More on Kizer

Why is it up to journalists to raise the issues of player safety? And not the coaches and officials who oversee the NCAA and NFL?

Chicago Tribune columnist Paul Skrbina raises some interesting questions about the hits to DeShone Kizer's head.

To wit, why isn't it Head Coach Brian Kelly's decision about who goes in to play QB and not some "spotter" on the sideline?

Why wasn't a penalty called on the helmet to helmet hit Kizer suffered?

Kelly doesn't think Kizer was at risk after being reinserted into the game?

How come no one is talking about the hit to Kizer and the obvious distress he was in during one of the last plays of the game?

One can make the case that the NFL players get paid for endangering their health and long-term brain health. The same can't be said of NCAA players. Worse, the NCAA and its neanderthal coaches are willfully oblivious and dismissive of the risks and harm that is going on right under their noses.

DeShone Kizer

Incredibly unremarked this week is the fact that DeShone Kizer left last week's game vs. Virginia Tech not once but twice with head trauma. The NCAA concussion protocols may be even weaker than the practically non-existent NFL's.

Kizer left the game after taking a hit and holding the back of his helmet/head. Kizer went back into the game and one of the final plays had his head slammed again and had to leave the game. No report was given on Kizer's status at any point during the game and the announcers and sideline reporters made no comment about Kizer's status, any diagnosis, or the well-being of him coming back into the game.

Incredible.

Not Either/Or

Another Beltway professional elite who completely misunderstands the election results and the Democrats' problems.

This time it is the Post's Charles Lane who posits this Hobbesian choice - " The Democrats' dilemma, then, is this: They can make only limited political gains with an economic pitch to the white working class, unless they adjust on immigration and other issues of identity too, probably. Yet this would require compromising on what the party defined as matters of basic justice and tolerance, and turn off voters from their racially and ethnically diverse "coalition of the ascendant."

I don't for an instance think that economic pitch to working class voters has to be at odds with the Dems' identity politics. The problem is that Dems have made no economic pitch to anybody, of any color. It's not an either or situation. The reality is that Democrats have ceded the populist economic arguments to the Republicans (ironically enough). 

But here's the harsher reality that Lane fails to acknowledge. The current Democratic strategy on identity politics isn't working. Sure it may have worked for President Obama, but it simply has been a failed strategy for everyone else: John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, congressional Democrats, Democratic gubernatorial candidates, and Democratic state legislators.

Out of His Mind

Nelson Agholor has committed the one unpardonable sin of NFL players: expressing doubt about their abilities. To the casual fan, his "got to get out of my own head" admission seems glaring statement of the obvious from what we've seen on the field with his mental mistakes and physically dropped passes. But to NFL insiders, the acknowledgement of his mental struggles suggests a player who isn't "tough enough" for the NFL. Here's how Doug Pederson reacted to the comments: "Those are definitely concerns that I have, now that he's obviously come out and said that publicly." 

It's akin to the reaction (overreaction) to Kerry Collins' admission to the Panthers' coaching staff that the struggling QB might not be the best signal caller to get them a win in an upcoming game. An acknowledgement that went undisputed (Collins had been playing dreadfully) but was savaged for showing weakness, a lack of confidence, and perhaps "losing the locker room." Strange world the NFL.

Ralph Branca

A great and fascinating obituary of Ralph Branca in today's Washington Post, the "goat" who gave up Bobby Thomson's "shot heard round the world."

Everyone knows Branca as the losing pitcher in the deciding game of the 1951 National League championship. And everyone knows he handled the infamy with class and grace for more than 50 years. But his life included far more than a journeyman's MLB career, including a 19 member family, a revelation of Jewish ancestry, family connections to the Holocaust, later revelations of rampant sign-stealing cheating in the bigs, and a friendly welcome to the integration of the Major League Baseball. A pallbearer at Jackie Robinson's funeral says so much about Branca's basic and long-lasting kindness and decency.

Matthews' Helmet Hit

The glaring no-call on the helmet to helmet hit on Jordan Matthews perfectly encapsulates everything that is wrong with today's NFL and the absurdity of its "new" player brain protection and concussion protocols.

First, the play was such an obvious helmet to helmet hit the fact that no penalty was called is simply astounding. I mean, the Falcons Keanu Neal lowers his head and the crown of his helmet smashes directly into Jordan Matthews' face mask. It's as clear an example of helmet to helmet as you'll likely see. Yet somehow, the refs determined it wasn't a penalty.

