Fournette is exposing larger NCAA problem

October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 Chris McGlynn Football, NCAAF, NFL Leonard Fournette, LSU, Marcus Lattimore, Matt Barkley, NCAA, NFL Draft, Nick Chubb

For most college football players, the best thing for them to do to improve their draft stock is to perform at the college football level. That will usually punch their ticket to the NFL. Doing it at an SEC school is even better. That shows scouts that you can perform against college football’s best.

Leonard Fournette is doing everything right so far at Louisiana State University. He is dominating the NCAA field at an SEC school and drawing comparisons to some of the best in college football history. Already, we’ve heard names like “Emmitt” or “Herschal” thrown around when describing the phenom running back.

NFL scouts have already seen enough of Fournette to justify taking him when he is eligible to come join the NFL. Through five games this year, he has amassed 1022 yards on the ground on 8.6 yards per carry. Pair that with his 12 touchdowns and you have a solid season for a lot of college backs. Fournette has reached those marks in only half a season.

The issue is though, Fournette isn’t eligible to jump to the NFL until the 2017 NFL draft. He looks pro-ready today but NFL rules state that he must wait until after his junior season to apply for the draft. So now Fournette faces a very tough decision. Should he continue to play for the Tigers, or should he sit out his junior season to cement his draft status?

Fournette could probably sit out the entire 2016 college season and still go in the top half of the first round if he continues to stay in shape and performs well at the combine.

Many have called Fournette selfish for thinking that way but honestly can you blame him? NFL first round picks sign contracts worth millions of dollars. Todd Gurley, a former running back from Georgia, signed a contract this season after being drafted 10th overall that was worth up to $13.8 million over four years. The contract guaranteed $9.3 million over the four years and Gurley received a $2 million signing bonus upon signing the contract.

All of that is probably pretty comparable to what Fournette would stand to make and honestly it is probably below what he is worth. Many are viewing the LSU back as the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson. He would likely go higher than 10th overall and with the increase over the next two years, his contract would probably be even a little larger.

So we are talking probably upwards of $20 million on the line here for Fournette. All he has to do is stay healthy and avoid a drop off heading into the draft. The only problem is that there is no easy way to avoid injury other than to sit out. Fournette has nothing financially from the NCAA to fall back on if he blows out his knee or develops a hernia. His draft stock would plummet and he might not even make it to the NFL.

Thinking for the future makes too much sense at this point. We see it happen to players, especially running backs all the time. A couple of years ago, Marcus Lattimore suffered a gruesome knee injury that derailed his promising college career. Lattimore was a lock for a first round pick but the October injury where he tore every ligament in his knee and dislocated it obviously set him back. He had surgery and began rehab as soon as possible. He declared for the NFL draft in December knowing that it was his best shot at going pro. He fell all the way to the fourth round to the 49ers. He signed a four-year deal worth up to $8.5 million but with only a $300,000 signing bonus. Lattimore spent two seasons on San Francisco’s reserve roster before finally retiring when he realized he would never be able to play again.

Obviously, that is an extreme example but it is not the only one. Just a week ago, Nick Chubb suffered a serious knee injury where he tore several ligaments and damaged cartilage. His ACL was not one of the ligaments torn, which gave doctors hope at first, but now reports have surfaced saying that the injury could be career ending. He will have surgery soon but the outlook is less than positive. Heading into this season, Chubb was a projected first round pick for 2017, just like Fournette.

Then there are players who avoided injury but still saw their draft stock plummet due to poor play. Matt Barkley is the perfect example of a player who was deemed NFL ready, but who decided to stay in college another year. He seemed to be a certain top 10 pick in the 2012 draft but Barkley decided to stay at USC for his senior year. Barkley muddled through an up and down season and then fell to the fourth round of the NFL draft in 2013.

It is hard to shame Fournette for considering sitting out and it will be harder still if he decides to skip his junior year. He has every right to and he would be protecting his future, which is completely uninsured by the NCAA.

Each NCAA athlete has a health insurance policy of $90,000 for medical expenses. They are willing to cover other costs such as in-home care if it is required but there is no way for students to ever recoup any of the money they might have made.

