A Message

When it comes to talking to the media and saying nothing at all, Mike Shanahan is one of the best.  That is why when he divulged some words of wisdom for a Washington Post article, I took notice.

Was Mike not feeling well?

Did he slip up in his old age?

Or, does he have a very specific message for somebody who really should be, and needs to be, listening . . .

Shanahan says teaching a quarterback to ignore the rush and focus downfield is easier said than done. A player has to have a sixth sense when it comes to this aspect of quarterbacking.

“For most people it’s pretty instinctive,” Shanahan explained. “Most quarterbacks have a focus downfield, where they’re looking at the coverages. You can’t look at the rush. You feel the rush. The guys that usually look at the rush have a hard time reading coverages.”

Mike isn’t telling us why he said it and for whose benefit but of course he is right. Looking at the rushing defenders is the job of the front line, not the QB’s.

A QB I Used To Know

This off has had it fair share of drama, story-lines, and mega-trades / mega-drafts. Of course the cream of the story-line crop is the QB carousel of Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow.

This QB soap / cit-com sponsored by the NFL, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and N.Y. Jets has already produced countless headlines and it will continue to do so throughout the 2012 – 2013 season.

But until then, we can enjoy this awesome music video parody.

The Best Laid Plans

Can be ruined by an unfortunate  circumstance

Back last December, all was going well for the Redskins and their draft prospects.  Yes, you read that right; all was going well.  While everyone was calling for the team to “Suck for Luck”, the team was trying to do one thing and one thing only.  Win Games.  And with each passing week, their draft position changed dependent on who won and who lost.   The Redskins did what true professional team players do; play to win; and ultimately a spot on the active roster.

The players could not be worried or concerned about the Redskin’s draft position.  And I am sure that neither Mike nor Bruce gave it a whole lot of thought either except when asked by the media.  The coaches and staff were focused on one thing and one thing only; giving everyone on the team the best chance to win.

I bet that in the back of their scheming little minds, Mike and Bruce thought  –  “hey, no problem, there are going to be three great QB’s (Luck, Barkley, RG3) in the draft and we stand a good chance of getting any one of them at a spot (somewhere between 4^th and 8^th).  Shweeet!”

After all, who wouldn’t be happy with any one of those three wonder kids behind center?

Then, on or about December 22, 2011, everything changed.

Matt Barkley announced he was going back to USC.

The Redskins, and even the Browns, with that coveted 4^th spot, suddenly found themselves cursing fate and perhaps Matt’s decision too.  After all, both teams’ best laid plans, and dreams of easily landing a quality QB just got tossed out the window.

Now, both the Skins and the Browns are left with the agonizing decision of, how much, how badly do we want it, is he worth it and is there any other options further down or in free agency?  Suddenly, there is a lot more risk and uncertainty to the decisions that need to be made.  In fact, either one of these teams may very well decide that they want RG3 at any price, or stay where they are in the draft, or (do like the skins did last year) and trade down to get more picks this year and next or even address certain needs via free agency.  That is it.

I could go on like every other sports writer and blogger out there and give you all the what if’s, supposed pros and cons, reasons for and against a certain decision.  But I will not.  That is up to people like Mike and Bruce to think about, and come up with a game plan for both free agency and the draft.  That is why they get paid the big bucks.

Pay me $5 million a year, and I would be more than happy to do the same and tell everyone everything about it.

But I am not, so I won’t.

But what I will say is this; The next time you hear or read one of those sports prognosticators and his or her predictions about RG3 and the draft, you can thank Mr. Barkley.

Email Alert!

This is a real email (with names and other sensitive information removed)

From: Woody
To: Doug
Subject: Oh Lord!!!!!!!

JaMarcus Russell works out
Following the Redskins’ final practice before players scatter for the bye week, several players took the field for tryouts, including the former Oakland QB.

What the hell is going on with the Redskins?

Woody

> From: Doug
> Subject: RE: Oh Lord!!!!!!!
>
> I don’t know, maybe he can block?
>

Though I have to admit, Jamarcus and Redskins are two words I never thought I’d hear in the same sentence.

I think we just stole the media headline award back from the Vikings!

First, Post Impressions…

Seattle:
Did not address their RB needs in the draft, so they go raiding. Obtaining two veterans (Leon Washington , LenDale White). Good acquisitions for the Seahawks!

