NFL Stuff

A few NFL items:

1. Jack Del Rio is losing his grip in Jacksonville. The wheels are off.

First, the Jaguars are a big disappointment this season. Even before they went on their bye week, they were a huge disappointment. Then, coming out of the bye week, they got dumped at home by the Browns before losing on the road to the winless Bengals. Basically, they're out of playoff contention altogether. So they're a huge disappointment.

Now this shit: Del Rio thought it would be a good idea to hold a team meeting with his players, insist upon their silence, and then call out individual players in front of their teammates and subject them to criticism without an opportunity to defend or explain themselves. Somewhere along the way, he ripped into perhaps the best player left on his defense, veteran Mike Peterson, about showboating after a sack late in a losing effort. Peterson defended himself, it turned into a shouting match, Del Rio kicked him out of the meeting and then banned him from practice for two days.

First of all, as a practice of leadership, I don't think it's ever a good idea to insist upon certain types of behavior from those interacting with you. Like, for instance, telling someone they're not allowed to respond to something you say to them. It's one thing to make such a demand of your children. "Stand there, shut up, and listen to what I have to say." Generally speaking, it's not ideal, and if you're making that statement, even to your kids, it means they did something wrong, which in a roundabout way means something else you tried to get through to them didn't quite make it.

But we're not talking about kids, here. We're talking about grown men, and in Peterson's case, a veteran, a team captain, a stand-up, hardworking guy who has probably earned the right to not be treated like a child in front of his teammates.

And another thing: I like accountability, but efforts towards accountability are ultimately undermined if the messenger lacks credibility. Now, I'm not saying Del Rio lacks credibility in Jacksonville's locker-room, but I know there isn't a person in Jacksonville's football organization who can be absolved of responsibility for the Jaguars sucking, especially not Del Rio. The idea of him standing in front of a room of guys and specifically calling out individuals for their role in another loss is . . . well, unappetizing, for one thing. I'd have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. Did he call himself out for allowing the offense to get so far away from establishing the run this season? I'd guess not. I'd guess this was a big, fat, disgusting case of Jack Del Rio blaming his players for the state of the team, embarrassing them, making them scapegoats, and I'd bet Mike Peterson was grossed out long before Del Rio called his name.

And the thing is, even if Peterson weren't a veteran and a team leader, it's never, never a good sign when a coach and player have a heated exchange in a formal meeting. Generally speaking, it means a coach has lost the locker-room. Frankly, I'm surprised he had it this long.

2. The NFL is getting way, way, way carried away with the disciplinary action for hits on quarterbacks. This Justin Tuck fine is ridiculous. Someone please explain to me what he did wrong on this hit on Brooks Bollinger. Seriously, this shit is getting out of hand. What the hell are defensive players supposed to do? The only way to not put that hit on Bollinger would be to go out of your way to avoid actually hitting him at all. I fucking hate this kind of thing. Why don't they just put red jerseys on quarterbacks and just disallow contact?

Look, I hate injuries to franchise quarterbacks as much as anybody. I'm not interested in NFL seasons going by with a third of the league's quarterbacks on the shelf any given week. But this kind of hit, the kind Tuck put on Bollinger, is not at all the kind of hit that generally leads to injury. It was a clean hit: his helmet made contact well below Bollinger's head, he wrapped up, drove him backwards, and then seemed to let go of him right before they landed. I'd like to hear from the NFL what they'd have a defensive lineman do differently if he's running in on a quarterback with a chance to tackle him before he gets rid of the ball. Push him over? Grab him around the waist?

I'm getting disgusted even thinking about this.

3. I love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE the acquisition of DeAngelo Hall in Washington. I do. I need to get out in front of the local media on this one. I love this move.

First of all, it doesn't cost Washington much at all. They're paying a prorated portion of his $1 million salary for the rest of the season. Second of all, this solves the problem of the Redskins having frequent injuries in the secondary. Third, Hall has some ability. Mostly, though, I like this move because Hall is from this area, played college ball at Virginia Tech, and is going to a veteran team with high expectations, a strong work ethic, and a lot of very serious veteran leadership on his side of the ball. Hall has been a bad guy in his time in the NFL, in that he's got a big mouth and tends to be a me! me! me! sort of personality. Well, there's just no room for that kind of crap on this team. He's got 7 regular season games to try to prove he can fit in and be a team guy on a veteran team. He knows it. If he plays the part, he could land himself another decent contract after the season. If not, hey, it's just seven games, they can deactivate his ass and send him home.

And it keeps him from going to another NFC contender, where he'll be faced with roughly the same equation: shape up, fly straight, work hard, try to rebuild the reputation, earn a contract in the off-season. Either way, any good, well-coached team would get something positive from him for 7 or 8 games. The only possible better case scenario would have had him landing in Dallas like a base into a vat of acid, killing everyone involved in a massive explosion of gore.

I think Carlos Rogers is a few picks away from being a Pro Bowl corner. Shawn Springs is as good a cover corner as there is in the NFC when healthy. Fred Smoot is a chemistry guy, a fan favorite, and a capable nickel corner. Leigh Torrance has turned into a fine special teamer and a regular contributor on defense. The Redskins are deep in the secondary. But injuries have been a problem, and you just can't have too many capable cover guys with good hands available. If nothing else, he can step in and challenge somebody in practice. I love this move. Love it. It costs the Skins almost nothing, and they made the decision the right way, involving veterans like London Fletcher in the discussion. Great great great.

That's all, y'all.