NFL16 Cherry Picks W1: “Winning Isn’t Everything” ..Seriously

You’ve gotta’ hand it to little Sherry Jackson. The girl knew her football.

In the 1950s, the precocious child actress starred with such film greats as John Garfield, Phyllis Thaxter, Patricia Neal, Donna Reed, Marie Windsor, Anne Baxter, Jean Hagen and Steve Cochran just to name a few, then moved to TV where she’d co-star on Make Room For Daddy, aka, The Danny Thomas Show (1953-64) (Dan a co-founder of the Dolphins (‘65)) and later blossomed into one of the most recognizable, beautiful TV starlets of the 1960s & 70s.

In one of her early, more notable films, Trouble Along the Way (‘53), Sherry (“Carole”) teamed with former USC man John Wayne as “Steve Williams,” a divorced, single-parent football coach whose rule-bending ways have him building back at a struggling Catholic college (Notre Dame‘s poor relative) run by the lovable Charles Coburn (“Father Burke”). In it she speaks one of the most famous lines in sport history, often mis-credited to the incomparable Vince Lombardi of Packers fame: “Like Steve (Dad) says, winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” “You know it, kid (J.Van Fleet).”

Don’t misunderstand the title. Winning’s great, especially when you haven’t had much. Vince seemed to win just by walking his persona onto the field, and barking a bit (“Where’s the tacking out there! Just alot a’ grab grab!’”).

But when losing becomes routine you can go one of two ways, either wail like a banshee about it or try to find the good where you can.

With that in mind I present the ‘goods.’ Four (4) up-sides to keep in mind for you and the team if those Ls happen to start overtaking the Ws this NFL16 season. Not everyone can live up-stream (NE, GB, PIT, DEN..). I didn’t make the rules.

1) Good health: When you’ve got it, you’ve got ‘everything,’ it’s been said. A bit of hyperbole to be sure, but when you don’t have it, getting it back will become “the only thing.” Once you’ve settled-in to losing (W6?), the BP will settle down. Oh yeah, exercise 4-5 times a week (walk, don’t run) and get off the sugar, ASAP.

2) PRV (Pressure Release Valve): Is your team in the toilet? Relax, now the pressure’s off. Like the political party that loses the White House bid. Being the out-of-power / minority sect can have its advantages as critic and deal-buster. Think Bill & Tom don’t get frazzled with all that pressure to maintain the Patriot Way? You bet they do (See; Lombardi to DC (‘69)).

And those wise-cracks about your team’s futility that’ve grown as tired as another Law & Order episode, unless your nemesis, Sir (Madam) Wisenheimer, boasts a team who hoists in February, you’ve plenty of time now to stock your verbal ammunition for when their ‘contender’ moves next door into Bust City.

3) More face-time: The more your men stumble on the turf, the more time you have on social-media to get the latest on your greatest celebs like Kaep Krusader, Johnny Matriculator (A&M) and Timmy Baseball-Until-the-Next-Schtick.

4) Feel the Draft: The more games your guys happen to lose, the more likely that prized college pick will come your team’s way in May. But no danger of tanking in the National (See; NBA), not for draft picks anyway (See; fantasy stats), just thinking glass half-full.

Cherry Picks Week 1

NFL 2016-17 presses the point again with that Thursday nite opener (Zzzzz) while Sunday offers the real deal with the fuller slate of football smorgasbord.

2015-16: 105 – 101 (.510 (DEN))
2014-15: 97 – 55 – 1 (.634 (NWE))

Minnesota Vikings @ Tennessee Titans: 9.11 Fox 1:00: Vikes win
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons: 1:00 Fox: Falcons win
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets (GTW): 1:00 CBS: Cincy wins
San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs: 1:00 CBS: Bolts win
Miami Dolphins @ Seattle Seahawks: 4:05 CBS: Dolphins win
New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys: 4:25 Fox: New York wins
New England Patriots @ Arizona Cardinals 8:30 NBC: Cards win
Pittsburgh Steelers @ DC Redskins: 9.12 Disney 7:10: Steelers win

Steven Keys
NFL HunchLine
Photo credit: DenverBroncosMascot, Thunder, J.Beall, wc.cca, 8.20.16; S.Jackson-D.Thomas, MakeRoom, 1953, wc, ABC; ; stethoscope-hand, wc, 8.11.8, Stethoscopes; MD-stethoscope, wc, Peru, A.Proimos, 3.25.12; NFL-Draft-Shop, wc, 4.28.16, Fless13; cherries, wc, Hispalois, 7.2.12, Spain: NFL-tag, wikiproject
Posted: 9.7.16 @ 12:41am; photo-reload 11.23 @ 10pm; Copyright © 2016

NFL15-W10 Minute Waltz: These Colors Run

Grim adjectives like “ugly” and “embarrassing (SI.com),” “stupid (Deadspin)” and “hideous (New York Post (11.13))” flowed like laundry flush on a Saturday AM, only this happened to be a Friday and the wash had nothing to do with it.

Fans and sport scribes around the nation were not all too pleased with NFL outfitter Nike’s new “Color Rush” line of player uniforms that took center stage on the League’s Thursday Night showcase where the visiting Buffalo Bills clad in all-red uniforms, bested their befuddled hosts, the all-green Jets, 22-17 to kickoff Week 10’s slate of games.

