My posts have been sporadic lately, but I had to get this in before kickoff to lend it any credibility.
Really, this post consists of a single question aimed at a single group.
To those who have been saying:
Yeah, I think the Chiefs are probably an 8 or 9 win team.
Not "if everything goes right and Denver and Oakland are wretched and Philip Rivers gets hurt".
Not "best case scenario".
But with a matter-of-fact tone that suggests a sentiment of, "Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm making a statement with a reasonable level of confidence."
My question is this:
What the hell have you seen that makes you think it is likely that this team will win half its games?
Todd Haley is still a pompous prick who sounds constipated when he talks inanely about guys "caring" and "buying in".
Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis are nothing special; they are simply reputations created as underlings in New England.
Though Eric Berry can't hurt, our defensive front is the same one that allowed a Cleveland Browns journeyman to run for almost 300 years last year.
And last I checked, Matt Cassel was our quarterback.
Enlighten me - what the hell have you seen that suggests doubling last year's win total? I would even have accepted a preseason performance as evidence at this point...but there's not one to point to.
I really hope I'm wrong.
Posted at 8:13pm, FWIW.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super Bowl Thoughts
-The onside kick to begin the 2nd half will likely be the ballsiest thing you'll ever see in a Super Bowl.
-Everyone praised the onside kick because it worked out for the Saints. They would have called it the stupidest thing you'll ever see in a Super Bowl if the Colts recovered.
-Peyton Manning is by far the most valuable player in the NFL. He is the only reason the Colts were in the Super Bowl. There is not a single playmaker on that offense, yet he makes Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne into Pro Bowlers. The Colts are an 8-win team with, say, Carson Palmer or Eli Manning. With Peyton, they've won at least 12 games SEVEN YEARS in a row.
-Somewhat related to this fact above: if you watched even a little sports coverage in the week preceding the game, you'll hear former NFL players-turned-analysts talk about how Peyton Manning can't be considered the greatest quarterback of all time unless he wins this Super Bowl. How Drew Brees is a very good QB, but becomes an ELITE QB if he wins this game.
It's all about championships for a quarterback.
This one game will determine his legacy.
This argument is STUPID. By this rationale, Trent Dilfer > Dan Marino. (And yes, Dilfer is one of the people making the argument.)
There is no other sport in which a player is more dependent on his teammates. I liken the Colts to the early Broncos teams led by John Elway. Now we can look back and say the Broncos really had no business even being in the three Super Bowls they lost--that Elway incalculably elevated those teams--but that wasn't what people said at the time. The rub? John Elway was no Joe Montana because he didn't win championships.
Let's get real here: Joe Montana was good, but he couldn't hold Elway's jock.
Of course, the whole "Elway can't win the big one" argument has been resolved because the Broncos won a couple championships at the end of Elway's career...but what if Terrell Davis and the rest of the team weren't there? How would we think of Elway today if they didn't win those games?
-I thought the Who had a good showing, which contrasts with a lot of stuff I've seen. I thought they sounded good and looked good. There's never a really good way to do 12 minutes of music when you have the back catalog of the Who, and I'm sure CBS contractually obligated them to play "Won't Get Fooled Again". Still, at age 65, Daltrey has lost only the top end of his range, and Townshend still windmills. They didn't take a single song down a half- (or full-) octave like most musicians fifteen years younger tend to do.
-The commercials, yet again, were meh. I think they've simply run out of ways to surprise us, shock us, or wow us visually.
-Everyone praised the onside kick because it worked out for the Saints. They would have called it the stupidest thing you'll ever see in a Super Bowl if the Colts recovered.
-Peyton Manning is by far the most valuable player in the NFL. He is the only reason the Colts were in the Super Bowl. There is not a single playmaker on that offense, yet he makes Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne into Pro Bowlers. The Colts are an 8-win team with, say, Carson Palmer or Eli Manning. With Peyton, they've won at least 12 games SEVEN YEARS in a row.
-Somewhat related to this fact above: if you watched even a little sports coverage in the week preceding the game, you'll hear former NFL players-turned-analysts talk about how Peyton Manning can't be considered the greatest quarterback of all time unless he wins this Super Bowl. How Drew Brees is a very good QB, but becomes an ELITE QB if he wins this game.
It's all about championships for a quarterback.
This one game will determine his legacy.
This argument is STUPID. By this rationale, Trent Dilfer > Dan Marino. (And yes, Dilfer is one of the people making the argument.)
There is no other sport in which a player is more dependent on his teammates. I liken the Colts to the early Broncos teams led by John Elway. Now we can look back and say the Broncos really had no business even being in the three Super Bowls they lost--that Elway incalculably elevated those teams--but that wasn't what people said at the time. The rub? John Elway was no Joe Montana because he didn't win championships.
Let's get real here: Joe Montana was good, but he couldn't hold Elway's jock.
Of course, the whole "Elway can't win the big one" argument has been resolved because the Broncos won a couple championships at the end of Elway's career...but what if Terrell Davis and the rest of the team weren't there? How would we think of Elway today if they didn't win those games?
-I thought the Who had a good showing, which contrasts with a lot of stuff I've seen. I thought they sounded good and looked good. There's never a really good way to do 12 minutes of music when you have the back catalog of the Who, and I'm sure CBS contractually obligated them to play "Won't Get Fooled Again". Still, at age 65, Daltrey has lost only the top end of his range, and Townshend still windmills. They didn't take a single song down a half- (or full-) octave like most musicians fifteen years younger tend to do.
