It will come as little surprise that of all the positions a Fantasy Football owner would stress about in the middle rounds, Tight End, would be high on that list. Continue reading “2013 Fantasy Football Rookies I Would Plug In Day One, Pt. 3: Tight Ends”
David Burke stopped by Locker Talk for the first of two parts to discuss the NFL’s offseason moves and all things summer blockbusters.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lockertalk/2013/05/21/locker-talk-david-burke-pt-1
I’ve had to deal with a lot these past few months as a sports fan from the state of Georgia. Few fan-bases understand the agony, frustration, and stress involved with investing energy into Atlanta teams.
Well, I do, which made yesterday that much sweeter. Continue reading “Flawed, But Tested Atlanta Falcons Show What Matters In Playoff Win Over Seattle Seahawks”
Atlanta had a scare given to them by the lowly Raiders.
Down more than they ever should have been the Falcons rallied furiously and turned what would have been a head scratching loss into a 6-0 beginning to their 2012 football season.
Doesn’t matter who the opponent is or what the box score reads, an “almost win” is still a loss. Continue reading “This Isn’t Horseshoes: NFL Contenders Proving Difference Between Almost And Getting It Done”
Monday August 20, 2012: Draft schedules are released
I think we all know the ramifications of this event. It’s no longer about “Bounty Gate,” Free Agency, and Coaching changes. Continue reading “Five Fantasy Football Drafts In Three Days: My Week Long Process To NFL Fantasy Football Championship Glory in 2012-2013”
Well it finally happened. The NFL has released their 2012-2013 season schedule and it isn’t without the usual fanfare as you would expect. It took me a couple of days to fully process what I was looking at. Continue reading “National Football League 2012 Offseason: The Good, The Bad, And The Really Funny About The 2012-2013 NFL Schedule”
“How in the hell can u pay a man this much money that can’t run tackle or catch” -Tweet from Atlanta Falcons Receiver Roddy White
Note to Roddy White: we’ve heard enough. Continue reading “Roddy White Should Learn To Put His Money Where His Mouth Is”
It’s a funny thing culture. We talk about it all the time in sports regarding teams and franchises. We talk about what their philosophies are regarding the way they want to do things and the type of culture they’re trying to breed. Yet as often as it is stated it is also an afterthought in the list of things needed for a successful organization.
Looking back at this past weekend in football (college and the NFL) and the week in sports in general I saw a lot of teams and franchises going in a different directions. I noticed some things regarding culture and the way its being handled by storied teams and franchises. You, obviously, can’t talk culture without starting in Dallas. The Cowboys need something completely different. This past week, leading up to the game against the New York Giants owner/general manager Jerry Jones sounded almost desperate for a new way of running business. Jones, who spent the entire week pumping up Tony Romo and making him sound like he was going to have an historic run through the playoffs that would begin in New York, couldn’t have foreseen his teams would end like it had in Carolina (twice), Arizona, Minnesota, New York and Seattle in the years since their last Super Bowl appearance back in 1996. Only this time before making the playoffs.
Their division mates and rival Washington Redskins have looked forward (Spurrier) looked back (Gibbs) and looked lateral (Mike Shanahan) to find a winning culture in Washington DC. Yet for all the millions spent on players somehow Dan Snyder never spends much on a legitimate quarterback. No disrespect to Donovan McNabb, Mark Brunell, Todd Collins, John Beck and whichever warm bodied lamb they run out there, but you have to have someone capable of playing the position to have a shot at championships. Those names aren’t going to cut it and it has been proven. Mark Brunell and McNabb lost a combined five conference championships before arriving.
In college there were a few teams that made some changes to breed a new culture for their programs as well. While that was nice it seemed the same ugly vices reared their ugly head.
Lets start in Georgia.
Mark Richt has won two SEC championships, over 100 games and two BCS bowls in his time as head coach of the University of Georgia. He’s run into some hard times of late. First it took him a little too long to realize Willie Martinez was not his guy as defensive coordinator and that led to Georgia going from a perennial top-10 team defensively to being sandwiched between the likes of San Jose State and Ohio. This year they were third nationally behind a 3-4 scheme led by Todd Grantham and looked great. The culture was finally changing at Georgia. Until we realized coach Richt’s old penchant for not placing enough emphasis on special teams would bite him a few times. There were missed tackles on punt returns and an All-American kicker who lost his ability to kick. Their were adjustments, but the lack of a special teams coach was apparent in a big way. Especially when it mattered the most. This year they went 10-4. Their last loss in a bowl game to Michigan State. On a missed field goal.
There are rumblings in New York that the Jets are getting tired of the culture brought by brash head coach Rex Ryan. Yet, no one was complaining when he took his team to two straight AFC championship games. for those of you who say that means nothing I pose this question: When was the last time your favorite NFL team went to a conference championship game? I can tell you the last time mine did. 2004-2005 season. Seven years goes by very quickly. Bigger picture? Before Rex Ryan arrived the last time the Jets participated in a conference championship Curtis Martin played running back, Vinny Testaverde was the quarterback and John Elway was preparing his super bowl swan song.
That was 1998-1999. How quickly we forget.
Culture is something that gets overlooked so often in sports It confuses me. We look past it like the minimal signing of a guy we don’t know, yet it is the most important thing when determining the success and failure of your favorite team. Don’t believe me? Ask the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and even the Washington Nationals how important positive new change can be. While some are moving forward with a new direction others such as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins need to start looking for something new.
That starts by changing the old.
This is going to be an obvious slight to Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
I don’t mind though. Because in the last 24 hours I’ve witnessed one of the worst All-Star snubs in sports and I can’t let it go unnoticed. How does the National Football League (and fans for that matter) justify leaving Matthew Stafford out of this years Pro Bowl? Say what you will about the game not meaning anything it is still an honor; and that Stafford has to wait another year after leading his team to a (10-5) record and the playoffs for the first time since 1999 is ridiculous.
I have nothing against Eli Manning. I liked him at Ole Miss and I have enjoyed watching him in New York. That being said, he doesn’t deserve to be in the Pro Bowl this year. A reaction most casual fans have is “well I’m sure he will get in once one of the other three decides not to go.” That may be true, but that doesn’t excuse him not being chosen for the game. Did I also mention he will probably have to wait for two quarterbacks to drop out of the game? Why? Because Cam Newton is the first alternate.
As for statistics Stafford is by far the superior player this year. Stafford has thrown for 4,518 yards, 36 touchdowns and has a quarterback rating of 96.6. Eli has 4,587 yards, 26 touchdowns and a rating of 90.7.
That doesn’t even scratch the surface.
While both are number one overall picks in their own right Stafford, who has missed considerable time due to injury, has come on to lead the Lions to a playoff berth in his first healthy season. The significance of this is that had he been healthy last year could this have happened before? Stafford has not only garnered my vote as comeback player of the year but he merits serious MVP consideration considering what the award stands for. So all that being said how do you not grant the guy a trip to Hawaii?
All things being equal there are multiple snubs for this years game but few make you jump out of your chair like this one. Hopefully he makes it in somehow, if not I’m sure the Lions are already campaigning for next year. I for one will buy a t-shirt.
Other Notable Omissions:
Victor Cruz, New York Giants
1,358 yards, 8 touchdowns, (set single-season receiving yards record for Giants franchise)
Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
1,118 yards, 12 touchdowns
Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
1,227 yards, 8 touchdowns
