The Press Coverage Report

We Will Return...We Promise!

2011-06-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

It's been some time since Robert or I have posted anything to PCR. And for that we both apologize. It's not in good practice for a blogger to let a site become...well...stagnant.

This lockout between the NFL and what I like to call the 'Not' Players' Union, has really been a major downer for bloggers like us, and many others, too. Even the national media has become boorish, rehashing stories that in my opinion, have very little, if any, merit toward the actual future of the NFL, whether it's free agent players, or supplemental draft talk.

Now I'm not here to bash the media, because it does what it has to do to, more-or-less, 'keep butts in the seats,' and listeners or viewers tuned in.

However,unlike the national media, we consider ourselves more like specialists. We specialize in offering our own ideas and opinions to the goings-on of the NFL and the sport as a whole. So with that said, we just wanted to update our readers of our whereabouts, and to assure you that we will be back as soon as this nasty lockout ends, or as soon as something worth giving an opinion about presents itself. Until then, we'll be with the rest of you...Waiting for progress to be made.

Also, in case you're wondering what relevance the picture has to anything, well, it doesn't. It's mainly here to offer you a chuckle in these slow times brought to us by the No Fun League and the 'Not' Players' Union.

NFL Fans Being Used as a Pawn in Players Union Scheme

2011-02-11T00:32:00.001-05:00

Okay fans, the NFL Players Union wants to let us know that we haven't done enough. Fans coming to games -- some local and some from halfway across the earth -- simply isn't showing enough support. Dropping anywhere from hundreds, to thousands of dollars, to even hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in some cases (albeit rare), simply is not enough! I for one agree with them. We haven't done enough. We need to do more. And it may require something as drastic as turning our backs on the monster we have helped to create.
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The Mess Continues - NFL Labor Talks Cancelled Today

2011-02-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

Many of you have probably already seen this news, but it would be remiss of PCR not to chime in on the current NFL labor update.

Ken Belson's article from the New York Times is one of many sources reporting that the scheduled labor-negotiation meeting today was cancelled.

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Why Football Matters (And Other Thoughts)

2011-02-10T16:28:00.000-05:00

As has been discussed previously in this space, PCR writer Robert Gilbert recently released the e-book "Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers."

David Masciotra, author of "Working on a Dream: The Progressive Political Vision of Bruce Springsteen," provided the introduction for Gilbert's book, and recently released the introduction on his blog for ChicagoNow.

After the jump is an excerpt from his introduction, with a link to the full text.

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Need a new book for your NOOKcolor/NOOK?

2011-02-05T22:04:00.002-05:00

"Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers," PCR writer Robert G. Gilbert's new e-book, is now available from Barnes & Noble in addition to Amazon.

2011 NFL Combine; NFL Draft Breaking News

2011-02-04T15:11:00.002-05:00

NFLPA E.D. DeMaurice Smith

Union officials and player agents are meeting to discuss the withholding of players from NFL Combine and NFL Draft activities. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has been and will continue meeting with agents to discuss boycott options.

In the end, while both sides claim to have the fans' interests at heart, both continue serving themselves.

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Illinois; Indiana "Great Blizzard of 2011" Pictures

2011-02-02T06:45:00.004-05:00

A side entrance to my building.

While we here at PCR report specifically on football news, I could not resist this opportunity to share with my readers campus pictures of the Blizzard of 2011, so that you can see what one PCR writer is dealing with today. PCR's other writer, Eric Quackenbush, is dealing with his own winter weather from the same system, and has his own pictures of Penn State under snow/ice today.

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Carolina's Not Done: Eric Washington Named Defensive Line Coach

2011-01-31T17:33:00.000-05:00

After the earlier news today of Fred Graves' hiring at the wide receiver coach slot, the Carolina Panthers have struck again, hiring Eric Washington to be defensive line coach. Washington comes from the same position with the Chicago Bears, where he helped lead Israel Idonije, Julius Peppers, and the Bears' defense to a top-ten ranking this past season.

