This past Saturday night we saw what was surely one of the best games of the NBA regular season thus far. The Oklahoma City Thunder led the Golden State Warriors for pretty much the entire night until Stephen Curry hit an unbelievable three pointer in the waning seconds of overtime to win the game for Golden State. There were multiple storylines that surrounded the game, and while Curry's incredible shot to win the game was clearly at the top of the list, I think there are a few other storylines worth mentioning.
The first of those is something that I think has been more and more noticeable as the past few seasons have progressed, but for one reason or another, I think has been downplayed. When LeBron James came into the league with all of the fanfare that surrounded him, the spotlight shined bright on him, and all of his successes and failures, no matter how big or small, were highlighted. And for the point right now, his failures were well documented and picked apart with a microscope. After he won two titles, the burden has surely lessened, but people still look at his failures and put more weight into them than all of the success he has had. Whether fair or unfair, it is simply the truth. However, one of the parts of this past Saturday's game that has been overlooked is that Kevin Durant seems to be the "new LeBron" as far as coming up short when it matters most.
When the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, it was seen as a long overdue coronation of James. People looked at Oklahoma City and thought they would have plenty of time to reach the mountain top in the future. However, that has not happened yet. Injuries to Durant and teammate Russell Westbrook have certainly played a part in it not happening yet, but I think we need to face the fact that in the biggest moments, Durant has not yet delivered what every NBA superstar covets, and that is a championship win. Down the stretch of the game this past Saturday, we saw more of the same. Durant played a great game, but he also made some crucial errors.
Trapped in the corner after taking an inbounds pass, Durant threw a terrible cross court ball that was intercepted and eventually allowed Golden State to tie the game and send it into overtime. Then, he followed that up by fouling out. The foul may have been a cheap one, but when you are a superstar, you simply cannot foul out of a big game like that, and he did. I don't want to dwell on Durant anymore, because I like him, but I think people need to at least realize the fact that he has still not delivered on the biggest of stages, and if they want to rip LeBron to shreds over each and every failure to deliver, then I think they need to be fair and do the same with Durant, because they are both superstars.
What really made me want to write this piece though, was the immediate reaction of people to a halftime tirade by Draymond Green. Green went off in the locker room at halftime about some sort of disrespect that he felt about his mistakes being highlighted. Supposedly, head coach Steve Kerr was the one who set Green off, but no matter the original cause, Green's tirade was magnified by many reporters. My response to those who magnified his actions to the degree that he had to publicly apologize is this: Really?
Professional athletes are a different breed. Whether it be basketball, football, hockey, baseball, or any other sport, you cannot deny the fact that these guys are wired differently than other people. They are driven by an attitude that has given them the opportunity to be in their position. They find motivation in the smallest of slights, whether it be personal or professional. That is what makes the cream of the crop exactly that. Michael Jordan is known for his ability to take the simplest thing and turn it into an unbelievably motivating factor, and he is praised for doing so. Pro athletes understand that, and what is even more important, is that they respect and appreciate that. So there is a reason that Green's tirade is being viewed by his teammates in a manner that is in stark contrast to how it is being viewed in the public eye.
To outsiders, Green may been seen as a selfish individual who was wrong in criticizing his coaches and teammates. But in the place that really matters, the locker room, I am willing to bet that his coaches and teammates have zero problem at all with what he did. Green wasn't disrespecting his team. He was motivating them, even if he didn't know it at the time. What he did showed the people in the locker room that he really does care about wins and losses, and too often it seems like there are players who do not truly care about that. So how did the media respond to what Green did? They blew it out of proportion. How did his team respond? They went out on the court and won the game. In my mind, that is what should be the focus here. When it comes to issues off of the court, that is when teams may need to worry. However, this was not an off-court issue. This was only about what was happening on the court, and therefore, what Green did was only being done with the best interest of the team in mind, no matter what people outside that locker room might say.
There is a reason that great teams and great players are great, and their attitude about the game is key in helping them reach such a level. Draymond Green is a very good player on a team that has the potential to become one of the greatest ever. And what Saturday night showed me was that not only can Stephen Curry shoot the three as well as anyone we have ever seen, but he is surrounded by teammates that truly care about the team. A public apology may have been necessary to quell the media uproar about Green, but I can assure you that no apology was needed in that locker room, and at the end of the day, for a professional athlete, the feelings in his locker room are the only ones that really need to matter.
Daily NBA Update: As I said, the Warriors beat the Thunder in an unbelievable game, and they now sit at 53-5. They aren't there yet, but they continue to climb the ladder ad are getting closer and closer each and every night to the peak of NBA regular season history.
Daily Rangers Update: The team acquired Eric Staal in a trade with the struggling Carolina Hurricanes in what is clearly a win-now move. The Rangers are tied 1-1 in the third period right now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and this is a game they should win. Hopefully, it ends that way.
Daily Giants Update: Nothing really new to report here, as the Giants, just like every other team in the league, is scouting the incoming draft class at the combine. Jerry Reese cannot afford to miss on another first round pick, so hopefully whoever it is the team ends up drafting turns into a key contributor during the 2016 season.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The team signed Rickie Weeks to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, so there is now officially a logjam in the middle infield. Second base and shortstop are probably the two biggest questions that need to be answered, and the Diamondbacks have a number of options to choose from. However, the problem is are any of those options really good ones? The games start soon, so all we can do is watch and hope that someone separates himself from the pack so we can go into Opening Day with a strong roster from top to bottom.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
RG Free
As is the case during every NFL offseason, big names hit the free agent market. There are numerous reasons for such, but guys like Marques Colston, Antonio Cormartie, Eric Berry, Olivier Vernon, and Eric Weddle (among many others) are big name players who will likely be available. Age, skill set, position, and many other factors will play a part in where those guys land, but if you follow the NFL, you will be interested in what teams they end up playing for. However, now that his tenure in Washington is officially over, the biggest name on the market is now probably Robert Griffin III.
I know that technically Von Miller, Josh Norman, and Muhammad Wilkerson are potentially free agents, but for the sake of this piece, I am going to assume that they are re-signed by their current teams. If somehow that does not happen, then shame on either the Broncos, Panthers, or Jets, but as of right now, I do not see any of those guys moving. So right now, the focus shifts to Griffin.
RG3 set the league on fire as a rookie, and when I saw him play the Giants twice that year, I was thoroughly impressed. He could throw, and he could definitely run, and when he won Rookie of the Year, it was obvious that I was not the only one impressed by what he was doing. What I also saw was a type of offense that I had rarely seen in the NFL. He was often times running plays out of the shotgun and pistol formation that were atypical of the NFL. There were multiple guys in the backfield behind and along side him, but the system seemed tailored to him perfectly. Mike Shanahan was his head coach and Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator, and I was really impressed by how a coach like Shanahan, with an old school mentality, was able to build an offensive scheme that fit such a new school type of quarterback. Great coaches are able to adapt to the players they have, and Shanahan had done just that. However, when the Redskins moved on from Shanahan and hired Jay Gruden as their head coach, all of that changed.
