RANT OF WEEK
By Gary Greene
Ok folks it’s time to rant and we will start with one of my pet peeves – fair catching punts inside 5 yard line. Now for decades the “Golden Rule” was you stand at 10 and if ball goes over your head you simply let it go. In past 5 years or so that’s Golden Rule is no longer. Of course due to incompetent Coaching and just stupid players. If you are a Punt returner you know the deal and if you fair catch a ball at the 3, 4 or 5 yard line (Heck I have seen a few at 2) you clearly are too dumb to be playing that position.
Next for some reason teams (they are worse in NFL) teams simply hate just starting at 25 on Kickoffs. I continually watch over half the returns not make it to 25, and heck often they barely make the 15. Again bad coaching and worse off simply dumb returners who simply want to make a highlight reel play. It’s worse for the bad teams who do it as they simply make it much harder on a average or young QB to drive far enough to at least kick a FG.
Next we will now talk about how bad Kickers are. It’s always been a sad and pathetic thing to watch some kid that clearly has no biz out there shanking a FG 30 yards wide left or right. But now it’s again a major problem in NFL too. I can take watching a 50 yard FG missed as that isn’t a gimme. But you are an NFL kicker and you must make every kick inside 45. Points are like rare diamonds these days as for most part 25 teams are all in the same class for most part. Most will play close games and not putting those points up on scoreboard is disastrous.
Now my biggest pet peeve: COACHES GOING FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWN AT WRONG TIMES OVER AND OVER
OK so Mr. Genius Head Coach….you had first and Goal at the one yard line. You called three awful plays and actually lost 4 yards in process. Now it’s 4th and 4 and yet you go for it thinking this is “SMART”? It’s not a wake up call you can’t call good plays and you just take the FG and move on (even more so when it’s early in the game still). Cleveland going for it on 4th down at their own 30 in a close game in first half is simply “insanity level”. I am saying this and I had the OVER in the Cleveland/LAC game. It’s great for me either way. I am not a damn owner of the team and that is just stabbing yourself in the belly. Of course he got stopped, they lose by 2. You can’t even make this up anymore as that is one instance now of 100’s the past 3-4 seasons as everyone boasts “The Analytics said…”. F’n STOPPPPP saying this.
The next just pure INSANITY is going for 2 points on extra points early in games chasing a number. They do it in CFB and the NFL at same moronic rate. When you are down 12 you ALWAYS kick the extra point as now you are only a TD (of course with 2 pt make) and FG. If you make it big deal, now it’s only 10. If you miss (and you miss well over half time) you now need 2 TD’s. Now the TD you get late and only 45 seconds on clock means that FG you could’ve been maybe tying game is no longer a viable option. SMH off it’s so pathetic and so Moronic.
Ok one more…HC throwing Red Flag for Challenges when it’s clear to Stevie Wonder the call was right and not going to get reversed. Yet every weekend 10 Head Coaches do this. Maybe 10 is too generous a number. Washington No Name team (Worst HC in NFL) Ron Rivera challenges late and loses. He loses critical time out and in end of game can’t call a running play at 1 yard line due to having none left. That and 3 bad OC Turner (again worst OC in game) calls and you lose the game you had in your pocket and a game teams would win 95% of time if they had that one Time Out still left in their pocket.
Last we will go with CLOCK MANAGEMENT DEBACLES:
This may be the worst problem ever and it’s worse in NFL where you have 20 coaches helping and when my own Mom or average Joe fans watching games are screaming out “TIME OUT” late in games you know it’s really, really, really, realllllllyyyyyyy BADDDDD! Every team should have one calm demeanor guy who can watch with a clear head and be able to know all the correct times to instantly call Time Outs. Over and over we watch 10-15 seconds go off first, then the Time Out is finally called, but blowing 15 seconds of Pure Gold in process. It’s clear so many HC’s and even staffs are not qualified for the Job. It’s one thing to call bad X’s and O’s but to not be able to manage the clock and Time Outs right is simply INCOMPREHENSIBLE!
We will finish with Announcers now who all want to be Tony Romo. Their need to take every play like it was a key late play in the Super Bowl is simply now impossible to listen. I have 7 TV’s and at times all 7 have voice off. These guys can’t shut up for one second. It’s OK to be silent for 10 seconds at a time in between plays. But these guys can’t do it. Always the need to tell us a story of some kind thinking we must be entertained by their knowledge (knowledge many don’t even really have). Yet when it is right time to talk about a play being looked at they have no clue what to say or explain then. Half of the time they don’t even see the penalty flags clear as can be on everyone’s TV screen. The talent pool is worst I’ve ever seen. And it’s gotten awful even in Baseball where Announcers now feel the need to dissect every single pitch of the game. EVERY F’n PITCH! Just shut the hell up and talk just enough. I have enough headaches watching Umpires who stink like raccoons.
My last Rant is a personal one as I am a longtime Phillies fan and I was so pissed off that MLB gave the Road Teams in the Wild Card Round no Playoff Home games. You should’ve just stayed with the one game. Having your favorite team finally make the Playoffs and seeing your 35 year investment in Season Tickets pay off with at least one for sure Playoff Home game was something that HAS TO HAPPEN. It’s funny MLB has no problem with teams never having a day off for weeks at times, but now when games are so Important, just rob one team from a Home Playoff game all their loyal fans deserve.
Hope you either read this and said to yourself “Hey I am not crazy” and this helps you feel a little relief. Maybe it made you laugh. If I did neither I would end saying this (it’s my favorite line ever said by an Announcer) – “Just a bit outside”! Bob Uecker
Have a great week and soon I will start posting Rants on a daily basis. They are all in my head but it actually takes a little time to log into my backend and actually post them so often I am so busy watching and doing notes on 7 games at once I simply don’t have time to do them as I want to in my head.
Hope all your wagers this week are “WINNING” ones!
GARY GREENE
PS- I am coming hard in next article for all these teams who claim “OUR FANS OUR THE BEST” when they win. It’s BIGGEST LIE ever told on this planet. And I can tell you my favorite teams do it too…and it’s APPALLING.