The Monday Review

This is my take on what everybody is talking about after the Sunday games in Week 7.

1.  Brad Childress throwing Brett Farve under the bus after the 28-24 loss at Green Bay.  I understand it.  I really do.  When you have a QB that throws 3 INT and one of those is a pick-6, I understand that frustration.  Add to that the undermining of authority that Farve did to Childress last year and the coach finally blew up.  I understand but it is not something you do right now. The Vikes are 2-4.  They are sitting in 3rd place in the NFC North.  However, they are the most talented team in the North.  The Bears are nosediving.  The Packers have the look of 3 MASH hospitals in the Korean War.  And the Lions, while improving, don't have the guns yet to make a run at a division title.  Chili should have bit his tongue and waited until Farve decided that he had enough of losing and took himself off the field for the season which by my calculations will be November 14th.  That way, Farve could have left without trying to prove the coach wrong to the world and Chili could go to management and tell them that he has proven that he knows how to coach and what people will work in the scheme of things, instead of trying to shoehorn a player that doesn't fit.

2.  The Big Ben fumble and the chaos after that debacle.  How in the world does the official in that situation actually decide that is a touchdown?  Another bad call in a weekend full of them.  And then the officials decide not to follow the bouncing ball and see who actually recovers the ball.  Ugh.  The correct call was made according to the rules, but it is just like Megatron's TD catch vs. the Bears.  A flawed rule.  Every time there is a fumble outside of the end zone, the dog pile is unpacked and one team or the other is awarded possession even when it is reviewed.  So why not here?

3.  What is with Bill Belichick and his going for 4th downs in close games in the 4th Quarter?  He did it again and again the offense proved that they were not up to the challenge.  However, this time it did not cost Mr. Bill the win.  The Chargers offense sputtered, had a false start penalty and Kris Brown could not connect from 50 yards away.  I used to think that Bill was the best coach in the NFL, now I don't think that.

4.  The Chicago Bears and Jay Cutler.  When the Bears got Jay Cutler, I thought that the Bears would surge back into being a playoff team.  Well, I was wrong on that thought.  The Bears offense looks horrible.  4 INTs last game including a pick-6 for Cutler.  The offensive line play looks like High Schoolers trying to play NFL Defensive Linemen and the playcalling of Mike Martz hasn't impressed.  When defensive players say that they can rattle your QB easily, that they can get pressure on the QB at almost anytime without blitzing and can figure out the calls of the offense pre-snap, you know that the offensive system isn't very good.  And the thing is that the entire coaching staff will be fired, not just on the offensive side of the ball.  Bill Cowher as Chicago Bears head coach, anyone?

5.  Thank You For Your Services, Mike Singletary.  There are reports coming out of the Bay area that 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary might not have a job on Monday if he loses to the Denver Broncos in London on Sunday. (Denver just got run over by the Oakland Raiders 59-14 on Sunday.)  And while the coach will be sacked unless he gets to the Super Bowl according to people in the Bay area, I would keep Singletary on until after the season.  Because there isn't anything to play for if the 49ers do indeed release him after a loss to Denver.  The 49ers would be 1-7 and at the very least 4 games back in the division.  You have Alex Smith who might be lost for the season, you have the offensive scheme that isn't working.  You cannot change those things in one week.  No matter how optimistic you are.  Instead of trying to hotshot change like you did with Singletary, have a quiet but intensive search for a new head coach and hire him around the Super Bowl.  Because there are a couple of things you do have going forward with the 49ers.  On offense, you have Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree.  You have a very good defense that is holding you in games.  So with the right coach, possibly a new QB and an offensive philosophy that matches what you have for talent, the NFC West could be yours for the taking in 2011.