dominant unit for them. The 3^rd and 4^th had a lot more help from the offense with Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw and Stallworth and Swan being very good.  

When you mention the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s what do you think of? Obviously it would be offense with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and Dwight Clark.  However the 49ers defense was also very, very good and, to me, underrated but dominant.  The 1981 unit only gave up an average of 15 PPG and the 1984 unit gave up 14 PPG.  When talking about the defense the first player of that era I think of is Ronnie Lott. Lott came into the league as a cornerback and was pretty good, but he really made his mark as the most dominant safety of the era.  He would strike fear into the hearts of any wide receiver going over the middle at that time.  He would be getting a lot of fines today if he played in the same reckless manner where he would launch himself at a ball carrier. This was legal back then, but now due to safety reasons is not acceptable any longer.  Lott had 63 career interceptions with his highest being 10 in 1986. He was a ballhawk and is in the Pro Football Hall of fame because of his well-rounded career.  Lott, also made the First team Pro 6 times. Other good players on this team were Fred Dean, who had 17.5 sacks in 1983, Hacksaw Reynolds at OLB and Keena Turner at ILB.  The secret of the niners was mainly being consistent and stopping other teams, thus getting the ball back to their fantastic offense.  Besides Ronnie Lott, there were no other real Super Stars that stand out but the numbers stand on their own. They won 4 Super Bowls mainly as a great offensive team but this unit was underrated to me and still is when thinking of great defenses in the 1980s.

Another very dominant defense of this era was the Chicago Bears from 1984-1987. The Bears, even though they only won only 1 Super Bowl, had probably the most dominant season of all time defensively in 1985.  The team only gave up 198 points for an average of about 12.3 PPG.  The Bears used a 46 defense that stressed getting pressure on the QB which led to a lot of sacks and turnovers.  The leading sacker was Richard Dent who had 17.5. Otis Wilson also had 10.5 from his linebacker position. Interior defensive linemen in Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael also had 8 and 6.5 sacks. Mike Singletary was the defensive captain and had well over 100 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Singletary had those eyes that could cut right through you and he made the First team All-Pro 7 times. It was scary. He was such a smart player. The secondary was excellent with Leslie Frasier getting 6 interceptions and Mike Richardson with 4.  Safeties Dave Deuerson and Gary Fencik would punish when they hit you and both had 5 interceptions each.  This defense only give up 10 points in 3 playoff games, both of their home playoff games saw them shutout their opponents.  The only team to score was the NE Patriots and they only got 10 in a 46-10 loss in the Super Bowl to Chicago.  The irony is the 1986 Bears actually only gave up 187 pts for and average of about 11.68 points but they lost to the Redskins in the playoffs.  

Fast forward to the early 1990s and a team that is thought of once again for their offense, the Dallas Cowboys, had an excellent defense during their Super Bowl. Run.  The 1992 team gave up 15.2 PPG and had a defense that had different players putting pressure on the QB and the sack leader was Jim Jeffcoat with 10.5. Tony Tolbert had 8 sacks as well.  The defensive backs were solid with Kevin Smith, James Washington and Thomas Everett. The 1993 Cowboys defense was even better only giving up 14.3 PPG. Jim Jeffcoat with 7 and Tony Tolbert with 6 sacks helped the defensive secondary get many picks on this season.  Kevin Smith had 6 int and Thomas Everett had 2. This shows that you do not have to have mind popping numbers as a defense to stop the other team. The Cowboys knew how to stop the run during that era.

Another great defense that is mainly based on one huge season is the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. This team only gave up 10.5 PPG. The Ravens defense was so good that year that they had back to back shutouts against Cleveland and Cincinnati.  This team had everything on D. Rod Woodson, playing safety in the later part of his career, intercepted 4 passes, Duane Starks had 6 interceptions and Chris McAlister 4. Ray Lewis was the heart and soul of this defense and he made the First team All-Pro 7 times. Lewis had 2 interceptions and had 137 tackles and was the main reason that this defense only gave up 60.5 yards per game rushing and 187 yards passing. Their pass rush did not get a lot of sacks and were led by Rob Burnett with 10.5 and Peter Bouleware with 7. This team was fantastic in the playoffs only giving up 23 points in 4 games, so basically 6 PPG. The Ravens were still good on defense in 2001 giving up 16.6 PPG and Bouleware had a very good year with 15 sacks, but they were not as dominant.

