GaryPinC

You're right, it's a great point and I used to view JP that way. I guess I look at the fact that Wyche, Mularky and Fassel have reputations of being able to develop quarterbacks, I remember reading that Wyche was working JP on a 4 second timer in pre-season, trying to speed up his decision making process. These coaches and others in Seattle and Oakland have thus far failed with JP. JP's been around the league long enough and worked with enough respected coaches that I chalk it up to him not being good enough even in a stable environment. As far as Trent, Lee Evans didn't seem to like him from day 1 and I think it's because Trent had no ability to throw his receivers open nor spot throw them the ball and allow them to make a play around the DB. Too mechanical, robotic and he's a bit younger so maybe he can improve, in which case you can chalk it up to his new environment. Sad irony that we drafted 2 early round QB's in a row with great physical talent that can't handle the mental aspects of the NFL game. At this point I can't blame the coaching turnover for that, though I agree that giving a rookie QB stable coaching, environment, and time on the bench to adjust to the NFL before going in is the best way to do it.

I don't think it would have helped JP much. He's had Sam Wyche, Mularky, Fassel, and former quarterbacks like Schonert and Van Pelt coach him. He never seemed to be able to handle the reads/quick decisions and has never showed significant improvement in his career. Despite all his athletic ability he's never been able to master the mental components and probably never will no matter what the environment. Just doesn't have it, and I had high hopes for him when we came here.

"The appeals court ruling allows Leach to try to show Texas Tech's reasons for firing him were wrong, but without monetary relief. The appeals court also reinstated one of Leach's claims. The two sides will return to court to determine whether Texas Tech's allegations were "proper" against Leach in the Adam James situation, Dobrowski said." So Leach lost but the judge was willing to let him try and prove there was some kind of impropriety anyways. I guess the judge figures if Leach is too ignorant to see the error of his own ways let him keep spending money till he does. Good luck nailing down that subjective "proper". Sadly, he won't even be able to do that. Should have settled when Dicky Griggs offered. I wonder if Texas Tech still has to pay him his $1.2 mill buyout?

Winslow is a hell of a player, but liked to complain about all the pain his knee was in and seemed to always be dinged up on the Browns. The guy brought it on himself when he crashed his bike hot-dogging with it in a parking lot. Browns could have paid him next to nothing as he sat out but decided to be generous and pay a decent portion of his contract. He plays the game the right way but was bucking for a new contract with 2 years left on his and given his knee condition, propensity for getting injured, and how he liked to complain to the papers about it, I don't blame the Browns for cutting him loose. At that time everyone was wondering how many years of productive play they could get out of him. Colt seems to do well with Ben Watson and Evan Moore.

Problem is he's seldom interested anymore. I hear even before Mangini got fired that he's interested in a change of scenery. I'd rather see Kyle Williams in there, Rogers seems to like the salary but not the game.

That'd be great. If we could reprocess the pacific garbage patch into Nerf it'd be a double win for everyone!

But if we follow your logic of "blame the inanimate object with the capacity to kill" then we should level all the buildings and lower all the bridges (ie. take the gun away) so the person who decides to jump off won't be hurt. No thanks, I'd rather focus on the reality of why someone would decide to do such a terrible thing and try to prevent that decision from being made.

Maryland also didn't get a coach who was fired for insubordination. While Leach and the press like to focus on Adam James, at the time Texas Tech wanted Leach to sign a sheet outlining how he should handle injured players and write a "regret the situation" letter to the James family. Leach would have been fined and the matter closed; he'd still be coaching for TT. Leach refused and from the depositions I looked through, they indirectly indicate Leach became verbally belligerent when asked to cooperate with the TT administration. Here's some links to some court depositions and exhibits. Parts are missing from many, I focussed on Leach's deposition which is fairly complete. http://www.doubletnation.com/2010/5/6/1460333/leach-and-james-fire-back-world http://today.ttu.edu/2010/05/texas-tech-files-motion-to-dismiss-mike-leach-lawsuit/ Sadly, Texas Tech has done a poor job of highlighting the real motivation behind Leach's firing, but it's there in Leach's own statements. In my view, even if a university's athletic director is highly interested in Leach it'll be difficult for the university administration to support the hire once they delve into the nuts and bolts of the TT case. There's even an email sent by TT pres Hance indicating his frustration at the time with Leach's unwillingness to cooperate. TT didn't really want to fire Leach, he brought it on himself. Certainly Leach's ability to win may trump everything (as I thought with this MD situation) but it's good to see MD come to their senses. Don't get me wrong, Leach is a good and unique college football coach who built a solid, successful program at TT and I'd like to see him back as a head coach. Personalities like him are part of why I enjoy college football. Problem is, his ego is out of control. He doesn't need a slice, he needs 2-3 humble pies to bring him back to reality. My hope is that no one (except for a community college) hires him as a HC until he accepts responsibility for the TT situation. If Leach can come to that realization, I think he's on his way to becoming one of the elite college coaches. Chances are though that a smaller FBS univ desperate to build a winning program will take a chance on Leach, or he'll become an OC somewhere. Just hope it's not till 2012.

