Supreme Court Strategery

Word is that the White House is considering Republican Governor Brian Sandoval as a compromise pick to fill Antonin Scalia's vacancy.

Republicans, of course, have insisted the next president will fill Scalia's seat. Which is an interesting strategy given Donald Trump's improving chances of being the GOP nominee. Is Mitch McConnell really willing to let Trump and his proto-libertarian views really pick the next Justice? The alternatives, of course, are Clinton or Sanders which might be only slightly worse - from McConnell's perspective - than Trump.

Then again, on the Democratic side is it worth caving to GOP intransigence and swallowing a "Republican centrist" (whatever that means) now in the form of Gov. Sandoval instead of allowing holding firm, calling the GOP's bluff and allowing - at worst - a President Trump to nominate someone who could very well be more liberal than Sandoval?

Has Trump and his unpredictability so upset the political calculations when it comes to this Supreme Court that Republicans might actually be better off with Obama nominating a Republican judge. And on the flip side, might Democrats be better off letting the GOP run out the clock and having Trump potentially selecting a pro-business liberal for the Court? 

Interesting that in light of Trump's romp in the Nevada caucuses last night for his 3rd straight win that I haven't seen anything about potential Trump judicial candidates.

The Difference

Here's the fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to intransigence over filling a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year (and really this applies generally to all political protocols not just judicial nominations): Democrats talk and threaten and bluster about being obstructionist and running roughshod over decades of well-understood and established political norms and customs. But in the end, they never actually do anything. Republicans, on the other hand, usually do carry out their threats.

So it was with the perpetual gamesmanship about increasing the debt ceiling over the past 30 years. Democrats complain and kvetch but ultimately they vote for it. Republicans draw lines in the sand, don't raise the limit, close the government down, and force US credit downgrades.

So it is with Scalia's replacement. The important thing to remember about then Sen. Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer's nomination comments is that that's all they were...comments. They didn't actually ignore an actual nominee (and I would also argue there's an important time difference between June and February of an election year but that may be splitting hairs too fine) Contrast that with Mitch McConnell and Orrin Hatch who are now not just talking about not considering a nominee but actually doing it.

Crazy.

BS Report

Bill Simmons could have a field day with this Peyton Manning story about lawsuits and allegations of cheating, harassment, and settlements.

1B Coach?

The strange turn of events that has led  Ruben Amaro to become the Red Sox first base coach(?!), just adds to the bizarreness of Amaro's legacy (to say nothing of his judgment) as Phillies GM.

Perhaps the best that can be said about Amaro is that he was never as bad as many made him out to be. And while he did preside over a 102 game winning team and a World Series appearance, this best sums up his record:

Most of the credit for the good times went to his predecessor, Pat Gillick, and most of the blame landed on Amaro. 

To his credit, he did get Cliff Lee in the middle of the 2009 season that helped push the Phils to a second consecutive World Series. And Amaro did acquire Roy Halladay and did assemble the Aces wild starting rotation. But the one trade that still haunts is the bizarre (panic?) move to trade Cliff Lee at the end of the 2009 season immediately after landing Halladay, in an ill-fated attempt to "restock" the farm system. That replenishment - in the form of Phillipe Aumont, JC Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies - was an utter failure. And the whole point of getting Halladay was to bolster the existing rotation. Practically speaking, it became a trade of Halladay for Lee.

To be fair, he was put in the unfortunate situation of having to extend and keep many winning and popular players just as they started to decline in much the same way that Lee Thomas and then Ed Wade kept too many players from the wildly popular 1993 pennant winning team too long. Indeed, at this point we should be so lucky if Amaro is a repeat of Ed Wade who wound up drafting the core of the 2008 Championship team: Burrell, Utley, Howard, and Hamels.

Maybe Amaro would still be GM if he had pulled the trigger on the rebuilding trades he made in 2015 a year earlier. In any case, the bounty of prospects Amaro did stockpile on his way out the door may be his greatest legacy of all.

Come inside these walls

Forget about the debate about the Vatican City's wall as a lame rebuke to the pope's comments about immigration and border security. The more relevant question is how many immigrants or refugees the Vatican - a sovereign state that is a member of the UN - has accepted this year or in the recent past. My bet it is close to if not 0.

It's Not Just Republicans

Interesting take on the Trump phenomenon and how his campaign is highlighting yuuge fissures between rank and file Republicans and the party leaders.

At the same time, the stubborn popularity of Mr. Trump, who defies Republican orthodoxy on issue after issue, shows how deeply the party's elites misjudged the faithfulness of rank-and-file Republicans to conservatism as defined in Washington think tanks and by the party's elected leaders.
The dichotomy is particularly vivid here in South Carolina, the most conservative state on the nominating calendar so far, where Mr. Trump holds a double-digit lead over his closest rivals in the latest polls.
"In a lot of senses Republicans have overestimated how much dedication to ideology was motivating their voters," said Ben Domenech, publisher of The Federalist, a conservative online journal.

Of course, this mismatch between the Republican grassroots and the governing elite is also something Democrats overestimated as well. It's a pity Democrats didn't recognize and try to exploit it before Donald Trump came along. Even more to the point, electorally speaking, it highlights that the threat of the Republican bogeyman voter that will be in lockstep opposition to any Democratic appeal or proposal is more fiction than fact. Indeed, Democrats may have overestimated this electoral force more than Republicans. 

So, for instance, when Democrats in swing states like Manchin in W. Virginia, Tester in Montana, Heitkamp in ND, or Shaheen in NH beg off supporting planks of the party's legislative platform because they need to burnish their conservative bona fides - they're overstating their political challenge and not trying hard enough to persuade all the state's voters of the plan.

Villanova - Temple

I'm getting pretty fired up for tonight's game. I re-watched this classic 1988 Villanova- Temple game (at McGonigle Hall!) last night. At the time, the Owls were the #1 ranked team in the country and Villanova was #20 (before they expanded it to the Top 25). 

Wow, what a game. Many consider it one of if not the best game in City Series history.

Doug West, Mark Plansky, shot blocking and future Sixer Tim Perry, freshman Mark Macon, and Ramon Rivas. It also featured Rodney Taylor who passed away much too soon. For what it's worth, 7', 2" super stiff Tom Greis had a very solid game both offensively and defensively. 

I think both these teams went to the Final 8 that year. If the refs hadn't called a bunch of questionable bogus 5 second calls on Kenny Wilson, Nova could have (should have) knocked off Billy Tubbs' Oklahoma team with Stacey King, Mookie Blaylock, and Harvey Grant.

It was the last time a Big 5 matchup included the #1 team in the land. Until tonight. And as if the rivalry game and top ranking weren't big enough, Villanova can claim the Big 5 title with a win. A Temple win means a three team tie between Villanova, St. Joe's, and Temple all at 3-1. If only it were being played at the Palestra.

Go Nova!

A Dome?

One of the overlooked minor details in the Rams move back to LA is that Stan Kroenke's relocation proposal was for a domed stadium. I'm not sure what the rationale is for a dome in perpetually sunny LA (will it increase the flexibility/utility of using the stadium for other purposes besides football) but it will be a shock to TV viewers who tune into a game only to discover the artificial light and artificial turf of the LA stadium. Showing off my East Coast bias - one of the most aesthetically pleasing things about watching the 4:00 pm (eastern) games in November and December is to see the sunny skies, warm weather, and green grass of games being played in San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland (with the dirt cutout infield). But the LA domed stadium will offer views nothing like that. What a pity.

A Much Different Time

Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lattner has passed away. His obituary hearkens back to a time long gone - when Heisman Trophy winners would leave the NFL to serve in the military. It is inconceivable that such a thing would happen today - even for players from the service academies -  and as this nation is "at war" with terrorists. And for those that want to cite Pat Tillman, he was not a top college player (in addition to winning the Heisman Lattner was drafted 7th overall), and in fact is the exception that proves the rule.

Who's to Blame?

Did Richard Cohen really blame the police for the hundreds of Middle Eastern refugees who sexually assaulted German women on New Year's Eve in Cologne?

Here's what he wrote:

The Cologne incident, too, while larger in scope, has not — or not yet — been repeated. There, too, the police have learned from their mistakes.