 

There are some good defenses in today’s NFL including the KC Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, but in 2013 the league is so geared to the offense that if you give up 20 PPG you are one of the better ones in the league. Times have changed as the NFL wants to have more scoring. I understand their predicament but I wish they allowed the defense a little bit of leeway so that the scores can occasionally be 20-16 and not always 28-24 or 31-28 etc.  Balance is what makes the NFL fun to me. I like to see a good running game as well as a good passing game.  Thank you all for reading my blog.  I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 

 

The NFL Running Back in 2013 An Endangered Species

                                                        

I began watching football in 1979 and the mindset back then was in order to win a Super Bowl, or at least contend for one was to run the football and to stop the other team from doing it. Fast forward to 2013, and nothing could be farther from that ideal.  There are still some top running backs in todays game. Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, who, to me, is clearly on his way to Canton, has run for 786 yards and 9 TD, along with 24 catches.  This season has been slow for him as he usually would have had at least one game of 150-200 yards but, in fact. his high so far is 140 vs both Dallas and Pitt.  It also does not help that the Vikings are 2-7 and are playing from behind most games, so it is hard to run when that happens.  Another good running back is Jamal Charles of the Chiefs who has run for 725 yards, 6 TD, but his high game rushing is only 100 yards. He is huge as a receiver, catching 47 passes and 2 TD through 9 games.  The last dominant back that I will mention is Lashawn McCoy who has rushed for 932 yards and has a high rushing game of 184 yards, which he did in week 1 vs the Redskins.  Honorable mentions are Marshawn Lynch (871 yards with 7 TD) and Alfred Morris (825 yards and 5 TD).

 Now, back to my youth.  The late Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears was dominant in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He had 4 seasons with over 1500 yards rushing and at least 10 rushing TD in 5 seasons. In 1984 the dominant running back was Eric Dickerson who rushed for an all-time single season record of 2105 yards with 14 TDs for the LA Rams.  He had 2 games of over 200 yards that season.  Barry Sanders, to me is the best pure running back that I saw play (I was not born when Jim Brown and Gayle Sayers were in the prime). Barry ran for 2053 yards in 1997 which is now the 3^rd best season of all time behind Dickerson and Adrian Pederson (2097 yards last year). Sanders could dominate a game.

The last running back I will mention is my favorite one, Terrell Davis. Davis had a short career unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in a game vs the NY Jets where he made a tackle on a Brian Griese interception. It’s sad because he should be a Hall of Famer, in my opinion, as he dominated both the 1997 and 1998 post seasons for the Denver Broncos and gave John Elway the running back that was lacking throughout his career. The Broncos never would have won the Championships without him.  Davis ran for 1538, 1750 and 2008 yards from 1996-1998. In 1998, when Terrell won the NFL MVP, he had 21 TDs rushing and 2 receiving.   Davis ran for a postseason record 7 straight 100 yard games. In today’s game this is very unlikely to ever happen again.

 Now, it is not like running is not important, but it is not the end all be all in today’s NFL.  The league is now geared towards passing , you can barely touch the wide receivers without getting flagged for pass interference penalties. Most of the top passing seasons in the history of the NFL have happened in the last 5 years. There have been 6 times that QBs have thrown for 5000 yards and 5 of them have happened since 2008, the only one prior to that was Dan Marino throwing for 5084 yards in 1984. Drew Brees owns the all-time record with 5476 yards in 2011 and has reached 5000 2 other times. Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford are the only others.  Now, if I told you that John Elway, one of the all-time best QBs in NFL history, only threw for 4000 yards once and Stafford has thrown for 5000, would it surprise you? On the surface yes, but in reality no.  The league wants the “star wars” numbers as Jim Irsay, the owner of the Colts, has recently said.  I feel that the league is unfair to the defenses and not letting them have a bit more leeway on covering the wide receivers. It is almost impossible to cover the best of the best with only a 5 yard bump area. Calvin Johnson, AJ Green and Dez Bryant have dominated because of this. Imagine what the all- time best receiver, Jerry Rice, would do in today’s NFL. It would be mind boggling. Back in the 1970s the wide receivers would get mugged all over the field and even up to 2003, the defensive players could get away with a lot more liberties when covering the best wide receivers or tight ends going down the field.

