The NFL's Dopes of the Week
I was going to blog a bit about the NFL Sunday that was in general, but instead I'm going to focus on the NFL's biggest dopes. Dope number one, is Donovan McNabb, who apparently doesn't know some of the league's simpler rules. Culled from several sources, this is what McNabb said in his post game remarks.
“I’ve never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book. It’s part of the rules and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But, unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie.”
…
“In college, there are multiple overtimes, and in high school and Pop Warner. I never knew in the professional ranks it would end that way. I hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl and the playoffs.”
It's bad enough he didn't know that when the Eagles punted on 4th and 1 from their own 22 with 1:30 left in overtime that they were basically playing for a tie, but it's probably worse that after he found out that regular season games could end in ties, he apparently figured that post season games could end in ties too. Not to get all political, but is Donovan McNabb the Sarah Palin of quarterbacks or what? Just like you'd expect a candidate for high office to be familiar with Supreme Court decisions, you'd expect an NFL quarterback to be familiar with the rules.
Dope number two is former NFL coach and current ESPN analyst Mike Ditka, who while on Mike and Mike this morning proceeded to defend Donovan McNabb while trashing the league's overtime system. I don't feel the need to comment any further on the genius that is Mike Ditka, but I would like to point out to both Ditka and McNabb that the Eagles got exactly what they deserved. How many years do you think you should get to score a point on the Bengals?
Dope number three is Chiefs coach Herman Edwards, who continues to defy all known logic with his in-game decisions. Case-in-point yesterday, the Chiefs down 27-13, facing 4th and 3 from the Saints 38 with exactly one quarter to play. Herm goes into "play to win the game" mode and elects to go for it. Tyler Thigpen scrambles for a 32 yard gain and two plays later, hits Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown to bring the Chiefs within 7. Following the next kickoff, the Saints proceed to go three and out, handing the ball back to Herm and his Chiefs. After a couple of first downs, the drive stalls at the Saints 40 and the Chiefs are faced with a 4th and 2, now with 10:06 left to play. This time, rather than go for it and hope to maintain moment, Herm sends on the punt team. Six and a half minutes later, the Saints are tacking on a field goal and the Chiefs are left wondering what would have happened if they hadn't punted.
I don't want to fault Edwards for the punt call per se, just because I don't want to get all TMQish on the business of punting versus going for it. But the thing is, a coach should have reasons for what he's doing and for the life of me, I can't figure out what makes 15:00 to go, down by 14 a good situation to go for it, while 10:00 to go, down by 7, really isn't so good. The only thing I can possibly think was that the first call was pure desperation and the second was an actual attempt at coaching. Whatever it was, it's not what the Chiefs need and it's not what any team needs.
“I’ve never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book. It’s part of the rules and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But, unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie.”
…
“In college, there are multiple overtimes, and in high school and Pop Warner. I never knew in the professional ranks it would end that way. I hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl and the playoffs.”
It's bad enough he didn't know that when the Eagles punted on 4th and 1 from their own 22 with 1:30 left in overtime that they were basically playing for a tie, but it's probably worse that after he found out that regular season games could end in ties, he apparently figured that post season games could end in ties too. Not to get all political, but is Donovan McNabb the Sarah Palin of quarterbacks or what? Just like you'd expect a candidate for high office to be familiar with Supreme Court decisions, you'd expect an NFL quarterback to be familiar with the rules.
Dope number two is former NFL coach and current ESPN analyst Mike Ditka, who while on Mike and Mike this morning proceeded to defend Donovan McNabb while trashing the league's overtime system. I don't feel the need to comment any further on the genius that is Mike Ditka, but I would like to point out to both Ditka and McNabb that the Eagles got exactly what they deserved. How many years do you think you should get to score a point on the Bengals?
Dope number three is Chiefs coach Herman Edwards, who continues to defy all known logic with his in-game decisions. Case-in-point yesterday, the Chiefs down 27-13, facing 4th and 3 from the Saints 38 with exactly one quarter to play. Herm goes into "play to win the game" mode and elects to go for it. Tyler Thigpen scrambles for a 32 yard gain and two plays later, hits Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown to bring the Chiefs within 7. Following the next kickoff, the Saints proceed to go three and out, handing the ball back to Herm and his Chiefs. After a couple of first downs, the drive stalls at the Saints 40 and the Chiefs are faced with a 4th and 2, now with 10:06 left to play. This time, rather than go for it and hope to maintain moment, Herm sends on the punt team. Six and a half minutes later, the Saints are tacking on a field goal and the Chiefs are left wondering what would have happened if they hadn't punted.
I don't want to fault Edwards for the punt call per se, just because I don't want to get all TMQish on the business of punting versus going for it. But the thing is, a coach should have reasons for what he's doing and for the life of me, I can't figure out what makes 15:00 to go, down by 14 a good situation to go for it, while 10:00 to go, down by 7, really isn't so good. The only thing I can possibly think was that the first call was pure desperation and the second was an actual attempt at coaching. Whatever it was, it's not what the Chiefs need and it's not what any team needs.
posted by lonely libertarian at 2:15 PM
2 Comments:
This is what annoys me about football. It's a sport for men, plain and simple. And when these men enter the league, they want to act and be treated like tough guys with tough attitudes and personas. Yet,w when it comes to something basic like OT, they start acting like little girls.
"Aww, this is unfair"
Grow up. People complain that a coin toss is unfair. Well, if you're a team of men, man-up and stop the other team. People complain that you can tie. Well, if you're a man, step-up and do something to win. You can't manage one field goal in 15:00 minutes? You don't deserve to win. Stop a team for 15:00 minutes? Then you don't deserve to lose. It's all fair, especially for big tough men.
And what's with the helmets? In my day we wore baseball gloves over our heads with chinstraps.
No, but seriously, you can't be a baseball fan and tag the NFL with the whiner label. McNabb is a pussy and always has been, thats all. And apparently he and many of his teammates are incredibly stupid.
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