Raiders:
Speaking of Raiding, the Raiders get 2 for 1. As in two Campbell’s. Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins who is far better than any QB Oakland currently has and …. Campbell from the University of Maryland who has a lot of talent and ability (with any luck) will develop into a fine NFL starter. Actually the Raiders picked up a couple good offensive linemen, so I think Jason will do just fine.

Redskins:
Finally got around to adding depth and talent to their offensive line. I just wish they had been able to do it before the 7th round. They also added a talented LB for the new 3 – 4 scheme , a TE and another WR. The TE was puzzling and I was thinking maybe he is a good blocker and they think he could move in or drop back as a pseudo halfback. Well, sure enough, Shanahan plans on having him compete for Fullback. I still don’t know why they picked the WR (he does not fit Shanahan prototype) but for some reason they liked him.

So:
Why did the Redskins and Raiders trade Jason for a 2012 4th round pick? Not a pick this year (too deep a pool) not 2011, but 2012! Could it be because someone thinks there will be a lockout next year?

Speaking of QB’s.
I think Colt McCoy and Clausen landed very well in the draft with teams and organizations which could do them a world of good. Though Carolina probably feels better than Clausen does at the moment. Carolina really did not have a lot of good depth at QB before the draft, now they do.

And and speaking of having depth at QB?
Once McNabb was off the market, why did the Vikings wait until the 6th round to draft a QB?

Stop Counting

The idea for this post actually started months ago with the release of the movie Avatar and folks making a big stink about it being racist.

By now you all probably know all the arguments both for and against that topic so I will not go into it here. But it did spur a conversation between my wife and I where we both came to the conclusion that we all just need to stop counting. Only then will racism and prejudice end.

So what does this have to do with my blog? Well, life is funny sometimes. Ever since then there have been numerous incidences when I have yet again been reminded of “just stop counting”.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this week has seemed to culminate in a torrent of examples of not only “counting” but also wearing ethnic categories as badges. Not only that, but many of these “examples” have been sports and indirectly finance related.

So, here goes my post.

In perhaps the first example this week, Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post wrote an article titled “Washington Redskins’ trade for Donovan McNabb is a perfect fit“. It took him all of 3 sentences to bring up the race card. In fact, he does it more than once.

The quarterback fraternity is small, and the black quarterback fraternity is even smaller…

McNabb is not only accustomed to the insanity of being a quarterback in the NFL, and the extra weight of being a black quarterback in the NFL…

Why is this an issue? Is racism that prevalent in sports now-a-days?

Am I just a dumb out of touch white guy?

Yes, he is black, I get it. Duh, but why does he feel compelled to categorize the point he is trying to make in such a way? Does it legitimize his argument? Bring more weight to the point he is trying to make?

Imagine if someone had written “the fraternity of white quarterbacks” in the NFL. “the extra weight or burden of being white”?

I think, unfortunately, that the reaction(s) would have been quite different. In fact, that probably would not have been printed at all.

This reminds me of an article, (Second example this week) in the Huffingtonpost about the need to integrate the race beat in journalism.

Since that is not really sports or finance related, I will just include the link for your review. But the summary is that perhaps we need to use the same measuring stick for all “racial” topics.

My third example of the week, the US Census, is finance and money related.

The census asks a multitude of ethnic questions trying to classify various origins of Hispanics in our society while largely ignoring middle eastern origins and classifying them largely as “white” or “Caucasian”.

Now, this is probably the only instance where I actually agree with the counting and categorization so that public governing entities, funds, and programs can adequately accommodate the ever increasing and changing diversity in our society. In fact, I could see the argument that the census does not go nearly far enough with their questions and categories. But that is getting a bit off track to my original discussion to treat fairly here.

But I will say that I heard one group, those of Mideastern decent, complaining that they were lumped into the white/Caucasian category. It’s ironic that what many seem to not realize is that previous generations, back in the 50’s and 60’s, when the equal rights movement was picking up steam; Mideastern representatives lobbied congress to categorize them as white/Caucasian, because they did not want the label and stigma that went along with being a minority.

And of course, even the president is not immune to this topic. People were asking what he put down for race and residency.

The point I am trying to make in all of this is, as the title of my post indicates, “when can we stop counting?”

Counting and the natural subsequent desire to classify or categorize all this is in my mind serving as a constant reminder of racism in our society and does nothing except help keep us divided.

Now before you jump all over me about doing away with ethnic awareness and appreciation, I am not saying that at all. In fact we all, every one of us, should be made aware of all ethnic histories and diversities and realize that this diversity is not a weakness but rather a strength and should be viewed as such.

