Throwback Thursday: NFL Kickoff Game

The 2013 NFL season begins tonight in a real nice game between the defending champion Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos. The annual Kickoff game is supposed to be hosted by the defending Super Bowl champion. Denver got it instead because baseball's Baltimore Orioles wouldn't play ball. I never understood why this was a factor as the Ravens and Orioles play in different stadiums. I say bring in 75,000 Baltimore football fans and leave the crumbs for the Orioles. A baseball team in a playoff chase might still lose many of their fans to TV sets tuned to a football game from Denver. I guess that the NFL doesn't play that game. They just move their game to a different city. They only move the date of the game for Obama acceptance speeches. The National Football League Kickoff Game was introduced in 2002. In the years since it has become a spectacle and a tradition. There are concerts and other ceremonies. They even find time for a football game.

That first Thursday night to kickoff the 2002 season was conceived as an effort to boost economic recovery in the New York and Washington areas following 9/11. The New York Giants hosted the San Francisco 49ers. ESPN televised that first game. It was considered an economic success for football as well as those that actually needed it. The NFL, never blind to potential dollar signs and the expansion of the shield, saw opportunity. The rights to televise the game and the pregame concert were transferred immediately after the season to ABC as part of their Monday Night Football package. The 2004 Kickoff Game started the tradition of the defending Super Bowl champion hosting the game. That matchup has proved fruitful for the champs as only the New York Giants have lost to start the new season. That was last year when the Dallas Cowboys prevailed in the Giants home. The new television contracts in 2006 gave the Kickoff Game to NBC. That network has had the game ever since. National politics impacted the start of the 2008 and 2012 seasons. In 2008 the time of the game was moved so that we could listen to John McCain during the Republican National Convention. In 2008, the game was actually moved to Wednesday so as not to interfere with Barack Obama and the Democratic National Convention.  The sitting President carries more weight than the Republican nominee. That brings us to 2013 and baseball fouling up the start of the NFL season. I can understand why baseball ruffles it's feathers when the big, bad NFL comes around. It's been a while since a World Series game generated more interest than a routine regular season football game. Tonight, the city of Baltimore and the Orioles will be in the shadow of a Ravens game in Denver.

I've been slow to warm to these Thursday night Kickoff games. I've never seen the need for NFL games on Thursday outside of those on Thanksgiving. Football and Thanksgiving has always been a beautiful union. I've never really seen much need for NFL games outside of Sunday. I'm a traditionalist that way. I also don't think that the Sunday to Thursday turnaround is good for the players. They're barely moving around from the collisions of Sunday when they have to be ready to collide again. It isn't right but those that run the game and don't actually play the game have always seen more as better. I see Sunday football as just right. No matter the day, I am ready for some football.

Flea Flicker's Ridiculous Predictions

Here's my attempt at predicting the divisions and their winners:
(this should not be used for gambling purposes!!!)

NFC
North
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions

East
New York Giants
Washington Redskins
Dallas Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles

South
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

West
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
Arizona Cardinals

AFC
North
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns

East
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
New York Jets

South
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars

West
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers
Oakland Raiders

I love the symmetry of eight divisions, four teams each. It looks so clean.

I have to say, the NFC, as a whole, is so much stronger than the AFC. All four of the teams that I have as finishing in fourth place in the NFC divisions could win those divisions. It's unlikely but I wouldn't be completely surprised. There's about six teams in the AFC that I give about a 0% shot at making the playoffs. The four teams that end up as NFC division champs will have gone through some serious battles to earn that distinction. Of course, none of the predictions mean a thing right now. In 17 weeks they will be forgotten.

New Golden Bears

Having Aaron Rodgers for a couple of seasons allowed fans of the California Golden Bears to see how the quarterback position should be played. It was a such a short time. It was enough for many of us to realize how bad the years since have been. Nate Longshore showed some promise but it was fleeting. Quarterback has been mostly a disaster in Berkeley for nearly a decade. Former head coach Jeff Tedford might have increased expectations for Cal football in most of his eleven seasons as head coach but a change had to be made. When up-tempo, pass-happy Sonny Dykes was hired as head coach after last season he brought some hope to a stagnant offense. That offense was on display this past Saturday night. It was most definitely a change from the past.

Cal was a couple of tipped passes away from upsetting #22 Northwestern. Instead, Cal lost by a score of 44-30. There was still a lot to like. For one, true freshman quarterback Jared Goff looks like he's ready for college football. He completed 38 of 63 passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns. 63 passes! 445 yards! My goodness, the ball is certainly in the air a lot in this new offense. That was expected but Cal still found the time to run the ball 35 times. The commitment to run the ball is one aspect of Dykes' offense that I've liked. The most stunning thing with this new "Bear Raid" offense in it's debut was the 99 total plays. That's an insane total. Tedford's offense was sometimes considered an explosive offense. I doubt that his offense exceeded 70 plays too often. Cal gained 548 total yards against Northwestern with a true freshman quarterback leading the way. That's a promising start. It would have been more promising if two of Goff's weren't tipped, caught by the wrong team and returned for touchdowns. Goff had three interceptions on the night. The last, which wasn't returned for a touchdown, sealed the win for Northwestern.

