Sports

[gardenman]

Ah, well. The season ends for Philly. More injuries killed us again as Wentz got speared in the helmet by Clowney and knocked out of the game. The stress of the playoffs ends for Eagle fans now. The Eagles played their hearts out despite only having half a team. The good news is we found a few guys who will be featured next year. Now it's on to free agency, the draft and the start of a new season where hopefully we stay healthier.

[chlema]

So a cheap shot by Clowney and Wentz is out with a concussion.  So Clowney will get a fine and we'll all be wondering what if?  But that's football I guess.  :-(

[teganslaw]

Why wasn't that hit on Wentz called? It was a cheap shot; Wentz was already falling down when Clowney hit him. Have to give the Eagles credit; they kept the game close despite all their injuries. 

Kirk Cousins delivers! He finally came through when needed most. The Vikings outplayed and out coached the Saints. They had no answer for Dalvin Cook, and Kamara was kept in check. 

I would like Taysom Hill to sign with the Colts. One can dream.....

Overall, a good weekend of football. Most of the games put the 'wild' in wild card. 

[gardenman]

The good news about the Clowney cheap shot is that it now gives me a rooting interest for the rest of the playoffs. I'm now a fan of whoever's playing against Seattle. This week that means I'll be pulling for the Packers. I wouldn't mind seeing a Packer offensive lineman take out Clowney's knees in fact. Lowering your helmet and diving at a quarterback's head is a cheap, dangerous, tacky move. If you're going to be that kind of a player, you'll learn that there's a price to pay for it. The league will fine him this week, but probably won't suspend him. Fines don't really impact players that much. If that had happened in a college game, he'd have been tossed from the game for targeting, but the pros have different rules. 

[waterlily]

What an enjoyable weekend of football! Great teams and great games.  I'm looking forward to the next round and it's such a pleasure to see new teams in the Divisional round rather than the same old. Hopefully, my Redskins can be a better team next year with the new coach and staff, HTTR.

[teganslaw]

Mike McCarthy is the Cowboys' new coach. They are finishing contract negotiations. I expect that Jerry Jones will still make the main decisions, but just how much say will McCarthy be allowed to have? 

I wonder if Jason Garrett will end up with another team as coordinator or maybe an office job. 

Then there are Dak's and Cooper's contracts to deal with. Dallas has a lot of work ahead. 

[gardenman]

It'll be interesting to see how Mike McCarthy makes out in Dallas. He wasn't especially loved in Green Bay towards the end of his tenure there, and Randall Cobb (former Packer) is currently a Cowboy (though a free agent) so the rest of the players will likely be turning to Cobb to hear what he says about McCarthy. Mike McCarthy could be a dead man walking if Cobb (and other former players of McCarthy's) poison the rest of the team against him before the team ever meets him. McCarthy can't really interact with the players in a meaningful way until the OTA's start, so that leaves the players talking among themselves and forming ideas and opinions about him long before they have a real chance to know him. 

With a new head coach, the Cowboys can start their OTA's on April sixth. So the players have all of January, February, and March to form opinions on McCarthy before they ever meet him. The players seemed to love Garrett (based on what they've been saying) and McCarthy's former players didn't seem terribly upset to see him leave, so how he handles this transition could be pretty challenging.

A whole lot of Cowboy players only know Garrett as an NFL head coach since he's been there nine years. Mike McCarthy is a whole new and different kind of animal for them. Watching the adjustment could be kind of interesting. McCarthy had a good record in Green Bay, but how much of that was Aaron Rodgers? Nothing against Dak who's a good NFL QB, but he's no Aaron Rodgers.

It's an interesting hire. Two of the NFC East teams have gone the experienced coach route in Rivera and now McCarthy. What will the Giants do? The good news is the Eagles pretty much know what to expect from both of those guys. They won't reinvent the wheel in their new jobs. There's lots of footage on their systems and how they like to do things. There will be a few new tweaks here and there, but by and large the rest of the NFC East knows what to expect from them. Only the Giants remain without a new head coach. Whoever they hire will likely be more of an unknown early on and more challenging to plan for.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Interesting. The Redskins are saying they won't hire a GM until after the draft. We've got Redskins with expiring contracts that they have to decide whether to resign or let go. Then free agency. Then the draft. Those are kind of the jobs for a GM. It's a bit unusual to wait that late to hire a GM. Who will be making the personnel decisions? Rivera? 

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@gardenman 

Theres all kinds of conflicting reports...current front office personnel.....Eric Schaffer and Alex Santos are working together with Rivera then in May moving forward they plan to hire Panthers Exec Rob Rogers....But theres all kinds of conflicting reports....some say the Redskins are looking at the Bills Joe Schoen....No one really knows what the final structure of the Redskins front office will look like. For the past couple of years, the Redskins have operated with a President, and without a General Manager. At the moment, the team has neither.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Ah, well. The season ends for Philly. More injuries killed us again as Wentz got speared in the helmet by Clowney and knocked out of the game. The stress of the playoffs ends for Eagle fans now. The Eagles played their hearts out despite only having half a team. The good news is we found a few guys who will be featured next year. Now it's on to free agency, the draft and the start of a new season where hopefully we stay healthier.

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@gardenman 

Sorry about your Eagles....Wentz's concussion really was the game changer and DEFINITELY a PENALTY was MERITED!!! ......  Wentz just cant seem to stay healthy for the playoffs and Josh McCowan wasnt the answer.....It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do with the QB backup position moving forward!

[Spurt]

@gardenman  @teganslaw 

Didnt y'all love how Jerry waited to make "the official announcement" on Garrett DURING the Eagles playoff game....SMH...LOL (so Jerry).....

Yep, I didnt get the feeling there was any love lost when McCarthy departed from Green Bay.....should make for some interesting stories moving ahead to see how this "marriage" works out with Jerrah/McCarthy/Players..... 

What will those NY Giants do......