NFL 2021 - WEEK 17

[Cobra Commander]

one can only guess how long did it took for Nick Bockwinkel to come up in a John Madden/Bobby Heenan conversation in the 80s

[odessasteps]

 

[cubbymark]

2 hours ago, jaedmc said:

For the Chicago contingent, Jeff Dickerson, the local Bears Beat reporter, who was on ESPN 1000 passed away. Colon Cancer. His is a voice I'll always remember, trying to parse out the rubix cubic of logic that is the Chicago Bears football organization. Always professional with just slight hint of flabbergast-ed-nes.

He was only 44. Fuck cancer. 

[odessasteps]

 

[BloodyChamp]

John Madden was a huge Bobby Heenan fan. I’m sure everybody here remembers that story but I mention it to explain that what John Madden had was...IT. He was like a face version of Bobby. He even looked kind of like Bobby.

Everything he ever said or did was uplifting and encouraging from yelling as a coach to laughing as a commentator. The only thing he ever did that didn’t do those things was die. I just loved the guy and will miss him. 

[twiztor]

20 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said:

*insert "pretends to be shocked" GIF*

he outperformed expectations already by seemingly clinching the 75% snap line. 

 

RIP John Madden. while i don't really have a deep connection, his name will live forever due to the game franchise.

[Craig H]

RIP to both Madden and Jeff Dickerson, but Jeff's passing hits me way, way, way, way, way harder. Like Jae said, if you were a Bears fan and listened to remotely any radio about the Bears, you likely heard Jeff at some point. He was always someone that I thought did a great job and he was close to my age, which felt kind of cool in a way. Dying of cancer at fucking 44 is...man...I can't even fucking describe this level of sadness.

And to add to that, Jeff has a kid that is 11 (mine is 11 too), so it hits even closer to home. I feel so bad for his son. He lost his mom two years ago to cancer and now his dad is gone too. 

Just fucking devastated.

[Pete]

 

[odessasteps]

Similarly, while writing an otherwise good obit of Madden, Paul Lukas from Uni Watch criticized the leather helmet All-Madden logo and connected that to head trauma in football. 

[Tabe]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

 

That tweet is so hilariously awful that it feels like a parody. 

[odessasteps]

Apparently, the whole “Madden encouraged violence that led to brain damage” talking point is out there on social media, as I’ve seen it in a couple places, 

very weird, and I say that as someone who stopped watching current football partially because of the hyperviolence . 

[elizium]

Because the one thing you notice when watching highlights of pre-Madden football is how genteel it was

[Tabe]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

 

The guy in question is a college professor leading to this reply:

 

Quote

How about your participation in the American University system which has buried tens of thousands of students in lifelong debt, has demonstrably hurt their long term economic prospects, and leaves them with no hope for their own futures?

 

[RIPPA]

The Panthers have announced that Sam Darnold will start Sunday

[RIPPA]

 

[BobbyWhioux]

22 hours ago, RIPPA said:

It is time's like this that I think @BobbyWhioux is on to something

No one was happy about having to watch the Saints be non-competitive in a prime time slot because they basically had to field a Strike Replacement level QB at the last minute.

We’re about to get a pretty blatant refresher course in just how much “protecting players” has only ever really applied to QBs and how much “protecting QBs” was in turn always merely about keeping the the good ones in playing condition rather than actually protecting their actual health.

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Tabe said:

That tweet is so hilariously awful that it feels like a parody. 

Ratio checks out.

[Gonzo]

7 hours ago, BobbyWhioux said:

No one was happy about having to watch the Saints be non-competitive in a prime time slot because they basically had to field a Strike Replacement level QB at the last minute.

We’re about to get a pretty blatant refresher course in just how much “protecting players” has only ever really applied to QBs and how much “protecting QBs” was in turn always merely about keeping the the good ones in playing condition rather than actually protecting their actual health.

Honestly, if Dolphins/Saints would have been scheduled for a Saturday or a Sunday they probably would have moved it a day or two like they had done with the games the previous week.