There is no sure-fire way to solve this situation and I won’t pretend to know what it is. It might be to compensate athletes. It might be to provide some sort of insurance if athletes are unable to continue to the professional level due to injuries sustained while playing in college. All I know is that it needs to change. If the NCAA can profit as much as it does from these kids, then there should be a way for the kids to get compensation for a major career-altering or ending injury.

If the NCAA refuses to pay athletes, guarantee insurance fund for those who cannot continue to the pros because of injury or some combination of the two, it will continue to see Leonard Fournettes in the future. If Fournette sits, he will set a precedent. There will be players who believe that they have shown enough talent and ability to make the jump to the league and will refuse to continue playing in college. It will hurt the college game in terms of the level of play and could begin to undermine college football as a whole.

This development would be many years down the line but it is not unrealistic if the NCAA does not find a solution. Players who have serious aspirations of playing in the pros view college as a stepping stone and if they can find a way to minimize the risk that comes with that stepping stone, you can bet they are going to take it.

NFL Power Rankings: Week 6

October 14, 2015October 15, 2015 Chris McGlynn Football, NFL, Power Rankings New England Patriots, NFL Power Rankings

1. New England Patriots (Last week: 1)
Had Tony Romo and Dez Bryant played, this would have been a different story. But neither of them played and the Cowboys struggled mightily. Brady and Co. took care of business for a fifth straight week. No need to drop them from the top spot.

2. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 2)
Far from Aaron Rodgers’ best game ever but it was enough for the Packers to get the win. Rodgers threw two picks but Green Bay came up with four of Nick Foles. Scary thing to note is that Rodgers led the team in rushing with just 39 yards. That should not become a trend.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 4)
Down by 17 heading into the fourth quarter against Seattle, it seemed like Cincy had finally come back to Earth. Then the Bengals rattled off 20 straight points to get the win in overtime. Exciting to watch and tough to play against is exactly how you would define Cincinnati so far.

4. Denver Broncos (Last week: 3)
This is looking more and more like Peyton Manning is a man way past his prime still trying to compete. He is tied for second in the league in interceptions so far, which has put a little too much pressure on the defense. Thankfully, this defense is the best in the league and continues to bail the offense out.

5. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 5)
Beating Washington wasn’t supposed to be that difficult for the Falcons but they still got the job done. Devonta Freeman is tied for second in the NFL in rushing yards and leads the league in touchdowns. This Falcons offense is down right scary when Freeman and Julio Jones are clicking.

6. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 6)
No need to panic! The Cardinals we saw the first three weeks of the season are back. Arizona registered its fourth blowout in five games. If they continue at this pace, they could have the division all but locked up by Thanksgiving.

7. New York Jets (Last week: 8)
The Jets move up despite not playing this week. That is mainly due to the return of Sheldon Richardson, back from his four game suspension. As if the Jets defense, which leads the league in points allowed per game, needed any more help.

8. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 9)
Carolina is undefeated thus far in the 2015 season and they did that without Luke Keuchley. Now reports have Keuchley as a full participant in practice and gearing up for a showdown with the Seahawks. The Panthers are starting to seem dangerous.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 12)
After three quarters of utter boredom, Michael Vick said enough of that and started making plays. Pittsburgh was very lucky to walk out of San Diego with a win but they still got it. The Steelers can win with Vick in at quarterback and should be able to weather the storm until Big Ben returns.

10. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 10)
Of all the undefeated quarterbacks so far in the NFL, Matt Hasselback is by far the most perplexing one. But he has done what Andrew Luck couldn’t: limit turnovers and play efficiently. Luck is rumored to return this week and all eyes will be on him to see if the former number one overall pick is really healthy.

11. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 11)
That was ugly. No two ways about it. But it is better to win ugly than lose ugly. Unfortunately, the Bills are looking pretty banged up at the moment. LeSean McCoy is out for a little while and Karlos Williams still has a concussion. Now add Tyrod Taylor to the mix with an MCL sprain. We will likely see E.J. Manuel under center against the undefeated Bengals.

12. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 7)
Finally the offense found some life and consistency…for three quarters. The Seahawks completely fell apart down the stretch in Ohio. They return home to play the undefeated Panthers, who just got Luke Keuchley back. That is not going to be a fun game for Seattle.

13. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 14)
The Vikings are only at .500 at the moment but they are playing better football than that. This team is still very inexperienced but don’t be surprised if they are still hanging around when the it comes time for the post season.

14. New York Giants (Last week: 17)
You can’t spell clutch without ELI. Well actually you can, but you know what I mean. The youngest Manning brother engineered a spectacular comeback to earn the win for Big Blue. The Giants finally know how the Falcons and Cowboys felt after the first two weeks for the season.

15. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 13)
Rumor has it that Brandon Weeden lost his starting job (shocker). The Cowboys mercifully have a bye week to figure out what in the world has been going on for the past three weeks. Tony Romo and Dez Bryant cannot return fast enough.

16. San Diego Chargers (Last week: 16)
Bitter probably doesn’t even adequately describe how the San Diego Chargers feel right now. A walk off touchdown from LeVeon Bell stole victory from the Bolts on their home turf. On the bright side though they aren’t as bad as the Chiefs.

17. Oakland Raiders (Last week: 20)
The Raiders defense almost did enough for Oakland to get a hard earned win against Denver. They did not allow a touchdown all day long. However, a defensive touchdown ended up being the difference and now the Raiders have lost two straight heading into their bye.

18. St. Louis Rams (Last week: 18)
The Rams head into their bye week having a ton of faith in their defense and absolutely none in their offense. St. Louis bothered Aaron Rodgers all day long and forced his first interception at Lambeau Field since Jeremy Lin was the point guard of the Knicks. Meanwhile, Nick Foles completed a lot of passes to guys wearing green jerseys. Jeff Fisher still has a lot of work to do.

19. Washington (Last week: 22)
Taking the undefeated Falcons to overtime was impressive but Washington failed to seal the deal. The defense played well and picked off Matt Ryan twice. However, Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions of his own, including the game-ending pick six in overtime. Now Washington heads to New York and Cousins gets an even tougher test against the Jets’ defense.

20. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 23)
So that’s where the Eagles offense has been hiding. They’ve been in New Orleans the whole time. Philly finally started to make plays with the ball offensively. Still wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction and it keeps the Eagles in the postseason conversation.

21. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 21)
It will be interesting to see how this team responds after the firing of Joe Philbin. The ‘Phins got a week to get acclimated with new head coach Dan Campbell and prepare for a matchup with the dangerous Titans. If Miami hasn’t figured out its offense, they have no shot of winning this game.

22. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 15)
Remember how I said that most of the optimism surrounding the Chiefs had died last week. Well I am now here to pronounce it officially dead. Kansas City lost its fourth straight game in stunning fashion and lost Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. There is no coming back from this now.

23. Chicago Bears (Last week: 30)
Whoa. Two wins in a row for Chicago. Not for nothing but that is impressive. Granted they came against two floundering teams but there are some other bright spots. Matt Forte leads the league in rushing and Jay Cutler took care of the football. That is a recipe for success in the Windy City.

24. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 29)
It looks like the Browns made up for blowing a chance at overtime last week by pulling off the OT comeback this week. Josh McCown is doing more with less as he continues to put up video game-like numbers despite not having too many proven weapons.

25. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 19)
A huge win against Pittsburgh followed by a blown chance against the Browns. The Ravens have really lost their form. A 2015 playoff team, Baltimore will be lucky to not end up with a top 10 draft pick.

26. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 27)
That one stings a lot. The Titans led 10-0 midway through the third quarter but couldn’t stop a late Bills comeback. Tennessee has been more competitive than I ever thought they would be and the defense has a large part to do with that.

27. Houston Texans (Last week: 24)
The Texans have played bad football season long. The revolving door at quarterback isn’t helping matters at all and Houston now sits at 1-4. It doesn’t seem to effect DeAndre Hopkins though, who leads the league in receiving.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 32)
They have not seemed even the least bit convincing but Tampa now has two wins on the year, which means they can’t possibly be worse than last year. When you are as bad as the Bucs, this is actually something worth celebrating.

29. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 28)
Colin Kaepernick finally seemed to settle down and just play football this week in New York. Unfortunately, his defense didn’t back him up. They get a rematch of the 2013 Super Bowl against the Ravens this week though and suddenly, that seems like a winnable game.

30. Detroit Lions (Last week: 25)
Lions’ fans can be mad all they want about how they got robbed of a victory in Seattle but there were no excuses this week against Arizona. Matthew Stafford actually found himself a spot on the bench after turning the ball over three times by the middle of the third quarter. Detroit wanted to forget last week’s loss but they probably want to forget this one even more.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 31)
Losing to Tampa Bay is not a resume builder. Jacksonville was out played once again and you have to wonder how much longer the Jaguars’ brass is going to sit quietly and let Gus Bradley run the show. They need better results than this if we expects to keep his job.

32. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 26)
The Saints had a chance to get their season back on track following a big overtime win against Dallas the week before. They didn’t take it and now find themselves at 1-4 with a lot of questions and very few answers. We have a new team in the NFL cellar.

NFL Power Rankings: Week 5

October 11, 2015October 11, 2015 Chris McGlynn Football, NFL, Power Rankings NFL Power Rankings

1. New England Patriots (Last week: 1)
The Pats got a week off and made good use of it. Dion Lewis just signed a two-year deal to keep him around for the near future. Whatever few issues the Patriots have through the first quarter of the season likely were ironed out this week as well. Look for New England to keep rolling going forward.

2. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 2)
The Packers would be first on this list if it wasn’t for the fact that the Patriots have come out on fire. Green Bay has proven that even without Jordy Nelson, this is still a Super Bowl caliber team.

3. Denver Broncos (Last week: 3)
Another week, another outstanding performance from the Denver defense. This group leads the league in terms of fewest yards per game and second in points per game. The offense is starting to find its footing but there is still a long way to go.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 5)
Four weeks in the Bengals are still undefeated. Most of that credit should go directly to Andy Dalton. He has played well beyond the level we are used to seeing from him. His connection with A.J. Green is somewhere near the level of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.

5. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 6)
No fourth quarter comeback needed this week as the Falcons blew out the Texans. From start to finish, this team simply dominated the game. Plenty of work still to be done though as this defense has consistently struggled against the pass.

6. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 4)
That was ugly. There is no other way to say it than that. Arizona seemed to be on cruise control to this point in the season but a loss to St. Louis brings them back down to earth. The defense struggled to contain Todd Gurley and the offense could not consistently run the ball. The Cards do get a chance to get back on the track with the winless Lions this week.

7. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 9)
Two consecutive wins for the Seahawks has this team looking up after a rough start but Seattle was lucky to get the win on Monday night. A blow call by the officiating crew saved them (again). The Seahawks could just as easily be 1-3 and still look no closer to finding the answer on offense.

8. New York Jets (Last week: 13)
Miami might be bad but that doesn’t mean the Jets didn’t take care of business. New York enters the bye with a chance to let Chris Ivory, Eric Decker and Darrelle Revis get healthy. Then they face a very easy stretch with Washington, Oakland and Jacksonville as three of their next four games. The other game is in Foxborough though.

9. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 15)
Four straight wins would usually vault you into the top five no problem. However, Carolina’s four wins came against Houston, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and New Orleans without Drew Brees. Until they beat even an average team, I’m not totally buying into the hype.

10. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 12)
Matt Hasselback came out of…wait he never retired? Well either way, he found a way to get the Colts an ugly win against Jacksonville. If he can find a way to pilot Indy to a victory over Houston, this team has nothing to worry about. Being 3-0 is a huge advantage in a division where likely no one will win more than 10 games.

11. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 7)
On again and off again. The Bills cannot seem to string to competitive weeks together. Buffalo was coming off a blow out of Miami only to look lost playing the Giants. The problem above all: penalties. Every Rex Ryan team has them. The sooner they go away, the sooner the Bills become a playoff team.

12. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 8)
You really couldn’t have asked for much more out of Michael Vick. He made big throws, executed the gameplan well and took his lumps. He was sacked four times and hit six. The Steelers need to do a better job blocking for him. Oh and so long Josh Scobee.

13. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 11)
That stings a bit. Dallas still leads the division but life without Romo and Bryant seems to be getting worse. Two straight losses to the NFC South has the Cowboys reeling and in desperate need of a wake up call. The odd thing though is the offense seems fine while the defense seems clueless.

14. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 14)
Minnesota looks like a more than capable football team at this point. The defense just couldn’t hang on for a major win against the Broncos. This is a team full of young talent with a Hall of Fame leader in Adrian Peterson. I have a feeling the Vikings will be playing meaningful football come December.

15. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 10)
There was a lot of optimism surrounding the Chiefs at the beginning of the season. Most of that has completely died off now as the offense has struggled and the defense continues to give up points. Kansas City has given up to most points per game through four weeks. Andy Reid has to fix that if they team plans on getting a wild card spot.

16. San Diego Chargers (Last week: 17)
It wasn’t pretty but San Diego got a win against Cleveland. They almost went to overtime, but the Browns gave the Chargers another chance after Josh Lambo missed his initial field goal attempt. Far from a convincing start for the Bolts.

17. New York Giants (Last week: 24)
For a second week in a row, the Giants pulled of a big win. The Bills showed some signs of pulling off the comeback before New York righted the ship and walked out of Buffalo with a win. Keeping pace in the wide open NFC East is important but now is the Giants’ chance to take control of the division.

18. St. Louis Rams (Last week: 22)
Apparently, the Rams can only upset their NFC West counter parts. A win over the previously undefeated Cardinals proves that the Rams can run with the top teams in teh NFC. The next step is finding consistency.

19. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 21)
Getting the win against Pittsburgh saved their season but losing Steve Smith with broken ribs is not much of a trade off. Now Baltimore goes forward with even fewer receiving options to choose from.

20. Oakland Raiders (Last week: 19)
Just when Oakland seemed like they were heading in a positive direction, the blow a last second lead to the winless Bears. The Raiders had a chance to be 3-1. Instead, they find themselves at .500 with a less than favorable schedule in front of them.

21. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 18)
Miami went on damage control this week after a brutal loss overseas. Joe Philbin is officially out Dan Campbell enters as the interim with no previous coaching experience. It might only be Week 5 but stick a fork in the ‘Phins, they’re done.

22. Washington (Last week: 29)
If you had told me that through four weeks of the season, Washington would be at .500 and tied for the division lead, I would have laughed at you. That is exactly the position Washington find itself in though with some optimism that this team isn’t as far away from competing as we thought.

23. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 16)
Yeah, so Chip Kelly is looking more and more like an idiot by the week. His seat has to be getting pretty hot as well. Even if you want to put the blame on the players for playing poorly rather than on the coach, you have to remember that Kelly overhauled this roster to get the team he wanted. Not looking too good so far. The Eagles are only one game out of first place in the NFC East though. Stranger things have happened.

24. Houston Texans (Last week: 23)
It goes without saying that the Texans are in free fall. The quarterback position continues to be an issue for the struggling Texans. A loss to the Colts would pretty much end their chances of winning the AFC South.

25. Detroit Lions (Last week: 20)
The Lions were robbed on Monday night in Seattle, just like the Green Bay Packers before them. Once again, the officials blew a major call at the end of the game to cost the road team a win. Unfortunately, that was hardly Detroit’s only chance to win. The defense was outstanding while the offense failed to convert on three takeaways. It might be tough to swallow but Detroit deserves to be 0-4.

26. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 28)
So that’s what the Saints’ offense can do. Drew Brees returned and got a major win in the Bayou. Their chances are still slim but they survive another week. This team is one of the most unpredictable in the league on a week to week basis.

27. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 27)
An off week for Tennessee provides an opportunity to review some film for this very young team. Marcus Mariota is an early front runner for Rookie of the Year and the future seems bright in the Music City.

28. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 25)
Between averaging 289 yards per game on offense, second worst in the NFL, and having the worst scoring offense, San Francisco is in a rut. Something needs to change for this 49er offense. An easier test comes against a middling Giants defense, but San Francisco is not scaring anyone right now.

29. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 26)
They had a chance for overtime when the Chargers missed a last-second game-winning field goal attempt, but naturally the Browns were offsides. Cleveland is one of only two teams to be allowing more than 400 yards per contest defensively. The offense is scoring enough points to get some wins. Mike Pettine has to coach up this defense to get them to at least average before the Browns are challenging anyone.

30. Chicago Bears (Last week: 32)
The Bears won! Chicago narrowly managed to avoid starting 0-4 for the first time since the year 2000. Fun fact: the last time the Bears started 0-3, they got a win over the Oakland Raiders to avoid an 0-4 start. And they say history doesn’t repeat itself.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 30)
That was brutal. No other way to put it than that. It almost doesn’t make sense that Jacksonville lost. They controlled the clock sightly longer than Indy. They out-gained the Colts by 100+ yards. They finished plus two in the turnover battle. Yet the Jags only managed 13 points. That’s just frustrating.

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 31)
Jameis Winston looks every bit the part of raw rookie quarterback. He owns a 54.9 completion percentage and a share of the interception lead in the league. No one expected him to be perfect but he is a long way off from being a franchise quarterback.

What if Chip had stayed at Oregon?

October 4, 2015October 4, 2015 Chris McGlynn Football, NCAA, NFL Chip Kelly, Oregon Ducks, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have been the most scrutinized team in the NFL since Chip Kelly arrived in Philly from the Pacific Northwest. He brought with him a college style of coaching and a new offense that many assumed could not work at the professional level. He has burned more than his fair share of bridges as well with many of his now former players.

For better or worse, Chip has completely changed the landscape of the NFL in his three years as head coach. But what if he had never left? What if Kelly had decided to stay out at Oregon and run his fast-paced offense? That is exactly what we are going to talk about right now.

Well first thing is first, the Eagles need a new coach when Andy Reid is fired following the 2012 season. So Philly brings in current Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer was tabbed by Minnesota in 2014 but because he is still a coordinator in Cincy in 2013, the Eagles snap him up instead.

The team approach for Philly completely changes. Zimmer brings in a defensive presence to an Eagles team that desperately needed it. Philadelphia had ranked tied for 29th in the league in 2012 for scoring defense. Needless to say, Zimmer would look to bring in some fresh faces. Needing a solid defensive end, Philly targets Michael Bennett from the Bengals in offseason and avoids letting Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie walk away.

Michael_Bennett — Bennett won a ring in 2013 with the Seattle Seahawks.

Already the defense looks better and some very important things happen for the Eagles offense. Zimmer never isolates DeSean Jackson so he stays and there is no push a year later for Jeremy Maclin or LeSean McCoy to leave. Todd Herremans and Evan Mathis never feel unwelcome either. Philly keeps together their core together instead.

2013 proves to be an excellent year for Philly as they once again capture the NFC East crown, but this time, Zimmer gets a playoff win against New Orleans, as his defense finds a way to limit Drew Brees on the road. The Eagles travel to Carolina the following week and pick up a big victory against the favored Panthers. Philly runs into a buzz saw in the form of Seattle in the NFC Championship game though and sit at home as the Seahawks blow out the Broncos. Overall though, it is a very positive start to the Zimmer era in Philly.

Meanwhile, in Oregon, the Ducks enter the season as a team with major National Title aspirations again but have a legitimate chance of getting the job done with Kelly at the helm. He and sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota manage to go the whole season with just one loss, a blowout defeat against Arizona. Kelly calling the shots proves to be enough for Oregon to beat Stanford and hold onto their title aspirations much longer. Instead of finishing 10th in the standings, the Ducks finish fifth and earn a spot in the 2014 Rose Bowl in place of Stanford.

Zimmer continue to prepare his team for a very important 2014 campaign though over in Philadelphia. His core of McCoy, Jackson, Maclin and rookie Jordan Matthews pace the offense and make life easy on Nick Foles. The defense, led by Michael Bennett, Trent Cole, Connor Barwin and rookie Bradley Roby, proves to do enough for Philly to make the playoffs in 2014 instead of just missing out. The team moves forward mainly due to avoiding a late season loss to Washington.

