NFL power poll
OK, we have continued our Tuesday NFL chats and looks around the league with the power poll.
Side question: What's the Rushmore of poll/pole? North Pole is far left right? I need a ruling.
Anywell, free agency is the books. I think we go winners right here. Deal? Deal.
Who's with me. Let's gooooooooo. Like Kurt Russell in Backdraft, let's get to the poll.
Winner: Tampa Bay. You're the Super Bowl champs. You retain every meaningful piece with a franchise tag (Chris Godwin) and several veterans wanting to run it back with Tom Brady. (Side note: As great as Brady is personally, his revered presence as a winner and his locker room personality are so incredibly respected that dudes are leaving cash on the table to play with him. That's pretty amazing.) And in the 'rich get richer' category, what happens if the Bucs get to pick 32 and, say, Najee Harris is on the board. Egad.
Winner: Cleveland. Yes, Kevin Costner and the Draft Day crew are punching all the right buttons for the Browns, who added a gifted and young safety in John Johnson and added high-upside defensive line pieces in Tak McKinley and Malik Jackson. If Baker Mayfield continues to improve, this is a team built to contend for a Super Bowl trip.
Winner: Los Angeles Chargers. Adding to the offensive line was goal number one, and they did that. Look for the Chargers to make a hard push this year and especially next as the cap expands and they are staring at the gift of a superstar QB on his rookie deal.
Winner: New York Giants. Added several intriguing skill position guys with Kenny Golladay and Kyle Rudolph, as well as Bengals speedster/bust John Ross. Plus, resigning Leonard Williams to anchor the defensive front was critical.
Winner: New York Jets. Yeah, strange NFL list in which it's a positive to be included and the Giants and Jets make it. And believe it or not the Jets may have had the best free agency of any team across the league, even with the Pats insane and much-hyped spending spree. New York adding Carl Lawson and Corey Davis was subtle and smart - both were high first-rounders and still in their 20s. I'll have to check the archives, but in doing this column for 10-plus years now, I think I'm about to do something for the first time. "Well-played Jets. Well-played indeed."
Tournament tidbits
Well, who had one Big Ten team still playing and the Pac-12 looking like the mid-1980s Big East?
Yep, no one. Anywhere.
And that is the magic of March. And the misery. Quick, what second-weekend game gives you the warm-and-fuzzies?
There is one chalk match-up - Michigan vs. FSU in a 1-4 game - and that one features the 1 seed most of us thought would be the first to get bounced.
How broken was the seeding? Well, there are five 1s and 2s left in the Sweet 16 and there are four double-digit seeds in that group too.
Go figure.
If we were going to re-seed this thing right now, Gonzaga has done nothing to change anyone's mind that it is the best team int he country.
As for 2, well Alabama has emerged to the Dustin Johnson state of the game. Like DJ, Alabama's A-game is better than everyone else's A-game.
From there, it likely would be Michigan and Baylor, followed by, well, in truth who knows?
Certainly not the folks charged with seeding them originally.
What in the world?
Speaking of the tournament, watching some of the action last night on CBS made me realize something.
Is there anything in sports more overpriced than the play-by-play guy?
Seriously.
OK, let me back up. As a member of the media, I am all for anyone getting whatever someone else will pay them. In fact, the older I have become, the more ridiculous I see the 'team player' description of guys taking less so the roster can be better.
Are teams charging the fans less for CoColas and parking when the 'team' is better. Uh, bleep no.
Are the powers in charge going to altruistically offer, "You know, winning is good enough" as the Bucs ownership and leadership give millions to the Lions and the Cardinals? Again, Bleep no.
I understand the importance of winning. Truly. And there are opportunity costs involved, especially for established QBs.
But that discussion is for another day. This is for the most overpaid position in sports. The play-by-play guy.
How many can you count that truly brought the fundamental definition of business value - people tuning in just to hear that person call a game - to the equation? Maybe five, ever.
Vin Scully was the best sport-specific example of all time. Cosell was another, and offered that value across multiple sports when you consider Monday Nigh Football and boxing, and heck, the Battle of the Network Stars. Keith Jackson was there in terms of college football.
