One of the last times Rick Telander was heard from on this blog, he was growing more and more discontented with John Fox as the Bears head coach and reminiscing about the days when Bruce Jenner was a manly athlete and not a woman. Rick has a history of complaining about small problems in sports (and apparently others agreed with Rick that the height of the rim was too short in the NBA) and now Rick has noticed that NHL players are sporting playoff beards. Rick says he isn't "splitting hairs" (get it? GET it? GET IT?...it's a play on words about a beard consisting of human hair and it's funny...or not) and that the NHL players need to find a new tradition rather than growing playoff beards. Rick wrote this on June 11, which was smack-dab right in the middle of the Blackhawks march to another Stanley Cup title and all he could do was talk about playoff beards and how bad they suck. One would think there are more meaningful columns to be written during this time. One would be wrong.
Is it possible to have a meaningful discussion about Stanley Cup-winning hockey and beards?
No, because they are beards and pretending these players having playoff beards is important in any way is just laughable, no matter what any NBC executive claims otherwise. It's like having a meaningful discussion about whether Chipotle, Moe's, or Qdoba has better food. Everyone knows it's Chipotle, so there is no point in having the conversation.
In case you missed it, the players on the Blackhawks and Tampa Bay
Lightning, who are tied at two victories apiece in the Stanley Cup
Final, have beards. (Unless there’s a hairless renegade hiding in the
blade-sharpening room, which I don’t believe there is.)
They have beards! Oh no!
And not just beards. They have gross, tangly, unkempt things often
referred to as ‘‘neckbeards,’’ historically featured on anti-social
mountain men, deceased presidents and biblical characters. And Captain
Ahab had a dandy.
I don't think the purpose of these beards is to look attractive, so the argument, "they should be more attractive" fails as a real, cogent argument as to why these beards should be shaved. The beards don't negatively impact how they perform on the ice and somehow presidents, though deceased (no telling on whether it is the fault of their beard for their present condition or not), managed to achieve something while having beards.
This is a playoff tradition, so to speak, even though its roots
(roots?) can be traced back to something as banal as the New York
Islanders growing out their whiskers during playoff runs back in the
1980s.
Yes, the Islanders won four Cups during that period, but have you
heard from them lately? Plus, former Islanders defenseman Denis Potvin
has been quoted as saying none of the hirsuteness was by design.
Oh, well if it wasn't by design then obviously a terrible mistake has been made. Playoff camaraderie as shown by not shaving isn't something that should just happen, camaraderie has to be built purposefully over a period of time. It's not real unless it's planned and contrived.
‘‘It was just something that kind of happened,’’ he said.
The end of civilization is nigh'. Unplanned beards are popping up everywhere.
None of this would matter, except that fully bearded hockey players look ugly.
Yep, and as I said, if the argument against playoff beards are "they look ugly," then these beards truly don't matter. The players aren't trying to look attractive, they are growing beards to show camaraderie. "You look ugly" is a dumb retort to hockey players essentially saying through the action of not shaving, "We don't care how we look."
But it’s the essential ugliness and disguise that come with the
beardedness that has NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus’ whisker-free face
in a grimace.
Oh no, a wealthy television executive is upset. How can he be appeased? Mark Lazarus' opinion on the facial hair of athletes must be addressed and corrected immediately.
And his opinion matters because NBC Sports has a $2
billion deal to broadcast NHL games.
Actually, Lazarus' opinion still doesn't matter because he doesn't play hockey, isn't married to any of the hockey players and should only care (like the fans do) whether the games are exciting and garnering good ratings. Good ratings do not depend on playoff beards. I can't imagine someone not watching a hockey game because the players' beards are too ugly to look at. It's hockey. Players have broken noses, bloody lips, missing teeth and probably a concussion, being attractive isn't a part of the deal while on the ice.
Lazarus told sports-media writer Ed Sherman on Tuesday: ‘‘I wish they
all would stop growing beards in the postseason. Let’s get their faces
out there. Let’s talk about how young and attractive they are, what
model citizens they are.’’
You can still talk about how young they are and what model citizens they are. The beard may takeaway attractiveness to some, but I would have to think the big helmet over their head probably hurts the whole "sexy" nature of the sport while it's being played on the ice more than anything else.
‘‘I think [the beards do] hurt recognition,’’ Lazarus went on. ‘‘They
have a great opportunity with more endorsements. Or simply more
recognition, with fans saying, ‘That guy looks like the kid next door,’
which many of these guys do.’’
This is a good reason why NFL players have so many problems getting endorsements. What does Russell Wilson even look like? Who knows, because he always has that stupid helmet on his head. Remove the helmet, then maybe an NFL player will have an opportunity to get some endorsements and more recognition. It's the same issue with hockey. Nevermind there is an entire regular season game schedule consisting of 82 games where there are no playoff beards, it's the playoff beards that cause these players to lose endorsements. It seems Mark Lazarus is under the impression there is no regular season in the NHL.
But I agree with Lazarus — who is, sadly, not related to Sun-Times
hockey writer Mark Lazerus — that the beards are dumb and stale.
If anyone knows about things that may be dumb and stale, it's Rick Telander. After all, his writing career is becoming dumb and stale if all he has to discuss in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals is playoff beards. This is the same Stanley Cup Finals where the hometown team was attempting to win their third Stanley Cup title in less than a decade. Playoff beards, that's what should really be the topic of discussion for a Chicago-based writer though.
Everybody looks the same with a beard, like genetic splicing run amok.
Perhaps Rick thinks all white people look alike or he has face blindness. I don't watch that much hockey (though I do enjoy it whenever I do) and I can tell the difference in the players. Plus, there are these things on the back of the uniform right above the player's number. It's called "the player's name" which really helps me figure out which players are which. It's the same thing everyone has to use when watching the NFL because it's hard to tell the players apart on the field otherwise. Somehow football fans don't get too confused. Try to pay attention to the names on the back of the uniforms. It may help more than Rick thinks.
My question is this: Why doesn’t a team such as the Hawks have the
courage and creativity to do something different with their manliness
and be a true difference-making dynasty?
The Blackhawks are not a true difference-making dynasty because they have playoff beards. Obviously.
My question is this: Why should the Blackhawks have to do something different with their manliness and spend time thinking of ways to be courageous and creative when that time could be used figuring out how they will win another Stanley Cup title? Is the Blackhawks' dynasty really going to be dependent on whether they wore playoff beards or not?
‘‘The worst has got to be Teuvo [Teravainen],’’ backup goalie Scott
Darling said. ‘‘He’s got the [Justin] Bieber ’stache going. I said, ‘By
the time you can actually grow one, it’s going to be illegal.’ ’’
The players enjoy playoff beards. Let them enjoy it and stop being an old man.
The point is, break away. Do your own thing. Be original.
My advice would be to continue to win hockey games, since that's the entire point of being in the playoffs and all. The Blackhawks are doing their own thing. They are winning Stanley Cup titles, not trying to set a fashion trend. And no, playoff beards aren't holding them back from getting endorsements and or winning "People Magazine's Sexist Man of the Year" award.
That’s how a team can win titles, too — by thinking outside the, uh, barber’s chair.
Apparently a team can win titles by growing playoff beards, because the Blackhawks have won plenty of Stanley Cup titles when the entire team was growing a playoff beard. And saying they need to "think outside the barber's chair" is an indication the team should not go to the barber's chair, thereby not getting their face shaved. Rick Telander wants hockey players to think inside the barber's chair. Oh, and it's so stupid to equate shaving as a way to win titles. It's just stupid and whether the hockey players shave or not is so irrelevant I don't see how this is an issue for Rick.
Coach Joel Quenneville certainly went all over the place in the
Hawks’ victory in Game 4, mixing up his lines as though he had flung a
deck of cards in the air.
As we know, we can’t trust either coach to tell us the truth about
injuries, strategies or much else. And we won’t know whether Lightning
goalie Ben Bishop, who was held out of Game 4, will play in Game 5 until
the puck drops.
Rick doesn't have enough material to write an entire column on this issue, so he has to go off-topic briefly in order to hit the word count he wants to hit. Modern sports journalism at it's best. Telander writes an uninspired and irrelevant article bemoaning the existence of playoff beards and still has to pad it with enough rambling to hit the required word count.
But back to the beard thing. Think about it, Hawks. Think about a new tradition.
Yes, think about not having playoff beards because Rick Telander doesn't like them. I also like the idea of starting a new tradition, all while Rick provides no real suggestions for a new tradition. Just do it. It's Rick's decree, so make it be.
Be creative. More creative than Rick Telander, who wrote this uninspired column and can't even be creative enough to suggest another playoff tradition. All he is worried about is ensuring the sexiness of the NHL players shines through. Obviously these playoff beards, not the helmets or the fact hockey isn't the most popular sport in the United States, is the reason these players don't get endorsements.
How about reverse bearding? Start the playoffs with a fully grown beard,
then reduce it each series — first to a goatee, then to a mustache
before finishing with (ta-da!) soul patches.
Right, but the players would have to grow a beard during the regular season, thereby hurting the chances fans will recognize the players, reducing their sexiness and preventing the players from receiving endorsements. So Rick's only solution to growing playoff beards is for NHL players to grow regular season beards. If you know why regular season beards will not hurt endorsements and recognition for NHL players, like Mark Lazarus and Rick Telander claim occurs when playoff beards are grown, then please tell me. It sounds like Rick is suggesting the players grow a beard for a longer period of time during the regular season (in order to grow a full beard) as an alternative to growing playoff beards. Because apparently endorsements and recognition aren't important during the regular season. The regular season consists of a larger number of games than the playoffs by the way.
And Coach Q? Well, if he had a full beard, we’d know who Santa Claus really is.
Yes, Rick does know dumb and stale best. This last sentence shows this clearly.
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
2 comments MMQB Review: The Insanity of the NFL Has Blown Peter's Mind Until It Blows His Mind Again Next Year Edition
We still have open spots in the fantasy baseball league and if anyone
wants to join then send me an email to bengoodfella@yahoo.com and I
will send you an invite.
Peter King detailed his brief trip to Iceland in last week's MMQB. Peter also dismissed the importance of signing big name free agents and spending money early in free agency, all while saturating his coverage in MMQB with rumors and discussion of where the big name free agents will land and which teams will be spending money early in free agency. This week talks about the Sam Bradford trade to the Eagles, thoughts on the free agency moves that "shook up" the football world (not that Peter would ever go overboard with hyperbole or anything...this has been the craziest offseason since at least last year's offseason though), puts a timeline to Darrelle Revis because Peter can't get enough of discussing Revis, and laughably says he spoke with "someone" on the competition committee about rule changes regarding what constitutes a catch and everyone knows that "someone" was Jeff Fisher. I mean, come on, Peter has mentioned 2-3 times in MMQB he's had conversations about Jeff Fisher and what constitutes a catch. I would bet this "someone" is Fisher.
The NFL’s opening weekend is 26 weeks away, which is why there’s no good reason to say the sky is falling in any NFL market.
I hope Peter is sure to tell other sportswriters that the sky is not falling in any NFL market as they award the "winners" and "losers" of the free agency period.
And of course, what follows in this MMQB will be Peter's judgments on what NFL teams did or didn't do in free agency. The sky isn't falling, but judgment day for offseason moves has arrived.
This morning, before I get to one of the strangest weeks in NFL offseason history, three notes:
CRAZIEST NFL OFFSEASON EVER!*
*Until the next offseason
In Hawaii early this morning Eastern Time, the National Football League Players Association elected DeMaurice Smith to a third three-year term as executive director. It seems amazing that Smith was elected unanimously on the first ballot, seeing that he had eight challengers in an impassioned run-up to the vote. Smith was vulnerable in this election, for many reasons—including the impression that he did a bad deal with the 2011 CBA and his consistently contentious relationship with the league—but none of his challengers could muster the required 17 of 32 votes from the player reps who spent the weekend listening to proposals for the job.
It's almost like the NFL players eventually recognized the big beef they had with Smith was the result of an agreement they themselves had approved.
There’s some noise out there that Adrian Peterson could be traded to Arizona. Well, I guess he could, at some point. But the money would be a major problem. I spoke with a reliable Cardinals source Sunday night, and the three years and $45 million left on Peterson’s contract is an absolute non-starter with the Cards.
What? Why would paying a running back $15 million per year be a non-starter? Though I do like the idea if Peterson landed with the Cards then sportswriters would talk about how Bruce Arians made a brilliant move, while Chip Kelly continues to be beaten up for signing DeMarco Murray for less money than Peterson makes.
It's funny how things change so quickly. Last year, Kelly was the darling of the NFL media and this year Arians is inching his way to being the darling. I can't wait for a sportswriter to point out that if Arians is so great then how come he has zero playoff or Super Bowl victories?
Two other detrimental factors: Arizona loves the running-back crop in this draft, and the Cardinals, with the 23rd and 55th overall picks, would be able to get a very good one. And Peterson turns 30 on Saturday. Not an optimum age for a back, even one who got so little wear on his tires in 2014.
I believe Todd Gurley will be a Top 10 running back in the NFL. So if I were any team who was in position to draft him then I would not be paying big money for a running back. That includes Chip Kelly and the Eagles, though I guess he doesn't love Gurley as much as I do.
And new Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who flies from his home in Oklahoma to Philadelphia this morning to get on a new rehab track for his left ACL injury, still needs to be pinched. Bitterness-free, Bradford can’t believe his good fortune.
Well, Bradford is just going to miss the Rams propelling themselves into Super Bowl contention based on the trade they just made with the Eagles. It's just like how Jeff Fisher worked three additional first round picks from the Redskins into zero playoff appearances.
A little history here: When Jimmy Johnson took over the Cowboys a quarter-century ago, he was Chip Kelly.
What? Reincarnation IS real? I hope I come back as someone really cool when/if I'm reincarnated. Wait, doesn't a person have to be dead before that person's soul can be reincarnated? Wait even more, how was Johnson Chip Kelly 25 years ago and now Chip Kelly is Johnson? Come to think of it, I had never heard of Chip Kelly 25 years ago. Did Chip Kelly kill Jimmy Johnson and steal his soul? I haven't seen Johnson in a while, so not only is Chip Kelly making the personnel moves he wants to make that go against conventional wisdom but he's stealing the soul of others now? What an asshole.
College coach with a satchel of ideas he would bring to the big leagues—a small and fast defense, a willingness to trade in a league that hated trading (Dallas made 55 trades in his tenure), hubris, believing that what won in college could win in the NFL, and being married to no individual player or coach. It worked. Dallas won three Super Bowls, two with Johnson as coach and then one with Barry Switzer coaching Johnson’s players.
Oh. Well, Johnson was sort of married to Emmitt Smith wasn't he? He and the Cowboys were all bold about letting Smith hold out prior to the 1993 season, then backed down and gave him a new contract once they lost two games to start the 1993 season. I'm sure that was all Jerry Jones' fault. We know he was always hesitant to pay his own players.
“Does Kelly remind you of you, 25 years ago?” I asked Johnson the other day.
“Well, in some ways,” Johnson said. “I really like what I have seen out of Chip Kelly. Chip called me and we visited a couple times, and what I heard from him, I liked.
Chip Kelly has visited Jimmy Johnson a couple of times and now Peter says Johnson is a sounding board for Kelly. Maybe, but it doesn't sound like they are BFF's or anything like that.
“The similarities? We’re both confident, both competent, both know how to win. We talked after he got the new responsibilities this year.
These are the new responsibilities that Kelly insisted just fell in his lap and he in no way requested that he be given them.
I just said, ‘Go with people you believe in, and go with players who fit your personality and fit your system.’ I have talked to Bill Belichick about this too. Certain players are going to be successful in his system and not in others.”
JIMMY JOHNSON IS A SOUNDING BOARD FOR BILL BELICHICK!
So does this mean that Jimmy Johnson is the respected ex-head coach who deals out advice to current head coaches? He is the Tony Dungy for NFL head coaches I guess.
The most controversial trade of them all last week was Bradford and a fourth-round pick to Philadelphia for Nick Foles and a second-round pick. Bradford’s played seven games in the past two years. He’s had two ACL tears to the same knee. By the time this season kicks off, he will have not played in a regular-season game for 22 months. That concerns most everyone who loves the Eagles.
(Bengoodfella tapes his mouth shut about which team these types of injuries to Bradford never seemingly concerned because it's all over now and there is no need to harp on how a fan base's time and money was wasted because the head coach for the Rams knew he wasn't going to get fired simply based on the reputation the media furthers that he is an extremely good head coach)
“Oh yeah,” Johnson said. “The last conversation was over an hour, going over everything. He was loading his guns.”
But then Johnson had to tell Kelly that he couldn't actually shoot LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles to remove them off the roster, he had to waive or trade them instead. Chip Kelly silently put his loaded guns back up and started to remake the Eagles roster in the image he wanted, much to the horror of the sports media.
So you’re Chip Kelly, and you look at the quarterback landscape, and this is what you see:
The quarterback you want, Marcus Mariota, going somewhere in the top five or six picks of the 2015 draft, and you’re picking 20th, and you know it’ll obliterate two drafts to have a chance to move up to get him.
So is it known that Kelly wants Mariota or is this just someone that has been constantly repeated so much it is accepted as fact because Kelly hasn't refuted this belief enough?
Nick Foles, who had a very hot streak in 2013, but just isn’t accurate enough downfield for your taste.
Well, I'm not sure how much more Kelly is going to like Bradford then.
One interesting, but flawed, prospect: Sam Bradford, the first pick in the 2010 draft, who’d played for an offensively challenged team in St. Louis—and played but seven games in the past two seasons because he tore his left ACL in two straight seasons. Bradford was intriguing because he’d operated a fast-paced spread scheme at Oklahoma, and Kelly was playing a fast-paced spread scheme with the Eagles (though with some significant differences).
So Sam Bradford has been in the NFL for five seasons now and he'll be 28 years old in November, but he's still a "prospect." Sure, whatever truth tickles Peter King the most.
“Usually,” Bradford said from his home in Oklahoma City, “when you get to go to a new team, you’re going somewhere that’s rebuilding, or somewhere starting over. How often do you get to a team that’s won 10 games the last two years?
Yeah, but the Eagles have zero playoff wins and zero Super Bowl titles under Chip Kelly, so there is clearly something wrong with his plan two seasons into having said plan.
Bradford flies from Oklahoma to Philadelphia today to start his second act. It’s a strange situation in this way: He tore his ACL in mid-season 2013 and went into rehab led by Reggie Scott, the Rams’ trainer. After tearing the same ACL again last August in a preseason game, he went back to work with Scott to rehab it all over again. And last Tuesday, after a rehab session with Scott at the Rams’ facility in suburban St. Louis, Bradford was told by coach Jeff Fisher that he’d been traded. Bradford was in his car going home when Kelly called to welcome him to the Eagles. They’d never spoken before. Bradford didn’t have a chance—and still hasn’t had one—to thank Scott for all the work he did with him for two years.
If only there was a way to use correspondence sent over a computer or a phone line in order to get a chance to thank Scott for all the work he did for Bradford over the years. Bradford will just have to send his best carrier pigeon to get the message to Scott, but only as soon as he gets the opportunity to write the message out and put it in the pigeon's mouth. Who knows when that will be?
“I don’t think you let it bother you,” Bradford said. “The past two injuries, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. I just think I’ve been unlucky. It just happened.
How about the injury Bradford suffered at Oklahoma and the six games he missed in 2011? I guess that was bad luck too. By the way, the idea Bradford is a better downfield passer and more accurate than Nick Foles is great. Bradford's career completion percentage is 58.6% and he's never completed more than 60.7% of his passes in a season.
“I think I will be as good as I have ever been playing the position. And playing for Chip excites me. I love being challenged. I want to soak up all of it.’’
Soaking it up while in a hot tub rehabbing an injury of course.
It’s not a honeymoon in every precinct. Philadelphia’s doubting Kelly right now, and there’s still an outside chance he could shock the world and pick Mariota to be his guy at quarterback, should Mariota go tumbling down the draft board. But with the first game six months away, there will be plenty of time for apoplexy. Let’s enjoy one man gambling his future on a quarterback with a wounded knee.
I do agree with this though. I love how the sports media is SHOCKED and ANGERED that Chip Kelly is making such a huge mistake to count on Sam Bradford to stay healthy, yet where was this absolute SHOCK and ANGER the past few years when the Rams were counting on Sam Bradford to stay healthy for an entire season? I guess the Rams got the benefit of the doubt because they drafted Bradford, but I still find the reactions interesting. It's not like the Rams weren't counting on Bradford to be healthy in the same way Chip Kelly is relying on him, but rarely did I read criticism prior to the 2014 season of Jeff Fisher for relying on Bradford. Now Chip Kelly has traded for Bradford and his sanity is being questioned.
Twenty thoughts on the week that shook the NFL.
Only twenty thoughts? I just want to make sure we still get the ten other things that Peter thinks later in this MMQB as well. I need at least 30 of Peter King's thoughts in each MMQB.
2. But signing Darren McFadden? He’s a Dallas backfield place-holder, for just $200,000 in guarantees. The 2008 fourth overall pick could be on the team as part of a running back committee in September (I keep thinking Todd Gurley’s an ideal fit in Dallas late in round one), or he could be gone. We’ll see what the running back market dictates.
