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D6 · 01-06-2014, 06:37 PM

Quote:Chargers vs. Seattle in the SB - Clash of the NC State QB's.

I'm pulling for the Chargers as well.

Another subplot of this potential Super Bowl matchup is both teams were AFC West Division Rivals for 25 seasons.

Geen · 01-06-2014, 06:38 PM

Quote:Another subplot of this potential Super Bowl matchup is both teams were AFC West Division Rivals for 25 seasons.

It's the matchup I want to see. Of all the teams left in the playoffs, those are the 2 I don't really have any beef with.

60% of the time, It works Everytime...

D6 · 01-06-2014, 06:42 PM

Quote:It's the matchup I want to see. Of all the teams left in the playoffs, those are the 2 I don't really have any beef with.

Of the 4 teams remaining in the AFC playoffs, San Diego seems to be the only one that could realistically contain Seattle's balanced Offense. The other 3 teams would basically need a track meet type of game against the Seahawks, which would be difficult to accomplish considering the quality and depth of the Seahawks Defensive Unit.

jagherd · 01-07-2014, 08:52 AM

Quote:jagherd, as someone who follows the Bengals closely each week, I'm interested in getting your input on the following 3 questions:

1) Regarding yesterday's playoff game loss to the Chargers, how much blame do you the loss on the following : Andy Dalton, the rest of the Bengals Offense, and Jay Gruden?

2) What is your opinion of Jay Gruden as a Head Coach candidate?

3 ) What is your opinion of Mike Zimmer as a Head Coach candidate?

I give the Chargers at least a 50-50 chance to win in Denver this coming Sunday. The Chargers road win at Denver last month wasn't a fluke.

Having said that, I'm definitely roooting for the Broncos. For no other reason other than wanting Ken Whisenhunt to become available to be hired as Lions HC following that game, if he's the choice of GM Martin Mayhew. I'm concerned that the Chargers could win this game AND then win on the road at New England or Indianapolis. San Diego looks like the most complete team remaining in the AFC playoffs.

Hey D6. First, I'm thinking the Chargers are still being overlooked as a true competitor for the SB. They've been on a serious roll (ironically, the last team to beat them was Cincinnati back in early December). Rivers is a tough competitor. The Broncos game will be tough, though.

1. Dalton really struggled in the 2nd half, without a doubt. But, the O-Line (which has been solid all season) leaked like a sieve all game. Plus, when Dalton was obviously struggling, Gruden/coaching could've taken a lot of pressure off him by running the ball more, and calling short passing plays. Bengals seemed like they were running the ball very effectively when they tried, but coaching stayed away from it a lot during Dalton's struggles,, idk why.

2. Jay Gruden had been criticized by many Bengals fans for the last half of the season. He seems to get "gimmicky" frequently, and dials up a lot of deep passing stuff when the running game/short passing game is working terrifically. He might make a good HC, but I'm not too sure.

3. Zimmer: that guy has consistently produced a top defense for the last few years. Their secondary has definitely not been elite, and they have sustained key injuries (Geno Atkins, Leon Hall were huge losses). But, Zimmer consistently had them playing very well. He seems to be an awesome motivator, and pretty smart with schemes/plays on the defensive side. I'd bet he'd be a really good HC.

~~The Mad Dog~~ · 01-07-2014, 09:02 AM

Quote:Hey D6. First, I'm thinking the Chargers are still being overlooked as a true competitor for the SB. They've been on a serious roll (ironically, the last team to beat them was Cincinnati back in early December). Rivers is a tough competitor. The Broncos game will be tough, though.

Mike McCoy has done a heckuva job in his first year as head coach.

Every one of my top 5 HC candidates from last offseason that took head coaching jobs in the NFL this past season did very well.

1. Reid

2. C. Kelly

5. McCoy

all at least made the NFL playoffs.

3. O Brien

4. B. Kelly

stayed in college last season, but now O Brien gets hired by the Texans and will probably be playoff bound soon.

Knowledge.

B)

jagherd · 01-07-2014, 12:35 PM

Quote:Mike McCoy has done a heckuva job in his first year as head coach.

Every one of my top 5 HC candidates from last offseason that took head coaching jobs in the NFL this past season did very well.

1. Reid

2. C. Kelly

5. McCoy

all at least made the NFL playoffs.

3. O Brien

4. B. Kelly

stayed in college last season, but now O Brien gets hired by the Texans and will probably be playoff bound soon.

Knowledge.

B)

I agree with you about McCoy, TMD. He's done a heck of a job. San Diego has been in "playoff mode" for over a month. One loss for them in that span would've knocked them out.

D6 · 01-07-2014, 06:33 PM

Quote:Hey D6. First, I'm thinking the Chargers are still being overlooked as a true competitor for the SB. They've been on a serious roll (ironically, the last team to beat them was Cincinnati back in early December). Rivers is a tough competitor. The Broncos game will be tough, though.

1. Dalton really struggled in the 2nd half, without a doubt. But, the O-Line (which has been solid all season) leaked like a sieve all game. Plus, when Dalton was obviously struggling, Gruden/coaching could've taken a lot of pressure off him by running the ball more, and calling short passing plays. Bengals seemed like they were running the ball very effectively when they tried, but coaching stayed away from it a lot during Dalton's struggles,, idk why.

