SPECIAL COLLABORATION
One of the biggest failures of the season was the loss of the Indianapolis Colts to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the past few days.
The Colts were in control of their destiny. Just a few weeks ago, no one in the NFL wanted to rub shoulders with this team, which had dominant ground play and a defense capable of creating turnovers galore. You could tell the Colts were taking flight, but it all fell apart in no time.
This collapse peaked on the last weekend of the season against one of the worst teams in the NFL. Heading into the game, the Jaguars were 2-14.
On the opposing field, the Colts did not just lose the game, they were dominated by the Jaguars. With good reason, many will point the finger at Carson Wentz, but he is not the only one. The lines also deserve to be pointed out. The Colts’ attacking line, considered one of the best, was shuffled throughout the game and ground play never managed to establish itself. Defensively, we failed to disturb quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who had one of the best performances of the year and the team lost the turnaround war 2-0.
The Colts “choke” at the big time. They represent the most recent example of a formation collapsing under the pressure of a crucial game. Their loss allows the Pittsburgh Steelers to earn a playoff ticket.
Happy to see the 49ers in the playoffs
The San Francisco 49ers are going into the playoffs and to me that’s great news. To get there, they closed a 17-point deficit to the Los Angeles Rams, who seemed on their way to an easy victory.
The Rams dominated the first half in all chapters. Whether physically, strategically and emotionally. Finally, the Niners showed great resilience to get back into the game. I especially appreciated the patience with the ground game. Anemic in the first half, persistence allowed the offensive line to quietly win and gain the upper hand over Aaron Donald and company.
It’s nice to see this training in the playoffs. First of all, I like coach Kyle Shanahan and his strategies. I find that there are very good players on both sides of the ball with Deebo Samuel in attack or Nick Bosa and Fred Warner in defense. Plus, the 49ers are a fun team to watch play. They will be formidable for each of the opponents they will face.
What talent this Justin Herbert
Despite a loss, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert gave an incredible display of his talent.
If I said above that I was happy to see the 49ers make the playoffs, I am as disappointed to see the Chargers to miss them. It’s a team that we had in high esteem at the start of the season with a prodigious young quarterback and talent in many positions.
As in years past, the Chargers showed a lack of consistency, but there is one thing we saw in the loss to the Vegas Raiders and that is Herbert’s brilliance. When his team had their backs to the wall with a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, he began to play inspired football by making passes that few quarterbacks in the NFL are able to do. He converted six of his seven attempts to the fourth down. When he needed a game, he succeeded.
Herbert looked unstoppable. This young player is extraordinary. Whenever everything seemed to crumble around him like his protection or receivers, he was there to make the game a success.
The Chargers have incredible talent with Herbert as a quarterback. It will be up to the management to find during the off season, the means to surround it well and to show it off.
A coach who will bounce back
Brian Flores’ dismissal from his job as coach of the Miami Dolphins is surprising. The team that started the season 1-7 have won eight of their last nine games to complete the regular season with a 9-8 record.
It is a second victorious season in a row under the rule of Flores. The Dolphins had 19 wins in two years, which had not been achieved since 2003. Despite everything, he was fired.
Obviously, the problem was not on the ground, but rather behind the scenes. His departure has nothing to do with coaching because Flores has proven himself capable of leading a team to victory and rallying the players. Flores knows how to sell his salad and he knows how to correct the situation when things are not going well. He has been running his club very well for two years now and bringing it close to its full potential.
There was clearly a turf war between him and CEO Chris Grier, who has been in the organization for several years. There are rumors going around, but there was probably a disagreement over what to do with QB Tua Tagovailoa or the discussions regarding the hiring of Deshaun Watson and arguably many other things.
The owner of the Dolphins spoke of a relationship problem and he decided to keep the services of his general manager.
Flores becomes a prime candidate for other clubs in the NFL.
A team without rhythm
In Chicago, coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace lost their jobs with the Bears. Unfortunately for both men, the Bears didn’t hit big with the draft picks. We can think of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky or receiver Kevin White in particular.
Nagy had had a very good first year, but since that time this team seems to be losing momentum every season. He looked like a coach who didn’t seem to have control of what was going on and didn’t seem like the right person to develop young quarterbacks. It was a failure with Trubisky. We have now found Justin Fields who has a lot of potential. We don’t want to miss our shot a second time.
The Bears need to go find a coach who can coach and develop Fields well. The latter ended the season injured but he remains a natural talent. I can’t wait to see who gets the mandate to develop it and I’m excited to see what Fields will look like in the future. The Bears have a good quarterback in the lineup, it’s up to the organization to allow him to reach his potential.
* words collected by Robert Latendresse
