THIRSTY THURSDAY

“When power leads men toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.” -- John F. Kennedy

“And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again. The answer is to rely on youth -- not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.” -- Edward M. Kennedy, quoting a speech by his brother Robert F. Kennedy at Robert’s public memorial service, New York, 1968


It's the end of frickkin August--incredible. What a weird summer. It's amazing though that it's August 27th, and we are still 2 and a half weeks away before the NFL starts. How does that happen? That's a long ways away. We have Mike Vick stepping under center tonight, after a 3 year absence. Should be interesting. Moving into the third week of the preseason, we'll start to get a better feel for the talent level of teams. Teams will be playing their guys well into the second half. You will start to get a much better perspective on how good teams are gonna be if you watch these games closely this week.

I'm very excited for the NFL season. Lotta great story lines. Lot of new coaches. Tom Brady's back. There are a lot of teams in positions to have great years. I know that before kickoff week 1 there are 32 teams who think it's gonna be their year, but I think the pool of teams who have a legitimate shot of winning the Super Bowl is bigger than it was last year.

I have a huge fantasy draft coming up. This will legitimately be the first NFL fantasy league I have been a part of. I was in my first NBA league this past season, and I think it's safe to guess how that turned out. I won the league, led the league in total points by an 800 point margin, completely belittled everyone's moves and decisions on the league message board, and was voted executive of the year in an unanimous vote. And I really expect the NFL league to go the same way. Those that know me, know that I take a lot of pride in my ability to assess and evaluate personnel at a high level. I know fantasy evaluation and shrewd bottom line evaluation are two different things, but I think you can make an argument that those lines can blur a little bit if you look at it correctly. I have looked at zero fantasy previews, and will not look at any before the draft. "I CAN ONLY GO BY WHAT I SEE." That's how I go about it. No subjectivity. So I have been paying attention to these preseason games. And every once in a while, I go over and jot a name down on my yellow legal pad. Today I wrote down: "Eddie Royal a little earlier than you think." Simple things like that. But make no mistake, when I step into my war room Wednesday, September 2nd, I'll bring my lunch pail and I am gonna be ready to dig in and work. For those of you who are playing in leagues for money, and want some consultant/feedback from me, let me know. We can exchange emails or phone calls, and I'll let you know where I stand on guys. Feel free to shoot me an email or text. We'll get a couple guys under the radar together.

I'm getting pretty sick of this QB controversy in Cleveland. I think the decision needs to happen soon, and subsequently, whoever is picked needs to get every rep possible. The offense has to develop a good rhythm with each other. Look, they have less talent than a lot of teams on their schedule. So they need to close that gap by being in sync in all their situations. The timing with the receivers has to be sharp. The cadence with offensive line has to consistent. Running backs need to develop the relationship with the quarterback. All that has to improve, and it should improve once one quarterback gets all the reps.

But the thing that I am most sick of, is these local TV and radio guys that talk about how "this obviously isn't a year where the Browns are gonna make the playoffs or win the Super Bowl." They have said that time and time again. It goes hand in hand with the argument to start Brady Quinn. "O well, you should start Brady, cause we're not going anywhere this year anyway." You hear that all the time. And that is just a completely wrong train of thought. This is the National Football League. It's 17 weeks and anything can happen. Last time I checked, Big Ben is injured. Last time I checked, Carson Palmer is hurt. Last time I checked, the Ravens lost the best defensive coordinator in the league, and 3 Pro Bowl defensive players. And all the above mentioned, the injuries, those guys are gonna be okay. I realize that. But the NFL is just such a short term, "this year" league. It's a constant win now at all costs league. That is why it is the best sport on the planet. And as bad as the Browns are, it is not completely out of the question that they can make the playoffs. And once they get into the playoffs, anything can happen. They need 1,001 breaks and things to go completely right for that to happen. But crazier things have happened. But softer schedule. Better coach. They'll be much more disciplined. The game management will be better. The time management will be better. The preparation will be better. (We think?)