An Angel has Fallen

I really don’t talk much about baseball here, but sometimes on an occasion I like to talk about the sport. This time the topic isn’t about steroids use in the MLB, but something tragic. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart has died from a hit and run accident. Nick and two other people were hit by a drunk driver’s car on Thursday. Adenhart was only 22 years old and was drafted by the Angels in 2004 and only had 4 major league starts. He was the youngest pitcher to be on a pitching staff in the MLB this season He was a young man with his future ahead of him. I myself will be turning 21 in about two weeks. It’s hard to imagine losing your life at a very young age. He died hours right after he made his season debut this season. The drunk driver Andrew Gallo, ran away from the scene and has been arrested before for drunk driving with a suspended license and could face murder charges. Hopefully justice will be served.

When tragedy hits, the team comes together with times like these. Torii Hunter said, "He was a very funny kid and he's going to be missed," he said. "Every time you come to the stadium and you go in that clubhouse, you're looking at Nick Adenhart's locker. A lot of these guys in here have never lost anybody in their family that's close to them. I hate that this happened, but this is part of life. This is the real deal," he said. "That's why you've got to kiss your kids, kiss your family every day when you get up in the morning and before you leave for work." This season has already started tough for the Angels with this tragic loss, and they need to move on with their lives like people do, but with the memory of a young talent whose life was taken.

I remember when my high school football team lost their one of their RB in a gun shooting two years ago in the summer. That fall the team played well with a bigger reason to play. They played for their fallen teammate week in and week out. The team would eventually make it to the playoffs losing in the quarter finals. It was their drive and the memory of their teammate that made them make it to the playoffs. The last time the team made it to the playoffs was in 1988 in the Championship game. It was sad that they lost their teammate, but each time they walked out to the field they played not for themselves, but for their teammate who was no longer on the field with them. Maybe this will be the same thing for the Angels. Overall, it’s sad to see a young talent and human being like Adenhart die, who had so much potential to do great things in the MLB.

Son Not Like Father

We won’t be seeing a future Elway now, since John Elway’s son, Jack Elway has left the Arizona St. football team. Elway was a redshirt freshmen last season, will continue his education at Arizona St. Coach Erikson added, "He's just tired of football and wants to do something else with his life," Sun Devils coach Dennis Erickson said Monday, according to The Arizona Republic. "He made a decision, and we all understand it. He would have played here eventually." He would’ve gotten the job at head QB eventually, but with five other QB’s on the roster and Elway entering into his sophomore year at Arizona St. it was a 50/50 chance of him starting next year.

Many fans would think that a legend of a son like John Elway would be like his father and potentially have a bright future in the NFL possibly one day. Maybe he doesn’t want to play football now, maybe the fun out of football is gone for him. I know people in Arizona and the fans that support the team will blast and criticize the kid this week on the airways. The only reason he will get criticized is because he’s the son of a legend. If he was John Doe, no one would care about him because Arizona St. has 4 more QB’s on the roster. Losing John Doe isn’t too bad when you have 4 more QB’s that can replace him, but you can’t replace an Elway.

People thought he was going to be like his father. When you’re the son of a legend, people expect you to be like your dad and become legendary. It doesn’t always end up like that. With a father like John Elway, there is going to be added pressure to be like your old man. Let’s not forget he’s a young man and some young men don’t see themselves doing something that they have been doing for awhile. That’s why people change their majors in college sometimes. Over time you decide what’s good for you and what you want to do with your life. You discover what you really truly want to do in life. Football could’ve got boring to him or maybe he just wanted to focus on school. Let’s not forget to factor in that maybe football was getting in the way of school. From what I hear football players have some rigorous structured schedules in college. You have to wake up early for morning workouts, have practice later on, and watch film (just a simple breakdown). On top of that you have classes, school work, and of course you need to hit the occasional parties as well. There isn’t enough information on why he left the team, but all we can do is speculate. Remember all this is just speculation.

A Tradition Shut Down

A successful High School football program will close its door. Driscoll Catholic High School in Chicago will not be back in operation next year because of low enrollment rate and financial problems due to the recession. The school is not a newly opened school, its been around since 1966 and its football team the Highlanders, has won 7 consecutive Class A championships. Last season the high school football program lost in the quarterfinals in the playoffs ending their season run at 9-3 and 92-6 over 7 years total. Brother Kevin Convey, director of education said it was because of the plunging population and economic recession the school had to shut its doors.

I think this is sad for kids who are 8th graders right now that were look to be Highlanders and running around in the colors of the school. Also all the younger kids who really believed that they would one day wear the football team’s jersey and play for the school. Those dreams are sadly gone. Many of those kids believed that they would have a legitimate shot at winning a championship on a team with winning tradition and now those dreams kind of hit a speed bump.