Griffin had always been a threat when he ran with the ball, but it seemed like he had the talent to throw the ball from the pocket as well. And despite the success he had as a rookie, it has been proven time and time again that in order for a quarterback to reach the highest level in the NFL, he needs to be able to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball. As a rookie, Griffin had shown flashes of potential to be able to do that, but he had not come close to mastering the craft, and that is where his deficiencies were highlighted once Washington hired Jay Gruden. Gruden came in with a system that emphasized pocket passing, and Griffin regressed. There were too many times that he held on to the ball too often, and when he did run with the ball, he was taking too many hits. Eventually he was injured, and replaced by Kirk Cousins. After that, it only got worse and worse for Griffin, until he spent all of last season on the bench as Cousins became entrenched as Washington's quarterback. So then, Griffin became expendable.
The writing had been on the wall for a while, but now RG3 is officially open for business. At 26 years of age, he is now free to sign with anyone that is willing to make him an offer. In my opinion, a starting quarterback is the most important position in all of professional sports, and despite his recent disappointments, I think that Griffin still has a chance to blossom into at least a serviceable NFL quarterback. There are a few quarterbacks likely to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming draft. I am not sure that any of them will be future superstars, but scouts know far more than I do, and teams will surely spend their first round picks on more than one of them.
In the NFL we know today, first round quarterbacks are usually thrown right into the fire. Blake Bortles, Andrew Luck, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston. None of them sat and learned as backups during their rookie seasons, and that is likely to be the case this year as well. Any team that selects guys like Paxton Lynch, Carson Wentz, or Christian Hackenberg will probably put them on the field Week One. So that is why it is tough to find a place that RG3 might land and have a chance to start immediately.
As I survey the league, there are really a limited number of places that I can see Griffin landing with a chance to be on the field when the 2016 season opens. The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback, but with a top pick and a dreadful history at the position, I do not see that as a likely landing spot for Griffin. Other than that, I really only see the Texans and Rams as teams that will have open competitions at the position going into next season, so maybe Griffin should look there. Aside from that, I think Griffin just needs to accept the fact that despite an unbelievable rookie season, he may need to sign somewhere as a backup and once again prove his worth.
There is no question that Griffin has some of the skills needed to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. His combination of arm strength and mobility is excellent. However, those talents alone do not guarantee success at the highest level. Griffin showed last season that he could be content being a backup, and I think he might need to show the same level of patience this year as well. However, because he is still so young and because he has displayed so much talent in the past, I think that he is surely worth a shot for any team in need of a quarterback. He will not cost much as a discarded QB in free agency, but I think that any team willing to take a shot on any of the top quarterbacks in this draft class are just as likely to hit gold on one of them as they are on a still young and incomplete, but potentially terrific Robert Griffin III.
Daily Giants Update: Just like I said yesterday, the Giants need to get rid of Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz. The combine just started, so it is time to start finding replacements for them.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers lost to the Devils last night, so that is obviously not good. Next up is a very good St. Louis Blues team tomorrow night.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Apparently, Josh Collmenter is not only an ace of a long reliever, but he teaches physics to the team as well. It isn't exactly news, but during Spring Training, sometimes you need to make news on slow days.
Daily NBA Update: How about C.J. McCollum? This guy is having probably the most underrated and unknown season in the league right now. Portland may not advance anywhere in the playoffs, but with McCollum and Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers are surely worth watching.
I know that technically Von Miller, Josh Norman, and Muhammad Wilkerson are potentially free agents, but for the sake of this piece, I am going to assume that they are re-signed by their current teams. If somehow that does not happen, then shame on either the Broncos, Panthers, or Jets, but as of right now, I do not see any of those guys moving. So right now, the focus shifts to Griffin.
RG3 set the league on fire as a rookie, and when I saw him play the Giants twice that year, I was thoroughly impressed. He could throw, and he could definitely run, and when he won Rookie of the Year, it was obvious that I was not the only one impressed by what he was doing. What I also saw was a type of offense that I had rarely seen in the NFL. He was often times running plays out of the shotgun and pistol formation that were atypical of the NFL. There were multiple guys in the backfield behind and along side him, but the system seemed tailored to him perfectly. Mike Shanahan was his head coach and Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator, and I was really impressed by how a coach like Shanahan, with an old school mentality, was able to build an offensive scheme that fit such a new school type of quarterback. Great coaches are able to adapt to the players they have, and Shanahan had done just that. However, when the Redskins moved on from Shanahan and hired Jay Gruden as their head coach, all of that changed.
Griffin had always been a threat when he ran with the ball, but it seemed like he had the talent to throw the ball from the pocket as well. And despite the success he had as a rookie, it has been proven time and time again that in order for a quarterback to reach the highest level in the NFL, he needs to be able to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball. As a rookie, Griffin had shown flashes of potential to be able to do that, but he had not come close to mastering the craft, and that is where his deficiencies were highlighted once Washington hired Jay Gruden. Gruden came in with a system that emphasized pocket passing, and Griffin regressed. There were too many times that he held on to the ball too often, and when he did run with the ball, he was taking too many hits. Eventually he was injured, and replaced by Kirk Cousins. After that, it only got worse and worse for Griffin, until he spent all of last season on the bench as Cousins became entrenched as Washington's quarterback. So then, Griffin became expendable.
The writing had been on the wall for a while, but now RG3 is officially open for business. At 26 years of age, he is now free to sign with anyone that is willing to make him an offer. In my opinion, a starting quarterback is the most important position in all of professional sports, and despite his recent disappointments, I think that Griffin still has a chance to blossom into at least a serviceable NFL quarterback. There are a few quarterbacks likely to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming draft. I am not sure that any of them will be future superstars, but scouts know far more than I do, and teams will surely spend their first round picks on more than one of them.
In the NFL we know today, first round quarterbacks are usually thrown right into the fire. Blake Bortles, Andrew Luck, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston. None of them sat and learned as backups during their rookie seasons, and that is likely to be the case this year as well. Any team that selects guys like Paxton Lynch, Carson Wentz, or Christian Hackenberg will probably put them on the field Week One. So that is why it is tough to find a place that RG3 might land and have a chance to start immediately.
As I survey the league, there are really a limited number of places that I can see Griffin landing with a chance to be on the field when the 2016 season opens. The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback, but with a top pick and a dreadful history at the position, I do not see that as a likely landing spot for Griffin. Other than that, I really only see the Texans and Rams as teams that will have open competitions at the position going into next season, so maybe Griffin should look there. Aside from that, I think Griffin just needs to accept the fact that despite an unbelievable rookie season, he may need to sign somewhere as a backup and once again prove his worth.
There is no question that Griffin has some of the skills needed to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. His combination of arm strength and mobility is excellent. However, those talents alone do not guarantee success at the highest level. Griffin showed last season that he could be content being a backup, and I think he might need to show the same level of patience this year as well. However, because he is still so young and because he has displayed so much talent in the past, I think that he is surely worth a shot for any team in need of a quarterback. He will not cost much as a discarded QB in free agency, but I think that any team willing to take a shot on any of the top quarterbacks in this draft class are just as likely to hit gold on one of them as they are on a still young and incomplete, but potentially terrific Robert Griffin III.
Daily Giants Update: Just like I said yesterday, the Giants need to get rid of Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz. The combine just started, so it is time to start finding replacements for them.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers lost to the Devils last night, so that is obviously not good. Next up is a very good St. Louis Blues team tomorrow night.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Apparently, Josh Collmenter is not only an ace of a long reliever, but he teaches physics to the team as well. It isn't exactly news, but during Spring Training, sometimes you need to make news on slow days.
