I touched on this last week but as if to further confirm that the Raiders are an organization that does it the "wrong way". This story came out after the game. A quick summary, when Kyle Boller came into the game Sunday, the Raiders threw a couple of times. Obvious questions arose about why they did that cause, well, Darren McFadden was having his way with the Jaguars (more specifically Sean Considine) and a run seemed like the more prudent thing to do (cause it's, you know, Kyle Boller). Like all play calling, it's great if it works, it was wrong if it doesn't, hindsight bias, etc. When Tom Cable, Raiders head coach, was asked about it, he said “I don’t know. That is not for me to decide right now.” Hue Jackson, meet bus. While that's bad, its not exactly the problem.
Jack Del Rio has probably at some point thrown his offensive or, less likely his defensive coordinator to the dogs (less likely cause Del Rio's domain is defense and he can't ever really skirt the blame for their failure). He, though has control over who his guys are, and while Del Rio has his own coach issues, most notably the revolving door that are his assistants. He's in charge and is ultimately accountable and responsible for Dirk Koetter's performance. For the Raiders, they have a particularly odd management strategy, one that. as far as I know is unique in the NFL to them. The owner highers the head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator. The coordinators have control over their particular units while the head coach is a kind of figure head. Now Cable and Jackson claim to have laughed about this particular incident and who knows maybe they did, but this type of conflict is inevitable when you have one guy who keeps his job based on one metric (wins) and another guy who has a significant amount of control over those outcomes. If they disagree,which they will, things get nasty. This is all speculation although if Jackson leaves after the season, especially if he leaves for a lower profile job, we'll have a clue.
Ultimately, owners have enough trouble bringing in one right person, the head coach. The process of hiring three people while also juggling how personally compatible they are as well as their football philosophies, is an order of magnitude more complicated. The Cowboys did a similar thing a few years ago, hiring Jason Garrett to be offensive coordinator, before they hired Wade Phillips. That combo won zero playoff games.
While I don't think it's true in all aspects of business or life, in football, I think its especially important to have singular points of authority. For players, quarterbacks tend to assume this role. It is part of the reason why teams are so much more adamant in declaring who their starting QB is. They want to make him into a credible leader. For teams generally, a head coach's authority has to be absolute. It is his vision, philosophy and ability to convince others to follow and execute his strategy that is ultimately being evaluated. By taking away his authority to hire his top assistants, the owner undermines the coach. Al Davis and Jerry Jones effectively have neutered coaches. Wayne Weaver, conversely, has clearly delegated responsibility. Presumably, this is why Gene Smith has the "conn" (am I doing that right?) and Del Rio's role is so well defined. He is responsible for getting the most out of the 53 that Gene Smith gives him.
Final thought, it's worth pondering why do Jerry Jones and Al Davis do this? The most likely answer is essentially ego. Think about how much more strongly Jones and Davis are associated on a national level with the Cowboys and Raiders than Weaver is with the Jaguars. Think about who the faces of each of these franchises are. For the 'Boys and Raiders, it's their owners. For the Jags, it's probably MJD (God bless him). If any of these teams won the Super Bowl, the credit would largely go to the person most highly associated with those teams. While Robert Kraft is well respected, the credit for the Patriot's success this decade largely falls to Belichick and Brady. Outside of Daniel Snyder, I doubt anyone dabbles in football decisions as much as Jones and Davis. I also don't think it's a coincidence that they're the two owners who've had the most football success on the field. Paradoxically, this means that as a fan, you are better off having someone like Weaver or Kraft, who essentially are nothing more than fans with lots of money, than a guy who has had moderate on-field success. Go figure.
-Q
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Really Quick thoughts on jags game
Final today so these are my super quick observations.
1) If you switched the head coaches from yesterdays game, I think Oakland wins. Jags fans love to complain about Del Rio but it could be a lot worse.
2) I think the Jags might lose if Rolando McClain, Oakland's first round pick, was there yesterday. He was injured and there seemed to be a huge drop off in talent.
Fortunately, neither of those things matter and the Jags are now 8-5.
-Q
1) If you switched the head coaches from yesterdays game, I think Oakland wins. Jags fans love to complain about Del Rio but it could be a lot worse.
