A Final Cut on the Cutler Debate

Sorry guys for lack of posts but I had a busy week at school and didn't have time to blog. Ok enough about my boring life lets talk football.

You probably all have heard so much on this Jay Cutler situation from players, ex players and coaches, and reporters but I want to offer my thoughts on it especially with the recent TMZ video of Cutler walking around in a outdoor shopping mall. We'll get to that but first lets look at what actually happened in the game. The fact that Cutler doesn't exactly know when he sprained his MCL is the first alarming piece of information and that he was just standing on the sideline is also a little strange. However, stepping into and throwing a football requires a lot more pressure than most people think and especially more than just standing on a sideline. So yeah I think he was actually hurt and just because Philip Rivers is crazy and able to play on a torn ACL, way worse than a sprained MCL, does not mean that Cutler by any means should have played. The toughness mentality of the NFL is overplayed and frankly outdated. Look at old pros like Jim Brown, the greatest running back of all time, who can't even walk anymore or the numerous professional who had concussions and just played through the because that's what tough was. No that's what dumb is. Questioning Cutler's toughness is just as dumb because you don't run the option pitch in the SEC if you're not tough, you'll get destroyed.

People are making a huge deal over his demeanor on the sideline and how he didn't "fight" to get back in the game but no one knows who pulled Cutler from the game. Also, people thought that Cutler should have been giving Caleb Hanie some tips and "coaching him up" on the sideline. Also dumb. When we live in a world where player means coach please tell me because coaches coach and players play; plus Hanie was doing far better than Cutler was against the Packer defense almost bringing them within overtime if not for a classic Mike Martz dumb reverse call to your slowest receiver. Get over his demeanor on the sideline, the only thing he could have done was cheer and I do fault him for that. To say he just didn't care is silly considering Cutler was on the verge of tears in his postgame locker interview.

Where are your pom poms Jay? (usatoday.com)

Let's read some tweets, shall we?

"Cmon cutler u have to come back," Cardinals safety Kerry Rhodes wrote, "This is the NFC championship if u didn't know!"

Added Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew on the same site: "All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee ... I played the whole season on one ..."

I follow a healthy amount of players on Twitter and these type of tweets were seen in numerous amounts from players and ex players like Deion Sanders and Mark Schlereth were destroying Cutler as well. However only one player got a serious backlash from the media, Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew. Why he was singled out unfairly, I can't say but regardless his comments were just as foolish as everyone else's. Saying he played the whole season on a hurt knee is a lie considering he sat out the important last two games and played poorly in the game before against the Colts that proved to define the Jaguars' season against. So. no Maurice Jones-Drew you didn't play the whole season and if you maybe had sat out the first month of the season, healing your knee properly, the Jaguars could have been in the playoffs. Players on the couch should probably watch their comments during the playoffs especially ones like this or they could suffer from a media outlash like MJD did.

Overall, the overspeculation on Jay Cutler is outlandish and people on Twitter should learn to shut their mouths a bit. I think that the attacks on Cutler have more to do with his overall career and his perceived laziness and attitude rather than this instance of injuring his knee. If this was Tim Tebow, no one would question him rather they would praise his performance beforehand. Cutler should spend more time rehabbing his image instead of his knee but walking around a shopping center with your girlfriend is probably not a good idea Jay.

Come on Jay (tmz.com)

Championship Picks

I've been busy leading up to this so haven't had too much time to blog but I have to give you my picks for the games today. I would like to preface my picks by saying that these aren't locks at all because I can see any team winning this weekend.

1. New York Jets over the Pittsburgh Steelers- The Jets defense is playing ridiculous right now and Rex Ryan is preparing some great gameplans, seeing as he made Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both look uncomfortable and confused in back to back weeks, a very rare accomplishment but Rex Ryan shows he can prepare his team and have a foot fetish with his wife. Quick Note though: The quarterbacks are going to decide this game, if Mark Sanchez doesn't show up Ben Roethlisberger will but what is exciting is that both quarterbacks are crunch time quarterbacks so expect this one to come down to the wire.

