Quotulatiousness

July 31, 2013

Vikings training camp in full swing … and evil genius Rick Spielman is proven right again

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 08:58

The Vikings are at their off-site training camp in Mankato this week, and the various fan blogs are doing a great job of covering the event (especially The Daily Norseman which has bloggers accredited and attending all open sessions). 1500ESPN has filled the void left when the great Tom Pelissero moved on to USA Today‘s sports department with Andrew Krammer (to team up with Judd Zulgad), while the main ESPN coverage is by Kevin Seifert. I hit my “maximum number of articles viewed” limit at the Minneapolis Star Tribune earlier this week, so the coverage from the St. Paul Pioneer Press is filling that gap for me until rollover.

I know most of you don’t much care for sports chatter, so I’ll put the rest of this post behind the curtain…

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July 6, 2013

Dateline 1972 – Nixon tries to “fix” NFL blackout policies

Filed under: Football, History, Media — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 08:52

The St. Paul Pioneer Press raided the National Archives to find this clip of President Nixon talking to his attorney general about the outrageous NFL TV blackout policy:

Football populist Richard Nixon was furious at the NFL and wanted to flex his political muscle to end television blackouts.

At 2:06 p.m. on Dec. 18, 1972, Nixon met with Attorney General Richard Kleindienst at the Executive Office Building and railed against the league’s policy that prevented fans from watching their team’s home playoff games on TV.

The 37th president of the United States wanted to intervene because the Washington Redskins-Green Bay Packers postseason game at RFK Stadium on Christmas Eve was going to be blacked out in Washington, D.C., even though it already was sold out.

In a conversation secretly recorded by the White House bugging system that helped doom his presidency, Nixon threatened to sue the league if it did not lift blackouts for the playoffs. The devout Redskins fan ordered Kleindienst to “get busy with your lawyers” and take the fight to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and Redskins owner Edward Bennett Williams.

July 3, 2013

The most blatant display of “one law for the rich, one law for the poor”

Filed under: Law, Liberty, USA — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 07:54

Reason‘s Mike Riggs points out the most amazing part of the Aaron Hernandez case:

Let me paint the scene for you: It’s broad daylight out. A group of six Massachusetts State Police officers in suits and ties approach Hernandez’s North Attleborough mansion from the front. Three of them walk up the steps of his porch, and — with their guns holstered — knock on the door. After roughly 50 seconds of knocking and doorbell-ringing, a shirtless Hernandez opens the door and lets six suited staties, plus a cop in uniform, come inside. As one officer starts to cuff Hernandez right there in the foyer, another officer closes the door, presumably to provide Hernandez with some privacy. A few seconds later, Hernandez — now with a tee-shirt pulled over his handcuffed arms and torso — is led outside to a cop car, where officers gently lower him into the back seat and put on his seatbelt.

No battering ram. No flashbangs. No paramilitary gear. I was shocked.

Compare and contrast this arrest — for homicide — with this arrest first reported by Radley Balko:

In 2011, a SWAT team conducted a midnight raid on Stamps’ home in Framingham looking for a couple of small-time crack dealers. In the chaos and cloud of adrenaline that results from knocking down someone’s door and flooding his home with men dressed like soldiers, an officer shot Stamps in the neck, killing him. The city’s chief of police would later say that Stamps was “tragically and fatally struck by a bullet which was discharged from a SWAT officer’s rifle”; as if guns fire themselves.

When police eventually found who they were looking for — not Stamps, but his stepson and the stepson’s cousin — neither of them was armed. Nor did police find any firearms in the house.

It almost sounds backwards, doesn’t it? Killing an unarmed senior citizen in the process of arresting two unarmed kids holding a couple hundred bucks and some crack, while sending guys in their Sunday best to bring in a man allegedly involved in not just one violent, gang-related murder, but three?

[. . .]

This trend isn’t limited to Massachusetts. Across the country, poor people experience an entirely different criminal justice system — from arrest to prosecution — than the wealthy. Oftentimes, this means blacks are treated more harshly than whites and that the people who sell illegal drugs for money are treated differently than bankers who launder that money.