A more fitting name for the campaign: Color Run.

Unless you were keen to the coordinated fashion statement being made by the Oregon-based company and NFL/PA, you might think the team’s respective laundry folk had forgot to separate colors from whites, maybe ran hot when they shoulda’ run cold. That’s where Tide® Plus Colorguard® (All-Tempa-Cheer® (70s)?) comes in handy.

But no such luck. This eye-sore was planned and will go on, and on, and on.

Not as painful as the pink-wear campaign (talk about “hideous”), but then that, ostensibly (8%), has a higher purpose, so the powers keep telling us. Ugh.

Nike’s tenure as NFL uniform & logo leader (‘12) keeps falling short of success.

Instituting change just for the sake of it (See; Future Shock (’70)), aiming at the LCD (kid-think) like most corporations today and indifferent to common sense that most NFL fans, men and women alike, cherish their touchstones (logos & design) and crave a degree of continuity in their hum-drum lives, Nike’s contract with USA’s favorite fun (NFL) coincided with anti-Redskins campaign while their new notions have proven a blight on the bounty that is the NFL produce.

Negotiations for the NFL’s next uniform-contract (’16) should be competitive.

False Negative or Tortious Tally

Two takes from Buffalo’s TNF win at Jetsland:

First, I like Rex Ryan. From a family of football men, he knows the game and has a joy for life that he readily displays. But it wouldn’t hurt him were he to act like he’s ‘been there before.’ Oh my gosh, he gets excited about a fortuitous win over the Jets like he just won the Lamar Hunt trophy. Rex, c’mon, it’s the Jets.

And in another clear example of why NFL’s method of INT allocation in stats is mistaken, the Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick bears the cost for another‘s miscue.

The 2d-quarter interception correctly credited to Bills’ Graham should not, ethically speaking, have been debited to Fitzpatrick. Receiver Marshall’s bobble of ball well thrown, maybe with help from Corey, was intervening event(s) breaking causal connection to Ryan (proximte cause).

Clear, simple, correct.

Bad Medicine

It shouldn’t matter to the Minnesota Vikings’ brain-trust nor quarterback Ted Bridgewater that their medical staff gave the all-clear for the 2d-year signal-caller to play in Sunday’s game at Oakland (29-17 MIN).

Any human being who’s been knocked unconscious (@ Rams W9) in concussion should be excused from re-entering the fray less than a week following, no matter the medical diagnosis and League protocol. Even an amateur like this writer can see that much. Brain is key organ, of course, is still not fully understood and certainly could use a second or even third week of rehabilitative rest.

Like little Sherry Jackson (“Carole”) told us (Trouble Along the Way (’53)), “Winning isn’t the only thing,” nor is it “everything.“ And when you’ve got a top back-up in vet Shaun Hill it should’ve been an easy call to sit Ted this one.

That the Vikes won the game and their decision to play Ted was standard behavior for other teams around the League makes the call no less disturbing. ‘Everybody does it’ has never been much of an argument.

Curious Quote

“I haven’t looked to see yet what it would take for us to win the division.” Positive post-game cmt by Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones after Dallas loss to Tampa, 10-6.” This is where you cue Jim Mora’s famous rant: “Playoffs!? Playoffs!?”

Good Spot (W10)

1) Been There, Done That: It was a rare sight: Patriots’ defensive end Rob Ninkovich (#50) apparently has no need to scream to the world that which the world has just seen: ‘I sacked the QB!’

Upon taking down Giants’ Eli Manning for a 4Q sack, Rob got up and walked straight back to his clan. No scream, no bust-outta-your-skin fist-pump or robot-stomp, no thanking the great creator for supposedly assisting his side in the game, just Rob doing his job and moving to the next play. A rare show of workaday humility.

2) Redskins 47-10 Saints: Kirk Cousins (QB), 20-25, 324, 4t: Redskins QB had family in attendance (Dad) and helped put up a big win that might just be signal Washington is turning that proverbial corner.

Bad Spot

Steelers 30-9 Browns: Arthur Moats (LB (#55)): Some face-mask grabs are unintentional and merely incidental to the tackle, while others are very brief in timing when the offender realizes he’s erred. But Artie worked a face-mask tackle of Browns’ quarterback Jon Manziel that nearly twisted the Cleveland QB’s head off his torso.

That’s not in the game, Mr. Moats.

***

Boogie Shoes: Adrian Peterson, MIN (v OAK): 26-203 (80), 1t, 2r;

Here, There & Everywhere: Kam Chancellor, SEA (v AZ): 7t – 12a;

Kicker’s Korner: Steve Gostkowski, NE (v NYG): 2-2 (54 GW) 3x-3.

Steven Keys
Macro Sport
Photo credit: Nike, 1.27.04, THOR, wc.cca, waffle-racer; R.Fitzpatrick, 8.23.14, wc, J.Beall; T.Bridgewater, 8.4.14, wc, M.Deery; R.Ninkovich, 12.18.11, wc, J.Beall; A.Moats, 8.20.11, wc, J.Beall; macroecono, lamcasinoroyal11, wc.cca.
Posted: 11.16.15 @ 4:34pm EST; Copyright © 2015