Some Football Thoughts

As we crawl closer to the proposed opening of training camps, these are some of my football thoughts.

1. Some talking heads have honked that Patrick Mahomes' eye-popping contract will have an impact on a long-term deal for Dak Prescott. It shouldn't. Prescott has been a very good quarterback. He's a promising young quarterback. His four years as a starting quarterback aren't in the same orbit as Mahomes' two years as a starting quarterback. Prescott's contract shouldn't be in the same orbit either. New deals for DeShaun Watson and Lamar Jackson should land somewhere between those for Mahomes and Prescott. For now, Mahomes' contract is one that no other NFL quarterback should approach.

2. It wasn't surprising that it took threats from sponsors for Dan Snyder to consider a change to the racist name of his team. It's been an offensive name since founding owner George Preston Marshall, a clear racist, flipped the name of his team from Braves to Redskins in 1933. It's astonishing that the name has held for 87 years. Simple common decency should've brought a name change long ago. It took the threat of losing money for Snyder to finally consider doing the right thing. That's really no surprise as money routinely tops decency. It's always amazed me that those with great wealth are blind to anything other than the acquisition of more wealth. Some fans and racist folk have cried that losing the racist name would mean losing tradition. Switch back to Braves. There's tradition there. I've long been a fan of re-adopting Braves. There have been some rumors that a potential new name will have no ties to Native Americans. If true, Braves is out. Red Tails, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, has recently been mentioned as a possibility. I like that name even more than Braves.

3. I was mildly surprised that the New England Patriots signed Cam Newton. From the moment he was released, if not from the moment the Carolina Panthers signed Teddy Bridgewater, I thought that the Patriots and Newton would be a nice fit. The surprise was more in the timing than it happening. If it was going to happen, I thought that it would happen soon after he was released by the Panthers on March 24. At the latest, I thought that it would happen soon after the draft if the Patriots didn't find a quarterback in the draft. The Patriots would be interesting with Jarrett Stidham as quarterback. Instead of being simply interesting, the Patriots are an intriguing contender with Newton at quarterback.

4. I loved this tweet from Clemson defensive end K.J. Henry.

On behalf of EVERY FOOTBALL PLAYER IN AMERICA...stop asking us if we having a season we don't know. 

5. This is going to be a different sort of season. That's been expected but the following decisions by the NFL make zero sense.

from Tom Pelissero:
NFL teams will be forbidden from post game interactions within six feet of each other and jersey exchanges between players will be prohibited during the 2020 season, sources say.

Another way the NFL will look different in the COVID-19 world.

Is this only for appearances? It serves no real purpose. The players will have just been in close contact with each other for the previous three hours. Blocking, tackling, football things. I guess that the NFL will only allow players to be close contact with each other for activities that generate revenue. Activities like blocking, tackling, football things.

And this.

from Ian Rappaport:
Other game day protocols: Coaches and players won't be required to wear masks on the sidelines. Everyone else on the bench does have to wear a mask. 

Gotta see the faces of those that make the game.

6. Roger Goodell was having such a strong offseason.

7. When, oh when, will the Vikings sign their 15 draft picks? Even during a hacked-up offseason, I'm no fan of unfinished business.