NFL 2020 Week 13: Some Like It Hot or Who Is On the Hot Seat?
First nod towards the Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon 1959 movie “Some Like it Hot”. (Seriously nod towards any Monroe movie). This however is all about the song by Power Station: “Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on…Some feel the heat and decide that they can’t go on…”
So for Week 13 here are 13 NFL players, coaches, teams who must like it hot.
ADAM GASE, HEAD COACH NEW YORK JETS
Is there really any doubt that the Jets are tanking for Trevor Lawrence? Any doubt? Which I guess would be fine if it were coming after a stellar season a year ago. But the Jets are 7-20 under Gase, you want him in Lawrence’s ear? Gase who gave up play calling in Week 7, only to ostensibly take it back in Week 12, then claim that he didn’t call the plays, only to change the narrative and say it was a “collaboration” (this is the man you want to guide what many have called a “once in a lifetime talent)?
The Jets offense ranked 31st in 2019. This year they rank 32nd. They average 13.8 points per game and 267.8 yards per game. Gase is the definition of failing upwards.
GREGG WILLIAMS, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, NEW YORK JETS
Well, Williams has been fired per sources. If you believe the conspiracy theorists and the Jets fans on Twitter, Williams ‘took one for the team” yesterday when he called a blitz, cover zero, on a play that the only way the Raiders win the game is if they get a touchdown. And spoiler alert, they did get a touchdown, as Henry Ruggs raced 46-yards down the field to the end zone.
I know Williams from the infamous ‘Bounty-Gate’. I know he blitzes a lot in almost any situation. But I also know according to NextGenStats, the Jets are the only team to send eight plus pass rushers on a play in the last 30 seconds of a game. Perhaps, Williams was trying to show how much smarter he is than the rest of the room. Or maybe, just maybe he is the savior of the Tank For Lawrence brigade?
CARSON WENTZ, QUARTERBACK, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Wentz was benched for Jalen Hurts in the Week 13 match-up against the Green Bay Packers. Before he left the game he as 6-of15, for 79 yards and four sacks. Per playerprofile.com, Wentz’s stats for the season:
He is 34th in yards per attempt (6.0), 34th in accuracy rating (6.6), his play-action completion percentage is 57.9% (33rd), his red zone completion percentage is 53.8% (40th), his deep ball completion percentage is 30.4% (28th), his completion percentage when pressured is 32.1% (28th) and from a clean pocket is 67.2% (34th).
He has 16 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions and 10 fumbles.
By any measure this is not been a good year for Wentz. And yes his offensive line has been in shambles, his receiving options have been injured and there was no pre-season, no training camp. But those are just excuses and well in Philadelphia nothing gets you on the hot seat more than coming up with a bunch of excuses for failing.
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LAMAR JACKSON, QUARTERBACK, BALTIMORE RAVENS
Can we just acknowledge that Jackson is having a down year? The Baltimore Ravens are 6-5 in the division behind not only the 11-0, Pittsburgh Steelers, but currently looking up at the 9-3, Baker Mayfield led Cleveland Browns.
It’s not all Jackson’s fault, but when you are the reigning MVP whose team had reasonable Super Bowl aspirations in 2020, rocking 63.4% completion percentage with 15 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, six fumbles and 24 sacks…it ain’t good. And the once reliable rushing option is down to 103 attempts and three rushing touchdowns. Jackson averaged 6.9 rushing yards per attempt last season. This season he is at 5.6. He finished last season with 1206 rushing yards, he is currently at 575.
And yes he is a quarterback who is currently 24th in passing yards (1948), 23rd in air yards per game (232.4) and 20th in interceptable passes per game (1.8).
Jackson’s job as starting quarterback in Baltimore is secure. He should just be feeling a little heat underneath to perform better.
