The GOAT

It happened.  I managed to talk our young IT guru into watching a football game. And what a game to be his first.

If there was any doubt on WHO the GOAT is, Drew Brees ended that argument last night.  He leads the NFL in practically every record a QB can have (he WILL retire having the most touchdown passes in NFL history).

Brees flies under the radar in QB circles. Most fans see him as a good QB because he isn't flashy.

I may not personally know Drew Brees, but he never struck me as the kind who WANTED the spotlight. He was happy doing what he loved.

If you ever hear him speak, he says "Us", "We", "Our". Never "Me", "Mine", "I".  He is as humble as they come.

Even in watching him break the record, his first act was to hug his lineman and to celebrate with his team. The GOAT then celebrated the fans. He never put the spotlight on himself.

Now, let's put this in perspective.

Farve, the third leading passer in the NFL, played for 20 years and threw for 71,838 yards. An amazing feat for sure. The Gunslinger lead the Packers to a Super Bowl victory or two.  He is still revered, rightfully so, as one of the most dominant QBs to play the game, though we did tire of his constant retiring.

Peytin Manning, who is not only Brees' friend, but, until last night, was the league leader in passing yards, played 17 years and threw for 71,940 yards. Again, a Hall of Fame feat. The Sheriff was the epitome of the calmness a QB should have when pressured and was quite possibly the best at reading defenses. Manning could throw defenses off with his cadences of TACO TACO CORNED BEEF.

Now, to the GOAT. As of last night, Brees, who is in his 18th year under center and will only add to his passing yards, has 72,103 yards. He isn't retired, so that number will grow.

Now, consider Tom Brady, the man everyone thinks is the GOAT.  He has been in the league as long as Brees and, while he will add to it since he isn't retired either, only has 67,418 yards. He may have the most Super Bowl rings, but so what? Super Bowl rings are simply a part of the definition of greatness, not the entire definition of greatness .

And, Brees got the record in spite of the fact that, in 2006, he had a shoulder injury and was told he would never be the same if he played again. He didn't always have a strong, protective O-line or receivers.

To do what he did last night was, in short, the final end to the argument of WHO the GOAT is .

Ladies and Gentlemen, HERE is the GOAT :

Kaepernick And The Anthem

As someone who comes from a long lineage of military service, dating back to Pre-Revolutionary War America, I have been asked about my thoughts on Colin Kaepernick. I have maintained silence, for the most part, on it because I have a different stance on it.

I grew up learning respect for the flag. In our house, she was ever present. We went where she led. We weren't just taught the good things she stood for, but we were also taught the bad things she stood for.

We were never disillusioned about the imperfections of the flag, nor were we taught to just blindly be patriotic. We were ALWAYS taught to question when questions were called for.

So, back to Kaepernick.

I was asked if I took issue with him kneeling/sitting down for the anthem. Yes, I did, but NOT for the reasons one may think.

My issue was he took the political stand on the job.  I don't care otherwise. Many men and women died to give him the right to do so. It is MORE disrespectful to them to stand for the anthem if you take issue with it or do it blindly as so many do.

The anthem brings tears to my eyes, not because I am blindly patriotic, but because I realise how blessed I was to have been born here.

Anyone who comes to America realise one thing natural born Americans too often for granted: more than any other nation, even among the other free nations, we have opportunities that are ours for the taking.

Are we perfect? No. Does racism comtinue to be an issue? Yes. Will it be solved? In the words of Morgan Freeman, it will if we STOP talking about it. Kids ARE NOT BORN racist; they are TAUGHT.

Kaepernick's somewhat misguided stance did get people talking, but not about what he hoped we would.

Instead of people taking him serious, they mocked him. When one discovered he DIDN'T vote, people ripped him a new one.  When he stood in front of the press wearing a shirt with an image of Che Guevara or Fidel Castro, people were rightfully enraged.

You do not get to speak about how oppressed you are while glorifying oppressive tyrants.

No. You DON'T get to.

Kaepernick wasn't blackballed from the NFL because of the stand he took. He simply didn't do his job. This is a concept few grasp.

The NFL is a business and operates as such.  Just as I am unable to make a political stand on the job, no NFL player, NBA, MLS, MLB, actor or actress or any OTHER public figure gets a pass to do so either.

It belongs off the clock. I admire Kaepernick for taking a stance on something. But, he has a huge platform OFF the job to raise awareness...WITHOUT the Castro and Guevara shirts.

If Marshawn Lynch gets fired for sitting down, there is an issue. Why? Because he has a) put up better numbers and had been more consistent as a player and b) he has done it several times before Kaepernick, but NEVER as a protest.

Kaepernick just hasn't been the QB he could have been. He CHOSE to opt out of his contract and is REFUSING back up work. The problem ISN'T the NFL or the fans or the anthem.

The problem is Kaepernick.

