No L

So, we're going to get Super Bowl 50 and not Super Bowl L.

Representatives from the San Francisco Bay Area host committee had been lobbying the NFL to get the "L" out. It appears that the lobbying has succeeded. There will be no "L" for the Super Bowl that will be played in 2016. I don't understand why there's no love for the "L" in San Francisco. When I first heard about the host committee's lobbying I assumed that the NFL would continue as they have with their Roman numeral identification for the Super Bowl. The league routinely does what it wants. After all, they went with Super Bowl XXX. Apparently the firewalls throughout the NFL offices had all kinds of issues with emails and memos containing XXX. There are no legitimate issues with an "L" tag on a Super Bowl outside of some stupid "loser" connection. As far as I know, the no "L" is a one-time thing. Good thing as I'm looking forward to Super Bowl LIX in 2025. Unless another host committee has an issue with that one.

The NFL has been numbering the Super Bowls with Roman numerals since Super Bowl V. I found it unique as a kid and I've liked it ever since. The Super Bowl 50 designation will be used on the official logo and in promotions leading up to the game. I'm guessing that Super Bowl L will be used on promotions hidden away from the touchy San Francisco people. I'm also guessing that Super Bowl 50/L will be viewed as Super Bowl L from an historical perspective. I,II,III, and IV were thrown on the first four Super Bowls after the fact. They'll probably do the same with Super Bowl L.

This is a sad day.

New Rich Guy

The San Francisco 49ers signed quarterback Colin Kaepernick to a six-year contract extension. It's a big one. I've seen numbers of $126-million total. $61-million of which is guaranteed. The numbers can be a little deceiving. It's been reported as a six-year contract but I see this as a seven-year, $126-million contract. He's getting some of it this year. It's a pay-as-you-go contract. The money becomes guaranteed as he moves through the years of the extension. Basically, he doesn't get the money if his career gets derailed in some way. If the 49ers and Kaepernick progresses well, the quarterback will be a rich one.

I keep seeing a decent amount of criticism over this contract. The critics seem to think that Colin Kaepernick hasn't earned this type of money. They say that his 23-regular season starts aren't enough. Kaepernick signed a franchise quarterback contract. Kaepernick is a franchise quarterback. It's really as easy as that. He's taken his team to the Super Bowl once. He was a pass away from doing it a second time. Quarterbacks are best judged by their play in the postseason. Not many quarterbacks have had this sort of postseason success so early in their careers. Kaepernick is among the most physically gifted quarterbacks to ever play the game. When I think of him on the football field I keep seeing the 26-yard touchdown pass that he threw to Anquan Boldin in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks. It was a bullet that was parallel to the ground the entire way. The ball never dropped in it's flight. Seahawks safety Earl Thomas was right in front of Boldin and couldn't do a thing about it. Thomas might have been frozen as he marveled at this laser. There might not be another quarterback that could have made that throw. Kaepernick still has a lot to learn. He has to be able to get past the first read in his progressions. His throwing has to become as consistently deadly as his running. If his understanding of what he's doing on the football field ever catches up with his natural skills, he'll be a nightmare for defenses for a long time. Certainly through his pricey six-year contract extension. Kaepernick is a franchise quarterback now and he's not even close to his ceiling. He deserves this contract. Besides, it might be considered a bargain by the time Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson sign their extensions.

Throwback Thursday: A Look Back At An Old Draft

Pondering football's past, I took another look at the 1961 NFL and AFL Drafts. The young, renegade AFL was pushing the old NFL for college talent. So much so that the two leagues were drafting players before the college bowl games were even played. The AFL conducted the first six rounds of their 1961 draft on November 23, 1960, by phone. The draft was completed on December 5th and 6th. The NFL held their 1961 draft December 27 and 28, 1960. That's about six months earlier than the ridiculously late starting 2014 NFL Draft. The 1961 AFL Draft went for thirty rounds. The 1961 NFL Draft went twenty rounds. With six fewer teams, the AFL selected 240 players to the NFL's 280. As this draft was the first draft of the Minnesota Vikings, I was taking another look at the draft that started it all. I'm always thrilled when I find little nuggets of football history that I've never noticed before. I found one while I was looking through the 1961 drafts of the rival professional football leagues.

