The 2010 Biggest Story of the Year Debate… Vick Surprises Us All

January 2, 2011

Read the opposing arguments from Optimist Prime and Babe Ruthless.

At the end of a year, it’s human nature for us to take pause and look back. Among other things, I use the time as one year ends and another begins to look back at some of the big sports stories of the past year. Unfortunately, many of them tend to be a little on the negative side. Between ill-advised personal decisions made by Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre to Cam Newton to the concussion-related injuries in the NFL, a lot of things happened in 2010 that brought negative attention to sports. However, I am choosing today to focus on something positive, and that is the comeback story on Michael Vick.

Earlier in the decade, Vick was roaming around on the turf of the Georgia Dome. We all know what happened next, and there’s absolutely no use in rehashing that whole incident.

What truly makes it a great story is the fact that little to nothing was expected of Vick this season. After receiving very little playing time last year in his first year with the Eagles, the team surprisingly picked up his option for the 2010 season, due in part to the fact that the organization decided to trade Donavan McNabb (what a smart move that turned out to be). That left Kevin Kolb in position to be the number one guy in Philly.

Both Vick and Kolb traded injuries during the early part of the season. Who Andy Reid was going to start became a major issue, so much so that we actually did a debate on the quarterback dilemma back in September. Once Vick became healthy, though, he took the job and literally ran with it. He has run with it into contention for an MVP award. Last week it was announced that he was named the starting quarterback for the NFC in the 2011 Pro Bowl.

Why wouldn’t he be? Have you seen what this guy has done? Did you see his mid-season performance against the Redskins? Did you see him direct a miraculous 21 point comeback against the Giants less than two weeks ago? There’s a reason NBC flexed a game involving a matchup against the 5-9 Minnesota Vikings, and that reason is not Joe Webb. That reason is Michael Vick. Even on a Tuesday night, Vick draws viewers.

He’s become the story of the year in the NFL. He’s become a part of one of the most fascinating comeback stories ever in sports. He is my choice as being the top sports story of the year.

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Kevin Kolb Career Debate… Common Sense, or Kevin Kolb?

September 21, 2010

Read the opposing argument from Babe Ruthless.

I am going to assume that you travel the same way to work every day.

Let’s pretend that one day your normal route is closed due to construction, and you have to take a detour. But you find as you take this detour it is actually a faster route to take. It saves you time and money, and allows you to completely bypass traffic. So when the day comes where your “normal” route is opened back up, do you return to it just because that is what you had said your route to work was? Or do you stick with the new route, which has proven to be more successful today?

Obviously, you would choose the route that has PROVEN to be better, but that seems like a bit of common sense that passed Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid by.

Reid had a PLANNED offense that would rely on Kevin Kolb as the starting quarterback, and a PROVEN offense that has found success behind Michael Vick.

Kevin Kolb has a career passer rating of 67.8. Michael Vick’s passer rating since returning to the NFL is 103.3 (and is 76.8 over his career).

Kolb has played in 13 total NFL games, started only two of them, and has a career record of 1-1. Vick has played in 88 games, starting 68 of them, and has a career record of 38-28-1.

Kolb, over his career, has thrown only 140 passes. Vick has completed more than 140 passes in four out of his six seasons as an NFL starter.

Kolb has thrown for only four touchdowns and seven interceptions in his career. Vick has, in only one and a half games this season, thrown for three touchdowns and zero interceptions (and has 75 TDs and only 52 interceptions in his career).

Kolb is an unproven backup, recently promoted into a starting role simply on prospect and practice performance. Vick is a three-time Pro Bowler with both regular season and post-season success under his belt.

Should I continue? I didn’t think so.

It seems ridiculous that this would even be a question, yet Andy Reid was foolishly risking his own job by insisting that Kevin Kolb remain the starter.

I completely understand that Kevin Kolb is an exciting prospect in the Reid’s eyes. I also respect Reid’s desire to avoid a messy quarterback controversy, and my intention is not to knock Kolb for his limited opportunity, or to imply that he will be a failure in the NFL. But is it really a controversy when there is such a clear one-sided favorite? Reid is actually CREATING the controversy by keeping Vick on the sidelines.

Facts are facts, and the reality for Andy Reid is that he is right now choosing to stick with a quarterback who is essentially no more experienced than rookie Sam Bradford, and who has performed as an average (at best) quarterback when he HAS played… even when he has a guy sitting on the sidelines who has proven that he is ready to not only compete, but actually WIN in the NFL.

