NFL 2021 Regular Season!

[worstblogever]

WEEK 8 "WHO'S COOKIN' ON THE HOTSEAT?/FIRE THIS COACH!" DISCUSSION
ALREADY RESIGNED/FIRED BEFORE WEEK 6: Jon Gruden (Raiders) , RESIGNED/FIRED! THEY’RE FIRED!

GUYS WHO WERE ON THE HOT SEAT THIS SEASON, BUT FOR THE MOMENT LOOK SAFE: Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals) , Mike McCarthy (Cowboys), Zac Taylor (Bengals)

YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR *** AND GET SOME WINS LIST: Nick Sirianni, Eagles; Kyle Shanahan, 49ers, Kevin Stefanski, Browns, Matt Ruhle, Panthers: :


10. Ron Rivera, WFT (LUKEWARM SEAT) : We hate putting his name on this list, whenever we’ve had to over the past few years, because for f***’s sake, the guy is risking Covid-19 while coaching through fighting cancer. And that battle is probably the only positive news story you can find about the Washington Football Team from the past two years. The front office absolutely wants a guy they can champion who’s up against something as reviled as cancer, because it’s only slightly better regarded than a scumbag like their owner Daniel Snyder (whose dirty deeds managed to get the RAIDERS COACH fired).

We cannot, however, ignore that Washington is 2-6, with their only wins being a squeaker 1 point victory against the Giants, and a close win against Atlanta. Rivera’s record as WFT coach is now 9-14 in a year and a half. This team just got beat by the Broncos in a game where they had two field goals blocked in the same game, and a third was blocked in Week 7 against the Packers. It’s not a good sign when your special teams coaching is that inept. This team had Chase Young wrecking opposing offenses last year and a top tier defense to win a terrible division, but now? This defense is 27th in the league. They’ve been running out Tyler Heinicke at QB until they can get Ryan Fitzpatrick back, as if that’s a hero who changes a team’s fortunes completely (not exactly the best record as a starter in his career, y’know?).

We’re rooting for Riverboat Ron, but we know Daniel Snyder is also the exact kind of motherf***er who would fire a guy who risked death to coach his team. And this week doesn’t look like it’s gonna go well, as they have to play the Bucs, who are coming off being upset by the Saints, and likely to be looking to take their frustrations out on a team that doesn’t have a lot of juice right now.

9. Robert Saleh, Jets:We know… Saleh’s a defensive coach, and he’s got a questionable talent in his rookie signal-caller Zach Wilson. And YET… He’s immediately putting faith in Mike White, the guy who hadn’t started a game or taken a snap since he was a Hill Topper at Western Kentucky University (they still have one of the best Muppet-lookin’ mascots you’ll ever see). White went out yesterday and torched the Bengals for over 400 yards passing, and led the Jets to an upset victory that has many wondering why they started to think Cincinnati was for real. Could this… could this be the missing piece? Mike White and NOT Zach Wilson? And NOT Joe Flacco, redux? Hmm…

A first year head coach usually doesn’t end up on the chopping block… But it can happen. Steve Wilks went 3-13 in one year in Arizona and the locker room knew his OC was a joke, and they just gave up on him. So no matter how fired up people were to play for Saleh in San Francisco, if things don’t reverse course with the Jets, he could end up a “one and done” guy. We’ll see if he can put a rare Jets win streak together against the Colts Thursday night. We'll see how the second week of the Mike White experience goes.


8. David Culley, Texans: Houston is sitting at 1-7, with the one win coming from when they beat lowly Jacksonville in Week 1 before they’ve rattled off seven straight losses. Those seven L’s have been, frankly, a series of games where opposing coaches have utterly dismantled a team led by rookie 3rd string QB Davis Mills, so much so that the Texans currently have the worst point differential in the league… They aren’t even scoring 16 points a game and their offense ranks 31st in yards per game, with only the Bears doing worse. That won’t be helped much since they shipped Mark Ingram off before the trade deadline, falling back on David Johnson (who hasn’t had a good season since… what 2016?) as their main offensive weapon. Brandin Cooks is pulling his hair out that he couldn’t managed to get himself traded to an actual football team before the trade deadline. It doesn’t look like anyone is going to manage to take serial sexual predator DeShaun Watson out of Houston in a trade, either, a move that’s hovered over this team’s fate for over half a year now.

