Federal judge Susan Nelson may have single handedly saved the 2011 NFL season from being shortened or even cancelled. In my last blog, I broke down the battle between the NFL Players Association(NFLPA) and the NFL owners over the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, here's what has happened since then...
In a major win for the players, Judge Nelson ruled in favor of the players yesterday in the battle over a collective bargaining agreement. In an 89-page document, she wrote, "the players have demonstrated that they are suffering, and will suffer, irreparable harm[from the lockout]." She went on to write, “The irreparable harm to the players outweighs any harm an injunction would cause the NFL." Basically she is saying that the owners will still be making money under the current collective bargaining agreement, while the players are not being paid at all during a lockout. She also referenced that the average career of an NFL player is less than four years, and that being withheld pay during such a minimal career would be "irreparable harm."
The NFL has appealed the decision and will seek a stay in the injunction until the appeal is heard. A stay essentially puts a hold on the ruling until an appeal is heard in court. This is important because the NFLPA sent out an email last night telling players that they are now, as of the ruling, legally entitled to access their team's training facilities and resume offseason activities. Conversely, the NFL also contends that "federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes," which they feel the appeals court will see similarly.
A few players from various teams did show up today, and while they were allowed into the team facilities, according to NFL sources, the NFL Management Council has advised teams to not open weight rooms or training rooms or discuss any trades or contract negotiations with players. The NFLPA, however, claims that if players are not allowed full access to their team facilities, the NFL teams are breaking the law. It's a pretty muddled situation right now, and probably will be for a few days or weeks until this decision and the appeal all gets sorted out.
If and when this does all get straightened out, we can expect all NFL activity to resume. This means, players will return to offseason workouts with their teams, players will regain access to their team facilities and weight rooms, free agency and trades will resume and teams can renegotiate contracts with current players.
It's still a confusing and murky issue, but Susan Nelson's decision yesterday is a good step closer to having football this year, and for that, I think she may be the early favorite for MVP of the league in 2011.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Dave Duerson story
About a week ago, a few days after Dave Duerson, the former Chicago Bears defensive star, was found dead after commiting suicide, a story and an interview with Duerson was posted on Deadspin. It's a hard read but a truly amazing story, check it out if you haven't already...
click here.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Decoding the NFL collective bargaining agreement debacle
On March 3rd, the current NFL labor agreement between the owners and players is set to expire. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and the owners just finished up a week's worth of negotiations and still the two sides seem to be far from an agreement. If the two sides can't come to an agreement by March 3rd, the owners are expected to vote to lock the players out.
If there was a lockout, it would mean that essentially all league activity would stop. Players would not be allowed to use any of the team's facilities to workout or watch film, practices would stop, teams would not be able to sign free-agents or extend any current contracts, and players currently under contract would stop receiving checks until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
The owners basically want more money, they feel they got shortchanged in the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations and are trying to take some things back this time around. The owners claim that the players take home 59 percent of the eight billion dollars in annual gross revenues the league generates, the highest percentage of all the major sports (57 percent in the NHL, 55 percent in the NBA, and 43 percent in MLB). The players refute that claim, stating that the owners scrape money off the top to pay for expenses, and therefore they only take home closer to 50 percent. The owners also want the rookie pay-scale to be re-worked, saying that they take too much of a financial risk on these unproven players. Many NFL players actually support this proposal, as a lot of veteran players feel slighted by rookies coming in and making significantly more money than they do before having ever played a snap in the league. The NFLPA, however, is hesitant to agree to lower rookie contract scales unless the excess money is funneled back to the players as opposed to directly into the owners pockets.
The other issue the owners are pushing is an 18-game regular season, which the players oppose staunchly. The owners want the extra revenue that an 18-game season would bring, but they don't want to give extra compensation to the players. They feel that since they would be shortening the preseason by two games, that there will still be the same number of total games in the season, thus they don't have to give anything extra to the players. Of course, the players feel that adding two more meaningful games to the regular season would cause even more injuries. And with the correlation between concussions among NFL players and dementia in former players coming to light, the NFLPA simply cannot support a longer season without more compensation. If the 18-game season is to happen, aside from money, the NFLPA wants a second bye week to rest players and avoid injuries, expanded rosters to help coaches more easily sub players in and out, and a shorter and less rigorous offseason workout program so they can stay fresh throughout the regular season.
Unfortunately the two sides seem miles apart even after a week of talks. The owners however seem to have the upper hand as they will continue to make revenue even during a lockout, through TV contracts and merchandise sales.
The players' union does have a trick up their sleeve though... decertification. Decertification means that the union would be dissolved, which would allow individual players to take the NFL to anti-trust court to try to block the lockout. Confusing I know... here's how it works: as long as there is a union that represents the players, that is to say as long as the NFLPA exists, players are not allowed to take their negotiations outside of the bargaining room. However, if the NFLPA were to dissolve itself before the owners lock the players out, then players would be free to seek an injunction in anti-trust court that could block a potential lockout. If the negotiations did go to court, players could then fight any terms of employment they felt necessary, which could end up being a worse deal for the owners than they could have negotiated themselves. So, the threat of decertification is a powerful bargaining chip for the NFLPA. The head of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, hinted recently that the union would decertify before March 3rd if no new CBA had been reached.
This is how things finally got done the last time the collective bargaining agreement had to be renewed. During the last CBA negotiations in 1993, the NFLPA made significant gains in their negotiations when the decertified. After the union decertified, Reggie White acted as the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the league. The result is the current NFL collective bargaining agreement, which, of course, the owners feel is tilted too heavily towards the players. Clearly the owners want to stop the union from decertification, as history has shown that the players have made much more progress negotiating through the courts as opposed to directly with the owners.
As far as taking sides, of course I'm with the players. But really, it's hard to root for anyone who is splitting up eight billion dollars and crying about it. A lockout on March 3rd is looking like an inevitability, and unless the negotiations go to court, the lockout will probably last deep into the summer, maybe even cutting the regular season short. Hopefully it won't come to that though and these two sides can carve up that eight billion dollars in a mutually beneficial way. Til then though, we'll just have to sit back and wait...
If there was a lockout, it would mean that essentially all league activity would stop. Players would not be allowed to use any of the team's facilities to workout or watch film, practices would stop, teams would not be able to sign free-agents or extend any current contracts, and players currently under contract would stop receiving checks until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
The owners basically want more money, they feel they got shortchanged in the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations and are trying to take some things back this time around. The owners claim that the players take home 59 percent of the eight billion dollars in annual gross revenues the league generates, the highest percentage of all the major sports (57 percent in the NHL, 55 percent in the NBA, and 43 percent in MLB). The players refute that claim, stating that the owners scrape money off the top to pay for expenses, and therefore they only take home closer to 50 percent. The owners also want the rookie pay-scale to be re-worked, saying that they take too much of a financial risk on these unproven players. Many NFL players actually support this proposal, as a lot of veteran players feel slighted by rookies coming in and making significantly more money than they do before having ever played a snap in the league. The NFLPA, however, is hesitant to agree to lower rookie contract scales unless the excess money is funneled back to the players as opposed to directly into the owners pockets.
The other issue the owners are pushing is an 18-game regular season, which the players oppose staunchly. The owners want the extra revenue that an 18-game season would bring, but they don't want to give extra compensation to the players. They feel that since they would be shortening the preseason by two games, that there will still be the same number of total games in the season, thus they don't have to give anything extra to the players. Of course, the players feel that adding two more meaningful games to the regular season would cause even more injuries. And with the correlation between concussions among NFL players and dementia in former players coming to light, the NFLPA simply cannot support a longer season without more compensation. If the 18-game season is to happen, aside from money, the NFLPA wants a second bye week to rest players and avoid injuries, expanded rosters to help coaches more easily sub players in and out, and a shorter and less rigorous offseason workout program so they can stay fresh throughout the regular season.
Unfortunately the two sides seem miles apart even after a week of talks. The owners however seem to have the upper hand as they will continue to make revenue even during a lockout, through TV contracts and merchandise sales.
The players' union does have a trick up their sleeve though... decertification. Decertification means that the union would be dissolved, which would allow individual players to take the NFL to anti-trust court to try to block the lockout. Confusing I know... here's how it works: as long as there is a union that represents the players, that is to say as long as the NFLPA exists, players are not allowed to take their negotiations outside of the bargaining room. However, if the NFLPA were to dissolve itself before the owners lock the players out, then players would be free to seek an injunction in anti-trust court that could block a potential lockout. If the negotiations did go to court, players could then fight any terms of employment they felt necessary, which could end up being a worse deal for the owners than they could have negotiated themselves. So, the threat of decertification is a powerful bargaining chip for the NFLPA. The head of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, hinted recently that the union would decertify before March 3rd if no new CBA had been reached.
This is how things finally got done the last time the collective bargaining agreement had to be renewed. During the last CBA negotiations in 1993, the NFLPA made significant gains in their negotiations when the decertified. After the union decertified, Reggie White acted as the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the league. The result is the current NFL collective bargaining agreement, which, of course, the owners feel is tilted too heavily towards the players. Clearly the owners want to stop the union from decertification, as history has shown that the players have made much more progress negotiating through the courts as opposed to directly with the owners.
As far as taking sides, of course I'm with the players. But really, it's hard to root for anyone who is splitting up eight billion dollars and crying about it. A lockout on March 3rd is looking like an inevitability, and unless the negotiations go to court, the lockout will probably last deep into the summer, maybe even cutting the regular season short. Hopefully it won't come to that though and these two sides can carve up that eight billion dollars in a mutually beneficial way. Til then though, we'll just have to sit back and wait...
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Peyton Manning and Mike Vick get hit with franchise tags
Both Peyton Manning and Mike Vick were given the franchise tag last week by their respective teams. One, however, will almost assuredly be given a new contract in the next few weeks, the other will likely have to play his way into a new contract.
NFL teams have the option of designating one player per year as their "franchise" player. The franchise tag is given to a player in lieu of a new contract once the player's contract has expired. There are two types of franchise tags, an "exclusive rights" franchise tag, and a "non-exclusive" franchise tag. When a team gives a player an exclusive rights tag, they must offer the player a one-year contract worth no less than the average salary of the top five paid players at that position or 120 percent of the player's salary from the previous season, whichever is greater. The "exclusive" part of the deal means that the player is not allowed to negotiate with any other teams. A non-exclusive franchise tag means the same thing, except that the player can negotiate with other teams, but the player's original team has the right to match any offer that the player may receive from other teams.
Most times, players don't like getting the franchise tag honor from their team. For them, it means playing in another expiring-contract year instead of signing a huge new deal with a large signing bonus. In the "franchise" year, a player could easily get hurt or under-perform, which lowers the amount of money he will be offered the following year by teams, when he finally does become a free agent. In the cases of Vick and Manning however, I think it may not be a bad thing for either player.
Both Manning and Vick were given an exclusive rights franchise tags, assuring that they will be in Colts' and Eagles' uniforms respectively in 2011.
The Colts made a similar move in 2004 when they placed an exclusive rights franchise tag on Manning on February 23rd, only to re-sign Manning to a seven-year, 98 million dollar deal a week later on March 2nd, nullifying the franchise tag deal. Expect a similar result this time around as the Colts have zero interest in losing Manning in 2012. As of now, the franchise tag will pay Manning 23 million dollars next season, which is 120 percent of his 2010 salary. Many believe that the move was made mainly because of the uncertainty of next year's NFL collective bargaining agreement, which is still unresolved. An owner lockout or player strike seems like it will be hard to avoid as the two sides battle over salary issues, NFL pensions and the owner-proposed 18 game regular season. The way the Colts see things, they have insurance now if there is a lockout or strike, since no other teams would be allowed to talk to Manning if or when a stoppage does take place. In the end, I'm sure the Colts will do everything in their power to re-sign Manning for a long-term deal. He is the face of their franchise and far and away their best player. Hell, he's the best player in the history of their franchise one could argue very easily. I don't think he has any intention of leaving either. The Colts have always put good skill players around Manning and he seems like a loyal guy. We'll see but I'd bet that they work out a deal before any type of work stoppage happens.
Vick on the other hand probably won't be getting a new contract until a few weeks into the 2011 season, if there is a 2011 season. And that's also assuming that he plays at the same level he did last season. Vick will be paid the average of the top 5 quarterbacks in the league which amounts to roughly 16 million in 2011. For a guy who declared bankruptcy a few years back and only got paid 1.6 million last year, he's got to be ecstatic. And although he probably would rather have been given a monster new contract worth 50+ million over several years, it's an amazing turnaround from being in prison only two years ago. If he goes out in 2011 and plays the way he showed he could in 2010, teams will be lining up to pay him a huge contract in 2012. More than likely though, if he does look like the Mike Vick of 2010, the Eagles will lock him up mid-season and keep him in Philly for possibly the remainder of his career.
It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out in the coming months with the collective bargaining agreement not resolved. How it affects free agency and re-signings is still yet to be seen.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Is Newton the #1 quarterback?
