LeSean McCoy is Right

LeSean McCoy recently ignited debate amongst football fans, and even from some players, by saying that he’s the best running back in the NFL. I tend to agree with him based off of his production and his versatility. However, conventional wisdom says that Adrian Peterson is the best back in the league. One could even argue that Peterson will one day be regarded as the best running back in league history. Although I contend that Barry Sanders will always hold that title. Either way, McCoy’s comments and the backlash that followed got me thinking: Who is the best running back in the league? When considering this, I don’t only want to look at rushing stats, as running backs need to contribute in the passing game these days, so I’m going to look at them as well. To make this a little more interesting, I’m going to compare the top-5 running backs (stats wise) from the 2013 season. This includes McCoy, Peterson, Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, and Alfred Morris. For comparisons sake I’ll be looking at stats from 2011-2013, a good although not completely telling window. All stats for this post were found courtesy of ESPN at www.espn.go.com/nfl/statistics.

                Rush     Rush      Rush                 Rec.    Rec.     Rec.   Total   Total 

    Yards    Avg.       TD      Rec.        Yards  Avg.     TD     Yards    TD       

McCoy:

2011:         1,309    4.8          17        48         315     6.6           3        1,624    20

2012:            840    4.2           2         54         373     6.9           3        1,213      5

2013:          1,607    5.1          9         52         539    10.4          2        2,146    11

Average:    1,252     4.7         9.3      51.3       409    7.97        2.7       1,661    12

Peterson:

2011:            970     4.7         12        18         139      7.7          1         1,109    13

2012:         2,097     6.0         12        40         217      5.4          1         2,314    13

2013:         1,266     4.5         10        29         171      5.9          1         1,437    11

Average:  1,444.3    5.1       11.3       29        175.7   6.3           1        1,620  12.3

Charles:

2011+:            83     6.9          0          5             9       1.8          1             92     1 

2012:         1,509      5.3         5         35         236       6.7         1         1,745    6

2013:         1,287      5.0        12        70         693       9.9         7         1,980   19         

Average:    959.7     5.7        5.7       36.7     312.7     6.1         3       1,272.3  8.7  

Forte:

2011:          997       4.9         3          52         490       9.4        1        1,487      4

2012:       1,094       4.4         5          44         340       7.7        1        1,434      6 

2013:       1,339       4.6         9          74         594       8.0        3        1,933     12

Average: 1,143.3    4.6        5.7       56.7      474.7      8.4      1.7       1,618     7.3

Morris*:

2012:       1,613      4.8        13         11          77         7.0         0        1,690     13

2013:       1,275      4.6          7           9          78         8.7         0        1,353       7

Average:  1,444      4.7        10         10        77.5        7.9         0       1,521.5   10

All five of these players should, and very often do, make up the first five picks of fantasy football drafts. The order that they go in depends on the mindset of individual fantasy owners, with Peterson being the first pick a majority of the time. That’s fine and all for fantasy football, but in real life I’ll take McCoy. Peterson has more rushing yards but McCoy is more involved in the overall game. For my money McCoy is the best running back in football today, Forte is second, and Peterson comes in third.

Please share your thoughts about who you think the best running back in the NFL is and why.

+ Although all of the backs on this list suffered a bad injury at some point, this is the season that Charles blew out his knee in the second game of the season.

*Morris’ rookie year was 2012. His average is based on two years worth of stats.

Major League Baseball Joins the 21st Century

Baseball is a curious sport. It has old, deep-rooted traditions that don’t make a lot of sense to a lot of people. I’m a huge fan of the sport and grew up learning the ins and outs of the game. One of those deep-rooted traditions is that umpires have full discretion over all calls in games. While it’s been admitted that umpires are fallible as humans, that human element is joyously celebrated as a charm of the game. This kind of thinking has led to many, many, many wonderful manager tirades over the years. Despite how awesome it is to see a manager flip his shit, it’s about damn time that MLB has joined the 21^st century and instituted replay. This replay is far from perfect and a few managers have already voiced, to put it mildly, their displeasures with the current system. Jayson Stark and Tim Keown wrote well thought out articles over on espn.com, with Stark praising the system and Keown suggesting that it needs changed. I tend to agree with Keown but my views are a little more extreme. Here are my thoughts on how MLB can improve their medieval version of instant replay.

