Rush Limbaugh an NFL Owner? Don’t Count On It

Rush Limbaugh will never be an NFL owner because the other NFL owners will not allow it. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay already has stepped up and stated he would not approve of Limbaugh being an owner of the St. Louis Rams.

The funny thing is, people are getting too ahead of themselves in actually believing that Roger Goodell would approve of an ownership group that includes Limbaugh. At this point in time it’s really not an issue of whether Limbaugh is going to be a part owner of the Rams because as of now the team is not for sale.

Now, that doesn’t mean in the future that the team won’t be on the market. But at this point, it’s purely speculation. If the Rams do go for sale then that’s when Goodell must step in and state clearly to Limbaugh: “You will never own an NFL team.”

It’s as simple as that! There’s nothing Limbaugh can do if Goodell or the other NFL owners do not approve of the offer.

Southern Man wrote a piece titled “A Rush to Judgment: Should the NFL Ban Rush Limbaugh’s Bid?“

In it, Southern Man poses an interesting question in which he asks, “Indeed, how does denying Mr. Limbaugh the free market right to purchase a team reject discrimination and hatred?”

There’s faulty reasoning in the question because the NFL is not a free market. Neither is the NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, etc. They are private corporations that have a right to make sure they have what best fits their image.

Rejecting Limbaugh’s bid isn’t about hatred or discrimination. It’s about what the NFL sees as protecting its image. Roger Goodell has tried cleaning up the league’s image after a bevy of players have been in trouble with the law.

There have been more penalties handed down to players than I have ever seen since Goodell took over as commissioner.

If Limbaugh’s bid were to be accepted, it would bring negative publicity to the NFL again.

Now, is it fair that there’s a controversy regarding Limbaugh’s potential association with the NFL? Yes and rightly so.

As Southern man also pointed out in comments made by Matthias Kiwanuka to the New York Daily News, there are players who would not play for the Rams if Limbaugh became part of the team’s ownership.

He also mentions Nick Dewitt who claims “Mr. Limbaugh is not the kind of owner the NFL wants.”

Going further into that article written by Southern Man is the notion that Limbaugh is a racist. He defines what racism is and then uses examples of what Limbaugh has stated, specifically the infamous quote in regards to Donovan McNabb.

The problem is that, as I mentioned before, the fact he believes that the NFL is taking away the right of Limbaugh because the league is a free market.

The NFL is not a free market. They have the right to accept or reject any bid.

Just ask the man trying to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes. He wanted to move the team to Canada, but the NHL took the bidder to court so the Coyotes would stay in Phoenix.

In the end the court ruled that the NHL has the power to approve whoever they’d like as owner, but the court also believed that another bidder, who wanted to keep the team in Phoenix, bid too low. Eventually, both bids were rejected.

From a site called newsone.com they have a list of 10 comments made by Limbaugh that you could easily be deemed as racist. Here’s the list of 9 of those comments: 

9. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.  They’re interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well.  I think there’s a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn’t deserve.

8. Take that bone out of your nose and call me back (to an African American female caller).

7. They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?

6. The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.

5. Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.

4. Right. So you go into Darfur and you go into South Africa, you get rid of the white government there. You put sanctions on them. You stand behind Nelson Mandela—who was bankrolled by communists for a time, had the support of certain communist leaders. You go to Ethiopia. You do the same thing.

3. Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?

2. You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed.

1. I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.

Going further, Goodell has already made a statement to the Washington Post. “I’ve said many times before we’re all held to a high standard here,” he said. “I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about.”

What is the definition of what Limbaugh does? He makes divisive comments every day on his news program and it’s not something the NFL needs, wants, or tolerates. Therefore by Goodell’s definition, Limbaugh is not a worthy candidate to be an owner.

By the way, if there’s an argument about the McNabb comments not being racist, then why did Limbaugh resign?

Smart players all across the league may not want to play for a Limbaugh-owned team. Look at the comments Limbaugh made about Michael J. Fox, accusing him of lying about his condition. Fox has Parkinson’s Disease. 

Limbaugh was attacking Fox because he believed that Fox was over-medicating himself. He said Fox’s symptoms would look worse on a campaign commercial for a democrat in Missouri who supports stem cell research, which of course, Limbaugh does not.