Daily NBA Update: How about C.J. McCollum? This guy is having probably the most underrated and unknown season in the league right now. Portland may not advance anywhere in the playoffs, but with McCollum and Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers are surely worth watching.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
The most meaningless, yet completely necessary part of being an NFL prospect
Now that the Super Bowl has ended, and the new league year is only a few weeks away on the NFL calendar, each of the 32 teams has now shifted their attention to the offseason. The rookie scouting combine begins tonight, and because this is the NFL we are talking about, the combine has now even become a primetime television event.
I think that most people you ask would say that the combine is completely overblown and these football players being evaluated doing all of these workouts that have no real on-field value is laughable. And in many ways, they are right. Current and former players say the same things, as do current and former coaches. Bill Belichick said that the preparation these kids put in for their combine workouts is nothing but a waste of time. Prospects are coached on exactly how to get into a three point stance and take off from the start line to get the best time possible in the 40 yard dash. They are coached on how to get the highest possible scores on the Wonderlic test or the broad jump. In reality, none of those things actually prove anything about how someone will be able to play football. So then why even have the combine in the first place? The answer is simply because it is all part of the long and arduous interview process that comes along with being an NFL draft prospect.
To put this into terms more relevant to the everyday person who is not a professional athlete, think about the interview process you go through when you are looking for a job. You don't just show up for a job interview with no idea what to expect or not having put in any sort of preparation. You construct a resume. You compile a list of referrals. There are thousands of college courses that are based on nothing other than writing a resume. You decide what information to include, and where to include it, and what to highlight. In most cases, the preparation for the interview lasts far longer than the actual interview itself does. Employers usually only gloss over resumes at best, but job seekers usually put hours into constructing them. So in essence, that is exactly what the NFL combine is. Will you need to know how to list your top skills on a resume after you actually get a job? No, but doing so is part of the entire process. Will an NFL prospect need to know how to master the 40 yard dash once he enters the league? No, but doing so is part of the process in this case as well.
Mel Kiper, Jr. was on Mike & Mike this morning and said that one of the things he was most looking forward to at this combine was finding out whether or not one of the prospects (I apologize because I don't recall who it was) weighed 219 pounds or 225 pounds. Really? I understand that this is the type of thing that Kiper gets paid to do, but is the difference in six pounds a huge concern? Actually, in the eyes of NFL scouts, yes it is. All of what we will get out of this combine, and all we ever get out of any combine is just a bunch of numbers. Heights, weights, bench press reps, 40 times, verticals, and the list goes on. Individually, they are almost meaningless, but they all play a small role in building up the resume that each prospect can present on draft day.
The numbers are nice, but in my mind, as a fan, I would be more interested in how each of these guys does behind closed doors when teams get to sit them down and talk to them face to face. This part of the combine is even more important for prospects who come into the league that may have faced issues on or off the field in the past. I am sure last year each time Jameis Winston sat down behind closed doors, teams were asking him all sorts of questions about his various minor incidents in college. This year, guys like Robert Nkemdiche, Cardale Jones, and a whole lot more will face similar questions. Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clearly thought Winston answered those questions and they took him first overall, and after one full season, I think he has gotten off to a fairly nice start.
However, these kids are also coached on how to handle themselves in these closed door sessions as well. It is likely that many of them have some sort of knowledge of the types of questions they will be asked, and therefore they probably have been able to construct some kind of answers before the questions are even asked. That is just like any job interview though. If you are walking into an interview to be an oral surgeon, it is pretty likely that you aren't going to be asked about your feelings on the effects on the national economy on the farming industry. If you are a linebacker from Alabama, you are most likely not going to be asked about what you feel about playing left field for the Minnesota Twins. People go into interviews with some sort of knowledge of what to expect, and with a written documentation of their skills. For the aspiring oral surgeon, that documentation is on their resume, and for the aspiring NFL player, the scouting combine is full of seemingly insignificant numbers that in totality, make up a very significant resume that teams look at on draft day.
It is the job of NFL Network and ESPN and Pro Football Talk to blow events like the scouting combine out of proportion. As fans, do we really need to watch these guys sprint and jump and run around cones? No, of course not. If our favorite team drafts a guy who doesn't exactly have broad jump numbers as impressive as some other people at his position but ends up being a Pro Bowler, then we don't care. However, if our team passes up a guy like that for one of those "workout warriors" that puts up numbers that jump off the page and turns out to be a bust, we rant and rave about it.
In truth, we don't really know what we are getting in an NFL prospect until he actually suits up and gets out on the field. It is the same with the oral surgeon. The only way to truly know what he or she is capable of is to simply put them in the surgery room. So while the combine may seem trite and overblown, don't forget about the time you put into building your own resume. A resume alone will not get you your dream job, but a good resume sure does help. And for the next few days in Indianapolis, all these guys are doing is trying to piece together the best resume they can, so don't laugh at the event, because you might actually be able to relate to it more than you think.
Daily Giants Update: Staying with the NFL, most early mock drafts have the Giants taking a defensive lineman, and that is surely an area of need. The team has a whole lot of cap room though, and if they cut Victor Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul (both of whom I think need to be cut), there will be even more money to spend. So the draft isn't going to be the only way the Giants can improve this offseason. I would like to see them make a few splashes in the free agent market and use the draft to fill in what spots might still need to be addressed after that. The defense is what needs to improve the most, and with cap space as well as the tenth overall pick, this could (hopefully) be a somewhat quick fix in the first year under new head coach Ben McAdoo.
Daily Rangers Update: Coming off an exciting 1-0 overtime victory, the Rangers will be in New Jersey tonight to take on the Devils. We are just about at the 3/4 pole of the regular season, so if they continue to play at this pace, the team should enter the postseason with home ice at least in the first round. It doesn't appear that anyone is going to catch the Capitals, who are continuing to just run away with the Eastern Conference, and will likely blow past 100 points very soon. Washington is having a great season.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Spring Training is officially underway! I haven't been this excited for a Diamondbacks season in quite some time. Zack Greinke has already been named the Opening Day starter, but that is not exactly shocking news. Not only should the games be fun all season, but it should be just as fun to try to guess what uniforms the team will wear each day, as they seem to have about 20 different hat/jersey/pants/socks combinations at their disposal in addition to all of the new players on the field.
Daily NBA Update: I know Kobe Bryant is not the Kobe of old, but it is sad to see him going out the way he is playing this year. The Lakers are a mess, and Kobe is statistically one of the worst players in the league as far as production in terms of minutes played. There are 24 games left in Bryant's career, but let's not remember him for how these last 24 games go, or for how this entire season has gone, because it is not the real Kobe Bryant that will be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.
The trade deadline also just passed, and while no major moves were made, a few minor additions to teams like the Cavaliers and Clippers might pay off down the line and into the postseason.
Anything else? Oh yeah...the Warriors are 50-5.
I think that most people you ask would say that the combine is completely overblown and these football players being evaluated doing all of these workouts that have no real on-field value is laughable. And in many ways, they are right. Current and former players say the same things, as do current and former coaches. Bill Belichick said that the preparation these kids put in for their combine workouts is nothing but a waste of time. Prospects are coached on exactly how to get into a three point stance and take off from the start line to get the best time possible in the 40 yard dash. They are coached on how to get the highest possible scores on the Wonderlic test or the broad jump. In reality, none of those things actually prove anything about how someone will be able to play football. So then why even have the combine in the first place? The answer is simply because it is all part of the long and arduous interview process that comes along with being an NFL draft prospect.