2) I think the Jags might lose if Rolando McClain, Oakland's first round pick, was there yesterday. He was injured and there seemed to be a huge drop off in talent.
Fortunately, neither of those things matter and the Jags are now 8-5.
-Q
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Crazy ol' man comes to town
Two posts, one week. I'm on fire.
I don't really like the Raiders. I'm only a fan of the Jags but there tend to be teams I respect and like to see do well. These are teams I believe do it "the right way." They draft well, develop players, are prudent in free agency, and take bold moves to prune their roster when the time comes. They tend to have strong identities and stick with a coach for a while. The three that immediately jump to mind are the Steelers, Giants and Eagles (If I was a more objective person than I am, I'd throw the Titans in there too but screw them. I hope they give Vince Young 100 bazillion dollars for the next 40 years). They've all won enough to be relevant and respectable but haven't quite reached the point of insufferability (spell check says that's not a word. I completely refudiate that notion spell check.)
On the other side of my NFL morality spectrum (note: not real morality but morality within the reality of the NFL. In walking-around-real life, I frown upon rapists and puppy kickers) are those teams whom I think have a fundamental flaw in how they operate. They may spend recklessly, fire coaches too quickly, or have owners who are overly invested in football decisions. See Redskins, Washington and Cowboys, Dallas. I tend to enjoy watching those flaws manifest themselves in their style of play and generally they fit my expectations, losing or flaming out. I enjoy rooting against these teams because they so constantly reaffirm what I already believe, confirming my expectations about the "right" way to run an NFL team. Players do this too. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre have been especially good in recent years about fulfilling expectations. Everyone fits nicely into the little NFL machine I've built in my head.
Well, the Raiders had an expectation and they were doing an amazing job of doing exactly the same thing everyone expected them to do. They were hiring awful, awful head coaches (See Art Shell, Lane Kiffin or Tom Cable). Raider draft predictions were the best. You'd find the guy with the top 40 time and they would reach for em' (See Fabian Washington and Darius Heyward-Bey). Even if they got the right guy, like Darren McFadden, they would let them wither away. While I still think they're wasting him, things may be a changing. I don't know if Al Davis died and is now a robot, thus allowing personnel people to modernize (at least from the 70's to the 90's) or what but somehow they haven't been quite as dumb recently. At last years draft, they got a guy who was reportedly really high on the Jags board, Rolando McClain, as well as their normal athletic freak, Bruce Cambell. Thing is, normally they'd draft Cambell two or three rounds too early, and who knows, maybe no one would have drafted him until the 7th, but getting him in the 4th seems like a reasonable risk. They've also been hitting on a picks recently, not at a crazy rate, but enough that they're keeping their heads above water. They got Louis Murphy in the 4th in 2009, Mario Henderson, Zach Miller and Michael Bush in 2007. I'm sure there are more but long paragraph short, the Raiders aren't meeting those expectations. Now they're 6-6, the Jags are only one game better, and the Raiders do a lot of things I really admire.
Stupidly, I posted a while back how I thought the Jags would finish out the season. Well, being the crotchety, pessimistic fart that I am, they've exceeded expectations. Which, is fine by me, cause no one remembers predictions generally, and literally no one remembers predictions posted in this space. This game, along with Washington and Cleveland, which the Jags really, really should have lost, were the only wins I predicted.
If there is such a thing as a trap game, this is it. Jags have visions of division titles dancing in their heads, and although technically they can't clinch, if they win this week and next, they'll have done the heavy lifting. I always feel like when a team spends the week talking about how their not looking ahead, that's a problem. Not that they can't win but its only natural. This Raiders team also just dismantled a Chargers team that manhandled the Jaguars in week 2. I think Del Rio is still coaching for his job. He knows if they collapse and don't make the playoffs, he's out. Also, this team has pretty consistently played well when a let down could have been predicted, such as in the Buffalo game or last week in Tennessee. I don't have a great feel for this week but I think the Jags are going to give a top effort the rest of the way.
