NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Is Pete Carroll the 2010 National Football League Coach of the Year?

Toting a 5-6 record through just over two-thirds of the season, the first-year Seahawks head coach certainly hasn't won the most games this year in the NFL, but, upon further review, maybe Carroll's name shouldn't be quickly dismissed.

The sideline general has his team in contention to not only make the playoffs, but also host a first-round game. It hasn't been easy, though.

Injuries have ravaged the Seattle depth chart.

Russell Okung, the team's first overall pick in last April's NFL Draft, missed the back half of preseason play with an ankle injury and, of Seattle's 11 regular-season games, the 6-foot-5, 310-pound left tackle has played in just five – also due to ankle issues.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck missed time due to a concussion and, recently, has been dealing with a broken bone in his non-throwing wrist.

Mike Williams – while leading the team in receptions (52), targets (87) and receiving yards (654) – has also been sidelined from time to time, mainly with leg issues.

Injury woes haven't ended there. Others on the offensive line have also been dinged up. Same with those on the defensive line. A concussion got the best of cornerback Marcus Trufant, too.

Injuries haven't been the only things worth noting. Statistically, Carroll's Seahawks, for the most part, have actually played worse this season than last year's squad led by Jim Mora Jr. that finished 5-11.

Yes, Seattle's playing in what's arguably the worst division in the league.

Yes, Seattle's schedule as a whole hasn't been the most difficult.

But, really, this team isn't good and yet Carroll has it fighting for something it hasn't been had since 2007, a NFC West division championship.

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Senior writer jclombardi highlights Packers Headlines.

Williams inks four-year, $33 million deal; Havner, Chillar to IR: CB Tramon Williams stood at his locker and spent 15 minutes talking about anything and everything. Where he might rank among the NFL's elite cover cornerbacks. Life as a new dad. How far he'd come since joining the Green Bay Packers' practice squad roughly four years earlier. Whether or not he would be voted into the Pro Bowl. As the discussion wrapped up, the likable 27-year-old wished everyone "Happy Thanksgiving." Then, as one parting question, someone asked him if he truly didn't mind if he didn't get the kind of recognition he deserved. "If I get it, it's cool, but I like to fly low," Williams said with his signature wide smile. "I like to fly low, off the radar." He's not going to be off the radar for long after signing what an NFL source confirmed is a four-year, $33 million contract extension that will keep him with the Packers through the 2014 season. "I mean, come on, it’s Green Bay. One of a kind," Williams replied when asked if he wanted to stay in Green Bay. "Obviously, that’s the case. I want to be here."  Spencer, Havner on I.R.–Meanwhile, the Packers announced that they have put linebacker Brandon Chillar (shoulder) and tight end Spencer Havner (hamstring) on injured reserve after the two players aggravated preexisting injuries during a first-quarter kickoff against the Falcons. Chillar's and Havner's roster spots were not immediately filled, leaving the Packers with 51 players on the roster. The team now has 13 players on injured reserve.

Monday Night Football Line

Here we go again.

Steelers LB James Harrison has been fined $25,000 for roughing the passer, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Harrison made “helmet contact” to the chest of Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was in a defenseless position at the time the contact was made.

Harrison, a three-time pro bowler, has already been fined multiple times by the NFL this season for hits he has delivered.

On Monday, Harrison lost two appeals for fines the league levied on hits delivered to Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi ($75,000) and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees ($20,000).

The Raiders' season, for all intents and purposes, ended on Sunday. After Jacoby Ford took the opening kick back 101 yards for a score, many of us thought–yours truly included–that they were going to rebound from the week's drubbing the week prior in Pittsburgh and rebound against the Miami Dolphins.

Many of us were wrong.

Oakland Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable elected to start Bruce Gradkowski over Jason Campbell, and the difference was negligible at best. It's been said before that when a coach goes back and forth in choosing a quarterback, it doesn't mean he has two good choices: it means he doesn't have one. I think it's safe to say that's the case here.

Both Campbell and Gradkowski can show flashes of greatness, but for the most part, they are backup quarterbacks being asked to do something they aren't capable of doing—leading a team to the post-season.

Now it appears as if the oft-injured Gradkowski could be done for the year, so the revolving door appears to be over for now. But the problems aren't all on their shoulder pads anyway. There is plenty of blame to go around. The defense has disappeared the past two weeks. Against Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, they got a pass. On Sunday, they gave up the pass… over and over again. Chad Henne to Davone Bess looked like Marino to Duper all over again. Every time the Raiders needed to make a play, they didn't. The 'D' got an 'F'.

And the offense wasn't any better. Couldn't run the ball, couldn't throw the ball. Other than the aforementioned Ford, the entire team got a failing grade for their performance, and unless they can pull off a shocker this Sunday in San Diego, the most thrilling part of the season will be to see if they can avoid losing 10+ games for an eighth straight year.