What, pray tell, were the police's mistakes (note the plural Cohen uses)? Not racially profiling MIddle Eastern migrants? Presuming that refugees would tend to be law abiding? Allowing migrants to assemble in large groups? Downplaying the incident initially so as not to draw attention to it?

It''s a pity Cohen doesn't elaborate on this important point.

Whoops, I Did It Again!

Unwitting Ironic Statement of the Night

Marco Rubio finally admitting to and apologizing for his robotic repeating of his talking points during Saturday night's presidential debate.

"So, listen to this: That will never happen again. It will never happen again."

As Chris Christie would say, there it is again! The repetitious talking point! Even when he's apologizing for repeating his same points over and over....he's repeating his same points over and over.

Super Bowl Post-Mortem

Wow, didn't see that outcome happening. Not the meager Denver offense, which was as mediocre as expected. It was the complete inability of the Panthers offensive line to stop a rampaging Von Miller and Demarcus Ware. I understood why a depleted Patriots line with undrafted players and free agent castoffs couldn't stop Ware and especially Miller. But I never saw coming Newton geting so teed off on. 

Honestly, the Panthers looked out of sync and sorts all game. From the penalties to the missed field goal, to the dropped passes, to the lack of execution they just looked off.

Other random thoughts:

* Forget all the inane questions about whether Roger Goodell would let his sons play football. What do you think his answer will be when his multibillion business is predicated on negligent and safety-averse parents letting their children play youth football. The more relevant question in the lead up to the big game would have been what he thought about the propriety of NFL teams taking money from the DoD to "honor" military veterans and promote the armed forces. It came to mind after the repeated shots of the US soldiers in Afghanistan, the flyover, and the presenting of the colors.

* The kids spawned in the euphoria of past super bowl victories was at first interesting from a statistical point but quickly got very, very creepy. Is this part of the Goodell plan to breed/rely on the next generation of football participating children?

* Forget yellow and red cards and 2 personal fouls getting a player ejected. How about eliminating the bizarre rule where a personal foul inside the 15 yard line only results in a half the distance to the goal penalty. Talib's face mask penalty was one of the more vicious you'll see, made worse by his admission that he did it on purpose knowing that it was only going to cost him about a yard or two. Contrast that with the Panthers' grasping defensive holding penalty on third down at the end of the game that gave the Broncos an automatic first down that they then converted into a TD. What was the more dangerous and egregious play? And yet, which was a more substantive consequence?

* Poor Coldplay.

* Was it a conspiracy or sympathy? I don't recall CBS ever showing a graphic of Peyton Manning's Dilfer like stats: 13-23, 144 yards. 

* Speaking of which, while CBS was showing graphics of Manning's historical records, viewers at home did not see the final play of the game. Which Nantz described as a "merciful" end, which is funny because with about 5 minutes to go the Panthers had the ball for what could have been a game winning drive - so I'm not sure what game Nantz was watching.

* Aside from the expected early game jitters and overexcitement, something did not quite look right with Newton. He appeared to be constantly out of breath and experiencing pain in his non-throwing shoulder. Did anyone else notice? the CBS crew certainly didn't.

* Petulant, petty, front-running Cam Newton re-emerged yesterday which is too bad. He could have handled the post-game press conference a little better, but if i'm a Panthers' fan I want my QB to be sullen and pissed off after a Super Bowl loss. At least you know he cares. And you know Josh Norman cares.

* John Elway's heavy bet to go all in after the Broncos' Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks and make a series of championship runs during the fast closing window of opportunity with Peyton Manning paid off. Sure, they'll be in salary cap hell for the next three years but at least they got the ring.

* Midway through the second half didn't it just feel like a regular Sunday night game? Or worse, a Thursday night game?

* Even without a fair catch, defenders have to give punt returners a bit of space to catch the ball which is why i don't understand why they didn't call a penalty on the Panther who touched Sanders right before he caught his big punt return.

* I must have read at least four long articles in the Times, ESPN, the Post, etc. on the specially grown and installed turf at Levi's Field. And yet all I heard during the game was how terrible the field and the footing was. How does that happen?

* Glad to see referee Clete Blakeman got the league memo on calling penalties on helmet to helmet hits no matter what you have to do. Denver's Malik Jackson hit helmet to helmet with Cam Newton. But since Newton was a runner he's not "defenseless" so that can't be called (i.e., the Ryan Shazier rule). Instead, he  got called for an unnecessary roughness "late hit." To be fair to Jackson, it was a bang bang play and Newton wasn't down when Jackson went to hit him and maybe not even when he did make contact. Still, the NFL doesn't want Nantz and Simms explaining a la the Steelers-Broncos game why helmet to helmet hits are still legal in today's NFL. We'll know when the NFL's neurologists and spotters are actually doing their job when they buzz down to take a look at Cam Newton after a hit to the head like he suffered. Until then, we'll all pretend the NFL is getting serious about head trauma.

* How reluctant was CBS to report that Philly Brown was out of the game with a concussion? Is it better to deliver news like that, or pretend that players like Julian Edelman don't have concussions and are continuing to play?

* is there any irony that Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is suffering from Alzheimer's?

A FIRST In School History

Prediction

Panthers 41

Broncos 14

TO

On Super Bowl Sunday and in the wake of his falling short in the HOF balloting, it's worth remembering what Terrell Owens did in Super Bowl XXXIX.

As Mike Florio notes,

At times, Owens was indeed disruptive, for various reasons. But did Owens really make his teams worse? He returned from a broken ankle to be arguably the best player on the field in Super Bowl XXXIX, and the Eagles lost that game to the Patriots not because of anything T.O. did but despite an effort that everyone who was paying attention recognized as heroic and memorable.

 

Only after the Eagles refused to acknowledge those contributions with a contract providing him greater compensation and protections did he decide to provoke a trade or release in 2005. Was it an ill-advised, selfish move? Yes, but it was compelled by a system that allows teams to rip up contracts when a player underperforms but prevents players from doing the same when they overdeliver.

 

A decade later, media and fans seem to better understand that, when players choose to act like owners, players shouldn't automatically be vilified the way Owens was.

First off, Owens was outstanding vs. the Patriots. He led the team in receptions (9) and yards (122). And he did it on a broken ankle.

But the behavior of Jeffrey Lurie and his management team may even be worse than what Florio blandly describes. There are rumors that TO asked to have his contract guaranteed before the game so that if he reinjured himself - playing as he was on a not fully healed broken ankle - he would be taken care of. Lurie et. al said no. TO played anyway, and played great. It was this refusal and the realization that TO's big numbered contract was actually not as lucrative nor as long as he thought  prompted him to try to renegotiate it after the Super Bowl.

I recall it being clear at the time that TO's contract was very team-friendly and a heap of abuse was dumped on TO for wanting to re-do a year after he signed it. Florio is right that fans are more savvy about player contracts than at that time and (slightly) more understanding of player efforts to renegotiate. Where TO lost the fans (and his teammates) was with the disruptive way he went about sabotaging the team on the field and in the locker room as a reprisal.

Rubio's Petard

There's a delicious irony in Marco Rubio getting pounded last night by Chris Christie over his "25 second memorization" critique of Rubios' super-scripted debate responses. The attack is a meta-critique of debate prep and process in the exact same way Rubio blasted Jeb Bush in a debate several months ago that criticized Bush not for the accusation he made but that his advisors told him to say it to score a political point. In both instances, the substance of the point isn't the issue but about how practiced and inauthentic the candidate really is. In the case of Rubio, it's a devastating line of attack since his biggest claim to fame during the campaign so far has been his supposed eloquence and ability to deliver a message - and not about the content of the message itself. That it was delivered by a governor against a senator is a bonus in that it reminds voters that Washington politicians (as opposed to state chief executives) talk a great deal but get very little gets done.

Props

Here are a number of interesting prop bets that I like for today's game

* Any total passing yards option for Manning that is under 200 yards total.

* Under 35.5 passes attempted by Manning.

* Over 1.5 interceptions

* Cam Newtown for MVP (-140)

* No missed PAT (-360)

* Under 34 yards for longest completion by Manning

* Broncos score in all 4 quarters (No -360)

Obviously I like the Panthers to win the game based on these picks.