What if there was a player on the Rams who was injured on a play that didn’t look too severe, but that player is unable to practice beause of the injury?

Will Limbaugh question that player’s commitment to the team? Will he call him a liar? Will he call him a wimp? Will he call him out for acting? 

Really, it’s not about whether Limbaugh is a republican or democrat. It’s about what he stands for and what he has said and done over his time on the air.

Limbaugh has proven his ignorance with his statements. He has proven that he is a racist.

He is not, and nor will he ever be, a good fit as an owner for a professional team.

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Roger Goodell: The Hypocrite

Roger Goodell had a tremendous task of cleaning up the NFL’s image, and so far he’s done a good job of cleaning the league’s image up. Yet, even with that there’s one thing that keeps him from having done a great job, and that is the hypocrisy of Goodell.

When he became the commissioner of the NFL, he set in place a stronger personal policy for the NFL players. These policies allowed for the NFL to discipline individuals even before the incident in question would go to court. Since that policy was put into place, Goodell has suspended Pac-Man Jones for a year in 2007, eight games for Chris Henry in 2007, and Marshawn Lynch for the first three games of the 2009 season.

Jones’ and Henry’s suspensons were for multiple arrests, and neither Jones or Henry had been convicted for any of them.

Yet, what’s interesting, is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger had been accused of raping a woman in Las Vegas during a celebrity golf tournament. Was there any punishment for Roethlisberger? Nope.

I’m not saying that suspending Roethlisberger after those claims was right or wrong, but according to the policy put in place by Goodell, he had the ability to suspend Roethlisberger. I also think that the Roethlisberger case was a little bit different than most of the cases, and he realized that, so he’s in the waiting stage to see what’s actually going to happen with the case against Roethlisberger.

However, there’s now an even bigger story that’s been in the NFL news. That is Tom Cable, the coach of the Oakland Raiders, assaulting an assistant coach in the organization.

It’s also been revealed that the assistant coach broke his jaw when Cable punched him, but also threatened his life as well. The case itself has been sent to the Oakland police to see whether if charges are going to be brougt up, or not for the assault.

From recent reports on the situation, it looks like Cable is going to be charged for the assault. I also read that Cable could make a plea deal so that he could avoid jail time. What’s interesting, is unlike Jones, Henry, and Lynch, Cable has not been suspended by the NFL.

The question is why? Is it because he’s a coach? The alleged incident took place in training camp, so it has been a while since the assault took place. Yet, nothing has happened to Cable, and he’s still coaching the Oakland Raiders.

Here’s the problem, if it had been a current player that assaulted a teammate, coach, or a fan, they’d certainly be suspended by Goodell, but when it’s a coach he just turns a blind eye to it, and will wait to see what happens.

In the most recent article in regards to the assault, it stated who the witnesses of the event were, so it wasn’t like it was Cable’s word against his assistant. At this point in time I believe that Goodell has enough evidence to suspend Cable, but he hasn’t.

Too make matters worse, Cable has denied that he assaulted his assistant, and was quoted saying, “The truth will come out.” One of the reasons why Michael Vick was suspended for so long was because he wasn’t truthful to Goodell in regards to the dog fighting claim against him.

Now, Goodell is violating his own policies that he put into place to help clean up the league, and because of Goodell’s lack of action against Cable, it makes him a hypocrite.

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Mike Sinlgetary Needs to Fire Greg Manusky at The End of the Season

It’s amazing how a few wins can get you to a point where you forget about what one of the main problems was. Now that there’s another embarrassing loss against one of the more talented teams in the league, it quickly comes back into the forefront.

Last year, I wrote an article on Greg Manusky calling him the worst Defensive Coordinator in the league and that designation still rings true today. I do not believe he’ll ever be a good fit for the 49ers and he should have been fired at the end of last season.

Here’s the link to my first article on Manusky “The San Francisco 49ers Home to the Worst Defensive Coorinator in Football.“

Since that time nothing really has changed in terms of the 49ers defense. It has become a little bit more aggressive, but I attribute that to Mike Singletary’s influence on the team and not Manusky’s.

Now since Manusky has been coordinator for the 49ers let’s take a look at what has happened against the talented teams in the NFL.

