The Bengals and Cowboys are Two Franchises Going in Different Directions

I was watching the NFL playoffs with my son yesterday and I found that I had some new and interesting insights.

First off, the Bengals looked fantastic. I assumed with all the Damar Hamlin love and the talent that the Bills would be playing with more oomph. Maybe they did, but the Bengals matched and surpassed it immediately. They jumped out to a 14-0 lead. The refs took a TD away from Jamar Chase, he definitely caught that ball, but it still didn't matter. They got a field goal on that drive and took a 10 point lead into half. Then they only gave up 3 more points en route to a 27-10 victory and a second straight AFC title game matchup with the Chiefs.

What I noticed about this game, besides the thorough beatdown, was the confidence this team has. They play with a swagger. Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, Joe Mixon, Dax Hill, Sam Hubbard, Semaji Perine, they have this unmatched confidence. They never play like an underdog. They go into these games expecting to win. The Bengals have been a pretty moribound franchise since their existence. Not anymore. These guys are good, they know they are good and they have proof of winning big games to be considered good. I was in awe of their performance yesterday. I did not watch much of any regular season NFL so maybe this is new to only me. But I was highly impressed with this team. I was impressed with Burrow and Chase the most. They need to sign those two to big contracts because they could be the face of the league as soon as next year. The Bengals seem very legit.

As for the Cowboys, well, they have some soul searching to do. The Cowboys did what they do now. They have one good season sandwiched in between multiple mediocre seasons and their fans go nuts. They always think they will win the Super Bowl that season. I constantly hear the whole "How bout them Cowboys!" on ESPN during the regular season. And then they get in the playoffs and choke it away. That final drive was so frustrating, and I have despised this team my whole life here on Earth. I just couldn't figure out what was going on. Then I remembered that Mike McCarthy is their head coach and it all locked into place.

What struck me personally was how I felt afterward. I used to get all into the trolling of teams I don't like on social media. I'd always have something to say. I haven't done that these past two years and I continued to not do it yesterday. But I read comments. Boy oh boy were some of those comments frightening. But what I got from all of it was how bad I felt for these guys as individuals. Dak Prescott played a bad game. He has definitely regressed the past couple seasons. But who else do the Cowboys have at QB? Who else is going to get them into the playoffs? I mean, they are not very good to begin with, but to now question if Prescott should be the guy is laughable to me. Hopefully he can go somewhere he is appreciated because Cowboy fans don't deserve Dak Prescott. He is too good for them. Tony Pollard broke his fibula. He was clearly taking over for the overrated Ezekial Elliot, and then this happens. I mean, that is brutal for him. The NFL is unforgiving enough, and it is even worse to backs who have injury history. That kicker got the yips. There is no doubt about it. But it is not his fault they got beat. He made two field goals after missing four extra points. I mean, yikes.

This all really goes down to how poorly McCarthy manages the clock and the team in big moments. He did the same nonsense in Green Bay. The Packers were loaded with talent and he only got one ring, which he tried everything he could to not get it. The way the last two seasons have played out for the Cowboys with McCarthy leading the way should terrify the fans. He is a poor game manager.

That was how I felt watching these games yesterday. One team is ascending while the other is still looking for the heyday of the 90's. That is life in professional sports I guess. At least we got the two best matchups in the conference title games next week. Those four teams are very deserving. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Era of Dallas Cowboy Mediocrity will Continue with Mike McCarthy

cowboys fans today and for the foreseeable future

I was going to use my time to day to talk about how the Patriots, and my Super Bowl pick, the Saints, got beat. But, some news came across my phone this morning, sports news, that I just cannot go without tackling today.

While out grocery shopping this morning the news popped that the Cowboys had hired their next head coach. I just kind of glanced down, and I assumed that it was going to be Urban Meyer, Lincoln Riley or Matt Rhule. I was one of the many people that thought known racist Jerry Jones would go after one of the big name college guys. Well, when I got to my car and had a minute to check out who they hired, I was stunned, and not in a good way. The Cowboys I read have reportedly hired Mike McCarthy to be the head coach.

