Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
3 reasons Jon Beason is better than Ray Lewis
1) The numbers: In the last three years Beason has posted the following tackles: 140, 132, 142 to Ray Lewis' 134, 117, 120. Add to that the fact that Beason's "assists" in his tackles were 34, 28, 20 which means he is receiving help a marginal amount of the time. Ray Lewis' assists come out to: 32, 39, and 38...the numbers don't look that much different, but it means Lewis is being assisted in 29% of tackles compared to Beason's 23%.
2) Personal Lives: While the charges were dropped in Jon Beason's aggravated assault case due to lack of evidence... Ray Lewis was able to plead down two counts of malicious murder and two counts of felony murder by turning state's witness against two of his friends. He ended up with an obstruction of justice conviction and a year of probation....after he purchased knives in which two men were stabbed when his entourage collided with that of rapper Chino Nino.
3) Ray Lewis plays for the Balitmore Ravens...who used to be the most boring team to watch in all of football. Their ability not to score (or allow scoring) used to make Ice Dancing seem like an interesting sport in comparison. Fortunately the new coach seems to be aware that wide receiver is a position in football, so we'll see.
Don't get me wrong. I love Ray Lewis. He helped invent swagger. However, it's time for Jon Beason to get the respect he deserves as the new best thing at Middle Line Backer.
2) Personal Lives: While the charges were dropped in Jon Beason's aggravated assault case due to lack of evidence... Ray Lewis was able to plead down two counts of malicious murder and two counts of felony murder by turning state's witness against two of his friends. He ended up with an obstruction of justice conviction and a year of probation....after he purchased knives in which two men were stabbed when his entourage collided with that of rapper Chino Nino.
3) Ray Lewis plays for the Balitmore Ravens...who used to be the most boring team to watch in all of football. Their ability not to score (or allow scoring) used to make Ice Dancing seem like an interesting sport in comparison. Fortunately the new coach seems to be aware that wide receiver is a position in football, so we'll see.
Don't get me wrong. I love Ray Lewis. He helped invent swagger. However, it's time for Jon Beason to get the respect he deserves as the new best thing at Middle Line Backer.
Brain Damage
Coming out of the meetings in Orlando this week the NFL has decided to set up five stations for neurological health care for former NFL players. The centers will be modeled after trauma centers the military uses to help returning vets. Locations include St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Atlanta to name a few.
This is such an important issue because the effects of professional football on neurological decay haven't been properly studied. We can see from the number of injuries that football hurts. These centers are finally stepping in to address the sort of hurt that can't be seen....such as when a former player can't find their car or remember the names of loved ones.
The NFL players union is not involved in the creation of these centers at the current time, nor have they commented on whether this is a response to public comments made by former players who feel the NFL has done too little to care for former players.
This is such an important issue because the effects of professional football on neurological decay haven't been properly studied. We can see from the number of injuries that football hurts. These centers are finally stepping in to address the sort of hurt that can't be seen....such as when a former player can't find their car or remember the names of loved ones.
The NFL players union is not involved in the creation of these centers at the current time, nor have they commented on whether this is a response to public comments made by former players who feel the NFL has done too little to care for former players.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Belichick's Scheme
The evil empire has made some unusual moves this week by releasing two tight ends. A peek at their website explains that tight ends aren't an integral part of Belichick's scheme (unlike videotaping and making bogus 4th down decisions) and don't pose a real loss for the team.
Perhaps not, but the Patriots have really leaned on veteran leadership these last several years and one can't help but wonder if they will come up high and dry. They resigned Kevin Faulk, rookie season 1999, to a one year deal worth up to three million dollars. Last season he averaged 5.9 yards a carry. He's old but still doing a fine job. He's a fan favorite and happy to spend his entire career with one team, so the Patriots agreed to a short deal. (see, Carolina?)
So far the running game does not appear to be part of "Belichick's scheme" either. The starting running back, Lawrence Maroney, posted only 750 yards last season and averaged barely over three yards per carry. When you have golden boy Tom Brady it doesn't matter, right? Well.... Randy Moss managed to catch for over 1200 yards last year and still feel like a no show. In the big games he was missing in action and was criticized by Carolina safety Chris Harris for giving up on his routes in their matchup. He is 33 years old and was clearly not Brady's go-to guy in the receiver corps.
Wes Welker got the job of Brady's BFF and handled it ably....except now Welker will be missing the start of the season due to a torn ACL and MCL - AND is having surgery on a torn rotator cuff sometime soon.
This must be some scheme...
Perhaps not, but the Patriots have really leaned on veteran leadership these last several years and one can't help but wonder if they will come up high and dry. They resigned Kevin Faulk, rookie season 1999, to a one year deal worth up to three million dollars. Last season he averaged 5.9 yards a carry. He's old but still doing a fine job. He's a fan favorite and happy to spend his entire career with one team, so the Patriots agreed to a short deal. (see, Carolina?)
So far the running game does not appear to be part of "Belichick's scheme" either. The starting running back, Lawrence Maroney, posted only 750 yards last season and averaged barely over three yards per carry. When you have golden boy Tom Brady it doesn't matter, right? Well.... Randy Moss managed to catch for over 1200 yards last year and still feel like a no show. In the big games he was missing in action and was criticized by Carolina safety Chris Harris for giving up on his routes in their matchup. He is 33 years old and was clearly not Brady's go-to guy in the receiver corps.
Wes Welker got the job of Brady's BFF and handled it ably....except now Welker will be missing the start of the season due to a torn ACL and MCL - AND is having surgery on a torn rotator cuff sometime soon.
This must be some scheme...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Courting Day - Declare your intentions?
Someone please tell me what's going on with Brandon Marshall and the Denver Broncos. Denver is still enamored with the resident bad boy, apparently believing they can change him. A first round tender was issued on his behalf, with Denver reserving the right to match any offer he's given within seven days. It's hard to believe Denver would really want the first round pick instead of the productive receiver unless they are trying to negotiate a trade. It's time for an intervention: McDaniels loves Marshall when the going is good, but as for the ball club: THEY'RE JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Free Agents of Evil
Julius Peppers deserves to have him arm ripped off and be beaten with it. With the Philadelphia Beagles on his "short list," one can only hope he is truly committed to being the kind of deplorable human being that would do the Eagles proud and win an award for character in the style of Michael Vick. (who according to reports will not be traded at least until after the preseason.)
Other top name prospects include Ladanian Tomlinson (over 30 and prone to air the dirty laundry of the ball club) and Brian Westbrook, who went from the number 3 fantasy pick last year to a non-factor in the 2009 season. Both players would be huge assets to struggling teams such as Kansas City, Buffalo, Detroit, or Seattle. Whether big name players used to the playoffs would go to these teams is another story. Also, would they be willing to be part of the trendy tandem-back offense of a place such as Washington or New York (Giants) after having been the brightest star in the galaxy for so long? One thing's for sure: I'd hate to be the number one fantasy pick next year.
Other top name prospects include Ladanian Tomlinson (over 30 and prone to air the dirty laundry of the ball club) and Brian Westbrook, who went from the number 3 fantasy pick last year to a non-factor in the 2009 season. Both players would be huge assets to struggling teams such as Kansas City, Buffalo, Detroit, or Seattle. Whether big name players used to the playoffs would go to these teams is another story. Also, would they be willing to be part of the trendy tandem-back offense of a place such as Washington or New York (Giants) after having been the brightest star in the galaxy for so long? One thing's for sure: I'd hate to be the number one fantasy pick next year.
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