Monday, December 10, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Thursday Thought
Reality can be rather harsh. Your days are numbered. It takes constant effort to carve a place for yourself in this ruthlessly competitive world and hold on to it.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Michael Lombardi and the Browns
My personal world of "NFL analysis and conversation" was thrown into shambles on Monday as news leaked that Michael Lombardi has emerged as the top football executive candidate to join Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner in the Browns new look front office.
It's been disrupted becuase I think I really like Michael Lombardi. I discovered him several years ago when he wrote a small daily column called "Lombardi on the NFL" on his own website, which then joined up with the now defunct National Football Post. It was a good short burst of analysis, including behind the scenes stuff, on the field team analysis and on the field player analysis. I liked it cause he wrote in a voice that took you behind the curtain a little bit and included the down and dirty X's and O's analysis that I am attracted to. He and Charlie Casserly are a lot alike.
Then one day, we'll say maybe 2008, he appeared in a one off appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast. He cut up the draft for an hour. It was fun to listen to. He knew his shit. He spoke of many high level observations that most analysts are not capable of doing. He obviously had expertise. He didn't appear on the podcast for a couple months after that, but he soon became a regular as his star as a TV and sports radio show guest continually gained steam. He soon started writing for NFL.com and began to appear on the NFL Network. Now he's on Simmons pod every other month.
But my worldview has been thrashed a little bit because as the news of his candidacy for a Browns executive spot has spread, he's being COMPLETELY TRASHED by both local and national writers. Mostly local writers.
And this has angered me because I have been living in a world where I think Michael Lombardi is an expert and is telling the truth. I like his opinion. When he's on the TV screen, I listen to what he's saying. If he does a podcast with Sporty I try to listen to it. I even wrote a little blog last year about bringing him in to pick the players and have Chip Kelly coach them (might even get my wish on that, good or bad).
He is being portrayed as a con man. As a fraud with a photographic memory. As a voracious reader and has the gift of gab and can get guys to like him. A shmoozer. His memory has allowed him to remember scouting reports written in the 1980's and 1990's by football geniuses like Bill Walsh and other talented scouts. Sports writers cite that the track record that he purports to be his own, is actually just him taking credit for other people's work. He receives the benefit of the doubt by latching every story and anecdote to his time with Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Bill Belichick and so on. When you peel everything back, he has no real track record. His own eyes have never been right. All the drafts he had a hand in have been terrible. He's never had direct responsibility for drafting. The guys he has picked have been busts. The accusations go on and on. It's actually pretty interesting.
Reading some of these articles bashing Michael Lombardi are beginning to make me think that I have been duped. Maybe he conned me with his ability to turn a phrase. Maybe the way that he can speak of a player with terms like size, speed, reps at 225, recovery speed, his ability to run a 7 route, his kickstep, his burst, spinning the ball through the wind and cold have all just fooled me. Maybe he doesn't know shit.
Or maybe the local sports writers just have personal stuff with him. Maybe he was mean to them when he was player personnell director under Bill Belichick. Maybe he told them to fuck off and denied key access to them. Maybe the old school detractors who are the leaking negative stuff to national writers have personal axes to grind as well.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle I think. Part of me hopes the public is wrong. I do hope that he has learned and cemented some real knowledge during the five years he has been out of the football management and executive side of the NFL. I would like to believe that he has used this time to really become the expert he may have been faking us into believing he was. And the Browns can certainly use that guy. Another part of me also hopes that he just stays in his current role as a good analyst and podcast guest. That's a good role with zero stress and zero pressure. He's a good talking head who can help educate fans.
Let's hope for the Browns sake a couple things happen. 1. They fully and completely take their time in making this decision. And 2. That if Michael Lombardi is indeed the man they bring in to select and mold and control the 53 man roster, he has learned and saved all those lessons he's been around and he applies them to build a championship caliber team with long term staying power.
It's been disrupted becuase I think I really like Michael Lombardi. I discovered him several years ago when he wrote a small daily column called "Lombardi on the NFL" on his own website, which then joined up with the now defunct National Football Post. It was a good short burst of analysis, including behind the scenes stuff, on the field team analysis and on the field player analysis. I liked it cause he wrote in a voice that took you behind the curtain a little bit and included the down and dirty X's and O's analysis that I am attracted to. He and Charlie Casserly are a lot alike.
Then one day, we'll say maybe 2008, he appeared in a one off appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast. He cut up the draft for an hour. It was fun to listen to. He knew his shit. He spoke of many high level observations that most analysts are not capable of doing. He obviously had expertise. He didn't appear on the podcast for a couple months after that, but he soon became a regular as his star as a TV and sports radio show guest continually gained steam. He soon started writing for NFL.com and began to appear on the NFL Network. Now he's on Simmons pod every other month.
But my worldview has been thrashed a little bit because as the news of his candidacy for a Browns executive spot has spread, he's being COMPLETELY TRASHED by both local and national writers. Mostly local writers.
And this has angered me because I have been living in a world where I think Michael Lombardi is an expert and is telling the truth. I like his opinion. When he's on the TV screen, I listen to what he's saying. If he does a podcast with Sporty I try to listen to it. I even wrote a little blog last year about bringing him in to pick the players and have Chip Kelly coach them (might even get my wish on that, good or bad).
He is being portrayed as a con man. As a fraud with a photographic memory. As a voracious reader and has the gift of gab and can get guys to like him. A shmoozer. His memory has allowed him to remember scouting reports written in the 1980's and 1990's by football geniuses like Bill Walsh and other talented scouts. Sports writers cite that the track record that he purports to be his own, is actually just him taking credit for other people's work. He receives the benefit of the doubt by latching every story and anecdote to his time with Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Bill Belichick and so on. When you peel everything back, he has no real track record. His own eyes have never been right. All the drafts he had a hand in have been terrible. He's never had direct responsibility for drafting. The guys he has picked have been busts. The accusations go on and on. It's actually pretty interesting.
Reading some of these articles bashing Michael Lombardi are beginning to make me think that I have been duped. Maybe he conned me with his ability to turn a phrase. Maybe the way that he can speak of a player with terms like size, speed, reps at 225, recovery speed, his ability to run a 7 route, his kickstep, his burst, spinning the ball through the wind and cold have all just fooled me. Maybe he doesn't know shit.
Or maybe the local sports writers just have personal stuff with him. Maybe he was mean to them when he was player personnell director under Bill Belichick. Maybe he told them to fuck off and denied key access to them. Maybe the old school detractors who are the leaking negative stuff to national writers have personal axes to grind as well.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle I think. Part of me hopes the public is wrong. I do hope that he has learned and cemented some real knowledge during the five years he has been out of the football management and executive side of the NFL. I would like to believe that he has used this time to really become the expert he may have been faking us into believing he was. And the Browns can certainly use that guy. Another part of me also hopes that he just stays in his current role as a good analyst and podcast guest. That's a good role with zero stress and zero pressure. He's a good talking head who can help educate fans.
Let's hope for the Browns sake a couple things happen. 1. They fully and completely take their time in making this decision. And 2. That if Michael Lombardi is indeed the man they bring in to select and mold and control the 53 man roster, he has learned and saved all those lessons he's been around and he applies them to build a championship caliber team with long term staying power.
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