Aaron Schatz's blog

The Off The Charts football podcast looks at the new coaches that have landed around the NFL, and looks forward to this weekend's divisional round of the playoffs. We look at how the big weaknesses for the Colts and Chiefs defenses match the strength on the other side, why Philip Rivers' man/zone splits may be a problem against the Patriots, and what Nick Foles needs to do to continue his postseason magic against the New Orleans Saints. Go deep, young man!

Two more head coach hirings have made the news this morning, from very opposite poles of possibility. Cleveland will be elevating interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens to premanent head coach. He had never been anything more than a position coach until midseason, but he led Cleveland to 23.5% offensive DVOA from Week 9 onward. The Browns essentially had no choice here... if they kept Kitchens as OC with a different head coach, and then had a good season in 2019, another team was almost guaranteed to hire Kitchens away. So they might as well just give him a try at the head job now.

Retirement? I don't think this word means what you think it means. After a year off, 66-year-old Bruce Arians is back in the league. This pairs a head coach who loves to go deep with a quarterback who's best throwing deep, so it seems like a good marriage. Arians apparently will come as a package with his former Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, and say what you want about Bowles as a head coach, but he ran some pretty good defenses for Arians with the Cardinals.

Jason Lisk makes the right point over at The Big Lead... this is all about salvaging Josh Rosen after his dismal (second-lowest quarterback DYAR ever) rookie season. Kingsbury is thought of as a cutting-edge offensive mind, but he was only 35-40 at Texas Tech. He couldn't win there with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. But there's a big difference between a) trying to recruit defensive players to Lubbock and b) starting with Chandler Jones, Patrick Peterson, and the No.

The first coach-hiring domino has fallen, with Green Bay offering its head coaching position to Tennessee offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur. They wanted a young offensive mind, and they got one, as LaFleur is only 39 years old. But he's also only called plays in the NFL for one year. He didn't call plays as Rams offensive coordinator in 2017 or as Atlanta quarterbacks coach in 2015-2016. Despite the one year with Sean McVay, LaFleur is a Kyle Shanahan guy through-and-through; he was also Washington quarterbacks coach under Shanahan in 2010-2013.

Indianapolis moves up to No. 2 in weighted DVOA, setting up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Saturday's divisional game against Kansas City. Plus, updated DVOA ratings for the other six remaining teams.

Former All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen made a bet with a friend that he could become an Olympian, and so he's formed a curling team with fellow ex-NFL players, and they're working to try to make the 2022 Olympics. The team includes Michael Roos, Keith Bullock, and Marc Bulger. I assume they live the mayonnaise lifestyle.

The Off The Charts football podcast reviews the coaching carousel and previews this weekend's four wild-card games. Learn what the Seahawks' zone means for Dak Prescott, why Lamar Jackson's first game against the Chargers stands out, and how Ryan Griffin and the Houston tight ends could play a huge role on Saturday. (Click for audio link.)

It's time for another game from Football Outsiders! Pick the best fantasy team you can using one player -- but only one player -- from each of the 12 playoff teams. The winner gets a free copy of the 2019 KUBIAK fantasy football projections. Click for rules and to enter.

Once again this season, we have teamed up with EA Sports to bring Football Outsiders-branded player content to Madden 19 on a monthly basis. Today, we get to announce the Football Outsiders December players for Madden Ultimate Team on consoles. (Click to read more.)