In a recent article on collegiate sports coaching, Kassandra Ramsey alerted us to the declining rate of female coaches in Division One basketball. Men substantially overshadow women in coaching. Unfortunately, it is much worse in professional sports. Additionally, head coaching positions are majority white-male dominated. In the NFL, this lack of divergence from the mean […]
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Julian Edelman at the Top of His Game It’s nearly a month after the New England Patriots Super Bowl victory over the Los Angeles Rams and the NFL Combine began today. But Julian Edelman still remains in sports discussions. Whether they are discussing his omission from the NFL Combine or his beard trimmings being auctioned […]
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A week into its inaugural season, the AAF received multi-million dollar investment to stay afloat, but that shouldn’t be a cause for concern, especially as ratings continue to rise The Alliance of American Football (or the AAF) received a $250 million investment from the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, Tom Dundon earlier last week, […]
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There are times it seems like the NFL and NBA do not live in the same universe. Despite all the negative press, the NFL now generates $14-billion per year in revenue. The NBA, which is viewed more favorably, will finally cross $8-billion mark this season. Still, NBA players generate by far the most endorsement money […]
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Unexpectedly, Colin Kaepernick officially ended his collusion lawsuit against the NFL today. The former NFL quarterback has withdrawn his collusion complaint against the league and will take no further action in his case. Kaepernick had alleged the NFL owners conspired to keep him out after he began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. The final hearing in his case against the NFL was set to take place this month. So, the timing of this withdrawal is a strong indication that the league reached a significant financial settlement with Kaepernick. People within his circle had previously spoken off the record that he would withdraw his lawsuit if the league compensated him significantly. The terms of the deal are subject to a “confidentiality agreement”.
The NFL and its owners would have been tremendously motivated to make this lawsuit go away if they believed it could be proven Kaepernick had in fact been blackballed. There is a provision within the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL and NFLPA that could have voided the deal if the league was found to have colluded against players. An immediate work stoppage and a legal battle would have ensued that could have put the 2019 season and future of the NFL in jeopardy. This begs the question, how much money did it cost to make Kaepernick go away?
His protest against social justice and racial inequality issues started alone, but many other NFL players and athletes from all sports have picked up the torch. NIKE stated a campaign with Kaepernick as the spokesman.
The end of this lawsuit likely marks the end of Kaepernick’s career. If a team was unwilling to sign him to prove he was not colluded against, then why would they sign him after they likely paid him to end the lawsuit? Commissioner Goodell said at the Super Bowl, “I think if a team decides that Colin Kaepernick or any other player can help their team win, that’s what they’ll do,” he added. “They want to win, and they make those decisions individually in the best interest of their club.”
We all have to acknowledge that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is a really good wide receiver. He is clutch and a great playoff performer. However, all this talk about him being a Hall of Fame wide receiver is insanity. He has never been to a Pro Bowl or been selected to an All-Pro team. Edelman has 499 career receptions for 5,390 yards and 30 touchdowns. Those numbers barely put him within the top 300 receivers of all-time. Edelman’s stats put him closer to the Brandon LaFell’s and Deion Branch’s of the world than Hall of Fame receivers.
Do these look like the stats of a Hall of Fame player? Yet, NFL analyst continued to make the irrational case for Edelman.
Sidenote: No one is mentioning that Edelman was suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for PEDs. Shouldn’t that matter?
Issac Bruce, Hines Ward, and Chad Johnson are just a few players who were head and shoulders better receivers than Julian Edelman is and none of them are in the Hall of Fame. All have nearly doubled his career stats in every statistical category. So why this became a topic of discussion is beyond me.
Edelman will join Dexter Jackson, Desmond Howard, Mark Rypien, Phil Sims, and Jim Plunkett on the long list of Super Bowl MVP’s who didn’t make the Hall of Fame. There is a reason players aren’t eligible to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame until after they have been out of the game for five years. It allows voters to have an objective view of the players without recent history influencing the votes.
Tom Brady and the Patriots have won four Super Bowls without Edelman. Deion Branch, Wes Welker, and James White all looked like Hall of Fame players with Brady as well.
Leave a comment with your opinion on Julian Edelman and the Hall of fame.
“I think if a team decides that Colin Kaepernick or any other player can help their team win, that’s what they’ll do,” he added. “They want to win, and they make those decisions individually in the best interest of their club.” -Roger Goodell, 1/30/2019
It is January 2019 and Colin Kaepernick being unsigned continues to be a misrepresented. In his January 30th press conference, Roger Goodell was asked why Colin Kaepernick has remained unsigned for the past two seasons. His answer was not only false and misleading, but he dodged the proceeding questions inquiring about Kaepernick.