 
In 2013, Lashawn McCoy has the high game in week 1, rushing 184 yards. Historically, by week 10, there would have been at least one or two games where a running back would go over 200 yards and sometimes even 250 yards. When looking at the single game rushing leaders thus far, there have been some weeks the most yards rushing was barely over 100 yards. This is unbelievable, how much the philosophy has changed since the 1970s-1980s.  It’s a different game now, but it is still a great game to watch and enjoy no matter what team that you root for.

As time goes on, I believe we’ll see more of the running back by committee, where teams split the carries between 2 or 3 running backs, we will be seeing less and less of the 1500 yard rushing seasons. The QBs however, will still put up 4500 to over 5000 yards passing for the best in the business.  This is not to say that if there is a dominant running back, like Adrian Peterson, that he won’t still be great, he still will be, but there will be less and less of those running backs. For example, Willis McGahee, he was good in his career, but if there was a  backup running back that is just as good and can split the carries with him and whomever can catch the ball better out of the backfield or more importantly can protect his QB against blitz pickup, then that running back will get the bulk of the load.

The other part as to why teams like to throw the ball more is because, for teams to play defense in this league, it is easier to stop the run then it is to stop the pass. With the rules as they are, it is almost not fair how easy it is to pass. Running over the years is basically the same now as it was 35 years ago, you try to dominate the other teams defensive line and linebackers to create daylight for your running back to exploit and gain yardage.  With passing, you only have to have the offensive linemen that have the correct technique for blocking, and not have to dominate, to gain the advantage over the other team.  

 

 These are just my opinions and may be way off base in some people’s eyes.  I just hope my writing gets you to think and formulate your own opinions as this is fun for me to do. I enjoyed writing this very much, hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much. Thank you for taking the time.

My First Half NFL Impressions

My first half NFL impressions

 

So far the NFL 2013 season has brought some surprises, both good and bad.  The biggest surprise to me is that the Kansas City Chiefs are 9-0 so far. They have one of the best defenses, having only given up an average of 12.33 PPG and the offense is averaging about 23.8 PPG. Andy Reid, who had a remarkable run of success in Philadelphia, took over a team that was just dreadful last year at 2-14 and has made them a force to be reckoned with. The Chiefs are led by the dynamic running back, Jamal Charles, who has run for 725 yards and also caught 47 passes for a combined 8 TD.  Alex Smith, who was acquired in a trade in the offseason with the SF 49ers, has thrown 9 TD and 4 Int. He has not been spectacular, but does not turn the ball over a lot and can run the offense.  He generally wins too, as he led SF to the NFC Champ Game and was in first place last year before getting hurt and losing his job to Colin Kaepernick.

 

Another team that had surprised, but in a bad way has been the NY Giants. Tom Coughlin, who is a good coach, is not happy with the effort I am sure. The Giants have a current record of 2-6, after starting 0-6, and have been a turnover machine.  Eli Manning has had an awful season, throwing only 10 TDs with 15 Interceptions and has lost 2 fumbles.  The defense has given up a total of 27.5 PPG.  The Giants have also struggled to run the football, stop the run, and be consistent in any facet of the game.  It feels like a lost season for them but in the long run I believe they will bounce back because of Coughlin and his leadership.

 

As many of you know, I have been a Denver Broncos fan for many years. My impression of the Broncos is generally good this year but I have some caution with their defense. It is hard not to be impressed with a team that averages 43 PPG. Peyton Manning is having an all-world season with 29 TD and only 5 Interceptions through 8 games.  The offence is led by Wide Receivers Wes Welker, 50 catches and 9 TD, Demaryius Thomas, 48 catches and 6 TD and Eric Decker 46 catches and 3 TD.  Knowshon Moreno has run for 459 yards with 8 TD and caught another 29 passes, and has done a good job being the lead back.  The Broncos face a tough stretch in November where they play KC, at NE and at KC. We will see how good this team really is.  I think they will do well, but will the defense hold up when giving up 27.5 PPG?