Considering the offensive line that McFadden played behind in Oakland and the lack of big money guarantees with his talent level, that's a really smart risk the Cowboys took to sign McFadden. He's always injured, but he's really talented too.
3. No question in my mind we’ll see a bunch of Michael Johnson-type contracts out of the Class of 2015 free agents. In other words, one and done. One mediocre season, and on the street a few rich men will go.
Which is why Peter's constant discussion of the early days of free agency, while dismissing the early days of free agency as not that important strikes me as so odd. He and THE MMQB seem to buy into the early days of free agency hype, while also dismissing the long-term importance of these large contracts handed out. That's how it works. The hype of free agency is written about, despite the lack of a correlation in teams that spend big in free agency and win the Super Bowl the following season.
9. One thing we know now: It’s likely that the Jets would have blown out of the water any offer for Revis. So at first blush, I thought the Patriots erred and should have spent the money the Jets did. But now it’s apparent the Jets would have just upped the ante, and Revis would have ended up in New Jersey anyway.
I think this was pretty much known at the time too, no? I remember talk that the Jets were going to do what they had to do in order to get Revis back to New York. Maybe I am misremembering.
12. So happy about this: Schneider, Chip Kelly, Mickey Loomis, Ryan Grigson, John Dorsey and Les Snead are not your father’s GMs and club architects. They trade. They take chances. That’s what made last week so fun, and so compelling.
Except who is the outlying GM on that list who is "compelling" and makes trades, but these trades haven't yet resulted in a playoff appearance? Peter won't mention that part when lauding Snead for taking chances. It's fun to take chances, but it's better when these chances actually lead to a playoff appearance.
13. Michael Johnson can’t complain about free agency. Not at all. He made $9 million in salary and bonus last year jumping from Cincinnati to Tampa to rush the passer. His production was measly: 28 pressures/hits/sacks in 648 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. And so the Bucs, who owed him $7 million guaranteed this year, cut him anyway. The Bengals signed him Sunday, and he’ll make $6 million for Cincinnati. So one of the least productive pass-rushers in football will make $22 million in 2014 and ’15 combined. What a country.
I dislike it when Peter writes "what a country" in MMQB when discussing situations like Michael Johnson's situation. Peter writes about sports for a living and makes six or seven figures doing this. His saying "what a country" while doing a job thousands of others would love to do at his compensation level seems a bit ironic to me.
14. Jabaal Sheard’s a great signing in New England. The Patriots like big bodies who can rush the passer and are durable enough to handle run duties. At 264 pounds, Sheard’s a player who should have been a Patriot all along, and should have been picked atop the second round in 2011.
"Sheard's a player who should have been a Patriot all along." Peter gets paid six or seven figures to write things like this. What a country.
What does this statement even mean? As if every football player who can rush the passer and handle run duties needs to be a Patriot? Like no other NFL team is looking for a player like that? Other teams are like, "Nah, we're good. We don't need a player who can rush the passer and stop the run." Only the Patriots are smart enough to realize the value of these players.
15. Now that Trent Richardson has been cut loose by Indianapolis, let’s assess one of the worst draft picks in modern NFL history. Not just because Richardson has been terrible in the NFL, but think of this: Cleveland had the fourth pick in the 2012 draft. Minnesota had the third pick. To ensure that they’d get Richardson, the player they were desperate to have, the Browns moved from four to three in round one, giving Minnesota fourth, fifth and seventh-round picks to move one slot.
Yeah, but Peter's boy, Ryan Grigson then followed this up by giving up a first round draft pick for Trent Richardson. But hey, Grigson is compelling and takes chances so Peter will let him off the hook. It's nice to have a franchise quarterback to shield a GM from some criticism.
This is always a dangerous game to play,
Which means (repeat after me), Peter is going to immediately choose to play this game. It's always easy to know Peter will do something after he states that something probably shouldn't be done.
but the Browns, had they bypassed Richardson and kept the fourth pick and the picks in rounds four, five and seven, could have had linebacker Luke Kuechly, wide receiver Jairus Wright, running back Alfred Morris and either kicker Justin Tucker or linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Now, the trade of Richardson for Indy’s first-round pick in 2014 did salvage some shred of value for Richardson. Then the Browns used that pick to trade up four slots to select Johnny Manziel. Had they bypassed Manziel, Cleveland could have had a Joe Haden corner partner, Bradley Roby, in the first round, and with that pick in the third round, wideout depth in Donte Moncrief. I repeat: This is a dangerous game to play, because I don’t know who the Browns had on the draft board near those slots. But if Manziel flunks out as a Brown, the amazing thing will be that they had two chances to get the high 2012 pick right and failed at each.
Here's another fun game to play. Which player could the Colts have chosen with the 26th pick in the draft that they traded to the Browns for Trent Richardson? Yes, I know that game isn't one Peter will play because Grigson's team isn't failing like the Browns are, but again, it's nice to have Andrew Luck to cover up for mistakes and shield Grigson from some criticism.
The Colts could have drafted:
Bradley Roby
Joel Bitonio
Jordan Matthews
Jeremy Hill
Carlos Hyde
Jarvis Landry
Justin Britt
Martavis Bryant
But nah, let's keep pointing and laughing at the Browns while forgetting the Colts traded a first round pick for Richardson AFTER they knew he wasn't a very good NFL running back.
The Darrelle Revis timeline since his first go-round with the New York Jets:
Much like his obsession with Nnamdi Asomugha's free agency a few years ago, Peter seems to be a bit obsessed with Darrelle Revis and his free agency adventures over the past couple of years. I guess Peter really likes to discuss cornerbacks who are considered to be the best in the free agent class.
March 10, 2015: Rather than pay Revis $20 million in 2015, the Patriots release him. This means that, though he signed two contracts totaling $128 million, Revis actually saw $28 million of it.
Someone alert the authorities! Revis only saw $28 million of his two contracts totaling $128 million. There's a wrong been done!
In 24 months, Revis was (and is being) coached by Rex Ryan, Greg Schiano, Bill Belichick, and the coach he just met—Todd Bowles. In just over two years, he’s had six general managers: Mike Tannenbaum, John Idzik, Mark Dominik, Jason Licht, Bill Belichick (and Nick Caserio, the Patriots’ personnel czar) and Mike Maccagnan. He played in green, pewter red, red/white/blue, and green again.
So what exactly was it like?
And it's important not to forget that Revis made the decision to be coached by all of these coaches and play for five of those GM's. Otherwise, he made the decision to force a trade from the Jets, sign with the Patriots, and then sign with the Jets. Let's hold off a bit on the sympathy for his plight.
Revis: “Getting hurt, tearing my ACL, and getting prepared for the next season, trade talks and me leaving, not knowing where I’m going to play football, what my future is, and then playing in Tampa, getting traded to Tampa, and then getting released by them and trying to figure out the best place to try to win, and I felt the best place was New England. So, it’s been a crazy two or three years in my career.
Part of the reason Revis didn't know where he was playing football in a few of these instances is because he chose free agency through how his contract was set up or he requested a trade. Only a fool would really think Revis would see the back-end of a $96 million contract that is non-guaranteed or the Patriots would pay him $20 million for the 2015 season.
Three questions with founder of Over The Cap
I’ve gained a lot of respect for 39-year-old engineer (that’s his real job) Jason Fitzgerald and his site, Over The Cap, which catalogs NFL contracts and how teams are doing managing their salary caps.
The MMQB: You wrote Thursday that the Ndamukong Suh contract in Miami is particularly onerous. What concerns you in the future about that deal for the Dolphins, and how will they handle it?
Fitzgerald: In order to fit Suh within their cap easily this season, the Dolphins opted for a structure that will see Suh count for only $6 million against the cap, despite the annual contract value of $19.1 million. That leaves Suh with an average cap charge for the 2016-2018 seasons of $21.9 million. Quite honestly I am not sure how you compete in the NFL for a championship with those figures, especially for a defensive tackle.
It’s a situation where a team or a person gets it in their mind that they need a player to make an impact on an organization, and they lose sight of what they may be giving up to get that.
This is otherwise known as "what happens during free agency in almost every major sport."
“It’s home. It’s family. As much as my wife and kids are family, so is the Rooney family and my team and coaches.”
—Ben Roethlisberger, on signing a five-year, $99 million extension with the Steelers on Saturday.
The fact the Steelers were giving Roethlisberger approximately $50 million of this $99 million guaranteed didn't hurt his feelings of family towards the Rooney family and the Steelers organization either. Money is a great way to make someone feel like a part of the family.
“That was a big thing with him. It is with most quarterbacks. He didn’t look anybody off. He’s a competitor, though. He threw three interceptions in this game, and he just kept throwing. He wasn’t scared of us.”
—University of Louisville cornerback Gerod Holliman on Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, to Robert Klemko of The MMQB. Holliman led the nation with 14 interceptions in 2014, including two off Winston.
This is compared to other college quarterbacks who aren't required to look off a safety because the offensive scheme is designed for him to simply have one read and then throw to the open man. I know this isn't criticism necessarily from Holliman, but the rare college quarterback is able to look off a safety and get the ball to another open guy on a consistent basis.
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
I didn’t travel in the past seven days. But I did get a good Stories of New York tale from my old boss at “Inside the NFL” on HBO, Brian Hyland, from a Manhattan scene he experienced Saturday. Sharing it:
“Subway elevator this morning. Little old man in a wheelchair, wearing a Yankee hat and a heavy coat for the cold rain. He has a helper but it ain’t easy getting through the door onto the street. I help push him through onto Fort Washington Avenue. As I maneuver to help, he helps me. We’re squeezing him through the heavy green door and as he reaches to push, the sleeve of his coat on his arm moves up towards his elbow. And there I see it. In fading black ink. Covered with arm hair but clear. The number the Nazis gave him. Part of him. Forever on his arm.
“We get him through the door, he says, ‘Thanks, young man’ and his helper pushes him down Fort Washington Avenue. Another random Saturday morning in New York City that takes your breath away.”
This is a pet peeve of mine. "Another random Saturday morning in New York City that takes your breath away." As if there are no Holocaust survivors in any other part of the United States. No other interesting and great moments happen in other United States cities. ONLY IN NEW YORK CITY does this type of thing happen. We all know that New York City is so fucking special because those people who live there won't stop telling us about how special the city is. Great, good for you. Everything you think is special to New York City isn't necessarily exclusive to that city. It's just other citizens of other cities don't take the time to tell you how special their city is.
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think, after speaking to someone who was a part of the competition committee’s deliberations over the past two weeks,
Gee, I wonder who this "someone" is? Peter has talked to Jeff Fisher 2-3 times in MMQB about the competition committee and his feelings on any rule changes regarding what constitutes a catch. If the "someone" Peter is talking about here agrees with Jeff Fisher, (a) why the secretiveness? and/or (b) what are the odds this "someone" is actually Jeff Fisher?
I would be surprised if anything significant was changed on what constitutes a catch when the league meetings begin next Sunday in Phoenix. There could be a minor tweak to the rule, but the feeling I get regarding the tenor in the room over the past couple of weeks is this: Committee members feel receivers need to maintain control when going to the ground.
So basically Peter is reporting the same thing that Jeff Fisher, the head of the competition committee, has been saying for most of the offseason? This is news, but who is this "someone" that Peter is talking to about what constitutes a catch if this "someone" isn't the same person that Peter has been talking to all offseason about what constitutes a catch? I find it odd that Peter uses the term "someone" here when the opinion held agrees with the head of the competition committee's opinion. If this committee member isn't Jeff Fisher, why is he concerned his name will be tied to an opinion that Jeff Fisher has repeatedly states he agrees with?
2. I think this is what I thought after the esteemed Charley Casserly said on NFL Network following Marcus Mariota’s Pro Day: “Not a sure thing. If you’re going to take him, you’ve got to hold your breath.” What if Mariota—and this is a huge “what if” because of all the teams that need quarterbacks in the draft this year—starts to tumble down the draft board in round one? What if Washington passes on him at 5, and the Jets have some cold feet at 6, and GM Les Snead of the Rams loves Nick Foles and sees bigger needs at 10, and the Browns at 12 and the Texans at 16 and the Browns again at 19 all have cold feet for one reason or another? All of those things are incredibly unlikely, but what if? What if Mariota is staring Sam Bradford-loving Chip Kelly in the face at 20, or if Kelly sees Mariota tumbling at 12, 13, 14, and he thinks he’s just got to go for the gusto now? That would be one of the best stories in recent draft history, Kelly getting Mariota.
Stop rosterbating, Peter. I like how he is openly cheering for a storyline that will allow him to write easy stories and reinforces the perception he is trying to give in MMQB. What makes Mariota going to Kelly's Eagles a better story than any other college coach drafting or having a chance to draft his old college quarterback? Other than the media has forced the whole "Kelly wants Mariota" perception down the throats of the public, even though at this point there isn't much reality behind this perception, of course.
3. I think, drifting back to reality, I absolutely do not believe it’s going to happen. But it’s not an impossible dream. Just an unlikely one.
Okay, first, this thought #3 should be up with thought #2 since it is a continuation of thought #2. Second, it's the impossible dream for a sportswriter who wants easy stories to write and confirmation of a perception to be reinforced. There's nothing like reading about the media openly cheering for certain storylines to develop.
4. I think Trent Richardson goes down in NFL history as one of the strangest stories. Ever.
Why is "ever" a separate sentence? It fits into the sentence. Easily.
5. I think this is the best way to put the biggest deal of the weekend in perspective: Ben Roethlisberger will be only be 37 at the end of his 16th season as Steeler quarterback in 2019—if he lasts that long, of course—and that’s an age when quarterbacks are still having peak seasons. Today, with quarterbacks doing so much in the offseason to stay healthy and make their careers last, I really like what the Steelers did.
That does put the Roethlisberger contract in perspective for me. My perspective is altered by knowing quarterbacks who are older can still serve a purpose to their team, but mostly altered by my newfound knowledge that Peter liked what the Steelers did in extending Roethlisberger.
They told the world that Roethlisberger is their quarterback for life.
Well except for the fact, as Peter just noted, this is an age when quarterbacks are still having peak seasons when Roethlisberger's contract runs out. So he is the Steelers' quarterback for life, except for the part where Peter thinks Roethlisberger will be playing at a high level and his contract will have run out.
9. I think the Jets must not have liked their roster very much. They signed, re-signed or traded for 11 players in the first three days of the 2015 league year.
What was to like about the roster? The Jets have a new GM and new head coach. Changes happen when new head coaches and GM's are hired. Of course, as we learned with Chip Kelly turning over the Eagles roster, many personnel changes are only allowable when discussing unsuccessful NFL teams.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. If I had one wish for ESPN (well, this wouldn’t be the one, I guess, but it would be in the top 10), I would wish its anchors would stop saying Team X “punched their ticket” for the NCAA tournament. First: Team X would have “punched its ticket.” Second: Well, it’s a brutal cliché.
What a country.
b. I live in New York. I can’t name one active Knick.
You admit to not watching the NBA. The fact you can't name one active Knick probably speaks to your distaste for the NBA as much as it speaks to the anonymity of the Knicks players. I do like how Peter is viewing the Knicks relevance through the lens of how much he knows about the team. This is something sportswriters love to do. They don't watch or enjoy a sport/team, so obviously that sport/team isn't relevant anymore. Why wouldn't Peter's worldview speak to the relevance of a sport or team?
c. Knicks versus Lakers on Thursday night. Looked at the box score Friday morning. Never heard of any of the 10 starters in the game.
Again, you don't really watch college basketball or the NBA.
f. A few random college basketball observations:
Wish you wouldn't. Do this. Ever.
i. What a weekend for Notre Dame, beating Duke and North Carolina on back-to-back days in the state of North Carolina.
It was in North Carolina, but it helps the Duke fans in the crowd were cheering for Notre Dame and the UNC fans in the crowd were cheering for Notre Dame. The game being played in North Carolina is an advantage until the fans of one North Carolina-based team choose to cheer against another North Carolina-based team. It's not always an advantage to play in North Carolina in certain situations. After being defeated by Notre Dame, Duke fans in attendance were openly cheering for Notre Dame against UNC.
k. Four conferences played their tourneys in Vegas? What a country.
Stop writing "what a country."
n. This Cuban baseball player stuff is really crazy. Crazier than NFL free-agent money. Boston paid $133 million to sign Rusney Castillo and 19-year-old Yoan Moncada, with limited scouting opportunities of them. It’s got to be sports’ version of Russian Roulette.
All of a sudden when the Red Sox start signing Cuban players Peter starts to notice how crazy it is that MLB teams sign these Cuban players without knowing a ton about them. Hey Peter, MLB teams have been signing players from overseas, while having limited opportunities to scout these players, for over a decade now. I know! It's amazing this didn't start when the Red Sox started spending money on Cuban players.
The Adieu Haiku
I like lots of trades.
The NFL’s not like that.
Kudos, Chip Kelly.
Chip Kelly can make all kinds of trades without having to ask anyone's permission. What a country.
Peter King detailed his brief trip to Iceland in last week's MMQB. Peter also dismissed the importance of signing big name free agents and spending money early in free agency, all while saturating his coverage in MMQB with rumors and discussion of where the big name free agents will land and which teams will be spending money early in free agency. This week talks about the Sam Bradford trade to the Eagles, thoughts on the free agency moves that "shook up" the football world (not that Peter would ever go overboard with hyperbole or anything...this has been the craziest offseason since at least last year's offseason though), puts a timeline to Darrelle Revis because Peter can't get enough of discussing Revis, and laughably says he spoke with "someone" on the competition committee about rule changes regarding what constitutes a catch and everyone knows that "someone" was Jeff Fisher. I mean, come on, Peter has mentioned 2-3 times in MMQB he's had conversations about Jeff Fisher and what constitutes a catch. I would bet this "someone" is Fisher.
The NFL’s opening weekend is 26 weeks away, which is why there’s no good reason to say the sky is falling in any NFL market.
I hope Peter is sure to tell other sportswriters that the sky is not falling in any NFL market as they award the "winners" and "losers" of the free agency period.
And of course, what follows in this MMQB will be Peter's judgments on what NFL teams did or didn't do in free agency. The sky isn't falling, but judgment day for offseason moves has arrived.
This morning, before I get to one of the strangest weeks in NFL offseason history, three notes:
CRAZIEST NFL OFFSEASON EVER!*
*Until the next offseason
In Hawaii early this morning Eastern Time, the National Football League Players Association elected DeMaurice Smith to a third three-year term as executive director. It seems amazing that Smith was elected unanimously on the first ballot, seeing that he had eight challengers in an impassioned run-up to the vote. Smith was vulnerable in this election, for many reasons—including the impression that he did a bad deal with the 2011 CBA and his consistently contentious relationship with the league—but none of his challengers could muster the required 17 of 32 votes from the player reps who spent the weekend listening to proposals for the job.
It's almost like the NFL players eventually recognized the big beef they had with Smith was the result of an agreement they themselves had approved.
There’s some noise out there that Adrian Peterson could be traded to Arizona. Well, I guess he could, at some point. But the money would be a major problem. I spoke with a reliable Cardinals source Sunday night, and the three years and $45 million left on Peterson’s contract is an absolute non-starter with the Cards.
What? Why would paying a running back $15 million per year be a non-starter? Though I do like the idea if Peterson landed with the Cards then sportswriters would talk about how Bruce Arians made a brilliant move, while Chip Kelly continues to be beaten up for signing DeMarco Murray for less money than Peterson makes.
It's funny how things change so quickly. Last year, Kelly was the darling of the NFL media and this year Arians is inching his way to being the darling. I can't wait for a sportswriter to point out that if Arians is so great then how come he has zero playoff or Super Bowl victories?
Two other detrimental factors: Arizona loves the running-back crop in this draft, and the Cardinals, with the 23rd and 55th overall picks, would be able to get a very good one. And Peterson turns 30 on Saturday. Not an optimum age for a back, even one who got so little wear on his tires in 2014.
I believe Todd Gurley will be a Top 10 running back in the NFL. So if I were any team who was in position to draft him then I would not be paying big money for a running back. That includes Chip Kelly and the Eagles, though I guess he doesn't love Gurley as much as I do.
And new Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who flies from his home in Oklahoma to Philadelphia this morning to get on a new rehab track for his left ACL injury, still needs to be pinched. Bitterness-free, Bradford can’t believe his good fortune.
Well, Bradford is just going to miss the Rams propelling themselves into Super Bowl contention based on the trade they just made with the Eagles. It's just like how Jeff Fisher worked three additional first round picks from the Redskins into zero playoff appearances.
A little history here: When Jimmy Johnson took over the Cowboys a quarter-century ago, he was Chip Kelly.
What? Reincarnation IS real? I hope I come back as someone really cool when/if I'm reincarnated. Wait, doesn't a person have to be dead before that person's soul can be reincarnated? Wait even more, how was Johnson Chip Kelly 25 years ago and now Chip Kelly is Johnson? Come to think of it, I had never heard of Chip Kelly 25 years ago. Did Chip Kelly kill Jimmy Johnson and steal his soul? I haven't seen Johnson in a while, so not only is Chip Kelly making the personnel moves he wants to make that go against conventional wisdom but he's stealing the soul of others now? What an asshole.
