Playoffs? Playoffs?

I’m amazed.  I’m dumbfounded.  I’m baffled.  I’m not sure why I’m writing this on a Saturday.  Yes I am.  It’s because another of the widely-accepted media outlets has provided Carolina Panthers fans with another reason to scratch their heads.

This time it’s an article written by a former outsider who has become accepted enough to write for a “major publication’s” website - Mike Florio.  (You might know him better as the anti-estabilshment blogger from Pro Football Talk.)  Now, he’s writing two columns per week for the Sporting News’ website.

In his most recent entry, Florio is making playoff predictions for the 2008 season.  He’s deftly chosen six teams from last year’s postseason to miss out in ‘08 - Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants.

I can agree with at least three on that list and possibly four but it’s not always a good idea to bet against the World Champions even though we’ve seen Super Bowl-winning teams miss out the following year in the past.

Then Florio goes on to list six teams that missed the playoffs last year who he is sure will be on the outside looking in once again next season.  This is the part where I blow a gasket.

Here’s what he says about our Carolina Panthers:

The Panthers have the talent. For whatever reason, they can’t put it all together. It has been that way for two seasons, since the Panthers lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game on Jan. 22, 2006.

Once again, the Panthers look solid on paper, especially with a pair of first-round picks in running back Jonathan Stewart and offensive tackle Jeff Otah. But Carolina GM Marty Hurney still hasn’t done anything to establish a receiving threat across from Steve Smith or provide depth at quarterback behind Jake Delhomme, whose star is in danger of burning out for good.

Come January, then, it’ll be another round of excuse-making for a team that should have been good enough to go places in the postseason but simply didn’t.

Let me go on record - Florio, you’re wrong on so many levels.

First, educate yourself a little, would you?  While I’m not the biggest Marty Hurney fan on the planet I will have to give the man some credit for doing something “to establish a receiving threat across from Steve Smith.”  I’ll name them for you - Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett.

No, he didn’t add Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens or Randy Moss.  We don’t need players like that here.  What he did was far from the nothing you think he did.  Maybe the Panthers don’t have a perennial All-Pro opposite Steve Smith but to hear Smith tell it, he’s happy with who is lined up opposite him.  Plus, none of these guys are named Drew Carter or Keary Colbert.  I’d have to say that adding Jerry Rice ten years after his prime would be an upgrade over those guys.

Second, Jake Delhomme’s star is not “in danger of burning out for good.”  What gave you this idea?  Was it the Tommy John surgery?

Read up on this procedure, please.  John Smoltz came back from it with flying colors.  Yeah, he’s a pitcher and not a quarterback.  What makes him a perfect comparison is that he is a pitcher since pitchers’ arms take more abuse than quarterbacks’ arms.  My guess is that Jake comes back from this injury and surgery better than he was before it.

Third, I’d like to turn your attention to the schedule that the Panthers will face next year.  Since the team will face only four playoff teams from ‘07 and seven teams that had losing records last year, I’d say they have a very good chance to reclaim some of their pride.

Fourth, while you included, the Jets, Browns, Chiefs, Lions and Cardinals you had to throw in the Panthers, right?  Are you forgetting some of the other obvious teams?  Are Miami, Oakland, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Houston, and St. Louis not bad enough for you to include?

I guess it’s all going to boil down to this - we are going to have to read more drivel like this during this offseason.  It’s what happens when your team hasn’t made the playoffs in two years, I guess.  It does, at least, create low expectations for the team.  Then, when they’ve won their tenth game and are on their way to the postseason, guys like Mike Florio can start writing columns entitled “Welcome to the Playoff Party Panthers: Teams Who Could Make Surprise Runs Deep In the Playoffs!”

There’s nothing like a bandwagon-riding media moron, is there?

Vanderjagt Is Back In Football

A little more than two years after he shanked away a chance at the Super Bowl for the Colts and just one season after being cut by the Cowboys, Mike Vanderjagt is back in football, this time up north.

Mike Vanderjagt has signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.  Vanderjagt started his career in the CFL, one season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and two with the Argos.  He also played in the Arena Football League prior to playing for the Colts.

Vanderjagt was not popular here in Indy.  He insulted Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning, something you cannot do if you want to be accepted by the city.  It didn’t help that he was horrible in the clutch and blew a chance at the Super Bowl in the 2006 season.

