WILDCARD CRYSTAL BALL - PART 1: A Legend Loses His Job
WILDCARD CRYSTAL BALL - PART 1: A Legend Loses His Job
My friends, a football all-timer was pushed from the sidelines this week, a man that belongs in Canton, Ohio. Yes, I’m speaking about recently deposed Seattle head coach Pete Carroll.
As has been the case for most of his National Football League career, Carroll was in the background once again, his news overshadowed by the departures of Bill Belichick and Nick Saban from the Patriots and University of Alabama respectively.
No, Peter Clay Carroll hasn’t won six Super Bowl titles like Belichick or captured seven national titles like Saban. But here’s what the 72-year-old has accomplished in his 27 seasons as a college and pro head coach:
Won Super Bowl XLVIII and captured two national titles
Reached the NFL playoffs 12 times, with 10 in Seattle
Posted a 7-2 record in bowl games, including four Rose Bowl wins
And, like the formidable duo, Carroll has a unique way of getting things done. His approach doesn’t get the publicity of Belichick’s “Do your job” or Saban’s “Process” but I believe his “Win Forever” approach is just as effective.
It was the summer of 20001, Carroll had just been fired by the New England Patriots and he was trying to figure out where to turn. He was reading about legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and learned that it took the championship coach 16 years to develop his personal philosophy.
From there, Carroll got to work and landed on “Win Forever” as his belief system with competition at the core of everything he did and taught. He successfully implemented the system with a focus on getting better every day.
It started with “Tell the Truth Monday,” followed by “Competition Tuesday,” “Turnover Wednesday” before the week closed with “No Repeat Thursday,” and “Review Friday”. Each day was designed to drive home important lessons and his teams were a living embodiment of his philosophy at USC and then with Seattle.
It says here that Carroll will soon find himself on the sideline, either in the NFL or in college, and I’d bet that he’ll be successful. He’s energetic, motivated and, if the right team calls, they’ll get everything the Coach has to give.
I’m not Pete Carroll but I feel ready for the playoffs with a Week 18 record of 13-3 (.813) that pushed the season mark to 171-96 (.640). Let’s take a look at today’s games.
SATURDAY
430 PM, NBC
Browns (11-6, 3-5 away) at Texans (10-7, 6-3 home)
This is a fascinating pitting one of the NFL’s oldest quarterbacks - 38-year-old Cleveland starter Joe Flacco - against one of its youngest in 22-year-old Houston phenom C.J. Stroud. But, while the attention will understandably be on the two QBs, I’m more interested in seeing what Myles Garrett and the Browns defense can do.
Garrett, he of the six consecutive double-digit sack seasons, was the first overall selection in 2017 and has made more Pro Bowls (five) than any #1 pick since Peyton Manning, who was chosen by the Colts in 1998. Read that sentence again because it is pretty remarkable.
In fact, since the NFL Draft began in 1936 with the Eagles selecting University of Chicago running back Jay Berwanger with the top pick, only 11 #1 picks have earned five Pro Bowl berths. Eleven.
Here’s the full list: Manning (14), Bruce Smith (11), John Elway (9), Chuck Bednarik (8), Orlando Pace (7), Ron Yary (7), Troy Aikman (6), Earl Campbell (6), Lee Roy Selmon (6), O.J. Simpson (6), Irving Fryar (5) and Garrett (5).
Every man in that group owns a gold jacket with the exception of Garrett and former Nebraska star Fryar, a standout receiver for four teams whose last uniform was prison-issued. He and his mother were convicted of mortgage fraud with Fryar serving eight months of a five-year sentence before departing the pokey in 2016.
Garrett, on the other hand, has keeps his nose clean off the field with his only major NFL transgression the well-publicized brawl with Steelers QB Mason Rudolph in 2019. He is fast, he is fierce, and he feasts on opponents. And I think he’ll do the same this afternoon. Call it Browns, 22-17
Postseason records:
Teams - Browns (17-21) vs Texans (4-6)
QBs - Flacco (10-5) vs Stroud (0-0)
Coaches - Kevin Stefanski (1-1) vs Ryans (0-0)
8 PM, Peacock
Dolphins (11-6, 4-4 away) at Chiefs (11-6, 5-4 home)
First things first: the fact that this primetime game is available only on NBC’s Peacock network is poppycock. Balderdash. Bonkers. Nonsense. Bananas.
The reason, of course, is money as NBC Universal reportedly forked over $110 million to the NFL for the right to put a postseason game behind a paywall. I guess Goodell’s shoes ain’t gonna pay for themselves but, ah, it is what it is.
Earlier this year, I wrote about the most legendary game between these two teams - and one of the greatest in league history - when the Dolphins toppled Kansas City on Christmas Day, 1971. It was an unseasonably warm 63 degrees on that afternoon, but tonight’s game will be quite the opposite with an expected wind chill of 22 below.
I don’t fully buy into the “warm weather teams can’t play in cold weather” and I think Mike McDaniel will have the Fins ready. I also know that KC’s Andy Reid has lost four of his last six Wildcard Round games, holding a 2-2 mark with the Chiefs.
That said, I believe in Reid and trust him like I do that first bite of a New York slice. He’s tried and true and, as up-and-down as this season has been, he’s also got the best QB in the sport. It’ll be tight but I think it’s Kansas City, 27-24.
Postseason records:
Teams - Dolphins (20-22) vs Chiefs (20-21)
QBs - Tagovailoa (0-0) vs Mahomes (11-3)
Coaches - McDaniel (0-1) vs Reid (22-16)
That’s all for today, folks. Enjoy the games and stay tuned for more tomorrow. God bless.
This is all detailed in Carroll’s book, which I highly recommend.