In fact , my fourth example of the week…

Core Values on WTOP News

Talks about his idea of doing away with Black History Month and Confederate History Month.

Again stop counting, do away with the “badge” mentality, and use the same yard stick for everybody and every topic.

But back to sports and racism.

In my fifth and final example, my cousin who writes, produces and directs for a living (his portfolio includes “The Daily Show”, and various skits from Leno’s short lived prime time show) sent me this short that he directed.

In this video, topics of race, sports and ethnic diversity are, in a way, treated equally.

Got No Game – Race in Sports

Like I said, this week I was seemingly inundated with examples….

Holy QB Pass Batman…

Wow, with opening day for MLB and the Nationals, the NCAA championship game tonight, even Tiger Woods playing at the Masters, and the Pope involved with one of the biggest conspiracies; one would have thought these would be the top stories.

But noooooo! The Redskins, ever the media making hounds, trumped all of them. Even Tiger and the Pope!

I just can’t figure out why?

My first thought … No not Philly and McNabb! What were they thinking …

My second thought … If you can’t beat them, steal their starting QB… AKA Sonny Jurgensen …

My third thought … Is McNabb really value added? Could they have done better with a 2nd and 3rd round pick in the draft?

My fourth thought… It’s all about the system, personnel and coaching staff.

And, it was probably worth a shot. But only time will tell.

First the stats.

Campbell:
Career: 61.2% completion rate, 6.63 yards per attempt, 82.3 QB Rating, pass attempt/TD ratio 18/1.

McNabb:
Career: 59.0% completion rate, 6.93 yards per attempt, 86.5% QB rating, pass attempt/TD ratio 12/1.

Don’t get me wrong, I think McNabb is a proven winner and leader.
Though he does appear to be a bit rusty with some of the NFL rules… 😉

So what is the difference?

McNabb has had the benefit of a stable system and coach and in recent years good supporting players around him.

Campbell has not.

Shanahan likes the proven veterans . Yes there have been countless blogs and articles about him and Elway and that Elway was an established veteran, etc, etc.

And we all know that the old guys can still play… AKA Favre, Warner, etc, etc …

But they need good and young personnel around them to help out.
And now the Redskins have two less opportunities to add good young talent.
This is one of the biggest and toughest decisions for any and every NFL organization.
Build around veterans or build with draft picks.

The old guys also need a good system.

Jurgensen was quoted as saying “some people never learn”. I think he was talking about Philly trading their QB.

I’m not so sure it couldn’t be applied to the Redskins organization. The only difference now is that I honestly, truly, believe Snyder is not calling the shots.

So, where does this leave the Redskins, Fans and the rest of us following the team?
Trust in leadership and “their plan”.

Shanahan took a .500 team (Denver) with a veteran QB and turned the organization around to be a .734 Superbowl winner!

During that time, Denver added 4 – 5 wins per year and Elway added 5 – 6 TD’s per season under Shanahan. Shanahan was also pretty good with the running backs too.

The big question is, would these turn around numbers be more likely with Campbell or McNabb?

The world will never know.

I think, as most seem to especially now, that Campbell is going to be traded for draft picks and or needed positions. Hopefully we can pick up a couple extra picks or move up to grab somebody good in a much needed position.

In order for any organization to be successful, you need good leadership, a plan, and personnel to execute the plan.

Over the past few years the Redskins have not had any of this. And they still have a ton of holes to fill. Especially along the front line.

But now, for the moment, they seem to have found a franchise QB.

Perhaps Mcnabb is the better leader and mentor and better at handling controversy and would be an excellent roll model.

I just hope he survives that long.

Only time will tell.

With Friends Like These…

Who needs an enemy?

Vinny Cerrato among those who like Jimmy Clausen

And if that alone were not enough…

Draft analyst Mel Kiper has praised Clausen … and believes he can become a top NFL quarterback.

Note to self: If either of these people ever publically recommend me for anything… I think I’ll shoot myself.

To my wife: Don’t worry. I’ll probably live a long time…

Can’t please everyone…

All the time, so you might as well stand your ground and stand up for your beliefs…

Bet you didn’t think anybody could, or dare would, put Johnny Weir and Tim Tebow together… but I will.

Now I am the first one to sign the petitions against cruelty to animals and censorship, so don’t get me wrong… but as unlikely a pair of athletes they both, for better or worse are being true to who they are. So bravo to them.

