| Authored by Jeff Risdon - 6th May, 2009 - 8:12 pm
 Technically this piece was started on May 4th and won’t be finished until the 6th, but Cinco de Mayo is quickly developing into a trendy day to celebrate life, liberty, and the defeat of the French. That’s worth hoisting a Modelo or two and reflecting on some recent developments in the NFL. And because it’s the most “off” portion of the offseason, this week it’s just a nickel’s worth of thoughts.
Many thanks to those who appreciated my musical interlude in the last $.10 column. For your listening pleasure, I recommend Lit’s self-titled release from 2004, followed by my all-time favorite song, The Spirit Carries On by Dream Theater, the song I want played at my funeral. Keep reading and you’ll find out why...
$.01--Like you really believed Brett Favre was going to stay retired...bah! I respect all he has done, but if the alleged Favre-to-the-Vikings chatter is legit, that respect is quickly waning. Favre is clearly both a competition junkie and an attention whore, a real nasty combo for a 40-year old body. Ask Michael Jordan and pretty much every boxer you’ve ever heard of. I don’t even think he’s a good fit for the Vikings, a team with an outstanding running game and a very good defense. They need a game manager that doesn’t turn the ball over and can distribute the ball all over the field to multiple weapons. Favre has annihilated the NFL record for INTs, and his performance the last two Decembers indicates his body simply cannot hold up when his team needs him the most. It’s a real bad gamble for a team that already went all in on pocket 9s with their first two draft picks. They traded for Sage Rosenfels, and Tavaris Jackson was the NFC’s #2 passer in December. This courtship to spite a bitter rival has disaster written all over it. Don’t do it Brett!
$.02--The Michael Vick saga continues to fascinate and befuddle me. I’m a dog lover and his crimes are despicable, but the man has served his time and appears sincerely remorseful. This is a nation of forgiveness, one that loves redemption stories and comebacks. So why is there seemingly zero interest in Vick? Leonard Little killed a woman and then got another subsequent DUI. Pacman Jones is the epicenter of a whole host of reprehensible behavior. Several NFL players have been convicted of possessing guns without permits and/or possession of drugs you can’t get from the local high school loser. And that’s not even mentioning all the politicians/criminals (paging Ms. Kopeckne) still running our country. Vick deserves the second chance and benefit of the doubt that the general public and the NFL has given so many others. I’ve questioned his on-field capabilities in the past, but Michael Vick is the perfect person to run the Wildcat formation, which appears to be the new black. Surely some team is willing to give a good person who made a bad decision a shot at redemption...
$.03--There must be something in the water in Boston, something that they might want to bottle and market. Their three major sports teams (sorry hockey fans!) have all won recent titles and experienced major success by defying the axiom that you build from within. The Celtics tried that and couldn’t get out of the first round. Enter Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and to a lesser extent James Posey, Eddie House, and Brian Scalabrine. They imported a great deal of developed talent and blended them in with their own players (Pierce, Rondo, Perkins), finally getting them over the hump. Ditto the Red Sox, who experienced generations of home-grown suffering before importing Manny, Pedro, Johnny Damon, and Curt Schilling to pair up with their own quality players and finally tasting triumph. The Patriots do it better than anyone in the NFL, and the proof is in the Belichick protégés who have miserably failed when separated from The Hoodie. Mike Vrabel, Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, Wes Welker, and so many others have been sage additions to the core strength that keeps the Pats as legit Super Bowl contenders every year. Few teams in any sport use free agency so extensively to build. But what makes it so special is that the NFL is the hardest league to fill holes via free agency, what with the exorbitant signing bonuses, franchise tags, and selfish chasing of every last nickel.
$.04--My two worlds of collegiate specialty (football history and meteorology) collided in Dallas, as a microburst event tore apart the Cowboys’ practice facility with terrible consequences. The video from that tragedy is frightening, as you see professional athletes noted for their toughness visibly shaken and scared as the world collapsed around them. I met Rich Behm once, and my heart goes out to him and the families of the other injured Cowboys staff. I’m far from a Cowboys fan, but this transcends fandom. It’s not the same, but I’m reminded of the Spring Training tragedy on Little Lake Nellie in 1993, which became the root rallying point of an outstanding run of Cleveland Indians baseball. Sadly, there are so many recent tragedies involving athletes and teams to relate to this one. Sometimes in all the rooting and the face painting and message board posturing and talk radio and astronomical salaries, we forget that these are real people that experience real things in the real world. Try and remember that the next time you taunt somebody for missing a free throw or dropping the relay throw or missing a blitz pickup.
$.05--Jack Kemp died over the weekend, a much more notable loss than most fans realize. Kemp won an AFL MVP award and championship in 1965 and was a key figure in establishing the upstart league with both football credibility and excitement. He bounced around before taking over in Buffalo, but by drawing fans and thriving in a mid-major market, Kemp and the Bills helped force the NFL to realize that they couldn’t beat them and should therefore let the AFL join them. But Kemp is better-known for his Congressional service to our country, where he vigilantly fought against taxes and brought a cerebral civility to the 1996 Presidential campaign. I’m proud to say he represented my political viewpoints perhaps better than anyone else, and I’m sad to see such a good man lose the brave fight with cancer. Football and America lost a true champion and hero in Jack Kemp.
Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com |
