Norv vs Wade: Just One of the Many Reasons to Watch the Pro Bowlt

For some coaches, coaching the Pro Bowl sounds right. Jon Gruden in 2001. Tony Dungy in 2004. Bill Belichick in 2007. Bill Cowher in 2005. Mike Shanahan in 2006. Andy Reid almost every year.

But Wade Phillips and Norv Turner? Is this really the year pair those two in the Pro Bowl? Only two weeks after both of their teams crushed the hearts of their fans, Norv and Wade, perhaps the two most ridiculed head coaches of the past three seasons, will square off as the head coaches of the NFC and AFC Pro Bowl squads.

Perhaps that explains the record number of player withdrawals we're seeing this year.

Norv and Wade "earned" the right to coach the Pro Bowl by being the teams in the Divisional Round to lose with the best regular season record.

Ouch.

So instead of giving the Pro Bowl to the conference championship loser, the NFL, with it's new week-before-the-Super-Bowl format has decided to create inspiration for under performing workers everywhere by giving the Pro Bowl coaching duties to the two coaches who flopped in the divisional round.

Makes sense to me.

But look on the bright side for Wade and Norv; the two have managed to keep the jobs they were unqualified for when they were hired, continue to fail, but continue to keep their jobs. Heck, as long as the Chargers and Cowboys dangle in mediocrity it's going to be hard to get rid of either of them.

And maybe, just maybe, it we're very, very lucky, this Wade vs Norv thing can become an annual contest.

And more players will withdraw.

Give Dallas a Break

Why does everyone keep putting the Dallas Cowboys on a pedestal? When were the 2009 Cowboys ever supposed to be a 12-4 team? As far as I'm concerned they were a 9-7 to 11-5 borderline wild card team all season.

Take a look at how their season has played out; they lost week 2 to the Giants, week 4 to the Broncos, and entered their bye week 3-2. In what world do you live in where a 3-2 team should be expected to go 12-4 and win their division.

Now I understand the Cowboys were 4-1 in November, and 8-3 heading into last weeks game with the Giants, but take a look at their schedule. Outside of a good win over Philadelphia, the Cowboys beat the Seahawks, Redskins (barely), and Raiders, while losing to the Packers in November. What that tells me is that the Cowboys are a good team that can beat the bad teams, and split the games against the good teams.

i.e a 9-7 to 11-5 borderline wild card team.

After their Oakland win, the Cowboys ran into back to back losses against the Giants and Chargers, and now all of a sudden the Cowboys are victims of "December woes" once again.

Let's be fair though. The Cowboys lost to the New York Giants, and San Diego Chargers. The Giants have the NFC's longest playoff appearance streak going, and the Chargers are an elite team in the NFL. Given that the Cowboys had a loss to the Giants in Dallas earlier in the season, it's hard to expect a win in New Jersey later in the season. As for the Chargers, how could you really get on a team for losing to the Chargers who are now the hottest team in the NFL?

The Cowboys have five losses on the season thus far; two to the Giants, and one to the Packers, Broncos, and Chargers respectively. What do all five of those teams have in common? They'll all probably be in the playoffs this January.

The Cowboys eight wins? They were against Tampa, Carolina, Kansas City, Atlanta, Seattle, Philly, Washington,and Oakland. Tampa, KC, Seattle, Washington, and Oakland are all awful. Atlanta and Carolina are good teams trapped in bad years, and the Philly win sits as the Cowboys lone impressive victory of 2009.

i.e the Cowboys are a 9-7 to 11-5 borderline wild card team. They can't beat very good teams, can occasionally beat good teams, and will always beat the bad teams. They're no different than the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC.

A lot of people are naturally going to point to Tony Romo and say "he can't win the big game" or "typical FCS QB, never played a meaningful game in his life so he doesn't know how to win one." And while some of that is true (QB's from non-major conference schools traditionally do struggle more than QB's from major conference schools. Though that may have something to do with the fact that QB's from major conference schools are often more talented than those from small conference or FCS schools, hence the recruitment to a major conference school), if you watch how the Cowboys play it's not all Romo's fault. I'm not gonna let number 9 off the hook though, he could be making better plays. Let's be honest, if this were Peyton, Brett, Donovan, or Eli, we'd be throwing every cliche known to Patrick Ewing at them.