Some final thoughts:
I don't really like the Raiders. I'm only a fan of the Jags but there tend to be teams I respect and like to see do well. These are teams I believe do it "the right way." They draft well, develop players, are prudent in free agency, and take bold moves to prune their roster when the time comes. They tend to have strong identities and stick with a coach for a while. The three that immediately jump to mind are the Steelers, Giants and Eagles (If I was a more objective person than I am, I'd throw the Titans in there too but screw them. I hope they give Vince Young 100 bazillion dollars for the next 40 years). They've all won enough to be relevant and respectable but haven't quite reached the point of insufferability (spell check says that's not a word. I completely refudiate that notion spell check.)
On the other side of my NFL morality spectrum (note: not real morality but morality within the reality of the NFL. In walking-around-real life, I frown upon rapists and puppy kickers) are those teams whom I think have a fundamental flaw in how they operate. They may spend recklessly, fire coaches too quickly, or have owners who are overly invested in football decisions. See Redskins, Washington and Cowboys, Dallas. I tend to enjoy watching those flaws manifest themselves in their style of play and generally they fit my expectations, losing or flaming out. I enjoy rooting against these teams because they so constantly reaffirm what I already believe, confirming my expectations about the "right" way to run an NFL team. Players do this too. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre have been especially good in recent years about fulfilling expectations. Everyone fits nicely into the little NFL machine I've built in my head.
Well, the Raiders had an expectation and they were doing an amazing job of doing exactly the same thing everyone expected them to do. They were hiring awful, awful head coaches (See Art Shell, Lane Kiffin or Tom Cable). Raider draft predictions were the best. You'd find the guy with the top 40 time and they would reach for em' (See Fabian Washington and Darius Heyward-Bey). Even if they got the right guy, like Darren McFadden, they would let them wither away. While I still think they're wasting him, things may be a changing. I don't know if Al Davis died and is now a robot, thus allowing personnel people to modernize (at least from the 70's to the 90's) or what but somehow they haven't been quite as dumb recently. At last years draft, they got a guy who was reportedly really high on the Jags board, Rolando McClain, as well as their normal athletic freak, Bruce Cambell. Thing is, normally they'd draft Cambell two or three rounds too early, and who knows, maybe no one would have drafted him until the 7th, but getting him in the 4th seems like a reasonable risk. They've also been hitting on a picks recently, not at a crazy rate, but enough that they're keeping their heads above water. They got Louis Murphy in the 4th in 2009, Mario Henderson, Zach Miller and Michael Bush in 2007. I'm sure there are more but long paragraph short, the Raiders aren't meeting those expectations. Now they're 6-6, the Jags are only one game better, and the Raiders do a lot of things I really admire.
Stupidly, I posted a while back how I thought the Jags would finish out the season. Well, being the crotchety, pessimistic fart that I am, they've exceeded expectations. Which, is fine by me, cause no one remembers predictions generally, and literally no one remembers predictions posted in this space. This game, along with Washington and Cleveland, which the Jags really, really should have lost, were the only wins I predicted.
If there is such a thing as a trap game, this is it. Jags have visions of division titles dancing in their heads, and although technically they can't clinch, if they win this week and next, they'll have done the heavy lifting. I always feel like when a team spends the week talking about how their not looking ahead, that's a problem. Not that they can't win but its only natural. This Raiders team also just dismantled a Chargers team that manhandled the Jaguars in week 2. I think Del Rio is still coaching for his job. He knows if they collapse and don't make the playoffs, he's out. Also, this team has pretty consistently played well when a let down could have been predicted, such as in the Buffalo game or last week in Tennessee. I don't have a great feel for this week but I think the Jags are going to give a top effort the rest of the way.
Some final thoughts:
- I've been following this column that puts out a prediction for NFL games each week. For the first time since it started (in week 4), the Jags are predicted to win. Unfortunately, as the Jags have won many a game since week 4, it has been horrible at predicting Jags games. I'd guess its been equally unreliable for the Raiders. It also only gave them a 7% chance last week and they beat the pants off the Chargers. For the first time this season, I'm hoping its right.