-The commercials, yet again, were meh. I think they've simply run out of ways to surprise us, shock us, or wow us visually.
Friday, January 8, 2010
National Championship Game Thoughts
1. Texas wins last night with Colt McCoy. Look, the 18-year-old kid who replaced him did the best he could. But his nerves were painfully obvious. Almost every ball he threw was either way too hard (dude, he’s 20 feet away…you might want to take a little off) or right into the turf (squeezing the ball too hard leads to holding it a bit too long which causes the nose of the ball to head right for the ground). I’m not blaming him at all. I can’t imagine being in that situation unexpectedly a mere 8 months after leaving HIGH SCHOOL.
Despite all that, he had a real chance to tie or go ahead with a successful drive in the last two minutes. Hell, merely subtracting the ill-advised shovel pass at the end of the first half makes this a completely different game.
2. Alabama isn’t dominant. (I’m not saying Texas is.) Their quarterback isn’t good. Their running game certainly is, but once a defense keys in on that it can be contained. And Texas’ offense still moved the ball on Alabama’s overrated defense with an 18-year-old freshman misfiring most of the game. There just wasn’t a dominant team in college football this year…and strangely, there were 5 undefeated teams.
3. I changed channels at halftime, figuring the game was over. I checked back late in the 3rd quarter. The game was definitely not over.
4. Alabama punching in another TD with less than a minute was a punk move. They could have just kneeled on the ball and gone home. Stuff like that can end up getting your players hurt.
5. Does anyone seriously think that Boise State and TCU couldn’t hang with either of these teams?
Despite all that, he had a real chance to tie or go ahead with a successful drive in the last two minutes. Hell, merely subtracting the ill-advised shovel pass at the end of the first half makes this a completely different game.
2. Alabama isn’t dominant. (I’m not saying Texas is.) Their quarterback isn’t good. Their running game certainly is, but once a defense keys in on that it can be contained. And Texas’ offense still moved the ball on Alabama’s overrated defense with an 18-year-old freshman misfiring most of the game. There just wasn’t a dominant team in college football this year…and strangely, there were 5 undefeated teams.
3. I changed channels at halftime, figuring the game was over. I checked back late in the 3rd quarter. The game was definitely not over.
4. Alabama punching in another TD with less than a minute was a punk move. They could have just kneeled on the ball and gone home. Stuff like that can end up getting your players hurt.
5. Does anyone seriously think that Boise State and TCU couldn’t hang with either of these teams?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Random Sports Note - Football
-Why does every new young coach in the NFL feel compelled to act like he’s a hardass? They have to instill a “culture”, make an example of the standout players on the team, and generally just get into a pissing match every chance they get. It’s stupid.
I hear the Kevin Kietzmans of the world talk about how much they love that Chiefs coach Todd Haley is a disciplinarian and doesn’t put up with anything. Why is that impressive? Alienating your best players is a horrible way to motivate them long-term. They don’t respect the coach more because he takes their parking spots away or cusses at them all the time.
Even more annoying is that I hear the talking heads on ESPN swear up and down that every team’s woes are due to a lack of a winning culture in this clubhouse, or this other team has heart and that’s why they’re successful.
Bull.
Shit.
Teams win because they are more talented. Teams win because their coaches have figured out where there is a talent mismatch and go on to exploit it (or compensate for it).
You ever wonder why every NFL-player-turned-analyst never talks about talent?
Why the result of every game, nay, every PLAY is the result of something intangible?
Why it’s always heart and “never giving up” and “wanting it more” that win games?
Because professional athletes THINK THEY ARE BETTER PEOPLE THAN YOU ARE.
Their egos will not allow them to admit that they made it to the NFL because they were simply born with more talent, size, and athleticism. No, it had to be their superhuman drive to be the best. It had to be their work ethic and attitude. You know, something they can attribute to themselves and their own inner greatness. Seriously – listen to any one of these guys and tell me they aren’t utterly convinced of this.
I hear the Kevin Kietzmans of the world talk about how much they love that Chiefs coach Todd Haley is a disciplinarian and doesn’t put up with anything. Why is that impressive? Alienating your best players is a horrible way to motivate them long-term. They don’t respect the coach more because he takes their parking spots away or cusses at them all the time.
Even more annoying is that I hear the talking heads on ESPN swear up and down that every team’s woes are due to a lack of a winning culture in this clubhouse, or this other team has heart and that’s why they’re successful.
Bull.
Shit.
Teams win because they are more talented. Teams win because their coaches have figured out where there is a talent mismatch and go on to exploit it (or compensate for it).
You ever wonder why every NFL-player-turned-analyst never talks about talent?
Why the result of every game, nay, every PLAY is the result of something intangible?
Why it’s always heart and “never giving up” and “wanting it more” that win games?
Because professional athletes THINK THEY ARE BETTER PEOPLE THAN YOU ARE.
Their egos will not allow them to admit that they made it to the NFL because they were simply born with more talent, size, and athleticism. No, it had to be their superhuman drive to be the best. It had to be their work ethic and attitude. You know, something they can attribute to themselves and their own inner greatness. Seriously – listen to any one of these guys and tell me they aren’t utterly convinced of this.
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