It's just a game

Ramblings Post #409
Now, let's be clear, and so my point doesn't get misinterpreted, the Bills-Bengals game point didn't need to start again. That it can't be made up shouldn't even have been an issue. They can just mark it down as a tie and keep it moving for all I care. The injury was devastating, the aftermath traumatizing, and if the players had just walked out of the stadium to go wait at the hospital instead of lining up I wouldn't have blamed a soul. It is just a damn game. That is a man's life.

I'm surprised that the NFL didn't have a protocol for this. It's a game where grown men are paid vast sums of money to run at each other at top speed and make contact. Hard contact. Repeatedly. They should have seen this as a possibility, even if the chances are one in a billion. And despite the obvious trauma stemming from the situation, they really seemed poised to throw the usual "Okay folks, shows over, nothing to see here" process that normally follows an injury. And if they had gone ahead with that five minutes to get your head together plan, I'm not sure what would have happened. Hamlin didn't have an ordinary injury.

That's a just weird thing to write. "Ordinary Injury." Sigh.

We've see injuries in the sport before. Twisted ankles and knees, head shots that left players twitching. But in those cases as the player is carted off he's sitting up, sometimes angry at his body for failing him, other times hiding his face to mask the terrible agony he's going through. Even players in the neck brace give the stadium a thumbs up as they're loaded into the ambulance. And we know they'll be okay. Maybe they won't be playing anymore, but they'll be someplace - coaching, in the booth, on a Sunday analysis show or selling used cars. They'll be somewhere. But this was not that. To see the sheer terror on his teammates faces told you that. That the term CPR was used. He had to be revived on the field, implying that at some point on the field...well, you know.

In high school, one of my teammates broke his neck during a game. He wore that Halo neck-brace for the next year I think. It did not look comfortable. Because we were young and naive we later joked that when he went down his mother had high hurdled the fence getting to the field she was so scared for her son. And after he'd been worked on, stabilized, loaded into the ambulance and carted off, without a second thought we lined up and went back at like we were invincible, when the truth was it could have been anyone of us.

"There but for the Grace of God, go I." Because on every play when I suited up, it could have been me. Grown men running at each other at top speed to intentionally make contact. Violent contact. Nature of the beast. Despite the rule changes and advances in all the padding, helmets and other safety equipment improvements of the last 50 years injuries are still expected, which is why you have the training staff there, the medics, and at that level even spotters to make sure no one is trying to walk something serious off. But not this. We expect a stinger. A sprain. A hyper-extension. But not this. This is from the football before modern football. We'd left this behind. Or so we'd thought.

I am hoping for Demar's recovery. That he rises in a week or so and finds his charity funded through 2040 with even more money to hand out scholarships. I hope he thinks about it long and hard should he decide to put the helmet on again. I hope is family is overjoyed to have him back. I hope for him many blessings going forward no matter what path he chooses.

This was just a game. That is a man's life.

The NFL Offseason Should Be a Show

Ramblings Post #401
The NFL off-season this year has been wild. The AFC West has turned into a arms race, Green Bay gave Aaron Rodgers the keys to the franchise, and I'm veering between trusting the Jones boys in Dallas to put talent on the field and screaming "What are they doing!" over and over again to anyone who'll listen. And no, I'm probably not going to watch the USFL. Are we sure that wasn't an elaborate hoax anyway? 

It is said that because of how a grand jury works, that a semi-decent prosecutor can get a conviction against a ham sandwich if they really wanted to. So, last week when the people in a Grand Jury decided not to bring charges against Texan's QB Deshaun Watson, please know that I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. It may have hit my slightly receding hairline. Allegedly receding.

For those who don't know, last season the NFL avoided addressing the issue at all when the Texans decided to not even suit up Watson to play. By the way, as long as Watson showed up to the facility, did his workouts and stayed ready, he still got paid like he was playing. A whole bunch of money. Only without the physical stress of actually playing. In the interim the Texans found new ways to embarrass themselves, aside from letting all the talent walk out the door. I mean, at one point the Texans found themselves torn between hiring as their next head coach a ...long time coaching veteran who been part of a Superbowl coaching staff and who'd just won two of the last three seasons as head coach with his previous team who happened to black and...checks notes... a former player and part time assistant high school coach who happened to be white. So, obviously it was a toss up. But that aside, they had at least been smart enough not to play Watson.

I had a discussion about it right after it happened, I figured that a media savvy league would make it clear that even if there were to be no charges, that a serious suspension would still be assessed upon Watson's return to the field. I mean, they'd just suspended a player for the whole season for a single bet using the LEAGUE sponsored app. (Okay, there is a sign in the locker room specifically prohibiting betting, so there is a difference. Although I wouldn't think you'd need a sign to say don't assault women, would you?"). Would teams try for him? Sure, but this was a player who hadn't suited up in a year, and football comes at you fast. No, others said, it would be a free for all. The game is all about money now and they would not care. I argued that even from just a PR viewpoint, the league would not let that happen.  

And I was completely and unequivocally wrong.

The new NFL is QB driven. There was a time about twenty years ago where Trent Dilfer won a Superbowl. Who? He was the backup who took over halfway through the season and rode the defense of the Ravens to the NFL's promised land. And although he's an excellent analyst, he was also so mediocre he's the first starting and winning QB in history to not be resigned by his team for the next season. That's not possible with the way the game is now called and schemed. And everyone knows it. Hell, the Cowboys found it out after Dak went down and suddenly it seemed like the secrets of the completed forward pass were lost. And as it turns out Watson is a QB. And was a fairly good one. And as it turns out winning, or even the promise of winning, trumps everything.

I heard analysts decry that half the league need to take a look at Watson. The Saints were talked about, Atlanta was in the mix, the Colts and Chicago discussed. And what other QB might go where depending on what could be worked out with Deshaun. You would have thought Watson was the second coming of Micheal Vick...no, the pun actually intended,... only with a less offensive charge. Yes, apparently to the NFL Animal Cruelty is worse than Sexual Assault, go figure. So after listening to Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless rag about how the Cleveland Browns had blown up their own dicey QB situation to even talk to Watson and how they'd been unceremoniously spurned I was shocked to see this....

The Brown fans online that I've seen are not especially happy at this turn of events. People in desperate need of a stable football situation, considering all the drama that happened with team during the season, weren't happy. You know, and they know, just because the state decided not to bring charges doesn't mean you're innocent. And did everyone in the league's media gang FORGET the twenty two civil suits still in the mix? This is one of those situations involving millions of dollars that makes you wonder just how smart some rich people really are. Did the Browns forget that quite a few of their fans are women? Did they forget that their fan base just in general might have a basic sense of decency? I mean, damn. It is very possible the Browns play a few home games this season to an empty stadium, and it won't be because of Covid.

What's really weird is that the league is handing out top-tier QB money to a player who hasn't touched turf in a season. No, I kid, that's not weird, that's the NFL. What's weird is that Watson wasn't banished from the league for at least a season. Not sat out of his own free will, but formally banished with no pay for at least a season. And between you and me, people don't offer someone a quarter of a billion dollars, a large portion guaranteed, unless you're pretty damn sure that player is gonna suit up. Which means unless the league blindsides because of backlash, it's already a done thing. One of my old running partners stopped watching football altogether because he was mad Rothlesberger never got any punishment for his...indiscretions. I guess my boy is gonna be an Atlanta United fan from here on out.   

The NFL is something, ain't it. 

Done Deal

Ramblings Post #390
Every year I always wonder what we do each weekend without football. It's like the season happening causes amnesia as to the things we do instead. I personally have been writing (well, mostly napping) and as my father says, ducking the virus. I had hoped to get more done, I've got a whole host of things I could be doing even just inside my house. But that couch keeps....er, that keyboard keeps calling me. Napping. I'm mostly napping. 