While football fans are free to care about whatever they want, the most shocking aspect of the Hernandez case isn’t that an incredible athlete killed anywhere from one to three people, it’s that the location of his home and the name of his employer bought him courtesies that poor, nonviolent offenders committing consensual crimes seldom experience.

Update: The Hernandez case gets even more weird:

Investigators in the Aaron Hernandez murder case were prepared to interview a Bristol man who was killed early Sunday when he crashed a car registered to his father-in-law, the former New England Patriot tight end’s uncle.

Multiple law enforcement sources said Massachusetts investigators were interested in speaking with Thaddeus Singleton III, 33, because he was associated with Hernandez. Singleton, who records show has served time in state prisons on various drug-related convictions dating to the mid-1990s, was killed when the car he was driving shot 100 feet through the air and hit the Farmington Country Club 6 feet off the ground.

Maybe this is something new in Nissan automotive technology, but it’s a rare vehicle that can shoot 100 feet through the air and impact a building six feet up? Impressive.

June 9, 2013

Jim Souhan has drunk the Purple Kool-Aid

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:24

In the Twin Cities, Jim Souhan has always been a voice of reason among the sports writers, rarely falling into the trap of optimism about the Minnesota Vikings. His carefully cynical, humourous approach has always set him apart from the herd. Until now…

For decades, when you left the Vikings’ Winter Park facility, you needed a long shower. Maybe even a luffa.

You were constantly confronted with the ugly realities of an ugly business, from ownership and management infighting to angry and sometimes felonious players. Paranoia often ruled, and often for good reason. The Vikings had a lot to hide.

These days, the franchise that brought you such great hits as Denny Green’s Basement Tapes, The Love Boat, the Original Whizzinator and “Straight Cash, Homey,” has become the kind of place you wouldn’t mind bringing your children.

Wednesday, while enjoying 100 percent player attendance at an OTA for the first time in memory, the Vikings played host to a bunch of Special Olympic athletes, kids who are competing in Punt, Pass & Kick. While that’s not exactly a new development — Green pushed players to be active in the community — the atmosphere at Winter Park has changed.

It used to be like “Game of Thrones.” Now it’s more “Cheers,” with Jared Allen as Norm.

Winter Park has become a place of genial professionalism. The organization has achieved remarkable stability among key employees on all levels, and the team’s best players also tend to be their most gracious representatives when dealing with the public and media. Leslie Frazier might be the friendliest coach in football, and Adrian Peterson might be the friendliest superstar in sports.

May 14, 2013

Minnesota Vikings unveil new stadium design

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:31

It’s the Minnesota answer to the Crystal Palace:

New Vikings stadium 1

From the official press release:

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the Minnesota Vikings and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group together unveiled the design of the State’s new multi-purpose stadium Monday evening in Minneapolis, a major milestone in getting the $975 million stadium built on time and on budget. The design package will now be submitted to the Minneapolis Stadium Implementation Committee and the City of Minneapolis for review.

Described as an authentic structure influenced by its Minnesota location, the new stadium exhibits a bold, progressive design that combines efficient functionality with stunning architecture. With a soaring prow, the largest transparent roof in the world, and operable doors that open to the downtown skyline, the facility’s openness and sleek geometric exterior will make it unlike any other stadium in the country.

Update, 15 May: Even though Bud Grant himself has approved the new design, the St. Paul Pioneer Press has at least one doubter on staff:

Sometimes the box that stuff comes in is more fancy and artsy and intriguing than the stuff. Football, for example, is dirty and gritty and brutally plain. But the new ballpark looks like one of those boxes made of space-age material with the acrylic cover and the item purchased, a watch or electronic device, settled into a bed of crushed velvet.

[. . .]

Football keeps doing this, building grand establishments that are antithetical to the game. The Vikings are named for, well, Vikings, who sailed around in crude boats and hit people over the head with clubs and chewed furiously on fermented shark meat. A real Viking would no more be at home in this glass palace than a group of Cub Scouts in a biker bar.