A team, to me, that has been exactly who I thought they would be is the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is 7-1 and play the best defense in the NFL, in my opinion. They only give up 16.5 PPG and score 25.8 PPG. They are especially tough at home as they have won 12 straight games there. Russell Wilson leads the offense with 15 TD and only 6 Int. He can also rush when he wants to, putting up 375 yards rushing thus far. Marshawn Lynch leads the team on the ground with 726 rushing yards and 6 TD. The Wideouts are balanced with Goden Tate having 35 catches and Doug Baldwin with 29.  The defense has, to me, the best cornerback in football with Richard Sherman who has 4 interceptions, bringing one back for a touchdown. The stingy defense is tough against the run and is almost impossible to beat at Seattle.         

 

Another team that I expected to be a better team and that has really struggled is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pitt is now 2-6 and sinking fast.  Their defense is the worst it has been in a long long time. They give up 26 PPG and are only scoring 19.5. Ben Roethlisberger is having an average season with 12 TD and 9 Int. He has also lost 5 fumbles. Pittsburgh’s hallmark over the years has been a good tough defense and causing turnovers. This defense hasn’t put enough pressure on the opposing QB, having only 14 sacks in 8 games, which is less than 2 a game.  Pittsburgh has had good management over the years so, I believe that they will bounce back either next season or the following year to be a playoff contender once again.

The most schizophrenic team that I can think of is the Dallas Cowboys. They can look so good, they gave the Denver Broncos one of their biggest scares of the season, losing to them 51-48 in one of the most exciting games I have ever seen. They can also struggle as they did in a 14-13 loss at Kansas City where, if they played like they did vs. Denver, they would have won easily. Tony Romo, who has thrown 20 TD with 6 interceptions, is having one of the best statistical seasons of his career. The offense is very explosive averaging 32.25 PPG, but their defense is giving up 26.12 PPG. The rest of their offense has Dez Bryant with 51 catches, 8 TD, Jason Witten 46 catches, 4 TD and super rookie Terrance Williams with 28 catches and 4 TD.  Dallas is capable of beating any team in the league, but, at times, can lose to almost anyone as well.

 

Another team that surprises me with their record is the New England Patriots. The Patriots had about as bad of an offseason that one can have.  First, they did not come to terms with Wes Welker and I believe, like many others, this was a huge mistake. Aaron Hernandez is in jail right now being involved in a murder and basically throwing his life down the drain. Rob Gronkowski missed the first 6 games of the season.  But, as what seems to usually happen because of good leadership of Tom Brady and Bill Bellicheck, they are 7-2.  The Patriots are averaging 26 PPG and only give 19.4 PPG. Brady has not had his best year, but does have 13 TD with 6 Int.  Julian Edelman leads the WR with 49 catches and 2 TDs,  Aaron Dobson has improved as the year goes on and has 31 catches and 4 TD. Gronkowski has 19 catches in 3 games with 1 TD that he scored last week. Stevan Ridley has 514 yards rushing with 6 TD.  The defense has improved big time with Aqib Talib who has 4 interceptions and, when healthy, has been one of the best cornerbacks in football.

 

Only time will tell as to who finishes strong and ends up in the Super Bowl. The injuries will be a huge part of this. I really hope that no more high profile players go down. Aaron Rodgers getting hurt in Green Bay is a huge loss, and these type of injuries to the great players will affect who gets to the Super Bowl.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Francis The Most Underrated Player in NHL History

Ron Francis Most Underrated NHL Player in History

 