College coach with a satchel of ideas he would bring to the big leagues—a small and fast defense, a willingness to trade in a league that hated trading (Dallas made 55 trades in his tenure), hubris, believing that what won in college could win in the NFL, and being married to no individual player or coach. It worked. Dallas won three Super Bowls, two with Johnson as coach and then one with Barry Switzer coaching Johnson’s players.
Oh. Well, Johnson was sort of married to Emmitt Smith wasn't he? He and the Cowboys were all bold about letting Smith hold out prior to the 1993 season, then backed down and gave him a new contract once they lost two games to start the 1993 season. I'm sure that was all Jerry Jones' fault. We know he was always hesitant to pay his own players.
“Does Kelly remind you of you, 25 years ago?” I asked Johnson the other day.
“Well, in some ways,” Johnson said. “I really like what I have seen out of Chip Kelly. Chip called me and we visited a couple times, and what I heard from him, I liked.
Chip Kelly has visited Jimmy Johnson a couple of times and now Peter says Johnson is a sounding board for Kelly. Maybe, but it doesn't sound like they are BFF's or anything like that.
“The similarities? We’re both confident, both competent, both know how to win. We talked after he got the new responsibilities this year.
These are the new responsibilities that Kelly insisted just fell in his lap and he in no way requested that he be given them.
I just said, ‘Go with people you believe in, and go with players who fit your personality and fit your system.’ I have talked to Bill Belichick about this too. Certain players are going to be successful in his system and not in others.”
JIMMY JOHNSON IS A SOUNDING BOARD FOR BILL BELICHICK!
So does this mean that Jimmy Johnson is the respected ex-head coach who deals out advice to current head coaches? He is the Tony Dungy for NFL head coaches I guess.
The most controversial trade of them all last week was Bradford and a fourth-round pick to Philadelphia for Nick Foles and a second-round pick. Bradford’s played seven games in the past two years. He’s had two ACL tears to the same knee. By the time this season kicks off, he will have not played in a regular-season game for 22 months. That concerns most everyone who loves the Eagles.
(Bengoodfella tapes his mouth shut about which team these types of injuries to Bradford never seemingly concerned because it's all over now and there is no need to harp on how a fan base's time and money was wasted because the head coach for the Rams knew he wasn't going to get fired simply based on the reputation the media furthers that he is an extremely good head coach)
“Oh yeah,” Johnson said. “The last conversation was over an hour, going over everything. He was loading his guns.”
But then Johnson had to tell Kelly that he couldn't actually shoot LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles to remove them off the roster, he had to waive or trade them instead. Chip Kelly silently put his loaded guns back up and started to remake the Eagles roster in the image he wanted, much to the horror of the sports media.
So you’re Chip Kelly, and you look at the quarterback landscape, and this is what you see:
The quarterback you want, Marcus Mariota, going somewhere in the top five or six picks of the 2015 draft, and you’re picking 20th, and you know it’ll obliterate two drafts to have a chance to move up to get him.
So is it known that Kelly wants Mariota or is this just someone that has been constantly repeated so much it is accepted as fact because Kelly hasn't refuted this belief enough?
Nick Foles, who had a very hot streak in 2013, but just isn’t accurate enough downfield for your taste.
Well, I'm not sure how much more Kelly is going to like Bradford then.
One interesting, but flawed, prospect: Sam Bradford, the first pick in the 2010 draft, who’d played for an offensively challenged team in St. Louis—and played but seven games in the past two seasons because he tore his left ACL in two straight seasons. Bradford was intriguing because he’d operated a fast-paced spread scheme at Oklahoma, and Kelly was playing a fast-paced spread scheme with the Eagles (though with some significant differences).
So Sam Bradford has been in the NFL for five seasons now and he'll be 28 years old in November, but he's still a "prospect." Sure, whatever truth tickles Peter King the most.
“Usually,” Bradford said from his home in Oklahoma City, “when you get to go to a new team, you’re going somewhere that’s rebuilding, or somewhere starting over. How often do you get to a team that’s won 10 games the last two years?
Yeah, but the Eagles have zero playoff wins and zero Super Bowl titles under Chip Kelly, so there is clearly something wrong with his plan two seasons into having said plan.
Bradford flies from Oklahoma to Philadelphia today to start his second act. It’s a strange situation in this way: He tore his ACL in mid-season 2013 and went into rehab led by Reggie Scott, the Rams’ trainer. After tearing the same ACL again last August in a preseason game, he went back to work with Scott to rehab it all over again. And last Tuesday, after a rehab session with Scott at the Rams’ facility in suburban St. Louis, Bradford was told by coach Jeff Fisher that he’d been traded. Bradford was in his car going home when Kelly called to welcome him to the Eagles. They’d never spoken before. Bradford didn’t have a chance—and still hasn’t had one—to thank Scott for all the work he did with him for two years.
If only there was a way to use correspondence sent over a computer or a phone line in order to get a chance to thank Scott for all the work he did for Bradford over the years. Bradford will just have to send his best carrier pigeon to get the message to Scott, but only as soon as he gets the opportunity to write the message out and put it in the pigeon's mouth. Who knows when that will be?
“I don’t think you let it bother you,” Bradford said. “The past two injuries, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. I just think I’ve been unlucky. It just happened.
How about the injury Bradford suffered at Oklahoma and the six games he missed in 2011? I guess that was bad luck too. By the way, the idea Bradford is a better downfield passer and more accurate than Nick Foles is great. Bradford's career completion percentage is 58.6% and he's never completed more than 60.7% of his passes in a season.
“I think I will be as good as I have ever been playing the position. And playing for Chip excites me. I love being challenged. I want to soak up all of it.’’
Soaking it up while in a hot tub rehabbing an injury of course.
It’s not a honeymoon in every precinct. Philadelphia’s doubting Kelly right now, and there’s still an outside chance he could shock the world and pick Mariota to be his guy at quarterback, should Mariota go tumbling down the draft board. But with the first game six months away, there will be plenty of time for apoplexy. Let’s enjoy one man gambling his future on a quarterback with a wounded knee.
I do agree with this though. I love how the sports media is SHOCKED and ANGERED that Chip Kelly is making such a huge mistake to count on Sam Bradford to stay healthy, yet where was this absolute SHOCK and ANGER the past few years when the Rams were counting on Sam Bradford to stay healthy for an entire season? I guess the Rams got the benefit of the doubt because they drafted Bradford, but I still find the reactions interesting. It's not like the Rams weren't counting on Bradford to be healthy in the same way Chip Kelly is relying on him, but rarely did I read criticism prior to the 2014 season of Jeff Fisher for relying on Bradford. Now Chip Kelly has traded for Bradford and his sanity is being questioned.
Twenty thoughts on the week that shook the NFL.
Only twenty thoughts? I just want to make sure we still get the ten other things that Peter thinks later in this MMQB as well. I need at least 30 of Peter King's thoughts in each MMQB.
2. But signing Darren McFadden? He’s a Dallas backfield place-holder, for just $200,000 in guarantees. The 2008 fourth overall pick could be on the team as part of a running back committee in September (I keep thinking Todd Gurley’s an ideal fit in Dallas late in round one), or he could be gone. We’ll see what the running back market dictates.
Considering the offensive line that McFadden played behind in Oakland and the lack of big money guarantees with his talent level, that's a really smart risk the Cowboys took to sign McFadden. He's always injured, but he's really talented too.
3. No question in my mind we’ll see a bunch of Michael Johnson-type contracts out of the Class of 2015 free agents. In other words, one and done. One mediocre season, and on the street a few rich men will go.
Which is why Peter's constant discussion of the early days of free agency, while dismissing the early days of free agency as not that important strikes me as so odd. He and THE MMQB seem to buy into the early days of free agency hype, while also dismissing the long-term importance of these large contracts handed out. That's how it works. The hype of free agency is written about, despite the lack of a correlation in teams that spend big in free agency and win the Super Bowl the following season.
9. One thing we know now: It’s likely that the Jets would have blown out of the water any offer for Revis. So at first blush, I thought the Patriots erred and should have spent the money the Jets did. But now it’s apparent the Jets would have just upped the ante, and Revis would have ended up in New Jersey anyway.
I think this was pretty much known at the time too, no? I remember talk that the Jets were going to do what they had to do in order to get Revis back to New York. Maybe I am misremembering.
12. So happy about this: Schneider, Chip Kelly, Mickey Loomis, Ryan Grigson, John Dorsey and Les Snead are not your father’s GMs and club architects. They trade. They take chances. That’s what made last week so fun, and so compelling.
Except who is the outlying GM on that list who is "compelling" and makes trades, but these trades haven't yet resulted in a playoff appearance? Peter won't mention that part when lauding Snead for taking chances. It's fun to take chances, but it's better when these chances actually lead to a playoff appearance.
13. Michael Johnson can’t complain about free agency. Not at all. He made $9 million in salary and bonus last year jumping from Cincinnati to Tampa to rush the passer. His production was measly: 28 pressures/hits/sacks in 648 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. And so the Bucs, who owed him $7 million guaranteed this year, cut him anyway. The Bengals signed him Sunday, and he’ll make $6 million for Cincinnati. So one of the least productive pass-rushers in football will make $22 million in 2014 and ’15 combined. What a country.
I dislike it when Peter writes "what a country" in MMQB when discussing situations like Michael Johnson's situation. Peter writes about sports for a living and makes six or seven figures doing this. His saying "what a country" while doing a job thousands of others would love to do at his compensation level seems a bit ironic to me.
14. Jabaal Sheard’s a great signing in New England. The Patriots like big bodies who can rush the passer and are durable enough to handle run duties. At 264 pounds, Sheard’s a player who should have been a Patriot all along, and should have been picked atop the second round in 2011.
"Sheard's a player who should have been a Patriot all along." Peter gets paid six or seven figures to write things like this. What a country.
What does this statement even mean? As if every football player who can rush the passer and handle run duties needs to be a Patriot? Like no other NFL team is looking for a player like that? Other teams are like, "Nah, we're good. We don't need a player who can rush the passer and stop the run." Only the Patriots are smart enough to realize the value of these players.
15. Now that Trent Richardson has been cut loose by Indianapolis, let’s assess one of the worst draft picks in modern NFL history. Not just because Richardson has been terrible in the NFL, but think of this: Cleveland had the fourth pick in the 2012 draft. Minnesota had the third pick. To ensure that they’d get Richardson, the player they were desperate to have, the Browns moved from four to three in round one, giving Minnesota fourth, fifth and seventh-round picks to move one slot.
Yeah, but Peter's boy, Ryan Grigson then followed this up by giving up a first round draft pick for Trent Richardson. But hey, Grigson is compelling and takes chances so Peter will let him off the hook. It's nice to have a franchise quarterback to shield a GM from some criticism.
This is always a dangerous game to play,
Which means (repeat after me), Peter is going to immediately choose to play this game. It's always easy to know Peter will do something after he states that something probably shouldn't be done.
but the Browns, had they bypassed Richardson and kept the fourth pick and the picks in rounds four, five and seven, could have had linebacker Luke Kuechly, wide receiver Jairus Wright, running back Alfred Morris and either kicker Justin Tucker or linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Now, the trade of Richardson for Indy’s first-round pick in 2014 did salvage some shred of value for Richardson. Then the Browns used that pick to trade up four slots to select Johnny Manziel. Had they bypassed Manziel, Cleveland could have had a Joe Haden corner partner, Bradley Roby, in the first round, and with that pick in the third round, wideout depth in Donte Moncrief. I repeat: This is a dangerous game to play, because I don’t know who the Browns had on the draft board near those slots. But if Manziel flunks out as a Brown, the amazing thing will be that they had two chances to get the high 2012 pick right and failed at each.
Here's another fun game to play. Which player could the Colts have chosen with the 26th pick in the draft that they traded to the Browns for Trent Richardson? Yes, I know that game isn't one Peter will play because Grigson's team isn't failing like the Browns are, but again, it's nice to have Andrew Luck to cover up for mistakes and shield Grigson from some criticism.
The Colts could have drafted:
Bradley Roby
Joel Bitonio
Jordan Matthews
Jeremy Hill
Carlos Hyde
Jarvis Landry
Justin Britt
Martavis Bryant
But nah, let's keep pointing and laughing at the Browns while forgetting the Colts traded a first round pick for Richardson AFTER they knew he wasn't a very good NFL running back.
The Darrelle Revis timeline since his first go-round with the New York Jets:
Much like his obsession with Nnamdi Asomugha's free agency a few years ago, Peter seems to be a bit obsessed with Darrelle Revis and his free agency adventures over the past couple of years. I guess Peter really likes to discuss cornerbacks who are considered to be the best in the free agent class.
March 10, 2015: Rather than pay Revis $20 million in 2015, the Patriots release him. This means that, though he signed two contracts totaling $128 million, Revis actually saw $28 million of it.
Someone alert the authorities! Revis only saw $28 million of his two contracts totaling $128 million. There's a wrong been done!
In 24 months, Revis was (and is being) coached by Rex Ryan, Greg Schiano, Bill Belichick, and the coach he just met—Todd Bowles. In just over two years, he’s had six general managers: Mike Tannenbaum, John Idzik, Mark Dominik, Jason Licht, Bill Belichick (and Nick Caserio, the Patriots’ personnel czar) and Mike Maccagnan. He played in green, pewter red, red/white/blue, and green again.
So what exactly was it like?
And it's important not to forget that Revis made the decision to be coached by all of these coaches and play for five of those GM's. Otherwise, he made the decision to force a trade from the Jets, sign with the Patriots, and then sign with the Jets. Let's hold off a bit on the sympathy for his plight.
Revis: “Getting hurt, tearing my ACL, and getting prepared for the next season, trade talks and me leaving, not knowing where I’m going to play football, what my future is, and then playing in Tampa, getting traded to Tampa, and then getting released by them and trying to figure out the best place to try to win, and I felt the best place was New England. So, it’s been a crazy two or three years in my career.
Part of the reason Revis didn't know where he was playing football in a few of these instances is because he chose free agency through how his contract was set up or he requested a trade. Only a fool would really think Revis would see the back-end of a $96 million contract that is non-guaranteed or the Patriots would pay him $20 million for the 2015 season.
Three questions with founder of Over The Cap
I’ve gained a lot of respect for 39-year-old engineer (that’s his real job) Jason Fitzgerald and his site, Over The Cap, which catalogs NFL contracts and how teams are doing managing their salary caps.
The MMQB: You wrote Thursday that the Ndamukong Suh contract in Miami is particularly onerous. What concerns you in the future about that deal for the Dolphins, and how will they handle it?
Fitzgerald: In order to fit Suh within their cap easily this season, the Dolphins opted for a structure that will see Suh count for only $6 million against the cap, despite the annual contract value of $19.1 million. That leaves Suh with an average cap charge for the 2016-2018 seasons of $21.9 million. Quite honestly I am not sure how you compete in the NFL for a championship with those figures, especially for a defensive tackle.
It’s a situation where a team or a person gets it in their mind that they need a player to make an impact on an organization, and they lose sight of what they may be giving up to get that.
This is otherwise known as "what happens during free agency in almost every major sport."
“It’s home. It’s family. As much as my wife and kids are family, so is the Rooney family and my team and coaches.”
—Ben Roethlisberger, on signing a five-year, $99 million extension with the Steelers on Saturday.
The fact the Steelers were giving Roethlisberger approximately $50 million of this $99 million guaranteed didn't hurt his feelings of family towards the Rooney family and the Steelers organization either. Money is a great way to make someone feel like a part of the family.
“That was a big thing with him. It is with most quarterbacks. He didn’t look anybody off. He’s a competitor, though. He threw three interceptions in this game, and he just kept throwing. He wasn’t scared of us.”
—University of Louisville cornerback Gerod Holliman on Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, to Robert Klemko of The MMQB. Holliman led the nation with 14 interceptions in 2014, including two off Winston.
This is compared to other college quarterbacks who aren't required to look off a safety because the offensive scheme is designed for him to simply have one read and then throw to the open man. I know this isn't criticism necessarily from Holliman, but the rare college quarterback is able to look off a safety and get the ball to another open guy on a consistent basis.
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
I didn’t travel in the past seven days. But I did get a good Stories of New York tale from my old boss at “Inside the NFL” on HBO, Brian Hyland, from a Manhattan scene he experienced Saturday. Sharing it:
“Subway elevator this morning. Little old man in a wheelchair, wearing a Yankee hat and a heavy coat for the cold rain. He has a helper but it ain’t easy getting through the door onto the street. I help push him through onto Fort Washington Avenue. As I maneuver to help, he helps me. We’re squeezing him through the heavy green door and as he reaches to push, the sleeve of his coat on his arm moves up towards his elbow. And there I see it. In fading black ink. Covered with arm hair but clear. The number the Nazis gave him. Part of him. Forever on his arm.
“We get him through the door, he says, ‘Thanks, young man’ and his helper pushes him down Fort Washington Avenue. Another random Saturday morning in New York City that takes your breath away.”
This is a pet peeve of mine. "Another random Saturday morning in New York City that takes your breath away." As if there are no Holocaust survivors in any other part of the United States. No other interesting and great moments happen in other United States cities. ONLY IN NEW YORK CITY does this type of thing happen. We all know that New York City is so fucking special because those people who live there won't stop telling us about how special the city is. Great, good for you. Everything you think is special to New York City isn't necessarily exclusive to that city. It's just other citizens of other cities don't take the time to tell you how special their city is.
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think, after speaking to someone who was a part of the competition committee’s deliberations over the past two weeks,
Gee, I wonder who this "someone" is? Peter has talked to Jeff Fisher 2-3 times in MMQB about the competition committee and his feelings on any rule changes regarding what constitutes a catch. If the "someone" Peter is talking about here agrees with Jeff Fisher, (a) why the secretiveness? and/or (b) what are the odds this "someone" is actually Jeff Fisher?
I would be surprised if anything significant was changed on what constitutes a catch when the league meetings begin next Sunday in Phoenix. There could be a minor tweak to the rule, but the feeling I get regarding the tenor in the room over the past couple of weeks is this: Committee members feel receivers need to maintain control when going to the ground.
So basically Peter is reporting the same thing that Jeff Fisher, the head of the competition committee, has been saying for most of the offseason? This is news, but who is this "someone" that Peter is talking to about what constitutes a catch if this "someone" isn't the same person that Peter has been talking to all offseason about what constitutes a catch? I find it odd that Peter uses the term "someone" here when the opinion held agrees with the head of the competition committee's opinion. If this committee member isn't Jeff Fisher, why is he concerned his name will be tied to an opinion that Jeff Fisher has repeatedly states he agrees with?
2. I think this is what I thought after the esteemed Charley Casserly said on NFL Network following Marcus Mariota’s Pro Day: “Not a sure thing. If you’re going to take him, you’ve got to hold your breath.” What if Mariota—and this is a huge “what if” because of all the teams that need quarterbacks in the draft this year—starts to tumble down the draft board in round one? What if Washington passes on him at 5, and the Jets have some cold feet at 6, and GM Les Snead of the Rams loves Nick Foles and sees bigger needs at 10, and the Browns at 12 and the Texans at 16 and the Browns again at 19 all have cold feet for one reason or another? All of those things are incredibly unlikely, but what if? What if Mariota is staring Sam Bradford-loving Chip Kelly in the face at 20, or if Kelly sees Mariota tumbling at 12, 13, 14, and he thinks he’s just got to go for the gusto now? That would be one of the best stories in recent draft history, Kelly getting Mariota.
Stop rosterbating, Peter. I like how he is openly cheering for a storyline that will allow him to write easy stories and reinforces the perception he is trying to give in MMQB. What makes Mariota going to Kelly's Eagles a better story than any other college coach drafting or having a chance to draft his old college quarterback? Other than the media has forced the whole "Kelly wants Mariota" perception down the throats of the public, even though at this point there isn't much reality behind this perception, of course.
3. I think, drifting back to reality, I absolutely do not believe it’s going to happen. But it’s not an impossible dream. Just an unlikely one.
Okay, first, this thought #3 should be up with thought #2 since it is a continuation of thought #2. Second, it's the impossible dream for a sportswriter who wants easy stories to write and confirmation of a perception to be reinforced. There's nothing like reading about the media openly cheering for certain storylines to develop.
4. I think Trent Richardson goes down in NFL history as one of the strangest stories. Ever.
Why is "ever" a separate sentence? It fits into the sentence. Easily.
5. I think this is the best way to put the biggest deal of the weekend in perspective: Ben Roethlisberger will be only be 37 at the end of his 16th season as Steeler quarterback in 2019—if he lasts that long, of course—and that’s an age when quarterbacks are still having peak seasons. Today, with quarterbacks doing so much in the offseason to stay healthy and make their careers last, I really like what the Steelers did.
That does put the Roethlisberger contract in perspective for me. My perspective is altered by knowing quarterbacks who are older can still serve a purpose to their team, but mostly altered by my newfound knowledge that Peter liked what the Steelers did in extending Roethlisberger.
They told the world that Roethlisberger is their quarterback for life.
Well except for the fact, as Peter just noted, this is an age when quarterbacks are still having peak seasons when Roethlisberger's contract runs out. So he is the Steelers' quarterback for life, except for the part where Peter thinks Roethlisberger will be playing at a high level and his contract will have run out.
9. I think the Jets must not have liked their roster very much. They signed, re-signed or traded for 11 players in the first three days of the 2015 league year.