It looks like a glass palace, with so much roof acreage, but it isn’t even glass. The southern half of the roof will be made of a transparent ETFE ethylene tetrafluoroethylene membrane supported by steel. I hope so. The northern half of the roof will be made of a hard, opaque material. And to think, seven levels. Seven? Children have games that are designed to encourage their wonder and dexterity by allowing them to drop a colored ball at the top of a layered acrylic box and watch as the ball finds its way to the bottom. How many people will be lost in this place and left there overnight because they got lost trying to get from Level Seven to Level One with a little too much boutique beer on board?

May 11, 2013

Early betting line implies Vikings have gotten worse since 2012 playoffs

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 00:02

This is the sort of thing that gets pinned up on the locker room wall. Last season, the Vikings were a playoff team with a 10-6 record, including a win over the Green Bay Packers in week 17 that clinched the playoff berth. Early betting lines from Las Vegas have them favoured to win only five of the first 15 games of the season:

Week 1: Vikings are 2-1/2-point underdogs at Lions.

Week 2: Vikings are 2-1/2-point underdogs at Bears.

Week 3: Vikings are 6-1/2-point favorites vs. Browns.

Week 4: Vikings are 1-1/2-point underdogs vs. Steelers (in London).

Week 5: Vikings bye week.

Week 6: Vikings are 2-1/2-point favorites vs. Panthers.

Week 7: Vikings are 3-point underdogs at Giants.

Week 8: Vikings are 1-point underdogs vs. Packers.

Week 9: Vikings are 1-1/2-point underdogs at Cowboys.

Week 10: Vikings are 1-1/2-point favorites vs. Redskins.

Week 11: Vikings are 6-point underdogs at Seahawks.

Week 12: Vikings are 4-1/2-point underdogs at Packers.

Week 13: Vikings are 1-1/2-point favorites vs. Bears.

Week 14: Vikings are 3-1/2-point underdogs at Ravens.

Week 15: Vikings are 3-1/2-point favorites vs. Eagles.

Week 16: Vikings are 2-1/2-point underdogs at Bengals.

The Cantor folks did not issue early lines on Week 17, mostly because they have NO idea which players will be sitting out that week in anticipation of the playoffs. So your guess is as good as theirs who will be favored when the Vikings play host to the Lions on Dec. 29.

I’m not saying that going into the final week of the 2013 season at 5-10 is impossible, but if it gets that bad, Rick Spielman, Leslie Frazier and company will all be polishing their resumés because they won’t be back for the 2014 season. A result like that would pretty much require all of the following conditions to be met: Adrian Peterson has a career-worst year, Christian Ponder has a similarly bad year, none of the three 2013 first round picks turns out to be NFL-quality at their draft position, and Greg Jennings turns out to be too old and frail to play football any more.

May 7, 2013

Chris Kluwe sees @OnionSports satire, responds appropriately

Filed under: Football, Humour, Media — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 16:37

The Onion posted a short “editorial” “by” “Chris Kluwe”. The former Vikings punter responded that he’s quite capable of writing his own biting satire with extremely generous sprinklings of naughty words:

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May 6, 2013

Vikings release punter Chris Kluwe

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 12:37

Another case of not a surprise, but still a disappointment. Chris Kluwe has been released by the Minnesota Vikings after they drafted a punter in the fifth round of the April draft.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert ponders whether Kluwe’s outspoken character and public support of gay marriage and other causes played the prime role in the decision:

Here’s the key question to consider after the Minnesota Vikings made it official Monday and released punter Chris Kluwe: Would Kluwe be an ex-Viking today if he had never campaigned for gay rights, Hall of Fame candidacies and other issues?

My informed guess: Probably.

So what impact did Kluwe’s public advocacy play in the Vikings’ decision? It moved the odds from “probably” to “certainty,” erasing any equity his eight-career with the franchise might otherwise have built.

I know that explanation won’t satisfy those of you who are convinced the Vikings targeted Kluwe because he took on a politically and socially sensitive issue. It’s easy to see this move, contextualize it with the Baltimore Ravens’ release of special-teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo, and suspect an agenda against NFL players who get involved in the gay rights issue.

