The question on every NFL fan's mind is this:
Could the writer and/or any given reader of this blog throw for 300 yards in an NFL game? To be clear, I don't think I, or any other schmuck could be a good NFL quarterback...but 300 yards? It doesn't seem so hard anymore.
14 quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards in Week 1, four threw for at least 400 and Tom Brady threw for 517 yards. I remember those days (last year?) where throwing for 300 yards was a good game. Now NOT doing it makes you think, "...did he get hurt?"
Out of the 400+ guys, Tom Brady and Drew Brees make sense. That's what their teams do and that's why they're good. The other two? Chad Henne and Cam Newton. They both lost and Newton is the only one out of the two (I actually got to watch both games mostly) who I would say played "well." I ALSO remember a time when 30 pass attempts made me think, "Hmm...they threw a lot." After two weeks, only seven starting quarterbacks are averaging under 30 pass attempts per game (Matt Cassell, Jason Campbell, Kevin Kolb, Alex Smith, Donovan McNabb, Matt Schaub, and Andy Dalton who was hurt during his first game). Shocking players not included in this list include: Mark Sanchez (34 attempts per game), Colt McCoy (36), Kyle Orton (35.5), Tarvaris Jackson (33), and Kerry Collins (34.5). Those attempts don't even include the ones where these crappy quarterbacks drop back and get sacked and fumble.
Why am I getting worked up about this? Ehh, I don't know...wait, yes I do.
Here is my list of things I hate that this trend violates:
1. Willingly being a poor man's version of something.
The New England Patriots.
That team exists already. They've invented (or at least perfected) a certain type of offense. They know this system better than you, whoever you are, and will therefore be better than you at it.
Let's say you are the Denver Broncos. Do you really think Kyle Orton should throw the ball that many times? And, more importantly, if that is your plan, to mimic the Patriots...how is that a plan? You just can't beat a guy who invented a system with a bastardized version of that system. And on a personal note, I find it disgusting that you would try.
As much as I am not a "Tebow Guy," why not play him if for no other reason but to be different? I don't know if he's good, but he is at least he's a unique player. This same spiel goes for every Midwestern team (I'm lookin' at you, Browns and Bengals) who say they are going to run the "West Coast Offense." Don't you think by the time something with that name gets to the Midwest, EVERYONE has heard of it? Sheesh.
Side note: The Raiders are a team that don't throw the ball the much and it seems to suit them. Instead of Terrelle Pryor, why not trade something to Tebow? He would be cool with that team, in my opinion. Plus, maybe the "bad guy" image of the Raiders would balance out Tebow's Christian annoying-ness. Just a thought.
2. General Pussifying.
Football is the best sport ever invented by far. It involves everything great. It requires so much planning and so much toughness and so much athleticism, there's just nothing not to like.
However, with this new all pass all the time all Belichick era, the league is slipping away from the toughness pillar with much more emphasis on the planning and a little bit more on the athleticism. You can kind of just throw the ball up now and hope for pass interference and once enough flags fly, corner backs just won't even try. Once the plan is set and the physical preparations are made, I like to have a feeling that there's no adjustment left to make but focus more and try harder. I don't want to lose that.
3. It's hard to go back.
Generally, people don't want to be hurt. Whether it's emotional stress or physical pain, once the unpleasant stimuli are removed for long periods of time you're going to get used to it. It's painful to run the ball. It's basically a war of attrition. You're running over and over to wear out the opponent.
Football is getting further away from boxing and closer to basketball. Maybe it's not even that bad, just different. It's just going to be hard to go back to the brutal way of playing from the way that puts up points and hurts less. Football people are nuts though, if they decide it's the way to win they'll probably run it again.
Eliminator Pick
This is a new thing that I was going to do the last couple of weeks but forgot. I mean, it's not new. I'm just going to let you know my eliminator pick and why.
For anyone confused, the Eliminator Challenge is a game where you pick one team straight up in an NFL game every week but once you pick a team, you can't pick that team for the rest of the year. If you get all the way through, you win...or whatever.
Week 1 I picked the 49ers at home over the Seahawks and Week 2 I picked the Steelers at home over...the Seahawks. Anti-Seahawks might take me places this year. Anyway, here's my pick this week.
San Diego at home over Kansas City
This game is such a lock, but there's more to this game than it being a lock.
I don't trust San Diego all the time even though they are a good team so I'm not overly worried about not being able to use them later in the year. Plus, I'd like to get to the end of the year. By the end of the season, I'd like to hope I have a better feel for things.
And why is this a lock? Kansas City is a bad team who lost three of their best four players for the season playing on the road against a really good team who lost their last game. Put it in the books!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
NFL Preview
What will we be saying about this season in the Spring? Like I've been known to say on occasion, I think we like to assume inevitability in hindsight. So, instead of asking what is going to happen this season, the real question is: What will have been inevitable? (Other question: Is that a real sentence?)
Has anyone ever seen the movie "Clue?"
This is how it could have happened...
