We're gonna get away from the college ball today and talk about a league where I'm not, for once, emotionally invested in any one team's success on the field. With a surprising number of teams not only alive but legitimately in the thick of the playoff hunt exiting week 15, it's time for some NFL dialogue.
In my best once-heralded, now-scolded Hank Williams Jr. voice: ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALLLLLLLL. (warning: terrible puns may follow. Consider yourself warned.)
Seahawks 23, Giants 0
Also Known as... Episode IV, A New Narrative
Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. This is your new juggernaut. A strong running game. A young and dynamic quarterback. A smothering defense which truly has playmakers at every level of the defense. A coach who is charismatic and brilliant, even if he doesn't pay too much attention to the small details. They can play in any weather in the playoffs, because playing in Seattle forces them to endure it throughout the entire regular season. And once the games that matter roll around, they only have to play one game outside of the pacific northwest. That'll be the Super Bowl, which they will win by a convincing margin. These are your new Patriots, people. Like them or hate them, you better accept it as reality.
That's all tied up rather neatly. But why? How are they so good? How are they so complete?
The Seattle Seahawks are a great example of how the unsexy business of front office sports management is so critical so success on the field. You've got to draft well, and you've got to be able to pull in one or two star free agents to finalize what you couldn't in April. Seattle doesn't have a stellar track record in front office management like, say, Baltimore (more on them later), so perhaps it's equal parts luck and actual talent evaluation here. Maybe it's all luck. Who knows. Regardless of why decisions were made, the Seattle front office brought in all the right parts, and their financial dominance on the spreadsheet has bulldozed a mile-wide path for them to run through on the turf. Examples:
Russell Wilson, QB
2013 Salary: $526, 217
Golden Tate, WR
2013 Salary: $630,000
Richard Sherman, DB
2013 Salary: $555,000
Brandon Browner, DB
2013 Salary: $555,000
Here's your youth movement core right here. Seattle can't afford to keep all these guys on the take forever, but while they've got them, it's four really nice pieces for well under $3 million dollars. And when you're talking about a salary cap that's a whopping $123,000,000 in 2013, you've barely scratched the surface of your spending limits.
Wilson is the one that everyone talks about. And I love Wilson's game. Loved him in college at NC State (except for an unfortunate bowl game where he took out a team I love much more... you can probably guess who that is). He's just as mobile as Kaepernick and RG3, but the difference is, he wants to throw the ball first. He knows he's a quarterback and not a runningback -- something you can't say for the other two on occasion. That's why you don't see any regression with him this season. He plays within himself.
Tate is the piece that I think gets dropped when his contract is up after this season. Seattle has other parts, and while Tate has been good for them in the Wilson era, he's not irreplacable, and probably not worth the money his agent asks for. He'd be a great number two piece somewhere else, like Kansas City or New England. Probably too much of an attitude for Belichick though.
Sherman is just phenomenal. I don't know that there's much more I can say other than getting him for that price is just larceny. By comparison, Darrelle Revis in 2013 makes $13 million, plus a $1.5 million roster bonus. And then there's Browner, who gets overlooked in Sherman's shadow but is a great playmaker himself.
Earl Thomas, DB
2013 Salary: $2.05 million
Russell Okung, OT
2013 Salary: $7.06 million
Part of the young core. Thomas is only 24 years old, and a blue-chipper from Texas who Pete Carroll said is "hitting his prime." Two-time Pro-Bowler. First team All-Pro in 2012 at free safety. Yeah, I'm not sweating his two mil. As for Okung, $7 million certainly isn't in line with some of these other rookie contracts, but for a potential franchise tackle, it's definitely worth it.
With those five on the hook for less than five million, Seattle is free to go out and grab some big names in free agency. Like...
Marshawn Lynch, RB
2013 Salary: $7 million
Percy Harvin, WR
2014 Salary: $11 million
Your two primary weapons going forward. I've listed Harvin's 2014 salary because his current salary was adjusted down in the contract because of the ACL injury he was rehabilitating from when he was signed. Through 14 games, BeastMode has 1,089 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, which is why I told all of you that asked me for draft help in August to take him as your RB1. In a season of first-round disappointments, he's been one of the best. As for Percy, we're going to hear so many "Wilson-to-Harvin" references in the future, we'll start instinctively tasting coffee whenever it rains outside.
The Seachickens have it made, kids. They can't keep everything long-term, but for the next two or three years, it's Legion of Boom or bust.
Ravens 18, Lions 16
Also known as... Episode V, The Narrative Strikes Back
Final score from Motown: Justin Tucker 18, Detroit Lions 16.
