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Seattle – New Orleans preview

Beast ModeMarshawn Lynch, doing that Beast Mode thing.

by Jim Bearor

This might be the least professional post I ever publish on here, but whatever. I’m a little crunched for time, and I wanted to sound off a bit on the upcoming Saints at Seahawks game.

Everyone knows about how important home field advantage is for Seattle (7-1) and how much difficulty New Orleans has had with road games this season (4-5). Also, it looks like it’s going to rain during today’s game. Yeah. I know the Saints had a big “statement win” on the road in Philadelphia last week, but comparing the impact of Eagles fans with ‘Hawks fans is just plain stupid.

There is no place more hostile to play in than Seattle’s home field – the crowd noise reaches about 136 decibels, just a touch below that of a jet engine (140 db). That has an effect on visiting team that cannot be denied, and I expect to see this loudness – paired with not-so-perfect weather – to expose New Orleans as the dome team they are. I’m not saying that last week was a fluke, but this is apples and oranges.

Seattle’s secondary should have no trouble matching up with the wideouts of the Saints, so I think Payton will decided to test his luck on the ground with former Ingram and Robinson. This is – in my opinion – the key to an upset, if there is one (there won’t be). But maybe, if New Orleans can control the tempo with a physical run game (nope), they’ll open up the possibility for Drew Brees to work some play action (probably not, though).

What I see happening is Russell Wilson managing the game (not an insult), and do what he can to control the clock as Marshawn Lynch does his thing. Alright, game time is getting real close now.

Here’s my prediction: Seattle takes the wind out of New Orleans’ sails early, and they control the tempo throughout. The Saints may put up some points, but not until they are already in a sizeable hole and the “Legion of Boom” starts giving receivers some cushion.

Seattle wins, 31-14.

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Tim Tebow Signed to Deal With New England Patriots

Tebow Patriots pic

News just broke that Tim Tebow has signed a contract with the New England Patriots, and Tebow supporters everywhere should be ecstatic. Although it is not completely clear what kind of role he will be given in the coming season, it is clear that this is a step in the right direction. He is expected to stay at quarterback and work with the man who drafted him in Denver, New England’s Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Being an unsigned free agent with his NFL future in jeopardy, this is – in my opinion – the best thing that could have happened to the polarizing quarterback. He will be given a chance to learn the game from perhaps the league’s best coach in Bill Belichick, as well as 3-time Super Bowl Champion Quarterback Tom Brady. No, he won’t have a chance to compete for the starting job (much like last year), but he has been given an opportunity to prove himself and maybe earn some respect as an NFL quarterback.

Coming off a year where Tebow was center stage of a circus that was the New York Jets, he badly needs a new image. The all-business Patriots are the complete opposite, and if Tebow can buy into this “team first” philosophy – which he should have no problem with, considering his personality – then he should have no problem fitting in in New England, even if he is just a cog in the machine.

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Control Freaks in Sports

Just thought I’d chime in on something that was brought up by Colin Cowherd today: being a control freak isn’t such a bad thing – at least when referring to sports. Some names that come to mind are Belichick, Saban, the late George Steinbrenner, and George Karl. When management lets one guy rule with an iron fist, it tends to work out better than when everyone gets to help shape a team philosophy. Don’t get me wrong, I hate communism as much as the next guy, but when we’re talking about building a team, you need clear direction and having a group of people calling the shots instead of one definite leader can complicate things.

Back when (a younger and less senile) George Steinbrenner was running the Yankees, everyone was kept on a short leash. Sure, this lack of freedom wasn’t the most fun way to do things, but obviously it worked. Same goes for Bill Belichick’s Pats; if a player doesn’t fit into his system perfectly, he doesn’t compromise his beliefs to make them fit – think Ochocinco. It seems harsh and perhaps illogical at the time (like when they cut Randy Moss), but it’s hard to argue with the results of his no-nonsense approach.

When an organization trusts one man’s vision of how he wants to build a team and they don’t interrupt the process, they allow him to do what he was hired to do without having to look over his shoulder. For example, Gregg Popovich – the longest tenured coach in the NBA – has been in control of the Spurs since 1996 and hasn’t had to worry about his job security too much. Ask the Spurs how this approach has treated them.

It may take time for an appointed leader to implement his system, but growing pains in the early stages are to be expected – regardless of how good he is. Belichick’s first few years in New England were not pretty, but Robert Kraft trusted that he was leading the team in the right direction and again, look how well the Patriots have been doing under his reign. However, many times management becomes impatient and decides to blow everything up before the previous rebuilding process had a chance to finish.

This is where Jerry Jones of the Cowboys fits in.

Jones isn’t quite a control freak, because he is never completely in control – at least not anymore. Yes he does have the final say about who stays and who goes in Dallas, but he isn’t calling all the shots. He brings in guys like Parcells, Phillips, and Garrett and lets them believe that they are allowed to develop a squad the way they want for a time – then he pulls out the carpet from under them, voicing his dissatisfaction with the team and calling for change. Back to square one. It pains me as a Yankees fan to say it, but I’d be lying if I said that George Steinbrenner didn’t do something similar in his later years. Al Davis was the same way, too. These are all guys who were great control freaks when they were mentally intact, but refused to let somebody else call the shots when they should have – becoming more of a freak than a controller, if you will.

So for the most part, I’d say that when an organization picks a coach and lets him mold the team to his style of play with limited interruption, the results will be much better than they would if the team was run as a democracy.

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