So… we’ve covered that the Texans are BAD right now. We’re going to say that their misfortunes are not a product necessarily of bad coaching, but a TON of bad front office decisions, because obviously, that’s the case. It sucks that a guy who’s considered such a nice dude like David Culley, who’s waited his whole life for a head coaching gig, could get the blame if he couldn’t turn the chickens*** roster he was given into chicken salad. But that can be the cruel nature of NFL coaching gigs…

The good news? The Texans play Miami this week, in what should be a game to decide draft position, and whether or not they’ll be kicking themselves for not trying to get Tu’a back in a trade for Watson after seeing him in person.

7. Vic Fangio, Broncos (LUKEWARM SEAT) : Man, remember when this team was 3-0 and some chuckleheads thought they might win the division? But wiser people noted that trio of victories were against the Jets, Giants, and Jaguars, who were a combined 0-9 at that point? (And still only have four wins between them through seven weeks)

Denver came back to Earth fast. They know this is a lost season and if you needed any more proof, it’s that they just traded Von Miller to the Rams for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick in 2022. This is after spending weeks trading away every late-round draft pick they had to get any competency at the LB position they could. They can at least say they won to get back to .500 this week, but that’s because the WFT came to town. This week, they’ll have a bit tougher of an opponent, as they’ll be playing Dallas, who are more likely to be getting Dak Prescott back on the field after getting the Vikings to cough up a win to them when they were forced to field Cooper Rush (more on that later).

A reminder, Fangio declared that Covid-19 is showing "who the whiners are" around the NFL, last season. Perhaps we should also mention that last year, the game that the Broncos played without an actual QB was because under Fangio’s leadership, the whole QB room broke Covid-19 protocols so they could sit right on top of each other in the film room, rather than socially distance in corners. If you can’t get guys to adhere to that simple thing… it might be because you yourself are fighting the regulations there to keep you alive. On the field, though... “Mr. Covid Tough Guy” Fangio led Denver to a 5-11 in 2020, and to paraphrase a wiser person on CBR than I… “Denver somehow found the only person who can make dumber decisions than Vance Joseph.” Prediction: The Broncos next head coach will not have a name that starts with “V”.


6. Joe Judge, Giants: We don’t believe Joe Judge should have ever been a head coach. His prior experience before getting the gig in the Meadowlands with the G-Men was serving as special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach in New England (a team not regarded well for its WR corps during his tenure). His QB is living blooper reel Daniel Jones. His team’s preseason was marred by a massive brawl with THEMSELVES where the pileup of players throwing haymakers tumbled onto their starting QB who ended up at the bottom of the mound of humanity, enraging Judge so he made his players run gassers like they were back in high school JV, and resulting in one veteran filing to retire immediately, rather than play for him any more.

This guy’s team loathes him, and the New York media are salivating at all the ink they can lay out simply by getting his players to throw him under the bus. His only hope for any job security was that he’s coaching in the worst division in the NFL right now, where practically any of the four teams in it could accidentally stumble into a division title to get destroyed in the first round of the playoffs. At least, that was the case before Dak Prescott screwed his foot back on and went out slinging the ball around.

In Week One, this squad got the good fortune to play against the Denver Broncos, who are thought of as, at best, a mid-tier team at the moment. They got destroyed. The Giants lost to the WFT in Week 2, and on the sideline, their top free agent acquisition, WR Kenny Golladay, was thought to be screaming at his quarterback, but Golladay let the New York media know he was actually screaming at OC Jason Garrett… yeah… things are just fine in the Big Apple. In Week 6, Judge sent Daniel Jones out when he should have been in concussion protocol to get brutalized by the Rams’ defense in a blowout loss. They now sit at 2-5, and are coming off a MNF loss to the Chiefs, managing only 17 points against what had been one of the weakest defenses in the league. Their WR room is currently a graveyard. Saquon’s injuries have made it seem like he’s fallen into a parallel dimension and will never get on the field.