Cool Fan Protest

I don't know the particulars of what the Liverpool fans are protesting with respect to new ticket prices or American ownership, but I'm very impressed that they were able to organize a sizeable number of fans to walkout during the 77th minute of the match. How cool would it be if American fans could or would do something with one of the professional sports teams.

A Question and an Impossibility

Here's an interesting question that no one from the NFL or Broncos wants to talk about. How much and in which direction would the line move if the Gary Kubiak announced that Brock Osweiler was going to start tomorrow's Super Bowl instead of Peyton Manning? Currently the line is -5.5 for the Panthers. My guess is that it would move in the Broncos favor---at least a half point and maybe even a full point to -4.5. 

This all was prompted by the prop bet i heard about that was the over/under of the number of players who threw passes in the big game. The line is 2.5 passers and the over is +175. Now maybe this is all about whether Emmanuel Sanders or Mike Tolbert toss a pass on some trick play. But I was thinking of whether Osweiler would come in for a struggling Manning.

Here's the thing. Manning isn't coming out of tomorrow's game, no matter how dreadful he is. I fully understand it. On the biggest stage and in what could be the last game of his first ballot Hall of Fame career, Kubiak is going to stick with Manning no matter what. Even if that "what" is a struggling offense with no first downs, and 3 INTs before halftime. Unfortunately - and let's face it - that scenario is a definite possibility given Manning's history in the playoffs and especially in the Super Bowl.

All of which makes me think that while I think the Panthers will win, they could win very big. There may come a time during the game where the Broncos and Manning are struggling but the game is still within reach. I don't expect to see Osweiler even if it makes sense. Kubiak will continue to throw Manning out there and for that I think the game could get out of reach shortly afterward.

Josh Norman should take away the deep ball and with Manning's weak arm strength these days, the Panthers' elite set of LBs seem uniquely suited to stopping his short and intermediate throws.

Again, writing this gives me no pleasure. But it is the reality as Manning did not have a good year and is at the very tail end of his career. The Broncos D has carried this team most of the season (though Osweiler was 5-2 as the starter) and especially in the playoffs. Indeed, Manning only threw for 17 completions and 176 yards vs. the Patriots in the AFC Championship.

But it's sad to realize that for as great Manning has been, him not playing and a second round pick out of ASU named Brock Osweiler may give the Broncos a better chance of winning the pro championship.

Media's GOP Double Standard Bigotry Problem

It's easy enough for the media to lampoon Donald Trump as narrow-minded and mean-spirited for wanting to enforce immigration laws and to suspend Muslim migration from the Middle East to the US. But there's finally an article that highlights that these views aren't held just by Trump among current presidential contenders. The big problem according to Max Fisher is the media's double standard when it comes to reporting on Islamaphobia by Trump vs. the rest of the GOP field.

The key points:

But what is really striking to me about Rubio's comments is the media's reaction, which has been fairly muted in contrast to how it covered Islamophobic comments from Donald Trump. That's not to say that the media is endorsing or ignoring Rubio here, but the pretty clear distinction in coverage shows how an establishment candidate like Rubio can navigate the media's unwritten rules and get away with participating in the tide of Islamophobia that has already become violent.

He goes on to note:

What Rubio has revealed here, intentionally or not, is how a major political candidate can slip at least seemingly Islamophobic comments past the media without generating the same level of scrutiny and adversarial coverage that Trump has drawn...
This double standard became particularly transparent in December, when Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. The media, again, heaped open scorn on Trump — how dare he praise a murderous dictator and American adversary? And, indeed, it was deplorable...
But mainstream political figures had been praising Putin for years, often in the very same language, and it never drew the same media condemnation. But the media treated those comments, though substantially identical, as acceptable.

It's what happened when South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took issue with Trump's strident immigration stances (unnamed) while at the same time she was refusing to let Syrian refugees settle in her state and joined with 26 other states trying to over turn the Obama administration's immigration actions.

It's easy for the media to call out the prejudices of the marginalized, and much harder for those actually in power. Of course, it's just two institutional establishments winking and nodding at each other at the expense of the downtrodden.

 

The Walmart Strategy

The key paragraph from this Dallas Uber driver revolt story:

The experience of the Dallas UberBlack drivers is telling. When Uber entered Dallas in 2012, many of the drivers were either independent hired-car operators or contractors for limousine companies who bought or leased their own cars...
The drivers formed a tactical alliance with the company to help it gain the city's approval, which local cab operators resisted.
But the relationship began to sour in 2014, when the company decreed that drivers with cars made before 2008 would no longer be able to participate in UberBlack...
By the time Uber handed down its UberX directive in September, the drivers had long since recognized that they were at the company's beck and call. Because of Uber's popularity, almost all their other sources of business had dried up. And Uber had earned the imprimatur of the City Council, which made the drivers politically expendable, too.

So the story goes use non-cab drivers to champion your illegal/non-regulatory entry into a market with policymakers. In turn, the start up's success eliminates all of the competition. When Uber's pricing power is near monopolistic, it starts in on the former champions now current drivers - who have no recourse since all the no alternative options have been driven from the market.

It's a similar refrain to Walmart's low-cost producers. They are enticed into agreements with Walmart by the allure of massive selling volume. Walmart insists on razor thin margins for whatever product is being provided. In order to provide the sheer amount of product, a company foregoes all other customers and focuses exclusively on its Walmart account. As the sole customer, Walmart then insists on even lower prices, which the vendor has to accede to since they don't have any other customers and have increased investments in ever larger capacities.

The Snake and CTE

The news isn't surprising but it must be haunting to learn that Ken Stabler had stage 3 CTE. Stabler's status highlights some key lessons about football and brain trauma. The more you play, the more likely and more severe the damage. No position is immune from the scourge - even QBs. And the fact that they're finding it in players from the days of yore - before the speed, size and hits of the game truly amped up in the 90s and 00s - should be terrifying for the health prospects for players in that more recent era.

And I also wonder what Stabler's liver looked like!

What?

Two surprises from this interview:

1. Former Buckeye coach Jim Tressel is president of Youngstown State University?

2. Former Eagle Kurt Coleman paralyzed someone on the football field?

182

Here's some news that is very hard if not impossible to find on the NFL website. The number of concussions in the 2015 season.

PFT has the number at 182 - or more than 10 per week in the 17 week/16 game season. It's a stunning 32% increase over last year's number! And as an indication of the opaqueness of the NFL stats as well as the whole process of diagnosing and counting concussions, it's not clear whether Case Keenum's Nov. 22 head injury was included in the count. 

In fact, the NFL's Dr. Ellenbogen attributed to the spike in concussions to "lower threshold for diagnosis." The Keenum case would seem to directly contradict that statement and suggest that that the NFL and its hired medical personnel are still in denial about the extent and severity of its head trauma crisis.

It also would be interesting to see the numbers for the playoffs. Off the top of my head, there were 2 concussions in the Steelers-Bengals game (Bernard and Brown). How many others? 

Also, in a weird way the concussion count distracts attention from the more serious and much more prevalent problem of sub-concussive blows to the head that are a primary cause of CTE. In that respect, 182 should be considered a floor and not a celebratory ceiling.

Who Works for You?

"Enforcement isn't about big government or small government. It's about whether government works and who it works for." - Elizabeth Warren.

A Queen is Crowned?

Good grief. Not content to merely declare Megyn Kelly one of the winners of Thursday night's GOP presidential debate, the Washington Post now calls her "the start of the show."

What happened to the journalistic principles of not making the reporter or news organization part of the story, much less the centerpiece? Or is this a way to demean the rest of the Republican field who couldn't outshine the white, blonde, bombshell who was asking them questions? The focus on Kelly also has the fortunate side effect of brushing off uncomfortable questions about the appropriateness of Fox News' press releases mocking Donald Trump or exploring legitimate questions as to whether Fox moderators ask harder questions (or at least more incendiary) of certain candidates.

Maybe Megyn Kelly should throw her hat in the ring. She's got the full support of the national press.