JERRY JONES, GM, OWNER, DALLAS COWBOYS
The Cowboys are 2-5. Yes Dak Prescott went down with a horrific leg injury. But there are injuries all around (right Jerry)? Ezekiel Elliott was signed and now seems to be running in quicksand. The defense is 32nd against the run (156.4) and 12th against the pass (225.6) while the offense is 24th in scoring points per game (22.8).
Let’s face it Jones is never going to be on the “hot seat” because…well he owns the team. But he also is responsible for signing the contracts and picking the talent and for that he should be held accountable. How is that Elliott contract feeling right about now? And Prescott, you didn’t sign him right…even though he literally carried that team on his back until the injury?
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT, RUNNING BACK, DALLAS COWBOYS
This is Week 13 (the Cowboys haven’t played their Tuesday Night game yet) and Elliott has one game over 100 yards rushing. ONE game and that was last week when he rushed 21 times for 103 yards. His rushing stats before that in his last three games 18 rushes for 51 yards; 19 rushes for 63 yards and 12 rushes for 45 yards.
And that’s not really even the worst of it, Elliott is averaging 3.91 yards per carry. He has six fumbles and five rushing touchdowns. This is a weird year, I get it and he is playing without Prescott, I get it. But the production that he is putting on the field, is unacceptable.
TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Speaking of unacceptable production, Hello Mr. Brady. Brady seemingly gets a pass because he is after all the G.O.A.T, right? But he was brought to Tampa to improve on the play of Jameis Winston, to get the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl and to prove once and for all that it wasn’t the system, it was the quarterback. Has he done that? Let’s start in Week 6, acclimation time and all that…the Bucs trounced the Green Bay Packers. Brady finished the game 17-of-27, 166 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, as the Buccaneers won 38-10. Week 7 in Las Vegas, Brady once again led the Buccaneers to a resounding victory, throwing for 369 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions while going 33-of-45. Whew! G.O.A.T status intact. The there was the Week 8 game against the New York Giants. The Buccaneers survived, 25-23. Brady was sacked twice, completed 28 passes on 40 attempts, for 279 yards and two touchdowns. If you saw the game you know it wasn’t his best performance. And then seemingly the glow is starting to tarnish. In week 9 he threw three interceptions against the New Orleans Saints. And in the last two weeks he has thrown four interceptions. He has for the season 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He has fumbled the ball four times and is rocking a 64.8% completion percentage.
So should the throne that he sits be getting a little warm or is it….
BRUCE ARIANS, HEAD COACH, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Before the term was so loosely applied, Arians was known as “the quarterback whisperer”. The Buccaneers are 7-5, unexpected but not completely out of the playoff hunt. It isn’t all about Brady. The wide receivers have dropped 28 passes a league high. That is on 494 dropbacks (according to Pro Football Focus) that the “quarterback whisperer” is having his 43-year old quarterback attempt. In a surprising turn Brady has a 102.2 passer rating on play-action but has only 88 snaps of plays that are play action.
The Buccaneers are 23rd in rushing attempts, even though Ronald Jones is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. In the debacle that was the Week 12 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jones touched the ball a paltry 10 times, while Brady attempted 41 passes, connecting on 27.
Whether there is a “rift” between the quarterback and the coach is irrelevant. Brady (and Arians) were brought in to take this team to the playoffs. If that doesn’t happen and organization will have to choose between Arians and Brady, who do you think wins?
MATT NAGY, HEAD COACH, CHICAGO BEARS
Nagy is a good coach. The Chicago Bears are a bad team. Starting 5-1 was fools gold, a team playing with house money. The Bears finished last season 8-8. Nagy is riding a loss streak of six straight games, including the loss to the coach-less Detroit Lions Week 13.
There are already rumors that the Bears’ front office is flirting with Northwestern’s coach Pat Fitzgerald. There is reason for Nagy to worry. The Bears are regressing on the offensive side of the ball. In 2019 they were 29th in total yards, they now languish 31st. In 2019, they were also 29th in total points and surprise they are holding up the league in 31st. His quarterbacks have thrown 19 touchdowns but also 13 interceptions. Whether it be Nick Foles or Mitchell Trubisky, it does not matter. Neither are helping a defense that still manages to be 15th against the pass and 17th against the run.
