Eras
Football Outsiders has an excellent takedown of a Pat Kirwan article. I'd add that Kirwan is using a Straw Argument, taking down a myth that probably doesn't even exist. Is anybody still touting out the "you don't need a great quarterback to win a championship" line anymore? That seemed like a popular conversation topic around 2000-2002, the same period that "There are no more NFL dynasties" was a popular topic (nobody's batting that idea around anymore, either).
Oh, but certainly from 2000-2002 people were discussing whether dynasties were dead and whether a "game manager" QB was all you need. It was silly and shortsighted, subsequent history shows. But we should have looked backward, too, to recognize that that period was not unique.
Let me describe an era for you.
In Year A, a former first round draft pick no longer on his first team starts the season on the bench. In the middle of the season he takes over and leads a Wild Card team to a Super Bowl win.
In Year B, a young, inexperienced non-first round pick quarterback takes over and surprisingly leads a team to a Super Bowl championship. That team and quarterback seemed to come out of nowhere.
I just described 2000 (Trent Dilfer) and 2001 (Tom Brady), right? Sure.
But I also described 1980 (Jim Plunkett) and 1981 (Joe Montana).
So the 2000-2002 era didn't signal a radical change in the role of quarterbacks on championship teams. The same sort of situations has happened in the past, and subsequent history still shows the value of great quarterbacks and the existence of NFL dynasties.
There's a reason to know sports history, and it's not just nostalgia. It offers us context in understanding the present and perhaps in predicting the future.
At Epic Carnival
wwtb? looks at The Career Backup Quarterback.
Apologies if you're waiting for me to comment on the Viking backup quarterback update; I'm just really not ready to talk about this.
Gus Frerotte
I started buying baseball cards and I got a Dennis Kucinich card.
Seriously. Topps is always doing gimmicky shit for its baseball card set. But if I'm going to get a baseball card of a politician, I'm glad it was my favorite politician. As the back of the card says, Kucinich promotes non-violence and a vegan lifestyle. I'll keep the card.
Other Links
Grant's Tomb is ready to discuss Gus Frerotte.
Dirk Nowitzki is not "soft" (Fanhouse).
A look back at the NBA playoffs after Martin Luther King's assassination (Rocky Mountain News, via TrueHoop).
On Kevin Garnett and his MVP candidacy (Wages of Wins).
Weekend
Have a good weekend, folks. Go Bruins.
Bad call on Jim Plunkett; he was drafted #1 overall by the Patriots in 1971.
ReplyDeleteJosh-
ReplyDeleteI believe you misread PV's post. In reference to Jim Plunkett he referred to him as a former first-rounder who won a super bowl with a team different than the one who drafted him (i.e the Raiders instead of the Patriots) much like Trent Dilfer (with the Ravens and not the Bucaneers who drafted him).
PV - Sorry to use your comments like this...however, we couldn't find your email anywhere. Please drop us an email, we've a question we would like to ask you. Thanks -
ReplyDeletenews@10000takes.com
PV
ReplyDelete"There's a reason to know sports history, and it's not just nostalgia. It offers us context in understanding the present and perhaps in predicting the future."
You know that I have to give you props for that. I hope many others start to realize that history can tell us a lot about the future.