Big Blue View
William Ridley asks: One of the bigger questions or topics for the Giants over the next few months is obviously the head coach job. I have read about the low number of interim coaches that got a full-time gig (25%?) which got me thinking… Do you know of any situations, or do you think there is any possibility in, Kafka getting a 1-year ‘prove it’ extension as interim head coach?
My theory is that he hasn’t really had a fair shot at truly implementing his strategies, processes and assistant coaches etc, so it is unfair to label him a good or bad head coach at this season’s end. I would hate to see him leave and be a good head coach somewhere else just because we didn’t give him a proper shot.
Ed says: William, I don’t think that is a realistic scenario. A one-year contract makes Mike Kafka, or any head coach, a lame duck. Are players really going to fully sell out to follow a guy they know might be replaced at the end of the year? If you are going to make him the head coach, give him the standard four- or five-year contract head coaches get and make him the HEAD COACH.
I understand the idea that it wouldn’t be great to see him succeed somewhere else. It’s true that an interim opportunity doesn’t give you a chance to build your own roster and all of that, but for Kafka it is a two-month window into the kind of coach he is and would be. It is a pretty good barometer of what you would get. We have already seen Kafka have to make a lot of difficult decisions.
Bill Schollenberger asks: I thought helmet to helmet hits were illegal in the NFL. Looking at replays of Dart’s foolish choice to get an extra yard on the sideline, there was clearly helmet to helmet contact on the hit. And the hit on Gunner O was obviously helmet to helmet. Why were no penalties called? Is this a case of the refs calling penalties on bad teams, but not on good ones?
Ed says: Bill, there is nuance to the rule. Not every helmet-to-helmet hit is going to draw a penalty flag, nor should it. Here is what the rule book says:
ARTICLE 10. IMPERMISSIBLE USE OF THE HELMET
It is a foul if a player:
- lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent; or
- uses any part of his helmet or facemask to butt or make forcible contact to an opponent’s head or neck
These provisions do not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or the helmet in the course of a conventional tackle or block on an opponent.
I had this discussion earlier in the week with Doug Mollin. It was an ugly hit. I would have like to have seen a flag. I could see the possibility of...
