When Roger Goodell hammered the Saints with these bounty violations, I understood that one of the stipulations was that their head coach – Sean Payton – would be suspended for the entire season.
And while I also understood that specific decision harshly penalizes the individual, I question just how much it punished the organization if they are permitted to replace Payton with another coach.
Take for instance when a player receives a red card in a soccer game: the player is suspended for the remainder of the match – AND ALSO – the team is not permitted to replace him on the field.
So essentially, the team plays a “man down” (11 vs. 10) for the rest of the game.
Shouldn’t that be the case with Saints coaching staff?
When Goodell ruled, he should have counted the number of coaches on the staff, suspended Payton and told the team you now are locked in with this specific staff for one whole year. After the suspension is lifted, the Saints could then add coaches as they saw fit, but until then, they must suffer from the penalty.
Being able to hire a Hall of Fame coach to replace a suspended coach, in my view, seems to be circumventing the punishment handed down by the NFL and undermining their all-powerful commissioner
The 5 Reasons Why The Eagles Stink This Season
- DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR? In a puzzling move, the team promoted assistant coach Juan Castillo to coordinate the defense prior to the start of the 2011 season. Why is this so puzzling you ask? All of Castillo’s previous experience had been as the offensive line coach for the Eagles. Coaches in the NFL don’t suddenly change their area of expertise during their careers. The move is proving fatal for the Birds as they continue to try to incorporate several new players along with a new scheme on the defensive line.
- LATE-GAME BREAKDOWNS – The Eagles have won just three of their first nine games. What continues to be so troubling about its poor record is that Philadelphia has had a fourth-quarter lead in five of those six losses. This fact – more than any other – has fans questioning the heart and toughness of the squad.
- PROBLEMS BEHIND THE SCENES – As is the case with many struggling teams, off-the-field issues have cropped up as a part of the Eagles under-achieving season. First, all-pro cornerback Asante Samuel voiced his displeasure with team management after his name was included in trade rumors. Then recently, wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s bid to get a new long-term contract has hit a wall amid a string of poor performances. The situation continued to decline yesterday when the Eagles deactivated Jackson for missing a team meeting as they prepared for their 21-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
- OFF SEASON – Well, basically there was none. The NFL lockout took up most of the off season. This is the time when teams benefit by acclimating new players (free agents and draft picks) during off-season training activities and mini-camps. This fact, along with the Eagles decision to implement new defensive schemes and introduce new offensive and defensive line coaches, has also combined to help spell doom for the Eagles.
- FAN SUPPORT FOR COACH ALL BUT GONE – Head coach Andy Reid has run out of credit with the Eagle fans. His recent throat-clearing, monotone, repetitive, post-game sound bytes, claiming responsibility for all of the team’s shortcomings, have most fans agreeing that he should be held accountable. Currently, the 13-year leader of the Birds has little to no backing from a loyal fan base and the lack of support seems to be effecting Reid on a week-to-week basis.
A Guest Post From Jamie McVickar
Hi FKL
– Apparently I’m supposed to email you what I want you to post on your blog as part of the blog swing we’ve volunteered ourselves for through the facebook site – Blogging Philly 101 Support. So here goes: Looks like we have a lot in common.
I also have an Irish background, am a dad and am a Philly sports and Seinfeld fan.
You must be thrilled that the football strike is finally over. I’m not sure which I’ve been rooting for more, an end to the football strike or a solution to the debt ceiling crisis that has intrigued and disgusting many of us. But I know which America cares about more – Football! I’ve read about all the possible free agents the Iggles might sign. Looks like they’re in a good position of really only needing to concentrate on the D-line and linebacker positions, assuming they get the Arizona CB in the Kolb deal.
But I guess I should post something Fathering-related: I really like your “It’s just easier if I do it” post of 7/7/2010. My wife and I are big believers in having kids do things for themselves, even more so because it is somewhat of a necessity in our house, with 4 kids and one exchange student from Iraq. One thing we do every night as part of the bedtime ritual, is what we call the “walk-through”. It means each kid does a walk-through of the house looking for all the stuff they played with during the day and putting it back where it belongs. They don’t complain about it or question it – it’s as automatic as brushing their teeth or being read to at bedtime.