The one thing IMO that gets overlooked about Fitzy is the quality of the offense around him and how much better he makes it look. Our O-line immediately looked better when he took over. He's making rookie wide receivers look better. Once Fitzy has a seasoned O-line and receivers, I think that will cut down on his mistakes. But he'll always have some. For those who say Fitzy isn't clutch, that throw to Stevie against Pittsburgh was as clutch as it gets. It was a perfect pass and shows Fitzy has "it". He is definitely the leader of this offense and deserves to stay there next season.

Gailey has a history of getting quality play out of marginal QB's. Why do you think Gailey believed he couldn't do it again with Trent? As far as analyzing film, how do you separate QB performance from poor offensive scheme? Sure Fitz did better than Trent last year, but ultra-conservative Jauron was gone. As Gailey went over the films, I doubt he knew the exact play calls and any last second adjustments/audibles. So, were Trent's short passes the desired plays or Trent's deficiency? Jauron certainly seemed to like what Trent was doing. I can't remember which preseason game I saw(maybe game 3), but I watched Trent throw mid-range passes, be aggressive in the pocket, and make good plays. I thought he looked like a much improved quarterback over last season. You're right about Gailey blowing this but I am willing to give him credit for giving players a chance and correcting his mistakes quickly. No one on this planet can be right about everything and IMO it's more important to make things right rather than pretend you're always right. Gailey could have dug his heels in and stuck with Trent just like Jauron did. Also, with the need to infuse more talent on this team, I give Gailey credit for making sure he's not accidentally letting some go. Especially at the QB position.

Spiller just needs time (&playing) to adjust to the NFL game. Early in the year he was trying to use his speed all the time and not following his blocks; he didn't understand timing and how to execute on any given play to maximize his abilities. Towards the middle of the year he had no field vision and was trying to get comfortable with following the flow of the play. This past Sunday was clear his vision and timing were better (though not there yet). He was cutting more and waiting for plays to develop, but his field vision still seems limited so he isn't comfortable yet. Gailey is obviously starting to work him in more and that should continue. I think that Spiller has finally reached the point that he understands how to execute/time plays, now he needs reps so he can start to see the entire field better and really start to use his full talent. I don't think he'll break out this coming Sunday but am thinking one of the last 2 games of the year he will. We'll see, some players require more patience than others.

Thanks for posting the great write-up San Jose. I was impressed with how our line did against the Browns. It'll be exciting to see if the Wood move to center becomes permanent after the season plays out. From the sounds of Chan Gailey's compliments, Rinehart has a real shot to become our starting right guard. One of the best parts of this season is watching the interior of our O-line start to solidify. When healthy, Cordero Howard plays a pretty good guard and I think would be a great backup. Future line: D. Bell, Levitre, Wood, maybe Rhinehart, RT. If Rhinehart doesn't cut it, one of Howard/Hangartner should be able to do the job. This may be the beginning of a dominant offensive line in 2 years. They definitely need to address the tackle position and find a good backup out there also, but for the first time since the SB years I really like where this line is going.

I think all teams do this. I know Cleveland does, but I've heard of players working out for Cowboys, etc this year.

I'm starting to wonder if Moats can fill the LB rusher role. It'll be interesting watching him these last 3 games.

Very true. 0-8 as the players try to learn the new schemes and the coaches try and adjust the schemes to the players on hand. 3-2 since the players have become comfortable with the schemes.

Wood definitely had a good day. He mostly kept Ahtyba Rubin and Shawn Rogers in check. Ahtyba is pretty analagous to Kyle Williams. He's a real force in the middle for them and is being touted for the pro bowl.

Interesting thoughts but I don't think Nix will ever put that much thought into making a move.

Warthog? Wild boar?

I didn't see the hit myself and I hate to say it, but your pictures show me nothing. They're blurry, I can't see Harrison's helmet in the first one and barely make it out in the second. Either way, I can't say if it was a good hit or not but judging by the positions of the 2 bodies I'd say it was an ok/borderline hit. I can see what Simon's saying as being correct about the hit. And this is coming from a Bills fan who thinks James Harrison is an ignorant SOB who constantly leads with the crown of his helmet when trying to make a play. I see plenty of it when he plays the Browns 2x a year. He's a hell of a player but needs to get this corrected. I do think he's being targeted by the NFL, but not unfairly especially given his attitude. Others here have mentioned spearing, I agree but for some reason the NFL never calls spearing. Anybody know why?

Yea, jury selections will be tough down there, but I'd recommend reading Leach's deposition on the doubletnation link I posted above. Texas Tech was just going to slap him on the wrist and not even fine him but Leach was having nothing of that. He's a paranoid egomaniac and if he were more reasonably minded would still be coaching them. I think TT would have backed him up if he had just done what they were asking. In the end, I think a jury will see through his smoke and mirrors to the real root of the conflict.

