Reid and Turner back for 2012: Really? posted by Joe Anello

Black Monday came and went, but the coaching news continued on Tuesday with releases in Chicago and major retentions in San Diego and Philly. Were they the right moves? Let’s break ‘em down!

San Diego Chargers retain General Manager A.J. Smith and Head Coach Norv Turner

OH COME ON!!! I was finally ready to break-up the Turner/Philips romance. However, you can chalk up this stay of execution to a few select reasons. First, key players (i.e. Rivers) probably bitched enough to convince management that it would cause chemistry issues to change coaches. Second, who were they going to get that was even marginally better? Turner’s still got swagger when it comes to his offense, so I’m not sure who was out there (that would come to San Diego) that would be a marked improvement. Maybe Cowher or Gruden if they got extraordinarily lucky, but I’m sure they were rejected outright on those fronts. Finally, it’s the AFC West. A couple plays would have made the difference in getting the Chargers to the playoffs, so they don’t need to improve much to get there next year.

Fudge no. I’m sure team President Dean Spanos thought it’d easier to improve with continuity than an overhaul. I don’t care. I still think both of these guys needed to be put down. I’m still shocked they have their jobs. You let me down Dean.

The Final Drive: Week 17, 2011-12 posted by Joe Anello

The 2011 NFL regular season ended with a bang with some great finishes and superb drama on Sunday. Records were set by a back-up QB, a team captain was benched for “quitting” and a fat-handed QB lost missed out on the post-season. The Final Drive must begin!

This makes me beyond furious. Mike McCarthy takes out his MVP quarterback and starts a fourth year back-up with one career start in Matt Flynn, and f*cking records are broken. Six touchdowns? 480 yards? Who wouldn’t want to be Matt Flynn right now? That guy is about to make BANK as a free agent. Blow me Green Bay. Take your awesome quarterback development and blow me.

(6-10) Miami Dolphins 19
(8-8) New York Jets 17
Mark Sanchez: 3 interceptions. Santonio Holmes: benched and called out as a whiny quitter by his teammates.  (Seriously. Worst team captain ever.) Bart Scott: flips off a photographer and refuses to talk to the media (For once). Finally seeing theses loathsome Jets miss the playoffs is SO satisfying to me. Take it Rex Ryan. Take it hard.

I don’t give a crap about the result of this game. What I do care about is DeSean Jackson deciding to actually play like he means it and be remorseful for his completely idiotic actions this season in the last game of the year. I’d be surprised (not stunned though) if the Eagles kept Jackson around. Maybe franchise him and get him on a one-year deal, but you would have thought he’d have been on better behavior once he showed up to 2011.

The Final Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

It was a Christmas Eve of meaningful NFL action as all the remaining playoff spots were nearly filled and draft orders are beginning to finalize. Miss any of the action? No need to worry, because the Final Drive starts right now!

Indy… what are you doing??? After all the speculation, you could single-handedly win yourself out of a franchise quarterback. Knock it off. (Or play more scrubs.) To Houston, I say congratulations. You’re in the playoffs. Now get ready to go home before anyone else.

This was about as disappointing a loss as you could find on Sunday. For a division-leader that could have locked up their playoff berth to lay down to a team that had nothing to play for is unacceptable. The Teebs magic was all used up apparently as Timmy tossed four interceptions, two of which were boomerangs. I wish I had been able to watch this one. It would have felt SO good.

It was looking awkward when the ‘Phins were up 17-0 at halftime, but Brady rallied and made sure his team clinched a first-round bye. I’m expecting the Patriots to take the number one seed in the AFC, but I don’t feel very confident about their postseason chances.

PFFT. I’m glad this turned out to be less of a game, because if it had been overly dramatic I wouldn’t stop hearing about it all week. And the rumors that the Jets aren’t completely sold on Sanchez for next year? Frosting on the cake baby. And this picture of Jacobs and Ryan jawing afterward? Weird.

The Opening Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Christmas Eve or not, there’s no way I’d let a schedule of great NFL action slip past my nets! The playoff positioning is settling in, but there’s some unresolved business in the NFC East with two pivotal games on Saturday. There’s plenty to talk about in week 16, so let’s get right to it!

John Skelton gets another chance to prove how little publicity the Cardinals can garner, despite his Tebowian winning ways. They travel to Cincy to take on the Bengals, who are desperate to climb back into the playoffs after stumbling the past few weeks. (I mean, they didn’t exactly blow out St. Louis.)

Can a game between a 7-7 and 8-6 team be any more unnecessarily hyped? I know there’s playoff hopes on the line and it’s between the two New York squads, but please, can we settle down slightly? The Jets defense has been utterly mediocre and Mark Sanchez has regressed. Give me Eli and the inconsistent Giants in this one.

This one would be almost not worth writing about except for Big Ben’s injury. Instead, the ancient Charlie Batch will get the start against the lowly Rams, a team that is now in the running for the first pick in April’s draft. I’m picking the Steeler defense in this match-up… because not much else excites me.