What was to like about the roster? The Jets have a new GM and new head coach. Changes happen when new head coaches and GM's are hired. Of course, as we learned with Chip Kelly turning over the Eagles roster, many personnel changes are only allowable when discussing unsuccessful NFL teams.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. If I had one wish for ESPN (well, this wouldn’t be the one, I guess, but it would be in the top 10), I would wish its anchors would stop saying Team X “punched their ticket” for the NCAA tournament. First: Team X would have “punched its ticket.” Second: Well, it’s a brutal cliché.
What a country.
b. I live in New York. I can’t name one active Knick.
You admit to not watching the NBA. The fact you can't name one active Knick probably speaks to your distaste for the NBA as much as it speaks to the anonymity of the Knicks players. I do like how Peter is viewing the Knicks relevance through the lens of how much he knows about the team. This is something sportswriters love to do. They don't watch or enjoy a sport/team, so obviously that sport/team isn't relevant anymore. Why wouldn't Peter's worldview speak to the relevance of a sport or team?
c. Knicks versus Lakers on Thursday night. Looked at the box score Friday morning. Never heard of any of the 10 starters in the game.
Again, you don't really watch college basketball or the NBA.
f. A few random college basketball observations:
Wish you wouldn't. Do this. Ever.
i. What a weekend for Notre Dame, beating Duke and North Carolina on back-to-back days in the state of North Carolina.
It was in North Carolina, but it helps the Duke fans in the crowd were cheering for Notre Dame and the UNC fans in the crowd were cheering for Notre Dame. The game being played in North Carolina is an advantage until the fans of one North Carolina-based team choose to cheer against another North Carolina-based team. It's not always an advantage to play in North Carolina in certain situations. After being defeated by Notre Dame, Duke fans in attendance were openly cheering for Notre Dame against UNC.
k. Four conferences played their tourneys in Vegas? What a country.
Stop writing "what a country."
n. This Cuban baseball player stuff is really crazy. Crazier than NFL free-agent money. Boston paid $133 million to sign Rusney Castillo and 19-year-old Yoan Moncada, with limited scouting opportunities of them. It’s got to be sports’ version of Russian Roulette.
All of a sudden when the Red Sox start signing Cuban players Peter starts to notice how crazy it is that MLB teams sign these Cuban players without knowing a ton about them. Hey Peter, MLB teams have been signing players from overseas, while having limited opportunities to scout these players, for over a decade now. I know! It's amazing this didn't start when the Red Sox started spending money on Cuban players.
The Adieu Haiku
I like lots of trades.
The NFL’s not like that.
Kudos, Chip Kelly.
Chip Kelly can make all kinds of trades without having to ask anyone's permission. What a country.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
4 comments MMQB Review: Chris Simms Ain't No Bitch Boy Edition
Peter astounded "us" last week with the news the Patriots weren't simply going to lose the rest of the games during this NFL season and try to get a new franchise quarterback in the 2015 draft. "We" were wrong about the Patriots struggling the rest of the season because they started off the season struggling. Peter also revealed THE MMQB will be covering one of the Thanksgiving games this year, which should be a lot of fun apparently, though I assumed THE MMQB would be covering these games anyway. I guess it's more fun to saturate coverage of one specific game. This week Peter says that "we" shouldn't count out the Cardinals, the rise of the Lions (I'm going to admit I was wrong about Caldwell at some point...I will probably give it two years, so don't worry, I'm on it but I'm also aware that Caldwell has had success with someone else's players before), and still has nothing to say about Matt Schaub sitting the Raiders' bench while collecting a paycheck of $8 million, though he killed Josh Freeman for doing that same thing last year (in terms of the most bizarre things Peter has ever done, eviscerating Freeman on a weekly basis when he earned $2 million over one season as the Vikings' third QB has to be among them). Also, it's good of Peter to help Greg Schiano "prepare for his next job." Nothing like using his website to do a little PR for his buddies. How shameless.
I want to warn everyone this MMQB contains the sentence, "We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton," so the bar for crazy and delusional has been set high. And what do you know? Carson Palmer gets paid and then gets injured. That never happens.
An early Happy Veterans Day to all in uniform, past and present. Thanks to all in the military who make it possible for us to enjoy the lives we lead and feel safe while doing it.
If these veterans knew they were making it safe for Peter to complain about things like bad coffee and people who are taking pictures outside of the Apple store then they would probably quit doing those things to make it safer.
Every NFL season has its eccentricities.
BREAKING NEWS!
Ten Uniquely 2014 Things About Week 10
1. Cleveland is in sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Last time that was the case after 10 weeks: In 1994, when Bill Belichick coached and Vinny Testaverde quarterbacked.
What was Greg Schiano doing at that point? I know you want to tell us, Peter.
2. Brian Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta, told me Sunday he hasn’t had any discussions about a new contract for the 2015 free-agent-to-be since May. Six months. Hoyer is the most desirable veteran quarterback among a weak crop.
He's the best of the worst! Quick, overpay for him! There are few great quarterbacks available and the Browns MUST overpay to keep Hoyer around.
There is time for Hoyer to fall to earth, of course, but I’ll be amazed if the Browns, seeking a long-term answer at quarterback since forever, let him walk.
Okay, I don't know if I would be amazed since Hoyer doesn't have a long track record of this type of great performance and the Browns have Johnny Manziel sitting on the bench. It would be surprising, but "amazed"? Small things amaze Peter.
4. If the season ended this morning, Green Bay (6-3) wouldn’t be in the playoffs. True fact. Detroit (7-2) has them beat for the division, and Dallas (7-3) and Seattle (6-3 with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay) would be wild cards.
Wait, Seattle would make the playoffs if the season ended today? I thought their eulogy was written a few weeks ago?
I knew this would happen. Peter didn't bury the Seahawks but he did write previously about how they were in trouble, blah, blah, blah, as if their opening schedule wasn't difficult or anything.
10. As if anyone needed another lesson, gambling on football is fool’s gold; the Steelers looked like the ’07 Patriots the last two weeks and came to the Meadowlands to play a team on an eight-game losing streak—and Pittsburgh got drilled. We wake this morning to learn the 2014 Patriots, nearly flawless the past five games, are field-goal ‘dogs at Indianapolis Sunday night. Keep your money in your pocket. I repeat, keep your money in your pocket.
I'm not even sure I know what this means in terms of gambling advice Peter is giving.
It seems particularly cruel this morning to write about the team with the best record in football in a life-goes-on sort of way. Carson Palmer was the quarterback coach Bruce Arians and GM Steve Keim chose to be their franchise leader when they got their jobs in January 2013. Palmer finally felt like he was in football nirvana. He quit football at 31 rather than continue playing for a franchise he didn’t trust to put a winner on the field, Cincinnati.
Which, for the record, is something the media would have KILLED other players for doing. Palmer is a quarterback, white (not that important, but I believe it plays a part), friendly with the media and just overall is a nice guy. He got a break in terms of the criticism he received for essentially refusing to play. No big deal, but it would be funny if another player tried to pull this trick. Let's see how Andre Johnson would have gotten treated if he sat out refusing to play. Now the irony is that the Bengals have put a winner on the field without Palmer and the biggest question mark is starting to look like the starting quarterback's performance.
He was traded to the Raiders, another pit of despair, and played two years there.
And of course because he wanted to go to a team committed to winning, he ended up with the Raiders.
As the play progressed, Palmer’s left knee caved in as he tried to avoid the rush on a sack, and he lay on the field, writhing in agony. Nothing is official, and Arians told me Sunday night he wasn’t sure of anything, but all signs point to a torn ACL in Palmer’s left knee, the second time he has suffered that injury, to that knee, in his career.
“We just did the contract, and everybody was on cloud nine,” Arians said from Arizona. “Now this.”
It always happens like that, doesn't it? Though I do have to wonder why the Cardinals signed Palmer to that contract if Bruce Arians feels he can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton. Kind of a fishy claim if you ask me. Why re-sign Palmer to that type of money if he really thinks he can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton? When Peter was speaking to Arians and Arians made this statement, naturally Peter being the crack reporter he is reports this statement as fact, rather than ask the obvious question. Peter is less reporter, more transcriber/lackey. The obvious question here would be why the Cardinals handed Palmer a contract extension if Arians thought he could win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton? The answer? Arians is just saying this to be confident in his guy, yet Peter reports on it like this is realistically something Arians believes, which I can't imagine it would be.
This was the second bit of major drama in Stanton’s day. He and his wife, Kristin, are expecting a child. She was due last Wednesday. He got a text from her Sunday morning, when he’d arrived at the stadium for the game. “The text basically said, Just so you know, you might want to get home pretty quick after the game. She felt like the contractions were coming,” Stanton said.
This was an hour or so after the game, and Stanton had ducked into a Whole Foods on his way home, shopping for dinner. And champagne, in case the baby came.
That's terrible. Drew Stanton is going to give champagne to a newborn baby? What about a stuffed animal or a pacifier instead?
So even though Stanton was shaken to the core by the injury to Palmer, he listened to Arians before he went out for his first play, first-and-10 at the Arizona 11. We’re gonna stay with what we planned. Just try to put some points on the board. Nothing different from what Arians would have said to anyone subbing for an injured player.
So the Cardinals' offense was going to continue to try and score points? I don't know, that's a risky move.
“It’s not gonna stop,” Arians said. “It’s football. There’s gonna be another one, I just don’t know who and when. That’s what we believe. We don’t let up, and we don’t make excuses.”
One more thing.
Here it comes.
“We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton,” Arians said. “There is no doubt in my mind.”
I realize this is coach-speak. I do. Peter reports this as fact and doesn't at least point out that Bruce Arians and Steve Keim were so sure they could win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton that they gave Carson Palmer a three year extension two days earlier rather than hand the team over to Drew Stanton, who obviously would cost less than Palmer, when Palmer's contract ran out. My point is there is an easy follow-up question, but Peter doesn't care to ask a follow-up question because he thinks coach-speak is just a great way to get a quote. Again, he's not a reporter, he just transcribes what coaches say and then marvels at their brilliance.
There will be a few people in the Cardinals’ offices today pulling for Kristin Stanton to have that baby early in the week. Her husband’s got another big job this week. The football calendar is unforgiving that way.
Drew Stanton will be the first husband to ever have his baby's birth get in the way of something he has to do at work. I don't know how he does it.
The Lions don’t make the dumb mistakes anymore.
This just isn't entirely true. This is a very definitive statement. Remember last year when Peter wrote that Matthew Stafford had matured after sneaking the ball over the goal line against the Cowboys? He was a different QB after that! Except he wasn't, but the Lions are TOTALLY different now. For sure.
For the third straight game, the Lions won a game they’d trailed late in the fourth quarter. And that, players and staff say, is a direct result of some of the mind games new coach Jim Caldwell is playing.
And these mind games are wonderful because the Lions are winning. That's all that matters. The rest is a bullshit narrative written around the fact the Lions are winning. The mind games will suck if the Lions start off 1-5 next season.
Caldwell might be one of those rarities in the NFL—a coach who is better-suited to be a head coach than a coordinator.
No, I still don't think he is.
Detroit led in the fourth quarter of its last seven games last season—and won one. This year, the Lions are turning it over less (last nine games last year: 26 turnovers; first nine games this year: 12 turnovers) and winning more.
See the narrative being written around the Lions? The Lions played well enough to win games last year, but couldn't close them out. This year, the Lions are winning the close games and turning the ball over less. Sure, one might think this has to do with some luck, good execution and not turning the ball over. But no, it's totally Jim Caldwell and his mind games.
Caldwell said from his office the other day. “In this league, we see it every year: Teams lose games in the NFL more than they win them. We brought in players and coaches from winning backgrounds—James Ihedigbo and Glover Quin [from Houston], Golden Tate from Seattle, [coordinators] Joe Lombardi from the Saints and Teryl Austin from the Ravens.”
This is a good strategy. Still, a team winning games they lead in the fourth quarter can be chalked up to other things outside of just bringing players from winning backgrounds. It's not narrative-driven enough to just say the Lions are winning the close games this year that they couldn't win last year and part of the reason is they aren't turning the ball over as much.
Caldwell introduced a twice-weekly part of team meetings: The High Cost of Low Living. Each meeting, he’d have an example, culled from the internet or newspaper by longtime senior VP of communications Bill Keenist or someone else on staff, of an athlete or famous person being arrested or doing something stupid publicly. “Common-sense lessons,” said Caldwell. “Like, ‘Don’t be out after 1 a.m.’
The Lions are winning the close games and not turning the ball over because they see examples of players who get in trouble or arrested. If you want to believe, that sounds great. To me, I don't see how these mind games are winning games for the Lions.
“I just think discipline is important,” he said. “It shows up in games.”
Jim Caldwell and I agree. I also think that discipline isn't the only reason the Lions are winning the same close games this year that they lost last year.
Caldwell also took all positions groups out to dinner, one a week, during the offseason. He’d let the players pick the restaurants, then spend two to three hours getting to know them. “Their favorite movies, their favorite book, their families. I’d ask them, ‘Who’s the best point guard in the NBA?’ We’d get some great discussions going. Just to get to know the players as men, as people, is so important. I read a lot, and I always have believed something General Patton says is important: ‘Take care of your men.’ ”
And if/when the Lions start losing then these dinners will become tedious and an example of how Caldwell is a great guy who does a better job of taking care of his men then he does of winning football games. It's how the reverse-narrative sausage works. Winning rules all. Everything is great when a team is winning.
Those are traits these Lions are playing with now. We’ll see if they last for the long haul. Last season, Detroit was 6-2 after eight games and it didn’t last. The proof with Caldwell will be known in a couple of months.
No, like every other head coach, the proof with Caldwell will be known in a couple of years. Plenty of head coaches have succeeded in their first year with a team. Sustaining that success is what separates the good coaches from the average coaches.
Peter King does love his coach-speak and feel-good, team-first stories though doesn't he? He eats them up.
Five quick questions, five quick answers…
With Chris Simms, the former quarterback and NFL quality-control coach, now analyzing the NFL for Bleacher Report and CBS Sports. I reached out because I’ve liked his direct, blunt analysis this season. He said, for instance, that the Eagles may be better off with Mark Sanchez than Nick Foles; and when the Jets’ quarterbacks were struggling mightily, he said he didn’t think his brother, Matt, the third-stringer with the team, should be playing over Michael Vick.
Chris Simms shoots straight from the hip. Peter loves guys like that. Of course he also likes guys who mix hyperbole and coach-speak together to essentially say nothing and he likes coaches who essentially lie to his face, and also likes what most people tell him, unless it's about Josh Freeman who can burn in Hell.
The MMQB: Why the media gig?
Whoa Peter, you only have five questions. Don't go so hard on the first question.
"What's it like to be a Simms?"
"If the world were a violet or a daisy, which would you prefer?"
"You have blonde hair, right? How neat is that?"
Simms: I wanted to get into coaching or get on the track to be a GM. But for the last three years, I was basically a bitch boy,
Only over the last three years? Major Applewhite would argue differently. But to be clear, Chris Simms wasn't no bitch boy then and never will be now.
Like my dad [Phil] told me, “If you’re going to do this, you can’t fake it.” So I put in the work. I watch the tape. I talk to people I know in the league. I really work at it.
Interesting that "You can't fake it" came from Phil Simms since it's fairly well-known that Simms required a lot of work to get his broadcasting skills to where they are today, work done even after he had hit the air doing analysis for games...including changing his hair style around.
The MMQB: How did you like working for Bill Belichick?
Simms: Loved it. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever been around. His attention to detail just blows me away. What I noticed about him is that the grind of coaching is not a grind to him.
But does Belichick schedule dinner dates with his players? If not, he's dropping the ball to know them as men.
Again with Peter King asking the tough questions though.
The MMQB: Best player in the league we don’t know yet.
Simms: [Oakland linebacker] Khalil Mack. He’ll be a superstar for a long time. He’s Von Miller-esque.
Very Simms-esque answer.
The MMQB: Ever wonder what would have happened to you if you didn’t rupture your spleen in that game? [Simms suffered a rupture spleen in a 2006 game against Carolina, and started only one game the rest of his career. He retired in 2009, at age 29.]
No Peter, I bet he has never thought about the injury that seemed to ruin his career. It's never crossed his mind I bet.
Simms: Never a week goes by that I don’t wonder about that. The injury ruined my career.
I think some might argue that having the last name "Simms" helped to make your career a little bit. So there's a bit of a trade-off.
The Niners save their season, and need to play more like Chris Borland.
Considering Chris Borland currently plays for the Niners, just shut up about this.
“Just a little dumb luck,’’ said linebacker Chris Borland, after he recovered a fumble in overtime and Phil Dawson followed with a game-winning field goal in New Orleans. There’s some truth to what Borland says, but to see how he attacked the loose ball, swan-diving in from five feet away, no regard for his own health, is a good lesson for the seasoned pros on the Niners who might not be playing the same sense of desperation. “I didn’t give it a lot of thought,’’ Borland said. “I just reacted. That’s the game right there, that ball on the ground.”
It was embarrassing when no other Niners players attempted to recover the fumble here. I remember earlier in the game when Perrish Cox saw a fumbled football and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it WHILE THE BALL WAS JUST LAYING ON THE GROUND! Just play more like Chris Borland, 49ers defense that Borland is a member of.
The Fine Fifteen
2. Arizona (8-1). Game of Week 11: Detroit (7-2) at Arizona (8-1). Seems the Cards play one of these prove-it games every two or three weeks. Even without Carson Palmer, this just looks like Arizona’s year.
I don't know if the Cardinals have totally gotten the Drew Stanton experience yet. We'll see. Let's just say I am not as confident as Bruce Arians the Cardinals can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton as their starting quarterback.
6. Indianapolis (6-3). Worked out well that the NFL gave the Patriots and Colts the Week 10 bye and a Week 11 meeting. Competitive fairness.
I would certainly hope the NFL didn't specifically give these two teams a week off in preparation for them facing each other. Other NFL teams who also have to play competitive games not off of a bye week would probably be miffed otherwise.
8. Detroit (7-2). Lions have won the past three by 1, 1 and 4 points. I say last year’s Lions would have lost two of those. “We don’t think about that,” Matthew Stafford told me after the tight win over Miami. I do.
It's those dinners and mind games I tell you. It's not just that the Lions are winning the close games they lost last year.
10. Seattle (6-3). I don’t want to deflate any win by any NFL team, and I don’t mean to make light of the Giants’ defensive backfield Sunday at CenturyLink Field, but I do believe that was Elvis “Toast” Patterson playing nickel for the beleaguered and beat-up New York secondary.
Peter doesn't want to deflate the win or make light of the Giants' injuries, but he'll fucking do as he pleases anyway. As I've shown before, when Peter says, "I don't want to do this," then you know he is immediately going to do that thing he claims he doesn't want to do.
14. San Francisco (5-4). There are elements to criticize in Colin Kaepernick’s game Sunday in New Orleans, but he kept the vital play alive at the end of regulation, saving the season with a 51-yard bomb to Michael Crabtree on fourth-and-10 from the Niners’ 22. Now the Niners (at New York Giants, Washington at home) can be relevant for their Thanksgiving Night showdown with Seattle at Levi’s Stadium if they take care of business in two winnable games.
Uh-oh, could the Seattle-San Francisco game be the one that THE MMQB will have so much fun covering on Thanksgiving day?
T-15. Buffalo (5-4). The offense is really limiting the growth of this team. Points in last seven games: 10, 17, 17, 22, 17, 43 (against the Jets) and 13. That’s not going to get it done.
Like Peter told E.J. Manuel to do, maybe Kyle Orton should just throw it deep more often.
Offensive Player of the Week
Michael Vick, quarterback, New York Jets. A Jets quarterback, player of the week? Heresy! Classic Vick game, doing just enough with his legs (39 yards rushing, including a nifty 18-yarder), an efficient 10 of 18 for 132 and two touchdowns
"Efficient" being defined as "Not very good, but he didn't commit a turnover and his team won the game so I have no other idea what to call it."
(including a well-thrown 67-yarder to T.J. Graham). Best things: No interceptions, no fumbles lost, no fumbles period.
As I said, not very good, but he didn't commit any turnovers. Vick was 9-17 for 65 yards if you take away the T.J. Graham catch. You say "efficient" I say "not great, but the Jets won."
Defensive Players of the Week
I lied when I promised I’d only give a max of two awards in any category. I cannot whittle down the defensive men from Week 10.
At this point Peter, your readers fully expect you to immediately do something that you claim you will not be doing.
Kyle Shanahan, offensive coordinator, Cleveland. The Browns have gone 3-0, averaging 23 points a game over the past three weeks, without their best offensive weapon, wideout Josh Gordon, and without Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, and, in Thursday’s game at Cincinnati, without starting tight end Jordan Cameron and jitterbug wideout Andrew Hawkins—all either hurt or suspended. Shanahan is playing survival-ball with a cast of low-round picks and training-camp finds, with a quarterback who may or may not be the answer.
But Hoyer is the best of the crop of free agent quarterbacks, so suitors line up to pay for his services as soon as possible!
It's funny that Peter acted shocked earlier in this MMQB that the Browns had not had contract talks with Brian Hoyer since May, yet Peter writes here that Hoyer may or may not be the answer for the Browns at quarterback. Gee Peter, maybe that's the reason the Browns haven't had contract extension talks with Hoyer since May?
