Whatever people complain about the most during a particular NFL season leads to a new rule change to try and directly combat it.  “What is a catch?” had been the biggest rallying cry in past seasons, and there has been changes made to the rule to try and figure out what is and isn’t a catch.  However, it seems to still be unclear, and each time the league tries to make a change, it gets more and more convoluted.  We are on the same path with being able to review pass interference.  The rule change to allow pass interference review has only been approved for the 2019 season, so prepare yourselves for a season long debate on how the rule change is being applied, and another rule change coming before the 2020 season.

The rule change does make some sense on the surface.  What happened to the Saints in the NFC championship was an egregious missed call, and it cost them an appearance in the Super Bowl.  I don’t care.  That’s sports, there is a human element to it, and until we get robot refs, teams are going to get screwed.  But it happens, and over the long haul it always evens out, so deal with it.  I’m sure the Saints were gifted calls along the way at some point that went in there favor, but if you stomp your feet and cry loud enough in today’s day and age, apparently you get what you want.  But be careful what you wish for, because as previously seen with the catch rule, there are a boat load of new problems being introduced with this rule.

When determining what a catch is, the NFL previously decided that a player must maintain control of the ball, make a football move, and survive the ground.  The surviving the ground part is pretty subjective, and led to a ton of controversial calls being upheld, or overturned via replay.  When you completely stop the game, and watch a replay in slow motion HD, it is wildly different then viewing the game in real time.  Something that looked like an obvious catch in the moment was being overturned, because the ball came slightly loose for a split second as a player was making contact with the ground.  And now we are going to try and apply the same standard to pass interference, where guys are constantly hand fighting and running full speed side by side.  It just doesn’t seem like it can be implemented effectively.  Sirius XM radio host Jeff Mans made a good point the other day in reference to using replay for pass interference, “It’s like a freeze frame in porn, there’s just some things you don’t wanna see.” 

The (at least one of) obvious play(s) that comes to mind is Calvin Johnson in 2010, where he appears to catch a game winning touchdown against the Bears, that was ruled an incompletion, because he did not survive the ground.  Johnson “catches” the ball, got both feet down, spins the entire lower left side of his body onto the ground, puts his left hand down, and as he puts his right hand down that is holding the ball, the ball comes loose.  CLEARLY INCOMPLETE!!!

Then there was Dez Bryant, a play that was called a catch on the field, and it seemed like replay was only to determine if it was a touchdown or not, somehow got overturned to an incompletion because he didn’t maintain possession through the ground.  Bryant never lost control of the ball, and the Dez caught it memes will live on forever whenever there is a questionable catch ruling.  That play happened in 2014, and the rule wasn’t adjusted to remove the survive the ground language until 2018. The change was made following a Jesse James potential touchdown that was overturned, and gave the Patriots home field advantage during the 2017 playoffs.  “What is a catch?” is still debated on every close call, and trying to come up with a blanket rule that holds up in every situation is impossible.  Making a football move is still subjective language and the arguments will go on forever.  Now we introduce the cousin to “What is a catch?”, and that is “What is pass interference?”

There is a laundry list of things that constitute pass interference, but in terms of replay reviews being overturned, the NFL has gone with the terms “significantly hindered” or “did not significantly hinder” an opponent.  Again, more subjective terms that I’m sure will have no unintended outcomes.  This new rule was instituted because one single play in a big moment was missed, but the ramifications are massive.  Joe Flacco must be ecstatic, because during his Super Bowl run, he mastered the throw the ball as far as you can and try to get pass interference called, and it worked!  Now he has the added benefit of his team being able to challenge those plays, and the Broncos are due for deep playoff run this year.

The use of replay challenges has been limited somewhat by making it a coaches challenge during a majority of the game, and a booth review under two minutes, with an emphasis on a “Hail Mary” being a play to be reviewed.  The problem is, there is contact between receiver and defensive back on every play, and that contact goes way up on a “Hail Mary.”  So on a play that potentially decides the game, we’re going to have a long review process, and a subjective decision if a player was significantly hindered or not? Great.  Another issue, coaches don’t need to use their challenges anymore because all scoring plays and all turnovers are reviewed automatically.  That leaves things like the spot of the ball, or a player keeping his feet in bounds as plays most likely to be challenged.  The potential to challenge a play that leads to a 50 yard penalty, or the ball being placed on the 1 yard line if the foul occurs in the end zone, is going to be challenged whenever it is even close to being pass interference.  Keep in mind, Bill Belichick finds ways to exploit even the smallest gray area of the rule book, and the NFL just presented him with an ocean sized gray area.