Responding to critics saying his skills wouldn't translate to the NFL, Cam Newton held a media-only workout last weekend in San Diego. Since winning the national championship a month ago, Newton has been living and working out in San Diego with renowned quarterback trainer George Whitfield Jr. Whitfield was a former college and arena league quarterback and runs Whitfield Athletix in San Diego, a quarterback training program. He has worked with a number of quarterback prospects, including Ben Roethlisberger.
About 30 media outlets including ESPN and the NFL Network were invited. I watched some home videos of the workout and I gotta say... I'm on board. This dude looks like the real shit. I think he's going to be the #1 quarterback taken in the draft and possibly even the #1 overall pick.
NFL prospects rarely let the media see their workouts before the NFL combine,. The combine is a series of drills and written tests in which coaches from NFL teams attend and observe player's skills leading up to the draft. Newton's father, quickly becoming a master of hype, organized the workout, which took place two weeks before the first day of the NFL combine.
Newton worked almost exclusively out of the shotgun spread offense at Auburn last season. Some folks have questioned whether Newton could make a smooth transition to taking snaps from under center in the NFL. Newton said he wanted to show people that he's been working on that transition for the last month and show that he could in fact be effective under center. "Today was just a day for everybody to see and get a glimpse of what I do on an day-to-day basis," he said.
He looked really good in the workout, throwing deep passes all over the field with accuracy, and into a pretty strong wind too. His arm has that explosiveness that guys like Mike Vick and Brett Favre have. I think he's going to be fun to watch at very least next season. He also interviewed pretty well and didn't come off as as much of a dick as I figured he would have. Although I suppose the whole idea of holding a media day for no reason is kind of a cocky move in itself. Here's a slightly lengthy video of his interview and some workout highlights if you want to judge for yourself....
Oh, and peep how much of a boner Trent Dilfer gets while watching the workout...
About 30 media outlets including ESPN and the NFL Network were invited. I watched some home videos of the workout and I gotta say... I'm on board. This dude looks like the real shit. I think he's going to be the #1 quarterback taken in the draft and possibly even the #1 overall pick.
NFL prospects rarely let the media see their workouts before the NFL combine,. The combine is a series of drills and written tests in which coaches from NFL teams attend and observe player's skills leading up to the draft. Newton's father, quickly becoming a master of hype, organized the workout, which took place two weeks before the first day of the NFL combine.
Newton worked almost exclusively out of the shotgun spread offense at Auburn last season. Some folks have questioned whether Newton could make a smooth transition to taking snaps from under center in the NFL. Newton said he wanted to show people that he's been working on that transition for the last month and show that he could in fact be effective under center. "Today was just a day for everybody to see and get a glimpse of what I do on an day-to-day basis," he said.
He looked really good in the workout, throwing deep passes all over the field with accuracy, and into a pretty strong wind too. His arm has that explosiveness that guys like Mike Vick and Brett Favre have. I think he's going to be fun to watch at very least next season. He also interviewed pretty well and didn't come off as as much of a dick as I figured he would have. Although I suppose the whole idea of holding a media day for no reason is kind of a cocky move in itself. Here's a slightly lengthy video of his interview and some workout highlights if you want to judge for yourself....
Oh, and peep how much of a boner Trent Dilfer gets while watching the workout...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Troy Polamalu wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year award
Last night the NFL announced that Troy Polamalu, the safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, won the Defensive Player of the Year award, edging out his Super Bowl opponent Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers. It's no surprise that the two defensive stars in the league will be facing off in the championship. Both these players have raised the level of play of the players around them and either would have been a worthy pick for the award. The rest of the NFL awards will be announced throughout the week leading up to the big game Sunday. Here's the way I see it going down...
MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has his team in the Super Bowl and, despite a rash of injuries throughout the year, has been able to keep the offense potent. Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions this year for the Pack. Most importantly though Rodgers has gotten hot when it matters most, late in the year and in the post-season. The Packers quarterback won two must win games to get into the playoffs against two very good teams in weeks 16 and 17. An eye-opening destruction of the New York Giants by the score of 45-17, in which Rodgers threw for over 400 yards, and a gutty 10-3 win over the Bears in week 17. He then went into Philadelphia and bested Mike Vick, threw for 360+ yards in a decisive win over the #1 seeded Atlanta falcons in the Georgia Dome, and still had enough gas in the tank to beat the Bears at Soldier Field to clinch the NFC.
Runner up: Tom Brady
If Tom Brady hadn't choked and lost to the Jets in the playoffs, he'd probably be the MVP. I know we're only supposed to take the regular season into account when picking the MVP, but I think that's rubbish. Rodgers was more clutch and won when it counted. He's the MVP in my eyes.
Coach of the year: Mike McCarthy
Sticking with the Packers theme; I think Mike McCarthy is worthy of the Coach of the Year award. Don't be fooled by the Packers' #6 seed. They were hit by a slew of injuries in the early weeks of the season, many to starting players. In week 1, starting veteran running back Ryan Grant, a huge part of the teams' offensive gameplan, was put on injured reserve (ending his season) after breaking his ankle. A few weeks later Jermichael Finley, their budding sophmore tight end and Rodgers' go-to target in a pinch, was lost for the year as well with a knee injury. The list goes on and on as the injuries continued to pile up; other key players to go down were safety Morgan Burnett, linebackers Nick Barnett, Brandon Chillar and Brady Poppinga. In total, the Packers lost a mind-boggling 16 players to season ending injuries, as well as dealing with the normal nicks and bruises of the NFL grind. Rodgers missed a game, veteran receiver Donald Driver also missed multiple games. Somehow, through all this, Mike McCarthy was able to stay competitive and deliver wins week in and week out. His bench players stepped up, played well, and stayed focused throughout the setbacks.
Runner up: Todd Haley
Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley did an amazing job leading his team to a 10-6 record. Despite bowing out in the opening round of the playoffs to the Ravens, the Chiefs had a very good season. The Chiefs won only four games in 2009 and some were speculating that Haley may be replaced. Haley was able to balance the workload of his backfield successfully as the Chiefs had the #1 rushing attack in the NFL this season. Matt Cassell's exceptional play also reflects favorably on Haley, who stuck with him despite a rough 2009 campaign with the team.
Offensive rookie of the year: Sam Bradford
Last year's #1 overall pick in the draft earned instant credibility in my mind. Any player who can immediately go into St. Louis and turn things around from the way they had been going for the last few years is okay in my book. The team's 7-9 record in 2010 may not look too impressive, but if you consider that the team could only muster six wins in their previous three seasons, then you can start to see how Bradford had affected things. Not much else has changed either, although an improving defense was a boon to Bradford's success, the offense remained mostly the same. Once Bradford was inserted, he made good decisions and some clutch throws. The result was wins and a near playoff berth. He's my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Runner up: Mike Williams
The young Buccaneer wideout was spectacular in his debut season, catching nearly 1,000 yards worth of passes and scoring 11 TDs. Considered a raw talent that needed to be groomed over a few years when he was drafted last year, Williams came into training camp on fire and looked much more mature than originally thought. He was one of the hottest players in the preseason and was able to keep that momentum going into the regular season, as he scored TDs in first two NFL games. He quickly became the go-to guy for Josh Freeman. Seeing as both these guys are very young, it's going to be exciting to see what they can do as a combo in the coming seasons for the improving Bucs. And with Freeman's cannon arm and Williams' speed and size, the sky is the limit.
Defensive rookie of the year: Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh, the overall #2 pick in last April's draft, recorded 10 sacks and generally wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all season. The rookie defensive tackle was voted into the pro-bowl. Suh is a soft spoken guy and a hard worker, and considering he is only going to get better, things are looking at least slightly brighter for Detroit Lions fans.
Runner up: Devin McCourty
The Pats rookie cornerback ended the season with 89 combined tackles and seven interceptions. The seven interceptions was best among NFL rookies and second only to superstar Ed Reed, who had eight. Like Suh, McCourty played in the Pro Bowl last week and considering he was happy to just make the team in September, it's safe to say McCourty had an amazing rookie season.
Comeback player of the year: Mike Vick
For me, this is the story of the year. The return from arrest for dog-fighting, public humiliation and a lengthy jail stint to NFL superstar wasn't a seamless one. Vick looked rockyin 2009 when he took the field and was only a shell of the QB he was in Atlanta pre-jailtime. But after an injury to Eagles' starting QB Kevin Kolb in week one this year, Vick took flight once again. The guy won our hearts back with his ridiculous arm, his lightning quick reactions and his legs. My love for Vick is well documented. The guy is once again the most dynamic player in the league.
Runner up: Brandon Lloyd
I don't think anyone would have predicted that a guy who caught eight passes for a paltry 177 yards in 2009 would be this beastly. Lloyd returned to relevancy to the tune of 1,448 yards on 77 catches and 11 TDs. The 1,448 yards was the best in the NFL for any receiver. Credit recently canned Broncos coach Josh McDaniel's passing prowess for the improvement. Lloyd had never caught more than 48 balls before and had never received for more than 733 yards, both of which he did way back in 2005 for the 49ers. Doubling those totals was quite impressive and it will be interesting to see how he does next season without McDaniels.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has his team in the Super Bowl and, despite a rash of injuries throughout the year, has been able to keep the offense potent. Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions this year for the Pack. Most importantly though Rodgers has gotten hot when it matters most, late in the year and in the post-season. The Packers quarterback won two must win games to get into the playoffs against two very good teams in weeks 16 and 17. An eye-opening destruction of the New York Giants by the score of 45-17, in which Rodgers threw for over 400 yards, and a gutty 10-3 win over the Bears in week 17. He then went into Philadelphia and bested Mike Vick, threw for 360+ yards in a decisive win over the #1 seeded Atlanta falcons in the Georgia Dome, and still had enough gas in the tank to beat the Bears at Soldier Field to clinch the NFC.
Runner up: Tom Brady
If Tom Brady hadn't choked and lost to the Jets in the playoffs, he'd probably be the MVP. I know we're only supposed to take the regular season into account when picking the MVP, but I think that's rubbish. Rodgers was more clutch and won when it counted. He's the MVP in my eyes.
Coach of the year: Mike McCarthy
Sticking with the Packers theme; I think Mike McCarthy is worthy of the Coach of the Year award. Don't be fooled by the Packers' #6 seed. They were hit by a slew of injuries in the early weeks of the season, many to starting players. In week 1, starting veteran running back Ryan Grant, a huge part of the teams' offensive gameplan, was put on injured reserve (ending his season) after breaking his ankle. A few weeks later Jermichael Finley, their budding sophmore tight end and Rodgers' go-to target in a pinch, was lost for the year as well with a knee injury. The list goes on and on as the injuries continued to pile up; other key players to go down were safety Morgan Burnett, linebackers Nick Barnett, Brandon Chillar and Brady Poppinga. In total, the Packers lost a mind-boggling 16 players to season ending injuries, as well as dealing with the normal nicks and bruises of the NFL grind. Rodgers missed a game, veteran receiver Donald Driver also missed multiple games. Somehow, through all this, Mike McCarthy was able to stay competitive and deliver wins week in and week out. His bench players stepped up, played well, and stayed focused throughout the setbacks.
Runner up: Todd Haley
Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley did an amazing job leading his team to a 10-6 record. Despite bowing out in the opening round of the playoffs to the Ravens, the Chiefs had a very good season. The Chiefs won only four games in 2009 and some were speculating that Haley may be replaced. Haley was able to balance the workload of his backfield successfully as the Chiefs had the #1 rushing attack in the NFL this season. Matt Cassell's exceptional play also reflects favorably on Haley, who stuck with him despite a rough 2009 campaign with the team.
Offensive rookie of the year: Sam Bradford
Last year's #1 overall pick in the draft earned instant credibility in my mind. Any player who can immediately go into St. Louis and turn things around from the way they had been going for the last few years is okay in my book. The team's 7-9 record in 2010 may not look too impressive, but if you consider that the team could only muster six wins in their previous three seasons, then you can start to see how Bradford had affected things. Not much else has changed either, although an improving defense was a boon to Bradford's success, the offense remained mostly the same. Once Bradford was inserted, he made good decisions and some clutch throws. The result was wins and a near playoff berth. He's my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Runner up: Mike Williams
The young Buccaneer wideout was spectacular in his debut season, catching nearly 1,000 yards worth of passes and scoring 11 TDs. Considered a raw talent that needed to be groomed over a few years when he was drafted last year, Williams came into training camp on fire and looked much more mature than originally thought. He was one of the hottest players in the preseason and was able to keep that momentum going into the regular season, as he scored TDs in first two NFL games. He quickly became the go-to guy for Josh Freeman. Seeing as both these guys are very young, it's going to be exciting to see what they can do as a combo in the coming seasons for the improving Bucs. And with Freeman's cannon arm and Williams' speed and size, the sky is the limit.
Defensive rookie of the year: Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh, the overall #2 pick in last April's draft, recorded 10 sacks and generally wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all season. The rookie defensive tackle was voted into the pro-bowl. Suh is a soft spoken guy and a hard worker, and considering he is only going to get better, things are looking at least slightly brighter for Detroit Lions fans.