I just don’t think it’s that simple. When viewed through the bigger picture of NFL business, and in the context of the Vikings’ personnel approach over the past 16 months, you realize that Kluwe’s off-field life was at best the final shove at the end of the plank.

With last season’s kicker drama as the Vikings drafted “The Blair Walsh Project” and then quickly cut Ryan Longwell, and Kluwe’s exit, one has to wonder if Cullen Loeffler’s time as the team’s long-snapper is also coming to a close (it doesn’t help that he had a bad season in 2012).

May 2, 2013

Warren Moon says Tim Tebow couldn’t hack it in the CFL

Filed under: Cancon, Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 13:50

And if there’s anyone in the NFL’s Hall of Fame who also knows what it takes to be a great quarterback in the CFL, it’s Warren Moon:

Hall of Famer Warren Moon said in a radio interview Wednesday that the Canadian Football League is not a viable option for Tim Tebow to prove he can play quarterback, as the former Heisman Trophy winner doesn’t throw the ball well enough to play in the league.

“You have to be able to throw the ball up there, if anything. They throw the ball a lot. It’s only three downs, so the passing game is much more important up there, and there’s a lot more field to cover,” Moon said in an interview with KILT-AM in Houston.

“If you can’t throw the football, it doesn’t matter where you play quarterback,” he said. “You have to be able to throw it. That’s his biggest problem, just being able to complete passes, be an accurate passer. I think he’s a really good athlete playing the position, but I don’t think that’s enough sometimes.”

Tebow cleared waivers on Tuesday after being released by the New York Jets. The Montreal Alouettes, who own his CFL rights, have said they would welcome Tebow to the league — provided he’s willing to compete for a job as a backup quarterback.

[. . .]

Moon played six seasons in the CFL after going undrafted out of Washington in 1978, leading his Edmonton Eskimos to five consecutive Grey Cup titles, throwing for 21,228 yards with 144 touchdowns and 77 interceptions. In 17 NFL seasons, he threw for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdowns and 233 interceptions. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Moon said he thinks that if Tebow wants to continue playing in the NFL, he’ll have to switch to another position. Moon told ESPN Radio’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Monday, “I don’t think it’s going to happen at the quarterback position for him, at least not in the National Football League. You have to be able to throw the football before everything else happens.

April 28, 2013

Vikings picks on the third day of the draft

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:34

I was off in wine country yesterday, attending a meeting of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society, so I didn’t follow the draft closely. And even if I had, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have much information about college football players (especially in the later rounds), so my interest was more along the lines of how the Vikings drafted to fill needs on their roster rather than on the actual individual players.

In the first day of the draft, the Vikings picked up defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson. To get Patterson, they traded all their second day picks plus a seventh rounder to the New England Patriots. Some fans were eager to see GM Rick Spielman somehow pull another rabbit out of the hat and trade back into the third round to grab a middle linebacker, but they were disappointed as the Vikings only monitored the second day activities and updated their draft board for the final day.

With their first pick on Saturday, the Vikings selected Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges with pick 120. Brief profile from Tom Pelissero’s draft class roundup:

A converted safety, Hodges (6-1, 243) looks like a classic Tampa-2 will linebacker — small, fast enough and at his best in space. He’ll primarily compete for time outside and could get a look in the middle, too.

Next was punter Jeff Locke from UCLA, taken in the fifth round with the 155th pick. This is a clear shot across the bows of incumbent punter Chris Kluwe, and the second year in a row that the team has drafted a specialist despite having a high-quality veteran already on the roster.

A left-footer, Locke (6-0, 209) also handled kickoffs in college, though he won’t do that here. He immediately becomes the favorite to beat out veteran incumbent Chris Kluwe, who says he wants to compete for the job but may not even make it to camp.

The sixth round pick was UCLA guard Jeff Baca:

An aggressive blocker with some impressive physical traits, Baca (6-3, 302) split his 45 college starts between guard and tackle. He played some center at the East-West Shrine Game and figures to compete at the three inside positions.