Today’s game is an example: 35 points given up in one half, three rushing touchdowns for Michael Turner, and 185 yards receiving by Roddy White.

That’s just one example though there’s plenty more which I will get to. Manusky was hired by the 49ers has the Defensive Coordinator in 2007. My concern is with Manusky is that this type of effort, this type of defensive play-calling is going to happen in the playoffs and the 49ers are going to be embarrassed.

Let’s look at the 2007 season defensively.

49ers allowed 364 points which was an average of just about 23 points per game. Now here’s the points given up to teams with a record above .500: Steelers 37 points, Seahawks 23 and 24 points, Giants 33 points, Browns 20 points, Buccaneers 19 points.

Against the teams that were .500 or below the numbers were: Cardinals 17 and 31, Ravens 9, Saints 31, Falcons 20, Rams 13 and 16, and Panthers 31.

You get the reason why the 49ers were only 5-11. Their only win against an above .500 team were the Buccaneers.

Furthermore, there was only five times the 49ers allowed less than 300 yards of offense. Falcons, Vikings, Giants, Cardinals, and Rams. The sad part is the defense allowed 22 points per game when allowing under 300 yards.

That means those teams were very efficient in terms of making plays and scoring the football.

Looking at where the 49ers ranked on defense will help, as they gave up 5.1 yards per play, 24 touchdown passes and the defense only picked off 12, average yards per attempt was 6.3, 31 sacks, and the defense gave up 187 first downs through the air.

Their defense against the run the 49ers gave up 1896 yards rushing, which is 3.8 yards per carry, also gave up nine touchdowns, and 94 first downs on the ground.

In Manusky’s defense the run was pretty well contained but the passing lanes were easy to pick apart because the 49ers defense didn’t get pressure on the quarterback and that continues to happen for the 49ers now.

Looking at the 2008 defense, they actually gave up more points than the 2007 defense. In 2008 the 49ers allowed 24 points per game and gave up a total of 381 points.

Against the teams with a record above .500 the 49ers defense looked like this: Cardinals 23 and 29, Patriots 30, Eagles 40, Giants 29, Cowboys 35, Jets 14, and Dolphins 14.

When the 49ers faced teams at or below .500 the points looked like this: Seahawks 30 and 34, Lions 13, Saints 31, Rams 16 and 16, Redskins 24, and Bills 3.

The 49ers did have seven games where they gave up less than 300 yards on defense. Jets, Dolphins, Lions, Seahawks, Redskins, Giants, and Cardinals. Even with that the 49ers still managed to give up 22 points per game.

In terms of the defense as a whole the 49ers gave up 5216 yards for an average of 5.1 yards per play. For defense against the pass the 49ers gave up 3507 yards, 22 touchdowns and had 12 interceptions, 6.1 yards per attempt for the quarterback, had just 30 sacks, and teams achieved 170 first downs through the air.

Defensively against the run the 49ers gave up 1709 yards, 14 touchdowns, at 3.8 yards per attempt, and 108 first downs.

2009 so far the 49ers defense looked good against teams that had a combined record of 2-9. Defense did well against the Vikings but didn’t make the plays they needed to get the 49ers a win.

In terms of team record against the teams the 49ers have lost to, it’s at 6-1. There’s a big difference between the two winning teams the 49ers have faced then the teams with the losing records.

Also, if you’ll notice that in 16 games in 2007 the 49ers had 31 sacks and in 2008 they had 30 sacks. When a team averages less than two sacks per game that’s really telling you that the quarterback has plenty of time to throw the football.

It’s not a huge wonder why the corners of the 49ers get beat by wide receivers; the guys up front aren’t creating any pressure on the quarterback. That’s one of the biggest frustrations with Manusky, very rarely will the 49ers get after the quarterback and since it’s the NFL if you give a quarterback all day to throw the defense is going to get shredded.

Right now the 49ers need to make a change defensively and that is to get rid of Manusky it probably won’t be during the season, but it should definitely happen afterwards.

 

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Disgraceful First Half By the 49ers Against the Falcons

For the San Francisco 49ers it’s not about demanding respect from opponents, it’s about earning it. The 49ers have played teams that they should beat in Arizona, Seattle, and St. Louis.

