The Mad Scientist

They used to call him "The Mastermind", but these days he looks more like a mad scientist who refuses to listen to outside ideas and insists on pushing through his own crazy agenda despite the results. I am referring to Denver Broncos' Head Coach, Mike Shanahan. When you win back to back Superbowl titles, you get a lot of leeway but it's clear to this Bronco fan that The Mad Scientist is wearing out his welcome in Denver.

He traded one of the top tailbacks in the league in Clinton Portis to get Champ Bailey and then 3 years later traded the guy that replaced Portis, Tatum Bell, to the Lions for Dre' Bly. The tandem of highly regarded DB's was supposed to help turn around a porous defense. The result? The worst pass defense in the league. And what of that running game? Once regarded as the top rushing attack in the league because of Denver's superb zone blocking scheme, it seemed for awhile like anyone could run in the Denver system. No names like Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson and Reuben Droughns all had big years in Denver. The problem? It was a different guy every year. There was zero consistency in the offense and no chemistry in the locker room. Guys would rush for 1400 yards one year and then lose their spot to an undrafted rookie the next. And the past 2 seasons? Led by lightweight Selvin Young and a series of journeymen including Michael Pittman, Anderson and Travis Henry, Denver is well on it's way to a 2nd consecutive season without a 1000 yard rusher and is being forced to throw on almost every big play.

I know what you're thinking. Denver is still posting solid rushing totals, in fact they currently rank 13th in the league right? Sure that may be true but this team has zero ability to control the clock and put away a team late. In fact, Denver has often squandered big leads because of their inability to put teams away by running the ball down their throat when they had the lead. They even lost to the lowly Chiefs, who allow more rushing yards than any team in the league, because of their inability to exploit the Chiefs weak rushing game. Selvin Young has a lot of talent but he is built more like a kick returner than an every down back and there is a reason nobody wanted to sign Michael Pittman until Denver came calling. His best years are in the rear view mirror. He's a solid 3rd down back and does a nice job of protecting Cutler but you can't build an offense around him. Teams are figuring this out and as they bite less and less on the play action and keep more and more DB's back in coverage it becomes harder and harder for the Denver passing game to be efficient and operate like it is capable of doing.

Don't get me wrong. I still believe Shanahan has a future as a head coach but I think it's time for a change. If he goes somewhere else and starts fresh, I think he has a shot at turning a team around. But you have to take away the personnel decision making power. If you let him mess with the roster the mad scientist will take over and the results won't be pretty..

Time To Scrap Instant Replay in the NFL.

So after watching the now infamous San Diego-Denver game this past Sunday I have come to the realization that instant replay has to go. It was an outstanding game for the most part as 2 high powered offenses traded punches the entire game with big plays on both sides. Sadly though, there were 2 plays that left a cloud over the game and made us all wonder how real the outcome was.

The first one happened early in the game when Champ Bailey wrestled the ball away from Chris Chambers as he fell to the ground after a reception. Props to Bailey for an outstanding strip of the ball but replays showed Chambers was clearly down by contact before the ball came loose. But the refs couldn't verify this information because the on field replay equipment malfunctioned and NFL rules state that if a malfunction occurs and it can't be fixed within 2 minutes then the game is to resume and the play on the field stands. So even though millions of people watching saw that it was clearly not a fumble, Denver was awarded the turnover. Really? In a world of instant information and high tech data transfer we can't find a way to re-route the network TV feed to the refs in event of equipment failure? It led to a Denver TD. Amazing part is, this gaffe was mild in comparison to what happened later...

Down 38-31 late in the 4th quarter, Denver QB, Jay Cutler drops back to pass and dropped the ball. No forward arm motion, no tuck rule, nothing. He just dropped the ball. He even admitted as much after the game. San Diego scooped up the ball and it appeared the game was pretty much over. San Diego would take over possession and run out the clock. But no, referee Ed Hochuli signaled incomplete pass. Replays confirmed what we already knew, it was clearly a fumble. Only one problem. Hochuli blew the whistle, ruling the play dead before San Diego recovered. So even though everyone, including Hochuli knew he got the play wrong, the rules prohibit a change of possession after the whistle is blown. So even after reviewing the play and seeing his error, he couldn't award the ball to San Diego. All he could do was move Denver back 9 yards from the previous line of scrimmage because that is where the ball was when he blew the play dead. Denver went on to score and convert a 2 point attempt winning the game by a score of 39-38. It was an incredible ending to an outstanding game. But all anyone is going to remember is the botched replays.

I'm sorry but if this is how instant replay is gonna work then what's the point? Just get rid of it. If you can watch a replay and see you made the wrong call but the rules prevent you from reversing it then why waste everyone's time reviewing it in the first place? It's a flawed system and it needs to go. At least before if the refs made the wrong call you could rationalize that it was harder to see in real time or the ref had a bad angle. But to KNOW you made the wrong call and not have the power to fix it? Utterly insane. Bad calls are part of sports and always will be. It's time to embrace the human element of the game and just go with it. The flawed eyes of the zebras were good enough for generations of football players before instant replay was created and it's good enough for today.