Runner up: Devin McCourty
The Pats rookie cornerback ended the season with 89 combined tackles and seven interceptions. The seven interceptions was best among NFL rookies and second only to superstar Ed Reed, who had eight. Like Suh, McCourty played in the Pro Bowl last week and considering he was happy to just make the team in September, it's safe to say McCourty had an amazing rookie season.
Comeback player of the year: Mike Vick
For me, this is the story of the year. The return from arrest for dog-fighting, public humiliation and a lengthy jail stint to NFL superstar wasn't a seamless one. Vick looked rockyin 2009 when he took the field and was only a shell of the QB he was in Atlanta pre-jailtime. But after an injury to Eagles' starting QB Kevin Kolb in week one this year, Vick took flight once again. The guy won our hearts back with his ridiculous arm, his lightning quick reactions and his legs. My love for Vick is well documented. The guy is once again the most dynamic player in the league.
Runner up: Brandon Lloyd
I don't think anyone would have predicted that a guy who caught eight passes for a paltry 177 yards in 2009 would be this beastly. Lloyd returned to relevancy to the tune of 1,448 yards on 77 catches and 11 TDs. The 1,448 yards was the best in the NFL for any receiver. Credit recently canned Broncos coach Josh McDaniel's passing prowess for the improvement. Lloyd had never caught more than 48 balls before and had never received for more than 733 yards, both of which he did way back in 2005 for the 49ers. Doubling those totals was quite impressive and it will be interesting to see how he does next season without McDaniels.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Palmer shakes up the draft
I can see it now... Ryan Mallet in a Bengal uniform. He'll be the perfect guy to help ensure they lose their mandatory 10 games next season.
Last week, Carson Palmer predictably shocked the world by demanding a trade from the pathetic Cincinatti Bengals. He even went as far as saying that he would retire if his trade demand wasn't met. It doesn't surprise me at all really, Palmer is getting older and his window for playing on a winning team is getting smaller. The Bengals are just awful, and I can imagine that a player of his caliber would get extremely frustrated getting his ass handed to him week in and week out, year after year.
The demand has got to hurt though for team president Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis. Here they thought they had a franchise quarterback to build around for at least a few more seasons... and then poof, he's gone. This definitely shakes up the Bengals' offseason plans.
As we've discussed, the Bengals own the #4 pick in the upcoming NFL draft and were thought to be focused on improving their defense with that pick. Da'Quan Bowers, the beastly defensive end from Clemson, was a player who it was speculated that they could be interested in with that pick, and they still may be. The possible loss of Palmer to trade or retirement could change their draft plans, however, as they may want to go after a quarterback at that pick instead now. Seeing as there are a bunch of high level prospects at the position this year, they may want to strike now. Who knows who'll be available in free agency this year, let alone in next year's draft. So grabbing a player like Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton, Ryan Mallett or even Jake Locker could be the call.
I think Gabbert will be gone to the Panthers before the Bengals get their shot at him at #4, so to me, it will be a decision between Newton and Mallett most likely as I don't think Locker will go that high, unless he thoroughly impresses at the NFL combine. Drafting Newton seems like it could be a ticking time bomb for a bad Bengals team. I could envision a guy like Newton insta-demanding a trade if he ended up in Cinci, much like Eli Manning did when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. I think it would be a smart move for a team that wanted to draft Newton to groom him on the bench for a few years and then insert him into the games when he has a better chance of being successful than the Bengals do. His personality is just so volatile that I don't know if he'll handle adversity as well as a guy like Mallett. And the Bengals have tons of adversity.
Mallet is kind of like a Carson Palmer clone in a lot of ways. They're both big, tall guys with huge arms and not much mobility. The Bengals could get tricked into thinking that they could plug Mallett right in as the starter and be okay. It won't work though. If Palmer couldn't have success with this group, there's no way Mallett can. Terrell Owens certainly won't re-sign with the Bengals if Palmer, his biggest advocate, jumps ship and Chad Ochocinqo-Johnson is liable to demand a trade, retire to focus on his reality television career, or even fake his own death in order to somehow sign with another team at any moment. The Bengals may need to blow it up. They need a lot of help on both sides of the ball and, more dauntingly, on both the offensive and defensive lines. I doubt they'll do it, but it may benefit them in the long-term to trade Palmer for a 2nd or 3rd round pick now and maybe do the same with Ochocinqo. They really have a lack of young talent on their roster and could use some extra draft picks to address their many needs.
So, if I'm correct in my prediction of Mallett to the Bengals, then who will the Arizona Cardinals be left with at the #6 pick. I had originally slotted Mallett in that spot, going to the QB-needy Cardinals. Maybe the Cards take Newton there and leave the Redskins (also in dire need of a signal caller) high and dry. I suppose Newton's powerful running style could fit into Ken Whisenhunt's scheme. Whisenhunt, who came over from Pittsburgh's run-first offensive scheme, has been trying to get back to that style of play with the Cardinals. Having Kurt Warner, one of the best passers in NFL history as his quarterback has hindered that process a bit though as Whiz was smart enough to gameplan for Warner's skill set.
But now Warner is retired, Matt Leinart was traded to the Texans, Max Hall is inexperienced and Derek Anderson is a bum. Whisenhunt could be enamoured by Newton's ability to put his nose down and pick up tough yards on the ground, especially on 3rd down and short, which is an area of strength for Newton. The Heisman winner ran for 1,473 yards at Auburn this season and also scored 20 touchdowns on the ground while still throwing for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns. Newton's large frame and elusiveness remind me a lot of Whiz's old quarterback in Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is 6-4, 240 pounds; Newton is 6-6, 250 pounds. Both are hard to bring down and know how to use their size and elusiveness to stay alive in the pocket. Whisenhunt and Roethlisberger had good success in Roethlisberger's rookie season, as the quarterback won rookie of the year honors as he went 13-0 in the regular season before bowing out against the Patriots in the conference championship. The next year, Whiz and Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl. Maybe Whiz will think he can recreate some of that rookie magic with Newton.
It's tough to say how it's all going to go, but what we do know is a lot of teams are in need of a quarterback and there is a bunch first round caliber quarterbacks in the draft. It's going to be fun to see who goes where and how successful they are in their rookie seasons.
Last week, Carson Palmer predictably shocked the world by demanding a trade from the pathetic Cincinatti Bengals. He even went as far as saying that he would retire if his trade demand wasn't met. It doesn't surprise me at all really, Palmer is getting older and his window for playing on a winning team is getting smaller. The Bengals are just awful, and I can imagine that a player of his caliber would get extremely frustrated getting his ass handed to him week in and week out, year after year.
The demand has got to hurt though for team president Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis. Here they thought they had a franchise quarterback to build around for at least a few more seasons... and then poof, he's gone. This definitely shakes up the Bengals' offseason plans.
As we've discussed, the Bengals own the #4 pick in the upcoming NFL draft and were thought to be focused on improving their defense with that pick. Da'Quan Bowers, the beastly defensive end from Clemson, was a player who it was speculated that they could be interested in with that pick, and they still may be. The possible loss of Palmer to trade or retirement could change their draft plans, however, as they may want to go after a quarterback at that pick instead now. Seeing as there are a bunch of high level prospects at the position this year, they may want to strike now. Who knows who'll be available in free agency this year, let alone in next year's draft. So grabbing a player like Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton, Ryan Mallett or even Jake Locker could be the call.
I think Gabbert will be gone to the Panthers before the Bengals get their shot at him at #4, so to me, it will be a decision between Newton and Mallett most likely as I don't think Locker will go that high, unless he thoroughly impresses at the NFL combine. Drafting Newton seems like it could be a ticking time bomb for a bad Bengals team. I could envision a guy like Newton insta-demanding a trade if he ended up in Cinci, much like Eli Manning did when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. I think it would be a smart move for a team that wanted to draft Newton to groom him on the bench for a few years and then insert him into the games when he has a better chance of being successful than the Bengals do. His personality is just so volatile that I don't know if he'll handle adversity as well as a guy like Mallett. And the Bengals have tons of adversity.
Mallet is kind of like a Carson Palmer clone in a lot of ways. They're both big, tall guys with huge arms and not much mobility. The Bengals could get tricked into thinking that they could plug Mallett right in as the starter and be okay. It won't work though. If Palmer couldn't have success with this group, there's no way Mallett can. Terrell Owens certainly won't re-sign with the Bengals if Palmer, his biggest advocate, jumps ship and Chad Ochocinqo-Johnson is liable to demand a trade, retire to focus on his reality television career, or even fake his own death in order to somehow sign with another team at any moment. The Bengals may need to blow it up. They need a lot of help on both sides of the ball and, more dauntingly, on both the offensive and defensive lines. I doubt they'll do it, but it may benefit them in the long-term to trade Palmer for a 2nd or 3rd round pick now and maybe do the same with Ochocinqo. They really have a lack of young talent on their roster and could use some extra draft picks to address their many needs.
So, if I'm correct in my prediction of Mallett to the Bengals, then who will the Arizona Cardinals be left with at the #6 pick. I had originally slotted Mallett in that spot, going to the QB-needy Cardinals. Maybe the Cards take Newton there and leave the Redskins (also in dire need of a signal caller) high and dry. I suppose Newton's powerful running style could fit into Ken Whisenhunt's scheme. Whisenhunt, who came over from Pittsburgh's run-first offensive scheme, has been trying to get back to that style of play with the Cardinals. Having Kurt Warner, one of the best passers in NFL history as his quarterback has hindered that process a bit though as Whiz was smart enough to gameplan for Warner's skill set.
But now Warner is retired, Matt Leinart was traded to the Texans, Max Hall is inexperienced and Derek Anderson is a bum. Whisenhunt could be enamoured by Newton's ability to put his nose down and pick up tough yards on the ground, especially on 3rd down and short, which is an area of strength for Newton. The Heisman winner ran for 1,473 yards at Auburn this season and also scored 20 touchdowns on the ground while still throwing for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns. Newton's large frame and elusiveness remind me a lot of Whiz's old quarterback in Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is 6-4, 240 pounds; Newton is 6-6, 250 pounds. Both are hard to bring down and know how to use their size and elusiveness to stay alive in the pocket. Whisenhunt and Roethlisberger had good success in Roethlisberger's rookie season, as the quarterback won rookie of the year honors as he went 13-0 in the regular season before bowing out against the Patriots in the conference championship. The next year, Whiz and Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl. Maybe Whiz will think he can recreate some of that rookie magic with Newton.
It's tough to say how it's all going to go, but what we do know is a lot of teams are in need of a quarterback and there is a bunch first round caliber quarterbacks in the draft. It's going to be fun to see who goes where and how successful they are in their rookie seasons.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Why does everyone hate Jay Cutler?
Wow. Shit hit the fan yesterday.
After having to leave yesterday's game against the rival Green Bay Packers, Jay Cutler was absolutely demolished in the media and on Twitter by Bears fans, NFL fans, sports fans, current sports players and past sports legends alike... Bears fans were even seen burning Cutler jerseys in the streets of Chicago.
Does anyone actually like this guy? He's even more hated than the evil Mike Vick and the creepy Ben Roethlisberger. The most intriguing part of this is how other current NFL players, who were watching from home, were jumping in on the Cutler lynch mob bandwagon, even before any medical reports had come back as to the extent of the injury. Here's some of the stuff that was being posted via Twitter during the game:
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars running back:
Deion Sanders got into the Twitter rip-fest:
I guess it's uncharted territory in a way; websites like Twitter have given players a voice when they didn't have one in the past. Already the NFL has had to ban players from twittering (is it a verb too?) during games or at halftime. Yes, players were actually taking the time DURING games, on the sidelines, to use twitter.
The whole Twitter phenomenon in sports is really interesting as we can now see the athletes' personalities in the forefront a lot more. Guys like Chad Ochocinqo can use it to talk junk to opposing cornerbacks and fans can happily follow right along with the exchange. In the past we had to send in fan mail, join a fan club or wait outside the stadium to catch a glimpse of an athlete's off-field personality. Nowadays, we can log on to Twitter and watch these guys make asses of themselves without having to leave the house. Fun stuff. Twitter has also changed the NFL in how we get information about injuries. Now we can get updates from players directly, by following their Twitter accounts, instead of waiting for an injury report to come out. It's weird how much Twitter has affected the NFL, but it makes sense too. Social media affects everything, including sports.
Okay, back to how everyone hates Cutler. I guess it's not totally unfounded. The guy does look like a smug little prick... but being a Bears fan, I want to like the guy and have succeeded in liking him to some degree. I did used to flame him when he was in Denver though so I do get how easy it is to not like this guy. I do wonder why everyone hates him so much sometimes though. There's got to be something beyond how pointy his nose is or how his eyes are kind of beady. I googled, "why does everyone hate Jay Cutler?" and the overwhelming response I found was that people think he's whiny. I don't know, I suppose he does have bad body language at times, but I've never seen him actually yell at any of his receivers or offensive lineman before or have an attitude on the sidelines with anyone... And the notion that Cutler isn't tough is untrue. He has only missed two games in his entire career, and this season he was sacked 57 times and never whined about it once. Lots of NFL quarterbacks would have been calling out their offensive line with that many sacks but Cutler never did.
