1) Giants first: Dom Capers is being targeted for Defensive Coordinator. I do not like the choice. Would have preferred the younger, hungrier assistant, like Spags. It took a miracle CHANGE in an older Coughlin retread to get us a title. So I think you have a better shot when you take someone new, someone in the present, not in the past. How is Capers going to innovate? All I can say is that the Giants won three Super Bowls with a first time head coach (Parcells), a first time Def Coord (Belichick, Spagnoulo), and a head coach who had to become something new (Coughlin).
Phil Simms:
2) The hiring of Raheem Morris (in the league for 2 years as a position coach, 32 yrs old) as the Head Coach at Tampa Bay… “Remarkable. Unbelievably impatient league.” Continuity is in the toilet. They want youung guys, this is a bad development, says Simms. John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin are youung guys who are just as hard and smart as Coughlin and Parcells, they keep the players at arms length, but they are young. Denver almost hired Morris.
3) Jets want the def coord of the Ravens, Rex Ryan. Will be good with the fans and media in NY, because he is honest and upfront. Good fit. Can he get the staff? Simms recommends staying with Brian Schottenheimer to make the team’s offensive transition smoother.
4) Cardinals-Eagles. AZ has changed up their defense. One of the reasons why they won was they were doing things (on defense) that were not expected. Will be interesting to see if Fitzgerald can do damage on the talented secondary (which has not given up a passing TD in 7 games) of the Eagles. Jimmy Johnson relieved about playing the Giants w/o Burress, well, today he is going to have to deal with TWO tremendous receivers. Thought the Eagles got worn down by the Vikings and lost a lot of battles, but that the Vikings refused to win.
5) Steelers-Ravens. Tenn Titans had a big physical OL that could beat the Ravens, but the Steelers OL not nearly as good, so Simms will be watching to see if the Steelrs can at least manage that part of that the game. Flacco will be throwing the ball deep today. If the Ravens win, they will win it with passes down the field. Can the Ravens pass protect long enough to give Flacco the time, because the Steelers will rush and blitz with those great LBers (Harrison and Woodley). Parker healthy now for the Steelers, a big plus for them.
SIMMS FROM FRIDAY WITH BOOMER AND CARTON (go to the end, last ~20%) for important remarks on the wind and Eli Manning:
6) >Eli lost confidence in the wind. A couple of bad passes, it changes a lot of things. Work on it on the offseason. Always things you can do mechanically, change your grip. You are able to control the football better. Donovan McNabb did it better in the wind than Eli Manning and that is why the Eagles won. When it is windy like it was (last weekend), no, you cannot overplay the wind factor, it was a HUGE factor. Simms’ secret advantage was realizing he WAS going to throw like cr*p in the game, the other QB had no clue how bad HIS day was going to be.
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