Play Ball

Another NFL coach has gotten the axe after a late season collapse by his team. This time the honor, or lack thereof, goes to Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan.

That’s right, 14 year head coach and Super Bowl champion Mike Shanahan. Owner Pat Bowlen said he fired Shanahan after 14 seasons because he felt that it was time for a change.

The Broncos lost the final three games of their season to finish at 8-8 and miss the playoffs for the third straight season.

When the team was sitting at 8-5 they had a three game lead in the division with three games left to play in the season.

The Broncos were embarrassed in the final game of the season on national television by the San Diego Chargers, 52-21. The Chargers were crowned AFC West Champions with the win and will host the Indianapolis Colts this weekend in round one of the AFC playoffs.

Shanahan and the Broncos were 24-24 over the past three seasons. Shanahan has yet to receive any phone calls about other head coaching openings in the league.

Bowlen has not compiled a list of possible replacements for Shanahan yet but did say that the new head coach will more than likely not handle player personnel moves, like Shanahan did.

This means that the team might also hire a General Manager.

The Associated Press has announced their top offensive rookie for the 2008 season and the winner is Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ryan is a product of Boston College and helped lead a weary Falcons team from 2007 into 2008 and now into the NFC playoffs.

Ryan was the third overall selection in the draft by the Falcons.

Ryan is the third quarterback in five years to win the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Prior to that, no quarterback ever took the honor.

Ben Roethlisberger and Vince Young took home the honors in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

Ryan threw for 3,440 yards in 2008 along with 16 touchdowns passing.

In what was one of the most exciting regular season finishes in NFL history, things got even more interesting late Sunday night and on Monday.

Sunday night the San Diego Chargers completely demolished the Denver Broncos, 52-21, to claim the AFC West title.

The Chargers will now host the Indianapolis Colts this coming weekend in round one of the playoffs.

Then, on Monday, the coach firings began.

The Lions, who finished the 2008 season 0-16, fired Rob Marinelli while the New York Jets released head coach Eric Mangini of his duties.

In his three seasons in New York, Mangini had two winning seasons, but failed to make the playoffs this year after his Jets lost four of their final five games of the season.

The other head coach to get the axe on Monday was Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel. Crennel led the Browns to a 4-12 season amidst a plethora of controversy.

Bill Cowher has already made it known that he does not want the Browns head coaching position. Things are just beginning to get interesting in the NFL.

Week 17 was probably the most exciting and intriguing week 17 in the NFL in the past couple of years.

The Minnesota Vikings secured the NFC North with a last second field goal, the Eagles romped the Cowboys 44-6 to earn the six seed in the NFC playoffs, the Miami Dolphins won the AFC East and the Detroit Lions fell to 0-16 with a loss at Green Bay.

What an exciting day in the NFL.

Saints QB Drew Brees came within 16 yards of breaking Dan Marino’s single season record for passing yards in his team’s 33-31 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Even though he couldn’t tie the record he still became only the second QB in league history to surpass 5,000 passing yards in a single season. He finished with 5,069 yards.

The Chargers and Broncos are currently playing their game in San Diego and the winner of the game is the AFC West champion.

There will be more to come on Monday after the AFC West champ is decided.