Well, I was planning on writing a little something a bit earlier on this, but then the Broncos went out and kept making moves that changed things for me. So, here's my take on things for the Broncos.
Firstly, some of my students were asking me what I thought the Broncos should do in the draft. I thought, for not very long, and decided that I thought they needed the largest, strongest, ugliest NT available in the draft to drop right in the middle of that 3-4 defense. Then, the Broncos went out and signed Jamal Williams. Okay, fine, so they fixed that up. So we don't need to get one of those anymore.
Secondly, I think everybody is in agreement that Kyle Orton is not really going to be a long term solution for anybody. So I'm hearing lots of talk about the Broncos going to Colt McCoy, so I'm reading up on it and trying to figure out all the dish on McCoy. Then the Broncos go and trade for Brady Quinn, and barely give up anything. Peyton Hillis, who really didn't contribute (and wasn't really given a chance to contribute) to the team last year, a 6th round draft pick in 2011, and a conditional 2012 draft pick. I mean, scraps. Okay, Brady Quinn may not be better than he was in Cleveland, but you have to give him a bit of the benefit of the doubt considering that he was in Cleveland for crying out loud. Nothing was going right there for anybody. So I'm willing to give him a bit of a chance.
So what do we need now? Well, the defense still needs improvement. Okay, most people seem to believe that the Broncos are going to go with Rolando McClain, Alabama's very talented ILB, which would make sense in solidifying our 3-4 defense. But we are also going to need a top level WR to replace Brandon Marshall, since he is pretty much all but gone. Even if no team picks him up, I don't see him suiting up for the Broncos again, given all of the clashes that he had with McD. I think he'd rather sit out than play for McD again. But we'll see. So possibly the Broncos will go for Dez Bryant from Oklahoma St. A Marshall size WR that can hopefully do the same sorts of things without all of the drama.
Good work by the Broncos in the free agency pool. Have addressed a lot of their needs. If they can find a decent LB in the time leading up to the draft, they may do even better, and then we can focus on getting a strong WR in the draft, or vice versa. They do still need a lot more work.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
NHL Headshots
Ok, I have to say that I am getting a little tired of this subject being brought up week after week after week. Not because I want people to accept the fact that head shots are a part of the game, because they aren't. Just as Don Cherry has said over and over, there is a fundamental lack of respect for the health and well-being of the other players on the ice that wasn't this bad back in the rough and tumble 70s and 80s!
What I want to know is how much of this is enough to make the league take action? I mean, this problem has gone back for a while. Marty McSorely , Todd Bertuzzi, Chris Simon. And now we have even more, it seems like every single week! Just now we have another one where Marc Savard ends up getting carted off on a stretcher. . Worst part of this is that there wasn't even a penalty called on this play. How can we possibly have that happen here?!
Suspensions are only a part of what needs to happen with this sort of hit. This sort of hit has no place in the game! I am totally with Don Cherry with his explanation of why things have gone downhill with this. With the fight instigator penalty in play, it makes it impossible for any type of policing. If you knew that you had to fight the other team's biggest and toughest guy if you took a cheap shot on one of these players, would you really do it? Probably not! But now, with the fight instigator penalty, that makes this impossible, because if the tough guy comes after the other guy, they get the fighting major, and extra 2 minutes, and a game misconduct. That changes the game.
So what is there to do? Outrage of this will only do so much. We can all sit back and say that these are gutless cheap shots that have no place in the game until the end of time, but that isn't going to stop it from happening. 5 game suspensions won't stop this from happening. When will the NHL, and Colin Campbell specifically, take a stand and do more than just say that this has to stop. We can get rid of the fight instigator penalty, and allow players to police each other again. Ban those types of hits entirely and impose HEAVY suspensions on players that make this kind of hit, with the potential of lifetime bans on players who are repeat offenders. This is one of the only ways that I can think of to stop this from happening. If the respect for the other player's health isn't there, at least they may be stopped with concern for their own career. That way, they would have nobody to blame but themselves once they are taken out of the league.
The bottom line in all of this is that every time things like this happen, it puts the NHL in the news for the wrong reason, and people are more turned off from what is an amazing game because of the actions of a few thugs who can't control themselves. We all need to work together to get this sort of thing out of the game. Come on Colin Campbell, Gary Bettman, you're the people who set the standards. DO MORE THAN JUST TALK!!!
What I want to know is how much of this is enough to make the league take action? I mean, this problem has gone back for a while. Marty McSorely , Todd Bertuzzi, Chris Simon. And now we have even more, it seems like every single week! Just now we have another one where Marc Savard ends up getting carted off on a stretcher. . Worst part of this is that there wasn't even a penalty called on this play. How can we possibly have that happen here?!
