Gabe's Mid-Season Review, Coaches Rant Style

For a while, we here at the BRS offices have tossed around the idea of doing a weekly list. I am obsessed with lists and the nature of sports is such that coming up with a "top (insert number here)" list is possible with just about any piece of minutia.

One list that always comes to mind is the that of all-time coaches' rants. I know it's cliche and been done, but it gives me another excuse to watch that youtube video of Mike Gundy screaming "Come after me! I'm a man! I'm 40!", which is, with apologies to Denny Green, Herm Edwards, and Earl Weaver, the best rant a coach has ever gone on.

So, I am going to use some of these classic rants to frame my mid-season review. Let's look at my bold predictions from September, see how they have panned out so far, and give some mid-season superlatives.

With no further ado.....

"They are who we though that they were!" - Dennis Green

What I got right in the NFC:

At the beginning of the year I predicted the NFC Division winners would be the Giants, Saints, Vikings, and Seahawks, with the Eagles and Packers also making the playoffs.

Right now, the Vikings and Saints are clearly the class of their divisions, so they are who I thought they were. The Eagles and Packers are both currently in second place in their divisions, right where I said they would finish.

What I got wrong (way wrong):

The Giants and Seahawks are both in third place, so not at all where I said they would be. The Giants still have an outside chance to win the division. They are only two games behind with seven games to go. Three of their remaining games are in the division, and they have already beaten the East-leading Cowboys once. The Seahawks might be done. They are riddled with injuries. They could make a run because they are in a very weak division, but I don't see it happening now.

On to some other predictions that surely went wrong...

Cowboys...I said they would win six games, well, they have already done that.
Cardinals...I had them at eight wins total and missing the playoffs. They have already won five and are leading the division.
49er's...I said they would win only four games this season. They have four already, are playing great defense, and are only two games back of first place.

What I got right in the AFC:

The Patriots and Steelers are leading their divisions. That's about all I've gotten right. And even then, the Steelers are only tied.
In our over-under I said the Broncos would win nine games and the division. They are currently 6-2 and on track to do both of those things.
The Texans are a game out of the wild-card, so they are on track to make their first playoff appearance, as I predicted they would.

Now, what I got wrong...
Colts...I said they would miss the playoffs. They are 8-0. Nuff said.
Titans...I said they would win the division and right now they look like one of the worst teams in the league.
Bengals...I said they would win only six games. They are 6-2 already.

"We didn't block anyone...and we made up for it by not tackling." - John McKay

There were some teams that I said would be really bad. I said the Bucs, Rams, Raiders, Lions, and Redskins would be bad. And they all suck. Done and done.

"Playoffs?...Playoffs?!?" - Jim Mora

Here are who I now think will make the playoffs:

NFC:
The Eagles, Vikings, Saints, and Cardinals will win the divisions. I think the Cowboys fade in December, as they always do, and the Falcons and Giants get the wild card spots.

AFC:
The Patriots, Colts, Steelers, and Broncos will win the divisions. The Bengals and Chargers, who are now playing very well, edge the Texans, who will make a late season push, for the last playoff spot.

Superlatives:

MVP: Peyton Manning - First, let me tell you why it's not Drew Brees. Brees played this well, or better, last year and the Saints went 8-8. They are playing much better this year, but it's more because of their running game and defense, specifically their three-headed monster of Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush on the ground, and Darren Sharper in the defensive backfield. Now, why it's Peyton, again. Their secondary is riddled with injury. They have a running game that declines every year. He still has Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, but his next two receivers are Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, guys who last year wouldn't have made the roster for the Florida Gators. Yet, the Colts are 8-0 and they have their 6'5" 230lb. quarterback and his laser rocket arm to thank for that.

Offensive POY: Chris Johnson - There are a lot of viable candidates for this award; Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, Cedric Benson, maybe even Peyton Manning or Brett Favre. But those guys are all separated by the thinnest of margins. Brees leads the league in QB rating, but by only .1 points over Favre. He is tied for the league lead in TD passes, with Matt Schaub, but they are only one ahead of Favre, Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady. I chose CJ because he clearly the best at his position, numbers-wise, in the league right now. He has run for 959 yards so far this year, which is 122 yards more than Benson, who is second. Among runners with more than 50 carries he leads with 6.7 yards per carry, a full yard per carry more than the second place runner. He also leads the league in yards per game (119.9) and runs of more than 20 yards (12), and more than 40 yards (6). He has also fumbled only once.

Defensive POY: Jared Allen - He is tied for the league lead in sacks with Elvis Dumervil at 10.5. He has also notched a safety, three forced fumbles, with two recoveries, and one touchdown. More than that though, he is a freak athlete who causes more havoc in opposing backfields. It seems that no matter how other teams try to stop him, they don't succeed. Just ask Dave about watching Allen sack his beloved Aaron Rodgers six times in one game.

Offensive ROY: Mark Sanchez - He has faded some lately, and much of his teams success is due to other players playing well, but he is basically the best of a weak class. Percy Harvin and Jeremy Maclin could also be considered, but Sanchez is leading a team, and leading them to some wins that no one thought they would get.

Defensive ROY: Brian Cushing - This one is easy to me. He leads his team in tackles. He third in the league in that same category. More than that though, he has twice secured games for the Texans in the closing minutes. He has twice intercepted a pass in the last two minutes of a game where the other team was driving, while the Texans has the lead. One Texans beat-writer has said, "Can we stop calling him a rookie now?"

Coach of the Year: Josh McDaniel - No one outside of Denver expected this, especially after all of the off-season turmoil. His team is now 6-2 and leading their division, and that run-Jay-Culter-out-of-town-and-get-Kyle-Orton-deal is looking great.

And simply because I think it is the greatest coaching rant ever, I am going to give out the "Come after me! I'm a man!" award for the best display of toughness. And that goes to...Andre Johnson. Three games ago he suffered something called a "lung contusion." He was coughing up blood on the sideline. He missed about 20 minutes of game time in that game and nothing else. He was on the field the next game and led the team in receptions and yards.