So officially regular season NHL games are being cancelled and the season seems to be hanging in the balance. What are you watching? Do you miss hockey? I have transferred all my hockey lust to football. Speaking of football six weeks into the season there have been some very interesting stories developing so far this season. Lets reflect on what has transpired so far.
Replacement officials. When we all think of the replacement officials the first thing that comes to mind is the Seattle and Green Bay debacle. That subject has been beaten to death. I believe the most important responsibility an official has in any sport is to keep the peace and make sure the game is safe. I know that there are some risks in playing contact sports but officials are supposed to be there to limit these risks. The length of these games just seemed to go even longer due to the conferences between the officials. Yes, please take the time to get the call right but get the call right. There were several times where the officials came out of the meetings amongst themselves and had the call wrong or the yardage on the penalty wrong. These refs were coming from division 1 college ball and the yardage on some penalties are different in the NFL. You would think that when these officials were brought in one of the first things that were reviewed were the different yardages on certain penalties. I know its probably a little late to be talking about the replacement refs and I am glad the regular officials are back but did it honestly need to cost a team a win? Is it just me or when the replacement officials came back for the Baltimore game the tipping of the caps and the applause seemed somewhat corny and superficial?
So if your name is Greg Schiano and you're a rookie head coach in the NFL facing a head coach in the NFL named Tom Coughlin, the same Tom Coughlin who happens to be a coach who's won two Super bowls in the last five years you may want to become friends with this man right? Get advice from this man, learn how to conduct yourself as a head coach, ultimately be a professional I would think. So blitzing on a kneel down play on Tom's franchise quarterback and two time Super Bowl MVP would make a friendship impossible to attain. When a team is going to take a knee they inform the refs and the opposition that they will be doing so. At least that's how it was when I was playing football. If I was Greg Schiano I would have told one of my players to do the same and tell the refs and opposition I was bringing the house in an effort to get the ball back. There should be a level of respect shown between men at this level in sports, players, coaches even equipment managers should all be showing their opponents respect. I don't know whether it was a head coach trying to motivate his team or maybe win them over but when Greg Schiano said he would do the same in a similar situation again I thought it was just a man being stubborn and not willing to admit he was wrong. Sure enough though the next week when Tampa was down and there was no time left on the clock same thing happened the only difference was the opponent was ready this time. If I was able to have a conversation with Greg Schiano I would tell him if your team isn't able to get the points necessary to win the game before there is less than a minute left in the game ADMIT DEFEAT!
"You are what your record says you are." According to Bill Parcells, a two time Super bowl coach and considered to be one of the best men in football. Now even with all the "elite" quarterbacks and elite playmakers on their sidelines why do they have such terrible records? When you think elite quarterbacks the same names seem to come to mind Brady, Brees, Rodgers, and Manning. Why then do all the teams these gentlemen play for have records that are either .500 or below? I mean you could make the argument that Aaron Rodgers should have one more win under his belt this however was stolen from him through no fault of his own. Maybe opposing defenses have figured out certain ways to play these elite quarterbacks. Or maybe these quarterbacks are starting on the descent of their careers. On this subject though I must disagree with Mr. Parcells as I don't believe these teams will have such horrible records for long. As much as defences can make adjustments so can offences. Whether they are bringing in double tight ends to help with pressure or to help run the ball. Hopefully the wide receivers, tight ends, or even a running back out of the backfield can get open but these elite quarterbacks should be able to throw to an open receiver. I expect these quarterbacks as established as they are to turn things around and I think three out of the four mentioned will make the playoffs. So who does that leave out? I don't believe that Brees with all the weapons he has on offense can come back from starting out 0-4. The Saints defense is just horrendous and no matter how many points Brees and his offensive cohorts will be able to score on offence they can't play defence as well.
There probably are a lot more things that could get covered about the NFL season thus far and I am sure there will be more stories to come as the season progresses. I sure am looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays out.
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