- A few updates on the LA situation as it relates to the Chargers. I think Jags fans should really root for the Chargers or Raiders to move to LA, as opposed to Minnesota. The NFL wouldn't rush to refill the San Diego or Oakland market the way they would want to put another franchise in Minnesota if they figured out the stadium situation. And to anyone who thinks fans in these cities shouldn't root for some other team to fill the LA void, this is a zero sum game and somebody is going to go there. HT to Myles for the LA times article
- There's been some talk about whether MJD is the best back in the league. I'm going to try and do a little rhetorical exercise next week on why that may or may not be the case. If he lays an egg this weekend, that could have an effect.
I think I should actually want Tennessee to lose tonight for Jags playoff chances but after last week, they're cooked. That said, if they could squeeze out a victory against the Colts, I'd take it. So...gulp...Go Titans!
-Q
Monday, December 6, 2010
It's been a while...
...well its been a while since I've posted (Thanksgiving, laziness, job that pays, yada, yada)
...but it's also been a while since the Jaguars have been leading a division this late in the season (since 1999 and that was the AFC Central).
Some thoughts...
Jags dominated. I honestly can't remember the last time the Jags were able to impose their will on a team the way they did in the first half of the game. First thing that pops to mind is when the Jags ran all over the Colts in 2006. I was elated afterwards. They were 8-5. Unfortunately, the Jags somehow lost three straight to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs. The Colts won the Super Bowl. I'd say there have been better seasons to be Jags fans.
Judging by yesterday, I have to think Jeff Fisher wants out of Tennessee and I can't blame him. Why stay around and deal with Vince Young and ol' Bud Adams? Go somewhere else, collect your cool 7 million, or god knows how much he'll get paid, and leave the AFC South (please, please leave the AFC South). He'll probably end up going to Houston, which is actually pretty terrifying. The idea of the Titans offseason being smothered in turmoil is pretty enticing to me. I truly hope Adams is given a significant amount of sway over who their next head coach is. And why shouldn't he? It's his team, he's 87, do something awesome like hire Wade Phillips, or coach the team yourself, Bud. You know more than these young whippersnappers. That's why the Titan's have Vince Young. Otherwise, they would have done something silly like draft D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Wouldn't want any Pro Bowl offensive lineman? (OK, so that's probably not fair. They probably would have drafted Matt Leinart or something. But this is the Titans and I prefer to direct as much of my irrationality at them as I can).
Off Tennessee, and back to yesterday's game...
Everyone get off of Scobee's back. Yes, he technically missed two field goals. The blocked one wasn't his fault. Seriously. I don't know a ton about field goal protection but when the guy breaks through the middle of the line and is three yards behind the center, it's not the kicker's fault. Vic didn't help this by saying it was a low kick, which was probably true, but 48 yard field goals have to be kicked low, and when a guy is standing in the backfield it doesn't really matter. Jags are lucky the ball still got across the line of scrimmage. The second field goal was from 49 yards. Not a chip shot and it hit the post. One more inch and he's not bizarrely responsible for almost letting the Titans back into it.
I thought the play calling was really interesting. Obviously they were confident they could run the ball but after all the play calling criticism last week, which focused generally on needing more running, I wonder if there was a little "you want run, you get run" aspect to this. Dirk Koetter really is a quality offensive coordinator. I'll make a mini-prediction. Gene Smith gets him a few more weapons on offense. He becomes a head coach again, either in college or the NFL. I really like it though that a guy who is "a passing guy" can run the ball when that's what his personnel calls for, which really was the case yesterday. I didn't think about it before the game but really there was no other choice but to run the ball. Garrard's wrist is hurt. He didn't show too many effects and he was still able to throw the ball but I think they wanted to limit his exposure to being sacked. Also, Mike Sims-Walker was out. We can mix it up pretty well without him, and Zach Miller is looking like quite the fine football player, but Sims-Walker makes plays no one else at this point is going to make. Unfortunately, I think he's a guy who needs to be close to 100% healthy to be effective. It'll be interesting to see if they bring him back next year, or what kind of market there is for him. With him out and Garrard's wrist I think the emphasis (seems like too small a word when your 12 play opening drive features 11 runs) on running was inevitable. That said, I didn't see it coming.