The Eagles enter the postseason with a matchup against Dallas on the horizon. The Cowboys split the regular season series with Philly but they lost at home then and they do again here. That mean Philly travels to Seattle for the divisional round and for the second straight year, the Eagles fall against the Seahawks in the playoffs.

Checking back in on the West Coast, Marcus Mariota is tipped to be the Heismann winner with Kelly at the helm. Oregon is coming off a Rose Bowl win and looks to be a lock for the College Football playoff. They finish the season with just one loss for the second consecutive year under Kelly, the loss once again coming against rival Arizona. Mariota bolsters his draft stock in his junior season and takes home the Heismann Trophy by a landslide. Oregon still ends up in the National Title game, still against Ohio State. The game ends a lot closer this time around but still in an Ohio State win.

The 2015 NFL draft rolls around and after his transcendent performance under Kelly at Oregon, Mariota leapfrogs Jameis Winston in the predraft build up. Mariota goes number one overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee is left to take Winston second.

Later on in the first round, selecting after the would’ve this year, the Eagles instead take Arizona State safety Damarious Randall to bolster the secondary then draft the troubled Randy Gregory in the second round. Now, Zimmer has all of the pieces he wants to play with on defense and Philly enters the season as an early season favorite to win the NFC instead of a team with dozens of questions surrounding it.

McCoy never winds up in Buffalo, Maclin never joins Andy Reid in Kansas City. DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews never join during the offseason. Instead, Mathews heads to Tennesee to help the rebuilding Titans. Murray takes his talent (or lack there of) to Baltimore.

Who would’ve thought that the NFL would change this much just because Chip Kelly decided to stay at Oregon.

The Lesser of Two Evils

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 Chris McGlynn EPL, FIFA, Football, MLS, NFL, Soccer Roger Goodell, Sepp Blatter, Who is worse?

Don’t you just hate when people lie to you? Or when people just don’t understand when they have done something wrong? Or when it seems like everything someone does has an ulterior motive that seems to somehow benefit them?

Any of those descriptions could apply to Sepp Blatter or Roger Goodell. Both men run probably the two most powerful sporting organizations in the world. Honestly, two of the most powerful organizations of any kind. According to bloomberg.com, the NFL generates an estimated $9.5 billion per season with a market value of roughly $46 billion between the 32 teams. FIFA generated about $5.7 billion in 2014, according its end-of-year financial report. $4.8 billion came from the World Cup in Brazil, and only about $2.2 billion in expenses. Clearly, both of these organizations are very lucrative.

Then you realize that both of them are registered as non-profit organizations. Yup, that’s right. No taxes for either the NFL or FIFA league offices. Well, the NFL actually recently changed its stance on that. It decided to give up its tax-free ways so it could now hide Goodell’s salary. Go figure they want to be as opaque as possible.

That is definitely frustrating, as a tax-paying citizen, to hear. If that proves to be too much anger for you, stop reading this now, because it gets a whole lot worse.

Debating who is worse of these two clowns is sort of like debating which is worse, Comcast or Time Warner Cable. They both are awful, money-sucking entities with an inability to apply reason to situations that need to be fixed, but somehow, one has to be worse than the other right?

Roger_Goodell — Goodell has been commissioner of the NFL since 2009.

So, we’ve talked about the organizations completely dodging taxes, which is beyond ridiculous. The amount these two men make though is even more absurd. Goodell makes way more than any of his top players make in a given year. His salary was $45 million in 2012 and it took a drop to $34 million in 2013. However, he does not have to worry about his pay for a while. The New York Daily News reports that Goodell received a package that will pay him roughly $300 million over a seven year span starting in 2012. That average of close to $43 million a year is about double what the league’s top players make every year and they risk their bodies for our entertainment. Goodell sits in a cushy chair and just suspends whoever he likes (more on that later).

Sepp_Blatter — Blatter has been the president of FIFA since 1998.