So when thinking of the NHL all-time leading scorers do you think of Ron Francis?  Most people do not. Francis was not a flashy player during his consistent NHL career but what he did was produce at a level that most players would dream of over his 23 NHL seasons.  Francis was drafted 4^th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1981 draft.  Francis made his debut during the 81-82 season and in only 59 games had 25 G 43 A 68 Pts.  Francis got to play with Dave Keon as a rookie. Keon the classy long time Toronto Maple Leafs Hall of Fame player helped shape Francis to what he would become.  Even though the Whalers were a horrible team at the time, they started to build a core that at least got them competitive and had some mild success in the mid to late 1980s. Francis scored 31 goals and had 90 points in 82-83 season as a 19 year old.  Francis showed in his first seasons that he would be great playmaker and this would be the hallmark of his career.   Francis alongside Kevin Dineen, Pat Verbeek, Ray Ferraro and others finally made the playoffs in the 85-86 season. The Whalers were 12 points behind the Buffalo Sabres in early March in the old Adams division when they caught fire. These players long with Mike Liut did their job and made the playoffs on the last game of that season. Francis broke his leg in Janurary of 86 and missed some time, however when he come back he had a fantastic finish ending up with 24 goals and 77 points in only 53 games. Francis did not have a strong playoff but the team felt his presence as they upset the Quebec Nordiques 3-0.  Francis had 3 pts in 10 games.  Kevin Dineen the fireplug was awesome then.  The Whalers took the powerful Montreal Canadiens to game 7 in the 2^nd round and lost in overtime when Claude Lemieux shot a high backhander over Liut to win in. Dineen was great by scoring in Overtime in game 4 to tie the series on a great rush which was one of the most exiciting plays in their history as most of the success their franchise has had is in Carolina. Dineen also scored the only goal in Game 6 to force that ultimate game 7. 

After a few more consistent seasons even giving the Bruins a huge scare in 1990 taking them to 7 games, Francis would keep plugging along usually scoring about 25 goals and 85 points with Harford Career high of 32 goals and 101 points in 1990.  In 1991 Francis had some things happen to him that to me helped get the Whalers moved to Carolina eventually.  In 67 games,  Francis had 21 goals and 76 points but the horrible GM Eddie Johnson decided to first strip Francis of the captaincy and then trade the best player that ever played in Hartford to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 4, 1991.  Francis along with Ulf Samuelsson (the dirty player I Have NO respect for) and Grant Jennings for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski.  Cullen did okay in Harford but never was as good as he was in Pittsburgh. Francis flourished and provided Mario Lemieux with the 2^nd line center and all-around player that was needed to propel the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup in 1991.  Francis had 11 points in 14 games but had also 17 points in the playoffs with 7 goals.  I wonder how he felt to go from a mediocre team to the best team in the NHL. It killed me but for the only time in my life, I rooted for Pittsburgh during this time because of my admiration for Francis.  The Whalers would get worse each year, miss the playoffs for 5 years and then move to North Carolina.  More on that in a bit.

In 91-92 Francis had an average regular season by his standards with 21 goals and 54 points but when the playoff started, he showed what a leader he was.  In the first round against the NY Rangers the Penguins were down 2-1 and Adam Graves slashed Mario Lemieux with a viscious chop that to me was very dirty that put Lemieux on the Shelf for a few weeks. So what happened was Ron Francis stepped his game up to his level he had when he was younger in Hartford. He dominated the Rangers series and scored an OT game winner which topped off a hat trick to tie the series at 2.   Francis showed his leadership at his best in this series because he knew that with no Lemieux in the rest of the game, he would have to fill the void.  The Penguins would sweep both the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks to win their 2^nd consecutive Stanley Cup. Francis for good measure scored the Cup Winning goal in one of my favorite stadiums Chicago Stadium.  Mario Lemieux won the Conn Smythe as he came back and was unstoppable but Francis had an excellent playoff with 8 goals and 27 points in 21 games.  

For the rest of his time in Pittsburgh, Francis would top 100 points 2 times with a career high of 119 in 95-96.  Francis had 92 assists that season which was one of the 9^th most in NHL history.  Francis also won the Selke Award in 1995 for the best defensive forward the league and the Lady Byng in 1995 as well as the most gentlemanly player in the league. 