They host the Raiders next week, whose pash rush has been raising eyebrows this year, and while Daniel Jones has been playing better, we’re expecting him to cough up at least one fumble when he’s hit in the backfield, as Judge forgets to keep any TE or RB back to help keep him safe.

[worstblogever]

5. Urban Meyer, Jaguars: Jacksonville’s preseason was filled with self-inflicted wounds caused by decisions from Meyer, from hiring coaches without vetting them properly (strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle), bringing in Tim Tebow as a possible TIGHT END option that was nothing but a media distraction, and acting like he’s the smartest guy in the NFL because of his college success. I’m no coaching expert, but having a rookie QB throw over 50 times in his first start MAAAYBE isn’t a winning formula, even if he is a butt-chin wonder like Trevor Lawrence.

And about that game… the Houston Texans, regarded as many as a candidate to be the worst team in the NFL this year… the Jags got blown out by THAT team. One that doesn’t have a first or second day draft pick until 2022. One that doesn’t have DeShaun Watson, and keeps letting Arizona poach its Pro Bowlers. THAT Texans team wiped the floor with Urban Meyer’s squad, and to their 16th consecutive loss. They’d continue to lose 20 straight as a franchise, including #19 n Week 4 they blew another double-digit lead to the Cincinnatti Bengals, and more importantly… Urban Meyer trended on Twitter for lying to his team about “visiting his grandkids” and not flying back to Jacksonville to instead, go out to get free lap dances in the bar of his Cleveland restaurant because… well, I guess that’s what happens when you got a title with Ohio State. THAT… is not what you want to make headlines for after a month into the season… zero wins, poor development on Trevor Lawrence, and having someone rub their ass on your junk in your own dive bar.

Urban Meyer was gifted a win by the inept Miami Dolphins in Week 7, and after a BYE week they traveled to Seattle to get blown out by a team led by Geno Smith (yes, THAT Geno Smith) with that extra week to prepare, because of course they did.

How do their odds look in Week 9?

They get to play the Bills, and… we’re gonna say that it’s likely Josh Allen gets to take the fourth quarter off.


4. Mike Zimmer, Vikings: The Vikings were supposedly "just a QB away" from winning a Super Bowl a few years ago with the impeccable defense they had, and they spent BIG for Kirk Cousins. Then they traded away Stephon Diggs (BIG MISTAKE), and their defense officially "got a case of the olds" going into LAST season. This season, they’re just a year older than that. Minnesota’s biggest off-season free agent signing was CB Patrick Peterson, who age has not just proven to be “no longer an elite corner”, he’s arguably “not even a starting corner” in the league, admitting on his podcast he struggles at covering any receiver who’s simply PUT IN MOTION. That’s the top free agent addition to an aged defense. What was once an elite unit now is at best medicore, and Kirk Cousins has been widely inconsistent game to game (certainly not deserving of what he gets paid).

Zimmer’s been here for awhile and is most famous for playoff let downs since arriving in 2014. If he fails to even return to the playoffs for a second year in a row, that might be cause for him to get a pink slip, especially because his comments to the media when the team loses throws his players under the bus. Zimmer began this season on the hot seat, and until he has a playoff spot locked up, he should remain on it. Maybe even if he gets into the postseason and exits early, the Wilfs might decided to move on (he is under contract until 2023, though).

For this week, anyway, the Vikings were coming off a BYE, were playing AT HOME, and Dallas had to start COOPER RUSH instead of Dak Prescott at QB.

