Michael Balich presents his views on the sport we love.
It's no secret, I'm an avid Chicago Bears fan. I have a Chicago Bears ski cap from 1986. The little orange ball on top is missing. It still "fits" though (I had a big head...I was six in 1986). There's even a hole in it. One of my first memories is watching the Super Bowl shuffle. I have a picture of Walter Payton on my dresser. I live in Evansville, IN which means everyone and their brother jumped onto the Colts bandwagon last year. After the Bears lost, I still wore my Bears ski cap proudly. I have no qualms with supporting my team after a big loss following 21 years of not quite getting there. Yes, I realize that most years should be described differently than "not quite getting there", but I hope you can forgive my positive spin.
I must say though, that at some point soon, if the league keeps screwing up a perfectly good thing (namely, getting paid large sums of money for the potential of getting killed/paralyzed/knocked out/given a concussion) I'm going to quit watching in the near future. What is my beef? Most personal foul penalties.
It probably all started with the advent of the place kicker, but I have no qualms with getting rid of plainly dirty actions that add no value to the play. Face slaps and the like were just plain dirty. What I've grown quite tired of the past few years are the countless penalties which are called which do nothing but help the offense in the NFL's quest for making the NFL more like the AFL. What I'm talking about specifically are the following:
Roughing the Passer
Everyone familiar with the pump fake? It's a great play, the quarterback is so great on the run that he scares the defender by pretending he's going to throw the ball. Well, you know what, if you're going to allow the pump fake, you're going to have to allow at least two steps by the defender before he tackles the quarterback. A defender should not be afraid of getting a penalty called on him if he actually tackles the quarterback right after seemingly getting rid of the football. I say "seemingly" because how is the defender supposed to know in that split second whether or not the quarterback actually let the ball go? If the quarterback is that afraid of getting hurt, he should know when to throw the football. Or perhaps he could hit the weightroom and put on a few pounds of muscle. Quarterbacks used to be tough. Manning is the only tough QB I can think of, which sucks because I hate the Colts.
Extension of Roughing the Passer - The QB Slide
If a QB goes past the line of scrimmage, defenders should not be trying to figure out if he's going to slide or if he's making a cut. You all know the play I'm thinking about specifically in which Urlacher did not tackle my least favorite player of all time, Tom Brady. That was a proverbial difference maker in the game. The best LB in the league should not have THAT in the back of his mind. If the QB is allowed past the line of scrimmage, he should have to pay the price. I don't care that McMahon always got hurt, it was damned fun to watch.
Unnecessary Roughness
I shouldn't even have to mention this one as we're talking about football, but I must. Ronnie Lott routinely lit up receivers coming into his area. If the receiver didn't know Lott was around he was creamed. I miss this type of play. If a guy is going up to try to catch the ball and you decide to play the body and the ball is just over the guy's head, it should not be a penalty. Put simply, a defensive player should never be penalized for executing a play where the offensive player puts HIM SELF into a bad position. If the ball is overthrown, you better look down and dodge the oncoming blow. I know Lott wasn't a Bear, but, needless to say, I wish he were...
Excessive Celebration (or whatever it is called)
Players should be allowed to do whatever the heck the crowd lets them get away with. If it is direct taunting of the other team, that is different. But if guys gather around and do a little dance, who gives a crap? Seriously. If you think the guy is an * sshole because of it, chances are, he probably is, and now that you know that, you won't feel so bad when the karmic retribution snaps their ACL in week 10. Of course, they could outlaw certain, just plain stupid celebrations like the NYG jump shot that the Bears inexplicably mocked them with, but then did the very same thing the following week. It was not a happy day for me.