Put replay monitors in the actual stadiums:

The NFL does it and they (according to public perception) get more things right than MLB. Currently there is a team of replay officials sitting in MLB headquarters in New York who review every play. When a play is challenged during a game, umpires put on their little headsets and talk to an official in New York who tells them what the correct call should be. Talk about taking the power away from the umpires. This also increases the time that it takes to review plays. The only question is who would be reviewing plays in the stadiums? Simple…

Hire extra umpires and place them in a stadium booth to view plays:

The umpires’ union would certainly go along with this deal as it would add extra jobs by creating teams of six umpires instead of the current five. Hell, you could also have each team employ a replay official (don’t tell me owners don’t have the money to do this). The replay official from both teams could join the replay umpire in the booth or you could even have an employee of MLB in said booth. Not only would this speed up replay calls, but also it would allow the umpires the chance to see the game from a different point of view. I’m one to believe that this would increase umpire quality.

And finally…

Stop letting managers decide when to challenge a call:

As it currently stands, managers have 30 seconds to decide whether they want to challenge a call or not. Like NFL coaches, most MLB managers already have too much on their plates and most of them mess that up! Try pointing out a manager who can correctly manage their bullpen, pinch-hitters, and their line-up cards. There are a few who can do it, but most of them are like Andy Reid mismanaging timeouts. Instead of adding this task to the manager’s job description, let the replay umpire and officials in the stadium booth tell the umps on the field when to review a play. Have the crew chief wear a buzzer (or home plate umpire if the crew chief is in the booth) and have the replay umpire and officials buzz him if a reviewable call needs to be corrected. This would speed up the time of replays and slow down the pace of the game much less than the current system.

As I mentioned before, I, like most baseball fans, enjoy seeing a manager flip his shit when arguing a call. Thankfully, managers will still be able to go out and talk to the umpires about disputed calls. They’ll still put on a show. All have, always will. I wouldn’t deny them the ability to do this. Just don’t let them have the burden of deciding what plays to actually challenge.   

Kickers Are People Too

The NFL Owners meeting is coming up and, as always, rule changes are going to be discussed.  One topic of conversation that keeps being brought up is how the NFL can change the extra point after a touchdown.  While teams can always go for two, NFL head coaches are averse to doing so unless their little 2-point conversion chart tells them to do so.  While recent statistics note that kickers made 99.6% of extra points last year, some of the proposed rule changes seem, well, ridiculous. 

Bill Belichick’s Proposal:

This idea was officially proposed by the Patriot’s front man/czar but seems to be a favorite amongst league official.  The idea here is to move the extra-point to the 25-yardline.  This is a drastic change going from roughly a 17-yard field goal attempt to roughly a 42-yard field goal attempt.  While kickers this past season made a little over 90% of their kicks from this distance, this rule will end up taking points off the board.  Then there’s the issue of if a coach wants to go for two.  I haven’t heard where the ball would be spotted if a coach decided to forgo a kick for a 2-point attempt, but it would eliminate any fake field goal tries.  Basically, this idea is stupid.

Mike Tomlin’s Proposal:

Tomlin goes in the opposite direction from Belichick and wants to move the point after attempt closer to the goal line.  He wants to move the spot of the ball after a touchdown from the 2-yard line to the 1-yard line.  The idea here is that it would lead to more coaches going for two.  However, I tend to believe that if you can get one yard than you should be able to get two.  This also creates a little less space for players to run routes if a team wants to pass on a two-point conversion, again limiting options on this type of play.  This idea also seems stupid and pointless.

My proposal – not that anyone in the NFL gives two shits about my thoughts:

Place the ball at the five-yard line for the point after play.  As an added twist, mark the ball like you would for any other play.  If a touchdown is scored on the left then place the ball on the left hash mark.  If scored on the right side of the field then place the ball on the right hash mark.  If the touchdown is scored between the hash marks then place the ball accordingly.  This would add a little degree of difficulty to an extra-point kick.  If a coach wanted to go for two, the ball would be close enough to the endzone where a team could still try to run the ball or allow a little more room for receivers to run routes on passing plays.

The extra-point play does not need to be tampered with but the NFL Owners seem intent on doing something in the name of improving the game.  This seems like a silly topic for them to tackle and there are certainly bigger issues in the game that need to be dealt with.  While my proposal probably needs some tweaks, I still think it’s better than anything else that’s been offered up.  Please share your thoughts below.

The NFL and The Simpsons: Part I

I love The Simpsons and I love the NFL.  So I’m combining these two passions and assigning a Simpsons character as a mascot for each NFL team.  My reasoning behind each selection probably won’t be coherent, but this was really fun to write.  The first installment will include the NFC East and NFC West. 

NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys = Abe Simpson

Abe Simpson likes to tell a lot of old stories that don’t make a lot of sense and lives in the past.  Sounds a lot like Jerry Jones, but instead of reliving his army days, Jerry likes to pretend it’s still the 1970’s or early 1990’s.

New York Giants = Squeaky Voiced Teen

The New York Football Giants have had some success not that long ago but keep believing in a quarterback who’s only famous because of his last name.  Squeaky Voiced Teen works seemingly every unwanted job in Springfield, but also has success in that he’s sometimes the manager.  People keep giving him chances but he always proves he doesn’t know what he’s doing, much like the current Giants.

Philadelphia Eagles = Moe Szyslak

Moe and the Eagles have both gone under transformations over the years, and we still don’t know quite what to make of either.  In reality, Eagles fans are more like Moe in that they’re quick to anger and will turn on you in a second.  But, Moe and the Eagles have their moments where you can’t help but root for them.

Washington Redskins = Hank Scorpio

Dan Snyder and Hank Scorpio are both insane.  The only difference is that Scorpio was successful in conquering the East Coast.  They both also have affections for people they shouldn’t because they’re incompetent and won’t help finish the job.  For Hank that’s Homer, for Dan that’s every high priced free agent they’ve regretted signing.  Maybe Snyder should just invest in a flamethrower.

NFC West:

Arizona Cardinals = Gil Gunderson

Both the Cardinals and Gil are troubled with bad luck.  Whenever they catch a break – like when Gil takes a job in Scottsdale, AZ – something always messes that up.  Neither can ever get anything right (Arizona had some luck with an old Kurt Warner throwing to Fitz, but haven’t found a QB yet & Arizona has never had an offensive line) and rely on castoffs from others just to get by.

San Francisco 49ers = Sideshow Bob

Both are crazy – we know Bob is, and you can’t tell me that Jim Harbaugh isn’t.  While Sideshow Bob is constantly seeking revenge against Bart, the 49ers are left seeking revenge against the Seattle Seahawks.  Plus, we all know Alcatraz would do a better job of containing Sideshow Bob than Springfield Penitentiary

Seattle Seahawks = Bart Simpson

Bart is the original bad boy and the Seahawks are the bad boys of the NFL.  You want to tell Richard Sherman differently and see how he reacts?  They both are held back by bumbling sidekicks – Bart has Milhouse, and Seattle by every quarterback and head coach before Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll – but you can never count either out.

St. Louis Rams = Seymour Skinner

The Rams are lucky to be part of the NFL as they’ve bungled personnel decisions since The Greatest Show on Turf days.  Principal Skinner somehow manages to keep his job as head of the worst school of whatever state Springfield is in.  The Rams are currently embodied by the fragile and seemingly lacking in self-esteem Sam Bradford.  Skinner has never had self-esteem, not even in his army days in Vietnam.  St. Louis also decided to keep Bradford (and his enormous rookie contract thanks to the old CBA) much like how Skinner has always stuck by his mother instead of any other woman on The Simpsons.

Equality and the NFL

The notion of equality stretches across many parts of our society.  People are fighting all over the country for quality education, acceptance, and to stand up to bullying.  In the non-professional athletic portion of society we are taught to embrace these qualities.  There can be consequences if we try to bully or discriminate against someone else.   However, it seems that these qualities do not carry over into the world of the NFL.  There have been three recent events concerning the NFL that have shown how the league’s, and those that cover it, culture runs counter to the rest of society.  Let’s take a look at them:

Richard Sherman’s Exuberant Post Game Interview

We all know what happened after Sherman’s game saving play in the NFC Championship game.  Erin Andrews had to interview him moments after and he was so pumped on adrenaline that he gave one of the most talked about interviews in American sports history.  Many NFL analysts and news personalities re-acted to this by calling Sherman a thug.  They hated how brash he was even though many of them complain how boring post-game interviews are.  They called him uneducated – despite having a GPA over 4 in high school and a Stanford education – because he’s from Compton.  These same people who salivate over the brutality that is professional football were somehow offended when a player showed raw, extremely raw, emotions very shortly after making the play that sent him team to the Super Bowl.

