The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I find the high octane bickering about former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick becoming the new face of Nike interesting, yet perplexing. While I've long supported Kaepernick and those like him using their first amendment rights to peacefully protest, I'd also be the first to point out Kaepernick is anything but the perfect role model for the cause. On the other side of the deal, Nike also doesn't have a perfect reputation when it comes to measures of equality. I give Colin Kaepernick credit for trying to walk the talk after basically getting blackballed by the NFL. He's appeared to devote a great deal of his time doing charity events, volunteer work, and donating to charitable causes. However, his march for awareness and equality has been anything but a smooth ride. This bumpy road peaked, in my opinion, when he admitted to not voting in the 2016 presidential election. Look, I get it - there's more that can be done to implement change than to get ...

Another year and another ridiculous quarterback contract extension. This is getting to be as predictable as offensive Donald Trump tweets. This time it's the San Francisco 49ers overpaying a man behind center, as they just signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a 5-year, $137.5 million extension, making him the new highest paid player in the NFL. Of all the ridiculous quarterback contract extensions in recent years, this may be the most head-scratching and facepalm-inducing. Should the San Francisco 49ers be excited about Garoppolo, the guy who led them to a perfect 5-0 record at the tail-end of last season? Of course. Should they be prepared to pay him more money if he proves to be a consistent and successful starter? Of course. The guy has only started 7 games in his 4-year career to this point, though. Even when he led the Niners to a 5-0 record last year, Garoppolo only had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 7:5. The 49ers haven't played a postseason game since 2013 and are now in...

I'd venture to guess a majority of NFL analysts will lay claim that a quarterback is the most important position in all of sports, let alone football. While I won't deny it's an incredibly important position, I think it's overrated in terms of its overall importance to a team's success or failure, and more NFL teams would be wise to spend more money on building around their quarterbacks than to just invest the lot on the man behind center. What do successful NFL teams typically have in common? A strong defense, a good offensive line, an effective and flexible system on offense, consistent special teams, and a knack for not making the big mistake. It doesn't matter how good a quarterback is if the offensive line can't protect him. A quarterback can only do so much when his defense allows 30+ points per game. A quarterback has no control over the kick or the return game. If a quarterback's skill set is at odds with the team's offensive system, he...

It feels like I write a blog about this topic once a week and am the only one who feels the way I do, but here I go again. First it was Baltimore's Joe Flacco, then Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick, Miami's Ryan Tannehill, and now Carolina's Cam Newton. Over the past couple of off-seasons, while most ESPN commentators have claimed these teams made the right moves in signing these quarterbacks to big-time extensions, I felt like the lone doubter in the room, and the same goes with the most recent such case, Cam Newton. Sadly, most of the before-mentioned commentators' rationale for the extensions seems to be, "Well, what's their other option? They could do worse." Yes, but despite what many seem to believe, quarterbacks don't make the team, and the thinking shouldn't be, "Well, they could do worse at quarterback," it should be, "Well, they could do better if they stock up at other positions and na...

Over the past couple of years, I've often times found myself disagreeing with ESPN writers and analysts regarding large contract extensions for young NFL quarterbacks. While quarterbacks tend to be the "face" of the franchise, a lot more goes into running a successful program and making a Super Bowl run than just a good quarterback. Like in baseball where the best pitching staffs often find themselves in the playoffs, the same is true in football with the top defenses. This is also true with regard to the top offensive lines in the league. A great offensive line can make average quarterbacks and tailbacks look like Pro Bowlers, and on the other end of things, a bad offensive line can make Pro Bowl-worthy quarterbacks and running backs appear average. Over the past couple of years, the following three quarterbacks received big contract extensions, and while 95% of ESPN felt these were good moves, I pulled a Lee Corso and said, "Not so fast my friend!": Joe Flac...

It was earlier announced that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had signed a six-year contract extension, worth $115 million. While it appears as if approximately two out of every three NFL "experts" think this is a good move by the Bengals, like with the Joe Flacco deal a year ago, I'm much less confident about it. Following his great playoff run two seasons ago, the Baltimore Ravens signed quarterback Joe Flacco to a $120.6 million deal. While I could have partially understood the move, based on the quarterback's epic performance in the playoffs that year, I thought, in the long-term, he wasn't going to be worth it. The fact was, during the regular season, he was simply an above-average quarterback throughout his career. The Ravens mainly relied on their staunch defense, their solid special teams, and their pounding ground attack to get them to and advance them in the playoffs. When Flacco signed that record-breaking deal, the Ravens had to let go of ...