Those kids might not get the opportunity to be coached by a good coach at Driscoll. For many kids, a coach is a role model during their years in high school. To some he is like a second father figure or a father figure to those who don’t have a father around in their lives. We seek advice in our coaches when something is not right, we see our coaches everyday if they’re a teacher within the school. We naturally build a bond with them if we like them or not. The relationship between a NFL coach and a NFL player isn’t the same as a high school coach and high school player. Kids who were hoping to get coached by the head coach over Driscoll won’t now possibly. I bet the head coach will get another job somewhere else because of his resume, but it won’t feel the same without wearing those Highlander colors. The tuition of the school is $8,000, and I think the teachers and people who ran the school should’ve taken in account that the economy would hurt some people in some way. I’m not saying it’s the school’s fault, but it should’ve done something to change it and to stabilize their enrollment process for next year. It sucks to see a great football program walking away from the field for good.

Garcia back Home?

The NFL’s equivalent to a journeyman Jeff Garcia is going back to the Bay Area, no not to the 49ers. He’s coming back to the Bay Area in black and silver. The Raiders have singed Garcia to a one year deal. Garcia who is 39 years old will most likely be the second string QB on the roster with JaMarcus Russell starting next season. I like the signing by the Raiders because now they have some sort of insurance policy just in case Russell doesn’t play too well. Now they can revert back to a veteran QB when things get tough for the young QB. Did you actually think that Coach Cable would replace Russell with Andrew Walter when things were not going well? No way Jose! Now with Garcia, a proven veteran, he can bench Russell if the move calls for it.

In my opinion Garcia can still play, but he is getting older. He’s a tough QB who loves to be mobile in the pocket. Last year when he was running out, he got tackled so badly that his nose started to bleed. The guy will put his body out for that extra yard or two. With Garcia you get a QB who can play and throw the ball deep and he’s been to the Pro Bowl 4 times. The Raiders aren’t a team to be too crazy about, but they do have two solid running backs in Fargas and McFadden and one of Russell’s main targets to throw to…Miller at TE who emerged last season as a key part of the offense. Now with the draft approaching, the Raiders should look at getting a WR in Maclin or Crabtree if drops to them and some defensive picks/O-linemen in the draft as well. The Raiders have their work cut out for themselves next season.

Cutler is a Bear

So the Broncos have finally traded Jay Cutler to the Bears. The Broncos traded Cutler for the Bears 2009 first round, third round, 2010 first round picks, and Kyle Orton. Wow, are the Bears crazy or what? They sent this year’s first and next year’s first round picks for Cutler. I could understand sending a first round pick for Cutler, but only one first round pick not two. That’s giving up too much. Many teams like to have a first round pick, now the Bears won’t have a first round pick until the 2011 draft. First Round picks are almost a guarantee 75% of the time. The first round picks are a way of rebuilding a team on a position with a player that can potentially make an impact on the team quickly.

I like this trade and the Broncos will greatly benefit from it a lot. They get a decent QB in Kyle Orton who I have been following since his days at Purdue. He is a good QB who can make plays. He’s nothing special, but he can play and can get the job done. Kyle Orton isn’t a rookie, he’s been playing in the league for 3 years now. He has some experience. I believe with a coordinator and head coach in Josh McDaniels, he will do very well with the system they are installing in Denver. The Broncos also have offensive weapons as well in Marshall, Gaffney, Royal, and Scheffler. Now with the draft picks they have this year, they could make some key adds onto their defense. They could possibly get a DT in B.J. Raji, Peria Jerry, or a LB in Clay Matthews, Brian Cushing and could trade up for Aaron Curry maybe. They could even get one defensive and one offensive player in the first round too. They could draft RB Chris Wells by using one of the first round picks in which they are interested in.

For Cutler, I feel bad. I think the Broncos wanted to trade Cutler to a team that wasn’t too good and in return got some good draft picks and a decent QB…and they did. They sent Cutler to the Bears who don’t have any good WR’s on the roster. They have two decent TEs in Clark and Olsen. In the WR position they only got Devin Hester who didn’t do too much last season and some guys that I don’t know of. The Bears could draft a WR for Cutler in the second round, but you never know who they will draft. Once the team starts doing bad, count on Cutler speaking his mind, “We felt that [Cutler] is a very good person, a good leader,” Angelo said. “He had some things that happened in Denver. We recognized those, but we treated them as just speed bumps, part of the growing process. He's highly competitive, he's highly emotional. That just comes with the territory.” Angelo said it himself…he’s highly emotional. When things don’t go the way he wants, things for the Bears will go downhill. Cutler is a very talky QB who isn’t mature enough. I am not too worried as a Packers fan. I think the Packers are slightly better than the Bears with the Vikings as the king of the league to win the NFC North title. The Packers are slightly better because of their offense led by Aaron Rodgers with good wideouts in Driver, Jennings, and Nelson, but their new 3-4 defense has me a little worried. I don’t know what to expect from their new defensive scheme. For the Bears, they have a very good defense and it will help Cutler out a lot. When Cutler doesn’t march the offense down the field for any points, he has a good defense to stop the other team from scoring. Let’s not forget that it’s defense that wins championships. Only time will tell if this was a good pick up for the Bears and how their draft turns out this year and next year.

