Saturday, July 26, 2014

Training camp notes 7/26/14



  • Derelle Revis has looked good, if that surprises anyone. What's also encouraging is the positive reports of corner back Logan Ryan. If Ryan could emerge as a play maker this year that would be a huge unexpected boost. 



  •  There seems to be a trench battle going on at the center and right guard spots, and rightfully so. There really hasn't been much stability at the positions in the last few seasons so hopefully some hogs can emerge this year. The Patriots lack of toughness in the trenches really comes alive in their ugly playoff losses. Hopefully this trend stops. Josh Kline is getting some attention



  •  So far the secondary has been getting the best of the passing game. I'm excited to see how much the front 7 has sharpened up during the off season as well.



  •   It's way early, but the reports on rookie QB JimmyGaroppolo have been ugly to say the least. Hopefully he shakes the rookie jitters soon, I'm gonna be paying close attention to this one during the preseason

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Why is the main stream Sports media trying to ruin Football?

 
Ok, maybe I'm taking a risk here. Normally I don't like posting national issues in a Blog where it's all about enjoying the New England Patriots but I can no longer remain silent. The question has to be asked, is America trying to ruin Football? After doing some research I believe that the answer is Yes. 

 By now we've heard all about NFL concussions. We've heard of the horrible and unfortunate deaths of our beloved Junior Seau, Tony Dorsett's post NFL life struggles. And no one has been happier to make this public knowledge then the devil himself, ESPN. Ever since the World Cup has taken America by storm (barf) I've heard over and over again about how Soccer is becoming popular. You even see how much more popular the NBA has become in the last few years then it was all of last decade. A large part of this is due to the big media outlets like SI and ESPN doing their best to destroy football and promote the other guys instead.

 Remember when you would have coverage of the NFL all off season? Now it seems like people forgot training camp is right around the corner. But yet we hear about every breath LeBron James takes or we see every single boring soccer game instead. When they do talk about football they like to remind us of how "scary" the game is and the risk players take. If you don't believe me just google "nfl losing it's popularity" you'll be bombarded with article after article over how the game needs to change. And yes I realize it's NBA free agency and the world cup is on, but when has the coverage ever been so in your face?

 The major media outlets are scaring away American youths from Football instead telling them to play other, "safer" sports. Why would they do this you ask? Wouldn't they want to support the nfl with how big it's become? The answer to that is advertising. Outside of tedious commercials, the nfl isn't as driven by advertising as the nba or soccer. The stars aren't as "marketable" as LeBron James or Lionel Messi, David Beckham, etc. Is it any coincidence that basketball and soccer have been tied to corruption far more then the nfl? No, and it's because of market value. Making sure the Micheal Jordan's of the world are on every advertisement, every shoe, etc makes money period. When is the last time an nfl player not named Peyton manning was all over commercials? Speaking of manning, this is the same guy who's team cried to the league in 2004 and began what has become the downfall of contact football. We went from a db touching a receiver getting flagged to momentum led hits being flagged, to almost banning kickoffs. When will it end? When the nfl is a shadow of its former self, and that's a damn shame.

  Even Troy Aikman in this very article predicts the future downfall of the NFL.  Aikman's argument is that the NFL has become over saturated. To that I call bullshit. I think instead it's the politically correct driven media doing everything it can to turn people away from the "barbaric sport" that is the NFL. I'm 24 years old. Ten years ago I remember every kid my age talking about everything in the NFL, very few if any cared about the NBA and the MLB was much the same..Soccer? What the hell was that? Nowadays if you walk down the halls of a middle or high school, kids talk about the NBA and now Soccer with some NFL thrown in. In other words, whatever the big media projects to them, they follow. Like the good little consumers that we all are.

 I cannot stand this but all I can do like any other football fan is stand by and pray that a miracle 360 happens. The day when "Me First" sports drive America is the day I stop watching sports. Tell me, would you rather your kid follow the NBA where it comes down to the super stars, soccer where only one player on the field is relevant? Or would you rather your child play a game in which it's all about the team no matter how good the star players is. Think I'm over exaggerating?

Look at the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New England Patriots. The Cavaiers were and will now once again be an Eastern powerhouse due to ONE guy..Lebron James. The second he leaves Cleveland, the team is an absolute joke. The Patriots  on the other hand  have not won a title since 2004 because there's always been that one element of the team that has been missing, despite having at worst, a top five NFL QB. Even when Brady was lost for the year the Patriots were still 11-5 because they had an overall good team that season. That is the definition of a team sport, hell look at the Seahawks. The reason I like that team is because they're well built in every area. The NFL is the exact opposite of the ME first NBA.

  It also scares me that we're starting to like a Sport such as Soccer that is more corrupt then any other on this planet. Just look at the world cup. Brazil gets an awful call over Colombia. They then get destroyed by Germany. What do these two teams have in common? They're backed by Advertising powerhouses Adidas and Nike. Adidas is based in Germany and Brazil has been connected to Nike since signing an equipment deal in 2008. Adidas, the biggest advertiser overall in the world cup sponsors two team you might know are playing this week...Argentina and Germany. Coincidence? I'll let common sense answer that one.

 As for the NBA, former ref Tim Donaghy has already admitted to fixing the officiating in games. But wait, THERE'S MORE! Unsurprisingly, you probably didn't hear about his recent prediction saying that the NBA wanted the Nets to beat the Rapors in the NBA playoffs this past season. After all, old foes Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett facing off against LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh makes for a better storyline then the unknown Raptors right?

Like I said, Soccer and the NBA is more profitable for everyone involved then the  old school, barbaric NFL. If you don't believe me then I'll end the article with this...ESPN is owned by Disney. Coincidentally since ESPN has become more pro basketball/soccer their stock price has soared in the last year...As they say, a picture says a thousand words.