So what sense could it possibly make to keep Vick on the sidelines?

Andy Reid made a gutsy call this off-season when he let Donovan McNabb go. That decision immediately put him on the hot seat, especially playing in a city like Philadelphia where the fans demand nothing short of their own versions of success. Although Reid had said he believes Kolb is the future of the Eagles franchise, Michael Vick right now is not only playing better than Kolb, he is playing better than all but the most elite of quarterbacks in the NFL.

That is like turning down a free cut of filet mignon because you heard that the vegan menu might be better for you in the long run.

So far this season, Vick has thrown for 459 yards (the 11th most in the NFL, on a full half less playing time than everyone else on the leaderboard) on 43 completions, for four touchdowns and no picks. He has also rushed for 140 yards.

His 105.5 passer rating so far this season is fourth best in the NFL. There are also only nine quarterbacks with more touchdown passes than Vick, and only one of those nine (Peyton Manning) can also boast no interceptions.

Michael Vick has started the season as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. The decision to keep his PROVEN success on the bench, just because some THINK Kevin Kolb will be better, is one that SHOULD cost you your job. Every day that goes by where Reid sticks with Kolb put him one day closer to that inevitability.

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The Best Game of THIS Weekend Debate… Lion(s) Share of Questions

September 17, 2010

Read the opposing arguments from Babe Ruthless and Sports Geek.

It is only week two of the NFL season and we already have a matchup between two backup quarterbacks.

Unfortunately, that is only the start of the issues facing the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions on Sunday. Both teams find are in the extremely rare situation of entering the second game with MORE questions than were faced on opening weekend.

Let’s start with the Eagles.

For the last decade the Eagles have been led on the field by quarterback Donovan McNabb. In the off-season, though, the team made a strategic decision to look toward the future by trading McNabb to the division rivals Washington Redskins. The young and highly anticipated prospect, Kevin Kolb, was given the keys to the kingdom.

So how did that decision pay off in week one? In less than two quarters of playing time, Kolb struggled under the pressure provided by the Packers defense and he went 5-10 with only 24 passing yards. Then, to make matters worse, he was knocked out of the game with a concussion.

Replacing Kolb, Michael Vick (yeah, THAT Michael Vick) finally got his opportunity to once more lead an NFL offense as THE quarterback, and he never looked back. Even though the Eagles lost the game, Vick looked spectacular playing like he hasn’t missed any time at all since his pre-prison Pro Bowl days. During his time on the field Vick was 16-24 for 175 yards with one touchdown, and he added another 103 rushing yards to the mix… just for some variety.

And with Kolb not passing his concussion test until yesterday (he failed his first try on Wednesday), it looks like Vick will get another shot to prove that he deserves more than just a supporting role in the NFL.

Then, the Lions.

If ever there was a rock bottom in the NFL, the Detroit Lions found it. The Lions went a pathetic 2-30 over the last two seasons and were coming into 2010 with no place to go but up. The team was entering 2010 with some very real expectations for genuine improvement, with Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson coming back to lead the offense along with explosive rookie running back, Jahvid Best.

And to the delight of the fans, the Lions showed signs of improvement during the week one matchup with the Chicago Bears. But a controversial call at the end of the game cost the team victory. Like Kolb, Stafford was knocked out of the game, only Stafford’s injury was in his shoulder.

If the news of Stafford’s injury wasn’t bad enough for Lions fans, the name of his doctor surely must be –Dr. James Andrews (although Dr. Andrews stated that Stafford would not need surgery, which had to ease the blow at least a little bit).

So now it is up to Shaun Hill to try and continue leading the development of the Lions’ offense.

Neither of these teams want to start the season off at 0-2, but with so many questions sitting unanswered right now, it is virtually impossible to try and predict a winner.

Will there be a new quarterback controversy in Philadelphia?!

Is Matt Stafford REALLY that valuable to an NFL franchise, and are the Lions REALLY improving?!

Did Calvin Johnson go back and study the fundamentals of completing a reception?!

Will Rocky and Bullwinkle find the missing ingredient for the rocket fuel formula?!

Be with us Sunday for “Eagles Come, Eagles Go,” or “The Goal Lion Stand!”

Editor’s Note: Sigh.

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The Naming The Starting Quarterback Debate – Mangini Blew It!

September 16, 2009

Read the debate intro, Sports Geek’s argument, and Loyal Homer’s argument regarding whether or not Eric Mangini made the correct decision in keeping his starting quarterback a secret.



