so, far the raiders reached out and got jack del rio, an experienced nfl coach, the best move the raiders could make. del rio is one of the best out there.

I'm surprised Rex didn't get a sniff in Chicago. He has some Ditka-like personality.

What I will never understand is firing a guy & then taking a shot in the dark on an unknown. I get that SF brass thought Harbaugh was an a-hole. But you have to improve with your next hire. I think his replacement's main qualification was that he wasn't named Jim Harbaugh. If I was a Niners fan, I'd be very upset. [/quote] I Totally agree Goombah wat the hell r they thinking

As a Bills fan super stoked about Rex for better or worse Buffalo hasn't had a guy like this in a while Pegula doing something Ralph Wilson was to cheap to do and wdnt Pay GOOD COACHES TO COME

How is it that some teams such as the Steelers (which has had just 3 head coaches in 45 years) can achieve such success with little coaching changes, yet teams such as the Bills, and Cowboys, and Miami haven't? What is it? Is it the front office and ownership? For example, has Jerry Jones retarded the potential of the Cowboys?

I am from outside of Pittsburgh but am a huge Dolphins fan. YES, the front office and the constant changes in GM, VP of Operations, President of a team affects everything. When a new GM comes in, a new coach usually does with his own staff. The players that are on the current roster were most likely drafted for a specific skill set on offense and defense, so when a philosophy changes, so do the results. The Rooney's, Bob Kraft in New England and Green Bay are typically competitive year in and year out..Why? Because they are not constantly firing people and staying true to their philosophy.

I am from outside of Pittsburgh but am a huge Dolphins fan. YES, the front office and the constant changes in GM, VP of Operations, President of a team affects everything. When a new GM comes in, a new coach usually does with his own staff. The players that are on the current roster were most likely drafted for a specific skill set on offense and defense, so when a philosophy changes, so do the results. The Rooney's, Bob Kraft in New England, Indy and Green Bay are typically competitive year in and year out..Why? Because they are not constantly firing people and staying true to their philosophy.

It is a QB driven league and Pittsburgh, New England and Green Bay have been fortunate to have Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Big Ben, Peyton, Andrew Luck and Tom Brady. Think about it.

In Buffalo, there has been no good successor to Jim Kelly. In Miami, we haven't found a QB until Tannehill came on board (who is the best porospect that we've ever had) and I believe they are on the rise with some depth on OL and some new LB's, and in Dallas, Jerry Jones is a lunatic who thinks he's a good GM.

That's been a problem for many organizations. Usually there is a considerable period of wandering in the proverbial desert waiting for th next QB. Beside Buffalo, I would argue that Miami still hasn't found a consistent successor since Marino retired. The Browns have been in QB hell since 1993 when Kosar was unceremonously released. Pittsburgh was mediocre at best from Bradshaw to their current QB. The Raiders went about 20 years between Plunkett and Gannon. And I would argue that the Jets are still working on finding Joe Namath's replacement, 40 years later.

The two exceptions that come to mind are in Indy going from Manning to Luck and when SF went from Montana to Steve Young. That type of good fortune happens once or twice in a generation.

Or from Favre to Rodgers. And I agree with you about Miami, but I will say as a fan that Tannehill has been our best prospect and has given the fans hope. They still need a few pieces, but they easily could have been 11-5 if they didn't lose in the final seconds to GB, DET and Denver...which they dominated the entire game until the closing minutes/seconds. They are on the rise "if" Tannehill continues getting better. He posted career highs with over 4000 yards passing, 27 TD's and 67% completion rate.

Good call on Favre to Rodgers. Not sure how I overlooked that one.

Tannehill shows flashes. I hear some criticism about his consistency, but those are some good numbers. Hopefully you guys have found someone after a "short" 14 yrs after Dan the Man.

good to see someone agrees with me on jerry jones, the record speaks for itself, since he took over as GM what 17 yrs ago? with the exception of this year they have gone nowhere.

and they have no replacement for romo who is getting older and soon, won't be able to absorb those big hits anymore. yes, im sure that jerry jones after taking over as GM has ruined the cowboys.

next year will tell if romo is ever going to take them all the way, I don't see them going anywhere.

My prayers have been answered. Fewell is gone and Steve Spagnuolo is back as D-Coordinator. Gilbride was gone last year and Fewell this year. There is hope in G-land!

The Patriots are even favored in early betting.

the hawks got lucky, they had to pull out a miracle today, 4 intereceptions, I fumble lost, the hawks got a break by recovering their on side kick, and winning the toss in overtime.

they can't play new England and expect to win giving the over 5 times, they are good, but, they lucked out today, new England has never looked better than they did today.

the super bowl is going to be a toss up.

I agree with your assessment, but would add the following. Indy was one dimensional and NE exposed that weakness. Seattle played like garbage for 58 minutes & still won. Psychologically that gives them an edge IMO. If Wilson plays even halfway decent in the SB, they should win with that defense. I would love to be wrong but this could be another dominating Seattle performance.

