Around the League With Laddie
On Friday, Troy Vincent, who serves as executive Vice-president of football operations for the NFL, sent out a memo from the league office asking general managers and coaches to keep quiet about a concussed players progress… or lack thereof. The letter said this,
“… refrain from making public comments regarding the condition of a concussed player or speculating as to when he may return to practice and play once in the concussion protocol.”
Now, I fully understand the legal ramification but, some things are better said in person. However, the league goes on to tell those in charge,
“…that the player is in the concussion protocol under the supervision of the medical team, and the club will monitor his status.”
I doubt they’ll be getting any complaints about the “way” to respond from N.E. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick because he’s usually curt, brief and to the point anyway but now the league office is trying to make everyone fall in line with this way of addressing the public and the press.
On Friday morning, the Mike & Mike Show on ESPN was talking about the NFL’s ratings dip which we here at ArrowheaOne addressed two weeks ago in “Is the NFL in the Middle of a Meltdown?” Dominique Foxworth who played for Denver, Atlanta and Baltimore made the point that years ago the home TV viewing experience has cannibalized the viewing process. He also spoke in favor of the “Choreographed CB Dance” but that because the NFL wants to “whitewash” the product, you’re not going to see it happen perhaps ever again.
M&M also quoted Commissioner Rodger Goodell as saying the league is looking into shortening the NFL game by reducing the amount of advertising. Of course, the Goodell quote included a “defense” of their rating’s position saying that even though the league has seen a double-digit hit in ratings this year, overall viewing had risen more than 27% over the past decade. The very fact that Roger Goodell is even addressing this publically is telling. In a piece by Chris Chase for FOXSports on Wednesday called, “The 9 Worst Rules in the NFL, Ranked” he outlines those rules as follows:
9. The Catch Rule
8. Running into the Kicker
7. Every NFL Team Gets a Primetime Game
“The NFL’s reason for being inclusive is understandable (put every team in the spotlight once and expand fan bases, at least in theory) but when people wonder why ratings for some primetime games are hemorrhaging, the words “Jaguars/Titans” is really all they ever need to know.”
6. Kickoffs
“Just ban them, have every team start at the 20 (the 25 is too penal for defenses) and allow teams to line up for onside kicks when they want to. I guess the surprise onside kick would be gone, too, but that mostly would just save coaches from themselves.”
This would also cut down on the number of commercials.”
5. Coaches Challenges
Chris Chase is suggesting to make it like Tennis: the challenge remains when you get it right. However, my idea is to have a number of former players and/or Refs who review calls for groups of games and they will instantaneously look at a call and phone in their vote so “The Refs” can get it right before is gets to tje point where the coaches feel the need to have it reviewed. If the fans at home can see the call is right in less than 20 seconds… there’s no reason to think the Referees can get the same support.
4. Shoe Rules
3. Quarterback Contact
“The NFL should go back to the days when refs were allowed to make judgment calls about the severity of the penalties they see. If a quarterback gets lightly tapped in the head it doesn’t need to be a penalty. If a guy is holding up before a late hit, a ref should have more leeway to decide so. Critics say it’d make the game worse because it puts more power into the hands of officials. Why is that necessarily a bad thing? As we’ve seen this year, refs seem reluctant to throw flags on such plays because of how important those 15-yard penalties become. Letting them interpret intent would lead to some controversy but also better application of the rules.”
2. Literally Every Celebration Penalty
“Let players have fun with the football after scoring. Let them do a team celebration. If a dude wants to cast an imaginary fishing line to snare a teammate and reel him in, cast that line buddy and catch that beautiful butterfly, pal!”
1. Fumbling Out of the End Zone:
~ ~ ~
Offensive Line
Ron Jaworski was also in the Mike & Mike studio on Friday and he talked about the Oakland Raiders offensive line, listing the reason that theirs is so good is because they have invested more than any other team in the OL. While I’m of the opinion that the Chiefs have improved their offensive line in 2016, it’s the one area that I am afraid that the team will suffer in the playoffs because of that unit. When the playoffs come, teams face the best front sevens in football and any weaknesses a team has will be exposed. Do I think the Chiefs offensive line is good? Yes, but I would not list them in the elite of the NFL’s OLs. Can the team make up for this in a=other areas? Sure, but the team has needed to develop what I like to call a Juggernaut for more than a decade now. The OL with Willie Roaf and Will Shields on it was the last time the team had a Juggernaut OL and it’s one area I’m hoping the team will address this coming offseason.
Carolina: A Justification Game
When the Chiefs travel to Carolina tomorrow they’ll be facing the team that represented the NFC in last year’s Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter one bit that they are 3-5 and at the bottom of the NFC South becasue they are still an excellent team that the Chiefs should in no way be taking for granted. Last week, I think some Chiefs players took Jacksonville for granted and they almost got their collective B-U-T-T’s handed to them. While I think the Chiefs will be ready for this game, and even though they will have #1 QB Alex Smith back this week plus #1 RB Spencer Ware, this game will be a huge challenge. In fact, if the men in red & gold come away with a victory, it will legitimize and justify all the Super Bowl talk we’ve been hearing… and generating… since July.
My prediction for this game is: Chiefs 24-Panthers 21
What do you think Chiefs fans? What are you predicting for Sunday in Carolina?