Ertz Extension

Since he came into the league three years ago, Eagles TE Zach Ertz seems to be more known for what he could be rather than what he is. So it is with the five year extension Howie Roseman signed him to this week that will make him one of the highest-paid TEs in the league.

Certainly, by most stats Ertz is in the top quarter of TEs. This past season he was 6th in catches, 7th in yards, and 7th in yards/game. But with 3 less catches, he would have dropped to 9th in that category and he only scored two TDs, ranking him 33rd! among his peers.

Ertz is a decent TE. But he is hardly an elite TE. Indeed, he's perhaps only the 3rd best TE in the division (behind Witten and Reed). The deal is fair - $20 million guaranteed! - and gives the Eagles some outs in the later years. But until he starts producing like a premier TE, let's not project what Ertz could do as the basis for measuring him, but what he has actually done.

Paging Dr. Paul

The killing of one of the protesters in the Oregon refuge occupier was captured by FBI video surveillance and has been released to the public to show that the shooting was justified. What's interesting is that the FBI says that the video was taken from an "airplane." What's not clear is if in this instance "airplane" means "drone," which the FBI has admitted to operating on occasion in the US. It's a question that needs to be resolved one way or another. And even if it is a plane, the surprising surveillance capabilities of the FBI air force should be made clear to the public. Indeed, during the riots in Baltimore last year FBI air surveillance was using thermal imaging and electronics that allowed them to see through walls and roofs.

AC and Fantasy Sports

Atlantic City is a disaster and especially so since Pennsylvania and Maryland legalized table games. And let's be honest, even before that AC was tolerable at best - and that's if you were careful enough not to stray more than a block from the Boardwalk casinos.

I sympathize with Chris Christie's failed efforts to revitalize the city. To me, the opportunity to provide sports book betting - a la Las Vegas - is the most feasible and sensible strategy to differentiate AC from its eastern gambling competitors and give it a shot at redemption. I also understand that federal law precludes New Jersey and AC from doing this - which deserves its own investigation as to why Las Vegas- and Las Vegas alone - gets this betting monopoly.

In any case, after all of these other failed strategies I'm prompted to wonder why Christie and city leaders don't pursue the fantasy sports sites to operate in the state, specifically Atlantic City. Fan Duel and DraftKings are being besieged by regulators in other states but they would seem to be a natural fit for AC. 

It's pseudo-betting (sponsored by the professional sports leagues no less), would provide a safe haven to the businesses, is a starting point to expand fantasy sports (League Draft Weekend Packages!), and is a foot in the door to possible expanded professional sports betting down the road. At the very least, it's a placeholder.

And really, at this point what has Atlantic City and New Jersey have to lose?

Winning?

Can a moderator "win" a debate? They can if her name is Megyn Kelly, whose awesomeness is so great that she Chris Cilliza identified her as one of last night's debate "winners" (does she even know she was a candidate?). 

Though in damning her in a faint praise kind of way, Cilliza says "She was pointed, tough and well versed on the issues.... That she performed so well with so many eyes on her speaks incredibly highly of her abilities."

Wow. A TV news anchor making millions of dollars per year, is the face of one of the premier news networks, and moderating (her second!) presidential debate was "well-versed on the issues" and performed well in front of a large TV audience. Sounds to me that she was just doing her job. But if Trump doesn't like her than she must be good.

Of course, the media's praise (defense?) of Megyn Kelly is probably the most predictable part of the debate. Nobody except for perhaps the Buffalo Bills circles the wagons to protect their own like the national mainstream media.

As Politico reports:

Kelly, showing she wasn't intimidated by Trump, was far and away praised for her tough questions and follow-ups.

 

"Megyn Kelly is throwing fastballs tonight," wrote New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.

 

"This is a brilliant part of the debate. Megyn Kelly's accountability project," wrote radio host Erick Erickson.

 

"Just gonna say it: Megyn Kelly's a badass," Time Magazine's Dan Hirschhorn wrote.

Crazy Times 2

Donald J. Trump is crazy. But lost amidst his latest gambit (feud?) with Fox News and Megyn Kelly is the fact that no legitimate news organization would issue a press statement like Fox News did in mocking a presidential candidate (Republican or Democrat), and especially a front runner.  Try to imagine the NY Times or CBS News or 60 Minutes suggesting a president would replace his cabinet with Twitter followers.

Say what you want about the Trump-Kelly spat, but statements like that out of a supposed "news organization" really do call into question its objectivity, fairness, and balance.

This is likely all part of a Trump plan to "work the refs" prior to the debate. And it will likely work to an extent as their is a nugget of truth in what Trump is saying.

Immigration in Reverse?

That is the title of yesterday's Washington Post editorial (sans the question mark) about recent trends in illegal immigration. As with many WaPo editorials these days - particularly on education and illegal immigration - this one is borderline non-sensical and is chock full of big numbers that only serve to confuse the issue and gloss over the big problems the editorials purport are solved.

To wit,only WaPo editors could think that the current level of 10.9 million illegal immigrants is an indication that "in fact the border is more tightly patrolled than ever." If that is well guarded, I'd hate to see what a porous border looks like!

Indeed, as the editorial itself notes, "some 11.7 million Mexican-born immigrants, roughly half of them undocumented, are now in this country, down from 12.8 million in 2007 . Most of those who have left have done so of their own accord; comparatively few were deported." In short,the editorial admits that the declining level of illegal immigration isn't because of robust enforcement or vigorous border patrol but of the illegal immigrants' own volition.

The editorial then cites a recent Pew study and bandies about a bunch of large numbers that seem impressive upon first blush but when even moderately scrutinized are middling at best. "Iin the five years ending in 2014, more than 1 million Mexicans (including 100,000 children born in the United States with dual citizenship) returned from the United States to live in Mexico, while 870,000 Mexicans entered the United States, many or most of them illegally," declares the editorial.

Doing some quick math, the supposedly positive sign is hardly a sign at all. Net Mexican immigration has fallen by only 130,000. But that's over the past five years. On an annual basis, the great immigration victory touted by the Post is only 26,000 less illegal Mexicans each year (over the past five years). And as the Post notes but does not highlght, "many or most of them [Mexicans] [entered] illegally." Hardly the stuff of inspiration.

But I always love the WaPo editorials that are wrapped in compassionate liberalism for illegal immigrants but come with a dash of raw capitalism. So it is with the Post's concern that "the U.S. economy, like other Western economies, cannot function without low-wage, low-skill labor, which Mexico has supplied." 

What would a concern about illegal immigration be without a not so subtle nod to the need to exploit this "low-wage, low-skill labor" for the benefit of American companies and consumers.

Return of the Empire?

With populism ascendant in both parties, a plutocrat readies a run to fix that.

Deflategate vs. Spygate

Why is it that Deflategate continues to garner so much media attention. Experiments with footballs, scientific explanations of the Ideal Gas Law, the bitterness the Patriots' organization feels at the NFL's "betrayal," Tom Brady's legal fight. New England fans can complain all they want about broken PSI gauges, etc. But nowhere have a I seen any good explanation as to why the Pats' equipment manager made a bathroom pit stop with the balls just before the game or the weird texts Brady sent the equipment guys after the investigation started. 

And yet, the Spygate incident just gets a passing mention in all of these stories without further elaboration. Why did Roger Goodell destroy all the videotapes? What was on them? His reason for destroying them made no sense. Were some of the games on those tapes the Super Bowl games? It's a curious lack of curiousity about not only what the Patriots did but what and why Goodell and the league did what it did in terms of the investigation and evidence.

Here's an easy way to resolve all this. Convene a public Senate or House hearing and get the principles to testify under oath. Problem solved. Oh right, Congress can't "waste its time" looking into an $11 billion/year industry that is the most popular in the land.

Tolerance

How inconvenient for all the admirers of SC Gov. Nikki Haley's call for "tolerance" amid "angry" voices that South Carolina is one of the 26 states suing the Obama administration about its deportation pause. But hey, as long as Darling Nikki says she's tolerant pay no attention to what her state is actually doing otherwise.