Colin Kaepernick is an NFL-caliber quarterback and the stats back it up every time. Maybe Goodell is trying to keep his story straight for his deposition in the collusion lawsuit.
Before we go repeating arguments, narratives and facts about Colin Kaepernick, please note the following UnafraidShow articles from 2017 and 2018:
“The Truth and Lies of Colin Kaepernick”
Quick Refresher: 5 common lies that surrounded the Kaepernick controversy were dispelled quickly. The lies were that:
*Lie #1: Kaepernick sucks and can’t play anymore
Kaepernick is still a younger quarterback that led his team to 2 NFC Championship Games, 1 Superbowl, and ranked 11th in career Quarterback Rating among active quarterbacks (as of July, 2017)
*Lie #2: Kaep is a bad guy
Kaepernick donated over $1 million of his own money to inner city programs and charities. He hasn’t gotten a DUI, committed domestic abuse, beat his kid, violated the league’s drug policy, been surrounded by rape or murder investigations, or plead guilty to insider trading. All he did was
*Lie #3: Our military is offended
We fight to protect freedoms from everyone. But if people are still worried about offending military, they should call their congressman, volunteer, or raise money to help the many servicemen and women that are homeless, unemployed, and struggling.
*Lie #4: Sports are not for protests
Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, and many more have protested. The NBA, MLB, and NFL have all gone on strike. This isn’t something new.
*Lie # 5: Kaepernick needs to clean up his image
Calls for Kaepernick to clean up his image are ridiculous. He donated his own money, sacrificed his time and energy to community service, and stood up for the rights of others. Then the arguments for changing his hair to look better come from those with racial-bias against black athletes. Cornrows date back to 3000 BCE. The afro dates back to the 1860’s in America. However, because they are not white hairstyles, they are not clean-cut. Ryan Fitzpatrick gets praised for his large beard, but Kaepernick, whom has almost always kept his facial hair neat and stylish, is looked at differently.
“Colin Kaepernick and Nike – Did Nike Just Do It or Just Blew It”
Quick Refresher: There were many protests and proposed boycotts of Nike when they announced that Colin Kaepernick would be the face of their 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. People claimed Nike would be hurt and the NFL would drop them. Has the NFL dropped them? Nope. Are they hurt? Well, they did just sign a new contract with the MLB. Nike is now the official uniform supplier for the NFL, NBA, and MLB, in addition to countless collegiate programs. It appears that they are thriving and anyone that wants to boycott them will have to go through a lot of trouble to do so.
So the NFL hasn’t dropped Nike, why haven’t they picked up Kaepernick yet? As Goodell stated earlier today, he thinks that teams would have signed Kaepernick if they thought he could help them win. With that being said, let’s go ahead and review the two seasons Kaepernick has been absent to see if he could have helped teams win more games.
In Kaepernick’s most recent season (2016), he had an average to below average season for an NFL starter. Per numberFire’s NEP (Net Expected Points) metric, his Passing NEP per drop back was only 0.04. That may sound low, but it actually still ranked 28th of the 39 qualified passers. This might not make him Tom Brady or Drew Brees, but it still makes him a starting quarterback. But we all know that Colin Kaepernick isn’t a one-dimensional quarterback because he can always win with his legs. He was 8th-best in quarterback Rushing NEP per attempt in 2016, which ranks his Total NEP per opportunity 22nd of 39 qualified quarterbacks. Again, that is a starting quarterback. But, this becomes even more compelling when you review the target leaders for the 2016 49ers: Jeremy Kerley, Quinton Patton, Garrett Celek, Torrey Smith. He played above replacement-level without receiving threats to help him.
Continuing with Ron Yurko’s EPA (Expected Points Added), Josh Hermsmeyer of FiveThirtyEight closely reviewed why “The Stats Say Washington Should Have Signed Colin Kaepernick”. In his post-week 14 article, after Mark Sanchez was benched for Josh Johnson, Hermsmeyer highlighted the mistake(s) of Washington. Looking at their careers, Kaepernick was superior to Sanchez in EPA. He also outperformed Josh Johnson, whom had a staggeringly low EPA as a quarterback. According to Hermsmeyer, “Plays with Johnson under center have resulted in negative value for his teams.” These stats and analytics are not hard to find, yet Kaepernick remained unsigned in 2018 as Mark Sanchez and Josh Johnson recorded just 1 win in 4 starts.