We sat watching Kirk Cousins dropping off 4 yard passes on 3rd and 8 and being surprised when he didn’t convert, while the Vikings’ secondary had Cooper Rush passing to guys 15 yards downfield with no defender within five yards of them when they caught the ball… and Dallas stole a 20-16 win. The Vikings lost DE Danielle Hunter for the season with a torn pec, and, somehow could not manage with all the circumstances in their favor to win a game they absolutely needed. They drop to 3-4, and move on this week to travel to face the Baltimore Ravens, who have had a BYE week to prepare for Minnesota. Then they have the Chargers, the Packers, and the 49ers for the rest of the month before they get a gift the first week of December with a game against the Lions.

We don’t foresee them entering the final month of the season at .500. Honestly, they might be lucky to be at 5-7 by the time they get to that Lions game.

3. Matt Nagy, Bears: Matt Nagy was considered one of the hottest young coaches in the league before the Double-Doink happened like 3 years ago, but it made something snap in the guy. He spent that entire off-season talking about it, and making his players relive that trauma, and they responded by getting worse afterwards. The Bears have been shy a QB this whole time, finally giving up on Mitch Trubisky to draft Justin Fields… but Nagy kept insisting he would go with Andy Dalton. If you’re going with the Red Rifle at this stage of his career, you’re pretty f***ed. Their defense? They still have DPOTY candidate Khalil Mack. It’s statistically still a Top 10 defense the NFL. Truly, this is a team that can live up to the Bears’ legacy in the Windy City…

Matt Nagy caved to the pressure of fans and put Justin Fields in at the start of October, and got two wins in his first two games… however, in Week 6, they got handled by Green Bay, and Aaron Rodgers barked at fans, “I STILL OWN YOU!” And nobody is questioned the validity of that statement, because it’s true.

In Week 7, they got blown out 38-3 by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and the story out of Chicago is that Justin Fields is getting sacked at a rate not seen for any rookie QB since David Carr was getting his brains bashed in for the expansion Texans. The Bears were just walked all over by the 49ers, and Nagy missed the game altogether due to a positive Covid-19 test, the only positive headline he's seen in some time. Their upcoming schedule the next two weeks features going to Pittsburgh to play the resurgent Steelers, and then hosting Baltimore. Looking like they’ll be 3-7 before they have the good fortune of playing the Lions on Thanksgiving.


2. Dan Campbell, Lions : To paraphrase a cleverer poster than me, , “The Lions continue their 60 year process of rebuilding…” They’re 0-8, the last winless team in the league. The closest they've come to victory was when they lost to a Ravens team ravaged by injuries for their matchup on a record 66 yard FG at the final gun in Week 3. We always say that first year coaches are not usually on the hot seat, but Dan Campbell is a former Tight Ends coach who yells about getting up again and again to bite your opponents’ kneecaps, which starts out like some inspiring Captain America speech but ends up sounding like a meek little chihuahua. He’s close to motivating… but not close enough.

Some thought this past Sunday was their best chance to win a game, what with an Eagles team coming to town without their starting RB Miles Sanders… and then the Eagles just dominated the line of scrimmage, got over 200 yards rushing, and got nuked 44-6 by Philly. AT HOME. They’re now on a BYE week, and when it’s over they have to play at Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, and then host the Bears on Thanksgiving… in the span of 11 days.

They’re only hope to avoid another 0-16 is that they can go 0-17 this time. Minnesota and Chicago are always ready to stumble and get tripped up for a division win in one of their four games against them (Beating Chicago on Thanksgiving seems like their best remaining chance to get a win, given the Bears’ current trajectory). But is Dan Campbell good enough to capitalize? After he went 5-7 as an interim coach with the Dolphins?

It’s Detroit. And were it anywhere else, if this guy bombs in his first season, he’d be fired. But they’re used to 3 and 4 win seasons, so he might get a pass.