"Late" Hit Out of Bounds
When a player gets near the out of bounds line, if his foot has not touched out of bounds, the play is still live. If there is a defender close enough to him to hit him while he is in the air, he should be punished for his transgression (as Walter Payton would put, for "dying easy"). The referee almost never spots the ball properly if someone jumps diagonally out of bounds. The ball should be placed where the ball is when the players foot touches out of bounds, not where the ball went out. This isn't golf. I really hope I'm not wrong in that remembrance of the rule, otherwise this whole section is pretty much a moot point. I can't really find a clarification to this, but I'm thinking this is correct. If not, let me know. In summary, if a runner has placed a foot on the ground out of bounds, he should not be hit, but if he's still in the air, he should be hit because the defender has a right to stop him from gaining yardage. Michael Vick and other players get near out of bounds and sometimes gain three extra yards because the defender is afraid of hitting them. This is complete crap. Michael Vick should be punished. Not for a transgression, just because.
Basically, penalties like this can change the outcome of the game and there is no reason for that, especially when the foul is marginal at best.
#2 Max said . . .Wow, sweet. Sorry I didn't preface it better...or end it...or write coherently, but other than that, sweet.
I hate referees. Mostly because I was mediocre at every sport I ever tried and thus my only advantage was knowing the rules in and out and when they get calls wrong it just pisses me off. Speaking of which, anyone catch the "flagrant" foul called on Brown last night? How lame.
Anyway, thanks for the forum upon which to bloviate about nonsense, Jeff.
Y'all take care.
April 25, 2007
#3 craig said . . .Amen. Its football. If you don't wanna risk getting hurt, don't get on the field.
And, christ I hate myself for this, but to give credit where credits due, I would say that a certain quarterback from a certain town north of Chicago that wears green and yellow is a pretty tough S.O.B. as well.
April 25, 2007
#4 Decatur Staleys #7 said . . .agreed on almost all points. i would also add to your list that Colts-favored "rule emphasis" a few years back against DBs.
i don't know if i would call Peyton the only tough QB, considering he rarely gets touched, let alone knocked down. he's also a lot more likely to draw those "roughing" penalties than almost any other passer. he gets brushed and the flag comes out. and let's not forget that McNair is still around and I think he once played in a full body cast... or something like that.
April 25, 2007
#5 mikebdot said . . .Great obsevatiions on the stupid penalties that are called in games.
If I can add 1 or 2
Can they change the pass interference call to be a 5 or 15 yd penalty,instead of spotting the ball where the foul happened.DB are already handcuffed enough with the 5 yd bump rule.
And for the love of Football Gods,get a handle on false starts penalties.
An last what is in the grasp for a QB.How many times have I seen a QB grabbed then throw the ball for a completion,or avoid the sack.
Keep wearing that hat with pride! Bear Down Evansville, INApril 25, 2007
#6 Megan said . . .I tried to stay away from pass interference as those penalties don't really invite a certain percentage of them ending in a terrible injury...I suppose that is try for excessive celebration. Whatever though.
I actually like the spot of foul pass interference penalty, but I think it should be like back in the day where you could jostle a bit. Sort of like what they do with holding. By rule, there are about 10 holds on every play, but they let 99% of them slide. It's only when someone gets truly tackled that they ought to call it, both with holding and with pass interference. But, with this ticky tack shit, maybe 5 or 10 yards would be better. I also think illegal contact is a stupid penalty. That is also one that could change the game all for a hand on someone's chest who wasn't even involved in the play. Bunkum.
April 25, 2007
#7 mikebdot said . . .Man, that made me laugh out loud several times, thanks for that. Kinda makes me want there to be a young version of Doug Plank back on the team. Come to think of it, why do they even wear pads? You're so right, why should a defender be afraid of a penalty for preventing yardage? Roughing? Below the knees thing I am ALL for, because that is just not right, but heck if you're gonna fake a pass.. BOOM BOOM, out go your lights.
Mike, very cool observations on the de-footballizing of football.XXOO
MeganApril 25, 2007
#8 Pissed off said . . .Also, I watched nearly every Colts game this year (my best friend is a Colts fan, he's actually posted here a few times right after the SB), anyway, I tried to be a good sport, but I loathe Marvin Harrison.