Worse, after the hit Matthews is laying prostrate on the ground and grabs his helmet/facemask with both hands in what appears to be reaction to the pain and the hit. As far as viewers could tell, Matthews did not undergo concussion protocol testing after coming to the sideline (or at least the Fox sideline reporter never mentioned it). 

Indeed, Matthews was back out on the field for the Eagles very next possession and nary a word was spoken again about whether Matthews was cleared to return or whether he had been checked at all.

Again, these are just further indications that the league and its referees are clearly not capable of policing helmet to helmet hits. And the league - with the complicity of its broadcast partners - would prefer not to discuss the issue at all even when so obvious examples and subsequent oversights occur.

Midway

Yes, the Eagles are 0-3 in the division. Yes, they've lost to every team in the division. But...they've lost to every division rival on the road. In fact, they have yet to play a NFC East team at home. All of which means that basically they're division rivals have merely held serve. It's not like the Eagles shat the bed in those games, though it certainly feels that way after giving up a 10 point 2nd half lead last week and last Sunday's grind.

The conference record is more problematic given that there are so many teams bunched up in the Eagles' 4-4 range, including the Lions who now have a tie breaker against us. With the cowboys playing really well and favorites to win the division at this point, it's hard to see how the Eagles get a wild card (get ready for a Dallas 3 game losing streak!).

But - there are a whole slew of teams bunched up in the Eagles' 4-4 range, which means that 1) they're not separating from the Eagles and 2) despite the losses the Eagles aren't losing ground.

But yes, overall this season is pretty much a wash, and really - was from the moment they decided to start the rookie in game 1. The WRs are terrible. The offensive line was solid till Johnson got suspended and then what's his face got hurt. Now it's a patchwork at best. The defensive secondary is dicey. I'm not ready to give up the season, but neither am i optimistic that they make the playoffs. Best can be hoped for are competitive games for the duration and plenty of seasoning for what is looking like a real deal franchise QB (fingers crossed).

My main question and frustration is what are they (i.e., Roseman) going to do in the offseason to address these problems? I would have liked to gotten some WR via trade last week. But they didn't see the value in adding Smith or Jeffrey. Fine. What is plan Bin the offseason? Drafting someone again in the first round like Agoholor? Please.

Another frustrating loss. This game was there for the taking. I don't fault Pederson for going for it on 4th and 1 after the Sproles' TD return was whistled at the 15. But the earlier fourth and 3 was really bad. That was a loooong 3 - maybe even 4 yards (i think Fox called it 4th and 2?!). Should have kicked the FG - and that's not hindsight. 

Two questionable calls - at the end of the first half did anyone touch Jordan Mathews on his catch? It didn't look like it to me. 2nd - most QBs, or maybe I should say veteran QBs - automatically get that roughing the passer call when defenders swat them on the helmet. I guess Wentz for all his promise doesn't warrant those calls yet?

Ugh.

The Reckoning

So it was Brexit, II! Who could've thunk it? Well, in hindsight the clear signals were there albeit ignored. To wit,

1. Um, Brexit itself, the uprising of modest middle class Anglo-Saxons against the global elite (i.e., the European Union) even at the expense of their own economic self-interests. 

2. Hillary Clinton couldn't put dispatch with alacrity a cranky 72 year old socialist from Vermont who wasn't even technically a Democrat in the presidential primary. Incredibly, Sanders' stunning upset of Clinton in the Michigan primary gave no pause to the Clinton campaign team that Michigan may be as difficult in the general as it was in the primary.

3. The widespread repudiation of Jeb Bush's attempt to reinstall the Bush Dynasty on the Republican side was an indication that voters overall probably weren't going to be too keen on a similar return of the D's Clinton Dynasty on the left (see #2 above).

4. It turns out the passion, newness, intensity, and size (and violence) of Trump's audiences was a reflection of a burning desire for change and for getting out the vote.

Wednesday Morning - The Aftermath

The presidential election comes to an end, mercifully, tomorrow night. But what happens Wednesday morning? Regardless of who wins, there will be both fallout and follow up from both the campaign and the results. Here are a couple of my key projections.

1. If Trump wins - There is a slight chance that he wins in which case it will be Brexit to the trillionth degree, with millions of voters wondering what they just did and, just like in Britain, googling "autocrat," "recall," and "Canada." If he does pull the inside straight, (in which voters individually vote for him as a protest pick not realizing that hundreds of thousands of others are doing the same), I do not expect Trump to complete a full four year term (for whatever reason).

