Lots of stuff to rant about from the weekend. The NFL drug testing “program” has evidently determined that four Oakland Raiders' players had been using THG. I'm not going to name them here because that does not seem to serve any significant purpose; you can find their names in any sports section today. The issue that I find interesting is the release of the names to the public and how that relates to the baseball drug testing. One side of the argument is that when you know the names of the players who are getting “chemical enhancement”, you might want to put an asterisk next to any records they might set and/or consider if their “chemical enhancements” are what push them over the line into consideration for Hall of Fame status. The other side of the argument is that the medications you take and the stuff that you put into your body is your own business and no on else's business – up to the point where the medications/substances are legal. And let's be clear about this, anyone who took THG last year was using a legal substance since the “authorities” did not even know it existed then. This debate will go on and you will not be surprised by who takes what position. What remains for thinking sports fans to do is to determine what should be the outcome of drug/steroid testing for athletes? Full disclosure in the sense of who took what drug(s) by name and type or just the announcement of whatever sanction the sports ruling bodies hand out for “violation of the whomsoever's substance abuse policies/rules?”
What we don't need in the debate that will ensue is the rhetorical flourish that will surely accompany many of the public statements on the subject. But no one will be sufficiently lucky to dodge the rhetorical fusillade that has already begun.
Last week in the Washington area, we were treated to one story per day on the genius of Hue Jackson as the play calling offensive coordinator for the Redskins and the delegation of this authority to him by Steve Spurrier. This even made the national media scene a bit and the pre-game shows on Sunday. Talk about an over-reaction. After one game where the Redskins played like a real offensive team – aided in part by the fact that Ray Rhodes chose not to blitz them more than twice during the game – Hue Jackson became an anointed genius. Look, he is probably a competent coach and probably a competent offensive coordinator; but can we wait before we attach “genius” labels to people just a bit?
In the first half of the Redskins' game this week, the “new resident genius” came up with an offensive scheme and a play calling rhythm that produced a total of 41 yards of offense. The Redskins got three turnovers in the first half and got three points from them; twice they got the ball inside the Panthers' 25 yard line and they got nothing from either possession. Hue Jackson is not a genius; Hue Jackson is not a dumbass; the Redskins' players are significantly over-rated and then held to minimal levels of accountability by their fans and the local media. That makes the coach look like a genius when they play like professionals and it makes the coach look like a dumbass when they play the way they typically play.
A convocation of university presidents discussed the BCS and what might be done to relieve the anxiety that exists in the minds of schools in the “mid-major conferences”. This anxiety is shared by their alumni and fans and about no one else. Earlier this year, Northern Illinois was the mid-major darling who was going to be screwed out of a rightful share of the pie; Northern Illinois has now lost 2 games – to Bowling Green and Toledo – and the ugly truth is that they don't deserve to be in anything but the lowest tier of bowl games. You know the one's I mean; the one's that probably should not be played in the first place. TCU is still undefeated after having played no one of any measurable gravitas, and they will get some positioning in a big-money game against a real opponent if they win out the season. So, into this fray come the university presidents. You probably remember that they are the ones that Myles Brand proclaimed would take over college athletics and put them in the proper context within the university experience. Pardon me while I snicker. After meeting last weekend they reported that they reached no conclusion except that they would not consider a 16-team football tournament.
College football fans take note; you do not have any friends in that meeting room!
The presidents did report that they had “frank and candid discussions on a wide range of issues”. Let me be clear on this next point for those readers who could not have guessed this. I never worked for the US Department of State and I never participated in diplomatic exchanges or negotiations. However, I do believe that when a diplomatic exchange ends up with the description of “frank and candid discussions on a wide range of issues” the translation into common English is this:
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“The participants talked about lots of things and agreed on nothing and no one's mind was even slightly changed by the discussions.”
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You can run up the middle on the Bucs defense pretty easily. Anthony McFarland seems to have come down with “fat wallet syndrome” and Warren Sapp is either injured or has lost a whole lot of his ability. Sapp is being manhandled on more plays than not.
The Bengals lead the AFC North by 0.5 games since they beat Baltimore a couple of weeks ago. Both teams are 5-5; a final record of 8-8 could win this division. I have not gone through all the scenarios – there are still too many of them to do in my head – but it might actually be possible for the division winner here to be 7-9.
The Bengals ran the ball for 200 yards in their win over the Chiefs yesterday and Corey Dillon did not play. Maybe Marvin Lewis won over that team when he relegated Dillon to “inactive status” after Dillon's annual petulant child display?
The Vikings gained 467 yards of offense and lost to the Raiders. They threw three interceptions; lost three fumbles and committed 10 penalties. What looked like a disciplined and focused team a few weeks ago now looks like the Vikings of 2002; they've lost 4 in a row and none of them were pretty.
The Doug Flutie miracle revival was short-lived. Against the Broncos this week, Flutie led the Chargers to 5 first downs and a total of 96 yards on offense. The Chargers only ran 38 plays in the game; the Broncos ran the ball 49 times and snapped the ball on offense 84 times. You can put any kind of spin that you want to on those numbers but when you look at it unemotionally, that is called an ass stomping!
But don't get me wrong, I love sports...
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