Category: nfl

Stupid People Say Stupid Things

If you are even remotely tuned into the NFL, you have likely heard the news about Andrew Luck’s shock decision to retire from the NFL after six playing seasons. The news comes on the heels of yet another injury setback from this offseason that was shrouded in mystery and saw Luck going through another rigorous rehab campaign.

Since being draft No. 1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 2012, Luck has been one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL, but that success came with a very steep cost.

If you understand the NFL and the game of football as a whole, you know those were only the injuries divulged and there could have been many the general public does not even know about. The torn labrum required surgery that cost him the entire 2017 season, and most football fans are smart enough to know that concussion total is probably higher than the single one listed.

Every one of those injuries requires a lengthy recovery process full of rehab and therapy, all which took a toll on Luck’s mental state and washed away his love for the game of football. In the end, Luck decided it was no longer worth putting his body through the meat grinder that is the NFL, and made the smart decision to hang up his cleats for good.

When the news broke, the Colts were playing a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium. According to Adam Schefter, who broke the news on Twitter, Luck was going to announce his retirement at a press conference on Sunday. Well once word started spreading about Luck decision plans changed and he held a press conference following the game. Leaving the Lucas Oil Stadium field for the final time on Saturday night, Colts fans in attendance rained boos down on their now former franchise quarterback.

This was all very dumb but a very expected reaction from sports fans who carry a “what have you done for me lately?” type attitude at all times. Luck addressed the booing in his press conference after the game, and yeah, he heard them.

While the boo birds were stupid and short sighted from Colts fans, they will likely someday regret it when looking back on Luck’s career and what he meant to the Colts organization during his time in Indianapolis. The most idiotic statements surrounding Luck’s decision came from sports talking heads, on where else, Twitter.

First up was Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb, who brought the fire with a truly astounding Boomer-level take.

Ah yes, Andrew Luck retiring to save his body further abuse in attempt to live a normal life past 40 is just a sign that millennials are ruining the world. Gottlieb, who had to leave Notre Dame because he stole a teammate’s credit card, was rightfully ratioed for his terrible take by other users. Many of the responses included jabs about his past transgressions, but to his credit, he has not deleted the tweet as of this writing.

While Gottlieb’s take falls under the ‘Peak Boomer’ category, he is only 43 years old, making him a member of Gen-X. For some truly boomer level takes, we need to check in on BASKETBALL analyst Dan Dakich. Dakich, an Indiana native and former University of Indiana standout, had some thoughts about Luck’s decision.

Remember, Dakich is a basketball guy.

Perhaps the best and most ‘Boomer’ take of all.

Andrew Luck having passions outside of football were apparently huge red flags for scouts because they questioned his commitment to the game. Truly astounding.

**insert Dril corn cob tweet**

“go ahead. keep screaming “Shut The F*** Up ” at me. it only makes my opinions Worse”

This rage tweeting went on for well over 12 hours and you can only imagine the fire spilling for his radio spot on Sunday. Reading through Dakich’s entire timeline, you get the feel he is tweeting more as a Colts fans than any kind of sports analyst he’s being paid to be. Obviously emotions are high in Colts land right now, but unloading on a guy for ensuring he can live a somewhat normal life post football is a truly insane stance to take.

Thankfully, Gottlieb and Dakich were among a minority of people tearing Luck down during what he admitted what the hardest decision of his life. For the most part, people from all corners of the sports world were supportive of Luck and expressed well wishes for whatever he may do in the future.

Very few of us will ever have the chance to be as blessed as Andrew Luck was to play quarterback in the NFL and been genuinely one of the best of his era. It’s sad to see such a promising career cut short, but knowing Luck is at peace with his decision and will hopefully have a normal life moving forward should be enough for fans to support his choice to step away.

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Antonio Brown is a Raider

Late Saturday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Steelers and Raiders have a verbal deal in place that would send Antonio Brown to Oakland and third and fifth-round draft picks to the Steelers.

Many fans are unhappy with the return, but it’s hard to imagine the Steelers doing better. AB’s antics in recent weeks and months made him a tough guy to trade and the rest of the league knew it. A few months ago, t would’ve been hard to fathom the Steelers not coming away with at least a first round pick for the best wide receiver in the league, but here we are.

AB will also reportedly get a raise and a lot of guaranteed money in Oakland, but he’ll also be catching passes from Derek Carr.

The Steelers are a worse team than they were this morning, but they have some draft picks to work with. Maybe they’ll use some of their picks to trade up in the first round for a good defensive player, though they haven’t done so since 2003 in order to draft Troy Polamalu.

One could think it may be time to turn the page on this generation of the Steelers. Perhaps allow Ben Roethlisberger to play out the final year of his contract and begin preparing for the post-Ben era. There are no indications that the Steelers will do so, as they’ve stated their desire to extend Ben repeatedly and GM Kevin Colbert has basically said Ben only answers to ownership. Ben turned 37 last week and led the NFL in interceptions last year.

Plenty of updates to follow!