NFL Storyline Thoughts

There are five major storylines heading into the NFL season and a number of smaller storylines to follow.  Here’s my take in no particular order.

Sanchez vs. Tebow: QB controversy for the New York Jets. The most media driven storyline of the offseason.  The not-so-golden boy Mark Sanchez vs. the chosen one Tim Tebow in the media center of the world.  Tebow is only a threat because Sanchez is the definition of inconsistent and having a threat on the bench is likely to make Sanchez fold like an origami swan.  In Denver Tebow had a veteran RB in Willis McGahee, a reliable receiver in Eric Decker, a solid O-line and a defense that played out of its mind.  The Jets defense could play that well but Shonn Greene hasn’t proven anything in the NFL, Santonio Holmes is as reliable as…well…Mark Sanchez and the Jets O-line has a gaping hole named Wayne Hunter at right tackle.  I’m a Patriots fan so I love the idea of a QB controversy for the Jets, nothing dismantles a team faster and Sanchez’s first 3 interception game will make the roar for Tebow that much louder and I know the Patriots can beat Tebow.  The only thing better will be watching Santonio Holmes’ head explode after Tebow bounces his first few passes 5 yards in front of Holmes.

The Saints minus Head Coach Sean Payton.  The Saints finally wised up and paid Drew Brees because they knew they couldn’t go into the season without Payton and with Chase Daniel at QB.  Brees can run this offense without Payton but losing a Super Bowl winning coach is going to be tough, they also have to deal with suspensions to some players and Interim Head Coach Joe Vitt.  The Saints division includes a good Atlanta team and rising teams Carolina and Tampa Bay meaning missing a couple of coaches throughout the season puts them at a disadvantage.  This team goes one of two ways its either rally around the leader time (Brees) or they fall apart completely without Payton, Vitt and middle LB Jonathan Vilma.  I think they rally around Brees but their defense just isn’t quite good enough to make it matter.

Peyton Manning in Denver.  Here’s hoping Manning’s neck injury is healed because when he is healthy he’s a joy to watch, even if I hate the Broncos.  Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker are the two happiest WR’s in the NFL they just went from Tim Tebow (the bounce pass specialist) to one of the most accurate QB’s in the history of the NFL.  Manning gets to play behind an NFL caliber o-line and with the real possibility of a running game, this will be fairly new to him since he hasn’t had a legitimate left tackle since Tarik Glenn retired or a good running game since Edgerrin James left Indy.  Denver’s only let down could come on defense.

  Rookie QB’s in the NFL.  Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden would like to thank Cam Newton and Andy Dalton for completely screwing them over by being so good last year.  So much for lowered expectations.  Luck was the #1 pick and he should get a little bit of a pass because the best offensive weapon he’ll have at his disposal this season is Reggie Wayne’s corpse and his college TE Coby Fleener.  Indy’s o-line could be a disaster and the best RB on the team is…wait…give me a minute…Donald Brown?…maybe…I think.  RGIII has the most pressure, the Redskins traded 3 first round draft picks and a 2^nd rounder to get him and they haven’t had a good QB in Washington since Mark Rypien (I don’t even think I’m joking).  Tannehill has the least pressure, he isn’t expected to start unless he thoroughly out plays two veterans Matt Moore and David Garrard, however, the reason the Dolphins used a top ten pick on Tannehill is because their other options are Matt Moore and David Garrard.  Brandon Weeden was taken later in the 1^st round of the draft and immediately deemed the starter of the Cleveland Browns.  If you want to know what that’s like imagine someone telling you that you just won a car and then handing you the keys to a 1992 Ford Escort.  He has a great new RB behind him in Trent Richardson but his top WR was drafted in the supplemental draft a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t played a game of football in over a year (and yes Josh Gordon will be the best WR on the Browns roster).  Good luck to the new Faces of the Franchises.

  QB battles in Training Camp.  This beats out new head coaches simply because the new coaches are not that interesting and some of these battles could be.  Quick breakdown.

-Tennessee: Matt Hasselbeck is the grizzled veteran and Jake Locker is the future of the franchise, this is the only battle where it isn’t a case of the lesser of two evils.  The franchise wants Locker but Hasselbeck won’t go away quietly.

-NY Jets: Not really a battle so much as a media driven controversy, this was covered above.

-Cleveland: The job was handed to Brandon Weeden and he would have to fall flat on his face for them to go back to McCoy but anything is possible.