Blatter is not quite as bad as Goodell in terms of his greed for his salary. Different sources conflict on how much Blatter makes. One thinks Blatter makes roughly $1 million annually. Another pegs it somewhere between $5 and $18 million. FIFA does not have to release it’s executives salaries each year. However, the likelihood is that Blatter makes more than just his salary, it just isn’t listed.

FIFA also has a track record for ripping off host countries. Blatter and his organization are exempt from all taxes, local, state and national, when operating in the country for the World Cup. In fact, Brazil estimated $248.7 million in lost revenue following the World Cup just for letting FIFA evade taxes. More often than not, FIFA causes countries to shell out an inordinate amount of money and then actually walk away worse off financially than when FIFA arrived. The funny thing is, that isn’t even close to the worst part about FIFA.

Over the past year or so, FIFA has been rocked by allegations of bribery and corruption. 2015 saw the story break regarding a scheme that FIFA officials organized to generate more than $150 million in kickbacks for themselves. Now Blatter was not one of the officials named in this situation but this is not the first time FIFA has been accused of corruption or accepting bribes. Dating back to 2010, FIFA executives have served bans for violations of ethics codes. With all of this going on in FIFA it is hard to believe that Blatter has not been a part of some of the activity, taking his fair share of bribes.

While he wasn’t named then, things finally seem to have caught up to Blatter. The Swiss Attorney General’s office announced it was launching an investigation “on suspicion of criminal mismanagement…and – alternatively – misappropriation.” The report also mentions that Blatter’s office was searched and data was seized.

Goodell has never been accused of criminal activity, which would definitely go in the win column for him. However, he has grossly mishandled several legal cases with serious repercussions.

For starters, there was Goodell handing Ray Rice only a two-game suspension after he had weeks to review the situation and give an appropriate punishment. Rice punched his then fiancee in the face, knocking her out, then dragged her onto an elevator. The NFL received word of this and then rather than rationally seek outside counsel for a case they were not equipped to handle, brought Rice and his fiancee into the same room together to rehash the situation. That is a principle violation of how to handle assault cases mainly because the accuser is in the same room as the assaulter. More often than not, the accuser will stand down out of fear that if he or she tells the truth, the assaulter will hurt them again.

So there was that. Then there was Goodell mishandling Ray McDonald’s, Adrian Peterson’s and Greg Hardy’s cases as well.

Needless to say, Goodell had a rough 2014 offseason. But then his popularity rating dropped even lower when he picked a fight with Tom Brady and slandered his name despite having no hard evidence. Many people agreed with Goodell’s thinking that Brady was innocent but Goodell once again displayed his dictator-like powers, handing down a four-game suspension (keep in mind he suspended Rice for only two for punching his wife) to Brady on the account that Brady might have been generally aware that someone had tampered with the footballs in the AFC Championship game. Even now after a federal judge ruled the suspension unfair, the NFL continues to drag out the fight, looking to appeal the ruling on the appeal (which is also just stupid that it is allowed).

Right now, these two men are at an all-time low in terms of popularity. However, Goodell might have the slight edge. No NFL sponsors have publicly demanded for Goodell to step down from his post, (although, they probably should have). Meanwhile, Coca-cola just released a statement that Blatter must step down amidst the corruption scandal. It is a long time coming but Coke finally pulled the trigger. No word has come yet from Blatter on what he will do now that this is out in the open.

So while Goodell is an inconsiderate, greedy, sexist and overall incompetent man, he managed to make the NFL lucrative with having to break dozens of laws and fund himself with illegal hidden payments. Blatter has corruption written all over his organization during his tenure, from accepting bribes for World Cup allocations to illegal contracts.

Thankfully, it seems like Blatter is on his way soon between he “resignation” that should hopefully take place in December and a major sponsor turning up the heat. Now if only Nike could finally tell Goodell that he really just needs to take a hike, the world be a much better place.

Oh and just for sheer entertainment value because he fully deserves it:

The Aftermath

When sporting news breaks, we cover the fallout.

Football

Fournette is exposing larger NCAA problem

NFL Power Rankings: Week 6

NFL Power Rankings: Week 5

What if Chip had stayed at Oregon?

The Lesser of Two Evils

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