The Final Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

I’m not sure what else you could have wanted from week 15 in the NFL. Two impressive streaks ended, the “Trap of the Week” proved to be true once again and one win never mattered as much as it did for Indianapolis. (And Candlestick Park was sans light… for a few second before auxiliary lighting come on. Not as much drama.) Many a-loser won on this day. Oddsmakers be damned! Get ready for The Final Drive!

Oh Tennessee. How could you? You somehow managed to give their first lowly Colts a victory whilst in the midst of your own playoff hunt. For shame. While it’s nice to get a win (I’m sure), Jim Caldwell should still get effing fired.

Another streak brought to a necessary conclusion! Honestly, as much as we generally thought the Packers COULD do it, it’s probably better that they didn’t. Injuries to their offensive line killed them yesterday against the Chief pass rush, just one facet of a defense that made it difficult on Aaron Rodgers. Well done Romeo Crennel. Oh yeah, and the Chiefs can somehow still get into the playoffs.

BOOM! You got TRAPPED Eli! This was such an obvious upset to pick, even in a day that ended up with a metric ton of stunning results. How the Giants could come out and lay an egg like this when they had a chance to put some distance in front of the Cowboys is appalling. (And hilarious.)

The Opening Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Week 15??? Really? Time goes by so fast! With the playoff races tight and Tebow versus Brady on the schedule, week 15 has everything you want. Let’s set-up for The Opening Drive!

We’re starting this week’s drive by diving right into the “Trap of the Week!” The Giants are coming off a huge win against the Cowboys, with whom they’re tussling for the division title. It would be fitting of this annually inconsistent team to lose a game late in the season that they absolutely should win.

I seriously have no idea what’s going on in this game. Two aggressive defensive lines, but two very different offenses will take the field. The Lions can’t run the ball to save their lives and the Raiders would prefer to simply pound you into the dust. Something has to give.

Speaking of something has to give… I will do anything to be able to see a beatdown of these Broncos. Tom Brady… I will do ANYTHING. Just have the Patriot PR person get in touch with me. Away from divine interference on the field, I simply don’t see the Broncos keeping pace offensively with the Patriots. Brady should have a two-touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter, which should be more than enough. If the Pats score more than 24, they should win.

The Final Drive: Week 12, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Another Monday night means another edition of The Final Drive! I’m going to skip right past the Thanksgiving Day games as we all saw what happened. (Right?) Lots going on in week 12, including another QB injury in Houston and more magic from Jebus and Teebs.

(6-5) Tennessee Titans 23
(4-7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
Hey… Chris Johnson showed up to the 2011 NFL season. Welcome.

(6-5) New York Jets 28
(5-6) Buffalo Bills 24
Completely overshadowed by his idiotic celebration and dropped touchdown is the fact that Stevie Johnson made Revis Island look like a vacation. He consistently beat Revis in one-on-one match-ups, but that wasn’t enough for the Bills to avoid dropping their fourth straight.

I don’t care so much about this result, since the Jags are pretty terrible. But Matt Leinart broke his collarbone, effectively ending his season and leaving T.J. Yates in charge of this playoff-bound squad. That has to be a frightening thought for Texan fans. I was really looking forward to Leinart and his porn’ ‘stache.

(8-3) New England Patriots 38
(4-7) Philadelphia Eagles 20

Joe's 2011 Gameday Recap: Bears 31, Chargers 20 posted by Joe Anello

Tied at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, this game tried to disguise itself as a defensive struggle as the Bears stumbled over themselves on several drives. But then the scoring came in bunches as the Chicago Bears held off the San Diego Chargers on Sunday afternoon, increasing their winning streak to five games despite numerous comeback attempts.

(7-3) Chicago Bears 31
(4-6) San Diego Chargers 20

Coming to the rescue, Jay Cutler had an absolutely monstrous second half. After a first down conversion on a throw to Roy Williams as he’s falling to the ground, Cutler got kneed in the back of the head. He got up slow and a mite woozy, but then he turned it on. Two more first down throws to Williams were followed by a 42 yard throw to Johnny Knox at the one yard line. Finishing the drive was Jay himself, leaping over the pile at the goal line for the score. Getting the ball back quickly off a Charles Tillman force and recovery, Cutler went for the jugular on a 24-yard bomb to Knox at the back of the endzone. That put the Bears up 31-17 and all but shut the door on the Chargers’ hopes of getting to .500. Jay was on his game and clearly one-upped Philip Rivers, who looked downright awful. We should all write Philip a thank you letter, by the way. He gift-wrapped this one.

Cutler got plenty of help from his receivers today, with Knox, Williams (I know) and Earl Bennett all coming up with huge grabs at key moments. After a maddening drop in the first quarter, Williams came back to have his best game as a Bear against shoddy Charger coverage. Bennett was targeted nine times but only came up with three grabs. A possible touchdown catch in the second was reversed when it was revealed that Bennett didn’t complete the catch, but an illegal hands penalty kept the drive going, allowing Cutler to hit Kellen Davis.

