Tags Lays the Hammer on Goodell and Other Thoughts on NFL Player Safety

The other day, Roger Goodell’s old boss Paul Tagliabue took his former protege down a few pegs when he completely overturned Goodell’s rulings on four former and current Saints players. Initially, commissioner Goodell suspended Jonathan Vilma for the entire season, Will Smith for four games, Scott Fujita (now with the Browns) for three games and Anthony Hargrove (a free agent) for eight games. 

In man hours, that’s a total of 31 games suspended. Reduced to ZERO by Tags. It was the right call. And not just because I enjoy seeing Goodell with a bit of omelette on his face, but because I think the NFL can change in a really productive way at this moment.

Take That, Roger Goodell

In his tenure as NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell frequently talked out of both sides of his mouth.

"I'm for player safety," he says, while at the same time asserting, "The NFL desperately needs an 18 game regular season."

He has doled out suspensions like the most popular house in the neighborhood doles out Snickers bars on Halloween. At the same time, he awkwardly hugs every draft pick as they walk across the stage on draft day.

Remember that scene in Chinatown? "My sister! My mother! My sister! My mother!" Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

The NFL Playoffs, Seeding and Reason

Once again, in the land of the NFL, we have good teams traveling to play el-stinko teams in the playoffs. Last year, when the super-stinko Seattle Seahawks won the crapulous NFC West with a 7-9 record, oh did the talking heads wail. Oh, the 10-6 New York Giants didn't get to play, but the Seahawks were in. Oh, the humanity. At the time, I argued that winning your division should mean something. Even if your division is the bottom of the garbage pail. I think of it as a similar scenario to March Madness -- win your conference and you get an automatic bid. If you perform well, but don't win your conference, you should get a shot, but there are no guarantees.

Here's why division champs are important. Because the Brown hate the Steelers. And the Ravens hate the Steelers. And everybody hates Baltimore.

The Steelers, Turnover Differential and Playoff Possibilities

If the playoffs started this weekend, the Steelers would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Those Steelers? My Steelers? Sure. But the Steelers, despite their 6-2 record, and despite their handling of the New England Patriots on Sunday at Heinz Field, feel like an incomplete team, a less than great team, don't they? And I think that feeling at the back of your mind which is causing your skepticism is turnover differential.

The Steelers are -10. Yes, that's minus ten. It's the worst turnover differential in the AFC and, in fact, it's the worst in the entire NFL. By way of comparison, teams with comparable records, the Detroit Lions (6-2) and the Buffalo Bills (5-2) are +13 and +9, respectively.

I started to wonder if any team had secured the overall 1 seed for the playoffs with a worse turnover differential than this version of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

NFL Wildcard Weekend Preview

The annual march to Super Bowl silliness is upon us and everyone is all a-flutter. A few months ago, I even heard Bill Simmons say that he believed we were on a collision course with a Roethlisberger v. Vick Super Bowl. Oy, the mass density of that media day would certainly cause a shifting in the global tides perhaps set off the opening of a crevasse that would swallow Jerr'Jones' Deathstar in Big D right on the spot. Okay, maybe that's just my wishful thinking, but I'm way ahead of myself here. Right now, let's just see how wildcard weekend breaks down.

New Orleans Saints v. Seattle Seahawks, 4:30 Saturday

Teeth have been gnashed, garments rended, and panties twisted over the Seahawks appearance in the playoffs this year, but I wonder, what do they have to do to win? Can they even win?

The Seahawks defense is near the bottom of the pickle barrel, allowing on average 24.5 points per game. By way of reference, the Steelers allow 10 fewer points per game. Meanwhile, the Saints hang up 24 points every week, give or take. I know that the Saints are without the services of their two most reliable running backs, and I know that Drew Brees has thrown a very un-Drew Brees-like 22 interceptions this year, and that Seattle's field is the loudest outdoor facility in the NFL, and that weather can be a factor, but even given all of that, it's hard for me to think that the Saints won't put up five touchdowns today.

What the Saints need to do to win: don't turn the ball over.

What the Seahawks need to do to win: hope that Drew Brees turns into Heath Shuler.



New York Jets v. Indianapolis Colts, 8:00 Saturday

The match up of the day, featuring the coach who never met a microphone he didn't like versus one who I'm not sure is even awake half the time. I value equanimity, but Jim Caldwell always looks like he's thinking about something, anything else but the football game in front of him, like he's day-dreaming about playing a game of catch in the backyard with his grandkids or something.

After Peyton Manning torched the Jets other corner last year, Sexy Rexy Ryan went out and got Antonio Cromartie to balance out Revis Island. The problem for the Jets is the underneath coverage, where they are without safety Jim Leohnard. If Manning finds a way to exploit the middle of the field coverage, the Colts could put up a ton of points. And that means that Mark Sanchez, et al. will need to match them.

What the Colts need to do to win: give coach Caldwell some Red Bull and protect Manning so he can find open receivers underneath.

What the Jets need to do to win: promise Santonio Holmes two extra blunts as a bonus for every touchdown he catches.



Baltimore Ravens v. Kansas City Chiefs, 1:00 SundayThe Chiefs? In the playoffs? Yup. And I love it, because I think, after long scientific studies, that Kansas City fans are among the best in the league. I'm glad to see the playoffs back there.

The Chiefs have the best rushing attack in the NFL, averaging over 164 yards per game on the ground, but if Todd Haley and his coaches think that the Ravens are going to let them get away with that, they have another thing coming. This is not the 2000 Ravens defense. Heck, it isn't even the 2006 Ravens defense. But they are capable of taking away the one thing a team wants to do (run) and make them do something else (pass.) If the Chiefs don't find a way to pass the ball effectively, it's going to be a long day.

What the Ravens need to do to win: stop the Chiefs running game and let Ed Reed ballhawk.

What the Chiefs need to do to win: sub-contract with Troy Polamalu to come in and make an amazing, game changing play some time in the 4th quarter.



Green Bay Packers v. Philadelphia Eagles, 4:00 Sunday
First Mike Vick was a pariah, then he just wasn't that good, then he was the league MVP, then he was complaining about getting hit too much, then he was just pretty good. And that's where we are now. Mike Vick, up from Hades, but back down from the Mount Olympus of football. Meanwhile, the Packers defense, a big, big liability last year, has turned into a dominant, intimidating unit this year. Dom Capers is just more evidence that being a great coordinator (he is) does not make you a great head coach (he isn't.)
Both defenses like to blitz and the Eagles have 23 interceptions, half of which have come when they've been blitzing. Meanwhile, the other defense has recorded 47 sacks this year, second most in the NFL. Basically, for both teams, this game comes down to their ability to protect their quarterbacks. Or get to the opposing quarterback, as the case may be.

What the Packers need to do to win: Find a way to pick up the Eagles blitz and keep Aaron Rogers' clean and upright.

What the Eagles need to do to win: find a way to keep Clay Matthews out of Mike Vick's grill. Oh, and also bring a fan out of the stands to manage the clock for Andy Reid if things are close in late in the game.

That Was Unpleasant, Saints 20 - Steelers 10

In the words of the great, the one of a kind, the one and only Bugs Bunny, "Ain't I a stinker?"

Yup. It was that kind of night. A stinker.

You just knew Drew Brees was not going to play another error filled game after being humiliated by the Browns last week. You just knew Gregg Williams wanted out LeBeau Dick LeBeau's defense. And yet, that was very unpleasant, wasn't it? The Saints played great. I expect that was exactly the game they wanted to play. Even so, there's plenty of blame to go around on the other black and gold squad.

Through a turgid first half and third quarter, Bruce Arians was completely befuddled by the Saints defense; despite the fact that they were sending all out blitzes on just about every play, he didn't adjust his calls until the 4th quarter. There's slow, there's obtuse, and then there's Bruce Arians.

