Its a reality check for the fans.... Opening salvo's:
Things that make me take pause are many. This week's Toe topic is no different. This week we talk about ignorant analysis. This wayward scrutiny comes from many levels in and around the sport and we will touch on a few, but I want to focus primarily on us....the fan. It was the comedian George Carlin who said, "Don't die stupid" his meaning of course, there are certain activities in life where if you partake in them you may die, and being that they are very voluntairy actions and you chose to embrace them anyway and lost, then you died stupidly. Sky diving, and trying to outrun a train are the two that leap to mind first and foremost.
Anyway before I stray too far off topic, this weeks toe is about avoiding discussions and topics that may cause you to die stupidly.
They said it.... (EDITORS NOTE): I really need to change this topic to idiot of the week.
"Freeney would have become an unrestricted free agent March 2 without a new contract. The franchise tag means the Colts could keep him by matching any offer sheet he might sign with another team."~ sports illustrated.com
The problem here is he was "EXCLUSIVELY" franchised tagged which means he CANNOT recieve offers from other teams.
Breaking fabrication:
"Regis Philbin, and Howie Mandel are only one step away from being in your Monday Night football booth, one can entertain and the other has a number fixation, is this your NFL?"
Out lawed phrases of the week:
"The best (fill in the blank)"
"The top (pick a number) of all time are..."
Heart of the Matter:
Don't ever, yeah I said E-V-E-R! get involved in a "Who is the best fill in the blank of all time". There is no way to look intelligent in a discussion such as this, I shudder at the recent Deion Sanders love train I witnessed here at PSH. Titled topics on the net like this are created soley to debate the undebatable, its a good way to hear yourself talk if you like that sort of thing, there is no value in it other than to get your grandstanding quota met.
Another loathesome topic we all encounter web wide, The Top # of whatever....and I include the incidious "Power Rankings" in this list. This is one sure way to die stupid, how can you quantify "power"? Yeah, you can't....its a delegated uninformed listing of my favorite teams, but that title would be too long, hence (Power Rankings). These types of things are dumbing down the pool of intellectual football discussion. Let the fantasy football'ers and casual fans of the sport blabber on about these meanial things.
I raise this red flag hopefully, to slap you football lovers into your senses....you cannot, I said you CAN NOT even intelligently declare an off season winner, there is no such thing. There is no contest, no playoff placement, no ring given for such a title. It means nothing, and until you look at the exsisting roster talent, add in draft picks can you even reasonably assess how well a teams off season went. Don't die stupid, raise the bar...;why when the NFL is climbing to its peak in popularity do I not see the debate of one gap defense verse two and three gap. Where is the strategic debate of 3-4 vs 4-3?
We all decry how poor the in game announcers are, think about it, they are there to reflect and interject points of view based on the fans. So what we say, do, and discuss are what they base their pathetic coverage on. Hate how simply stupid and scatter brained about the game they are? They are a reflection of us! Look, someone has to say this, I am not above it, I have done it too, this is a collective wake up call to the NFL fan. Talk strategy and impact, CBA ramifications, and rule changes, but don't fall victim to the flavor of the month conversation, it hurts us all.
Crunked Says:
"This topic will offend and hurt some of my best online friends, and it should, we are all hurting because of it...I am just as guilty"
The best-the worst-the ugliest of the week
Best
Foxsports.com is reporting that Jon Gruden (Bucs coach) is playing coy leading up to the draft. Shocking, is there a team revealing what they will do with all of their draft picks? This is the best die stupid topic this week. Worst
The mock draft start ups. really mock drafts in general, how do I know what you know, you could just be regurgitating what you read elsewhere, we need a mock registry program where you have to demonstrate some basic knowledge precepts before you are allowed to create a mock draft online. Ugliest Out of the nine headline topics on ESPN.com this past weekend the following words were noted in titles: "cover up theory" , "Judge allows lawsuit", "Lawyers will fight", "Gates assaults pregnant woman" ...somewhere there is a busload of proud NFL mom's but finding that bus is akin to playing "Where's Waldo?"
Its a reality check for the fans....
Out of the nine headline topics on ESPN.com this past weekend the following words were noted in titles: "cover up theory" , "Judge allows lawsuit", "Lawyers will fight", "Gates assaults pregnant woman" ...somewhere there is a busload of proud NFL mom's but finding that bus is akin to playing "Where's Waldo?"