Maybe It's Just Me...

Maybe it's just me, but football, as much as I love the game, is missing itself.

Offenses are simply blaisé at best and the defenses are no better. A lot of it has to do with player safety, which I am for...we do not need any more Dave Duerson's or Junior Seau's.

But some of the player safety issues takes away what was great about the game. When you were hit by Dick Lane, you knew it. You knew WHY Jack Tatum was called "The Assassin". You just knew. You felt it.

Growing up, I got to see men like Jack Lambert, Gary Fencik, Howie Long play. Men who played on defenses with names.

There was "The Fearsome Foursome"; "Monsters of the Midway"; "The Purple People Eaters"; "The Steel Curtain". Names that struck fear.

Even the Offensive line of the Bears had a scary name: "The Black and Bruise Brothers". And let's not forget "The Hawgs" from the Washington Redskins.

Maybe it's just me, but I would like to see some of the fear of defenses back. Maybe give them names that strike fear.

But, that's just me.

Phone Test Post - Cushing and Watt

Ok. So trying to keep a blog going while only using my phone will be interesting. My computers don't seem to want to charge, so we will see how this goes!

It looks like JJ Watt is going to be out for a while.  I blame the Patriots.  Watt's back injury takes him out JUST BEFORE Cry Brady returns from his suspension?  Yes, it's coincidence, but seriously. It doesn't feel or look that way.

Cushing is still out with his injury. While the Houston defense isn't the greatest, they certainly have the ability to be, but they NEED Watt and Cushing out on the field. Cushing makes them good while Watt makes them great.

Here's hoping we see those two return quickly. They are vital to the defense.

No title

Short post. Testing blog on phone.

1985 Bears

It is no shock that 30 years after the Chicago Bears won their one and only Super Bowl,  people are still talking about them.

What made them so special?  So unique? Why do we still talk about them as though it were just the recent past?

Even those of us who grew up watching them have a hard time finding the answers.

They  were a team that was hungry. After all, it was just one year earlier that the San Francisco 49ers ended the Bears season.  With few exceptions,  the '85 Bears played that game, and promised themselves and Chicago fans they would bring home the Lombardi.

And they did.

But what was it about the '85 Bears that keeps their names on our lips?

Most people know the name Walter Payton. He was sure and pure sweetness when he ran (hence his nickname "Sweetness"). Having a running back that everyone already knew was special helped, but what of Matt Suhey? Suhey was slow of foot, but he was open when Payton was covered.

Teams would worry about Payton that they barely noticed Suhey. He was a quiet weapon.

We had an Olympic medalist in Willie Gault. He was hard to catch once he was open.

We had Emery Moorehead, another very queit weapon.

But most importantly, we had an offensive line that other teams had nicknamed "The Black and Bruise Brothers" because they took a sack on McMahon as a personal insult and would try to place as much bruising on the other team's defense as possible.

Speaking of Jim McMahon, he played QB as though he was on the defense. He wasn't a great QB...mediocre at best...but he had the drive and desire to win, something that is missing from today's quarterbacks.

The team rallied behind him.

Then...the names every one knows. The 1985 Bears defense...the 46 D.

Dent. Hampton. McMichael.  Perry. Wilson. Marshall.  Duerson.  Richardson.  Fencik.   Names that struck terror into the hearts of every offense.

What made the defense memorable?

The pressure.  Block  Dent? Who blocks Hampton or Wilson?

If you managed to block our defensive ends, who blocked Singletary? Get past Samurai Mike? You had Gary Fencik...whose nickname was very appropriately "Hitman".

See, the defense made offenses  second guess everything.  They put pressure on the offensive line like never before.

Dan Marino was the ONLY one who was able to read the 46 Defense and beat them at their own game.

What made the '85 Bears so special?  They were, in simple terms, a team. Richardson wasn't looking to be traded. Fencik wasn't about being the only guy on defense making big plays.

They worked together. Whatever underlying dislike of each other there may have been....except for Ditka and McMahon...it was left in the locker room.   Even the feud between Ditka and McMahon didn't distract. Ditka had his QB's back and the Punky QB knew it.

What made them so special?  Their love of city, team, ownership, fans, each other and winning. That's what.

And today's teams could learn a thing or thousand from that special team.

A Re-Introduction Post

Since it's been over three years since I last updated this blog, I thought I would reintroduce myself.

Even though I have watched football the past few years,  I have been out of the conversation for various reasons.

I love the game.  While I know the game, there are those who know the game better than I do and I'm okay with that.

I like conversations about the game...explaining why I love this team and player but not this team or this player. And hearing why others love this team and player but not this team or this player. Makes it interesting.

This blog will...and has...go from stats to sexy players. Because I love cupcakes, but love cupcakes with frosting better.

Be prepared for a weird blog that will be everything you expected and nothing you expected.