The biggest issue that I see coming from this is an overall increase in pass interference being called.  This feels very similar to when all turnovers and scoring plays became reviewable.  When the league made that change, officials would plays that looked like a clear non-fumble play out, because they knew it could be reviewed.  The defense would return the “fumble” for a touchdown, and then we would have nice long replay review break.  The play ends up being somewhat close between fumble and non-fumble, but objectively looks like a non-fumble to most people.  However, when you introduce the language of the replay rule that it must be “clear and obvious” in order to overturn a call, the defense has now been given an unwarranted touchdown. The offense goes from driving, to being down an additional 7 points, and the game has completely changed because a referee wanted to rely on technology, instead of making the correct call in real time.  When there is barely any contact on a huge play to decide a game, a ref is more likely to throw a flag for pass interference, and then go to the booth.  But then you need “clear and obvious” video that the defender “did not significantly hinder” the receiver in order to overturn the call.  Feels like we have a pattern with the NFL making these kind of rule changes, and it will be no different with pass interference.

A few other things that I don’t fully understand about the rule, if there is a replay review for a turnover, but there is clear and obvious defensive pass interference when the ref is looking at the replay, what happens?  Can they just ignore the turnover altogether and award the offense the ball and a penalty?  It makes sense, but outside of 2 minutes, pass interference has to be a coach’s challenge.  If a coach gets a longer look at the replay because they are already reviewing the turnover, can he then challenge the play for pass interference?  Or does it have to be simultaneous with them reviewing the turnover?  I tried reading the official NFL rule book, and none of these specific scenarios are explained, so I have no idea how they will be handled.  This same concept can be applied for all plays that are automatically reviewed, as well as a non-pass interference coach’s challenge.  If a coach challenges the spot of the ball, does pass interference also, fall under that challenge, or do you have to pick which one you’re challenging? 

Also, how will pick plays factor in?  Coaches and players have gotten very good at disguising routes to pick a defender and lead to an open touchdown, so if it looks like an accident, but the defender is “significantly hindered,” does that still fall under “incidental contact”?  There is just so many additional questions that this rule will introduce, not to mention more commercials, and it was all to compensate for one play.  And why was this implemented for the full 2019 season with no testing, try it for the preseason, gather some data, and apply it for 2020.  I know the league wants to get these calls right, but they just make the rules more subjective by doing this.  We still don’t know what a catch is, so if there is a replay that involves both a catch and a pass interference challenge, I think my head might explode.  Now time for a commercial break…

The feeling around around the Jets this year is that they have the perfect amount of young talent, mixed with a veteran presence to make them a competitive football team.  Playoff aspirations perhaps if everything goes well.  But this is the same narrative I’ve been hearing my entire life when it comes to the Jets, and I’ll believe it when I see it.  I will admit the ceiling this year is higher than it has been in past years, but I am skeptical they will reach it.  After taking a quick look at their schedule this was my gut reaction:

Now lets take a look at the 2019 Jets:

The Good

Sam Darnold

This team starts and stops with Darnold.  Young quarterbacks will often make a big leap going from year 1 to 2, and if Darnold can make that leap, this team certainly has some promise heading into the 2019 season.  His ending to last season is what’s giving fans hope.  According to Pro Football Focus grades, Darnold’s 91.3 grade in weeks 14-16 was the highest in the entire NFL during that span.  I will get to the downsides later, but he showed the potential that made him the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, and if he can continue to build on that, the Jets may have found their latest franchise QB since the GOAT Mark Sanchez.  Training camp reports on Darnold have all been glowing, highlighted by his 13-15, 2-touchdowns in two drives performance…against the 2nd team defense.  There has even been talk that his arm has gotten stronger, so we will see if this is all coach speak, or if he is actually a new and improved QB.

Le’Veon Bell

Off-field issues and contract disputes aside, Bell is an extremely talented football player, and gives the Jets a playmaker they have been severely lacking for YEARS.  There are loads of question marks with Bell, considering his last NFL regular season game was Christmas Day of 2017!  Other questions include if he will be used all over the field, or strictly out of the backfield, and how many touches are the Jets willing to give him.  Adam Gase doesn’t have a great track record of utilizing his top running back, and there are rumors he didn’t want to sign Bell in the first place.  Despite all of the questions surrounding Le’Veon, this addition is unquestionably an upgrade, and I’m excited to see his first game action in green and white.

Young Defensive Core

Depth will likely be an issue, but it’s hard not to get excited thinking about the young stars that the Jets have on the defensive side of the ball.  Two potential studs along the defensive line with Leonard and Quinnen Williams, playing behind them is 4x Pro Bowler CJ Mosley and Avery Williamson, with Pro Bowler Jamal Adams and Trumaine Johnson on the back end.  All of these players are 27 or younger, with the exception of Johnson who is 29.  The Jets seem to always have a strong defense, and that seems no different for this year and years to come.

