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

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

Rookies head coaches have not yet met their teams

Rookies head coaches have not yet met their teams

Hi my name is.......Hue Jackson, Ron Rivera, Pat Shurmur, Jim Harbaugh Mike munchak All rookies head coaches who have yet to meet their prospective teams.This NFL lockout has put an almost comical twist on the 2011 season. Theses five coaches have been working hard on next season's game plan, without even as much as a hand shake ( because of the no contact rule) with the players they're planing they're game plans around. Now I know Hue Jackson was part of the Oakland Raiders coaching staff last season as their offensive coordinator and know's most of his team; but going from coordinator to head coach take's on a different mind set for players.You go from being one of the guys to being the man. Mike Munchak has been with Tennessee Titans as their offensive line coach for over a decade, but like Jackson he's moving into the hot seat.

With training camps only two months away theses rookies will be at a huge disadvantage going into the 2011 season. Not only are they taking over troubled teams, they are doing it without the ability to get to know just how troubled the teams might be. If you add new Denver Bronco head coach John Fox into the mix ( who has NFL head coaching experience ) that give you six coaches who when this lockout is finally over; will have to spend the needed time they really don't have just introducing them-self's to players they don't know before they can proceed with the jobs they were hire to do. And Let's not forget to all of assistant coaches who come with theses new head coaches.

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