Arif Hasan has a longer profile of Baca here.

In the seventh round, the Vikings had three picks, starting with another Penn State linebacker, this time Michael Mauti:

A productive outside linebacker whose father, Rich, played eight NFL seasons as a receiver, Mauti (6-2, 243) is coming off his third torn ACL in four years. He projects as a mike in the NFL and will compete at the Vikings’ most unsettled position once he’s fully healed.

Christopher Gates’ profile of Mauti here.

Followed by North Carolina guard Travis Bond:

A mammoth inside presence who has dealt with weight issues, Bond (6-6, 329) could get a chance to compete at both guard and tackle.

Christopher Gates on Bond here.

And finally Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins:

A smallish three-technique, Dawkins (6-2, 292) enters an uphill battle competing for a spot behind Williams, Floyd and Christian Ballard.

Arif Hasan’s profile of Dawkins is here.

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April 26, 2013

Vikings make three picks in the first round of the draft

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 09:32

As I mentioned yesterday, the Vikings had 11 picks in the 2013 NFL draft to begin with, but that the number of picks might change frequently during the three day event. It changed even more than I expected, as after using their first pick on defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd and their second pick on cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings traded back into the first round and selected wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

Of course, you don’t get the 29th pick in the draft for free: Minnesota sent their 2nd, 3rd, one of their two picks in the 4th, and the last of their 7th round picks to the New England Patriots. It sounds like a terrible rate of exchange, but according to the unofficial draft value chart the 29th pick is worth 640 points, while the bundle of picks the Vikings gave up is worth 649.5 points.

The Vikings moved up 23 spots from 52 overall to 29, and if you’re a fan of the NFL trade value chart, it was an even trade. The 29 pick is worth 640 points, and the Vikings gave up picks that are valued at about 600. Everyone is going on about four picks for one, but the Vikes still have a fourth round pick, and really, who gives a hoot about a 7th round throwaway pick?

So let’s calm down on the ‘Vikings got fleeced’ talk for a bit, because right now they added three starters in positions of need that will immediately pay dividends.

But Rick Spielman has officially become Crazy Uncle Rick The Riverboat Gambler, and by God, I love it. This 2013 first round will be the turning point for the Vikings: they’re either heading towards the elite of the NFL or into oblivion, but they aren’t treading water. Isn’t that right, Kenny Rogers?

So, on the first day of the draft, the Vikings addressed three of the their top four needs, but it will be tough to find a starting-quality middle linebacker in the 4th round (and I doubt they have enough picks left to trade up very far unless they start shopping next year’s draft picks, too). Yesterday, I identified what I considered to be the team’s top requirements and MLB was the one I thought most urgent. It’s going to be fascinating to see what they do in that area, given that their next pick isn’t until Saturday…

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April 25, 2013

What we “know” as opposed to what is actually true

Filed under: Business, Football, Health, Law — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 13:36

We all know the NFL is in serious trouble as more evidence comes out about the relationship between playing professional football and brain damage in later life. But what we know may not be true:

Dr. Everett Lehman, part of a team of government scientists who studied mortality rates for NFL retirees at the behest of the players’ union, discovered that the pros live longer than their male counterparts outside of the NFL. The scientists looked at more than 3,000 pension-vested NFL retirees and expected 625 deaths. They found only 334. “There has been this perception over a number of years of people dying at 55 on the average,” Dr. Lehman told me. “It’s just based on a faulty understanding of statistics.”

The scientists also learned that, contrary to conventional wisdom, NFL players commit suicide at a dramatically lower rate than the general male population. The suicides of Junior Seau, Dave Duerson, and Andre Waters don’t represent a trend but outliers that attract massive attention, and thereby massively distort the public’s perception. More typical was the death of Pat Summerall, who passed away quietly last week at 82 after a productive post-career career.

Indeed, a 2009 study by University of Michigan researchers reported that NFL retirees are far more likely to own a home, possess a college degree, and enjoy health insurance than their peers who never played in the league. The myth of the broke and broken-down athlete is just that: a myth. A few surely struggle after competition ceases; most apply their competitive natures to new endeavors.

