Mora

[Skins57]

You know if Mora is that upset with Manning, I wonder if he would take 2 first round picks and almost anything else for him?

Hail Skins

[RySkins]

You know, Mora has taken a good deal of heat for his comments, but I would have loved to hear Norv Turner errupt just once after one of our many uninspired performances during his seven years (I vaguely recall Turner being p*ssed off after the MInnesota game in 1998, but thats they only time I really remember him even showing anger after a loss).

[Mickalino]

It's not that the fact that Mora got riled up, that made me jump on him. It's the CHILDISH MANNER in which he did so.

[jonjeff]

Mora looks like he is ready for the funny farm again. His tirade makes him look pretty stupid if you ask me. As a high school basketball coach I have gone off on my players when we are together alone someplace. I have never run them down in public. I don't care for that tactic. Yell and scream in practice at them, but don't take it public.

[Dirk Diggler]

If you were actaully serious about trading for Manning, that would be Bill Polian's call, not Mora's.

[bulldog]

And Polian, not Mora, is laregly responsible for the current state of the Colts.

He has failed in 3 years to provide an adequate defense or depth on the offensive line to support the efforts of Manning, James and Harrison.

You would think that last year's playoff loss to Miami where Lamar Smith ran wild on them would have sounded some alarm bells.

But no. The Colts draft a wide receiver in the first round of the draft. In free agency, they dabble by signing Mike Wells late after he is released from the Bears.

But what impact players did they add?

None.

Just like the Vikings, who finished the season losing 41-0 to the Giants and playing horrible defense and yet they too draft an offensive skill player at #1.

Stupid.

The Vikings could have signed Priest Holmes in free agency and used that #1 they used on Bennett to pick up a defensive lineman or linebacker.

How about Kendrell Bell? He seems to have done okay with the Steelers

How about Fred Smoot? Don't tell me he isn't better than Robert Tate and 31 year old troubled child Dale Carter at this point.

[Redskinstailgate]

If it weren't for guys like him NFL tonight would not be as funny that's for sure. I love guys wearing it out there on their sleeve, this is an emotional game. I would have paid anything for Norv to show emotion during his tenure. I am not a Mora fan, in fact I am a major critic but the entertainment value is priceless. Did you all see NFL tonight last night with all his outbursts? I almost fell off the couch.

[ by Redskinstailgate on November 28, 2001.]

[NavyDave]

We need 5 watt light bulbs in Indy and minnesota so we can sign 2nd round and late round defensive gems so I won't be critical.

Two number 1s for Manning? Yeah I'd do it.

[redman]

Did you guys here about today's Indy vs. Baltimore press conference ?

Contrast Jim Moron's handling of this situation -

Consistently defending Mora's right to dress down any player, Manning made it clear that he felt betrayed by his coach's lack of public support after Sunday's 40-21 loss to San Francisco. Manning threw a career-high four interceptions and was booed by the home crowd before being replaced by backup Mark Rypien. It was the underachieving Colts' third consecutive loss, fourth in a row at home, and it effectively knocked them out of the playoff chase at 4-6.

In a scathing postgame news conference, Mora blasted his entire team's performance, but lobbed his sharpest barbs Manning's way in repeatedly mentioning the four interceptions.

Mora never once uttered his quarterback's name. He didn't have to. Manning got his drift.

Taking part in the usual mid-week conference call with the Baltimore-area media on Wednesday -- the Colts play at the Ravens on Sunday -- Manning was both pointed and expansive in his comments, and several times swore to underscore his level of irritation with Mora's postgame diatribe. Manning also spoke of his practice of defending Mora in the past, and left little doubt that the relationship between the two men has been strained by Sunday's events.

"I am a player and if the coach wants to correct me and yell at me, I have absolutely no problem with that," said Manning, when asked if he would have preferred that Mora vent his frustration in a different forum. "I can take it. I have thick skin. But everything he said in that press conference, he said to the team right before that [in the locker room]. He said the exact same thing, and more or less busted my chops in front of the whole team. And I can handle that. That's not fun as a leader to be called out in front of your team, but that's the way it goes. And I have to be accountable.

