Month: January 2017

Much of the praise or criticism of NFL coaches relates to play-calling and game management. But arguably a coach’s most important job is to manage people. Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn each have a different leadership technique.

It’s extremely difficult to judge coaches. The majority of a coach’s work takes place off screen, away from the public view, and in many cases before a football is even snapped in anger. The one tangible thing we get to judge with coaches is their decision-making during those moments when the camera zooms in as they read their call sheets and the announcers hush and wait to agree with whatever they decide to do.

Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady are four of the NFL’s best quarterbacks right now, but is this the best crew to ever play on conference championship weekend?

The most concerning Quinn decision in recent memory came last season. Down 17-13 to the 49ers and facing a fourth-and-1 on the San Francisco 4-yard line with three minutes to go, Quinn bizarrely chose to kick a field goal and try to regain possession instead of attempting to convert for a first down against one of the league’s worst defenses. His Falcons never got the ball back and lost.

Quinn suggested after the game that he thought his defense was capable of forcing a three-and-out to return the ball to his offense, but even if he had the ’85 Bears, the numbers were strongly in favor of going for it. NumberFire suggested Quinn’s decision reduced Atlanta’s win expectancy by 37.3 percent even after the field goal was made, dropping them from a 50.7 percent favorite to a 13.4 percent underdog.

Youth Lance McCullers Jersey A lot of teams (read: all of them) claim to have the best fans in the NFL. “Best” being a superlative, we know that this can’t actually be true, so to get to the bottom of the lies, Emory University studied fan behavior (using math!) to determine which NFL teams actually had the most engaged and passionate fans.

Emory used 15 years worth of data on attendance, prices and revenues and compared it to team performance, median incomes and other normalizing factors. You can read Emory’s full methodology here. The most important thing is the conclusion: The Dallas Cowboys have the best fans in football.

Behind the Cowboys were a few usual suspects. In order, the New England Patriots, New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens have the long history, large followings and recent success that ought to create passionate fan bases. The first real surprise is perhaps the New York Jets having the fifth-best fan base despite their recent struggles. History is kinder to them, however, and certainly being in the New York City market helps.

Washington owner Dan Snyder mounted a stalwart defense of the name, vowing to never change it. He may have to strongly reconsider that position now. He could face pressure from the NFL’s 31 other franchises, who may also take a financial hit due to the league’s revenue sharing system.

Elite Brian Urlacher Jersey According to the Washington Post, Washington’s lawyers assessed the team’s value at $2.4 billion in August 2014, with $214 million tied to brand management.

Snyder could still appeal to a higher court. Given his proclivity to fight, this seems like a likely outcome. Washington may still have a chance to win its trademark back, too. Washington lost its trademark in a 1999 decision, only to win it back in District Court.

The Blackhorse team has already moved past that step, however, so there’s no question that it has scored a significant victory.

The leadership of Dwyane Wade, who finished with 17 points in Tuesday night’s loss to the Mavericks, hasn’t been enough to help the Bulls overcome their inconsistencies this season.

Authentic Youth Karl Mecklenburg Jersey “If I had that [answer], I wouldn’t be here,” Wade said. “I’d be a very rich man. If I could tell teams what they need to do, I’d just be traveling the world telling people what they need to do, getting paid a lot of money.”

Putting aside for a moment that Wade signed a two-year deal worth almost $50 million over the summer and has earned over $150 million in his playing career, the future Hall of Famer’s answer is similar to that of many others within the organization. While he remains outwardly confident that his teammates will turn things around, the results from the first half of the season tell a different story.

He said that while the fan behavior in China can be crazy, it’s still a far cry from the fervor exhibited by basketball die-hards in Europe. And that might be a good thing.

Mens Glen Davis Jersey Akognon said that when he played for famed Serbian club Partizan, the team once had to take a circuitous 30-minute bus ride from the hotel to the arena across the street because the scene was too hectic to simply walk over to the venue.

“It’s night and day between Europe and China,” Akognon said. “China is like the NBA. People come to watch the game and get a little bit rowdy. But in Europe, it is really their lives.”

“It lets you know how LeBron and Kobe feel all the time,” Akognon said. “You get a taste of the type of life they have, which is very stressful if that happens all the time.”

Season summary: A year after the Chiefs broke an eight-game playoff losing streak, they cleared another franchise barrier in 2016 by winning their first AFC West championship since 2010. The road was often difficult for the Chiefs, who started the season 2-2 with an often unproductive offense and hit bottom with a 43-14 loss to the Steelers in Week 4.

But, as coach Andy Reid’s teams often do, the Chiefs found themselves after their early season bye and finished by winning 10 of their last 12 games to end the regular season at 12-4. The Chiefs swept their AFC West rivals for the first time since 1995, and the two wins against the Raiders, who also finished 12-4, were crucial because they determined the division winner.
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J’Marcus Webb Mens Jersey While Dolphins S Louis Delmas and Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin suffered major knee injuries in Wednesday’s joint workout, another Panthers receiver got off a little easier. According to the team website, rookie Devin Funchess “tweaked” a hamstring and is expected to miss a few days of practice.