First, it's good to have a quarterback. Finally.

Everyone knew this deal would get done, so I don't know what took so long. As last year proved in the NFL, it turns out that quarterback is not an interchangeable position. All across the league, due to injury, Covid, or just bad play coaches found out that you can't just put someone there who knows the playbook, like say defensive end, and get only marginal appreciable loss. An average end can still make stops. An average QB affects the whole offense. The Cowboys thought they had that covered with the Red Life Insurance policy, but when they filed their claim and had to actually play him, it became clear that the best laid plans sometimes turn to garbage. We're not even going to discuss the DiNucci incident.

Prior to his injury, Dak was on fire leading the league in passing so much that he still was at the top end a week later. And as a starting cornerback and linebacker...wait, checks notes,....Dak doesn't play defense. So it's NOT his fault the Cowboys defense couldn't stop a runaway toddler. But then offense always been the team focus, even back when Romo could get you 35, the defense would routinely allow 40. And the vaunted Cowboys teams of the long, long ago had top tier defensive talent. Really, go look at the records. So since the Prescott deal is structured to still give them some cap space, someone tell Stephen, not Jerry, that a decent cornerback, free safety, or outside linebacker wouldn't be the worst pickup from free agency. I'm just saying.

Yes, Dak worked them. I personally don't blame him. They've known he was the guy since the end of second year and they waited, so that's the Jones boys fault they didn't try him early. I'm not sure why they thought the price would go down after everyone else got their deal, and since he's now the only QB from his draft class still starting for the team that drafted him, there is a possibility he's something special. So with that squared away, and pocket full of cap room, (and a full off season because Texas is ugh) I'm hoping the 'boys finally can put all the pieces together, because I'm tired of the jokes.

We're the Dallas Cowboys damnit!    

It's on you Hoss

Barkeep. The good Bourbon. The Pappy. Because when you win, you celebrate.

Yes, I am STILL a Cowboys fan....

Ramblings Post #386
I was worried about football earlier this year. As much as anything can signify that things haven't gone completely to hell it's the Saturdays and Sundays on the gridiron. I don't even have to really watch, or even follow the teams. I could watch a game on Saturday afternoon between We Over Here University and Podunk Tech and be alright as long as it's a decent game. Not even good, just decent. And most of America agrees with me. And we got the season, in a fashion. Along with Covid dropouts and shifting schedules but damnit we're playing football. Now, I'm not so sure this was a good idea.

Picture is from ESPN's Twitter

I had hope. But here we are.

Let's talk football. I've held off talking football because I am a Dallas Cowboy fan and there is apparently a conspiracy between reality and coincidence to keep all of us in blue and white frustrated and a little sad. Karma might be lurking around there somewhere, but all fans talk a little noise, so I don't know why she picking on us. And as much as I really didn't want to talk about Dak, who was having a career defining season through three games going down to injury he has become to some degree the focus of the conversation. The moment was gruesome - as pretty much all injuries are - but I think he'll bounce back stronger and wiser. And after watching what I could stomach of the game on Monday night, I find myself compelled to comment.

Fuck.

I'll admit I was in the crowd that thought that Andy Dalton was a good insurance policy. He's a veteran player, the Bengals while they had a few choice players never really surrounded him with talent during his tenure, and he still had the arm to make the throws if he had to brought onto the field. You had the feeling he was missed potential. So as a backup he was a no-brainer. But the BEST insurance policies are the polices you never have to use. And at best we expected to have to use him for a game or two. The Cowboys (and all us fans) thought we had Allstate or Progressive, it turns out we had a policy from Mick's Bait, Ice Cream, Discount Furniture, Insurance and Christmas tree lot. I know the offensive line has been decimated with injuries, but still I'm not so sure that Dak in a walking boot wouldn't be better than this.

It is at this point I implore the Jones Boys to go ahead and sign Dak to a long term deal. Just open back up the Brinks truck and be done with it. Whatever he wants, just say yes. Because I still believe that despite the presence of Mike Nolan's Pop Warner Defense, the Cowboys will accidentally win a few more games this season. It can happen. Right now the NFC East looks so bad they might stumble into winning the Division.

Also, please let Jerry know that it is far too late to join the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. I say sweepstakes because although he is primed to become a Football God, nothing is football is guaranteed. People tend to forget just how far back Brady was drafted. This sport bounces like the ball, not always where you think it's gonna. No disrespect, I hope the best for the kid, but this is simple: Bird in the hand, forget the two in the bush.

Anyway, I'm still gonna root for them. Because they're my team. 

Barkeep. That bottle of whiskey with the dust on it. The one for emergencies. 2020 has been some kinda fucked up.  

They got jokes. But let me find my pads.

 

What the NFL should have done....

Ramblings Post #385
I like sports. I really do. I played as a youth, still want to play as someone no longer a youth but my body keeps talking about practice (we talking about practice!) and I'm not sure my knees are with it. I watch all kinds of sports, play them on computer games and talk about them on this blog. Sports transcend a whole lot of problems. It's weird. It's bigger than us. But my team still needs to win.

The NBA Bubble should have been the template for how pro football handled this season, but I don't think anyone high up wanted to spend that much money or thought this pandemic would last this long. Such a setup would have made the game safe, would have ensured the season occurred and would have brought a much needed sense of normalcy that we all need. Or at least I need, I haven't been out to eat, drink and carouse since May. Well, my birthday I went out for lunch, but the restaurant had exactly two customers - me and my friend who paid for it - and we still sat outside.

And I've enjoyed this basketball more than any actual real season in a while (NBA2K seasons are lit, reality less so). But I NEED football. Like as I imagine most people in the South and pretty much all of Texas. But I judging by how we've already done things so far this year, this season will not be a ...complete one. Half a season? I hope I'm wrong, I really do. But the prep could have been so much better. And with college football already starting to batten down the hatches for next year, why this wasn't a fail-safe I don't know.

Now, my suggestion is vast because unlike the NBA we're talking about all the teams and all the games. The NBA eliminated the teams not in the final playoff hunt for their lock-down, and that and a few tweaks made it possible to schedule what has basically amounted to all day gym play using the limited TV ready courts. The NFL needs all the games if possible. If someone can think of someplace where there are four or five football fields together (or soccer fields for conversion) and accommodations for for two thousand or so people where they can lock themselves in it would be an easier setup to secure. I've been looking but I don't see one yet.

Barring that, and I've been looking, here's what they should have done:

1. Put the players on a Tour of Duty.

This isn't finishing an already started season like the NBA, this would be playing the full thing through January. As such the players would have to go ahead and accept that they would be in isolation for months. Seriously. They would need to mentally pretend they were shipping off overseas....to the hotel compound the local team would set up. We ask soldiers to do it for three hots and cot, so sacrificing for a few million isn't really a grand argument. Let's call our little setup the NFL "dome."  Well, dome by location.

Note: The "dome" would also have to have been applied to refs as well, which might mean a loss of experience, as a lot of them have outside careers. They would be a separate national facility and be flown out by private jet to the game and then back.

Each team would really need two in-town hotels, one for the home team's use all season and one for a visiting team, who would travel a day or two earlier than normal. Yes, they would need the whole facility with room for the entire team, the coaches, practice squad, and other needed personnel ~ barbers, medical staff, massage therapists, etc. Room for maybe 120-150 people give or take, because once you go in just like with the NBA Bubble, trips out by anyone would need to be minimized. This plus a rotating staff of 40 would needed for the building - cooks, maintenance, housekeeping, etc. That smaller group would be on 60 day rotations in with a 10-15 lead in to work inside the "dome."  The idea is to create a safe space for them to live, practice and get ready for their games. 