Last, why don’t we strictly look at wins? If you don’t believe in any other stat and you are a football guy (or girl) that believes it all comes down to wins, wins, wins, this spot is for you. As was stated earlier, Kaepernick not being signed to any team is a refusal to believe that he is even worth a backup quarterback roster spot. As Nick Foles proved, having multiple competent quarterbacks is very, very valuable. In 2017, 56 different quarterbacks started a game in the regular season. In 2018, there were 54. I examined every backup quarterback that started 1-9 games in 2017 or 1-9 games in 2018. Their combined record was a dismal 48-85. If we remove 4 quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Nick Foles, Jimmy Garoppolo, Lamar Jackson) from that list, the record drops to 30-82. Yikes. Kaepernick’s record is 30-28. Granted, that’s not great, but it’s certainly better than 30-82. However, keep in mind that Kaepernick boasts a 4-2 post-season record and led his team to 2 consecutive NFC Championships and was 5 yards away from a Superbowl title.
Colin Kaepernick is not being overlooked based off of his talent or experience. He is plainly being blackballed. His stats show that he is, at worse, a low-tier starting quarterback or an elite backup quarterback. Kaepernick boasts the ability to throw over 3300 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for 600 yards and 5 touchdowns. His NEP or EPA career statistics show that he is valuable to an NFL team. If NFL teams truly believe that Nathan Peterman, Jeff Driskel, Mark Sanchez, and Josh Johnson, they are locked in denial that has and will cost them wins.
On Sunday, football fans witnessed one of the most exciting NFL Championship Sundays ever. Both the NFC Championship game and the AFC Championship game went into overtime. There is nothing better than watching two teams fight it out so effectively that the game ends in a tie and is forced into overtime. Overtime is almost like a second game where both teams get an equal shot at becoming the victor. However, that is not exactly true for NFL overtimes.
To no one’s surprise, the teams that won the two coin tosses won the games. The implementation of the “sudden death” rule on Sunday left many fans upset that each game was essentially decided by a coin toss. The games were decided by a coin toss as it was an almost certainty that the team that won the toss would take possession, score first, and win. Both teams did exactly that.
Although some may argue that the NFC Championship game was decided by a blown call at the end of the fourth quarter, the game still went into overtime. The team that won the toss, the Los Angeles Rams, won the game without the New Orleans Saints ever getting an opportunity to score. In the AFC Championship game the team that won the toss, the New England Patriots, won the game without the Kansas City Chiefs ever getting an opportunity to score. Accordingly, fans were upset that the NFC and AFC Championship games were essentially decided by a coin toss.
The NFL needs to change this. This is especially true as it pertains to championship games. The team that does not take possession at kickoff (usually the team who loses the toss) is essentially at an unfair disadvantage. Some may argue that there is no disadvantage because the defense should be able to hold off the opposing offense. This is a fair argument. However, it would be better if both teams were guaranteed a chance to perform on both offense and defense. Such a change would ultimately make the game more competitive. It would force both teams to prove they deserve to win offensively and defensively.
The college football overtime rules are much better than the NFL’s. The NFL can certainly learn from college football in this area. Like the NFL, overtime in college starts with a coin toss. Where it differs is in the fact that both teams are guaranteed a possession. This means that both teams will have the opportunity to play both offense and defense. This is better because it forces both teams to earn the win on both ends of the field.
If the team that gets the ball first scores, they must defend it and hold off the other team’s offense. The college overtime period starts at the 25-yard line.[i] If the game is still tied at the end of the overtime period it keeps going until a team wins.[ii] However, once the game reaches a third overtime period, the teams may no longer kick after a touchdown and are forced to attempt a two-point conversion.[iii] This goes on until a team wins.
Some may argue that this type of overtime makes for a long game. That is true, a game could be extremely long if both teams keep scoring. However, that is an extremely rare occurrence. Even with that possibility, the NFL needs to consider some variation of college football’s overtime rules. Allowing who gets to advance to the Super Bowl to be determined by a coin toss is simply unacceptable.
[i] Chris Chavez, How Does College Football Overtime Work? Rule, NFL Differences Explained, Sports Illustrated (Aug. 14, 2017), https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/college-football-overtime-rules-explained.