Here's the top of the Minnesota Vikings 1961 NFL Draft:

1. Tommy Mason  RB  Tulane
2. Rip Hawkins  LB North Carolina
3. Fran Tarkenton  QB Georgia

Here's the top of the Boston Patriots 1961 AFL Draft:

1. Tommy Mason  RB  Tulane
2. Rip Hawkins  LB  North Carolina
3. Dan LaRose  T  Missouri
4. Mike Zeno  G  Virginia Tech
5. Fran Tarkenton  QB  Georgia

Well, something looks a little fishy there. The Vikings top three selections were three of the Patriots top five selections. They were also taken in the same order. The AFL Draft came first, so the Patriots selected Tommy Mason, Rip Hawkins, and Fran Tarkenton over a month before the Vikings did the same. The Vikings, as an expansion team, had the first pick in the NFL Draft. The Patriots had the second pick in the AFL Draft. Mason was widely considered the top senior back in  college football so his selection by teams with one of the top two picks in a draft isn't a surprise. There's just too many variables to even imagine that the Patriots will select three of the same players in the first 34 picks of their draft as the Vikings select in the first 29 picks of their draft. It's as if the two teams had the exact same scouting reports and rankings. Mason selected #1 by the Vikings and #2 by the Patriots. Hawkins selected #15 by the Vikings and #10 by the Patriots. Tarkenton selected #29 by the Vikings and #34 by the Patriots. I guess that the Patriots decided that they could wait a little bit, take care of their offensive line, and grab Tarkenton in the fifth round of their draft.

The threat of losing college players to the AFL was very real for NFL teams. The Houston Oilers, Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers, and Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs dominated the early years of the new league. The Buffalo Bills came on a couple of years later. The Boston Patriots were 5-9, last in the AFL's Eastern Conference in 1960. Maybe the Vikings, despite being an expansion team, didn't see the Patriots as much of a threat to sign players that they drafted. The Vikings saw that the Patriots drafted players that they liked and drafted them with the confidence that they could sign them. It turns out that they were right as the Vikings were able to sign all three players. Each made an impact with the new team. Tommy Mason had a fine career in Minnesota with some Pro Bowl appearances. Rip Hawkins was a prominent member of a defense that would become dominant by the end of the decade. Fran Tarkenton is in the Hall of Fame so he was pretty good.

This little draft nugget is fascinating. There's too many variables for it to be just a coincidence. There's a reason for it. The ability to sign the players may have played a role but there's something more. There's something sinister here.

NFL's Top 100

NFL Network is continuing their annual countdown of the Top 100 Players in the league. The 2014 version kicked off at the conclusion of the recent draft. Each week they reveal a block of ten players until they reach #1. This evening is the release of players #51-60. It's really quite exciting.

Any list like this is going to generate debate. That's why NFL Network airs the Top 100 in the gap between the draft and the start of training camps. Supposedly we have the time for it now. The network even has a "reaction show" immediately following the release of each block of ten players. That show is not quite as exciting as the show that precedes it. NFL Network's Top 100 is unique in that it is voted on by the players. Fans have these lists. The media has these lists. The players don't usually get together to vote on the best. If they do, I've never heard about it. For the past few years, the players have been brought together to vote on the best of their exclusive group. It's pretty interesting to see how they see things. Actually, the best parts of these shows are the clips of players talking about each other. Miami Dolphins tight end Charles Clay made his debut on the list this year. I didn't know a lot about Clay other than the fact that he makes a lot of appearances on the weekly highlight shows during the season. It was great to hear Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly tell me his experiences with Clay. I can't get insight like that in some media-generated article. That players are saying things that I want to hear.

While I can't really get too upset with any of the rankings. NFL players know best what it's like to play against other NFL players. Still, I was fairly stunned to see Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles pop up at #70. Especially when proven quarterbacks like Tony Romo and Matthew Stafford were ranked below Foles. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has limited experience as well. He was #81. Kaepernick has at least started one complete NFL season. He's taken his team to the Super Bowl once and was a completed pass away from doing it twice. Foles might have put up a bunch of fancy stats in a fistful of games but he should be a full time starter for a full season before he's included on any Top 100 list. I also don't understand how Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake remains so underrated. Coming in at #66 on the Top 100 list is a nice rating but he's one of the best five or six pass rushers in the league. Pass rushers that skilled are usually higher on any list of the best of the best.