The Bad

Sam Darnold

While Darnold did show his potential to be great, he did not do much to put to rest the concerns he had coming out of college. A subpar 57.7 completion percentage, paired with 20 turnovers (15 INT/5 FMB), and a propensity to hold onto the ball too long as he stares down his first option, and we have major concerns.  This is my opinion, but Darnold just does not pass the eye test to me.  I watched every game last year, and he just didn’t do enough to make me a long term believer.  When I watched Baker Mayfield, I immediately felt like he was a franchise QB.  Watching Darnold, Josh Rosen, and Josh Allen all felt like watching guys that will not have extended and successful careers.  I like Darnold the most of that group, but he has a very Mitch Trubisky-esque still have to wait and see, but don’t feel good vibe. I could easily be wrong and Darnold could shove my opinion directly down my throat by week 5 this year, but that’s how I feel heading into the season.  And like I said earlier, this team starts and stops with Darnold.

Playmakers on Offense

In 2015, Brandon Marshall made the Pro Bowl, and Chris Ivory made it as a replacement (doesn’t really count).  Thomas Jones made the Pro Bowl in 2008.  That is the complete list of Jets offensive skill position players that have made the Pro Bowl in the last 15 years.  While that is due in part to the team being terrible, it also highlights the lack of explosive players the Jets have had on the roster over the last decade.  Adding Le’Veon Bell helps that, but who else do they have?  Robbie Anderson?? The guy has one skill, and even though he’s really good at it, only being able to run directly in a straight line is not what I would classify as a playmaker.  Chris Herndon?  He has some talent…he’s also suspended the first four games of the season.  Jamison Crowder? The fact that he is the next guy I have to point to is sad.  He’s not a playmaker and is never healthy.  I guess you can give Le’Veon the ball every play, but this team is going to struggle to move the ball a lot this year.

Edge Rusher/Cornerback

Quinnen Williams was the right pick, and I think he will be a star, but there is still the same gaping hole at edge rusher that has been there for years.  The Jets 39 sacks last year was right in the middle of the pack, but they desperately need an edge presence that demands a double team in order to free other guys up.  Cornerback depth is another huge hole, with Trumaine Johnson being the only guy who inspires any sort of confidence.  And even he is coming off an extremely down year where he was constantly getting beat.  With the NFL turning to an air raid offense, lacking guys who can rush the passer, as well as guys who can cover down the field might be a problem.  To quote my friend Pepper Brooks, “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton.  Let’s see if it pays off for ‘em.”

The Ugly

Front Office/Coaching Changes

What the hell happened this offseason?  Here is the time line of events that transpired:

• 12/30 Todd Bowles fired
• 1/11 Adam Gase hired
• 3/12-3/13 CJ Mosley and Le’veon Bell signed
• 4/27 NFL Draft
• 5/27 GM Mike Maccagnan fired
• 6/7 GM Joe Douglas hired

That more closely resembles a matching column on a third grade test where the order of all the answers is completely jumbled, rather than an offseason for a competent organization.  Todd Bowles had to go, he brought nothing to the table.  But the solution was hiring Adam Gase???  A guy with a 23-25 record in this exact same division!  Whatever, Peyton Manning said he was cool, so moving on.

Maccagnan should have been fired along with Bowles, and then you pair a head coach with a new GM and start from scratch, it is the most basic logic of all time.  But why do that when you can let Maccagnan hire Gase, spend over $190 million in free agency, and make your draft picks in arguably the most crucial offseason for your franchise in 10 years.  Then somehow, after being hired by Maccagnan, Gase was able to undermine him, get him fired and gain control of interim GM duties.  Now the guy who was hired 5 minutes ago, and whose eyeballs look like they’re about to fall out of his head in every press conference, has complete control of your organization. Perfect!

Apparently Douglas is a good hire, that remains to be seen because all of the important offseason decision were made before he showed up.  The Jets took the most roundabout/Jets way possible, but they did get to the fresh start of a new coach and GM pairing.  Now time to watch it completely implode because, well it’s the Jets.

Offensive Line

Back to the on the field stuff, the Jets offensive line is atrocious.  They traded for Kelechi Osemele, who was hurt and had a down year last year, but also was an All-Pro in 2016.  They also brought in Ryan Kalil, who is 34 and last had an All-Pro year in 2015 to pair with a bunch of meh on the rest of the offensive line.  I’m no offensive line guru, but I have feeling Le’veon Bell will be in for a rude awakening running behind this offensive line compared to Pittsburgh.

