Watching last night’s Monday Night Football game, the ESPN announcing team (which, by the way, is INFINITELY BETTER with Jon Gruden)
I wish Gruden could do play-by-play for my life.
continuously discussed the disarray surrounding the Washington Redskins franchise. Meddlesome owner who, because he spends inordinate amounts on his team, thinks they know everything there is to know about the sport and players. A Director of Personnel/GM who was hired to be the face of the franchise because of their rapport with the media, yet have not been able to build a winner and have burned their bridges with the media they were supposed to control. A roster full of overpriced players who are not only completely overrated talent-wise, but currently decimated with injuries to boot. Sound familiar?
The Mets alternate logo next year?
If you are a fan of the New York Mets, congratulations, this is your team! But ask any fan of football about who the worst teams are in the NFL, the Redskins always get a “…but†response. As in, the Redskins are among the worst teams in the NFL this year …but… This is a great thing if you are a Redskins fan in the long term. It is beyond bad now for Redskins fans, otherwise known as “Raiders East†for 2009, (Trust me, Skins fans, I know your pain. I am a Raiders fan.), …but there is visible light at the end of the tunnel. Fix up the offensive line, bring in proven leaders at the Head Coach and GM positions that stress team concepts, accountability, and discipline, and continue to develop young playmakers on both sides of the ball, and you got yourselves a potential playoff team. Granted, it could take a year or two, but look at the other possibilities around the NFL.
The Chiefs (yes, they beat the ‘Skins, I know, but I digress) are at least two years away in terms of having a first unit that comes close talent-wise to the rest of the league at O-Line, LB, DB, and Running Back, and that’s before you solve the problem of depth. The Bucs have no QB, a rookie Head Coach, players that don’t fit their system, and no hope in sight. Don’t get me started on the Rams (wouldn’t be a ranked team in D 1-A right now) or the Browns (blew it up, looking at building the foundation in the next two drafts). And my beloved Raiders will never compete until they realize that, like the Redskins, owners should not be directly involved with football operations because they cannot be objective. It worked for Al Davis whenever he had a dominant personality at Head Coach (Madden, Gruden) who he could build a contender with and bounce ideas off of. But to have a yes-man at this key position makes the owner’s influence completely negative and too powerful for the franchise to succeed. So, Redskins fans, fear not. Get a powerful head coach, some beef up front, improve your young talent, and wait a year or two, and you got yourselves a football team. This brings me back to the Mets.
Proud graduate of the Fred Wilpon School of Sport Franchise Ownership!!
Yes Met fans, you are the Redskins of baseball. Wilpon equals Snyder, Minaya equals Cerrato. Beltran, Delgado, Ollie, Reyes, Castillo, Maine, K-Rod? You got it: Clinton Portis, Charles Samuels, Jason Campbell, DeAngelo Hall, Albert Haynesworth. Life is tough, and Met fans are tired of season after season of disappointment,…but like the Redskins, there is VISIBLE LIGHT at the end of the tunnel. With the advantage of no salary cap, fixing the Mets could be even faster and easier than fixing the ‘Skins! Like Snyder’s Squad, the Amazins must continue to develop their young talent, push their influential figures to continue to promote team concepts,
A Hall-of-Fame Left Tackle, theoretically...
accountability, and discipline, and fix up the Starting Five (yes, I am comparing Starting Pitching to Offensive Line. I don’t care what you say, they are the most important parts to a team in Baseball and Football. Unless you have a Pujols/Peyton Manning, but again, I digress), and you got yourselves a pretty darn good baseball team.
Sound easier than it is to actually do? Of course it is. That’s why it is so frustrating to write. …BUT, if the Mets do follow this plan, and stop trying to patch up holes with overpriced, under-talented players in a feeble attempt to sell tickets, we could be throwing Orange and Blue Ticker Tape inside the Canyon of Heroes as opposed to the Ticker Tape of the Pinstripe variety. (You guessed, it, I’m going with the Yankees, in Six Games. If Kate Hudson can get Matthew McConaughey to pass as a decent actor in a chick flick, getting A-Rod to hit in the clutch is a cakewalk.) So Met fans, as you soak in the worst World Series imaginable, here’s a surefire way to cure your October Blues. Grab some Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and Nachos, turn on some Raiders, Chiefs, Browns, Bucs, or Rams football, sit back, relax, and enjoy. And remember, at least your not the Pirates, Nationals, Padres, Orioles, or Royals.
Maybe she can get Ollie Perez to throw a strike.....
12 comments
darknova306
10/28/2009-9:12am at 9:12 am (UTC -4)
I would disagree that our guys are all overrated talent-wise. Beltran, if anything, is UNDERrated by most people. The team’s a mix of overrated, underrated, and ‘what was Omar thinking?!?’… *cough* Ollie *cough*
trs86
10/28/2009-9:32am at 9:32 am (UTC -4)
I can’t really see that many players on the Mets who are OVERrated nor underrated. LOL.
dirtysanchez
10/28/2009-9:36am at 9:36 am (UTC -4)
Lmao good stuff matt. The skins need to dump jason cambell though, that guy is just not right for that team. I agree with your comparison and i hope with the dismal season we just had, we can snag a real good draft pick next year.
trs86
10/28/2009-9:42am at 9:42 am (UTC -4)
I am pretty sure the Panthers would trade Delinterception for him.
dirtysanchez
10/28/2009-9:51am at 9:51 am (UTC -4)
that guy is pretty awful too lol
dirtysanchez
10/28/2009-9:38am at 9:38 am (UTC -4)
I wonder who Wright should hook up with to take him to the next level ala Kate Hudson with Arod?
saltygary
10/28/2009-10:25am at 10:25 am (UTC -4)
If his current broad aint motivating him I dont know who would. She is smokin.
trs86
10/28/2009-10:30am at 10:30 am (UTC -4)
Maybe he is under too much pressure to perform elsewhere too?
CaseStreet
10/28/2009-10:34am at 10:34 am (UTC -4)
hmm, very interesting.
I can see ur starting pitching = offensive line comparison considering pitching is the back bone of baseball. For example, the Giants’ success has been directly influenced by the great play of the o-line.
Still, you need good fielding (strong D) and the ability to hit and score (3rd down conversions).
stickguy
10/28/2009-11:52am at 11:52 am (UTC -4)
I decided that the Mets are the team most likely to pull a 2008 Rays. That is, go from an also ran with a lousy record, to a playoff team winning a bunch of games.
They at least have a solid core of top talent (when on the field!) A few healthy years, a couple of decent pick ups, and they will be right back in the hunt.
I checked the standings on 8/1, when the Mets had pretty much been decimated, and were certainly on the skids already (with august/spetember, of course, about to become a lost cause).
In this year of horrors, with the team gutted, no calvary ever back, the Mets on 8/1 were sitting at 50-53.
In comparision, the rockies were 57-47, braves 53-51, marlins 54-50, mill 51-53, and the phils 59-43.
So, as bad as things were, the Mets were basically right in the hunt for the WC, and 1 modest winning streak and solid month from being in the division hunt too.
So as bad as the year finished out, it is certainly reasonable to expect them to take a major step forward in 2010.
trs86
10/28/2009-12:00pm at 12:00 pm (UTC -4)
Lost point and I agree with every word. Also shows that how NL baseball this year was weak.
mattsmith
10/28/2009-4:21pm at 4:21 pm (UTC -4)
Personally, I hope Gruden gets back into coaching next season. I would love if he coached the Eagles.
Fat Bastard — errh, Andy Reid — has got to go!