Is some of the blame to be thrown Wade Phillips way? Sure. I mean, we don't need to get into all that, it's pretty obvious that Phillips never should have been hired to be the head coach of this team to begin with.

And therein lies the problem. Who is doing the hiring for this team?

That would be Jerry Jones. The guy who let Sean Payton go. The guy who hired Wade Phillips over Tony Sparano. The guy who made the Roy Williams trade. The guy who brought in Tank Williams and Pacman Jones. The guy who couldn't shine Al Davis' shoes in terms of understanding the game and how to win it.

Jerry Jones is the problem. Not December. Not Tony Romo. Not Wade Phillips. Jones has compiled a roster that is pretty talented, but not great. Are the Cowboys a top 15 team talent wise? Yes. Top 10? Probably not. But Jones, the media-whore he is, attracts the attention to this team that puts them on the same level with rosters more talented such as the Chargers, and thus, sets his team up for monumental failure when they don't reach the Super Bowl.

And all this time they lead us to believe it was T.O.

If Dallas lose to New Orleans this week their 2009 season is likely over. They follow that up with @ Washington, and Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Giants final three are @ Washington, Carolina, and @ Minnesota. An important thing to note about the Giants week 17 game is that the Vikings will likely have the #2 seed wrapped up, therefore Brett Favre will definitely be resting up and not facing Tuck and Osi.

So the Cowboys 2009 is on the line this week in New Orleans. If they lose, they'll finish the season with nothing but losses to playoff teams. If they win, they'll be in the playoffs. But remember one thing, the Cowboys aren't supposed to win this game. They're less talented than the Saints, the Saints have a better coach, the Saints have a better Quarterback, and the Saints are at home.

It has nothing to do with the month of the year.

Buffalo Bills... Your Decade is Over

This season, whenever I believe a team is eliminated from the playoffs, thus making their season (and decade) over, I will write their obituary.

Today I present to you the Buffalo Bills of the 00's:

The Buffalo Bills ended the 1990's the same way the began the decade; with heartache. The team that went to more Super Bowls than any other team in the decade, but won zero, ended the decade in heartbreaking loss to the Tennessee Titans, a game that would later be known as "The Music City Miracle."

To adjust for 2000, the Bills and Wade Phillips listened to owner Ralph Wilson and named fragile, expensive, quarterback Rob Johnson the teams starter; over the undersized, but proven winner, Doug Flutie.

Despite Johnson's poor play, the Bills kicked 2000 off with a grudge win over Tennessee. The team would manage a 2-0 record, before a three game skid. During a week 7 contest with the San Diego Chargers, Rob Johnson yet again got hurt, and Flutie was able to lead the Bills to victory. Under Flutie, the Bills would manage to piece together a three game winning streak before Johnson would regain the starting job thanks to a minor injury to Flutie.

Entering week 13, the Bils were 7-4, and looked like an easy pick to make the playoffs. With a somewhat difficult schedule though, the Bills would lose four of their last five to finish 2000 with an 8-8 record. At the end of the season it was announced that 2001 would begin without Phillips or Flutie.

The 2001 Bills would hit the ground and immediately collapse. The team would start 1-10 before finishing 3-13. The team ranked #29 in turnover differential, #27 in offense, #29 in defense, and were beaten by a combined differential of 155 points, 30th of 31 teams in the league.

Because of his atrocious play in the 2001 season, leading to a 1-7 record as a starter, the Bills finally gave up on Rob Johnson, who they brought in from Jacksonville in 1998 with hopes of replacing Jim Kelly as the new face of the Bills. Johnson was never able to pan out as a solid professional QB with the Bills, and because they chose him over Doug Flutie, the Bills would enter 2002 looking for a new Quarterback.

