There's a saying about every sport that goes "Love the game first, the league second, your team third, and the players last". This saying poignantly displays that all fans are interconnected by their love for the game, no matter which team they support. I'm going to identify 3 teams that every NFL fan should be rooting for this season (of course unless they face your favorite team) and 3 you should be rooting against (unless they are your hometown team).
For
3. Miami Dolphins
It's not just their worst to AFC East first that means you should root for the Dolphins, it's the way they did it. They truely are an overachieving team of 'Average Joes'(minus stud RB Ronnie Brown). Chad Pennington was cast-off by the Jets in order to make room for attention-starved Brett Favre and responded by having a great season. And the Dolphins got to first utilizing the exciting wildcat offense, something most experts said could be used successfully in college, but not in the NFL because the "talented" defenders could easily recognize it. Well the Dolphins used it week in and week out and no D was able to stop it.
Also, the Dolphins are easy to root for because they are the most likeable of the AL East teams. Rooting for the Patriots is too easy; it's like going to see the movie 300 and saying "Gee I hope the Persians win". They have all the talented stars... and the other team's playbook. The Jets are always desperately trying to top the Pats and consistently sign players they hype up to be their savior such as Brett Favre and now Mark Sanchez. The Bills used to be a respectable, albeit bad team, but now they are following in the Jets footsteps and are trying to catch the Pats in a desperate fashion. This is highlighted by their recent acquisition of T.O. who has caused problems for all of the teams he has played for, the 49ers, the Ravens (He was a Raven for 48 hours I believe), the Eagles, and the Cowboys. Admist all these teams it's easy to root for the Dolphins, a group of hard-working overachievers who play and win in a unique fashion.
2. Detroit Lions
No one liked seeing the Lions go 0-16 last season, becoming the first team in league history to do so. And it's more than just sports-talk here; Detroit has been hit the hardest by the economic recession. While Detroit citizens worry all week about whether or not they will lose their job or can pay the bills, it would be nice if they could all relax on Sunday and watch a competitive and interesting football game. Unfortunately they didn't get that last season.
But the Lions have a fresh start this season, now lead by Matt Stafford. If you listened to Stafford leading up to the NFL draft you will realize what a mature and focused competitor he is. Certainly he will have some woes when starting for the winless Lions, but even winning 4 games would be considered a huge turnaround. But this is more than rooting for Stafford or the Lions, it's about rooting for the hard-hit citizens of Detroit, and rooting for the fighting spirit of America. How can you not root for that?
1. Atlanta Falcons
There are certain teams in the league that have little or no respect, and most often it's a well deserved reputation. The prime example would be the Cincinatti Bengals, whose players constantly get in trouble with the law, and yet they continue to draft players who have legal troubles in college, all while stating that they are fixing their teams image. Two years ago the Falcons lost most, if not all, of their respect. But to be fair, it's hard to blame the organization as a whole. No one knew about Vick's dogfighting ring, and the Falcons had previously had a (relatively) good record when it came to troubles with the law. Following Vick's suspension the Falcons started journeyman QB Joey Harrington, who proved that if you can't hang onto your starting job in Detroit, you probably don't deserve a starting job anywhere. The Falcons ended 07' with a 4-12 record and a disgraced reputation.
08' appeared to be a lost cause for the Falcons. They were starting a rookie QB, an untested RB, and had just traded arguably the most talented and controversial player on their team, CB Deangelo Hall, for a 5th round pick. And yet this team won 11 games, clinched a playoff spot, and most importantly, regained the respect they deserved. Everywhere there was a good story. The best one of all, of course, was QB Matt Ryan. He met and exceeded every possible expectation of his rookie season. And he did so with class.
