Packers, Saints, 49ers, and O yes the Cowboys Class Of NFC.

Packers, Saints, 49ers, and O yes the Cowboys Class Of NFC.

Two teams ( the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints ) that was on everybody radar to not only get to but also win super bowl 46. A team ( the Dallas Cowboys ) that a loyal fan base hoped could regained the magic of yesteryear and a team ( the San Francisco 49ers ) led by a rookie coach no one saw coming are leading the charge in the NFC to super bowl 46 in Indianapolis. In a season that started with sweet dreams in Philadelphia to talk of redemption in Atlanta and little brothers ( Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers ) believing the time had come for them to sit at the big boys table, the NFC has the look of a four team race to the finish line.

While it can be said that the Atlanta Falcons look to have righted their ship, they are still a defense away from redemption. After a 5&0 start to the season the Detroit Lions had the look of a team ready to take it's place as one of the elite teams in the NFC. But youth and undisciplined play has brought the Lions crashing back down to earth. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers where do I start, after doing nothing in the offseason to help built on an great 2010 season ( 10&6 and just missing the playoff's ) the Buccaneer's may have to start all over from the top down.

The Chicago Bears last season's NFC north division winner, looked to have made all the right chances after being taken apart on national tv by the Lions. However with the loss of Jay Cutler for the remainder of the season, the Bears will have a hard time making the playoff's. The Packers and Saints are clearly at the head of the class in the NFC ( to much offense and the right QB's pulling the triggers ) but Dallas and San Francisco have solid teams and will give the Packers and Saints a fight for NFC title and a shot at super bowl 46.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo " is who we think he is "

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo " is who we think he is "
( not a great leader )

For the first four weeks of this NFL season the Tony Romo bandwagon has been jumped on and off more than a kids jungle gym. The Cowboy's QB has come under more scrutiny than any quarterback in the NFL in some time. Being the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is about winning super bowls, not just competing for a division title. Tony Romo has shown signs that might lead you to believe he has what it takes to get the Cowboys to the only game that matter to owner Jerry Jones and the fans of this story franchise. ( The Super Bowl )

There has been much debate on if the fought lies with Romo or head coach Jason Garrett, and while Garrett get's some of the blame, most of the blame go's to Romo. Your quarterback has to be the smartest player on the field and Tony has shown little or no smartness at key stages of Cowboys losses over the years. Romo has a strong arm and can make all the throws it takes to be an super bowl winning quarterback. However the one thing missing with Romo's game seem to be between the ears, the ability to manage a game and the time clock.

Now I wasn't there on the side line with Jason Garrett or Tony Romo, but I know Garrett had to be talking with Romo on where he was in the game and what it was going to take to make a 24 point lead stand up in the Lion's game. I think the time has come if I can borrow a quote from former coach Dennis Green ( " Romo is who we think he is " ) a quarterback with a ton of physical ability but no mental toughness to lead a team to the big game.

If your looking to win a Fantasy football league title Romo might be your guy, however if the super bowl is your goal you may have to look for another quarterback.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

The Pittsburg Steelers seem to be the class of AFC.

The Pittsburg Steelers seem to be the class of AFC.

Let's see great QB check, great coach check, very very good offense check, great defense check, the Pittsburg Steelers have the look of a team that will be very hard to dethrone as AFC champion's. There isn't another team in the AFC that can match the Steelers in all phases of the game. I am a die hard Packer fan and I'm here to tell you the Steelers have been the best team in the NFL in the super bowl era. And before Dallas Cowboys fans get up in arms over their team getting no respect in the super bowl era, remember Dallas hasn't seen a super bowl in 15 seasons.

Again this season the Steelers will be fielding a super bowl caliber team that will have to be reckon with in the AFC. While there are a few teams in the AFC that I believe will give the Steelers a run for their money, ( New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and just maybe the San Diego Chargers ) however not one of theses teams are as well rounded as the Steelers. The Steelers have become the standard by which other teams in the AFC measure themselves and again this season it will be no deference.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Will there be a surprise team in the NFL in the 2011 season?

Will there be a surprise team in the NFL in the 2011 season?

Every season in the NFL there's a team or two that steps up to have that dream season that no one saw coming, which teams will make their mark on the 2011 season. In the 2009 season it was the New York Jets with their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez going to the AFC championship game that caught everyone by surprise. In 2010 the Kansas City Chiefs had that season no one saw coming, winning ten games taking the AFC west division before bowing out in the first round round of the playoffs.