It’s true that skill-position players on rosters for five or more years in the NFL faced elevated levels of Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, and Parkinson’s disease deaths. But some perspective is in order. Of the 3,439 retired athletes studied by Lehman’s group, less than a dozen succumbed to deaths directly attributable to these neurodegenerative killers. Had Parkinson’s killed one rather than the two retirees it did kill, for example, its rate would have been lower among players than among the general population.

It’s quite possible the NFL is concerned (and ensuring that it is seen to be concerned) primarily because of the need to address public perceptions, rather than as a defensive move against future or ongoing legal challenges.

Predict the draft?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:21

As I say every year around this time, I don’t follow college football so except for the odd name I kinda-sorta recognize, I don’t have particularly strong feelings about who the Vikings should be drafting this year. Before the first round starts this evening, they hold two first-round picks and nine picks in the other six rounds. This number will almost certainly change several times over the weekend as teams swap picks to move up or down in the draft order.

One constant everyone seems to understand is that the can’t miss top-tier players are limited, and they are pretty much guaranteed to be gone just before your team is on the clock. This is what drives fans crazy: their stubborn general manager/owner won’t trade up to get that one last blue-chip player that would guarantee your team the Lombardi Trophy for years to come.

I don’t know who the Vikings will end up drafting over the next three days, but there are some positional needs that pretty much demand to be attended to — either in the draft itself or in the free agent market that will heat up again once the draft is finished. Here are what I think are the Vikings’ most urgent needs:

  1. Middle linebacker. With the departure of Jasper Brinkley in free agency, the only middle linebacker on the roster right now is Audie Cole. Cole played well in very limited preseason action (recording back-to-back interceptions returned for touchdowns) and special teams work in the regular season. It’s not anticipated that he’d be ready to step in to a starting role this year. Arif Hasan at the Daily Norseman says the top linebackers who would fit the Vikings’ scheme are Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, Arthur Brown, and Manti Te’o.
  2. Wide receiver. Last year’s receiving corps was one of the weakest in the NFL, and most of the receivers who saw extended playing time have left (Harvin traded to Seattle, Jenkins released and signed with New England, Aromashodu an untendered free agent). Signing Greg Jennings from the Packers is a major upgrade, but a deep-threat receiver is still needed. Arif’s choices would be DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, and Da’Rick Rogers
  3. Cornerback. This wasn’t an urgent need until the team unexpectedly cut Antoine Winfield to clear salary cap room to re-sign Phil Loadholt. Now, it means the Vikings should try to find a starting-calibre player early in the draft (or hope that first-year player Josh Robinson develops enough to step in to Winfield’s shoes). Arif suggests Dee Milliner, Desmond Trufant, Johnthan Banks, and Xavier Rhodes.
  4. Defensive tackle. Kevin Williams has been a great player for the Vikings, but he’s not what he was a few years back. Guion and Evans are both adequate at nose tackle, but as Tom Pelissero would put it, they’re just guys. (Technically the other half of the Williams Wall is rejoining the team, but Pat Williams is only going to be a Viking for one day so he can retire.) Arif’s preferred picks would be Star Lotulelei, Sharrif Floyd, Sheldon Richardson, and Johnathan Jenkins.
  5. Offensive guard. 2012 starters Brandon Fusco and Charlie Johnson remain with the team (although Johnson is in the final year of his contract), so this isn’t an urgent need now. This would be a luxury pick compared to the higher-priority needs listed above. Arif would pick Chance Warmack, Jonathan Cooper, or Larry Warford.
  6. Defensive end. This is one of the undoubted strengths of the team. For this year, anyway: the top three ends (Jared Allen, Brian Robison, and Everson Griffin) all have contracts that expire at the end of this season. It’s unlikely the team will re-sign all three, so drafting a potential replacement this year would be prudent. Arif says Dion Jordan, Bjoern Werner, Ezekiel Ansah, Cornelius “Tank” Carradine, or Datone Jones would be the best choices for the Vikings.