Goat of the Week
Andy Dalton, quarterback, Cincinnati. It was one of the most mind-numbingly awful performances by a quarterback of this, or any, NFL season. Dalton’s 10-for-33, no-touchdown, three-interception game Thursday in the 24-3 loss to Cleveland reinforced the belief among Bengal partisans that Dalton is not the man to lead the Bengals out of the football wilderness.
Yeah, that was terrible. I have nothing. Bash away.
“It was definitely not a push-off. I’m running down the field telling myself, ‘Whatever you do, don’t push off.’ It’s interesting how guys grab me everywhere on the field and I put literally two fingers on somebody, and they make that kind of call.”
—New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham, on the offensive pass interference call at the end of the fourth quarter that negated what would have been the winning touchdown.
So allow me to get this straight...a Saints player obviously cheated and then indignantly denies what everyone accepts as obvious cheating or foul play? Noooooooooooo...that doesn't happen. I don't believe a Saints player would deny anything like this happening.
I mean, I have great admiration for Graham the player. But that is just crazy. Graham pushed off, the defender hit the ground, and it enabled him to catch a touchdown pass that rightfully was flagged and called back.
Jimmy Graham should have just used coach-speak and Peter would have nodded and completely let this comment slide.
Many of you have wondered about the NFL’s love affair for the London games. Not surprisingly, it has to do with money, and exposure, and a bet on the globalization of football. There will be three more games at Wembley Stadium next season (Jets-Dolphins, Lions-Chiefs, Bills-Jaguars), so the experiment clearly is not going away.
More than exposure or globalization, it has to do with money. That's all that needs to be said. Whenever the Panthers end up losing a home game to play in London, you will find me writing on this blog pissed off about it. That's what upsets me the most. NFL fans with season tickets are losing a home game (and of course are still stuck with two worthless preseason home games) so that the NFL can expand into other markets. I think it's great the NFL wants to expand. I don't think it's okay the NFL wants to expand while taking away one of the 8 home games that each NFL team gets per season.
Peter shows that the NFL had ticket revenue of $31 million from the three games in London this year. I don't know how that works, but I wonder if season ticket owners for teams that lost a home game had to still pay for the home game they didn't get a chance to attend? If so, having the fans pay for 8 regular season home games instead of 7 regular season games is great revenue for the NFL also.
The bigger question, probably, is how much more the Jacksonville Jaguars can make from a home game in London versus a home game in North Florida. (In exchange for their four-year commitment to playing in London, the Jags receive the full home-team share at Wembley; other teams that give up home games receive what they’d average in a home game in the U.S., and the remainder is shared among all 32 teams.) Assume the Jags would have sold out the game Sunday against Dallas—67,297 seats, at an average ticket price of about $58. The gate at Wembley Stadium would be about $6.7 million more than if the game was played in Jacksonville.
I would like to know if Jags fans are having to pay for 8 regular season home games and they are getting 7 home games. I would hope not. Either way, if I'm a Jags fan then I'm pissed that I am missing out on 8 regular season home games just so the NFL can expand their brand. Of course, the NFL does whatever the hell it wants to at all times.
MR. STARWOOD PREFERRED MEMBER TRAVEL NOTE OF THE WEEK
I had to drive from Manhattan to Boston on Thursday morning for a breakfast meeting. It’s about 208 miles from point to point. I left Manhattan at 4:50 a.m., sharp. Stopped once, briefly—at a drive-thru Starbucks on the Merritt Parkway in Woodbridge (near New Haven), and, at that hour, managed to avoid traffic everywhere for the first 170 miles … and I started imagining: This could be my first-ever New York-to-Boston drive in less than three hours.
This is Peter's fault. Never start talking or imagining about what good time you are making. It's sure to end quickly. Plus, if Peter had not stopped for coffee perhaps he could have missed some of the traffic or been five minutes ahead of the traffic.
I was 33 miles out when, on the Mass Pike, my dream died. Morning rush into Boston—not good. That traffic is as soul-sucking as the FDR Drive in Manhattan in the morning. Three hours, 33 minutes. Bummer.
Speaking of soul-sucking, how about hearing Peter talk about his frustrations while traveling, especially his frustrations while driving? It's like Peter doesn't think other people have the same inconveniences and issues while traveling, but his are more important because he's Peter King. It's bad enough personally getting stuck in traffic, but having the privilege of hearing about someone else getting stuck in traffic? That defines riveting.
Not a travel note, but a life one I thought you might enjoy.
Probably not.
Most mornings when I am home, I walk out of my apartment on the east side of Manhattan and head over to a bodega a block away and buy the New York Post and New York Daily News. (We get the New York Times and Wall Street Journal home-delivered.)
Look at you Mr. Fancy Pants with your four newspapers you read everyday, including getting two of those home delivered. I hope you don't have to walk in your gold plated bedroom slippers out of the house to pick up these papers you ol' rich boy.
The front pages of the papers are always … interesting. None moreso than Saturday’s Post. I like the Seinfeldian details at the bottom of the story.
So Seinfeldian. I think Peter's dream situation would be to get stuck on a deserted island with only Seinfeld, Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman movies, and news shows anchored by Brian Williams to watch while U2 CD's constantly play in the background. Naturally, there would be a Starbucks barista on-call as well on this deserted island. Peter would never want to leave that island.
TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK
1. I think this is what I liked about Week 10:
b. Receiver Preston Parker of the Giants. A more physical receiver than I’d thought.
I would love to know prior to this past Sunday's action how physical Peter King thought Preston Parker actually was. I'm guessing he had barely heard of Parker.
i. Denard Robinson, with more explosiveness than I thought he had, on a 32-yard touchdown burst against Dallas.
Again, I would love to know how much explosiveness Peter King thought Denard Robinson had. Did Peter not watch Robinson at the University of Michigan? Peter King has more generic previous thoughts about players than I thought he had.
m. Are you kidding me with that flip-pass while getting dragged down, Ben Roethlisberger?
Yes, it was all a joke he was playing on you, Peter. You fell for it!
n. Anquan Boldin: best physical receiver in football.
o. Mike Evans: heir to best physical receiver in football.
Mike Evans is more physical than Peter thought he was.
2. I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 10:
d. Come on, Blake Bortles. Ever throw a touch pass?
Sometimes there is a reason a rookie quarterback doesn't start Week 1 of his rookie season, even after he had a great preseason. Exhibition games are exhibition games and better left to be played in London and then ignored.
f. I know. Alex Rodriguez is a baseball player. Or used to be. I just wanted to emphasize how much I don’t like him. I also cannot figure out how he can keep track of so many lies to so many people.
#hotarodtakes
What Peter liked this week:
a. Great coverage by Richard Sherman on Odell Beckham on the goal line, forcing a deflected interception into the arms of safety Earl Thomas—and a gutsy return by Thomas. He could have taken a knee eight yards deep in the end zone, but Thomas had the presence to take it out, and he got it out to the Seattle 42.
What Peter didn't like:
k. Please, De’Anthony Thomas. You’re good. You’re not Superman. You cannot field punts at the 2-yard line in the National Football League.
You can't field punts at the 2-yard line in the NFL, but if you intercept a pass eight yards deep in the end zone, feel free to try to bring it out. If it works, Peter is totally cool with it.
5. I think this should be required reading for you this week, whether you love football unconditionally or whether you are having queasy thoughts about football’s place in our society. The title of writer Michael Sokolove’s piece is, “Is football the next tobacco?” Good question, and a thoughtful story.
Actually, the title of the piece that Peter linked is, "How One Lawyer's Crusade Could Change Football Forever." There is a discussion of football as a parallel to tobacco in the article, but not in the title of the piece.
6. I think Carson Palmer re-signing Friday is a tremendous boost to Brian Hoyer’s prospective new deal, wherever it ends up being done. There is not a marquee quarterback (is there ever?) in the 2015 free-agent quarterback pool. The two most interesting—which could change, depending on how Ryan Mallett does with his chance in Houston in the last half of the season—are Hoyer and restricted free-agent Austin Davis of the Rams. How I would rate the top five prospective quarterback free-agents-to-be, in order:
Good, I was dying to know who Peter thought were the top five prospective quarterback free-agents-to-be were.
Brian Hoyer, Cleveland. Quick release, ability to process info. Has made some big throws under pressure for the Browns during their surprising 6-3 start, and the Browns have had zero conversations about a new contract for Hoyer since May, agent Joe Linta said Sunday. Linta also had Joe Flacco a couple of years ago. Flacco played out his deal and was rewarded after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. Hoyer has nowhere near the résumé of Flacco, of course. But he’s got one thing in common with Flacco. “He’s like Joe,” Linta said. “He’s bet on himself.”
The way Flacco and Hoyer bet on themselves seems a bit different. Flacco had a lot more money to lose if he bombed during his contract year, while Hoyer had money to lose, but probably not quite as much as Flacco did. Flacco probably (and I am assuming, granted) got a pretty good offer from the Ravens prior to his Super Bowl victory with $20 million in guaranteed money at least and gave it up to see if he could increase his value. Hoyer probably wasn't offered anything in that neighborhood in May from the Browns. So yes, they both bet on themselves, but Flacco seemingly had a lot more to lose in terms of money than Hoyer did by turning down the Browns attempts at a contract extension in May.
Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia. Much to see in the next two months, but in the right system, running a fast-paced offense (more to his liking), I think he has a chance to compete to be someone’s starter for a few years.
It's amazing how a few good starts change the narrative around a quarterback.
Austin Davis, St. Louis. He’s restricted, meaning the Rams will have the right to match any offer he gets. But Davis has been impressive under tough circumstances, and much more accurate than the Rams had any right to expect. He’s had 76 percent, 71 percent and 85 percent passing games in the past two months.
Austin Davis has more accuracy than Peter thought he did.
Jake Locker, Tennessee. Maybe, just maybe, the right coach can work on his accuracy issues, which are major. I don’t know what anyone can do about his injury issues, which also are many.
Peter has been talking about improving Locker's accuracy for 3-4 seasons now. He's never been an accurate quarterback. That's just not who he is. Live with it. When he's not injured, he's not terribly accurate. Accuracy can be improved, but it's not always the easiest thing for a quarterback to do.
I have always gotten irritated because Locker's accuracy issues are treated like a little work can improve them. Yes and no. He's never healthy, first off. Second, a comparison of how a Hall of Fame quarterback like Brett Favre improved his accuracy doesn't mean Jake Locker can do the same thing.
9. I think this was a refreshing take from Tony Romo on the future of football in London. He loved the week, said he loves London, and said, “As far as a team in London, I would recommend it for sure. I loved it here.” Music to Roger Goodell’s ears.
Nobody asked Tony if HE wanted to be the guy who played for an NFL team in London did they? Easy to love it when you don't have to worry about being the guy crossing the ocean to play in London for eight games in a season.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
b. Story of the week: Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel with a few thousand interesting words on Brett Favre. Said he doesn’t want to do a TV gig, in part because of the travel and in part because, as he says, “I don’t want to sit around the set all day and hear Warren Sapp tell stories.”
Brett Favre would much rather sit around and hear other people listen to his stories I would assume. Because I'm an asshole, I think Brett Favre doesn't want to do a TV gig because that would involve sharing the spotlight. He much prefers to do interviews every year about himself and how he doesn't want to be in the spotlight, thereby putting himself back in the spotlight. You can't fool me Favre.
c. This could be prominent among the Things I’ll Never Figure Out About College Football: Why, in the midst of the home stretch of the college football season, was Ole Miss hosting the Presbyterian College Blue Hose (enrollment 1,172)? And why was Mississippi State hosting the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks?
The same reason the NFL plays in London. Ticket revenue from fans attending the game. It's not that hard to figure out.
l. Beernerdness: Found a poor man’s Pliny The Elder in a west side bar in Manhattan on Saturday: Harpoon 100 Barrel series #51, Cambridge Uncommon Pale Lager. The name is long. The beer is worth it. It’s a cool beer—as the name implies, a combination of IPA with lager, leaving a bit of pine taste on the pallet.
I don't see where the name implies a combination of IPA with lager. I see it implies lager.
p. The basketball season is about 314 games long, and people are worried that the Cavaliers started 1-3? Sheesh.
Says the guy in the industry with "people" (and even Peter to an extent) who were worried the Patriots and the Seahawks would struggle all year.
Philadelphia 23, Carolina 16. Funny how all the focus in this game is whether Mark Sanchez can play competently enough for the Eagles to win. I wonder if Cam Newton (last three games: 48.1 percent completions, one touchdown pass) can.
Well, I guess "we" got our answer didn't we?
The Adieu Haiku
The Cards: 8 and 1.
Even with Carson injured,
still NFC’s best.
Okay buddy. If Bruce Arians can make Drew Stanton into a real live NFL starting quarterback then he is deserving of Coach of the Year. If Arians can win a Super Bowl with Stanton as his quarterback then he should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame immediately. Color me skeptical that the Cardinals can win a Super Bowl with Stanton as the quarterback. I think this injury definitely doesn't mean the Cardinals are the NFC's best team. Of course, I'm also not smart enough to do haikus and read four newspapers per day either.
I want to warn everyone this MMQB contains the sentence, "We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton," so the bar for crazy and delusional has been set high. And what do you know? Carson Palmer gets paid and then gets injured. That never happens.
An early Happy Veterans Day to all in uniform, past and present. Thanks to all in the military who make it possible for us to enjoy the lives we lead and feel safe while doing it.
If these veterans knew they were making it safe for Peter to complain about things like bad coffee and people who are taking pictures outside of the Apple store then they would probably quit doing those things to make it safer.
Every NFL season has its eccentricities.
BREAKING NEWS!
Ten Uniquely 2014 Things About Week 10
1. Cleveland is in sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Last time that was the case after 10 weeks: In 1994, when Bill Belichick coached and Vinny Testaverde quarterbacked.
What was Greg Schiano doing at that point? I know you want to tell us, Peter.
2. Brian Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta, told me Sunday he hasn’t had any discussions about a new contract for the 2015 free-agent-to-be since May. Six months. Hoyer is the most desirable veteran quarterback among a weak crop.
He's the best of the worst! Quick, overpay for him! There are few great quarterbacks available and the Browns MUST overpay to keep Hoyer around.
There is time for Hoyer to fall to earth, of course, but I’ll be amazed if the Browns, seeking a long-term answer at quarterback since forever, let him walk.
Okay, I don't know if I would be amazed since Hoyer doesn't have a long track record of this type of great performance and the Browns have Johnny Manziel sitting on the bench. It would be surprising, but "amazed"? Small things amaze Peter.
4. If the season ended this morning, Green Bay (6-3) wouldn’t be in the playoffs. True fact. Detroit (7-2) has them beat for the division, and Dallas (7-3) and Seattle (6-3 with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay) would be wild cards.
Wait, Seattle would make the playoffs if the season ended today? I thought their eulogy was written a few weeks ago?
I knew this would happen. Peter didn't bury the Seahawks but he did write previously about how they were in trouble, blah, blah, blah, as if their opening schedule wasn't difficult or anything.
10. As if anyone needed another lesson, gambling on football is fool’s gold; the Steelers looked like the ’07 Patriots the last two weeks and came to the Meadowlands to play a team on an eight-game losing streak—and Pittsburgh got drilled. We wake this morning to learn the 2014 Patriots, nearly flawless the past five games, are field-goal ‘dogs at Indianapolis Sunday night. Keep your money in your pocket. I repeat, keep your money in your pocket.
I'm not even sure I know what this means in terms of gambling advice Peter is giving.
It seems particularly cruel this morning to write about the team with the best record in football in a life-goes-on sort of way. Carson Palmer was the quarterback coach Bruce Arians and GM Steve Keim chose to be their franchise leader when they got their jobs in January 2013. Palmer finally felt like he was in football nirvana. He quit football at 31 rather than continue playing for a franchise he didn’t trust to put a winner on the field, Cincinnati.
Which, for the record, is something the media would have KILLED other players for doing. Palmer is a quarterback, white (not that important, but I believe it plays a part), friendly with the media and just overall is a nice guy. He got a break in terms of the criticism he received for essentially refusing to play. No big deal, but it would be funny if another player tried to pull this trick. Let's see how Andre Johnson would have gotten treated if he sat out refusing to play. Now the irony is that the Bengals have put a winner on the field without Palmer and the biggest question mark is starting to look like the starting quarterback's performance.
He was traded to the Raiders, another pit of despair, and played two years there.
And of course because he wanted to go to a team committed to winning, he ended up with the Raiders.
As the play progressed, Palmer’s left knee caved in as he tried to avoid the rush on a sack, and he lay on the field, writhing in agony. Nothing is official, and Arians told me Sunday night he wasn’t sure of anything, but all signs point to a torn ACL in Palmer’s left knee, the second time he has suffered that injury, to that knee, in his career.
“We just did the contract, and everybody was on cloud nine,” Arians said from Arizona. “Now this.”
It always happens like that, doesn't it? Though I do have to wonder why the Cardinals signed Palmer to that contract if Bruce Arians feels he can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton. Kind of a fishy claim if you ask me. Why re-sign Palmer to that type of money if he really thinks he can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton? When Peter was speaking to Arians and Arians made this statement, naturally Peter being the crack reporter he is reports this statement as fact, rather than ask the obvious question. Peter is less reporter, more transcriber/lackey. The obvious question here would be why the Cardinals handed Palmer a contract extension if Arians thought he could win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton? The answer? Arians is just saying this to be confident in his guy, yet Peter reports on it like this is realistically something Arians believes, which I can't imagine it would be.
This was the second bit of major drama in Stanton’s day. He and his wife, Kristin, are expecting a child. She was due last Wednesday. He got a text from her Sunday morning, when he’d arrived at the stadium for the game. “The text basically said, Just so you know, you might want to get home pretty quick after the game. She felt like the contractions were coming,” Stanton said.
This was an hour or so after the game, and Stanton had ducked into a Whole Foods on his way home, shopping for dinner. And champagne, in case the baby came.
That's terrible. Drew Stanton is going to give champagne to a newborn baby? What about a stuffed animal or a pacifier instead?
So even though Stanton was shaken to the core by the injury to Palmer, he listened to Arians before he went out for his first play, first-and-10 at the Arizona 11. We’re gonna stay with what we planned. Just try to put some points on the board. Nothing different from what Arians would have said to anyone subbing for an injured player.
So the Cardinals' offense was going to continue to try and score points? I don't know, that's a risky move.
“It’s not gonna stop,” Arians said. “It’s football. There’s gonna be another one, I just don’t know who and when. That’s what we believe. We don’t let up, and we don’t make excuses.”
One more thing.
Here it comes.
“We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton,” Arians said. “There is no doubt in my mind.”
I realize this is coach-speak. I do. Peter reports this as fact and doesn't at least point out that Bruce Arians and Steve Keim were so sure they could win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton that they gave Carson Palmer a three year extension two days earlier rather than hand the team over to Drew Stanton, who obviously would cost less than Palmer, when Palmer's contract ran out. My point is there is an easy follow-up question, but Peter doesn't care to ask a follow-up question because he thinks coach-speak is just a great way to get a quote. Again, he's not a reporter, he just transcribes what coaches say and then marvels at their brilliance.
There will be a few people in the Cardinals’ offices today pulling for Kristin Stanton to have that baby early in the week. Her husband’s got another big job this week. The football calendar is unforgiving that way.
Drew Stanton will be the first husband to ever have his baby's birth get in the way of something he has to do at work. I don't know how he does it.
The Lions don’t make the dumb mistakes anymore.
This just isn't entirely true. This is a very definitive statement. Remember last year when Peter wrote that Matthew Stafford had matured after sneaking the ball over the goal line against the Cowboys? He was a different QB after that! Except he wasn't, but the Lions are TOTALLY different now. For sure.
For the third straight game, the Lions won a game they’d trailed late in the fourth quarter. And that, players and staff say, is a direct result of some of the mind games new coach Jim Caldwell is playing.
And these mind games are wonderful because the Lions are winning. That's all that matters. The rest is a bullshit narrative written around the fact the Lions are winning. The mind games will suck if the Lions start off 1-5 next season.
Caldwell might be one of those rarities in the NFL—a coach who is better-suited to be a head coach than a coordinator.
No, I still don't think he is.
Detroit led in the fourth quarter of its last seven games last season—and won one. This year, the Lions are turning it over less (last nine games last year: 26 turnovers; first nine games this year: 12 turnovers) and winning more.
See the narrative being written around the Lions? The Lions played well enough to win games last year, but couldn't close them out. This year, the Lions are winning the close games and turning the ball over less. Sure, one might think this has to do with some luck, good execution and not turning the ball over. But no, it's totally Jim Caldwell and his mind games.
Caldwell said from his office the other day. “In this league, we see it every year: Teams lose games in the NFL more than they win them. We brought in players and coaches from winning backgrounds—James Ihedigbo and Glover Quin [from Houston], Golden Tate from Seattle, [coordinators] Joe Lombardi from the Saints and Teryl Austin from the Ravens.”
This is a good strategy. Still, a team winning games they lead in the fourth quarter can be chalked up to other things outside of just bringing players from winning backgrounds. It's not narrative-driven enough to just say the Lions are winning the close games this year that they couldn't win last year and part of the reason is they aren't turning the ball over as much.
