Category: Football

The NFL’s handling of the 400 or so fans at the Super Bowl is officially awful. It’s just been a slow motion train wreck ever since word first leaked that there was a problem. It’s very unfortunate as well because it was really a fantastic game that capped off a great season of football. People will unfortunately remember this aspect of the game as much as the play on the field.

With $9 billion in revenue, the owners could pay each of these people their annual salary as compensation and it would barely dent the bottom line. But the fantastic wealth that owners enjoy didn’t come to them because they gave stuff away and I suspect that’s what we’re seeing in action here. It’s “penny-wise, pound foolish” personified. The thing is that the fans will get what they want in the end. There’s no other way for it to end, and the owner’s will only cement into the public conscience the massive PR hit every day they delay. Throw in the methodical nature that owners conduct NFL business so as to wring every last penny from their fan base and there’s just no excuse I can imagine.

On a slightly sadder note and zooming out a little, I wonder if we haven’t witnessed a peak in the game. The NFL enjoyed the most successful ratings season ever this year. The Super Bowl was the highest rated TV event in history (it eclipsed MASH and two previous Super Bowls). The playoffs were full of compelling games that were watchable to the end.

But now they’ve botched a fan-relationship; they’ve got a labor dispute on their hands; they’ve got lingering safety issues related to the game that most people believe they are unserious about. In short, they’ve got some major hurdles to deal with right now that will require difficult solutions. Including the very real threat of a shortened season. And make no mistake, a shortened season due to disagreements between millionaires and almost-billionaires will not set well with fans. See the last baseball strike. It will set the game back.

Uncertain times for America’s game. No doubt about it.

Via deadspin, here’s a trick shot video featuring UConn’s backup QB.

I’d like to know how many times some of those shots took. Particularly the ones in Gampel Pavillion. Even so, WOW.

The next question is: can he do that sort of thing with 280 pound defensive lineman breathing down his neck?

It’s Super Bowl Sunday.

May the best team win, as long as it isn’t the Steelers.

Well, I only went 1 for 2 this weekend. Frankly, my 1 wasn’t the one I preferred. There just isn’t any reality in which I can root for the Steelers. I felt all year long that they over achieved. That’s likely what makes them so dangerous. On paper, it seems like their beatable. On the field, it’s a little harder. Perhaps the Jets were just too flat.

So given that, the question is, do I change my pick for a Super Bowl winner? It’s very tempting. Frnakly, I’ve got that nagging doubt in the back of my mind telling me not to bet against the Steelers in a Super Bowl. Especially with their defense. That said, the one kind of offense that has been successful against the Steelers this year is the kind of offense Green Bay is capable of playing. Further, Aaron Rodgers has been the best QB in the playoffs by far.

So, I’m going to stick with my Green Bay prediction. But I won’t be surprised in the slightest if the Steelers win again.

Oh, about the whole Jay Cutler brouhaha. All the objective evidence points to the fact the he’s a tough cookie. No, he wasn’t playing well. But all of his teammates (well, at least those quoted) had his back unequivocally. He’s taken more sacks and missed one game due to doctor’s orders (a concussion). Even former Denver teammates had nothing but positives to say.

I’d like to see Peter King or the guys at profootballtalk.com type on a keyboard with a torn MCL. My guess is they wouldn’t even make it to work. Let alone try to get out there and play football on it.

In my previous post on football, I picked the Packers to win it all. Since then, I’ve noticed a lot of media people jumping on the bandwagon, talking about how great the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers particularly, are playing. I’ve even seen reports that Brett Favre thinks they’re the best team left in the playoffs.

If it gets much worse, I may have to rethink my pick. I think it was pretty clear that the Jets’ motivation was fed by the media narrative surrounding their game with the Patriots.

In other news, Patriot fans are sinking to new levels of pathetic. They’re blaming Belichik’s decision to bench Wes Welker for the opening series of the game this passed weekend for the loss. Truly, unbelievably, pathetic. Did any of those guys recall that the Pat’s opening drive marched right down the field and ended in a Brady pick? The mindset actually highlights one of my biggest pet peeves about most fans of winning teams- they assume that the reason for losses had nothing to do with the other team.

HAH! 8 playoff games and I’m 6-2. Not bad. The two I whiffed could easily have gone the other way. Let’s just call it 8-0 for the heck-of-it.

I didn’t see the Patriots game because I was watching the rest of the family skate. But reading the little bit of commentary out there, Pats’ fans have nothing to go on. They flat out got whupped and their golden boy Brady coughed up a stinker exactly when he supposedly never does. My guess is the New England sphincter reflexively tightened when Brady threw the pick on their first possession. Oh well. At least they beat the Jets 45-3 back in the regular season!