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Tennessee Titans WR Coach Fred Graves Has Carolina Panthers, Steve Smith, On His Mind

2011-01-31T11:09:00.000-05:00

After four years with the Tennessee Titans, Fred Graves is leaving Tennessee after the departure of head coach Jeff Fisher. Graves is going to the Carolina Panthers for a similar position, reuniting with dynamic wide-out Steve Smith, whom he worked with at Utah.

Considering the success of relative unknowns like Kenny Britt, Graves may be able to work wonders with young receivers Brandon LaFell, David Gettis, and Armanti Edwards in Carolina.

Life Without The NFL Is No Life At All

2011-01-31T08:41:00.001-05:00

Monte Pool of the Oakland Tribune, in an eloquent syndicated article this morning, again made the point that so many have made and so few of those in power seem to understand.

Fans, quite frankly, don't care about [NFL Commissioner Roger] Goodell and [NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice] Smith.

Fans care about having an NFL team nearby or seeing one from their living rooms. They care about tailgating or sitting before bigscreen TVs. They care about the price of season tickets, the price of NFL Sunday Ticket, the price of NFL Network.

They care less about the chiefs in the labor beef than they do about the price of the jersey they'll torch in a moment of outrage.

VIDEO: Participate in a Pro Bowl Practice as Michael Vick

2011-01-30T14:27:00.001-05:00

Keeping with the Michael Vick theme, it's not too often -- I don't even know that it's been done before -- that a mere spectator of a football game has had the opportunity to see the live action from the quarterback's point of view. Interestingly, new technology has allowed spectators to pry a little more into what a quarterback sees during a practice, as evidenced in this recent video, available on NFL.com .
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Michael Vick Will Remain A Philadelphia Eagle in 2011 / Pro Bowl Kicker David Akers May Not

2011-01-30T14:03:00.002-05:00

Eagles QB Michael Vick

It has been reported on NFL.com that Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick will be the Philadelphia Eagles' franchise tagee in 2011.

We're unsure how this will work considering the ongoing CBA negotiations. If there is no franchise tag in the new deal, then Philadelphia may not be able to use it now on Vick.

In other Philadelphia news, it turns out Quintin Mikell, an Eagles safety, was right.

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Should the Carolina Panthers draft Nick Fairley #1 Overall? Maybe not.

2011-01-29T18:14:00.001-05:00

Auburn DT Nick Fairley, celebrating

Many NFL media pundits, and many fans alike, think that the Carolina Panthers should draft Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley with the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Awed, perhaps, by the difference-making abilities of recent high defensive-tackle selections, like the Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh and the Baltimore Ravens' Haloti Ngata, they see the disruptive force Fairley was on opposing offensive lines this past college season, and the brilliant performance he put on in the BCS National Championship Game between Oregon and Auburn.
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CBA Dispute: The NFL Owners Hold The Upper Hand

2011-01-29T16:03:00.001-05:00

NFLPA President Kevin Mawae

The New York Daily News today ran a column discussing how the owners in the NFL hold all the chips, as it were, in the ongoing CBA debacle that could result in no football next season.

The article, by Gary Myers, makes this simple point that few have discussed: The players cannot band together. He points to examples of Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie attacking NFLPA leadership via Twitter, the mass crucifixion of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, and more to show that the fraternity of players simply can't hold together in their battle against the owners.

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Is the NFL Socialist - Agree or Disagree?

2011-01-29T00:52:00.004-05:00

Bill Maher, of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," makes a point that some may find controversial:

That's right, for all the F-15 flyovers and flag waving, football is our most successful sport because the NFL takes money from the rich teams and gives it to the poor teams... just like President Obama wants to do with his secret army of ACORN volunteers.

Not Only More Injuries; But Retired NFL Players Take More Painkillers

2011-01-29T00:19:00.003-05:00

An article showed up earlier today on www.businessweek.com about retired NFL players and opioids. A group of over 500 retired NFL players from 1979 to 2006 were surveyed by researchers, and it turns out that NFL retirees are FOUR TIMES more likely to take prescription painkillers.

