Espn Rant
I'm so sick of ESPN...I'm definitely tuning into NFLN this weekend.
forget about the "scoops"...99% of all scoops occur because people want journalists to know something, not because they have special investigative prowess or know people who owe them favors.
After watching tonight, Wingo is just phenomenal...somehow holds that circus together and clearly knows way more about the history of the game than Salisbury. If something happened prior to 1983, Salisbury has no clue...unlike Smith, Salisbury actually has a football background, and yet he still sucks.
Hoge's voice and hair are pretty scary...but I totally agree with him on VY being a third rounder. These top-3 QBs suck. it's all hype The top-2 last year sucked. I still say Rivers is better than Ben, and Drew "can't win close games" Brees. These ESPN morons have signed SD's death sentence. The reality is Brees was 0-1 in playoffs for 4 years on a solid team but somehow became "the ultimate franchise QB" on his way out the door.
espn is style over sub...and all these guys about to make $10M guaranteed before they take a single snap can kiss espn's corporate ass. People who are comparing Reggie Bush to Gale Sayers are in for a surprise. He gets out to the second level against Fresno State, but where was he in the last 2 bowl games?...two yards for the National Championship and he's not even on the field???...how exactly does that project?
instead of a highlight reel, show me some lowlights too.
instead of stats, show me how they handle situations.
instead of combine scores, show me football skills.
instead of a 40 time, show me a back with moves and vision who can break a tackle or deliver in short yardage, a receiver who consistently gets separation and runs routes efficiently, or a backer who anticipates plays before they develop.
don't tell me how high a corner can jump, show me how they time-up a jump on the field.
Hoge can at least break down film and do some actual analysis. Smith would be out of his element. Smith has to go with the front office spin, rather than his own educated evaluation.
IMO, Smith's rise to prominence is another byproduct of the sabermetrics culture -- you no longer need a sports background or any actual experience to be considered an "expert." Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Smith is a basement-dwelling sabergeek who pretends sports exist in a spreadsheet -- you know, the Aaron Schatz types who aren't detered from ****ting on the word "clutch" even though every player in sports history disagrees with them.
Smith gets cred from this culture -- it's why all these baseball GMs are 16 years old -- experience is suddenly overrated in the scouting/journalist community -- eventually the pendulum will swing back the other way...
but til then credentials have gone the way of "don't ask don't tell."
one day and counting til Xmas -- 11 F'ing PICKS :beersign: :woohoo: