Gabe wasn't the only one to have an epiphanous experience this weekend. Here, too, are what I gathered from this weekend, starting with the NFL's opening week.
* The 2010 NFL Draft will potentially feature four first-round quarterbacks: Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy, Florida's Tim Tebow and Ole Miss' Jevan Snead.(I say potentially because Bradford could opt to stay another year to prove his shoulder is right and to not get into a battle for the top pick with McCoy.) The destinations for these four men, after Week 1, seem pretty clear: St. Louis, Carolina, Washington and Jacksonville.
Now, Jacksonville's owner has already come out and admitted it would like to have Tebow because of his iconic status in the state of Florida and how that would translate in their dwindling ticket sales. There is, of course, the larger issue, which is that David Garrard just isn't cutting it. Whether it be the spotty offensive line or lack of weapons around him, Garrard hasn't proven to be the quarterback the team thought he was when it did away with former first rounder Byron Leftwich and gave a long-term deal to Garrard a couple years ago.
The same could be said for Marc Bulger and Jake Delhomme, the incumbent starters for St. Louis and Carolina respectively. Bulger, like Garrard, suffers from a bad offensive line and even shakier supporting cast. Last Sunday's 28-0 drubbing at the hands of the Seahawks, in which Bulger struggled to complete half of his passes, proved that the former Pro Bowler has lost his confidence and is a shell of what he used to be.
As for Delhomme, like I mentioned in the Week 1 Picks blog, Delhomme's collapse in the playoffs last January clearly has embedded itself into the back of his mind much like Albert Pujols' moon shot burned into the cerebellum of former Astros closer Brad Lidge. His 5 turnover performance against Philly assured Panther fans that Delhomme's last days are upon us.
Then, there's Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. To most diehard Skins fans, Campbell's implosion against the Giants was to be expected. I, for one, thought Campbell would use nearly being replaced twice in the offseason as motivation in a contract year to realize his full potential and start putting everything together. I was wrong. Now, Campbell, much like the other four aforementioned men will sit by this offseason and watch their jobs go to the likes of guys like Bradford and McCoy and Snead and maybe even Tebow(if he can prove he can be a QB in the pros). Of course, as bad as all four quarterbacks were Sunday, their debut wasn't nearly as bad Bears' QB Jay Cutler's, but the chances of the Bears going back to the drawing board after selling the farm for the former Commodore are nil.
*Speaking of QBs, I found the Eagles' hasty signing of Jeff Garcia after starter Donovan McNabb cracked a rib to be a bit interesting. A couple years ago, the team traded its first rounder to division rival Dallas to move down into the second round and select Houston QB Kevin Kolb to be McNabb's heir apparent. That was 2007. Three years later, the team still doesn't trust Kolb enough to give him the reigns even in the short term while McNabb recovers. That has to say something about Kolb's development. Not only does he have to battle Garcia, a cagey veteran who should have been given the Raiders starting gig over former top overall pick JaMarcus Russell, but he also has to fight for snaps for the returning Michael Vick when his suspension is up. It makes you wonder: What plans do the Eagles have for Kolb after signing two more backup quarterbacks in the past 6 weeks?
* I learned this week that L.T. is every bit as done as an elite running back as the pundits made him out to be in the offseason. After finishing the last two seasons with significant injuries, it took Tomlinson all of one half of play to get banged up, this time a sprained ankle. In an all or nothing year for the Chargers, the team can't continue to wait on L.T. to put forth one last hurrah before riding off into the sunset. The team nearly cut the future Hall of Famer loose this offseason and, at 30 and with backup Darren Sproles a free agent again at the end of the year, it seems as if this will be L.T.'s final year, not just as a Charger, but as a starting RB anywhere in the NFL. Look at Edgerrin James, a running back with a similar skill set to L.T. who got old just as fast. It took James until the middle of preseason to get a job and it was splitting carries with a lesser back in Julius Jones for the Seahawks. If or when San Diego lets LT go, where exactly can this man go and be an every down back? With more teams going to a two-back system and with the college ranks constantly churning new runners, there just seems to be no place for the once-great LT and LT strikes me as a man with too much pride to simply hog up a roster spot on a contender for the hopes of winning a ring.
*Finally, everyone has gotten their take on Kanye West's predictable award show temper tantrum, so here's mine. I'm not surprised, not offended. It's something Kanye's been doing for years and he's clearly shown that even at the pinnacle of his career, he'll do or say anything that will grab headlines so long as the cameras are watching. It's happened in past award shows. It's happened at the Katrina fundraiser. It's happened in magazine interviews. He's a man with a tremendous lack of a sense of self.
My issue isn't what West did, as much as why MTV didn't bother to prevent it from happening. For one, why were MTV execs letting stars like West get hammered before the show went to air if not for the hopes that something like Kanye's outburst would take place? What do you expect to happen when you have an award ceremony amongst ignorant, inebriated celebrities? Second, when Kanye was making his way to the stage, nobody felt the need to step in the man's way so Taylor Swift can have her moment? Did he just appear from under the stage? I know MTV aims more for shock value at these award shows, but in the YouTube/Fox News era, I think it's time to be a bit more careful.
As for the aftermath, look, hip-hop, even now at its mainstream peak, is still an artform that is not fully understood by the masses no matter how hard record companies and radio stations have tried to dumb it down for the people over the last few years. At the end of the day, rappers will always be treated like hooligans when things like this go down no matter how much the mainstream media uses them for their slang, their trends and their influences on the youth. No matter how many records Kanye or any rapper sells, all it takes is one public display of ignorance like this to wipe out 100 "Jesus Walks".
--Dave
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