-Jacksonville: Not so much a battle as a team waiting for Blaine Gabbert to suck enough for them to turn it over to Chad Henne until they can draft Matt Barkley, that’s a heck of a QB plan.

-Miami: Matt Moore vs. David Garrard and everyone hoping that Tannehill plays better than both of them, especially Joe Philbin.

-Arizona: Kevin Kolb vs. John Skelton. Kolb makes starter money and Skelton makes 3^rd stringer money but Skelton wins games and neither one of these two should be starting for an NFL team but one of them will.

-Seattle: They paid Matt Flynn some good money but it wasn’t a huge investment length wise so Pete Carroll is sticking to his claim that it is a battle between Tavaris Jackson (last year’s starter and the reason they needed a new QB) Matt Flynn the free agent signee and Russell Wilson the surprise 3^rd round draft pick.  I’m not buying this battle; Matt Flynn is going to have to be atrocious during the preseason to justify starting Jackson or Wilson.

Quick Hits

New Head Coaches:

Retreads:

-Jeff Fisher (St. Louis) – Big name taking over a team that could turn around quickly.

-Romeo Crennel (Kansas City) – Last year’s interim should be in for a solid year if the Chiefs stay healthy.

-Mike Mularkey (Jacksonville) – Bombed out as Head Coach in Buffalo and was looking like he was on his way out as offensive coordinator in Atlanta, the best the Jags could do?

Newbies:

-Joe Philbin (Miami) – Good offensive coordinator in Green Bay who didn’t get the credit because his head coach is an offensive mastermind.  Dolphins still need a QB solution 85 years after Dan Marino retired (or does it just feel that long to Dolphin fans)

-Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis) – Spent one year as defensive coordinator for the Ravens after a number of years on staff unfortunately he has to try to turn the remnants of Indy’s Tampa-2 defense into a 3-4 unit and it ain’t going to be pretty.  The 3 best players on the defense are Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis and Pat Angerer and none of them fit a 3-4 alignment.

-Greg Schiano (Tampa Bay) – Turned Rutgers into a respectable program now can he get the Buccaneers turned around.  Raheem Morris was loved by his players but for the wrong reasons, Schiano wants to be loved by his players the way Bill Belichick is loved by his players.  There’s a difference between wanting to have a beer with your coach and being willing to run through a wall for your coach.

-Dennis Allen (Oakland) – Who? Yeah that’s the question everyone asks, Allen did a sensational job with Denver’s defense last year and with Al Davis no longer with us maybe Allen will get more than a year to show us he can really coach.

Free Agency

-Mario Williams was the biggest signing of the offseason when he left Houston and signed with Buffalo but he wasn’t the only DE to sign with the Bills.  They also added Mark Anderson from the Patriots and the two of them combined should have a huge impact on Buffalo’s defense.

-Randy Moss signed with the 49ers and if he can be 25% of the old Randy Moss he’s better than every WR the 49ers had last year.  Jim Harbaugh is already saying Moss is the best receiver they have, no kidding.

-Vincent Jackson signed in Tampa Bay and Josh Freeman hasn’t stopped smiling yet, finally someone who can get open.

-Laurent Robinson signed with Jacksonville and is their best WR; it’s like being the best nonfat cupcake.

-Brandon Carr signed with the Dallas Cowboys and Cowboy fans rejoiced and then asked if he could play safety too.

Other Notes

-Maurice Jones-Drew is holding out from the Jaguars (apparently God hates Blaine Gabbert).  You would think the league’s reigning rushing leader would have some leverage but if you lead the league in rushing and your team goes 5-11 you’re basically asking your agent to hold up a bank using a cap gun.  If they are worse without you this year it just means they will get a higher draft pick and can select Matt Barkley (I really don’t think God cares about the NFL but the evidence is stacking up that Blaine Gabbert did something God didn’t appreciate).

-Adrian Peterson’s knee is healing up (every Vikings fan is hoping anyway).  Christian Ponder is supposed to be the QB of the future unless a guy they drafted to be a WR (Joe Webb) beats him out for the job.  The other 3 QB’s in their division are Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler and Matt Stafford and they have Christian Ponder, I believe the saying is “never bring a knife to a gun fight”, well Joe Webb is a knife, Ponder is a spoon.

-This post is so damn long people have probably stopped reading by now so I’ll just say; I love the NFL if you couldn’t tell.  This post is approaching 1800 words and I could double that without even trying.

-Don’t worry I’ll get to the Iowa Hawkeyes football team but I’m waiting for some hopefully good news from out east this weekend.