I also like what you say about the parents being the lazy ones if we do everything for our kids. The kids are no more or less manipulative than the worst pampered movie-star, athlete or girlfriend. They take as much as we are willing to give them or that they are able to get away with, so it’s no wonder they try to get away with doing as little as possible. And of course, we know it will only get worse when they become teenagers. And how do we know that? Because we were teens ourselves a few years back…if by “few” I mean about 40 in my case!
That’s it for now, Dude. I guess now, you are supposed to copy and paste this entire email to your site. I hope you’ll post your own thoughts on your site more often. I know I’d be interested in reading it more often. You can check out my blog at http://jmcvickar.blogspot.com/ . It’s called Of Politics, Sports and Sex. At least one of those things should get your interest!
Nice chatting with you.
-Jamie
This was a guest post from Jamie McVickar. To read more from Jamie you can find him at http://jmcvickar.blogspot.com/
I am so glad you met Jamie McVickar! I am not blogging here today. I am at A Grande Life guest blogging today. I hope you see me there!!!! 
Winning with winners only – that’s my fantasy!
There is absolutely no doubt that fantasy football has helped significantly increase the popularity of the National Football League. Millions of leagues, which track weekly game statistics for players and awards points based on those performances, have been organized by Average Joes all across the country over the last 20 years.
Sadly however, the growth of the “fantasy” mindset has skewed the importance of the hardcore fan’s bottom line – VICTORIES!
Often during an owner’s weekly “gamble”, his team will use the “successful” statistics of its players to beat the compiled statistics of another team, even though those “successful” statistics came mostly from players whose teams lost that week.
This has become such a trend in fantasy football that three of the top four players – ranked by ESPN fantasy guru Matthew Berry for the upcoming 2011 season – come from teams who posted a losing record in 2010.
In fact, Super-Bowl winning quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t even ranked in the top 10 for next year. Other Super-Bowl winning, MVP-type players like Drew Brees (21st) Tom Brady (25th), Peyton Manning (30th) and Ben Roethlisberger (66th), are also ranked surprisingly lower than their on-field records would suggest.
But don’t get me wrong, to be able to play in the NFL – let alone post significant statistics – takes extraordinary talent and a very tiny percentage of human beings possess the ability to do so.
However, as a Philadelphia fan, I have watched many Eagles post significant statistics over the past 20 years without the team winning the sport’s ultimate prize, and the frustration that has developed as a result of that disappointing trend is staggering.
To that end, the Eagles again have two of fantasy football’s top five players, with quarterback Michael Vick ranked as the top player and running back LaSean McCoy rated fifth in Berry’s projections for the upcoming season.
Frankly, I could care less what numbers either of those players post if they don’t win on a regular basis next season and give the Birds a chance to win a Super Bowl.
But still, the concept of fantasy football interests me. While I don’t play fantasy football anymore, I did participate in a league (with very little success until I found a partner) for six years and contend that the NFL is the most interesting sports league in the country, and anything that promotes its games and players will always be at least somewhat attractive to me.
That is what brings me to my most recent idea about which to blog – the Winners Only Fantasy League (WOFL).
And that’s the great thing about the WOFL method, established leagues don’t have to change rules or formats, they just have to adopt one new guideline – that they count only the statistics of players whose teams win that week.
Say what?
That’s right – it’s time to embrace what sets the happy and successful NFL teams apart from the ones that struggle to find the right quarterback and stay out of the cellar – winning!
And yes fantasy nerd, the move means destroying the value of an effective running back on a bad team – like Cleveland’s Peyton Hillis (29th) – to select a not-as-productive running back like the New York Jets Shonn Greene (69th) or New England’s Benjarvus Green-Ellis (46th) because both of those teams will most likely win more games than the lowly Browns.
While fantasy owners would still be free to draft and start any player in the NFL, they would now have to take into account the risk involved in his team losing its game and voiding all of his stats during a given week.
Now that’s gambling.
So re-think your fantasy outlook and adopt the WOFL method for your league now, because winning with winners is the only real way to get to fantasy land.
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FatherKnowsLess is a 38-year-old USPS letter carrier from southern New Jersey. He is a proud Irish father, an uncle, a webmaster and a Philly sports nut. He prides himself on being clean and sober and having an unmatched knowledge of Seinfeld trivia. E-mail him at FatherKnowsLessBlog@gmail.com
It’s just easier if I do it.
That thought comes to a parent at one time or another when one of our kids – during their formative years – asks us to do something for them that we know they can – AND SHOULD – do for themselves.
It’s the tricky part, but also one of the most important facets of parenting. We are here to provide for our children, but we must also decide when providing for them means teaching them to provide for themselves.
Recently, my wife and I came across a good example of this. The five-year-old is somewhat independent, that is until his head hits the pillow to go down for the night. While in his bed watching his “pre-sleep” 15 minutes of Disney Channel, the boy has grown an affinity for barking out orders to his mother from his plush digs on the second floor.
“Mom, could you bring me some water?”
“Mom, could you find my remote?”
“Mom, could you come shut my door?”
Of course, there was a time when these orders would get filled. I mean, why else would he ask her? After all, it’s just easier if Mom does it. Right? The boy will stop yelling, lowering the risk of waking up the other three, thus coming closer to falling asleep himself.
Let me quick run up there and take care of it without anymore noise.
What parent doesn’t understand that mindset?
Now what the Father-Knows-Less household has learned to say in that situation, for our child’s own benefit is, “No! Get up and do it yourself”.
We often see kids who struggle to tie their own shoes or throw their own trash in the waste basket and we wonder what is wrong with them.
Do they have a learning disability?
Are they stupid or something?
While our first inclination is to wonder about THEIR laziness, the fact of the matter is that their parents are the one’s being lazy. They are the ones who refuse to say no and force the child into the learning process about a particular task or chore.
Sure, sometimes when the kid asks – or annoyingly begs! – you to get their book bag out of the car, telling him no will upset the peace and structure of a given night, and, depending on their attitude, may even disintegrate it altogether with an argument and ensuing punishment.
But your refusal to help will hammer home the fact that they must start doing things for themselves, which is an integral part of their growth into a young adult.
We have found that saying “no” will help to begin that process.
I always had my “EL”
I remember before I had kids things were MUCH different. The one facet of that life I miss the most is having my car all to myself.
My Honda Element, or the “EL” as my friends called it, was my safe haven of cleanliness and organization. Rarely a crumb was spotted on the floor mats. It’s smell had a hint of vanilla or cherry. They were the only two scents at the local car wash, which I visited at least once every 10 days.
Sure, I had things in my car, but they all had purpose – a roadside emergency kit, maybe an extra sweatshirt, some Armor All wipes for the dash and my golf clubs – all neatly stored as not to negatively effect the overall theme of organization that, in my mind, had as much to do with the car running smoothly as the transmission or oil pressure.
No matter how crazy my day went or how unmanageable things would get for me, I could always slide into my car and escape the chaos.
I always had my “EL”.
I now drive a Toyota Sequoia and share it with five other people, including four children. Heck, I even take the bus to work three days a week to accommodate our family’s morning rush.
The days of order and tidiness in the “EL” seem to be a distant memory.
My spotless floors have been replaced with littered, crumb-ridden carpets that include – on a good day – Legos, happy meal wrappers, sticky candy and discarded popsicle sticks. The front seat – the epicenter of my former mobile lair – is now plagued with receipts, cords from a seldom used mini DVD player, empty soft drink cans and bottles that NEVER make it out of the car, along with student reports, tests and art work shoved down every available orifice – a little bonus treat that comes with living 40 minutes away from the kids’ school!
The reason I am able to provide such a detailed description of this chaos? Probably because I am the only one whoever cleans it – or at least it feels that way.
At first, I fought this loss of organizational control tooth and nail, handing out lectures to all passengers at the end of every voyage.
Pick that up!
Take that with you!
Please don’t leave my car a mess!
Blah, blah, blah.
Recently, I have surrendered – an important skill for any successful father – and have learned to accept the calamity that is the interior of my automobile. Sure, I still complain about the vehicle, but I also know that it is collateral damage in the necessary battle against the pick-ups, drop-offs and day trips that dominate the schedules of all us parents.
Still, I miss my “EL”.