— Chase Kiddy (@ckiddysports) December 17, 2013
Maybe it's because I clearly don't fit neatly into the mould of a "traditional sports writer," but I really don't enjoy these BS narratives. And the narrative today is that Detroit is a lousy, lazy, undisciplined team that can't win close games or do the little things right. Meanwhile, Baltimore is an A+ organization from the owner on down that is catching fire at the right time and is the team no one in the AFC wants to play. Congratulations, you're now caught up on Sports Center through the end of the week. Go fly a kite with your girlfriend or something. You're welcome.
I don't deny that some of that is true, but it's silly to pretend it's that cut and dry. The Baltimore run game is average, at best; I'm not sure what's up with Ray Rice this season, but he's got 605 yards rushing through 14 games. His yards per carry average is pedestrian, too: 3.1 per tote. For perspective, Rice averaged 4.0 yards per carry in his next worst season (2010). He averages 4.3 for his career. Oh, and his rushing totals by season? Discounting his rookie year, he's finished with 1,100+ in four straight seasons. He's on pace to fall short of 700 in 2013, and you definitely can't blame that on his offensive line, which is playing like a top 5 unit in the league right now.
But it's not just Ray Rice that's been average. Just like his Alma Mater, Joe Flacco is meh. His receivers are meh. And his O-line is better suited for run blocking than pass protection. The only reason this Ravens team is now upgraded to "not-to-be-trifled-with" status is because the teams doing the trifling are the "Can they do anything right without Gronkowski?" Patriots, the "Uhh, are we sure this is an all-time great team?" Broncos, the "Our resume is a blank piece of paper" Bengals, the "We get blown out by any above-average team without Reggie Wayne" Colts, and the "In case you forgot, Alex Smith is still our quarterback" Chiefs.
That doesn't mean Baltimore is hapless. They have the most reliable kicking game in the NFL, and the defense has really gelled on the back end of the season. Torrey Smith is a good, not great No. 1 wide receiver, and Flacco shows flashes of brilliance every once in a while. But let's be honest about what happened last night in Detroit:
A well-run, well-coached organization with an established history of success scored no touchdowns but played great defense on the road. They eked out a gotta-have-it win on the foot of a 61-yard field goal kick. And if by chance that kick was eight inches to the right, almost nobody cares about the 7-7 Baltimore Ravens today.
Packers 37, Cowboys 36 (?)
Also known as... Episode VI, Return of the Narrative
I hate to pile on, but: it occurs to me that, if handed the Cowboys playcard, I could have beat the Packers in the 4th quarter yesterday.
— Chase Kiddy (@ckiddysports) December 16, 2013
If I hear one more frat boy wearing a backwards Redskins cap talk about how "totally not clutch" Tony Romo is, I'm going to pull a Van Wilder. I'll round up everyone I can find wearing a sea green Vineyard Vines button-down and feed them happy dog juice disguised inside dessert treats.
The Romo hate has gotten so out of hand, I don't even know how to address it anymore. Yes, Tony Romo threw a pick at the end of a game that sealed a loss. Yes, he threw two picks in the fourth quarter. And yes, the Cowboys blew a huge lead at to a Packers team that was led by Matt Flynn, who, let me remind you, was signed by Seattle, got beat out for the quarterback spot by "I haven't played one snap in the NFL yet" Russell Wilson, traded to and then subsequently cut by Oakland, and then cut again by a Bills team that preferred their third-string undrafted rookie quarterback from Washington State. Only a run-on sentence can truly unearth the depths of Matt Flynn's awfulness. But you know what's even worse than Flynn? The Dallas Cowboys playcalling, and the Dallas Cowboys defense, in that order.
Some of you might be saying, 'What? No! The defense is clearly the worst part of this equation!" And I don't fault you for thinking that way. To describe Kiffin's Cowboys defense as "sieve-like" is offensive to colanders everywhere. But even as bad as the defense in Big D is, they still should have hung on to win that game on Sunday. Instead, with a double-digit lead, and a runningback who finished just shy of 150 rushing yards and a score, they opted to pass the ball in critical points instead of running the ball to burn clock. And that's not even mentioning the very impressive play on the ball Packers DB Tramon Williams made to seal the win after Green Bay's go-ahead score.
I don't know how much more clearly I can put it. Tony Romo did not lose that game. When your defense leaks yards and points like that and your coaches' playcalling is self-defeating, the quarterback can't be held but so accountable.
Amazingly, the Cowboys still control their playoff destiny, scheduled into a de facto NFC East championship game in Week 17 for the second season in a row.
Tony Romo can still change the false narrative on himself. But at this point, I'm just not sure anyone is willing to pay attention.
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