Joe's 2011 Gameday Preview: Chargers at Bears posted by Joe Anello

Riding high with four straight wins, the Chicago Bears welcome in the San Diego Chargers, who are sweeping the floors of the AFC West thanks to four straight losses. Can the Bears force more Philip Rivers turnovers in front of their home crowd today? Or will the Chargers begin their annual late-season winning streak? It’s time for another Gameday Preview!

Philip Rivers leads the league in turnovers with 15 interceptions and six fumbles. That’s all Lovie Smith’s defense needs to hear. Without All-Pro center Kris Dielman and left tackle Marcus McNeil, the Bear defensive line should have a freaking field day. Julius Peppers, Henry Melton and Israel Idonije can smell the sacks already. With no Malcolm Floyd on the outside, Charles Tillman can match-up one-on-one with the tall and dangerous Vincent Jackson. That leaves Antonio Gates as the Chargers’ only other play-maker. Chicago will continue to mix-in single high safety looks, but they’ll probably throw in more cover two schemes to prevent Rivers from getting downfield, which he loves, especially to Jackson. My only question is: how many boomerangs will I see today? My hope: six.

Much like their offense, the Charger defense is soft. Matt Forte should have little resistance as he shreds the Soldier Field turf, but look for a big day from Jay Cutler. He needs to avoid forcing throws towards safety Eric Weddle, but otherwise the San Diego secondary isn’t to be feared. On the injury front, the Chargers will be without linebacker Shaun Philips, who is one of their better pass-rushers as well as defensive end Luis Castllo. For the Bears, another shift on the offensive line: Instead of Chris Williams, who was lost for the season after emergency wrist surgery, Edwin Williams will get the call at left guard. Williams should be fine in pass protection, which leads me to believe the o-line will continue its progress and Cutler won’t be under duress all day. I need another strong outing from Earl Bennett, who should see a lot of the crafty Quentin Jammer. For the rest of the Bear wide-outs, this might be the one game where they have an advantage over the opposing secondary.

Joe's 2011 Thursday Night Preview: Raiders at Chargers posted by Joe Anello

Thursday Night Football is back! And they’ve got an AFC West match-up on tap for us tonight. It could be sloppy, but it should be more than entertaining as the Raiders make the short trip to take on the Chargers with first place in the division on the line. Welcome back Thursday Night Football… we missed you.

(4-4) Oakland Raiders at
(4-4) San Diego Chargers

So I say this game could be sloppy for two reasons: Philip Rivers and Carson Palmer. Rivers leads the league with 14 interceptions on the year, single-handedly bringing the Chargers down from a division-leading 4-1 to a middle of the pack 4-4. While San Diego’s defense is still playing at a relatively high level, they can’t defend against pick-sixes. Without Malcom Floyd, the Chargers will rely heavily on Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates to stretch the field. (Duh.)

In his six quarters as a Raider, Carson Palmer has six interceptions and has struggled to show any arm strength. Without Darren McFadden in the backfield, the Raiders will have to rely on Palmer’s still-unproven arm to get points on the board. It could be a big night for tight end Kevin Boss if Palmer can’t get anything down-field. Defensively, the Raider front-four are going to get after Philip Rivers as if their playoff lives depended on it. (They might.)

Enjoy the game everyone!

Bears interview Giants' Ross for GM job (AP)

New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross has interviewed for the Chicago Bears' general manager vacancy. Earlier this week, the Bears interviewed New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht and San Diego Chargers player personnel director Jimmy Raye. Jerry Angelo was fired after an 8-8 season. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Bears talk with Chargers exec about GM job (The Canadian Press)

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears have interviewed San Diego Chargers executive Jimmy Raye about their open general manager job. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Bears interview Chargers' Raye for GM (AP)

The Chicago Bears have interviewed San Diego Chargers executive Jimmy Raye about their open general manager job. The Bears said they talked with Raye on Tuesday. He is the Chargers' director of player personnel. The Bears are looking to replace the fired Jerry Angelo. They have also either talked to or plan to talk to New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht, Kansas City... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Broncos sign LS Binn with Paxton out (AP)

The Denver Broncos signed long-time long snapper David Binn on Friday after Lonie Paxton was ruled out of their divisional playoff game against New England so he could continue dealing with a family issue. Binn spent 17 seasons with the division rival San Diego Chargers, appearing in 256 regular season games, a dozen playoff games and one Pro Bowl. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Bears to interview 4 GM candidates (AP)

The Chicago Bears have received permission to interview four candidates for their general manager job. The team reported on its website Wednesday that it will interview Kansas City Chiefs director of college scouting Phil Emery, New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht, San Diego Chargers director of player personnel Jimmy Raye and New York Giants director of college scouting... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports