The Monday Minute: Divisional Weekend Edition - 1/18/21

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So I'm afraid that I don't love where this Monday Minute article is right now. My original hope for it was that it would be a minute or so of reading, depending on the subject, with my opinion being the entire mould for each subject. Most people reading this will already know the facts of the subject I am writing on, you can get that information anywhere. I am going to try to be more focused on my opinion of the topic from this point forward.

Couple things I want to hit on this week's Monday Minute. Obviously Divisional Round of the playoffs, but we had the National Championship play out since the last Monday Minute was released, also there have been a number of coaching and GM hires this week.

Let's not delay any more.

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Coaching Hires

• Urban Meyer -> Jacksonville. Anyone else feeling the Nick Saban vibes? No? Just the tortured Dolphins fan? OK. I'll say this, it is a "sexy" hire. Jacksonville will be one of the most hyped teams in 2022 when Trevor is entering year 2 with Urban. But they need to get a GREAT offensive coordinator. Urban is a delegator, not the X's and O's guy.
  
  
  
  
  
• Arthur Smith -> Atlanta. I'm skeptical about this hire as well. If Arthur can adapt the way he calls plays to what works for Matt Ryan or future Falcons QB and offense, I will like it more. But what works for the Titans is not what will work in Atlanta. Regardless, the Falcons are in a bit of a jam as far as their cap goes. This might be a full rebuild.
  
  
• Robert Saleh -> NY Jets. Really not happy about this hire. The Jets got better. Or at least they will culturally. Saleh is going to get the most out of his guys especially on the defensive side of the ball. Bringing over baby Lafluer is also a really smart move if they can fix a few pieces of OL personnel and their RB stable. This is my favorite hire of the ones made so far.
  
  
• Dan Campbell -> Detroit. Campbell is the current TEs/associate HC for the Saints. He was also the interim HC for the Dolphins after we fired Philbin a few years back. Campbell is your typical drill sergeant football coach. Oklahoma drills, spitting in your face (ohhh kinky), pushing your buttons, and he is going to get every ounce of effort out of you. Campbell is a leader, not a play-caller. A good addition to hopefully right the ship for this haunted franchise.
  
  
• Brandon Staley -> LA Chargers. Kinda surprised about this hire actually. Heard some rumors that Brian Daboll (Bills OC) was the frontrunner and that makes all the sense for Justin Herbert's continued development. Staley was DC for just a year with the Rams after he came over from Fangio's system in Denver. Though in his limited time, he turned the already good Rams defense into the best defense in terms of yardage given up in 2020. The OC hire for them will be crucial.
  
  
• Two remaining coaching openings are PHI and HOU. It's crazy to me, but I don't think Eric Bienemy is going to be hired AGAIN. Philly might (asked for an interview once KC loses or bye week prior to SB) but I'd really be surprised if EB goes to HOU at this point. HOU has set themselves apart as the worst GM/Front Office to work under in the NFL. The only thing they have going for them is Deshaun and who knows if that will even be the case come September. Back to PHI, they have just begun their search so they may take their time, as the only competition left is HOU. For a list of coach and GM interviews click on this link. (Rumors as of Midnight Monday "morning" is Josh McDaniels might be in line for Philly job. It's more like the afternoon for me at this time but ya know whatever.)
  
  
• My opinion... HOU DOES NOT get a CEO type coach (Urban Meyer is a good example of a CEO type. Leader of men, not a guru of any one thing.) but beyond that, I have no clue as to what they are doing. For the Eagles, they will be getting a coach that believes in Wentz. So I'd guess another offensive guy with high confidence. 
  

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General Manager Hires

I don't know most of these names very well (personnel people are generally behind the scenes) but this position is arguably just as important as the coach and QB. The GM builds your teams foundation.

• Nick Caserio -> HOU: This is a huge domino that we have already mentioned in the Deshaun article from Jan 8th, however, I never mentioned him by name. Nick Caserio was the Patriots 2nd in command in NE behind Bill for many years. He mainly worked on the college side of personnel but was later promoted to Director of Player Personnel because Bill wanted to prevent teams from poaching him. Caserio had been asked to interview for quite a few GM jobs over the last several years, but because of a clause in his contract, he could not do so. The situation in Houston is tumultuous for obvious reasons, but Caserio has the chops to help turn it around if he gets some draft capital. Side note, I wrote a "who do you want to grow up to be" article in high school... I picked Nick Caserio.
  
  
• George Paton -> DEN: Paton was the man in line for the GM job in Minnesota for some time. But John Elway decided to... give himself a promotion by doing less work? Yea... Elway decided he didn't want to be the GM anymore but is now the President of Football Operations. When you're the man... I guess you're the man. So Elway turned the reins and his office, because he is gracious like that, to Paton. All I know about him is that he was expected to have a GM job by now.
  
  
• Brad Holmes -> DET: This one is interesting. Brad Holmes is a black man. Because the Rams developed him and he got a GM job elsewhere, the Rams will get 2 compensatory 3rd round picks in future drafts. The Lions aren't losing picks. The NFL is just giving the Rams the picks. My knowledge on Holmes is also limited but I know he started out his career in sports as a PR intern and worked all the way up to the 2nd highest team position outside of Owner.
  
  
• I know literally nothing about either of the following two hires: Scott Fitterer -> CAR and Terry Fontenot -> ATL (a black man, Saints will get 2 thirds as well).
  
  
• The only open jobs left are the Washington Football Team and Jacksonville Jaguars. There are rumblings that former Browns GM Ray Farmer is in the lead for the Jags job, however, the GM in JAX will be below Urban Meyer in terms of the totem pole for personnel decisions.
  
  
• Quick opinion: I believe Black persons should be able to get these GM and coaching jobs in the NFL WITHOUT having to require or incentivize teams to do so. However, that has just not been the case. There are 4 black GMs in the NFL and 2 of them (Holmes and Fontenot) were just hired this cycle (Ray Farmer is also black).  This cycle, Robert Saleh was the only minority HC hired and joins Ron Rivera, Brian Flores and Mike Tomlin as the only 4 minority HCs. 70% of the NFL player base is black. You cannot possibly tell me that there is nothing suspicious going on.

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Not a practice, not a practice, We Talking Bout a Game

• Alabama 52, Ohio State 24. I didn't catch every second of this game, but when you're just that good you can take the 2nd half off (LOL @ my fake confidence). Devonta Smith, a projected top 10 pick, went silly in the 1st half before his injury. He got the Heisman, Ring, Natty (offensive) MVP, and he is going to be a superstar at the next level. He creates separation on the fastest of corners and has plush hands.
  
  The only thing from Ohio States side that bothers me writing words is that Trey Sermon and Wyatt Davis both went down with injuries. Davis is a Guard/Center prospect who is projected as a 2nd rounder and Sermon came on strong as a RB the last few games. I expect both will get their names called on Day 2 if their injuries aren't severe. Unrelated to this game, the college declaration for the NFL deadline is today, so we will see what all the young men around the country decide.
  
  
• Packers 32, Rams 18. 2 Aarons > 1 Aaron. This game didn't feel as close as a 2-possession game. In fact, Rodgers had a wide-open touchdown dropped that would've blown this game open even more. The Packers are the only team that can beat the Chiefs (with Mahomes) right now, but they have to play better on special teams. Fumbled XP snap ended up costing them 2 points (because they went for 2 on another drive), and a punt return mishap cost them 20-30 yards. ARod was feeling it early and often. One thing that stood out to me, 3rd&Goal on 1st drive... Adams 1v1 w/ Ramsey alone on one side, safety covered the back to the flat, LINEBACKER with the pass breakup on Lazard to save 4 points. Great play by that LB, but dig deeper... a LB is covering a WR at the goal line. No doubt Rodgers saw that and when he was at the GL in the 2nd quarter, took advantage of the man coverage and ran it in himself.
  
  Few things for LA I want to hit as well. Cam Akers is a monster. Malcolm Brown is a FA this year so it will be him and Henderson in 2021. I don't see any way you can keep this kid off the field. Not only does he have the strength to run over you, but the initial burst to outrun you to the edge. Scary combo. Goff really struggled in the pocket all night. The Smith Bros did a great job of collapsing the pocket in on Goff and Kenny Clark is the most underrated DT in the NFL. Taking nothing away from GB, but Donald was obviously hampered in this game. He played 39 out of 72 possible plays. If he was healthy you probably see more than the 4 or 5 real pressures they got on ARod. Something I'm still struggling on, what is McVay doing at the end of the 1st half? They did a great job moving down the field, then they call a Timeout with 50 sec left on the 10-yard line???? GB has 2 TOs and you have 3 shots at the endzone from there. Let the clock run down to 20 seconds and take your 3 shots. Rams scored with 30 sec left and gave Rodgers enough time to go down the field before the half and they get 3 points. Just crazy to me how he still needs to learn clock management. Last thing, I hate the rams "white" jerseys, the numbers are shiny, the white is off-white, the yellow isn't distinguishable, just not a good look.
  
  
  

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• Bills 17, Ravens 3. Justin Tucker Must Die. This game was... a big let down. I wasn't necessarily expecting fireworks on offense, but it felt like the quality of play wasn't there for a divisional-round game. I am speaking mainly about the Ravens offense. The first drive they come out running and moving the ball. Then they slowly faded away from their winning formula. It doesn't help when your best scoring weapon misses 2 FGs, but man the winds in the first half affected the kickers. Not like a little wind would change the Bills playcalling though, 23 passes to 2 runs in the 1st half. But let's go back to the Ravens real quick. 13 seconds left in the 1st half, opp 20-yard line, 2nd&10, no TOs. The obvious play call: throw it 5 yards... WHAT ARE OUR PLAYCALLERS DOING? ARE WE TRYING TO WIN FOOTBALL GAMES OR NOT? I get it is windy... but who cares about 5 extra yards for the NFL's best kicker. Take a damn shot at the end zone.
  
