Pro Football Viewpoints

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

Going into the Lions game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday October 5 at Ford Field, Bills QB Kyle Orton had an all-time record of 4-0 against Detroit.

Thanks to three missed field goals by kicker Alex Henery, Orton raised his record to 5-0 as Buffalo won 17-14. Orton was 30-43 for 308 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Prior to the game, Orton had four touchdowns and zero interceptions versus Detroit.

But if there was ever a gift, this was it. Henery's 0-3 performance made him the second kicker casualty of the season for Detroit.

The Lions cut Henery one day later after he was 1-5 in field goal attempts. Detroit signed former Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater on Tuesday. This is a guy that was originally signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2006.

He holds the NFL record for kicking the longest field goal (64 yards) which he set on December 8, 2013, in Denver in a game against the Tennessee Titans.

He was cut by the Denver Broncos after completing a suspension for DUI.

In addition to the Lions kicker's woes, the Buffalo defense sacked Lions QB Matt Stafford a career high six times.

The Bills defense carried their defensive coordinator and former Detroit Head Coach Jim Schwartz off the field. I can't say that I was impressed with this, but we'll see if this win does anything to get Buffalo into the playoffs.

If there is a positive that comes out of this loss and the Lions find their kicker, then we'll give them a mulligan if they're able to defeat Minnesota or earn another road win with Prater and his strong leg. One thing Prater has going for him is he'll be kicking in a dome the majority of the time. The only cold air will come from the Air Conditioner.

The Lions and Bills contest was the final meeting between ownership groups that have Detroit connections. Detroit's late Owner William Clay Ford and Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Jr. were good friends. They've been great for the NFL throughout the years.

I will be curious to see if these teams continue to face one another in the pre-season as they have over the years.

I have a feeling that if Detroit faces Orton again, win number six will be much more difficult if Detroit can play a complete game without key mistakes. We shall see what the 2014 fortunes turn out to be for both teams.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of the Bill's, I'm glad that Terry and Kim Pegula finally were unanimously approved as the new owners and the team is committed to staying in Western New York.

Pegula has a great reputation in the area and is the owner of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. There is no question that he'll cross-market with both teams.

But one thing that I want to emphasize here is that the Buffalo Bills fans should be thankful that Billionaire Donald Trump got involved in the bidding process. I've always been critical of Trump because he was the one person that wanted to compete against the NFL when he was the owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals.

The USFL eventually folded and I truly blame him for being a major reason for the league's extinction and demise.

But during the Bills sale process, Trump submitted a bid for $1 Billion and in cash. I'm sure this sale would have been completed in 30 days with a wire transfer. I know he would have kept the team in Western New York. If Pegula didn't bid $1.4 Billion, I doubt the Wilson family would have sold the team to the Bon Jovi Group that was prepared to move the franchise to Toronto, CA.

So the folks should send Thank-You Cards to Trump because he was a legitimate second choice if Pegula didn't get the franchise.

The Bills franchised would have scored a Touchdown with Trump or Pegula as owners.

Trump earned my respect for stepping up at a time when Buffalo needed him. It would have been interesting to see how Trump would have interacted with the likes of NFL Owners such as Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, The Rooney and Mara families, Paul Allen, Tom Benson, etc...



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a recent story, I mentioned that I could relate to Chicago Bears Defensive End Jared Allen missing the team's 38-17 thrashing by the Green Bay Packers on September 28, 2014. For Allen to have played the following week against the Carolina Panthers, he had to regain the 12 pounds he lost while battling Pneumonia.

Allen did return to action against the Panthers and recorded seven tackles in a 31-24 loss in Charlotte, NC., on October 5, 2014.

As I said before, and I'll say it again, I've dealt with many health issues throughout the years, but now I've learned how tough Pneumonia can be having experienced it myself. Late Lions Owner William Clay Ford died of it earlier this year.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How good is Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck? The No.1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft out of Stanford is proving why he was a better selection than Washington Redskins pick Robert Griffin III.

The Colts are 4-2 in 2014 and Luck has 17 touchdowns, seven interceptions and 1,987 yards.

According to Gil Brandt, Luck became the first QB in NFL History with consecutive games of at least 370 yards, four touchdowns and a 70% completion rate. For a league where there have been a lot of great QB's in NFL History which includes Hall of Fame signal callers, this is an amazing accomplishment.

During his six games, Luck has posted 370, 172, 370, 393, 312 and 370 yard games. The Philadelphia Eagles were the team that held Luck to 172 yards during a 30-27 Colts loss.

In Luck's short career that spans all of 38 games dating back to 2012, he's amassed 10,183 yards, 63 TD's and 34 INT's.

Talk about a smooth transition from Peyton Manning to Luck, Colts Owner Jim Irsay hit the jackpot.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, as disgusting as it's been to hear about all of the Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Assault Cases, we can thank the Cincinnati Bengals for a Feel Good Story.

