Falcons and Niners and Bears, Oh My! Black Monday Firings Not Overly Suprising

Jim Harbaugh is Michigan-bound after Sunday's win in San Fran (Google Images)

Well it's that time of year again. With the regular NFL season wrapping up on Sunday, it's time for the 2014 installment of Black Monday; that magical holiday between Christmas and New Year's eve when NFL teams clean house and look for new head coaches. While only five made moves yesterday, a few of them didn't come as big surprises.

Before Black Monday even rolled around, Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers officially agreed to part ways. The news broke just hours after the Niners scored a 20-17 home win over the Arizona Cardinals. Speculation had been rampant for almost the entire season as to whether Harbaugh would be in the NFL as a head coach next year or if he would head north to Ann Arbor to coach the University of Michigan football team.

While struggling teams like the Oakland Raiders expressed an interest in the services of a coach like Harbaugh, we now know he's heading back to his Alma Mater to coach college football next year. I guess either Harbaugh was waiting for the ink to dry to announce the move or Michigan was finishing counting out the remainder of Harbaugh's salary. Supposedly there are more than a few zeros at the end of that paycheck. But either way, the normally hot-headed Harbaugh seemed relaxed and jocular during his post game press conference Sunday night and a struggling Michigan team is landing the services of one of the best coaches in football. Aside from the 49ers needing a new coach, this is a win-win situation.

The Harbaugh move didn't come as a big surprise and neither did the news that Rex Ryan and John Idzik had been released by the New York Jets. The writing had been on the wall for a long time this year and you could almost tell the team knew they were playing their last game under Ryan's direction. The team beat the  Dolphins 37-24 and they played like they were in the Super Bowl. They even gave Ryan a Gatorade shower following the win. But the fact that his players loved playing for him wasn't enough to save his job.

After two AFC title games in his first two years with the Jets, Ryan has been  far from the best head coach in the league. The team finished 8-8 in 2013 and an abysmal 4-12 this year. Fans waved towels reading "Fire John Idzik" at home games and even rented a plane to fly a banner with the same message over a team practice session. Owner Woody Johnson apparently was listening and the Jets will have a new head coach and a new general manager next season. They'll still have a second year quarterback who seemed to throw more touchdown passes to opposing players than he threw to his teammates this year, but they can work on that later.



Rex and his vest will not be back in New York
next year (Google Images)

Now onto the more surprising news. Like did you know that falcons can lay eggs? No not those falcons. I'm talking about the ones that play football in Georgia. On Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons had a chance to win the NFC South on their home field against their division rival Carolina Panthers. They lost by 31 points, only scoring a field goal. The team laid down and rolled over and, because of it, Mike Smith was fired as the team's head coach.

Smith had been in Atlanta since 2008 and had a career record of 67-49 with the Falcons. He got his team to within one game of the Super Bowl two years ago, eventually losing a close game to the 49ers. Smith was also named the 2012 Coach of the Year by Sporting News. But while Matt Ryan and his teammates couldn't beat a drum Sunday, Smith wound up taking the fall for his team's lousy play. Yes, the Falcon's season has been miserable, but the entire NFC South was terrible as well. The Panthers advanced with a record of 7-8-1 and Lovey Smith is still employed in Tampa Bay after two wins with the Buccaneers. After all he's done for the Falcons, I think Smith was entitled to one bad season.

The fourth team that made a coaching switch on Monday was Chicago's football club. Daaaaa Bears announced yesterday that head coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery will not be returning in 2015. The Bears have been in complete disarray lately, benching quarterback Jay Cutler with only a handful of games left in the season. They were last in the NFC North this year at 5-11 and were 8-8 last season under Trestman. While it appeared his job was safe, the Bears apparently felt they had to make some sort of change. And after starting out strong the last two seasons, only to sputter across the finish line, its really hard to argue with them.

While those were the only vacancies announced on Monday, there are still a few teams who might make changes before next season. The Redskins and the Raiders are two that have been mentioned in the news a lot and, regardless of where you stand on Jay Gruden and Tony Sporano, either of these men getting dumped would not be shocking. Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has an escape clause in his contract that will expire on Wednesday. So that is a situation to watch as well.

But while there are multiple vacancies, Adam Schefter said it best on ESPN yesterday. Yes football is a sport and it is fun to see the different changes teams make in the off season. But we are also seeing men lose their jobs and families being displaced on the biggest of stages with no guarantee of finding a position with another team. While the NFL is very entertaining, that is the one thing that's important to remember. This sport is a job to a lot of different people and guys like Ryan, Idzick and Smith just lost their livelihoods.

Black Monday might have ended, but given the amout of teams that have been mentioned  in the rumor mill, the changes at head coach have more than likely only just begun. 

Smith a No-Go in AFC Wild Card Fight Against Chargers

Chiefs QB Alex Smith had very little to cheer about on Friday
(Goggle Images)

Alex Smith will not start the game Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium when his Kansas City Chiefs take on their division rivals San Diego Chargers for the final playoff spot in the AFC. News broke late Friday morning that Smith was battling a lacerated spleen and that Chase Daniel would take Smith's place under center. This might be the final nail in the coffin for a Chiefs team that looked unstoppable just one month ago.

Kansas City's head athletic trainer, Rick Burkholder, told the media Friday morning that Smith took a shot to the abdomen in the third quarter, which caused a small laceration in his spleen. The injury will not require surgery, but Smith will need about six weeks to fully heal. So even in the Chiefs win Sunday and make the playoffs, advancing to the Super Bowl just got much more difficult.