2. Jay Gruden had been criticized by many Bengals fans for the last half of the season. He seems to get "gimmicky" frequently, and dials up a lot of deep passing stuff when the running game/short passing game is working terrifically. He might make a good HC, but I'm not too sure.

3. Zimmer: that guy has consistently produced a top defense for the last few years. Their secondary has definitely not been elite, and they have sustained key injuries (Geno Atkins, Leon Hall were huge losses). But, Zimmer consistently had them playing very well. He seems to be an awesome motivator, and pretty smart with schemes/plays on the defensive side. I'd bet he'd be a really good HC.

jagherd, thanks for your input.

One of the especially interesting facets to the upcoming San Diego-Denver is both coaching staffs and players are very familiar with each other.    Execution more than anything will likely decide the outcome.    This shapes up as a close game that could easily come down to the final drive or even go into OT.

Related to what you expressed, reportedly Jay Gruden pushed for the Bengals to draft Andy Dalton, when others in the organization wanted to go in another direction:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/201...ed-dalton/

While I try not to let one game influence my line of thinking too much,   admittedly the Chargers convincing win over the Bengals has me more concerned about Jay Gruden as a Head Coach candidate than I was prior to the game.    What you mentioned occuring over a long period of time reinforces my concern.   Gruden is scheduled to be interviewed by Tennessee,   Washington, and Minnesota in consecutive days.   The Lions reportedly expressed interest for an interview with Gruden but it remains to be seen if that will transpire.   i'm starting to hope that it doesn't.

To Mike Zimmer's credit, the Bengals would have been in position to win the game if the Bengals Offense protected the ball better,   even taking the Bengals Offensive playcalling questionable decisions out of the equation.   Viewing Zimmer from an outside fan perspective, I'm impressed that he's had success with more than one team as a Defensive Coordinator and like you expressed did a good job overcoming injuries to key players.

Zimmer would probably be a very good fit for the Lions from a Defensive perspective because the Bengals and Lions have similar type of Defensive Lineman.    The comparison inside with Geno Atkins and Ndamukong Suh comes to mind.   Both are quick and strong,   Very disruptive.   On the outside,  both teams have multiple DE's with long wingspan and athletism.    The key question with Zimmer is what would his plan be for the Offensive Side of the ball and specifically in terms of refinement at the QB position?     At the very least, Zimmer has earned more interviews,

MightyRx · 01-07-2014, 07:02 PM

Quote: jagherd, thanks for your input.

One of the especially interesting facets to the upcoming San Diego-Denver is both coaching staffs and players are very familiar with each other. Execution more than anything will likely decide the outcome. This shapes up as a close game that could easily come down to the final drive or even go into OT.

Related to what you expressed, reportedly Jay Gruden pushed for the Bengals to draft Andy Dalton, when others in the organization wanted to go in another direction:

<a class="bbc_url" href='http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/07/report-mike-brown-liked-kaepernick-jay-gruden-wanted-dalton/'>http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/07/report-mike-brown-liked-kaepernick-jay-gruden-wanted-dalton/</a>

While I try not to let one game influence my line of thinking too much, admittedly the Chargers convincing win over the Bengals has me more concerned about Jay Gruden as a Head Coach candidate than I was prior to the game. What you mentioned occuring over a long period of time reinforces my concern. Gruden is scheduled to be interviewed by Tennessee, Washington, and Minnesota in consecutive days. The Lions reportedly expressed interest for an interview with Gruden but it remains to be seen if that will transpire. i'm starting to hope that it doesn't.

To Mike Zimmer's credit, the Bengals would have been in position to win the game if the Bengals Offense protected the ball better, even taking the Bengals Offensive playcalling questionable decisions out of the equation. Viewing Zimmer from an outside fan perspective, I'm impressed that he's had success with more than one team as a Defensive Coordinator and like you expressed did a good job overcoming injuries to key players.

Zimmer would probably be a very good fit for the Lions from a Defensive perspective because the Bengals and Lions have similar type of Defensive Lineman. The comparison inside with Geno Atkins and Ndamukong Suh comes to mind. Both are quick and strong, Very disruptive. On the outside, both teams have multiple DE's with long wingspan and athletism. The key question with Zimmer is what would his plan be for the Offensive Side of the ball and specifically in terms of refinement at the QB position? At the very least, Zimmer has earned more interviews,

D6, I believe Norv Turner would be able to "tame" Stafford down and get him to consistently play at an elite level.

As an OC of course.

He stinks as a HC

Making up

Evidence

Depending on

Information

Available

D6 · 01-07-2014, 11:01 PM

Quote:D6, I believe Norv Turner would be able to "tame" Stafford down and get him to consistently play at an elite level.

As an OC of course.

He stinks as a HC

MightyRx, providing that the Lions new Head Coach is on a similar wave length as Norv Turner would be,   I strongly agree with you that Turner would be a great choice as the Lions new Offensive Coordinator.

With many Offensive Coordinator jobs opening up recently,   including the positions with the Giants and Dolphins, chances are more than one team will aggressively attempt to land Turner.

One additional thought for now about one of Turner's former teams, the Chargers. If as expected Ken Whisenhunt is an NFL Head Coach in 2014,  my guess is Chargers QB Coach Frank Reich will be promoted to the Offensive Coordinator position.   If that doesn't happen, it's realistically possible Reich will end up on Whisenhunt's staff.