american people of german descent Archives

The 49ers are asking Trey Lance to play like Aaron Rodgers in order to prep for the Packers

January 19, 2022

In all fairness, Kyle Shanahan explained what he meant, saying he only wants Lance to play more aggressively. “We need Trey to be very aggressive, let it rip,” said Shanahan yesterday. “Hopefully if he does make some mistakes in practice, our defense will catch it and make him pay. But we need him to be aggressive in everything he does because Aaron doesn’t miss many of those opportunities when they’re presented to him.” This makes a lot more sense. Lance has a big arm. It’s always been one of his biggest strengths, so merely asking Lance to take deep shots in practice is much more manageable than actually asking him to be Aaron Rodgers.

According to reports, Lance has been asked to mimic other quarterbacks for practice several times throughout the regular season. Not only has he done this in the past, but Lance claims he’s actually benefited from these experiences. “Obviously, our D-line is really good, so I appreciate it when I can play kind of how I play and be off-schedule. But when I’m emulating, for the defense, a quarterback that doesn’t move necessarily a lot and doesn’t play off-schedule, I think there’s things that I gain from that for sure. I get used to making different throws that I don’t necessarily see myself making. But at the same time, it’s good to get those reps.” Being forced into situations where Lance is asked to throw when he normally wouldn’t has helped him develop his accuracy — arguably his biggest drawback as a prospect prior to the draft.

Clearly, Shanahan doesn’t actually want Lance to play like Rodgers, merely make some more risky throws to see if the 49ers’ defense is capable of defending those types of throws. If he was, this would be an impossible ask for the North Dakota State alum. If the 49ers don’t trust him to play better than Jimmy ‘one-read’ Garoppolo, how in the world is he supposed to be Rodgers? Even if he manages to show he can play as well as Rodgers, his team is still going to go with a quarterback who’s been dealing with injuries in his throwing hand and shoulder.

Rodgers is going to be a difficult adversary for the 49ers regardless of how prepped they think they are. 2020 All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said it best when he told reporters “It’s one of those situations where you don’t really feel Aaron Rodgers until you’re out there against the man himself. You can watch all the tape you want, think you’ve got him figured out. But you’ve got into the game and get into the flow of things to really get things going.” Of course, the best prep the 49ers could’ve possibly had for Mr. Discount Double Check would’ve been to draft him first overall in 2005 instead of Alex Smith, but alas, that’s way in the past.

Rodgers has a career 6-6 record against the 49ers, but is 0-3 against them in the playoffs. In his 12 career games against the team he grew up rooting for, Rodgers has completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,357 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. His passer rating of 104.7 is the highest all-time for any opposing quarterback when playing the 49ers with a minimum of ten starts.

With no Raheem Mostert and no Colin Kaepernick, this matchup is going to be much different than any other Rodgers has had against the 49ers in the postseason. It’ll be interesting to see if Lance can prep the 49ers accordingly. As long as he doesn’t start threatening to leave the 49ers in order to host Jeopardy! or avoiding questions about his COVID vaccination status, I’m sure he’ll do a fine job.

Herschel Walker is the ultimate dumb jock

January 13, 2022

And you wonder why we’re still in a pandemic, as the former sports legend turned “politician” still hasn’t confirmed if he’s vaccinated or not. Walker’s entire “career” in politics has been a disaster, as this “dry mist” thing is just the latest example of why he should go sit his old a** down, as he’s chosen to be pimped by Trump and the GOP.

“He’s a great guy, he’s a patriot and he’s a very loyal person, he’s a very strong person. They love him in Georgia, I tell you,” Trump said of Walker in June. The two have history, as Trump drafted Walker when he was the owner of the USFL’s N.J. Generals – right before Trump ran the league into the ground.

The two also have something else in common – multiple allegations of acts of aggression against women, as Trump has over 20 allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

“Over the years, two other women — Walker’s ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend — have also accused him of making threats, telling authorities Walker claimed he would shoot them in the head,” read a recent report from CNN. “Their years-old accounts have resurfaced in recent weeks as Walker, who won national fame as a college football player at the University of Georgia, launched a campaign for the Peach State’s battleground Senate seat. The third woman’s account has not been previously reported.”