The Super Bowl, America’s most anticipated and exhilarating sporting event of the year is rapidly approaching. It is also one of music’s most anticipated and exciting events of the year. Everyone waits to see who will headline the halftime show, just as everyone waits to see what two teams will face off for the Lombardi Trophy. Being asked to perform for the Super Bowl is one of music’s greatest honors. Such a request is symbolic of “making it” as a music artist. Being asked to perform at the Super Bowl carries a certain level of prestige. Some of the greatest entertainers of all time have graced that stage. Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince have all performed during Super Bowl halftime. It would seem that any and every artist would jump at the opportunity to perform for the Super Bowl. Right?
Perhaps before 2016, any artist would have jumped at the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl. However, things have changed. Ever since the NFL blackballed former San Fransico 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for protesting racial injustices, there has a been a growing trend amongst the hip-hop community to “say no to the Super Bowl.” Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z reportedly declined the invitation to perform during Super Bowl LII last year. He confirmed the story this summer in the hit Apes**t. In that song, he stated: “I said no to the Super Bowl/You need me, I don’t need you/Every night we in the end zone/Tell the NFL we in stadiums too.” In the video, he had men kneel signaling to everyone that he declined the offer in support of Kaepernick.
This year’s Super Bowl halftime performance was met with the same trend. Various artist including Rihanna and Cardi B reportedly declined the invitation to perform. Accordingly, declining the invitation to perform at the Super Bowl has become a showing of solidarity with Kaepernick. However, is saying no the Super Bowl the only way to show support for Colin Kaepernick and the cause he sacrificed his career for? Apparently, some think so given the reaction to Travis Scott and Big Boi agreeing to perform in this year’s halftime show. The rappers have been called sellouts for their willingness to perform for the league that is continuing to blackball Kaepernick. However, when all things are considered surrounding their agreements to perform labeling them as sellouts is an incorrect assessment.
Before this question can be answered, it is important to understand some of the context surrounding this year’s Super Bowl halftime performance. Super Bowl LIII is going to take place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta is and has been a hotbed for hip-hop for the last 20 plus years. Given this prime location, musicians and fans alike expected the halftime show to be a who’s who of Atlanta hip-hop royalty.
Unfortunately, those expectations were crushed when the NFL announced that the Calfornia native pop group Maroon 5 would be Super Bowl LIII’s headlining act. First and foremost, Maroon 5 is a deserving act. However, fans were rightfully outraged as they could not understand how the NFL could overlook all of the musical talents that have come out of Atlanta. Therefore, fans were outraged that artists such as Usher, Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri, and a host of other Atlanta artists were snubbed for the halftime show.
After the outrage regarding the lack of Atlanta artists, it seems that they tried to make it right by asking Big Boi to join the show. Big Bio is an Atlanta native and is one half of the legendary group Outkast. Once Big Boi accepted he became the subject of unfounded criticism. He accepted the opportunity to perform at the same Super Bowl that everyone was initially upset had no Atlanta representation. Then all of a sudden everyone was upset with him for accepting the bid.
Big Boi was immediately regarded as a sellout for accepting the very opportunity that everyone was upset was not given to an Atlanta artist. In what world does that make sense? It cannot be both ways. One cannot be mad that no Atlanta artists were initially represented and then be mad when an Atlanta artist takes the opportunity to represent the city. Perhaps that is the very reason Big Boi decided to perform, to represent his hometown and all of the musical greatness that has hailed from Atlanta.
How can someone who garnered a donation to a social justice cause in exchange for their performance be deemed a sellout? Before Travis Scott finalized his agreement to perform, he made the NFL agree to donate money to a social justice cause. Specifically, he made the NFL agree to match his $500,000 donation to Dream Corp. This donation is proof that “saying no to the Super Bowl” is not the only way an artist can show their support for social causes.
Opting out of performing for the Super Bowl is a great way to show support for Colin Kaepernick and the causes he sacrificed his career for. It is nice to see some members of the hip-hop community come together and refuse to do the Super Bowl performance as a sign of solidarity with Kaepernick. However, that does not mean that is the only way to show support. Travis Scott supported social justice issues with his donation. Big Boi is representing Atlanta for all those who wanted to see Atlanta represented on the stage. With all things considered Travis Scott’s and Big Boi’s willingness to perform doesn’t make them a sellout.
Most importantly, you have no right to call anyone a sellout if you watch the Super Bowl or have watched one single second of NFL football since Kaepernick has been blackballed.