2. Lock'em in

The domes should have to be set up to keep the guys fresh, because a stir crazy soccer mom is one thing, a stir crazy three hundred pound muscled up millionaire is another. I would set up a gamer lounge, a library, open a bar or two, maybe even a small group movie room to give the guys space to move around and socialize. The idea is that they don't just get on the bus to practice (which would be closed to the public), take the bus back to the hotel and go sit in their rooms for four or five months. A little variety. I'm not going to address the obvious missing element - family. But again, this is the tour of duty for the season. Just like a man overseas can't pop out to have brunch with the kids, neither can the players.

But, because people have to occasionally step out, and it will happen, a transition space for them to return would also be needed. A couple of suites, maybe a private lounge and if a player absolutely has outside business that needs to handled then they can do it with compromising the whole team. They would need to be aware that leaving would be like missing a week and automatic game check - with the exceptions for funerals and other serious situations. The teams could even presumably setup two or three family days where properly screened families could be let in after a few days in their own isolation for short periods. A mini-family vacation in the dome.   

Note: The refs dome could probably accommodate family members, which might be a bonus.

Under the current plan of "don't be sorry, be careful" plan it's almost certain that we'll see players drop out all season, and if we're unlucky the Superbowl will be a match-up of the team with most men not infected standing versus the quarterback who was signed three weeks ago behind a center whose been there two months who got lucky in the championship game against a fifth string quarterback. That or halfway through the season the NFL just calls it quits and chalk the season up to a loss. It's possible. 

3. Let'em play

The games would end up being more like high school games for the players  I'm certain the tech wizards who can draw a fake first down line can digitally put some butts in the seats for broadcast, but the feel of an empty stadium while playing is different than a full throttle game. Some noise would have to be piped in, but the energy will be missing and that would affect play. And since the play is the product, their might be a need to let in some fans, not near the lower levels and definitely not in position for Lambeau leaps or ball tosses of any kind. But the NFL needs fan energy. And playing inside a sealed actual dome would be tricky to say the least. 

The announcers would have to handled like the NBA, with their own little booths which also might detract from some of the camaraderie, but they'll work it out. And we'll be so excited to watch the game I don't think we'll notice. 

As the season progresses, teams will slowly, eventually drop out of playoff contention, and for the safety of those players the rest of the games for those teams might need to be worked out on an alternate system. I realize that in a 16 games season every game counts, playoff spoilers are a real thing, and draft picks need ways to be calculated, so this may not be feasible.

So, that's my idea. Or was my idea. There are a lot of details worked out, but I think it would have ensured we get a whole season. Which considering how this pandemic is playing out, I think the country needs a convincing sign like this to give us the resolve to continue. 

Barkeep. It's almost that time. Just bring the keg. 

They actually agreed to do what?

Ramblings Post #383
Sometimes sports is bigger than a ball, a jersey, and a determination to win. Sometimes sport is more about our values as people, respect, and realizing that just because we've put a lot of time and energy into something that we can just go ahead and make a change. Because basically, as Shannon Sharpe said, it's just the right thing to do. 

A lot of things happened in 2020 that I was not expecting. The economy crashing? No, I saw that coming, there is this little thing called history. The Pandemic? Nobody thought the people in charge would mess it up this badly. I'm stunned how the people who keep screaming don't make it political keep going out of their way to make it not just political but also personal. Just the words "I got it wrong, let's do what we have to fix it" would change everything. But nobody currently in charge is grown-up enough to face up to the consequences of their actions. A hoarding of toliet paper? I still don't even believe that happened. They literally stopped professional sports? That was a blow to my soul. A Will and Jada kinda love? That's tomorrow, I believe I'm leagally required to comment. But today, something I swear I didn't think would ever happen actually happened.

The NFL team in Washington agreed to change it's name.

I used to read the sports column Tuesday Morning Quarterback, which was probably the most highbrow football piece ever written. And while it threw in odd statistics and hidden indicators between hilarious commentary, the author started referring to the team as the Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons (both as indicator of the need for DC statehood and the ridiculousness of the team name) way back in the early 2000s. Sports pundits on every outlet have been asking when Dan "The Grift" Snyder would stop trying to figure out how to charge for oxygen in the stadium and change the name for decades. This isn't a new issue. Even as Cowboy who grew up loving the way the rivalry seem to naturally slot together, the Cowboys and the Indians, I grew up and realized that all lot things in American history have been romanticized. And a lot of things we grew up believing in, and Snyder grew up a Washington fan, need to be corrected now that we're older and know better.

Of course every major sponsor picking up their satchels of money and threatening to leave if the name wasn't..."reconsidered," probably didn't hurt either. 
 
As much flak as black people take, the very hint of selling a blatantly racist item will get you cancelled so fast you'll barely have time to unbox it. That will quickly be followed by the question "how did this get approved?" Shortly after some people will be fired, a department will be re0rganized and a black person will get to collect a fat check for eighteen months or so as the new diversity officer or guru or whatever they call it. But in the case of the, um...Native Americans? Is that the right term? I know you should refer to the individual by their tribe, Sioux, Cherokee, etc., but what is the name of the group of all of them. Indigenous Persons? In either case, this group got a racial slur them at them for sixteen weeks a year by major networks. It could not have been cool at all.

One of the few things in this country that transcends race for MOST people in this country is sport. We'll celebrate a hard fought victory with anyone wearing the same jersey as us. Check any tailgate or traveling fan group. It's amazing to see. So these activities that let us all find a common ground probably need to be brought into line with our ideals first. This change at this level however, is just the first step. A few other professional teams in other sports need to go ahead and man up as well. And there are still a lot of colleges, hundreds of high schools and lots of junior leagues who'll need to buy new gear, make some headspace changes. It's just the right damn thing to do.

And Jeep. I do really like the SUVs, but I think there are some people who want to speak to you too.

Barkeep. Cold Beer. Let's hope there is a football season.

The "Friendly Confines" of JerryWorld...

Ramblings Post #379
Where I been? I want to say I've been writing. I started the sequel to my alt-1960's tale The Grand Berber Most Divine, only this time the protagonist has a new challenge: family. It's tentatively titled The African Riviera Most Resplendent. But that's stalled for other reasons. And I did actually go to see Sporty. But that's a post I keep re-hashing in my head. And I'm leaving the Ranch. But that's also a whole other deal. So what I'm going to do is go with the familiar. No, not politics, although whenever I run into whoever is running the DNC some words will be spoken, believe that! No, I'm going to do football. It's just so soothing. Or at least it's supposed to be. 

Ron Rivera is out at Carolina because the Panther's owner David Tepper has stated clearly that he will not accept the idea of mediocrity for his team. Ron Rivera and Jason Garrett started at roughly the same time, 2011 and have similar resumes of just above a .500 record and three division titles. Neither one's team is playing that well this season either.  The one notable exception is that Ron actually took the Panthers to a Superbowl. We're still waiting. 

As I was pondering this, it hit me. Kids, I hate to say it, but the Dallas Cowboys are apparently the Chicago Cubs of the NFL.

Allow me explain. The Cubs play baseball in the Windy city of Chicago at 1060 West Addison, the venerable Wrigley Field. (Elwood Blues does not live there). They went 108 years without winning at the championship level until three years ago in 2016. But Wrigley Field stayed a hot ticket all those years the Cubs cried about about that epic drought. The games broadcast on WGN, the merch sold like hot cakes and with no need to really improve the product because people came anyway, the owners were practically printing money in the dugouts. There were valiant efforts, of course, and on more than few occasions the team had a loaded roster and won many games but just couldn't bring it home, which only endeared them to their audience more.

