The stretch run for the NFL season is here and some items I think Peter King thinks I believe (with apologies to Peter King) are presented below -
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On the Sports Illustrated site is a piece about players whining against the Thursday Night Football slate and how they ostensibly are having a hard time adapting to it. The piece never makes any kind of case against the Thursday Night slate, not in terms of player fatigue or player safety, and it is glaringly obvious watching the games - as an enormous number of people are doing - that there has been nothing onerous about the Thursday Night slate. The quality of the games did suffer early in the season but that has changed as the season has gone on - and decline in quality of play rests mostly with the league's absurd reduction in the physicality allowed in training camps and in-season practices.
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Pete Carroll still gets ripped in some media circles as a coach who does not instill discipline for his players. The latest example of such is criticism that a few of his players (such as cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond) recently got suspended or face suspension for failing recent drug tests. The problem with the "lack of discipline" argument is that the Seahawks keep getting better. A team that lacks discipline is the New York Jets, and it is reflected in their deteriorating play.
Pete Carroll's past NFL failures are blamed on him; with the New England Patriots 1997-99 the real fault lay in the command structure put in place at the time - Carroll coached the team with what amounted to zero say in personnel matters. He couldn't pick his players and couldn't pay them, and personnel guru Bobby Grier allowed players to go over Carroll's head straight to him.
That structure was put in place because Bill Parcells showed he was not trustworthy with control - before 1996 his record was 21-27 and the 1994 season's 10-6 record was because Parcells actually let go of a measure of control in handing over the offense to Drew Bledsoe; he took it back in 1995 to push the "establish the run and play defense" model that by then was outdated.
The blunt truth is Pete Carroll is a superior coach to any assumption ever made about him.
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Antonio Smith of the Houston Texans backpedaled from his post-game accusation of cheating against the Patriots. I don't know what's worse - making the accusation or the backpedaling.
It's brought up again how hated the Patriots organization is. The hate is manifest and it's different from past dynasties like the Johnson-Switzer Cowboys and the 49ers - there was rampant hatred of those dynasties but there was also a popularity about them because they had players with personalities. The Patriots are different - they are more disciplined and thus inherently more boring, and that has fed the hatred.
It's a bit of a poor reflection on how good teams are judged. Personality is so often overrated it isn't funny - the 1990s Cowboys today are beloved because of the larger-than-life personalities involved, yet the player most deserving of respect from that era is the most boring - Troy Aikman.
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The fall of the Packers is largely explained by Aaron Rodgers' injury. Actually it's just more proof the Packers are frontrunning frauds. They lost two of their first three games, both times failing when they had to stage a comeback. Rodgers certainly makes a major difference but the myth that he's an elite quarterback should be punctured by now.
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The more we watch the 49ers, the more it's becoming clear that Colin Kaepernick is a one-trick pony of a quarterback. He is not showing progression as a quarterback.
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The slaughter in Seattle exposed some serious weaknesses with the Saints - namely an aging offense.
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With numerous coaches on the verge of being fired, wait for the Bill Cowher advocacy train to start rolling again.
Here is a reason to derail that train - Cowher went into an ideal situation with the Steelers and did less with more. His 12-9 playoff record as a head coach doesn't showcase anything inspiring in him, and doesn't justify hiring him, especially now seven seasons removed from any coaching gig.
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Speaking of potential coaching changes, I'm surprised no one has circulated rumors that former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien gets hired by an NFL team. The job he's done rebuilding the Penn State football program has been eye-opening.
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BTW, has there been any Blaine Gabbert sighting anywhere?
So it is as Week 14 approaches.
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