Lockout here football put on hold

Lockout here football put on hold

With the lockout here and football put on hold for awhile, the question you have to ask yourself, if it take's a few months to resolve the CBA joke of what is called negotiation,witch has turn into a prime time soap opera (sorry Deion) is how many teams will have a realistic chance to win the Super Bowl? After taking a long hard look at all the teams in the NFL, I could only come up with a handful of teams,who if this work stoppage go's late into spring or early summer have any chance to win the biggest game in football.

Green bay
Pittsburgh
New York jets
New York giants
Philadelphia
New England

The one thing all these teams have in common, all have very good Coaches,and QB's you know you can win with.The questions surrounding these teams have for the most part been answer.Not knowing how long the lockout will last,puts a huge premium on having a lot of your Pisces in place for the next season.Every team has holes to fill,These teams are just in a better situation to over come the short preparation time you will get if there's a long lockout.

Green Bay and Pittsburgh are one year removed from playing in Super Bowl, with pretty much the same team coming back. Having just been there helps them greatly, plus they,re real good. The Jets even with Rex Ryan as their coach have a winning edge to them.The Giants and Eagles finds way to win year after year,and their offenses can help them get out fast to start the season. New England out of the six will have the hardest time, Tom Brady always give you a chance to win,their offense will be hard to stop,but their D is young and makes way to many mistake for them to be at the top of the list.The Colts with Payton Manning you would think will have a great chance,but as we saw last season they have big question on both sides of the ball.

The other teams in the NFL all have huge problems that only time on the field can answer.Dallas took 3 steps back, who know's if they can turn it around when the lockout ends. Atlanta getting blown out at home in the playoff's,leave's you wondering, how good are they really?Than you have Baltimore, Chicago and Kansas City all with nice parts in place,but QB's you don't know if you can win with.Tampa Bay, Oakland, Detroit all turn corners last year, but how good can they be without the extra work needed in the off season. The rest of teams have way to many questions that can only be answer on the practice field, So a work stoppage kills those team.So if this lockout go's anywhere near summer in 2011 you can look forward to a long season for a lot of teams in the NFL. If you are a fan of one of the handful on my list,2011 could be your team's year.
Ajjones

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Tedy is way out of line with his remarks.

Tedy is way out of line with his remarks.

I am a fan of Tedy Bruschi, he dose a great job on ESPN,was a great Player in his day. But his take on the college Players not going to and being part of the draft is way out of line. He has no right to ask these young men to stay away,and I don't know why he think's it's in good taste to do so.

You're not just asking these players to stay away,but also their parents who deserve this day as much as the players.To tell these kids their letting down the players union by going to the draft is gutless and mean.These 15 to 20 young men have worked their butt's off in college to get to this point of hearing their names called,and walking across that stage so not only can they can be proud of all the hard work they put in,but also their parents can be proud of them.So the parents and the friends watching on TV can remember when they were just boys and it was one of their dreams to be on that stage.

This fight the Players and Owners are having over the CBA negotiation will hit them right between the eyes 24hrs later,when they wake up with a hat,a jersey and no contract or team to report to because of the lockout.

So let these guys be little boys for one more day. Please?

Ajjones

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The growth of a coach

The growth of a coach

I've been a Green Bay Packer fan for over 40 years, and this is the first time in all of those years that I have been happy to be wrong about a coach. When Mike McCarthy was first hire as head coach, I like most Packers fans had no real clue who he was. I went to the 49ers media guild to find out something about this guy. I thought Ted Thompson had just lost his mind, how could he hire a guy no one heard of for this team. We had a great quarterback who's going to the hall of fame, there were other parts in place too that had me wondering, why give my team to an unknown? When coach McCarthy was introduce to us fans, you could see he had something, what, you just didn't know.

The first thing I needed to know was how would he get along with Brett, did he have the stones to coach him? We found out early he had what it took. He had no problem pointing out Brett's short comings as his quarterback, that got him off on the wrong foot with a lot of fans(me included). The bottom line, he was right and we were wrong, a coach is the head of a team, the quarterback is one of it's leader.

He had to take control of his team, and sometimes you need to start at the top. Brett had a lot of years doing things his way and it really wasn't working. Yes he won a lot of games, but he lost a lot of big games with Brett being Brett ( New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears twice in 07. I know it's not right to put a loss on one man,But all you need to do is remember with your head and not your heart and you will see I might be right. Brett will always be a hero in Green Bay and around the NFL, but his unwillingness to change and get on the same page with his coaches and team mates cost the Packers, big games.

It's became apparent very early there was a power struggle between coach and quarterback, something had to give. Now as a fan it's hard to watch a great marriage come to a end, but there was no way this was going to work without both party's parting ways. It wasn't that Brett had lost it or could not play at very high level, he just could not play for coach McCarthy. I think both Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson wish this had ended better for Brett , the Packers, and the fans who had to sit back and watch it unfold in front of us.

Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy took a huge gamble letting Brett go after a 13&3 season and just missing a chance to play in the Super Bowl. But they knew something none of us had even thought was possible,they could make this team better. By moving past Brett they show the rest of the team they were in control of the team, and coach McCarthy would be calling the shots(good or bad from now on)Now enters the biggest piece to the puzzle Aaron Rodgers, a man in a very bad spot, he had to replace a living legend, how hard can that be?

We can't forget, Brett did say he wasn't coming back( yes I know they really did not want him back ) so they moved on with Rodgers and no one was happy. Fans calling for Ted&Mike's head on a patter, hated Aaron for just being the next man in line. Now coach had his quarterback and the team seem to be ok with it. Just as Mike Hologram&Ron Wolf tied their self's to Brett, Mike McCarthy&Ted Thompson did the same with Aaron( how can you not love that kind of leadership at the top ) made me think back to how it was before Ron&Mike got here.

Remember that old saying be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, that's exactly what happen to Mike McCarthy. He wanted his own team,that he could put his own stamp on( I know. He had players from the old regime but it was going to be his way) as we have seen in the past it all start with a quarterback who has the potential to be great. Who knew when they drafted this guy late in the first round he would be that guy. Ted did. you don't pick a QB in the first round unless you think he will start for your team one day. Mike saw Aaron had that "it factor"that it take's to win in the NFL, there's a lots of QB's with strong arms, guys with great legs, some with both, but without that "it factor" they just can't win when you need it. Aaron proved to Ted&Mike with his hard work and that big chip on shoulder that he didn't just want to play good, he wanted to be great. In hind sight sound simple, but we all know that wasn't the case.

While his quarterback had outstanding seasons in 2008&2009, Mike McCarthy's haters were everywhere. He could have been like a lot of bad coaches we have seen over the years, take everything said about him personally, cry to the press that he was being treated unfairly by them and the fans... The only thing we saw was a coach talk positively about his team and where they were going. I'll be the first one to say I had a problem with his playing calling in the red zone. But the one thing I didn't question was that this coach had the attention of his team. He had instilled in these guys he was there for one reason to win, and he would work as hard as them to get it done!

The 09 season I think help ease some of the tension between coach McCarthy and fans, not all, some fans will never get over #4 not being part of the Packer family. I though you could see a more confident coach in 2010, he knew he had a good team, and didn't care that people knew he loved his team's chances to win it all. But like with all great plans, he saw bad injury after bad hit his team, not one time did he make an excuse or ask any fans to feel sorry for his team. All he said was "next man up"( the growth of a coach) he didn't let his players off the hook by saying how hard it might be to win games without key players. What I watch this team do over the last 8 games of the season was nothing of short of remarkable. Yes I know we lost to Detroit and New England, if not for those losses they never make that run. We saw a coach grow up right before our eyes, he let the whole football world and anyone who would listen to him know he had a championship team. I know as a fan I love his grit. Through out the whole playoff run, even the Super Bowl he only talked of winning, not I think we can win, he said the only reason we're here is to win and take the Lombardi trophy home! It took a few years and some thick skin but I think we might have witness the growth of maybe one of the best coaches in football

ONLY TIME WILL TELL

Ajjones

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Fantasy

Fantasy

I'd like to tell you about a dream I had the other day, no it was more of a fantasy than a dream. I woke up at 6am in the morning, let my dog out, put on a pot of coffee like I do each morning. Then i turn on ESPN to see what was going on in the world of sports. And there on a huge stage were ten NFL Owners among them were Jerry Jones and Dan Snider There were also ten Players with them Payton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees were among the Players there. They were surrounded by 200 fans. I saw Owners and Players going from fan to fan shaking hands and sincerely apologizing for being morons. At first fans were kind of cold toward them, you know kind of like that friend your husband or wife has, you don't care for them, can't put your finger on why, but that's how you feel.

To a man they were saying how sorry they were for not taking into consideration how fans might be taken back by all the selfishness on their part. How they had lost touch with fans and the fact that fans should not have to watch them fight over monopoly money. They said they were so sorry for pretending that it was not the billion dollars that had them walk away from the bargaining table. If I had not herd it with my own ears I would not have believed it(in my fantasy that is), a few Owners openly apologizing to season ticket holders for having the nerves to ask for a deposit on next seasons tickets, after having locked out players, and not knowing when the season might start. For not being more sympathetic with their economic needs( since this is the reason given for the extra billion dollars by Owners to run their teams).

After watching Owners and Players working the stage tying to win back fans trust, you started to see smiles everywhere. Then the alarm clock go's off, I let the dog out, put on my pot of coffee like I do every morning. Than I turn on ESPN, the first thing I hear is the Owners are digging in for a long lock out, and a Player comparing the CBA negotiation to modern day slavery(talk about out of touch with reality ). I know my fantasy of seeing everyone locked arm and arm singing we are all in this together, is just that a fantasy! My dream is that the Owners and Players wake up and smell the 9 billions roses in front of their noses before one by one they wilt and go away.

Ajjones

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