The Most Surprising NFL Division Debate – Who Expected The NFC South To Go South?

December 23, 2009

Read the arguments from Babe Ruthless and Bleacher Fan.



With two weeks left to go in the NFL’s regular season, there is still quite a bit to be determined. Three division races are still up for grabs and three of the four wild card spots have yet to be claimed. Today, The Sports Debates is exploring which division is the most surprising. Taking a quick look at the divisions, there is one division that really surprises me, and it is not one of those good surprises. Good surprises will happen to all of us hopefully two days from now. This is a bad surprise… the disappointing play in the NFC South.

First, the one bright spot in the NFC South is the New Orleans Saints. I thought they would make a run at a playoff spot, and I am a big fan of Drew Brees. But never ever did I expect the Saints to be 13-1 at this point in the season. That is certainly a good thing.

Now, on we go to the bad!

The Atlanta Falcons were a sexy preseason pick to make a run in the playoffs, and possibly even win the Super Bowl. Folks, that just is not happening as the Falcons were already eliminated from playoff consideration before this past Sunday. Running back Michael Turner got off to a mediocre start (ask Sports Geek about that) and that led to more pressure on Matt Ryan, who struggled at times. Then, once Turner and Ryan went down with injuries, the Falcons were doomed. That is because the undermanned Falcons defense has been downright horrible at times. I have been a vocal critic of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, but in reality, he has very little to work with on defense. I mean, look at this defensive depth chart. Yikes!!!

The Carolina Panthers, last year’s division winner, has been a favorite target of The Sports Debates. First, Sports Geek stuck a fork in the team back in early October. Then, we actually did an entire debate on the future of John Fox. The bottom line is that at 6-8, the Panthers have been a complete disappointment. In actuality, the writing was written on the wall in INK when the Panthers front office had a complete brain fart and decided to give Jake Delhomme a contract extension (which takes the cake of the year’s worst contract in ANY sport… by far!). Not sure what they were smoking then, but I hope they have stopped by now. That constitutes a violation of the NFL’s drug policy! Whether or not this season costs John Fox his job remains to be seen, but either way, it has been a disappointing season.

I think we all saw the Tampa Bay Bucs taking a dive but yikes! This bad? How in the world did they beat Green Bay earlier in the season? I know the Bucs play in the NFL , and, theoretically, every team has a chance to win every week. As Dennis Green would say, “That’s why we took the [expletive deleted] field.” But come on! A record of 2-12? Fairly or unfairly, head coach Raheem Morris is already under fire partly due to the fact that he has essentially fired both his offensive coordinator and his defensive coordinator this season. Wait a minute! He fired his offensive coordinator ten days before the season. Why didn’t we see the signs then? And, are there signs of improvement? Not really!

It is the time of year to celebrate good surprises. But I am lamenting a bad surprise. The NFC South went south this year!

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Rooting For Your Archrival Debate – Winning is The Only Thing That Matters

September 10, 2009

Read the debate intro, Sports Geek’s argument, and Bleacher Fan’s argument.



My verdict for this debate is sure to aggravate the loser. I make this statement because I can feel the passion in every line of Sports Geek and Bleacher Fan’s argument. Perhaps even more in Bleacher Fan’s.

Bleacher Fan obviously refuses to root for any archrival. Bleacher Fan, under no circumstances, can come to grips with rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Baltimore Ravens. There is obviously a lot of built up anger toward both organizations, making it impossible to pull for them under any circumstances. As a fan, I can appreciate that. I also appreciated the He-Man reference. That was admittedly the first time in quite awhile I devoted any thought to the Masters of the Universe!

Sports Geek breaks down the counter argument into three different segments, effectively portraying the opposing side by saying, “the duty of fans is to root for the best possible outcomes for their favorite teams.”

Look, I have teams I hate. As someone who lives in Georgia and supports all Atlanta pro teams, I have a lot of hate for teams like the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Florida State Seminoles. I despise them! Mention names like shortstop Derek Jeter, pitcher Andy Pettitte, and former Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks and I get rather agitated (much like Bleacher Fan does with Art Modell).

That being said, if one of those teams can do something that benefits one of my teams, I can put aside my anger and put aside my pride. I will root for them. Maybe not PUBLICLY. But, I will root for them.

The bottom line is winning. I have a hard time believing that anyone would be okay with sitting at home during playoff time when a situation arose where a sworn enemy could help the team make the playoffs. The goal in every team sport to make postseason play, right? It certainly is. Winning matters… and if those bad guys on the other side help me out, then so be it! I am going to the playoffs, and if I win the championship, I am going to Disney World!!!

Therefore, I declare Sports Geek the winner.

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Who Should Have Signed Michael Vick Debate – Buccaneers’ Missed Opportunity for “Vick”-tory

August 17, 2009

Read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s arguments on which teams would have been a better fit for Michael Vick.



I was as shocked as anyone to see the announcement last week that Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not shocked because of what it meant for Vick, but for what it meant for the Philadelphia Eagles organization.

The Eagles now have to accept full responsibility for the social experiment that is Michael Vick’s return to the NFL. Whether it is the intention of head coach Andy Reid that Vick compete with the incumbent Donovan McNabb for the starting quarterback position or not, people will nevertheless view the two stars as competing. That perceived competition will add undue pressure to McNabb, and it unnecessarily shifts focus away from the more pressing needs of the team.

If Reid tries to insert Vick into a new role which he is not as comfortable playing in, and Vick fails, then Reid will be to blame for misappropriating Vick’s skills because he put Vick in a position where he was destined to fail. Either way, Vick can mitigate many of his shortcomings, and the Eagles will be almost entirely to blame if the experiment is unsuccessful.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the wrong fit for Michael Vick.

