Bleacher Report - Articles by Derek

Is Roger Goodell Ruining Football?

Derek — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:19:54 -0400

I can’t deny that prior to the 2006 football season, I wanted to see some reform in the NFL.

The league seemed to be out of control. Tank Johnson was facing multiple gun charges, and Jamal Lewis had just finished a four-month stretch for setting up a massive cocaine deal.

Adam “Pacman” Jones was involved in a number of off-the-field violations, including possession, assault, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and was under investigation for an incident involving a shooting outside a Las Vegas strip club that left a man paralyzed.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry was arrested in a string of violations ranging from possession of marijuana and felony gun charges to driving under the influence. And then there was Michael Vick and the dog-fighting fiasco.

The list goes on and on.

There was no doubt that something needed to happen. Someone had to start holding players accountable. The owners decided that man was Roger Goodell.

Dubbed “The New Sheriff in Town,” Goodell kicked off the 2007 season doling out punishment. He suspended Adam Jones for the entire season, Chris Henry for eight games, Tank Johnson for 10, and Michael Vick indefinitely.

And who could blame him? The NFL needed to clean up its image.

But over the past year, Goodell has begun to misuse his authority and overstep his boundaries. He’s proved himself to be an “owner’s commissioner” and has diminished the game in the eyes of many fans. In my opinion, Goodell is ruining the game of football.

After a 2008 season which featured ridiculous fines, double-standard punishments, and now unreasonable rule changes, I think it’s time for the fans to take back the good old version of the NFL.

Ridiculous Fines

Goodell’s decision to start fining players for anything and everything is probably the commissioner’s most blatant abuse of power.

Here’s a list of ridiculous 2008 fines.

Richie Incognito was fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official, a violation the team was penalized for in during a key drive in a very close game. Incognito was also fined for $5,000 for a facemask penalty and an additional $5,000 for an illegal chop block.
Plaxico Burress was fined $5,000 for tossing a ball into the stands after scoring a touchdown against San Francisco.
E.J. Henderson was fined $5,000 for illegal use of hands.
DeAngelo Williams fined $7,500 for throwing a couple balls into the stands in their game against New Orleans.
Lamar Woodley was fined $10,000 for sacking Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell “in an intimidating manner.”
Ryan Clark was fined $5,000 for honoring the late Sean Taylor by etching the number 21 into his eye black.

This list too, goes on and on.

Goodell won’t hesitate to fine a player for an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit but doesn’t mind the NFL making money off of it.

Goodell fined Jets safety Eric Smith $50,000 and suspended him one game for a “flagrant violation of player safety rules” after his Week 4 hit on Anquan Boldin, but at the same time the NFL currently has a DVD on sale called “Moment of Impact,” which features such hits as its major selling point.

Notice the similarities?

The NFL is making money on both ends.

They "collect" $50,000 from Eric Smith for trying to break up a pass and $19.99 a pop from fans who want to see more big hits.

The NFL donates the fines to charity to downplay the fact that they unreasonably took money from a player. Who can argue if the money is going to a good cause, right? The NFL has plenty of resources to raise funds to donate without taking money from players because they toss a ball into the stands.

The reason the NFL donates money to charity is to appeal to a wider audience by building its reputation as a charitable organization. More donations equals more appeal, more appeal equals more audience, more audience equals more money.

Expanding the audience is great, don't get me wrong. But doing so by excessively fining players is wrong.

To me, it sounds like the NFL will do anything to make a buck.

Double-Standard Punishments

Everyone remembers the incident between Adam Jones and his bodyguard last season. Adam Jones and a member of his security got into a physical altercation at a hotel on Oct. 8; allegedly there was alcohol involved.

Only eight days after the altercation, Roger Goodell suspended Jones indefinitely, although authorities determined that neither party would face any criminal charges.

On July 10, Jacksonville WR Matt Jones was arrested for possession of cocaine when police caught him cutting up lines in a car with a credit card.

After searching the vehicle, police found six grams of cocaine in his possession. The threshold for intent to distribute is one gram. He was six times over the limit.

But Goodell didn’t suspend Matt Jones until October, and he wasn’t held out of play until December after his appeal was denied and the suspension upheld by the NFL.

Bottom line, Matt Jones wasn’t suspended after being arrested with enough cocaine to put a person behind bars for 10 years. Matt Jones didn’t miss an NFL game until Dec. 14, over five months after his initial arrest and the Jaguars were out of the playoff race in the AFC.

Don’t you think the NFL should wait for a court to determine whether a player has committed a crime? If our constitution says people have the right to due process, I think Goodell’s decisions should be held to the same standard.