1. Brian Flores, Dolphins: The Dolphins are 1-7, and that one win came in Week 1 against the Patriots by a single point. In Week 6, they lost to a Jags team that was previous winless, with Tu’a back under center. I cannot begin to tell you how much I sat in disbelief is Miami went from being in control with a 10 point lead at one point to choking away this game in London… just the last six minutes alone… In Week 7, they got the Falcons, and Tu’a managed to pass for 4 TDs against the porous Atlanta defense. The problem was, Miami’s own defense gave up 336 yards passing, nearly half of which was to rookie TE Kyle Fitts, who gave their linebackers exactly those. They had to travel to Buffalo to play the Bills on Halloween, and managed all of 11 points in yet another loss.

Miami has now lost seven straight, and host the Texans this Sunday in a game that will be overshadowed by whether or not the trade deadline deal for DeShaun “Serial Massage Therapist Groper” Watson happens or not. Brian Flores has not developing Tu’a, and enters this week’s game against the Falcons 16-23 as a coach, and seems like he’ll be falling further under .500 before the end of this season, which will likely see the ‘Phins go another direction at the end of the year. His only hope is that the Dolphins’ schedule has two games left against the Jets, and one against the Giants, so he should be able to at least get this squad back to some level of mediocrity that their fans are used to, rather than, “Holy s***, how did we lose to the JAGS?”

We’ll note there are stories out there about Brian Flores saying “I’m not worried about my job security,” which usually is what coaches who are about to get fired say. In this instance, he might not be worried about it, because it’s a fait accompli at this stage of the game.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Regarding the Lions, they axed Jim Caldwell after 2017, despite having an actual winning record of 9-7. In the three and a half seasons since then, between Matt Patricia, Darrell Bevell (1-4) and now, Dan "Kneecap Biter" Campbell, they've won all of 14 games. The Lions are, as I've recently called them, The Superfund of Sorrow.

Meanwhile, Hey Siri of my Eagles earned himself a little breathing room after Sunday's demolition of the aforementioned Lions. But, it should be noted that he's yet to win at home in three tries this season, and his chances aren't all that good, what with Justin Herbert and the Chargers coming to town this Sunday, and they figure to be a little salty after losing to New England.

[worstblogever]

Regarding the Lions, they axed Jim Caldwell after 2017, despite having an actual winning record of 9-7. In the three and a half seasons since then, between Matt Patricia, Darrell Bevell (1-4) and now, Dan "Kneecap Biter" Campbell, they've won all of 14 games. The Lions are, as I've recently called them, The Superfund of Sorrow.

Meanwhile, Hey Siri of my Eagles earned himself a little breathing room after Sunday's demolition of the aforementioned Lions. But, it should be noted that he's yet to win at home in three tries this season, and his chances aren't all that good, what with Justin Herbert and the Chargers coming to town this Sunday, and they figure to be a little salty after losing to New England.

Saw an article about Jim Caldwell on Deadspin saying the same that also added Caldwell's 4 year mark with the Lions was 36-30 (including 2 playoff losses). Since he's left, Matt Patricia and Caldwell combined have been 13-37-1. Also, that Matt Patricia tried pretending when he sucked that Caldwell had left him with a lousy roster.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Saw an article about Jim Caldwell on Deadspin saying the same that also added Caldwell's 4 year mark with the Lions was 36-30 (including 2 playoff losses). Since he's left, Matt Patricia and Caldwell combined have been 13-37-1. Also, that Matt Patricia tried pretending when he sucked that Caldwell had left him with a lousy roster.

You have to blame the GM on that one with Patricia there. They went into this idea that they were gonna run the organization "The Patriot Way" and then went about just doing awful moves as we saw. The funniest story I heard about Patricia was when he pissed off Darius Slay (CB). The guy was at a joint practice with the New York Giants that 1st season and Slay and Odell Beckum Jr. are close friends. They took a picture together and posted online.

The next day Patricia went after Slay and tried to embarrass him in front of the team yelling ..."Stop sucking that man's ----- !!" Slay then demanded a high contract knowing the Lions couldn't pay it so he could get out of there. Not happy with Patricia.


https://www.mlive.com/lions/2020/11/...ven-began.html


-

[worstblogever]

You have to blame the GM on that one with Patricia there. They went into this idea that they were gonna run the organization "The Patriot Way" and then went about just doing awful moves as we saw. The funniest story I heard about Patricia was when he pissed off Darius Slay (CB). The guy was at a joint practice with the New York Giants that 1st season and Slay and Odell Beckum Jr. are close friends. They took a picture together and posted online.

