NFL

[B.E.]

Sept 8, 2024 15:40:06 GMT Kapitan said:

B.E. 's and my teams square off in NY at noon today. I really don't know what to expect from the Vikings, so I'm going in with no expectations.

I actually watched most of the game. (I gave up fairly early in the 4th.) It was not a good game for the Giants. The offense had nothing going the entire game. They made a few plays on defense, but the Vikings offense seemed pretty comfortable overall. The Giants got very little pressure on the QB.  I guess the 100th season hoopla was kinda cool. And we got to see our #6 pick WR make a few plays.

I'm still bummed about Saquon, though. I see he had 3 touchdowns this week...

[Sheriff John Stone]

There were some good games and interesting takeaways yesterday, but here's two off-the-field items:

I watched the Dallas vs. Cleveland game where Tom Brady made his debut as the color analyst on FOX. I thought Brady was brutal. Much of the time he was Captain Obvious, but it was his voice that stood out. It just sounded amateurish and out of place for a football broadcaster. However, knowing Brady, he'll critique himself and undoubtedly work hard to improve. I'm just not sure this is the stage where he belongs. We'll see...and hear.

For the other big news, it was announced that Kendrick Lamar will be headlining the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. I never heard of him. When I heard the announcement, I thought he was an ex-NBA power forward who made a career change. I couldn't name one song of his. I don't even know what kind of music he performs, but I could probably make a good guess...

[Kapitan]

I have a few Kendrick Lamar albums. (Actually there aren't all that many, so I probably have most of them.) I like him. I don't really think the music strikes me as great for halftime performances, but a) neither are most of the other groups/artists they pick, and b) I haven't watched one in many years anyway. He's extremely popular, and relevant to younger-to-middle aged audiences, though, which seems like a change. Usually it seems they have people whose biggest hits were 20 or more years prior.

Didn't catch Brady, and frankly I usually mute games while they're playing anyway because announcers are so tedious. It is funny to make a rookie without any experience in the field the top guy, though, as if being good at playing a game makes a person good at providing in-game analysis. (It's kind of like the old "he was a great player, let's hire him as a coach" mistake.)

The Vikings looked surprisingly decent, though I feel like I need to take it with a grain of salt because the competition was not good. (Sorry, B.E....) I do think if our OL can consistently protect Sam Darnold and give Aaron Jones running room, the offense is going to be pretty good. I don't think Darnold can carry a team--in fact, he's been proving that for years now--but I do think he can really make some throws when things are going right around him. We'll see how the defense holds up against tougher challenges.

[kds]

Sept 9, 2024 11:01:54 GMT Sheriff John Stone said:

There were some good games and interesting takeaways yesterday, but here's two off-the-field items:

I watched the Dallas vs. Cleveland game where Tom Brady made his debut as the color analyst on FOX. I thought Brady was brutal. Much of the time he was Captain Obvious, but it was his voice that stood out. It just sounded amateurish and out of place for a football broadcaster. However, knowing Brady, he'll critique himself and undoubtedly work hard to improve. I'm just not sure this is the stage where he belongs. We'll see...and hear.

For the other big news, it was announced that Kendrick Lamar will be headlining the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. I never heard of him. When I heard the announcement, I thought he was an ex-NBA power forward who made a career change. I couldn't name one song of his. I don't even know what kind of music he performs, but I could probably make a good guess...

I don't really understand networks overpaying these analysts.   Do they have any data that shows people tune in specifically for the announcers?   The NFL pretty much sells itself, so they could just as easily have Kyle Boller in the booth over Tom Brady, and there'll be plenty of eyes on the late game.   

[Kapitan]

What do you guys think about Tua Tagovailoa's latest concussion and the future of his career? If he were your team's starting QB, would that impact your decision?

[kds]

Sept 14, 2024 14:01:09 GMT Kapitan said:

What do you guys think about Tua Tagovailoa's latest concussion and the future of his career? If he were your team's starting QB, would that impact your decision?

I think the man's future is far more important than the results of a football game.