Personally, I am not a fan of Vanderjagt.  I commonly refer to him as “Vandershank” or “Dr. Shankenstein”.  However, he is definitely a Hall of Famer.  Statistically, he is the most accurate kicker in NFL history.  I’m glad to see that he is back in the CFL, a league where kicking is more valued than in America because of singles.

Our liquored-up, idiot kicker is back in football.  Hopefully the Argos won’t need him in the clutch.

Whitlock Is The Waste Of Ink, Not Tats

Man, has Jason Whitlock done it this time. I was left dumbfounded by his latest piece, a Fox Sports column in which he claims that this NBA postseason has done so well because the Conference Finals involved less tattoos than usual. Is this guy fucking serious? Possibly the five most-popular players in the league–LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Shaq and Carmelo Anthony–have tats. Four of those five have heavy, heavy ink. Other than Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade and Kevin Garnett, almost all of the NBA’s other American-born superstars have tattoos. Even Tim Duncan has a tat. What does this have to do with the Chiefs? Everything. At the heart of Whitlock’s piece is that lots of sports fans, especially in Middle America, still are old-fashioned, closed-minded, prejudiced and judgmental. Everyone always points out that the NBA has a race or culture problem. Why isn’t it the fans and media who have the problem? After all, NFL players have raised way more hell in the past few years than their hoopster counterparts. I’m not calling all Midwesterners or sports fans racist here. What I’m getting at is that as a whole both Midwesterners and sports fans are definitely less open-minded and more prejudiced than your average Jane or Joe elsewhere in America and outside the sports world. Or that’s the perception out there, anyway. Personally, I’ve been thinking that a lot of progress had been made. Thanks for ruining that, Big Sexy. Let’s compare Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes. Priest may have been great with the media, and he may have had a pretty smile and clean-cut image, but he was a lousy teammate. In the end he showed that he was more about Priest than the Chiefs. Additionally, Priest has about half as many illegitimate kids as ODB left behind. Meanwhile, L.J. has been a perfect citizen other than one minor situation five years ago. Johnson may be kind of aloof when it comes to the media, but he’s a dedicated Chief. In reality, Johnson is at least just as much of a role model, a player and a Chief as Priest was. Also, his demeanor might rub some the wrong way, but at least it’s honest. In retrospect, didn’t Priest come off a little fake? Nonetheless, Priest was practically handed the key to the city while L.J. has damn near been ostracized by fans of the Red and Gold. Do tattoos have something to do with that? I’m guessing yes. (more…)

Jason Taylor Can Go Dance Somewhere Else

Adam Schefter is at it again. Check out his latest post here about potential landing pads for embattled Miami Dolphins end, and Dancing with the Stars tiptoes, Jason Taylor. Here is one of the five teams he can envision Taylor with:   Dallas –- Of all the potential landing spots, none is more intriguing than Dallas. It is a longshot, granted, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones never can be ruled out. The Cowboys have debated the merits of trading for Taylor and they already hold additional draft picks in 2009 -– Cleveland’s in the third round, Detroit’s in the fourth. Dallas could decide to package picks and/or a disgruntled player such as defensive end Greg Ellis or safety Roy Williams that former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells knows well. Dallas knows its loaded at defensive end now with Ellis, DeMarcus Ware and last year’s first-round pick, Anthony Spencer. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones never bypasses big-name, talented players such as Taylor. He has thought about the possibility of Taylor in Dallas and, despite the long odds, could wind up taking action. He also mentioned Philadelphia as a possible team that may be interested in Taylor. Schefter is out of his mind if he thinks the Dallas Cowboys would trade Greg Ellis or Roy Williams for an over-the-hill defensive end with young DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer on the team. A trade for Taylor involving any of those players is idiotic. Schefter “and his Dallas could” scenarios involve no common sense. Is there much of a difference with Ellis and Taylor at this stage of their careers? I certainly don’t think so. That’s not to say the Cowboys may not try to get Taylor. I am just saying it won’t involve Ellis or Williams, and it shouldn’t. Let the Eagles get him so we can watch another big-name defensive end flop in Philly.

Cam Cameron Gets Ravens Offense Up to Speed

Interesting development out of this week’s voluntary mini-camp, as Cam Cameron disclosed that the Baltimore Ravens’ offense is learning the new system at game speed. Route running, play clock management, and other important aspects of learning the new playbook are being conducting through simulations of real game time.