Taking the Next Step

The Jets have been in rebuilding mode ever since the butt fumble.  It hasn’t been perfect, but you have an up and coming quarterback, you made some good offseason additions, and made mostly smart draft picks.  Can the Adam Gase/Sam Darnold pairing actually work? I’m skeptical, but the possibility is on the table.  If you’re a believer that this is the year the Jets go from rebuilding mode to playoff contender, well you just haven’t been a Jets fan for long enough. 

Over/Under 7.5 Wins: Under

Even as a Jets fan, I don’t see this team winning 8+ games.  Unless Darnold comes out setting the world on fire in his second year, this team is destined for 6 or 7 wins.  The lack of talent at the skill positions on the offensive side, along with a bad offensive line and a young QB does not sound like a recipe for success.  The defense, while talented, does not have talent at the positions that actually matter in today’s NFL.  Mark my words, the Jets won’t allow anyone to run the ball up the middle this year.  Mostly because teams simply don’t anymore, and opposing QBs will have all day to throw and guys running wide open all over the field.  I stand by my prediction from the beginning of the blog:

6-10

With the recent news of both Ezekiel Elliot and Melvin Gordon planning to holdout in hopes of getting new contracts, I decided to take a look back at the history of NFL holdouts.  NFL contracts are an absolute joke and mean nothing.  There’s the old saying that they might as well be written on toilet paper, because teams immediately look for ways to get out of paying the full amount as soon as the ink dries, and they usually can.  For that reason, I fully support any player that wants to holdout and get the money they feel they deserve.  But I also have no problems with teams and GMs playing hard ball and not paying these guys.  The owners negotiated the CBA to give themselves all of the leverage, and have no reason to give up said leverage because the NFLPA is incompetent.

I won’t be able to go through every holdout ever, but I will breakdown a few current holdouts, as well as some in the recent past, and give a ruling on how it worked out for both the player and the team.  While researching this, there were noticeable trends that were associated with holdouts in general.  Some are obvious, like a player is typically coming off a career year, or a string of good seasons in a row.  Some are not as obvious, like a lot of holdouts coming on the backend of a players rookie deal, where they have massively outperformed their contract, especially if they are not a first round pick.  There is also positional trends in the sense that players who play “important” positions (i.e. edge rusher, wide receiver, defensive back) are more likely to see their holdout be effective and get paid. 

Meanwhile, running backs have to scratch and claw to get the same money a 14th man on an NBA roster gets.  And least shockingly, quarterbacks almost never have to holdout, because if you show even the smallest sliver of promise as a quarterback, somebody is going to pay you (i.e. Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles).  So while it seems that running backs are the ones holding out most often, it’s mostly that teams just don’t feel the need to pay big money to a position they feel can be easily replaced with cheaper, fresher legs in the draft each year.

Before I get into the current holdouts, lets dive into the most interesting holdout I have witnessed in my lifetime.  This holdout really sets the table for some of the current holdouts, and only time will tell if it actually changes how holdouts are treated, or if it didn’t matter.  Lets get into it:

Le’Veon Bell – 2017 & 2018

In his first four seasons before his 2017 holdout, Bell had accrued two Pro Bowls, a First-Team All-Pro, two weed related suspensions, a torn MCL, and over 1,100 touches.  After weighing all of those factors, and Bell’s asking price, the Steelers decided to franchise tag him for $12.2 million.  With no long term deal, Bell skipped all of training camp, before showing up for week 1.  In 2017, Bell delivered another First-Team All-Pro season behind a league leading 406 touches.  The Steelers then rewarded Bell with a long term exten…wait, never mind, they decided to franchise tag him again!

The expectation for the 2018 season was that Bell would show up prior to week 1, similar to his 2017 routine.  But when it came time for him to show up in the days leading up to the game, he was nowhere to be found.  I don’t think we will ever get an honest and accurate depiction of what Bell’s plan was, and I think that’s because it doesn’t seem like he actually had one.  His agent failed him miserably, and the whole situation made no sense.  The narrative surrounding Bell was constantly changing about whether or not he would report to the team, both before and during the season. 

Some clarity came from a report that under some weird CBA stipulation, because Bell had been franchise tagged twice, he didn’t have to show up in order to accrue a season, and could still become a free agent as long as the Steelers didn’t tag him again?  I don’t know it was all so strange, but either way he passed up on $14.5 million guaranteed, as well as another 400+ touch season, and fell ass backwards into free agency.  

He did end up getting his free agent pay day, but it was not anywhere near what he was expecting.  His new deal is 4 yr(s) / $52,500,000, but he now has to play for the Jets, and his contract has an easy out for the team in year two, and he could very easily get cut in 2021. 