All of this means that Tom Cable's job is in serious jeopardy. When you take a team from two wins to four, you see progress, but expectations aren't too high. Expectations were soaring after that overtime win against the Chiefs, probably too high. But with expectations come disappointments, and disappointments eventually lead to firings.

Maybe that won't happen. Some continuity wouldn't be the worst thing for this organization, that's for certain. They've had consistency over the past few seasons, but not continuity. Then again, we could do without the consistency right about now. A win on Sunday in San Diego would be the perfect time to display a lack of it. If not, continuity might not be far behind.

The Titans didn’t score Sunday, so it looks like this week they will go back to Kerry Collins at the quarterback spot for Sunday’s huge home game against the current division leading Jacksonville Jaguars.

Collins, who has missed two games due to a strained calf muscle, backed up rookie Rusty Smith this past Sunday. “He pushed through some things well before the pregame warm-ups and felt good, felt like he could finish the game if need be,” Coach Jeff Fisher said at his weekly press conference.

The Steelers are 5-0 with Ben Roethlisberger at QB when they play the Ravens. While the QB has a foot sprain, he should be in uniform Sunday night when the two teams do battle for the division lead in the AFC North.

"He might be limited somewhat tomorrow," Mike Tomlin. "I am going to be optimistic and hopeful and he may be a full participant, but there is a chance he couldn't be. There is some pain and discomfort. We will see where the week takes us."

Roethlisberger is in a walking boot to protect the foot, and probably will be till late in the week.

"I didn't think Ben was in danger of coming out of the game," said Tomlin. "He was absent from our sideline at the end of the first half and late coming back after halftime. We were taking a picture of his foot. I was comfortable he was going to compete throughout the game."

Tomlin also said rookie wide receiver Antonio Brown, who missed the Bills game with a knee injury, looks to be on the road to recovery.

A couple other players that could be limited early in the week are Nick Eason and Bryant McFadden. Matt Spaeth, who missed the Bills game with a concussion, will undergo concussion testing on Wednesday morning. Brett Keisel, who was downgraded and missed the Bills game with a calf injury, is expected to be back at full strength this week.

The NFL has decided that despite being in last place, the Cowboys still are a ratings grabber. Enough in fact to keep them in place for another chance to prime time. The Cowboys matchup December 12th against the Philadelphia Eagles will remain on Sunday night even though the NFL could have moved a different game into the slot under its flexible scheduling rules.

The league said Tuesday the Patriots-Bears game in Week 14 will shift from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. EST. The Cowboys fell way behind in losing their last two prime-time contests. The Eagles are 7-4 and tied for first place in the NFC East heading into Thursday's game against Houston. Dallas is 3-8 and plays at Indianapolis on Sunday.

Derek Anderson and Deuce Lutui share a moment of levity as their team is getting stomped on national television

The screen-shot above that was captured during the Monday Night Football telecast has received the most attention from the football world in a game that saw the Cardinals play with zero effectiveness and Frank Gore break his hip in a season ending injury. Many would like to compare this incident to the Denny Green outburst, but they aren’t even close. Green has a special place in Cardinals lore that can’t be matched.

After the Cardinals offense came off the field following a typical three and out, the cameras panned onto Anderson and Lutui apparently laughing while seated on the bench. At the time, the Cardinals trailed by 19 points and were getting beaten into the ground in a game that looked like a pro team against a high school squad.

During Anderson’s post game conference, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic asked Derek to elaborate on the context of his conversation with Lutui. Basically, the reporter asked Anderson, “What was so funny?”

“You think I was laughing about something?” Anderson said, his voice getting increasing louder and more intense. “I take this [expletive] serious. Real serious. I put my heart and soul into this every single week.” Anderson was yelling at that point.

After a little more prodding by Somers, Anderson continued. “I’m telling you right now what I do every single week,” Anderson boomed. “Every single week I put my heart and soul into this [expletive]. I don’t go out there and laugh. It’s not funny. Nothing’s funny to me. I don’t want go out there and get embarrassed on Monday Night Football in front of everybody.” Somers tried a third time to ask Anderson what he and Lutui were specifically talking about, but Andreson stormed out of the press conference shortly thereafter.

So apparently nothing was funny, if I understand Anderson correctly. I suppose I can understand why Cardinals fans would be upset that Anderson was smiling while his team was getting pounded, but I think those same fans have to realize that this is a job for these players.

Honestly, I believe that Anderson wasn’t laughing about getting destroyed on national television. That’s just ridiculous. No one would think that’s funny. Also, I personally would not want teammates of mine laughing it up on the sideline in that situation. Having said that, what we want honestly doesn’t matter that much. NFL fans often care about games much more than the actual players do. At the end of the game, these guys are going to walk out onto the field and shake hands with their collegues and go shower and collect their paychecks. Sure they want to do well because they’re competitors, but no matter what Anderson and Lutui were talking about (and at this point we’ll probably never know) it’s a little ridiculous to pick out one instance during an entire game where someone is smiling and vilify them for it. Again, it’s not the way I would want my teammates to conduct themselves, but as a fan, I’m more concerned about the level of play than whether Derek Anderson is smiling on the bench.