Sound familiar?

The Dallas Cowboys are the number one brand in the NFL, far and away. The next three in order are : The Steelers, the Packers, and whoever is winning this season. Seriously. And like the Cubs, the fans are still talking about the last championship twenty five years ago and every flash of brilliance is met with the phrase "We're going to the Super Bowl!" They win just enough to make you mad. The team seems to keep a loaded roster, draw more primetime eyes than any other team in the league and JerryWorld may as well be a cathedral to the sport. It also stays packed. To the rafters.   

Sound familiar?

But for the Cubs it wasn't until they changed coaches in 2014 that things started to fall their way. With Ron's departure in Carolina, and Garrett's contract up at the end of the season, will the Jones boys get the hint? The players are frustrated, as are the fans. We lost to the Jets. I mean damn. (Okay, Philly lost to the Dolphins, but we can't count on that every week. LOL.) The Cowboys lucked into a season where everyone in their division but them are rebuilding or (also) struggling, so they're still driving the bus of their own destiny. And with the pieces they've assembled, they've got a shot at doing something great in the next few years. But not with their current head coach, who may get the un-coveted Marvin Lewis designation this off-season if things go wrong...for the fans.  

Dallas Fans waiting on the Jones Boys to get it right.

And this choke-hold on that branding spot and all the associated perks means the incentive to win a championship boils down to ego on the part of the owner.

Barkeep. If you could put a bottle of the Pappy Van Winkle aside for later, that would be swell. For now, vodka and OJ, two cubes.

So, this..

Ramblings Post #378
Find joy where you can. Find it in the warmth of the morning toast. Find it in the crisp of a cup of coffee. Find your joy in the morning jog, the desk for work, that traffic still irritates you for it means you care. Find your joy in faces of friends, in the smiles of children, in sunset. But not football, not if you're a Cowboys fan. 

Dallas has made painfully clear why last years swap of a first round draft pick for Amari Cooper was a good deal for them. Without a serious number one receiver on the field and healthy, there is no pressure to make defenses to slide back. Dallas is right back where it was last season before the trade, with defenses loading up the box and stuffing Zeke and the run game on sheer headcount alone. The offense that should put thirty-five up per game is bogged down. Along with a defense sorely lacking in confidence, to say that I am disappointed by the outcome of the Cowboys-Jets game is an understatement.

The fucking Jets?

I am certain that Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith are having a grand old time with this. Despite losing by a less than three with a missed field goal on the books - and we cut Dan Bailey - it won't matter. A loss by one counts the same as a loss by four touchdowns. And despite the division being weak and still sharing the lead, things don't look that great going forward. Better teams have to be faced in the coming weeks, and this turn of events...the inability to proceed minus a key player...does not trend well. At this point even Jerry Jones has admitted the team isn't as elite as we all thought it was. Good? The personnel alone make it good, but elite teams find a way, and we're still looking at the GPS.  

The fucking Jets?

I'm firm believer that on any given Sunday any team can be any other team. The football doesn't bounce straight, and neither do the circumstances surrounding it. As much as we consider skill, injuries and and little tiny things like a missed tackle here, a blown assignment there, a bad read and suddenly you're down (or up) by two scores. It happens. A lot of times the difference between a good team and bad team are just those moments. Elite teams keep those mistakes to minimum. And right now my Cowboys aren't doing a good job of that.


I had hoped that this was kind of long term strategy that learning the Philadelphia had lost and being unconcerned with the other two teams in the NFC east that the coaches had sat Amari because they figured the game didn't matter. He's been having foot issues so why not. But this is the NFL. All the games matter. And anything can happen. I like to think we're better than this. I would sincerely like to have the Cowboys prove it. 

The fucking dog-ass Jets?

Barkeep, I need the strong stuff. The 151. No chaser. I need to sweat this out.

Did not see that one coming...

Ramblings Post #376
Sport is BIG. Real BIG. Sport crosses lines that other subjects can't cross and brings together people who otherwise would have nothing in common. It unites and galvanizes. And understand in Europe it can lower GDP, cause wars and make people question their whole reality. Which makes me wonder if the amount of crazy we have about football in the South is just the right amount of crazy? 

In the midst of being take away lots of positives from the Cowboys pre-season play, 34-0 versus the Texans, and starting to get excited again for college football as Florida survived Miami in a barn burner, a blurb dropped on the crawl that made me pause. Andrew Luck announced his retirement. 

Wait, what? 

Andrew Luck was not even really in the prime of his career, as for me a QB doesn't really get rocking until he's 31. (Note: Yes, this means that Patrick Mahomes may be not allowed to be second halves by then - by a new NFL fairness rule or something). With all the injuries he'd already been through, and with the way the league is, one could figure that another rehab was par for the course. But his calf injury was lingering too long and despite QBs now playing into their late 30s and now 40s, don't get it twisted: Always be kind for you never know what battle someone else is waging. 

First, if Andrew Luck feels the need to retire, then he should go enjoy his life. That's it. Football ain't everything and injuries can continue with you long after you've hung up your helment. Most of those who made the snide comments about how he needs to man up haven't played the game. They don't know. Everyone who suits up isn't going to bite off the end of their finger or play though a broken neck for sake of the team or the game. Or be expected to do it three or four times. But it was that he said that his enjoyment of the game was gone was more telling to me. It takes a special mindset to suit and then run full speed into another person or let yourself be run at with the intention of full contact. Or go out in front of 80,000 screaming fans to be tested to your peak physically and mentally for three hours. Doing it and not feeling that joy, a sense of accomplishment or that it's your purpose, is just unfathomable. If the challenge leaves him empty, then it was past time to leave. 

My suggestion to him is go get healthy, rest his soul and the figure out what's next.  It might be going into real estate, or youth sports or back to school. After being away for a while you might even want to get back into football, who knows, but the important thing is the get your mind right first. This is admittedly less than perfect timing, at least from a team point of view, but then when is it ever the right moment? Better he leave now and give them a chance to mitigate than find himself unable to muster up that certain something in a crucial tight game moment.   

But more importantly I'm worried about Sporty, who is a big Colts fan. I have actually purchased Colts paraphernalia for her. For several seasons. I know she's not happy right now. Do you think now would be a bad time to suggest maybe becoming a Cowboys fan? Yeah, probably a bad time.

Barkeep. A tall cold one for Mr. Luck. May the next leg of his journey bring him peace. And no, that wasn't a joke about his calf injury...

We not even gonna wait for the season to start?

Ramblings Post #374
This long dreary season is almost over. No, not summer. It's been Africa hot this summer. Swing low sweet chariot negro spiritual hot in this piece. It's been a lot things this summer, and although long and dreary both apply, the season ain't the topic. No, I mean the NOT Football Season part of the year. Yes, in the southern US it's either Football season or it ain't. Everything else is semantics. So here we go again, and thank God someone is happy.

I almost like the Cowboys don't love me back....

First Zeke decides he needs an extension, or to re-negotiate, or be blessed or whatever, with two whole years left on his deal. Look I'm all for a player getting paid, but I'm also one in favor of fulfilling your obligations that you willingly agreed to. A year left might be okay to sidle back over to the table if you're looking for peace of mind, but two years just feels wrong.

And then Dak. *Really heavy...really really heavy...sigh*

Him. He's the someone happy. For now.