Until next time

Nate

NBA Free Agency

The NBA’s summer free agency, otherwise known as the Idiot’s Guide to Spending Money, has finally died down and it is time to take a look at the lunacy.  Last year the NBA owners locked out the players in order to force them into a collective bargaining agreement that would cost them less money and that lock out ended up cancelling a small portion of this last season.  I know that comes as a shock to most of you because cancelling 16 games at the beginning of the regular season is the equivalent of the tree falling in the woods with no one around to hear it.  After the three month marathon they call the NBA playoffs I can’t remember the last 16 games of the regular season and there isn’t even any football going on then.  The owners needed a new CBA rules to control spending because as everyone knows these billionaires can’t control themselves when it comes to buying neat little toys for their franchises.  This all happened a year after the Atlanta Hawks spent $120 million on Joe Johnson a man who is as average as his name suggests (by the way, new Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry wins NBA Executive of the Year for getting the Nets to take Joe Johnson off his hands, although duping the clueless Billy King makes it slightly less of an accomplishment).  While the new CBA rules limit contracts more than ever that won’t stop those crazy owners from over paying average talent.  Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez signed contracts for 4 years worth $58 million and $61 million respectively.  I get that finding legit 7-footers is tough but giving max money to Hibbert who averaged 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year and Lopez who was hurt almost all of last year is just plain crazy.  Nicholas Batum who is a very solid small forward got a 4 year $45 million dollar contract from the Portland Trailblazers after the Minnesota Timberwolves offered him that same deal, yep two teams wanted to pay a guy that averaged 13.9 points a game $45 million over the next four years.  My favorite is the two contracts the Houston Rockets offered to Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, the so-called “poison pill” contracts that the Knicks and Bulls didn’t match.  These contracts both are set up for small salaries the first two years and then huge salaries in the last year, contract offers designed to get the Knicks and Bulls to not match them because of the salary cap implications in the third year a strategy that worked as the both teams passed.  Now the Rockets will be paying Lin and Asik as combined $30 million dollars three years from now, someone forgot to tell them that if the other teams don’t like the taste of your “poison pill” you have to swallow it yourself.  A few other contracts that call into question the sanity of NBA teams:

-Eric Gordon, New Orleans Hornet (4 years $58 million): He barely set foot on the court last year after being traded to the Hornets for Chris Paul due to injury. The Phoenix Suns signed him to a max contract offer sheet and the Hornets had to match it because he was the centerpiece to their trade of Paul.  The only problem now is that during the draft the Hornets added new face-of-the-franchise Anthony Davis and combo guard Austin Rivers meaning Gordon could become the third best player on the team.

-JaVale McGee, Denver Nuggets (4 years $44 million): McGee was traded to the Nuggets last year from the Washington Wizards because he’s a head case, there is really no other way to put it.  The Wizards decided he wasn’t worth the headache and sent him packing.  I’m sure $11 million dollars a year will cure it.

-Kris Humphries, Brooklyn Nets (2 years $24 million): Luckily it is only a two year contract but $12 million a year for a guy better known for his short lived marriage to Kim Kardashian than his basketball skills is a bit much.  Humphries is a nice player but not $12 million a year nice.

-Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic (3 years $25.2 million reportedly):  Apparently they are paying Nelson hazard pay for having to deal with the Dwight Howard saga because there is no other reason to pay a thoroughly average, undersized point guard over $8 million a year.  I guess when your superstar teammate repeatedly begs to play with better talent the front office decides to overpay you trying to convince him you’re a better player than you are.  This strategy isn’t working by the way.

-Michael Beasley, Phoenix Suns (3 years $18 million):  $6 million a year isn’t outrageous for an NBA player but Beasley is a malcontent without a position.  He isn’t skilled enough to be a small forward and his game isn’t built to be a power forward.

It’s a good thing the owners locked out the players and forced them into the new CBA rules otherwise I’m sure one of these guys would be overpaid for far longer than the 3-5 years they are overpaid now.

Quick Hits

-The Olympics start this week and I’m pumped.  I am definitely a Summer Olympics guy, I love basketball, swimming and track and field and I’m sure I’ll be staying up late or getting up early to watch the Men’s USA Volleyball team.  Go USA!

-Go see The Dark Knight Rises, it is 2 hours and 45 minutes but it doesn’t feel like it.  Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon Levitt steal the show.  The tragedy in Colorado has rightfully overshadowed the opening of the movie but I hope it hasn’t kept anyone from going to see it.