This is right in line with our earlier news today concerning the rise of injury in the NFL. Just as society has become an instant place, wanting convenience over quality, even, the instant success world of the NFL and the evolution of NFL players to be bigger, faster, stronger, taller has caused the NFL to become a far more violent, "dirty" game then it was in years past. Sure, players like Jack Lambert, Deacon Jones, and Ray Nitschke put fear into the heart of opposing players in the past, but now, any Joe off the street is capable of paralyzing you for life because he has either been taught to use his helmet as a weapon, or he has decided to do that himself.
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A Logical Solution to NFL Games Played Overseas

2011-01-28T23:47:00.002-05:00

Which teams are scheduled to travel 14 hours overseas to play an important regular season game on foreign soil? There are fans who favor the international games, and of course there are fans who really feel that the NFL has no business sending its product overseas for a regular season battle. Where do you stand?

Until recently, I hadn't an issue with the NFL scheduling two teams to play an international game. However to me, there is a more logical choice that should be strongly considered when league officials decide which teams head overseas to entertain fans.
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Is the NFL Doing Enough to Protect its Players from Concussions?

2011-01-28T14:28:00.004-05:00

I’ve been at a “football watching party” at my friend’s house. Sometimes I’m at a bar watching football. I’ve witnessed it live from within the confines of a stadium, even. Regardless of where I’m watching an NFL game, I’ve seen the scenario one-too-many times. A receiver goes to grab a pass and upon returning to the ground from his acrobatic feat, and takes a hit from a defender that makes me cringe. I wait for the receiver to get back on his feet. Sometimes after a hit of that magnitude, he’s a little slow to rise. But this time it’s different. This event is comparable to one of those dreaded instances in the past, where 15 or 20 seconds have passed, and he’s still laying face-down, motionless on the field. Might he have suffered a concussion? The training staff runs out to aid the fallen athlete. Thirty seconds have passed, and still he’s lying motionless on the field. Next the motorized cart enters the field where the trainers are now stabilizing the player before transporting him somewhere inside the bowels of the stadium for further examination. While he’s transported off the field, I wait for a thumbs-up or some type of signal from the player that indicates he’s all right. Sometimes I receive that indication; other times I’m left to wonder if I’ll ever see one of the best players of the game return to the field of play again, while also wondering what emotions his family must be experiencing at this time.

NFLPA Finds Increase in Injuries in 2010

2011-01-28T13:51:00.000-05:00

The study claims that players incurred 3.7 injuries per team per week, and that 63 percent of the players in the league suffered at least one injury.

Of those injuries, 37.7 percent of the injuries required a player to miss a game, with 12.6 percent of the injuries causing them to be placed on injured reserve.

The study finds that the number of players landing on injured reserve — more than 350 — greatly outpaced 2009, when 250 players finished the year on IR.

There are several things the NFL could do to cut down on injuries:

1) Use the best-possible helmets. New, better helmets are being researched and developed - the NFL needs to pour resources into helmet design and then mandate the usage of said design's product.

2) Consistent penalties - AND ejections. Despite the NFL saying repeatedly that ejections would be forthcoming for repeat offenders on helmet-to-helmet hits, very few ejections actually occurred. Make it an egregious offense to spear or helmet-to-helmet hit someone, and let's see what happens.

3) Strongly consider a second bye-week even if the regular season stays at 16 games. It may even work to give an extra week off in between pre-season and regular season.

Comment with your own suggestions of how injuries could be reduced. Obviously injuries will not be removed from the game, but it's utterly ridiculous that 2/3 of the league's players should suffer some form of injury. Does any other professional sport have that type of number?

Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers

2011-01-28T12:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/01/prweb4946734.htm

“Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers is Robert G. Gilbert’s definitive e-book on the composition of NFL Football. Defining and utilizing such concepts as critical thinking, player development, the role of coaching, computer profiling, mentoring, entropy, the vital significance of vision, and more, Gilbert crafts a textbook that truly does show the reader how to go beyond, in life as well as football. His detailed critical analysis of the 2010 Carolina Panthers illustrates how to properly implement the methodologies he develops, in addition to offering the Carolina Panthers a chance for true growth.”

http://www.explosivegrowthoutreach.com/

Jay Glazer, New York Jets, Patriots and the NFL: Tripgate, the Unspoken Issue

2011-01-28T12:50:00.002-05:00

While the NFL Playoffs have wound on, with thrilling performances by quarterback Aaron Rodgers for Green Bay, a disappointing showing from the reigning world champion New Orleans Saints against the record-wise worst playoff team in NFL history, an uncharacteristic meltdown from Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens on the road against the Ben Roethlisberger-led Pittsburgh Steelers and two road victories by the upstart loudmouth New York Jets and their head coach, Rex Ryan, a story has been developing.

Robert Gilbert’s response to Matthew Futterman’s “Is This the Apotheosis of the NFL?”

2011-01-28T12:47:00.002-05:00

Matthew Futterman, sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote an excellent editorial entitled “Is This the Apotheosis of the NFL?" on January 14, 2011.

John Wooden, Teaching, And Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera

2011-01-28T12:44:00.002-05:00

Former San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears defensive coordinator, new Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera said, in his first press conference with Carolina, "We're looking for teachers. We're looking for guys that are going to be really good in the classroom and out on the field, and that will make that commitment to the players.”

Hiring teachers is an excellent first step towards overcoming and going beyond, but for sustained improvement, teachers must become mentors.

NFL Playoffs Baltimore Ravens & Pittsburgh Steelers: Quick Thoughts

2011-01-28T12:37:00.001-05:00

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers because the Ravens did not know how to win the game.

Conversely, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Ravens, winning because they knew how to win the game.

On third down and 19, where did the Baltimore Ravens expect Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to throw the ball? The Ravens, with eight players back deep, still gave up a 58-yard pass. The Ravens, despite their vaunted defense, showed a tendency all season to give up big passing plays – perhaps none more memorable than the lowly Carolina Panthers’ 88-yard touchdown pass from journeyman quarterback Brian St. Pierre to rookie wide receiver David Gettis.

To many people, Ben Roethlisberger is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. If he wants to maintain that status, he should work on improving his every-pass accuracy. Throughout the game, Roethlisberger displayed accuracy only on crucial plays. A more astute defensive secondary would have victimized him for several interceptions.

Comparably, Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Joe Flacco was rattled badly in the third quarter. One thing that would help him overcome that in the future is to throw the ball sooner. He held the ball too long, which contributed greatly to some of the Steelers’ sacks.

During the game, I tweeted that John Harbaugh should have called a timeout before the botched snap that gave the Steelers the game-tying possession in order to try to shift the momentum that had clearly swung towards Pittsburgh. More NFL coaches need to understand the dynamics of momentum and the tools at their disposal with which to affect it.

After the Ravens’ horrific third quarter, they went to lean on the rushing game. This was not in and of itself a bad idea, but there needed to be more dynamic running calls. The Steelers are not a team that will give up runs down the middle when they know that that is what is coming.

Pittsburgh’s first-half lull was to be expected: Ravens had momentum (again, the concept of momentum plays a role) from the Wildcard Round, and the Steelers had none. This hammers home the point even more that NFL coaches (and players) need to understand the impact of momentum and how to harness that impact.

Mike Tomlin learned from the first half, when he changed his mind on fourth down and went to kick a field goal, and Shaun Suisham missed it – in the second half when faced with a similar situation, he went for the first down and got it.

Similarly, the Steelers knew what plays to call and how to attack the Ravens’ defense on crucial plays, and the Ravens had no ‘defense’ for that whatsoever. Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens were outcoached and outmatched by Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This article originally appeared on www.bleacherreport.com

MOMENTUM: Aaron Rodgers, The Green Bay Packers, and The Atlanta Falcons

2011-01-28T12:33:00.002-05:00

In my Quick Thoughts on the Steelers-Ravens matchup earlier, I talked multiple times about the concept of Momentum and how NFL teams should strive towards understanding it better – its effects, controlling it, and how to utilize it to their advantage.