Look, let's be honest. Dak has been underpaid plain and simple. He was drafted as a placeholder/project with the commensurate deal (less than 700k per season) but due to a couple of injuries got an opportunity to shine and just went buck. It's the American dream honestly. He has lead his team to division wins two of the last three seasons, only the magic of Aaron Rodgers kept them out of an NFC championship game, and his numbers have been favorably comparable to guys who are considered the game's elite. All that while playing in an unimaginative offense and without a primary receiver for half a season or his top-tier running back for another. Now truth be told I think he benefited greatly his first year from having Romo in his ear, but that he's been able to keep most of going on his own since then is just incredible. And this season with a more creative coordinator I want to believe he might be going to back to a form closer to that of his rookie year. So he deserves a serious raise at this point. But it seems like he's trying to make them pay for what they did the Cold Crush.

Is he worth twenty million? Yes. Is he worth thirty? I can see it, but I'd need to dig into his numbers to justify it. Is he worth Forty Million American Dollars per season? He's still just playing the one position, right?

Look, I understand negotiation, they go low, you go high and then ya'll meet in the middle - so on that side of the table it behooves one to set the anchor as far up as you can. Makes sense, moves the numbers to your benefit. But this ain't the no-cap MLB or the Bird exception-SuperMax NBA, this is the "yeah, we're gonna need our playbook back" NFL. And in the NFL as it turns out sometimes the difference in a Superbowl season and a rebuilding year is the second string linebacker or reserve guard. Depth is the key, and that's hard as hell to achieve with a fifty three man roster when you're forced to put 30% of the payroll on a single person.    

I'm in favor of the man getting his money, but I'm of the opinion he (and his agent) need to look at the larger picture - Career and Money-wise.

On the career side, I think he needs to bet on the team and dial back his expectations so they can get and keep the talent in place around him. A great quarterback can only be great if the receivers catch the ball, and the half season between Dez and Amari should make that clear. They need a second and nice outlet receiver to complement their primary to keep the defense guessing. They also need a stout offensive line and of course Zeke, the engine that makes everything else work. All that costs money, and we've still got the whole defensive side to go. This team potentially has NFC East champ written all over it. I can even legitimately suggest Superbowl. If they can hold it together.

Money-wise, Dak already has some endorsements, and the addition of a Superbowl ring (or even an appearance) only makes those deals more lucrative to the interested parties. And that's where the real money lies if you're paying attention. Jordan hasn't played a game in decades but is still a marketable figure. Manning doesn't suit on Sundays but is still selling insurance because he has rings. Winning makes the big endorsement deals possible. And winning is a product of the efforts of the whole team.

Yes, it's a gamble, betting his future on the team's success. And not a particularly good one either. The NFL season is unforgiving and can be made or destroyed in the blink of an eye by forces you never even saw coming. You could run into another team on a hot streak and get demoralized early, a first string corner is hobbled and the pass defense goes to shit, an opposing defense discovers a weakness you didn't even realize you had, your mojo decides not to buy a season ticket, etc.. I fully understand the get your money idea. 

But I'm a fan. A die-hard fan. And it's been a long time since there was joy in Mudville. Er, I mean Dallas.

Barkeep. Just a beer. I'm tired.   
 

Don't Protest Shame Me Bro

Ramblings Post #340
I am, in case this is your first time reading, a Dallas Cowboy fan. Long time fan. Die Hard. When the Cowboys lose don't talk to me the next day  type of fan (see Broncos game). Let Dez score a TD or Zeke break a big run and suddenly "We going to the Superbowl" type of fan. And I realize that the NFL is flawed. I am fully cognizant. Rich old guys own the teams, young black people play. Completely aware. But I grew up in the South. I grew up when one of the most popular shows on TV featured a car with a confederate battle flag on top. I grew up in a town where they had a moment to fallen to the fallen southern soldiers in the town square. And because I was raised bathed in an almost casual racism, I don't see quite the way many others do. It's doesn't mean I'm not mad, it just means I've learned to endure differently. And that's okay. 

Apparently if I'm not completely and totally outraged enough to sit-in, stand-in, go on a hunger strike, chew rocks and march on Washington because (fill in the racial issue of your choice), them I'm a collaborating appeasing self hating respectability politics believing motherfucker and I'm not woke or really down for the struggle. What. The. Fuck. Ever. Because what I am is a grown ass man and I'm of the opinion that if your answer to every injury is burn it all down then I think you're not REALLY listening to what's being said. So, let's clear this up. Am I upset about police brutality and do I want to end the policies where police officers are not being punished for overstepping their authority or committing crimes? Yes, of course I am. Do I think Colin Kaepernick not only had a right to protest, that he did it in a way that was highly visible but not especially disruptive? Yes, it was a brilliant concept. Am I also watching pro football this season? You goddamned right I am. Because while Colin Kaepernick is a stalwart man of purpose and vision who believes in standing up for what he believes in, his protest was to bring attention to his issue. At no point did he say he wasn't willing to play. 

Now, does Kaepernick deserve a shot in the NFL? Considering his QB rating last season, around 90, and the current ratings of some of the starting QBs playing in the league, around 70 or below, then the logic says yes, he should have gotten a shot. Considering the play so far, some GM SHOULD be digging through their trash can right now looking for his number.  

But then, this is football. And if you know how football works, it's not simply how the numbers stack up because if it was there is no way to explain how all those castoffs and rejects end up doing all that winning up in Foxboro. Football judgement is murky, a custom combination of those numbers, a GM or coaches gut feelings, some arcane magic, blind luck and a unwavering belief that a players primary interest in football and football only. Not to diminish Kaepernick's stance, but we're talking about a league that dinged an high potential player who expressed a desire to pursue his opportunity to be a Rhodes scholar in the off season. Kaepernick is a very upfront social activist. Asking a team to hire a player deeply concerned about a social issue that they can't exploit AND who angers a great deal of their most loyal customer base is asking a lot.  

But however, just a a few games into the new season, some of these teams are going to have to make a decision even Kaepernick doesn't have to make: Principle or winning. I don't know how to explain this to a non-fan. Winning fixes a lot. Winners get a great deal of leeway. There are dyed-in-the-wool-name-their-child-Robert-E-Lee-fill-in-their-last-name racists in the south who punch the local sheriff in the mouth if he even thought about arresting the local black star athlete who ensures that his team WINS GAMES for anything less than...well, that's a pretty wide slot right there. Hell, murder is not even a lock if a championship is on the line. But you have TO WIN. And although Kaepernick statistically is a better quarterback than more than few guys who have jobs at this point in the season, unless he's guaranteed to put W's on the board, thereby mitigating they social backlash from their socially unaware season ticket holders (and there are apparently a lot of them) it becomes a tricky question for the Owner and GM. Bring in a better QB (Kap), piss off the fan base and hope he wins games, Or stick to their asinine principle, continue to lose and lose the fan base anyway?    

Money is a powerful thing. But it has no conscience. And no memory. 

I'm of the opinion that a few more games in or the someone else gets hurt and somebody will be desperate enough to have to re-prioritize (see Bengals). The slump in TV ratings and the empty stadiums will only speed things along, provided that the league can package their capitulation properly. And then the rubber meets the road and Kap better win, or then we've got a whole new problem. Would we be just as outraged he couldn't find a job...if he was subpar? Now there is an interesting question. 

I'm not against protesting. And I damn sure don't think Kaepernick should have stuck to sports, after all nobody is telling J.J. Watt to stick to sports. (By the way, Watt is admirable for using his platform to help out hurricane victims - Just like Kap is trying to help his people. Kap started something there.) But protest fatigue is a very real thing. It's hard not to get overwhelmed when it seems like a never ending onslaught. This one, this particular protest, is just not for me. But, let's be clear, here. Should we protest when we as a people are injured by institutional racism and those whose ingrained biases distort their vision of our reality? Hell yes. Every single infraction? Bruh, there isn't that much time. 

Barkeep. I'll not need my protesting libations today. But keep them handy.

And then the Atlanta Falcons...