The Bills and head coach Gregg Williams found their new quarterback right in their own division when the New England Patriots decided to let veteran QB Drew Bledsoe go (in favor of Tom Brady). Bledsoe's impact on the team would be immediate, as the Bills would transform from a 3-13 team to an 8-8 .500 team. Bledose, Eric Moulds, and second year running back Travis Henry would each make the Pro Bowl, and with a relatively young roster, the Bills saw a bright 2003 ahead.

Revenge came for the Buffalo Bills and their Quarterback Drew Bledsoe in week 1 of the 2003 season when the Bills dominated the New England Patriots 31-0. In that game Tom Brady would throw for only a 50% completion percentage, zero touchdowns, and four interceptions. For the day at least, Bledsoe had finally gain retribution.

The rest of the Buffalo Bills 2003 season was more of a downward slope. Despite a developing defense, the teams offense would fail to produce the results necessary to catapult the Bills to the playoffs. A week 17 rematch between the Bills and the Patriots saw two teams going in different directions. That day, the Patriots dominated the Bills 31-0, as Brady through for 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. The Patriots and Brady would also go on to win their second Super Bowl that season.

The loss to the Patriots in the final game of the 2003 regular season demanded changes be made in the Bills organization. The Patritos had now developed into a legitimate powerhouse team, and Ralph Wilson saw it necessary to fire Gregg Williams and start looking towards the future. Mike Mularkey was hired to replace Williams, and in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft, the team drafted WR Lee Evans, and QB J.P. Losman, a combo the team hoped would develop into Culpepper to Moss or Manning to Harrison status,

The Bills would enter 2004 with Bledsoe, Evans, veteran wide receiver Eric Moulds, and the running back duo of Willis McGahee and Travis Henry poised to transition the Bills offense into elite status. Unfortunately for the Bills, the blowout to New England at the end of 2003 still hung like a dark cloud over the franchise, and the team would stumble into 2004 with an 0-4 record. A 9-3 record from there on out, along with a 7th ranked offense, 8th ranked defense, and +10 turnover differential, wouldn't be enough to get the Bills back into the playoffs in 2004, and with a week 17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (ending a 6-0 for the team), the Bledsoe era ended in 2004.

The Bills had every reason to enter 2005 optimistically. Although their divisional opponent New England Patriots had won the past two Super Bowls, the tide in the division seemed to be turning as a slew of coaching departures, as well as an aging defense made the Patriots seem vulnerable entering 2005. The team also loved their second year quarterback, J.P Losman and projected him to be the starter for the next ten to fifteen years.

As has been the story of their decade, unfortunately that didn't work out for the Bills. After a week one win to the Houston Texans, Losman would struggle to even be "bad" the rest of the 2004 season. With a starting QB record of 1-7, and a completion percentage below 50%, it was without shock that the team went with veteran QB Kelly Holcomb for half of it's games that season. The bright spot of the Bills season was the development of Willis McGahee into a full time starter, but still the 2005 Buffalo Bills would limp to a 5-11 record. The Patriots would again win the AFC East.

The 2006 Buffalo Bills would transition their head coaching duties to Dick Jauron. Jauron's lone task; develop J.P. Losman into a starting QB in the NFL. The results? Pretty successful.

Losman to Evans may not have been Manning to Harrison, but Evans caught for close to 1,300 yards, while Losman raised his completion percentage to 62.5 and the Bills record to 7-9. 2006 wasn't a great year for the Buffalo Bills, but things certainly looked to be getting better.

In 2007, the Bills again got off to a brutal 0-3 start before falling to 1-4 at their bye week. The game before their bye week featured an unknown rookie out of Stanford named Trent Edwards making the start against a then undefeated Dallas Cowboys team. In the week before, filling in for an injured Losman, Edwards helped the Bills get their first win at the misery of the Jets. In the Monday night game with Dallas, the Bills and Edwards blew a 24-13 4th quarter lead, and it 1-4 the Bills 2009 looked hopless.

But in typical Bills fashion, with the help of Edwards 5-4 record as a starter, Buffalo was able to rise to mediocrity and a 7-9 record. Although a 1-4 to 7-9 seems respectable, it's worth noting that entering week 15, the Bills were 7-6. The teams inability to win down the final stretch prevented them from making their playoffs.

