The Crystal Ball 2013 Training Camp Report - Arrival Day

Jerry Jones in 2011:

“I must say to you that I feel good that our stadium and the comments that will be made about the stadium, the visual images of the stadium, that it will be referred to as Cowboys Stadium.”

Jerry Jones in 2013:

"(It) is very important ... that AT&T stadium be where the big events happen, where exciting things happen. And it's beyond Cowboys games."

Tell me Cowboy fans, what does it feel like to have an owner whose priorities go like this:

1)     Self

2)     Money

3)     Ego

4)     Power

5)     Exposure

6)     Money

7)     Yearly facelift touchup

8)     Stadium

9)     That football team that keeps me from booking concerts 8 days a year

Opening Kickoff

How about we start off the 2013 season with a good story about a Titans rookie who saved a family from a burning car? Yes, that seems like the appropriate way to begin. Now, once everything starts going downhill from here, we’ll at least know how high we started from.

The Way it Was

Training camp is here, and so many wonderful and exciting things are happening, it’s making my head swim. Oh where to start? I know, let’s just throw everything into a grab bag and pull out fun stuff by random. Ok, here we go…

Hey, how about we check in with new Dolphin Mike Wallace. Sounds like he’s sure happy to be getting paid, I mean to be playing in Miami. I love how this article starts out with an incompletion from Tannehill to Wallace. I think that’s a theme that will be quite familiar throughout the 2013 campaign.

Tyrann “the honey badger” Mathieu called out Mike Mayock for questioning him and his NFL abilities during the draft. Wait a second, he called out Mike Mayock? Really? How much weed does this kid smoke? Mathieu says he'll blow Mayock a kiss on first game changing play. I bet he gets suspended for weed before that happens.

This story points out the Patriots were wise to be stockpiling tight ends the past few seasons due to the circumstances that have arisen with the Hernandez arrest and Gronkowski’s injury. Tell me, in retrospect does this behavior make it look like New England knew more than they’re letting on regarding Hernandez? At the very least, it makes them look questionably prophetic.

What’s happening down in Hot-lanta? Oh, Matt Ryan just got a big fat new contract extension. I maintain my point from previously; for what? Team owner Arthur Blank cited Ryan's winning record over his first 5 seasons, which is the best for a quarterback in NFL history, as justification for the big contract extension. Hey, Art, keep in mind, that’s regular season only. Ryan’s won 1 playoff game. One. The guy in Pittsburgh once held the title of best 5 year record to start his career, but also added 2 Super Bowl wins to top off that Sundae. You might want to rethink your pay scale for rewarding producing employees. I bet there’s a few associates at Home Depot that probably deserve a fat raise before Ryan.

I wonder how nervous Arthur Blank was authorizing a $100 million contract to a quarterback after what happened the last time he did that.

The Bears, on the other hand, have taken a different stance. They want to see Jay Cutler produce some results and prove he’s worth an extension before they start forking out cash. I bet they’ll be happy they saved the money by the end of the year.

Vikings uber running back Adrian Peterson has predicted he will pass Emmitt Smith and claim the record for most rushing yards in a career in Week 16 of the 2017 season. First, if he really has those kind of prediction skills, he should be playing Powerball. Second, if his body holds up for the next 5 years and allows him to average 120 yards per game to make his prediction, then I guarantee he's using some sort of performance enhancing drug.

According to reports, rookie quarterback Geno Smith is outplaying incumbent Mark Sanchez at Jets camp. Shocked, shocked I am to hear this. In other news, I was shocked to find out the sun rose in the east every day.

Kansas City offensive coordinator Doug Pederson has stated he feels Alex Smith is the best quarterback in the NFL. Duh, that's what he's supposed to say. I bet Todd Haley thinks Ben Roethlisberger is the best quarterback in the NFL. I bet Bill Belichick thinks Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL. I bet Denver OC Peyton Manning thinks Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL. That's what he's supposed to say!

Defending “Champions” Baltimore lost uber tight end Dennis Pitta to a hip injury early in training camp. Pitta and departed receiver Anquan Boldin combined for 7 of Baltimore’s 11 receiving touchdowns in last year’s Super Bowl run. How much you wanna bet Joe Flacco suddenly looks like his old, ineffective self before October?

The Steel Pit

The Steelers, in their yearly tradition, have invaded Latrobe Pennsylvania and St. Vincent's College for another training camp.

This year, the spotlight has not been as bright on them as in previous years thanks to the surging Pirates, currently in first place in the NL Central. After a disappointing 8-8 season, perhaps this is the best thing that could happen for the team.

Before training camp commenced, head coach Mike Tomlin took an opportunity to let some fans snap a picture with the coach. Let's hope this is a sign of good things to come.