The only team the 49ers faced so far that is considered an above average team is the Minnesota Vikings, who they played extremely well against.

If it wasn’t for a defender falling down in the end zone the 49ers very well could be 4-0, and have one respectable win. But as 49ers fans, we know what happened at the end of that game which resulted in the first loss and the 49ers fell to 3-1.

Their fifth game was their biggest test of the season against the Atlanta Falcons. This game was supposed to be a battle of defenses. It only took the first few possessions of the game before being able to notice 49ers didn’t look ready to play.

Michael Turner scored the games opening touchdown on a short field after Shaun Hill threw an interception. The 49ers didn’t do much on offense their next possession, which resulted in a punt by Andy Lee.

After the Falcons got the ball back, the 49ers made uncharacteristic mistakes that 49ers fans aren’t used to seeing. It got so bad that Mike Singletary had to call a timeout and huddle the team together to get their heads in the game.

Did that timeout work? Absolutely not!

In a disgraceful showing of defense, Roddy White was wide open for an easy 31-yard touchdown. There wasn’t even a 49er defender close to the play.

For a moment though, it looked like the 49ers were going get back into the game. Shaun Hill hit Josh Morgan for the 49ers longest play from scrimmage of 61 yards. But even on that play you can say that it should have gone for a 63-yard touchdown.

So, instead the 49ers had to run a few more plays just to get into the end zone to get within 14-7.

Again, the 49ers stalled the Falcons offense and were driving. They had a situation where they went for it on 4th-and-1 and made it, but the drive stalled later on and the 49ers had to settle for a 39-yard field goal to get to within 14-10.

Even better for the 49ers, was after the field goal the defense was able to create a turnover and get the ball back. The 49ers had a short field to work with as a result.

The team got down to field goal range, but Hill took an inexcusable sack that put them out of field goal range and they had to punt. Andy Lee pinned the ball down just inside the five yard line.

All the 49ers defense had to do was stop them and the 49ers would have had great field position. For a moment it looked like the defense was going to hold. It was 3rd-and-6.

Nate Clements was defending Roddy White one-on-one and Clements got burned for a 90-yard touchdown catch. Looking at the replay, you have to wonder what was Clements thinking? At least just grab White and take a holding call then a 90-yard touchdown.

Clements had no idea where the ball was. What’s even more ridiculous was the defense on the field at the time.

There were no linebackers or defensive linemen set; they were all moving around. There was absolutely no pressure on Matt Ryan.

There were other mistakes by the 49ers that cost them timeouts, and one was Glen Coffee not being on the field when he was supposed to be.

San Francisco fumbled on a controversial call, but since the 49ers were out of timeouts they couldn’t challenge it. This lead to another score by the Falcons. Which, made the score 28-10.

The Falcons moved the ball at will on the 49ers and scored another touchdown before halftime bringing the score to 35-10.

So, this brings me to my point that I wrote about earlier in the week in regards to the 49ers wide receivers!

They don’t have anyone who would be considered a No. 1 target, and it’s hurting them tremendously.

A top receiver doesn’t look back to see where the defender is when he could clearly score a touchdown. A top receiver makes the difficult catches; Isaac Bruce dropped one in the game and he did it a couple games ago too.

Vernon Davis is the most explosive weapon on offense but he rarely gets thrown at. The 49ers also aren’t a team that has the ability to comeback from a deficit. They just don’t have the offensive line to protect Hill.

That’s why at half time you see 4-for-15 for 85 yards and an interception. He doesn’t have time to throw, and he doesn’t have receivers that will make the plays.

That’s why when Michael Crabtree fell to the 10th pick overall, 49ers fans were estactic about it because they finally had a player that could be considered a pass catching threat.

Finally, you see why Greg Manusky should have been fired after last season. It does look good when your defense can dominate against inferior opponents, but when you play a team with actual talent, we see why Manusky is horrible.

No pressure on the quarterback whatsoever and the zone is so weak that it doesn’t matter what receiver they look at, they’ll be open because each receiver finds the soft spot.

Now, do I believe the 49ers are a bad team? No. I think most often you’ll see a lot better effort on both sides of the ball. But will their be games like this with the 49ers throughout the season? Absolutely!

