I used to read TMQ years ago when it was on Slate and then ESPN, but lost track of it at some point. I still make reference to some of his old bits like "Cold Coach Equals Victory."
I have always thought that we should eliminate drafts and teams should have to recruit. Trying to be worse because it gets you better players is un American! I also think we have screwed up a lot of great players by forcing them to go to terrible organizations.
After watching a series of college quarterbacks flame out at their original school, only to win championships and becoming first round draft picks at schools they transfer to, I began to wonder if the problem is less "the draft is a crapshoot" and more "most NFL teams are really bad at developing quarterbacks." After all, Baker Mayfield is now seen as a success in Tampa Bay, two short years after being not good enough to start for the Carolina Panthers. End up at a team without an offensive line, or a system that doesn't play to your strengths, and you just pile up bad habits and losses that kill your career.
Of course, this could be convoluted way to justify my belief that Mitch Trubisky could have been a Pro Bowler if he hadn't ended up in Chicago.
"Draft experts," "fantasy experts," and "gambling experts" in sports coverage are a scourge. As you say -- and as we see repeatedly, the draft is basically a crapshoot. Some teams have better and worse records than others, but given the length of careers and a whole host of other factors almost all drafts will end up looking roughly the same -- a few years later some hits, some misses, a lot of middle-of-the-road. I'm not sure if I envy Mel Kiper Jr. for finding his niche or loathe him for creating that niche.
As for fantasy experts, well, this is not a realm I pay much attention to, but every time I see anything they do accidentally, it's like "do I start Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes this week?" or something slightly less absurd that could only possibly apply to a handful of people in that exact scenario. I half-ass a couple of fantasy football leagues, in one I even pay and then usually lose $60 or so, but I cannot imagine giving even the tiniest of shits about it enough to watch or read a "fantasy expert" in my spare time. Dear God.
Finally, I don't need to add to the list of thought pieces/screeds lamenting the seemingly exponential growth of gambling coverage and its infiltration into the viewing experience. When I go to Vegas I pick 2-3 games in various sports to gamble on so that i can lose money slowly. I fool myself that I am a sports knowerer and so it's a way to at least boost my gambling edge. There is a sparkling city in a desert that is an affront to God and Nature based on my delusion of my ability to best the sports book.
The threat of relegation is a good incentive for teams at the bottom of the table to play to win.
That is the big advantage of that sort of system, yes.
The Kelce's were ruminating on this on their podcast last year. I think they settled on relegation to the CFL. ;)
I liked this a lot! Thanks. I watched less football this year than the last few, but still read about it. Have you read Tuesday Morning Quarterback?
I used to read TMQ years ago when it was on Slate and then ESPN, but lost track of it at some point. I still make reference to some of his old bits like "Cold Coach Equals Victory."
I have always thought that we should eliminate drafts and teams should have to recruit. Trying to be worse because it gets you better players is un American! I also think we have screwed up a lot of great players by forcing them to go to terrible organizations.
Herm Edwards is still not wrong!
After watching a series of college quarterbacks flame out at their original school, only to win championships and becoming first round draft picks at schools they transfer to, I began to wonder if the problem is less "the draft is a crapshoot" and more "most NFL teams are really bad at developing quarterbacks." After all, Baker Mayfield is now seen as a success in Tampa Bay, two short years after being not good enough to start for the Carolina Panthers. End up at a team without an offensive line, or a system that doesn't play to your strengths, and you just pile up bad habits and losses that kill your career.
Of course, this could be convoluted way to justify my belief that Mitch Trubisky could have been a Pro Bowler if he hadn't ended up in Chicago.
"Draft experts," "fantasy experts," and "gambling experts" in sports coverage are a scourge. As you say -- and as we see repeatedly, the draft is basically a crapshoot. Some teams have better and worse records than others, but given the length of careers and a whole host of other factors almost all drafts will end up looking roughly the same -- a few years later some hits, some misses, a lot of middle-of-the-road. I'm not sure if I envy Mel Kiper Jr. for finding his niche or loathe him for creating that niche.
As for fantasy experts, well, this is not a realm I pay much attention to, but every time I see anything they do accidentally, it's like "do I start Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes this week?" or something slightly less absurd that could only possibly apply to a handful of people in that exact scenario. I half-ass a couple of fantasy football leagues, in one I even pay and then usually lose $60 or so, but I cannot imagine giving even the tiniest of shits about it enough to watch or read a "fantasy expert" in my spare time. Dear God.
Finally, I don't need to add to the list of thought pieces/screeds lamenting the seemingly exponential growth of gambling coverage and its infiltration into the viewing experience. When I go to Vegas I pick 2-3 games in various sports to gamble on so that i can lose money slowly. I fool myself that I am a sports knowerer and so it's a way to at least boost my gambling edge. There is a sparkling city in a desert that is an affront to God and Nature based on my delusion of my ability to best the sports book.