Incredibly Novel Concepts, Vol. V
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by user J Cunningham
For the record, I am not coming out of the closet, nor am I going to Disney World. Instead, I'm here to bring you, the loyal ArmchairGM reader, another installment of...
Incredibly Novel Concepts!!!
INC #1: I can't help but wonder how much egg Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith has on his face after this past season. Not just because his team lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 in the Super Bowl, but because Smith was so intent on sticking with his inaccurate and inconsistent guns.
Those guns being Rex Grossman, of course.
Yes, you can point to questionable play-calling on the part of offensive coordinatior Ron Turner, and you could point to the injury to Cedric Benson hurting the Bears' running attack, but the fact remains: so long as Grossman is the signal-caller in Chicago, the Bears will not win the Super Bowl.
Hell, I'm amazed they made it with Grossman. How many times did Smith stick with Rex this year, telling anyone who would listen that "We're (insert record here) with Rex Grossman as our quarterback?" I realize your options are limited, what with Brian Griese and Kyle Orton as your backups. But do you really think Rex can bring the Bears to the Promised Land, much the way Jim McMahon did some 21 years earlier?
If so, you obviously haven't seen very many Bears games this year.
INC #2: Allow me to express my disappointment in Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for naming San Diego defensive coordinator as the new head coach in Big D. See, it's not so much that I hate Phillips; I actually have no opinion of the man.
No, the problem is, I had an INC blurb all ready to go for when Jones named Norv Turner head coach. I realize Turner was a genius offensive coordinator in Dallas and helped Troy Aikman plow his way to three Super Bowl rings, but his record as a head coach?
Just ask any Redskins or Raiders fan. Trust me when I say, it ain't pretty.
Now, I would've loved to see Turner get the job, because I know that would lead to the Cowboys' inevitable downward spiral, and I don't think it could've happened to a more deserving team (well, maybe Duke basketball, but for now, I'll just be content with them losing in overtime to Virginia). But even I have to admit the hire would've made little, if any, sense.
And I got robbed out of a really good mini-column.
INC #3: Just let me say this about all those rumors I've heard recently about Eagles quarterback Jeff Garcia heading to Chicago. Last time I checked, the Bears didn't run the West Coast offense, which means Garcia would likely be about as effective behind center as the three shlubs the team currently has.
Let's take a look at the history, shall we? Garcia's career took off in San Francisco, where the West Coast offense was perfected. He led the 49ers to the playoffs once or twice and made three Pro Bowls playing in the Bay Area.
Free agency hits and he winds up with the Cleveland Browns...a team that does not run the West Coast offense. He struggled before getting shipped over to Detroit, where the Lions also do not run the West Coast offense.
Noticing a pattern here?
Granted, Cleveland and Detroit aren't exactly hotbeds for professional football talent (that's my polite way of saying they suck), but what happens when Garcia winds up in Philadelphia, a team that does run the West Coast offense? He fills in for the injured Donovan McNabb and flourishes, leading a seemingly-hapless Eagles team to the second round of the NFC playoffs.
Garcia, for all his talent, is a system quarterback. If he's not in the West Coast scheme, he's not going to have success. So unless the Bears are planning to change their offensive philosophy, I don't see this move working.
Now, the Falcons...
INC #4: So former NBA player John Amaechi is coming forward and admitting to being homosexual. He'll be the first NBA player, current or former, to admit as such.
And I really don't care.
What is this fascination we as a society have with homosexuality? I don't get why we're so hung up on who someone is or isn't sleeping with. As far as I'm concerned, people can go ahead and love whoever they want to love; as long as nobody's getting hurt over the whole deal, what's the issue?
I think it speaks to a larger issue in our society: sex in general. We as a society are hung up on sex that anything deviating from our preconceived notions of that is going to be labeled as strange and we're going to focus all sorts of attention on it.
And while we're at it, let me point out the double standard inherent in homosexuality. Two gay men are seen as either disgusting or funny (the Snickers commercial, anyone?), while two gay women are often seen in a very sexual light. More athletically speaking, a female athlete admits to being gay, no one is surprised; a male athlete admits the same thing, we're up in arms doing eclusive interviews and feature stories on ESPN.
Just back off, already. I really don't care what these guys (and girls) do with their private time.
What's the common denominator here? Defense. They kept the Saints out of the end zone for most of the game, and neutralized Seattle. The Colts were too much, and they lost because their DEFENSE SUCKED, not because of Rex. Did he play well? No... but neither did Peyton Manning. It wasn't all Rex's fault. If the Ravens can win with Trent Dilfer, the Bears certainly can win with Rex.