Ramblings Post #331
Let me say first that my team had a good run. And hopefully, the Cowboys will take this as a sign that great things are possible with that team. I blame the end of the Green Bay game on the coaching staff, who called for Dak to spike the ball on that last drive with about 40 seconds left when they should have run a play (possibly a nice sweep? Out of bounds and advance the ball). Now we just need to get through the off-season and free agency - pray for the secondary - and maybe I'll get a return of the 'Boys to Superbowl when it's in Atlanta. Whooo! 

I'm not a Falcon fan. I've lived in Atlanta for a while, but I'm not a fan. It's called loyalty to my actual team. But this year the Falcons are going to the Superbowl. The big game. Going for the whole enchilada. The city will be...well, I'll get to that, but in the end I'm still not even going to even pretend to be a Falcon fan. So I'm giving away my seat on the bandwagon. It's seat 30,486A. I don't know who is in 30,486B, sorry.

Outsiders don't know this, but some of the great annual parties of the year in Atlanta (in any circuit you travel) are in conjunction with the most watched sporting event in the America. In my youth I've attended as many as five different functions on game day alone, my youth in this case being my early-thirties. In fact, one of the first great parties I attended in Atlanta was for the game, and it was that party, in an unfinished basement holding a red solo cup that I knew I'd moved to the right town. Sigh. Since then I've been to parties for the game in spaces that probably weren't a thousand square feet, in halls and showrooms, and yet others at mansions with 100-inch projections screens on the lower level and 60 inches upstairs. Some games I've run into people I haven't seen in a decade and at others made new hang-out buddies. It's a feast, a party and good time.   

Now, generally we folks down here in the ATL find out who won on Sportscenter sometime around eleven (if the TV is still on) or later when you finally make it home. A typical party for the game includes a DJ during commercials, food that is gone by halftime, a full donation bar, lively conversations and catching up, and a brief pause for the halftime show if it's somebody good. There is dancing afterwards if you push the furniture back, and maybe even a little after game entertainment depending on the host. There may even be five or ten fans of one of the teams playing in attendance, Atlanta is a city of transplants after all, but the vast majority of the crowd usually turns out of the festivities, not the game itself.

Don't believe for a moment that they aren't serious.

This year however, people will actually be watching the game. As in paying attention to the play calling, down and distance, yelling at the screen, and cursing the refs. I'm going to get commentary about whose open, formations and shrieks of terror or joy depending on the action. People will be caring about who wins. People will be actual FANS. I am filled with dismay.

Even worse, the really cool folks are headed to Houston. Damn if they're gonna miss this. Ticket or no ticket, they just want to be close. I'm not sure if the NFL is ready for all that. This means the parties for those of use left behind might be half empty. Ugh.

I'm sorry my fellow good time revelers, the light-hearted bootleg holiday that is the Superbowl isn't coming this year.  At least not in Atlanta.

Houston bound.

Somewhere on February 5th, the game will be in the third quarter and people will not even notice. They'll might be enjoying a drink with friends, telling a ribald tale and sharing a laugh, or perhaps sneaking a glance to see if that attractive person they noticed earlier is looking their way. Wings and blue cheese, chips and dip, possibly a brawt or two will be consumed leisurely. Alas, I will not be there. Alas.

Bartender, something in a cup. With a lid. That seals. And make it strong.   

Yeah, We still Dem Boys..

Ramblings Post #329
I would like to thank the fair weather fans for their brief stay, and wish them well wherever they land. Git, and don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you! And I would like to remind everyone that we've already punched our playoff ticket, and while I'd love home field as long as we get there and win one I'll feel good about this year. 

After an epic run, the Cowboys have finally lost a game. To them damn NY Giants. I would have preferred Minnesota, but you take what you can get. And now you're saying, whut?

Contrary to the hopes of other Cowboy fans, I wasn't hoping for a run of the table and a one loss season heading into the second season. This is a young team, lead by a rookie, playing wide open get at you football. They'd beat the Ravens with the best defense in football and the Steelers with a last second drive. Their only loss was practically a fluke, with it being blamed on a single player trying to do too much. And as good as they've been, these wins haven't been knock you down and walk away laughing wins, but battles in the trenches that only looked easy in retrospect. 

The Cowboys needed a team loss, where they just didn't execute  and played bad before they got into the one and done shoot-out that is the playoffs. The offense has played badly but still found a way to win, so the team needed loss to get their minds right that they aren't invincible, and what is required for the rest of journey is a new level of commitment  that may not have been needed before or could have been excused from time to time.  And I don't mean this just for Dak and Zeke, who seem surprisingly mature for the little bit of time they've been in the league, but also for the coaches who didn't want to stay creative and appeared to only dabble in play design when it was convenient. I put most of this loss on them: the coaches.

What I really don't want is Dak to end up like RGIII, a phenom in his first season who faded as soon as opposing teams figured him out. And while Dak is consistent, the coaches really haven't gotten creative in the play calling for him with rare exception. Which means other teams who previously had no film now can see what he does, and see that he does it all the damn time. Which is bad. 

Are the Cowboys a Superbowl contender this year? Hell yeah. If they stay healthy and get their minds right.  Will be easy? If it was easy it wouldn't be the NFL. The remaining games are winnable, with I think Tampa Bay and Philadelphia being the more likely and Detroit being a struggle. Two of three wins or one win and a loss by the Giants (who also plays Detroit) means a lock for the division and home field. But it's not over yet. There is still a lot of football to play, and the 'boys have had penchant in the past of pulling defeat from the jaws of victory, but this year I think 'we in there'. And all signs point to that being the case for a while. 

So, take the loss as a reality check. Head back to Jerryworld and let's dig down and see what we're made of. Okay?

How 'bout them Cowboys!

Barkeep. Tequila shots for everybody. I got a good feeling about dem Boys!

No, the 'Boys are NOT back in town...

Ramblings Post #306
My brother thinks that Dallas fans are the worst. A win, even by the skin of the teeth, and we start talking about a Superbowl run. I like to think of it as just confidence. We're no worse than nutty Steeler fans or Browns fans, or whatever bandwagon is hot right now because somebody won a few games. I mean, before they won the Superbowl was anybody a Seahawks fan? Tell the truth. But now that I think about it, technically, even now, we could still make a run. I'm just saying. 

There is an old saying, "I root for my team and whoever is playing the Cowboys." It says a lot more about the nature of the game as a whole than about anything else. But I am, as you have to know by now, a die-hard Cowboy fan. And now, as the nadir of our season, I have a couple of things I need to share.

As much I think of Tony Romo, he is on the tail end of great career and after this second injury trying to do too much, should start looking at the next phase of his life. And although the Romo era should be over as of now, it won't be for the reasons we'll see every Sunday between now and the end of the season - there is no one else. Not in development or even on the radar. We have clearly demonstrated that we have no reliable understudy. So, if he desires, Romo will suit up next year and try again to make the dream of  Jerry personally building a Superbowl team come true. Yes, I went there. After Jones famously "bought" his way into the league, he hired the best and won Superbowls. Only Jones didn't get the credit, the coach did. And he's been trying to prove that it was all his idea ever since. Seriously.

Jones was a money man, good with deal making and profit margins. He can build a stadium or put together a marketing deal that makes you marvel at his mastery. But football is, ...well, it's football. It's a whole different skill set, involving guessimation, personal projections, gut feelings and a dozen other intangibles that are beyond quantification. So, while money helps in football, it alone does NOT buy championships. If you think about it, Jones would have let go someone who was as unsuccessful at being general manager as he has been many, many YEARS ago. But it's "his" team so he gets a pass. And what has come to pass for that pass is for the past twenty years Jones has been tinkering and plugging in pieces, each one he can call his own handiwork so that all of the credit will be all his. Even the coaching staff. And after assembling this team of great talent, apparently held together by duct tape and bailing wire, here at the end we find he's still missing a few parts.