What I have to say about the aftermath of the shooting in Aurora is this, forget the shooter.  Remember the victims.  Read about Jessica Ghawi or about the 3 guys that died shielding their girlfriends from the shooter.  There are many stories about the victims and far too many stories about the shooter.

Thanks for reading

Nate

Penn St. Scandal and Sanctions.

My first blog post is unfortunately about the worst sports scandal of my lifetime.  Jerry Sandusky abused countless young boys ( we will likely never know the number of victims) and the Penn St. football program and athletic department allowed it to happen and allowed it to continue to happen.  By all accounts outside of this scandal Joe Paterno was a good man but even a good man’s legacy can be tarnished by one horrific action or in this case inaction.  Paterno is not solely to blame, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz failed to do their duty and Mike McQueary failed to step up in the moment and be a human being.  There are so many things wrong with what happened at Penn St. that it is tough to cover them all.  Mike McQueary could have stepped up in the moment and stopped a monster but should he have even been in that position.  We will never know what Paterno and his cronies knew before that moment in 2002 but they knew something as far back as 1998.  We are supposed to believe that Jerry Sandusky’s retirement in 1999 had nothing to do with the allegations of molestation in 1998 but I find that hard to believe.  Certainly though after what McQueary witnessed in 2002 there could not have been any doubt and after allegations in 1998 and an eye witness from his own staff in 2002 Paterno should have known.  Twice Paterno had been told about allegations of what Jerry Sandusky was doing and this was a man that Paterno knew was running a charity for at-risk youth.  Joe Paterno went to Brown University and I am fairly certain that while there they taught him how to add 2 plus 2.  The administration at Penn St. knew the truth too, they banned Jerry Sandusky from bringing kids on campus after the 2002 incident, it seems it was a ban in name only but it still shows that they knew.

Today the NCAA handed down sanctions against Penn St.  A $60 million fine ( to be paid to organizations that help abused children and work to stop the abuse of children) a 4-year Bowl ban, scholarship reductions over the next 4 years and vacating of all wins from 1998-2011.  This judgement came down quickly compared to the usual NCAA punishment because Penn St.’s new administration signed off on the facts and agreed to the sanctions.  I applaud the new administration for doing this in order to move forward and not drag this out of years, the people involved in this have all been dismissed from Penn St. and the school and the football program need to move on.  The $60 million fine is one year’s revenue for the football program which I am not sure if I am more stunned by the fine or the fact that it is only one year’s revenue for the football program.  The 4-year bowl ban and the scholarship reductions will be the most crippling thing to the football program on the field and vacating the wins is a gesture to say “this is when you knew and did nothing”.  There was a lot of talk about what the sanctions would be (disallowing home games for a certain number of year, a TV ban) and I’m glad the NCAA didn’t punish the current players and the fans for something they did not do.  The inherent problem the NCAA always faces is that their sanctions almost always punish people that had nothing to do with the crime and this time it was actually a crime.

The Paterno family has issued statements about how the conclusions of the Freeh Report are wrong and how they plan to launch their own investigation and my advice to the Paterno family is to stop issuing statements (you sound like idiots).  Although I’m sure it would give Jay Paterno something to do his time might be better spent trying to find the killers in the O.J. Simpson case.  I get wanting to clear your father’s name but everytime you speak about it only reminds everyone of your father’s failings.  The NCAA has stepped forward to do their part but the punishment is far from over, the Department of Education is investigating and will likely sanction Penn St. on the academic side for their administrations failures.  Gary Schultz and Tim Curley face trial over lying to the grand jury in the Sandusky investigation and I believe the Prosecutor should go a step further against Schultz, Curley and former Penn St. President Graham Spanier for covering up these crimes after the fact.  I would have included Joe Paterno if he was still alive.  This whole mess should serve as a reminder to every Athletics Director and University President that no coach (football, basketball or otherwise) is above the rules.  I don’t care how revered the person is, how much money they bring in to the school or how beloved they are by the masses, they must answer to someone.

I hope I never have to write about another scandal like this in this blog but I’m too cynical to believe that.  I promise my blog posts won’t always be this serious or depressing and I hope you come back and check out the funnier and more sarcastic side of my writing in the future.  This surely won’t be the last time I mention Penn St. but hopefully next time it’s because I’m talking about a big Iowa Hawkeye win over the Nittany Lions.

As my tagline reads This is my opinion, get one of your own

Until next time,

Nate Hott