It’s that time of the year again. The NFL season is approaching, and we will have our contest. It’s fun, easy, and totally free–you just pick the winners of each week’s games and the winning margin. The software totals it all up, and the best picker claims the coveted Forumosa NFL Pick’em virtual trophy, and full bragging rights, at the end of the season. Last year the mysterious @surrenr won this thing, in a close race with @bojack. All you need is a free account at Superbru.com to play, which is easy to set up.
Never a good sign when an athlete in his mid- to late-twenties, in the physical prime of life, can’t stay healthy in the NFL. In some ways he reminds me of Andy Murray, the Brit tennis star who likewise was unable to compete at the highest level of tennis without injuring himself.
Still sucks, though. Luck was such a good QB. The NFL took a hit today. The Colts are fucked.
Just goes to show why QBs get paid the big bucks. Colts with Luck are legit super bowl contenders, Colts without Luck are legit contenders for first pick in next year’s draft.
I wonder how much of a surprise this was to the Colts’ QB coach. If he was surprised, then he should probably be fired.
Anybody else watching Hard Knocks on HBO? They’re with the Raiders this year, so lots of AB drama (they also cut a Last Chance U star from that show’s first season, Ronald Ollie, in the first 20 minutes of HK ep 1 for the same kind of shenanigans Ollie got up to with EMCC on LCU).
Super interesting to be a fly on the wall and observe the relationship between Jon Gruden and his QB, Derek Carr. Gruden is plainly disgusted by Carr. It’s not about talent, it’s about Carr’s sycophancy. Carr so wants to get in Gruden’s good graces. Gruden seems to wish Carr would break a few rules, maybe get into a fist fight, show some emotion. Not Carr’s thing.
I wonder if Luck had, through advice of Colts’ strength&conditioning coaches, developed too many small muscles below his knees. There were lots of great QBs in the last half of last century who would never have been considered an Adonis. Joe Montana comes to mind. Being a chiseled athlete is a different kettle of fish than being a top QB in the NFL.
Anyway, maybe Luck will come back later. He’s only just 30.
I believe we will see this more and more in the NFL. More players are aware of the health risks of being a NFL player now. Some of them are pretty scary and not even uncommon. I remember the first player I can remember to do this was Tiki barber. People gave him a hard time. But he said something like will people be cheering for me when I cant walk down the stairs anymore. Very true.
Yep. If the NFL keeps dragging its feet it may just kill the golden goose. They’ve painted themselves in a corner by allowing fan love of extracurricular violence to take over modern defenses.
I think they’re going in the wrong direction by upping the head protection in the new helmets mandated by the league. The long term answer is probably less protection, not more. But they have allowed fans to indulge their blood lust for too long, so likely a big hit to league revenue in the short term.
Football is just a violent game by nature as you know. You’re right about how less protection is better. As a former player, you give me more protection, I see it as a weapon to hit the other player with that protects me. The force of impact is all the same regardless with your brain bouncing around or snapping a bone.
Funny thing, boxing figured it out sooner. Amateurs no longer wear head gear because it’s doesn’t actually protect the force of impact at the end. Just protect from cosmetic damage on the face basically. So fighter don’t protect themselves as much since they don’t get cut. They’re more willing to exchange blows to the head as well. Harder to see which is definitely true of a football helmet so easier to get hit. Also a bigger target.
Idk what they can do. The fans love football for a reason. It’s a violent game by nature. I actually was able to draw from my experience in football to fight. Because you had to turn on a switch when you get out there and be a menace. It’s not like that for most sports.
I’m glad these guys are getting out. Look at some of the retire players now. They look bad. Gronk also left for about the same reason as luck.
I also think the NFL isn’t fair to their players. None guaranteed contracts and being able to be cut so easily as well. Especially for a sport where injury is part of the game.
Yes, definitely. Unfortunately some players are unable to turn if off when they trot off the field, which also hurts the game (Ray Rice, Richie Incognito come to mind). And while it doesn’t look good on tape, head coaches are doing their players a favor when they yell at players in the locker room to go out and fuck somebody up. Especially in the NFL. It’s the game. Do or be done to.
I think the NFL could afford to be more generous to players who develop CTE later in life. There’s also an argument for a mandatory set-aside for player income so they can’t spend all their pay, but I realize it’s real tricky. Not all agree, and the NFL isn’t staffed with financial planners who are bonded and insured, either.
The pension benefits for NFL players are not the most generous, I agree, but they’re not terrible. The NFL is the only American pro sports org that offers a 401k plan. Overall retirement benefits are surely due to rise thanks to CTE.
Pro sports are all about merit. I actually love the NFL for placing a high value on athleticism and brains, and for its no-nonsense cuts. They are often handed real head cases by organized football, from Pop Warner through sports-only high schools through the NCAA. Lots of players are judged at the lower levels less on merit and more on potential.
For example, watch the first season of Last Chance U, Ronald Ollie in particular, then watch the first episode of this season’s Hard Knocks on HBO, where Ollie is unceremoniously cut after a single screw-up (he failed to show up for physical rehab the morning after claiming he’d pulled a calf muscle in the first Raiders practice). Gruden might as well have been swatting a fly. Watch every season of LCU and see that every team has multiple players with optional-performance issues as bad, or worse, than Ollie’s. Ollie skipped class, laughed at his academic counselor, played hard only when it suited him, and allowed himself to be filmed smoking on camera. He’s also a real sweet kid, but it wasn’t enough as he learned with Oakland.
The NFL is a place where development applies only to QBs, rarely to anybody else. I like that.
I find that football, is more about attitude and effort than most sports. It’s harder to gauge ability to play in football vs other sports. And sometimes it’s about who wants it more when players are around the same league in athleticism and skill. It really is a team game, and you need to count on a player being with the team more than his skills sometimes.