I'm inspired by the support the Cincinnati Bengals organization has given Devon Still, as his 4-year-old daughter Leah is battling Cancer.

Earlier this season, the NFL announced it would donate proceeds from the sale of Still's Jersey to Cancer research.

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton notably supported the effort by purchasing 100 Still Jerseys shortly after the announcement.

On Sunday Night, October 5, the Bengals defensive tackle found yet another touching NFL Tribute in New England. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft announced the organization is making a $25,000 donation to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital in support of Leah.

The Bengals Cheerleading Squad wore Still's No. 75 Bengals's Jerseys on the sidelines, plus wore "Still Strong" and "Women of Still" shirts on Friday.

It doesn't get any more inspiring than this!

The Bengals kept Still on their Practice Squad then moved him to the Active Roster enabling him to keep the health insurance due to Leah's Medical Bills.

They're a sentimental favorite to win the Super Bowl this year.

This organization has had a track record for having players with character issues.

But now they've come a long way to drastically change their image, especially at a time when the NFL needs to with the recent publicity the league has received with all of the above problems listed. The NFL is working on new policies to change in order to protect the image of the shield.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

America's Thankless Job

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

There is an adage which says that you never know how good you have it until it's gone.

I'll bet Dallas Cowboys Owner/General Manager Jerry Jones could use his former Super Bowl winning coach Jimmy Johnson.

Johnson is the reason that Jones owns three Super Bowl Rings. The FOX Analyst is the mastermind who engineered the big Herschel Walker trade that landed Hall of Fame Running Back Emmitt Smith and several players.

The former Miami Hurricanes National Championship winning pilot also turned wide receiver Michael Irvin and quarterback Troy Aikman into Hall of Famers. Johnson's Dallas record of 44-36 mark may lack in winning percentage but not in accomplishments. He endured a 1989 season which saw Dallas finish 1-15, 1990 where he had a 7-9 mark and then the Cowboys fortunes began to turn.

In 1991 he was 11-5 and lost to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs. The 1992 and 1993 seasons were his final years in Dallas as 13-3 and 12-4 marks were good enough to lead the Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowl titles against the Buffalo Bills.

Jones proceeded to run Johnson out of town and hired former Oklahoma Sooners Coach Barry Switzer. Inheriting Johnson's players, Switzer would lead the Cowboys to their fifth Super Bowl title over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995.

Otherwise, Johnson would have three rings.

I have a hard time understanding why a coach would be ousted after winning a pair of Super Bowl titles, only to gift wrap the last one to his successor. Johnson should have three Super Bowl rings to go along with his college national championship that he earned with the Miami Hurricanes in 1987.

But now I wonder if Johnson's phone number is on Jones speed dial list as the beleaguered owner seeks advice on how to climb out of his 1-7 mess.

As good as legendary coach Bill Parcells was, the Cowboys never made it to a Super Bowl during his regime. From 2003-2006, Parcells was 34-30 and 0-2 in the playoffs.

Then again, quarterback Tony Romo doesn't belong in the same sentence as Aikman as his personal life with Jessica Simpson overshadowed his accomplishments on the field.

His botched snaps on special teams and other untimely mistakes could never lead the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. On October 25, his broken clavicle has virtually ended his season.

I believe that Romo is the most overrated signal caller in the league and until he proves he can win in the playoffs consistently, that opinion won't change. It figures to be awhile before he gets back to the playoffs. Romo can't blame former wide receiver Terrell Owens for the Cowboys recent struggles this season.

Jones was in a giving mood when he traded multiple draft picks to the Detroit Lions for former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Roy Williams on October 14, 2008. Detroit landed tight-end Brandon Pettigrew, wide receiver Derrick Williams and running back Aaron Brown, all of whom are still with the team. Roy Williams signed a six-year contract for $54 million and $26 million guaranteed.

Now Williams is catching passes from his former Lions teammate Jon Kitna, who was on Detroit's 0-16 season team in 2008.

But the Cowboys problems go deeper than there current record. They began in the pre-season when the team finished 3-2. One of their losses was down in Houston where the Texans blasted Dallas 23-7 as the team continued to make all kinds of mistakes, the offensive line struggled and they sustained injuries and were not a shadow of the squad which made last years playoffs.

All the talk about last years playoff run, winning a playoff game, the first for Romo and now deposed Coach Wade Phillips was premature. The dreams of playing in the Super Bowl in their own stadium really ended in August.

It's hard to imagine the head coach doubling as the defensive coordinator. But Jones allowed it to happen as the Cowboys would continue to commit foolish penalties and lost five games by seven points and under then were blown out the past two weeks leading to the hiring of Jason Garrett.

Now Garrett has the most thankless audition of an interim head coaching job in America. The coach in waiting has the challenge of a lifetime. Good Luck Jason. You're the man in charge of making sure Jones $1.3 billion stadium which has a capacity of 80,000 but is expandable to seat up to 100,000, doesn't become half empty.