TDS NY Times' Style

Somehow the NY Times manages a Donald Trump reference in an editorial about a Supreme Court decision to hear a case brougtht by 26 states against the President's executive authority over immigration enforcement. And the Times' assertion that "No one, besides Donald Trump, believes the nation has the resources, or the will, to deport them all" is not altogether accurate. It is might have been better to write, No one on our editorial board believes the nation has the resources, or the will, to deport them all." In the Times' view, illegal immigration has just gotten to be too much of a problem to solve or even attempt to solve.

Certainly, the case could be made that the current president doesn't believe the Times' assertion as he has overseen the deportation of 400,000 illegal immigrants per year by then end of his first term according to the Washington Post.

Two for the Niners

Rich Hoffman and my brother are of the same mind that Chip Kelly is a good football coach and a very smart man who learns from his experiences and mistakes. Count me in that column too.

Vindication for #5

Different team, same opponent and the same slow, methodical clock-ignoring drive down the field.

The final, less than urgent scoring drive of Andy Reid's Chiefs (down by two scores) in Saturday's playoff game immediately brought to mind the Eagles last scoring drive in the Super Bowl vs. the same Bill Belichick coached Patriots.

Donovan McNabb got quite a bit of grief in that now infamous Super Bowl situation. In fact, that scoring drive generated quite the controversy with Terrell Owens alleging that McNabb threw up in the huddle and couldn't catch his breath (the implication being that he was out of shape) and the suggestion that McNabb was the reason the Eagles offense wasn't moving with more speed.

The Chiefs' drive - with Andy Reid calling the plays - would appear to absolve McNabb of most if not all of the blame for the molasses like offensive tempo in the waning minutes of the Super Bowl. Andy Reid was the problem, not McNabb.

More TDS

Today's example of the media's Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), is Dana Milbank's Sunday Post column. He calls Gov. Nikki Haley's State of the Union response brave and "noble" and laments that the rest of the GOP field has enabled him and his severe proposals.

Not sure that calling on Americans to avoid angry voices is that brave. Nor is Haley's call for tolerance that "noble" when she is refuses to settle Syrian refugees in her state. But hey, if she denounces Trump, subtly without mentioning his name, then all is forgiven, actual government-sponsored intolerance be damned.

2 Oldies But Goodies

Legendary Philly sportswriter Bill Lyon pens a mash note to basketball's Mecca, the Palestra.

70/30

So Jeff Lurie is trying to recreate the Andy Reid magic by hiring one of his proteges. Not much to say. Pederson appears to have been the coach targeted by the Eagles all along (sorry for the charade of courtesy interviews Pat and Duce). Pederson is definitely not the "sexy" pick like Gase - which is not necessarily a bad thing. But here's hoping we won't be seeing 70/30 pass/run ratios again at the Linc. Or empty backfield 3rd and 1s. Or timeouts coming out of commercial breaks. Or phlegmatic press conferences. 

A Fine NFL

My initial reaction to the news about the fines handed out for last Saturday's Stealers-Bengals game (sic) was that the fine, at least for Porter, is a tacit admission by the league that its refs screwed up by either not calling a penalty on Porter for being on the field at the time or for not providing an offsetting penalty for the flag they threw on Jones (that Porter instigated).

But now comes word that Pacman Jones is being fined $29,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct as a result of the contact he made with a ref. In that context, it's hard to see what the league's rationale was for such a heavy fine for Jones as compared to Porter, or that the Porter fine is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. To add insult to injury, Pacman's penalty was game-deciding call and Porter and the Steelers are happy to pay $10,000 for the privilege of advancing to the next playoff round.

Pacman's actions were adjudicated on the field and to the extent he made "contact" with a ref it was because Porter instigated it and for which he wasn't penalized at the time. But Porter's field presence only merits $10k and sideline hair pulling by a coach also only gets $10k. That to me is the egregious foul - the hair pulling - that should have been a lot more and certainly more relative to what Jones got hit for.

Just another reminder that the league office is more interested in protecting its officials than it is about its players.

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Obama Derangement Syndrome is a well-known malady afflicting many in the GOP, and especially its conservative Tea Party wing. Whatever Obama does can never be viewed in a positive light, no matter how ill-considered or irrational the result.

It appears that the media has a similar Trump Derangement Syndrome where whatever comes out of the bombastic candidate's mouth is reflexively mocked no matter the underlying substance of the issue or point. And it's been funny to see the media tie itself up in knots to razz the Republican front runner while taking pains to excuse like-minded actions by actual high-ranking government officials.

So it is with the Washington Post's laudatory editorial praising SC Gov. Nikki Haley's Republican response to the President's State of the Union address as a counterweight to Trump's "noxious brand of nativism." 

With little embarrassment and no sense of irony, the editorial notes Haley's well-documented history in signing Arizona-style "papers, please" immigration laws, joined a lawsuit to stop the administration from pausing deportations, and opposed Syrian refugees from settling in South Carolina. 

But in the Post's eyes, so long as she makes a speech against Trump's immigration stance she's a paragon of "tolerance."

Again, it's comical for the Post to denounce Trump's temporary ban on Muslims form entering the country while at the very same time excusing Haley's attempts to prevent Syrians refugees from entering her state. The only difference being Trump isn't an elected official (yet) and so his call plan is only a proposal, while Haley is a state governor and is actually enforcing a ban on immigrants/refugees that runs directly and so obviously counter to her claim of country/state that welcomes legal migrants. But hey, as long as she is taking aim at Trump, all is forgiven in the eye of the Post editorial board.

RIP L. Phillips

A very sad end for a troubled player.

Stoogery

A delicious Deadspin takedown of Peter King's ludicrous open letter to NFL players in the wake of Saturday night's Stealers-Bengals (sic) game. Both pieces highlight the Stockholm Syndrome nature of NFL reporting as well as the access (crony?) journalism that is so much a part of covering professional sports - especially football.

Now They Tell Us?

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the NFL's suspension and fine of Vontaze Burfict for his hit on Antonio Brown in Saturday's Steelers-Bengals game is the odd news released at the same time that Burfict was also being fined $50,000 for a hit on Ravens' TE Maxx Williams in week 17.

A fine being issued two weeks after the fact for an on-field violation is unusual itself, but doubly so given that it comes amid the announcement of a 3 game suspension for a hit in a subsequent game.Iindeed, the speed with which the NFL issued its discipline and fine after the playoff game is in sharp contrast to the laggardly way they handled the punishment for the end of regular season contest.

Burfict's double secret probation after the Williams hit is sure to re-inflame Cincinatti ' fans who think the league and its refs have it out for the Bengals.

Fine or Delusional?

Steelers' beat writer is reporting that Big Ben and Brown are "fine" and both are expected to play on Sunday.

Either the NFL concussion protocol is meaningless or maybe Pacman Jones was right that Brown was faking it on Saturday. It's hard to believe that 36 hours after being knocked unconscious that he is ready to practice this week.

Which Team Out of Control

Somehow I missed Steelers' assistant coach Mike Munchak yanking Bengals' Reggie Nelson's hair on the sidelines during yesterday's chippy playoff game. It gives lie to the now dominant story line that it was the Bengals who were "out of control."

Yes, Munchak was called for a penalty. But how was he not ejected from the game? And with the Munchak penalty already on the books, why/how were the refs not more attuned to and vigilant about other Steelers coaches committing similar fouls. You know, like Joey Porter illegally coming onto the field and into the Bengals defensive huddle to "cuss out" the Bengals players?

It's funny to read how the same referee crew that worked the last Steelers-Bengals regular season game was somehow extra ready not to let the rematch playoff game get out of control (they stood at the 50 during warmups! woo hoo), let the game get out of control. If this is the NFL's idea of strict enforcement of the rules and player - and coach - conduct then they failed miserably.

The Refs Did It

The media narrative out of last night's Steelers-Bengals game is that the Bengals lost their cool and blew the game because they're undisciplined. As exhibit A, these journalists note the hit Vontaze Burfict laid on Antonio Brown and then the subsequent personal foul that Adam Jones was called for for jawing with Steelers LB Coach Joey Porter. 

Let's stipulate at the outset that Burfict's hit on Brown was vicious. It was appropriately called a penalty and he is expected to be fined and suspended to start next season. Interestingly, Deion Sanders on the NFL Network last night was vehemently defending Burfict's hit and contending that Burfict actually shied a away from contact and only caught Brown with his shoulder pad (yes, it was a shoulder pad to the head but...).

