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

Jim Harbauh Bring's Old School Football To San Francisco

Jim Harbauh Bring's Old School Football To San Francisco

Rookie head coach Jim Harbauh of the 8&1 NFC west leading 49ers has brought a refreshing old school style of NFL football to the city by the bay. The turnaround in San Francisco is nothing short of remarkable. Harbauh has change a whole mindset of losing in less than a season with hard nose smash mouth football. It has all started at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The 49ers have a mentality of hit them hard, hit them often, take away your opponent will to compete. Mix in a great running game some timely passing and a defense that imposes it's will on the other team's offense and there you have a winning formula.

What makes the job coach Harbauh has done more amazing is he did it with very little time ( because of the lockout ) to get a full handle on his team. The most important thing for this turn-a-round is this team is playing Harbauh football. From day one he laid out his plan and his players who only needed leadership brought in. And yes it's help's that they play in the NFC west, however this 49ers team has gone into the NFC east and handed out loses. The only thing we have yet to see is can quarterback Alex Smith win a QB driven game. Will he be able to deliver in an old fashion shoot-out?

Regardless of which side of the debate line your on regarding the 49ers this season, even the most harden doudter ( I'm one ) has to give it up to the outstanding coaching job Harbauh and his coaching staff has done with this young team. Gone are the days of the west coast offense spread them out 4 or 5 deep and finest the ball down the field. Ring in the Harbauh old school smash mouth brand of football. Either way the fans of 49ers football can stand up proud knowing winning NFL football is coming back to the city by the bay.

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

The best five coaches in the NFC after the first quarter of the season.

The best five coaches in the NFC after the first quarter of the season.

Jim Harbaugh - San Francisco 49ers
Jim Schwartz - Detroit Lions
Mike McCarthy - Green Bay Packers
Sean Payton New Orleans Siants
Mike Shanahan - Washington Redskins

It's has aways been said a coach need's a quarter of an NFL season to gage what kind of team he might have any given season. I think this particular season with what coaches had to overcome due to the lockout, fans around the NFL are finding out what kind of coach they have leading their teams thur the first quarter of this season. Above I've listed my top 5 coaches in the NFC who took advantage of the short window they had because of the work stoppage, and did an outstanding job of preparing their team's to start a very difficult season of NFL football.

( 1 )
Number one on my list is San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh who took over a 49ers team that finish the 2010 season's with a 6&10 record and going nowhere fast. A gapping hole at quarterback because up to this point their first's overall draft pick of the 2005 draft pick Alex Smith had done nothing to show he belonged in the NFL let alonethe number one pick in any draft. Harbaugh has brought a take no pioneers approach he learn from his super bowl winning coach Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears. The 49ers have a toughness about them on both side of the ball and Harbaugh has found a way to reach his starting QB unlike coaches before him. If not for a questionable decision in the Dallas Cowboys game the 49ers might be one of three undefeated teams, however he's still number one on my list.

( 2 ) would have been easy putting Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz at the top of my list, however unlike Harbaugh his Lion's team was on everyone's radar as being a team to keep an eye on coming into the 2011 season. The Lions have started this season by winning their first 5 games and being one of only two teams who have yet to tasted a loss this season, which put him second on my list. The Lions enter this season with the key parts to fielded a playoff team. But with quarterback Matthew Stafford only having 13 starts in his first two seasons in the league, no one new if he could stand up to the pressure he would be under. Schwartz's has done a great job in the early stages of this season of instilling a winning attitude in his young team, and the believe's that anything is possible.

( 3 )Number three on the list is not a surprise it's coach Mike McCarthy of the super bowl champion Green Bay Packers. The hardest part of being a - champ is that most people expect you to do it again. So if you don't start the next season with a bang, the only place you can go is down. Coach McCarthy has shown Packers fans he has the pulse of his team. With all the questions he fielded during the lockout about if by his team not having team workouts, might it hurt his team's chances to repeat. Mike McCarthy not only let the media know but also Packers fan that he knew his team's was taking care of business during the lockout and when the season started they would be ready to defend their title. The Packers have taken up where they left off last season, by winning their first 5 games played, so far so good no super bowl hangover for this super bowl team.

( 4 )
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton come's in atnumber 4, and if not for the close lost to the defending super bowl champ's Packers he would be first on my list. Of all the coaches on my list, the job Payton has done to get his team off to a 4&1 start this season is probably the most remarkable. Without the ability to have contact with his players ( due to the lockout ) and no real way of knowing what affect the lost to the 7&9 Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoff's would have on his team, Payton had to be a little worry about his team's mind set going into this coming season. The one ace in a hole coach Payton had going for his-self was knowing his team leader and hall of frame QB Drew Brees was not going to let his teammates forget how their season ended. Brees using money out of his own pocket, got his team together and ran his own team workouts. If there was ever a team the needed this time together before the lockout ended it was the Saints. Payton has parlayed his QB's hard work with his own great coaching into an almost perfect start to the season and a big chance at dethroning Green Bay as super bowl champ's.