2. Assuming the polls are accurate, Hillary Clinton is elected the first woman President of the United States. Congratulations! Unfortunately, she will be seen by many as not the affirmative pick despite her historic accomplishment but because she is the lesser of two evils. While she probably won't crack the 370 electoral votes her husband got in 1992, she may exceed his 43% popular vote total (or not).

3. Unless she wins in an unexpected landslide, expect the knives and second guessing by Democrats to come out in droves following the election. Right now everyone is most concerned about losing to Trump and less concerned about the score, but there will be plenty of Wednesday morning quarterbacking about why she couldn't do better against a historically bad opponent. This will be doubly so if she doesn't have long coattails and doesn't flip the Senate and perhaps pick up some seats in the House. After Tuesday, plenty of congressional Democrats might be left wondering what might have been had more popular candidates like Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren been leading the ticket. And after eight years of Obama's moderation, she won't be getting the liberal pass Obama got when he succeeded George W. Bush

4. Of course, it is possible that Hillary is able to deflect all of this blame for her underperformance to the FBI and Jim Comey who undermined any momentum she had with the late breaking email announcements.

5. The Democratic infighting will look like a preschool sandbox fight compared to the coming Republican civil war. As much as the establishment would like to see him go away after Tuesday, a man of Trump's ego, narcissism, and lack of political couth isn't going anywhere. It will be especially bad if Trump loses in a relatively close race with plenty of finger pointing about who is at fault and rounds of recriminations for those elected officials that didn't support or endorse him.

6. As a historically unpopular president-elect, it will be interesting to see how long the honeymoon lasts. More the point, the GOP 2020 presidential primary begins on November 9th as elected officials fall all over themselves to take on Clinton in four years.

7. What happens to Merrick Garland? Will Mitch McConnell snub Obama one final time and refuse to consider his Supreme Court nominee? Will the Senate GOP relent on hearings during a lame duck? Will Clinton renominate him or pick another (more liberal?) justice? Will however this plays out set a precedent for future nominations?

8. The media - having so obviously taken sides in the Trump-Clinton campaign will the media continue to advocate against anti-democratic rhetoric and machinations or will it have been solely confined to the uniqueness of the Trump candidacy? For instance, Trump was rightly criticized for delegitimizing President Obama's authority, but can't the same be said of a Senate that refuses to consider the Supreme Court nomination of a twice elected president? 

9. Bill Clinton - the former president cum First Dude was last heard on the campaign trail criticizing Obamacare. He was pretty much muzzled after that for the campaign's duration, but we're about to get daily doses of the Big Dog for the next four years. Think of all the coverage Michelle Obama got/is getting then multiply by, oh, infinite.

10. Hispanics ascendant - First there were soccer moms, then NASCAR dads. I expect the voter profile of this election to be known for Angry Latinos bent on sending Trump packing. From the Democratic side, do their numbers and mobilization supplant african-americans as the Dems' key constituency? For the Republicans, does their massive loss among latinos prompt them to appeal to this largest ethnic bloc or does it cause them to double down on their opposition to any immigration reform that the eleven million undocumented residents potential new voters in 2020?

The Swamps of Jersey

A friend writes:

We've now lost 4 out of 5 games, while 4-4 seems like it's possible to come back from, it's not. 
The season basically ended in the swamps of Jersey this afternoon. We're now 0-3 in the division, having lost to all 3 teams, at least 2 of which were eminently winnable (Dallas and today). We're now also 2-4 within the conference. 
It's just going to be very, very hard to get through the tiebreakers having lost so many divisional/NFC games. 
I almost feel as if we should pull back the reins a bit, and basically give up on trying to win games this season. I know that sounds insane, but we can't keep asking a rookie QB to throw 47 passes to a collection of receivers who simply suck. 
Wentz is going to get killed in the 2nd half of the season, especially with a running game that is now simply dormant. They're going to kill Sproles also by making him run the ball as much as he is. He's now at 59 carries on the season, through 8 games, and that's more carries than he got in the entire 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons. 
I would give Daniels more reps during the week, and I'd be prepared to rest Wentz for some stretches of really bad games. 

I like him, he hangs in there. After his worst quarter of football, today's 1st quarter, that 2nd quarter might've been his best quarter of football. 

I just don't want to see him get killed unnecessarily for a season that is clearly not going to produce something really great.