After the 97-98 season Francis went home sort of. He went back to his original franchise that is now the Carolina Hurricanes. Francis became captain again like he should have been always (Thanks Eddie Johnson for being a fool) and helped get the Hurricanes on the map.  Francis led the Canes to their first ever playoff birth there and helped them become consistent, something they never were in Harford. He would get his 20 goals and about 65 to 70 points per season topping out at 77 in 2001-2002. The 2002 playoff were a dream for an upstart franchise. They went on to beat the Devils, Canadiens and Maple Leafs for the first playoff series wins in Franchise history.  Led by Francis, Rod Brind’Amour, Erik Cole and Jeff O’Neil, the Canes had some great moments.  The Series vs. the Canadiens had some really memorable games. In game 4 with Montreal up 2-1 and leading 3-0 the Canes came back with goals from Sean Hill, Bates Battaglia and Eric Cole in the last minute before winning in overtime with a goal from Nic Wallin of all people. The Leafs series was also memorable. 2 more ot wins, one from Nic Wallin and then on a great pass from Ron Francis, Jeff O’Neil scored in ot after he was hit in the face with a puck earlier in the game. It was so gutsy from what I remember.

In the finals the Canes were overmatched by the Detroit Red Wings but did put up somewhat of a fight. Francis scored the game winner at Joe Louis arena in game 0 on a nice tip in front over Dominik Hasek.  The series was tied at 1 going back to Carolina when an epic game happened. The Canes were up 2-1 late when Brett Hull scored to tie it at 2.  In overtime the goalies were great for both teams Arturs Irbe and D Hasek stopped everything. Finally in the 3^rd OT, Igor Larinov scored a goal top shelf on a backhanders to break Caniacnation (including my own at 3 am approx.) heart. The Wings won 4-1.  This however was successful on what was accomplished by a team that so little was expected of and Francis led them. Francis had a couple of more seasons and then slowed down at age 40.  At the end of his last year, he was traded to the Maple Leafs and had 10 points in 12 games. In the playoffs he struggled and had only 4 pts in 12 games.  After this he decided to retire and had nothing to be ashamed about.

Francis has accomplished a lot with scoring 549 Goals, 1249 Assists for 1798 points in 1731 games.  Francis is the 4^th leading scorer of all-time and the 2^nd leading player with assists.  He scored 20 goals or more 20 times in his career and had more than 70 points 16 times yet he played in only 4 all-star games (83, 85, 90 and 96) in 23 years. Are you kidding me 4? Talk about being overlooked in your career.  Ron Francis is a class act on and off the ice.  Thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

 

 

Ron Francis NHL Statistics

Denver Broncos 51 Dallas Cowboys 48 and Epic Game

Denver 51 Dallas 48 A Game for the Ages

 

I have followed the NFL since 1979 when I was a kid and there have been some really wild games that I have enjoyed. Sunday when the Denver Broncos outlasted the Cowboys 51-48 was one of them.  This game had everything except very little defense.  Tony Romo had the most passing yards in Dallas Cowboys history.  He was 25-36 for 506 yards and 5 TD and 1 Int Peyton Manning was fantastic as well 33-42 for 414 yards 4 TD, 1 Int and a rushing TD for the first time since 2008. 920 total passing yards is like playing a video game.  This game only featured 1 punt by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2^nd quarter. It is unheard of even in the post 2003 era of the NFL when the pass interference and illegal contact rules become more strictly enforced. You can’t basically even sneeze on the WR without a pass interference being called. I love the NFL but hate this part of it. It cheapens the game in my opinion.  As a good friend of mine would say, it’s the arena league at times.

The Cowboys came out flying taking the opening kickoff and scoring on a nice 11 play 79 yard drive.  Romo came out firing the ball all over the place and looked very comfortable doing so. He used Jason Whitten and Terrance Williams to have set the Cowboys up in scoring position. Dez Bryant finished off the drive with a nice catch in the back of the end zone to give them the lead 7-0,

After a fumble by Eric Decker on a nice strip by E Sims the Cowboys pounced again.  Using the run and the passes to Jason Witten Romo set up Demarco Murray with a 4 yard TD to give Dallas a 14-0 lead. The Dallas offense would be basically unstoppable all day long for the most part.

Down 14-0 Peyton Manning did not panic as he lead the Broncos on a 3 play 80 yard drive to get the Broncos back to 14-7.  Even though Decker fumbled earlier, Manning still had confidence in him and he hit Decker on a big play of 57 yards to the Dallas 4 yard line. On the scoring play, Manning hit Julius Thomas with a little shuffle pass that seemed to surprise the Cowboys defense. Thomas would go on to catch 9 passes for 122 yards and was a force to be reckoned with the whole game. Thomas in his 3^rd season and before this year was mainly hurt. Manning has made good use of him and he is playing the Dallas Clark role that was so deadly in Indianapolis in the mid-2000s.

