[For All Those Who Will Be Outraged By Anything Less than Cowher, Shana]

Playoffs? You wanna talk about...Playoffs?

 

I agree with the sentiment that a coach with a little fire is the way to go. Gruden would be my second choice, behind Kelly. I think Kelly would be a fantastic HC, purely based on his winning attitude, and his fiery personality. I know he has no experience, but that is better than hiring yesterday's potato salad, simply because he has coached before. Great coaches all had to start somewhere.

 

Gruden is a more realistic, less sentimental choice. He had great teams is Oakland and TB. He took less than stellar QB's and made them look good. I am a fan of Trent. I think that with the right coaching this kid (he is a kid) could be a good to great QB. He may not possess the arm strength of Kelly, but Dilfer got two different teams to the big game without any real "A" skills. He just didn't make mistakes. I do think that Trent could be better than Dilfer, and again, if when his confidence was shaken, it would be great to see somebody build him up, instead of making that face that Richard only makes...he only has one, so the corpse look is his retort to everything.

 

I just guess that if Trent threw a pick...I would like to see somebody grab him by the facemask and tear him up about why it happened, and how to prevent it again. Instead, what our 3rd year QB gets is to walk off in a shower of boos, from 70.000 that couldn't hold his jock as an athlete, and left alone to sit on the bench and let his self-confidence be further flushed down the toilet. Imagine if every time you made a mistake you had to sit alone, while 70,000 of your closest friends screamed how bad you sucked... just saying.

 

I can only imagine what a coach with a set of noots, a little pride, or for that matter a pulse would had done to that locker room after the debaucle on Sunday... If we would have put Gruden through that he would have killed somebody, figuratively of course, not Orenthal or Ray Lewis kill. I firmly believe that this team, pre injuries (possibly aided by a puss training camp) was a playoff team... I think the talent was there, but the lack of leadership has them pointing fingers and searching for answers. A head coach with a little fortitude would have had us running like a raped ape all over Cleveland...they would have been scared to lose after the ass reaming they got in Miami.

[Since Maybin is being swallowed up by NFL tackles]

Only 1. Bruce Smith. There were better QBs in the NFL during Kelly's entire career. Jerry rice was the "one" from that generation. You may argue that Cornelius Bennett was a once in a generation type of linebacker, but then again there was that Lawrence guy that basically busted that theory. Thurman was a great back, but he benefited from playing on a team laden with offensive weaponry. Thurman would not have been nearly as successful if he was the primary workhorse on a run it down your throat and play killer defense type of team.

 

 

Thurnan was not a run-it-down-your-throat back, so it definitely wouldn't have worked, and it would have been a similar situation to what we are doing now, with the misuse of players. Kelly was also, to my understanding, the only QB that completely ran his offense...not just his audibles, but called every play. Maybe if you pick up the 50th anniversary DVD you will recall how special those teams were. Kelly was a winner (with the glaring exception of the big game) and losing was never acceptable to him. Reed, Thomas, Smith, Talley, Bennett, Conlon...the whole lot was winners. They knew how to win, and losing was unacceptable. It would be nice if a couple of them came back around this team and instilled that attitude, and shared their experiences.

 

As far as Maybin goes... How could we go wrong sticking him at LB. The man if undeniably athletic, and not having an exceptional athlete (who happens to fit in the mold of an NFL LB) on the field is a crime. We are depleted by injuries, and the UDFA we have scattered all over the place could only be helped by a 1st round pick being on the field with them. In the light of what transpired on Sunday, we are probably going to have to give it a whirl, or else we will sign some practice squad hack, and keep Maybin on the bench...does that make sense?

 

I keep waiting to hear the good news that this sad-sack coaching staff is sh*t-canned...but no such luck. I am a Trent fan, and think with a some proper coaching he will be fine. I love to point out that our team is pretty talented on the offensive side of the ball, it's just the coaching that is killing a potentially potent offense, OL or not.