The team that should have been trying DESPERATELY to bring Vick into their organization is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Whether they believed the negative press was worth it or not, the Buccaneers are in desperate need of a player with Vick’s abilities. Tampa Bay would have presented a much more suitable home for #7.

The most obvious reason why Vick belongs in Tampa Bay is because the team is starved for talent at the quarterback position. Under new general manager Mark Dominik, and new head coach Raheem Morris, 2009 will mark the fifth time in six seasons that the Buccaneers begin the year with a new starting quarterback. This year, it will either be career backup Luke McCown or the injury-prone Byron Leftwich playing the role of signal-caller – and expectations are not very high for either.

Neither McCown nor Leftwich present Tampa with a viable long-term solution under center. While there may be questions regarding whether or not Vick can return to the same level he was playing at when he left the game, it is hard to argue against the fact that he still presents greater upside for the team than do the current options of Leftwich and McCown. Raheem Morris has already embraced 2009 as being a year with an open quarterback competition, so why not add Vick into the mix? He would have been available at a very cheap price (signing with Philadelphia for $1.6M with a team option for a second year), posing only a minimal risk that could have paid off with huge dividends if Vick were able to step in and lead the Buccaneers.

What made the seeming lack of interest from Tampa even more surprising was the fact that the Buccaneers had a very aggressive offseason in many other aspects. The team had already brought in tight end Kellen Winslow from Cleveland and running back Derrick Ward from the New York Giants. They had also released some of their ‘older’ big name players like wide receiver Ike Hilliard and linebacker Derrick Brooks. The Buccaneers appeared to be a rebuilding team ready to look to the future, except at the quarterback position.

The combination of Michael Vick with Kellen Winslow, Jr. would have been especially exciting (and productive). While with Atlanta, Vick’s favorite target was his tight end Alge Crumpler. Over the five year period they were paired together, Vick and Crumpler combined for more than 3,700 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. Winslow, a pro bowler with a remarkable ability to make big plays (he even made Derek Anderson look good!), would have been a perfect complement to Vick. Vick’s scrambling and rushing ability would have also paired nicely with Derrick Ward in the backfield, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season in part time work for the Giants.

Tampa Bay had a great deal to gain and very little to lose if they pulled the trigger on a deal with Michael Vick. In the midst of rebuilding, and in dire need for talent at the quarterback position, the Buccaneers would have been able to put Vick’s considerable ability to immediate use. While the prospect of dealing with the negative publicity from signing Vick may have seemed unappealing to Dominik and Morris – both of whom are themselves rookies in their respective roles – the seeming refusal to even consider Vick is something they will regret for years to come.

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The ESPN Channel Change Debate – No One Buys Monday Night Football Hype

June 19, 2009

Read Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan‘s opinions.



It’s an age-old question in ethics – just because you can, should you? This ethical dilemma should be contemplated within the walls of ESPN. “Just because we CAN hype the crap out of a Monday Night Football, SHOULD we?” The answer is a resounding no!

In the Fall, Sports Geek changes the channel whenever ESPN starts rolling out the hype machine for the next Monday Night Football game. ESPN is relentlessly in the face of their viewers promoting Monday Night Football. First, there are those “Is it Monday yet?” and “Monday can’t come soon enough!” ads that start on Tuesday of the previous week. Then it’s PTI live from a set outside the stadium where MNF is taking place. Then it’s Sportscenter, live from inside the stadium at 6p Eastern (two and half hours before “game time”… even though the game REALLY starts at 8:47p Eastern). Then it’s one of the NFL panels, broadcasting live from the secret basement of the same stadium, and doing several break-ins during Sportscenter. (This year, with Sportscenter live all day, I’m sure ESPN will devote the entire broadcast day to the monday night game.) Then, it’s Monday Night Countdown starting during/after Sportscenter, live from Section 155, Row C, Seat 15 – with real shots of the real players really warming up – discussing more stuff no one cares about.

One of the worst things about the MNF hype from 2008 was the presence of Emmitt Smith on one of the 75 different “expert” panels (you know, the ones ESPN hides in semi-secret locations throughout the stadium). His routine destruction of the English language was well-documented by PFT. But, for some reason, ESPN didn’t take him off the air for two years, perhaps because he had proven himself as a great football player, a nice guy, a heckuva dancer. Here’s a gem from Emmitt when hyping a MNF game featuring the Dallas Cowboys and running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones: “Marion and Felix, I’ve only got one word of advice: Don’t get hurt.” Classic.

The absolute worst thing about the ESPN hype-overload is that the games are usually terrible.

Let’s examine the last seven weeks of the 2008 season – when the games are supposed to really start meaning something. ESPN featured the following teams, in order, on their MNF schedule: San Francisco 49ers (7-9), Cleveland Browns (4-12), Green Bay Packers (6-10), Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7), Cleveland Browns again (still 4-12), and the Green Bay Packers again (still 6-10). For the final seven weeks of the season – “crunch time” by anyone’s standards – ESPN managed to feature one game, ONE, where both teams had a winning record, and something to play for.

Contrast that with arguably under-hyped NBC’s Football Night In America on Sunday nights. In their final seven weeks they featured only one team with a .500 record – the rest were well-over .500 and headed for the playoffs.

The more ESPN tries to tell us a meaningless game matters, the more they lose credibility as the WorldWide Leader.

I get that flexible scheduling gives NBC a HUGE advantage over ESPN. I also understand that ESPN has a job to do. They must advertise their games in order get good ratings. The problem with that approach is, however, that FANS ARE NOT STUPID!! If a game doesn’t feature good teams, then it just isn’t going to get ratings. Period. So all the airtime and millions of dollars ESPN spends to promote a bad game is just insulting to the fans, not effective.

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Posted by Sports Geek

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