So after all the shit storm of tweetings yesterday, it'll be interesting to see how the injury plays out. If Cutler tore his MCL, which was speculated this morning, then he should get a pass from everyone who criticized him, maybe even an apology. But if the injury is just a sprain, which was also speculated today, then it could get even worse in the media for Cutler. We'll see.
As for reasons why everyone hates the guy so much, my only possible conclusion is that he just looks kind of douchey...
After having to leave yesterday's game against the rival Green Bay Packers, Jay Cutler was absolutely demolished in the media and on Twitter by Bears fans, NFL fans, sports fans, current sports players and past sports legends alike... Bears fans were even seen burning Cutler jerseys in the streets of Chicago.
Does anyone actually like this guy? He's even more hated than the evil Mike Vick and the creepy Ben Roethlisberger. The most intriguing part of this is how other current NFL players, who were watching from home, were jumping in on the Cutler lynch mob bandwagon, even before any medical reports had come back as to the extent of the injury. Here's some of the stuff that was being posted via Twitter during the game:
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars running back:
"Hey I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now... When the going gets tough........QUIT... All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee... I played the whole season on one..."Darnell Dockett, defensive lineman for the Arizona Cardinals:
"If I'm on chicago team jay cutler has to wait till me and the team shower get dressed and leave before he comes in the locker room!"Raheem Brock, Seattle Seahawks defensive end:
"Cutler u little siSsy...how does it feel that ur back up's backup is the only 1that can put pts on the board!I bet cutler comes back now!"Kirk Morrison, Jaguars linebacker:
"Jay Cutler better go put some Tussin on that knee and get back out there. Tussin cures all. #Robitussin"
One thing is very apparent from these tweets, NFL players need some serious spelling, punctuation and grammar help... Okay seriously, it's clear that Cutler's peers simply do not like him. Even former greats were lining up to take a cheap shot at Cutler while he was down..."If my knee was hurt or acl/mcl/pcl sprain, I would not be standing up on the sideline. #jaycutler"
Deion Sanders got into the Twitter rip-fest:
Derrick Brooks tweeted:"Folks i never question a players injury but i do question a players heart. Truth"
"BEARS fans I am so SORRY, I have to be crawling and cant get up to come off field,Josh Freeman would not come out, MEDS ARE AVAILABLE"
"HEY there is no medicine for a guy with no guts and heart"Crazy. I get that the fans would crucify the guy, but usually peers and former players don't chime in with this type of banter. Especially since the details of the injury had not yet been disclosed.
I guess it's uncharted territory in a way; websites like Twitter have given players a voice when they didn't have one in the past. Already the NFL has had to ban players from twittering (is it a verb too?) during games or at halftime. Yes, players were actually taking the time DURING games, on the sidelines, to use twitter.
The whole Twitter phenomenon in sports is really interesting as we can now see the athletes' personalities in the forefront a lot more. Guys like Chad Ochocinqo can use it to talk junk to opposing cornerbacks and fans can happily follow right along with the exchange. In the past we had to send in fan mail, join a fan club or wait outside the stadium to catch a glimpse of an athlete's off-field personality. Nowadays, we can log on to Twitter and watch these guys make asses of themselves without having to leave the house. Fun stuff. Twitter has also changed the NFL in how we get information about injuries. Now we can get updates from players directly, by following their Twitter accounts, instead of waiting for an injury report to come out. It's weird how much Twitter has affected the NFL, but it makes sense too. Social media affects everything, including sports.
Okay, back to how everyone hates Cutler. I guess it's not totally unfounded. The guy does look like a smug little prick... but being a Bears fan, I want to like the guy and have succeeded in liking him to some degree. I did used to flame him when he was in Denver though so I do get how easy it is to not like this guy. I do wonder why everyone hates him so much sometimes though. There's got to be something beyond how pointy his nose is or how his eyes are kind of beady. I googled, "why does everyone hate Jay Cutler?" and the overwhelming response I found was that people think he's whiny. I don't know, I suppose he does have bad body language at times, but I've never seen him actually yell at any of his receivers or offensive lineman before or have an attitude on the sidelines with anyone... And the notion that Cutler isn't tough is untrue. He has only missed two games in his entire career, and this season he was sacked 57 times and never whined about it once. Lots of NFL quarterbacks would have been calling out their offensive line with that many sacks but Cutler never did.
So after all the shit storm of tweetings yesterday, it'll be interesting to see how the injury plays out. If Cutler tore his MCL, which was speculated this morning, then he should get a pass from everyone who criticized him, maybe even an apology. But if the injury is just a sprain, which was also speculated today, then it could get even worse in the media for Cutler. We'll see.
As for reasons why everyone hates the guy so much, my only possible conclusion is that he just looks kind of douchey...
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Changing of the guard at QB?
The four quarterbacks still alive in the playoffs are all under 28-years-old and have an average age of 26. Could there be a changing of the guard happening in the NFL?
I wouldn't necessarily include Ben Roethlisberger in the group of young new quarterbacks in the league as he has been around for a number of years and is a hardened veteran at this point, but at 28, he is still one of the younger quarterbacks in the current group of elite QBs. In my mind, that group includes Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Roethlisberger. But look at what has happened this year. Three out of the four of these elite guys are out of the playoffs. Who has replaced them? Aaron Rodgers, 27, Jay Cutler, also 27 and Mark Sanchez, 24. These guys are all just coming into their own and with Manning now 34, Brady at 33 and Brees age 32, we could be seeing the beginning of a new era.
Cutler has been starting the longest, this past season was his fourth year as a full-time starter for an NFL team. He had an up and down rookie and sophmore campaign in Denver in which he displayed unbelievable arm strength and accuracy at times, but also a lot of bad decision making. He was traded to the Bears amidst Josh McDaniels' roster purge upon his arrival in Denver before the 2009 season. Cutler was very well received in Chicago as the Bear fans thought they had finally landed their long-awaited franchise quarterback. How did he respond? Cutler promptly went out and threw 26 interceptions and pretty much single-handedly sunk the Bears playoff hopes by continuously turning the ball over in critical moments. Bears fans wanted his head and it looked like the Cutler experiment was a disaster...
Hold on though. The Bears went out after the season and signed Mike Martz, the pass happy mad scientist, as their offensive coordinator, a move thought by many to be a questionable one. But Cutler has really shined in Martz's elaborate offensive scheme. He cut his interceptions down to 16 and has been able to wrap his brain around Martz's system very well, which is notoriously complex and hard to learn. Very impressive for his first year under Martz. Call me crazy, but if Cutler can continue to grow in Martz's offense for a number of years and really make it his own, the two could be an intriguing combo in years to come.
Despite not having the trust of... well really anyone... including his own fans who seem to be waiting for him to have a meltdown, Cutler has his team a game away from the Super Bowl. He can silence the haters this Sunday by out-dueling Rodgers, the hottest QB in the league and the wet dream of every sports analyst in the country right now.
Rodgers is on fire. He just got done manhandling the #1 seeded Falcons in the Georgia dome. He thoroughly outplayed Matt Ryan, another guy who is emerging as one of the elite young quarterbacks in the game. The week before that he went into Philly and eliminated Mike Vick and the Eagles. This season is Rodgers' third season as the Packers' starting quarterback, as he replaced Brett Favre to start the 2008 season. He's gotten better each year and has especially improved as this season has played out. He is playing the best ball of his life right now. He threw for 3,900 yards and 28 touchdowns with 11 picks this season. Statistically he's a bit down from last season, but he's taking fewer sacks this year and a lot of last season's bloated stats (4,400 yards, 30 TDs) can be attributed to the team's porous defense and having to play from behind a lot. This season the defense has stepped up and Rodgers hasn't had to throw as much. He's managing the game more effectively now and looks like one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the league. Hell, if I had to decide today, I would call him the best in the league. A trip to the Super Bowl will only solidify this ranking for me.
^^^Here's Rodger's putting on his patented championship belt after a score.
In only his second year in the NFL, Mark Sanchez already has an impressive 4-1 record in the playoffs. His lone loss came last year against Peyton Manning and the Colts. But Sanchez can put that behind him now as the Jets went into Indy and beat the Colts in the wild card round this year, then turned around and beat the Patriots in Foxboro a week later. Sanchez played well in those games, making good throws when he needed to, including a beautiful, timely touchdown to Santonio Holmes in the 4th quarter against New England.
If Sanchez can also somehow get through Roethlisberger, he will have completed an almost impossible task. No other quarterback other than Roethlisberger, Manning or Brady has represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in eight seasons. The 2003 Super Bowl in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders, was the last one to not feature one of the big three. Rich Gannon played in that game... that's how long ago we're talking about. If Sanchez can lead the Jets over the Steelers Sunday, he will have defeated all three of these quarterbacks in succession, Manning in the wild card round, Brady in the divisional round and Roethlisberger in the conference championship.
The emergence of guys like Rodgers, Sanchez and Cutler has been exciting and has changed the face of the league. With other rising stars like Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay, Matt Ryan in Atlanta and Joe Flacco in Baltimore, we have the makings of some epic battles in years to come.
I wouldn't necessarily include Ben Roethlisberger in the group of young new quarterbacks in the league as he has been around for a number of years and is a hardened veteran at this point, but at 28, he is still one of the younger quarterbacks in the current group of elite QBs. In my mind, that group includes Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Roethlisberger. But look at what has happened this year. Three out of the four of these elite guys are out of the playoffs. Who has replaced them? Aaron Rodgers, 27, Jay Cutler, also 27 and Mark Sanchez, 24. These guys are all just coming into their own and with Manning now 34, Brady at 33 and Brees age 32, we could be seeing the beginning of a new era.
Cutler has been starting the longest, this past season was his fourth year as a full-time starter for an NFL team. He had an up and down rookie and sophmore campaign in Denver in which he displayed unbelievable arm strength and accuracy at times, but also a lot of bad decision making. He was traded to the Bears amidst Josh McDaniels' roster purge upon his arrival in Denver before the 2009 season. Cutler was very well received in Chicago as the Bear fans thought they had finally landed their long-awaited franchise quarterback. How did he respond? Cutler promptly went out and threw 26 interceptions and pretty much single-handedly sunk the Bears playoff hopes by continuously turning the ball over in critical moments. Bears fans wanted his head and it looked like the Cutler experiment was a disaster...
Hold on though. The Bears went out after the season and signed Mike Martz, the pass happy mad scientist, as their offensive coordinator, a move thought by many to be a questionable one. But Cutler has really shined in Martz's elaborate offensive scheme. He cut his interceptions down to 16 and has been able to wrap his brain around Martz's system very well, which is notoriously complex and hard to learn. Very impressive for his first year under Martz. Call me crazy, but if Cutler can continue to grow in Martz's offense for a number of years and really make it his own, the two could be an intriguing combo in years to come.
 |
| Pointiest nose in all of sports |
Despite not having the trust of... well really anyone... including his own fans who seem to be waiting for him to have a meltdown, Cutler has his team a game away from the Super Bowl. He can silence the haters this Sunday by out-dueling Rodgers, the hottest QB in the league and the wet dream of every sports analyst in the country right now.
Rodgers is on fire. He just got done manhandling the #1 seeded Falcons in the Georgia dome. He thoroughly outplayed Matt Ryan, another guy who is emerging as one of the elite young quarterbacks in the game. The week before that he went into Philly and eliminated Mike Vick and the Eagles. This season is Rodgers' third season as the Packers' starting quarterback, as he replaced Brett Favre to start the 2008 season. He's gotten better each year and has especially improved as this season has played out. He is playing the best ball of his life right now. He threw for 3,900 yards and 28 touchdowns with 11 picks this season. Statistically he's a bit down from last season, but he's taking fewer sacks this year and a lot of last season's bloated stats (4,400 yards, 30 TDs) can be attributed to the team's porous defense and having to play from behind a lot. This season the defense has stepped up and Rodgers hasn't had to throw as much. He's managing the game more effectively now and looks like one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the league. Hell, if I had to decide today, I would call him the best in the league. A trip to the Super Bowl will only solidify this ranking for me.
^^^Here's Rodger's putting on his patented championship belt after a score.
In only his second year in the NFL, Mark Sanchez already has an impressive 4-1 record in the playoffs. His lone loss came last year against Peyton Manning and the Colts. But Sanchez can put that behind him now as the Jets went into Indy and beat the Colts in the wild card round this year, then turned around and beat the Patriots in Foxboro a week later. Sanchez played well in those games, making good throws when he needed to, including a beautiful, timely touchdown to Santonio Holmes in the 4th quarter against New England.