Ruling:

For Bell personally, this was a disaster financially and there’s no debating that.  But he did save himself from an extra year of punishment, and he can now be a champion for other running backs trying to holdout.  He can say he did it for the betterment of the position, and not because he was being selfish selfish.  Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter, his actions have given other running backs leverage they previously didn’t have.  However, his agent should be fired and never allowed to represent another professional athlete again.  As for the Steelers, if Bell was there for a full season could they have won a Super Bowl last year?  I don’t think so, but you still can’t throw away seasons in the NFL when windows close instantly.  But they seem to be fine at the running back position without Bell.  

Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliot – Current

Similar to Bell, Gordon has two Pro Bowls and 1000+ touches in his first four seasons.  He is scheduled to make $5.6 million this season, so to me, his holdout is completely justified and makes sense.  He doesn’t have the double franchise tag loop hole that Bell had, but he can certainly miss some games and come back around week 10 in order to become a free agent next season.  I will get to Vincent Jackson later, but he had a very similar situation with the Chargers as well, so the Gordon/Chargers relationship has the potential to get ugly.  From the Chargers perspective, paying him this season makes absolutely no sense, unless Gordon really is prepared to sit out into the season.  He is under contract, and plays a position that has a high injury risk, and you might be better off letting him walk after the season and drafting his replacement.  This situation will be very interesting to monitor and I expect it to last into the season if the Chargers do not make a compelling offer.

Zeke really has no leverage other than he is a star, and Jerry Jones loves keeping his stars happy.  He has two years left on his deal, and I’ll spare you the details, but he can either have a lengthy holdout this season or next season.  He cannot have back to back lengthy holdouts, or he will not hit free agency in two years, due to weird service time rules.  So keep an eye on August 6th this year as the date he needs to show up by if he intends on having a lengthy holdout next year.  I expect Elliot to show up for camp August 6th.

Julio Jones/Michael Thomas/AJ Green – Current

Green is not currently holding out, but I included him as an example of someone who has frequently expressed frustration with his contract situation, and it almost cost him by showing up to camp.  He suffered and ankle sprain that will sideline him 6-8 weeks, so while this is not the worst news, if the injury was season ending, it would be a different story.  He would be heading into free agency coming off a major injury, and his financial future would be in serious doubt as he enters into his age 32 season.

Julio Jones did show up to camp, but he is still in the midst of contract negotiations, and coming off of offseason surgery.  So he won’t be on the field risking injury regardless until he feels ready, which feels like a holdout with better PR behind it.  There is also the game of chicken between each player and all teams involved, because the first receiver to sign an extension will likely be the lowest paid of the wide receivers holding out.  

This is what makes holding out somewhat of an art form, and Michael Thomas is another guy using the holdout as a way to demand big money.  Thomas fits the bill of a highly productive player in the last year of his rookie deal.  He is looking for $20+ million a year and in my eyes is worth it.  I think he gets paid, it’s just a matter of how much and when, and both of those things will be something Julio Jones, AJ Green, and Amari Cooper will have their eyes on as well.

Past Holdouts

Darrelle Revis – 2010

After a First-Team All-Pro season in 2009, Revis held out and skipped all of training camp and the preseason.  Scheduled to make $1 million in 2010, his holdout earned him a 4 yr / $32,000,000 deal, and he followed that up with two consecutive First-Team All-Pro seasons. In the third year of his deal, Revis tore his ACL, and was subsequently traded to the Bucs.

Ruling:

Realistically, this holdout worked well for both sides.  Revis showed he was worth more than his rookie deal, and performed to the level that was expected of him when he did get paid.  It worked so well, Revis returned to the Jets later in his career…that stint didn’t go as well.

Chris Johnson – 2011

While on his rookie deal, Johnson had his legendary CJ2K season in 2009, where he rushed for over 2,000 yards and averaged over 156 yards per game from scrimmage.  An unreal season, and he came back the next season with another Pro Bowl campaign (his third consecutive), before holding out in 2011.  His holdout was a success after the Titans made him the highest paid back in the NFL with a 4 yr / $53,500,000 contract that he did not live up to at all.  While he did rush for over 1,000 yards each of the next three seasons, he just wasn’t the same guy.  He never made another Pro Bowl and was released after the 2013 season.

Ruling:

This was a pretty damaging case for running back holdouts.  The Titans paid for his past production, and after riding him into the ground his first three years in the league, they thought he still had a lot left in the tank.  But 1,000+ touches in three years is a lot of miles and it put him over the hill at the age of 26.  Nobody can take that CJ2K season away though.

Vincent Jackson: 2010

This holdout has a lot of parallels to Melvin Gordon’s current holdout.  After back to back strong seasons including a pro bowl in 2009, Jackson was suspended the first 3 games of the 2010 season under the personal conduct policy.  Even with the suspension, Jackson still held out and refused to sign his one year tender.  Knowing that he would not accrue a year of service time if he didn’t show up for the final 6 games, and with no long term deal on the table, he gave in. He signed his tender and showed up with 9 weeks left in the season, sat out 3 games for the suspension, and played the last 6 weeks.  Following the NFL lockout that offseason, the Chargers franchise tagged Jackson for $11.4 million. He did not holdout following being tagged, and had a Pro Bowl season, but left as an unrestricted free agent for the Bucs in 2012 on a 5 yr / $55,500,000 deal.