Funchess was a second-round pick out of Michigan, where he battled injuries for much of his three-year career. In his final season, he caught three touchdown passes in the first half of the Wolverines’ revenge win over Appalachian State, and only scored once more all year.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera was happy with the effort that starting C Ryan Kalil and RG Trai Turner showed in their drills against Miami’s new star, DT Ndamukong Suh.

Hell, that’s what the game is all about in my opinion! You don’t dominate people just to turn around and walk back to the huddle. You dominate them so the world can see that you are one serious badass and better than the other guy, at least for that one play.

But here’s the thing about most young players: they’re usually so focused on being perfect and doing everything exactly like the coaches tell them to that even when they make plays, they don’t end up celebrating. That isn’t out of some old-school mentality; it’s mostly because between concentrating so hard trying to make sure they don’t fuck up and actually making a play, they simply forget to celebrate afterward. Once you actually get comfortable with what you’re supposed to be doing and how you’re supposed to be doing it, that’s when the emotions come out and maybe you do a lil’ dance or something to let ’em know after the play.

Over the weekend, James Harrison made the news when he correctley made his 6 and 8 year old sons give back there student-athlete participaton trophies as a way of teaching them a life lesson about nothing being handed to you. I agree with James that this generaton of milleneals is being coddled from the get-go. Nowdays you get a certificate just for being born. Sorry if that makes me old fahsioned but I’m actually not sorry. But even worse then the kids these days, is this generaton of parents is out there giving Harrison a “great job” sticker just because he’s not screwing his kids up, and treating him like a American hero for just being a decent parent.

Ill tell you this much: if I catch my kid getting a particpaton trophy first thing I’m doing is taking him to the trophy store. Tell him, “Hell son, if you like trophys so much why dont you take the whole bunch of them.” Make him stand up there in front of God and everyone accepting each and every trophy in the store until he’s physically ill.

Putting what Terrelle Pryor accomplished in making the transition from NFL quarterback to 1,000-yard receiver requires going back to the American Football League.

Pryor, though, is well aware.

“Marlin Briscoe,” he blared when it was brought to his attention what a rare feat he had accomplished. (Pryor is a bit of an NFL historian.)

Authentic Kids Kyle Fuller Jersey Briscoe played quarterback for the AFL’s Denver Broncos in 1968. He moved to receiver the next season. Hines Ward and Antwan Randle-El, both former Pittsburgh Steelers, moved from playing quarterback in college to receiver in the pros. But neither started their careers as a quarterback.

This is the first season-opening game in NFL history in which both starting QBs have previously won multiple Super Bowls — Roethlisberger has two rings (Super Bowls 40 and 43) while Brady has four rings (Super Bowls 36, 38, 39 and 49). Brady will also be making his 14th consecutive opening-game start, the fourth-longest streak all-time by a quarterback. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only Brett Favre (15), John Elway (16) and Dan Marino (16) have longer streaks.

Authentic Kids Latrell Sprewell Jersey Although the Patriots have their franchise quarterback back under center, this is not the same New England team that celebrated a Super Bowl title last February. The Pats’ secondary has been decimated by the losses of three cornerbacks (Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington). It will be nearly impossible to replace Revis, who graded out as a top-5 corner in each of the last two seasons, per Pro Football Focus.

Ahmad Bradshaw is back with the Indianapolis Colts, 11 months after his 2014 season was ended by a broken leg.

Limited Womens Nellie Fox Jersey According to Colts owner Jim Irsay, Bradshaw signed a contract on Wednesday to rejoin the team where he has spent the last two seasons. He only played three games in 2013 because of a neck injury and was limited to 10 last year, but has given the team strong production when he’s healthy. In his 13 games, he has gained 611 yards at 4.7 yards a carry, and scored four times.

Bradshaw signed a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

He’s also a good receiver out of the backfield, leading all running backs last season with six touchdown receptions despite his injury. However, that was a bit fluky, as he had only caught three touchdown passes in the first seven years of his career.

“I get it when they chant for Johnny,” McCown said, via The MMQB. “You know why? They want to win. They want a spark. Give us a win! Make us feel good!”

McCown was signed in the offseason to be the team’s starting quarterback, and while that was met with little fanfare, he’s playing far better than anybody expected of him.

Authentic Bryan Little Jersey “This is my 14th year professionally, 13th year in the NFL,” McCown said. “I played in the UFL, for crying out loud.”

McCown’s career has taken him to the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, the UFL’s Hartford Colonials, the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now the Browns. He’s shown flashes of strong play in the past, but with a career completion percentage of 59.5, 67 touchdowns and 60 interceptions, nothing like this was expected.