2. Green Bay Packers over the Chicago Bears- Aaron Rodgers is just too hot right now and the Bears best chance to win this game is for poor conditions out on the field and not just cold and snowy, they need some wind to whip the ball around. The Bears O Line is going to have to contain the Green Bay linebackers so Jay Cutler has a chance to not have one of his mistake prone games. Also, Mike Martz has to be not dumb and call silly plays like a halfback pass when you're crushing your opponent but I don't see either happening and the Packer team is too hot to stop right now.

3 Point Shooting: A Dying Art

   The Magic Celtics game on Monday night was another hard fought game between the two but what I learned most from that game was not about either teams' ability or their direction for this season, rather it was something that color analyst Reggie Miller said. Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan and him were discussing Ray Allen and how he has remained so good over the years to which Reggie said  because of how much he practices purely shooting the basketball in the gym. Not defense, conditioning, or ball handling, just shooting the ball in a gym. So Harlan replied with something along the lines of "So what? He's probably shooting about a couple hundred balls a day?"

   Which to me seems a pretty reasonable amount for a pro athlete to shoot in a day. Reggie then surprises Harlan saying, "No. Try 500 to a 1,000 balls a day."

Gym Session with Bird (nba.com)  

   Now to me and probably all of you, that is an absurd amount of balls to shoot in a day but Reggie then brought up another interesting point saying how nowadays, sports is so dominated by the culture that ESPN has created. The importance of what is seen on Sportscenter's Top 10 is huge but rarely is a shooter shown, rather a player driving to the hoop dunking over another player. This is undeniably true and the only time I can think of seeing a shooter on Top 10 is when he is making a clutch shot or if a player plays ridiculous on a given night. Miller emphasizes that now players want to find the quickest and easiest way to become famous and "get their money," and to spend that time in the gym on a daily basis is much more of a hassle to most guys than to just drive it to the hoop because that is what is seen as cool in the modern NBA. However, Miller's point extends far beyond just the NBA, rather the dying art of 3 point shooting is indicative of our American identity. 

    People are going to sell out any way they can if that means becoming rich and famous. Let's look at another culture that is closely related to sports, hip hop. At first, hip hop had nothing to do with living in the hood and rolling hard, go listen to "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang, the first commercialized rap song. Then came gangster rap and what America has come to know as modern hip hop with Public Enemy and NWA. Now every hip hop artist raps about "gangster life" and becoming rich. Its what is commercially viable in today's society. Ice Cube, the member of NWA who has probably become most famous, is starring in Disney movies now when he used to rap about police brutality and how we would kill any cop who tried to cross him. Don't forget another Disney star, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who cashed in after pro wrestling wasn't tough enough for him, he'd rather star as a Tooth Fairy. However ironic and laughable this is, they both have earned more money acting than what they would have earned if they both had continued their previous professions. 

"This is pretty weird, huh?"

   Reggie Miller was right when he said that 3 point shooting just isn't sexy enough for players anymore, its not what makes them famous. The stars of the NBA: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant are all known for their dunks and drives to the hoop not their 3 point shooting ability. No one thinks about Peja Stojakovic, Mike Miller, or Raja Bell when they think about the NBA, however essential the three is in the game. The very game that Reggie Miller was announcing for shows the validity of the three in the NBA game, the Magic stayed in that game only because of their ability to shoot the three and cut the leads the Celtics would build. Also, the three excites a crowd just as much as a slam dunk can in a big game but it doesn't get you on Sportscenter, it only earns you more time in the gym. However, I challenge the Bryants, the James', and the Durants of the NBA to score 8 points in 9 seconds. That's not sexy, that's just damn impressive.