To put this into terms more relevant to the everyday person who is not a professional athlete, think about the interview process you go through when you are looking for a job. You don't just show up for a job interview with no idea what to expect or not having put in any sort of preparation. You construct a resume. You compile a list of referrals. There are thousands of college courses that are based on nothing other than writing a resume. You decide what information to include, and where to include it, and what to highlight. In most cases, the preparation for the interview lasts far longer than the actual interview itself does. Employers usually only gloss over resumes at best, but job seekers usually put hours into constructing them. So in essence, that is exactly what the NFL combine is. Will you need to know how to list your top skills on a resume after you actually get a job? No, but doing so is part of the entire process. Will an NFL prospect need to know how to master the 40 yard dash once he enters the league? No, but doing so is part of the process in this case as well.
Mel Kiper, Jr. was on Mike & Mike this morning and said that one of the things he was most looking forward to at this combine was finding out whether or not one of the prospects (I apologize because I don't recall who it was) weighed 219 pounds or 225 pounds. Really? I understand that this is the type of thing that Kiper gets paid to do, but is the difference in six pounds a huge concern? Actually, in the eyes of NFL scouts, yes it is. All of what we will get out of this combine, and all we ever get out of any combine is just a bunch of numbers. Heights, weights, bench press reps, 40 times, verticals, and the list goes on. Individually, they are almost meaningless, but they all play a small role in building up the resume that each prospect can present on draft day.
The numbers are nice, but in my mind, as a fan, I would be more interested in how each of these guys does behind closed doors when teams get to sit them down and talk to them face to face. This part of the combine is even more important for prospects who come into the league that may have faced issues on or off the field in the past. I am sure last year each time Jameis Winston sat down behind closed doors, teams were asking him all sorts of questions about his various minor incidents in college. This year, guys like Robert Nkemdiche, Cardale Jones, and a whole lot more will face similar questions. Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clearly thought Winston answered those questions and they took him first overall, and after one full season, I think he has gotten off to a fairly nice start.
However, these kids are also coached on how to handle themselves in these closed door sessions as well. It is likely that many of them have some sort of knowledge of the types of questions they will be asked, and therefore they probably have been able to construct some kind of answers before the questions are even asked. That is just like any job interview though. If you are walking into an interview to be an oral surgeon, it is pretty likely that you aren't going to be asked about your feelings on the effects on the national economy on the farming industry. If you are a linebacker from Alabama, you are most likely not going to be asked about what you feel about playing left field for the Minnesota Twins. People go into interviews with some sort of knowledge of what to expect, and with a written documentation of their skills. For the aspiring oral surgeon, that documentation is on their resume, and for the aspiring NFL player, the scouting combine is full of seemingly insignificant numbers that in totality, make up a very significant resume that teams look at on draft day.
It is the job of NFL Network and ESPN and Pro Football Talk to blow events like the scouting combine out of proportion. As fans, do we really need to watch these guys sprint and jump and run around cones? No, of course not. If our favorite team drafts a guy who doesn't exactly have broad jump numbers as impressive as some other people at his position but ends up being a Pro Bowler, then we don't care. However, if our team passes up a guy like that for one of those "workout warriors" that puts up numbers that jump off the page and turns out to be a bust, we rant and rave about it.
In truth, we don't really know what we are getting in an NFL prospect until he actually suits up and gets out on the field. It is the same with the oral surgeon. The only way to truly know what he or she is capable of is to simply put them in the surgery room. So while the combine may seem trite and overblown, don't forget about the time you put into building your own resume. A resume alone will not get you your dream job, but a good resume sure does help. And for the next few days in Indianapolis, all these guys are doing is trying to piece together the best resume they can, so don't laugh at the event, because you might actually be able to relate to it more than you think.
Daily Giants Update: Staying with the NFL, most early mock drafts have the Giants taking a defensive lineman, and that is surely an area of need. The team has a whole lot of cap room though, and if they cut Victor Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul (both of whom I think need to be cut), there will be even more money to spend. So the draft isn't going to be the only way the Giants can improve this offseason. I would like to see them make a few splashes in the free agent market and use the draft to fill in what spots might still need to be addressed after that. The defense is what needs to improve the most, and with cap space as well as the tenth overall pick, this could (hopefully) be a somewhat quick fix in the first year under new head coach Ben McAdoo.
Daily Rangers Update: Coming off an exciting 1-0 overtime victory, the Rangers will be in New Jersey tonight to take on the Devils. We are just about at the 3/4 pole of the regular season, so if they continue to play at this pace, the team should enter the postseason with home ice at least in the first round. It doesn't appear that anyone is going to catch the Capitals, who are continuing to just run away with the Eastern Conference, and will likely blow past 100 points very soon. Washington is having a great season.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Spring Training is officially underway! I haven't been this excited for a Diamondbacks season in quite some time. Zack Greinke has already been named the Opening Day starter, but that is not exactly shocking news. Not only should the games be fun all season, but it should be just as fun to try to guess what uniforms the team will wear each day, as they seem to have about 20 different hat/jersey/pants/socks combinations at their disposal in addition to all of the new players on the field.
Daily NBA Update: I know Kobe Bryant is not the Kobe of old, but it is sad to see him going out the way he is playing this year. The Lakers are a mess, and Kobe is statistically one of the worst players in the league as far as production in terms of minutes played. There are 24 games left in Bryant's career, but let's not remember him for how these last 24 games go, or for how this entire season has gone, because it is not the real Kobe Bryant that will be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.
The trade deadline also just passed, and while no major moves were made, a few minor additions to teams like the Cavaliers and Clippers might pay off down the line and into the postseason.
Anything else? Oh yeah...the Warriors are 50-5.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The soap opera that is the NFL Most Valuable Player
I couldn't think of a better way to word this, because it seems boring and in line with what nearly everyone I hear talk about Cam Newton says. I like Newton. He was fun to watch in college, and he has been fun to watch in the NFL. He is a freakish athlete, and although I do question some of the hits he takes and the ways he sometimes flies into the air trying to gain the extra yard, to this point in his career, he has shown that he is definitely tough enough to continue to bounce back up time after time. As a fan, I have no problem with the sometimes excessive touchdown celebrations, and I think the vast majority of football fans feel the same way. The work off of the field, and giving footballs to young fans after he scores, all of these things make me like him. However, does Cam Newton care what I think? No. He shouldn't care about what any fan outside of Carolina thinks about him. There are people he needs to respect as far as their feelings toward him, and I am still not sold that he respects them enough as he should.
When an NFL player goes out on the field each Sunday, he has to worry about and respect both his teammates and the players on the opposing team. As we have seen throughout his career, Newton has certainly been able to gain respect from his teammates and coaches. Since Newton has won so much as a player, we have seen more good than bad. However, there have definitely been times prior to this season that Newton's attitude has been questioned. We have seen Newton with a towel over his head, sitting by himself on the bench during tough games, and we saw it again this past Sunday. While I didn't think it was a problem as we saw it live, what he did during his postgame press conference definitely cannot be overlooked.
Newton has referred to himself as the future face of the NFL, and I think that is entirely possible. The Tom Brady/Peyton Manning era is getting closer and closer to being over, and I think guys like Newton, J.J. Watt, and Odell Beckham are becoming household names, even to people who do not follow football very closely. With being the face of the biggest pro sports league in the country comes a lot of responsibility, and I think Newton still has much to learn as far as that goes.