 

 

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Looking Back on the San Francisco 49ers 2009 Draft

Back in April I wrote an article grading the San Francisco 49ers draft as a D+. The only player that gave the 49ers that mark was the drafting of Michael Crabtree. So, far we know how the story has played out with Crabtree who finally signed this past week.

Part of that grade was the 49ers trading away picks for Carolina’s first round pick. Now that move looks like the smartest decision in the draft. With Carolina not having a win yet this season and having the toughest remaining schedule isn’t going to help them.

I admit I was wrong in regards to the draft picks. Carolina was a solid team last year, they ended with a 12-4 record, I didn’t believe they were going to decline so rapidly. So, the 2010 draft looks good for the 49ers thanks to Carolina’s decline.

As for the man that I gave the highest grade for the 49ers, he hasn’t played a down yet for the 49ers. He held out after getting bad advice from his agent Eugene Parker. There was a point in time where it seemed like Crabtree wasn’t going to be a 49er and that would have meant that the 49ers wasted the number 10 selection.

Glen Coffee, I didn’t really know what to expect when he was drafted in the third round. He did an okay job filling in for the injured Frank Gore as he got to see the ball a lot and he ended up with a decent amount of yards, but it also required over 20 plus carries to get 70 plus yards.

In his first start you could tell he was excited about it. He had some plays he should have made, but didn’t. As the season progresses I think Coffee could definitely play a major role in the offense with Gore back in the lineup as well.

Scott Mckillop, a linebacker, was picked in the fifth round by the 49ers and has become a member of the special teams unit. He did contribute against the Rams by recovering a fumbled punt in the end zone, so he’s credited with a fumble recovery as well as his first NFL touchdown.

Nate Davis, another fifth round pick, made the team by impressing the 49ers’ staff in the preseason and is currently the number three quarterback for the 49ers.

Bear Pascoe was released by the 49ers. He was their sixth round selection. Their two seventh round selections are on the team, but have not appeared in a game, but are on the roster.

At this point in time I would have to say I would definitely bring up the grade for the 2009 draft for the 49ers. I do believe that it would go to a C+/B-. At this time Crabtree still hasn’t played yet and Coffee has just one game under him where he got to see the bulk of the carries.

If Crabtree can contribute for the 49ers as a weapon that grade goes way up.

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Were the San Francisco 49ers Fooling Themselves with Wide Receiver “Depth” ?

The San Francisco 49ers are really in control of their own destiny in the NFC West, but if the 49ers want to start beating the good teams, they need a wide receiver to step up.

It has been very encouraging too see that Vernon Davis has finally shown pass-catching ability, but even so, the 49ers’ one real weakness still has been their wide receivers.  The problem is the 49ers have real no clear number one receiver that they can go to in a pinch.

Proof of that was in the waning seconds of the second quarter against the St. Louis Rams.  Instead of utilizing the wide receivers, safe, conservative plays were called, and eventually the 49ers had to punt.  In the process, there was an intentional grounding call on Shaun Hill during that series.

Later on in the game, Hill threw a perfect pass to Josh Morgan that would have gone for an easy touchdown because Morgan got behind the Rams secondary.  However, Morgan dropped it.

Those kinds of plays have even happened to Isaac Bruce this year as well.  Hill hit Bruce for what would have been an easy first down—there was no one around Bruce—and he just didn’t catch the ball.

What’s even more troubling is the fact that the group of wide receivers that was supposed to be deep has only caught one touchdown this year in four games.

The most receptions by anyone on the team is Davis at 17.  Beyond that, Davis leads the team in yards with 211, as well as touchdowns with three.

Yet, Frank Gore and Glenn Coffee combined have caught more passes than the leading wide receiver in catches, with 14 to Bruce’s 13.  Besides Bruce, there are only two other receivers that have caught a pass this year, and they are Morgan and Arnaz Battle.  The two have 13 catches combined.

So, if the 49ers want to start beating the teams like the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons, the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles, they need a receiver to step up.

I hate to say it, but it seems that the depth at the wide receiver is non-existent.  The passing offense is almost exclusively geared to the tight end or running back, with an occasional pass to a wide receiver.