Caldwell introduced a twice-weekly part of team meetings: The High Cost of Low Living. Each meeting, he’d have an example, culled from the internet or newspaper by longtime senior VP of communications Bill Keenist or someone else on staff, of an athlete or famous person being arrested or doing something stupid publicly. “Common-sense lessons,” said Caldwell. “Like, ‘Don’t be out after 1 a.m.’
The Lions are winning the close games and not turning the ball over because they see examples of players who get in trouble or arrested. If you want to believe, that sounds great. To me, I don't see how these mind games are winning games for the Lions.
“I just think discipline is important,” he said. “It shows up in games.”
Jim Caldwell and I agree. I also think that discipline isn't the only reason the Lions are winning the same close games this year that they lost last year.
Caldwell also took all positions groups out to dinner, one a week, during the offseason. He’d let the players pick the restaurants, then spend two to three hours getting to know them. “Their favorite movies, their favorite book, their families. I’d ask them, ‘Who’s the best point guard in the NBA?’ We’d get some great discussions going. Just to get to know the players as men, as people, is so important. I read a lot, and I always have believed something General Patton says is important: ‘Take care of your men.’ ”
And if/when the Lions start losing then these dinners will become tedious and an example of how Caldwell is a great guy who does a better job of taking care of his men then he does of winning football games. It's how the reverse-narrative sausage works. Winning rules all. Everything is great when a team is winning.
Those are traits these Lions are playing with now. We’ll see if they last for the long haul. Last season, Detroit was 6-2 after eight games and it didn’t last. The proof with Caldwell will be known in a couple of months.
No, like every other head coach, the proof with Caldwell will be known in a couple of years. Plenty of head coaches have succeeded in their first year with a team. Sustaining that success is what separates the good coaches from the average coaches.
Peter King does love his coach-speak and feel-good, team-first stories though doesn't he? He eats them up.
Five quick questions, five quick answers…
With Chris Simms, the former quarterback and NFL quality-control coach, now analyzing the NFL for Bleacher Report and CBS Sports. I reached out because I’ve liked his direct, blunt analysis this season. He said, for instance, that the Eagles may be better off with Mark Sanchez than Nick Foles; and when the Jets’ quarterbacks were struggling mightily, he said he didn’t think his brother, Matt, the third-stringer with the team, should be playing over Michael Vick.
Chris Simms shoots straight from the hip. Peter loves guys like that. Of course he also likes guys who mix hyperbole and coach-speak together to essentially say nothing and he likes coaches who essentially lie to his face, and also likes what most people tell him, unless it's about Josh Freeman who can burn in Hell.
The MMQB: Why the media gig?
Whoa Peter, you only have five questions. Don't go so hard on the first question.
"What's it like to be a Simms?"
"If the world were a violet or a daisy, which would you prefer?"
"You have blonde hair, right? How neat is that?"
Simms: I wanted to get into coaching or get on the track to be a GM. But for the last three years, I was basically a bitch boy,
Only over the last three years? Major Applewhite would argue differently. But to be clear, Chris Simms wasn't no bitch boy then and never will be now.
Like my dad [Phil] told me, “If you’re going to do this, you can’t fake it.” So I put in the work. I watch the tape. I talk to people I know in the league. I really work at it.
Interesting that "You can't fake it" came from Phil Simms since it's fairly well-known that Simms required a lot of work to get his broadcasting skills to where they are today, work done even after he had hit the air doing analysis for games...including changing his hair style around.
The MMQB: How did you like working for Bill Belichick?
Simms: Loved it. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever been around. His attention to detail just blows me away. What I noticed about him is that the grind of coaching is not a grind to him.
But does Belichick schedule dinner dates with his players? If not, he's dropping the ball to know them as men.
Again with Peter King asking the tough questions though.
The MMQB: Best player in the league we don’t know yet.
Simms: [Oakland linebacker] Khalil Mack. He’ll be a superstar for a long time. He’s Von Miller-esque.
Very Simms-esque answer.
The MMQB: Ever wonder what would have happened to you if you didn’t rupture your spleen in that game? [Simms suffered a rupture spleen in a 2006 game against Carolina, and started only one game the rest of his career. He retired in 2009, at age 29.]
No Peter, I bet he has never thought about the injury that seemed to ruin his career. It's never crossed his mind I bet.
Simms: Never a week goes by that I don’t wonder about that. The injury ruined my career.
I think some might argue that having the last name "Simms" helped to make your career a little bit. So there's a bit of a trade-off.
The Niners save their season, and need to play more like Chris Borland.
Considering Chris Borland currently plays for the Niners, just shut up about this.
“Just a little dumb luck,’’ said linebacker Chris Borland, after he recovered a fumble in overtime and Phil Dawson followed with a game-winning field goal in New Orleans. There’s some truth to what Borland says, but to see how he attacked the loose ball, swan-diving in from five feet away, no regard for his own health, is a good lesson for the seasoned pros on the Niners who might not be playing the same sense of desperation. “I didn’t give it a lot of thought,’’ Borland said. “I just reacted. That’s the game right there, that ball on the ground.”
It was embarrassing when no other Niners players attempted to recover the fumble here. I remember earlier in the game when Perrish Cox saw a fumbled football and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it WHILE THE BALL WAS JUST LAYING ON THE GROUND! Just play more like Chris Borland, 49ers defense that Borland is a member of.
The Fine Fifteen
2. Arizona (8-1). Game of Week 11: Detroit (7-2) at Arizona (8-1). Seems the Cards play one of these prove-it games every two or three weeks. Even without Carson Palmer, this just looks like Arizona’s year.
I don't know if the Cardinals have totally gotten the Drew Stanton experience yet. We'll see. Let's just say I am not as confident as Bruce Arians the Cardinals can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton as their starting quarterback.
6. Indianapolis (6-3). Worked out well that the NFL gave the Patriots and Colts the Week 10 bye and a Week 11 meeting. Competitive fairness.
I would certainly hope the NFL didn't specifically give these two teams a week off in preparation for them facing each other. Other NFL teams who also have to play competitive games not off of a bye week would probably be miffed otherwise.
8. Detroit (7-2). Lions have won the past three by 1, 1 and 4 points. I say last year’s Lions would have lost two of those. “We don’t think about that,” Matthew Stafford told me after the tight win over Miami. I do.
It's those dinners and mind games I tell you. It's not just that the Lions are winning the close games they lost last year.
10. Seattle (6-3). I don’t want to deflate any win by any NFL team, and I don’t mean to make light of the Giants’ defensive backfield Sunday at CenturyLink Field, but I do believe that was Elvis “Toast” Patterson playing nickel for the beleaguered and beat-up New York secondary.
Peter doesn't want to deflate the win or make light of the Giants' injuries, but he'll fucking do as he pleases anyway. As I've shown before, when Peter says, "I don't want to do this," then you know he is immediately going to do that thing he claims he doesn't want to do.
14. San Francisco (5-4). There are elements to criticize in Colin Kaepernick’s game Sunday in New Orleans, but he kept the vital play alive at the end of regulation, saving the season with a 51-yard bomb to Michael Crabtree on fourth-and-10 from the Niners’ 22. Now the Niners (at New York Giants, Washington at home) can be relevant for their Thanksgiving Night showdown with Seattle at Levi’s Stadium if they take care of business in two winnable games.
Uh-oh, could the Seattle-San Francisco game be the one that THE MMQB will have so much fun covering on Thanksgiving day?
T-15. Buffalo (5-4). The offense is really limiting the growth of this team. Points in last seven games: 10, 17, 17, 22, 17, 43 (against the Jets) and 13. That’s not going to get it done.
Like Peter told E.J. Manuel to do, maybe Kyle Orton should just throw it deep more often.
Offensive Player of the Week
Michael Vick, quarterback, New York Jets. A Jets quarterback, player of the week? Heresy! Classic Vick game, doing just enough with his legs (39 yards rushing, including a nifty 18-yarder), an efficient 10 of 18 for 132 and two touchdowns
"Efficient" being defined as "Not very good, but he didn't commit a turnover and his team won the game so I have no other idea what to call it."
(including a well-thrown 67-yarder to T.J. Graham). Best things: No interceptions, no fumbles lost, no fumbles period.
As I said, not very good, but he didn't commit any turnovers. Vick was 9-17 for 65 yards if you take away the T.J. Graham catch. You say "efficient" I say "not great, but the Jets won."
Defensive Players of the Week
I lied when I promised I’d only give a max of two awards in any category. I cannot whittle down the defensive men from Week 10.
At this point Peter, your readers fully expect you to immediately do something that you claim you will not be doing.
Kyle Shanahan, offensive coordinator, Cleveland. The Browns have gone 3-0, averaging 23 points a game over the past three weeks, without their best offensive weapon, wideout Josh Gordon, and without Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, and, in Thursday’s game at Cincinnati, without starting tight end Jordan Cameron and jitterbug wideout Andrew Hawkins—all either hurt or suspended. Shanahan is playing survival-ball with a cast of low-round picks and training-camp finds, with a quarterback who may or may not be the answer.
But Hoyer is the best of the crop of free agent quarterbacks, so suitors line up to pay for his services as soon as possible!
It's funny that Peter acted shocked earlier in this MMQB that the Browns had not had contract talks with Brian Hoyer since May, yet Peter writes here that Hoyer may or may not be the answer for the Browns at quarterback. Gee Peter, maybe that's the reason the Browns haven't had contract extension talks with Hoyer since May?
Goat of the Week
Andy Dalton, quarterback, Cincinnati. It was one of the most mind-numbingly awful performances by a quarterback of this, or any, NFL season. Dalton’s 10-for-33, no-touchdown, three-interception game Thursday in the 24-3 loss to Cleveland reinforced the belief among Bengal partisans that Dalton is not the man to lead the Bengals out of the football wilderness.
Yeah, that was terrible. I have nothing. Bash away.
“It was definitely not a push-off. I’m running down the field telling myself, ‘Whatever you do, don’t push off.’ It’s interesting how guys grab me everywhere on the field and I put literally two fingers on somebody, and they make that kind of call.”
—New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham, on the offensive pass interference call at the end of the fourth quarter that negated what would have been the winning touchdown.
So allow me to get this straight...a Saints player obviously cheated and then indignantly denies what everyone accepts as obvious cheating or foul play? Noooooooooooo...that doesn't happen. I don't believe a Saints player would deny anything like this happening.
I mean, I have great admiration for Graham the player. But that is just crazy. Graham pushed off, the defender hit the ground, and it enabled him to catch a touchdown pass that rightfully was flagged and called back.
Jimmy Graham should have just used coach-speak and Peter would have nodded and completely let this comment slide.
Many of you have wondered about the NFL’s love affair for the London games. Not surprisingly, it has to do with money, and exposure, and a bet on the globalization of football. There will be three more games at Wembley Stadium next season (Jets-Dolphins, Lions-Chiefs, Bills-Jaguars), so the experiment clearly is not going away.
More than exposure or globalization, it has to do with money. That's all that needs to be said. Whenever the Panthers end up losing a home game to play in London, you will find me writing on this blog pissed off about it. That's what upsets me the most. NFL fans with season tickets are losing a home game (and of course are still stuck with two worthless preseason home games) so that the NFL can expand into other markets. I think it's great the NFL wants to expand. I don't think it's okay the NFL wants to expand while taking away one of the 8 home games that each NFL team gets per season.
Peter shows that the NFL had ticket revenue of $31 million from the three games in London this year. I don't know how that works, but I wonder if season ticket owners for teams that lost a home game had to still pay for the home game they didn't get a chance to attend? If so, having the fans pay for 8 regular season home games instead of 7 regular season games is great revenue for the NFL also.
The bigger question, probably, is how much more the Jacksonville Jaguars can make from a home game in London versus a home game in North Florida. (In exchange for their four-year commitment to playing in London, the Jags receive the full home-team share at Wembley; other teams that give up home games receive what they’d average in a home game in the U.S., and the remainder is shared among all 32 teams.) Assume the Jags would have sold out the game Sunday against Dallas—67,297 seats, at an average ticket price of about $58. The gate at Wembley Stadium would be about $6.7 million more than if the game was played in Jacksonville.
I would like to know if Jags fans are having to pay for 8 regular season home games and they are getting 7 home games. I would hope not. Either way, if I'm a Jags fan then I'm pissed that I am missing out on 8 regular season home games just so the NFL can expand their brand. Of course, the NFL does whatever the hell it wants to at all times.
MR. STARWOOD PREFERRED MEMBER TRAVEL NOTE OF THE WEEK
I had to drive from Manhattan to Boston on Thursday morning for a breakfast meeting. It’s about 208 miles from point to point. I left Manhattan at 4:50 a.m., sharp. Stopped once, briefly—at a drive-thru Starbucks on the Merritt Parkway in Woodbridge (near New Haven), and, at that hour, managed to avoid traffic everywhere for the first 170 miles … and I started imagining: This could be my first-ever New York-to-Boston drive in less than three hours.
This is Peter's fault. Never start talking or imagining about what good time you are making. It's sure to end quickly. Plus, if Peter had not stopped for coffee perhaps he could have missed some of the traffic or been five minutes ahead of the traffic.
I was 33 miles out when, on the Mass Pike, my dream died. Morning rush into Boston—not good. That traffic is as soul-sucking as the FDR Drive in Manhattan in the morning. Three hours, 33 minutes. Bummer.
Speaking of soul-sucking, how about hearing Peter talk about his frustrations while traveling, especially his frustrations while driving? It's like Peter doesn't think other people have the same inconveniences and issues while traveling, but his are more important because he's Peter King. It's bad enough personally getting stuck in traffic, but having the privilege of hearing about someone else getting stuck in traffic? That defines riveting.
Not a travel note, but a life one I thought you might enjoy.
Probably not.
Most mornings when I am home, I walk out of my apartment on the east side of Manhattan and head over to a bodega a block away and buy the New York Post and New York Daily News. (We get the New York Times and Wall Street Journal home-delivered.)
Look at you Mr. Fancy Pants with your four newspapers you read everyday, including getting two of those home delivered. I hope you don't have to walk in your gold plated bedroom slippers out of the house to pick up these papers you ol' rich boy.
The front pages of the papers are always … interesting. None moreso than Saturday’s Post. I like the Seinfeldian details at the bottom of the story.
So Seinfeldian. I think Peter's dream situation would be to get stuck on a deserted island with only Seinfeld, Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman movies, and news shows anchored by Brian Williams to watch while U2 CD's constantly play in the background. Naturally, there would be a Starbucks barista on-call as well on this deserted island. Peter would never want to leave that island.
TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK
1. I think this is what I liked about Week 10:
b. Receiver Preston Parker of the Giants. A more physical receiver than I’d thought.
I would love to know prior to this past Sunday's action how physical Peter King thought Preston Parker actually was. I'm guessing he had barely heard of Parker.
i. Denard Robinson, with more explosiveness than I thought he had, on a 32-yard touchdown burst against Dallas.
Again, I would love to know how much explosiveness Peter King thought Denard Robinson had. Did Peter not watch Robinson at the University of Michigan? Peter King has more generic previous thoughts about players than I thought he had.
m. Are you kidding me with that flip-pass while getting dragged down, Ben Roethlisberger?
Yes, it was all a joke he was playing on you, Peter. You fell for it!
n. Anquan Boldin: best physical receiver in football.
o. Mike Evans: heir to best physical receiver in football.
Mike Evans is more physical than Peter thought he was.
2. I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 10:
d. Come on, Blake Bortles. Ever throw a touch pass?
Sometimes there is a reason a rookie quarterback doesn't start Week 1 of his rookie season, even after he had a great preseason. Exhibition games are exhibition games and better left to be played in London and then ignored.
f. I know. Alex Rodriguez is a baseball player. Or used to be. I just wanted to emphasize how much I don’t like him. I also cannot figure out how he can keep track of so many lies to so many people.
#hotarodtakes
What Peter liked this week:
a. Great coverage by Richard Sherman on Odell Beckham on the goal line, forcing a deflected interception into the arms of safety Earl Thomas—and a gutsy return by Thomas. He could have taken a knee eight yards deep in the end zone, but Thomas had the presence to take it out, and he got it out to the Seattle 42.
What Peter didn't like:
k. Please, De’Anthony Thomas. You’re good. You’re not Superman. You cannot field punts at the 2-yard line in the National Football League.
You can't field punts at the 2-yard line in the NFL, but if you intercept a pass eight yards deep in the end zone, feel free to try to bring it out. If it works, Peter is totally cool with it.
5. I think this should be required reading for you this week, whether you love football unconditionally or whether you are having queasy thoughts about football’s place in our society. The title of writer Michael Sokolove’s piece is, “Is football the next tobacco?” Good question, and a thoughtful story.
Actually, the title of the piece that Peter linked is, "How One Lawyer's Crusade Could Change Football Forever." There is a discussion of football as a parallel to tobacco in the article, but not in the title of the piece.
6. I think Carson Palmer re-signing Friday is a tremendous boost to Brian Hoyer’s prospective new deal, wherever it ends up being done. There is not a marquee quarterback (is there ever?) in the 2015 free-agent quarterback pool. The two most interesting—which could change, depending on how Ryan Mallett does with his chance in Houston in the last half of the season—are Hoyer and restricted free-agent Austin Davis of the Rams. How I would rate the top five prospective quarterback free-agents-to-be, in order:
Good, I was dying to know who Peter thought were the top five prospective quarterback free-agents-to-be were.
Brian Hoyer, Cleveland. Quick release, ability to process info. Has made some big throws under pressure for the Browns during their surprising 6-3 start, and the Browns have had zero conversations about a new contract for Hoyer since May, agent Joe Linta said Sunday. Linta also had Joe Flacco a couple of years ago. Flacco played out his deal and was rewarded after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. Hoyer has nowhere near the résumé of Flacco, of course. But he’s got one thing in common with Flacco. “He’s like Joe,” Linta said. “He’s bet on himself.”
The way Flacco and Hoyer bet on themselves seems a bit different. Flacco had a lot more money to lose if he bombed during his contract year, while Hoyer had money to lose, but probably not quite as much as Flacco did. Flacco probably (and I am assuming, granted) got a pretty good offer from the Ravens prior to his Super Bowl victory with $20 million in guaranteed money at least and gave it up to see if he could increase his value. Hoyer probably wasn't offered anything in that neighborhood in May from the Browns. So yes, they both bet on themselves, but Flacco seemingly had a lot more to lose in terms of money than Hoyer did by turning down the Browns attempts at a contract extension in May.
Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia. Much to see in the next two months, but in the right system, running a fast-paced offense (more to his liking), I think he has a chance to compete to be someone’s starter for a few years.
It's amazing how a few good starts change the narrative around a quarterback.
Austin Davis, St. Louis. He’s restricted, meaning the Rams will have the right to match any offer he gets. But Davis has been impressive under tough circumstances, and much more accurate than the Rams had any right to expect. He’s had 76 percent, 71 percent and 85 percent passing games in the past two months.
Austin Davis has more accuracy than Peter thought he did.
Jake Locker, Tennessee. Maybe, just maybe, the right coach can work on his accuracy issues, which are major. I don’t know what anyone can do about his injury issues, which also are many.
Peter has been talking about improving Locker's accuracy for 3-4 seasons now. He's never been an accurate quarterback. That's just not who he is. Live with it. When he's not injured, he's not terribly accurate. Accuracy can be improved, but it's not always the easiest thing for a quarterback to do.
I have always gotten irritated because Locker's accuracy issues are treated like a little work can improve them. Yes and no. He's never healthy, first off. Second, a comparison of how a Hall of Fame quarterback like Brett Favre improved his accuracy doesn't mean Jake Locker can do the same thing.
9. I think this was a refreshing take from Tony Romo on the future of football in London. He loved the week, said he loves London, and said, “As far as a team in London, I would recommend it for sure. I loved it here.” Music to Roger Goodell’s ears.
Nobody asked Tony if HE wanted to be the guy who played for an NFL team in London did they? Easy to love it when you don't have to worry about being the guy crossing the ocean to play in London for eight games in a season.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
b. Story of the week: Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel with a few thousand interesting words on Brett Favre. Said he doesn’t want to do a TV gig, in part because of the travel and in part because, as he says, “I don’t want to sit around the set all day and hear Warren Sapp tell stories.”
Brett Favre would much rather sit around and hear other people listen to his stories I would assume. Because I'm an asshole, I think Brett Favre doesn't want to do a TV gig because that would involve sharing the spotlight. He much prefers to do interviews every year about himself and how he doesn't want to be in the spotlight, thereby putting himself back in the spotlight. You can't fool me Favre.
c. This could be prominent among the Things I’ll Never Figure Out About College Football: Why, in the midst of the home stretch of the college football season, was Ole Miss hosting the Presbyterian College Blue Hose (enrollment 1,172)? And why was Mississippi State hosting the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks?
The same reason the NFL plays in London. Ticket revenue from fans attending the game. It's not that hard to figure out.
l. Beernerdness: Found a poor man’s Pliny The Elder in a west side bar in Manhattan on Saturday: Harpoon 100 Barrel series #51, Cambridge Uncommon Pale Lager. The name is long. The beer is worth it. It’s a cool beer—as the name implies, a combination of IPA with lager, leaving a bit of pine taste on the pallet.
I don't see where the name implies a combination of IPA with lager. I see it implies lager.
p. The basketball season is about 314 games long, and people are worried that the Cavaliers started 1-3? Sheesh.
