Why Not One Week Later: The Mike Singletary Debate

After initially responding to Mike Singletary's brand of leadership and motivation, it was easy to see he'd lost his team early on this season. He'd taken them as far as he could...but the job of head coach is one he really wasn't qualified to be in or so it seemed.

As much as I wanted to see Singletary and Alex Smith to succeed this season, they both did everything possible to prove that I was only hoping things would get better. However letting him go before the final game is pretty classless as an organization in my personal opinion. I can see firing a head coach if you still had a few games left and you wanted to see how one of the coordinators would do, but with only one game left, what are you really gaining? This really didn't make any sense. Why not let him coach one last meaningless game and then calling him in and telling him how you feel would have been the classy thing to do. I think it just shows that this team is a far cry from the classiest organization in the league title that they used to wear.

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NFL Week 8: The Week Of The Young Quarterback

Week 8 of the NFL season is the week before the official midpoint in the season. Yeah I know that there are 16 games in a season but there are 17 weeks in the NFL season because of the bye week. I had more than my share of football so far this season and it has been better than I ever expected.

I know I am guilty sometimes of blogging about the top tiered teams a lot in this league, but I respect what some of the surprise teams are doing so far this season. Although my Cowboys are out of the picture, the surprise teams out there just keep gaining momentum.

You have to love what teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are doing. They aren’t winning any one particular way, they do it with defense one week, offense the next, and some weeks their special teams dominate. They aren’t filling up the statistical columns with useless statistics; they are just filling up the win column with wins. Not to mention young quarterback Josh Freeman is holding up his end of leading the offense as he continues to impress.

Who would have ever thought that the Rams and the Raiders would have .500 records at 4 – 4 this late in the season? The surprises this season keep getting better and better. The silver and black are playing well and the Rams have found a way to win more games this year than they have the past two combined. It doesn't hurt that they appeared to have struck gold with rookie quarterback Sam Bradford.

Let’s not forget about the 5 – 2 Chiefs who are just good enough to find ways to win over the teams they play regardless of the talent level. The Chiefs haven’t changed personnel much this year but they did make two big changes to their offense and defense. They got smart and hired Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weiss. They didn’t fare to well apart but they have won a ton of games when they work together. Some people are born to be together. Weiss has lifted young Matt Cassell into relevance once again.

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Is It Time To Give Troy Smith and Colt McCoy A Chance To Start

OK here is the situation, your team is 0 – 5. You were predicted to win the NFC West. You still legitimately have a chance since your division is all over the place without a clear cut leader. You only trail the rest of the division by 3 games. Your owner even goes out of his way on Monday to text Adam Schefter with a message saying “We will win the division.” He is trying to provide a spark. Your team needs a spark. Newsflash: “DAVID CARR IS NOT A SPARK”!

Yeah I know that Mike Singletary has already gone on record saying that he is standing in support of Alex Smith, but maybe now is the time for the 49ers to give Troy Smith his chance at leading the team. One thing about Troy Smith is he’s a winner. He won in high school, he won in college and when given a chance in the preseason he won games then as well. He was a victim of his own success as he got tonsillitis right before the home opener in Baltimore and he never got a chance to lead the team he was so destined to lead.

Well I am a firm believer in being in the right place at the right time and I think this might just be Troy Smith’s destiny. I think the football Gods are yelling at Mike Singletary and telling him “You idiot, I sent you the savior and you still insist on trying to do it your way.” Really, what do they have to lose? The division is lousy so any change will be welcomed and any spark can lead your team to a better record. What’s not to like about Mr. Troy Smith?

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Will The Quarterback Position Ever Be Color Blind In The NFL

When I glance across the NFL, one thing is for sure, there aren’t that many persons of color starting at quarterback. It didn’t really dawn on me until someone brought it to my attention that in a league that is made up of the best athletes on the planet, so few people of color play the most dominant position on the field. His point was that the most athletic and exciting college quarterbacks end up playing another position in the NFL.

Let’s take a look at the numbers of quarterbacks of color in the NFL

• 2 out of 16 in the NFC are starters, Donovan McNabb and Josh Freeman
• 4 out of 16 in the AFC are starters, Mark Sanchez, David Garrard, Jason Campbell and Vince Young

The problem is that NFL general managers and owners do not like to take chances on quarterbacks who don’t fit the traditional profile. I’ll give credit where credit is due; some teams like the Titans/Oilers have had Warren Moon, Steve McNair, and now Vince Young. Also the Vikings drafted Daunte Culpepper to replace Randall Cunningham, and later took a chance drafting Tarvaris Jackson. Philadelphia gets credit as well for drafting both Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb while offering a home to Michael Vick during his troubles. For the most part NFL GMs shy away from the athletic quarterback unless they are drafting them to play another position or to run gimmick plays or the “Wildcat”.

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Why Winning the Heisman Does Not Equal Success in the NFL

Every year we watch college football with the excitement and intrigue of a 12 year old who is finding their way into adulthood. Year after year we watch player by player get decorated with awards that many feel they deserve. Funny thing is very few players live up to the hype when they reach the NFL. Let’s take the last few Heisman winners that have finished their college careers and see how successful they have been on the next level.

2007 Tim Tebow – Third String QB Verdict still out

2006 Troy Smith – Third String QB cut recently by Ravens

2005 Reggie Bush – Backup overpaid RB never will play to potential

2004 Matt Leinart – Career backup QB cut recently by Cardinals

2003 Jason White – Undrafted No Longer in NFL

2002 Carson Palmer – Has had a couple of good seasons but average career

2001 Eric Crouch – Moved to Safety No longer in NFL

2000 Chris Weinke – Backup QB No longer in NFL

1999 Ron Dayne – Backup RB No longer in NFL

This list says a lot. It is amazing that only one out of all these players have been successful. College football is a game that displays a certain amount of irony. The offenses that the college teams run are all flavorful and full of variety and there is coaching that allows individuals to do things that garner recognition. The Pro game is dictated more towards skill. The offenses are all pretty much the same since the game recycles coaches over and over but that is a topic for another day.

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