In Weirs case, Animal rights group unhappy with Weir wearing fur, Johnny boy says, so what – “All skaters are wear animals on their feet!” Cow leather.

Just because it is not cute and cuddly (the cow that is , not Johnny) animal rights ignore that little but all important fact that all skates have leather.

Yes, he could have avoided all this hubbub by simply using fake fur, but hey, as he says, his focus is on skating and people suffering, not necessarily animals.

If you don’t like it, don’t watch the Olympics.

Timmy, knows he doesn’t do behind the center QB well, and instead of sweeping it under the rug and hiding in mystery, goes out and practices in order to improve himself and show others he is willing to work at his dream of becoming an NFL QB.

Plus, he and his family are standing by their beliefs despite the fact that various women’s rights groups are trying to get CBS to kill their ad regarding abortion. Never mind the fact that if Pam Tebow had followed said women’s rights and other doctors advice when she was with child, there would not be a Tim Tebow and we would not be having this discussion!

Kudos to Johnny and Tim.

Poopoos to the activists and right to choose groups for trying to manipulate public sports figures and television companies.

A football weekend !!!

This weekend was, in my mind, the real start of the football season.

Saturday was the “official” opening day ceremony for the county youth football league.
It started at 9:00 am and the weather was perfect.

The entire event is held at a local high school football field and all the kids got to scrimmage each other on the big kids field.

On the way over to the school; this is how perfect the weather was; we got a chance to see about 4 or 5 hot air balloons taking off, a couple ultralights flying around and even a couple barnstormers from the nearby “flying circus” air show already up in the air.

The whole opening day event also had a bunch of concession stands, T-shirt booth (where one could get your teams logo and or kids name put on it), and raffles for 50/50 prizes. Of course all this helped benefit the league and added to the fun of the event.

All the parents got to sit up in the stands and they had the stadium PA system and score boards up and running too.

All in all a great start to the day!!!

But wait, I’m not done…

Saturday evening was my Fantasy League Live Draft and Party!!!

We have a league comprised of 12 teams, each owned by either co-workers or former co-workers from the company I work for. And the league just happens to be spread out across the county with about half here in the DC metro area and the other half out in California. So we have an East and West division in the Borderless Fantasy Football League.

Most of the East Coast division gathered at one persons house, (the guy with the Kegerator) with each person bringing something to munch on. My perfect wife ordered some delicious BBQ ribs online from Tony Roma’s. They are sooo good, I almost did not want to share! but I brought them along anyway.

So we all arrived at Steve’s house about 30-40 minutes before the start of the draft, hooked up our laptops, turned on the TV for pre-season action, dished out the food and drink, and dialed up the conference call!

All in time to watch the ESPN count down clock for the start of the draft!

We had the draft order randomized and the ESPN super computer automatically determined the order about 1 hour before the start of the draft. This year we had a couple last minute ( 3 days prior ) requested changes which everyone thought were good ideas, but just not feasible to do correctly in time for the draft. These were to make the league a Keeper League and to have draft order based on last years standings. So I set it up for a keeper league ( 1 franchise player) for next year and we will implement the standings based order next year as well.

So, how did I do? Well I ended up drawing 6th out of 12. Now this is not so bad since I always ended up picking near the middle of each round. But I can say that we all, including me, had more than our fair share of “groans” and “jeers” as our next top choice player was picked by somebody else! I got very few of my “top choices” but we will see how this season goes.

Here is my team as it stands now, after the draft.

SANTAS LITTLE HELPERS (0-0)

QB Jay Cutler, Chi
RB DeAngelo Williams, Car
RB Darren McFadden, Oak
RB/WR Chris Wells, Ari
WR Reggie Wayne, Ind
WR DeSean Jackson, Phi
WR/TE Devin Hester, Chi
TE Chris Cooley, Was
OP Shaun Hill, SF
DL Jay Alford, NYG
DB Gibril Wilson, Mia
DP Jon Beason, Car
D/ST Redskins D/ST, Was
K Robbie Gould, Chi
Bench Jason Campbell, Was QB
Bench Julius Jones, Sea RB
Bench Antwaan Randle El, Was WR
Bench Justin Gage, Ten WR
Bench Correll Buckhalter, Den RB
Bench 49ers D/ST, SF D/ST
Bench Hakeem Nicks, NYG WR