Probably a better sign of good things is a lean, mean, ticked off and out to prove something LaMarr Woodley, who will not say such but his actions show he is stung by criticism of his weight and ability following last season. I can't wait to see a mad and motivated Woodley.

As camp commenced, old faces began meshing with new faces. In a Steelers tradition since 2002, Pittsburgh continued it's tradition of having a native Pittsburgher playing back up quarterback by signing Bruce Gradkowski to replace the departed Charlie Batch. Not sure how long this tradition can go, but since Gradkowski is only 30, we're probably good for at least 5 years until someone else is ready to take over.

But Batch is only one long time veteran no longer with the team. Amongst others, the team lost the services of key players like Mike Wallace, James Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall and Keenan Lewis. But I tend to disagree that these losses are all that great.

Think about it this way, what did the team really lose here? A deep threat receiver who dropped more passes than  he caught, ran bad routes underneath and caused trouble in the locker room, a past his prime linebacker who was on the wrong side of multiple injuries, a malcontent running back with a penchant for fumbling and avoiding contact and a one year starting cornerback who's true ability, or lack thereof, has yet to be determined. Now tell me, does that sound all that bad? I didn't think so either.

Regardless, time marches on and another season is upon us, one filled with joy and sorrow, happiness and heartbreak, pain, suffering and unbridled joy. And while those of us in the stands will never feel that of those on the field, we bleed, suffer, cry and cheer right alongside. Poetry in violence is upon us.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

What a feel good story, an Iraq war veteran comes home after serving her country proud and becomes a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals. That's a great story, right? You bet it is. Right up until she gets arrested for assaulting her boyfriend. I'm trying to withhold judgment, but perhaps she may need some PTSD therapy if she's lashing out in such a way.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees cleared up a misconception and intimated he left a 3 dollar tip on a take out order of over 70 dollars. Thanks to the denizens of social media, Drew was painted as a cheapskate by those who thought he left such a tip on regular in-restaurant service. I hope as a society we soon find something worthwhile to do with our time rather than sit back in anonymity and judge the tipping habits of the rich and famous. Then again, I could wish for wings that work and see which one comes true first.

In the wake of Aaron Hernandez, Tom Brady feels the Patriots must reestablish what they're all about. Hey, that's easy. Everyone knows what the team is all about. It's about winning at any cost, by hook or by crook. But I imagine now it includes the caveat of doing such without employing potential murderers. Yes, I am a tad skeptical of the Patriots company line of we had no idea this could happen. I think they had an idea trouble could be brewing, although not to this magnitude, but they were betting against it.

Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Ryan Swope retired at the start of training camp due to repeated concussions in his career. Be prepared football fans, as we learn more about this injury and become more conscious of the long term effects, this will soon become commonplace.

Broncos linebacker Von Miller is insisting he did not smoke marijuana in his failed drug test. Let me guess, he was just holding it for a friend and somehow that caused his failed test? Or was it he was hanging out with Santonio Holmes?

von miller says he didn't smoke weed. Ok, were you just holding it for a bud?

Upon Further Review

The NFL world got itself stirred up into a righteous lather this week by the discovery of a video of Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper, a Caucasian man, yelling a racial slur at an African American security guard at a concert.

Cooper has since come out and publicly apologized, and to be honest it looked and felt humiliating for him. Good. I think when you come face to face with your own ignorance it should feel humiliating. That’s part of learning and growing sometimes, especially when faced with your own failings and faults.

Predictably, the social media universe in which we live spent the better part of the week debating if Cooper was as bad as Hitler or just a notch below for being a drunken ignoramus. They demanded the NFL fine and suspend Cooper, wanting Roger Goodell’s own special brand of frontier justice enacted on the wayward receiver.

Adding his own brand of stupidity, Marcus “brother of Michael” Vick offered a $1000 bounty on Cooper to anyone who goes after him on the field. I’m guessing Marcus would be borrowing that money from his brother. In a beyond classy moment that showed how much he has grown, Vick did not support his brother’s stance and chastised him. And showing his own maturity and leadership, went further and mentioned how he forgave Cooper and gave us all some food for thought:

“What if your son or daughter made a mistake of this factor? How would you want people to perceive it? I've been there before.”

Now this is a Michael Vick of whom we can all be proud. And he makes a great point. How would you feel if it was your son or daughter, father, mother, sister, brother, cousin? How would you feel if in the heat of the moment, anger and passions overflowing, you said something this disgusting?

I spent the last few days thinking about this issue and wondering where the right for such venomous indignation comes from. I wonder if any of us are any better than Cooper. I recently was scrolling through a bunch of Tweets by people complaining about Marc Anthony singing the national anthem at the MLB All Star Game, and these tweets were full of awful racial slurs directed at Anthony by ignorant morons so stupid, they didn’t even know that they were questioning the birth place of a natural born citizen. That’s right, they were up in arms because they thought Anthony wasn’t American, and used his lineage to drop racist slurs all over social media. And these people were using their real names too, which boggled my mind.

