Four Down Territory: Week 15

The playoff race is getting clearer. Who would have thought that both participants in Super Bowl 50 would be fighting for their playoff lives? Who would have thought the Dolphins would actually be in playoff contention?

Enough questions, let’s start the drive.

1st Down: I remember it like it was yesterday.

The Eagles sent Andy Reid packing. The most winningest coach in Eagles history was gone and it was considered a great job. Historic franchise, passionate fans, and a lot of talent in the cupboard. Gus Bradley was a hot name. He was Seattle’s defensive coordinator and the NFL was drooling at the bit to make him a head coach. He ended up in Jacksonville and the Eagles signed Chip Kelly.

Three years later and both coaches have been fired. Chip in 2015 and Bradley after the Texans came back to beat the Jaguars. Kelly has landed on his feet, sort of, as the man in charge in San Francisco and I’m sure Bradley will go back to being a coordinator before getting a head coach opportunity down the road. If one thing is certain it’s that coaching in the NFL is hard.

There’s one point of interest in both of those firings and the philosophy of being fired.

Both Chip and Gus were fired before the season ended. Meanwhile, in Buffalo, management wants to wait until the end of the year to fire Rex Ryan.

My question: why?

I believe in the former school of thought. If you’re going to fire someone then just fire them. No need to pull the band-aid off slowly. Rip it off and start moving forward. Can you imagine sitting at your desk for weeks knowing you’re probably going to get fired but everyone acts like everything is cool?

Nah, fire me already. Put me out of my misery. Honestly, the more you wait the more disrespectful you are.

Don’t be disrespectful.

2nd Down: It feels like it’s weekly that I type life comes at you fast but in Brock Osweiler‘s case it couldn’t be any truer. During free agency Brock signed a four year, $72 million contract with $37 million guaranteed. He was supposed to be the missing piece to a Texans team that was gearing up for a deep playoff run. He was on top of the world.

Now, not so much.

An awful season was capped Sunday when Brock was benched for Tom Savage; a fourth round pick from Rutgers in 2014. Savage relieved Brock for the day and it now seems for the rest of the year. I now see why players, specifically unproven quarterbacks, squeeze every dime they can out of teams. Had we known how awful Brock was he’d probably be coaching with Uncle Rico dreaming about what could have been.

Moral of the story; always listen to Elway.

3rd Down: Monday night we watched the Panthers face off in Washington. Carolina pulled out the win and Josh Norman lost to his former team but the main storyline is Cam Newton. No, this isn’t about Cam not wearing a tie (even though he gave us this classic) but more about how he’s officiated. After taking an obvious helmet to helmet shot Newton, per usual, didn’t get the call. Once again we saw how NFL officials don’t understand that he’s a quarterback and deserves the same protection as Brady, Brees, Rivers, and everyone else. That’s been a theme throughout Cam’s career and one day it’s going to start taking its toll. If the NFL wants to keep one of its biggest stars healthy then they need to start treating him like one.

4th Down: Earlier this month Leonard Fournette decided to forgo his bowl game and start preparing for the draft. Christian McCaffrey followed suit and decided to skip the Sun Bowl and prepare for professional career. As you can expect, the Danny Kannells and Doug Gotleibs of the world scolded them for “skipping out on the team” and having a “me first” attitude.

SO WHAT.

Rich, privileged adults need to stop telling college students what to do with their investment (aka their talent). If a player wants to skip playing for free in order to prepare to make millions then that’s their right. College athletes, specifically football players, have to sacrifice their bodies for three years without payment so they can play professionally. It certainly applies to players who are going to be drafted in the first round. What else do they have to prove? Why is it so wrong for them to think about their future and taking care of the family? The same person who is scolding players for skipping bowl games are probably the same people who believe in unpaid internships.

Both stances are trash, by the way.

Besides, if coaches can leave before the end of a season for more money then why can’t a student do the same?

Extra Tidbits: The last time the Raiders were in the playoffs Twitter didn’t even exist. Jordan Reed punching a helmet is so lol. The Lions’ playoff hopes rest on the injured hand of Matthew Stafford. The Saints are looking to trade Sean Payton and the price isn’t steep. That’s your cue, Rams.

Tweet Me: @mattgarrett41

As always, thanks for reading.

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