- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 15,517
- Reaction score
- 27,504
Just some thoughts to get you through game day if the games turn out to be boring. I have some thoughts on the game with the Panthers and some rants I’d like to get off my chest. Lets start with the rants.
1. I am sick and tired of hearing mediots constantly complain that “there are no elite teams in the NFL” Or that “the league is down this year”. That is just a load of CRAP. What are they basing it on. Even in the golden years of so called “dominant teams”, when the Cowboys, Niners and Packers ruled the roost, they would always have 3 or 4 losses on their regular season records. When have there ever been season where there weren’t teams without flaws.
Over half way into this season there are still 4 teams with 2 or fewer loses. I would bet that we would find it to be the same in EVERY season. And why do they think that having a so called dominant team or two make the league better anyway????
Think about it, in my life time there has been only one truly dominant team in the NFL, the Chicago Bears of 1985. They blew through the regular season at 15-1 with hardly a glitch, and then when faced with the cream of the crop in the playoffs, blew out every opponent.
It really pisses me off when these talking heads make it seem like somehow these wins don’t count as much because , “the league is bad this year”, or there “are no really elite teams”, or “there are no teams without flaws” It demeans the players, the teams and their efforts for no other reason than to be self serving.
I feel they do it to somehow make themselves seem more superior in their analysis. Its always sounds so smug, smarmy and judgmental and makes me want to reach through the screen, grab them by the stack and swivel and shove some perspective and humility down their throats
2. The medical attack on football.
I love this game and I have gotten a lot out of it both as a player and a coach. Certainly a lot more than simply great memories that get greater every every year. And while the concussion discussion has value as a safety issue, news that Pop Warner participation is down, and constant talk by mediots that they wouldn’t let their kids play the game strike at the very heart of the game.
Here are some specific points
a. Every time some 60+ year old ex-NFL football player forgets where he puts his keys, its reported as a sign he was damaged playing football. Meanwhile when the millions of other elderly forget something is called getting old.
b. Every time a former NFL player is diagnosed with CTE it is put into a light that makes it seem that it is conclusive that football cause the injury. The fact is that many others who never played the game also come down with CTE, and when they do, its never broadcast.
c. I am constantly stunned when I hear parents keeping their kids from playing football, while at the same time giving them keys to a car on their 16th birthday or allowing their teenaged kids to be in cars driven by other teenagers. One activity is INFINITELY more dangerous to their kids health. Its completely hypocritical
d. There is really no reason for a parent to keep a kid from playing football through HS and even into college. The benefits they receive far outweigh the very small risks of serious injury. The media is doing the game a severe disservice when it makes it seem, when some former NFL player develops CTE that THAT is what may happen to your kid if he plays pop warner or HS football.
They completely ignore the fact that pro players take THOUSANDS of more hits over their careers than a player who will end their career in their teens and THOUSANDS of those hits will be much more violent than any a HS player would see. It ignores the fact that it’s a combination of speed, size, and number that create collisions that create the kind of severe concussions that actually do damage.
Pop Warner strictly controls the size of their players its just not going to happen, and in HS there might be just 2-3 kids on any team that have a size and speed combination that would create something that even comes close to the kind of collision you would see in an NFL game.
e. Where is it going to end. Are parents going to bubble rap their kids and THEN hand them the keys to a care which annually kills more than 20,000 teenagers EACH year and maims tens of thousands more. Would it shock anyone that at Harvard the sport that causes the most concussions each year is Water Polo. What kind of next generation are we going to raise if they are one that never takes even a reasonable risk
f. I taught more and better life lessons of values, and ethics while coaching than I ever did in a classroom. Many more lessons that a kid could take with him beyond his school years. I also coached other sports over the years, (lacrosse, baseball, basketball) and lettered in basketball, wrestling, track, and baseballas well as LaCrosse in college. None of them taught me more than the game of football. I would morn the loss of kids having the same opportunities that I did if unreasonable fear spread by a one sided media caused the game to die. Fortunately I won’t be there to see it.
g.The BOTTOM LINE is that parents should absolutely encourage their kids to play football on the Pop Warner/HS level if they have a desire The benefit FAR outweigh any slight potential risk. Certainly far less risk than most activities teenagers go through in order to reach adulthood
3. I’ve waited since 2007 for a quality defense, and when one finally is amassed they all get hurt
I know that injuries are part of the game, but this is starting to get ridiculous - 5 of the 11 starters we opened the season with on defense won’t be playing on Monday (Kelly, Wilfolk, Mayo, Dennard, and Gregory) And that assumes that Talib is ready to start. That means of the top 8 DB’s only McCourty, Ryan, and Harmon are the only relatively healthy players and 2 of them are back up rookies Add that to the loss of the middle of our the D, including BOTH “heart and soul” players (Mayo and Wilfolk), and is it any wonder I have no hair.
How the hell are we supposed to win games when SO many of the key parts are gone, or not here right now. How many more games will go by before Edleman is fitted for his defensive pads again. Its such a shame. Why couldn’t we have had just ONE year like the Niners D had last season when 10 of their starters played over 90% of the defensive snaps I expect to have some bad luck years with injuries, but on the same hand, you’d expect to have a couple of GOOD luck years as well. Well looking back I can recall a few that weren’t horrible, but none that you’d consider a “good luck” injury year. Aren't we far overdue?
4. This is OT, but its really pissing me off, so if you will bear with me. Among the many things the mediots piss me off with, top right now is the notion that that the Celtics should tank the season for, at best, a 25% shot at the top player in the draft. I won’t waste anymore time on this except to say that it is SO WRONG on so many different levels. Plus the way Felger and Mazz and their ilk present it, it reaches a level of smarmy superciliousness that makes me want to turn violent.