Who is Goodell to say someone is guilty of violating the law when courts have yet to rule on it?

To me, there is an obvious double standard.

Unreasonable Rule Changes

While rule changes are arguably a result of an evolving game, I feel the recent rule changes will cause more harm than good.

Having played football for more than 17 years, I know that more players get injured from being hesitant rather than aggressive. Hesitation in such a physical game is dangerous.

The “Hines Ward” rule that prevents players from blocking a player in the head or neck when approaching from the side or from behind is ridiculous!

Whatever happened to the saying “keep your head on a swivel”? So, if Hines Ward wasn’t supposed to hit Keith Rivers in the chin like that, what was he supposed to do?

Keith Rivers, at 6’2” 250 pounds, is a much larger human being than Hines Ward who stands 6’0” and 205 pounds.

If you can’t crack back on a player in pursuit by hitting him in the head or neck or below the waist, how and where are you supposed to hit him?

Are you supposed to throw a block at a player’s abdomen, the only part of a player’s torso not covered with pads? Does that seem like a good idea?

The new “wedge rule,” which eliminates players from being too close together on kickoff returns, is unreasonable to me as well. So now the kick returner doesn’t have the advantage of a wall of blockers to protect him from opponents who get a 50-yard running start? Is that safe?

And it seems inevitable that quarterbacks will be wearing red jerseys soon with all the rules protecting them against every tackling technique in the book.

You can’t hit them with your helmet, can’t hit their helmet with any part of your body, you can’t ride them to the ground, you apparently can’t be “intimidating” when you tackle them, and now the “Tom Brady” rule prohibits almost every hit to a quarterback’s legs.

Where does it stop?

Let’s face it, these rules aren’t for the “safety of the players” or so the “fans can watch their favorite players play the entire season” like the NFL claims; they are implemented to protect the owner’s investments in players receiving big paychecks.

Lengthening the NFL Season

Let’s not forget Goodell was elected by the owners, not the fans and definitely not the players. While I wouldn’t mind a couple more weeks of football, Goodell’s suggestion to lengthen the NFL season is driven by greed; more money for owners.

What about the players?

Every extra game is another chance at getting injured and cutting their career short because owners have made it clear that if you get hurt, you can pack your bags. Do you think a longer season is going to result in bigger paychecks for players? Not a chance.

Roger Goodell is diminishing the game in the eyes of fans who have been loyal for decades in order to appease a small set of people who get offended when they see Randy Moss fake-moon people in Green Bay. He knows we’ll be watching no matter what.

He’s attempting to grow the NFL audience by making it a different game than the one that made it so successful. The only problem is expanding the audience and changing the game is done at our expense.

It’s done at the expense of fans who pay attention year round, the people who know their history and are students of the game, the diehards who participate in five different fantasy football pay leagues, and those who enjoy the excitement of big hits and don’t mind seeing players celebrate when they do something to help their team.

Roger Goodell is ruining the game of football for all of us.

Arizona Cardinals 2009: A Pre-Draft Offseason Recap

Derek — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:19:24 -0400

Now that free agency has slowed, it’s time to take a look at where the Arizona Cardinals stand prior to the 2009 draft.

As expected of a team which made a Super Bowl appearance the year before, the team has remained largely the same and is hoping to capitalize on the cohesion and experience of their current players.

But hey, who couldn’t use a little help, right? Let’s start by recapping the Cards' offseason transactions.

Coaching Changes

The most significant changes to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason have come in the form of coaching changes.

Less than a week after losing the heartbreaking loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cardinals fired defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast after a season in which the team gave up too many points and fell apart on the final drive of the most important game in the team’s history.

Although the defense played well during the Cardinal’s playoff run, they finished the regular season ranked 22nd against the pass, 16th against the run, and 19th in overall defense giving up 331.5 yards per game.

2008 offensive coordinator, Todd Haley was named the new head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs leaving Arizona with two huge coaching vacancies.

Arizona promoted linebacker coach Bill Davis to defensive coordinator after 17 NFL seasons as an assistant. Receivers coach Mike Miller was promoted to passing game coordinator and assistant head coach Russ Grimm to running game coordinator but Ken Whisenhunt will still call the shots for the Cardinals offense in 2009.

Who’s Out

The organization parted ways with CB Eric Green who quickly found a home in Miami competing for the starting job opposite Will Allen. Green was initially the starter in 2008 but lost time to talented rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Roderick Hood down the stretch.