It's interesting that the tackler was Dumar Hamlin, who nearly died on Monday Night Football a couple years ago.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I posted my thoughts about this issue in some other posts through the years. I think this whole head injury/concussion/CTE situation is a very serious one. I don't think enough information is being disseminated to the public, but it eventually will. I'm not saying high school, the NCAA, and the NFL are intentionally withholding information, but I do think it's a place they don't want to go - for obvious reasons. We don't know about the number of athletes affected by this, or the lawsuits that are cropping up, or what the future holds. Obviously, and this is a good thing, there have been major rule changes, equipment improvements, and advances in science/research. I do think more people are at least aware of it and talking about it. However, and especially with the increase in games at all levels, it does make you wonder how seriously they are taking this. I've said this before, but there is going to be a prominent athlete, maybe a relatively young ex-athlete (like a Tom Brady or a Tony Romo or a J.J. Watt) who will sadly be afflicted with a brain injury (early dementia) and will be very public with it. Maybe it will take something or someone like that to have the major effect that is necessary in bringing awareness.

Regarding Tua, I get all the issues involved and won't reiterate them. Yes, the league will be on top of this to the extent they can, but maybe the damage is already done. If I was Tua, I would take any money that is due to him with his contract and retire. I would think he is already financially secure for several generations of his family.

I played what was called "midget" football at ages 10-12, then I played four years of high school football. I played quarterback in high school. We ran the wishbone on offense (anybody remember that?) and we didn't have the best pass protection. I took my share of hits. And, the helmets back them were pretty primitive, and my high school didn't have the funds to keep up with improving technology. We used the same helmets for literally years. Padded helmets? No, those helmets fit your head with straps. Straps! That's it. Do I think about the effects of the hits I took? Yes. Do I think about CTE? Yes. And I say that as I woke up with a headache this morning...

[Kapitan]

I also think football is only a step or so above boxing in terms of the physical damage, including to the brain, athletes take. (I don't even want to think about MMA, which honestly I can't even watch. I'm too squeamish to watch pure violence. I find it odd that that sport took off only AFTER we began understanding the physical tolls of other sports...like a thumb of the nose to common sense.)

What I really wonder is, will the league do more about repeat "offenders" such as Tua? Will we see a time when they say "sorry, you're done"? I could see it, to show their activism (good for PR). But at the same time, telling young men with a limited window for making a lot of money--and most of these guys aren't making Tua-level money, after all, but a few hundred thousand dollars for one, two, maybe three years and that's it--that they have to retire also seems legally risky.

If it were me, though, I'd be done. Actually I'd have been done a long time ago. It's insane to me to think about putting yourself through that again and again.

[Kapitan]

A 2-0 start for the Vikings: that's a pleasant surprise. And while it was hard to make much of the win over the Giants, beating the 49ers is harder to question. Granted, they were without Christian McCaffery. But we were without Jordan Addison, and then lost Justin Jefferson during the game.

I'm not predicting a Super Bowl or anything, but it's nice to see that the team seems like it's going to be competitive, anyway. We really were not sure coming into the season what to expect.

[kds]

The Ravens disappointingly let a 23-13 fourth quarter lead slip away yesterday afternoon, and wound up losing 26-23 to the Raiders to start the season 0-2.

I'm a big John Harbaugh supporter, but the Ravens' continuing inability to put teams away in the fourth quarter is definitely a concern.

[kds]

This might be the first time I've said this since I was a child.

With Week 3 soon to wrap up, I've not watched a second of Sunday football on TV. I was busy on both Week 1 and yesterday. Week 2, I attended the Ravens game, and didn't see any of the afternoon games.

[Kapitan]

Brett Favre announces (during a congressional hearing about fraud, of which he has been accused in a massive Mississippi-based welfare fraud case) that he has Parkinson's disease. While we don't know the cause of Parkinson's, one has to wonder whether the decades of abuse his brain took on the field is related.

www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41417497/favre-announces-parkinson-diagnosis-congressional-hearing

[B.E.]

I saw that, too. It’s sad. He’s only 54. He was one of my favorite players to watch.

[Sheriff John Stone]

That is sad. Hopefully, Brett Favre coming forward will lead to more research and awareness, not just in football but for Parkinson's overall. On a personal note, my father suffered from Parkinson's later in his life so I'm very aware of its ravages. I had a scare a few years ago and spoke with and was examined by a neurologist. There are new medications - and surgeries - available and on the horizon and I do try to follow the progress.

[Kapitan]

Obviously because of his time with the Packers, he was basically Minnesota's most hated player for quite some time ... but then when he jumped ship for Minnesota, he gave us one fantastic season. Regardless of all that, you hate to hear the diagnosis. Terrible news.