I have some advice for Eric Mangini: When you make a decision that almost NOBODY agrees with, it is probably safe to assume that they (not you) are correct.

The victory for this debate goes to Sports Geek.

Sports Geek hits the nail right on the head. Mangini over-thought the situation, and ended up hindering his own team rather than the opposition. When looking at the mistakes that caused the most problems for the Cleveland Browns on offense, every one of them could at least partly be attributed to a lack of comfort or familiarity between quarterback Brady Quinn and his teammates.

When Quinn threw his only interception of the game, it was clearly the result of miscommunication between him and wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Quinn threw the ball believing Edwards would cut left, but Edwards instead cut right believing that Quinn was throwing elsewhere. The result was a ball thrown to a place where no receiver could catch it, and it was easily intercepted by the Vikings. The Browns were also called for four false-start penalties, several of which came at very costly times. Perhaps if the offense had more time to familiarize themselves with Quinn’s cadence, they would have been more prepared during a game situation, and would have jumped less in those critical moments.

Do not get me wrong, Mangini’s decision to keep his starter a secret is not the sole reason why the Browns lost on Sunday, but he did not do the team any favors. His decision to keep his choice a secret actually backfired, because it created AT LEAST as much confusion for his own team than it did the Minnesota Vikings.

Loyal Homer’s argument, in theory, is absolutely correct. Mangini as head coach of a professional football team should be doing everything in his power to give his team every possible advantage that he can gain for them (especially with the 2009 Browns, who will likely need all the help they can get). The problem that I have with Mangini’s decision in this case is that his choice negatively impacted his own team just as much as it did the Vikings. Eric Mangini, in addition to his responsibility of trying to gain every tactical advantage that he can, also has a responsibility to protect the weaknesses of his own organization. The latter was sacrificed last Sunday, and the Browns paid the price.

I have no problems with a coach trying new, innovative, or even unorthodox tactics to gain an edge. But, it is irresponsible to take those measures when it impedes your own team’s ability to develop. Mangini’s FIRST responsibility is to create a cohesive and productive unit that will successfully compete on Sunday afternoons. This was simply a matter of putting the horse before the cart.

Those tactics of gamesmanship and subversive communication are rarely successful when used to mask a team’s deficiencies. Secrecy works for Bill Belichek and the New England Patriots because they function successfully as a team. Fundamentally they are a sound organization, and have consistently proven that they can succeed in almost any situation. For a team like that, the strategies of misinformation and misdirection are successful because they are being used to support strong performances, rather than mask poor ones. Eric Mangini should first focus on developing a fundamentally sound team. Until then, he should forget about the mind-games.

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The Naming The Starting Quarterback Debate – If a “Mangenius” Does Something that Doesn’t Make Sense to Me, Why Do I Think HE’S Wrong?

September 15, 2009

Read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s argument on whether or not Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini’s decision to keep the starting quarterback a secret was a good one.



For weeks building up to (and through) the preseason, there was much speculation in Cleveland as to who the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns would be. Would it be the 2007 Pro Bowler Derek Anderson, or the highly touted 2007 draft pick Brady Quinn? Last season, it appeared that Quinn had officially claimed the spot when he replaced Anderson mid-season. However, subsequent injuries by both Quinn and Anderson during the 2008 season, along with the announcement that Eric Mangini would replace Romeo Crennel as head coach, threw everything back up in the air.

When Mangini came into the Browns organization, he immediately announced that there would be an open competition for the starting quarterback position. All through training camp, there was speculation around which quarterback actually had the edge. Neither seemed to take the steps necessary to claim the starting position outright, leaving the public with only guesses as to what was going on in the head of Mangini.

Then, in a move that had many people around the league scratching their heads, Mangini publicly stated that he would keep the starting quarterback a secret even after deciding who it would be. His reasoning – to keep the Vikings guessing.

The Minnesota Vikings were scheduled as the Browns’ week one opponents, and Mangini felt that he was gaining a competitive edge over Minnesota with the secret because it forced the Vikings to prepare for defending against two different quarterbacks, instead of just one.

Now that the first week of NFL competition is complete, with the Vikings beating the Browns by a score of 34-20, I am asking my esteemed colleagues at The Sports Debates to evaluate Mangini’s decision.

In hindsight, was it a wise decision by Eric Mangini to keep his choice as starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns a secret until the last possible moment?

Keep in mind that losing the game does not automatically mean that Mangini made a poor choice. If not for running back Adrian Peterson’s impressive performance on offense for the Vikings (180 rushing yards and three touchdowns), the Vikings could have lost on Sunday.