Says the guy in the industry with "people" (and even Peter to an extent) who were worried the Patriots and the Seahawks would struggle all year.
Philadelphia 23, Carolina 16. Funny how all the focus in this game is whether Mark Sanchez can play competently enough for the Eagles to win. I wonder if Cam Newton (last three games: 48.1 percent completions, one touchdown pass) can.
Well, I guess "we" got our answer didn't we?
The Adieu Haiku
The Cards: 8 and 1.
Even with Carson injured,
still NFC’s best.
Okay buddy. If Bruce Arians can make Drew Stanton into a real live NFL starting quarterback then he is deserving of Coach of the Year. If Arians can win a Super Bowl with Stanton as his quarterback then he should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame immediately. Color me skeptical that the Cardinals can win a Super Bowl with Stanton as the quarterback. I think this injury definitely doesn't mean the Cardinals are the NFC's best team. Of course, I'm also not smart enough to do haikus and read four newspapers per day either.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
5 comments MMQB Review: Peter Struggles with the Definition of a "Fact" Edition
Peter King described the joy he feels when walking in New York City last week in MMQB. Well, he likes to walk, but only when he can't catch a cab. Catching a cab is always preferable to walking, but walking is great too, as long as Peter doesn't have to walk too much. That's just annoying. Peter also described Tom Brady's offseason workout and asked Brady to state SPECIFICALLY what he has done to improve himself in the offseason. Peter also seemed confused as to how the Charlotte Hornets got their nickname, but thought the "Pelicans" is a great name for an NBA team. When I think of pelicans, fear strikes my heart. This week Peter talks about how great Brian Urlacher is (but leaves out how he didn't like Urlacher coming out of college and thought the Bears didn't make a good move when they drafted him...can't make himself look bad can we?), re-prints some commencement addresses given this year, and can't figure out why Jesus Montero isn't the starting catcher for the American League in the All-Star Game. Apparently in the past two weeks Peter has gone from not knowing exactly where Manny Machado came from, to now he is the lead scout for the Seattle Mariners. Why do prospects not work out? WHY? ANSWER ME UNIVERSE!
I'm going to write about Brian Urlacher today, but before I do, a note about the day. It's Memorial Day, and that's not just the first day of the beach season.
Never underestimate how stupid Peter King believes his MMQB audience truly is. What? Memorial Day isn't just about remembering those days when we couldn't go to the beach? Give us some perspective on this day Peter, as you only you can.
It's a day we remember all those who have served in the military, and those who continue to serve today. It's also my annual survey of some of the best commencement speeches to the Class of 2013.
Read that sentence again. Memorial Day isn't only remembering those who have served in the military, but also is the day Peter reveals his annual survey of the best commencement speeches to the Class of 2013. So we remember military members who have served, but at the same time look forward to Peter's annual survey of commencement address. Memorial Day is about honoring the military AND honoring Peter's annual commencement survey being released. Memorial Day is an important day to remember the troops while reading Peter's annual commencement survey on the beach while drinking an Allagash White. That way all three major reasons for Memorial Day to be remembered can be enjoyed while drinking the greatest beer ever made.
The explosion killed McGinnis instantly; the other soldiers in the vehicle got, at worst, shrapnel wounds they all recovered from. One of the men, Army Staff Sgt. Ian Newland, told USA Today: "Why he did it? Because we were his brothers. Everyone always tells their friends, 'I'd take a bullet for you.' I've read books and seen plenty of movies about it. But to actually live through a situation like that, have someone do that, is just -- there's nothing else more courageous that a person can do in their entire life. So basically, I try not to live my life in vain for what he's done."
Good advice on a day we should never take for granted.
We shouldn't take Memorial Day for granted. The beaches aren't open forever and Peter's annual survey only can be read in one MMQB per year.
First, some football. Then, Oklahoma. Then, some more wisdom from commencements.
I believe I said it last year (and possibly the year before that), but couldn't Peter simply link these commencement addresses in MMQB rather than write them (almost) verbatim in MMQB? I think it would be easier to link the commencement addresses, as well this would prevent MMQB readers from having to go through walls of text. I get that some of MMQB isn't football-related, but when Peter does the commencement address survey probably 50% or more of MMQB becomes non-football related. Are there really people who read MMQB and want to read more commencement addresses and other non-football related news? It's supposed to be a football column.
In retirement, remember Urlacher's best game.
While remembering the troops and the fact Memorial Day is the first day of beach season. More importantly, name three SPECIFIC THINGS that you remember about Brian Urlacher's game!
The defensive stat line for Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher from Week 6 of 2006 in a Monday night game at Arizona:
He is who we said he was! Well, Urlacher isn't who Peter said he was. Peter used to grade NFL Drafts (which a post about that is to come...don't pretend you aren't excited) and he didn't give the Bears a good grade for drafting Urlacher. Again, let's gloss over this to talk glowingly about Urlacher's career. In reality, we SHOULD gloss over Peter's evaluation of Urlacher coming out of college to review Urlacher's NFL career, but I wish Peter would mention the draft grade he gave the Bears upon drafting Urlacher. I just want to read him saying he was wrong. Of course we don't have room for Peter to admit he was wrong about Urlacher because there are Tweets of the Week and some non-football related notes that Peter has to fit into this MMQB. There's only so much room for football-related stuff in this column. Peter HAS to fit in a Quote of the Week and his own personal thoughts on the movie he watched this past weekend.
"That game,'' said then-Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, "epitomized Brian as a football player. If anything, the numbers don't do justice to what Brian did on the field that night, especially in the second half."
I imagine Ron Rivera was so motivated by Urlacher's play in this game he stared even harder at the football field with a blank look on his face while coaching the Bears defense.
There was a subplot to the Bears-Cards game on the night of Oct. 16, 2006. Arizona coach Dennis Green provided it. The Bears, 5-0, were already being compared to the '85 Bears around Chicagoland, and Green, in his pre-game production meeting with the ESPN Monday night crew, was incredulous. "Denny couldn't believe it,'' play-by-play man Mike Tirico told me Friday. "The Cards were 1-4, and they'd played Chicago tough in the third preseason game that year. Denny was coaching at Northwestern at the time of the '85 Bears, and he didn't think this current team compared to the '85 team. At our meeting, he said, 'People are trying to crown their ass.' He couldn't believe it."
This really wasn't a subplot to the game since the viewing public didn't know about Dennis Green's disbelief at the Bears being crowned as great so early in the 2006 season. The general public found out after the game, but Green's feelings prior to the game weren't a subplot since few people were aware of Green's feelings. Maybe it was an unknown subplot, but the general viewing public wouldn't have known about this prior to watching the game.
Then the Cards, who started neophyte quarterback Matt Leinart and whose defense abused Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman, bolted to a 20-0 halftime lead. When I think of that Chicago team, I think how amazing it is that it made the Super Bowl that season with such a poor offense. That offense was in full bloom by halftime, with two Bears first downs, two Grossman interceptions and two Grossman fumbles lost. That's where I'll let Rivera take over.
As a Panthers fan, let me warn you, it isn't smart to let Rivera take over. Fourth quarter disasters will occur.
"I went to Brian and told him, 'Brian, you've got to take this game over. We've got no choice. Just go do it.'
Life as a Bears fan with Rex Grossman as the quarterback. It had to be super fun.
Rivera was in his coaches' office in Charlotte when we spoke, and he pressed a few buttons on his computer and called up the coaches' video from that night.
Well I'm glad he has that video ready at the touch of a button. If only Rivera had the video of the Panthers' poor safety play ready to view at the touch of a button then he may not have chosen to reinforce that position with Mike Mitchell and not much else.
And you remember Green going off after the game, reprising the crown-their-ass rant for future generations to chuckle over. He was in such a state because in the last 16 minutes, Urlacher choreographed the Bears D into a scheme that led to one touchdown, had 10 tackles and two passes defensed and a forced fumble. He had five tackles of James after a one-yard gain or less.
And of course part of the reason Brian Urlacher was free to tackle James so close to the line of scrimmage is because Tank Johnson and Tommie Harris did their job keeping the Cardinals' offensive linemen from blocking Urlacher and gave him freedom to run around. This needs to be acknowledged. You can't tackle a ball carrier if you are being blocked.
Rivera sent Urlacher a text message when he heard about his retirement.
"Heard the news,'' he texted. "Sad for football. But honored to be able to be your coach."
Urlacher texted back: "I'm proud I got to play for you."
Maybe next year if Urlacher comes out of retirement he can find out which team Rivera is working for as a defensive coordinator and play for Rivera once again.
Tomorrow, I'll check in with some thoughts on the Charles Woodson signing.
We wouldn't to spend precious time in MMQB discussing an actual NFL signing when this space is better used for transcripts of commencement addresses, transcribing and explaining other people's Tweets, and complaining about cab drivers. Football-related thoughts are found outside of MMQB.
Now for those commencement addresses.
I've picked a few that I thought had some good messages. Hope you enjoy them.
11 commencement addresses. Peter transcribes all of or part of 11 commencement addresses. I'm not a brain scientist (I heard a girl use this phrase in one of my college classes and sort of adopted it. She mixed up metaphors saying "I'm not a brain surgeon" and "It's not rocket science."), but I don't know if "a few" of anything could be classified as 11 of those things. If I have "a few" drinks then I am probably not drinking 11 beers. Not unless I am lying about how many drinks I have had, of course.
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve System chairman, Bard College
"Innovation, almost by definition, involves ideas that no one has yet had, which means that forecasts of future technological change can be, and often are, wildly wrong. A safe prediction, I think, is that human innovation and creativity will continue; it is part of our very nature. Another prediction, just as safe, is that people will nevertheless continue to forecast the end of innovation. The history of technological innovation and economic development teaches us that change is the only constant. During your working lives, you will have to reinvent yourselves many times.
Very true. Sometimes you have to be the mild-mannered Federal Reserve Chairman and other times you have to (allegedly) threaten the CEO of Bank of America as it pertains to a potential merger.
Michelle Obama, First Lady, Bowie State (Md.) University
"When it comes to your own kids, if you don't like what they're watching on TV, turn it off. If you don't like the video games they're playing, take them away. Take a stand against the media that elevates today's celebrity gossip instead of the serious issues of our time. Take a stand against the culture that glorifies instant gratification instead of hard work and lasting success.
Take this advice from the person who presented the Best Picture award at the Oscar ceremony this past year. I like Michelle Obama and appreciate the work she does to combat childhood obesity, but her telling an audience of students to ignore celebrity gossip and focus on the issues of our time is interesting to me. She has quite the reach and following in Hollywood and hasn't seemed afraid to embrace her (and President Obama's) connections to celebrities.
"I love the head coach. I mean, I love the head coach. He already has this team wrapped around his finger."
-- Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer, to Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, on new coach Bruce Arians.
I wonder how long it will be before Carson Palmer realizes opposing defensive linemen are going to have him wrapped around their arms and he demands another trade without the media calling him out for being selfish? Actually, the Cardinals offensive line has improved, but the Cardinals are Palmer's third team in three years and he basically demanded a trade out of his previous two situations. He's not a malcontent though, because the media likes him, so they don't call him a malcontent despite any evidence that he may be.
"It's going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL. I'm going to say no. I just don't see NFL passing concepts in this offense. It's a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts."
-- Ron Jaworski, on coach Chip Kelly's new offense with the Eagles, to radio station 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia.
But, but, but...Chip Kelly is an offensive mastermind who is going to turn Mike Vick into an accurate passer and his offense is going to revolutionize the NFL as we know it. Haven't all of these national NFL writers told us how great Kelly's offense is going to be? It can't be true his offense may not work in the NFL because that's contrary to the line the public is being fed.
Snark aside, I have no idea if Chip Kelly is going to work out in the NFL or not. What I do know is that Chip Kelly seems to be a very smart man who wouldn't run the exact same offense he ran in college because he doesn't have college-level talent anymore. Kelly is going to adapt his system to the NFL and to the players in the NFL, which (at least in my mind) would feature more down the field NFL passing concepts. After all, he has Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson at wide receiver, so it only makes sense. So I don't think looking at tape of his college offense is going to entirely show what his NFL offense will look like. I find Ron Jaworksi's criticisms and comments to be premature and not relevant to what Kelly's Eagles offense may look like.
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me I
In the wake of the Achilles tear to wide receiver Michael Crabtree (he had surgery last week; rehab is expected to put him back on the field in six to eight months, meaning he could play the last six or seven weeks of the regular season -- emphasis on could), I ask this question: Is it now possible that Anquan Boldin could contribute more to the 49ers' offense in 2013 than Percy Harvin will contribute to Seattle's?
So how is this hypothetical a "factoid?" I realize Peter has a lot of respect for his own opinion, but since when does a hypothetical question become any sort of fact?
Unlikely, certainly. With the compensation paid for both in 2013 offseason trades, it'll be amazing if Boldin's production is competitive with Harvin's.
So Peter has just posed a "factoid" in the disguise of a question, then answered his own question in a definitive manner. At this point, he is not only confusing facts and questions but he is essentially posing questions to himself that he himself answers. It's the journalistic equivalent of a six year old girl having a tea party with her stuffed animals.
The 49ers traded the 199th pick in the 2013 draft (a late sixth-round pick) to Baltimore to acquire Boldin. He'll make $6 million this year, the last year of his Ravens contract.
But Boldin is coming off an ironman season for Baltimore (19 games, 58 snaps a game), while Harvin missed eight games due to injury last year, including the Vikings' wild-card round loss to the Packers.
Harvin turns 25 tomorrow. Boldin is 32.
"Here's another factoid...what are the odds both Boldin and Harvin play 16 games this entire season? Not good. It won't happen. That's a stupid question I just asked myself."
They are different receivers, Harvin a smurfy, make-'em-miss, speed type, and Boldin a physical possession guy with deceiving downfield ability.
Take a step back, this is analysis from a professional! We don't want anyone to get hurt while chewing on these factoids.
There's no doubt anyone would want Harvin for the long haul. But with Crabtree likely out for much of the season (and who knows how healthy he'll be, trying to return from an Achilles injury in midseason), it's going to be very interesting to see which receiver shines brightest for the full season this year.
Here's a factoid for everyone to enjoy...with David Garrard now retired, which quarterback is going to have a better year? Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Brady plays for the Patriots and throws the football with his arm, while Peyton Manning plays for the Broncos and also throws the ball with his arm, but can't throw it quite as far as Brady. It's going to be an interesting year to find out which quarterback shines brightest.
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me II
Another non-factoid coming right up!
I wrote on SI.com last Tuesday about my feeling that the league was making a mistake in moving the draft back three weeks, into mid-May, next year. More chance for the hype machine to pump out more coverage of what is already the most over-covered event on the football calendar, the draft, I contend, and less time for the scouts, coaches and football people to live normal offseason lives.
I wrote: "How much hype is enough? How big does the league need the golden goose to get? Silly question. We see it answered every day by an insatiable league.''
Beneath that was a link to SI.com's Chris Burke's 2014 mock draft.
I guess the fact Chris Burke's 2014 mock draft existing on the CNNSI.com site is a fact, but this is pretty tenuous. Peter could say any link exists on the CNNSI.com site, and if it does indeed exist call this a "factoid." It seems Peter has once again put down his opinion that scouts will have less time to live normal offseason lives with the NFL Draft being pushed back as a factoid. It's very possible teams could give scouts some time off early in February or in March (maybe a week) that the scouts would normally get in May or June. Maybe not, but the proposing of scouts having less time for normal lives isn't exactly a factoid quite yet. I think Peter is still giving only giving an opinion or making an observation more than relating a fact.
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
In northern California for a few days. Family vaca of sorts. In a Starbucks an hour north of San Francisco Sunday, I was amazed at Giants fever. Woman with a Brian Wilson jersey walked in. Guy with a Giants hoodie looked up and said: "How 'bout that game! What a finish!'' Talking about the walkoff, inside-the-park home run by Angel Pagan that won the game Saturday.
BREAKING NEWS: Local fans enjoy talking about a professional team that has been successful recently.
Another woman, not in Giants gear, walked out of the store a few minutes later and said to a guy with a Giants World Series t-shirt reading the San Francisco Chronicle at a table near the door: "Think Cain can win it today?'' Matt Cain, she meant.
Thanks for clearing that up, Peter. I thought she was talking about the no-holds barred steel cage match between Biblical brothers Cain and Abel. It turns out it was Matt Cain she was referring to. Without Peter's baseball knowledge, we would all be lost and think Cain and Abel had risen from the dead to have a death match.
Driving through the Giants-garbed city Saturday and listening to the chatter an hour away on Sunday, I thought: Hard to imagine a region in the country right now more excited about its baseball team.
Quite possibly. Would Giants fans be as excited if their team had not been successful lately? We should file this under: "Fans get excited when their team wins the World Series and the team continues to be successful."
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think I like the NFL continuing to press the issue of no HGH testing. As NFL.com reported, the league sent a new proposal to the union April 24 to adopt a testing plan. As any dimwit can see, it's patently absurd that professional football does not test for human growth hormone. It's obviously an unfair advantage to use it. Even baseball and basketball, with testing programs part of their protocols, see the importance of it. There's no excuse, none whatsoever, for the 2013 season to be played without players being tested for HGH.
Another factoid from Peter.
2. I think I would ask the Jets this question after reading ESPN New York's excellent summary of the incredibly troubled adult (that may be using the adjective loosely) life and times of free agent running back Mike Goodson, who, according to a police affidavit, was found on May 17 "incoherent, slobbering and vomited all over himself" in a car stopped in the middle lane of a New Jersey interstate with a bag of marijuana in his pocket and a handgun with hollow-point bullets found in the glove compartment:
Take it easy on him. Hasn't everyone been found in a car incoherent, slobbering, vomiting with illegal drugs and a gun in the car with them?
Did you know all of what ESPN uncovered? And if so, how can you defend hiring Goodson at all, never mind handing him a $1 million signing bonus?
I'm pretty sure the Jets gave him that signing bonus before he was arrested with the gun in his car and before he was found in a state of inebriation. As far as the past stuff that Goodson has been dealing with, it was past rent due and past child support due. The Jets signed him because he has talent and teams take a chance on players who have outstanding child support if that player has talent. Those were the only issues Goodson had at the time the Jets signed him to the $1 million signing bonus. Goodson isn't the first player to have a chance taken on him when he has child support or legal issues. Just last year Peter was complimentary of the Rams basically taking the payment of Janoris Jenkins' child support out of his hands. Peter never questioned the draft pick by the Rams when he had some child support and legal issues. I guess not every player is lucky enough to have a team willing to set up a system to remove the burden of life so that player can focus on football.
3. I think the Cardinals were probably fair to both sides -- themselves and highly risky third-round defensive back Tyrann Mathieu -- by tying 60 percent of his signing bonus to roster bonuses over the life of his four-year contract. This way, if Mathieu has a rerun of his myriad off-field problems at LSU, the Cardinals will be protected in not having to pay the pro-rated portion of his bonus in the final three years of the deal.
I'm not sure that's exactly being "fair" to Mathieu to not compensate him in the same way other third round picks are going to be compensated, but it is fair to the Cardinals and probably a smart move. I guess whether this deal is fair to Mathieu depends on your definition of "fair."
5. I think the best thing on TV last week had to be Mark Mulder of ESPN's Baseball Tonight breaking down the mechanics of Seattleite John Clayton throwing out the first pitch Friday night at Safeco Field.
This was the best thing on television last week? Were all other channels besides ESPN just showing static for the entire week?
6. I think quite a few of you (who can research, apparently) got the answer to my Twitter quiz pretty quickly on Saturday. I asked: Who threw the first NFL pass that was intercepted by Charles Woodson?'' Answer: Dallas coach Jason Garrett (no -- he wasn't the Dallas coach then!),
Well, thanks for clearing that up. I was confused because I thought Jason Garrett had gotten fed up with Tony Romo throwing interceptions and just put himself in as the Cowboys starting quarterback.
Does Peter really feel the need to clarify that Jason Garrett was not the coach of the Cowboys when he was intercepted by Charles Woodson? Does he believe his readers are THAT stupid?
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. Man, if you can figure out the story behind Jesus Montero's failure, please illuminate me.
Prospects don't always pan out and Montero was more of a risk to fail anyway because he isn't really a very good defensive catcher, so that leaves much of his value to the Mariners as a DH. So if Montero can't hit the ball then he has very little value to the Mariners and since Montero is young, he hasn't figured out how to hit MLB pitching consistently yet. There, I just figured it out.
It's the mystery of sport why he isn't the starting American League All-Star catcher, but rather the starter for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
It's not a huge mystery. He can't hit MLB pitching. This happens quite frequently with highly touted prospects. Besides, when did Peter become an MLB scout? Just a few weeks ago he didn't know where the hell Manny Machado came from, but now he knows enough about Jesus Montero to be confused as to why he isn't the best catcher in the American League.
g. Coffeenerdness: I urge you, Peet's -- move east. Rapidly. Great, great coffee.
The coffee still smells like ass...but still, move east so Peter can spend $4.00 on a cup of coffee everyday. That should be enough daily revenue to justify putting a store in New York, right?
i. I think Julia Louis-Dreyfus is better in Veep than she was in Seinfeld.
Factoid.
j. How do you not admire the Pacers? What a game Friday night. What an incredible game.