The Jets used a stifling defense and a great running attack, some timely passing and their cocky coach ( Rex Ryan ) to take heat off his young team to as they made their run. Kansas City had the great fortune Of playing in a division with the San Diego Chargers, hands down the best team in the division ( the number one team in the NFL on both sides of the ball ) but found ways with bad special team's play to lose game after game last season. It's not that the Chiefs didn't play well, they ran they ball extremely well. And with veteran QB Matt Cassel managing the offense, the Chiefs took advantage of the Chargers shote play.

With the lack of offseason praperatetion I'm finding it hard coming with any surprise teams coming into the 2011 season. So I have two 6 & 10 teams from last season that no one would be surprise if they made noise this season and made the playoff. The Detroit Lions and The Houston Texans had surprising season's in 2010. One ( the Lions ) serve notice they were doormats no more, the other ( the Texans ) fell flat on their faces after a dominating win in their opening game with the division champ's Indianapolis Colts.

Both the Lions and the Texans are in prime positions to take one of the six playoff spots this season in their perspective conferences, however with a history of losing in their background, taking that next step will take more than just wishful thinking. The Texans may never get a better chance at winning their division, with the Colts hall of fame quarterback Payton Manning career in limbo with a neck injury that will prohibit him from starting the season. And as Tennessee and Jacksonville go thought a rebuilding mode, anything other than a division title will be a felled season for the Texans.

The Detroit Lions on the other hand will be sneaking up on no-one this coming season, which mean's if there is a playoff spot in their future they will have to go out and earn it. The Lions unlike the Texans don't have a division for taking, with the division champ's ( Chicago Bears) and the super bowl champ's ( Green Bay Packers ) in the mix, a wild card spot seem to be their only way into the playoff's. While I do see the Bear's taking a few steps backward, I feel the Packers are just to high a mountain for them to climb.

Lion's fans must also remember if you give into the fact that ( the Packers will win the NFC north, the Eagles in the east, the Rams or Cards in the west, and the Saints or Falcons in the south ) they will need to compete with 4 maybe 5 teams for two wild card spots. ( the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the loser of the south, and maybe the Chicago Bears in their own division ) I believe the Lions in my opinion can be as good if not better than any of theses teams, but it all come down to the quarterback position. If Matthew Stafford can stay on the field for a whole season with the talent they have on both sides of the ball, the Lions may roar into the playoff's.

The fact that the NFL season is starting on time will be the only surprise fans can look forward to this coming season.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

" Embrace the Greatness " Trying to repeat

Embrace the Greatness " Trying to repeat

As another NFL season approaches and the short list of teams are talk about as being favorite to win the super bowl, it leave's me wondering why some coaches, players, and fans in the NFL shy away from the through of being consider one of the favorite to win it all. I'm not asking them to walk around pounding their chest telling everyone who will listen how great they are. What I am saying why not embrace the fact that your team is very good and people are talking about it.

bring this up because last season as the Green Bay Packers were marching toward their forth super bowl win, some fans I talk too had a very hard time with all the praise being given to the Packers as they were making their run. They saw it as bulletin board material for the other team. I've been an NFL football fan for over forty years and I'm here to tell fans there is no secret in the NFL as to who the best teams are.

I go back to the the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburg Steelers of the 70's, the San Francisco 49er of the 80's, the Dallas Cowboys of the 90's, and the New England Patriots of the 2000's, all great teams with targets on their backs year in and year out. Instead of shying away from the limelight of greatness, they embrace it and said we pretty good, if you think your better come and get us. I would take being the hunted over being the hunter any day of the week, it mean's people want what you have.


So Packers fans as Green Bay go's into the 2011 season trying to repeat at the top of everyone's the short list of teams who will win this year's super bowl, don't fear it embrace it, because super bowl championships are hard to come by. Would you want it any other way?

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Is anyone thinking about the Coaches in this lockout situation?

Is anyone thinking about the Coaches in this lockout situation?

With NFL fans having to stand and watch like innocence bystanders while the Owners and Players treat theses CBA negotiation like drivers in a car accident fighting over who going to take responsibility for the wreck. Fans must not forget there are head Coaches and their assistant Coaches standing there right beside them on the side of the road, watching with the same anticipation of how this might end and when might they get back to the business of running their teams.

