The NFL’s Biggest Losers September 10, 2009
Posted by Paul in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so far
You’ve heard the slew of NFL analysts and information men for weeks now. They grimace, ponder, and finally utter predictions on everyone’s favorite team, before the season begins. “I like Team X because they’ve demonstrated they can run the football.” “Boy, doesn’t Team Y look good at quarterback right now?” “Team Z has really nailed the football fundamentals. They will have a stout running game and a great run-stopping defense to boot.” “If things fall right for Team A, they could certainly end up 8-8, possibly even 9-7.” Have you gagged yet? At Your Sports NightCap, we were starting to throw up in our mouths. But before producing yet another pavement pizza, we thought we would prevent additional regurgitation, and approach things a little differently. In a league predicated on giving each fan hope through system-bred parity, we thought we would burst your expectation balloon before the season even kicked off. Do you think that your team has a chance to make the playoffs? We’re here to be the cold, rational blanket that will calm your pigskin fervor and ground you back in reality. Sorry, Roger Goodell. We love the league you have been shepherding over the past couple of years. But we thought we would wade through some of the football pundit speak that has been thrown around, and inject a dose of realism into the proceedings. So without further ado, let’s grab our red pen, use it like a scalpel to call out the worst teams in the National Football League.
NFC North:The former black-and-blue division is certainly very competitive. For three of its inhabitants. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to figure out which team will be left bruised up in the grouping’s cellar. The Lions look to be left purring and scratched up by season’s end. Their new highly-touted first round pick doesn’t stand to help that fate.
AFC North: Take out Pittsburgh and Baltimore, as they stand to be in an elite group, if last year’s results are any indication to this season’s performance. The two Ohio teams remain as potentials for the honor of worse in this division. With a healthier Carson Palmer and a rededicated Ochocinco, it would be a little sad to continue to see the Bengals underachieve for yet another year. With that in mind and the big secret now out of the bag at the quarterback position, watch for Cleveland to be an absolute dog in this division.
NFC West: San Francisco is on the up-and-up with a new motivational leader in Coach Singletary. The Cardinals are coming off their Super Bowl run, with some strong confidence, and their offense largely intact. Watch for Seattle to rebound with a healthy Hasselbeck and some added pieces on both sides of the ball. That leaves us with the Rams, who haven’t shown the ability to get it done in recent years, despite having some significant components in place.
AFC West: Do we really need to spend time on this one? Some might say “yes”, as we’ve got quite a few candidates for worse team in the NFL. The Broncos and Chiefs could certainly make a strong case for themselves, as of this moment. But when you’ve got players failing to report after a trade, a head coach accused of punching out one of his subordinates, and an owner bordering on football senility, you take the cake as it pertains to ineptitude and dysfunction. Look for Oakland to contend for the worst team in the entire league.
NFC East: Having long been one of the most heated divisions in professional football, don’t expect this to change this year. If you were to ask us to pick the winner of this grouping, we would have our hands full in discerning a clear winner. Thankfully for us, we’ve decided to perform the opposite exercise. In this foursome, the nation’s capital will not be well-represented. Despite his best efforts, Albert Haynesworth will not be able to take Washington on his back. The Redskins will end up being the odd men out, with the Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants all vying for both a NFC East title and a Wild Card spot.
AFC East: Known as another difficult division over the last couple of years, usually taken by the Belichick-led Patriots, this year proves to be especially interesting at the top. The Dolphins are retooled, and on an upswing after capturing the grouping last year. The Patriots are welcoming their leader Tom Brady back from injury and have a new found chip on their shoulders, having not made the post season last year despite an 11-5 record. But we could care less. We’re about seeking and picking out ineptitude. That distinction will belong to the Buffalo Bills. The team residing in Orchard Park will end up regretting their signing of Terrell Owens, as he will end up splintering the locker room, when things start to fall apart for them during the middle portion of the season.
NFC South: Part of this exercise (some would elevate it to a discipline) is trying to find the squad with the most question marks. When seeking those soft spots, one team rises to the top, in this division. A franchise that possesses an unproven 32 year-old head coach that last year was coaching the secondary, a recently-fired offensive coordinator dismissed just 10 days before the season began, and a void in leadership once held by purged veterans that include Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, and Jeff Garcia…that team would certainly qualify as the choice for worst in this division. The Tampa Bay Bucs will end up embarrassing themselves, while Jon Gruden laughs away in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth.
AFC South: We’ve often thought of this foursome as a group of very capable teams. But the balance of power has certainly changed over the past few years. Indianapolis and Tennessee have remained exemplars as to how to run franchises and keeping them viable as NFL juggernauts. The Texans have remained pretty dreadful, but are showing signs of getting better. The team that takes the cake (and the collar, for the matter), here, has also had a hard time drawing a consistent crowd to its home games. The Jacksonville Jaguars have alerted the NFL that several of their games might be blacked out during this year, due to poor ticket sales. As things get uglier for them, expect fans to both flee from the stadium and thank Roger Goodell for keeping the black out rule in place. This will ensure fans won’t have to witness the train wreck the Jags will evolve into….