But, where credit is due, I would say Manning takes his licks quite a bit. He's just about durable as the unmentionable up north. Not that I like Manning, but I respect him at least (I will however agree that yes, he does get generous calls).
McNair was tough. Good call.
No joke on the false start stuff. There is no reason a professional football team should be jumping offsides once every few games, let alone multiple times a game (or on consecutive plays). We were particularly bad at that last year. 1st and 15 sucks...unless you are the Colts and you get 8 yards pretty much every play regardless (their receivers dropped so few passes this year it boggled my mind...with the possible exception of maybe two or three games)
April 25, 2007
#9 mikebdot said . . .I totally agree about the roughing the passer and the QB slide thing, pretty much everything you said except Manning being tough. I hate the guy more than anything but Favre is probably the toughest QB, notable mention goes to McNair and Leftwich among a few others.
Also agree on the excessive celebration, it is after all the No Fun League. I mean who doesnt like seeing Steve Smith row his boat in the endzone or Ocho Cinco putt the ball with the pylon. I love that shit, I love it? Thats half the fun of the game, they gotta allow that stuff.
April 26, 2007
#10 mikebdot said . . .PO'd: Agree to disagree on Manning. But, yeah, as long as players are directly taunting other players and hyping up their team, what's the deal? If there is a delay of game, flag 'em, but otherwise, emotion is a part of the game. Plus, you can have that much more respect for a guy like Barry Sanders who would hand the ball to the ref and jog back to the sideline. I hated watching him run all over us, but man was he good, and a great guy to boot (I think he didn't break Walter's record just to be a good guy, then fuckin' Emmitt had to be the ass that he is, saving his TD balls as if his enormous line had nothing to do with him walking into the end zone. What a douche).
April 26, 2007
#11 Pissed off said . . ....areN'T taunting the other team...my bad.
April 26, 2007
#12 craig said . . .The draft is near, man this site is gonna heat up Saturday, Sun and into next week. I cant wait to see what happens. I know whatever happens draft day(s) doesnt necessarily mean we will win more or less games next year but it gonna be fun to see what happens. Look at what happened with Hester.
April 26, 2007
#13 Al in WI said . . .I only saw probably 5-8 of the Colts' games last year, Mike, so I'll take your word for it on Manning taking his licks. Good call on Harrison, though, I've never seen anyone try harder to avoid even the slightest contact... he's like the exact opposite of Dallas Clark who seems to get his clock cleaned every time he's near the ball.
PO'd, good call on Leftwich too.
I'm glad you all more or less agree about McNair. I remember when they first debuted that WebMD injury thing on TV (where they show an outline of a player's body and highlight their injury) and they had McNair up and his whole fuckin body was glowing. And you gotta love that 1-foot-short Super Bowl play against that Rams...
Anyway, man I can't wait till Draft Day.
April 26, 2007
#14 mikebdot said . . .A couple of tidbits; a few recent mock drafts have us taking a reciever in round one, both from USC. One says Jarrett, while Kiper has us taking Steve Smith. Also there was an internet report that the Dolphins were shopping Marty Booker and that the Bears may want him back. Any thoughts? His recent stats are similar to Moose's and he's younger.
April 27, 2007
#15 mikebdot said . . .I'd rather have Miami's other receiver...if we're trying to replace Moose (eventually) we need someone who can be a #1, which Booker can't be, in my opinion. Hopefully Bradley will have a breakout year and any WR pick in this year's draft will be insurance for one of the four WRs injuries this year (it's a statistical probability).
April 27, 2007
#16 HelloWorld said . . .Also, what about Airese Currie? Supposedly last summer he and Rex developed a chemistry, then he was hurt all year. Maybe he'll produce...
Who the hell is Mike Hass and Brandon Rideau? Their stats looked pretty good in college...
April 27, 2007
Peace people
We love youApril 29, 2007
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.