I've never felt sorry for an NFL head coach as much as I do for Phillips. The man has an overall record of 82-59 and 34-20 with the Cowboys. His overall playoff mark was 1-5. He handled Owens as well as anyone could by addressing him by his first name. Unlike Parcell's, who addressed Owens by referring to him as "The Player" which is a sign of disrespect.

The demise of the Dallas Cowboys squarely falls on Jerry Jones!

He runs strong football minds out of town and now he'll have the ultimate challenge of fixing this Texas size earthquake which is 10 on the Richter Scale. There is no doubt that 60-70% of the players wearing the star on the helmet will be gone after 2010.

If there is no football in 2011 because of a lockout, Cowboys fans will agonize over the 2010 season much longer!

Instead of looking at the post-season, they may end up drafting a quarterback with next years No.1 pick in the 2011 Draft, hoping to find another Aikman. That would be a good start with either Garrett or the next coach.

Johnson and Aikman worked well through the growing pains and the results speak for themselves.

There won't be another Walker trade because there isn't a team dumb enough to trade lots of draft choices and players for a marquee player. The Cowboys don't have a player a team wants to get swindled.

It's hard to believe that if the Detroit Lions don't end their record 24-game road losing streak against the Buffalo Bills today, they'll have an opportunity to do it against a 1-8 Cowboys team which is destined to lose in New York against the Giants.

But to think the Detroit Lions could end that losing streak in Dallas on November 21, is something that nobody saw coming. By then, a 25-game losing streak against a team that was predicted to reach the Super Bowl is mind boggling. Yet, it's quite possible.

On Thanksgiving, Detroit and Dallas will have such poor records that the announcers on both FOX and CBS will have to do lots of homework to explain the rise and fall of both franchises.

If Garrett doesn't get hired, who would be the best fit for "America's Thankless Job?"

Former Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Bill Cowher won't want the job because he'll want the freedom to make his moves. Should John Fox get fired from the Carolina Panthers, he could be the next Jones "Yes Man."

Fox's Brian Billick has won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and Jones does like to go after these former championship winning coaches either at the college or pro levels with the hiring of Johnson, Switzer and Parcells.

Watching Billick the past couple years at FOX, this guy is knowledgeable and has worked with all kinds of personalities over the years. He'd handle this Texas size challenge well.

Jones could go to the UFL and snap up Las Vegas Locomotive's Coach Jim Fassel, who lost to Billick in the Super Bowl while he was the New York Giants Coach. Being a former coach in the division, Fassel should be able to have an understanding of how to prepare for those teams.

As General Manager and Head Coach, Fassel led the Locomotives to the 2009 UFL championship and has a good track record of working with quarterbacks. He'd have a lot of work to do in Dallas either with Romo or a prospect. Building any franchise from scratch looks good on a person's resume and Fassel is doing a fine job in Nevada.

Finally, Jon Gruden has worked for Al Davis and built the nucleus of a an Oakland Raiders team that he defeated with Tony Dungy's Tampa Bay Buc's players.

But Gruden has a Super Bowl ring more recently than Jones and his fiery personality would be a good fit in Dallas. He survived under Davis and now Jones is in a desperate situation.

I believe Jerry would give him space to do his job. Gruden could be the closest thing to bringing Jimmy Johnson back. If Gruden is a great salesman, he might be able to entice Irvin and Smith to join his coaching staff.

Regardless, for those who underestimate Johnson's impact and blueprint on the franchise, it's been 15 years since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. It figures to be much longer with the team in bad shape.

Dallas mediocre pre-season is a good lesson that those games mean more than we think since a team has to work on developing chemistry together and get the mistakes out of the way early. That's why the mini camps and off-season programs are in place so these disasters get averted.

Jones should take a page from the New York Yankees and that's when the late George Steinbrenner hired General Manager Brian Cashman to run the team, the Yankees won five championships.

The right move for Jones is to hire Johnson back as General Manager, stay in his suite and let Johnson run the franchise and bring in the players. Jones can handle the business side.

At the college level, Johnson had an 81-34-3 record and won the national championship with Miami. Including his time with the Miami Dolphins, Johnson compiled an 80-64 mark and was 9-4 in the playoffs including his two titles. Time will tell if his record ever gets him elected into Pro Football's Hall of Fame, but he should be there if for no other reason, "It's Quality, Not Quantity." Johnson knows college talent and the Cowboys need him to call the shots having won at both levels.

The only thing Johnson didn't accomplish was watching Dan Marino win a title. But he's not a miracle worker trying to coach a player who is the most one-dimensional player on the planet. That's for another day.

Johnson's phrase, "How About Those Cowboys" is now the punch line of all the comedy shows and it's not funny anymore.

You never know how good you have it until it's gone and I'm sure that Johnson is classy enough to help Jones out of this jackpot. But Johnson will have to be smart enough to make sure that Jones stays out of way and make sure his meddling is in the next contract.

Otherwise, saying no to "America's Thankless Job" will be an easy decision.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.