NFL

Commissionner Goodell speaks on the recent chaos in the NFL

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL, Social Issues

Roger Goodell addressed the media today in a prepared statement regarding the past few weeks of anarchy the NFL has experienced. Goodell was humble and took a large portion of the blame for the mistakes that were made, specifically in the case of Ray Rice. He also addressed many of the steps the NFL has taken so far, including partnering with major domestic violence and sexual assault organizations, and what the NFL still has to do, namely the creation of a public policy committee and the implementation of a new public policy by the Super Bowl. The speech was sincere and Goodell has taken the right steps to correcting this mess but there is still one that he refuses to acknowledge: his resignation as commissioner of the NFL.

Goodell has had his fair share of criticism over the years, from the handling lockout of 2010 to his questionable fines with former linebacker James Harrison to his reinstatement of players with checked pasts (i.e. Michael Vick). Those have all been water under the bridge for the commissioner but yet this time around I don’t think that can be allowed. Roger Goodell absolutely butchered the Ray Rice fiasco. Whether or not he had the infamous video from inside the elevator is inadmissible because he should not have needed it to adequately punish Rice. Not to mention that following the initial two game suspension of Rice, Goodell turned around and suspended the Broncos kicker Matt Prater for twice as long because he had violated the drug policy.

Now, I am not the first one to start calling for Goodell to step down. I believe that started with Kieth Olbermann and was continued this past week as various women’s groups and even some high profile league sponsors including Bud Light and Nike. Yet, Goodell has simply responded and said that he has dealt with criticism before. The most sickening thing so far has been that he has not even contemplated resigning. He made that clear today in his press conference stating that he is more focused on doing his job. That is all well and good if you are proficient at completing said job. And when asked why he thinks he deserves to stay on as commissioner, the first words out of his mouth were, “Because I acknowledged my mistake.” Can someone please tell him that is not how this works? Rice, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson have all acknowledged their mistakes but hell none of them currently are at their jobs. Goodell should not simply be allowed to determine that he is trying to make up for things now so he should just be given a free pass. This man deserves to be punished for his actions as much as the people he has wrongly been evaluating.

So from here, I really hope that the pressure of these sponsors and other outside groups put enough pressure on Goodell to step down or on the league to fire him. Now the only way that Goodell can actually be fired is if the NFL owners agree to do so. However, the sponsors are in a very unique position of threatening to walk away with all of their money, leaving the league without its largest stream of revenue. So is it possible that Goodell is given his walking papers? Possibly. Is it likely? I sure as hell hope so. There is absolutely no reason that Goodell should been in a position of power right now or ever again for that matter after how poorly he has done exercising the power he currently has.

Alright, I rest my case. I hope that somewhere out there, executives of major companies will read this and realize that this cannot go on. And it pains me to write this. I am a huge football fan and I love watching games every Sunday but right now, it sickens me at poorly run the league I love seems to be. Let me know what you think. I would love to hear opinions on this one.

Monday Night Preview: Week 2

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL

We are minutes away from seeing the finale to the second week of the NFL season. The Philadelphia Eagles have gone on the road to play the Indianapolis Colts in the latter’s home opener.

The Colts are looking avoid starting the season 0-2 after falling short to the reigning AFC champions, the Denver Broncos. Indy’s defense struggled early against Denver and Philadelphia has the team that can exploit that. However, the Eagles needed a miraculous second half last week against another AFC South team in the Jacksonville Jaguars. After being down 17-0 in the first half, the Eagles scored 34 unanswered to pull off the stunning comeback. The Eagles offense had a tougher time than expected running the ball and Nick Foles had a tough time playing mistake free.

What this all means for tonight is we are going to see two teams looking to get off to a good start. Look for Chuck Pagano to get Andrew Luck off to an efficient start early against a porous Eagles secondary. On the opposite side of the ball, look for the Colts to blitz Foles, challenging him to beat them under pressure with a banged up offensive line.