So with that, two more games:

• Packers over the Bears
• Jets over the Steelers

Meaning the Packers will be the eventual Super Bowl champs.

See how easy this is?

So Wes Welker does a little media appearance yesterday and everyone walks away dazzled at the number of times he used the words “feet” or “foot.” My initial reaction was that this non-story had to be the silliest sports media coverage of all time.

Then I remembered- they’re playing the Jets. Who are coached by Rex Ryan. Whom, it has been revealed, has a foot fetish.

And now it not only makes sense, but I think it’s the most brilliant bit of trash talking of all time.

So, not too bad for taking a minute to make predictions. The only game I missed was the one where the team with a losing record for the season beat the team with a winning record. I think that’s forgivable.

So that sets up the 4 divisional games:

• the Ravens over the Steelers
• the Jets over the Patriots
• the Packers over Atlanta
• the Bears over the Seahawks

As a bonus, I fearlessly predict that Oregon will beat Auburn tonight.

Clearly, we all have to root for the Seahawks. Because even though they lost more games than they won (But HEY! They won their division!), by winning the Super Bowl they will definitively prove that they are the best team in football.

Incidentally, doesn’t this show why a playoff in college football would never really solve the purported problem that the polls and BCS aren’t solving? I’ll be more blunt- the problem of choosing the best team can’t be solved because on any given day, a no-win bunch of losers can have fate smile upon them for an afternoon. Even against the supposed best team in the country.

No in depth analysis; no litany of BS about what coach or player is causing some drama that might have an effect on the game. In fact, this while line of commentary you’re reading at the moment is my only attempt at fluff for my Wild Card predictions. For all the goofballs out there crunching numbers on Cray Supercomputers, allow me to demonstrate just how easy it is to make predictions:

• Saints beat Seahawks
• Jets beat Colts
• Ravens beat Chiefs
• Packers beat Eagles

There, see how simple that is? Maybe I can get a job as a professional opinion giver…

First, nothing to do with the game, can these TV guys possibly kiss Joe Paterno’s rear anymore? Is there a density measure for such a thing? Like kisses per unit time or something? Wholly crap. I mean, sure it’s expected to a degree because Paterno is a media favorite- he’s the last college football God. His passing from the game will mark the end of an era. Sure, I get that. But crikey, these two guys are gonna need to brush, floss and Listerine themselves with the good stuff before their done. Multiple times.

As for the game, pretty good stuff but sloppy. The teams are pretty evenly matched, but I’m giving the edge to Penn St. I think they’re a little stronger mentally. Whether that’s enough to overcome their mistakes remains to be seen. I don’t think a team can make a living trading mistakes with Florida. The good news if you’re Florida is that the game is still close. The good news if you’re Penn St is Royster and the o-line are starting to get it going. I expect a lot more of Royster in the 2nd half.

Although, overall, it’s looking like the team that makes the last mistake will lose this one. We’ll see if I’m right.

Just a bunch of stray thoughts:

• Rather than increase the length of the regular season, the NFL should change the playoff format to the following: a winning record gets you in the playoffs; top two seeds by record get a bye week. Break-even teams shouldn’t be in the playoffs, even as a division winner. Especially when there are better teams elsewhere in the conference.

• As well as the Pats are playing right now, I just don’t think they’ll make it to the Super Bowl. I’ve been wrong 3 times before about them, so I won’t be surprised if they make a fool of me again. But still, their defense is a liability and Brady and the offense can only bail them out so many times.

• When will Brady’s luck run out on tipped balls hitting the turf instead of being intercepted?

• I still think the Saints are the team to beat in the NFC. But we’ll find out more after this weekend’s game against the Falcons. Of course, if Brees doesn’t stop throwing picks, they won’t go far in the playoffs.

• The gushing, over-the-top, he’s-a–God-in-mortal-form praise for Michael Vick is getting a bit nauseating. See Peter King for the latest in this genre. I’m also starting to think his new image is more a product of PR than actual change and remorse about his past actions. The media licking his cleats doesn’t help at all.

• What happened to the Cowboy defense this year? Two options: they were playing beyond their ability the past couple of years or offensive coordinators have finally figured them out. I’m thinking the latter.

• I think if the Chargers get into the playoffs, they’re the team to beat in the AFC. If not, then I have this annoying, niggling notion about the Steeler’s chances.

• I think Tom Coughlin is done with the Giants. Further, I think the Giants are done this year. Losses like that don’t go away. I think criticism of Coughlin for the onside-kick is over the top. Not having his hands team is perfectly defensible- the players are supposed to make sure the kick is away. That one is on the players.

