 Archive for the 'Football' CategoryMar 11 The St. Louis Rams Do Need to “Man Up,” But Not With Sam BradfordFootball, NFL Draft 124 Comments »
Jan 13 Michael Lombardi brought this up on the B.S. Report and wrote about it on the National Football Post this morning. By losing to the Ravens and not finishing among the final 8 teams, the Patriots gain a significant advantage heading into uncapped free agency next year. Could the Pats have thrown the game? The uncapped year is not the unfettered free-for-all that at least I imagined. Teams that finish in the final eight have “severe restrictions,” namely they can’t add free agents. They can only sign players to replace ones they lose. New England wasn’t winning the Super Bowl. Their defense was inexperienced and inadequate. They lost the MVP of their offense, Welker, just before the playoffs. Brady was hurt. Maybe the Pats get through one round. But, beating both the Colts and the Chargers on the road and winning the Super Bowl was implausible. That restriction would be devastating to a team, such as the Patriots next season, that needs to reload in a number of areas. They don’t have much money committed for next year. Because they lost, they can now capitalize on the free agent chaos. As Lombardi writes. If you can’t win the Super Bowl with your current roster, which clearly the Patriots could not do, then losing in the first round is the place to be. We all know how much Bill Belichick appreciates fair competition, but it’s hard to believe he would send out a team to deliberately lose. That said, if you know that losing is not the worst thing in the world, it saps your urgency and focus. Playing “the game of football” in “The National Football League,” that will get you beat.
Nov 25 Tecmo Bowl Comes to Life in Oregon High School Football GameFootball, High School Sports, Video 34 Comments »
This insane punt return from an Oregon high school playoff game officially went in the books as a 33-yard TD. Unofficially, it was a Bo Jackson-inspired 93 yards. But forget the vintage Tecmo zig-zag for a second and pay attention at the :16 second mark, where one of his teammates flexes after throwing a block while the play is still far from over. Somewhere, Phil Mushnick slams his mouse and chews one of his 19 remotes. [Oregonian] Oct 28 Football Player Takes His Helmet and Bashes it Into the Face of a Referee, Breaking Every Bone in His FaceFootball, Video, What the hell is wrong with people 53 Comments »If that’s not bad enough, the players of the losing team refused to hand over cell phones to call paramedics after the incident. The referee suffered a hairline fracture in his skull. [Breitbart] Sep 30
Mitch Albom was trained for this. He saw the epidemic, represented by one concrete incident, and has the solution, banning alcohol at tailgates. Sep 03 The Roundup: Winnipeg Changes Mind on Pacman, a Michael Cera Backlash, and College Football ArrivesCollege Football, Courts, Legal, Football, International Basketball, Movies, NFL, Sick and Twisted Individuals, Twitter, Video 87 Comments »
Well, that was quick – the Winnipeg Blue Bombers decided they don’t want Pacman Jones. (Sun) Read the rest of this entry » Aug 21 Miami is the city of sun, fun, fabulousness, and, if you are Dan Le Batard, profuse sweating. The Dolphins are the enduring franchise in the city, and they could not have found two more fitting public faces to represent Miami’s flavor and diversity, Bill Parcells and Chad Pennington. Read the rest of this entry » Aug 03 2009 NFL Preview: Detroit Lions2009 NFL Previews, Football, Impending Depression, NFL, Sad., Video 31 Comments »
Jul 30 Jeff George Would Like You To See His Tryout VideoFootball, Former Athletes, Jason Whitlock, NFL, NFL retirees 41 Comments »
Lost in the shuffle of Brett Favre’s flirtation with the Vikings and Michael Vick’s reinstatement is that 41-year-old Jeff George may want in on the comeback action too. Read the rest of this entry » Jul 29 Vicks Penance Seems Perfectly Timed, to Diminish the StoryFootball, Media Gossip/Musings, NFL 41 Comments »
Vick’s punishment is longer than the common four games, but short enough for a team to sign him. It upsets no one. It neutralizes the partisans. It is the perfect length to limit the controversy.
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The Lions finished 0-16 last season, the worst record in NFL history and a fitting piece de resistance for forty-six years of failure under the Ford ownership. Some might call their losing “epic,” but that would imply there was a story. The Lions’ season had neither drama nor interest. They were neither cursed nor compelling. They were, simply, demonstrably worse than every team they opposed. It was not 
Perhaps we’ve been following the wrong quarterback comeback story this offseason.
Roger Goodell conditional reinstated Michael Vick, so that he would be able to return for the sixth week, Oct. 18-19. It appears to be wariness and excess punishment for a man fresh off a 23-month federal sentence, but the timing buries the story too well to be coincidence.