Looking at Davis and Gore, they’ve combined for 25 catches, whereas Bruce and Morgan have combined for 22 catches.  It’s time for the 49ers to start utilizing their receivers.

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Head Injuries Catching Up with NFL: Something Needs To Change

If you were to ask a majority of football fans on why they enjoy watching football the majority of the answers would be to see the big hits, regardless if it’s at the college level or NFL level.

Yet, there’s something more troubling as a result of the big hits especially the hits that cause a player to have a concussion and even worse is what happens to players who have had multiple concussions.

The NFL has finally stepped in making rules that help out certain players who are in a defenseless position, yet even that has been frowned upon.

An even more scary thought is the fact that in 1994, when the NFL instituted the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, the head of the committee wasn’t even a doctor who specialized in neurology.

So, when certain players looked for help after their retirement from football they weren’t able to get any disability because this committee could not find a link between concussions and dementia. The reason being is those on the committees didn’t even specialize in brain injuries, so how would they know what to look for?

Brent Boyd who played for the Minnesota Vikings for six years in the 1980’s states “Every reputable expert says that blows to the head’ll cause damage if it happens enough. The NFL happens to have the only neurologists who say the jury’s still out.”

Even further troubling was the fact that the head of this committee, Dr. Elliot Pellman, subscribed to the practice of sending players back out onto the field after having a concussion.

On Yahoo!, Michael Silver wrote most recently about Kyle Turley who suffered his most severe concussion of his career in 2003. In the article it states that Turley had lost consciousness and wasn’t even able to remember where his wife was sitting in the stands.

Even more disturbing about is what has happened recently to Turley. He passed out in a club for a few seconds. Once he returned home, he battled vertigo and uncontrollable vomiting. His wife, Stacy rushed him to the hospital where he went in and out of consciousness.

Turley describes how he felt “I was having a full-on seizure-type-thing, probably because my potassium levels were so low. I was on a table just flipping around like a fish; I was fully conscious and knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t speak.

“Realistically, if I hadn’t gone to the hospital, my kidneys could’ve shut down and I probably could have died. It was definitely the scariest experience of my life.”

Doctors as of now have not been able to pinpoint the exact cause of the episode, but the reality is that it more than likely came from head trauma that he suffered while playing in the NFL.

One doctor believes that Turley is on his way to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Which, is what doctors believed effected Andre Waters and Justin Strzelcyzk.

On Nov. 21, 2006 Andre Waters former Philadelphia Eagle who played 12 years in the NFL was dead at the age of 44. The reason was a self-inflicted gunshot. Yet, even more disturbing was the fact that Waters had a brain of an 88-year old.

Eric Allen a former teammate of Waters had this to say about his death, “I’m still shocked and numb knowing that Andre Waters is no longer with us. He was one of the guys who helped guide me at the start of his career and he was always someone I regarded as a friend even when we weren’t on the same team.

“I know I wouldn’t have been half the player or man that I am today if not for Andre being on my team. He was a great player and a good man.

“It hurts me to know that Andre was in such a deep depression and in so much pain emotionally that he felt that taking his own life was an option. He had so much to live for and I wish he knew there were other options. I’ll miss Andre’s friendship on and off the field.”

Justin Strzelczyk died in a fiery car crash after running for 40 miles from the police. What is not mentioned in the new stories about Strzelcyzk is the fact that he had a much older brain as well.

Over the past few years we’ve seen in the news how dangerous the elderly can be who have dementia. In this case, Strzelcyk was just 36 years old and he had the brain of a much older man.

Yet, the NFL when looking at those examples stated that it was just “soft science.”

Here’s a question for the NFL what if these things start happening to Steve Young? Troy Aikman? Wayne Chrebet? Steve Wallace?

I remember watching the 49ers in the 1990s and Wallace seemed like he was always having issues with concussions. So, he had a specially designed helmet that he would wear while out on the field. Once can only imagine what his brain looks like now.

In Silver’s article, it also mentions that, according to Sean Morey, a member of the NFLPA Player and Safety Welfare Committee, 50 percent of concussions go unreported.