Pressure Pushing Down on Me

If we learned one thing about playoff football this year, its that the old adage "defense wins championships" still holds true in the modern age of football. The four prevailing teams this weekend all rank within the top 10 defenses all year, Pittsburgh 2nd, New York 3rd, Green Bay 5th, and Chicago 9th, and they all showed why with their performances on Saturday and Sunday.
   Pittsburgh dominated the Baltimore offense in the 2nd half with three turnovers and five sacks but it all started with the pressure in Joe Flacco's face. Take for instance the Ray Rice fumble that began the Steeler comeback, that would not have been possible were it not for James Harrison sacking Flacco and pressuring the Ravens into an obvious passing down. Then the pressure in Flacco's face causing the errant throw for an interception and the botched snap which we'll never know whose fault it was but either Flacco was too busy watching James Harrison or if Matt Birk was but know that the constant pressure in the second half is what caused the Steeler win.
   The theme of the quarterback must go down, and the quarterback must go down hard was not lost on the New York Jets' defense either as they were in Tom Brady's face all night. The first interception by Tom Brady since Week 6 was caused by Calvin Pace in his face forcing Brady to lob the ball and overthrow BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Sean Ellis provided the pressure on Brady all night after being embarrassed in their previous meeting and what was most surprising is that the Jets weren't doing their usual exotic blitz schemes for their pressure, they were getting pressure with only 3 and 4 down linemen. Let's also give credit to the fantastic coverage by the Jets secondary forcing Brady to do something he rarely ever does, throw the ball away. Darrelle Revis is truly one of the best, if not the best, cornerback in the game; Antonio Cromartie isn't too shabby either. Brady, like any quarterback, doesn't get most confused with elaborate coverage schemes, its hitting the turf throughout the game that caused him to look a little uncomfortable in the game. Impressive that the Jets beat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in back to back games and it all started with their defense.
   Not much needs to be said about the other two games this weekend considering they were both blowouts but we saw the same theme. Mike Turner, a top 5 running back, was stuffed for less than 40 yards and Marshawn Lynch who went all beast mode last week got 4 carries all game. That's ridiculous for these two running backs to get shut down. Both Matts, Ryan and Hasselback, had hands in their face all game and tasted the sweet taste of turf in the game. The only difference? Ryan was having his artificial with rubber on the side and Hasselback was enjoying a cold turf aged for ripeness over heated coils.
   We saw why pressure is so essential to pro game this weekend. Its what caused a quarterback to throw a pick when going 339 attempts without doing so and a running back to fumble after touching the ball over 400 times without doing so. Its why GMs will pay Julius Peppers a ludicrous amount of money, although he did embarrass rookie Russel Okung, and draft 4 defensive linemen in the same draft. Its because every team likes to see the opposing quarterback taste the sweet, sweet turf.

AP Photo/ Charles Krupa

Preview and Picks

Alright guys this seems to be the weekend of rematches which I am actually really excited for. Here are some things I'm going to be watching for and so should you.

1. Will someone die in the Ravens-Steelers game? Hopefully not but this is my favorite type of game to watch in football. Hard-hitting, battle in the trenches, physical game that always is decided in the 4th quarter and we get to see who can win in clutch time. Can Joe Flacco put the team on his back? I don't know to be honest. My player to watch this game is Steelers WR Mike Wallace, I've loved him all year, had him on my fantasy team and I believe he'll show everyone why he has the second highest yards per catch average this year, expect him to have a big game.

2. Is James Starks for real? Plain and simple, if the Pack can run the ball this game they can win this game but as good as Aaron Rodgers is, and he is pretty damn good, he's going to need a run game to win against Matty Ice and the Falcons. However, I think we see why Green Bay hasn't had a run game all year and Michael Turner shows up James Starks.

3. Does Seattle have a chance? Marshawn Lynch has to be a "beast" again and so does Matt Hasselback for them to win this game and their defense has to do better than 36 points. Player to watch is Matt Forte whose been the definition of inconsistent all year but when he's good, he's good. I think we see the Bad News Bears and the Seahawks pulling out another upset.

4. Can Rex Ryan outsmart Tom Brady and Bill Belichick? The problem with the Jets lie within this question, when you mention Bill Belichick you always mention Tom Brady as well, they are as interconnected as peanut butter and jelly as great winning teams' coach and quarterback so often are. However Rex Ryan is not yet connected with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch because he just hasn't provided great consistent play all year but I will admit he has stepped up in the clutch this season such as last game against the Colts where he played atrocious all game and then finally stepped up when it mattered. Can't do that against the Patriots though. If Jets want to win they win with Sanchez, not their defense.