Here’s Somers’ reaction to the incident, which Kent posted on his blog page.

As most ardent Cardinals fans know, Anderson became angry after the game after I asked him several times about the conversation with Lutui and its context. I tried to be diplomatic and professional, but I guess that’s for others to judge. Anderson obviously didn’t think so. Some wanted Anderson roasted over spit. Others think I badgered him. I hope I was somewhere between those two extremes, but as I said, that’s for others to judge.

I take no satisfaction in what happened, but I felt the questions were justified. The Cardinals were losing their sixth consecutive game. Their starting quarterback and right guard were smiling on the sidelines. Readers wanted to know why, especially since many of them think this team is not playing as hard as it should.

The bottom line is that Anderson shouldn’t explode like that during a post-game conference. Obviously, the game was extremely frustrating. Sure, Somers was trying to get under Anderson’s skin, but Derek should control himself better than he did. Even if Anderson believed that Somers was out of line, Derek owes the press, the fans, and the NFL more respect than he mustered, which wasn’t much. Getting fired up is great, but it should probably be saved for the field or the locker room.

Switching a coach midseason is never easy. We just need to take a look at history to see that it rarely goes well. But, there are very few success stories of teams turning their season around after making a coaching change midseason. One of the more recent example of success was Mike Singletary and the 49ers. In 2008, the 49ers got off to a ugly 2-5 start. Head coach Mike Nolan was given his walking papers and the inexperienced Mike Singletary took over. "Iron Mike" led the 49ers to a 5-4 record the rest of the way, finishing the season 7-9. Although, for every success story there are 3 or 4 failures. That is what makes this Cowboys season so intriguing.

The Cowboys were 1-7 when they decided to part ways with Wade Phillips. But, the consensus around the league and in the organization was that the Cowboys were a far better team and that clearly the coaches weren't getting through to the players. After Phillips was let go, offensive co-ordinator, Jason Garrett picked up the reigns and has taken charge on an interim basis. I think it is fair to say that after three games there is quite a noticeable difference in this Cowboys team.

Garrett inherited a team that had given up at least 35 points in the three previous games to his takeover. He inherited a team that was 31st in the league in rushing, after finishing 2nd the year before. He inherited a team without it's premier quarterback who won't be back for at least another two weeks. Finally, he inherited a team that lacked confidence, swagger, and a desire to get off the mat.

Fast forward three weeks and the Cowboys have looked completely different both on the field and in the locker room. Players are smiling, enjoying the opportunity to play. Garrett has the team focused on taking it one day at a time and having a "work" mentality. Maybe the most important part, is Garrett has this team winning again. Now, I know the Cowboys dropped one to the Saints on Thanksgiving, but, the Saints are the defending Super Bowl champions and it took a "brain dead" play from Roy Williams to allow the Saints to win.

The Cowboys knocked off their hated rival the New York Giants, in New York three weeks ago. The Giants entered that game the hottest team in the NFL. They had won five games in a row heading into that rematch, including a 41-35 whipping of the Cowboys where the score makes it seem a lot closer than it was. Garrett and the Cowboys followed that up with a 35-19 beat down of the vastly improved Lions at home. While they looked bad in the first half, the Cowboys erupted in the second. This just seems like a different team to me.

Garrett has taken the Cowboys from 31st in the league in rushing to 27th. They are averaging 14 yards a game on the ground more in only a three game span. That is the start of a remarkable turnaround. In the meantime, the passing offense has only dropped 10 yards a game, and fourth to fifth in the league. The defense has had the biggest turnaround. After allowing at least 24 points in six of their first eight games, the Cowboys have held opponents to 20 or less in two of their last three, the one exception is the potent Saints.

It is clear that Jason Garrett has brought a different attitude to this team. I'm not sure I'm ready to declare him the next coach of the Cowboys. I'm not even sure the Cowboys are allowed to make that declaration with the existing NFL hiring rules. But, if the Cowboys keep playing improved, I think it is safe to say that Jerry Jones will have found his coach for next year.

The Cowboys face a horrendous schedule the rest of the way, starting this week against the Colts in Indianapolis. They have two games against the detested Eagles, and one more against the Redskins. Sprinkle a game against Arizona in Phoenix and the Cowboys have a tough road to hoe. But if the Cowboys keep playing the way they have the last few weeks they should have a chance to win in each of those games. It might be too much to think that they can finish 8-8 and go perfect the rest of the way. But if they can get to 6 or 7 wins, that has to be considered a solid turnaround. It also might be enough for Jason Garrett to take over the reigns and remove the "interim" tag from his title.