Being the face of the league not only means being respected by his peers, but also being respected by the members of the media that cover him. No matter what anyone wants to believe, guys like Newton get paid all of that money for their play on the field and the results they produce, but you don't earn that salary for four quarters every Sunday. With the money comes the responsibility to be able to deal with such a platform off the field as well. That is why when Newton walked off the stage only a few minutes into his postgame press conference, I still have to question his ability to deal with all of that responsibility being placed upon his shoulders.
After the game, defensive end Frank Clark of the Seattle Seahawks, as well as defensive coordinator Wade Phillips of the Denver Broncos both posted on Twitter remarks that were in essence, laughing at Newton for losing the Super Bowl.
And before I go on, I just need to say this about both Frank Clark and Wade Phillips.
First, to Clark: You said that you were happy Newton lost and you couldn't wait to play against him. Really? You actually played Carolina twice this year, and he beat you both times, once being in the playoffs. Keep your mouth shut and let your play do the talking before you bash Newton.
Second, to Phillips: You are old enough to be my grandfather. Why are you even on Twitter in the first place? You are obviously a great defensive coordinator who just won a Super Bowl, but you are also a man that has been involved in football longer than Newton has even been alive. Stop it with Twitter.
Now, back to my original point. I think what Clark and Phillips made public are feelings that are shared by many of the peers of those two men. I think that opposing players dislike Newton for the way he acts on the field, and I think many opposing coaches feel the same way. As Newton said all season, if people feel the same way, then the best way to stop him from acting like that was to beat him on the field. What happened on Sunday was just that. The Broncos stopped him on the field. How he conducted himself during his abbreviated postgame press conference only adds fuel to the fire of opponents that want to see him fail. I don't mean fans of opposing teams or people like me who envy his stature and can only write about him. I mean his peers. The ones he actually has to deal with day in and day out. And as much as he may not want to admit it, members of the media are in many ways his peers. On Sunday, he dealt with them in a very unbecoming way.
I have heard supporters of Newton bring up the fact that he made it a point to seek out Peyton Manning on the field following the final play of the game and give him a hearty congratulations. That clearly shows that he has respect for an all-time great player like Manning. Those people also defend his actions after the game by saying that he wasn't just pouting like a child, he was merely being himself. He has even come out and said that he does admit he is a sore loser. And I think that all superstar athletes are definitely sore losers. The winning attitudes of guys like Michael Jordan and Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant is what makes them great. Not only do they want to win, but they want to rip your heart out of your chest as they do so. And I think Newton feels the same way. However, the saying about what really defines you is not about how many times you get knocked down, but instead how many times you get back up applies here to Newton.
Peyton Manning responded to throwing the game ending interception to Tracy Porter and getting annihilated by the Seahawks to come back and win Super Bowl 50, a game that will likely send him off into the sunset as a two-time champion. Tom Brady recovered from two extremely tough Super Bowl losses to come back and win the Super Bowl last season. Kobe Bryant has won multiple titles, and even though the 2016 Lakers are a disaster, he still goes out there every night because he knows that his legacy would be tarnished if he played out this final chapter like a sore loser. LeBron James dealt with losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in 2010 by coming back and winning two rings. What I am really interested to see now is how Newton bounces back from this Super Bowl loss.
In professional sports, nothing is guaranteed, and that is particularly true in the NFL. Only a few years ago, Colin Kaepernick was the talk of the league and on his way to a Super Bowl. His 49ers lost that game, and it seemed like despite the loss, Kaepernick still had a very bright future ahead of him. However, we saw indeed that nothing is guaranteed, and as Tony Kornheiser laughingly put it, now you can't even trade Kaepernick for a ham sandwich. I do not think by any stretch of the imagination that Newton will fall off a cliff like Kaepernick did, because he is far more talented, but nothing is guaranteed. Dan Marino lost a Super Bowl when he was young and never made it back. Will Newton face the same fate? It's possible.
So, with Newton, are we facing some petulant child who only is likeable when he wins? Or are we simply facing what the future of American professional sports is? As of right now, I think that the future faces of our biggest leagues are Cam Newton, Stephen Curry, and Bryce Harper. Curry has so far been seemingly flawless, but he has not yet had to deal with a crushing loss like the one Newton suffered. Harper has been great in the good times, but he surely has a temper that flares quite easily. So maybe Newton and Harper are just the way of the future. Maybe young kids will just want to grow up and not care about expressing their feelings as sore losers.
Like I said before, if you are a professional athlete, then you are a sore loser. Some guys might answer all the questions the right way, but on the inside, they are burning with anger. Some might come away from Sunday and just call Newton authentic. Others will call him petulant and unsportsmanlike. No matter what you think, you cannot deny the fact that Newton is all smiles when times are good, but the polar opposite when times are bad. You cannot also deny that although most teams have had trouble stopping him, teams that actually do stop him are more than willing to rub it in his face. That simply comes with the territory of being boisterous and outspoken.
I don't have a problem with him celebrating when he is winning, and if no one can stop him from doing so, then more power to him. I also think that this past Sunday was a clear illustration of why his detractors feel the way they do. One thing I know for sure now is that Cam Newton is a sore loser, and depending on the point of view, this could be viewed in a positive way or a negative way. If you are Michael Jordan sitting back watching him walk off the podium, you understand that as a professional superstar athlete, losing kills you inside. However, if you are a beat writer trying to simply get a question in so you can be quoted in the newspaper the next morning, you hate him for it.
Winning solves everything, but how someone responds after coming up short is a true measure of their character, and Cam Newton is going to have to deal with the fact that for the next seven months, he is going to be seen as a sore loser. The only way to change that will be to step on the field on Week 1 of next season and be on a mission to make this Sunday's press conference a forgettable footnote in the legacy of a potentially superstar quarterback.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers made it three straight wins last night against the Devils, and they now sit third in the Eastern Conference. Next up is a trip to Pittsburgh, where Sidney Crosby has been on an absolute tear. The Rangers are now officially exactly two months away from the close of the regular season, and with the trade deadline approaching, the team might make a few moves to prepare for the stretch run.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Arizona signed Tyler Clippard yesterday, and now with Clippard, Daniel Hudson, and Brad Ziegler, the 7th through 9th inning jobs seem to be potentially set. This seems like the final piece of the offseason puzzle for the Diamondbacks, but with the way the team has spent this offseason, that may not be the case. Either way, Arizona's pitching staff has been improved by leaps and bounds since the conclusion of the 2015 season, and now that football season is officially over, I cannot wait for pitchers and catchers to report.
Daily Giants/NFL Update: Obviously, the Broncos won the Super Bowl, and it seems like Peyton Manning is going to ride off into the sunset just like his boss, John Elway. Although it isn't set in stone, I think Peyton needs to accept the fact that it is not likely to get better than this as far as endings go, and he will have a wealth of opportunities ahead of him once he retires. Manning has the competitive fire, but this is too perfect an ending to ruin.
As far as the Giants go, the offseason is already underway. I think we will see the end of Jon Beason, and I think the team should cut ties with Victor Cruz as well. The team needs help on defense, and between the draft and free agency, Jerry Reese needs to make a splash this offseason.
Daily NBA Update: I was looking forward to the first matchup of the season between Golden State and Oklahoma City, and we got a great game that ended with the Warriors coming out on top. I hate to send repetitive, but with about a week to go until the All Star break, the Warriors have now gotten off to the best 50 game start in NBA history, as they stand at 46-4. They have the Rockets and the Suns before the All Star game, and those seem to both be winnable games. However, once the second half gets underway, Golden State opens with six straight on the road, including trips to play the Clippers, Heat, Hawks, and Thunder. There are two seven-game road stretches for them on the schedule this year, and this upcoming trip will be the second one. Golden State went 6-1 during that first stretch, so what we see from them in the upcoming weeks may very well define how their quest goes to put together the best regular season in NBA history.