The NFL is looking at some new developments: a move toward uniform terminology and testing policies among team medical personnel; enhanced helmet technology; recent rule changes regarding helmet-to-helmet and other dangerous hits, and the elimination of the kickoff wedge; a “whistle-blower” hotline for players to report unsatisfactorily addressed head injuries.

There’s also an apparent push by newly elected NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith to make player-safety issues more of a priority than they were under predecessor Gene Upshaw.

But, yet this should have happened when the NFL first started that Mild Brain Injury Trauma Committee. All these developments should have already been in place at least 15 years ago when the committee came out.

It’s time for the NFL to stop playing with their players lives and start making it a safer work environment otherwise there will be more stories like Turley, Waters, and Strzelcyk.

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Michael Vick’s Actions Were Cowardly, What About The Hunters In Alaska?

Michael Vick acted cowardly when he had his dog fighting ring and he has paid his debt to society by spending time in prison for his actions. Yet, there are still some animal rights supporters who do not believe that Vick deserved a second chance in the NFL.

Vick signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in hopes to resurrect his NFL career. I’m hoping that Vick can learn from his mistake and grow as a human being and help people not make the same mistakes he did.

With that, there’s still outrage going on with the signing. In fact Jen Utley the wife of Philadelphia Phillies star Chase Utley is a supporter of the Pennsylvania SPCA and wanted to open up a dialogue with Vick, but was not able to.

This came from an article on Yahoo titled “Jen Utley Isn’t Afraid to Hound Eagle’s Signing of Michael Vick.” Written by ‘Duk.

Yet, even tough Vick has paid his debt to society he is still very controversial and I understand why there is still outrage when it comes to Vick; but what about what’s happening in Alaska thanks to former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin?

Where’s the outrage over the aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska? I didn’t even know about it until a few months ago after I got an e-mail from the Defenders of Wildlife and even then it hasn’t really gotten any limelight.

I think it’s funny that people will condemn Vick for being a coward, but since the Governor approves a measure of aerial hunting it’s OK to go up into the sky and shoot defenseless animals. Does that even make sense?

By the way the reasons the aerial hunt was put on so that Alaskans could bring home a few more moose and caribou. From what I read from the government site in Alaska there’s anywhere from between 7,700 to 11,200 wolves in Alaska. Not a huge population of wolves to begin with.

Even by that logic it doesn’t make sense and how can anyone support aerial hunting to begin with? The only people who shoot any animals, it doesn’t matter if it’s a wolf or a bear, they are cowards!

More disturbing is the logic on why the wolves are hunted. It’s so a few more hunters can have meat to either put on their tables or sell.

Though according to the Alaskan wildlife website there are over a million caribou and I didn’t find the number of moose there are in Alaska, but I did read the amount of carcasses that are brought back from hunts. Approximately 6,000-8,000 moose are taken each year which is about 3.5 million pounds of meat.

So, hunters take out almost the amount of the entire population of wolves with the amount of moose that are killed.

Maybe it’s time to stop protesting Vick and start protesting the barbaric hunt in Alaska.  

Amani Toomer One Of The Most Underappreciated Wide Receivers In The NFL

As much as it pains me to say this, Amani Toomer is one of the most underappreciated wide receivers in the NFL.

It isn’t because he plays for the New York Giants, the reason why it pains me is because he played college football at Michigan.

We will just leave the fact that I’m not a Michigan Wolverines fan.

Toomer’s first few years in the league were pretty uneventful receiving wise. He did make some noise on special teams returning three punts for touchdowns in his first two years as a returner.

In his first three years, he caught no more than 30 passes.

In fact, his most receptions in a season was 27 in 1998, but five of them were for touchdowns.

1999 is the season that Toomer started truly make a name for himself. He caught 79 passes for 1,183 yards which resulted in 15 yards per catch and six touchdowns.

From 1999 to 2003, Toomer gained over 1,000 yards receiving.

His best season came in 2002 when he caught 82 passes for 1343 yards, on 16.4 yards per catch. He found the end zone eight times including an 82 yard score which represents a career long.

Since 2004, Toomer has become more of a possession receiver and therefore has seen his yardage totals drop. Even with that, he still is a valuable weapon for the New York Giants.

