Tim Tebow is the Next Brett Favre

by | Jan 9, 2009 | College Football

OK, not so much in arm strength. Or probably NFL touchdown passes.  Or even NFL interceptions.

But when it comes to announcers knocking each other over to get on their knees to fellate the star quarterback, Tebow might already have Favre beat.

Seriously, some of the comments from tonight’s BCS Might Be Best of the Big Conferences Game, some of the comments on Tebow were ridiculous.  I was doing more drinking than taking notes, but I know I heard something about how his teammates were better people simply for playing with them, how great of a guy he is because he went and lived with lepers, how it might have been his first penalty ever (after he blatantly tried taunting an opponent–and failed, which of course made their highlight reel at the end of the game), how great he was making yards after contact (on a simple dive play up the middle that got like 3 yards), and how he placed the ball perfectly where he had to so only his guy had a chance to catch it (he didn’t, because the ball was too low–had the ball been thrown sooner, or higher, it would have been a touchdown).

And finally, after the game, there was the “When you’re talking about the greatest college football players of all time…<pause for 10 seconds>if he was in the top 10, he’s now in the top 5”.  Might be paraphrased a bit, as I was busy trying not to throw up.

I get that he’s a solid college QB, and that his team won.  But frankly, the defense won that national title for Florida more than Tebow.  And if I have to listen to NFL announcers gush over Tebow the way they gush over Favre…at a minimum, we’ll have some quiet Sunday’s at the ZoneBlitz headquarters watching games with the sound off.

Hall of Fame Voting Process Flawed?

by | Jan 8, 2009 | Hall of Fame

Thinking I had a chance to finally prove Bachslunch wrong on a Hall of Fame matter (I didn’t–I thought that the Hall could take seven inductees regardless of whether they are senior candidates or not, but they are considered seperately), I came across this article on the Hall of Fame Web site that outlines the voting process, and lists the Hall of Fame Board of Selectors.

Looking at the list of selectors, a few things jumped out at me:

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Hall of Fame Finalists Announced

by | Jan 6, 2009 | Hall of Fame

The fifteen 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists were announced Tuesday, adding their names to the two senior candidates announced in August.  The 25 semifinalists had been announced in November.

We’ve got a couple of great Hall of Fame discussions going already–one discussing our picks for the Hall of Fame Class of 2009, and one discussing the Hall of Fame worthiness of several current players.

The seventeen finalists:

WR Cris Carter
C Dermontti Dawson
DE Richard Dent
G Russ Grimm
WR Bob Hayes (Senior Candidate)
DE Claude Humphrey (Senior Candidate)
DT Cortez Kennedy
G Bob Kuechenberg
G Randall McDaniel
DT John Randle
WR Andre Reed
TE Shannon Sharpe
DE Bruce Smith
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
LB Derrick Thomas
Team Owner Ralph Wilson
DB Rod Woodson

Sharpe, Woodson, Smith and Randle are all first year finalists.

Only two players from our original guess of the 15 finalists did not make it–Ray Guy and Charles Haley.  The two that made it that weren’t on our list were Cortez Kennedy and Ralph Wilson.  All five of our picks for the Class of 2009 made the cut.

Jared Allen Not a Dirty Player

by | Dec 14, 2008 | NFL Random Thoughts

All this week, we’ve seen comments being left on blogs and message boards that indicate that the hit laid on Jared Allen by Gosder Cherilus (and subsequent knee injury) was karma for Allen’s earlier season hits on Matt Schaub and Aaron Rodgers.  All kinds of “fans” claim that Allen is a dirty player.

Now even ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio is getting in on the act, saying “We’ll wait a second while you wipe the Coke off your screen” after reporting that Allen declared that he has “never, ever taken a cheap shot at anybody.”

Florio’s proof that Allen has taken cheap shots?  The $75,000 in fines levied against him this season by the NFL for the hits on Schaub and Rodgers, and a (slightly biased) YouTube video replaying the hit on Schaub.

The random comments on the blogs don’t surprise me, nor really irritate me much, since it’s typically anonymous fans of other teams running their mouths.  But I would hope that someone like Florio would be able to provide a little better evidence (he is a lawyer, after all), and be a little non-partial, since he claims to hate all 32 teams equally.

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NFL Fines Absurdity Continues

by | Dec 14, 2008 | Business of Football, NFL News, NFL Random Thoughts

The NFL continues to amaze me in their ability to find ridiculous actions to fine players for.  And while I’m not ready to go down the path of claiming vindictiveness yet, at least some Viking fans are thinking the NFL has it in for the team, possibly due to the Kevin & Pat Williams lawsuit.

The latest fined Viking?  DT Fred Evans, who was fined $5k for grabbing the face mask of RB Kevin Smith.  And my problem with the fine this time isn’t just the face that fining players for actions like a face mask, which is an unfortunate but common part of the game, is ridiculous (Vikings LB Chad Greenway was fined $15k earlier this year for a face mask that wasn’t called against the Saints, the first time I’d ever heard of such a fine).

My problem with this fine is that replays seemed to show (rather clearly, in my eyes) that Evans didn’t even grab the face mask on the play.  It appeared that Evans merely tackled Smith by the shoulder pads–essentially grabbing him by the front collar and pulling him down in a way that maybe appeared to be the result of a face mask, but on replay did not look like it.

So now it appears that Evans was penalized AND fined unfairly for the play.  Fortunately, unlike the Saints, who lost to the Vikings when Greenway’s penalty wasn’t called (on a play that may have impacted the outcome of the game), the Vikings didn’t lose to the 0-12 Lions last week.

I still have to wonder, though–with all of the poor officiating going on this year–are any moves being made to make NFL referees full time?  And hold them accoutable with something other than losing out on the opportunity to work playoff games?