This Top 100 stuff is fun stuff. #51-60 is tonight.

Lee's Woes

Dallas Cowboys middle linebacker Sean Lee tore the ACL in his left knee last Tuesday. It was during a "non-contact" scrimmage at the Cowboys OTAs. Replays showed that Lee was somewhat engaged with an offensive lineman when he went down. While there was some contact it didn't look like that contact was the cause of the injury. It was one of those fluky sorts of injuries that just happen in football. Lee has experienced far more than his share of injuries. Fluky or not.

Sean Lee was drafted by the Cowboys out of Penn St. in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He might have been selected in the first round if it weren't for a torn ACL in his right knee in 2008 and partial tear in his left knee in 2009. His knees had held up great until last Tuesday. It's been injuries to various other parts of his body that have hindered his first four years in the league. As a rookie, Lee played behind Keith Brooking and Bradie James in the Cowboys' 3-4 defense. It was obvious from the start that Lee was going to be a strong presence in the middle of the defense for a long time. If he could stay on the field. A hamstring kept him out of two games in 2010. He became a starter and the quarterback of the defense in 2011. He missed one game that season due to a dislocated wrist. He played with a cast on the injured wrist for much of the season. He still excelled and paced the team in tackles. In 2012, toe surgery forced Lee to miss ten games. Last year, a sprained neck forced him to miss five games. Lee has missed 15 of the last 32 games. He's been a difference-making defensive football player in the other 17 games.

It is getting quite depressing to see Sean Lee on the sideline so much. When he's on the field, he's one of the best defensive players in the game. Carolina's Luke Kuechly is considered by many to be the best middle linebacker in the game today. When Lee is on the field, he's better. He just needs to stay on the field. He needs to get over this dreadful run of injuries. About twenty years ago the Minnesota Vikings drafted Ohio St. running back Robert Smith in the first round. He was expected to make an explosive impact immediately. For four years he couldn't stay on the field. As with Lee, it was a variety of things that chased Smith to the sideline. He even missed a game due to chicken pox. Finally, in 1997, Smith's run of injuries seemed to fade. They didn't fade away completely as he still missed two games in 1997, another two in 1998, and three in 1999 but he was on the field enough to finally make an impact. He was on the field enough to show that game-breaking speed. He gained 1,000 yards each season for the remainder of his career. That career ended early when Smith suddenly called it quits after the 2000 season. He was on the field enough that final season to gain 1521 yards. Robert Smith and Sean Lee were each hit by an incredible run of injuries during their first four years in the league. For Smith, those injuries mostly went away when he hit his fifth season. Unfortunately, Lee will likely miss his entire fifth season. Hopefully, his latest knee injury will be end of his terrible run of injuries. The NFL is a better league when a talent like Sean Lee is on the football field.

It's About Time

The Minnesota Vikings are in the best coaching hands since Bud Grant was last on the sidelines. Mike Zimmer was hired on January 15. I've been smiling ever since. I first became aware of Zimmer in the early 2000s. He was the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys at the time. With the regularity at which NFL head coaches are fired I figured that Zimmer would get one of those head coaching gigs in a couple of years. It's crazy to think that it took more than a decade for it to finally happen.

Vince Lombardi once wondered if he'd ever get his shot as the head coach of a team. He had been an NFL assistant coach for five years before the Green Bay Packers hired him to turn their franchise around. He had coached for about fifteen years before he made it to the NFL. He had a twenty year coaching wait before the Packers changed his life. That's a long wait. Longer than most. It's pretty short compared to Mike Zimmer's wait.