( 5 )
Rounding out my top 5 is coach Mike Shanahan of theWashington Redskins who has proven his handling of the Donavan McNabb situation was right and all us football know it all's were wrong. Shanahan also gave further credence to Eagles coach Andy Reid ( poor Andy needs badly to be right about something ) that McNabb has lost the ability to play quarterback in the NFL. Shanahan and owner Dan Snider own up to their's mistakes of last season and cut ties with the dead weight they carry on the team by saying goodbye to millions of dollars and parting ways with McNabb and the out of shape, I don't want to play the 3/4 defense Albert Haynesworth. In doing that Mike sent a massage to his team that he had the backing of his owner, so it was his way or the highway. Now with a strong defense and running game and also a quarterback who can run his system on offense. The Redskins are out to a 3&1 record and leading the dream team Eagles and the rest of the NFC east.

Although we are only a quarter of the way into this NFL season, theses five NFC coaches have been far and away the best at doing their jobs.

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

Can the NFC west really be this bad?

Can the NFC west really be this bad?
( yes it can )

With the NFC west already eliminated from super bowl contention, the only question that need's to be answer is which team will be the sacrificial lamb in this year's playoff. As hard as I find it to believe the NFL west division may be worst than is was last season. The only thing NFC west fans can be assured of is that by NFL rules one of their teams has to go to the playoff. Last season's preseason favorite San Francisco 49ers has a new coach ( Jim Harbaugh, ) no quarterback and no chance at all winning this bad division.

The Seattle Seahawks last season division winner with a 7&9 record, ( first time in NFL history that a team made the playoff with a losing record ) let their leader of ten seasons quarterback Matt Hasselback go to the Tennessee Titans to help tutor Titans first round draft pick Jake Locker. Than to make matters worst the Seahawks acquire Tarvaris Jackson of the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings through so much of this quarterback that they sent three players to kil Mississippi to talk Brett Favre off his tractor out of retirement with a bad ankle. The Seahawks will need a lot of luck to win three games.

The Arizona Cardinals made a big move in the division by signing Kevin Kolb the displaced quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles to a free agent contract. But with only a hand full of starts on his resume, the Cardinals are taking a huge leap of faith that all this hype of Kolb is real and not just fool goal. The Cardinals will be better than they were last season, however they won't see a 500 record or the playoff.

That leave's the ST Louis Rams the best team in a pretty bad division. With second year quarterback Sam Bradford looking to take another step forward after a very good rookies season. The Rams clearly have the best team in the NFC west, however they may be the next team in the west to win the division with a sub 500 record. The Rams have a nice young team, with a young quarterback you can built around, but the key word is young. The Rams will need to feed on their own division to have any chance of reaching 8&8 this season.

If there's a silver lining the NFC west can look forward to, is the fact of knowing the sweepstakes winner for Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will be coming out of it's division.

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

No chance

Minnesota Vikings - - San Francisco 49ers - - Tennessee Titans
Carolina Panthers - - Buffalo Bills - - Cleveland Brown
Seattle Seahawks - - Miami Dolphins - - Jacksonville Jaguar
Arizona Cardinals - - Washington Redskins - - Cincinnati Bengals

You would like to think as a fan when a season start's your team has a chance to win, however how would you as a fan feel knowing your team has no chance of winning going into a season? Now this can be said of all sports fans in all of sports, but NFL football adds another level of pressure for it's fan because of the 16 game schedule. In major league baseball or NBA basketball a four of five game losing streak is not the end of a season for most of it's teams and fans. But in the NFL if your team go's on that kind of losing streak in almost all cases season over see you next year. There's a lot of reasons teams fail to make it to the top of the mountain, ( ownership, coaching, injuries, or maybe personnel ) regardless of the reasons, being a fan of a team with no chance of winning is very painful.

As a die hard Packers fan for over 40 years, I remember the Packer team's of the 70's and 80's who had little or no chance of winning. 20 seasons only two playoff appearance and only three winning season. So i know what it feel like to be a fan of a team you know can't win. I've listed 12 teams I believe have no chance of winning this coming season and most of them have a common theme quarterback. Of the 12 teams three of them have QB's who have show the promise they might be able to win in the NFL. ( Cleveland's Colt Mccoy, Jacksonville's, David Garrard, and Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick ) But theses three teams have a lot more to overcome then QB.

For anyone who has read my blogs you know what I think of the quarterback position. Without a bonafide leader at that position you just can't win consistently. I could have added a few more teams to my list but decided on my bottom 12. This whole CBA lockout mess has all but guarantee's a very bad season of football for a lot of teams in the NFL, and theses 12 teams in particular will be hit hardest this coming season. There is always a surprise team or two that pop up every season, however I don't think it will be coming out of this group of 12 teams on my list. So to the fans of any team on my list I feel your pain.

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