Walker’s spokeswoman, Mallory Blount, says the candidate “emphatically denies these false claims,” according to CNN.

The sad – and funniest – part about all of this, is that Walker is being set up for failure and he doesn’t even realize it. He’s running in an attempt to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who was once polling at 9 percent before former Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler opened her racist mouth and blew it, as she became the idiot of the year and lost the election to Warnock and ownership of the team within a span of a few months.

UGA has a better chance of repeating as national champs than Walker has of winning this race.

Sorry, Aaron Rodgers, but I hope this spreads

January 5, 2022

Now, it should be noted that Hub Arkush has been a vuvuzela of idiocy for years, but he’s not going to be the only one who treats his MVP vote as some sort of duty to be a morality gatekeeper. And the thing is, and it pains me to say, I’m not sure he’s wrong.

Not that the NFL MVP is supposed to be a test of one’s nature or personality or moral code. Plenty of shitheads have won an MVP. The temptation, because it’s the easy road, is to say that off-the-field antics matter for awards or they don’t, end of story, But it probably isn’t that simple.

There would be an ill-feeling for a lot of folks to see Rodgers win the MVP with what he’s pulled this year. He violated rules, he put people at risk, and he helped amplify some truly fuckwad views that have been hamstringing this country attempting to escape the clutches of the pandemic. Quite frankly, it’s too much to ignore. It would be an extremely awkward look for the NFL, and that’s putting it kindly. Think about Patrick Kane winning an MVP months after being accused of rape. How did that rest?

I know. I’m the guy who says that Clemens and Bonds and Sosa should be in Cooperstown. The Hall isn’t a morality test either. But those players didn’t actually break any rules that were in place at the time. And they didn’t really hurt anyone other than themselves. There are rules against those things now, but none of these guys actually failed an MLB administered drug test that saw them get suspended.

Yeah, it’s a gray area. But most things are in a gray area or nuanced.

From Antonio Brown’s outburst to Aaron Rodgers' performance – Sunday was proof that the NFL will put up with anybody if they’re good enough

January 3, 2022

When Brown showed us who he was in Pittsburgh, the Raiders jumped at the chance to get him. When his stint with the Raiders ended in drama, Bill Belichick got on the phone and made it happen in New England. And just when we thought it was over, Tom Brady and Bruce Arians stepped up to make multiple excuses for him.

To be clear, we may never know if mental health issues are solely responsible for why Brown has done all the things we know – and believe – he’s done over the years. It’s not my place to diagnose him or connect the dots between his mind and his actions.

But…

What we do know is that Brown’s immense talent and his ability to help teams win football games are solely why these franchises kept taking a gamble on him.

I’ve always agreed with the notion that you can’t apply the same rules for everybody, and that you make exceptions for exceptional people. However, with that, comes a certain responsibility. And when it comes to Brown, teams have strictly used him for his physical talents all the while knowing they would be done with him as soon as he became a distraction that a back-shoulder catch couldn’t suppress.

Another conversation will take place this week, and it will be about Rodgers’ candidacy for MVP after he went 29-for-38 for 288 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday in the Packers’ 37-10 win over the Vikings, which clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC for Green Bay.

After a 2020 season that was almost wrecked by the pandemic, and an offseason in which Rodgers played chicken with the Packers’ front office, the unvaccinated quarterback that lied about being vaccinated and missed Green Bay’s Week 9 game due to being on the NFL’s Reserve/COVID list, is the front-runner for pro football’s highest solo award after a year in which he’s basically given the middle finger to society, the league, and science…all because he’s really good at throwing a ball.

I’m not here to debate Rodgers’ resume, as his play has been worthy of him being named its most valuable player. But, I am here to ask the question that no one wants to say out loud.

Why is the NFL OK with being a league that allows its best players to get away with anything?

The answer is money.

As long as Brown can run a route better than almost every other receiver in the league, and Rodgers can keep playing better than almost every quarterback on Sundays, the NFL is perfectly fine with putting up with them.

The league has made its decision. Now, it’s time for fans to decide for themselves. Because in the future, some kid is going to ask his/her parents, teacher, or coach why men like Antonio Brown and Aaron Rodgers were allowed to keep getting away with stuff like this. And that parent, teacher, or coach won’t have an answer that makes sense in the future because nothing was ever done about it in the past.