As we all know, winning hides a lot of holes, but losing exposes everything. Cam Newton and Colin Kapernick had similar numbers at the point in the season Kap got benched - but Kap was losing and Cam was going undefeated, so who cares. My team hasn't been so lucky, even in what is right now an actual version of  the Norris division in the NFL. Dallas needs..., well they need a lot, but let's go through this carefully. They need a quarterback of the future, a serious running back since we let the last one walk out the door, another receiver to complement Dez and the next generation of Jason Witten. Continuing to build the offensive line wouldn't hurt either. Defensive ends who aren't the focus of social justice would also be appreciated. A higher caliber of corner or three would also be nice. So like... everything. But they're still my team though. My team good or bad.

Let's be realistic. Jerry may resort to the draft for the running back, there are too many good pieces out there, and if he's smart take a developmental player in the second round, if we still have picks. Do we have any picks? Beyond that is a wheeler-dealer crapshoot of epic proportions. My concern lies with Jones's penchant for player "rehab" work, see Terrell and Hardy. And now with Manziel on his way out in Cleveland, I'm seriously revisiting the idea of the city of Dallas buying the team out from under him, or using eminent domain or something. Something!

It's hard being a Cowboy fan right now. That's all I got to say.

Barkeep. The brown. Three ice cubes. No chaser. 

Opening a Pandora's Box

This is a political post.

I'm not sure what time the President of the University of Missouri resigned, but I can assure you that fifteen minutes after the announcement that at every university with a sizable athletic program that every campus activist, at least those that already weren't at the athletic dorms because setup looked promising, was headed that way. Every single we will overcome, we must protest, we need a safe space, we need more of program X, the university needs to divest, the the cafeteria is serving green jello and that's the color of money and I am triggered crusader one and all. And you thought the jocks beat out the nerds before? Man, talk about making someone the big man on campus.

I once tried to explain that this is why the President doesn't do everything he's legally allowed to by executive order. All it takes is one, and suddenly you have to have brought enough for everybody. And while this issue may be understandable if not fully justified, the next one may be controversial if not individually self serving and possibly destructive in the longer term. I'm fairly certain there is a political science major down there now explaining to the home team about the power they just found out they possess. At least I hope there is, because they should explain the downsides as well. At the bare minimum let's pray that someone remembers their Spiderman and invokes "with great power comes great responsibility." 

And by the way, the NCAA is in trouble and ain't even know it.

I can already see a protest before the big rivalry game to change school policy on admissions? Or before a bowl appearance to get appropriations for a particular subject? Imagine a threatened walkout before the national championship game to get fill in the blank?

What will play out in the next few months, or possibly even into the college basketball season has the possibility to change the entire idea of college and college athletics as we know it. I'm not even going to go into the NCAA rules involving paying athletes or side jobs, those are obvious. And if this does spill over into basketball season you might go to sleep and wake up to find your Alma mater has had to replace the board to get the team to suit up for the tourney. Think about the implications. It is possible that a particularly persuasive social justice movement may actually cause the implosion of a prominent program if the NCAA feels forced to revive the death penalty in response. 

One only hopes that college athletics have advanced enough that the players realize that only the most serious of subjects deserve this kind of attention and they shouldn't let themselves be manipulated into serving the interests of those who are only interested in them because of the potential power they possess. This was a particularly unique situation, or should be considered so, and thus repeats of this extreme should be rare and infrequent. This should be preached to the team, not necessarily by the coaching staff but by the players to themselves, and if possible to more even keeled of their fellow students.

Well, the box is open. Now let's see what happens. 

Ah, Football Season

Ramblings Post #297
There are many unofficial holidays in America. Days when things just don't happen. The day after Thanksgiving is one. The Friday before Memorial Day and Labor Day. These are days when we're either in recovery from what we did, or preparing to go do something we'll need to recover from. But most of our unofficial holidays involve sport. Opening Day of Baseball Season. The day the new Madden comes out. The Monday after the Superbowl. It is a great time to be alive. 

There is nothing quite like football season. When I was younger, the smell of the pads, the feel of the grass when you stretched, that first crunching hit of the day. It seemed like old times. I didn't play for long, had knee surgery my senior year of high school (that along with some local shenanigans) so I moved on. But it was a good time to be alive and playing football.

As they say, the game has changed. I used to dream of playing, now I dream of owning a team.

But all that aside, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick should be kicked out of football and have no hope of reaching the Hall of Fame. For the judge who handled the case to believe that because the rules and penalties for cheating weren't clearly spelled out there should be no punishment (that's really what the ruling says, not that Brady is innocent) is a farce. I'm with the consensus that the judge probably has Brady on his fantasy team. My understanding is that this punishment is really like an Oscar for what is universally perceived as a merely good performance, i.e, you're not really getting this because you were the best, you're getting this because of something you did in the past. Because if you read the Spygate overview, and i did, I'm quite frankly surprised that two or three folks didn't have to involuntarily retire. Forty games is a lot of games. 

And to top off this inauspicious start to the season, the first game is the Steelers vs the Patriots. I'm not sure who is worse, the Steeler fans or the Pats fans. But since the Pats fans seem to be okay with blatant cheating, I'm hoping the Steelers pull it out. Wait is wrong to root for a tie?

Barkeep. It's beer tonight. But that low cal stuff, okay? Beer guts aren't cute.

I just wanted to win...

Ramblings Post #290
It is what it's gonna be. I've been gone for a minute, if it wasn't one thing it was another. But I'm back and after liking the Cowboys draft I'm back on football for a minute. I got a few other things I'm gonna comment on, a few other ideas rolling around my head but right now I'm on this. So don't let the smooth taste fool ya!

The Jets fans move quick - via Manish Mehta's twitter  

First, let’s get one thing straight.

The NFL is punishing Tom Brady and the Pats for cheating on the field during a game. I’ve seen a number of memes about how the league is treating this “trifle” as a similar infraction to domestic violence or alleged child abuse, and it’s not a fair comparison. Those issues people like to point out are issues from outside of football, societal issues, and we’ve only recently, for other reasons, taken to punishing those individuals extra-judicially in this forum for those infractions. But that shouldn’t minimize or mitigate any discussion about “on the field” infractions and their penalties. 

So there’s that.

Now, after reading an article on Slate, by what must have been a Patriots fan, I seriously think that Brady and the Pats got off easy. Playing in the NFL, as we get reminded often isn’t a right but a privilege. That the golden boy is still playing at all is a miracle after he stood up and blatantly lied to the press that he knew nothing about it, refused to cooperate with the investigation and we found out there was a guy on the Patriots’ staff who called himself “the deflator”. It’s not like he was deflating them for the backup QBs.

Again, the person who intercepted the ball had it for less than 30 seconds and knew something was off with it. For Brady to have handled it 50 times in the same game and not noticed the difference borders on the surreal. Brady has played football man and boy for more than 20 years. He should intuitively know how the ball feels. Imagine your keyboard at work is missing a single key. You might not notice at first, but as the day goes on it would become an issue, wouldn’t it? Unless of course, you were "used" to it being that way. (Note: this is not implying that this happens all the time and this is one time they got caught. I would not do that. )    

The reality is a top tier team getting caught cheating for the second time (see Spygate) is shortly going to start having detrimental effects upon the integrity of the game – if not angering the 31 other owners who are getting cheated. Are they really a top tier team? Were all those wins really wins? Because letting some people cheat begets why this set of rules questions, a performance enhancing drug conversation, a salary cap discussion, then even a bigger money roundtable and before you know it we have the two richest teams playing each in the SuperBowl every year because no one else can afford to compete.* Slipperly slopes are slippery for a reason.