You can not admire the Pacers if you aren't a Indiana Pacers fan or are a Miami Heat fan. How do you not watch the NBA all year, admit you know nothing about the sport, and then make statements based on one game as if they are supposed to be facts?
k. If you'd have told me on April Fools' Day that the Red Sox would have been 30-20 after 50 games, with more wins than all but three teams in baseball, well, I'd have signed for that right there.
Sounds like Peter is back on the Red Sox bandwagon. I'm sure he'll jump back off and swear his brother-in-law isn't renewing his season tickets once the Red Sox get caught drinking beer in the clubhouse or don't make the playoffs.
The Adieu Haiku
No Crabtree 'til Nov.?
Huge injury, we all think.
Jim Harbaugh shruggeth.
What's Harbaugh going to do in front of his team? Start panicking? The 49ers signed Randy Moss and Mario Manningham last offseason, as well as drafted a wide receiver in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, so they at least have some depth to combat the injury to Crabtree. Any smart NFL coach would acknowledge the injury and then try to motivate his team to play past these injuries, as opposed to making the team feel like the season is over before it even began.
I'm going to write about Brian Urlacher today, but before I do, a note about the day. It's Memorial Day, and that's not just the first day of the beach season.
Never underestimate how stupid Peter King believes his MMQB audience truly is. What? Memorial Day isn't just about remembering those days when we couldn't go to the beach? Give us some perspective on this day Peter, as you only you can.
It's a day we remember all those who have served in the military, and those who continue to serve today. It's also my annual survey of some of the best commencement speeches to the Class of 2013.
Read that sentence again. Memorial Day isn't only remembering those who have served in the military, but also is the day Peter reveals his annual survey of the best commencement speeches to the Class of 2013. So we remember military members who have served, but at the same time look forward to Peter's annual survey of commencement address. Memorial Day is about honoring the military AND honoring Peter's annual commencement survey being released. Memorial Day is an important day to remember the troops while reading Peter's annual commencement survey on the beach while drinking an Allagash White. That way all three major reasons for Memorial Day to be remembered can be enjoyed while drinking the greatest beer ever made.
The explosion killed McGinnis instantly; the other soldiers in the vehicle got, at worst, shrapnel wounds they all recovered from. One of the men, Army Staff Sgt. Ian Newland, told USA Today: "Why he did it? Because we were his brothers. Everyone always tells their friends, 'I'd take a bullet for you.' I've read books and seen plenty of movies about it. But to actually live through a situation like that, have someone do that, is just -- there's nothing else more courageous that a person can do in their entire life. So basically, I try not to live my life in vain for what he's done."
Good advice on a day we should never take for granted.
We shouldn't take Memorial Day for granted. The beaches aren't open forever and Peter's annual survey only can be read in one MMQB per year.
First, some football. Then, Oklahoma. Then, some more wisdom from commencements.
I believe I said it last year (and possibly the year before that), but couldn't Peter simply link these commencement addresses in MMQB rather than write them (almost) verbatim in MMQB? I think it would be easier to link the commencement addresses, as well this would prevent MMQB readers from having to go through walls of text. I get that some of MMQB isn't football-related, but when Peter does the commencement address survey probably 50% or more of MMQB becomes non-football related. Are there really people who read MMQB and want to read more commencement addresses and other non-football related news? It's supposed to be a football column.
In retirement, remember Urlacher's best game.
While remembering the troops and the fact Memorial Day is the first day of beach season. More importantly, name three SPECIFIC THINGS that you remember about Brian Urlacher's game!
The defensive stat line for Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher from Week 6 of 2006 in a Monday night game at Arizona:
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He is who we said he was! Well, Urlacher isn't who Peter said he was. Peter used to grade NFL Drafts (which a post about that is to come...don't pretend you aren't excited) and he didn't give the Bears a good grade for drafting Urlacher. Again, let's gloss over this to talk glowingly about Urlacher's career. In reality, we SHOULD gloss over Peter's evaluation of Urlacher coming out of college to review Urlacher's NFL career, but I wish Peter would mention the draft grade he gave the Bears upon drafting Urlacher. I just want to read him saying he was wrong. Of course we don't have room for Peter to admit he was wrong about Urlacher because there are Tweets of the Week and some non-football related notes that Peter has to fit into this MMQB. There's only so much room for football-related stuff in this column. Peter HAS to fit in a Quote of the Week and his own personal thoughts on the movie he watched this past weekend.
"That game,'' said then-Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, "epitomized Brian as a football player. If anything, the numbers don't do justice to what Brian did on the field that night, especially in the second half."
I imagine Ron Rivera was so motivated by Urlacher's play in this game he stared even harder at the football field with a blank look on his face while coaching the Bears defense.
There was a subplot to the Bears-Cards game on the night of Oct. 16, 2006. Arizona coach Dennis Green provided it. The Bears, 5-0, were already being compared to the '85 Bears around Chicagoland, and Green, in his pre-game production meeting with the ESPN Monday night crew, was incredulous. "Denny couldn't believe it,'' play-by-play man Mike Tirico told me Friday. "The Cards were 1-4, and they'd played Chicago tough in the third preseason game that year. Denny was coaching at Northwestern at the time of the '85 Bears, and he didn't think this current team compared to the '85 team. At our meeting, he said, 'People are trying to crown their ass.' He couldn't believe it."
This really wasn't a subplot to the game since the viewing public didn't know about Dennis Green's disbelief at the Bears being crowned as great so early in the 2006 season. The general public found out after the game, but Green's feelings prior to the game weren't a subplot since few people were aware of Green's feelings. Maybe it was an unknown subplot, but the general viewing public wouldn't have known about this prior to watching the game.
Then the Cards, who started neophyte quarterback Matt Leinart and whose defense abused Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman, bolted to a 20-0 halftime lead. When I think of that Chicago team, I think how amazing it is that it made the Super Bowl that season with such a poor offense. That offense was in full bloom by halftime, with two Bears first downs, two Grossman interceptions and two Grossman fumbles lost. That's where I'll let Rivera take over.
As a Panthers fan, let me warn you, it isn't smart to let Rivera take over. Fourth quarter disasters will occur.
"I went to Brian and told him, 'Brian, you've got to take this game over. We've got no choice. Just go do it.'
Life as a Bears fan with Rex Grossman as the quarterback. It had to be super fun.
Rivera was in his coaches' office in Charlotte when we spoke, and he pressed a few buttons on his computer and called up the coaches' video from that night.
Well I'm glad he has that video ready at the touch of a button. If only Rivera had the video of the Panthers' poor safety play ready to view at the touch of a button then he may not have chosen to reinforce that position with Mike Mitchell and not much else.
And you remember Green going off after the game, reprising the crown-their-ass rant for future generations to chuckle over. He was in such a state because in the last 16 minutes, Urlacher choreographed the Bears D into a scheme that led to one touchdown, had 10 tackles and two passes defensed and a forced fumble. He had five tackles of James after a one-yard gain or less.
And of course part of the reason Brian Urlacher was free to tackle James so close to the line of scrimmage is because Tank Johnson and Tommie Harris did their job keeping the Cardinals' offensive linemen from blocking Urlacher and gave him freedom to run around. This needs to be acknowledged. You can't tackle a ball carrier if you are being blocked.
Rivera sent Urlacher a text message when he heard about his retirement.
"Heard the news,'' he texted. "Sad for football. But honored to be able to be your coach."
Urlacher texted back: "I'm proud I got to play for you."
Maybe next year if Urlacher comes out of retirement he can find out which team Rivera is working for as a defensive coordinator and play for Rivera once again.
Tomorrow, I'll check in with some thoughts on the Charles Woodson signing.
We wouldn't to spend precious time in MMQB discussing an actual NFL signing when this space is better used for transcripts of commencement addresses, transcribing and explaining other people's Tweets, and complaining about cab drivers. Football-related thoughts are found outside of MMQB.
Now for those commencement addresses.
I've picked a few that I thought had some good messages. Hope you enjoy them.
11 commencement addresses. Peter transcribes all of or part of 11 commencement addresses. I'm not a brain scientist (I heard a girl use this phrase in one of my college classes and sort of adopted it. She mixed up metaphors saying "I'm not a brain surgeon" and "It's not rocket science."), but I don't know if "a few" of anything could be classified as 11 of those things. If I have "a few" drinks then I am probably not drinking 11 beers. Not unless I am lying about how many drinks I have had, of course.
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve System chairman, Bard College
"Innovation, almost by definition, involves ideas that no one has yet had, which means that forecasts of future technological change can be, and often are, wildly wrong. A safe prediction, I think, is that human innovation and creativity will continue; it is part of our very nature. Another prediction, just as safe, is that people will nevertheless continue to forecast the end of innovation. The history of technological innovation and economic development teaches us that change is the only constant. During your working lives, you will have to reinvent yourselves many times.
Very true. Sometimes you have to be the mild-mannered Federal Reserve Chairman and other times you have to (allegedly) threaten the CEO of Bank of America as it pertains to a potential merger.
Michelle Obama, First Lady, Bowie State (Md.) University
"When it comes to your own kids, if you don't like what they're watching on TV, turn it off. If you don't like the video games they're playing, take them away. Take a stand against the media that elevates today's celebrity gossip instead of the serious issues of our time. Take a stand against the culture that glorifies instant gratification instead of hard work and lasting success.
Take this advice from the person who presented the Best Picture award at the Oscar ceremony this past year. I like Michelle Obama and appreciate the work she does to combat childhood obesity, but her telling an audience of students to ignore celebrity gossip and focus on the issues of our time is interesting to me. She has quite the reach and following in Hollywood and hasn't seemed afraid to embrace her (and President Obama's) connections to celebrities.
"I love the head coach. I mean, I love the head coach. He already has this team wrapped around his finger."
-- Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer, to Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, on new coach Bruce Arians.
I wonder how long it will be before Carson Palmer realizes opposing defensive linemen are going to have him wrapped around their arms and he demands another trade without the media calling him out for being selfish? Actually, the Cardinals offensive line has improved, but the Cardinals are Palmer's third team in three years and he basically demanded a trade out of his previous two situations. He's not a malcontent though, because the media likes him, so they don't call him a malcontent despite any evidence that he may be.
"It's going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL. I'm going to say no. I just don't see NFL passing concepts in this offense. It's a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts."
-- Ron Jaworski, on coach Chip Kelly's new offense with the Eagles, to radio station 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia.
But, but, but...Chip Kelly is an offensive mastermind who is going to turn Mike Vick into an accurate passer and his offense is going to revolutionize the NFL as we know it. Haven't all of these national NFL writers told us how great Kelly's offense is going to be? It can't be true his offense may not work in the NFL because that's contrary to the line the public is being fed.
Snark aside, I have no idea if Chip Kelly is going to work out in the NFL or not. What I do know is that Chip Kelly seems to be a very smart man who wouldn't run the exact same offense he ran in college because he doesn't have college-level talent anymore. Kelly is going to adapt his system to the NFL and to the players in the NFL, which (at least in my mind) would feature more down the field NFL passing concepts. After all, he has Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson at wide receiver, so it only makes sense. So I don't think looking at tape of his college offense is going to entirely show what his NFL offense will look like. I find Ron Jaworksi's criticisms and comments to be premature and not relevant to what Kelly's Eagles offense may look like.
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me I
In the wake of the Achilles tear to wide receiver Michael Crabtree (he had surgery last week; rehab is expected to put him back on the field in six to eight months, meaning he could play the last six or seven weeks of the regular season -- emphasis on could), I ask this question: Is it now possible that Anquan Boldin could contribute more to the 49ers' offense in 2013 than Percy Harvin will contribute to Seattle's?
So how is this hypothetical a "factoid?" I realize Peter has a lot of respect for his own opinion, but since when does a hypothetical question become any sort of fact?
Unlikely, certainly. With the compensation paid for both in 2013 offseason trades, it'll be amazing if Boldin's production is competitive with Harvin's.
So Peter has just posed a "factoid" in the disguise of a question, then answered his own question in a definitive manner. At this point, he is not only confusing facts and questions but he is essentially posing questions to himself that he himself answers. It's the journalistic equivalent of a six year old girl having a tea party with her stuffed animals.
The 49ers traded the 199th pick in the 2013 draft (a late sixth-round pick) to Baltimore to acquire Boldin. He'll make $6 million this year, the last year of his Ravens contract.
But Boldin is coming off an ironman season for Baltimore (19 games, 58 snaps a game), while Harvin missed eight games due to injury last year, including the Vikings' wild-card round loss to the Packers.
Harvin turns 25 tomorrow. Boldin is 32.
"Here's another factoid...what are the odds both Boldin and Harvin play 16 games this entire season? Not good. It won't happen. That's a stupid question I just asked myself."
They are different receivers, Harvin a smurfy, make-'em-miss, speed type, and Boldin a physical possession guy with deceiving downfield ability.
Take a step back, this is analysis from a professional! We don't want anyone to get hurt while chewing on these factoids.
There's no doubt anyone would want Harvin for the long haul. But with Crabtree likely out for much of the season (and who knows how healthy he'll be, trying to return from an Achilles injury in midseason), it's going to be very interesting to see which receiver shines brightest for the full season this year.
Here's a factoid for everyone to enjoy...with David Garrard now retired, which quarterback is going to have a better year? Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Brady plays for the Patriots and throws the football with his arm, while Peyton Manning plays for the Broncos and also throws the ball with his arm, but can't throw it quite as far as Brady. It's going to be an interesting year to find out which quarterback shines brightest.
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me II
Another non-factoid coming right up!
I wrote on SI.com last Tuesday about my feeling that the league was making a mistake in moving the draft back three weeks, into mid-May, next year. More chance for the hype machine to pump out more coverage of what is already the most over-covered event on the football calendar, the draft, I contend, and less time for the scouts, coaches and football people to live normal offseason lives.
I wrote: "How much hype is enough? How big does the league need the golden goose to get? Silly question. We see it answered every day by an insatiable league.''
Beneath that was a link to SI.com's Chris Burke's 2014 mock draft.
I guess the fact Chris Burke's 2014 mock draft existing on the CNNSI.com site is a fact, but this is pretty tenuous. Peter could say any link exists on the CNNSI.com site, and if it does indeed exist call this a "factoid." It seems Peter has once again put down his opinion that scouts will have less time to live normal offseason lives with the NFL Draft being pushed back as a factoid. It's very possible teams could give scouts some time off early in February or in March (maybe a week) that the scouts would normally get in May or June. Maybe not, but the proposing of scouts having less time for normal lives isn't exactly a factoid quite yet. I think Peter is still giving only giving an opinion or making an observation more than relating a fact.
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
In northern California for a few days. Family vaca of sorts. In a Starbucks an hour north of San Francisco Sunday, I was amazed at Giants fever. Woman with a Brian Wilson jersey walked in. Guy with a Giants hoodie looked up and said: "How 'bout that game! What a finish!'' Talking about the walkoff, inside-the-park home run by Angel Pagan that won the game Saturday.
BREAKING NEWS: Local fans enjoy talking about a professional team that has been successful recently.
Another woman, not in Giants gear, walked out of the store a few minutes later and said to a guy with a Giants World Series t-shirt reading the San Francisco Chronicle at a table near the door: "Think Cain can win it today?'' Matt Cain, she meant.
Thanks for clearing that up, Peter. I thought she was talking about the no-holds barred steel cage match between Biblical brothers Cain and Abel. It turns out it was Matt Cain she was referring to. Without Peter's baseball knowledge, we would all be lost and think Cain and Abel had risen from the dead to have a death match.
Driving through the Giants-garbed city Saturday and listening to the chatter an hour away on Sunday, I thought: Hard to imagine a region in the country right now more excited about its baseball team.
Quite possibly. Would Giants fans be as excited if their team had not been successful lately? We should file this under: "Fans get excited when their team wins the World Series and the team continues to be successful."
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think I like the NFL continuing to press the issue of no HGH testing. As NFL.com reported, the league sent a new proposal to the union April 24 to adopt a testing plan. As any dimwit can see, it's patently absurd that professional football does not test for human growth hormone. It's obviously an unfair advantage to use it. Even baseball and basketball, with testing programs part of their protocols, see the importance of it. There's no excuse, none whatsoever, for the 2013 season to be played without players being tested for HGH.
Another factoid from Peter.
2. I think I would ask the Jets this question after reading ESPN New York's excellent summary of the incredibly troubled adult (that may be using the adjective loosely) life and times of free agent running back Mike Goodson, who, according to a police affidavit, was found on May 17 "incoherent, slobbering and vomited all over himself" in a car stopped in the middle lane of a New Jersey interstate with a bag of marijuana in his pocket and a handgun with hollow-point bullets found in the glove compartment:
Take it easy on him. Hasn't everyone been found in a car incoherent, slobbering, vomiting with illegal drugs and a gun in the car with them?
Did you know all of what ESPN uncovered? And if so, how can you defend hiring Goodson at all, never mind handing him a $1 million signing bonus?
I'm pretty sure the Jets gave him that signing bonus before he was arrested with the gun in his car and before he was found in a state of inebriation. As far as the past stuff that Goodson has been dealing with, it was past rent due and past child support due. The Jets signed him because he has talent and teams take a chance on players who have outstanding child support if that player has talent. Those were the only issues Goodson had at the time the Jets signed him to the $1 million signing bonus. Goodson isn't the first player to have a chance taken on him when he has child support or legal issues. Just last year Peter was complimentary of the Rams basically taking the payment of Janoris Jenkins' child support out of his hands. Peter never questioned the draft pick by the Rams when he had some child support and legal issues. I guess not every player is lucky enough to have a team willing to set up a system to remove the burden of life so that player can focus on football.
3. I think the Cardinals were probably fair to both sides -- themselves and highly risky third-round defensive back Tyrann Mathieu -- by tying 60 percent of his signing bonus to roster bonuses over the life of his four-year contract. This way, if Mathieu has a rerun of his myriad off-field problems at LSU, the Cardinals will be protected in not having to pay the pro-rated portion of his bonus in the final three years of the deal.
I'm not sure that's exactly being "fair" to Mathieu to not compensate him in the same way other third round picks are going to be compensated, but it is fair to the Cardinals and probably a smart move. I guess whether this deal is fair to Mathieu depends on your definition of "fair."
5. I think the best thing on TV last week had to be Mark Mulder of ESPN's Baseball Tonight breaking down the mechanics of Seattleite John Clayton throwing out the first pitch Friday night at Safeco Field.
This was the best thing on television last week? Were all other channels besides ESPN just showing static for the entire week?
6. I think quite a few of you (who can research, apparently) got the answer to my Twitter quiz pretty quickly on Saturday. I asked: Who threw the first NFL pass that was intercepted by Charles Woodson?'' Answer: Dallas coach Jason Garrett (no -- he wasn't the Dallas coach then!),
Well, thanks for clearing that up. I was confused because I thought Jason Garrett had gotten fed up with Tony Romo throwing interceptions and just put himself in as the Cowboys starting quarterback.
Does Peter really feel the need to clarify that Jason Garrett was not the coach of the Cowboys when he was intercepted by Charles Woodson? Does he believe his readers are THAT stupid?
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. Man, if you can figure out the story behind Jesus Montero's failure, please illuminate me.
Prospects don't always pan out and Montero was more of a risk to fail anyway because he isn't really a very good defensive catcher, so that leaves much of his value to the Mariners as a DH. So if Montero can't hit the ball then he has very little value to the Mariners and since Montero is young, he hasn't figured out how to hit MLB pitching consistently yet. There, I just figured it out.
It's the mystery of sport why he isn't the starting American League All-Star catcher, but rather the starter for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
It's not a huge mystery. He can't hit MLB pitching. This happens quite frequently with highly touted prospects. Besides, when did Peter become an MLB scout? Just a few weeks ago he didn't know where the hell Manny Machado came from, but now he knows enough about Jesus Montero to be confused as to why he isn't the best catcher in the American League.
g. Coffeenerdness: I urge you, Peet's -- move east. Rapidly. Great, great coffee.
The coffee still smells like ass...but still, move east so Peter can spend $4.00 on a cup of coffee everyday. That should be enough daily revenue to justify putting a store in New York, right?
i. I think Julia Louis-Dreyfus is better in Veep than she was in Seinfeld.
Factoid.
j. How do you not admire the Pacers? What a game Friday night. What an incredible game.
You can not admire the Pacers if you aren't a Indiana Pacers fan or are a Miami Heat fan. How do you not watch the NBA all year, admit you know nothing about the sport, and then make statements based on one game as if they are supposed to be facts?
k. If you'd have told me on April Fools' Day that the Red Sox would have been 30-20 after 50 games, with more wins than all but three teams in baseball, well, I'd have signed for that right there.
Sounds like Peter is back on the Red Sox bandwagon. I'm sure he'll jump back off and swear his brother-in-law isn't renewing his season tickets once the Red Sox get caught drinking beer in the clubhouse or don't make the playoffs.
The Adieu Haiku
No Crabtree 'til Nov.?
Huge injury, we all think.
Jim Harbaugh shruggeth.
What's Harbaugh going to do in front of his team? Start panicking? The 49ers signed Randy Moss and Mario Manningham last offseason, as well as drafted a wide receiver in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, so they at least have some depth to combat the injury to Crabtree. Any smart NFL coach would acknowledge the injury and then try to motivate his team to play past these injuries, as opposed to making the team feel like the season is over before it even began.
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