For the Eagles, expect a lot the play to go through their two speedy (shady) running backs. LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles will be a handful. Also, expect them to get the ball of Foles’ hands quickly with that hurting offensive line. Defensively, the Eagles are going to get creative with their schemes and blitzes trying to confusing Andrew Luck. They know they can bottle up Trent Richardson and that Indy running game.

Expectation: Andrew Luck gets hot late as he always does and proves to be too much for the Eagles secondary. The Eagles try to go too fast a little too often and find that one or two mistakes will kill them. The Colts win in a shootout 34-28.

How hard is it to repeat?

Chris McGlynn Baseball, Football, MLB, NFL, Soccer, World Cup

The soccer gods really have it out for Spain. They have just become the first defending World Cup champion to be eliminated after the first two matches of group play. Spain and a good part of the world I believe were shocked by the sudden fall of the Spanish national team that was so dominant four years ago. It was not gradual either. Spain entered this tournament still maintaining the number one rank in the world. Suddenly, they have dropped two games by a combined score of seven to one. They were simply blown out of the water by Holland and Chile and it truly looks as if an era has ended for Spain. Andres Iniesta will not be returning, neither will Fernando Torres, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Xavi Alonso nor David Villa. This team is going to most likely be decimated.

However, this is not unheard of in international soccer anymore. At three of the last four World Cups, including this one, the defending champion has failed to make it out of group play. France, Italy and now Spain have all failed to return to the same form they were in during the previous championship campaign. It is shocking how quickly teams can fall apart.

Believe it or not, over the same time frame (twelve years) the NFL has seen similar problems. Of the twelve Super Bowl winners, starting with the 2001 New England Patriots all the way to the 2013 Baltimore Ravens, only six of those twelve teams even made it back to the playoffs the next year. Additionally, only the Patriots won back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004. Those six unsuccessful teams fell apart over the course of less than a year and failed to even make it back for a shot at another championship.

Baseball has a very similar story. From the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks to the 2012 San Francisco Giants, only six of those twelve teams have made it back to the postseason the following year. None of them have repeated as champions. Again, only half of the teams who win a championship one year even make it back to the playoffs the next year. Baseball only has 10 of its team making the playoffs, the fewest of any major sport, making it even harder to make it back to the playoffs the following season.

I was surprised to see this trend across more than one sport. A lot of the issues with repeating as champions can be traced to lack of desire or drive. That edge you have when seeking that championship the first time around fades often times going into the next campaign as teams become complacent and rest on their laurels. Another key aspect is players looking for more money. This happens more in the NFL and MLB than in international soccer. Players who have a successful run in the playoffs look for more money and often become unaffordable.

This doesn’t completely explain the ass-kicking Spain got in the first two games but it certainly helps to identify where the issues may have started. Let me know your theories as to why the Spanish fell so far so fast.

Contract of the future?

Chris McGlynn Football, Free Agency, NFL

This past Wednesday, Colin Kaepernick signed a six-year $126 million contract extension, including $61 million of guaranteed cash. What…The…Hell…? This was a shock to me. Colin Kaepernick is one of the most mobile and running oriented quarterback in the league not named Robert Griffin III. He is always at risk to tear up his knee from one crushing hit. And the 49ers are going to be paying him $10 million per year. The 49ers were smart and structured the contract to be easy to get out of every year but I am at a loss to understand the logic behind this deal.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Kaepernick is a great young quarterback with a ton of potential. And the 49ers aren’t making this deal on potential alone. Kaepernick has led his team to the Super Bowl and the NFC Title game during his last two seasons. I still don’t think I have seen enough that I would sign him to a contract with more guaranteed money that anyone in the league, including Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

Moreover, Kaepernick will now head into this season as the sixth highest paid player in league for 2014. The only players in front of him are Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. Four of those guys have a Super Bowl ring. Matt Ryan has led his team to the playoffs four separate times and has over 150 career touchdowns. The guy after Kaepernick is the league’s best wide receiver Calvin Johnson. I just don’t think he fits with these names yet. Heck, Kaepernick isn’t even the best quarterback in his division (see Wilson, Russell).