In my opinion the Packers were the better team and Seattle just got a streak of luck toward the end. The rest of their game sucked. I expect the fukkin Patriots to embarras Seattle in the SB.

all in all goombah is right, the seahawks played horrible, and when you get an on side kick, and win the toss, you are lucky.

bigboy... I keep remembering that this is the patriots 8th super bowl, seattles 2nd, brady has a running game now, but if seattle comes alive on their defense, it should be a great game.

I still say its a toss-up.

Sunday's Seattle game was a lot like Seattle's regular season - in mid-November, they were 6-4, three games behind the Cardinals in the NFC West and out of the playoff picture.

What a difference two months makes.

goombah, what's this talk about the new England patriots footballs being deflated during the game, is this just pure media BS, or is their anything to this?

Not sure. With Belichick any accusation of cheating will get some media play. The fact that the NFL is investigating it gives the accusation a bit of credence.

The only thing from Sunday that I saw deflated was the Green Bay sideline...

This is Seattle's 3rd Super Bowl, as they went to one with Mike Holmgren and Matt Hasselbeck. I agree, GB dominated most of the game, but as Seattle demonstrated, they have resilience and mental toughness to turn it on with 2:09 left in regulation. Keep in mind that Seattle beat GB during the regular season by 20 points. No matter who you play, it's always tough to play the same team twice in a season. I am from the school of thought that defense wins championships, not QB's. I think it will be a good game, but I'd like to see Seattle give Brady & Co a beatdown. Brady has a running game? At times they do, but that has been the most inconsistent part of their attack all season. Seattle's front 7 isn't Indy's front 7. If Manning was healthy, Denver's roster was way more talented than Indy and Indy's defense has been average at best "all season."

Seattle's defense was stout. They held Aaron Rodgers and Company to 5 FG's. GB has a better all around team than New England. Rodgers, Lacy, Cobb, Nelson, Adams. NE's skilled positions, only Gronk is better than Andrew Quarless of GB. IMO, the super bowl was played between SEA and GB

well, with Oscar, and goobah. im talking to the men who know football better than anyone on this site.

im not so sure new England is going to lose this one, just maybe, some weak parts of seattle [penalties, turnovers] have been exposed, GB ran on them pretty well, you give Rodgers two healthy legs, and the outcome of the seattle game could have been different. just saying............

NE ran the ball twice in the 2nd half vs. Baltimore. They ran successfully against the Colts because Indy's run defense is softer than wet cardboard. I don't see NE having the same kind of success running the ball against Seattle.

I think the league has shifted in the past 10 years. Defense does not always win championships. Look no further than the titles won by the Saints, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Colts, & Ravens. Those teams won with explosive offenses and serviceable-to-good defenses. Since 2007, I would say that the prime examples of defenses winning the title were the two Giants victories and last year's Seahawks team.

What Seattle has been incredible at the past 2 months is not allowing TDs. Green Bay wins the game if they were able to score 7 instead of settling for 3 with just one of the 1st half takeaways. If the game is close heading into the 4th quarter, I would think the edge goes to Seattle because of two factors: 1) their defense and 2) any opponent's inability to tackle Lynch as the game wears on.

I'd watch out for the Patriots inflating their crotch area in the hope of displaying more manliness and testosterone. That can be very intimidating in a sport where intimidating your opponent can provide a psychological edge.

Thats what I do.

All 3 of New England titles were won with Belichick defenses, Tom Brady at the early stage of his career managed the game and didn't turn it over. Pittsburgh's title with Cowher was won on defense, Big Ben was a second year QB who passed maybe 25 times per game "at most." Belichick will prepare well as will Carroll. Tom is salivating to get his 4th, even though he says all the right things and is a class at, he loves the attention and his ego is huge, otherwise he wouldn't have been in serious relationships or marriage with a Hollywood actress and a world renowned supermodel. SEA defense will have to play lights out to stop this freight train of a team. Wilson is equally as mentally strong as Tom. He's a leader, to play the way he did and just keep your team's focus when down that late in the game shows he's a true leader of men, and that's a trait that only the great ones typically possess. This is certainly going to be an interesting game. I'm pulling for the Hawks, but Brady needs to get pressured and harassed all day IMO.

A very revealing look at the dumpster fire season that was Johnny Manziel: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/122162...on-sources-said

good read, I read it all, actually the jury is still out. but. ive always said hes a dud, he starts a few games, and stinks up the joint again he will be a footnote in NFL history.

The kid is an alcoholic/addict. Even his father said when he drinks he can't handle his alcohol. Reports out of Cleveland are that when a few coaches showed up at his apartment, he stunk like a brewery and looked like he had been out all night. It was a BAD pick by Cleveland, as they should have known that his style of play is NOT conducive to the NFL. Did you see New England's scouting report on him? Check this out:

http://deadspin.com/leaked-internal-scouting-report-the-patriots-do-not-li-1574040417