“You have to create one pace,” Cameron said. “You can’t have a practice pace, and then a game pace, especially in the passing game. You can’t run routes at a certain pace in practice, and then at another pace in a game. Everything has to be simulated at game speed.”

Simple enough.

Marvin Under Fire

Haskmarks notes that Marvin Lewis is the only coach with four or more seasons in his job not to have delivered at least one playoff victory. I agree with B.J.: it’s tough to argue with Sal Paolantonio when he says that Marvin is overrated.

Matt Miller keeps hating on the Bengals.

Doc makes an interesting comparison.

Eric Deters, the lawyer representing those suing Chad Johnson over the whole Lexus/comedy club thing says that Ocho Bozo lied under oath and has the “mental agility of a small soap dish.”

The Chickster thinks that LB Ahmad Brooks is on the bubble.

Turns out that Odell Thurman isn’t the only player to have lost a spot on the Bengals due to a death in the family. Speaking of Odell, his reps say they will be talking to a half-dozen teams next week.

Testimony from a Fresno State team doctor supporting Jason Shirley’s contention that a concussion, not booze, was responsible for his October arrest has been delayed until Monday.

Who Dey Revolution runs through the mess at running back.

Football Outsiders reviews the current state of the AFC North.

Link-A-Rama Wrap Up

Continuing my weekly series, here is a wrap up of what other teams int he NFL are doing/saying:

Our first opponent of the year, Cleveland Browns, are trying to improve its secondary, too. Read it here.

Colts blog, Naptown’s Finest is back in business here. I think the Colts will see the beginning of the downfall of its franchise this season.

Riggo’s Rag thinks the acquisition of Erasmus James is genius. We think he is dumb. Read it here.

Inside the Iggles thinks giving a mediocre general manager an extension is going to somehow improve the Eagles. We think he is dumb, too. Read it here.

Here’s the scoop on the Giants/Jets new stadium to open in two years. Not as nice as the Jerry’s billion-dollar baby, is it?

Quintin Demps Inks

The Eagles 4th round pick out of UTEP signed a 4 year deal yesterday. Quintin Demps is the first Eagle to sign his contract, and he is ready to work.

With Brian Dawkins turning 35 this year, it was no secret that they had to look for a FS to groom behind Dawk. Demps had more interceptions(17) than any other player in this draft class.

>>Eagles, Demps Agree To Four-Year Deal (PE.com)

The New Kid On the Block

Hey, I’m Sam.  I’ve been blogging about the Colts for about 13 months now.  I’m a born and raised Hoosier living in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.  Since December 2007, I’ve ben blogging for my self-created blogger Pro-Colts Stuff (http://coltshomer.blogspot.com for anyone interested), and now I’m the blogger for Naptown’s Finest.

I’m a die-hard Colts fan whose followed this team since birth.  I know this team inside and outside, and I am a more than capable blogger.  I will be an active blogger, so check back here frequently.  My goal is to be known as a smart and respectable blogger, and I plan to help the Fansided.com network become the premier blog network on the blogosphere today.

I am admittedly a homer, as you can probably tell from my blogger’s URL, but that’s just because I know the innerworkings of the Colts organization.  This team is going to be great.  So will this blog.

Coaches Cover For Roy Williams

There’s more to that headline than you think. Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams continues to take heat from the blogosphere and the big-bad press.

But his coaches are having none of it. Head Coach Wade Phillips is quoted in the Associated Press saying he hates to hear Williams get bashed. To recap, Greg Ellis and Terence Newman have each opined on Williams’ play.

“He can do better, but he was voted into the Pro Bowl. He was our second-leading tackler missing two games, so he had a lot of positive last year that I think people are overlooking,” Phillips said.

Defensive backcoach Dave Campo said the criticism aimed at Williams’ coverage skills is “a bunch of baloney.” We hope Campo is right, because he knows Williams. He was coach when the Cowboys drafted the former Oklahoma Sooner in 2002, an era when Williams was truly feared.

Williams plays his own mental games by changing his jersey to his college number of 38, and somehow we’re supposed to believe that will transform him into a beast in the East again. I haven’t completely given up on Williams, especially with Campo back. If his drop in weight is true, and if he is working harder, then it is possible for him to be better. But he also needs to be a teammate and a leader. This criticism is obviously getting to him, and we can only hope it is fuel to bring Williams back to being a force.

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