The Jags have played better in the first half of their last two games than they did in the second half. This means fans potentially get to read two things ad nauseum 1) The Jags lack killer instinct. and 2) The coaching staff isn't making the right adjustments (or something to that effect). These things could be true but most likely they are not. I personally don't think there is anything such as killer instinct. Is it possible the Jags weren't as focused for the second half as they were to start the game? Potentially but that's human nature. More likely, the Titan's started out flat. They were embarrassed (as they should be) and they committed to a better effort in the second half. While it would be nice if the Jags could take their game to a higher level (Note: It would always be nice if the Jags could take their game to a higher level), truth is, it's much more likely the Titans were going to come out and play closer to their ability level, which I'd say is approximately the same as the Jags. The difference between these two teams is one is dealing with a lot of off the field crap (Where are Vince Young's shoulder pads?) while the Jags are fairly stable. With the Giants, they also came out and played at about their ability level in the 2nd half last week. Unfortunately, that ability level is probably a category above the Jaguars, and thus we couldn't hang on. As for "adjustments", NFL locker rooms are kinda crazy, yeah coaches probably have a moment to think things over but you don't put in 120 hour work weeks to mix it up on the fly in 15 minutes.
Some perspective, at least four times this season this team has been absolutely dominated. After losing their best defensive player, their biggest issue suddenly is letting teams creep back into the game. What Jaguars fan wouldn't have taken this trade a month ago? Fans should keep demanding their team gets better. We're insatiable. We always want more. This season has been a sweet ride though. The Jags control their own destiny and do so in a way that seems much more legitimate than at this point a year ago, when they did so for the wild card. Putting a more secure hold on professional football in Jacksonville seems possible (Two more non-blackouts please). We have Gene Smith. Jags fans are lucky. We should appreciate these moments.
Finally, a quick thought on Del Rio. To be honest, I was done with this guy. I think most Jags fans were. We were frustrated and even if, like me, you thought he was an average coach, you wanted better than average. Well, he deserves some credit. He's probably had subpar talent for a number of years. He taken a lot of abuse. People questioning him about college jobs in the parking lot and all kinds of other silliness. He deserves an apology. If they collapse this year I think he still probably gets fired but assuming they don't and he doesn't, Jags fans should be happy. They've got a guy who captains the ship much better than a lot of more heralded guys do. Also, I really like the style he aspires to (and I'm not talking about the suits). He always gets back to "run the ball, stop the run" and while it probably leaves us fighting the current of the NFL, I think its a style that Jacksonville can really embrace. Our teal color doesn't lend itself to toughness but his style does. I'm glad we can kick some ass.
-Q
...but it's also been a while since the Jaguars have been leading a division this late in the season (since 1999 and that was the AFC Central).
Some thoughts...
Jags dominated. I honestly can't remember the last time the Jags were able to impose their will on a team the way they did in the first half of the game. First thing that pops to mind is when the Jags ran all over the Colts in 2006. I was elated afterwards. They were 8-5. Unfortunately, the Jags somehow lost three straight to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs. The Colts won the Super Bowl. I'd say there have been better seasons to be Jags fans.
Judging by yesterday, I have to think Jeff Fisher wants out of Tennessee and I can't blame him. Why stay around and deal with Vince Young and ol' Bud Adams? Go somewhere else, collect your cool 7 million, or god knows how much he'll get paid, and leave the AFC South (please, please leave the AFC South). He'll probably end up going to Houston, which is actually pretty terrifying. The idea of the Titans offseason being smothered in turmoil is pretty enticing to me. I truly hope Adams is given a significant amount of sway over who their next head coach is. And why shouldn't he? It's his team, he's 87, do something awesome like hire Wade Phillips, or coach the team yourself, Bud. You know more than these young whippersnappers. That's why the Titan's have Vince Young. Otherwise, they would have done something silly like draft D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Wouldn't want any Pro Bowl offensive lineman? (OK, so that's probably not fair. They probably would have drafted Matt Leinart or something. But this is the Titans and I prefer to direct as much of my irrationality at them as I can).
Off Tennessee, and back to yesterday's game...