Ruling:

While Jackson did have to give up half a season in the prime of his career, he eventually did get paid, both by the Chargers for a season, and got a long term deal.  By playing hard ball, the Chargers were down their number one receiver for most of the 2010 season, but they didn’t feel that he was worth an extension, and it will be fascinating to see if they feel the same way about Gordon.

Larry Johnson – 2007

Larry Johnson got a chance to shine after injuries shortened Priest Holmes’ career, and the Chiefs weren’t shy about giving him the ball.  Johnson set an NFL record with 416 carries, and was a First-Team All-Pro in 2006.  Heading into the 2007 season, Johnson held out through the first two preseason games, before signing a 6 yr / $45,000,000 extension.  The wheels immediately fell off following Johnson’s extension, and it was clear there was no value in his contract.  After injuries and a suspension, he was released in the middle of the 2009 season.

Ruling:

Larry Johnson’s holdout did let him sign the biggest contract in Chiefs’ history at the time.  But back to one of my original points, NFL contracts mean nothing and the Chiefs got out from his deal with relative ease.  So even when the players win, do they really?

Honorable Mentions That Would’ve Made This A Ridiculously Longer Post Than It Already Is:

Terrell Owens, Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack, Marshawn Lynch, Kam Chancellor, Carson Palmer.  Let me know who else was left off.

On Wednesday at 7:10pm, the Mets play the Padres.

Also on Wednesday, the Washington Spirit play at 7:30pm…I will be watching the Spirit square off against Sky Blue FC, and not tuning in to watch the Mets.

I played about half of one season of soccer as a kid, and the only soccer I ever watched was the US Men’s National team, and they are even less entertaining than a 4 hour baseball game that ends 1-0.  So, I’ve never been a soccer fan.  That was until I discovered this completely new sport…women’s soccer.  I watched a total of two (2!!) women’s world cup games, and was immediately hooked.

It all started when Rose Lavelle entered my life.  I first heard her on a Pardon My Take podcast appearance, where, after she settled in, was actually an interesting interview.  More importantly, I was impressed with this 24 year old doing something that was likely outside of her comfort zone, and going on a podcast that doesn’t exactly appeal to the women’s soccer demo.  She was funny enough that I was curious to see her actually play during the World Cup.

Then comes her play on the field, Rose looks tiny out there, but when you watch these games,  she looks like she is running on fast forward compared to everyone else. It was amazing to see, like watching the roadrunner say “meep meep” and take off.  Literally going by defenders like they were wearing cement shoes, and firing 40 yard lead passes directly to a teammates foot to setup a scoring chance.  And that wasn’t something that happened one time, it would happen over, and over, and over again.  It was incredible.  And it would be a failure on my part not to mention her Iverson-like crossover, where she completely turns the defender around, and puts one in the back of the net to seal the World Cup final.

Alongside Lavelle, the rest of the USWNT displayed such a high level of skill, talent, and true team camaraderie.  I couldn’t get enough of it.  There was no jealousy on that team, everyone went bananas for every goal, no matter what the score was, who scored, or who was on the field.  Watching that team just put me in a better mood because of how much they cared about each other, and because they were steam rolling every single team that stepped on the field against them.  The talent gap the USWNT had over every other team was tremendous, and I loved every second of it.  Physically emasculating other countries in athletic events is America’s true pastime, not baseball.

I was born into being a Mets fan, my parents are Mets fans, my brothers are mets fans, and I’ve been going to games probably as early as 5 years old.  I played baseball growing up, and as a sports fan there were three seasons; football season, basketball season, and baseball season.  To me, baseball has always been far and away the most boring sport of the three, both to watch, and to play.  But during baseball season, in my mind, there has never been any other sports to watch, so I continue to come back and watch year after year.  With the Mets being a complete dumpster fire for the 10th (probably generous) year in a row, I am ready to give up on the franchise and baseball as a whole. 

Much like the Mets, the US Men’s National team stinks, and has been completely incompetent for years.  I can’t even watch them anymore, because: A) I literally can’t when they don’t even qualify for the games that are on TV, like the World Cup in 2018, and B) when they do make it onto the world stage, they lose to countries I didn’t even know existed.  It is embarrassing to root for that team.  The US dominates the rest of the world in every major sport, and then we have the ugly step child men’s soccer team making the rest of us look bad.  It’s oddly similar to the Mets-Yankees dynamic, and until something drastic happens, I won’t be watching the Mets, or Men’s soccer.  And just in time, The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has arrived to fill my summer sports need.

