Spear!
Tag: nfl
James Walker, writing for ESPN:
However, the AFC East is tied for the most wins (six) by division in the NFL. The AFC West also has six victories. In fact, the only two AFC East losses by the Bills and Jets have been against the Patriots within the division. Miami, Buffalo and New York are a combined 4-0 against teams outside its division. That includes victories over the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.
The AFC East was blasted because of how poor the Patriots looked in their first two games. If you look at the records, however, it might just be because teams like the Bills and/or the Jets are not as bad as people thought they would be.1
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Of course, that might mean it will be much harder for the Patriots to win the division than people thought before the season. ↩
This is ridiculous. It is time the NFL offered a Sunday Ticket package for $150 that works on iOS, Roku, Xbox, etc…
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Patriots hold off the Bills in Opener
I figure a Patriots win is a good way to test my new Editorial posting workflow.
J-E-T-S…JETS, JETS, JETS!!!
As you might expect, Aaron Hernandez was a topic:
> **TOM BRADY**: … I have moved on. I’m focusing on the great teammates I have who are committed to helping us win games. The only thing I care about is winning. Nothing is going to ever get in the way of that goal. I’m just excited to report to camp and see what we can accomplish as a team. The fate of our season will be determined by the players in our locker room—nothing else.
Pretty much what you would expect Brady to say. [^fn1]
[^fn1]: As a side note, I like this new little feature of Peter King’s [newly launched website](themmqb.com).
> Asked about the future of DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket amid rising sports costs, he said that if the price tag went too high in the next rights deal negotiations, DirecTV would consider striking a non-exclusive deal with the NFL or possibly even dropping the popular package.
> DirecTV’s current NFL Sunday Ticket deal expires in 2015.
That would be awesome. It would be great if either Apple or Microsoft got into the bidding to drive up the price of an exclusive deal.
On the other hand, the NFL could simply go the Major League Baseball route and start setting subscriptions directly. I’m sure people would pay at least $200 to get access to *all* NFL games for a given season.
> John Lamothe, a Patriots fan from Florida, put his jersey on the auction site with the thought that it would maybe fetch $15. The item sold on Sunday for $289. One seller listed their Hernandez jersey with a starting price of 99 cents ‘because we just want it the *bleep* out of this house’. On Monday morning, the jersey had received 36 bids and was up to $207.50″
Are you kidding me? Who buys garbage like this?
A nice gesture by the Patriots. No parent is going to want their child wearing a Hernandez jersey.
> Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez cleared waivers on Thursday, the same day that the NFL released a statement saying they will not approve any contract between a team and Hernandez until after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has met with him.
> The likelihood of that meeting ever happening is slim, but the NFL is conducting its own investigation of Hernandez, reports Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com.
I cannot imagine that Hernandez ever playing in the NFL again.
It did not take long for [the Patriots to release him](http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/60610/patriots-release-aaron-hernandez) either.
The positive to being a Patriots fan is that they are Super Bowl contenders every year. The negative is that you sometimes see guys like Welker leave the team. It is going to be tough to see him play for Denver.
I’ve [said it before](https://johnkiv.us/2013/01/25/charlotte-seeks-125-million-from-charlotte-to-renovate-stadium/) and I’ll say it again: do not give a NFL team tax payer money to build a stadium.
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Shawne Merriman announces his retirement
The NFL is a better place without Merriman in it.
When will cities learn that they really get no benefit from caving to demands from owners of the local sports teams?
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Eagles to Hire Chip Kelly as New Coach
This came out of nowhere. It will be interesting to see if the NCAA announces any penalties to the Oregon program in the next months[^fn1].
[^fn1]: It was always my thought that Kelly would jump when he started getting sniffs of such penalties.
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The “Jay Cutler” Defense
Dan Wetzel explains the latest reasoning for why RG III wanted to play with his bum knee: he did not want to be eviserated in the media like Jay Cutler was a few years ago. Personally, I think RG III just wanted to do what he thought he could to help his team win the game. I doubt fear of Internet insults was what motivated him.
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Sally Jenkins on RGIII
> There is no confusion over Robert Griffin III’s knee — and there never was. The Washington Redskins drafted a healthy, thrilling young player and by the time they got done using him up this season he lurched around like a pirate with a peg leg. Let’s be clear: Griffin is not suffering from an old injury, or from just one injury, either. Anyone with eyes saw the kid hurt his knee three times in the past month, twice in the same playoff game, until a strained ligament turned into a torn one. Every decision maker in the organization, from the rock-headed coach to the renowned surgeon in the silly team pompom cap, is responsible for that.
> …
> There is nothing subtle about the situation. Ample evidence shows Griffin shouldn’t have been out there, more than enough to override the pleas of an impassioned rookie who wanted to play. Griffin’s right knee has already been reconstructed once, in 2009 when he was at Baylor University. The Redskins spent three first-round draft picks to get Griffin in uniform, and he is the most expensive and valuable player they have had in 25 years. Do you think for a moment they didn’t study MRI exams of that knee as if it were Sanskrit before giving up those draft choices for him? You think they don’t know what his knee should look like?
What a great and devastating column by Ms. Jenkins. I was in the “he earned the right to be in” camp, but Ms. Jenkins makes a very compelling argument that they should have pulled him.
Chris Mortensen writing for *ESPN*:
> Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is undergoing total reconstructive surgery of his right knee early Wednesday morning to repair torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments, but he is expected to be ready for the opener of the 2013 NFL regular season, according to team sources familiar with the determination made by orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews.
I hope that Griffin’s recovery is like that Adrian Peterson and he comes back to be dominant in 2013.
I wonder if the Cowboys are compensating for something.