"Now, to be called out in front of the whole country, where that press conference is going to be replayed over and over again for the whole country? That bothers me. It really does. But you know what? I can handle it. And I will handle it. Because I am the player and he's the coach and that's the way it is. But if somebody asked me if that bothers me, you're damn right it bothers me.

"What bothers me is that what he said to us in that locker room has become the entire country's business. And I don't like that. But I have to deal with it. I'm going about this by just putting my *** to work. Just to work and work and work and try to win. But did I like it? No. Not one bit."

- with Schottenheimer's handling of a far worse situation , the 0-5 Redskins in mid-October and their subsequent rebound:

In sum, Schottenheimer, who worked as an ESPN analyst during his two years away from coaching, seems to have gone to great lengths to create a persona in Washington. And players say that persona has had a positive effect — his even keel helps them to stay focused on upcoming games and forget past outcomes.

One player even laughed as he recalled how strange it felt to be 0-5 and still upbeat about the team's prospects. Players were joking with each other in the week following the "Monday Night Football." They were relaxed as they prepared for the Carolina Panthers, whom they beat in overtime after a fourth-quarter rally.

Schottenheimer's figurative injection of Thorazine apparently comes during the team prayer in the locker room following games. Prior to the prayer he might show emotion; by the time it's over, players say, he appears to have moved on completely. Shortly after that, he emerges to the public and says things like he did after last weekend's enormous 13-3 win at Philadelphia.

"We're .500," Schottenheimer said. "We'll move forward from here."

Most of Schottenheimer's emotion comes in days leading up to games. Players say he is just as emotional in current practices as he was during training camp, if not more so. And his emotion apparently peaks just before games — though that was not the case at Philadelphia, where he allowed the game's significance to speak for itself, according to players.

In terms of post-games, the Denver outburst might have been Schottenheimer's biggest. One player this week speculated that Schottenheimer was particularly happy to win at Denver, where he had lost 10 of 12 times in his career with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.

Schottenheimer's often-subdued approach appears particularly suited to a team led by several high-character veterans. These players don't want to hear too much rah-rah stuff, and they know enough in down times not to point fingers. Players say that Schottenheimer never needed to tell anyone not to blame others during the slide — he simply told them to keep their spirits up and to believe in their abilities.

Players, it should be noted, did not reveal too much about Schottenheimer's private side when interviewed for this article. They seemed to like the fact that he doesn't share everything with the public. One player said the team likes the way its coach keeps things "in-house," adding that it ultimately adds to unity.

It's an especially fascinating dichotomy given that both coaches are typically referred to as "old-school" tough guy coaches. But the difference is clear, Marty is always under control, and uses his emotion constructively. Mora's emotional outbursts are just that, and they expose a man who's in over his head as the captain of a sinking ship. so Schottenheimer has Lavar covering his back in the press for weeks on end, and Mora has Manning fighting with him over his coaching style.

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"Loosen up, Sandy baby. You're just too damn tight!" - John Riggins to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

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"I fear we've awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve."

- Japanese Imperial Admiral Yamamoto, after hearing that the Japanese declaration of war failed to reach the U.S. government before the attack upon Pearl Harbor

[OrangeSkin]

If I was Polian, I would show Mora to the door right now, before this thing snowballs.

[NavyDave]

Snowballing apparently started.

Manning after learning of the replays of Moras tirade replied with he is upset with the replay nationwide of the incident and the verbal stabs by his coach.

He also pointed out how he is the player and he is the one who will be trying to save the coaches job.

All this and he guy is playing with no help and with a broken jaw.

Mora I think you should read between the lines.

[Om]

Pretty nice post, redman. Well done.

[The Sisko]

I was a little shocked by his outburst as Manning is a class act, and yes, I'd give up a couple of #1's for him. A legit NFL caliber QB that'll also get his jaw busted and go back out on the field one play later isn't found on every street corner these days. My guess is Polian isn't dumb enough on a thousand of his worst days to make a blunder like that so guess who has to go ? Hint, he's not the one sucking soup through a straw.