Antonio Smith cashed in by signing a five year $35 million contract with the Houston Texans. The team also lost KR/RB J.J. Arrington who went to get lost on the depth charts in Denver and also lost linebackers Matt Stewart and Monty Beisel to the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs respectively.

Who’s In

Undoubtedly, the biggest acquisition for the Cardinals this offseason was bringing in former Pittsburgh Steeler cornerback, Bryant McFadden, signing the free agent to a two-year, $10 million contract.

McFadden is expected to compete with Roderick Hood for the starting position opposite of first round draft pick Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

The combination of McFadden, Hood, Rogers-Cromartie, and Ralph Brown will provide a slight improvement over 2008’s cornerback crew that saw its trouble in nickel and dime situations, with the most significant improvement coming in the form of experience for rising star DRC.

Other additions this offseason include: Anthony Becht an experienced tight end from St. Louis, added DL depth signing Rodney Leslie (NYG), deep snapper Mike Leach (DEN), added to a thin RB crew with addition Jason Wright (CLE), singed safety Keith Lewis (SF), and added backup help on the OL in the form of practice squad center Donovan Raiola (SEA).

Who’s Back

Kurt Warner resigned with the club...THANK GOD! With Kurt Warner at the helm, AZ seems posed for another playoff push and possibly another fantastic post season performance in 2009.

The Cards placed the Franchise Tag on linebacker Karlos Dansby, arguably the organization’s greatest asset and brought back DE Bertrand Berry on a one-year, $1 million agreement. Berry took a paycutt in 2007 to stay with the team after tearing both of his triceps in the seasons before.

Other players resigned: Elton Brown (OG), Clark Haggans (LB), Leonard Pope (TE), Gabe Watson (DL), Ben Graham (P), Ralph Brown (CB), and Brian St. Pierre (QB).

Lingering Questions

The organization still has some issues to sort out. With the draft approaching, many speculate that the Card’s will select a running back with their first round pick and give declining Edgerrin James his walking papers.

That move would save the club $5 million in cap space in 2009.

Experts are also skeptical about the return of Anquan Boldin because of the compensation he will demand and the probability of an ugly holdout come training camp. Analysts suggest teams such as the Eagles, Titans, or New York Giants would love to get their hands on the Pro Bowl receiver.

In my opinion, as stated in my last article “Why the Cards Can’t Part Ways with Anquan Boldin”, Arizona must find a way to convince Boldin to play if they want to repeat in the NFC West.

The front office promised both Adrian Wilson and Karlos Dansby that they would work on contract extensions in the offseason but talks have yet to take place.

Free Agents Still on the Market

Since every team could use some help, here are some free agents still on the market that could have an excellent impact for the Cards in 2009. Torry Holt is the biggest name available and probably the most talented free agent left.

In my opinion, the organization should focus on bringing back No. 81; he’s younger, more talented, and has been with the organization his entire career making him popular among the diehards in AZ.

One free agent that would provide an upgrade to the defense is veteran and perennial Pro Bowler Derrick Brooks. He would bring experience, discipline, leadership, and an upgrade over outside linebacker Chike Okeafor and give depth to a thin group of linebackers.

Jason Taylor is still on the market, but I would rather see Calais Campbell and Travis LaBoy competing for the starting position in Antonio Smith’s absence.

Calais Campbell, drafted last year in the second round, is expected to produce for the organization in the long term and could benefit greatly from the opportunity to play a larger role in the defense.

What to Expect in 2009

With much of the same crew intact, fans should expect to see another good year from the Cards. The offensive line will determine whether the offense takes a more balanced approach next season.

Things didn’t really click for the running game until the playoffs when someone must have informed the OL there is this thing called run blocking, and it is probably a good idea to learn how to do it.

Steve Breaston should continue playing a larger role in the offense, but things get tricky if Boldin finds a new home. DRC should be an exciting player to watch as he grows with time and experience.

Arizona fans are hoping to see the opportunistic playoff defense to show up anchored by Pro Bowler Adrian Wilson, Gerald Hayes, and Karlos Dansby.

The time for the Cardinals to make another push for a championship is now. Kurt Warner has proven himself more than capable of leading the team through the regular season, playing at a Pro Bowl level, and performing in big games having put up one of the best performances in Super Bowl history.

The Cards have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL so I feel they should make the Anquan Bolding resigning a priority and take advantage of a weak NFC West.

I would have liked to have seen the club bring in some more talent on the defensive side of the ball but there weren’t many players in free agency that provided that opportunity. All in all, you can’t blame an organization for keeping a Super Bowl roster intact and I see no reason why the Arizona Cardinals won’t repeat as NFC West Champions in 2009.