Love it or hate it, instant replay is a huge part of the NFL. There are advantages and disadvantages of replay. However, the main purpose of replay and challenges is to get the call right. That’s the bottom line. In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s AFC Championship game, Julian Edelman appeared to muff a punt and the Chiefs recovered the ball. Upon further review, the call was overturned and the Patriots were awarded the ball. In my opinion, the ball barely missed Edelman and the refs made the right decision in awarding the ball to the Patriots.
Replay ensured that the right call was made. That being said, why are only certain plays reviewable? Enter the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game between the Rams and Saints. In what could be the worst non-call in recent history, pass inference was not called when Rams defender Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints’ Tommylee Lewis while the ball was still in the air. Robey-Coleman clearly hit Lewis before the ball arrived. No flag was thrown, and as you probably know, the Rams ended up winning the game. Had the flag been thrown, the Saints would have had first and goal with under two minutes left while the Rams could not fully stop the clock. In other words, the Saints would have most likely kicked the game-winning field goal to win the game in regulation and advance to the Super Bowl.
That was not just a blown non-call. That was a legacy changing call. Nothing in the NFL is guaranteed and there is a possibility the Saints may never get back to that spot in the future. Saints coach Sean Payton alerted the media that the NFL called to apologize for the missed call. Do you think that matters though? “We made a mistake and we’re sorry” is nice when you’re in elementary school, but the NFL can’t send the Saints to the Super Bowl. Sorry just isn’t going to cut it.
In the NFL, teams can challenge if a player stepped out of bounds, fumbled a ball, or made a catch. Why can’t teams review if a player committed pass interference? There are so many grey areas within the rules that determine what plays are reviewable and what plays cannot be reviewed. Why is that? There are discussions about adding pass interference to the list of reviewable plays, which I agree with, but why can’t a coach have the right to challenge any play he chooses no matter the circumstance?
In my opinion, NFL coaches should be allowed to challenge any play. Do you want to know who agrees with me?
The greatest coach of all-time, Bill Belichick.
Back in 2013, Belichick suggested that coaches should be allowed to challenge any play of their choosing because sometimes, the most important plays are ones that are non-reviewable.
“When you have two challenges, I don’t see anything wrong with the concept of ‘you can challenge any two plays that you want. I understand that judgment calls are judgment calls, but to say that an important play can’t be reviewed, I don’t think that’s really in the spirit of trying to get everything right and making sure the most important plays are officiated properly. If you get a situation where they call a guy for being offside, and you don’t think he was offside and you’re willing to use one of your challenges on that to let them go back and take a look at it — I understand if the evidence isn’t conclusive that the call stands. If it is [conclusive] than they’d overturn it. If it’s offensive holding, if you think one of the offensive linemen tackles your guy as he’s rushing the quarterback, and the ball hasn’t been thrown, they go back and look at it and if it’s that egregious of a violation they would make a call. If it wasn’t, they wouldn’t. We have to live with that anyway but now it’s only on certain plays and certain situations.”
If every play could be challenged, there would be no confusion as to what plays are deemed reviewable. When an offensive tackle egregiously holds a defender, coaches should have the right to challenge the play. If a defender was not called for pass interference, coaches should be able to throw the red flag. It’s not like coaches would be able to throw challenges around like it’s candy. Coaches risk a timeout when they throw the red flag so it’s a trade-off off. The same rules would be in place: two challenges per game with a third challenge if a coach is successful. There would still be the same strategy of when to use challenges, but every play would be eligible for a challenge.
Now, that doesn’t fix what happened in the Rams-Saints game because it happened under two minutes. My solution would be to add pass interference to the current list of plays that can be reviewed under two minutes. Personally, I would add a replay assistant to the officiating crew to determine what plays can be reviewed (all plays are eligible). But, I know holding can be called on almost every play in the NFL so I’ll compromise by only adding pass interference to the current list of reviewable plays under 2 minutes.
Here would be my changes to the rules regarding replays and challenges.
You may like my rules or you may hate my rules, but it’s clear that the list of reviewable plays needs to be updated.
***Note: Although I did not mention the missed face mask against Jared Goff in the fourth quarter, I did not forget about that play. That was a blown non-call, no doubt about it. The Rams would have had 1st and goal instead of settling for 3 points. Under the rules I proposed, Sean McVay could have challenged the play since it fell during the time frame when challenges are allowed.***
Read Unafraid Show’s exclusive interview with Kliff Kingsbury.