During that time, Toomer has taken a backseat to players like Jeremy Shockey, Tiki Barber, and Plaxico Burress. Even with that, he is still able to contribute positively to the team.

In 2008, he started 12 games and appeared in all 16. He caught 48 passes for 580 yards which is a 12.1 yard per catch average. He also caught 4 touchdown passes.

The 48 receptions was good for second best, and he was tied for second on the team with the 4 touchdown receptions. 

Entering the 2009 season which will be Toomer’s 14th year in the league, he’s looking to become the 32nd player in NFL history to have 10,000 receiving yards. 

Although Toomer is considered a seasoned veteran, he still doesn’t get the credit he deserves as being a solid receiver with good hands. He continues to do the little things to help the Giants win. 

He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves is due to the fact he’s more of a possession receiver than a scoring threat in the red zone.

He has never had more than 8 receiving touchdowns in a season and that’s part of the reason he doesn’t get the credit. The other is because of the flashier players on the team such as the aforementioned Shockey, Burress, and Barber (who retired).

If you’re looking for a receiver that goes out there and does his job well, Toomer is one of the more consistent receivers in the NFL. Over the last 10 years, he’s averaged 62 catches, 886 yards, five touchdowns, and 13.9 yards per catch.

Not bad numbers at all and it is the reason why he’s an underappreciated receiver.

Also throughout this time, he’s been catching passes from quarterbacks such as Dave Brown, Danny Kanell, Kent Graham, Kerry Collins, Jesse Palmer, Kurt Warner, and Eli Manning.   

Eli Manning Is Not A Top 10 NFL Quarterback

Eli Manning is quite possibly the most overrated NFL quarterback in the league. He does not have the tangibles to be a leader. Also ignored is the fact that Manning is a turnover machine.

There was a recent article on Bleacher Report titled Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers: Who’s Number One from 2004? The author of the article, Jake Cole, had Roethlisberger, Rivers, and then Manning.

According to comments there’s an argument for Rivers, Roethlisberger, and then Manning as well. Either way you look at it, Manning falls short of Roethlisberger and Rivers whether you rank them one or two from the class of 2004.

Yet, if you look further at quarterbacks in the league you would struggle to find Manning as a top 10 quarterback. Manning had a decent year last year in leading the Giants to a 12-4 record.

Wth a completion percentage of 60.3, which was the best of his career, he threw 21 touchdowns which was actually his lowest amount since his rookie year, he kept his turnovers down in the regular season throwing only 10 interceptions, and his average yards per throw was at 6.8 yards, and finally he threw for 3,238 yards, which again was the lowest amount since his rookie season.

The problem for Eli is that teams struggled to contain the Giants running game. Both Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward rushed for over 1,000 yards and combined for 17 touchdowns on the ground. On the receiving side of the ball, the two combined for 47 receptions, but no touchdowns.

Furthermore if you look at Manning’s rankings for completions he was at number 13, attempts number 11, number 19 in terms of completion percentage, yards he was 17th, tied for 10th in touchdowns, and his yards per attempt ranked 21st.

When the playoffs came, Manning was exposed on just how overrated he truly is. When he was forced to pass against the Philadelphia Eagles, Manning’s stats were 15-29 for 169 yards, with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.

For his career Manning has a 4-3 record in the playoffs. Yes, he won a Super Bowl ring and a lot of that had to do with the team’s defense and not Manning leading the offense. Don’t get me wrong it was fun watching the Patriots lose the Super Bowl, but very little of the actual game had to do with Manning.

In the playoffs Manning’s stats get worse. He has a career completion percentage of 58.5 percent, has eight touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and 6.7 yards per attempt.

Teams are going to force Manning to throw. Jacobs may have rushed for just over 1,000 yards last year, but he’s going to have a harder time without his backup 1,000 yard rusher the man who brought the speed to the table in Ward.

As for Mannning he cannot compare to the stats of Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Philip Rivers Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Chad Pennington, Matt Cassell, Tom Brady (when he comes back from his injury), and Ben Roethlisberger.

That’s a pretty solid list and Manning does not crack into that group of 11 quarterbacks. For Ryan and Rodgers it was their first year starting in the league and each one of them put up better numbers than Manning, it may not have reflected in the records, but they are still better than Manning.

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