Why the Cards Can't Part Ways with Anquan Boldin

Derek — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:27:36 -0400

It’s week 17 and I’m watching the Cardinals struggle against a waning Seahawks team early in the first quarter when our entire section begins to chant, “Same ‘ol Cardinals!” Four Kurt Warner touchdown passes later, it was obvious that these weren’t the “same ‘ol Cardinals” anymore. So why would they jeopardize their chances of another Super Bowl run in 2009 by parting ways with their Pro Bowl receiver, Anquan Boldin?

Let’s face it; Arizona didn’t exactly set the regular season on fire finishing one game above .500 in the NFL’s worst division. But they peaked at the right time and brought the playoff scene to their house for the first time since 1947 and finished one defensive stand short of a Super Bowl win.

The Cardinals finished the 2008 regular season ranked second in passing offense, throwing for 292 yards a contest and put up the third most points in the league at just over 26 points per game. There are three obvious keys to this explosive offensive production: Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin. So why would the front office even think about dealing one of those pieces now that things are finally coming together?

As the draft approaches and questions linger, management is holding steadfast to their commitment to their Pro Bowl receiver, but the rumor mill seems to be working overtime and Boldin is not a happy camper. His current agreement runs for another two years, but he has clearly outperformed his contract and is demanding market value compensation. He is seeking a contract similar to that of his counterpart, Larry Fitzgerald.

So, should the front office pay the wideout? Absolutely. Boldin is the best number two in the game and a perfect complement to Fitzgerald’s great hands and excellent leaping ability. If you’re of the opinion that AZ would be fine without Boldin, let’s take a closer look at the impact of his departure. In 2008, Boldin caught 89 balls, accumulated 1,038 yards, and scored 11 touchdowns…in only 12 games. He’s big, physical, aggressive, and not afraid to go over the middle and make tough catches in crowds. He is an expert at catching balls near the line of scrimmage and breaking big runs, having finished second in the league (behind Wes Welker) in yards-after-catch with 595 yards. This aspect of Boldin’s game allows the offense to keep defenses from pressuring Warner, and allows their QB a reliable option to check to before the snap.

Sure, Steve Breaston would be a nice number two if Boldin leaves the desert, but you have to consider how Breaston’s promotion would change the offense. Breaston is a fast, agile receiver who can use his speed in space, but doesn’t break tackles and won’t provide the dump off option that Boldin does. Playing a larger role in the offense, Breaston would no doubt be relieved of special team duties and leave the special teams without the big play threat he provides. He was the primary punt returner and split kick returning responsibilities with the recently departed J.J. Aarington last season. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxo0fISiPHg)

Having a speedy slot receiver like Breaston creates mismatches against slower nickel cornerbacks and outside linebackers lacking coverage skills. If you don’t think this is an important aspect of emerging offenses, ask Wes Welker how he makes a living. If Breaston is promoted, the slot position is likely to go to Jerheme Urban, a capable role player, but less agile receiver who doesn’t pose as significant a mismatch against defenders.

Is the situation a result of the organization’s salary cap headaches? You can make an argument that paying your QB and two receivers such a large portion of your cap is unreasonable, but is it really? Where are the Cardinals without Boldin in 2009 and beyond? Not in the Super Bowl, that’s for sure. In 2008, Boldin’s $2.5 million dollar paycheck was half of that of Edgerrin James’, who the team is likely to release prior to the draft, and minuscule in comparison to Fitzgerald’s $17 million dollar price tag. With the release of James, the Cardinals save around five million in 2009 and will have some ability to work a deal with Anquan Boldin.

Kurt Warner has offered to take a pay cut if the team can come to terms with Boldin, and why wouldn’t he? He understands the value Anquan brings to the offense and the organization. He proved his worth last season. Number 81 bounced back from a devastating hit delivered by Jet's safety Eric Smith in week four, that required surgery to repair a broken bone in his face. Critics were skeptical about his ability to return and play like the same "Anquan Boldin." In his first game back, he caught nine balls and two touchdowns and put to rest any ideas about his confidence being shaken. He played through hamstring injuries in the playoffs and performed well in the Cardinal’s outstanding playoff run, and hauled in eight balls for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.

The bottom line is that there is no player in the draft or free agency that can step in and produce for the Cardinals like Anquan Boldin. The only compensation AZ is likely to get will be in the form of draft picks, but there’s not a player in the draft that can have his kind of impact in 2009. The Cardinals have positioned themselves for another playoff run next season, but doing so without Anquan Boldin will be a big challenge.

This is an issue of respect. Respect that Boldin has earned. Pay the man.