Kyle Shanahan tried to defend John Lynch, but we saw what he did to poor Jimmy G

December 29, 2021

Lynch unliked the tweet, which would have been only the 23rd tweet that he liked this year. He then sent out his own tweet that explained he mistakenly liked the tweet while attending mass and expressed full confidence in Garoppolo.

First, Lynch let’s set a better example for the children. You’re at church, you’re not waiting in line at the DMV. Let’s stay focused during one of the important services of the year. You can’t even blame this on being a millennial, the Buccaneers drafted you in 1993. If anything Lynch should be steathily photographing other people on their phones during mass and then place them in his family group chat to complain about how young people can’t even focus on their Lord and saviour for an hour without being distracted by “tic tac toe or whatever they call it.”

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan attempted to defend Lynch during his press conference on Monday.

“As soon as you read a tweet like that, I don’t think one person who knows John thinks that he did that. They’re wondering how he messed that up.

“That’s why I don’t have things like that. I would probably do the same on accident.”

There’s an example of how you should be handling social media, Lynch. Don’t have it, discuss it like you know what it’s called but don’t quite understand how it functions, or both. Also, I’ve accidentally liked a tweet before. When you like a tweet the heart flashes to a different color instantly and if it’s a mistake that flash is like an emergency alert. I unlike it in less than five seconds. There was enough time before your unlike for many people to notice what you did. I’m not accusing Lynch of anything. I’m just saying that mass must’ve been putting him to sleep like when they turn up the heat too high during school for him to not notice that heart flash, especially when he rarely likes tweets.

However, Lynch really does have a problem with Garoppolo, he might never have to admit it. Garoppolo has suffered a significant injury to the thumb on his throwing hand. The 49ers have not yet declared a starter for Week 17 against the Houston Texans, but it appears unlikely that Garoppolo will be able to play and they will have to go with rookie Trey Lance. With a thumb injury this serious, it’s questionable as to whether or not Garoppolo can return to the field this season.

Whatever controversy was stirred from Lynch poor use of social media will be completely gone after the 49ers kickoff against the Texans and all the focus will be on Lance. If that like is a proxy for Lynch’s true thoughts, he may not have to see Garoppolo take another snap as the 49ers starter without having to say anything.

It's time to hold Pat McAfee accountable for amplifying Aaron Rodgers' fake news

December 29, 2021

“What I don’t understand, though, it makes no sense to me to continue to spread this narrative that non-vaccinated players are more dangerous or these super-spreaders, which hasn’t been proven to be true,” Rodgers spewed. “I don’t understand this two-class system that exists in our league.”

He then went on to say that science “is changing all the time,” as if he’s ever spent time in a lab outside of any class he might have been required to take at Cal.

“It doesn’t back it up,” Rodgers continued. “There’s not many unvaccinated guys left in the league but it’s obviously not a pandemic of the unvaxxed. … It doesn’t make sense to me we’re still punishing non-vaccinated.”

For as stupid, dumb, and dangerous as Rodgers’ actions and words are, it doesn’t change the fact that people like him have always existed. The exasperation kicks in when people like McAfee allow and amplify this nonsense to be heard in the problematic vein of “we need to hear both sides,” when most of the time the other side doesn’t have anything of value to say.

And on top of everything else, this conversation between two men with successful NFL careers occurred during a week in which The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones confirmed that the NFL is now the first pro sports league to adapt its COVID-19 protocols to align with the CDC’s new quarantine recommendations. This means that there is no testing requirement for asymptomatic players to be released from quarantine after five days, regardless of vax status. The system now hinges on the honesty of players like Rodgers and Cole Beasley reporting their symptoms if they test positive.

Thanks, CDC. You’re doing a great job.

(sarcasm font)

When McAfee reportedly signed a four-year, $120 million deal between his show and FanDuel, it meant two things. One, he’s ballin’. And two, the microscope he lives under has magnified by a thousand.

Peter Parker once taught us that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” And no one is more responsible than the people that control the narrative. And as the Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire, destroying countless plans over the holiday season and shattering the sports world, it’s time we take McAfee to task for repeatedly allowing Rodgers a platform to spread his willful ignorance.