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Bradley Sowell Authentic Jersey ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be nervous. That is normal,¡± Manning said. ¡°It means you care and you want to do well. Just try to be relaxed and calm and well prepared and let your training take over.¡±

Wide receiver Victor Cruz felt much of the same when he made his playoff debut against the Atlanta Falcons following the 2011 regular season.

¡°My first playoff game, I remember being extremely nervous and not knowing what to expect,¡± he said. ¡°I had the luxury of playing my first playoff game right here at home, so that made it a little bit easier. I still remember being nervous and kind of having the jitters. Once that ball is kicked off and you start playing some football, you¡¯re good to go.¡±

In an injury-plagued season, Thomas Rawls has averaged just 3.20 yards per carry, down from 5.65 in 2015.

And the Seahawks have been unable to find a durable back who can give them consistent production in the post-Marshawn Lynch era. Seattle had 18 players notch at least one carry during the regular season.

The Seahawks can’t do much about the first two factors. Wilson isn’t going to suddenly get healthy, and the offensive line remains a question mark. But Carroll is hoping Thomas Rawls can find his footing after what has been a frustrating season for the running back.

“He had a really nasty injury. He comes back two weeks into the season and breaks his leg in a different place,” Carroll said. “Different situation. It wasn¡¯t the same injury at all. And he had to endure all of that again coming back. It couldn¡¯t have been more disruptive for him. He had high hopes, he made a great recovery to get back, and then here he goes again. His resilience has been there. He¡¯s ready to go.”

Rawls ran 109 times for 349 yards during the regular season (3.20 yards per carry) and averaged 1.51 yards after contact. As a rookie in 2015, he led the NFL by averaging 5.65 yards per carry and 2.68 yards after contact.

Stewart was hoping to spark his team and the crowd in a tense, highly-charged atmosphere. Instead, it was the Jackets who surged. Johnson, who had an outstanding all-around game, and Atkinson scored 15 seconds apart to build the lead to 3-0.

¡°I¡¯ve seen Stewart fight a bunch and he¡¯s put some guys down,¡± Jackets winger Scott Hartnell said. ¡°A lot of credit to Andy for stepping up there. It really got the bench going.¡±

The intensity and effort both teams put into trying to preserve their streaks was evident to everyone in the building. The Wild kept pushing to get back into the game, but Bobrovsky made a handful of huge stops, including a pair on Zach Parise, to stifle any thoughts of a rally.

Are Dayton Moore and Ned Yost going to ride off into the sunset?
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Dayton Moore and Ned Yost have contracts through 2018, but Yost has hinted he may not want to go through another rebuild and may retire after the 2017 season. His departure would leave a void in the dugout, although there may be several in-house candidates to keep things running on an even keel.

Game Kids Tom Brady Jersey A bigger potential loss would be if Dayton Moore decided he did not want to go through a rebuild in Kansas City. There have been hints at a clash between ownership and management over payroll that could hasten Moore¡¯s departure. Moore may have critics among Royals fans, but the chances of the Glass family hiring some cutting-edge, hotshot analytics General Manager candidate as his replacement seems unlikely. Perhaps Assistant General Manager J.J. Picollo could take over without missing a beat.

The Patriots got the ball to start the third quarter and marched down the field, but a couple of long pass plays got overturned on review stalling the drive. Stephen Gostowski knocked in his second field goal of the night to make it 20-6 in favor of New England.

Houston got its first big break of the night when Martin muffed a punt, giving the Texans the ball back at the 21-yard line. However, they failed to take advantage of the turnover and missed the fourth down conversion, turning it over on downs. The Texans’ offense then gave the Patriots yet another short field when Hoyer got strip-sacked inside his own red zone.

Three things we learned
1. Welcome back, Gronk. Gronkowski ended up missing just one game, and it could’ve been a lot worse after the way he went down in Week 12. Although he played a limited number of snaps and caught just four passes, Gronkowski made the most of his reps, turning those catches into 86 yards and a touchdown while looking like the same Gronk we know and love. Assuming he has no setbacks with the knee, he should go back to being the focal point of New England’s offense.

2. Houston’s offense has no answers when DeAndre Hopkins is contained. Logan Ryan did an excellent job shutting down Hopkins, who was held to just three catches for 52 yards and had just one catch at halftime. Without him involved, Hoyer and the offense looked completely lost. Hoyer finished with just 155 yards on 11-of-22 passing, averaging 7 yards per attempt and taking five sacks before leaving the game for a concussion evaluation.

3. The Patriots are back on top in the AFC. The Patriots had everything go their way on Sunday before they even kicked off, with the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos suffering losses. That puts New England back in line for homefield advantage in the AFC, and Sunday night’s win gives it a one-game lead over both Denver and Cincinnati. With their remaining games coming against the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, there’s little reason to think the Patriots will relinquish that spot again.