FROM MICHAEL LOMBARDI:

9 January 2009

QUOTE:  “Leadership is understanding people and involving them to help you do a job. That takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as determination not to accept failure.”  ~ Admiral Arleigh A. Burke

FROM MIKE KLIS OF THE DENVER POST... Ultimately, it won't be Pat Bowlen who decides whether Josh McDaniels, at 32, is ready to become the Broncos' next head coach.  It would be Champ Bailey and Casey Wiegmann. The decisions would come from the hearts, souls and minds of D.J. Williams, Jay Cutler and Ebenezer Ekuban. It's the Broncos players who would determine whether a kid like McDaniels would be worthy of their respect, and trust, to follow his lead.  "If he were going to get the job, I would say without exception the players would be surprised when he walks through the door," said Kyle Brady, who was a starting tight end for the record-setting New England Patriots' 2007 offense that was coordinated by McDaniels. "Their first thought will be, 'Who is this kid?' Because everybody to some degree judges things by appearances. Even though we all do our best not to.”

One thing I know about NFL players -- they only respect a coach for his knowledge.  No single factor goes into their thought process other than, can this coach make me better?  They will instinctively ask, “Does this coach know what he’s talking about?  Is he smart and can he help me improve my game?”  When McDaniels finally gets his head-coaching job, his age and looks will not be what the players judge, but rather his intelligence. 

One thing that struck me yesterday as I was talking to a few people about the possibility of Jason Garrett becoming the Broncos head coach is that he will have to take a pay cut.  Garrett is currently making over $3 million a year, and the Broncos want to pay their new coach around $2 million, which is the going rate for coaches right now.  If Garrett is interested in the Broncos, he has to make some hard decisions regarding his financial situation.  In agreeing to interview for the job, he had to know there would be a salary range he would have to consider. But there are some things more important than money, and being a head coach is one of them. 

FROM DAVID WHITE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE... The team plans to interview Ed Donatell for the defensive coordinator position vacated by Rob Ryan, two league and team sources told The Chronicle on Thursday. Donatell spent last season at the University of Washington. Of greater significance, he spent the early part of his coaching career at Idaho -- working alongside Raiders interim coach Tom Cable for two years. They also worked together in Atlanta in 2006. With an interview in the works for a longtime Cable associate, consider this a strong indication Cable is getting the full-time job. Cable interviewed for the head coaching job Wednesday with Raiders owner Al Davis. A high-ranking team official said the interview was "very lengthy" and "it went very well."

We reported at the Post earlier in the day that Ed Donatell was going to Oakland for an interview.  It seems very clear to me that whoever becomes the new head coach of the Hotel will not have the option of putting together his own staff.  With Winston Moss, a part of Raiders history, coming in for an interview, and Donatell, a part of Cable’s history, also coming in, there are mixed signals.  But at the end of the day, as all of the assistants from the Lane Kiffin era interview around the county, it seems that Cable’s meeting with the owner was a huge step toward becoming the full-time coach.  After his interview Wednesday, Cable put into place a plan to build his staff with the usual Hotel restrictions -- and those moves make me strongly believe that he will be their next coach.   

FROM KEVIN ACEE OF THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE... It was not merely symbolic that coach Norv Turner gave a game ball to any defender on the field at that time rather than just to Dobbins.  “That is a big play that was a function of another guy doing his job exceptionally well,” end Luis Castillo said. “Great coverage and Dobbins gets the sack. The play doesn't happen otherwise. It's not always one guy stepping up and making a huge play. It's the rest of the defense allowing him to do that.”  It was a play that typifies the improvement that has been manifest over the past five games in the midst of a game that typifies how the defense has played over the past five games.  The Chargers allowed Indianapolis 366 total yards. But the Colts scored just 17 points, their third-lowest total in 17 games and just the second time in nine games they scored fewer than 21 points.  It was the fourth time in five games the Chargers have given up 21 points or fewer, something they did just five times in their first 12 games.  “We're getting stops, not giving up points,” Quentin Jammer said.

The main reason the Chargers have been able to win five games in a row (besides Herm “Let's Build Something Together” Edwards taking timeouts at the most unexpected time) is the ability of their defense to get off the field on third down.  The Chargers have been playing well on offense most of the year but never seem to have enough possessions.  Before their win streak, they had to make every possession count and score each time they had the ball.  In the final three drives of the last Steelers game, Pittsburgh ran 37 plays, which indicates that the Chargers’ defense could not get off the field.  Now, they can make a mistake on offense and know they will get the ball back.  With Ron Rivera as the new coordinator, the Chargers have cleaned up their system, made fewer mistakes and cut down on the volume of defense they call.  They went back to basics, and even though they are still not getting great pressure on the passer, they are much sounder and much more disciplined and forcing their opponents to drive the ball down the field.  In the past eight games, the Chargers are tied for second in the league in not allowing big plays, and this is the reason they have improved. 

FROM ROY GREEN OF THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER... Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin won't know until shortly before kickoff Saturday whether his strained left hamstring will feel good enough to allow him to play against the Panthers. Either way, coach Ken Whisenhunt said, the Cardinals' offensive game plan is set. “It doesn't change what we're doing,” Whisenhunt said of Boldin's possible absence. If Boldin can't play, Whisenhunt said he expects Steve Breaston, Early Doucet and Jerheme Urban to have enhanced roles. Boldin's situation, Whisenhunt said, is almost identical to the one that faced strong safety Adrian Wilson in early October. Shortly before kickoff against Buffalo, Wilson pronounced himself able to play and he had a significant impact, knocking Bills quarterback Trent Edwards out of the game. Wilson was used almost exclusively as a fifth defensive back against Buffalo, limiting his number of plays. Whisenhunt said the Cardinals could do the same with Boldin. “There are a lot of things where you could use Anquan we would certainly welcome,” Whisenhunt said.

The last time they played, the game was very close. The Cards tried a fake field goal, missed an extra point and lost by four points.  But both teams are different now, and the Cards are going to have to raise their level of play and play their best game of the season.  This game is about the big-play offense of the Panthers against the big-plays-allowed defense of the Cards.  The Cards are going to take chances on defense, and they will make mistakes because of it.  They cannot just play soundly, they have to take chances -- and playing in front of a national audience only enhances their emphasis on creativity. 

The Cards struggled to handle the Patriots when they got into a two-tight-end, two-back set.  The Pats, who had not run the ball well all year, went up and down the field.  The Panthers will use that formation and create all sorts of problems for Arizona, and I expect Steve Smith to benefit from it and have a huge day making plays down the field.  The Cards do not match up well with the Panthers because their defense takes too many chances. The Panthers will make them pay.