I drive past on my way to work two houses that proudly display the confederate flag. One of them has emblazoned on the flag itself, in large letters, the world Redneck. Not only are these people proudly displaying their racist thoughts, but they’re also showing the world how proud they are to be ignorant and stupid.

And yes, while I know in our country they are perfectly within their rights to do such things, it blows my mind that one would want to do them. Why would you want to spread a message of hate and ignorance? Why would you want the world to think of you as stupid, and then affirm you are proud of such things?

While it’s good to call people on the carpet for perpetuating this behavior, how are we learning from it? We are still, as my previous examples illustrate, far more racist than anyone admits. And I question who has the moral authority to even judge someone like Cooper.

As though reading my mind, Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports fired off this gem of a column that is the perfect retort to the social media storm surrounding Cooper and the Eagles. I cannot recommend more that you take time to read this column and truly ingest what is has to say. Perhaps with more honest communication, we can as a society really grow from moments like this, instead of just waiting for the next time someone says something stupid so we can all denounce them in order to feel better about ourselves.

He Said He Said

 “You’re worth whatever they pay you, and the team felt like I was worth it.” – Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace

Sad that Wallace equates self worth with a monetary amount, but hey he’s young. But let’s revisit this in a few months, see if Miami still feels if Wallace is “worth” it.

“This is an incredible opportunity you guys have. It’s one of the great experiences of your life to be a teammate with somebody in the National Football League. The camaraderie you develop at a team meal is like nothing else. When people retire from the game, you know what they say? ‘I miss the locker room. I miss the camaraderie at the meals.’ So lose the Styrofoam thing, get a tray, sit down next to one of your teammates, and let’s build a football team. Let’s build a football team. It’s really important stuff. You’re gonna thank me for it later. Trust me. You’re gonna thank me for it later.” – Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett during a pre camp speech recorded and posted on The MMQB

What a powerful speech by Garrett, who really hit the nail on the head of not only playing professional football, but on experiencing almost anything worthwhile in life. These are the important things. My only question is, when those guys come back to thank Jason, where will he be working?

“I like it. I love it. To be honest with you, I’ve been hoping that they did this a long time ago, to even out the playing field and make guys be honest and true to themselves. So I can’t wait ’til they draw my blood … I’m clean as a whistle.” - Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, to Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, on the looming blood tests for NFL players

I certainly hope this does not turn into what is commonly known as ironic foreshadowing.

"But my brother has to not show a certain level of ignorance himself.” – Eagles quarterback Michael Vick on his brother Marcus offering a bounty on embattled teammate Riley Cooper

Anyone else feel like the Michael Vick redemption story just got better? Me too.

“It doesn’t feel great being lied to like that. He looked me in the eye on multiple occasions and repeatedly denied these allegations and said they were not true.” – Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Ryan Braun’s insistence to him last year he did not use PEDs

This is too good of a pie in the face karmic moment to just mention it once. This is the perfect segue for….

Idiot of the Week

The beginning of the NFL season is rife with idiots. But I have to give the first preseason/training camp award to a man who can encapsulate two major sports.

This week's award goes to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, for his blind defense of his friend and business partner, suspended PED user Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun.

Last year, Braun became embroiled in a steroid scandal of which it looked like a suspension was imminent. However, due to a technicality and an arbitration hearing, Braun avoided any suspension or fine. Instead of slinking away quietly, knowing he got away with something, Braun went on an arrogant offensive, once again claiming his innocence and publicly slandering the test takers, handlers and others that dared try slander his "good" name.

However, after the Biogenesis investigation, it became apparent that Braun was a roider, and MLB suspended him for the remainder of this season.

Ok, so another liar and cheat got busted, big deal. What the hell does this have to do with football, I know you're asking. I'm getting there, just setting the table.

Well, after Braun was "exonerated" last year, Rodgers went to Twitter to vehemently defend his friend, even going so far as to bet a year's salary on Braun's innocence.

Fast forward one year, and Braun is proven to be the lying cheat he is, and now Rodgers is left with a massive amount of egg on his face. And unless I've missed a story, so far Rodgers has not come forth to pay up to the fan he bet a year's salary with over Braun's innocence.

So Aaron, for being a naive fool, believing your business partner because he's your business partner, making a foolish bet and then refusing to honor said bet, you are our first official idiot of the 2013 season. Congratulations.

On Tap This Week

For the remainder of camp, we will have a few standalone pieces mixed in with the normal information overload, and then once the season begins, pure madness!