Now if that wasn't enough to get you to root for them in 09', the Falcons acquired one of the most revered, hard-working, under-appreciated, and classy guys in the league: Tony Gonzalez. For 12 years Gonzo was the main man in the Chiefs pathetic passing game, and year in and year out the Chiefs continued to lose, and year in and year out Gonzo didn't complain. He never whined like others, and he never demanded a trade. He is the epitome of what every NFL player should act like. And now every fan should be rooting for karma, and hoping that if your team doesn't get the superbowl ring, that Gonzo finally does. Lord knows he deserves it.
Against
3. Buffalo Bills
In Greek mythology there is a group of seductive women called the Sirens who lived on a secluded island, singing a song. And their voices were so sweet that passing sailors would jump ship and head towards them, even though they knew that these women would kill them upon their arrival, just like they had killed so many similar sailors before. And yet every passing sailor was enticed but what he heard, despite knowing the inevitable outcome. So it is with the Bills and their acquisition of T.O.
He will entice you with his skills, he will amaze you with his speeds and his leaps. And he will put up the numbers. And yet, almost all teams seem reluctant to touch him. Because T.O. is one of the biggest locker room cancers in all of sports. He called 49ers QB Jeff Garcia gay, despite the fact that Garcia was married to a women. He was sent to Baltimore and promptly verbally abused the team, demanded a trade to Philly, and received it quickly. His time with the Eagles was marred with arguments with QB McNabb. And the arguments and name-calling continued after he left Philly for Dallas. And after blowing up at Romo one too many times, the Cowboys released him. T.O.'s talented, no doubt there. But 4 teams have already sent him packing, and his talent has never lead to a team winning the super bowl. Yet the Bills know this history, have ignored it, and are doomed to repeat it.
2. Whichever team signs Michael Vick
There are 2 reasons for this. First and most obviously, this guy is scum. He disgraced his team, his city, and the league. I believe that a criminal has paid his debt to society when he leaves jail, and that most opportunities should be open to him to re-establish himself and turn over a new leaf. So I believe he should be reinstated, but that doesn't mean a team has to sign him.
In conjuction with this philosophy, I believe he shouldn't be signed because Vick was never that good of a qb. If Drew Brees went to jail for dogfighting and came back two years later, I would certainly not hope a team would sign him, but I could perfectly understand if one did. Brees is a very talented qb, is able to play, and can take your team to a super bowl. And if you don't sign him, your rival might. Sure you will catch heat from the media, but that may be a small price to pay if he wins you a superbowl. However, any team that signs Vick will face a lot of heat from the media, and for WHAT exactly. A qb that is best suited as a backup. Most AVERAGE qb's will gain 3300 net yards in a season, or their rush yards plus their pass yard total 3300. This means(assuming they start all 16 games) they average 206.25 yards per game. In a 74 game career, Vick totaled 15364 net yards, or 207.62 yards per game. Just over a yard over an "average" qb. Don't buy this? Well let's look at the 2008 season. A team averaging 207 yards per game would have a passing offense ranked 16 out of 32 teams, or right smack in the middle.
But this assumes that the way in which the qb's pick up yards is equivalent. Basically it assumes that a yard of rushing is the equivalent to a yard of passing. And in a game situation, it is- On fourth and inches it doesn't matter how you get that yard, so long as you get it. But a qb that gets a disproportionately high amount of his net yards via rushing is more than likely hurting a team more than a qb that would get the same amount of net yards mostly through passing. Because in order to get a ton of rushing yards, as Vick does, the qb must be willing to total a high number of rushes and be agressive. And while RB's should definetely be aggressive, they, unlike qb's, are for the most part smart and efficient. Vick risks so much by rushing, and any qb would have to be very adept not to run a lot and not hurt his team.
Case in point: Vick totals more sacks than the average qb. In 08' there was an average of 2.02 sacks per game, while Vick was sacked an average of 2.52 times per game over his career, or an additional 8 sacks per year than the average qb. This may not sound like a lot, but it lessens his value by a decent amount. This also does not include the times Vick rushes on 2nd and 10 to only pick up one yard and create a 3rd and 9, when he probably should have thrown and gotten something like a 3rd and four.
