After a day of recovering from an incredibly emotional weekend, and a full day of digesting the opening weekend of the 2011 National Football League regular season, it’s amazing what took place on the field across the country. We saw some incredible plays, witnessed some brilliant performances, and learned some valuable things:
5. The Lockout Cost Some Teams. Or Did It?
Before the season began, a lot was made about what teams did or didn’t do while the labor dispute was going on. On opening Thursday night, there was no better comparison than the New Orleans Saints (which held full team workouts during the offseason dispute the lockout) and the Green Bay Packers who met just once to receive their Super Bowl rings.
What ended up happening was a display that says team chemistry can be carried over from the previous season. The Saints were mixing in a lot of new faces, with some old, while the Pack played for longer last year and picked up right where they left off. Now, this isn’t to say that the lockout didn’t hurt teams. Because Peyton Manning couldn’t work with his team and get the help needed from Colts doctors, his consecutive games played streak ended, his season may be over and his career may be in jeopardy.
This labor dispute affected numerous people in multiple ways, but the majority was off the field. What this lockout taught me is that the level of talent on the field can be molded quickly when there is a winning environment and the right tools are easily accessible. For those that don’t have that, the process takes a lot longer. It also showed me that these athletes may not stay in the best of shape in the offseason. So many injuries across the board this weekend can’t all be chalked up to freak incidents right? The best players stay in the best shape all of the time.
4. Cam Newton May Be the Real Deal
So, the Country Baker (my better half), has constantly joked that one of my posts should be about her. Well this is what she’s getting for now. Yes, her beloved Carolina Panthers have been a shell of their 2003 selves and their list of quarterback hopefuls range from Steve Beuerlein and Florida State great Chris Weinke to Jake Delhomme and Jimmy Heisman, but Sunday was an incredible day for that franchise. Cam Newton, Heisman winner & National Champion, threw for a rookie debut record 422 yards in a losing effort.
Yes the defense failed the Panthers down the stretch, and maybe the rest of the year losing Jon Beason for the year, but Newton flashed his talent in a BIG way. He threw dump passes, checked off linebackers, broke down a (simple) defense, and made plays. Everyone called Cam the next Tim Tebow as in a player with loads of ability but even more hype. Cam is not Tim Tebow. I’m not anointing him the savior in Charlotte, but the future for that team is as bright as their franchise player’s smile.
3. The Patriots Are On A Mission
Last night I watched something that not only upset me, but downright freaked me out. The inability of a team to play defense was appalling, and its not like the Dolphins were the only squad convicted of that felony. But more importantly, watching a coach, a quarterback, and a team dismantle a squad like that was scary. I mean damn near horrifying! Tom Brady threw for 517 yards on 38 completions and four touchdowns. “FIVE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN YARDS?!?! “– as Tim Kirkjian would say.
We’ve known that Brady is good, top-3 in the game even, but what he and his coach did to Miami was the blueprint of how championships are won. Ever since their loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl, New England almost became forgotten. A team that couldn’t make it back to the Promised Land. Relentless Bill Bellichick, Hall of Fame Great Tom Brady, and the right pieces wearing that uniform, this team will be back this year and they will be back with a vengeance. I’m not gonna say they are a mortal lock to play in The Oil Drum in February, but if they can convince on October 9 (vs. NYJ) and again on November 13 (@ NYJ) Brady will match another famous QB in Montana; and everyone will once again swoon over the one-time Michigan back-up. Which reminds me…
2. The Tom Brady Love Affair Grows
Look, I get it. The guy’s amazing looking. He’s got reassuring eyes, broad shoulders, huge hands, and powerful legs. But c’mon folks, just because Peyton Manning’s not around to dissect defenses and send opposing coaches in to mental institutes, doesn’t mean we have to place “Tommy Terrific” up on a golden pedestal.
When all is said and done, Brady will probably be statistically and unequivocally one of the top five signal callers to ever play the game. Right up there with Unitas, Montana, Favre and yes, Peyton. That being said, the guy has everything, a gorgeous wife, good looks, great talent, and a gorgeous baby’s mama. Do we have to ogle over him on the football field and on national television? I’m lookin’ at you Jon Gruden!
Yes, he’s awesome at his sport but what is really important to note with him is that he’s a team player. He understands that it takes 10 other guys on offense, 11 guys on defense, 11 guys on special teams and a whole coaching staff preparing every week to put together a championship team. He always finds a way to give credit at others and deflect it away from himself. I love that he does that, it’s something amazing to listen to even when I’m gazing at those wonderfully reassuring eyes. Oh God, it’s happening to me! Let’s move on…
1. Sports Can Heal All
Ten years ago this past Sunday I was sitting in Old Mill Middle School North, going through the normal routine of a new school year. I remember walking past the teacher’s lounge and seeing this smoke coming from a building on TV. I thought it was just a movie or something. As the day went on and kids kept going home early, with no explanation, you began to wonder. Was something wrong? This many kids didn’t have doctor’s appointments. Why wasn’t I being taken out?
When I got home I could see on my mother’s face that something was wrong. 50 miles south of our house, the building that my Dad had recent trips to on a daily basis was hit by a plane in a terrorist attack. We didn’t hear from him until he walked in the door that night. I’ve known kids who lost family and friends on that day, I was fortunate. The effects however, have had tolls on me. I’ve lost friends in these conflicts, seen family members leave for unknown amounts of time, and witnessed the destruction of war on the frontlines here at home.
This past weekend, I felt it proper to return to the DC area to pay my respects to all those who lost their lives that day and in the subsequent wars. While there, I went to FedEx Field and watch the Giants-Redskins game. Now, these aren’t the two bitterest of rivals in the NFC East, but they aren’t best friends either. Prior to the game, there was no trash talk. No vulgar outbursts or physical confrontations, because everyone understood that until kickoff, that day was about one thing.
Before the national anthem was sang, Taps was played. A somber song that signifies the honor of life and those that have given it. I felt myself welling up. As I looked around, I saw others doing the same. When life attempted to return to a sense of normalcy after the attacks of 9/11, it was sports that allowed us to get there. Allowed us to forget the hardships and terror we had all seen.
Ten years later, we remembered, we cried, and we united once again. Then, after the coin flip and first snap, we returned to normal. With sports rightly at the front.
No comments:
Post a Comment