SLADE'S GRADES WEEK 3
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| Take a knee, boys. |
NFL, our nation turns their lonely eyes to you, or they turn
them away depending on their political leanings. Either way the NFL answered the bell wholeheartedly
in week 3 after the President’s comments placed the NFL player’s peaceful
protest squarely under the national microscope.
Week 3 had numerous upsets, overtime and last second victories, tons of
points scored and big plays all over the place.
It is great to see that the topsy-turvy, mixed up world we live in still
extends to on field action too. If you
watched the NFL in week 3 just for the anthem controversy then what you saw
most likely reiterated the same narrative that you had before week 3, good or
bad. If you didn’t stick around to watch
the games, then you missed out. Also,
who watches football for just the anthem anyway? That’s like going to Mom’s for
Thanksgiving and leaving right after Grace.
Personally, the professor could care less what political
party you belong to, but if you have an issue with this peaceful protest then
perhaps some introspection is needed.
This protest was never against the flag or the armed services, if you
believe so then you misunderstood. The
flag is a symbol that represents the people who make up the country and the
principals of which the country was founded upon, not the least of which is
freedom of speech. In fact, that right
happens to be # 1 on the list, as in the 1st amendment. Which is why making patriotism your main
point in an argument to silence a nonviolent protest that promotes equality
comes off as extremely hypocritical.
Equality is another one of those things that the founding fathers seemed
like sticklers on if you literally interpret their writings, especially if you’re
into their early classics like the Declaration of Independence or the
constitution.
The NFL is and always has been a microcosm of the country as
a whole, and like the country, there is still a lot more good than bad in it,
despite what the media focuses on. For
every actual son of a bitch in the league there are hundreds of class
acts. You show me a Rae Carruth or O. J.Simpson and I’ll raise you a JJ Watt or Pat Tillman. The vast majority of NFL players and coaches are
salt of the earth people who go the extra mile to help their fellow man. And not just because their agents tell them
to. They do it because it is ingrained
into them. They are men who understand
that teamwork can overcome anything and there is a greater good out there
beyond their own agenda. These are the
lessons football began installing in them the first time they stepped onto a
football field and continues to do so today.
Football is a beautiful sport that teaches powerful lessons and creates
great character and it deserves our respect, as do the people who play and
coach it, especially if they choose to use their platform to try and raise
awareness of social inequalities.
Damnit! Look what you made me do, Donald. I’ve wasted all
this time on our intro this week that I will have to keep the grades short and
sweet. Let’s get to it!
*Grading scale:
Pass = A plus – C minus
Fail = D plus – F minus
(C’s gets degrees but D’s don’t)
Pass = A plus – C minus
Fail = D plus – F minus
(C’s gets degrees but D’s don’t)
Week 3 Passes:
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| Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports |
Electrifying Week of Football: A+
After a lackluster first two weeks of action week 3 more
than made up for it. The excitement
started with the Thursday night game when two also-ran squads, the Rams and
49ers put up an 80-combined point nail-biter with the Rams winning 41-39. Then upset Sunday kicked off bright and early
live from London where the Jaguars trounced the Ravens 44-7 followed fast and
furiously by a bevy of other upsets including the Bills beating the Broncos,
the Bears running over the Steelers in overtime, the Saints spanking the
Panthers in Charlotte, the Case Keenum led Vikings dismantling the Buccaneers,
the Colts edged the Browns by 3, the Jets burned the Dolphins, The Titans
outdueled the Seahawks in a shootout and the Redskins walloped the unbeaten
Raiders. (Deep breath) and that was just the upsets! This week also included the Patriots,
Falcons, Eagles and Packers all winning in either the final moments or the last
play of the game. Even if you throw the
NFL’s beef with the President out the window you still had a monumental week of
football and it was a beautiful thing.
Ladies, My Marcedes:
A
It feels like Marcedes Lewis has been playing for the
Jacksonville Jaguars since the 90s. It
hasn’t been quite that long but the 12th year pro has been a Jaguar
his entire career, and like most other Sunday’s over the past 12 seasons Lewis
came into the game as an afterthought.