As Yogi Berra says, "it ain't over till its over." But without Smith, one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the league, calling plays for his team, the Chiefs are going to have to battle to beat a very hot Chargers team.

The formula for the Chargers to nab a playoff berth is simple: beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. However, for the Chiefs to make the playoffs for the second year in a row, things get a little more messy. Yes, they must beat San Diego at home, a team fresh off rallying from behind to beat the 49ers last Saturday night. But the Ravens must also lose and the Texans must lose or tie for the Chiefs to punch their ticket.

The Ravens and Texans are also impacted by Smith's injury. Baltimore needs to win against the Browns Sunday, in addition to a Kansas City loss to make the playoffs. Houston needs to beat Jacksonville and they need the Ravens and Chiefs to lose to make it in.
 

Arrowhead Stadium will be the sight of Sunday's AFC West showdown
(Google Images)

Smith's is the second serious injury for the Chiefs this year. Eric Berry was diagnosed with  Hodgkin lymphoma  few weeks ago. Because the team caught the disease when they did, they probably saved Berry's life. Now Smith is in that same boat. Had the Chiefs played Smith on Sunday and had he taken another big hit, the former No. 1 overall pick said his spleen could have ruptured, leading to "emergency surgery or bleeding out. Some pretty scary endings." 

However, despite his absence on the field, Smith still has faith the Chiefs will be victorious Sunday. He will be on the sidelines Sunday to help Daniel and his team. "Getting ready to go win a game," he told reporters Friday. To see Burkholder and Smith talk more about this latest development for their team, click here.

Daniel has one previous start, also against the Chargers in Week 16 last year. The backup completed 25 of 38 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown. The Chiefs would lose that game 27-24. But last year's game was played in San Diego. This year, the Chargers will have to come to Arrowhead, a marked advantage for a Kansas City team looking for any amount of help they can get. The loudest stadium in the world, Arrowhead will be filled with the loudest fans in football Sunday. Chiefs fans saw their team advance to the post season last year they will no doubt be screaming and spurring their team to their second consecutive playoff appearance.

Yes, the odds are against the Chiefs and any realistic football fan can see that everything this weekend is coming up Chargers. But given the environment Philip Rivers must play in, given that Jamal Charles is healthy and given that Daniel isn't really that bad of a substitute (can you say Johnny Football?), the Chiefs might actually be able to put up a fight and make Sunday's matchup a very exciting football game.

This has been a big year for upsets and there is every reason to think that the Chiefs can still pull off another KC Masterpiece without their starting QB.

Philly Phlop: Redskins Clip Eagles Wings in D.C.

Desean Jackson ran all over the Eagles with 126 receiving yards (Google Images)

After starting the season as one of the more dominant teams in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles might have had their hopes of capturing the NFC East crown, or even making it to the post-season period, dashed by one of their division rivals, the Washington Redskins. This also busted a 6 game skid for the Redskins, who have had something of an issue finding a guy who can run head coach Jay Gruden's offense. And for a game that saw the 3-11 Redskins at home against the 9-5 Eagles, this was a very competitive game

This week, the Washington Quarterback Carrousel stopped on Robert Griffin III, the QB who was benched by Gruden a few weeks ago in favor of third stringer Colt McCoy. But after suffering a neck injury two games ago in St. Louis, McCoy was placed on injured reserve this week, ending his season and placing RGII back under center. Although he often still looked like a deer in headlights, Griffin got his 'Skins out to an early 10-7 lead. But Mark Sanchez and the Eagles didn't do themselves any favors.

For a team that has been neck and neck with Dallas for the NFC East, the Eagles looked as if they decided all of that pressure of besting the Cowboys and going to the playoffs was too much to handle, so why not just let Tony Romo and the Cowboys take control and deal with it. There were penalties aplenty against the Eagles, in addition to two missed field goal attempts and two turnovers by Sanchez. All that was missing was a reprise of the fabled "butt fumble" to cap off a bad night for Philly. The Fat Lady might not be singing yet, but she's starting to get warmed up.

One big story was Philly's rookie kicker Cody Parkey who missed two field goal attempts and doubled his number of misses this season. This was a microcosm of the Eagles' night in D.C. But while two bad field goals didn't help them any, it was the new and improved Sanchez, fresh off his tenure with the Jets, who cost his team.

There wasn't much for Mark Sanchez to smile about after losing by 3 points
to the Redskins (Google Images)

The moment that changed this game came inside of two minutes to go with the game tied at 24 and the Eagles' window to the playoffs about to slam shut. Under pressure, Sanchez forced a throw and was picked off by Redskins corner back Bashaud Breeland. This set up a Kai Forbath field goal, a 26-yard attempt, that split the uprights and won the Washington Redskins just their fourth game of the season.

After the game, Griffin said, "You would think a 3-11 football team would just quit. And we're not." One of his harshest critics, Gruden also applauded his quarterback, saying he "did an outstanding job of managing the football game." This win comes amid speculation that either one or both of these men might not be back in Washington next year. But after taking down a 9-5 football team battling for a playoff berth, a whole new layer has been added to this controversy.

The Washington Redskins are playing for pride and in toppling the Eagles, they've proved that they can play serious spoilers going into their game against Dallas next week. However, Philadelphia is fighting for much more. With this loss clinching a playoff spot for the Detroit Lions, all they can do is try to beat the New York Giants next weekend. Every other scenario is completely out of their control.

The Eagles haven't just landed. They've hit the ground hard.