November 22, 2004: NFL
Week 11 Commentary and Analysis
By Ahchie
The Law of Diminishing Respect
The
BMTG Law of Diminishing Respect states that as an entity increases in stupidity,
there will be a two-fold decrease in the amount of respect given to that entity.
This law is illustrated by the sad case of the NBA. More and more, as increasing numbers of immature high school and one or two year college players enter the NBA along with an increasing number of players who embrace the thug image, the fans are respecting the NBA players less and less. Additionally the NBA players themselves are respecting the game and the fans less and less as well.
There
is no question that some of the fans in Detroit behaved in a manner last week
that can reasonably be described as a total and utter disgrace. These were
the “fans” that go to a game in an effort to shout as many insults
as possible at the opposing players. These are the “fans” that
can easily ruin the experience for their neighboring fans and these are the
foul-mouthed “fans” that make the atmosphere one in which you
would not want to subject your children to. These are the “fans”
that share the mentality of the people who were looting stores and running
down the streets carrying brand new televisions after the Rodney King ruling.
These are the “fans” that are looking for an excuse to fight someone.
Usually their target is a fan wearing the other team’s jersey, as they
rarely get a chance to take a swing at an actual player. When Ron Artest and
Stephen Jackson went into the stands, that was the perfect opportunity for
these “fans” to swing away. What resulted was a sick and revolting
display. Then other fans gave in to the mob mentality, hurling $5 boxes of
popcorn and $6 sodas at the players as they made their way to the locker room.
As bad as the “fans” were behaving, there is no excuse for what Artest did. Excusing Artest and Jackson for running into the stands is like excusing someone with road rage for shooting out the tires of a car that cuts him off. Yes it is wrong of the fans to act the way they do and yes it is wrong for a car to cut you off. Get over it and move on with your life.
He’s Just a Man
During
the Brett Favre (pronounced "fawv-ruh") coronation by the Sunday
Night Football crew, where they portrayed him as the bestest, most wonderful
person on the planet, sometimes elevating him to status of saint, they mentioned
that Favre (pronounced "fawv-ruh") does not care about records.
The BMTG then asks why did they conveniently forget to mention the time he
laid down to give Michael Strahan his tainted sacks
record? Their answer to that would probably be to say that it proves Favre
(pronounced "fawv-ruh") has a big heart. Obviously Favre (pronounced
"fawv-ruh") is one of the all-time best quarterbacks and has shown
incredible durability during his career, but don’t put him, or any other
player, on such a high pedestal.
FM Radio
Ever notice the incessant talking on FM radio? This is especially true in
the morning, at lunchtime, and during the late day rush hour. Talking belongs
on AM, music on FM. It is a simple understanding that works well. However,
more and more there are countless times when one can quickly scan through
the FM stations and find each one either playing another commercial that insults
our intelligence or having some meaningless, annoying banter.
Do You Want Some Cheese With That?
Ever notice how after almost every incompletion players will look to the officials
for a pass interference call? The sad thing is that sometimes they get their
way as the official makes a delayed call, which only serves to encourage the
players to whine again the next time.
The Sound of Silence
Sunday
Night and Monday Night Football choose one player a week to fit with a microphone
to be worn throughout the game. The idea is to give the people at home a glimpse
and insight to what is happening on the field. David Carr was “wired”
for sound during Sunday night’s game. The best use of this technology
came when Carr ran for more than 20 yards with less than a minute left in
the first half. The only thing we hear is Carr calling for the hike of the
ball. Other than that there is absolutely nothing to hear as Carr takes off
and eventually runs to the sideline. The Sunday Night crew thought the sound
bite was so good, we got to listen to it again when they put together the
wired highlight package. The BMTG would much rather have heard what it was
like when Carr was sacked by Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and thrown to the ground.
“Questionable” Abuse of the Week
This
year teams in the NFL have made it a practice to abuse the injury report by
not accurately reporting a player’s true status. This has been documented
throughout the season by the BMTG. The latest abuse is for Tennessee’s
Chris Brown. Battling a turf toe injury, Brown did not practice all week and
in reality was not expected to play Sunday. Still, Brown was listed as “questionable.”
On Sunday, he did not play.
The Punt
Normally
it is not considered a good thing when your punting unit comes on the field.
For the San Francisco 49ers and the Sacramento State Hornets, however, the
punt is often times their best play. San Francisco’s Andy Lee kicked
an 81 yard punt, easily making that the best play of the game for a team that
lost 35 to 3. At Sacramento State, the punting unit is a key to the offense
not because their punter is good, but rather because he is so bad. During
their 58 to 13 season ending thrashing by Cal Poly, the Hornets twice kicked
the ball directly into the crowd of players. Both times a Col Poly player
touched the ball and a Sacramento State player recovered it. On one punt the
kick was a line drive that was probably an attempt to do the same thing, but
it just cleared everyone and made it to the other side of the crowd. When
Sacramento State tried to air it out, the result was an extra high punt that
went out of bounds and barely made it past the line of scrimmage. The majority
of punting yards came after the bounce when Cal Poly just decided to let the
ball roll. It is Sacramento State's backup punter that inspired the Language
Guide term, Jody.
That Name is Taken
During the San Francisco – Tampa Bay game, Mike Alstott was referred
to as the A-Train. That name is already taken by Anthony Thomas of the Chicago
Bears. It is only o.k. to have the same nickname if it is in different sports.
For example, Ben Wallace of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons is sometimes referred
to as “Big Ben”. Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers
is also referred to as “Big Ben.”
Questions for Mike Martz
Mike Martz is becoming legendary for his tendency to make horrible calls.
Each week we will pose a new question to Martz. At the end of the season we
will compile his errors into an open letter.
This week's question:
The question for Mike Martz will be delayed this week as Brother Nature recovers from the Rams thrashing at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Once he is thinking clearly, he will let us know where Martz screwed up.
Fantasy Notes
This was a week where a look at the final score was not an indication of how
your players might have done. Buffalo scores 37 points and Drew Bledsoe has
a big day. You would think Eric Moulds would have had a big day as well. Moulds
had his worst output of the season. Baltimore beat up on Dallas 30 to 10.
You would think that Jamal Lewis would be in the middle of that, especially
as Baltimore would want to run the clock out with such a large lead. Lewis
is the perfect one for that job. Lewis had his worst out of the season (not
counting the games he was suspended), as he was injured on just his third
touch of the game. Philadelphia wins 28 to 6, yet Terrell Owens had his worst
output of the season, catching only two passes for 24 yards and a touchdown.
An egregious error almost went to Throcksmorton for dropping Jake Delhomme for Josh McCown. McCown rode the bench (no injury), while Delhomme, who was listed as probable with a thumb injury, played and was good for 214 smallworld points. The move, though questioned vigorously at the time it was made, is not considered an official egregious error because Delhomme is battling a thumb problem and there was no reasonable indication that McCown was about to be benched. The other available alternatives were Steve McNair, returning from another in a long line of injuries and ended with 183 points, and A.J. Feely of the woeful Dolphins, who had 139.