Brady is 37, way past his prime, and if he isn’t already, should be thinking hard about retirement.  Let’s be honest, the only reason he didn’t get a year off is because his name is Brady he puts buts in the seats. But we have to do something now, some sort of punishment, as this will all be forgotten by the time the Hall of Fame question arises. What’s sad is that this means the NFL doesn’t have the integrity of International Bike Racing.  

Barkeep. Another Lime Rickey.

*Yeah, like baseball. Keep in mind this might take twenty years to happen. But since the now DBs are just about having to defend with their hands behind their backs this isn’t as crazy as it sounds.

No, Game Theory (or really anything else) does NOT get Carroll off the hook

Ramblings Post #284
I’m not an explainer. Well, yeah I am. Maybe. I like to think of myself as a storyteller, as someone who weaves a tale, crafts a narrative, who gooses the imagination onto a journey so rich that you know more than I said when I’m finished. But as I understand it, the term storyteller probably isn’t as sexy as could be and probably has some weird connotations from childhood lingering about it. I’ll be an explainer.  

Apparently there is a concerted global movement to make Pete Carroll’s decision at the end of the Superbowl sound reasonable. Trying to explain away what was a colossal blunder, people have tried to use statistics, completion rates, time management concepts, Game Theory or just plain ole “strategery”. And not one makes sense, not people who know the sport. And not as long as the goal line offensive formation is a thing.

The Patriots run a GOAL LINE OFFENSE

Yes. This is a thing. Every team in the league has this formation and this basic play in their play book.

There are times in football where you NEED a yard. Just one.  It’s no secret, The other team knows you need a yard. And you know you’re going to run it, and they know you’re going to run it. You’ve brought out the big blockers; there aren’t even any receivers on the field. It's no longer a chess match or any other analogy of great minds meeting. You have to man up, put a body on a body and just go and get it. No excuses.

The sequence should have been, barring a touchdown at any point in the chain that with 26 seconds left to play is…

A) you run the ball.  From the goal line formation you can go up the gut, off tackle, race to the pylon, or whatever. The defense has to cover 50 yards with 11 men and if Lynch gets a one on one he is most likely to move whoever he hits backwards. It is the low risk, high reward play. If Lynch is one one he could have held the ball forward to score. But in the unlikely event that fails, you burn your last time out which gives you 20 to 17 seconds left. Then …

B) you pass.  This should be a fade pattern or maybe a hitch and go. Out to edge in single coverage.  Play fake the run or even a bootleg since Wilson is mobile. But it’s an endzone or bust play. He throws it to where only his guy can catch it over the top or out of bounds. If it’s a hitch, the point is the pylon or out of bounds.  If you don’t make it the clock is stopped with maybe 10 seconds left, and then…

C) You run the ball. All or nothing. Line up ten and quarterback versus eleven and go get it. You have a bruiser running back and he can stretch his arm to get it. 

This is how legends are made.

For Petey to figure on a “throwaway” play when there are points needed to be scored, and no points are guaranteed in the NFL, is at the level that he is coaching a complete collapse of judgment. Yes, Football is complex and strategic a game of inches, but sometimes you just have to be the better player and just want it more than other guy.

So Yes, it is one of the dumbest playcalls in football history.

Barkeep. Bourbon. Ice. Splash of soda.

"Did I do that?": or Modern NFL Playcalling

Ramblings Post #283
There is no try, you either do or you do not. Otherwise you are comedy relief, much like the red-hot Seahawks, who like raised their arms in triumph before they broke the tape and took the win. It was football history, in all the bad ways imaginable. All I can say is, thank god it wasn't my Cowboys.  

I read a column called Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN because the author is a fun read, between his statistics, suggestions for improvement political commentary and observations. I started when it was on Slate and it is a regular Tuesday afternoon read. One of the things he closes out with, along with the “obscure collegiate school scores”, is a little feature called the dumbest play of the season so far. Now, I’m not the authority here, but I think you know my nominee for THE hands down dumbest playcall of the year. 

What would be a reasonable rationale for not running Marshawn Lynch from the ONE-yard line to win?

I’m fairly certain that somewhere in a press conference after the game every reporter in the room shook their heads in disbelief as Carroll broke down the rationale used to justify that playcall. If they didn’t all look skeptical at the explanation then they should have. At least one guy should have yelled out “Bullsh*t” from the back of the room no matter what was said. This all may have happened, as I went to a Superbowl party and pretty much the second that play was over we all stopped watching. After we all stopped cursing.  My god what a bad call. 

There is an old football axiom, “When you pass the ball, three things can happen and two of them bad.” In this case four or five things could have gone bad. Run the ball and you reduce the bad. Carroll figured it for a throwaway play. Throwaway play? They might have been on the one but the game wasn't won yet! They were still down. 

Maybe “The Furry Phenom” Wilson has a clause in contract that he has to be the hero, ala Tony Romo? Or maybe Carroll was scared that Lynch would dance around the endzone holding himself in an inappropriate manner during his celebration on national TV and inducing every manner of fine imaginable? Maybe they started celebrating early? Who knows, but under the circumstances, the Patriots didn’t really win as much as the Seahawks gave the game away.

Lynch was averaging almost four and half yards per carry. And you throw.

You had almost 30 seconds and a timeout. And you throw. 

You needed ONE yard. And you throw. 

What’s really going on? Because I know people who don’t even follow sports, who only watched the one game per year because all their friends do and that’s where the food is, and even they know you run the ball in that situation. If you had a Calvin Johnson or a Dez Bryant maybe, just maybe, you try a fade route. Maybe. But everyone else knows to run it. Run it. 

Barkeep. Something strong because now I gotta listen to Pats fans until next season. Yeesh.

The NFL does racing & other country stories

Ramblings Post #281
In the movie The Big Year, there is a moment when one of the protagonists meets the theoretical villain of the piece, only to find out that while he formidable, he's also honest. When asked about it he goes "Nobody wants to be known as the cheater back at the clubhouse." It's an interesting take on life, a true bit of character,  that makes him a little more human, even as he does less than nice things. If only life were like that.   

Is Tom Brady a country boy? Did he grow up on NASCAR? Because there is an old saying in the racing game, “that if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”  That 11 of the 12 balls were under-inflated isn't coincidence, it's a scheme. Anyone who plays a sport knows that any sport worth playing is worth winning, and a little cheating is expected.  But there is a limit to what is acceptable cheating, a nudge and wink here or there, and just poor sportsmanship. And I think Brady crossed the line.

I say Brady because Belichick strikes me as a brighter guy than that. I combine that fact with other pro quarterbacks saying it would have helped tremendously with his game, and that they've known it to have been done before, to form my opinion. I mean, Nike once sent Tiger Woods golf balls, and he sent them back indicating which ones were off weight by feel of the ball on the club alone. That Tom Brady, a man who has played quarterback man and boy for more than 20 years wouldn’t have realized that his primary tool felt “off” stretches the limits of believability. The guy who intercepted the ball and held it for less than 30 seconds could tell it was deflated.

Think about it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I haven't like the Patriots since the spying on the other team thing from way back, so there maybe so ire here. I mean, I admire the Jaguars more at this point, at least I'm sure that they come by their victories honestly. It's a way of looking at the world I guess. I read the ESPN poll where pretty much half the country doesn't think it's a big deal, which says a lot. They're supposed to be the Patriots, the closest thing we have to a dynasty in football right now. That people are okay with the successful getting away with bending the rules is just... well, I'm at a loss for words. 

To me this begs the question: How many other times have they not played by the rules, and just not been caught?

Barkeep. A lime rickey. Yes, seriously.