Suspensions are only a part of what needs to happen with this sort of hit. This sort of hit has no place in the game! I am totally with Don Cherry with his explanation of why things have gone downhill with this. With the fight instigator penalty in play, it makes it impossible for any type of policing. If you knew that you had to fight the other team's biggest and toughest guy if you took a cheap shot on one of these players, would you really do it? Probably not! But now, with the fight instigator penalty, that makes this impossible, because if the tough guy comes after the other guy, they get the fighting major, and extra 2 minutes, and a game misconduct. That changes the game.
So what is there to do? Outrage of this will only do so much. We can all sit back and say that these are gutless cheap shots that have no place in the game until the end of time, but that isn't going to stop it from happening. 5 game suspensions won't stop this from happening. When will the NHL, and Colin Campbell specifically, take a stand and do more than just say that this has to stop. We can get rid of the fight instigator penalty, and allow players to police each other again. Ban those types of hits entirely and impose HEAVY suspensions on players that make this kind of hit, with the potential of lifetime bans on players who are repeat offenders. This is one of the only ways that I can think of to stop this from happening. If the respect for the other player's health isn't there, at least they may be stopped with concern for their own career. That way, they would have nobody to blame but themselves once they are taken out of the league.
The bottom line in all of this is that every time things like this happen, it puts the NHL in the news for the wrong reason, and people are more turned off from what is an amazing game because of the actions of a few thugs who can't control themselves. We all need to work together to get this sort of thing out of the game. Come on Colin Campbell, Gary Bettman, you're the people who set the standards. DO MORE THAN JUST TALK!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Free Agency!
Day or so late, I realize, but it's all good. It is free agency time in the NFL, with a special new twist to go along with it! There isn't going to be a salary cap to stop teams from trying to buy everybody they possibly can! This could be interesting.
Now, we have seen from a few teams, most recently the Washington Redskins, the danger in spending too much on free agency. Yeah, you get Albert Haynesworth, thought to be the most dominant DT and that he would remain this dominant for about another 8-10 years, but then he gets a smoking hot 100 million dollar contract. It's weird, but look at his production the next year, way down. Yes, injury didn't help him, but still. What is it with NFL players not putting out their best effort once they get paid?
Anywho, we'll get to see how Julius Peppers handles this now that he has landed with Da Bears! That is a great get for the Bears, though I don't anticipate that Peppers will be playing all 6 years of that contract that he got.
The Lions seem to have gone nutty over another wide receiver, but not because they drafted this one. They gave Nate Burleson, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks a 5 year, $25 Million contract, with $11 Million in guaranteed money, to a guy who had 63 catches last year. That seem excessive to anybody else? I mean, yeah, he was on the lowly Seahawks, but who's to say that the lowly Lions will get him any more catches than that?
The Ravens nailed down Anquan Boldin in an amazing trade. They got Boldin and a 5th round pick in exchange for a 3rd and 4th round draft pick this year. I bet Flacco had to change his pants after he heard that news. Now the Ravens definitely have a legit passing threat.
Questions still remaining. Where will Brandon Marshall land? What over aged player will take a pay cut to try and go to the Pats? Will the Saints really let their ball hawk Sharper get away? Will Brett Favre retire, force the Vikes to find another solution, and then try and unretire again? Who's going to decide that they can make TO a team player this time? All these questions, AND MORE, still to be decided!
Now, we have seen from a few teams, most recently the Washington Redskins, the danger in spending too much on free agency. Yeah, you get Albert Haynesworth, thought to be the most dominant DT and that he would remain this dominant for about another 8-10 years, but then he gets a smoking hot 100 million dollar contract. It's weird, but look at his production the next year, way down. Yes, injury didn't help him, but still. What is it with NFL players not putting out their best effort once they get paid?
Anywho, we'll get to see how Julius Peppers handles this now that he has landed with Da Bears! That is a great get for the Bears, though I don't anticipate that Peppers will be playing all 6 years of that contract that he got.
The Lions seem to have gone nutty over another wide receiver, but not because they drafted this one. They gave Nate Burleson, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks a 5 year, $25 Million contract, with $11 Million in guaranteed money, to a guy who had 63 catches last year. That seem excessive to anybody else? I mean, yeah, he was on the lowly Seahawks, but who's to say that the lowly Lions will get him any more catches than that?
The Ravens nailed down Anquan Boldin in an amazing trade. They got Boldin and a 5th round pick in exchange for a 3rd and 4th round draft pick this year. I bet Flacco had to change his pants after he heard that news. Now the Ravens definitely have a legit passing threat.
Questions still remaining. Where will Brandon Marshall land? What over aged player will take a pay cut to try and go to the Pats? Will the Saints really let their ball hawk Sharper get away? Will Brett Favre retire, force the Vikes to find another solution, and then try and unretire again? Who's going to decide that they can make TO a team player this time? All these questions, AND MORE, still to be decided!
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