Loyal Homer will argue that this decision, although it did not help change the outcome of the game, was still a wise decision on the part of Eric Mangini because the Vikings had to split their defensive focus and could not prepare for simply one gameplan. Sports Geek will argue that the choice was a bad one.

So which is it? Were these the actions of a mad-man or a Man-genius?!

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The NFL Training Camp Position Battle Debate – The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow!

July 31, 2009

Read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s arguments on which position battles they feel will be the most interesting during the 2009 NFL preseason.



I feel like I’m stuck in line at Epcot right now, just having stepped off of the ‘Spaceship Earth’ ride where I’ve taken a journey through time, and am waiting to step into ‘Project Tomorrow!’

That’s what life has been like for a Cleveland Browns fan ever since their return to the league in 1999. The Cleveland faithful have been shown pictures and told stories of the franchise’s past, and they have been promised about the excitement that the future will bring, but for this moment? They are stuck in some sort of limbo, just waiting for the future to arrive.

Browns fans are upset, and with good reason! Things have already started off poorly for the Dawgs in 2009. Following an abysmal close to the 2008 season, the Browns once again have gone back to the drawing board beginning with team owner Randy Lerner’s purge of the front office. He fired general manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel, replacing them with George Kokinis and Eric Mangini, who officially becomes the fifth head coach for the Browns since their return, ushering in yet ANOTHER era of “rebuilding” for the city on the banks of Lake Erie.

“Mangenius” and the Browns have also fallen victim again to the alleged “Cleveland Curse” by losing wide receiver Donte Stallworth to a DUI manslaughter charge. Recently another wide receiver, Braylon Edwards, was also placed on the non-football injury list… and the hits just keep on coming (without even taking the field)!

More frustrating is the lack of any stability at the quarterback position. For a city that once proudly boasted the names of Otto Graham, Brian Sipe, and Bernie Kosar, 2009 will mark the beginning of yet another quarterback controversy. In fact, the Browns quarterback position has been so inconsistent and unstable that 14 different players have started at least one game at the position since 1999. A position, need I remind you, that is supposed to be manned by the on-field leader of the team.

So, why on earth do I feel that the Browns QB position battle will be the one to watch this year? I’ll give you two reasons.

First, it is really the only exciting thing worth watching if you are a Browns fan.

Second, it will finally allow the Cleveland organization and its fans an opportunity to put a face to the franchise.

When you think about the teams in football that have consistently performed well over the past decade, the one thing they have all had in common is stability and solid leadership from the quarterback position. You can look no further than the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, or the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger as proof.

That has been the missing piece for Cleveland, but the Browns are FINALLY in a position where they can place the hopes of their franchise on the shoulders of a quarterback who may actually be able to take the reins of a franchise and be the leader for the foreseeable future.

This isn’t the same quarterback controversy that Browns fans have known for the past 10 years. The team isn’t choosing between Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye, or Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb. Rather than being forced to take gambles between arguably substandard talent or a “veteran” who is likely on their last legs, the Browns finally have an opportunity to choose between two quarterbacks who (on paper at least) appear to both be capable of successfully leading the team for many years to come.

On one hand you have Derek Anderson. Despite a dreadful 2008 performance, Anderson is a Pro Bowl quarterback with tremendous arm strength. In his defense, many of Anderson’s woes last year can be blamed on downright pathetic receiving (that includes YOU, Braylon) and injury problems. Sure, there are questions that Anderson will need to answer – specifically around his accuracy – but he has nonetheless proven that he can succeed on the field.

On the other hand you have Brady Quinn. Quinn came in as a very highly touted rookie quarterback having led Notre Dame to a BCS appearance during his final year before being drafted in the first round by the Browns. Quinn was instantly labeled as the “quarterback of the future” for the Browns, but due to the surprising success of Anderson (and the entire Browns team) in 2007, followed by injury problems in 2008, many people still feel that Quinn is untested and unproven. When healthy Quinn has been able to demonstrate his natural talent as a passer causing many in “Believe-land” to still expect Quinn to be the man lining up behind center.

While there are doubts about both (otherwise there wouldn’t be a position battle, obviously), each has shown the potential to be a “franchise” quarterback. I think it is safe to assume that whoever Mangini chooses to take the field in September will be the quarterback of the Browns for many years to come. As for the “other guy?” My guess is that he’ll be suiting up in different colors.

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