Dallas came right back with another good drive to get a FG to make it 17-7.  Romo mixed his passes up by hitting Witten with more passes of the middle and some nice runs including a 9 yard run by Murray.  After reaching the Denver 8 yard line, the first big play of the game for the Broncos defense was a sack by Shaun Phillips that Romo lost 17 yards on and forcing the FG.

The Broncos would take advantage of the good fortune of Dallas only getting a FG. Manning used some nice runs and receptions by Knowshon Moreno. Ever since Moreno came back last year when Willis McGahee got hurt, he has been a different player. He runs with a mean streak. He might not be the fastest in the world but he knows how to be fundamentally sound, not dance around like when he was younger and seems to always get positive yardage. Moreno plays the Joseph Addai/Edegerrin James part quite well in the Manning offense.  Moreno finished the day with 19 carries for 93 yards and a TD. He also caught 5 passes for 57 yards.  Him along with Ronnie Hillman who caught 4 passes for 42 yards always keep the defense honest. You can’t just focus on Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker.  The RBs are a nice weapon and Julius Thomas just rounds out all the options that Manning has.  Julius Thomas caught passes of 16 and 5 yards and then caught a 9 yard slant to finish the drive off.  This made the score 17-14

On the next possession Romo hit Dez Bryant for a 12 yard gain that turned out to be a big play in the game because as Bryant was going upfield, D Ihenacho forced a fumble that the Broncos recovered.  Giving Manning fantastic field position at the Dallas 41 yard line is a recipe for disaster for a Defense, especially in 2013.  The key player on this drive was Julius Thomas once again.  Thomas caught 3 passes for 30 yards and a nice 9 yard TD to make it 21-17 Denver. They scored two touchdowns in less than 4 minutes of play. The quick strike offense is very difficult for any defense to handle. The amazing part at this point of the game is the Broncos basically only had used Eric Decker for the WR. Wes Welker and D Thomas were mainly decoys.  This would change later on in the game but the WR here have proven to be unselfish as Manning is going to throw the ball to the open player and not force to keep a WR happy.

In the next possession the rarest thing happened. The Broncos stopped Dallas and they actually had to punt.  Malik Jackson sacked Romo as this is the big play of the drive.  This turned out to be the only punt during this wild and crazy game. Denver took over at their own 36 yard line and with a nice run by Knowshawn Moreno for 15 yards and 10 yards the Broncos were on the Dallas one yard line. The next play was the most surprising play of the game. Manning faked to Moreno and then did a naked bootleg wide around left end for a TD. This even faked out the CBS cameras as they did not catch it right away. As I wanted this, I was shocked that Manning could pull of a play that he has not done in years.  This takes to the smarts of Manning.  He is prepared for just about anything a defense can throw at him.  This TD put Denver ahead 28-17.

The Cowboys would not go away easily as Romo made some fantastic plays to get the Cowboys to 28-20 at halftime.  The big play was a 30 yard pass to Terrance Williams to get to the Denver 30 yard line with about 2 seconds left in the half. Dan Bailey hit the 48 yard FG as time expired in the half.

Denver took the 2^nd half kickoff and left off right where they were in the first half.  By mixing runs by Moreno and the first big pass play to Demaryius Thomas of 27 yards, the Broncos were in business at the Dallas 36 yard line.  Another short pass over the middle to D Thomas led Denver inside the 20 yard line. A couple of runs and short passes to Moreno and Hillman led Denver to the 2 yard line. Manning then hit Wes Welker with a TD pass to get the lead to 35-20. Welker who had been very productive with the NE Patriots, usually did not catch more than 6-9 TD passes per season. Well this season in 5 games he has 7 TD catches and seemingly will set a career high of TD receptions.

The next drive proved why the Cowboys and Tony Romo were going to fight this game to the very end.  I had been so impressed with Dallas at this point on how Romo had used Witten, Bryant and Williams.  After a short run by D Murray, Romo went deep to Terrance Williams for about a pass that was 40 yards in the air.  The Broncos defensive back then missed the tackle which led to Williams eventually scoring on an 82 yard TD reception.  The lead was cut to 35-27.