  I can't be the only one thoroughly unimpressed by the Bills performance, can I? The defense didn't stop Lamar so much as the Ravens just stopped themselves. I will give credit to the Ravens defense because they did their job with only 10 points given up. The Bills defense took away 7 and then put up 7 themselves in the same play (with the now tied for longest defensive TD in the history of postseason) to put the game out of reach. The only takeaways I got from the Bills on offense is that Stefon Diggs is continually open and Josh just throws it to him when he doesn't know what to do. The ultimate security blanket. Ever notice that Josh Allen is ALWAYS running around in the backfield trying to make something happen downfield, but he hardly ever gets sacked. He actually takes sacks on 4.3% of his passing plays, which is 10th best in the league. Crazy enough though, he has the 3rd longest Time to Throw at 3.04 seconds. None of the other players in the top 10 (of sack %) hold the ball anywhere near that number except... Patrick Mahomes. Stats are based on 2020 numbers.
  
  
  

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• Chiefs 22, Browns 17. The Chiefs are sippin Henne. The biggest news from this game is obviously the Mahomes injury. We know it is a concussion which can be really difficult to come back from in 7 days the way the protocols are currently setup. However, I have a hard time imagining Henne being the starter next week if you catch my drift. Henne looked adequate with his snaps out there but these playmakers really make it easy on a QB. Andy Reid may have a huge sack o' nuts on him, but he was absolutely right to go for it on 4th&1 to seal the game. And he was also right to THROW IT! The problem with the call? I knew that play was coming. Chiefs did the same exact play against the Dolphins on 4th&1, and they have run that play so many times in short yardage. How do you stop it though? If KC lines up like that in short-yardage next time, Hill is gonna smoke you downfield if the defense keeps someone down in that flat. The only way a defense can work it is a corner blitz from that side or a zone concept where the outside CB covers the flat and the safeties take the deep portion of the field. If you do that though, Kelce is gonna find the opening. It is just a nightmare to try to lineup against them. Butker missed 2 kicks today as well, weird to see these top kickers not in form.
  
  Baker looked great outside of his one blunder that ended up in an interception. He was throwing with confidence, moving around the pocket, willing to take hits for the extra yard on runs, and his balls were really firm. I took notice and I'm sure his wife did too. 😏 The Browns were a team that I would've guessed to give the Chiefs some fits based on their defensive personnel. But holding them to 22 points is incredibly impressive. That being said, the game completely changed when the Browns fumbled through their endzone and KC didn't NEED to continually pile on. The Browns will be back in the playoffs quite often if Baker continues to play the way he did this year.
  
  Also completely unrelated and weird note... Roger Goddell was at the Ravens game Saturday Night and Chiefs game Sunday. Lamar and Mahomes left the game due to concussions. If we see something come up in the offseason about tweaking QB protection or Concussion based rules, point back to that.
  
  
  

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• Bucs 30, Saints 20. Not so Breesy. This one hurts. Not only because I hate Brady, but as the game kicked off a report surfaced that this would be Drew Brees' last season. News that was expected, but still upsetting. As I mentioned in a previous article about the Old Guard retiring, it feels as if I am losing someone in my life. Normally I am writing these game recaps as the game is finishing up. It's been an hour and I still feel like my cat just died. Really... it just sucks.
  
  Well, I guess let's talk football. The Bucs scored 21 points off turnovers in this game. 3 of their 4 turnovers gave them the ball in plus territory. Their 4th turnover ran out the clock. Credit to the Bucs defense for winning this game. Saints D played great too, just couldn't force any turnovers. While Tom didn't have a great game, I credit the Saints for that more than Tom not playing well. They had his number in all 3 games this season because of the pressure they were able to naturally create. Something really funny to me is the different types of "football twitter". People that study the game on an All-22 level have had some criticisms of Devin White this year. People that look at box scores see 140 tackles and 9 sacks and say he is All-Pro. Then you have the "forget everything in the past and focus on the current down" people that have Devin White in the HOF already. Truth be told, I am a fan of his game. Great at getting out into the flat, or covering RBs/TEs, with his speed and has good pass rush moves. But tackles are a terrible way to measure if a LB is good or not. White is somewhere in the middle of all of those people's opinions. Top 10 mike LB right now and with him being so young, we probably have not yet seen his ceiling.
  
  As for the Saints, Deonte Harris and the PR unit were close to making it 14-0 in the first 5 minutes of the game. The Bucs defense was huge in the red area and shaved off 8 points (and cost me the Over 😭) right off the bat. Jameis throwing a TD against Tampa made me smile a little bit not gonna lie. Let's see if he stays in New Orleans next year. I wanted to give a quick explanation on each of the 3 INTs that Brees threw which ended up costing them the game. 
• 1st pick: Brees arm strength was not there after Thomas beat the corner on the route and was headed towards the sideline.
• 2nd pick: Kamara/Brees misunderstanding, Brees expected Kamara to sit at the 1st down marker but Kamara kept running up the seam.
• 3rd pick: Thrown into triple coverage; Jared Cook can't even get his hands on it, tipped up in the air.
  
  
  

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• Bonus Bullet: Not a great week for my Best Bets, only hit on Browns +10.

If you cried when Drew Brees sat on the sideline after his last pick, let me know in the comments or at @KyleTheCommish on Twitter.