Michael Sam Announces He’s Gay

Sam, the reigning SEC defensive player of the year, announced that he is gay shortly after the NFL season ended.  As of right now, before the pre-draft process begins, he is considered to be a 3^rd round pick.  He played defensive end in college but many scouts consider him to be a candidate to switch to outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.  Everyone praised his decision to come out and called it a defining moment to equal opportunity in the NFL.  Despite hearing all of the right talk there are reports coming out that not everyone is comfortable with an openly gay player in the NFL.  Like in other parts of society, it is not surprising to hear that there are some players are not comfortable with this, but it is more than a little surprising to hear that there are NFL general managers and even some team executives who feel the same way.  It is quite possible that Sam will slip in the draft because some team leaders cannot get passed their own homophobia instead of focusing on how Sam the football player can help their team.

The Miami Dolphin’s Situation

It is unfair to call this the Incognito/Martin scandal as the recent Well’s report has implicated many more parties in this situation.  This whole ordeal has shown us greater insight into NFL locker rooms than any Hard Knock’s episode.  The Well’s report has faulted Incognito, two other linemen, and the offensive line coach in the harassment and bullying of Martin and another player.  This report also cleared head coach Joe Philbin and the Dolphin’s front office of having any knowledge of this situation.  If this is true then the Dolphin’s have a lot more problems than any one realizes.  If it’s not true, than the Dolphin’s leadership is guilty of allowing, perhaps even encouraging, this problem to grow to the point where one player, one man, felt it necessary to walk away.  Many players were quick to call Martin weak for abandoning his teammates, but imagine if more of us had the courage to walk away from an unhealthy situation.

While these three situations are only a sliver of the NFL world they still show a side of the NFL that we would not tolerate in any other forum.  We watch NFL games for entertainment but we do not have to stomach players, or anyone else involved in the game, devalue the game through bigotry.  Some will point out that the culture of the NFL is just different from the rest of the society but that’s no excuse to lessen the value of education, not support players from all walks of live, and to support those who need to make themselves feel better by making others feel worse.  As fans we pour our time, money, and hearts into our favorite franchises.  Maybe it’s time we let them know that we will not tolerate these kinds of behaviors if they want our continued support.        

The Pro Bowl Sucks

For years now the NFL Pro Bowl has been awful.  I, like many fans, do not watch the game because it is not reflective of the football that we all love.  In an attempt to fix the game, the powers that be have changed the format in an effort to gain more viewership.  This year, they enlisted the help of Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders to be the general managers of the two squads and had them draft players. Players loved the new format, allowing them to play with cross-conference colleagues, but the novelty will soon wear thin.  There are many problems with the Pro Bowl that need to be addressed, most notably that players do not want to risk a career threatening injury in a meaningless game.  So how do we fix the NFL’s All-Star game?  Here are a few thoughts:

Change the Date:

The current version of the game is played the week before the Super Bowl and it had previously been played the week after the big game.  The problem with this timing is that it excludes players who play in the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.  It also does not allow time for injured players to rest so that they can participate.  Solution: play the game at the end of February.  The league has pushed offseason dates later and should do so for this event.  Pushing back the date of the Pro Bowl would allow for players to rest and heal after the season and allow for greater participation.

Change the Voting:

Pro Bowl voting is just a popularity contest and all of the biggest names receive votes because of who they are, not how they’ve played the past season.  Change the voting system to give equal weight to fans, players, coaches, and team executives.  This could help some lesser-known names be recognized for having a successful season.

Do Not Change the Location:

Stop rotating the site of the Pro Bowl.  It is not the Super Bowl and should not be treated as such.  Pick Hawaii as the location for festivities and keep it that way.  Yeah, players and coaches in the NFL can afford to go on their own, but it’s a nice reward for the players and showcases the game in an area where fans cannot attend other games.  Plus, what better place is there to be in late February than Hawaii?

Change the Game:

All of the other major sports leagues hold complimentary events to help showcase their All-Star games.  The slam-dunk contest, the home run derby, and the NHL skills competition are all successful and highly viewed.  On Pro Bowl Saturday, hold a skills competition to show who is the fastest, who can kick the farthest/most accurately, who has the best hands, who can throw the farthest/most accurately, and anything else you can think of.  You could even involve the Sports Science guys at ESPN to talk about how these guys are able to do these things.  As far as the actual game, it’s an exhibition game and should be treated as such.  No one wants to get hurt and therefore don’t give the 100% effort they would in any other game.  Solution: change the actual game to a flag football game.  You could still have offensive and defensive lines, you still have to block, and this would allow the players to show off their skills, agility, and speed.  As an added bonus, you greatly reduce the risk of injury and still produce an entertaining game.

These proposed solutions are by no means perfect but I feel they are a step in the right direction for the league to showcase their best players in a fun environment.  Please share your thoughts below.