Maybe Nagy and the Bears win out. But he still has to feel the hot breath of potential suitors the Bears are lining up, breathing down his neck.
ANTHONY LYNN, HEAD COACH, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
I don’t know if Lynn is a good coach. I know that his teams have had injuries, but so have most teams. I know that he appears to be a “good guy”, but that isn’t winning the Chargers any games. I also know that the Chargers have lost five of their last six games. There have been glaring examples of bad clock management and stupid penalties. It was apparent that they were absolutely outplayed and outcoached by the New England Patriots in their Week 13 defeat of 0-45, the worst lost in the history of the franchise. And I know that there were questionable decisions made in the final minutes in the Week 12 loss to the Buffalo Bills, again poor clock management and curious decisions.
Lynn is 29-31 in his tenure with the Chargers. He is 1-1 in the playoffs. And he is 7-14 against the AFC West. None of this is good. What is good is that there is Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate in Justin Herbert, who is playing lights out (with the exception of Week 13). What is bad is that even then the Chargers are losing.
Lynn’s seat is definitely more than a little warm.
ZAC TAYLOR, HEAD COACH, CINCINNATI BENGALS
Full cards on the table, I was off the Taylor bandwagon (was there ever such a thing) in Week 1, when tight end CJ Uzomah was clearly injured on the field and his head coach (hello Taylor) remained on the sideline quizzical examining his clipboard. Uzomah was carted off with a season ending right Achilles tendon injury, his coach was seemingly indifferent, unaware, until you know it was overtly obvious.
Hey, Taylor side note here take a page from Brian Flores on who being there for your players.
Anyway, Taylor until Week 11 had the front runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, quarterback Joe Burrow, and yet the Bengals were, 2-6-1. They finished last season 2-14, thus able to obtain the services of Burrow.
Taylor is another of the Sean McVay adjacent hires. Unfortunately, the success has not carried over. He has not only lost games on the field, but apparently there are players who feel that communication is not his strong suit. Auden Tate, Carlos Dunlap, John Ross and even AJ Green have expressed frustration. Losing sucks. And when you lose everything is amplified. Taylor as had two seasons (which isn’t a lot of time…right Marvin Lewis) to prove that he can move this franchise to winning ways. And maybe he deserves more time. But when you lose the games and lost they players, things have to be getting toasty.
VIC FANGIO, HEAD COACH, DENVER BRONCOS
Per an “insider” the Broncos are 100% committed to Fangio for the 2021 season. That’s interesting. The Broncos too, have suffered from injuries and Covid mishaps. They have also suffered from bad clock management and curious decisions that cost them the game or at least a fighting chance. They are now 4-8 for a season, losing three of the games by one possession. Fangio is 11-17 as Broncos head coach. His is John Elway’s second head coach hire in three seasons. His last hire Vance Joseph was fired after two season. In his first season his record was 5-11, the team then posted a 6-10 record that led to his dismissal.
The question remains, can Fangio’s seat remain lukewarm? The Broncos are a young team full of potential. With the remaining schedule, Fangio needs to demonstrate he won’t squander that potential with in-game mishaps.
DOUG MARRONE, HEAD COACH, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
In 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars were 10-6, and in the AFC Championship game. That was then, the Jaguars are in what can be pleasantly described as a downward spiral worthy of HBO’s Shameless consideration. The Jaguars are currently 1-11, last season they were 6-10 and the season right after they AFC Championship game appearance they were 5-11. There weren’t on-field personnel changes, that could account for this tailspin. There weren’t even (until last year) disgruntled players. Jacksonville isn’t winning.
And so out of all the bums that should be feeling the heat, Marrone is perhaps the one most feeling the burn.
Who did I forget? Anyone. And good luck getting that song out of your head. You are welcome.
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