But it was scheduled for Monday, and there's just about zero chance that the NFL was going to leave ESPN without a game for Monday night, so we got whatever that was.

[hammerva]

17 hours ago, odessasteps said:

Apparently, the whole “Madden encouraged violence that led to brain damage” talking point is out there on social media, as I’ve seen it in a couple places, 

very weird, and I say that as someone who stopped watching current football partially because of the hyperviolence . 

The only way the "Madden encourages violence" theory works is if they left the legendary ambulance that was in the Madden 92 and 93 versions.  It was such a funny thing at the time being able to take out a player with a hit and then the ambulance just comes storming into the field so recklessly that it runs over at least 2 or 3 players every single time.

I hope nobody shows these people the NHL 93 game where not only did it have fighting but if you knock a player out blood poured out of his head

 

[supremebve]

16 hours ago, RIPPA said:

 

The NFL's claim that no one knew that concussions were bad for you has always been bullshit.  It reminds me of a story my grandfather, who was born in 1921, told me about his short teenage boxing career.  My grandfather started boxing as a teenager, had three professional fights and won all three by knockout.  His trainer looked at him and said, "You're pretty good, you might have a future in this." My grandfather as a teenager in the 1930s looked at his trainer and said, "I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life getting punch in the head," and never got back in a boxing ring.  Everyone with a brain knew that brain damage wasn't good for you, and the fact that they spent so much time and money trying to convince the world that they didn't know is unforgiveable.  

[RIPPA]

Big Ben all but confirmed he is retiring at season's end by saying that Monday's game is most likely his last at Heinz Field

[Tabe]

3 hours ago, supremebve said:

The NFL's claim that no one knew that concussions were bad for you has always been bullshit.  It reminds me of a story my grandfather, who was born in 1921, told me about his short teenage boxing career.  My grandfather started boxing as a teenager, had three professional fights and won all three by knockout.  His trainer looked at him and said, "You're pretty good, you might have a future in this." My grandfather as a teenager in the 1930s looked at his trainer and said, "I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life getting punch in the head," and never got back in a boxing ring.  Everyone with a brain knew that brain damage wasn't good for you, and the fact that they spent so much time and money trying to convince the world that they didn't know is unforgiveable.  

Of course it's nonsense. The NCAA issued guidance in the 1930s saying football players should take at least a week off after a concussion. 

[BloodyChamp]

23 hours ago, BobbyWhioux said:

We’re about to get a pretty blatant refresher course in just how much “protecting players” has only ever really applied to QBs and how much “protecting QBs” was in turn always merely about keeping the the good ones in playing condition rather than actually protecting their actual health.

What a truth bomb this is. 

I guess it’s no surprise that a 90s football game is being blamed for head trauma. 90s video games were blamed for everything else that ever happened for a long time.

I believe the NFL knew about concussions but I believe the players did to. What that amounts to I honestly don’t know, it’s just what I believe. 

[odessasteps]

Up until the 70s or 80s, I can see how NFL players would have viewed the calculated health risk the same way boxers did: Yes, its possibly debilitating, but worth the risk if it means escaping their economic upbringing, be it inner city or rural country. 

Once the money changes in the 80s, the equation probably changes. And you also can more visibly see the damages done to players from the 50s and 60s.

[BloodyChamp]

Right...I treaded lightly when I said I don’t necessarily know what that amounts to. I suspected that they knew and just didn’t give a damn any more than the league did for the same reason. 

The John Madden documentary is on again if anybody missed it. A cool thing about this documentary is the B roll footage of him and whoever announcing. They’re all over that place talking and pointing at the game in the upper deck before it was some exclusive cozy booth, with the same intensity as if they were coaching or sitting on the 50 yard line as a fan all in. Meanwhile the whole upper deck looked like there was a terrorist attacking going on that the 2 announcers had no clue about because they were so into the game. That’s what’s missing today!