Interpreting what NFL coaches and general managers say leading up to the draft

Filed under: Business, Football, Humour — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 00:02

It’s a time of the year when pretty much nothing coming out of the mouths of team officials can be taken at face value … GMs and coaches don’t want to tip their hands in advance of making their selections on draft day, so lots of misinformation is spread. For example, the Daily Norseman‘s Ted Glover goes through yesterday’s press conference by Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and tries to give us an interpretation of what was said (and not said):

Vikings GM Rick Spielman has become known for his amazing ability to fill up a notebook saying anything…unless one is willing to read between the lines.

Here at DN, I got drunk one night and started posting, I was tasked with deciphering what we’ve come to know as Rick Speak, and take his paragraphs of nothing, non- denials, and unequivocal statements that really are equivocal, and turn them into some useful information.

[. . .]

    Rick Says: I think this is going to be one of most intriguing drafts I’ve been associated with because of the depth of the draft.

What that means: There’s not a lot of top shelf talent, and GM’s across the league would cut their grandma’s achilles tendons if they could get a good deal. We’re moving up to get an impact player, because he’s got two draft picks and and they’re BURNIN’ A HOLE IN MAH POCKET WOOOOOOOOOO!

    Rick Says: And to be honest with you (Ed note: LOLWUT), where we’re picking at 23 and 25, we’re looking at all our needs, from the whole defensive side of the ball to needs on the offensive side of the ball, trying to distinguish what makes this potential receiver better than this corner, better than this linebacker, better than this defensive end, better than this defensive tackle.

What that means: None of our scouts agree on anyone, and that means no matter who we draft, a sizeable portion of our fanbase is going to be disappointed and call for my head on a platter. If we stay where we are many of you will IMMEDIATELY draw comparisons to 2005. But hey…new uniforms WOOO!

[. . .]

Rick also talked about a couple positions and position players, and how that might relate to the upcoming draft.

    Tom P says Rick says: Asked if Erin Henderson was strictly considered a weak-side linebacker at this point, Spielman said, “No, that’s flexible. That depends on what happens in the draft. If we go outside, Erin can slide inside or if we go inside Erin can play outside. That’s what is great about this linebacker thing. We have the flexibility to go either way.”

What that means: We’re so gooned at linebacker right now. There’s nothing great about not having a starting MLB on the roster, and we have to be so flexible because we’re currently gooned. Did I mention we’re gooned at the linebacker position right now?

April 24, 2013

A call to abolish the draft … the NFL draft, that is

Filed under: Business, Football, Law, Media — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 00:02

S.M Oliva calls for the abolition of the NFL’s annual offseason TV mega-event in Reason:

The sports draft is an anomaly of the American labor market. In most industries new hires are free to seek employment wherever there’s an opening. Even promising high school athletes may accept a scholarship offer from any college. But the NFL shield has stood resolutely against labor freedom since 1935 when Bert Bell, then the struggling owner of the last-place Philadelphia Eagles, convinced the rest of the nine-team league that poorly performing clubs should be rewarded with first choice of promising college talent. Under this new system, a “drafted” player could only negotiate a contract with a single team.

[. . .]

Regardless of how players come into the league, they are all subject to a salary cap that fixes total compensation as a percentage of football-related revenues. The present collective bargaining agreement further constrains rookie salaries, and roster limits prevent a team from simply stockpiling players. All the draft does is increase the likelihood that the most promising new talent — the players taken at the top of the first round — will go to teams with a demonstrated history of mismanagement.

This should concern the league as it faces a rising tide of concussion-related lawsuits brought by former players. While the NFL tinkers with playing rules in an effort to make the game “safer,” there’s been no effort to question the role of the draft system in promoting unsafe working conditions. Let’s say Player X is a highly touted quarterback prospect drafted by Team A. What if Team A has a poor offensive line and a coach prone to recklessness with his quarterbacks? Player X can’t turn around and negotiate with Team B, which offers a better line and a coach with a stronger record of developing young quarterbacks. Player X is stuck with Team A, and if that means he’s out of football after four years, a record number of sacks and a half-dozen concussions, then so be it.

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