Monday, March 1, 2010
Hello
It's been almost a year since I posted and although I'm betting nobody reads this site, I'm going to put this here just in case anyone stumbles here through the murky tubes. I'm currently teaching English in South Korea and have been since last June. As such, it's very difficult for me to watch American sports, and thus I don't have much to say about anything. That's why I'm not posting now, hopefully someday in the future I'll have something to write, and then hopefully you'll stumble your way here again.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Is this the end of an era?
If you've been paying attention to the NFL offseason, you'll know that Marvin Harrison asked to be released by the Indianapolis Colts, and they granted his request.
To me, it feels like the NFL is entering a new era. I don't know exactly what this new era is, it could be the era of the hybrid RB/WR, the era of the all-around athlete, but one thing is certain: the era of the wide receiver seems to be over.
Looking back over the past four or five years, we've been blessed/cursed with incredible wide receivers in the NFL. Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Chad Johnson to name some of the best. Now, don't take this as some alarmist ranting about how the wide-receiver is "dead," but I think the NFL might actually be undergoing a change in front of our eyes.
What's one other thing those guys have in common? Attitude.
Who's the best wide receiver in the league right now? Larry Fitzgerald, who has none of the attitude or off-field issues of guys like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson.
It's not just players that seem to be changing, but team philosophies. For a while, guys like Randy Moss and Torry Holt were so dominating on the field that we as fans began to expect spectacular wide receiver play. The Lions tried to save their franchise by drafting "big-play" wide receivers, but that failed miserably.
Maybe I'm wrong and things will go back to the way they were, but a whole crop of new wide receivers will have to step up to take the crown from that group mentioned above. If I'm wrong, the NFL should try to take this opportunity, with a lot of the stars of the past years retiring or otherwise leaving, and use it as a chance to help rebuild their image by cultivating new young superstars with decent reputations.
To me, it feels like the NFL is entering a new era. I don't know exactly what this new era is, it could be the era of the hybrid RB/WR, the era of the all-around athlete, but one thing is certain: the era of the wide receiver seems to be over.
Looking back over the past four or five years, we've been blessed/cursed with incredible wide receivers in the NFL. Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Chad Johnson to name some of the best. Now, don't take this as some alarmist ranting about how the wide-receiver is "dead," but I think the NFL might actually be undergoing a change in front of our eyes.
What's one other thing those guys have in common? Attitude.
Who's the best wide receiver in the league right now? Larry Fitzgerald, who has none of the attitude or off-field issues of guys like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson.
It's not just players that seem to be changing, but team philosophies. For a while, guys like Randy Moss and Torry Holt were so dominating on the field that we as fans began to expect spectacular wide receiver play. The Lions tried to save their franchise by drafting "big-play" wide receivers, but that failed miserably.
Maybe I'm wrong and things will go back to the way they were, but a whole crop of new wide receivers will have to step up to take the crown from that group mentioned above. If I'm wrong, the NFL should try to take this opportunity, with a lot of the stars of the past years retiring or otherwise leaving, and use it as a chance to help rebuild their image by cultivating new young superstars with decent reputations.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Super Bowl Reflection
It's been a few hours since the Super Bowl ended, and I'm finally coming to terms with what happened. No matter how much I hate the Steelers I can't deny that it was a good game all around.
My biggest gripes are...
The officiating: they invented a penalty for "running over the holder" which honestly looked like in committing the "penalty" Wilson did more to save the holder from harm than if he hadn't, so who knows what that is about. Also, why not review the final fumble? Whatever argument you have against me on this, even if you think it was a fumble, there's NO reason to NOT review it. It's the Super Bowl, don't you want to be 100% certain that's the right call? And if you do think it was a fumble, having that ruling confirmed only gives you more ammo in the coming firestorm over the bad officiating.
The violence: James Harrison committed assault, battery and possibly attempted murder and yet the Steelers only got assessed about a half-yard in penalties. Please, before the Harrison hero-worship gets out of hand for the INT-TD, can somebody mail him a bill for $15,000 (maybe more). Millions of people around the world including young children watched Harrison assault Arizona's Francisco, who didn't so much as push Harrison back. He should've been ejected from the game, but it's too late now.
In my mind, the play of the game was Fitzgerald's touchdown to take the lead. The pure joy of the moment as he ran probably faster than he's ever ran before straight into the endzone and just kept running, holding his arms out in celebration all the way back to the Arizona sideline. Watching that replay over and over was the highlight of the night. Of course, all of those good feelings were crushed in the ~2:30 that followed but still a great moment.
My biggest gripes are...
The officiating: they invented a penalty for "running over the holder" which honestly looked like in committing the "penalty" Wilson did more to save the holder from harm than if he hadn't, so who knows what that is about. Also, why not review the final fumble? Whatever argument you have against me on this, even if you think it was a fumble, there's NO reason to NOT review it. It's the Super Bowl, don't you want to be 100% certain that's the right call? And if you do think it was a fumble, having that ruling confirmed only gives you more ammo in the coming firestorm over the bad officiating.
The violence: James Harrison committed assault, battery and possibly attempted murder and yet the Steelers only got assessed about a half-yard in penalties. Please, before the Harrison hero-worship gets out of hand for the INT-TD, can somebody mail him a bill for $15,000 (maybe more). Millions of people around the world including young children watched Harrison assault Arizona's Francisco, who didn't so much as push Harrison back. He should've been ejected from the game, but it's too late now.
In my mind, the play of the game was Fitzgerald's touchdown to take the lead. The pure joy of the moment as he ran probably faster than he's ever ran before straight into the endzone and just kept running, holding his arms out in celebration all the way back to the Arizona sideline. Watching that replay over and over was the highlight of the night. Of course, all of those good feelings were crushed in the ~2:30 that followed but still a great moment.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Nice Guys Don't Always Finish Last
New RealClearSports.com article:
With two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, it's expected that the media would be grasping to come up with compelling story-lines, and this year has been no different.
We've seen stories here and there about Kurt Warner's journey from bag-boy to Super Bowl champ, Whisenhunt's "revenge" against his former team the Steelers, and Hines Ward's knee. ESPN even ran a segment about the absence of Joey Porter, exposing their desperation for a dramatic story.
So how is it that the big story essentially became that there is no story?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