This sort of offense certainly puts a lot of stress on the opposing defense. No huddle, fast-paced, explosive. It also puts a lot of stress on Cal's defense. That was seen in them giving up 508 yards. Losing top pass rusher Chris McCain on a horrible penalty and ejection in the third quarter didn't help that defense. Still, 508 yards is a lot of yards to give. Cal has some talented defensive players. They made some nice plays but they also clearly gave up a lot. One of things that I've disliked most about these up-tempo offenses is what seems to be a lack of concern for anything resembling a decent defense. I don't want to see Cal fall into this.

An interesting development during the Cal-Northwestern game was the possibility of Wildcat defensive players faking injuries in an effort to slow down the Bears offense. The Cal fans started giving the supposed cheaters the business. I found it funny because Cal defensive players were guilty of this same tactic against the Oregon Ducks a few years ago. It was difficult for me to get upset with Northwestern when my team was once known to do the same thing. A little payback, I guess.

Despite the loss, this was a promising start to the Cal careers of Sonny Dykes and Jared Goff. Cal has some real nice receivers in Bryce Treggs, Chris Harper, Richard Rodgers, Darius Powe, Kenny Lawler, and Jackson Bouza. Dangerous runners in Brendan Bigelow, Daniel Lasco, and Khalfani Muhammad. The offense looks to be in a great place. I like many of the defensive players but they can't give up 500 yards on a regular basis. They play Ohio St. and Oregon in two of their next three games. Offenses like that will tear them apart if they don't tighten that defense. After too many years of watching a mostly floundering offense, it was fun to see Cal get an opponent, especially a talented opponent, on their heels.

Your 2013 Minnesota Vikings

An NFL roster is an evolving thing. It's never really set. Still, the Minnesota Vikings 2013 is down to the 53 players mandated by the NFL. Here is that roster:

QB
Christian Ponder
Matt Cassel
McLeod Bethel-Thompson

RB
Adrian Peterson
Toby Gerhart
Matt Asiata
Zach Line

WR
Greg Jennings
Jerome Simpson
Jarius Wright
Cordarrelle Patterson
Joe Webb

TE
Kyle Rudolph
John Carlson
Rhett Ellison

OL
Matt Kalil
Charlie Johnson
John Sullivan
Brandon Fusco
Phil Loadholt
Joe Berger
J'Marcus Wright
Jeff Baca

DL
Jared Allen
Kevin Williams
Letroy Guion
Brian Robison
Sharrif Floyd
Everson Griffen
Fred Evans
George Johnson
Chase Baker

LB
Chad Greenway
Erin Henderson
Desmond Bishop
Mike Mauti
Gerald Hodges
Audie Cole
Marvin Mitchell
Larry Dean

CB
Chris Cook
Xavier Rhodes
Josh Robinson
A.J. Jefferson
Marcu Sherels

S
Harrison Smith
Jamarca Sanford
Mistral Raymond
Andrew Sendejo
Robert Blanton

LS
Cullen Loeffler

K
Blair Walsh

P
Jeff Locke

There you go. Fullback Jerome Felton and tackle DeMarcus Love are suspended to start the season. In a few weeks roster decisions will have to be made involving them. Felton should move smoothly into his role of paving the way for Adrian Peterson. As a result, undrafted rookie Zach Line could lose a spot.

The Vikings have completed their eight-man practice squad.

RB Joe Banyard
WR Rodney Smith
WR Adam Thielen
TE Chase Ford
G  Travis Bond
T   Kevin Murphy
DT Everett Dawkins
DE Tristan Okpalaogo

With Dawkins and Bond on the practice, all nine of the Vikings 2013 draft choices have made the team in some fashion.

Unbreakable Records

"Records are meant to be broken." -someone said it

I really don't think that there are unbreakable records. There's always someone out there that can do one better. Sure, there are football records that can't be beat. 99-yard runs, 99-yard passes, 98-yard punts, those can only be matched. I saw Tony Dorsett score from the 1-yard line on the Minnesota Vikings side of the field. It was a depressing handful of seconds. On the other end of emotions was watching Bernard Berrian take in a Gus Frerotte pass and completing a scoring play that covered 99 yards. Good times. I'm hoping that Vikings rookie punter Jeff Locke can one day equal Steve O'Neal. Hit a nice little 98-yard punt.

There was a time when John Unitas' record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass was considered one of the most unbreakable records. Drew Brees sailed by it last year. It was actually an accomplishment that I thought was under appreciated. Passing a record held by Unitas isn't trivial stuff. Today's passing game has made pretty much made all passing records a revolving door. 5,000 yards in a season is common now. Is 50 touchdown passes in a season going to be routine? Sorry, Tom. Since 1979, I've felt that Minnesota Vikings safety Paul Krause's 81 career interceptions was the most unbreakable NFL record. With today's passing game, balls are in the air a lot. There are so many more chances for interceptions. I just don't think that one guy is going to get all of them. Krause's 81 will last. It's hard to imagine longevity records passing the 26 years of George Blanda. Morten Andersen has 25. Gary Anderson and John Carney have 23. Come on! Do kickers really count? Football players like Jackie Slater and Darrell Green  played 20 seasons with one team. Jim Marshall played 19 seasons with the Vikings. It's real hard to imagine anyone in today's game matching those records. It just doesn't happen anymore. Not since Favre retired.