There is a decent amount for me to unpack with this decision. First off, yes McCarthy is a Super Bowl winning head coach. I watched that Super Bowl with big time rooting interest because he was the head coach of my favorite team, the Packers. In fact, I watched McCarthy coach for years, and all in all, he was a fine coach. But, he was not elite. I actually am of the ilk of people who feel that he wasted a good chunk of Aaron Rodgers prime. But, I'm not going to do all the bad stuff just yet. So yes, McCarthy has won a ring, he has been to the playoffs a ton, his offenses were always in the top 10, or at the very least, top half of the league. And he helped groom Rodgers. He is a very good coach for you team's QB. He knows how to work with them. Also, his teams were always competitive, even if they weren't a playoff team. They still made every game a game.

But, I am stunned, and yes, stunned is the word I want, that the Cowboys and Jerry Jones and Dallas and all the big wigs there decided that McCarthy was the best guy to take over as head coach, only two days after firing Jason Garrett. Like I said, I thought they would go for the big college guy. Or maybe a big time assistant, like a Greg Roman or Eric Bienemy type. Hell, I even thought they had the juice, especially since they just got beat, to finally get their white whale, Sean Payton. I never, ever expected Mike McCarthy to be the head coach of the Cowboys.

This is wild, and for all the wrong reasons. He will work with Dak Prescott, and I think this hiring means Prescott is about to get super duper paid. But, Green Bay never had a running back that was used properly under McCarthy. Now he has Ezekial Elliot, who got paid last offseason, and he will become, if McCarthy sticks to his usual nonsense, a guy that carries the ball 12-17 times a game and has a few catches here and there. He was already becoming neutralized this season, and he will regress more under McCarthy. I'm sure they will try and find a way to sign Amari Cooper so Prescott can have a good target, but that means they will lose some of the speedy guys they have, and some of the slot guys they have. Sure, McCarthy has experience coaching Randall Cobb, but he under utilized him in Green Bay. I'm sure he will do the same in Dallas. A guy like Michael Gallup, the Cowboys might not have the money to keep him after paying Cooper. The Cowboys also need a new tight end because Jason Witten is a billion years old. But, with all this being said, the offense should still be competent.

Yet, and this is what always bugged me about McCarthy, and why I was glad that Green Bay finally parted ways with him last offseason, he doesn't care about defense, and the Cowboys aren't very good on defense to begin with. The Packers D, under McCarthy, was horrendous. The offense was so highly rated because they needed to be great. They needed to score 25-35 points a game just to win. That is because McCarthy only focused on offense, hiring crappy coordinators and simply didn't care about that side of the ball. The Cowboys could score upwards of 28 points a game under McCarthy, but they may give up 28 points a game as well.

Finally, I feel like this is about as parallel a move as this franchise could've made. I expected an enormous splash. I expected the big time name. I expected a party after naming their new head coach. Now, they have a slightly better offensive mind than Jason Garrett as their head coach. Mike McCarthy definitely has had more success than Garrett, but he is just as bland, and cares less about defense. This almost feels like a move to please Jerry Jones because he knows he is still the boss. Mike McCarthy won't push and talk back. He will do what he is told to do. I don't think guys like Matt Rhule or Lincoln Riley would have done that. They would have wanted full control. And Jerry Jones is insane enough to not go out and get those  guys because he still thinks that the Cowboys are all about him.

This is a very puzzling hire. If I were a Cowboys fan, thank goodness I am not, I would be very pessimistic about this hire. I just don't get it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Mike McCarthy Era is Finally Over in Green Bay

Artist depiction of Ty watching Packers games the last few years

The Packers finally ripped off the band aid and fired Mike McCarthy. This has been about 4 years coming.

The Packers have really failed to adapt to the modern NFL, and a lot of that has to do with McCarthy's coaching. He became even more predictable after the Packers won the Super Bowl. His offense couldn't adapt. He couldn't keep up with the changes to offense. He wouldn't help his star QB out with modern, efficient offense. He refused to change and he paid the ultimate price.

For those of you saying they should have waited the last 4 weeks to do this, why? We all knew this was coming. We all saw the writing on the wall earlier this year when they couldn't beat the Lions. Hell, us Packer fans all saw the writing on the wall the past 4 years with year after year of fumbled playoff appearances. This team should have been better. This team should have gone to more Super Bowl's. This team should have been lethal offensively. This team shouldn't have had to squeeze and sneak into the playoffs year after year. They should have dominated the North. They should have had the division, or at the very least, a wild card spot by week 11 or 12. But that didn't happen.

And before you say that I am a whiny baby, and I should be happy with the one ring and the year after year of playoff appearances, stop. I know that I root for a perennial playoff team. I know they won a Super Bowl. I know they have Aaron Rodgers. But, this team should have been up there with the Patriots, Steelers and, more recently, the Rams. They should have always been in the contender conversation. They shouldn't have had to just barely make the playoffs year after year after year. And most of that has to do with McCarthy.

Before I get into the meat of this though I do want to heap some of the blame on Aaron Rodgers. He has been pretty bad, for him, this season. He is inefficient, hurt and missing receivers more often than normal. He is not as sharp as he has seemed in the past. And it's not like he doesn't have weapons. Davante Adams is a top tier NFL wide out. Aaron Jones is a legit number one back. The O line is stout. Jimmy Graham, while not as dangerous as he once was, is still a red zone threat. Rodgers has weapons and he is under performing. Plain and simple.

Now back to McCarthy. As I said at the top, he just refused to change his ways. The Packers were predictable. He was beginning to lose the locker room and Rodgers. Rodgers would, according to a lot of reports, change plays at his choosing. He didn't listen to McCarthy. That shouldn't happen with a head coach and his star QB. Even worse though, McCarthy seemingly blamed everyone but himself. He let Dom Capers take the blame last season for the porous defense, which needs a massive amount of fixing, but that is another topic for another day. He blamed the front office for not giving him enough game breakers on offense. He blamed his position coaches for the random injuries and poor play of those players. It was never, ever his fault. Well, when you are a 14 point favorite, at home, against probably the second worst team in the NFL, you have no one to blame but yourself for what occurred. The team was anemic on offense. They couldn't move the ball on a team that has given up chunks and chunks of yards all year. They couldn't put the ball in the end zone. They couldn't play in the poor weather that has always worked to their advantage. They looked really, really bad, and I put a lot of that on McCarthy.

To fire him directly after the game, to his surprise as it was reported, was rough, but we all knew this was going to happen. We all saw it coming. It was a foregone conclusion. The time was now for the Packers to make a change. McCarthy had done all he could do, and everyone needed to move on.

As for who I think the Packers should go after as their new head coach, I am kind of torn. The names I have seen pop up most are Josh Mcdaniels, John Defillipo and Lincoln Riley. Of course Jim Harbaugh has come up and there is the interim coach, Joe Philbin, among others. I know the trend is to go towards an offensive minded coach, but after what Mcdaniels did to the Colts last year, I do not want him. Defillipo needs more time before he is the head coach of the Packers. Lincoln Riley is not ready for the pros. Jim Harbaugh, if he is to leave Michigan for this job, will have left Michigan without accomplishing much of anything. And Joe Philbin has already failed spectacularly as a head coach in Miami. I think, right now, even though he has said he isn't interested, I would try and go after Bruce Arians. He would immediately command the respect of the locker room and Aaron Rodgers. And, he is a great coach. If not Arians, I would go for Jim Harbaugh's brother, John Harbaugh. There is no guarantee that he will be let go, or leave Baltimore, but if he did, I feel like he would get the same respect as Arians. Those are my top 2 choices. I'm sure they will go after Mcdaniels, that is the betting favorite. But, I want Arians or John Harbaugh. Hell, at this point, I would even consider a former coach like Gary Kubiak. He would bring instant credibility.

The Mike McCarty era in Green Bay is over. Thank god. That is how I feel about all of this. And, I am sure that McCarthy will get another job and I wish him success. The time had come for a change.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor picked the Packers to win the NFC North this year. His punishment? His hometown Bengals will finally fire Marvin Lewis and make Mike McCarthy the coach for the next decade.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.