Potentially the most interesting thing about Kaepernick’s contract is the way it is structured. San Francisco pretty much created an escape route for themselves if things go south with Kaepernick. It makes me wonder if this is something we will see more of in the future. Will teams look to cover themselves by avoid true long-term deals and simply look to create incentive-based contracts instead. It allows them to review players on a year-to-year basis and if the player continually shows they are worth the money, then they will be guaranteed it for the next year. I don’t see this being something many players will be looking to sign but it is a smart move by the 49ers for the way it is structured.

I think this was a great idea for the 49ers, just not the right player to give it to. Maybe if we were sitting here this time next year and Colin Kaepernick had just made it two his third consecutive NFC Title game then I would be a little less hesitant about this but truthfully Kaepernick has played one full season in the NFL and now he getting paid like a future Hall of Famer. He has no MVP awards, no Super Bowl rings, he hasn’t even throw for 25 touchdowns in one season.  I just don’t think he is worth being paid as the sixth best football player in the league.

That’s just my take on it. Let me know what you think.

NFL D-League coming to light

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL

So today was the first time that I had ever heard any rumors that the NFL was considering starting up a developmental or minor league. Now the idea seems crazy no matter what way you spin it. It would be interesting to see it work out nicely and fill a similar role to what minor league baseball does. However, I don’t think that is the case. There are a couple of gaping flaws in the advent of minor league football.

First thing is first. The NFL is all about money. That right there will likely turn them away from the deal. Unless the league suddenly decides to sacrifice money for the development of the game, (not to say it is impossible and that there are not efforts to make the game safer) there is no way a minor league will pop up. I don’t foresee this as a huge attention grabber. It is hard enough to get fans in different cities with a professional team to go see games (ex: Jacksonville and Miami). It will be that much harder to sell cities on going to see a lower level of play. Not to mention you have to find stadiums for these teams to play at. Maybe you can work out deals with small colleges or larger high schools to use them over the summer but once again that is more money spent.

The other major issue I find with this idea is the effect it would have on the college game. NCAA football has a massive following and for the most part a well structured business model. I only see this minor league hurting college football. It would give the players the option to walk away from college even earlier and join the NFL. That really benefits no one as more players would be leaving without a degree. The average NFL career lasts is debated but is likely somewhere around 5 years. After those five years are up…then what? These kids won’t have a degree to fall back on and then they are out in the real world without much they can do to sustain themselves.

Then there is the aspect of the college game. College players cannot get paid when they are at their respective universities but they would be paid to play in an NFL D-league. With such push to get paid as college athletes, many of these kids could take the easy way out and just go to the D-league where they are guaranteed pay. That decreases the talent pool in college football and heavily takes away from development in my opinion. These kids can learn a lot by playing in college. They learn schemes and coverages and how to read the two as well. The coaches in the college game are top notch and I don’t see too many of them leaving to go coach in a second tier professional league. That being said, who would be the ones teaching these kids at the minor league level? And would they really be learning any more at that point than they would playing in college? I just don’t see this as being a way to teach players.

The last thing I want to touch upon is player safety. The NFL has been fighting to get more games into the schedule while the NFLPA has been pushing back in support of better player safety. I see this becoming another fight between the two sides. Playing in minor league games during the off-season would inevitably lead to more injuries. That is not what the NFLPA is looking for and it is not what players are looking for. They don’t want to run the risk of injuring themselves during a preseason game much less a minor league game. I think you will have a tough time promoting player safety if this league comes to fruition.

Now, this is all just my initial take on this. There could be development in the coming months that would offer a much better outline for a NFL D-league. They were mildly successful once with the creation of NFL Europe. It is possible they could do it again. But under the current circumstances and how I foresee this playing out, I do not like the idea.