This was the only move the Bears could make. With a new GM inbound and Lovie a lame duck.......what OC in their right mind would take that job? Plus, Tice will run a variation of the Martz system to keep Cutler from having to learn his 5th offense in 6 years. A new OC brings in his own and it is back to square one. Cutler is gonna be the 'OC'. Tice will be nothing more than the OC title holder. Tice will still be mainly focused on fixing the O-Line.
Patriots to hire Josh McDaniels(will coach in the playoffs and becomes OC next year). Chiefs expected to keep Crennel as HC
I want to see what happens with Miami/Jacksonville. IMO, both teams played harder with the new interim HC's but that could've been fluke (as did the Chiefs vs. GB, and played a good defensive game vs. Broncos)
Dallas' OL coach Hudson Houck is retiring and will be replaced by the Jets' Bill Callahan. OC Brian Schottenheimer will also not return to New York and they are expected to replace him with former Dolphins HC Tony Sparano. Dallas hiring Jerome Henderson as DBs coach
They did initially. Between '01 and '05, they drafted Wayne, Diem, Freeney, Clark, Mathis, Sanders and Scott plus a slew of average-to-good contributors. But since... this is what happens when you put back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back bad drafts together - it quietly accumulates and then hits you all at once. It happened to the Texans in '05 - it always catches up to you. Polian drafted 4 starters and no additional significant contributors between '06-'10. Even picking near the end of rounds, that's absolutely horrible. So when your core either gets old or hurt, boom. What's interesting - if you chart the Patriot drafts over the same period... they could be in some trouble, too. They've had good drafts these past two years - but mainly because of Gronk and Hernandez. Otherwise, they're not replenishing talent at a seemingly acceptable rate. They could be headed for a Colt-like fall. Especially if Brady were to get hurt.
Agreed - the Patriots feel like they've been on a talent tailspin for a while. Their defense just keeps getting worse and they can't develop any semblance of a running game. It seems like Brady + an O-Line + 1 or 2 great receivers every year keeps them afloat and doing phenomenally well.
Its one of two things... 1. The Patriots have lost so much personnel in management that they aren't as good at evaluating talent. Or... 2. The Patriots, as usual, are ahead of the curve and have accurately forcasted an emerging era of NFL football where defense is less important, running backs are less important (something they never emphasized), and offense reigns supreme. Specifically, an athletic and diversified group of guys that can pass-catch and block. I think its a little of both. But IMO, they're only a few guys on defense away from being a monster again, whereas the Colts are in a black hole.
Maybe - but they've been getting their asses kicked in the playoffs these last several years. So their no-defense, no-balance strategy hasn't really worked out so well past the regular season.
I'd think that if this were their model, they'd be trading away picks, not accumulating a score of them (which they're using on mostly ineffective players who haven't made much of a difference.) Given the # of picks they've had the past three years, their batting average is Mendoza-like. I disagree; they finished 31st against the pass despite playing against only 3 QBs that finished among the top 10 in QBR (a 4th, Rivers, finished 11th). They faced off against the likes of Sanchez (twice), Fitzpatrick (twice), Henne, Jason Campbell, Palko, Baby Vince, Orlovsky, Grossman, Moore plus Tebow. And they managed a 31st ranking? They were 17th against the run and only faced 2 teams ranked among the top 10 in rushing (Miami was 11th). That defense is terrible.
Like the Packers, their defense is better than their stats. I'm not saying their defense isn't weak, since they are so desperate for bodies that they have thrown multiple WRs onto defense this year, but they are better than the stats show. The most important defensive statistic is points allowed, and the Pats were 15th.
That was 5 years ago, and their defense that year was fantastic. They had the #4 scoring defense in the NFL that year.
I think their defense benefits a lot from their offense putting so much pressure on other teams that they make mistakes. The NE defense this year is great at forcing turnovers, and their offense rarely turns the ball over, keeping the defense out of difficult short field situations. But breaking down their defense every other way and its terrible. They are basically near the bottom of the league in many ways: total yards, passing yards per attempt, rushing yards per attempt, 3rd down conversion %, etc. Without forcing turnovers, they can't seem to stop very many people.
I agree its ultimately the most important, telling statistic - but you have to factor in their opponents, six of which were among the 12 lowest-scoring teams in football. In fact, they only faced 3 top 10 scoring offenses. As Major noted, they've routinely been incredibly effective at forcing turnovers, and for that, they deserve a degree of credit. No shame in a bend-don't-break defense. But their other statistics suggest they're a nose-hair away from being a devestatingly bad defense.
But the Texans weren't "a few guys away" - they were an All-Pro CB, a ROY candidate DE, major position changes for three established starters, including two Pro Bowlers, and the hiring of an esteemed defensive coordinator who brought in a completely new defenseive system away. They made significant offseason changes (including the signing of Manning, the drafting of Reed...) to go along with a roster that included a slew of 1s and 2s (Williams, Barwin, Ryans, Cushing, Jackson. In fact, 8 of their starters were taken in rounds 1 or 2.).
Here is a link for the Colts firing. http://news.yahoo.com/colts-fire-coach-jim-caldwell-195017558--spt.html