Was the hit made worse by the fact that Brown appeared to be knocked unconscious? Perhaps. Or that it was delivered to a NFL star? Maybe.

The decisive penalty, however, was the 15 yards assessed Jones while Brown was being attended to. Why in the world was a Steelers defensive coach on the field (the Steelers were on offense) and why was he allowed to be insert himself into the Bengals defensive huddle (i.e., no where near Antonio Brown, the injured player he should have been attending to and, indeed, the only reason assistant coaches are allowed on the field).

Interestingly, it is still unclear a day later as to what exactly Jones did to earn the penalty. Abusive language toward Porter? Did he make contact with an official? It's still a mystery and an inexplicable one since the 15 yards assessed turned a dicey field goal attempt from the edge of the kicker's range - in rain to boot- into a chip shot 3 pointer. For what it's worth, the Bengals defensive players contend that Porter was "cussing" them, so it is entirely possible that Porter instigated the situation. It's also unclear as to why the officials didn't call an offsetting Porter for his words (if any, again neither the refs nor league have commented) or penalizing him for coming onto the field.

Finally, amid all the coverage about the game and late game penalties last night - including multiple concerns about Brown's health - is the complete omission of any mention or discussion about the health of Giovanni Bernard who was knocked out of the game by Ryan Shazier on an equally vicious helmet to helmet hit. To the media, it's like Bernard doesn't exist.

Incredibly, no penalty was called and the dynamic dunces of Jim Nance and Phil Simms - aided and abetted by former ref Mike Carey - focused solely on whether Bernard was a "defenseless receiver" or was a "runner" when Shazier lowered his head and launched himself and the crown of his helmet into Bernard's face.

If the NFL rules and concussion prevention mandates mean anything, it is inexplicable how Shazier's hit wasn't a penalty in some way: unnecessary roughness? Spearing? To add insult to injury, Bernard fumbled on the hit as he was concussed and possession of the ball was awarded to the Steelers.

Make no mistake, the lack of any call enraged the Bengals and the home team fans, deservedly so. It's telling that no one is talking about a fine or suspension for Shazier. But you simply can't talk or consider the Burfict hit without acknowledging the connection with the Shazier hit.

in coaches are only alloe

Gang of 500

You know you are the media elite and a charter member of Mike Allen's "Gang of 500" when you can dash off a line like the one in his column today about whether Ted Cruz meets constitutional qualifications to be president with the assertion, in effect, of "My buddy Neal Katyal says it's ok, so it's toally cool."

Of course, this inside-the-beltway groupthink is nothing new. Many of the same journalists somehow thougth a non-binding Senate resolution was the defining word on John McCain's birth questions.

For the record, the Congressional Research Service suggests that Cruz "most likely" meets the requirements, but the decision is clearly not a slam dunk and potetnially still up for consideration.

Jeff Lurie's Management Style

We all know that the pashas that own NFL teams fancy themselves as brilliant businessmen and organizational management experts. After all, how did they get rich enough to buy a NFL team in the first place. (Let's ignore for now the reality that buying a team is guaranteed way to make millions - literally millions - of dollars that requires absolutely no business acumen (I'm looking at you Jim Irsay).

So it is too with Eagles owner Jeff Lurie who, notwithstanding producing a few movies, more inherited his fortune than making it.

So it was funny to see Lurie's press conference trying to explain why he fired Chip Kelly and what he was looking for in a new head coach (someone with an "open heart" and is liked by Howie Roseman, apparently).

Lurie explained that Kelly was being judged on the totality of his three years as head coach. Left unexplained in Lurie's monologue was why after two years of watching Chip Kelly up close and personal he was so impressed by the Chipper that he promoted him to Head Coach AND GM. And yet, less than a year later from that promotion, Lurie sacked him. 

Contrary to the widely held belief, this is not how things are done in business and certainly not in high function organizations. So Lurie never counseled Chip over the course of the year about his aloofness? Never suggested he work on his interpersonal skills? You simply don't promote a high-ranking executive and then summarily fire him. I'm not sure Lurie is self-aware enough to understand how poorly this reflects on him and not Chipper. If he had issues with Kelly, and with two years left on his contract, why not require him to take some proactive steps (sensitivity training?) to address his deficiencies rather than severing him completely?

Coincidentally, Harvard Business Review has a new article out about "Letting Good People Go When It's Time." It's something Jeff Lurie should look at.

Piazza's Telling Omission

It seems to be a conspicuous absence that Tom Boswell's column praising "clean" Ken Griffey, Jr's election to the Baseball Hall of Fame makes absolutely no mention of the other player elected along with Griffey, Mike Piazza.

Piazza has long been suspected but never been proven of taking PEDs. I guess we know what Boswell thinks of the rumors since he appears to have gone out of his way to exclude any mention of Piazza in the piece.

Little Outrage

Little to no outrage about the NYPD spying on mosques, or, incredible designating them terrorism enterprises. (which police and city leaders still don't see anything wrong with). Is that because Donald Trump didn't first propose it?

Deja Vu?

David Murphy writes a great column (notwithstanding his attempt to popularize a surely pending trademark for "OPDJ" or Offensive Playcaller Du Jour) by the sheer fact of directing readers to this awesome time capsule story by Jason La Canfora about the last Eagles' head coaching job search.

Murphy calls the look back in time tragedy plus time not equaling humor.

I call it horrifying, especially because of all the bizarre circumstances and names - Doug Marrone?! - that are popping up again like a bad Groundhog Day.

What's the common thread? Howie Roseman, of course.

I've highlighted bits from La Canfora's 2013 account, and tell me if most (all?) of this doesn't sound eerily familiar. 

The last two seasons, culminating with Roseman's rise to power in Philadelphia, have been marred with horror signings like Nnamdi Asomugha, the firing of coordinators and assistants in-season, some pretty obvious situations where the personnel didn't fit the scheme, the demise of Reid. Jason Babin being waived in-season a year after challenging the single-season sack record pretty much sums up the Roseman Era. Some strange front office firings mixed in there too.

Wait, are we sure it was Kelly's idea to trade McCoy and Foles for Alonso and Bradford - and to sign Demarco Murray?

 And, no longer are there out-sized characters around, like Reid and Banner, to take all the bullets when things fail. It's all on Roseman now. No more whispers about, oh, that wasn't Howie's guy, that wasn't Howie's signing, he never wanted him here in the first place.

You could rewrite that sentence to make it current with "And, no longer are there out-sized characters around, like Kelly, to take all the bullets when things fail."

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me one esteemed coach or another advised one of the Eagles' top candidates not to take the job precisely because of Roseman's presence there. Roseman isn't the general manager they should tie their wagon to. It's clear Chip Kelly wasn't leaving Oregon for anywhere unless he had a large measure of control over the organization, and owner Jeffrey Lurie has already entrusted that to Roseman. There has been trepidation by some candidates to go all-in given the questions about this existing power structure.

The last Eagles search lasted more than 3 weeks. I'll give Lurie and Roseman a break because the regular season just ended four days ago. But technically, they've been looking for a coach since they fired Kelly a week and a half ago. Time does fly.

The rumblings about Roseman lacking nuance and foresight, about him turning people off with how drunk with power he's become, only grow louder as his coaching search grows stranger.

So when Kelly isn't drunk with power, Roseman is?

All of this adds up to a strange sense of deja vu. We'll see what the coaching interviews bring and who the Eagles settle on. But perhaps the bigger more important question is who the Eagles will hire as a GM/Player Personnel Director.

Trump, Cruz, McCain and Birthplace

The media just loves to hype "controversies" about "outlandish" Trump statements, even if the comments contain more than a nugget of truth.

So it is now with Donald Trump's questions about whether Ted Cruz meets the constitutional requirements for a natural born citizen to be president.

Of course, this is catnip to journalists, especially with Trump's previous "birther" claims about President Obama's birth certificate.

Unfortunately- and this is a recurring theme with the media coverage of Trump - the effort to portray him and his statements as outlandish overlooks the legitimate issues it raises.