When an NFL player goes out on the field each Sunday, he has to worry about and respect both his teammates and the players on the opposing team. As we have seen throughout his career, Newton has certainly been able to gain respect from his teammates and coaches. Since Newton has won so much as a player, we have seen more good than bad. However, there have definitely been times prior to this season that Newton's attitude has been questioned. We have seen Newton with a towel over his head, sitting by himself on the bench during tough games, and we saw it again this past Sunday. While I didn't think it was a problem as we saw it live, what he did during his postgame press conference definitely cannot be overlooked.
Newton has referred to himself as the future face of the NFL, and I think that is entirely possible. The Tom Brady/Peyton Manning era is getting closer and closer to being over, and I think guys like Newton, J.J. Watt, and Odell Beckham are becoming household names, even to people who do not follow football very closely. With being the face of the biggest pro sports league in the country comes a lot of responsibility, and I think Newton still has much to learn as far as that goes.
Being the face of the league not only means being respected by his peers, but also being respected by the members of the media that cover him. No matter what anyone wants to believe, guys like Newton get paid all of that money for their play on the field and the results they produce, but you don't earn that salary for four quarters every Sunday. With the money comes the responsibility to be able to deal with such a platform off the field as well. That is why when Newton walked off the stage only a few minutes into his postgame press conference, I still have to question his ability to deal with all of that responsibility being placed upon his shoulders.
After the game, defensive end Frank Clark of the Seattle Seahawks, as well as defensive coordinator Wade Phillips of the Denver Broncos both posted on Twitter remarks that were in essence, laughing at Newton for losing the Super Bowl.
And before I go on, I just need to say this about both Frank Clark and Wade Phillips.
First, to Clark: You said that you were happy Newton lost and you couldn't wait to play against him. Really? You actually played Carolina twice this year, and he beat you both times, once being in the playoffs. Keep your mouth shut and let your play do the talking before you bash Newton.
Second, to Phillips: You are old enough to be my grandfather. Why are you even on Twitter in the first place? You are obviously a great defensive coordinator who just won a Super Bowl, but you are also a man that has been involved in football longer than Newton has even been alive. Stop it with Twitter.
Now, back to my original point. I think what Clark and Phillips made public are feelings that are shared by many of the peers of those two men. I think that opposing players dislike Newton for the way he acts on the field, and I think many opposing coaches feel the same way. As Newton said all season, if people feel the same way, then the best way to stop him from acting like that was to beat him on the field. What happened on Sunday was just that. The Broncos stopped him on the field. How he conducted himself during his abbreviated postgame press conference only adds fuel to the fire of opponents that want to see him fail. I don't mean fans of opposing teams or people like me who envy his stature and can only write about him. I mean his peers. The ones he actually has to deal with day in and day out. And as much as he may not want to admit it, members of the media are in many ways his peers. On Sunday, he dealt with them in a very unbecoming way.
I have heard supporters of Newton bring up the fact that he made it a point to seek out Peyton Manning on the field following the final play of the game and give him a hearty congratulations. That clearly shows that he has respect for an all-time great player like Manning. Those people also defend his actions after the game by saying that he wasn't just pouting like a child, he was merely being himself. He has even come out and said that he does admit he is a sore loser. And I think that all superstar athletes are definitely sore losers. The winning attitudes of guys like Michael Jordan and Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant is what makes them great. Not only do they want to win, but they want to rip your heart out of your chest as they do so. And I think Newton feels the same way. However, the saying about what really defines you is not about how many times you get knocked down, but instead how many times you get back up applies here to Newton.
Peyton Manning responded to throwing the game ending interception to Tracy Porter and getting annihilated by the Seahawks to come back and win Super Bowl 50, a game that will likely send him off into the sunset as a two-time champion. Tom Brady recovered from two extremely tough Super Bowl losses to come back and win the Super Bowl last season. Kobe Bryant has won multiple titles, and even though the 2016 Lakers are a disaster, he still goes out there every night because he knows that his legacy would be tarnished if he played out this final chapter like a sore loser. LeBron James dealt with losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in 2010 by coming back and winning two rings. What I am really interested to see now is how Newton bounces back from this Super Bowl loss.
In professional sports, nothing is guaranteed, and that is particularly true in the NFL. Only a few years ago, Colin Kaepernick was the talk of the league and on his way to a Super Bowl. His 49ers lost that game, and it seemed like despite the loss, Kaepernick still had a very bright future ahead of him. However, we saw indeed that nothing is guaranteed, and as Tony Kornheiser laughingly put it, now you can't even trade Kaepernick for a ham sandwich. I do not think by any stretch of the imagination that Newton will fall off a cliff like Kaepernick did, because he is far more talented, but nothing is guaranteed. Dan Marino lost a Super Bowl when he was young and never made it back. Will Newton face the same fate? It's possible.
So, with Newton, are we facing some petulant child who only is likeable when he wins? Or are we simply facing what the future of American professional sports is? As of right now, I think that the future faces of our biggest leagues are Cam Newton, Stephen Curry, and Bryce Harper. Curry has so far been seemingly flawless, but he has not yet had to deal with a crushing loss like the one Newton suffered. Harper has been great in the good times, but he surely has a temper that flares quite easily. So maybe Newton and Harper are just the way of the future. Maybe young kids will just want to grow up and not care about expressing their feelings as sore losers.
Like I said before, if you are a professional athlete, then you are a sore loser. Some guys might answer all the questions the right way, but on the inside, they are burning with anger. Some might come away from Sunday and just call Newton authentic. Others will call him petulant and unsportsmanlike. No matter what you think, you cannot deny the fact that Newton is all smiles when times are good, but the polar opposite when times are bad. You cannot also deny that although most teams have had trouble stopping him, teams that actually do stop him are more than willing to rub it in his face. That simply comes with the territory of being boisterous and outspoken.
I don't have a problem with him celebrating when he is winning, and if no one can stop him from doing so, then more power to him. I also think that this past Sunday was a clear illustration of why his detractors feel the way they do. One thing I know for sure now is that Cam Newton is a sore loser, and depending on the point of view, this could be viewed in a positive way or a negative way. If you are Michael Jordan sitting back watching him walk off the podium, you understand that as a professional superstar athlete, losing kills you inside. However, if you are a beat writer trying to simply get a question in so you can be quoted in the newspaper the next morning, you hate him for it.
Winning solves everything, but how someone responds after coming up short is a true measure of their character, and Cam Newton is going to have to deal with the fact that for the next seven months, he is going to be seen as a sore loser. The only way to change that will be to step on the field on Week 1 of next season and be on a mission to make this Sunday's press conference a forgettable footnote in the legacy of a potentially superstar quarterback.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers made it three straight wins last night against the Devils, and they now sit third in the Eastern Conference. Next up is a trip to Pittsburgh, where Sidney Crosby has been on an absolute tear. The Rangers are now officially exactly two months away from the close of the regular season, and with the trade deadline approaching, the team might make a few moves to prepare for the stretch run.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Arizona signed Tyler Clippard yesterday, and now with Clippard, Daniel Hudson, and Brad Ziegler, the 7th through 9th inning jobs seem to be potentially set. This seems like the final piece of the offseason puzzle for the Diamondbacks, but with the way the team has spent this offseason, that may not be the case. Either way, Arizona's pitching staff has been improved by leaps and bounds since the conclusion of the 2015 season, and now that football season is officially over, I cannot wait for pitchers and catchers to report.