That we can certainly agree on, and your bombastic replies certainly illuminate the hypocrisy of your self-perceived wisdom and maturity. Oh, here's the ESPN story on Leach admitting to telling the trainer to put James in the shed : http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4989556 quote: The school released a profanity-laden sentence Grigg said had been Leach's instruction to trainer Steve Pincock at that time, and that Leach admitted to saying in his sworn testimony Friday. Oh, and here's a link to most of the depositions from March: http://www.doubletnation.com/2010/5/6/1460333/leach-and-james-fire-back-world Leach's deposition is pretty interesting. It seemed to me that TT simply wanted Leach to sign the procedural letter and write some type of "regret the situation" letter to the James family to close the incident but Leach refused. That guy has some real conspiracy issues but no surprises there. At the end it discusses his contract which at the time of firing TT still owes him 400k per year (1.2 M tot) and possibly the 800k bonus which it sounds like TT intends to honor. It also supports my assertion on why Grigg wants to settle. TT will pay 1.2-2.0 million regardless of the final outcome. If Leach can stick a wrongful termination on them then maybe they pay more.

Wow, take a break for the holiday and I miss all this. First off, don't call me son. And I'm sorry to inform you that despite your delusions there is no deep end to kiddie pools. Though you specialize in shoveling the same repetitive quotes over and over ad nauseam, it doesn't impress me nor I suspect many others. It simply gets tiring and I suspect that is your primary intent. As far as understanding facts and timelines, you also seem to lack proper understanding. This article I cited, now over 6 months old, was the last major decision involving the complaints of this lawsuit. In that article Mike Leach mostly got shown the door for 10 of his 11 charges (or whatever you want to call them). The only item left is whether or not he was legitimately fired for breaching his contract. Since then, oral arguments for appellate trial was set for October. Then Mike Leach decides to file lawsuit against ESPN and comm. company in Nov. while also releasing depositions of Adam James and draft letter from TT pres. fining him $60,000 for the incident. It appears to me that Leach is attempting to argue that the Craig James helped force his firing (else he simply would have been fined) and that Adam James' testimony has significant inconsistancies (which it does because I did read it). The $60,000 fine was the "true" action but James and others forced the firing instead. Allow me to quote another historical article from the spring. Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=10651373 quote: An attorney for the school, Dan Perkins, said Tech wanted to resolve the complaint brought by the player's father, former NFL player Craig James. He said Tech officials tried to get Leach to agree to a list of how players needed to be treated when injured and to have him write an apology letter. "Why give him the opportunity if the goal is to fire him?" Perkins argued. "Who could have known that Mike Leach would put Adam James in a shed?" I would also remind you that Steve Pinncock the trainer was ordered by Leach to lock James in the equipment shed and that Leach referred to Adam James in an expletive, vindictive ridden statement. Leach also agreed with these statements in his deposition. There are historical AP articles over at ESPN which confirm this. So to summarize: -Leach has admitted he punished and vindictively spoke about Adam James to the trainer Steve Pinncock -Leach has had most of his arguments thrown out of court already -While there are significant holes in Adam James's story the fact that Leach enacted a vindictive, inappropriate punishment for the type of injury seems to be a fact, as confirmed by Leach -Texas Tech gave Leach the opportunity to sign a generalized letter about how he should treat his injured players and a chance to write an apology to James and Leach refused. Leach refused to sign and apologize so he was fired. Leach's main contentions lately fixate on Adam James' testimony and the $60,000 draft letter. Texas Tech's letter/apology invalidates the draft letter, the establishment of Leach's punishment and the vindictiveness renders Adam James' deposition almost irrelevant to this central issue. I also find it interesting that his appeal isn't even finished yet and Leach is turning his attention to trying to blame ESPN. In true lawyer fashion, it's more about following the money than clearing his name. If all this fails, I'd guess the James family is next up. Kind of makes me wonder how that appeals process is going.... Lastly, I find it hilarious that you think Dicky Grigg is afraid he'll lose this in court. Seriously, what lawyer, if he feared he would lose in court would talk about settling it in public? You settle those as quietly as possible, because if you can't than it would certainly look bad in court. In my opinion Dicky Grigg has no fear of losing and is publicly offering to settle because the lawsuit at this point is a waste of time and legal fees for Texas Tech. Well, we'll see.... Good luck Mike Leach.

http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2010-06-01/sowder-rules-leach-sovereign-immunity So Leach's "conspiracy theory" has been shot down, only thing left is to determine if Tech's actions violate the terms of his contract. Good luck with that, Mike. Sounds like Leach's case is slipping through his fingers and he's grasping at straws. Considering that in the depositions, Leach's lawyers refer to "the closet" when questioning Adam James, good luck winning that one over ESPN. From the Senator's linked article: “Mike Leach wants his name cleared,” Liggett said Wednesday. “This is Mike Leach’s idea, and this is Mike Leach insisting on the world hearing the truth.” (Liggett discussing Leach suing ESPN) Sounds like Leach will paying to do this, not on contingency. This whole thing reeks of an ego-maniac desperately avoiding responsibility for his own actions.

Me too.

Thanks for the great summary. I find that when an NFL player discusses his own injury being less than 100%, it's affecting his play on the field. Given the severity of last year's injury, I think the real Eric Wood will re-emerge next year.