The offense's inability to get in with a 1st and goal at the 1 yard line. Kudos to the Saints defense for a great stand there, but when you leave four points on the field like that, nine times out of ten, it's going to come back to bite you in the ass. [Of course, the Steelers D basically got those 4 points back when they put on their own amazing goal line stand denying the Saints with a 1st and goal at the 1 yard line, too.]

Pig Ben looked like ass through much of the first half; his throws were into the turf and/or way off target. He seemed to shake that off as the game went on, but he and Hines Ward have been playing together long enough that you'd think they'd have some hot reads down pat when defenses bring that kind of pressure; they didn't and that was perhaps the most discouraging element of last night's loss.

Coach Tomlin made a couple of strange decisions, the strangest of which was sending that moronic hayseed of a kicker in to attempt a 51 yard field goal late in the 2nd quarter. I knew Skippy was going to pull that kick, you knew Skippy was going to pull that kick, all 70,011 costume wearing, besotted spectators at the Superdome knew Skippy was going to pull that kick, so why didn't Tomlin? [Now seems like an appropriate time to mention that I have gone off the reservation in my loathing of Jeff Reed. His inability to hit anything but the chippiest of chip shots, combined with his short kick offs and palpable apathy on coverage units -- I can't even look at the guy anymore. Can they please start auditioning kickers today? Please?!] The end result was that the Saints got the ball at their own 41 and moved easily to get a field goal to close out the first half.

Emmanuel Sanders essentially broke up a perfect pass to Hines Ward which would have given the Steelers a huge 1st down. And it came on what seemed like one of the few perfect hot reads the Steelers made all night. Ouch. C'mon Rook. Get your head in the game.

There's lots of blame to go around, but even with all of the above and more that I haven't mentioned (like Brees playing Polamalu like a fiddle on one occasion), the game really comes down to the Heath Miller fumble.Everything was going the Steelers way. Rashard (no longer Suspect) Mendenhall, had ripped off a huge touchdown run to close the gap to 3 points. B-Mac caused a fumble on a corner blitz and the Steelers were driving for the go-ahead score. Then Miller coughed it up and the game was over because the Saints did what good teams do -- turned a great break into a touchdown. That was some kind of catch by Lance Moore. That he went up for it and held onto it with Troy and B-Mac crunching him (legally, mind you, in the torso area), was a spectacular play. You make plays like that, you deserve to win, as far as I'm concerned.

I think what's frustrating is that we know the Steelers are capable of playing better than that. Still, all hail the Saints, who played the game they needed to play, when they needed it most.

Big Easy Looks to Be Anything But for the Steelers

I'm worried about the Steelers tonight. I think the Saints are a tough test because the 2010 Saints look a lot to me like the 2009 Steelers, which is to say, they get up, way up for good teams, and play like ass against bad teams. The Steelers went out and beat the juggernaut unbeaten Vikings, then went to Denver (the Broncos were 6-1 at the time) and smoked them. What could go wrong with cellar dwellers like KC, Cleveland and Oakland looming? The Steelers playing to the competition.

And so it is with the Saints. A loss to Arizona. A loss to the Browns. But, oh ho, the Steelers are in town this week. The 5-1 Steelers. Winners of the Super Bowl before the New Orleans Super Bowl. You think they're gonna be up for this? Because I do. If Drew Brees is ever going to pull out the 2009 version of himself, Halloween Night, in the Dome, against the Pittsburgh Steelers is the night to do that.

When I look at it really hard, if they are going to drop a game, this is a good one to drop. It's a road game against an out of conference opponent. As good as this Steelers team is, they are not going 15-1. From this game in Nawlins, they go to Cincy, then home to play the always scary Patriots, then the resurgent Raiders, before they get the Bills. So in this four game stretch, if they have to drop one, this is the one to drop. Also, I don't hate the Saints, I like Saints fans, and I absolutely adore the City of New Orleans, the greatest American city for my money.