If Sanchez can also somehow get through Roethlisberger, he will have completed an almost impossible task. No other quarterback other than Roethlisberger, Manning or Brady has represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in eight seasons. The 2003 Super Bowl in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders, was the last one to not feature one of the big three. Rich Gannon played in that game... that's how long ago we're talking about. If Sanchez can lead the Jets over the Steelers Sunday, he will have defeated all three of these quarterbacks in succession, Manning in the wild card round, Brady in the divisional round and Roethlisberger in the conference championship.
The emergence of guys like Rodgers, Sanchez and Cutler has been exciting and has changed the face of the league. With other rising stars like Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay, Matt Ryan in Atlanta and Joe Flacco in Baltimore, we have the makings of some epic battles in years to come.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
With Luck staying in college, who's the top QB in the draft?
So the deadline to declare for the NFL draft came and went this past weekend and Andrew Luck is staying in Stanford for another season. He'll be without his previous head coach and mentor Jim Harbaugh, who accepted the 49ers head coaching position just a few days ago. Luck's decision shakes things up as far as the draft goes, as he was expected to be the #1 overall pick.
Mel Kiper, ESPN's resident NFL draft expert and the guy with easily the most beautiful head of hair on the network (eat your heart out Kevin Negandhi), released his first mock draft yesterday. It looks pretty wide open now that Luck has taken himself off the board. It's a very hard draft to predict as there is no consensus top pick and many varying opinions on who is the top player at each position. Here's the link to Kiper's mock draft. You may need ESPN Insider to view it, so for those of you who can't view it, here's how he has the first round shaking out:
1. Panthers - Nick Fairley, DT - Auburn
2. Broncos - Patrick Peterson, CB - LSU
3. Bills - Marcell Dareus, DE - Alabama
4. Bengals - Da'Quan Bowers, DE - Clemson
5. Cardinals - Blaine Gabbert, QB - Missouri
6. Browns - A.J. Green, WR - Georgia
7. 49ers - Robert Quinn, DE - North Carolina
8. Titans - Von Miller, OLB - Texas A&M
9. Cowboys - Prince Amukamara, CB - Nebraska
10. Redskins - Cam Newton, QB - Auburn
11. Texans - Aldon Smith, OLB - Missouri
12. Vikings - Nate Solder, OT - Colorado
13. Lions - Akeem Ayers, OLB - UCLA
14. Rams - Julio Jones, WR - Alabama
15. Dolphins - Mark Ingram, RB - Alabama
16. Jaguars - Adrian Clayborn, DE - Iowa
17. Patriots (from OAK)- J.J. Watt, DE - Wisconsin
18. Chargers - Cameron Jordan, DE - California
19. Giants - Mike Pouncey, OT - Flordia
20. Buccaneers - Ryan Kerrigan, DE - Purdue
21. Chiefs - Stephen Paea, DT - Oregon State
22. Colts - Anthony Castonzo, OT - Boston College
23. Eagles - Gabe Carimi, OT -Wisconsin
24. Saints - Justin Houston, DE - Georgia
25. Seahawks - Ryan Mallet, QB - Arkansas
26. Ravens - Brandon Harris, CB - Miami
27. Falcons - Torrey Smith, WR - Maryland
28. Patriots - Mikel Leshoure, RB - Illinois
29. Packers - Christian Ballard, DE - Iowa
30. Jets - Muhammad Wilkerson, DE - Temple
31. Bears - Aaron Williams, CB - Texas
32. Steelers - Tyron Smith, OT - USC
Strange, there's really only a handful of skill position guys listed in Kiper's first round. The most significant movement is Blaine Gabbert as the #1 quarterback on the board and #5 overall pick. I originally thought the Cardinals would go after Mallett, but Gabbert looks much more NFL-ready at this point, so Kiper could be right about this one.
At 6-6, Mallett has the ideal size for an NFL quarterback and also possesses a huge arm. Before the season, Mallett was regarded as the #1 quarterback on most people's draft boards, but has played himself out of that regard with his questionable accuracy and poor decision making in some key moments this season. Yes, he does have that cannon arm, but he's kind of statuesque out there despite decent mobility. When he does scramble out of the pocket his accuracy tumbles. He just hasn't shown the ability to improvise when his first option isn't there and it led a pick to seal the game for Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl a few weeks ago.
Here's the pick from the Sugar Bowl this year, he gets pressured and just makes a bad decision:
And I had to throw in this video I found while searching the youtubes, the tweaked out intro music over Steve Beuerlein's baffled mug is worth the watch alone....
In last week's blog, I speculated that Mallett would be taken by the Cardinals who own the #5 pick in this April's draft. Gabbert, however, may be more intriguing for a team that needs a quarterback fix quickly. Just two seasons ago the Cards were headed to the Super Bowl. With Larry Fitzgerald in his prime and a few other good, young receivers on the roster in Early Doucet and Steve Breaston, the Cardinals are a good quarterback away from being relevant again. Matt Leinart was finally given up on after he spent years being groomed and Derek Anderson and Max Hall just don't look like franchise QBs. Gabbert threw for 3,186 yards and 16 touchdowns this season and led his Missouri team to a 10 win record and a win in the Insight Bowl over a very good Iowa team. He looks like he could be the most ready of the available quarterbacks to step in to an immediate role in an NFL offense. He has a solid arm, is very accurate and makes good decisions in and out of the pocket. Peep him out in this QB camp from before the season, he looks pretty good...
Then there's the X-factor. Cam Newton. He's got the size, the speed and seemingly that winning attitude that permeates arrogance but also victory. It's off-putting at times but it seems to work to his advantage. He just seems like a winner, yes an annoying, highly cocky winner, but a winner nonetheless. Think A-Rod, Kobe and even Michael Jordan. He brings that same confidence and fieriness to the table. I wouldn't be surprised at all if someone gets infatuated with his skills and personality and take him much higher than anyone expects.
At this point Gabbert seems to be in the lead between the three top QBs, but a lot will change in the next few months as players will work out for teams and be judged in the scouting combine. It's also very possible that a team will look at Mallett's superior size and arm strength and decide that they can fix his bad decision making. Or maybe a team will be unable to pass on Cam Newton's skill set. Hell, with Luck dropping out, any of these guys could go #1 to the Panthers who need a QB. Anything can still happen, that's what makes it so fun to talk about. Thanks for reading!
Mel Kiper, ESPN's resident NFL draft expert and the guy with easily the most beautiful head of hair on the network (eat your heart out Kevin Negandhi), released his first mock draft yesterday. It looks pretty wide open now that Luck has taken himself off the board. It's a very hard draft to predict as there is no consensus top pick and many varying opinions on who is the top player at each position. Here's the link to Kiper's mock draft. You may need ESPN Insider to view it, so for those of you who can't view it, here's how he has the first round shaking out:
1. Panthers - Nick Fairley, DT - Auburn
2. Broncos - Patrick Peterson, CB - LSU
3. Bills - Marcell Dareus, DE - Alabama
4. Bengals - Da'Quan Bowers, DE - Clemson
5. Cardinals - Blaine Gabbert, QB - Missouri
6. Browns - A.J. Green, WR - Georgia
7. 49ers - Robert Quinn, DE - North Carolina
8. Titans - Von Miller, OLB - Texas A&M
9. Cowboys - Prince Amukamara, CB - Nebraska
10. Redskins - Cam Newton, QB - Auburn
11. Texans - Aldon Smith, OLB - Missouri
12. Vikings - Nate Solder, OT - Colorado
13. Lions - Akeem Ayers, OLB - UCLA
14. Rams - Julio Jones, WR - Alabama
15. Dolphins - Mark Ingram, RB - Alabama
16. Jaguars - Adrian Clayborn, DE - Iowa
17. Patriots (from OAK)- J.J. Watt, DE - Wisconsin
18. Chargers - Cameron Jordan, DE - California
19. Giants - Mike Pouncey, OT - Flordia
20. Buccaneers - Ryan Kerrigan, DE - Purdue
21. Chiefs - Stephen Paea, DT - Oregon State
22. Colts - Anthony Castonzo, OT - Boston College
23. Eagles - Gabe Carimi, OT -Wisconsin
24. Saints - Justin Houston, DE - Georgia
25. Seahawks - Ryan Mallet, QB - Arkansas
26. Ravens - Brandon Harris, CB - Miami
27. Falcons - Torrey Smith, WR - Maryland
28. Patriots - Mikel Leshoure, RB - Illinois
29. Packers - Christian Ballard, DE - Iowa
30. Jets - Muhammad Wilkerson, DE - Temple
31. Bears - Aaron Williams, CB - Texas
32. Steelers - Tyron Smith, OT - USC
Strange, there's really only a handful of skill position guys listed in Kiper's first round. The most significant movement is Blaine Gabbert as the #1 quarterback on the board and #5 overall pick. I originally thought the Cardinals would go after Mallett, but Gabbert looks much more NFL-ready at this point, so Kiper could be right about this one.
At 6-6, Mallett has the ideal size for an NFL quarterback and also possesses a huge arm. Before the season, Mallett was regarded as the #1 quarterback on most people's draft boards, but has played himself out of that regard with his questionable accuracy and poor decision making in some key moments this season. Yes, he does have that cannon arm, but he's kind of statuesque out there despite decent mobility. When he does scramble out of the pocket his accuracy tumbles. He just hasn't shown the ability to improvise when his first option isn't there and it led a pick to seal the game for Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl a few weeks ago.
Here's the pick from the Sugar Bowl this year, he gets pressured and just makes a bad decision:
And I had to throw in this video I found while searching the youtubes, the tweaked out intro music over Steve Beuerlein's baffled mug is worth the watch alone....
In last week's blog, I speculated that Mallett would be taken by the Cardinals who own the #5 pick in this April's draft. Gabbert, however, may be more intriguing for a team that needs a quarterback fix quickly. Just two seasons ago the Cards were headed to the Super Bowl. With Larry Fitzgerald in his prime and a few other good, young receivers on the roster in Early Doucet and Steve Breaston, the Cardinals are a good quarterback away from being relevant again. Matt Leinart was finally given up on after he spent years being groomed and Derek Anderson and Max Hall just don't look like franchise QBs. Gabbert threw for 3,186 yards and 16 touchdowns this season and led his Missouri team to a 10 win record and a win in the Insight Bowl over a very good Iowa team. He looks like he could be the most ready of the available quarterbacks to step in to an immediate role in an NFL offense. He has a solid arm, is very accurate and makes good decisions in and out of the pocket. Peep him out in this QB camp from before the season, he looks pretty good...
Then there's the X-factor. Cam Newton. He's got the size, the speed and seemingly that winning attitude that permeates arrogance but also victory. It's off-putting at times but it seems to work to his advantage. He just seems like a winner, yes an annoying, highly cocky winner, but a winner nonetheless. Think A-Rod, Kobe and even Michael Jordan. He brings that same confidence and fieriness to the table. I wouldn't be surprised at all if someone gets infatuated with his skills and personality and take him much higher than anyone expects.
At this point Gabbert seems to be in the lead between the three top QBs, but a lot will change in the next few months as players will work out for teams and be judged in the scouting combine. It's also very possible that a team will look at Mallett's superior size and arm strength and decide that they can fix his bad decision making. Or maybe a team will be unable to pass on Cam Newton's skill set. Hell, with Luck dropping out, any of these guys could go #1 to the Panthers who need a QB. Anything can still happen, that's what makes it so fun to talk about. Thanks for reading!
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| My hair is sexier than yours. A lot sexier. |
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
After sudden playoff loss, Pats look ahead to next season
The Patriots suddenly have some big offseason questions to tackle after their tough playoff game this weekend. Some major players in the Pats system are up for new contracts or free agency this offseason.
The biggest of their expiring contracts is Logan Mankins, the Patriots pro-bowl guard. It seems like an inevitability that he will be re-signed by the team however as he is clearly the best player with an expiring contract. Some other notable expiring contracts are offensive lineman Matt Light and running backs Fred Taylor, BenJarvis Green-Ellis and Sammy Morris.
Through some shrewd trades and deft planning, the Patriots, already one of the best teams in the league, have a glut of picks in April's rookie draft. The Pats actually have two picks in each of the first three rounds, including the 17th and 28th picks in the first round and the 1st pick in the second round. That's huge. Despite having to swallow a bitter exit from the playoffs, the Pats still take comfort in the fact that they will be getting better in 2011.
Taylor and Morris probably won't be re-signed, so whether or not the Pats bring back Green-Ellis, they may have interest in a running back in the draft. I would be surprised however if they used an early pick on a running back, more likely they'll take a look at that need in the second or third round. The major needs are on the defensive side of the ball at defensive end and at linebacker, no doubt they'll address those needs with some of those early picks, and unless they can re-sign both Light and Mankins, they may need to draft an offensive lineman. The Patriots also seem to be in the market for a receiver, and with all their picks they have the luxury to use an early selection on a receiver or running back and still fill all their needs on defense. How exciting would it be if they used that #17 pick on Julio Jones? Or how about last season's Heisman winner Mark Ingram? If they do decide to go defense with that pick, maybe they go after Von Miller, the highly touted linebacker out of Texas A&M. He'd be a good fit next to Jerod Mayo in that 3-4 defense.