The next day Patricia went after Slay and tried to embarrass him in front of the team yelling ..."Stop sucking that man's ----- !!" Slay then demanded a high contract knowing the Lions couldn't pay it so he could get out of there. Not happy with Patricia.


https://www.mlive.com/lions/2020/11/...ven-began.html


-

Patricia is scum, and I'm glad Darius Slay got revenge against his former team Sunday.

[The Big G]

Chiefs trade a 6th round pick for Melvin Ingram

[The Big G]

There are some dark rumors coming out of Vegas.

There was a car crash with car that looks like Henry Ruggs ride involved with fatalities. Now these are just rumors, but as a Raiders fan who knows the Universe just likes to Find Us In The Alps when we have any form of positive momentum, i cannot help but be concerned.

[The Big G]

Welp...RIP Rugg's career

https://news3lv.com/newsletter-daily...cana-las-vegas

[Scott Taylor]

I dunno .. as much as I want to criticize McVay he is 43-21, with 2 NFC West titles, a NFC Championship, and a 3-3 playoff record.

A lot of teams would kill to have that kind of run in 10 years.

He has done that in 4.

Belichick was 39-25 in his 1st four years w/ 2 SB wins, 2 AFC East titles, & 6-0 in the playoffs.

Jim Harbaugh was 44-19-1, 5-3 in the playoffs, 2 NFC West titles, and a NFC Championship in 4 years.

Walsh was 24-33 with 1 SB, 1 NFC titles, and 3-0 in the playoffs.

Pete Carroll (part 2 after a return from college) was 38-26, 1 SB, 2 NFC West titles, 5-2 in the playoffs.

Arians was 43-17, 1 NFC West title, 1-3 in the playoffs.

Reid was 39-25, 2 NFC East titles, 4-3 in the playoffs.

Parcells was 36-37-1 with 1 SB, 1 NFC East title, 5-2 in the playoffs.

Johnson was 32-32 with 1 SB, 1 NFC East title, 4-1 in the playoffs.

Shula was 39-16-1 with 1 NFL West title.

Noll was 23-33 with 1 AFC Central title, 1-1 in the playoffs.

I'd say he's doing pretty well.

As a fan, I am happy they are winning. 7-1, not too shabby! People in LA are moderately happy to indifferent about the Rams and football in general anyway - its all about the Dodgers and Lakers around here, those are the franchises that can emotionally make or break sports fans around here. The other stuff - Angels, Kings, Rams, Chargers - all people really care about is that they are not an embarrassment. Sad, but true.

Don't get me wrong - if the Rams won a Super Bowl, fans would suddenly emerge from the woodwork and claim victory!

Anyhow, McVay and the Rams are doing well I would say also! He's putting an exciting product on the field, rather than an embarrassment, and the team is fun to watch.

[MRP]

Looks like Jaylon Smith is getting released again, this time by the Packers.

-M

[The Big G]

One drama free season where we're playing well is all I ask for.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Chiefs trade a 6th round pick for Melvin Ingram

This is what irks me ....KC had Ingram come in during free agency near the end. They looked at him and possibly bringing back Justin Houston. They didn't sign either man and now had to trade a 6th rd pick for a pass rusher to help on DL. I get they had to make an addition of some kind. But they could have had this guy already.

[cable guy]

Looks like Jaylon Smith is getting released again, this time by the Packers.

-M

I wish the Cowboys would resign him. Now with Jabril Cox out for the year. Just for depth...

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I wish the Cowboys would resign him. Now with Jabril Cox out for the year. Just for depth...

Well a big reason he was cut was Smith was considered to be ranking near bottom in stopping the run. Its why he lost his starting LB job and was cut originally. His play had fallen off a lot. A fact Green Bay seems to realized.