Around The NFL: Nick Saban Staying Put, Rob Ryan Ousted, Lovie Smith To Philly?
Coaches, coaches everywhere...and they're taking center stage. It's time we all remember that the playoffs are going on. Hello!
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Coaches, coaches everywhere...and they're taking center stage. It's time we all remember that the playoffs are going on. Hello!
The Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks played a game that seriously took a toll on the teams and players, but the field they played on may have delivered the biggest blows.
An opening playoff weekend of games closer than expected leads many to think that the Divisional Round could be even more exciting than first thought. Only one rookie quarterback remains though...can he pull off the upset?
Coaches staying, coaches going, coaches visiting, and one coach waits.
With the NFL playoffs now arriving, there are four games in this opening wild card round, and they're all going to be big. Only one seems like a sure bet pick, but then again...it's not like my selections have been spot on for most of the season.
Round and round she goes, where the NFL coaching carousel stops...no one really knows.
The Bountygate scandal just will never, ever go away. Oh, and Adrian Peterson may think that the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff is full of the dumbest people alive, if he truly believes they'd ever grant his latest request.
Black Monday is officially over, but now a new time begins in the NFL. That would be a guessing game that's as big as free agency, and it's the wonderment as to which coach will end up where.
Of all the things that resulted from the 49ers' first round bye, none could be bigger then the week off to rest. Due to the importance of the regular season finale, San Francisco had to play to win, and could not rest their starters, but were able to get some much needed rest while the Wild Card Series were played. The 49ers as a team are as healthy as they can be, and more importantly, the news on Justin Smith is good.
One of the major concerns for the 49ers as they prepare to take on the Green Bay Packers Saturday is the kicking game. For a team that has such a sound defense, three points can go a long way, and more times then not playoff games are decided by a last second field goal. As David Akers has regressed this season, the team signed Billy Cundiff to evaluate the teams kicking options, yet with the game less then a week away there has still been no decision made. This in camp battle doesn't figure to have a winner declared until right before the game, but with no clear favorite, the best option for the team is to deactivate Akers and go with the new guy.
With the Packers up first, the San Francisco 49ers will have a very difficult opponent to get past in order to make a trip back to the NFC Championship Game. Although the key to success in the game will start and end with stopping the Green Bay Offense, the 49ers will still need to score the ball, and that falls on the shoulder of Colin Kaepernick. The reason for Jim Harbaugh switching to Kaepernick in the middle of the season was for the first year starter to take them to the Super Bowl, and it's time for Colin to make his coach look like a genius.
When it was announced that Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Christian Ponder would be unable to play in the wild card match-up between Green Bay and Minnesota, the Packers booked their flight to San Francisco. Green Bay dominated their undermanned opponent, setting up what stacks up to be one of the best game of the playoffs, and a battle that could very well determine the NFC representative in the Super Bowl.
The perception around 49er Nation is that the team needs to get Vernon Davis back into the offensive flow if they want to have a chance at the Super Bowl. The is not completely accurate though. In fact his decrease statistically is actually a good thing as it points to a more balanced attack for a team that was one dimensional a year ago.
Although they have plenty of internal things to shore up before the take the field on January 12th, the 49ers will have a close eye on the two NFC match-ups this weekend. No team presents an easy match up moving forward, but it would benefit the 49ers for the Redskins and Vikings to emerge victorious.