The Pats are also rumored to have interest in some of the bigger troublemakers in recent memory. Plaxico Burress, Chad Ochocinqo, and Vincent Jackson are all going to be available in some form or another this offseason and may get a hard look from the Pats. Burress will be released from prison in June and will try to follow Mike Vick's blueprint of rejuvenating his career post-jail stint. It's highly unlikely that they'll go after Burress but who knows. Everyone thought they were crazy when they signed Randy Moss but he was great for them and was on his best behavior, at least he was for the first few seasons. Belichick has said in the past that he likes Ochocinqo, but the much more likely target would be Jackson, who the Patriots were said to have tried to trade for during his holdout from the San Diego Chargers last season. If the Pats whiff on receivers in the draft, expect them to go after Jackson hard in the late spring/early summer before training camps start.
Speaking of Pats receivers, I really want to talk about how Belichick handled the whole Wes Welker situation last week. If you hadn't heard, Welker poked some fun at Jets' head coach Rex Ryan for his recently outed foot fetish in an interview a few days before the game. Belichick obviously wasn't enamored by Welker's jokes because he benched him for the first possession of the game and used him sparingly until it was clear the Pats needed to throw to get back in the game. It was clear from Welker's body language on the bench that he was in Belichick's doghouse, not a fun place to be I can only imagine. I think it affected his play when he did get out there as he dropped multiple balls and generally looked not himself. Sure, Brady also looked bad, but I'm not so sure that the lack of Welker's presence on the field didn't contribute to that a bit, at least early on when Welker was spending a lot of time on the bench looking like his dog just died. Who knows, but I think it did help the Jets get some early momentum and they never let go.
Oh well, it's all a moot point now, time to look forward to the draft!
The biggest of their expiring contracts is Logan Mankins, the Patriots pro-bowl guard. It seems like an inevitability that he will be re-signed by the team however as he is clearly the best player with an expiring contract. Some other notable expiring contracts are offensive lineman Matt Light and running backs Fred Taylor, BenJarvis Green-Ellis and Sammy Morris.
Through some shrewd trades and deft planning, the Patriots, already one of the best teams in the league, have a glut of picks in April's rookie draft. The Pats actually have two picks in each of the first three rounds, including the 17th and 28th picks in the first round and the 1st pick in the second round. That's huge. Despite having to swallow a bitter exit from the playoffs, the Pats still take comfort in the fact that they will be getting better in 2011.
Taylor and Morris probably won't be re-signed, so whether or not the Pats bring back Green-Ellis, they may have interest in a running back in the draft. I would be surprised however if they used an early pick on a running back, more likely they'll take a look at that need in the second or third round. The major needs are on the defensive side of the ball at defensive end and at linebacker, no doubt they'll address those needs with some of those early picks, and unless they can re-sign both Light and Mankins, they may need to draft an offensive lineman. The Patriots also seem to be in the market for a receiver, and with all their picks they have the luxury to use an early selection on a receiver or running back and still fill all their needs on defense. How exciting would it be if they used that #17 pick on Julio Jones? Or how about last season's Heisman winner Mark Ingram? If they do decide to go defense with that pick, maybe they go after Von Miller, the highly touted linebacker out of Texas A&M. He'd be a good fit next to Jerod Mayo in that 3-4 defense.
The Pats are also rumored to have interest in some of the bigger troublemakers in recent memory. Plaxico Burress, Chad Ochocinqo, and Vincent Jackson are all going to be available in some form or another this offseason and may get a hard look from the Pats. Burress will be released from prison in June and will try to follow Mike Vick's blueprint of rejuvenating his career post-jail stint. It's highly unlikely that they'll go after Burress but who knows. Everyone thought they were crazy when they signed Randy Moss but he was great for them and was on his best behavior, at least he was for the first few seasons. Belichick has said in the past that he likes Ochocinqo, but the much more likely target would be Jackson, who the Patriots were said to have tried to trade for during his holdout from the San Diego Chargers last season. If the Pats whiff on receivers in the draft, expect them to go after Jackson hard in the late spring/early summer before training camps start.
Speaking of Pats receivers, I really want to talk about how Belichick handled the whole Wes Welker situation last week. If you hadn't heard, Welker poked some fun at Jets' head coach Rex Ryan for his recently outed foot fetish in an interview a few days before the game. Belichick obviously wasn't enamored by Welker's jokes because he benched him for the first possession of the game and used him sparingly until it was clear the Pats needed to throw to get back in the game. It was clear from Welker's body language on the bench that he was in Belichick's doghouse, not a fun place to be I can only imagine. I think it affected his play when he did get out there as he dropped multiple balls and generally looked not himself. Sure, Brady also looked bad, but I'm not so sure that the lack of Welker's presence on the field didn't contribute to that a bit, at least early on when Welker was spending a lot of time on the bench looking like his dog just died. Who knows, but I think it did help the Jets get some early momentum and they never let go.
Oh well, it's all a moot point now, time to look forward to the draft!
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Good, the Bad and the Fluky
The Chicago Bears have had a cinderella season this year as they get set to face off with the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. Originally picked by many prognosticators to finish last in the NFC North behind the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings and the slowly up-and-coming Detroit Lions, the Bears cruised through their schedule en route to an 11-5 record, good enough to secure the #2 overall seed in the NFC and a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. As good as the Bears were, they did experience some lucky breaks along the way. Here's a look at how the Bears made it to this point as I examine the reasons, fluky and not-so-fluky, they were able to be so successful.
The Fluky:
The Calvin Johnson non-catch...
In the offseason leading up to the 2010 season, NFL officials made a rule that stated that when catching a pass, the receiver has to maintain possession throughout the catch if he falls. During the Bears and Lions week one game, Calvin Johnson, the star wide receiver of the Lions, made a leaping catch in the endzone with less than a minute left in the game that would have given the Lions the win. Instead, the referees interpreted the new catch rule a bit too literally as they said he didn't maintain possession throughout his fall. It was ludicrous. Johnson jumped straight up, grabbed the ball and fell onto his rear end in the endzone. He then rolled over and used the ball to prop himself up onto his feet. As he was doing this, the ball squirted out and Johnson began his celebration. He had clearly scored. Here's the play:
After deliberation, the officials ruled this a no catch and the Bears magical season was underway with a bang.
The schedule...
The Bears schedule turned out to be a big factor in their season, not that they didn't play well against the opponents they faced, but they ran into a lot of teams that were in a funk when they played. In week two, the Bears got to face off with a Cowboys team that had an incredibly slow start to the season. They won that game 27-20 when Tony Romo threw his second pick to seal the victory for the Bears. After the Packers came to town in week three and committed a franchise record 18 penalties (another break for the Bears), the Bears got crushed by the Giants and lost two very winnable games to the Seahawks and Redskins, but then put it into cruise control as they won four in a row against the Bills, the struggling Vikings, the Dolphins and the Eagles. They won the Eagles game in a hard fought battle on a horrible Soldier Field turf. The playing conditions may have been the great equalizer for Michael Vick, another lucky turn of events for the Bears. Two more cream puff games against the Lions and Vikings followed before the Bears played the Patriots and Jets as well as making a trip to Lambeau. The Bears went only 1-2 in those games. Looking back on the schedule, the Bears could actually have been better this year. They probably should have won against Seattle and Washington, which would have given them a ridiculous 13-3 record.
The Seahawks...
The final, ultimate fluky thing about the Bears season is their playoff matchup. The Seahawks finished the regular season at 7-9, pretty much making the playoffs on a formality. Sure, the Seahawks did pull off an awesome win against the world champion Saints last week, and Marshawn Lynch went absolutely ham, but the Bears have to be excited. I actually wonder who is more excited... the Seahawks for being in the divisional round? Or the Bears for getting them?
The not-so-fluky:
Special teams...
The Bears looked like the 2006 super bowl run Bears on special teams this year. The mid-season decision to let Devin Hester return to focusing primarily on punt returns was an enormous move and you have to credit Lovie Smith for having the footballs to make it. Once again, opposing punters were scared to kick to him and that really helped the Bears in the field position game all throughout the second half of the season. When he did get his chances, he made the most out of them. Hester broke an NFL record this year with the 14th return TD in his career. Anyone just madly in love with this guy like I am? Serious bro-crush...
That play was the first return touchdown Hester had taken back in two years. It was a huge turning point in the season for them when Hester got his groove back.
Mike Martz...
Early in the year, it looked like Mike Martz may not make it through the season. He was calling his typical 50 passes per game and the offense had zero balance. After the Giants game in which Cutler was sacked an amazing ten times and concussed in the process, I really thought the Mike Martz experiment was going to be over in a hurry. But coming out of the team's Halloween weekend bye week, the Bears suddenly got more balance. I'm not sure if this was Martz smartening up or Lovie forcing the strategy on to him, but either way, I give Martz credit for executing it. The Bears all of a sudden were looking like the Bears of old, running the ball a ton with Matt Forte, who had one of the more productive second halves of any back in the league. In the seven games before the Bears week eight bye week, Forte averaged 50 yards rushing a game. In the nine games after their bye week, the Bears got Forte going for 79 yards per game. Getting the ground game really working was a big turning point and it opened up space for Martz to work his passing genius.
Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher...
The two "new" additions have played well. Yes, Urlacher has been a Bear for forever but he was injured for the entire year last year after fracturing his wrist in the season opener. So getting him back has been an instant boost to the defense.
When the Bears got Peppers this past offseason, I thought it would improve the team, but I had no clue how nasty Peppers was going to be this year. I guess I kind of underestimated him, even though he has always been a huge favorite of mine. I used to watch him in Carolina and drooled over him, but the past few seasons I think he was a bit bored down there. The Panthers have been slowly melting down the last few seasons and it has got to be hard going out every week, knowing you're going to lose, and still playing at a pro-bowl level. I'm not saying he was taking plays off or anything, but I do think that playing for a contending team raises the level of play of an elite player. Peppers is an elite player, and he seems reinvigorated. Because of his elite play, he has been drawing double coverage in the run and the pass game all year, which has opened up lanes to attack opposing offenses in their backfields. He keeps you in games and he is the difference between a good defense and a dominant one. Now with Urlacher's sideline to sideline speed back on the field and Peppers causing hell at the line of scrimmage, the team improved their team defense significantly from the 2009 season. The defense has risen from 17th to 9th in yards per game against, and from 21st to 4th in points allowed.
The Fluky:
The Calvin Johnson non-catch...
In the offseason leading up to the 2010 season, NFL officials made a rule that stated that when catching a pass, the receiver has to maintain possession throughout the catch if he falls. During the Bears and Lions week one game, Calvin Johnson, the star wide receiver of the Lions, made a leaping catch in the endzone with less than a minute left in the game that would have given the Lions the win. Instead, the referees interpreted the new catch rule a bit too literally as they said he didn't maintain possession throughout his fall. It was ludicrous. Johnson jumped straight up, grabbed the ball and fell onto his rear end in the endzone. He then rolled over and used the ball to prop himself up onto his feet. As he was doing this, the ball squirted out and Johnson began his celebration. He had clearly scored. Here's the play:
After deliberation, the officials ruled this a no catch and the Bears magical season was underway with a bang.
The schedule...
The Bears schedule turned out to be a big factor in their season, not that they didn't play well against the opponents they faced, but they ran into a lot of teams that were in a funk when they played. In week two, the Bears got to face off with a Cowboys team that had an incredibly slow start to the season. They won that game 27-20 when Tony Romo threw his second pick to seal the victory for the Bears. After the Packers came to town in week three and committed a franchise record 18 penalties (another break for the Bears), the Bears got crushed by the Giants and lost two very winnable games to the Seahawks and Redskins, but then put it into cruise control as they won four in a row against the Bills, the struggling Vikings, the Dolphins and the Eagles. They won the Eagles game in a hard fought battle on a horrible Soldier Field turf. The playing conditions may have been the great equalizer for Michael Vick, another lucky turn of events for the Bears. Two more cream puff games against the Lions and Vikings followed before the Bears played the Patriots and Jets as well as making a trip to Lambeau. The Bears went only 1-2 in those games. Looking back on the schedule, the Bears could actually have been better this year. They probably should have won against Seattle and Washington, which would have given them a ridiculous 13-3 record.
The Seahawks...
The final, ultimate fluky thing about the Bears season is their playoff matchup. The Seahawks finished the regular season at 7-9, pretty much making the playoffs on a formality. Sure, the Seahawks did pull off an awesome win against the world champion Saints last week, and Marshawn Lynch went absolutely ham, but the Bears have to be excited. I actually wonder who is more excited... the Seahawks for being in the divisional round? Or the Bears for getting them?
The not-so-fluky:
Special teams...