Good Vibrations (Credit smartasssports.com)

Picks 

Steelers

Falcons

Seahawks

Jets

The Review Before The Preview

Since I am just beginning this blog I didn't get a chance to share my thoughts on the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs plus the pitiful game that was the BCS Championship. Here are the rankings:

1. New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts- This game probably had the most hype going into it, lovely Rex Ryan claiming that beating Peyton was "personal" and the Colts getting hot as they so often do at the end of the year but it wasn't the Colts team who lost the game, it was their coaching staff. Why your team is so ineffective at 3rd and 1's is astounding, and why with a little under 5 minutes left in the game, the Colts decided to run the ball on a 3rd and 7 after not being able to covert 3rd and 1's all night; its as if Jim Caldwell forgot that he had one of the best quarterbacks in the game but that would be too easy Jim. I get the feeling that either Peyton audibled the call because of the defense or the coach just called it wrong, either way it felt like one of those situations where a team outcoached themselves. Also, it felt like Peyton was tentative going against Rex Ryan's defense, something i haven't seen Peyton do in a long time, maybe the Jets coaching was just that much better than the Colts. Neither of those reasons give the Colts head coach an official shame status for his coaching job though, no he earns this for his dubious decision to call a time out with about 30 seconds left in the game. I know they say to have a short  memory in the NFL but to forget losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 59 yard field goal because of the same executive call for a time out is just inexcusable. Although I don't agree with Peyton showing his frustration, the image of Peyton shaking his head is what I remember this game by.

Game in a nutshell (Credit Indystar.com)

2. New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks- Question: Who dat say gonna beat them Saints? False, the Seahawks. 2 things memorable about this game: Matt Hasselback abusing the Saints secondary, in particular Roman Harper. Everyone was laughing when he was caught by Rams QB Sam Bradford after a fumble recovery but why anybody didn't question why that might be more indicative of his age catching up to him was foolish to think they could hide him in the playoffs. Do I even need to mention Marshawn Lynch's "beast" run? By far best run I have ever seen in the playoffs. No excuses for the Saints, they were bested by a worthy divisional winner, the 7-9 Seahawks.

3. Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles- Yeah I'll admit it, I didn't believe Aaron Rodgers was going to be this good but I was dead wrong. The better question is who in the hell is James Starks and where did he come from? Did the Packers really just want to save him for the playoffs? No clue but this player shows what happens when you allow for your raw draft talent to develop and eventually they will turn into stars. Yeah David Akers had an uncharacteristic atrocious game but David Akers didn't tell Mike Vick to throw an interception to Tramon Williams at the end of the game. Good Run for Vick and the Eagles this year but ultimately the ball just came up short.

Who are you again? (Credit packersnews.com)

4. Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs- There really isn't too much to say about this game, it just solidifies how good the Ravens are and how young the Chiefs are. Yeah the linebackers of the Chiefs were getting killed in zone coverage on the short crossing routes of the Ravens, their run game was getting mostly stuffed, and Matt Cassell just isn't that good but this game was really unsurprising to watch. However, the Chiefs secondary will soon be scary good with Eric Berry and Brandon Flowers.

5.The BCS Championship Game- Part of me doesn't even want to give a ranking to this game. It was terrible. It only confirms how pitiful the BCS system is and how college football can not be on the same level as the pros. I don't want to wait for about 10+ minutes into the game for the real game to start, sorry I don't like to watch opposing quarterbacks throw interceptions back and forth as if saying "Oh no you take it, no you take it." No sports team is fresh after over a month layoff, just give college football some playoffs. Even if we get a Final Four playoff or an Elite Eight it would prove better and corporations could sponsor those games instead of meaningless bowls against two losing teams no one cares about except possibly the students that go there. That way schools get their money, corporations get their advertising, and fans get their playoffs. Also the spread offense is dumb. LaMichael James is good but how can he expect to have production when by the time he gets the ball half the Auburn defense is in his backfield. Quack on that Oregon fans. Also, why in the 3rd Quarter did Oregon elect to go for it on 4th and goal? What's with this gutsy mentality to have to go for it there, kick the field goal please but that decision ended up costing them the game. Ultimately in the midst of exciting sports in January, the BCS Championship game was one thing: forgettable.

Forgettable (Credit reuters.com)

  

Welcome

Hey
My name is Brendan Bures and I'm going to start a sporting blog to relay my opinion to you hoping my writing gives a fresh insightful take on news you most likely have already heard about. A little background would be I'm a student at FSU and a big fan of all sports but my two favorites are football and basketball. However, no sport will be discriminated against including competitive food eating (have you seen Kobayashi go down on a hot dog?) and if you have any comments or suggestions they will be most appreciated.
Enjoy.