There has been a revolution in football. Starting years ago with Peyton Manning's Colts and perfected by Brees' Saints and Rodgers' Packers, spreading the opposing defense out wide is simply unguardable if you do it right. There really doesn't seem to be any reason to run the ball anymore. In three years, there won't be any such thing as a running back getting more than 65% of the carries and the position will be the lowest paid in football because it has become so replaceable. People seem to like this new brand of football and the NFL sneaks a few more wussifying rules past us all until we're watching flag football on television by the time we all have grand kids. Green Bay repeats as Super Bowl Champions.
Pros:
- I'm OK with the Packers. I will not be rooting for them to win it all this season, let's get that straight. Green Bay is too smooth for me to like that much. That said, being really good and kind of boring is not the worst thing ever.
-Running back really is replaceable for the most part. Most teams already do this. There are a select few players in the league that deserve 80% of his team's carries (and Ryan Grant is not one of them).
Cons:
- I hate the rule changes. The fines are one thing. Keep fining everybody. If the guy keeps levelling guys into the hospital, fine his ass until he makes no money in the year. I don't like changing the outcome of the games. The last couple Bengal victories against the Baltimore Ravens have been directly aided by flags thrown basically for hitting too hard. If some committee decides that things are unsafe and/or unnecessary, fine. I just don't like when games are affected by a judgement call about what roughness is necessary in a game that is based on roughness. And that doesn't even cover the kickoff rules. The worst thing is, unless it's done soon, I don't think it'll be undone. It's hard to come to the negotiating table and say, "Let's repeal this rule that promotes safety...DOWN WITH PLAYER SAFETY!!!"
But how about this...?
Everything is cyclical. The time of five wide receivers on the field at the same time ends abruptly when Dick LeBeau and Rex Ryan have the exact same dream that gives them the key to defending the Packers, Saints, and Patriots. The league plunges into a primeval era of endless darkness where everyone is consuming some mystery "vitamin" that is undetectable and makes every defensive player into an X-Man. No mother lets their son play quarterback anymore and football ends in 50 years. Everyone dies. The Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl. The cycle ends.
Pros:
- I actually enjoy these periods of defensive darkness. Aside from the lack of overall talent, I enjoyed the couple of years in the NBA dominated by the Ben Wallace Pistons and the Ron Artest Pacers. Just suffocating. It's fun to watch these phenomenal athletes look flat out uncomfortable. Playing quarterback shouldn't be as easy as it seems right now.
Cons:
- Fuck the Steelers.
Here's what really happened...
All of this shit I'm saying are just minor undercurrents. Cycles that the league and all things very loosely follow. In the small picture, and one season is still the small picture, almost anything can happen. The team that gets the most breaks and the fewest injuries (and, of course, plays the best) wins it all. The Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl. REDEMPTION!!!
Pros:
- Affirms everything I think of how the world works (small picture, very little rhyme or reason to anything) and that's always good, right?
- Michael Vick wins a Super Bowl and starts building one of the strangest careers ever. Vick could end up going to prison for dogfighting and be a first ballot hall of famer and a Super Bowl Champion. I'm a Michael Vick guy.
Cons:
- What's the point of even thinking about cons? This was ALWAYS going to happen.
Has anyone ever seen the movie "Clue?"
This is how it could have happened...
There has been a revolution in football. Starting years ago with Peyton Manning's Colts and perfected by Brees' Saints and Rodgers' Packers, spreading the opposing defense out wide is simply unguardable if you do it right. There really doesn't seem to be any reason to run the ball anymore. In three years, there won't be any such thing as a running back getting more than 65% of the carries and the position will be the lowest paid in football because it has become so replaceable. People seem to like this new brand of football and the NFL sneaks a few more wussifying rules past us all until we're watching flag football on television by the time we all have grand kids. Green Bay repeats as Super Bowl Champions.
Pros:
- I'm OK with the Packers. I will not be rooting for them to win it all this season, let's get that straight. Green Bay is too smooth for me to like that much. That said, being really good and kind of boring is not the worst thing ever.
-Running back really is replaceable for the most part. Most teams already do this. There are a select few players in the league that deserve 80% of his team's carries (and Ryan Grant is not one of them).
Cons:
- I hate the rule changes. The fines are one thing. Keep fining everybody. If the guy keeps levelling guys into the hospital, fine his ass until he makes no money in the year. I don't like changing the outcome of the games. The last couple Bengal victories against the Baltimore Ravens have been directly aided by flags thrown basically for hitting too hard. If some committee decides that things are unsafe and/or unnecessary, fine. I just don't like when games are affected by a judgement call about what roughness is necessary in a game that is based on roughness. And that doesn't even cover the kickoff rules. The worst thing is, unless it's done soon, I don't think it'll be undone. It's hard to come to the negotiating table and say, "Let's repeal this rule that promotes safety...DOWN WITH PLAYER SAFETY!!!"
But how about this...?
Everything is cyclical. The time of five wide receivers on the field at the same time ends abruptly when Dick LeBeau and Rex Ryan have the exact same dream that gives them the key to defending the Packers, Saints, and Patriots. The league plunges into a primeval era of endless darkness where everyone is consuming some mystery "vitamin" that is undetectable and makes every defensive player into an X-Man. No mother lets their son play quarterback anymore and football ends in 50 years. Everyone dies. The Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl. The cycle ends.