Still, I won't be able to carry that kind of equanimity through the game. I just know it.

In the meantime, if you want to read a good story about James Harrison, check out Judy Battista's story in the New York Times. When Battista first started the Steelers beat for the NYT, I wasn't a fan. But she's been at it for a couple of years now, and she does great coverage of the Steelers.

The Sunday Recipe has moved over to Rub Some Dirt in It at OpenSalon. This week, it's spaghetti sauce that's better than your mom's sauce. Unless your mom is Lidia Bastianich.

Super Bowl Bet Between Art Geeks. Bring It.

From True/Slant on January 29, 2010:


Curators Talk Smack. Best Super Bowl Bet. Ever.

Every year, some lame regional bets are made by politicians. Last year, as the Steelers and Cards readied themselves for the Super Bowl, bets flew fast and furious between the mayor of Pittsburgh and the mayor of Phoenix, between the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Governor of Arizona (was that Janet Napolitano, or had Jan Brewer already taken her place?)

The point is the bets are usually lame, and usually include silly food products and the like.

Enter the art historians. And the smack talk is delicious.

The bets have been flying wildly, at break-neck pace between E. John Bullard, the director of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA, for short) and Max Anderson, the director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA).

Tyler Green of the super art blog, Modern Art Notes has done all the heavy lifting following the bets back and forth as the ante has been raised throughout the week. Here’s Green on the on-going taunting:

First, some background: On Monday, IMA director Max Anderson initially proposed wagering an IMA loan of an Ingrid Calame painting. That was a nice choice… but apparently Anderson wasn’t too worried about having to pay off the bet:

“We’re already spackling the wall where the NOMA loan will hang,” he tweeted.

On Tuesday morning Bullard emailed MAN HQ:

“Max Anderson must not really believe the Colts can beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. Otherwise why would he bet such an insignificant work as the Ingrid Calame painting? Let’s up the ante. The New Orleans Museum of Art will bet the three-month loan of its Renoir painting, Seamstress at Window, circa 1908, which is currently in the big Renoir exhibition in Paris. What will Max wager of equal importance? Go Saints!”

The next day, they art boys were back at it, again, quoting Tyler Green:

UPDATE, Tuesday, 2:20pm EST:

SNAP! Andersontweets back at NOMA: “We’ll see the sentimental blancmange by that “China Painter” and raise you a proper trophy: [A Jean-Valentine Morel jeweled cup, which won the Grand Medal at the 1855 Paris World Fair.]”

UPDATE: Tuesday, 11:20pm EST:

… Bullard raised the stakes: ”I am amused that Renoir is too sweet for Indianapolis. Does this mean that those Indiana corn farmers have simpler tastes? If so why would Max offer us that gaudy Chalice — just looks like another over-elaborate Victorian tchotchke. Let’s get serious. Each museum needs to offer an art work that they would really miss for three months. What would you like Max? A Monet, a Cassatt, a Picasso, a Miro? Sorry but we have no farm scenes or portraits of football players to send you.”

…

A couple hours after Bullard’s rejoinder, Anderson replied to both Bullard and to @NOMA via Twitter: ”Colts will win; here’s how sure I am: [the IMA's four-by-six-foot JMW] Turner for Vigée Lebrun’s Portrait of Marie Antoinette.”

And finally, the denouement, again quoting Green’s art blog:

UPDATE: Wednesday, 130pm EST:

We have a deal!

From IMA’s Anderson via Twitter: ”Deal — Claude for Turner. Two masters in spirited competition across the channel, and between our fair cities. Go Colts!”

And in polite, collegial reply, NOMA’s Bullard: ”Max is a gracious opponent. Thanks for accepting the wager of a Claude from New Orleans for a Turner from Indianapolis. But this is definitely the Saints year. They are the Dream Team and in New Orleans we know that dreams come true. Geaux Saints!!!”