It seems that many sportswriters and analysts are saying that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is worth every penny of his 6-year, $110+ million deal ($61 million guaranteed). While I'm not going to adamantly declare they're wrong, I'm also not going to boast such confidence that they're right either. Colin Kaepernick is a young, athletic quarterback, with a great deal of potential, and who has accomplished quite a bit for being just 26-years-old. He's 21-8 as a starter and 4-2 in the playoffs. So, what's the problem? Sign him to the big deal, right? While his great record can't be refuted and the quarterback is typically the face and name of the franchise, like Russell Wilson of Seattle, Colin Kaepernick has been very blessed with the team that surrounds him. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has now taken the team to three straight NFC title games, including one Super Bowl. The 49ers defense has been one of the best in the league since Harbaugh c...

Being from Omaha, Nebraska, I found this next bit of news to be pretty funny. Just the other day, the New York Jets announced that they would be releasing back-up quarterback Tim Tebow. Who's the first team to show a public interest in the partial quarterback? The Omaha Beef of the Arena Football League! Current Beef quarterback, James McNear, didn't seem phased at all by the announcement, saying, "I think Tim can learn a lot from me." You read that correctly - an Arena football quarterback by the name of James McNear (who?) said that Tim Tebow could learn a lot from him. Perhaps McNear is correct, since he's competing 70% of his passes, with 21 touchdowns, compared to only 2 interceptions. Tebow, on the other hand, has completed right around 48% of his passes through his NFL career to this point. So, if Tebow likely won't be starting for the Beef, what's in it for him? As the article states, "...and the Nebraska indoor football team will even...

Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens - Joe Flacco - was rewarded for his spectacular playoff efforts by becoming the highest paid player in NFL history (for now) when he was offered (and accepted) a six-year deal worth $120.6 million. What has resulted since the Flacco signing for the Ravens? In addition to future Hall-of-Fame linebacker Ray Lewis and center Matt Birk retiring, Baltimore: traded veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin to San Francisco, released safety Bernard Pollard and guard Bobbie Williams, and lost linebackers Dannell Ellerbe (Miami), Paul Krueger (Cleveland) and cornerback Cary Williams (Philadelphia) to free agency. Veteran free safety Ed Reed will likely land elsewhere as well. To this point, the Ravens have lost two starters on offense (and a back-up) and four on defense (as well as a back-up) - five if Reed takes his services elsewhere. To this point, Baltimore has also yet to sign their: 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-string tight ends (Ed Dickson, Denn...

Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco is currently a free agent and some members of the media are claiming he should be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. While I think Baltimore would be wise to hang on to Flacco, especially given his great run in the playoffs this past season, I don't think the guy should be one of the top-paid quarterbacks in the league. Throughout his career to this point, Flacco has been fairly average as far as completion percentage goes and a little above average as far as quarterback rating is concerned. He has shown himself to be a capable starter, but has been aided a great deal by the talent around him: Tailback Ray Rice, fullback Vonta Leach, receivers Anquan Boldin, Jacoby Jones, and Torrey Smith, along with a top-notch defense. He's also been blessed with having a great coach in John Harbaugh. Following his great run through the playoffs and earning the Super Bowl MVP honor, Flacco deserves to receive a nice contrac...

ESPN just reported that quarterback Michael Vick will be restructuring his contract to stay a Philadelphia Eagle for another year. The contract will be good for one year and while new head coach Chip Kelly said there will be competition for the starting quarterback job, it seems to be all but a given that Vick will be the starter. Is this a good or bad move by the Eagles? That's highly debatable. While I feel that Vick is a much more suitable option in Chip Kelly's offense than Nick Foles, I personally think San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith would have been the best of the three quarterbacks. Smith has decent size and isn't as prone to getting banged up following multiple hits in the backfield than Vick. He's not as quick as Vick, but has better speed than Foles. He's also less turnover prone than either of those two quarterbacks, with a higher completion percentage than either as well. While Smith isn't as dynamic as Vick at times, he's more prov...

I've been an Atlanta Braves fan for quite a number of years and while it appears as if the Braves are in pretty good shape to make the playoffs once again - this time as a Wild Card - I've remained extremely disappointed with second baseman, Dan Uggla. Last night, in the bottom of the 13th inning against division-leading Washington, the Nationals had runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. A ground ball was hit right to Uggla, who was playing in on the infield. The runner at 3rd base ran on contact. Uggla had to either try and get a double play by going to the shortstop at second or go directly at home. Based on how he was positioned - the best odds would have been to throw to home. What did he do? He froze. He froze like an ice sculpture being visited by the president. The run scored and that was the ball game, which then placed Washington a full six games ahead of Atlanta with about 40 to go. Sadly, his glove work hasn't been the most disappointing aspect of his game. No...