Tag: Broncos

LA Rams Hire the Youngest Coach in NFL History and I Love It

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If you wanted to move on from the shit storm that was the Jeff Fisher era AND make a splash in LA, this is how you do it. Hire the youngest coach in NFL history. 30 year old Sean McVay, the offensive coordinator of the Washington R-words, is the new coach of the LA Rams.

Don’t make the mistake of hiring another mediocre coordinator or a guy who’s already been a crappy coach in the past. Inject some new blood, some excitement and a guy who actually has created a great offense and built up a QB in Kirk Cousins. Thats what the Rams needed. God knows Jared Goff needs it. Plus it will be wild to see a guy who looks like a ball boy calling the shots from the sideline.

I *love* wunderkinds, especially in industries that are dominated by old boring guys. Bill Belichick is the best coach in the history of the league and I would take a bullet for him, but he is an old boring guy. If a dude who’s basically the same age as me can succeed as an NFL head coach then that makes all the blood, sweat and tears I’ve poured into Madden over the years all worth it.

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It reminds me of when Theo Epstein was named GM of the Red Sox back in 2002 when he was TWENTY EIGHT! Thats insane. I can barely pay my bills at 28 and I certainly can’t balance a check book and he was managing one of the biggest franchises in all of sports at that age.

So yea, I always root for young guys getting a shot in front office and coaching positions, mainly because it just happens so rarely. Hopefully he pans out better than Josh McDaniels first go as a young head coach in Denver, which blew up in less than 2 years.
Sports are tricky because all of the players will be around his age, if not older, so it can be easy for that to become a distraction. It looks like McVay is already doing his best to combat though, surrounding himself with very experienced coaches to counteract his inexperience, which is smart. He just brought on 70 year old Wade Phillips to be his defensive coordinator. A 30 year old head coach with a 70 year old DC is still a hilarious image to think of. That is a can’t miss TV sitcom. Its too bad the Rams were on Hard Knocks last year because I would watch the shit out of that show.

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I Miss Peyton Manning (and his Playoff Woes)

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It’s Wild Card Weekend and, as usual, the Patriots have the weekend off. The Patriots have reached the playoffs 14 times in the Brady Era, and have received a first-round bye 11 times in the Brady Era. Peyton Manning wasn’t able to take this weekend off nearly as often, though.

Peyton Manning reached the playoffs 15 times in the 17 seasons he played, including each of his last 13 seasons. His teams received a first-round byes in eight of those seasons, meaning he made semi-regular appearances on Wild Car Weekend, unlike Brady.

Manning’s teams were 3-4 on Wild Card Weekend, and 3-5 after a first round bye. That adds up to nine one-and-dones, by far the most of any NFL quarterback. That means Manning’s teams only won a game in the playoffs 6 out of the 15 times he took them to the playoffs. His career playoff record stood at 11-13 before last year’s magical run gave him his second Super Bowl ring and a just-barely-over-.500 career postseason record of 14-13.

I must give Manning his due. He did knock down the Patriots more times than I care to remember in the playoffs. The Colts win in the 2006 AFC title game is still in my top five worst Boston sports moments. But I can give Manning his due, and still look back at some of his more memorable playoff losses.

[I’ve omitted the Foxborough Follies from this list for the sake of brevity, and because those are obviously well-remembered by Patriots fans.]

2002 Jets 41 – Colts 0. Not much else needs to be said about this playoff disaster. Manning had a dreadful night in Giants Stadium as the Colts lost to Chad Effing Penington. This loss put Peyton at 0-3 in the playoffs, and really started the “Peyton sucks in the playoffs” conversations in earnest.

2005 Down 3 to the Steelers with 1:20 to go, Peyton Manning took a sack on fourth down at his own 2-yard line. Looking to put the Colts away,  Jerome Bettis coughed it up and gave Peyton and the Colts one last shot. Peyton got the Colts into field-goal range, but Mike Vanderjagt couldn’t connect on a 46-yard attempt, and Pittsburgh held on to win this wild one. [As a side note, this was Vanderjagt’s last game as a Colt. That offseason, the Colts went out and got Adam Vinatieri. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.]

2007 Looking to defend their Super Bowl title, the Colts received a first-round bye and hosted the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round. The Colts led 24-21 in the fourth, but the Chargers took the lead late and Peyton Manning had to orchestrate another last-minute comeback. He led the Colts inside the 10, but couldn’t put it in the end zone thanks to pressure from Shawne Merriman (remember him?). The Colts would actually get the ball back one more time, but that drive also stalled out. This was also the last game to be played at the RCA Dome.

2012 New team, same result. Peyton’s first trip to the playoffs with the Broncos ended the same way so many of his previous trips did. Much of this loss can be pinned on the Broncos defense, but this Peyton Manning Playoff Meltdown receives special mention because of how excruciating this loss was. The Ravens trailed the Broncos 35-28 in the final minute. That’s when Joe Flacco connected with Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. The Ravens would go on to win the game in overtime, and defeat the Patriots the next week en route to winning Super Bowl XLVII.

 

With Andy Dalton and the Bengals sitting the playoffs out this year, no other quarterback playing in the playoffs this year immediately comes to mind when thinking of another quarterback to carry on the legacy of Peyton Manning Playoff Meltdowns. With backup quarterbacks all over the place in the AFC, though, this should still be a fun (and sloppy) Wild Card Weekend to watch.