I Feel Sorry For Jim Caldwell And The Detroit Lions Fans

Seriously, here is a guy (Jim Caldwell) who has helped coach one of the best QB’s in all of NFL history (Peyton Manning); led the Colts to a Superbowl; and helped turn around a Baltimore season slipping away into another Superbowl appearance AND ultimate victory.

He has also led the Peytonless Colts to a dismal record immediately after going to the Superbowl AND coordinated the Superbowl Ravens to a less than average ranked offense and no playoff appearance.

The question Detroit Lions fans are asking is: which Jim Caldwell are we going to get?

And yet the answer to that question really does not matter.

He will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t – and in the case of many Detroit Lion fans; he is already damned before he does anything at all.

If he turns the Lions around and takes that team and organization to the next level, they will say “see I told you so – the QB is great” all his success will be because the talent was “already there”. Just like in Indy.

If he fails, they will say “see I told you so” he can’t lead. Just like in Indy.

But Caldwell now has the chance to do what many have failed to do in the past and that is not only take the Lions to a Superbowl but to take three different teams to the Superbowl.

To bad many Lions fans will never see, or realize, that Jim Caldwell had the talent all along.

Would You Like Some Catchup With That

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Denver Broncos in double overtime in a game they were constantly playing catchup.

Notice I did not say Denver choked, gave the game away or that the Ravens stole a win. In a year when the Ravens and Flacco were remarkably inconsistent, the Broncos had been, well, remarkably consistent.

Yet it was the Ravens, and Flacco, who played consistently well on offense Saturday.

The knock on Flacco has been he is not an elite QB because he is not consistently great, or even consistently good. The praise on Manning has been he is an elite QB because he is consistently great, or at least consistently good.

Make no mistake about it; QB’s and their play are important. Nothing has exemplified that point this year more than the play of Facco and Peyton. But the mark of a great QB and, for that matter, a great team, is not only being consistently good but overcoming adversity as well. This year Peyton and the Broncos certainly did that; so did Flacco and the Ravens.

The game Saturday was between two great teams. The game was won by a great team which overcame adversity and has seemingly been playing catchup all year long.

Congratulations to the Ravens.

And Flacco.

Streaky Gut Predictions – Who Will Win The Super Bowl

Inspired by my blogger friend at Snot Bubble Football, I have come up with my “Streaky Gut” predictions for not only who will win the Super Bowl but the entire NFL playoff picture!

Originally I made a bracket based solely on statistically probability, but quickly realized that it looked just like every other “expert prognosticator” out there on the internet. . .

(Gee, I wonder how they came up with their brackets . . .)

And, decided it was, well . . . boring.

 

So I tore up the paper, tossed it into the fireplace, took another sip from my drink and went a different route.

I stuck with win streaks, hotness and the ultimate in hype . . . fabricated story lines!

After all, that is what truly sells.

Looking at the NFL playoff brackets, teams, players, coaches, and hidden story lines, I realized that there is a ton of marketing potential! Here are some, just to name a few:

• Ray Lewis’ final run and the Ravens
• Andrew Luck and the Colts
• Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning
• A rematch between the Bengals and the Texans
• Two rookie QB’s and their power running games
• A freaky godlike RB and the Vikings

It’s all there, just waiting for the networks to spin, and you to tune in and watch.

Here is what I see happening. . .

Scenario #1:

Yes, many will be talking about Ray Lewis’ final season and the Ravens ‘playing’ for their franchise player – the face of the team.  But it will not happen.

For one thing, another team already has the ‘lets win this one for him’ designation and that is the Colts. They will play well enough to win, and Flacco will have one of his notoriously frustrating ‘off’ days and pull a Romo.

The slumping Texans will be challenged by the Bengals and ultimately lose in OT in a low scoring game. It will not be won by any decisive offensive play, but rather, by the defense – the Bengals Defense.

This sets up a Colts vs Patriots and Bengals vs Broncos showdown. And some will say hey, it would be cool to have the Colts vs Broncos for the AFC Championship. Queue the ‘QB That I Used To Know‘ parody.

But it will not happen. No way. Sorry.

AFC Championship Game will be Broncos vs. Patriots.

Scenario #2:

A rematch of two old NFC teams with a history of playoff match-ups, epic games, and perhaps one team / player with a grudge and/or perhaps a thought of . . . revenge.

Add to this that said team player is carrying his team on his back, ALL DAY , ALL GAMES and you have match-up #2

The NFC Championship Game will be the AP Minnesota Vikings vs Washington Redskins!

But just like that day, back on January 17^th 1988, the Redskins will ‘make a play’ and ‘seal the deal’ for the ultimate prize against . . .

Yes folks, this sets up . . .

Scenario #3:

The Old vs New.

Imagine if you will – a former coach, called back into service to help restore fame and NFL fortune to a franchise going up against his old former team with a new owner (who just happened to have been tutored by said former retired coach) and newly resurrected “old” QB (who we used to know).

Imagine the headlines, the nationwide hoopla and hysteria of a match-up between the Shanahan RG3 Redskins and The Peyton (Elway) Broncos!

OMG!

It could happen.

But who will ultimately win the Super Bowl?

Look below at my streaky gut prediction to find out.

 

Oh, and if you want to see some of the other Fumbled Returns prognosticator predictions click below to see their brackets.

But, they are not as streaky or fun as mine . . . 😉

25 Million Pounds Of Snow !

Removed from FedEx Field for the game against the Giants Monday Night!

Extra Crews for both the Redskins and Ravens were set up since Friday to work through the storm in an effort to keep up with clearing activities.

And the Ravens have already delayed Sundays start time.

At least the Redskins have an extra day.

Our Official FumbledReturns Snow Measurement comes in with a solid 19 inches of snow!

Amazing…

Who would I hire?

OK, So lets jump ahead a bit from my last post…

The money has been raised, a coalition of power hungry politicians and corporate personnel have banded together in my grass roots campaign and bought controlling interest in the Redskins.

Now, who would I hire?…

That is easy, I would look to some young innovative subject matter experts who knows how to build winning football teams. I’d search for a GM/VP/God of football operations to take the reigns of the organization.

Here, imitation is the best form of flattery. And no, I am not necessarily talking about past historical success stories of the west coast offense.

I look towards current success stories.

Like …

Chris Polian of the Colts…
or
Eric DeCosta of the Ravens…
or
Mark Ross of the Giants…
or
Rick Spielman of the Vikings…

One of those would sign up for the role once it was guaranteed that Snyder would not have controlling, meddling interest is day to day and personnel decisions.