Pros:
- I actually enjoy these periods of defensive darkness. Aside from the lack of overall talent, I enjoyed the couple of years in the NBA dominated by the Ben Wallace Pistons and the Ron Artest Pacers. Just suffocating. It's fun to watch these phenomenal athletes look flat out uncomfortable. Playing quarterback shouldn't be as easy as it seems right now.
Cons:
- Fuck the Steelers.
Here's what really happened...
All of this shit I'm saying are just minor undercurrents. Cycles that the league and all things very loosely follow. In the small picture, and one season is still the small picture, almost anything can happen. The team that gets the most breaks and the fewest injuries (and, of course, plays the best) wins it all. The Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl. REDEMPTION!!!
Pros:
- Affirms everything I think of how the world works (small picture, very little rhyme or reason to anything) and that's always good, right?
- Michael Vick wins a Super Bowl and starts building one of the strangest careers ever. Vick could end up going to prison for dogfighting and be a first ballot hall of famer and a Super Bowl Champion. I'm a Michael Vick guy.
Cons:
- What's the point of even thinking about cons? This was ALWAYS going to happen.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The Last Rites: 2011 Cleveland Indians
There are always moments during a championship season that could have broken another way and ended it all. Simultaneously, every champion in every sport is extremely unlikely and also inevitable. There are so many teams, but one of them has to win. No wonder every year seems to bring so many great stories.
(It's the same with the Planet Earth. People notice how perfect this planet is for humans and say stuff like, "Good thing we didn't exist somewhere else...we'd all die!" We wouldn't all die, we just wouldn't exist in the first place. Of course our environment is perfect, the environment created us. Unlikely but inevitable. Anyway...)
I'm sure the Phillies will have some nail-biter moments while sweeping their way through the National League (of course this might not happen. The Giants last year are a perfect example of what I was talking about above. They weren't any good, but they won it all with some clutch play and good breaks. They were a product of their situation and the game they play. Somebody has to win.), and good for them. They hit on every big free agent deal, every big trade and had no devastating injuries.
But for every Phillies (or Giants), there are at least ten or twelve 2011 Cleveland Indians, lost in the muck of circumstance. With the trades they made, this Cleveland team was good enough to win the World Series. I'm not saying they were the favorite because they WERE NOT. But let's get real; any group of shmoes can win the World Series and the Indians are exactly that.
The goal of putting a team together is to increase the margin for error or, in most cases, margin for bad luck. The Indians had very little margin for bad luck and they got lots and lots of bad luck (in contrast to a team like the Packers last year who actually had somewhat shitty luck until the playoffs). That's just the way it goes.
I wish there was more to say here. It is quite the effort to stay above .500 with injuries like this, but do we really need to write about another Cleveland moral victory? There is optimism for next year but that's another post entirely. I'll remember this team it's unexpected start, the emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera as an All Star, Jack Hannahan, Jason Kipnis, Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Laporta continuing to embarrass the family, a lot of comebacks and a lot of hilarious failure. There have been times this team showed its guts and times their lack of talent and experience betrayed them.
The 2011 Cleveland Indians lived a full life, but it's over now. Goodnight.
(It's the same with the Planet Earth. People notice how perfect this planet is for humans and say stuff like, "Good thing we didn't exist somewhere else...we'd all die!" We wouldn't all die, we just wouldn't exist in the first place. Of course our environment is perfect, the environment created us. Unlikely but inevitable. Anyway...)
I'm sure the Phillies will have some nail-biter moments while sweeping their way through the National League (of course this might not happen. The Giants last year are a perfect example of what I was talking about above. They weren't any good, but they won it all with some clutch play and good breaks. They were a product of their situation and the game they play. Somebody has to win.), and good for them. They hit on every big free agent deal, every big trade and had no devastating injuries.
But for every Phillies (or Giants), there are at least ten or twelve 2011 Cleveland Indians, lost in the muck of circumstance. With the trades they made, this Cleveland team was good enough to win the World Series. I'm not saying they were the favorite because they WERE NOT. But let's get real; any group of shmoes can win the World Series and the Indians are exactly that.
The goal of putting a team together is to increase the margin for error or, in most cases, margin for bad luck. The Indians had very little margin for bad luck and they got lots and lots of bad luck (in contrast to a team like the Packers last year who actually had somewhat shitty luck until the playoffs). That's just the way it goes.
I wish there was more to say here. It is quite the effort to stay above .500 with injuries like this, but do we really need to write about another Cleveland moral victory? There is optimism for next year but that's another post entirely. I'll remember this team it's unexpected start, the emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera as an All Star, Jack Hannahan, Jason Kipnis, Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Laporta continuing to embarrass the family, a lot of comebacks and a lot of hilarious failure. There have been times this team showed its guts and times their lack of talent and experience betrayed them.
The 2011 Cleveland Indians lived a full life, but it's over now. Goodnight.
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