Cold Weather Super Bowl Revisited

Tomorrow the NFL owners are expected to announce the host city for the 2014 Super Bowl. Some writers lament the fact that New York might get to host it. Reasons vary from it's to cold, other northern cities will want it and on and on.

I wrote up a piece on SI's Peter King's crying about a cold weather site. Evidently King has changed his mind. Maybe one of his phone buddies called him and told him no more interviews if he didn't change his mind.

Anyway, the latest to chime in is from Sports Illustrated again. This time it is Jeff Pearlman and his touching story of when he was a boy and his father took him to a Giants playoff game. And it was cold. And he was numb. And they left early. And they swore they will never go back.

I'm gonna be pretty blunt about Pearlman. You are just a flat out pussy. I don't use that lightly either. A direct quote from his blog:

Bringing the Super Bowl to New York would be dumb on steroids. First off, in January and February it is cold here. Secondly, in January and February it is freezing here. Thirdly, in January and February it is arctic here. Absolutely, positively arctic.

There you go. In his own words....waaaaahhhh, it's cold.

To take his argument further, he states:

But, well, the weather. From start-to-finish, Super Bowl weeks are meant to take place in warm environments. Miami. San Diego. Arizona. The parties should involve fountains and beach motifs and Kardashian sisters in embarrassingly skimpy outfits. The media days are required to occur beneath a bright sun...

Then we get to the heart of the matter. Pearlman doesn't like the cold because not only is he a pussy but he doesn't want the cold weather interrupting his paid vacation. He doesn't want to work in the cold. He doesn't want to work in the sun. He just wants to tool around and party on the beach.

Of all the lame excuses for not holding a New York Super Bowl, Pearlman's in the lamest. If he keeps writing like this, he'll join my Hack Wall of Shame.

The Rise of Football Sabermetrics?

The Rise of Football Sabermetrics?

I don’t hate sabermetrics like some purists do. I think numerical analysis gives scouts, general managers and coaches another tool to evaluate a players potential. Several baseball teams live and die by it. The Boston Red Sox won World Series based on a sabermetrics philosophy. The Oakland Athletics continuously try to build and it they have been moderately successful.

In football, especially the pros, there is a rise in sabermetric stats but mostly it is the province of website weekend warriors. I’ve read various stats on different blogs that try to put a numerical value on a player or team’s production. The writers then try to use the numbers to project a player or team’s future production.

Unlike baseball, I’ve yet to read where scouts and personnel evaluators use the numbers. Scouts and coaches will admit nothing tells more about a player than game day film. So many aspects of football can’t be measured and boiled down to a number.

Combine stats are usually overrated but are gobbled up by fans and the media. Teams are more interested in letting doctors, shrinks and other people interview and examine a player at the Combine. A team already has a pretty good idea of a player’s time and strength numbers. At the Combine, they just want to verify what they already know or start looking at the player’s mental make up. They’ve had a whole college career of game film to study.

College pro days are also vastly overrated. Teams show up not to see the star players trying out but to take a look at other players that didn’t get a combine invite. Media and fans fawned over Colt McCoy’s perfect or near perfect completion rate at the Longhorn’s pro day. Coaches and scouts could have cared less. He was throwing in a controlled environment to his own receivers and not chased by a certain Nebraska defensive tackle. The game film of McCoy’s years as the Texas start will weigh more than all the stats of pro days and combines one can imagine.

The same was said of Tim Tebow’s throwing transformation after he changed his mechanics. Other than Josh McDaniels, no one was buying it. I read a quote in Pro Football Weekly from Mike Holmgren in which basically he said it is one thing to change mechanics but he feared Tebow would revert to old habits during game pressure in the NFL. He played one style his career at Florida and he can’t change easily in on off season. Yet McDaniels is banking on it. I’m guessing McDaniels will be unemployed in two seasons.