Take, for instance, this Robert Costa article in today's Washington Post. All the elements are there: Trump's claim, the Obama birther issue, and a quick dismissal of the point. There's a quick mention former GOP presidential candidate John McCain being in a similar situation since he was born in the Panama Canal zone.

Reading this article, you would never know that there was a significant debate about whether John McCain met the same Cruz-related constitutional requirement.

Articles in the Washington Post and New York Times (here, here and here) at the time make it clear that the issue, at least for McCain, was not so clear cut. So, in short, if the WaPo and the NYTimes explore in issue it is worthy of debate and inspection. If Donald Trump says it should be dismissed or mocked out of hand.

Rooney Candidate

So is Teryl Austin the Eagles' Rooney Rule candidate? Or are we not supposed to speculate or talk about this league mandate until after the search is over?

Looking Forward

Clearly, Lurie didn't see a bounce back next year with Chip at the helm. Cites Andy Reid's ability to return to "double digit wins" after down years (except for the end). 

Kelly didn't get the luxury of a bounce back opportunity after first two double digit win seasons.

Final Straw

Watching Lurie press conference.

Why now?

1 - get a jump on coaching hire

2 - give Chip an opportunity to look for jobs

3 - an opportunity to speak with players before the end of the season.

Chip was not asked to give up GM responsibilities. Chip did not offer.

It looks like a players' revolt that did Chip in.

Kelly's Tenure

A friend notes:

It's hard to really understand this demise. 
On thanksgiving day 2014, just 13 months ago, we destroyed the Cowboys with Mark Frickin' Sanchez as QB! We moved to 9-3 and had complete control over the division and really were just trying to fight to get a bye with the 1 or 2 seed. 
We've gone 7-12 since. 
Chip's fall has been unlike any I can recall. 
It is the shortest coaching stint in franchise history since Marion Campbell, who I think had just 2-3 years. Even Kotite and Ray Rhodes had for 4 seasons!

Chipper fired?!

Here's full statement in case you've not read:

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Letter-From-Chairman-And-CEO-Jeffrey-Lurie/80d1ca75-0fcb-48e9-bc62-936e0ab02065

WR the Key?

A friend asserts:

The new NFL is all about wide receivers. Carson Palmer was left for dead 3-4 years ago. Just like Kurt Warner was after his disastrous stint. 
Then they got to throw to Fitzgerald and Boldin/Michael Floyd and others. That makes any QB an All Pro. And it makes defending against the run impossible because you're always going to respect the deep threat. (See Jeff's earlier email about how often the Cards throw deep.)
Go look at Eli's numbers. He's already set a career high in TD passes. Why? Beckham. 
Nick Foles made a Pro Bowl and was a Top 5 MVP candidate in 2013. Why? DeSean Jackson. Where's Foles without DeSean? Benched. 
It's entirely about receivers now. Plain. Simple. 

Eagles Out

Another friend writes:

every single offseason move by Chip so far stinks. 
This guy took Andy Reid's offense and instantly made it the best in the NFL in 2013. He is a genius. 
He is quite simply a horrible evaluator of talent and doesn't understand how the rest of the NFL evaluates talent. 
If he wanted Bradford so badly, he could've gotten him for a couple of late round draft picks. Instead chip mortgaged the future for it. If he wanted Alonzo as his inside LB, he could've gotten him for practically nothing because he has no knees left. 
We turned over football operations to a guy who not long ago was the coach for University of New Hampshire. 
His knowledge base is of organizations where every team turns over their rosters year in and year out - college football. 
He now has the offensive personnel that he personally recruited and wanted. 
He will be back in the PAC 10/12/whatever it's called next season. 
And before you ask, I had 1 beer watching that game. 
The rest of the NFL is laughing now at us. 
We've given away our future for players who can't perform in the present. 

Redskins Eagles

A friend writes:

Receivers need upgrading, line needs upgrading and D needs a new coordinator.
I think what gets lost in chip gm getting blasted is e's the coach who did not fix the mistakes.   Last night we continued to make bad penalties, mistakes at the wrong time, etc.   the coach at some point has to have the players improve in the mental part.  Just too many mistakes.  Did we set a record for most illegal shifts/procedures in a season???
Now the question is what do you pay Bradford.  Despite pk's 9/14 email it is clear he is an nfl QB (and that Sanchez is clearly not) and is going to make big bucks this offseason.
And is Kirk cousins good?   Did he grow as a QB and is now good?   I am confused because he looks really good but I still don't believe.
I still believe chip is an offensive genius.   So he should be able out how to make Murray work.   I think Murray's 400-500 touches last year played a part (history in the league said it does).  So does our shitty line (which is chippers fault).

Clueless Coughlin

I love how awkward Collinsworth and Michaels are each week having to talk about a non-football related football story. First it was Greg Hardy a couple weeks ago. Tonight it's Beckham (with several oblique references to Peterson's lengthy nearly season long suspension last year - but they don't ever mention why he was disciplined). Their ramblings made no sense - do they think Beckham's behavior was inappropriate? The suspension too harsh?

The shocker for me was them explaining that Tom Coughlin did not understand what the uproar was about and the Giants PR director having to put together a video montage of Beckam's plays vs. Norman the next day.

Coughlin is the NFL version of Matt "I didn't see my closer choking my MVP rightfielder at the other end of the dugout" Williams. Coughlin didn't know his WR was out of control after the 1st, 2nd or 3rd personal fouls of the game? I'm pretty sure Coughlin has never had another player get more than 2 personal fouls in one game. Does Coughlin not care how many 15 yard penalties any of his players gets?

Home Field Disadvantage

Per Tom Boswell:

Since the Eagles got their new stadium, they are the only team in the NFL has MORE wins on the road than at home. (It's only ONE more win on the road, but that goes against a major NFL trend.) So, I wouldn't count on the Philly home crowd being a huge plus. (Gee, I don't know why.)

the ski cap debate

Really? It's come to this? Scrutiny of Demarco Murray wearing a knit cap on the sidelines and whether he was ready and able to be put in the game? Please.

is this what passes for "journalism" now in Philadelphia?

yes, Murray didn't play. yes, he clearly is 3rd on the RB depth chart. Yes, he probably should have been in the game on the Eagles fourth down play at the end of the first half. Yes, he hasn't lived up to expectations. Yes, he's got a big contract. No, the size of the contract shouldn't determine your playing time. Yes, he touched the ball 400+ times last year and that has usually meant a decline in production the following year. No, no one ever brings this up, preferring to ignore the physical toll it takes on RBs and preferring instead to suggest Murray isn't a "good fit" for the Eagles. 

Will Murray return to form next year after having a less taxing 2015 season? We don't know. But maybe somebody could at least start asking the question.

Beckham, the NFL and Concussions

Odell Beckham Jr.'s helmet to helmet hit on Josh Norman is one of the most vicious hits of the year.

Beckham dove at Norman. Helmet to helmet. Intent to injure. Incredibly, Beckham was not ejected from the game. In fact, the end result of that play was offsetting personal fouls on Beckham and Norman. It is utterly inexplicable that there was essentially no consequence for what Beckham did.

If the roles were reversed, and it was the defensive player who did what Beckham did to a WR, the DB would have been ejected. An interesting NFL double standard. They're so concerned about protecting the WRs they're gutless when it's the offensive player who is delivering the blow.

I also find it really interesting that having taken a huge helmet to helmet shot to the side of the head - that staggers him (take a look at the replay) - that the NFL's vaunted "concussion spotter" didn't buzz down and require an examination of Norman.

Once again, we see so clearly how unseriously the NFL takes head trauma. The response today will be telling. Will Beckham merely be fined or will he be suspended? Given the NFL track record on this, most likely fined.

Sam Bradford - A Tale of Two Halves

How bad is Sam Bradford in the first half of games this season? And how much better is he in the 2nd half?

My friend delves into Bradford's 2015 splits (courtesy of Pro Football Reference):

Everything is dramatically different in the 2nd half, when he is good, or slightly above average, not great, but ridiculously better than in the 1st half, when he is the worst QB in all of football.

