NFL 2011 Super Bowl XLVI

So, Dean Pees is Baltimore's new D coordinator. This moves makes complete sense since he has the experience and was promoted from within (I believe he was linebackers coach, a rather important job in Baltimore).

Jack Del Rio is now Denver's D coordinator which makes even more sense. Smart move to snag him as soon as the other guy left for Oakland.

Knowing nothing about the man, you've gotta respect the presence Greg Schiano has. The man sounds like a head coach. I still don't know what to make of his record at Rutgers, but in the end he seems more like an NFL head coach than Raheem Morris ever did. Schiano doesn't smell like Steve Spurrier to me.

And finally, a small, but interesting critique of Gene Smith's drafting.

Knowing nothing about the man, you've gotta respect the presence Greg Schiano has. The man sounds like a head coach. I still don't know what to make of his record at Rutgers, but in the end he seems more like an NFL head coach than Raheem Morris ever did. Schiano doesn't smell like Steve Spurrier to me.

I agree. There may have been a better hire out there but it is not going to get better if we complain about it. I gave Raheem a chance I'll give this guy a chance. I definitely like the things he says and the NFL players that have played for him have nothing but respect for the guy.

Last year was so catastrophic I refuse to believe any of it matters in the long run; that was so epically bad it doesn't matter. It doesn't change my Freemancrush at all. Freeman will be a much better QB this year.

I agree. I'm 100% convinced that Freeman's regression was due to Greg Olson's coaching and scheme. Even last year, you could see that a lot of the good Freeman did was due to his talent and not the plays. The plays Olsen drew up led to so many empty 1st halves in the last 2 years.

Just to show you the type of player and man Freeman is you can check below and I've highlighted some stuff as well.

From ESPN NFC SOUTH BLOG

TAMPA, Fla. -- The show on the stage was impressive on every level.

The moment Greg Schiano started talking, you got the sense the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had more order, direction and control than at any point in the past three years. Schiano said all the right things and said them the right way. I’ve seen some introductory speeches for coaches through the years.

I’ve seen Sam Wyche trying to play cheerleader on the back of a flat-bed truck outside the old Tampa Stadium, Tony Dungy very dryly talking about what he’d bring to the Bucs (before any of us realized the depth of the man) and John Fox trying way too hard, and not really succeeding, to instantly win over the Carolina fans and media.

Schiano did none of that. He just let it flow naturally and everything he said was perfect.

But the most impressive show I saw was taking place about 30 yards away from where Schiano stood. That’s where a young man sat silently. He sat completely upright and seemed to be listening intently to everything his new coach said.

That man was Josh Freeman. There’s little doubt Schiano’s hiring will be a big point in Buccaneers’ history -- for better or worse. Schiano’s got a huge job ahead of him and he might have the skills to succeed.

But Freeman is still the most important person in One Buccaneer Place. He is the quarterback. He now is Schiano’s quarterback. If things are going to turn around for the Buccaneers after a disastrous 4-12 final season by Raheem Morris, Freeman might have to play an even bigger role than Schiano.

Tampa Bay's Josh FreemanJosh Freeman is looking to improve on a disappointing 2011 season.
Freeman is an enormous talent with all sorts of leadership intangibles. The only problem is Morris, his staff and Freeman’s supporting cast came dangerously close to ruining him last season. Freeman threw 22 interceptions last season, after throwing only six in a very promising 2010 campaign.

This kid is too good a talent and a person to ruin. If Schiano is going to succeed, he needs to get Freeman back on track.

Perhaps the best news of the day was that the quarterback and the coach already are on the same page. Freeman was in Kansas City on Thursday when he got the call from general manager Mark Dominik, alerting him that Schiano had been hired.

Freeman did exactly what you would expect a good leader to do. He went and bought a plane ticket to Tampa. In Freeman’s eyes, he had to be there.

“First day, first press conference and I really wanted the opportunity to meet coach Schiano and show him that I’m here and I’m ready to go,’’ Freeman said.

The coach and the quarterback met before the news conference. Freeman, who publicly supported Morris to the bitter end, came away impressed.

“I love his direction,’’ Freeman said. “He’s a very passionate coach and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play for him.’’

As he introduced Schiano, Dominik used words like “structured," “organized" and “disciplined." As he spoke about himself, Schiano revealed one of his main mottos “Trust, belief and accountability’’.

As Schiano went on about his “TBA" formula, I took a look back over my shoulder at Freeman. There seemed to be a gleam in his eyes, even more of a gleam than when Schiano mentioned that his offensive philosophy includes taking shots down field.