Today's passing game has changed everything. Passing has become something closer to "what have you done lately?" It's also minimized the role of the running back. Emmitt Smith's career rushing record is way out there in the best of running times. It's way, way out there when the quarterback is throwing the ball nearly 50 times in a game. That dynamite back is begging for touches. If Adrian Peterson retires without Smith's record, will that record ever be touched.

"Records are meant to be broken."...

Certainly Not Out

One of the most interesting and inspiring stories of this offseason has come to an end. For now. The Atlanta Falcons released linebacker Brian Branks. This ended the comeback attempt for a player that was 10 years removed from organized football after being wrongfully accused of rape as a high school student. This comeback was always considered a longshot but it was impossible not to hope that the football career of this young man might come full circle and be where it might have been. His football future and much of his youth was yanked away from him because of a baseless accusation. Despite all of that, his approach to life is without any bitterness. He wasn't worried about being released from the Falcons because he knew that he had done all that he could to reignite his once promising football future.

Despite being released, Brian Banks made an impact on the Atlanta Falcons. Jay Glazer reported that Banks gave a speech Thursday night to the team that had some vets on the verge of tears, about appreciating every second on that field. Falcons owner Arthur Blank was so impressed by Banks during his time with the team that he's trying to find a career opportunity for him in the Atlanta area. Banks is winning admirers everywhere he goes. The way that he's handled everything thrown at him is simply amazing. So many have come away from a similar path broken and bitter. He's made himself better. Football might not be in his present. Could be in his future. It doesn't really matter. He had to try.

Through his time with the Falcons, did Brian Banks think of the 28-year old linebacker that he could have been if everything had been as it should? Fast forward through a life that wasn't taken away and find the linebacker that might have been? Many of us would think about that. I certainly would. Brian Banks sure seems fine with the man that he is. He just wanted the chance to play football. The freedom to play football. He's just happy to be free.

Settled

The NFL has settled lawsuits brought by 4,500 former players over brain injuries suffered on the field. Former U.S. District Judge Layn Phillips, the court-appointed mediator, announced that the NFL and NFL Properties will contribute $765 million to provide medical benefits and injury compensation for retired NFL players, fund medical and safety research, and cover litigation expenses. The settlement still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Anita Brody.

$765 million! Sounds like a ton but this is an amount that the NFL can handle. That's a total payment of $23.9 million per team over twenty years. For the first three years, each team will pay just under $4 million each year. After that, the cost will drop to about $700,000 per year for the remaining 17 years. Some thought that this lawsuit could bankrupt the league. That would never happen. Like nature, the NFL will always find a way. The league certainly would have preferred to have paid nothing but if this had gotten to a jury the amount would have been so much larger. A jury would have seen the hobbled former players on one side and "fat cat" owners on the other and torn the league apart. The way that I look at this settlement is that this is the money that the league should have been paying into some kind of disability fund for decades. The care for former players has been pathetic. Owners and recent players are rich because of  mostly crippled former players. Much of the disrespect for the medical concerns of former players came from a former player, Gene Upshaw. It was sad to see Upshaw turn his back on his peers as the Executive Director of NFL Players Association. These were his teammates and peers that he ignored. He saw himself working solely for the current players. The NFL owners weren't going to help the players that got them all that cash if they didn't have to. Upshaw certainly didn't care if they did.

The problem that I've had with this lawsuit is that every player that has ever played football has known about the dangers of the game. It's never been a secret that head trauma is a possibility when large men collide. That's why football helmets have been available for over 100 years. That's why the helmets have gotten more sturdy over the years. That's why mothers dread the day that their son might want to play football. Only a bit of common sense is necessary to understand the possibility that head trauma could have a lasting impact. People accept that injuries to joints, bones, and muscles can build up over years. It's no great leap to accept that the same could happen with the brain. Did the NFL know more about head trauma than they let on? Who knows? Medical researchers are just now discovering the effects of repeated head trauma. I doubt that the league was ahead of the curve. Some of the owners are geniuses in business but I question whether they know their way around a CAT scan or even the difference between a CAT and a CTE. I just don't think that it matters what the league may or may not have known. The players knew that they were playing a violent, dangerous game. They knew, or should have known, that they'd be paying for it when they were done. That's not to say that the owners shouldn't help those players that literally gave their body and mind when they need it most. For many of those players, it all works out in the end. The NFL should have been taking better care of these players all along. They have to now. The sad part of it all is that maybe former players like Junior Seau, Andre Waters, Dave Duerson, and Ray Easterling might have gotten the help that they desperately needed.