The 2008 season granted the Bills all the hype of bona-fide quarterback controversy, pitting Losman, the chosen one, with Edwards, the QB who won games for them in in 2007. The team also looked forward to Marshawn Lynch, their second year running back developing.

In the preseason, Edwards beat out Losman for the starting QB job, and the Bills got off to a 4-0 start, their best start of the decade. After a week 7 win against an above average San Diego Chargers team, the Bills raised their record to 5-1 and they looked like a shoe in for the playoffs. With a schedule that looked soft on paper at the team (Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, Browns), the Bills failed to win a game and at 5-5, stared mediocrity in the face yet again.

The 2008 Buffalo Bills would again finish 7-9. In a season where the Patriots were playing without Tom Brady and the Jets tried their hardest not to win the AFC East, it was the lowly Miami dolphins who went from 1-15 to 11-5 who capitalized on the opportunity to get the playoffs, not the Bills.

Still, somehow, Dick Jauron would keep his job entering 2009, and the Bills would do nothing to enhance their quarterback situation. J.P. Losman left in free agency, and unable to find a home, defected to the UFL where he tried to resurrect his career under Jim Fassel. The teams biggest offseason acquisition was bringing in veteran loudmouth, Terrell Owens, who amazingly did little to disrupt the locker room in the preseason.

Even with relative continuity, the Bills 2009 was hopeless from the get go. Without Marshawn Lynch, who was out serving suspension, the Bills blew a commanding opening day lead to New England Patriots, and the rest of the 2009 season has followed suit.

After a 3-6 start, the Bills fired Jauron and have yet to name a head coach. The team has also permanently benched Edwards in favor of veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick, and the team also picked QB prospect Brian Brohm up out of the Green Bay Packers trash can.

The 2000's of the Buffalo Bills will always be looked at as one of the most forgettable decades any franchise has ever had in NFL history. The team was never bad enough to be truly awful, yet were never good enough to make the playoffs. The team stood as far in the shadows of the New England Patriots as any franchise could, and were far more reactive to what the Patriots were doing, than proactive in swinging the tide of the AFC East.

But the 2010's do have a new positive outlook. All signs point the Bills bringing in a proven leader to take over football operations. Perhaps Brohm will develop into the QB that Losman, Johnson, and Edwards weren't.

One thing is for sure though, the Bills decade is over, and they'll be one of only two teams to participate in all ten seasons of the decade that didn't make it to the playoffs. That's bad.

MVP of the Decade: Aaron Schobel (73 sacks and counting this decade)

Throwback Jersey That Will Be Cool in 15 Years: 2002 Eric Moulds

Notable Players: Eric Moulds, Marshawn Lynch, Aaron Schobel, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Ruben Brown. Ted Washington, Sam Cowart, Peerless Price, Nate Clements, Drew Bledsoe, Larry Centers, Trent Edwards, Lee Evans, Willis McGahee, Travis Henry, Rian Lindell, Lawyer Malloy, Terrence McGee, Brian Moorman, Chris Kelsay, Jason Peters

Other Decade Recaps: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers

Wade and Norv: Are Their Teams for Real?

After the 2006 season, legendary coaches in Dallas and San Diego lost their jobs. For Bill Parcells in Dallas, it was his own decision; he no longer wanted to be a head coach. Marty Schottenheimer on the other hand was fired because of a "one-and-done" in the playoffs after managing a 14-2 record with a first year starter at QB.

For some still unknown reason the Cowboys decided hire Wade Phillips and Chargers decided to hire Norv Turner.

For San Diego, the Chargers replaced a head coach known for getting his teams to the playoffs (although he was also known for losing in the playoffs), with a head coach who had nine seasons under his belt but only one playoff appearance (and only two winning seasons).

In Wade Phillips, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys hired the head coach known for taking over the "on-the-verge" Denver Broncos in 1993 and setting them back two years. As the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Phillips made the notorious call to bench Doug Flutie in favor of Rob Johnson heading into the 1999 playoffs. That decision lead to the Bills being unable to hold on to a lead against the Titans, and the Bills franchise has yet to get back to the playoffs.