Every quarterback wants to hear a coach say he wants to take shots down field. But more than getting to throw some deep passes, I think Freeman needs, and wants, the “TBA’’.

Freeman was a leader for the Bucs in 2010. He was a leader as he organized offseason workouts last spring and summer during the lockout. He went into last season as a leader. I don’t think Freeman ever stopped trying to be that leader.

I think he simply got dragged down by the total lack of leadership and direction from the previous coaching staff. A lot of players ran wild and there was no accountability and not nearly enough leadership from other corners of the locker room. The Bucs were a ship out of control.

There’s no question the Bucs need control and discipline.

“There is going to be a Buccaneer way and they are going to be Buccaneer men,’’ Schiano said.

Schiano’s going to run things a lot different than Morris. That’s a good thing for Freeman, who is a guy that believes in structure and order. He’ll get that now and he might even get some improvements in his supporting cast.

The Bucs now have a coach that just might put them in a position where they have a chance to succeed. More importantly, they’ve got a leader who is totally on the same page as the coach and that could take them a long way.

“That’s the only way to have success in this league is to have people buying in with the trust, belief and accountability,’’ Freeman said. “There’s really no other way. Everybody’s got to be full tilt from Day One. The direction Coach Schiano s going to take this team in is going to be great and it’s exciting.’’

I like the way Schiano carries himself; he "feels" like a coach instead of a buddy who just wants to give you high-fives and then stands with a playbook up his rear when things start going badly. A lot will clearly depend on coordinators, particularly on the offensive side/QB coach. Interested to see if Freeman will have the same obsessive film study/workout schedule he had in between his first and second years; I certainly hope so.

I'm getting tired of the Internet making me feel old. "I wanna kiss you" was eight years ago?

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/75...

hooboy! He will light a fire in the locker room for sure.

Caldwell as the QB coach... He has done wonderfully with Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. I guess he coached Peyton Manning, so maybe he picked up some tips there.

Yeah seems like a really odd choice to further Flacco's development.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Yeah seems like a really odd choice to further Flacco's development.

Caldwell would seem to be an excellent choice if you want to teach somebody to be completely unflappable. And I mean COMPLETELY unflappable.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:
LeapingGnome wrote:

Yeah seems like a really odd choice to further Flacco's development.

Caldwell would seem to be an excellent choice if you want to teach somebody to be completely unflappable. And I mean COMPLETELY unflappable.

Flacco could use that.

Peyton Manning is the only reason anyone outside of Indianapolis even bothered to watch the Colts play for the last 8 years. And in that sense, I think Irsay needs to tread a little more carefully when it comes to how he treats the whole divorce. I understand that they can't pay him $28million, but they really are staring disaster in the face right now.

Each year we express this, but I thought I'd go ahead and express it this year.

Man, football's almost over.

And damn does this week leading up to the Super Bowl suck.

I can't remember a Superbowl in which I cared about the outcome even less than this one.

Paleocon wrote:

I can't remember a Superbowl in which I cared about the outcome even less than this one.

ding ding ding. The last round feels like a month ago and honestly the way both games ended was deflating.

Well I'm excited because it will be two good football teams in what will hopefully be a good football game.

Giants 26 - Patriots: 30 - It'll be a good game.

Yeah I am mourning the end of the season too. And the dead time of sports for me to give a crap about until the NCAA tourney.

Paleocon wrote:

I can't remember a Superbowl in which I cared about the outcome even less than this one.

This ...

Paleocon wrote:

I can't remember a Superbowl in which I cared about the outcome even less than this one.

...

... and this ...

thejustinbot wrote:

Well I'm excited because it will be two good football teams in what will hopefully be a good football game.

... pretty much sum up where my head is on this game. I'm not rooting for (or against) either team, and I really don't care who wins. But I expect it will be close and competitive.

Hell, it needs to be good. This is the game that has to tide us over until September.

I think I need to start passing out tissues.

I can honestly say that as a football fan, there has never been a Super Bowl where I wasn't excited to watch it, regardless of the two opponents. And I'm not saying that because my team is in it, I'm saying it because it's true. Had San Francisco made it, I still would have been stoked. To each his own, but it really does sound like sour grapes when people not only say that they're just not interested in watching the SB this year, but feel the need to say it more than once.

*EDIT*
Let me preface this post by stating I am not talking about anyone in this thread. People have said to my face that they are "not watching the Super Bowl this year".

I think I'll make sure to have beer out and the poker table set up for the Superbowl party this year.

Kush15 wrote:

Let me preface this post by stating I am not talking about anyone in this thread. People have said to my face that they are "not watching the Super Bowl this year".

They totally will ... if only for the commercials.

Kush15 wrote:

I think I need to start passing out tissues.

I can honestly say that as a football fan, there has never been a Super Bowl where I wasn't excited to watch it, regardless of the two opponents. And I'm not saying that because my team is in it, I'm saying it because it's true. Had San Francisco made it, I still would have been stoked. To each his own, but it really does sound like sour grapes when people not only say that they're just not interested in watching the SB this year, but feel the need to say it more than once.

*EDIT*
Let me preface this post by stating I am not talking about anyone in this thread. People have said to my face that they are "not watching the Super Bowl this year".

well says you!!!!!!!!! and yes its sour grapes... I mean I can't even root for the AFC team against the stinkin Giants.. thats the problem.. ANY other AFC team and I'm in the clear.. I'm in the game rooting hard against the Giants.

I'm in the "not all that excited" group as well. I will, of course, watch and enjoy the game.

To me, the boredom factor comes from the fact that neither team is particularly "good", in championship terms. The Giants are a 9-7 team that's peaked at the right time. And the Patriots are a slightly less good version of the Patriot teams we've already sat and watched in multiple Super Bowls.

Also, it's a true blue PolianBall Super Bowl: the #2 and #8 ranked offenses, and the #27 and #31 ranked defenses.

I'd like to know where the Giants and Patriots defenses ranked the final 5 or 6 weeks of the seasons. The Giants got healthy and came on strong.

Since everyone is restating their positions, I remain excited to watch a rematch of the last Super Bowl that I really enjoyed, with multiple interesting storylines.

Kush15 wrote:

I think I need to start passing out tissues.

I can honestly say that as a football fan, there has never been a Super Bowl where I wasn't excited to watch it, regardless of the two opponents. And I'm not saying that because my team is in it, I'm saying it because it's true. Had San Francisco made it, I still would have been stoked. To each his own, but it really does sound like sour grapes when people not only say that they're just not interested in watching the SB this year, but feel the need to say it more than once.

*EDIT*
Let me preface this post by stating I am not talking about anyone in this thread. People have said to my face that they are "not watching the Super Bowl this year".

I'll admit it. I'm a Packers fan first and a football fan second.

A fitting ending would be a late game fumbled punt followed by a missed FG... which I won't witness.

Also considering the NFL is so gungho on going to 18 games why don't they just expand the playoffs to 16 teams instead... first. Honestly I would take that compromise over a longer season in an already brutal sport. If they want parity what better then letting 4 more teams into a 1 off playoff system.

jowner wrote:

Also considering the NFL is so gungho on going to 18 games why don't they just expand the playoffs to 16 teams instead... first. Honestly I would take that compromise over a longer season in an already brutal sport. If they want parity what better
then letting 4 more teams into a 1 off playoff system.

I think this is an excellent idea. I also think this should be coupled with 2 regular season bye weeks per team. Make the regular season 18 weeks, and you still have teams playing 16 games, put the bye weeks between Week 4-15 (so team will get a break later in the year, it pains me to see teams getting Week 3 bye weeks, and no rest the remainder of the season). You get 1 more week of games during the reg season and the playoffs, you get more important games late in the year, and probably with more rest, less injuries.

Why don't all the sports sites show stats like hurries and QB knockdowns?

garion333 wrote:

Why don't all the sports sites show stats like hurries and QB knockdowns?

They are unofficial stats. And usually, the source for these numbers is STATS Inc's proprietary stat tracking.

The NFL really isn't very good with "secondary" stat keeping.

I actually pay money to ProFootballFocus.com, who do their own independent stat counting, to have access to secondary stats like these. Their premium stats service used to be $90, which I wouldn't pay, but is now $30, which I do.

Really, though, this is one of those blind spots the NFL has. If I were commissioner, I would bring this sort of stat counting under the official umbrella and make available to fans. I would also form a small commission to hit the film archives and retroactively stat-count games in the past for stats we didn't track back then. There's no reason Deacon Jones shouldn't be on the all-time sacks list, just because we didn't start counting sacks until 1982. We have the film, we can review it and count them. Neither of these things are unreasonable pie-in-the-sky sort of endeavors for the world's most profitable sports league.

Alright, I've delayed make a pick long enough. I was waiting to see if anybody would get arrested or something. I'm going with the Giants.