Mike Zimmer's first football coaching job was as a defensive assistant at the University of Missouri in 1979. Thirty-five years later he finally got his head coaching shot. It's stunning that a football coach as clearly talented as Zimmer had to wait longer than ten years for that shot. Eric Mangini was hired and fired twice in a five year period during which Zimmer was passed over or not considered at all. Maybe the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns should have given Mike Zimmer a thought. I'm so glad that they didn't. Actually, I'm really glad and very thankful that many NFL teams were either blind or stupid over the last fifteen years. The Vikings hired three head coaches in the years that I thought that Zimmer should have been hired by some team. They blindly hired from within twice and conducted something that barely qualified as a coaching search once. I think that qualifies the Vikings as both blind and stupid. I'm glad that they got smart the fourth time that they needed a coach.

I'm can barely contain my excitement over having Mike Zimmer as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. I still have mixed emotions over the whole thing. Zimmer deserved his own team so long ago. He shouldn't have had to wait. He's interviewed for several jobs over the last few years. It's been said that he interviews poorly. I've heard him speak on several occasions. Maybe he's not the greatest public speaker but his passion for football and coaching football is obvious. I wanted to charge out of my easy-chair to play football for this man. He shouldn't have had to deal with so many rejections. So many disappointments. Too many coaching posers have been offered head coaching jobs and lost those same jobs before Zimmer got his due. It makes no sense but I'm so glad that I'm put in a position to puzzle over this injustice. I was reminded again of Zimmer's long wait this past weekend. On Saturday, he was speaking at the NFL's career-development symposium. He spoke of his head coaching wait. He spoke of the rejections. His most recent rejection was this past January. He was headed to his second interview with the Vikings when he heard that he was passed over again. It was likely the Tennessee Titans that hired someone else this time. He was almost ready to accept his fate as a career assistant. "I almost didn't go, yeah, I was so disappointed." Zimmer was close to not going to that second interview with Minnesota. That thought sent a chill through me. "It was like, 'Why even do this?' It was to that point. I figured I was getting too old. I thought, 'Forget this.'" Fortunately, others, friends and/or family, talked him into continuing his head coaching pursuit. I have mixed emotions because here is a football coach that is so deserving of a head coaching job yet never gets one. I am so glad that he was told "no" because all of those rejections led him to the Vikings job. He shouldn't have had to wait but I am so glad that he had to wait. I hope that Mike Zimmer can approach the success that Vince Lombardi had after his long, but shorter, wait.

Is It Really Just A Name?

Washington Redskins.

The NFL says that the name is not a slur. The team obviously sees nothing wrong with it as they have had the name since 1933. They are both wrong. Since I discovered team sports as a child, I've always found the mascot of a team to be source of honor. It was always a strong and proud figure. Even a banana slug has it's merits. A Viking. A Patriot. A Giant. A Bear. History never really found Vikings to be a particularly nice group of people but they were certainly a fearsome one. Pirates too. Still, I always figured that if you were a descendant of a Viking or a Bear, you could be proud to have a school or professional team use your name to symbolize their strength. I felt the same way about the use of Native American tribes to represent the same strength and pride. The Utes. The Illini. The Seminoles. The Braves. Even as a small, naive child I felt that something was a bit off with the name "Redskins." I never felt that it could ignite some pride among the many Native Americans spread around the country. There was something sinister about the name. Something wrong. It sounded very much like a slur. I felt this and I was about 9 years old. A little later, I learned some of the history of the Washington Redskins and their racist owner George Preston Marshall. The "unofficial" ban on colored football players in the NFL got it's start at about the time that Marshall stepped into league circles. Coincidence? He did a lot of great things for the game but acceptance certainly wasn't one of them. His was the last team to integrate and that was only done so because of a strong "suggestion" from the JFK Administration. I think that's all you really need to know about the Redskins original owner and the source of the team's name.

Roger "the Goods" Goodell has always maintained that everyone involved with the NFL must represent "the Shield" well. It's all about "the Shield." The debate over the Redskins name doesn't shine a bright light on "the Shield." On all other matters, "the Goods" seems so concerned over the slightest blemish on the league's sterling image. The Redskins name isn't a slight blemish. It's a great big scar. If something offends a few people, it should be questioned. If something offends large segments of a diverse population, it should be changed. The Redskins name is very offensive to many Native Americans. It's origin is from the mind of a known racist. That should be a huge concern to "the Goods." The Redskins were initially called the Braves. Go back to that. There's tradition there. There's history. The Braves. That's a strong, proud name.