Also, fumbles. Vick fumbles 0.74 times per game, rediculously high for a qb. I won't spend the time finding out how many time the average qb fumbles per game, so I randomly selected a few qb's from across the talent spectrum. Here's the list:
Vick- Below average in my opinion- 0.74 fumbles per game
Brees- Great qb- 0.41
Harrington- Awful qb- 0.31
Delhomme- Slightly above average- 0.60
Eli- Good, not great- 0.53
Garcia- Efficient, but below average 0.47
Vick clearly fumbles more than most qb's. In fact the only qb i could find in a brief 10 minute search that fumbled more than him was Kurt Warner, who fumbles 0.81 times per game. But he also nets 262 yards per game, or 55 yards more per game than vick. And he's been to the super bowl multiple times.
Bottom line: Vick is a delightful athlete to watch, a world-class scumbag, and, at best, an average qb. I would rather see Joey Harrington at the helm than Vick. Unless of course the team
their playing are "mean as dogs". (Sorry, I had to get one in there.)
1. Oakland Raiders
I'm watching the Red Sox post-game show right now and one of the announcers went to the streets and asked people who they would trade for, and who they would give in the trade, in order to better the team. One young child said he would acquire Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday from the Cards for Nick Green; A-rod, Jeter, and CC for Dice-K; and Roy Halladay for the worst prospect in the Red Sox farm system. Ahh, children! Great plan, if I ever heard of one, though he may find it a tad hard to execute. Which is why of course children never have run a pro sports team.
But the Raiders are as close as "child-run" as any sports team has ever come. Think about it. After a bad 07' season the Raiders splurged in the offseason... but they splurged stupidly. Deangelo Hall was signed to a $70 million contract, only to be released halfway through the season. Javon Walker, the gimpy wr, was signed to a $55 million contract, and didn't even total 500 yards. They signed the Giants safety Wilson to a hefty contract, and while Wilson is good, he was paid the 3rd highest contract of any safety. In 10 seconds I can think of at least 4 safeties substantially better than him who are still active (My man Brian Dawkins, Ed Reed, Adrian Wilson, Troy Polamalu) and countless others who have retired within the last 10 years or so.
However none of this holds a candle to the way that they draft. I truly do believe a child is calling the shots when it comes to the draft. Year in and year out the Raiders do not select the "best" player available or the best player at a position they need, they select the guy with the most hype, the most uncertainty, or the most speed. And time and again this strategy has failed. Jamarcus Russell has been a failure thus far, and the 09' season will determine whether he will remain so. This after he held-out for much of his rookie season, and somehow, got the Raiders to cave to his demand. The next year the Raiders selected McFadden, though RB was not their biggest concern and Justin Fargas, though not as flashy as McFadden, was doing quite well, and had accumulated over 1000 yards that season. And in his rookie season McFadden rushed for less than 500 yards. And this year the raiders selected Bey over the highly touted Crabtree, for the pure reason that Bey is much faster, though he didn't put up good #'s in college.
Now I will not condemn Bey just yet. Perhaps the Raiders were right and Bey will be the best player in the 09' draft. Hell, maybe he will be better than Jerry Rice. Maybe the Raiders are right and we are wrong. Even so, the Raiders paid more for him than they had to. The highest any mock draft had Bey going was something like 20 or 22. Meaning the Raiders could have traded the 7th pick to a team picking between 10 and 17, comfortably gotten Bey, could have paid him less, and would have received another pick, most likely at least a second rounder, for trading down. But, being the Raiders, they didn't.
But don't worry, they made it up to their fans in the second round by selecting a safety that most experts didn't have drafted in day one at all.
Crash and burn, Al Davis, crash and burn.
Keywords: Miami DolphinsOakland RaidersAtlanta FalconsBuffalo BillsDetroit LionsPhiladelphia Eagles