Then the game started and Lewis went on a touchdown scoring jamboree in
Wembley Stadium against the vaunted Ravens defense. The locals said they haven’t seen a beast of
a performance like that since Warren Zevon sang about seeing a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's. Lewis
only had 4 catches for 62 yards but 3 of those catches went for TDs which sent
fantasy footballers around the globe scurrying to their leagues’ waiver wire. The chances of Lewis repeating a performance
like that again this season is minuscule so I wouldn’t go trying to trade Gronk
for Lewis straight up in your fantasy league but that doesn’t take anything
away from this great performance from the longest tenured Jaguar.
Win One: B-
They say that with any journey the first step is the hardest. On Sunday 4 teams took a big first step of
their 2017 season by winning their first game.
The Saints, Bears, Jets and Colts all got off the schneid this week and
it could not have come soon enough. Each
team certainly earned their victory. The
Colts and Bears both won nail biters by 3 and 6 points respectively and the
Saints and Jets won in a more convincing fashion but both did so against
previously unbeaten teams. Only time will
tell if these wins are the start of something big or just a brief up in a
season full of downs, but one thing is for sure, in the NFL there is a very big
difference between 1-2 and 0-3.
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| Get well soon. |
My Arm, My Knee, My Arm & My Knee: F
In a disgustingly cruel twist of fate Darren Sproles
suffered a torn ACL and a broken arm on the same play in Sundays game against
the Giants. If you’ve ever had to rehab
one injury then you know painful it can be, mentally and physically, but two
injuries at the same time?! You can’t help but feel for the scat-back who has
been nothing short of class personified since stepping into the NFL in
2005. At age 34 it is impossible not to
wonder aloud if this is the end of the road for his stellar career. Obviously, every football fan hopes it
isn’t. Anytime a 5’6”, 190 lbs man can
excel in a sport designated for the physically freakish, the average Joe’s of
the world can’t help but root for him, especially when he defies not just physics
but time also. Even the best running
backs are rendered over the hill by age 30 so the fact that Sproles continued
to shine as long as he has in miraculous.
If this is the end for Sproles (I hope it isn’t) then all the fans of
not just the Eagles or football in general, but admirers of perseverance and
winning against the odds owe him a great big thank you.
Ford Field Flub Featuring the Falcons: F
In Detroit on Sunday we had a great back and forth game end
anticlimactically thanks to the 10 second run off rule. The Lions were trooping down the field in a
two-minute drill with no timeouts left.
On a third-and-goal, Stafford hit Golden Tate on a quick slant that was
originally ruled a TD with eight seconds left. After review, the play was
overturned and Tate was marked just short of the goal line. That should have left the Lions with enough time
to hurry to the line and get off a play, at least QB dive to try and get in the
end zone as time expired. However, due
to the 10-second runoff rule, when the clock is stopped by officials and then
restarted with less than one minute to play, 10 seconds must be run off, thus
this game ended with eight seconds left to play. I like a WWF style controversial ending as
much as the next guy, but this was hardly The Million Dollar Man paying a guy to get plastic surgery in order to look exactly like referee Dave Hebner. Hell, this wasn’t as good as an old fashion
foreign object to the head when the ref isn’t looking. It just felt like the fans got gypped out of a
final win or lose play to end the game. This
is one that hopefully the NFL rules committee will remember this offseason and
make that 10 second run off rule a 5 second run off rule so something like this
won’t happen again.
Arizona Cardinals: D-
This Arizona Cardinals team continued to disappoint on
Monday night against the Cowboys. They
started out hot and Larry Fitzgerald continues to spit in the face of father
time. His performance was amazing, he
hauled in 13 grabs for 149 yards and a touchdown. A lot of those catches were made on sheer
will, he stole balls from DB’s like he was Deebo and they were Red. Aside from Fitzgerald the Cardinals team just
seems to lack that killer instinct that lives in the DNA of a champion. They can’t finish and it’s been that way for
a couple seasons now. They’re O-line was
manhandled by the Cowboys D-line. Almost
all 4th quarter the Cowboys only rushed 3 and the Cardinals O-line
was still outmatched. Carson Palmer
rarely had time to set and read, he spent most of the day rushing throws and
chucking up prayers. Cowboys defensive
end Demarcus Lawrence looked like DeMarcus Ware on Monday night and I think a
lot of that had to do with Arizona’s inability to pass block. If the Cardinals want any shot at winning the
glaringly weak NFC West then they need to find their backbone and fast.