The Bears looked like the 2006 super bowl run Bears on special teams this year. The mid-season decision to let Devin Hester return to focusing primarily on punt returns was an enormous move and you have to credit Lovie Smith for having the footballs to make it. Once again, opposing punters were scared to kick to him and that really helped the Bears in the field position game all throughout the second half of the season. When he did get his chances, he made the most out of them. Hester broke an NFL record this year with the 14th return TD in his career. Anyone just madly in love with this guy like I am? Serious bro-crush...
That play was the first return touchdown Hester had taken back in two years. It was a huge turning point in the season for them when Hester got his groove back.
Mike Martz...
Early in the year, it looked like Mike Martz may not make it through the season. He was calling his typical 50 passes per game and the offense had zero balance. After the Giants game in which Cutler was sacked an amazing ten times and concussed in the process, I really thought the Mike Martz experiment was going to be over in a hurry. But coming out of the team's Halloween weekend bye week, the Bears suddenly got more balance. I'm not sure if this was Martz smartening up or Lovie forcing the strategy on to him, but either way, I give Martz credit for executing it. The Bears all of a sudden were looking like the Bears of old, running the ball a ton with Matt Forte, who had one of the more productive second halves of any back in the league. In the seven games before the Bears week eight bye week, Forte averaged 50 yards rushing a game. In the nine games after their bye week, the Bears got Forte going for 79 yards per game. Getting the ground game really working was a big turning point and it opened up space for Martz to work his passing genius.
Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher...
The two "new" additions have played well. Yes, Urlacher has been a Bear for forever but he was injured for the entire year last year after fracturing his wrist in the season opener. So getting him back has been an instant boost to the defense.
When the Bears got Peppers this past offseason, I thought it would improve the team, but I had no clue how nasty Peppers was going to be this year. I guess I kind of underestimated him, even though he has always been a huge favorite of mine. I used to watch him in Carolina and drooled over him, but the past few seasons I think he was a bit bored down there. The Panthers have been slowly melting down the last few seasons and it has got to be hard going out every week, knowing you're going to lose, and still playing at a pro-bowl level. I'm not saying he was taking plays off or anything, but I do think that playing for a contending team raises the level of play of an elite player. Peppers is an elite player, and he seems reinvigorated. Because of his elite play, he has been drawing double coverage in the run and the pass game all year, which has opened up lanes to attack opposing offenses in their backfields. He keeps you in games and he is the difference between a good defense and a dominant one. Now with Urlacher's sideline to sideline speed back on the field and Peppers causing hell at the line of scrimmage, the team improved their team defense significantly from the 2009 season. The defense has risen from 17th to 9th in yards per game against, and from 21st to 4th in points allowed.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
2011 NFL draft prospects - Where will they land?
Cam Newton's Auburn Tigers won the BCS National Championship Monday night over Oregon, but does anyone outside of Auburn, Alabama actually like this guy? Sure he's a smug little prick, but he's pretty good. The question now is whether or not he's good enough to be successful in the NFL. With the deadline to declare for the 2011 NFL draft on Saturday, a decision will be coming in the next few days. My sense is that he will come out. Following a season in which he had, 2,854 passing yards with 30 touchdowns along with 1,400+ yards on the ground and another 20 rushing touchdowns, I think he realizes his stock is fairly high right now.
He is being projected to go in the first round, not in the top ten, but soon after. I think it's safe to say that Cam's father is pushing him to go get paid as well. How good he'll be is anyone's guess at this point. He has great size and skills. At 6-6, 250 pounds, he is the perfect size for a quarterback, and he does have a really strong arm. He could be the next Daunte Culpepper (in his Viking days), or he could be the next JaMarcus Russell. Only time and NFL games will tell the story. A lot of teams are in the market for a signal caller... The Titans just ousted Vince Young and Kerry Collins is nearing mummification status. The Vikings may or not be content to let Tavaris Jackson be the guy, the Cardinals are also in dire need along with the Panthers. Other teams who may give him a look include the Jaguars, Raiders, Bills, 49ers and Dolphins.
I've been thinking a lot about where Newton and some other exciting prospects may be good fits in the league. The draft, which happens at the end of April, is looking like a pretty good one. There are some real talented guys that are gonna be coming into the league. Here are my projected landing spots for some of the draft's hottest players.
Andrew Luck, QB - Stanford: Is he coming out? He'd be stupid not too. Right now, he says he's staying, but that could still change by Saturday, it's unlikely but it would be the smart thing to do in my opinion. If he does, he'll likely be the #1 overall pick by the Carolina Panthers. The Jimmy Clausen experiment seemed to be a bust last season and Luck, with the help of Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, has been unbelievable. If he doesn't come out, he could be playing without his mentor, Harbaugh is being courted currently by Michigan, his alma mater. He is also being offered a job by the San Francisco 49ers, who recently canned his ex-teammate, Mike Singletary. Luck could also be possibly leaving millions on the table if he decides to stay at Stanford and underwhelms next season or gets hurt.
If Luck decides to stay, the Panthers would have to find a plan B. They could take A.J. Green, the consensus #1 wide receiver in the draft. He's fast and big and run good routes, and the Panthers clearly need a boost at the position, but that seems a bit high to take a wideout. Not sure if there has ever been a receiver picked at #1 before, but it seems unlikely here. More than likely, the Panthers would either trade down and go after another quarterback in the middle of the round, perhaps Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri, or they could go after one of the big defensive players in the draft, Da'Quan Bowers and Nick Fairley.
Da'Quan Bowers, DE - Clemson: This guy is a beast. He can get to the quarterback in a hurry. At 6-4, 280 he's got incredible size, he is also very quick and has great footwork and good ball-hawking instincts. The Denver Broncos have the #2 pick in the draft and ranked dead last in the league with a measly 23 sacks. I think this is going to be a no-brainer for them, although they could go after Nick Fairley from Auburn. Fairley though, is more of a run stopper while Bowers is the pure pass rusher. Pretty certain the Broncos will swoop up Bowers at the #2 pick. Watch him come bursting in to the mix in on this play:
Tell me the Broncos couldn't use that type of explosiveness coming off the edge. He'll be good from the get go I think.
Nick Fairley, DT - Auburn: If you watched the BCS championship game, you had to have noticed this guy. His presence in the middle of the defensive line was the difference in the game. He absolutely stuffed Heisman candidate LaMichael James all game, and he was nasty about it. Any chance he got he made sure he fell on top of the ballcarrier and even gave LaMike some extra curricular face shoving into the grass at one point:
This guy is a scary motherfucker. He's the type of dude you want on your team, not staring you in the face waiting to lay his 6-4, 298 pound frame out on top of you. A lot of people seem to think that the Buffalo Bills will take a hard look at Ryan Mallett with their pick at #3, and I'm sure they will. I think in the end, however, that they will look to shore up their defensive front, which ranked dead last year against the run. Nick Fairley will be hard to pass on for the Bills, and I think they will give Ryan Fitzpatrick another shot to lock down the quarterback job in 2011. Fitzpatrick actually showed some flashes last year, and being a Harvard graduate, he can always out think you.
Ryan Mallett, QB - Arkansas: The Matt Leinart/ Derek Anderson experiment last season went haywire. Arizona Cardinals fans were hoping Kurt Warner would come back to the team by the end of the first game of the year. They have a pretty nice, young group of guys over there in Arizona, it was only a few years ago that they were gearing up for their cinderella super bowl run. But they need a QB. If Mallett is there, I think it'll be an easy choice for GM Rod Graves and head coach Ken Whisenhunt. There are some questions surrounding Mallet's decision making after he threw an interception against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl that put the nail in Arkansas' chances of winning. Some also criticize his arm stegth, saying he can't get the ball downfield. I still think though that Arizona will see enough in Mallett to justify drafting him with their #5 pick.
A.J. Green, WR - Georgia: He's got it all: tremendous ups, blazing speed, and 6-4, 200+ pound size. A.J. Green is going to be a top ten pick, he's the best wide receiver in the draft and looks like he has NFL-ready talent. There's a chance the Bengals snatch him at the #4 pick, but I have a feeling they're going to go defensive instead. That leaves the door wide open for the Browns. The Browns were actually decent this year. Colt McCoy looked like he was up to the challenge of the fierce AFC North, and Peyton Hillis surprised everyone as he was on of the best runners in the league. They could use someone to throw to though. Enter A.J. Green. The kid would likely be the opening day #1 for them. I can only imagine how much he would open up the field for Hillis in the run game. With a legitimate threat out wide, defenses would have to respect Green, giving Hillis more space to run up the middle. Green is one of my favorite players in the draft, take a look at some of his highlights from this past season.
Sick right? Yeah, I'm thinking he sneaks down to Cleveland at the #6 pick and goes no further.
Prince Amukamara, CB - Nebraska: The nickname Amukamara Island may not be as catchy as Revis Island, but this kid has the stuff. The best cornerback available in the draft, Amukamara also boasts the coolest name. The Lions need conerback help bad, they got abused by the pass all season. Amukamara should be available at #13 when the Lions select, and if he is, the Lions' front office will be doing victory laps around the conference room. Check out some highlights from the Huskers '09 game against Texas...
Cam Newton, QB - Auburn: Where's he going to land? While most scouts agree he is a first round talent, I've heard many also say they wouldn't touch him in the first round. I guess he's more of a question mark than the other QBs on the board, and it remains to be seen if his power running style can translate to the bigtime. Someone is going to take a flier on him though, for sure. It will probably be after the top QBs go, Luck (if he enters), Mallett and Gabbert. If Luck doesn't enter the draft, which it looks like he won't, that could propel Newton's value up. I'm thinking he will go in the middle of the first round. #15 seems a bit early, I know, but I think that the Miami Dolphins may have some interest. He seems like a good fit with their wildcat offense and they got rid of Pat White last year, a guy they drafted in the second round. Add to that the inconsistent play of Chad Henne and we have the makings of a glove-like fit. What other city could embrace Newton's bloated personality? Yep, I'm thinking Newton to the Dolphins at #15.
douchebag!^^^
He is being projected to go in the first round, not in the top ten, but soon after. I think it's safe to say that Cam's father is pushing him to go get paid as well. How good he'll be is anyone's guess at this point. He has great size and skills. At 6-6, 250 pounds, he is the perfect size for a quarterback, and he does have a really strong arm. He could be the next Daunte Culpepper (in his Viking days), or he could be the next JaMarcus Russell. Only time and NFL games will tell the story. A lot of teams are in the market for a signal caller... The Titans just ousted Vince Young and Kerry Collins is nearing mummification status. The Vikings may or not be content to let Tavaris Jackson be the guy, the Cardinals are also in dire need along with the Panthers. Other teams who may give him a look include the Jaguars, Raiders, Bills, 49ers and Dolphins.
I've been thinking a lot about where Newton and some other exciting prospects may be good fits in the league. The draft, which happens at the end of April, is looking like a pretty good one. There are some real talented guys that are gonna be coming into the league. Here are my projected landing spots for some of the draft's hottest players.
Andrew Luck, QB - Stanford: Is he coming out? He'd be stupid not too. Right now, he says he's staying, but that could still change by Saturday, it's unlikely but it would be the smart thing to do in my opinion. If he does, he'll likely be the #1 overall pick by the Carolina Panthers. The Jimmy Clausen experiment seemed to be a bust last season and Luck, with the help of Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, has been unbelievable. If he doesn't come out, he could be playing without his mentor, Harbaugh is being courted currently by Michigan, his alma mater. He is also being offered a job by the San Francisco 49ers, who recently canned his ex-teammate, Mike Singletary. Luck could also be possibly leaving millions on the table if he decides to stay at Stanford and underwhelms next season or gets hurt.
If Luck decides to stay, the Panthers would have to find a plan B. They could take A.J. Green, the consensus #1 wide receiver in the draft. He's fast and big and run good routes, and the Panthers clearly need a boost at the position, but that seems a bit high to take a wideout. Not sure if there has ever been a receiver picked at #1 before, but it seems unlikely here. More than likely, the Panthers would either trade down and go after another quarterback in the middle of the round, perhaps Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri, or they could go after one of the big defensive players in the draft, Da'Quan Bowers and Nick Fairley.
Da'Quan Bowers, DE - Clemson: This guy is a beast. He can get to the quarterback in a hurry. At 6-4, 280 he's got incredible size, he is also very quick and has great footwork and good ball-hawking instincts. The Denver Broncos have the #2 pick in the draft and ranked dead last in the league with a measly 23 sacks. I think this is going to be a no-brainer for them, although they could go after Nick Fairley from Auburn. Fairley though, is more of a run stopper while Bowers is the pure pass rusher. Pretty certain the Broncos will swoop up Bowers at the #2 pick. Watch him come bursting in to the mix in on this play:
Tell me the Broncos couldn't use that type of explosiveness coming off the edge. He'll be good from the get go I think.