Everyone get off of Scobee's back. Yes, he technically missed two field goals. The blocked one wasn't his fault. Seriously. I don't know a ton about field goal protection but when the guy breaks through the middle of the line and is three yards behind the center, it's not the kicker's fault. Vic didn't help this by saying it was a low kick, which was probably true, but 48 yard field goals have to be kicked low, and when a guy is standing in the backfield it doesn't really matter. Jags are lucky the ball still got across the line of scrimmage. The second field goal was from 49 yards. Not a chip shot and it hit the post. One more inch and he's not bizarrely responsible for almost letting the Titans back into it.
I thought the play calling was really interesting. Obviously they were confident they could run the ball but after all the play calling criticism last week, which focused generally on needing more running, I wonder if there was a little "you want run, you get run" aspect to this. Dirk Koetter really is a quality offensive coordinator. I'll make a mini-prediction. Gene Smith gets him a few more weapons on offense. He becomes a head coach again, either in college or the NFL. I really like it though that a guy who is "a passing guy" can run the ball when that's what his personnel calls for, which really was the case yesterday. I didn't think about it before the game but really there was no other choice but to run the ball. Garrard's wrist is hurt. He didn't show too many effects and he was still able to throw the ball but I think they wanted to limit his exposure to being sacked. Also, Mike Sims-Walker was out. We can mix it up pretty well without him, and Zach Miller is looking like quite the fine football player, but Sims-Walker makes plays no one else at this point is going to make. Unfortunately, I think he's a guy who needs to be close to 100% healthy to be effective. It'll be interesting to see if they bring him back next year, or what kind of market there is for him. With him out and Garrard's wrist I think the emphasis (seems like too small a word when your 12 play opening drive features 11 runs) on running was inevitable. That said, I didn't see it coming.
The Jags have played better in the first half of their last two games than they did in the second half. This means fans potentially get to read two things ad nauseum 1) The Jags lack killer instinct. and 2) The coaching staff isn't making the right adjustments (or something to that effect). These things could be true but most likely they are not. I personally don't think there is anything such as killer instinct. Is it possible the Jags weren't as focused for the second half as they were to start the game? Potentially but that's human nature. More likely, the Titan's started out flat. They were embarrassed (as they should be) and they committed to a better effort in the second half. While it would be nice if the Jags could take their game to a higher level (Note: It would always be nice if the Jags could take their game to a higher level), truth is, it's much more likely the Titans were going to come out and play closer to their ability level, which I'd say is approximately the same as the Jags. The difference between these two teams is one is dealing with a lot of off the field crap (Where are Vince Young's shoulder pads?) while the Jags are fairly stable. With the Giants, they also came out and played at about their ability level in the 2nd half last week. Unfortunately, that ability level is probably a category above the Jaguars, and thus we couldn't hang on. As for "adjustments", NFL locker rooms are kinda crazy, yeah coaches probably have a moment to think things over but you don't put in 120 hour work weeks to mix it up on the fly in 15 minutes.
Some perspective, at least four times this season this team has been absolutely dominated. After losing their best defensive player, their biggest issue suddenly is letting teams creep back into the game. What Jaguars fan wouldn't have taken this trade a month ago? Fans should keep demanding their team gets better. We're insatiable. We always want more. This season has been a sweet ride though. The Jags control their own destiny and do so in a way that seems much more legitimate than at this point a year ago, when they did so for the wild card. Putting a more secure hold on professional football in Jacksonville seems possible (Two more non-blackouts please). We have Gene Smith. Jags fans are lucky. We should appreciate these moments.
Finally, a quick thought on Del Rio. To be honest, I was done with this guy. I think most Jags fans were. We were frustrated and even if, like me, you thought he was an average coach, you wanted better than average. Well, he deserves some credit. He's probably had subpar talent for a number of years. He taken a lot of abuse. People questioning him about college jobs in the parking lot and all kinds of other silliness. He deserves an apology. If they collapse this year I think he still probably gets fired but assuming they don't and he doesn't, Jags fans should be happy. They've got a guy who captains the ship much better than a lot of more heralded guys do. Also, I really like the style he aspires to (and I'm not talking about the suits). He always gets back to "run the ball, stop the run" and while it probably leaves us fighting the current of the NFL, I think its a style that Jacksonville can really embrace. Our teal color doesn't lend itself to toughness but his style does. I'm glad we can kick some ass.
-Q
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)