Buyer Beware of Cutler

The Broncos are open to trading Jay Cutler now to teams that are interested. Jay Cutler is a buyer beware type of situation for any team that’s interested in him. He is a young QB who is very talky. He said his arm was stronger than John Elway’s arm. Even during press conferences he is talky and doesn’t know when is the best time to shut up and not say too much. You can be opinionated, but there are lines drawn when you cross over the line sometimes. You need to remember that you’re the face of the franchise. What you do and say will be scrutinize by writers and fans. Cutler also has diabetes which is a problem if it’s not in check. He has more responsibilities in being healthy ready during games and practice. Could his diabetes effect what he does in games? What if he has low blood sugar which could effect how he plays? Maybe or maybe not.

Let’s not also forget that he had one good year. I know his defense isn’t that great and that the defense lost many games for Cutler, but he has one good year only. Don’t bank on him too quickly. There have also been reports (alleged) that Cutler has an alcohol problem. They’re saying he consumes too much and that coach Josh McDaniels was concerned about that regarding Cutler. That could be a potential worrisome problem down the road for any franchise. Remember Brett Favre and his addiction to pain killers, I bet you the Packers organization was worried if he would be back in time for the next season after rehab. If he drinks too much and can’t control his drinking it could be a hazard to the team and people around him. Who wants a drunken QB before he runs out of the tunnel? This report could be true and it can’t. Let’s remember he’s still very young and he is in a big city. What happens in cities…Parties and nightlife. People go clubbing and hang out with friends and have drinks and meet women. I bet you there are people who recognize Cutler and spread the word that a Bronco is in the club. People then go up to him bring more attention and he becomes the life of the party. Sooner or later reporters might be there and see what he does. The media likes to put athletes and famous people under a microscope and dissect their every move. Imagine him New York and the nightlife they have.

Another thing, when you get Cutler you won’t be getting a mature QB like a Payton Manning or Brett Favre. They don’t talk too much but talk enough to walk around the league with a lot of authority. If they say something, you (the teammate) will listen to what they say or advise you to do. You won’t be getting a very smart QB like Tom Brady who can make a broken play work on the go. You won’t get an experienced QB like a Ben Roethlisberger or Phillip Rivers who have been to the playoffs. When you trade for Cutler…buyer beware because there is some baggage coming along with him.

Odd Reason for not Drafting a QB

We now know for sure that the 49ers won’t draft Matthew Stafford in this year’s draft. The 49ers are picking 10th overall in the draft and it would be a big Aaron Rodgers/Brady Quinn like drop for Stafford to be available when the 49ers would be on the clock where he is projected as a potential number 1 pick. So how come the 49ers won’t be drafting the Georgia QB? It’s for a very odd reason that many of us fans wouldn’t have thought of about. The 49ers won’t draft Stafford because he didn’t want to talk about his parent’s divorce. 49ers head Coach Singletary said, “If you're going to look at drafting a guy in the first round, and you're going to pay him millions of dollars, and asking him about a divorce about his parents, if that's going to be an issue, uhhh, then you know what, maybe he doesn't belong here.”

I really can’t believe that this is the reason why they will not draft Stafford. I really feel the question is inappropriate. A coach is asking you about a matter that is very personal. What does that relate to how he plays football? Don’t tell me it’s all about his psyche. Don’t say it will help teams determine if his psychological state is in check. He’s been playing at Georgia and didn’t have any problems. Why don’t you ask his college coach if there are any problems that were related to his parent’s divorce. I’m sure Coach Richt knows Stafford really well.

I know the team wants to know that if their future draft pick will be a stable person in the NFL. But if you’re going to pay him a lot of money, he will do his job at the best of his ability. The NFL hasn’t had a Ryan Leaf type of situation for awhile and won’t for another 10 or 20 years. Those types of players don’t come into the league very often. If he doesn’t want to talk about his parent’s divorce than leave him alone about. Don’t be the team that says “we won’t draft him because of his parent’s divorce” and watch him in a few years become a good QB. You’ll be watching a “what could’ve been situation” play right in front of you. I just think it’s foolish that people will judge if you’re draft worthy based on your parent’s divorce. I would understand if the person was involved in some gang things or had friends who were in gangs or bad influence on the player. But this is just a divorce, he played well last season with 3,459 passing yards and 25 touchdowns (career totals: 51 TD & 7,731 yards). The team psychologist said that Stafford had “unfinished business”. What kid doesn’t have unresolved things with parents? We all have family issues and need to deal with them.