Caught in the middle of this tug-of-war, with a chest containing a billion dollars going to the winner; you have to ask yourself how is this affecting the coaches around the NFL who can't take a side in this argument. With their pay checks being tried directly to both sides of the fight, how can they do anything but sit back and hope for the best. Knowing this CBA deal will get done and regardless of which side claims victory they must stay neutral with any hope of being able to do their jobs. To voice an opinion one way or another could be a career Ender.


p> In my opinion this has to be the toughest position to be in regardless of your standing in the coaching community. From the more establish coaches in the league ( Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers and Mike Tomlin Of the Pittsburgh Steelers ) to the not so establish ( Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys and Mike Munchak of the Tennessee Titans ) Having to take the position that silent's is bliss.

Let us not forget that while the Owners and Players sit at the negotiating table trying to decide how the cash is going to be spit; Coaches along with their assistants are still on the job planing for the draft and how they can help not only Ownership but also their Players make a smooth transition back to the game of football. And all this knowing there's a possibility Their paychecks may take a hit if this lockout go's into late summer. I for one would have a very difficult time concentrating on the job at hand, knowing there's a chance I might not get paid for the hours I'm putting in. ( and not really being in a position to voice my opinion )


As we fans who can voice our displeasure with the lockout on talk radio or in blogs like mine to relieve our frustration regarding this whole lockout mess. Let us not forget, there's a groups of coaches standing silently on the sideline hope-ing when it's over, the damages is minimal so they can get back to to the jobs of trying to win football games.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Have the Dallas Cowboys become the Notre Dame of Pro Football?

Have the Dallas Cowboys become the Notre Dame of Pro Football?

Has there ever been a team more beloved in Pro Football than the Dallas Cowboys? Up until 15 years ago the Cowboys had to be one of the most fear teams in Pro Football history. From 1960 when they first enter the National Football League, until the 1995 season when they won they're last Of 5 Super Bowls; they were arguably the best team in the NFL for that 35 year period of time. The Cowboys played in 8 Super Bowls and won 5, only the Pittsburgh Steelers with 5 appearance and 4 wins; or the San Francisco 49s with 5 win in 5 try's can even come close to Dallas's greatness of that time. Now the thing that make's this so remarkable is these teams did all this in the first 30 Super Bowls; 14 wins in 15 of the first 30 Super Bowls played. ( Dallas and Pittsburgh played each other in 3 of those games,Pittsburgh won 2 )Wow!!

Only the Pittsburgh Steelers of the three teams mention have found a way to stay Super Bowl relevant over the last 15 years since Dallas won
a Super Bowl. ( oh by the way, their win was against Pittsburgh ) Over this time Pittsburgh has won 8 division titles, been in the playoff's 9 times and played in 3 Super Bowls and won 2. Dallas on the other hand, has not been really heard of since the 90's. That lead's me to the question of why year after year so called Football experts have them as one of their pick to win it all? when getting into the playoff's seem to have been a chore, ( 4 division titles, 7 playoff's apperencs third best team in their own division in the last 15years! )

This bring me to my Notre Dame theory , how at the beginning of every season people try to put them in the mix without any just cause. Notre Dame has not been a factor in the National Championship picture for a lot longer than Dallas not being a real threat to win a Super Bowl. But they ( by they I mean the Football Media tying to find ways to pull them across the finish line, like that horse with great odds to win ) with nothing more than a name.

I know it might be hard to see the correlation between a College football team and the Dallas Cowboy, it's about perception and reality and how they get in each other's way. Perception, they are the teams they once were, reality they have not been at the top of their's football worlds in a combined 38 years ( 24years since Notre Dame won a National Championship, 15 years since Dallas last held the Super Bowl trophy ). Perception, because of their rich history of winning, that it somehow applies to their recent team's. Reality, there has been little or no reason to believe they are even close to being the team's they once were. Perception they've had the leadership top to bottom to produce a winning team year after year. Reality, there hasn't been stability at the top of either team in many years. Notre Dame has not been the same since Lou Holtz left in ( 1996 ), Jerry Jones though he was smarter then his Coach Jimmy Johnson witch lead to Jimmy's leaving in (1993 ) Dallas has never recovered ( yes they won a Super Bowl with Jimmy Johnson's guys two years later, but have only had one real shot to get back to the Super Bowl since. )

Where as I do believe Dallas is in a lot better position to get to a Super Bowl, than Notre Dame will ever be to a National Championship; they are both not as close as it has been talked about year after year in the media. Both team's have a very strong fan following across the country, they have a great football history, but sports is about what have you done for me lately. The fact is Dallas as it is with Notre Dame has done nothing for years, and how the football media can fall for the hype at the beginning of every season is beyond me.

Www.ajstakeonthenfl.blogspot.com

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

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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