On the following possession by the Broncos, Manning led them again with his precision passing. The big play was a 29 yard throw to J Thomas to get the Broncos in Dallas Territory. Another short pass to R Hillman that went for 19 yards that eventually led to a Matt Prater 48 yard FG that stretched the lead to 38-27 from what we learned earlier in this game, do not count the Cowboys out on this date.  The big plays in the drive were throws to Dez Bryant for 27 yards and pass to C Beasley of 23 yards.  Romo through his 4^th TD of the day to Bryant to make it 38-33. Dallas went for a 2 point conversion and did not get it.

Once Manning got the ball you thought it may be a nice long drive to extend the lead. This was not the case. Manning underthrew a pass to Decker on the left sideline on a deep route and M Claiborne picked him off to set up in great field position at the Dallas 49 yard line.  At the start of the 4^th quarter the Cowboys were primed to take the lead back.  A couple of nice throws to Witten for 15 and 16 yards set up Dallas in prime position. Witten would have a fantastic game catching 7 passes for 121 yards and a TD. Witten has been so consistent over the years and Romo always looks for him in any tough situation when he needs a 3^rd down conversion.  Terrence Williams caught a 10 yard TD and a 2 pt. conversion to give the Cowboys a 41-38 lead.

After the Cowboys took the lead, Manning went back to work. He used some short passes to Knowshawn Moreno and then finally used Welker with a nice 13 yard completion.  After a short pass to Decker to get the ball to the Dallas 37 yard line, the drive stalled. Matt Prater hit a 50 yard FG to tie the game at 41. When I was watching this, I would not remember the last time I saw an NFL game that had it tied at 41.  This was unbelievable at how good both quarterbacks played. It was pure artistry in my opinion.

Romo took over and just as the game seemed like it was going he led them down the field to take the lead 48-41. After a couple of short passes it seemed like Dallas was stalling and with a 3^rd and 6 at their 17, Romo hit Bryant with a laser for 79 yards to go all the way to the Bronco 4 yard line.  Bryant was dominant with 6 catches for 121 yards and 2 TD. The next play Romo hit C Beasley with a 4 yard TD.

Manning got the ball back with 7:19 left to try to tie the game.  Manning was still very patient using his running backs both Moreno and Hillman with some short passes to move the ball to midfield.  Wes Welker who did not have a big game came up with a nice catch of 14 yards to move to the Dallas 36 yard line.  Welker did catch 5 passes for 49 yards and a TD.  Next were passes to Damaryius Thomas for 26 yards and then a pass to Welker to move it to the 1 yard line.  Knowshawn Moreno then scored a 1 yard TD to tie the game at 48.  This was so unbelievable on how each defense had no answers for the other team’s offense.

Dallas took the ball with 2:39 left in the game. The first play Romo got sacked by S Phillips which was a huge play.  The next play Romo was under huge pressure and LB D Trevathan made a diving interception at Dallas 24 yard line.  I hate when people call Romo a choker. He is not a choker. This was a nice defensive play to set up Denver in prime position to win.

Manning took over and then hit D Thomas for 13 yards to the Dallas 11 yard line.  Then hit him again for 8 yards to the 2 yard line. Denver then had 3^rd and 1 with 1:35 left. Moreno got the 1 yard and Dallas used their last time out.  I had a discussion with a good friend of mine and he said that they should let Denver score a TD with that amount of time left to give Romo a chance. As it turned out Manning kneeled down 3 times before Matt Prater hit a 28 yard FG to win the game 51-48. 

As a long time Bronco fan I was on the edge of my seat in this exciting game.  I gained such a large amount of respect for the Cowboys and Romo after this game. The hung with the best offense in the NFL and no one else has even come close this season.  The Cowboys are clearly the best team in the NFC East and should run away with it as the Giants and Redskins have struggled and Philly has been okay and it tied with Dallas.

I wonder if we will see a game as wild and exciting this year. This was truly and epic game and reminded me a lot of the 1982 playoff game between the Dolphins and Chargers which SD won 41-38 in OT.  Thank you all for taking the time for reading the blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.