Nick Fairley, DT - Auburn: If you watched the BCS championship game, you had to have noticed this guy. His presence in the middle of the defensive line was the difference in the game. He absolutely stuffed Heisman candidate LaMichael James all game, and he was nasty about it. Any chance he got he made sure he fell on top of the ballcarrier and even gave LaMike some extra curricular face shoving into the grass at one point:
This guy is a scary motherfucker. He's the type of dude you want on your team, not staring you in the face waiting to lay his 6-4, 298 pound frame out on top of you. A lot of people seem to think that the Buffalo Bills will take a hard look at Ryan Mallett with their pick at #3, and I'm sure they will. I think in the end, however, that they will look to shore up their defensive front, which ranked dead last year against the run. Nick Fairley will be hard to pass on for the Bills, and I think they will give Ryan Fitzpatrick another shot to lock down the quarterback job in 2011. Fitzpatrick actually showed some flashes last year, and being a Harvard graduate, he can always out think you.
Ryan Mallett, QB - Arkansas: The Matt Leinart/ Derek Anderson experiment last season went haywire. Arizona Cardinals fans were hoping Kurt Warner would come back to the team by the end of the first game of the year. They have a pretty nice, young group of guys over there in Arizona, it was only a few years ago that they were gearing up for their cinderella super bowl run. But they need a QB. If Mallett is there, I think it'll be an easy choice for GM Rod Graves and head coach Ken Whisenhunt. There are some questions surrounding Mallet's decision making after he threw an interception against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl that put the nail in Arkansas' chances of winning. Some also criticize his arm stegth, saying he can't get the ball downfield. I still think though that Arizona will see enough in Mallett to justify drafting him with their #5 pick.
A.J. Green, WR - Georgia: He's got it all: tremendous ups, blazing speed, and 6-4, 200+ pound size. A.J. Green is going to be a top ten pick, he's the best wide receiver in the draft and looks like he has NFL-ready talent. There's a chance the Bengals snatch him at the #4 pick, but I have a feeling they're going to go defensive instead. That leaves the door wide open for the Browns. The Browns were actually decent this year. Colt McCoy looked like he was up to the challenge of the fierce AFC North, and Peyton Hillis surprised everyone as he was on of the best runners in the league. They could use someone to throw to though. Enter A.J. Green. The kid would likely be the opening day #1 for them. I can only imagine how much he would open up the field for Hillis in the run game. With a legitimate threat out wide, defenses would have to respect Green, giving Hillis more space to run up the middle. Green is one of my favorite players in the draft, take a look at some of his highlights from this past season.
Sick right? Yeah, I'm thinking he sneaks down to Cleveland at the #6 pick and goes no further.
Prince Amukamara, CB - Nebraska: The nickname Amukamara Island may not be as catchy as Revis Island, but this kid has the stuff. The best cornerback available in the draft, Amukamara also boasts the coolest name. The Lions need conerback help bad, they got abused by the pass all season. Amukamara should be available at #13 when the Lions select, and if he is, the Lions' front office will be doing victory laps around the conference room. Check out some highlights from the Huskers '09 game against Texas...
Cam Newton, QB - Auburn: Where's he going to land? While most scouts agree he is a first round talent, I've heard many also say they wouldn't touch him in the first round. I guess he's more of a question mark than the other QBs on the board, and it remains to be seen if his power running style can translate to the bigtime. Someone is going to take a flier on him though, for sure. It will probably be after the top QBs go, Luck (if he enters), Mallett and Gabbert. If Luck doesn't enter the draft, which it looks like he won't, that could propel Newton's value up. I'm thinking he will go in the middle of the first round. #15 seems a bit early, I know, but I think that the Miami Dolphins may have some interest. He seems like a good fit with their wildcat offense and they got rid of Pat White last year, a guy they drafted in the second round. Add to that the inconsistent play of Chad Henne and we have the makings of a glove-like fit. What other city could embrace Newton's bloated personality? Yep, I'm thinking Newton to the Dolphins at #15.
douchebag!^^^
Monday, January 10, 2011
Mike Vick: The Dogfighter, The Superstar, The Enigma...
Mike Vick and the Eagles were knocked out of the playoffs last night by the streaking Packers. Yesterday I wrote about Marshawn Lynch and his sudden rise from near irrelevance, a similar story to Vick's.
In August 2007, after pleading guilty to federal charges for his role in the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting operation, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison. His pay was suspended for the upcoming year and he was suspended from the NFL indefinitely. The Falcons also demanded that Vick reimburse them 20 million of his 37 million dollar signing bonus, citing that his illegal activities were a breach of his contract. The case went to arbitration and Vick was ordered to return 19.7 million back to the Falcons. With the loss of his NFL salary and his product endorsement deals, Vick filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and was cut by the Falcons after the team tried unsuccessfully to trade him.
No one wanted him, he had brutally killed innocent dogs and everyone knew it. There wasn't a dog lover in this country who wouldn't have punched this guy in the face if they could, and he had to sit in jail for two years thinking about it.
Fast forward to today. Sure, Vick lost last night and I'm sure he's bummed about it, but he's about to become a free agent and is in line for a huge payday. Any and every team in the NFL who doesn't have a franchise quarterback wants him and he'll be answering a lot of phone calls this offseason. Vick has said that he would like to resign with Philadelphia and that he feels loyalty to the only team who gave him a second shot. But some have speculated that the Eagles' managament may want to see Vick do it again for one more year before they sign him to a huge multi-year deal.
That seems odd to me, but I guess given Vick's injury and criminal history, it is natural to be hesitant to sign the farm over to keep him around. Vick isn't getting any younger, he'll be 31 at the start of next year's NFL season and he could start to decline in skills at some point. But Vick looked so fast this season and it doesn't feel like he'll be losing that step anytime soon. Plus, after missing a few years of NFL play while in jail, Vick has avoided a lot of wear and tear that would normally slow down a player like himself by age 30. If the Eagles really don't offer Vick a long term deal and try to get him to sign a one year deal, he may use that opportunity to rescind his allegiance to the Eagles and jump ship for free agency. I'm sure Vick wants to strike while he can, and who's to say that he will sustain his level of play throughout next year and be as hot a commodity as he is now. Injury could also strike. The fact is, Vick is going to want a big deal now, and he deserves it.
The amazing part of this whole story to me is how far Vick has come in the public eye. In just over a year, he has gone from a monster to one of the greatest comeback stories of our time. What is it about Vick that makes him so forgivable? I think that it's a few things. One, the guys does things out there that no one else can. That makes him special to us. I mean, I doubt we'd care if Rex Grossman had been the one arrested for dogfighting. We'd probably just have discarded him from our minds by now and if anyone ever mentioned his name, we'd say something like, "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that guy. What an asshole." Then go back to never thinking about him again. The difference with Vick is that there is no one else who can do what he does. The quickness, the runs, the cannon arm, that slingshot delivery that makes us drool. The other thing I think, is, Vick is genuinely a likable guy. When all the dogfighting shit was hitting the fan, I kept getting the overwhelming sense that Vick had gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd. That he wasn't the bad guy, but had simply fallen in with some misguided friends. Whether this is true or not I don't know, it probably isn't, but it doesn't matter. The bottom line is, something about me, and I think about a lot of people out there, wants to forgive Vick.
I mean, I had a hard time with this all myself being a huge dog person. I've had dogs my whole life and adore them. I've also been a fan of Vick ever since he made it into the league after Chris Chandler got injured. When Kevin Kolb, the 2010 starting quarterback for the Eagles and also my fantasy team, got injured this year, I got in touch with my buddy to trade for Vick. I had forgiven the guy by this point and my fantasy title comes far before my moral standpoints. Call me misguided but the guy had served his time, right? When my girlfriend caught wind of my plans she told me i needed to have a conversation with our dog, Ben, before i could do it. She wasn't so quick to forgive as I was... but then again, she wasn't really familiar with Vick's skill set...
Only a guy who can do things like this could play his way back into the NFL, and into our hearts.
In August 2007, after pleading guilty to federal charges for his role in the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting operation, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison. His pay was suspended for the upcoming year and he was suspended from the NFL indefinitely. The Falcons also demanded that Vick reimburse them 20 million of his 37 million dollar signing bonus, citing that his illegal activities were a breach of his contract. The case went to arbitration and Vick was ordered to return 19.7 million back to the Falcons. With the loss of his NFL salary and his product endorsement deals, Vick filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and was cut by the Falcons after the team tried unsuccessfully to trade him.
No one wanted him, he had brutally killed innocent dogs and everyone knew it. There wasn't a dog lover in this country who wouldn't have punched this guy in the face if they could, and he had to sit in jail for two years thinking about it.
Fast forward to today. Sure, Vick lost last night and I'm sure he's bummed about it, but he's about to become a free agent and is in line for a huge payday. Any and every team in the NFL who doesn't have a franchise quarterback wants him and he'll be answering a lot of phone calls this offseason. Vick has said that he would like to resign with Philadelphia and that he feels loyalty to the only team who gave him a second shot. But some have speculated that the Eagles' managament may want to see Vick do it again for one more year before they sign him to a huge multi-year deal.
That seems odd to me, but I guess given Vick's injury and criminal history, it is natural to be hesitant to sign the farm over to keep him around. Vick isn't getting any younger, he'll be 31 at the start of next year's NFL season and he could start to decline in skills at some point. But Vick looked so fast this season and it doesn't feel like he'll be losing that step anytime soon. Plus, after missing a few years of NFL play while in jail, Vick has avoided a lot of wear and tear that would normally slow down a player like himself by age 30. If the Eagles really don't offer Vick a long term deal and try to get him to sign a one year deal, he may use that opportunity to rescind his allegiance to the Eagles and jump ship for free agency. I'm sure Vick wants to strike while he can, and who's to say that he will sustain his level of play throughout next year and be as hot a commodity as he is now. Injury could also strike. The fact is, Vick is going to want a big deal now, and he deserves it.
The amazing part of this whole story to me is how far Vick has come in the public eye. In just over a year, he has gone from a monster to one of the greatest comeback stories of our time. What is it about Vick that makes him so forgivable? I think that it's a few things. One, the guys does things out there that no one else can. That makes him special to us. I mean, I doubt we'd care if Rex Grossman had been the one arrested for dogfighting. We'd probably just have discarded him from our minds by now and if anyone ever mentioned his name, we'd say something like, "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that guy. What an asshole." Then go back to never thinking about him again. The difference with Vick is that there is no one else who can do what he does. The quickness, the runs, the cannon arm, that slingshot delivery that makes us drool. The other thing I think, is, Vick is genuinely a likable guy. When all the dogfighting shit was hitting the fan, I kept getting the overwhelming sense that Vick had gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd. That he wasn't the bad guy, but had simply fallen in with some misguided friends. Whether this is true or not I don't know, it probably isn't, but it doesn't matter. The bottom line is, something about me, and I think about a lot of people out there, wants to forgive Vick.
I mean, I had a hard time with this all myself being a huge dog person. I've had dogs my whole life and adore them. I've also been a fan of Vick ever since he made it into the league after Chris Chandler got injured. When Kevin Kolb, the 2010 starting quarterback for the Eagles and also my fantasy team, got injured this year, I got in touch with my buddy to trade for Vick. I had forgiven the guy by this point and my fantasy title comes far before my moral standpoints. Call me misguided but the guy had served his time, right? When my girlfriend caught wind of my plans she told me i needed to have a conversation with our dog, Ben, before i could do it. She wasn't so quick to forgive as I was... but then again, she wasn't really familiar with Vick's skill set...
Only a guy who can do things like this could play his way back into the NFL, and into our hearts.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Marshawn Lynch enters altered beast mode
Well if you haven't heard yet, Marshawn Lynch ripped off possibly the sickest run in NFL history last night against the world champion Saints. I for one wasn't a believer in Marshawn anymore, in fact I was clowning on the guy a bunch earlier in the game, saying I couldn't believe Marshawn's buster ass was in the playoffs. Sure I used to love the guy, but he hasn't gone into his patented beastmode in what seems like years. Until..
Okay, that was actually Altered Beast from our Sega Genesis days... the boss at the end is the embodiment of Tracy Porter's pride. For real though, here's the video, Marshawn was definitely powering up with each broken tackle, peep it out...
He was touched by eight defenders en route to what people are calling the greatest run in playoff history. It's definitely the best run I've ever seen, playoffs or regular season. Maybe Knute Rockne or Dick Butkus had a better run back in the Bronze Age or something, but as far as I've ever seen, Marshawn's run last night reset the bar. I guess what I'm saying is, whether or not it was the greatest run ever, it was most certainly my favorite. The way he abuses Tracy Porter is obscene. Add in the fact that Marshawn was stuck in the doghouse in Buffalo for nearly two full seasons then traded. It must have been an amazing, redemptive feeling for him. My absolute favorite part of the whole thing was after the game, when they asked Marshawn about the run, he said, "It was fun." Yeah, I bet it was fun, haha!
My previous favorite run was the Michael Vick touchdown run in overtime from 2003 against the Vikings...
Haha! I love how he runs right into the locker room, then comes back out to celebrate some more. Actually, who am I fooling, we all know that this is the greatest NFL run of all time:
Please reply and post some of your favorite NFL runs!
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