Thom Allison’s Weekly Round-Up: NFL schedule revealed, why is Urban Meyer back in the news?
Ladies and gentlemen, we have made it to the midway point of ‘quiet’ season in the NFL.
The draft is over. Mel Kiper has begun his summer hibernation. And we have entered that stage of free agency where Terrell Owens starts talking about a possible NFL comeback.
On the subject of TO, he is still managing to create history even at the ripe old age of 46. This week he became the first ever player to be traded in the Fan Controlled League.
So after that introduction, what could we possibly have to discuss? Well it’s funny you should ask…
Of course, this offseason has been anything but quiet. This week was no different.
A GOAT + A FOX = $$$$
Sometimes life is just not fair.
Tom Brady has spent the last two decades being much better at football than anyone else. He has probably lost count of the amount of records he’s broken. And he has collected enough rings to make Sonic the Hedgehog green with envy.
TB12’s footballing exploits have helped him to amass an estimated wealth of over $250 million, marry an international supermodel and attain a level of fame and status reserved only for the Mount Rushmore of sporting icons.
Yes, it’s fair to say that the last 22 years have been tough for Tom. And to make matters worse, he isn’t even the main breadwinner in his own household. That honour goes to his wife, Giselle.
But, if there’s one thing we know about the GOAT, he does not do second place. And despite his career being late in the 4th quarter, it’s never too late to rescue the dub.
So when news broke this week of Brady’s reported $375 million, 10-year contract to become the new face of football on FOX, should we really have been all that surprised?
There were no team friendly deals being accepted on this occasion. Brady finalised his retirement plans by becoming the highest paid NFL commentator in history, eclipsing the paltry $18 million per year that ESPN reportedly shelled out to entice Troy Aikman away from Brady’s future employers.
The usual army of Brady detractors were out in force, quick to point out that he had never preformed in the commentary booth before and that this was a huge financial gamble for FOX.
FOX believe they have got themselves a bargain. And if you’re going to have a bet, you couldn’t find a more surefire winner than the GOAT.
If he does fail in his new endeavour, he has 350 million reasons not to care.
Schedule-Mania
As mentioned, this time of year is generally considered the quiet period in NFL World.
But over at NFL HQ, they would televise the opening of an NFL branded envelope if there was money to be made or exposure to be generated.
This explains why the yearly schedule release has morphed into a week long event, complete with comedy skits and individual team hype videos, with the Detroit Lions surely securing bragging rights this year for the epic “survival training” video.
If that wasn’t enough schedule-mania for you, there was even a 2 hour simulcast on FS1 and the NFL Network. Let’s not forget we already knew who was playing who, we just didn’t know when.
And if we wanted to know the NFL was sure as hell going to make us work for it. Bonkers!
Would we have it any other way? Not a chance!
Urban Warfare
Over here at offGrid, we are committed to offering a fair and balanced assessment on the stories we cover.
So when analysing Urban Meyer’s short tenure as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, it could be kindly described as an unmitigated dumpster fire of a disaster, the likes of which may not be witnessed for many a year.
That’s us being kind, in actuality it was much worse.
For decades, the credentials of college head coaches making the switch to the NFL have been fiercely debated and often maligned. It only took Meyer less than ten months to put an end to that debate.
Meyer managed to rack up enough ‘WTF’ moments to populate an NFL Network Top 10 video. The time he was caught on camera getting up close and personal with a woman that wasn’t his wife. And who could forget him not being aware of Aaron Donald, the greatest defensive player of a generation, until “the 99 guy” took up residency on top of his QB.
However, when Shad Khan hired Doug Peterson this offseason, I’m sure he thought he had drawn a line under the whole sorry Meyer experience.
Enter Josh Lambo. Another poor unsuspecting victim of Meyer’s ‘treat them mean, keep them keen’ coaching philosophy. Lambo is suing the Jaguars for his $3.5 million salary for 2021, as well as damages for emotional distress caused by the toxic work environment created on Meyers watch.
This all stems from an incident prior to a preseason game versus the Dallas Cowboys. Lambo alleges that while completing pregame stretches, Meyer approached him to impart his brand of coaching. This consisted of kicking Lambo in leg and saying, ‘Hey dips***, make your f***ing kicks!’.
Lambo, who at the time was statistically the Jags most successful kicker, went on to miss all four of his field goal attempts last season, before being cut two months later. Say what you want about Meyer, but he knew how to make an impact with his players. And with unbelievable and unrivalled results.