The Hardware: We’ve deemed it hardware because of the inherent difficulty in being this bad. The team that will end up hoisting the hardware for horrendous performance resides in Oakland. The turmoil created into the off season will seep into the regular season and prevent this talented group from playing up to their potential. The Raiders will be thoroughly committed to something quite different than what is contained in their familiar slogan. The Raider Nation will be left rooting for the league’s absolute worst team….
Untapped Assets: Young Talents Left Unfulfilled September 3, 2009
Posted by Paul in : Uncategorized , 5comments
Two nights ago was an evening that provided me good fodder for another offering to the Blogosphere. Ernests Gulbis was struggling through his encounter against Andy Murray in the second night match on Day 2 of the US Open, in Flushing Meadows, New York. Gulbis, the son of an oil magnate, had the honor of getting dissected by John McEnroe on ESPN’s telecast, for his lack of commitment to the game, unstable focus, and sketchy fitness. A quick glance by any keen tennis observer gives the following conclusion: the Latvian oozes of talent. He’s built well, strong-legged, and possesses great power on his ground strokes. But, he barely belonged on the same court, as his opponent on Tuesday evening. Murray was the far superior player; and, in the end, completely dismantled Gulbis.
McEnroe’s lecture got me thinking: which young stars in the men’s game have yet to fulfill their apparent potential? The discussion, here, is not about looking back on the career of an older star, and determining whether or not this protagonist managed to fully leverage one’s talent. We’re not doing the post-mortems of former, promising touring pros that have already ridden into the sunset. If that was the case, men like Marat Safin, Cedric Pioline, Taylor Dent, or Tommy Haas may have been tossed into that conversation. This exercise is more about using a discerning eye on the young and talented, who have yet to reach their promise. These pros with untapped tennis assets still have time to turn around their careers. They have an opportunity to take an example from Andre Agassi’s career arc, and rededicate themselves to flourishing on the court. So without further ado, here are the top contenders for the role of “Mr. Unfulfilled.”
1) Richard Gasquet: the Frenchman has a flair for controversy. From rumors about his sexual orientation, to a cocaine suspension cut short, Gasquet has grown up with the spotlight squarely on him. At age 9, he made the cover of the French Tennis Magazine. Since then, his dazzling, electric backhand and all-court game have wowed crowds and enabled him to advance in the rankings, and garner himself some tour titles. But any analyst of the game worth his weight in salt would tell you that Gasquet has been far from reaching his full potential. Gasquet has long-been the new hope for French tennis; the man a whole nation has hoped would be Yannick Noah’s successor as Grand Slam title-holder. Thus far, he’s been thoroughly disappointing, particularly in Slam play. His only noteworthy run in a Major has been at Wimbledon 2007, where he made the semifinals, after an epic win over Andy Roddick in the previous round. Federer went on to dismantle him in the semis, in straights, however. Can Gasquet put this most recent bit of tumult behind him? Can the “Cocaine Kiss Affair” finally be put in his rear view mirror, and allow him to fully focus on his craft? Only time will tell…. But if yesterday’s lackluster effort against Nadal is any indication, the road ahead will be long and tortuous for the young Frenchman….
2) Donald Young: This kid was touted as a potential leader in a new generation of American players. His hands, lefty serve, and mobility around the court have drawn comparisons to John McEnroe. But at 20 years old, his singles ranking stands at 185. A lot of top young talents have already broken through to the top 100 or top 50 by that age. It will be interesting to see what it takes to get this American to come through and match all the buzz that had been generated about him. The next couple of years will be crucial in his evolution as a touring pro.
3) Ernests Gulbis: the inspiration of this list, the Latvian champ has shown plenty of talent since coming on the scene of professional tennis. That explosion on the tennis’ main stage probably happened during the 2007 US Open, when he beat Tommy Robredo (then seeded 8th) with great conviction. At the 2008 French Open, he managed to make the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, by taking down such marquee names as James Blake, Nicolas Lapentti, and Michael Llodra. What has been missing, however, according to John McEnroe (among others) is the maturity to look in the mirror, and make the necessary changes to leverage that God-given asset he’s been blessed with. This criticism has grown so substantially in recent months that some tennis pundits are starting to wonder if Gulbis might afflicted with “affluenza”. A few times during Tuesday’s telecast, ESPN’s commentators were freely dispensing information on Gulbis’ flight arrangements. According to the McEnroe’s, the Latvian tennis star had a private jet chartered for him exclusively by his wealthy father. You would be hard-pressed to see any other players with a current singles ranking of 95, to fly in privately-chartered aircrafts. The compelling aspect to follow over the next couple of ATP campaigns is whether Gulbis is willing and able to trade in his silver spoon for a lunch pail and hard hat. Will he hunger to put in the extra work on and off the court that would end up paying dividends for his tennis? Will Gulbis have the desire to perform the sometimes tedious and mundane tasks that are integral to big match preparation? Stay tuned to find out.