But the real reason I wanted to start watching the NWSL was after hearing Megan Rapinoe’s call for action from fans.  A plea to not only care about these athletes when they’re competing at the World Cup on the biggest stage, but to watch them play professionally outside of the international stage.  I truly enjoyed watching that World Cup team, but now I want to follow them as they make their returns to their pro teams here in the US.  I want to watch these elite athletes battle it out against each other, instead of beating the brakes off of teams 13-0.  

The feeling that those players have when they go from playing in front of 58,000 people in the world cup final to 7,000 in their first games back professionally sucks.  I played college basketball where nobody went to the games and nobody cared, but that was because we were awful (6-20 record my last year, WHAT IT DO BABYYYYY!!!!).  These women are the most elite performers in the world at their craft, and still nobody cares outside of their play for Team USA.  So, will my one extra view of their game make a difference?  Certainly not, but I’m still going to give it a shot over watching the 5,000th extremely boring baseball game of my life.  

If you don’t have plans Wednesday night, download the Yahoo Sports app, or go to NWSLsoccer.com and watch my girl Rose Lavelle put on a show…and if you already have plans, cancel them!

***Disclaimer: This blog is strictly about entertainment value, so if I’m entertained watching the NWSL, they have fan for life.  If these games are terrible, and baseball is more entertaining than them…well I’ll just hibernate until football season***

After hearing rumors that these two guys’ contracts were untradeable, the unthinkable happened. Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul were traded for each other! Now look, Westbrook made 3rd Team All-NBA this past season, so he at least still has some talent, which makes his contract easier to stomach. Chris Paul on the other hand, that guy stinks, and provided absolutely nothing in the playoffs outside of one quarter in Game 6 against the Warriors. He’s old, he’s grumpy, he’s injury prone, he thinks he can still play, and has an atrocious contract.

But is it the worst contract in the NBA right now? Lets have a look, rules are that it is a current contract, but I will look back to when it was signed, and the value of the full contract.  I’m also taking into account whatever injuries or terrible play these guys have displayed since signing.  I didn’t include contracts signed this summer because we haven’t seen any results from it, and if a team contends right away, who cares if down the road the contract sucks. (If I did though, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Khris Middleton, and Harrison Barnes would be in this blog). Now, the worst NBA contracts:

Chris Paul – 4 yr(s) / $159,730,592 – (2018-2019) 

This contract is a prime example of why using service time as the benchmark for increases in max extensions makes no sense. But Chris Paul is the president of the players association and he is playing chess while everyone else plays checkers, and got himself PAID. If you’re the Rockets, the move made sense because you almost beat Golden State the year before, so you have to run it back and take one last crack at it. If you get by the Warriors and win the title, Chris Paul could make $300 million the next season and nobody would care. The raptors can win 20 games next season and it won’t matter because Kawhi brought them a title. Unfortunately, the Rockets didn’t really even come close to a title, and then had to attach assets to Paul’s contract just to get the former All-Star off of their roster.

Russell Westbrook – 5 yr(s) / $206,794,070 – (2018-2019)

This extension was a no brainer for OKC. You previously lost Durant to free agency, Westbrook was coming off of an MVP season (signed it in 2017, kicked in in 2018), and was the only bright spot the franchise had left. Westbrook will be 33 in the last season of his contract, for most NBA players that is not THAT old. But the way Westbrook plays, he puts so many hard miles on his body, and once his athleticism goes, you are left with an absolutely broken, career 30% 3-point, jump shot. His first season when he still has the athleticism will be super interesting, but after that, oh boy. Hopefully the trade to Houston allows him to take more spot up jumpers and his percentages go up, but as they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and I have feeling Westbrook will continue to be Westbrook.

Nic Batum – 5 yr(s) / $120,000,000 – (2016-2017)

This was the 5th largest contract given out that summer (total value) behind Conley, Derozan, Beal, and Drummond. While those guys aren’t elite superstars, they are all significantly better than Nic Batum. My reaction to this contract was the same one I had to Wes Matthews signing for 5 years $35 million in Portland in 2010. “Wait is he even good? And he signed for how much???” The only problem is $7 million a year vs $24 million a year is a major difference. My favorite part of this contract is Michael Jordan showing that for exactly how good he was at PLAYING basketball, he is equally worse at being a talent evaluator.

Bismack Biyombo/Ian Mahinmi – 4 yr(s) / $72,000,000/4 yr(s) / $64,000,000 – (2016-2017)

I could also include Mozgov with these guys but he’s already been stretched and waived. These contracts were a disaster the moment they were signed, the cap went up that summer and teams freaked out and started throwing money like it was Atlanta during Super Bowl week. That 2016 summer had so many bad contracts and these two were in the running for worst. I’ve already wasted too many words on these guys, so onto the next.