How many others? Not as many as you would think. And here's how I know this, on this morning:
Jim Nantz wants stupid money. STOOOOOOO-pid money. He wants Romo-level money in the North of $16 million range.
What a waste. Yes, Nantz is a legend - but he's a legend because of his platform way more than his performance. Sure, the "Hello Friends" is identifiable enough to get on a Capital One commercial, but follow along this checklist and tell me what's the real legend - the announcer or the action:
Did you watch any college basketball this weekend? Of course you did.
Do you even know which game Nantz did? Because I don't.
Yes, the Masters moments are written in Sharpie in the minds of so many of us. But it's because of what Tiger did to what Jack did or even what Phil did (good and bad) not because of Nantz.
Hey, this isn't bagging on Nantz. If I wanted to do that I would talk about the photo of burnt toast he carries in his waller as if his breakfast side item was a child or the 10-foot self-portrait hanging somewhere in his multi-million-dollar mansion. Bully for him for his success, and I feel certain he believes in his soul he's worth it.
But in truth, is anyone? Because not only do I challenge you to recall anything he said or any game he's done in hoops or the NFL in the last half a year, I'll end it here.
If Nantz is viewed as the best in his business, but two insurance salesmen discussed annual deductibles throughout the Sunday broadcast of the Masters, you and I are still watching.
This and that
- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on Auburn's new defensive coordinator. Truth be told, my alma mater hiring Derek Mason may be my favorite move of the entire staff overhaul. Yes, Kevin Steele was a fine DC, but he also helped engineer the coup that derailed the Gus Bus. I believe Mason will do wonders with the athletes at his disposal at Auburn.
- Speaking of the tournament, Mike R, Chris B, Hammer, and WarEagleBo all had Illinois as the first 1 bounced. There are a few folks with Syracuse - including Hammer and Spy - and Oregon State - like Mike R - left. The outlier here is if UCLA is the last one standing, Billy H. wins with 1.1. So there's that.
- OK, two streaks ended in the NBA Monday night. Yeah, I know. No one really cares. That said, if before the season - when the Rockets still had James Harden - I said you have the Rockets and the Hawks and on the 22nd of March one would end a 20-game losing streak and the other was riding an eight-game winning streak, you'd be hard-pressed to know the details. That said, the Hawks' winning ways were undone when they could not hold a 22-point lead. Seriously. Side question: Is there a sport where no lead is less safe than in the NBA? Discuss.
- Speaking of the NFL - and also making JTC and me smile - here's a mock draft that has Atlanta going with Kyle Pitts at No. 4. Wow, what a weapon and what a fit for Pitts - who ran in the 4.4s at a recent pro day - who would be operating in the middle of the field with Julio and Calvin Ridley on the perimeter. Yes, another Matt Ryan pass catcher is far from the Falcons' biggest need, but in a league that demands you score points - the top nine scoring offenses made the playoffs last year and the top three made the conference finals - further augmenting a strength is a viable path too.
- One more tournament note: Luka Garza's Iowa career ended Monday, and he went out with a bang. Dude scored 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting and had nine rebounds. Yes, he had a little of the Caveman Lawyer look from the old SNL skit, but the big man could play.
- Rest easy Elgin Baylor, who assuredly would be on the starting five of all-time greats who actually are underrated in terms of history. Tim Duncan's in that line-up. Baylor's career numbers - 27.4 points and 13.5 boards per game - are historic. Yes, he never won a title despite eight trips to the Finals, but dude was a 10-time first team All-NBA selection.
- This was a pretty cool gesture from the Spurs, who had players wear some of the throwback jerseys from some of the best women's NCAA players of all time. The women's tournament is bubbled in San Antonio this year.
Today's questions
True or false, it's Tuesday after all.
True or false, you'll take the 1-seeds vs. the field with 16 teams left.
True or false, Luka Garza will be a good NBA player.
True or false, Jim Nantz is the best play-by-play guy in the business currently.
True or false, Tampa Bay makes it to the Super Bowl next year.
As for today, March 23, let's review.
Patrick Henry dropped "Give me liberty or give me death" on this day in 1775. Now that's a pregame speech gang.
Elisha Otis installs the first elevator ever on this day in 1857.
Rushmore of Otis. Go.