‘Genius’ fails elementary test
Too many football coaches are labeled geniuses, a point that was reinforced Sunday as we watched red-faced Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan stand on a sideline in Chicago and get humiliated.
Shanahan won two Super Bowls a decade ago and was tagged as the smartest guy in the NFL. Let’s throw the red flag and challenge that call.
He is 1-4 in the playoffs since John Elway retired, and Shanahan lost a game to the Bears last week that the average high school coach could not have screwed up.
The Broncos led by 14 points and had the ball in Bears territory with just over seven minutes remaining, but somehow found ways to lose 37-34 in overtime to a team quarterbacked by Rex Grossman.
Chicago’s best weapon is Devin Hester, the league’s top kick returner, and Denver kicked to him the entire game. Hester returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the third quarter.
Shanahan exhibited countless game-management flaws — whatever happened to the art of angling a punt out of bounds? — and it would take too long to detail them all. Watch football any Saturday or Sunday and you see several coaches making the same obvious mistakes.
It makes games tougher to bet because so many outcomes are decided by dumb luck.
Burned by the Broncos last week, I’ll go with them again Sunday as 31/2-point road favorites over the Oakland Raiders. This is my own questionable decision.
But there still are reasons to support Denver, which is getting better production from quarterback Jay Cutler. The Broncos’ rushing offense has averaged 148 yards per game the past three weeks, best in the NFL over that span, and injured running backs Travis Henry and Selvin Young returned to practice Thursday.
The Raiders beat Kansas City last week, stopping a 17-game losing streak to AFC West opponents. Denver has won four in a row at Oakland by margins of 4, 14, 28 and 14 points.
Shanahan said last week’s loss is the kind that "sticks with you for a lot of years." It should at least remind him to coach a smarter game and keep his foot on the gas pedal when he has the lead.
Four more guesses for Week 13 (home team in CAPS):
• REDSKINS (-6) over Bills: Injuries are crippling Buffalo, which is without running backs Marshawn Lynch and Anthony Thomas. That leaves the Bills with Fred Jackson and Dwayne Wright to carry the ball. Washington should be an inspired team for many obvious reasons, and Jason Campbell is maturing into a quality quarterback.
• Jets (+11/2) over DOLPHINS: New York has a reliable running back in Thomas Jones. Miami has only the motivation to finally win a game. The Jets are 7-0-1 against the spread in the series, and the Dolphins are 0-4 against the spread at home.
• PANTHERS (-3) over 49ers: Carolina is 0-5 straight up at home, but San Francisco is bad enough that the Panthers look good here because wideout Steve Smith will be the best player on the field by far.
• Buccaneers (+31/2) over SAINTS: This is a game New Orleans needs to win and should win, so I’ll go with Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers, who have covered three straight at the Superdome, should have quarterback Jeff Garcia healthy, and they have a much tougher defense. The Saints are 2-9 as home favorites.
Last week: 1-4 against the spread
Season: 24-32-4
Review-Journal sportswriter Matt Youmans can be reached at 387-2907 or myoumans@reviewjournal.com.