Tom Maguire has two good stories about football players in the news. In this case, they’re making news for noble reasons. So, naturally, they aren’t getting as much attention as their actions warrant. SI had a short blurb on one of them, but that’s all I could find related to either player.

Too bad these sorts of things can’t get the same attention that the more sensational stuff gets. Kudos to Tom for spotting these stories and offering them a little focus.

Here’s the latest on the Jets tripping incident, courtesy Mike Florio.

Florio is jumping through all kinds of hoops to make this into some kind of sinister plot by the Jets. Rex Ryan had to know Florio insists. So did the special teams coach. So did Jet’s ownership. And the mascot. He even goes so far as to paint the elaborate procedure the Jet’s will go through if they actually have to fire the strength coach Alosi, who did the tripping.

But here’s the 500 pound gorilla. Even if they did line up on the sideline, if Alosi doesn’t stick his knee out and trip the guy, it’s a complete non-event. I’ll bet Florio doesn’t even notice the alignment without the trip. So the entire issue is the poor judgement of 1 guy- Alosi. Who cares how people lineup on the sideline. Does the NFL really need another obscure rule governing to enforce? One that would likely be unevenly enforced to begin with and almost surely subject to tremendous variance in interpretation by game officials?

Florio needs to find something else to yammer about. Alosi tripped the player and was caught. That will go a lot farther towards making sure it doesn’t happen again than anything Florio might want to happen.

This is ridiculous. No- that’s not quite right. It’s pathetic. It’s worse than pathetic. The Bears don’t even belong on the same field as the Pats. And aren’t the Bears supposed to have a good defense or something? Sheesh. They haven’t given anybody a reason to even watch the 2nd half of the game.

To say that the Pats look like the team to beat is hardly an original statement at this point. I had my doubts earlier in the year. But right now they are the only team I’ve seen that’s getting better. Particularly, their defense appears to be turning a corner. If that happens, it’ll take a ridiculous effort by some team to beat these guys.

I really want to believe him when he says it’s all about family. Having read a couple of items from the press conference and noting that he has basically missed his daughter’s athletic careers, he certainly sounds like someone who means it. The fact is that the sentiment he expresses is one of those that everyone agrees is noble, but few in practice actually choose that path. It would be nice just from the standpoint of someone choosing to step out, arguably at the top of his game, just to reaffirm that it is possible to choose family over the dream job.

But there’s still that nagging little voice in my head saying “Unexpected resignation at big time school equals NCAA sanctions to come.” I guess we’ll find out in the months ahead.

A week ago, the San Diego Chargers blew out the Colts in a dominating performance. This past weekend, they lost and looked awful doing so to the Raiders.

Last night, the Patriots annihilated the Jets. To be honest, I wouldn’t have predicted that even in “maybe possibly” kind of way. I watched the first half and the Pats were all over the Jets. It was as good a performance as the Pats have had in a big game.

So now, it’ll be their turn in the hot seat. With a leader like Brady on the field Belichik off, I wouldn’t expect a let down game from the Pats. But sometimes, that’s just how it happens. They’ve got a young defense that played their best game of the season last night. If I was forced to predict “letdown,” then that’s where I’d predict it coming from for the Pats.

You’re only as good as your last game in the NFL.

Mike Florio thinks that the Raven’s defensive lineman who broke Roethlisberger’s nose will be fined.

Why?

Here’s an animated gif showing the play in question. The lineman brings his arm up and over an offensive lineman so he can wrap up Roethlisberger to get the sack. Because his arm is up, it goes through the open portion of the facemask, causing the broken nose. The officials didn’t even flag the play.

Now, perhaps a 5-yard incidental facemask penalty could have been called since the tackler’s hand goes to the facemask. But he doesn’t grab it, even for a second. It immediately drops down to Roethlisberger’s body to complete the tackle. And, as stated before, the only reason it was up was because he was bringing it over the top of an offensive lineman.

For the more surly of the Steeler fans out there, I’ll say it’s Roethlisberger’s fault. If he hadn’t ducked his head then the lineman’s hand wouldn’t have hit him there in the first place.

So there’s no rational way to ascribe intent, and the closest rule infraction is an incidental facemask. There’s nothing there.

So why should there be a fine?

UPDATE: Fixed the link to the animated gif.

UPDATE2: My brother has corrected me- any kind of head contact on the QB (I assume while he’s a “passer”) is a personal foul penalty. So the Raven’s D-lineman should have been flagged. I still maintain he should not be fined for the play.