1. I am sick and tired of hearing mediots constantly complain that “there are no elite teams in the NFL” Or that “the league is down this year”. That is just a load of CRAP. What are they basing it on. Even in the golden years of so called “dominant teams”, when the Cowboys, Niners and Packers ruled the roost, they would always have 3 or 4 losses on their regular season records. When have there ever been season where there weren’t teams without flaws.
Over half way into this season there are still 4 teams with 2 or fewer loses. I would bet that we would find it to be the same in EVERY season. And why do they think that having a so called dominant team or two make the league better anyway????
Think about it, in my life time there has been only one truly dominant team in the NFL, the Chicago Bears of 1985. They blew through the regular season at 15-1 with hardly a glitch, and then when faced with the cream of the crop in the playoffs, blew out every opponent.
It really pisses me off when these talking heads make it seem like somehow these wins don’t count as much because , “the league is bad this year”, or there “are no really elite teams”, or “there are no teams without flaws” It demeans the players, the teams and their efforts for no other reason than to be self serving.
I feel they do it to somehow make themselves seem more superior in their analysis. Its always sounds so smug, smarmy and judgmental and makes me want to reach through the screen, grab them by the stack and swivel and shove some perspective and humility down their throats
2. The medical attack on football.
I love this game and I have gotten a lot out of it both as a player and a coach. Certainly a lot more than simply great memories that get greater every every year.
And while the concussion discussion has value as a safety issue, news that Pop Warner participation is down, and constant talk by mediots that they wouldn’t let their kids play the game strike at the very heart of the game.Here are some specific points
a. Every time some 60+ year old ex-NFL football player forgets where he puts his keys, its reported as a sign he was damaged playing football. Meanwhile when the millions of other elderly forget something is called getting old.
b. Every time a former NFL player is diagnosed with CTE it is put into a light that makes it seem that it is conclusive that football cause the injury. The fact is that many others who never played the game also come down with CTE, and when they do, its never broadcast.
c. I am constantly stunned when I hear parents keeping their kids from playing football, while at the same time giving them keys to a car on their 16th birthday or allowing their teenaged kids to be in cars driven by other teenagers. One activity is INFINITELY more dangerous to their kids health. Its completely hypocritical
d. There is really no reason for a parent to keep a kid from playing football through HS and even into college. The benefits they receive far outweigh the very small risks of serious injury. The media is doing the game a severe disservice when it makes it seem, when some former NFL player develops CTE that THAT is what may happen to your kid if he plays pop warner or HS football.
They completely ignore the fact that pro players take THOUSANDS of more hits over their careers than a player who will end their career in their teens and THOUSANDS of those hits will be much more violent than any a HS player would see. It ignores the fact that it’s a combination of speed, size, and number that create collisions that create the kind of severe concussions that actually do damage.
Pop Warner strictly controls the size of their players its just not going to happen, and in HS there might be just 2-3 kids on any team that have a size and speed combination that would create something that even comes close to the kind of collision you would see in an NFL game.
e. Where is it going to end. Are parents going to bubble rap their kids and THEN hand them the keys to a care which annually kills more than 20,000 teenagers EACH year and maims tens of thousands more. Would it shock anyone that at Harvard the sport that causes the most concussions each year is Water Polo. What kind of next generation are we going to raise if they are one that never takes even a reasonable risk
f. I taught more and better life lessons of values, and ethics while coaching than I ever did in a classroom. Many more lessons that a kid could take with him beyond his school years. I also coached other sports over the years, (lacrosse, baseball, basketball) and lettered in basketball, wrestling, track, and baseballas well as LaCrosse in college. None of them taught me more than the game of football. I would morn the loss of kids having the same opportunities that I did if unreasonable fear spread by a one sided media caused the game to die. Fortunately I won’t be there to see it.
g.The BOTTOM LINE is that parents should absolutely encourage their kids to play football on the Pop Warner/HS level if they have a desire The benefit FAR outweigh any slight potential risk. Certainly far less risk than most activities teenagers go through in order to reach adulthood
3. I’ve waited since 2007 for a quality defense, and when one finally is amassed they all get hurt
I know that injuries are part of the game, but this is starting to get ridiculous - 5 of the 11 starters we opened the season with on defense won’t be playing on Monday (Kelly, Wilfolk, Mayo, Dennard, and Gregory) And that assumes that Talib is ready to start. That means of the top 8 DB’s only McCourty, Ryan, and Harmon are the only relatively healthy players and 2 of them are back up rookies
Add that to the loss of the middle of our the D, including BOTH “heart and soul” players (Mayo and Wilfolk), and is it any wonder I have no hair.How the hell are we supposed to win games when SO many of the key parts are gone, or not here right now. How many more games will go by before Edleman is fitted for his defensive pads again. Its such a shame. Why couldn’t we have had just ONE year like the Niners D had last season when 10 of their starters played over 90% of the defensive snaps I expect to have some bad luck years with injuries, but on the same hand, you’d expect to have a couple of GOOD luck years as well. Well looking back I can recall a few that weren’t horrible, but none that you’d consider a “good luck” injury year. Aren't we far overdue?
4. This is OT, but its really pissing me off, so if you will bear with me. Among the many things the mediots piss me off with, top right now is the notion that that the Celtics should tank the season for, at best, a 25% shot at the top player in the draft. I won’t waste anymore time on this except to say that it is SO WRONG on so many different levels. Plus the way Felger and Mazz and their ilk present it, it reaches a level of smarmy superciliousness that makes me want to turn violent.
