Both coaches feeling the heat By Dave George / Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 19, 2007 DAVIE ? All right, so we're not exactly talking Michigan-Notre Dame here, but it is fairly freaky to have the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets bump into each other with matching 0-2 records.Fact is, this has never happened in the history of a rivalry that goes back to 1966, the year that I'm a Believer was a monster hit for the Monkees.Are there any believers left out there? The answers would come much easier if Miami's Cam Cameron had ever won a game as an NFL head coach, or if New York's Eric Mangini, the hottest name in the game last year as a rookie head coach, weren't on a three-game overall losing streak in which the Jets have been outscored by an average of 32-14. What you want here is a steady hand like Bill Parcells, somebody with a serious track record. Big Tuna rallied the Jets from 0-2 to 12-4 in 1998 and an eventual spot in the AFC title game.Instead, we have an air of desperation for Sunday's game, with quarterback problems in both camps and a preponderance of statistical evidence that says neither of these teams is going to count for much this season.Miami is 24th in the league in offensive yards per game, and the Jets are 26th. New York is 24th in the league in yards allowed, and the Dolphins are 25th.Put it all together and it's a meeting of midgets at Giants Stadium, with Cameron reliving a franchise low.Not since George Wilson in the Dolphins' inaugural AFL season has a new Miami head coach started out 0-2. Or, for that matter, 0-3. Is somebody about to get fired here? Of course not.Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga chose Cameron because he believed this coach could be the one to stick around for a while, and because Cam is one smart cookie when it comes to calling plays and developing quarterbacks.There is nothing so chilling, though, as a season shot down in September. Even Mangini, AFC Coach of the Year in 2006, feels it. Add in the leaguewide gossip about him turning in New England coach Bill Belichick, his old mentor, for videotaping and stealing the defensive signals of opponents and this week is the longest in his brief career."For us, our approach is consistent," said Mangini, whose Jets went 10-6 in the regular season last year and lost back-to-back games just once. "No matter what happens, win by 20 or lose by 20, no matter our record, each game is handled the same. That's what I've learned over time."Pretty standard stuff there, but another of the things that a coach learns over time, especially one who works closely with Belichick in New England on a series of Super Bowl runs, is to honor the code. When Mangini complained to the league about the Patriots stealing signals from the Jets, he fingered himself for scrutiny by other coaches. Baltimore's Brian Billick was the first to strike. The Ravens beat the Jets 20-13 on Sunday. The following day Billick accused Mangini's defensive linemen and linebackers of shouting out signals - in violation of the rules - to confuse the Ravens linemen on the snap count."They did it the whole game long," said Billick, whose team was hit with three illegal procedure penalties. "It needs to be caught."Mangini hurried to tamp down that charge, telling reporters that he spoke with Billick on Tuesday."I told him we don't coach things that cause penalties," Mangini said, "and that's not something we would ever do. We had a good conversation and I feel good about where we are."Tough to find that comfort zone these days. The Dolphins, for example, aren't convinced the Jets' cheating days are done. Miami offensive tackle Vernon Carey said the scout team called out confusing numbers during Wednesday's practice, as if anybody's really going to hear anything very well down on the field Sunday. Desperate measures are the rule at times like these.Cameron tried to pound the mistakes out of Miami on Wednesday."This was probably the most physical practice we've had in the last three weeks," he said. "Can we keep doing that day after day? No. But right now we've got something we've got to address, and we've got to address it." Or else? Or nothing. In the Patriots' division, there's not much else to talk about after 0-3.Like Michigan and Notre Dame, this is the game to determine which team vanishes altogether, and which coach starts wondering if there ever really was a team there at all. > http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2007/09/19/0919George.html
It is freaking hysterical that Huizenga hired Cameron to develop the QB and the Dolphins do not have a good young prospect there after passing on Brady Quinn. Huizenga is an 8 letter word for Hess, and I'm so glad the Dolphins got this generations version.
Big Tuna rallied the Jets from 0-2 to 12-4 in 1998 and an eventual spot in the AFC title game. THIS SHOULD BE EVERY JETS FANS MOTO RIGHT NOW.
This isn't a Parcells team and this isn't 1998, but I like your optimism. :rofl: In a couple more games we will have a better idea of this teams potential. I'm still hoping for a playoff run, but the thought gets a little more removed every week.
I find it hysterically funny that the Dolphins are practicing about the Jets' so-called illegal number calling. First of all, it's not illegal (as in cheating), it's a penalty. Second, Billick acknowledged that not only didn't the Jets really do it, but he coaches the Ravens to do it all the time. Third, even the disgruntled Pete Kendall agreed that the Jets didn't do that at all last year. I guess it would have been too much trouble for the reporter to actually note these things. Anyway, anything they're wasting their time on is okay by me.
The whole Belichik-taping fiasco has gotten a bit out of hand right now. Billick's comments were just stupid given what's come to light after he made them. What I do see is two effects in play though. First, there's a great Patriot apology machine that has kicked into high gear, with all the usual medias suspects (Starr, King, Simmons) participating. Selena Roberts is a different story. I don't know what bug crawled up her dress but she's disliked Mangini from day one. Secondly, Mangini's tighthandedness with information has come back to haunt him as this evolves. He has very little sympathetic press going because he has not cultivated any writers at all in his short tenure with the Jets. In fact he's pissed off most of them by making them actually work hard for the few crumbs of information that they get. It may not occur to most people but Ring Lardner and Red Smith are dead. Sportswriters expect to be fed information that allows them to keep up with the 24 hour news cycle that cable and the internet have wrought. Any real ability to actually write about sports and football in particular is dead at this point, it's all about cheap information quickly dispensed and then on to the next day's needs. Look at Peter King's columns as an example of what passes for sportswriting these days. He's so desperate for content he writes about his coffee drinking and travel habits and daughter's athletic prowess as a major part of his column. When was the last time he stepped back and actually wrote something meaningful from his experience or the history of the NFL? Never? Mangini is in a bit of a pickle right now because the only way to shut up his detractors is to win, and the Jets really are not that good.
Last time I looked it was wins on the field that counted and not wins in the press/media. Anyone that expects our HC to be out there every week pretending to be a dancing bear for the press is going to be disappointed. I like the tight-lipped policy they have. If Mangini continues to be successful with this team the press can write up any story they want - it isn't going to matter. If he loses they can stir up all manner of drama, and it still isn't going to make much difference. Does anyone really believe that the HC's job security really hangs on what the likes of Selena Roberts has to say this week? Do you think the owner is going to go to the tabloids before he flips a coin on whether to fire the guy?
That's exactly right. Mangini will be prepping for the Dolphins instead of trying to deal with this. That's his best defense to the claims against him. Billick's comments were out of the ordinary and had to be responded too. If Mangini starts getting snubs from other coaches it'll hurt but ultimately it's his record as a coach that is going to determine how he is perceived in the league.
Billick's comments were a real head scratcher if you ask me. I guess these guys get asked stuff a lot though and sometimes you just muff how you want it to come out.
" . . . ultimately it's his record as a coach that is going to determine how he is perceived in the league. " & how woody will evaluate his performance .