I just don’t see a switch to a numbers based scouting system in the NFL. There are just to many variables that go into evaluating a player. No one system will be able to capture what coaches are looking for. I’m not saying it can’t be done. Somebody might come up with a few stats that teams can use to filter out players and make the process more efficient. However, I don’t think football scouting will ever be replaced by a numbers game. Sometimes there is just as much art as science to evaluating a player.

LT's Off the Field Problems Continue

Lawrence Taylor, one of the fiercest linebackers in the NFL who, along with Mike Singletary, revolutionized the position. He played a remarkable career.

Unfortunately, LT (sorry younger fans but there is only one LT and it's Lawrence Taylor) also leaves a trail of off the field issues. Included in his off field incidences are drug and tax evasion charges. Taylor had a well documented drug problem.

Sadly, Taylor is facing more off field allegations. The latest alleges that Taylor solicited a prostitute a middle man. The prostitute supposedly is a 16 year old runaway. Taylor paid $300 for the girls. When she refused, her alleged pimp Rasheed Davis beat her and gave her over to Taylor. He allegedly proceeded to sexually assault the girl.

According the ESPN.com story, Taylor was quoted as saying "I'm not that important" to the reporters gathered around after his release. I find may problems with that statement. In typical ego fashion, Taylor believes all the media reporters are around cause of him. They are but the story isn't all about him. There is a young girl who may have caused physical and mental damage. His apparent attempt at self deprecation falls short. While not out right joking, it's very obvious the severity hasn't set in. His comments can almost be taken as "It's no big deal." Yes, Taylor, it is a big deal.

I'm not passing judgment yet but it doesn't look good for LT. Sexual assault is abhorrent on anyone. No person or child should ever be subjected to it. If reports are true, Taylor was hell bent on having sex and he didn't care with who. He allegedly paid someone $300 to buy him a girl. The pimp allegedly beat her when she refused. Taylor still took her after she refuse and was then beaten. You're right LT, your not that important. The young girl you allegedly assaulted is important though. Check your ego please.

NFL Overtime Rule, Clarification of Networks Paying NFL in Work Stoppage

The NFL Overtime Rule Change
I wrote in a previous post that I somewhat like the playoff overtime rule change that it didn’t go far enough.

My biggest problem with the change is that teams are playing under a different set of rules in the post season. In the regular season, a coin toss, field position and a kick can win a game. In the post season it won’t. Why different criteria for overtime playoff wins?

I do think the change is a step in the right direction but it needs to extend to regular season and tweaked some more.

At the very least, both teams should be given one possession and a chance to win the game. Regardless of a first possession touchdown, let the other team get a shot at winning the game.

I find one possible change interesting. I would allow a sudden death one possession victory under one circumstance. The current playoff rule will allow a one possession win if a team scores a TD. I say take the one possession rule one step further. A TD alone doesn’t warrant a victory. I propose changing the rule to allowing a sudden death victory only if a TD and successful two point conversion are scored.

A missed two point attempt leaves a six point lead and allows the second team a shot at winning with a TD and one point conversion. I think it is a simple tweak that would make for more interesting finishes. A coach could gamble to seal the deal on a two pointer or play it safe and go for one. It’s a high risk but high reward scenario. If after one possession for each team then the game reverts to sudden death on any score. Even if a team fails to score the two points, they still maintain the advantage and can win the game with a defensive stop.

The downside is given the conservative nature of most coaches the two point conversion may never come into play.

I’m just throwing out some food for thought.

NFL Network Money and Work Stoppage
In Pro Football Weekly’s April 2010 issue, Barry Jackson quotes a network source about television money paid to the NFL in the even of a work stoppage. The source confirmed that the networks will pay the league but the amount of payments will be deducted from any money due once play starts up again.

Basically the networks will advance money to the NFL during a strike/lockout situation to help clubs keep in operations. Despite the stoppage, bills continue to accrue like stadium maintenance, staff payroll and other organizational needs. The money just comes out of the next year’s network payments.

Good to hear that cleared up. I know the networks pay out megabucks to the NFL for broadcast rights. However the payments for no product just didn’t make any sense on any level.