Author: Nick

Eric Winston: Commissioner’s Power Must Change In New CBA

Via the Washington Post:

With the propriety of Tom Brady’s DeflateGate suspension now set to be resolved in court and many of those in and around the sport expressing the view that the NFL’s system of justice is broken, the players’ union is vowing to address Commissioner Roger Goodell’s power to hear appeals in certain player-disciplinary cases in the next set of labor negotiations.

“It would be hard to imagine any new deal if there’s not a change,” Eric Winston, the veteran offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals who is the president of the NFL Players Association, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I can’t imagine taking a new deal back to the players and say personal conduct isn’t going to change.”

I never got around to writing a full article on this, but Winston is correct.  As the old saying goes, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Achieving separation of powers in disciplinary matters should be a primary goal for the NFLPA in the future.  However, don’t expect the owners’ official representative, of all people, to give that up without a fight.  Come 2021, I fear there will be a very lengthy work stoppage that will include regular season games.

The Utter Non-Parity of the AFC’s Past Two Decades

Occasionally, there may be some fun football facts that cross my mind that I feel deserve a quick mention somewhere.  Here are some that have been in my head for a while, and that I finally took the time to investigate further.

That, as the title suggests, is how top heavy the AFC has been for the past 20 seasons.  During that time, just five teams (about one third of the conference) have dominated.  Good news, the Broncos are one of those teams!  The other four are the Steelers, Patriots, Ravens, and Colts.

Continue reading The Utter Non-Parity of the AFC’s Past Two Decades

PFF: Tap The Brakes On The Derek Carr Hype

There seems to be a growing consensus among league observers that the Raiders have finally found a quarterback in Derek Carr, recently furthered by an article by Mike Sando in which he culled league observer opinions to place Carr as the league’s 20th best QB. However, PFF says, not so fast, my friend:

There were certainly things to like about Carr’s rookie season, including his performance in Oakland’s 24-13 win over the 49ers, and his effectiveness on intermediate throws throughout the year. But overall, his body of work lagged well behind the rest of the league, and he ranked No. 38 out of 39 qualifying QBs in our grading system (only the Jaguars’ Blake Bortles graded out lower).

Continue reading PFF: Tap The Brakes On The Derek Carr Hype

Derek Wolfe Suspended 4 Games For PED Violation

Easy come, easy go on the suspension front.

The NFLPA released this statement on behalf of Wolfe:

Please allow me to offer my most sincere apology to everyone in the Broncos organization, and especially to my teammates and our fans. During the off-season I took a medication which is on the banned substance list.  The medication is not a substance which would enhance my on-field performance in any way, and I genuinely was unaware that it was prohibited, but players are responsible for what is in their bodies. I will certainly exercise far greater caution in the future and will seek advice relating to the permissibility of any and all medications. I’m very disappointed that I can’t help my team for the first four weeks of the season, but I look forward to a great season with the Broncos and can’t wait to get back on the field in week five.

Chiefs’ Sean Smith Suspended First 3 Games, Which Includes A Broncos Game

The Broncos drew some bad scheduling luck by having to travel to Arrowhead in Week 2 with only four days of rest.  This should help ease some of that pain.  And hey, maybe Marcus Cooper won’t get picked on so much this time because Peyton Manning can now even out who he picks on.  Also, who do the Chiefs get in Week 3?  A trip to Lambeau to face Aaron Rodgers.

Champ Bailey: Wes Welker Shouldn’t Play

We’ve already been down the road before on whether calls for Welker to retire are legit concerns for health or unnecessary paternalism.  But the opinion of a colleague and former teammate who played the game at its highest level may carry more weight to Welker than to someone he’s never met before.

I Think Ed Hochuli, Esq. Would Approve

You may have come across the excellent Logical Fallacy Ref gallery in your other perusals of the internet already, but if you haven’t, these could be handy if you run into a terrible football argument elsewhere.  Using Ed Hochuli as the meme prop is excellent not only for his popularity, but appropriate for his other profession as an attorney.

I actually do have have a more serious comment about officiating below the fold, but there’s also one of those images in the galleries that took me down (a rough) memory lane. Continue reading I Think Ed Hochuli, Esq. Would Approve

Thin Air Tips & Guidelines For Comments & Posts

In here, you can find some suggestions that should help you in creating content for Thin Air and ensure that it is conveyed in a way that is clear and understandable for all readers. As these are just tips and guidelines, rest assured that no one will get in trouble for not always referencing them–the only thing that might happen is that I make a slight format change in a post if it bugs me enough.  And as always, feedback is welcome for any other suggestions for this list.

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