Daily Giants/NFL Update: Obviously, the Broncos won the Super Bowl, and it seems like Peyton Manning is going to ride off into the sunset just like his boss, John Elway. Although it isn't set in stone, I think Peyton needs to accept the fact that it is not likely to get better than this as far as endings go, and he will have a wealth of opportunities ahead of him once he retires. Manning has the competitive fire, but this is too perfect an ending to ruin.
As far as the Giants go, the offseason is already underway. I think we will see the end of Jon Beason, and I think the team should cut ties with Victor Cruz as well. The team needs help on defense, and between the draft and free agency, Jerry Reese needs to make a splash this offseason.
Daily NBA Update: I was looking forward to the first matchup of the season between Golden State and Oklahoma City, and we got a great game that ended with the Warriors coming out on top. I hate to send repetitive, but with about a week to go until the All Star break, the Warriors have now gotten off to the best 50 game start in NBA history, as they stand at 46-4. They have the Rockets and the Suns before the All Star game, and those seem to both be winnable games. However, once the second half gets underway, Golden State opens with six straight on the road, including trips to play the Clippers, Heat, Hawks, and Thunder. There are two seven-game road stretches for them on the schedule this year, and this upcoming trip will be the second one. Golden State went 6-1 during that first stretch, so what we see from them in the upcoming weeks may very well define how their quest goes to put together the best regular season in NBA history.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Johnny Football no more
In what was not exactly shocking news, the Cleveland Browns made it publicly known that they would officially part ways with Johnny Manziel once the new league year begins this March. To any NFL fan, this is not really a surprise, and depending upon how you feel about Manziel, it could be satisfying, disappointing, or anything in between. Manziel's off-field issues simply continued to mount higher and higher and now the Browns have officially declared him not worth the trouble that he causes. For the Browns, it is another draft failure, and for Manziel, the result could end up being far worse than that.
While Manziel was in college at Texas A&M, I remember him for his great play on the field. The game he played against Duke in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl was amazing, and his escape and touchdown pass against Alabama in a game that A&M eventually won is to this day one of the most unbelievable college football plays that I have ever seen. Throw in a Heisman Trophy, and this kid was a star before he even graduated college. However, great play on the field also brings about great opportunities off the field, and success as a college football player does not guarantee success as a professional player. Johnny Manziel is not the first case of that, and he is surely not the final case of it, but as of today, he is the most recent case of it.
Prior to the 2014 draft, Manziel was one of the biggest storylines. He had a Heisman Trophy, a lot of wins, a lot of talent, and a whole lot of publicity attached to him, so football fans were eager to see where he ended up. When the Browns drafted him, the city of Cleveland rejoiced. It wasn't exactly LeBron James coming back to the Cavaliers, but it gave hope to a desolate fanbase that supported a team that had been so bad for so long. Any off-field issues could be overlooked in Cleveland for the moment, because the Browns and their fans hoped that they had their new franchise quarterback.
Looking back, any sort of off-field issues that Manziel may have had during college were really nothing major. Most incidents were just chalked up to immaturity and youth. The Browns believed that Manziel had the talent to offset those seemingly minor issues. At the time, I believed that he was worth the risk for them. If the Giants had needed a quarterback in 2014, I must say that I would not have endorsed drafting Manziel, but thankfully that was not the case. For a team like Cleveland, who had missed on so many top draft picks over the years, I understood why they took him. What I also knew was that, while he did have a lot of success in college, his game did not exactly project perfectly to play at the next level.
I don't want to make it seem like boasting about football knowledge, because I know that many people felt the same way about Manziel. He was small in terms of NFL quarterback status, but guys like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson could fall into the same category, and both of them are Super Bowl Champions. So clearly, small stature does not immediately guarantee failure at the NFL level. What did separate Manziel from those two guys though was their character and leadership qualities. Brees and Wilson have been, and most likely will continue to be, great leaders and examples. Not only can you count on those two men on Sundays, but you can count on them from Monday through Saturday as well.
With Johnny Manziel, that was the looming question, and the announcement the Browns made today gave us their answer. However, the even bigger question now for Manziel is whether or not what he does on Sundays is even worth the trouble from Monday through Saturday. Manziel is not a criminal. He is not Lawrence Phillips or Ryan Leaf. However, as the days and weeks and now years pass by, he is closer to them than he is to being a good NFL quarterback. He seems closer to being one of those guys who just doesn't get it. Some people have always disliked him for his boisterous behavior on and off the field. In my eyes, that can be easily be overlooked. Other people disliked him because he seemed to be a spoiled rich kid who never had to face any type of hardship as far as getting through school and making it into the NFL. Can I see why some people felt that way? Yes, I can. However, Manziel does not need to apologize for growing up as a child with a fully functional family and more wealth to spread around than most. Hate him for the choices he made after being granted such an opportunity, but do not hate him for being able to be brought up in a stable environment.
However, regardless of family history or background, there comes a time in the life of each and every person that they have to choose how they are going to conduct themselves, and as of today, Manziel has proven that he is going down the wrong road in making that choice. During the Browns' bye week this past season, Manziel told the team that he would stay out of trouble. What ended up happening during that weekend off? Manziel was seen at a bar partying with his friends. He has continually been seen out at parties and now has been in the news for possible domestic issues. For most people, going to the bar is not a problem. Domestic issues and police reports are an issue though, but they are not career threatening in terms of an NFL player. If a player has enough talent, he can make such issues a non-factor because of how he plays on the field. At this point, Johnny Manziel has proven that he simply does not have the talent to offset his issues.
Manziel is still very young, and he still has time on his side as far as making real changes in his life. However, with the announcement today by the Browns, he has officially blown his first chance in the NFL. First impressions are not always ones that last forever, but in the world of the NFL, they sure do have a big impact. Not only has Manziel failed off the field, but his play on the field has not warranted any sort of patience some team might grant him. The Cleveland Browns are (again) looking to hit the restart button, and while there will always be teams out there in need of a quarterback, in my opinion Johnny Manziel has already become untouchable. His play on the field has been mediocre at best, and the drama he brings off the field far outweighs the benefits that could come along with signing him.
He is still very young and does have a good amount of potential, but at this point, I feel like the list of teams willing to take a chance on him is growing shorter and shorter by the minute. If I had to bet on it, I would say that Manziel will get another chance to play somewhere. What I would not bet on though, is that he would be willing to conduct himself in a manner worthy of a team taking such a chance. Even more so, I question whether or not his ability on the field is worthy of a second chance, and when a team considers signing someone with questionable on-field skills as well as poor off-field behavior, it makes me wonder if Johnny Manziel is even going to get a second chance at all.
Daily NFL Update: With only a few days left before Super Bowl 50, the season is about to reach its climax. The players and media have all arrived, and I will give you my Super Bowl prediction soon.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: It took a while, but Arizona was finally able to unload Aaron Hill's contract, as he was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Chase Anderson. The Diamondbacks got Jean Segura as the major return, and he had a great rookie year, but followed it up with less than stellar play after that. Either way, getting rid of Hill's big contract surely helps, and with Segura, Chris Owings, and Nick Ahmed, I think the DBacks have a reasonably good middle infield. Tyler Wagner might be the wild card here, as he is still young and has a good deal of upside. It isn't a major move, but hopefully it turns out to be a nice little, under the radar deal.