Gordon Hayward – 4 yr(s) / $127,829,970 – (2017-2018)

Is it Hayward’s fault that his ankle detached from his body 6 minutes into his first game as a Celtic? That’s not for me to decide, but at a young age, I was taught to practice walking around intentionally rolling my ankles in order to strengthen them. If I had to guess, Gordon did not get this same ankle saving advice, hence why his contract is so outrageously bad now. He will have the ball in his hands more often this season, and does have two more years to turn this around and show he was worth that contract. However, that seems unlikely, and I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Andrew Wiggins – 5 yr(s) / $147,710,050 – (2018-2019) 

This one is tough, because if you’re the T’wolves, what other option did you have? Let your 23 year old, former number 1 pick coming off a season averaging 23.6 points a game test free agency the following summer?? Nobody is coming to Minnesota in free agency so they had to do it, but he has only gotten worse since signing the extension, and the craziest part, Wiggins didn’t even sign it right away. He let the contract sit there for two months before signing it, and looking back, the Wolves definitely wish he hadn’t. His only skill is scoring inefficiently, and you’re paying $29,542,010 a year for that? Go get Melo for the minimum and you’ll see the same results. YIKES.

Chandler Parsons – 4 yr(s) / $94,438,523 – (2016-2017)

I don’t really know what happened with this one. It doesn’t even feel real considering he played like 4 total games after signing it. That 2015-2016 team went 42-40, and were bringing back Conley, Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen. Adding Parsons didn’t quite feel like the missing piece for a contender, but definitely an improvement from the 7 seed the year before. And about a week into Parsons’ first season of this contract everyone agreed, “yeah, sunk cost, it sucks Memphis has to eat all that money. But who cares it’s not like they can spend it anywhere else.” I felt bad for Memphis for about ten seconds and then went back to worrying about what I was gonna order for lunch that day.

But none of these contracts compare to the grand daddy of them all.  I present the award for by far the worst contract in the NBA to:

John Wall – 4 yr(s) / $171,131,520 – (2019-2020) 

My goodness a $42,782,880 average per year, and the extension doesn’t even begin until this upcoming season!! There were rumors Wall showed up to camp last year out of shape, and tearing your achilles half way through the year doesn’t exactly convince me those rumors weren’t true. So now you expect an out of shape, 29 year old, fresh off an achilles tear to somehow return value over the next four years on this deal? There is a reason the Wizards currently do not have a GM, and its because the last guy was giving out contracts like this, when they should have been rebuilding around Bradley Beal. They have gotten rid of most of their other bad contracts, but Wall’s contract is truly untradeable. A guy who relies on speed and quickness for his success, then tearing his achilles, spells absolute disaster for this franchise. Move the team to Seattle, get a new owner, and actually hire a GM.

Honorable Mentions: Worst/Best Contracts (General):

Lou Williams – 3 yr(s) / $24,000,000 – (2018-2019)

A year after averaging 22.6 points per game, and winning 6th man of the year, Lou Will signed a MASSIVE $8 million a year extension.  Chandler Parson’s agent had a heart attack after seeing that, and Lou Will’s agent should have been fired immediately.  I understand wanting to stay in LA after spending half a year in Houston the season prior, but there are two teams in LA, try negotiating one time for me.  If he is only getting $8 million, what kind of contract can I expect when Lebron calls in February looking for a 3-and-(no)D guy?

Rick Dipietro – 15 yr(s) / $67,500,000 – (2006-2007) / Ilya Kovalchuk – 15 yr(s) / $100,000,000

Both of these contracts are hysterical and I have no idea why the NHL allows 15 year deals. Dipietro’s career ended early because of injury, and the Islander had to pay 2/3rds of the remaining 8 years on his deal when he walked away. Two years into Kovalchuk’s deal there was a lockout, so he went to play in Russia and just never came back to play for the Devils (he did return to the NHL to play for the Kings in 2017-2018). They didn’t end up having to pay his remaining salary when he didn’t come back to the team, so I guess that’s a win?

Justin Verlander’s Friend – 1 yr – $3,120

When Justin Verlander was in high school, he wanted a $0.50 chocolate milk so bad, he signed away 0.001% of his future signing bonus for it.  I guess it’s not that bad when you end up signing for $3.12 million, but realizing you paid $3k for a chocolate milk is a real kick in the nuts on the day you sign your first MLB contract.

Bobby Bonilla

The Mets paid Bobby Bonilla $1.19 million just this past July 1st…and they will do so again…every year…until 2035…I am a Mets fan…End of blog…