Scroll down quite far and you'll see his 1st/2nd half splits. The most important stats:

1st half completion % - 55.4        2nd half completion % -- 69.9

1st half yards per attempt - 5.2    2nd hafl yards per attempt - 8.1

1st half TD passes -- 3                2nd half TD passes -- 6

1st half INTs -- 5                         2nd half INTs -- 5

1st half QB rating -- 62.9             2nd half QB rating -- 93.4

Look deeper at those stats, and it's really troubling. He's a horrific QB in the red zone -- 40.6% completion percentage, a QB rating of 49, 3 INTs, and worst of all, his yards per pass attempt: 1 yard.

He's also a horrific QB on 3rd down, with an overall rating of 54.0 on 3rd downs, but look deeper, and it doesn't even matter the distance -- 3rd and short, 3rd and long, he stinks.

So, this is the issue, the guy simply cannot perform in the 1st half of these games. He's wretched, beyond bad, horrible, downright putrid.

But in the 2nd half, he becomes a pretty decent QB. Why the hell is that? Why isn't anyone talking about this? Why can't Chip address this issue? Even when they had a bye week, Bradford came out and pitched a disastrous first half against Dallas, in a game when the O-line actually gave him time to throw the entire game.

Headers

Big move by youth soccer to eliminate headers for kids under 10. The ban should probably apply to kids older than 10- to like 12 or 13, but at least it's a start. And an admission by a youth sports league that the play and rules for young kids can and should be different than adolescents and adults.

Next Four Games

A friend writes about the Eagles' November schedule:

Dallas (2-5), Miami (3-4), Tampa (3-4), Detroit (1-7) -- those are the next 4 opponents.

In the previous 2 seasons, I'd expect us to go 4-0 over that stretch. I'll settle for 3-1, which would get us to 6-5 heading into Foxboro. Which leaves us 6-6 afterward, and needing to go 3-1 in the final 4 games after that to win the division.

But, this is a big but, if we go 2-2 over this next stretch of games, leaving us 5-6 heading into Foxboro, the season's probably over.

If in a parallel universe we actually win all 4 of those games, 7-4 heading into Foxboro, we should be in really good shape, as the Giants, now 4-4, play their next 3 on the road, including one in Foxboro.

I would add that we really need the Cowboys game to be one of the wins.  To bury them at 2-6 rather than tied with us at 3-5 (and they get the tiebreaker).  When they get Romo back they will be good again.

We have lost our opportunity to "blow" a game.   We have done that 2-3 times already this year (Washington, ugh.) already.  You just can't do it too many times in a season.  With parity you can lose a few you should win. We have hit our limit.

You need to get to 9-7 at minimum and 10-6 probably avoids tiebreaker.  We are 3-4.   7-2 is a stretch considering at Foxborough and the aforementioned parity.  So if you are going to go 6-3 (which .667 football) then you can't lose tiebreaker and this need cowboys game.    That said - if we lose then we must have Cowboys fall big time so only tiebreaker is Giants and we beat them to end season.

Cheers

Eagles fans the third drunkest in the NFL, new study finds.

Blue Hens vs. Wildcats

Good article on the rivalry. I'm glad there's no more Villanova talk about being a 'national program."

I'm somewhat amazed to realize that Andy Talley is STILL 'Nova's head coach.

BTW, I did not realize Dave Brock was the head coach of the Blue Hens. He was the best friend of mycousin growing up in Moorestown, NJ.

Small world.

Deflate-gate

I gotta say, I'm surprised that the NFL investigation actually came to the common sense conclusions about Pats' deliberate attempts to deflate their game balls and Brady's awareness (and likely encouragement) of it, notwithstanding the absence of a smoking gun video of McNally actually letting air out of the balls.

I just finished reading the report. Reading between the lines, it looks like the Pats equipment guy routinely let air out of the balls while in the officials locker room after the balls were checked and while the refs were out of the room, but that w/ the championship game there were so many people around he had to do it in the private bathroom just inside the tunnel.

I'm still struck by the brazeness of it all. The Pats knew they were under the microscope about the air pressure based on Colts regular season game and the complaints by the Ravens following their playoff loss the week before the AFC championship. And yet they still deflated all their balls - in the conference championship game!

What do you all make of this? Is it a big deal or much ado about nothing? Given the Pats history with spy-gate, it seems like another deliberate attempt to circumvent the rules requires a pretty stern punishment. I'm also pleased//hopeful that Brady will finally have to answer some hard questions.

Hey, at least Goodell didn't classify the report and destroy all the footballs and pressure gauges. So that's progress.

NFL Draft 25 years Later

A devastating look at the toll professional football wreaks on players by the NY Times. But perhaps the most surprising thing in the entire article is to learn that Cortez Kennedy is in the Hall of Fame?

Decline of LL baseball

this story recounting the decline of little league participation was on the front page of today's Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/baseballs-trouble-with-the-youth-curve--and-what-that-means-for-the-game/2015/04/05/2da36dca-d7e8-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html

I have a couple thoughts on this very topic having seen it up close and personal. A lot of my son's friends bailed on baseball after the 9 year old season.

1. The growth in youth lacrosse is hurting baseball because of the scheduling conflicts - spring sports. But i think the growth in lacrosse hurts football more in the long-term.

2. As bad as it is for little league baseball, the decline in youth football is even worse and likely to get worse.

3. Again from personal experience it's not just that single parents can't/don't play catch with their kids. It's that two-parent families don't do it/don't have the time either. When I was coaching I could only work with the kids so much and told the families you've got to throw/catch with your kids on days we don't have practice (which was most days).

4. Baseball is one of those sports very hard to just pick up and you have to have some skill development to be an active participant. Kids don't play pick up games like we used to.

5. I absolutely think the super specialization and how the best baseball kids get creamed off into better teams/leagues is a big impact. The converse is also true. The mediocre kids get shunted aside and aren't given the time to develop or play in a skill-appropriate level. They wind up quitting rather than keeping with it.

It's a shame cause I loved playing baseball as a kid, my kids love playing it, and there is nothing more american than little league.

Huh?

While the McCoy - Kiko trade makes sense upon closer examination (overpaid, overworked RB for an emerging stud LB (albeit with a repaired ACL)), this Foles for Bradford trade is inexplicable - especially now that it comes out that the Eagles are also sending 2nd and 4th rounders to the Rams for a 5th rounder.

A second straight trade where the Eagles trade a skill position starter for a player who missed all of last season with a reconstructive knee injury.

This trade has to have some sort of secret agreement where the Eagles and Rams swap 1st round picks, right? Isn't that the only way it makes sense?

Please someone help me out here!  In 5 days we've gone from a starting trio of Foles, McCoy and Maclin to Bradford, Sproles, and Cooper.

And if the rumors really are true, and Chip Kelly covets Mariota...why not cut out the middleman and just trade Foles and McCoy to the Titans, Jags or Raiders for their #1 pick. They could even sweeten the deal by throwing in the Eagles #1 pick too. Sure you don't get Kiko in this alternate transaction, but you also don't wind up with Sam Bradford's $12 million contract and you get to keep your 2nd and 4th round picks.

This free agent period - Gore backing out of his deal, Jake Locker retiring, Chip Kelly's every transaction -  has taken a turn to the bizarre.

Old School

I'm watching the Ravens-Steelers game and am just amazed that with all the concussion attention, premier announcers like Collinsowrth and Al Michaels continue to show themselves as old school believers of a tougher, former NFL.

On consecutive plays in which Roethlisberger and then TE Heath Miller are taken to the sidelines with possible concussions, Collinsworth is incredulous that the players might be taken out of a PLAYOFF game over concussion concerns. He seems to say that the league is serious about concussions and player safety during the regular season, but will a groggy Ben Roethlisberger really be held out in a Wild Card game?

The answer, apparently, is no as Roethlisberger soon returns after Michele Tafoyar reports that Steelers sideline personnel have treated Big Ben for neck and spine issues. #7 then immediately throws an interception in the endzone and Al Michaels says, with no sense of awareness or outrage, that he thinks Roethlisberger was still a little "groggy" when he came back into the game.

Incredible.

Rivalry

With apologies to San Fran and Seattle, the raven-steelers rivalry is still the most physical in football.