Despite both San Diego and Dallas looking as if they gave up mansions for cardboard cut outs of mansions, the 2007 season was not that bad for either franchise. Dallas finished the season 13-3 and earned themselves the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs, a position they would use to host and lose to the eventual Super Bowl Champion NY Giants. After a 1-3 start, San Diego finished 11-5 and made it all the way to the AFC championship game, before losing to the (then) undefeated Patriots.

After what some teams would consider a successful 2007 season, both the Chargers and Cowboys fan communities still called for the respective heads of their coaches. Their cries were left unanswered.

In San Diego, most people probably wished that Norv was not only fired but exiled after a 4-8 start to the 2008 season. Miraculously, the team would get it together to win their final four games of the regular season, including a season ending showdown with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos collapse meant San Diego would host a home playoff game in the first round of the playoffs, despite having an 8-8 record.

Of course the 8-8 Chargers would go on to defeat the 12-4 Colts in overtime, before getting squashed by Pittsburghs run defense in the divisional round. For the second year in a row, in spite of being heavy AFC favorites heading into the season, the Chargers regular season woes would get in the way of playoff success. Still, the Chargers decided to keep Norv.

Dallas were even less successful in 2008. Though they entered the 2008 regular season as heavy favorites to not only win the NFC, but also to have a shot at winning the Super Bowl, the Cowboys would finish their season 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Somehow, despite an embarrassing 44-6 loss in a "winner goes to the playoffs" game with the Eagles, the Cowboys decided to stick with Phillips for 2009.

Now here we are in 2009. The Chargers are 5-3 and the Cowboys are 6-2. Both teams look as though they're ready to make another playoff run. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they'll once again likely have to play three games just to get to the Super Bowl; thanks in large part to another beatdown at the hands of the Steelers.

As for Dallas, they control their own playoff seeding. At 6-2, the Cowboys get a shot at New Orleans and can take control on the NFC with a win in that game.

Still, most people would be reserved to pick Dallas to get to the Super Bowl with Wade Phillips as head coach. There is nothing on his resume that would suggest he'll be able to do what it takes to beat the Vikings, Saints, or even the Cardinals when it matters most.

Norv on the other hand has once again crippled his teams Super Bowl aspirations by putting the team in an early season ditch. At 5-3, there's likely no chance the team catches the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts, and a head to head loss put the Chargers behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in seeding. Not to mention that the Chargers are still two games behind the Denver Broncos for the AFC West lead. As of now it looks as though if the Chargers have any real hope to make it the Super Bowl they're going to have to go through New England, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh consecutively. A task that even the greatest teams in NFL history probably couldn't pull off in 2009.

There's no doubt in my mind that both the Chargers and Cowboys are "for real." Both teams have been immensely talented since the middle of the decade. In fact, I'm one of the people who honestly believe that from 2007 to 2008 these were the two most talented teams in the NFL.

But there's a reason that the Giants, and Steelers won those three Super Bowls instead of the Cowboys and Chargers; because of their superior head coaching ability. Superior head coaching ability that quieted egos and players who would do nothing but complain (you know who I'm referring to there). The Cowboys and Chargers combined to win zero Super Bowls from 2007 to 2008 because Norv Turner and Wade Phillips couldn't keep a camp of fat kids focused in a Burger King, let alone keep the attention a team of twenty-somethings with a ton of wealth.

In 2009 it'd be hard to say that the Cowboys and Chargers are still the most talented teams in the league. That's what happens though; teams get older and players skill sets erode. LaDanian Tomlinson is no longer a serviceable back in the league and the Chargers running offense and running defense can't be considered in the top half of the league. Dallas still have to worry about their pass defense and running offense. Marion Barber is better served as a "closer," and Felix Jones is rapidly becoming the Bob Sanders of offensive football (and not in the good way). Still, both teams could beat any team in the league.

So it looks as though Phillips and Turner are doing what they have to do to keep their jobs; and in turn both are doing what they have to do to keep their franchises "window of opportunity" rapidly closing.