Daily Rangers Update: The second half of the season begins tonight after All Star weekend, and the Rangers will be in New Jersey tonight to face the Devils. Well rested and mostly healthy, the playoff push is officially underway at Madison Square Garden.
Daily NBA Update: The Warriors are still the biggest draw in the NBA, and they now stand at 44-4, which is ahead of the pace of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, who sat at 43-5 after 48 games in the season in which they set the league record with 72 regular season wins. Golden State travels to Washington tomorrow night to face a formidable Wizards team, but I am really interested in what goes on this coming Saturday night when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first time this season. Winning the Western Conference is going to be extremely tough this year, and the Warriors and Thunder are surely near the head of the class. Russell Westbrook is one of the few players in the NBA that I believe has both the ability and the mentality to match up with Stephen Curry, and we will get to see them face to face for the first time this year four days from now.
While Manziel was in college at Texas A&M, I remember him for his great play on the field. The game he played against Duke in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl was amazing, and his escape and touchdown pass against Alabama in a game that A&M eventually won is to this day one of the most unbelievable college football plays that I have ever seen. Throw in a Heisman Trophy, and this kid was a star before he even graduated college. However, great play on the field also brings about great opportunities off the field, and success as a college football player does not guarantee success as a professional player. Johnny Manziel is not the first case of that, and he is surely not the final case of it, but as of today, he is the most recent case of it.
Prior to the 2014 draft, Manziel was one of the biggest storylines. He had a Heisman Trophy, a lot of wins, a lot of talent, and a whole lot of publicity attached to him, so football fans were eager to see where he ended up. When the Browns drafted him, the city of Cleveland rejoiced. It wasn't exactly LeBron James coming back to the Cavaliers, but it gave hope to a desolate fanbase that supported a team that had been so bad for so long. Any off-field issues could be overlooked in Cleveland for the moment, because the Browns and their fans hoped that they had their new franchise quarterback.
Looking back, any sort of off-field issues that Manziel may have had during college were really nothing major. Most incidents were just chalked up to immaturity and youth. The Browns believed that Manziel had the talent to offset those seemingly minor issues. At the time, I believed that he was worth the risk for them. If the Giants had needed a quarterback in 2014, I must say that I would not have endorsed drafting Manziel, but thankfully that was not the case. For a team like Cleveland, who had missed on so many top draft picks over the years, I understood why they took him. What I also knew was that, while he did have a lot of success in college, his game did not exactly project perfectly to play at the next level.
I don't want to make it seem like boasting about football knowledge, because I know that many people felt the same way about Manziel. He was small in terms of NFL quarterback status, but guys like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson could fall into the same category, and both of them are Super Bowl Champions. So clearly, small stature does not immediately guarantee failure at the NFL level. What did separate Manziel from those two guys though was their character and leadership qualities. Brees and Wilson have been, and most likely will continue to be, great leaders and examples. Not only can you count on those two men on Sundays, but you can count on them from Monday through Saturday as well.
With Johnny Manziel, that was the looming question, and the announcement the Browns made today gave us their answer. However, the even bigger question now for Manziel is whether or not what he does on Sundays is even worth the trouble from Monday through Saturday. Manziel is not a criminal. He is not Lawrence Phillips or Ryan Leaf. However, as the days and weeks and now years pass by, he is closer to them than he is to being a good NFL quarterback. He seems closer to being one of those guys who just doesn't get it. Some people have always disliked him for his boisterous behavior on and off the field. In my eyes, that can be easily be overlooked. Other people disliked him because he seemed to be a spoiled rich kid who never had to face any type of hardship as far as getting through school and making it into the NFL. Can I see why some people felt that way? Yes, I can. However, Manziel does not need to apologize for growing up as a child with a fully functional family and more wealth to spread around than most. Hate him for the choices he made after being granted such an opportunity, but do not hate him for being able to be brought up in a stable environment.
However, regardless of family history or background, there comes a time in the life of each and every person that they have to choose how they are going to conduct themselves, and as of today, Manziel has proven that he is going down the wrong road in making that choice. During the Browns' bye week this past season, Manziel told the team that he would stay out of trouble. What ended up happening during that weekend off? Manziel was seen at a bar partying with his friends. He has continually been seen out at parties and now has been in the news for possible domestic issues. For most people, going to the bar is not a problem. Domestic issues and police reports are an issue though, but they are not career threatening in terms of an NFL player. If a player has enough talent, he can make such issues a non-factor because of how he plays on the field. At this point, Johnny Manziel has proven that he simply does not have the talent to offset his issues.
Manziel is still very young, and he still has time on his side as far as making real changes in his life. However, with the announcement today by the Browns, he has officially blown his first chance in the NFL. First impressions are not always ones that last forever, but in the world of the NFL, they sure do have a big impact. Not only has Manziel failed off the field, but his play on the field has not warranted any sort of patience some team might grant him. The Cleveland Browns are (again) looking to hit the restart button, and while there will always be teams out there in need of a quarterback, in my opinion Johnny Manziel has already become untouchable. His play on the field has been mediocre at best, and the drama he brings off the field far outweighs the benefits that could come along with signing him.
He is still very young and does have a good amount of potential, but at this point, I feel like the list of teams willing to take a chance on him is growing shorter and shorter by the minute. If I had to bet on it, I would say that Manziel will get another chance to play somewhere. What I would not bet on though, is that he would be willing to conduct himself in a manner worthy of a team taking such a chance. Even more so, I question whether or not his ability on the field is worthy of a second chance, and when a team considers signing someone with questionable on-field skills as well as poor off-field behavior, it makes me wonder if Johnny Manziel is even going to get a second chance at all.
Daily NFL Update: With only a few days left before Super Bowl 50, the season is about to reach its climax. The players and media have all arrived, and I will give you my Super Bowl prediction soon.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: It took a while, but Arizona was finally able to unload Aaron Hill's contract, as he was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Chase Anderson. The Diamondbacks got Jean Segura as the major return, and he had a great rookie year, but followed it up with less than stellar play after that. Either way, getting rid of Hill's big contract surely helps, and with Segura, Chris Owings, and Nick Ahmed, I think the DBacks have a reasonably good middle infield. Tyler Wagner might be the wild card here, as he is still young and has a good deal of upside. It isn't a major move, but hopefully it turns out to be a nice little, under the radar deal.
Daily Rangers Update: The second half of the season begins tonight after All Star weekend, and the Rangers will be in New Jersey tonight to face the Devils. Well rested and mostly healthy, the playoff push is officially underway at Madison Square Garden.
Daily NBA Update: The Warriors are still the biggest draw in the NBA, and they now stand at 44-4, which is ahead of the pace of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, who sat at 43-5 after 48 games in the season in which they set the league record with 72 regular season wins. Golden State travels to Washington tomorrow night to face a formidable Wizards team, but I am really interested in what goes on this coming Saturday night when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first time this season. Winning the Western Conference is going to be extremely tough this year, and the Warriors and Thunder are surely near the head of the class. Russell Westbrook is one of the few players in the NBA that I believe has both the ability and the mentality to match up with Stephen Curry, and we will get to see them face to face for the first time this year four days from now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)