In the proverbial debate about which is more important between the message and messenger, we often forget about the thing that’s imperative – the microphone. And in this case, Pat McAfee’s mic has allowed a flawed messenger to spread a dangerous message. It’s time to take out your AirPods and stop listening. Because the person who controls the microphone only becomes useless when they don’t have an audience to speak to.

Tom Brady launching new clothing line that has all the personality of Tom Brady

December 16, 2021

Of course one of the athletes signed on with the Brady brand is Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara. Perhaps no one is more fortunate to be in the NIL era than McNamara. He is Michigan’s starting quarterback in the year of the school’s first college football playoff appearance and it’s the same year Brady starts a clothing line. McNamara likely won’t be the same surprise NFL success as Brady, who completed 200 total passes in his junior season in 12 games — 1998 — while McNamara has completed 199 in 13 games — 2021. While he has the option to try to go pro whenever Michigan’s run ends, he will likely return for his senior year with endorsement money in his pocket.

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It’s good for McNamara and other college athletes on the brand like Jackson State quarterback Sheduer Sanders to get some money in their pocket. However, in a Wall Street Journal photo essay the CEO and co-founder of Brady, Jens Grede, who helped Kim Kardashian build her SKIMS clothing line, said his vision for the Brady brand is for it to be one of the most influential sportswear brands in the world, àThis la Jordan brand.

Brady doing what he does every night, trying to take over the world.

One reason that will never happen is Brady already has a clothing brand associated with him. His TB12 health store also sells merchandise that he has worn for many years. There are probably Brady fans who don’t read Seth Wickersham’s work about him who believe that TB12 is his apparel line, and had no idea sessions were available for purchase with TB12 body coaches. Is there going to be a big unveiling at Paris fashion week with Gisele on the runway rocking Brady brand?

Not only does Brady have his old sportswear line competing with his new one, and not only did his old one beat the new one to market, but the old one actually has a logo. How does Brady expect this new line to work with no logo. Converse, Adidas, Jordan, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, even Big Baller Brand, their clothes and shoes have unique logos. If Brady’s clothes do have a logo on them at some point then it will likely just be his name on the front dripping with narcissism.

There are plenty of places in this world to buy an all-black quarter-zip, or wear an all-black sweatsuit. Nothing in these pictures show something that makes this brand unique other than Brady’s face through the neckline of a shirt that somehow looks younger now than it did in 2000.

These photos look like an old Diddy video. All that’s missing is Brady clinking two glasses together while yelling, “Bad Boy, come out to plaay-aay,” or one of his kids in the background doing the Harlem Shake.

Full disclosure, it’s not like I would ever buy anything Tom Brady sells. I appreciate him showing some personality later in his career, and all respect to him for playing professional football at 44 years of age. I hurt my knee walking to get breakfast when I turned 30, and three years later it still bothers me from time to time. As much as I respect his career, I’m not putting on a TB12 logo, a hoodie with Brady across the front, or an all-black sweatsuit that is non-distinguishable from any other all-black sweatsuit that I can purchase cheaper elsewhere.

Good luck to you and your attempt to take over the world, Tom. Maybe you’ll outlive us all by the end and can scream out I told you so to a barren planet.

Jim Harbaugh told us how Urban Meyer’s tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars would end

December 16, 2021

And despite all the jokes, memes, and GIFs Meyer’s firing has brought us, the comedy in this situation is that even Meyer himself accurately detailed the reasons a football team struggles, only to check every box on his own list.

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But let’s bring it back to Harbaugh and Meyer — and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry — for a minute. Because not only are Harbaugh and Michigan fans still riding high off their win over the Buckeyes last month, but when you look at the list of all the college coaches to try their hand at the NFL, Harbaugh is by far the best to ever do it, considering his win percentage and the fact that he made it to a Super Bowl.

In 2018, Meyer said it was “time to blow it up,” meaning Michigan. “I think it’s time to really evaluate the culture and dig deep. There’s something going on,” he explained.

Fast forward to 2021, and in just a few weeks, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan will be in the College Football Playoff, and Urban Meyer will be at home, on his couch, unemployed.

Who needs to evaluate and dig deep now?

Go Blue.