The new NFL season has started with inferior officiating as the lockout from the regular NFL officials continues. Some will say you cannot tell the difference in the low-rung college officials and the crews we have been accustomed to seeing. Think again.
There is a reason why many of these officials are not on the big games on Saturday as well as Sunday afternoon. They are not that good is one reason. There are some who have not been able to make the commitment due to job requirements or family. In all, they are doing the best they can.
If only the players and coaches would do the same.
Yes, they put in a lot of work, classroom time and conditioning, not to mention watered-down practices and now your version of pro football as we know it. Lack of offensive imagination that includes inept running attacks, poor tackling defensively and the lost art of specialty teams would be on page one. It is the product that we have, and there is not much more we can do about it at this point.
New-look Rams
Closer to home you have our St. Louis Rams. To say this is a new-look team would be the understatement of the year. A new coaching staff and over 30 new players. Mind you, the Rams have changed coaches and players in the past and maybe too much with little result.
This time I would like to tell this may be different. OK, this will be different. For the first time in a long time, the Rams actually has a coach who has done this before. They have a coach that is respected by the league and his colleagues as well as veteran players. Jeff Fisher is a real coach. He has real coaches who he will coach up, hence the players should be better.
The players … Ah yes, the players.
This will be one of the youngest groups of players ever assembled by a NFL team. They are not all good players, but they are in most cases better than the guys they are replacing. Not sure if that says a lot about a team that was as dreadful as we saw the past few seasons, but you have to start somewhere.
Fisher will start at least five rookies and more should be in the mix of making a contribution. They will grow together, win and lose together, as well as get injured and perhaps get cut together.
I have no real prediction for this team when it comes to wins and losses and neither should anyone else. With so many new moving parts, along with the questions of true depth and cohesiveness, this will be a season of interest and certainly hope.
Mizzou’s coming out party
The wait is over. Missouri will finally make its debut in the powerful SEC Conference. Thank goodness the moment is here as the Tigers will take on the #6 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Columbia Saturday night. The state is excited and well they should be as real, big-time college football has made it to Columbia.
One thing we should all take under advisement here. This is one game. There will be many other schools from the SEC that Mizzou will play, and some of them will be better than Georgia. Win or lose Mizzou will have work to do, and this one game will not be an indicator that the Tigers can or cannot play in the best conference in college football.
Missouri has come a long way. Their best move in my opinion was to have former great Howard Richards return to the program he helped put on the map some years ago as one of their broadcasters. Howard had a very solid rookie season last year and will be even better this year. His presence gives Missouri real credibility.
Tiger still the man
For those of you who thought Tiger Woods is no longer the man, I would suggest that you take notice of his third place finish over the weekend. No, he did not win but his finish put him over the $100 million in earnings on the tour. If case you are wondering, the sometimes anointed “Chosen One”’ Phil Mickelson is $30 million behind Tiger. While Woods has made nearly 10 times that much in endorsements over the course of his storied career, the tournaments that wrote out checks to Woods during that time are a lot better off thanks to his participation, along with the PGA itself being on more solid ground as an organization.
While we see players who are awarded $100 million contracts these days, is there a better $100 million investment in an athlete with respect to the larger rewards than Tiger Woods?
