Manti Te'o #1 ??

Manti Te'o  #1 pick or not??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next blog involves a developing story within the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine. It is held before the NFL draft, in which potential first round draft picks compete in various skilled events. The athlete I am referring to is University of Notre Dame star linebacker, Manti Te’o.  After four years at Notre Dame, Manti built up a solid reputation on how to play linebacker for the Fighting Irish, he finished runner up for the Heisman Trophy in 2012.

Soon after the championship game news of a yearlong online relationship broke. A male friend of Manti admitted to creating a hoax that lured Te’o into an online relationship with an imaginary woman. Once the news broke, Manti tried to brush aside any “are you gay questions?” however, several NFL teams are asking the same questions. 

 “NFL teams want to find out about Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o’s sexual orientation, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio said on Dan Patrick’s radio show Monday.”“They just want to know,” Florio said. “They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it’s a different world. It shouldn’t be that way.”

“Te’o only recently overcame the embarrassment of the public exposure brought when it was revealed in January that he was fooled by a male acquaintance into believing he was dating a woman he genuinely loved.” “Florio said former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy (now an NBC Sports analyst) told him that “if the NFL were ready for an openly gay player, there would be an openly gay player.“

What is your opinion, does the NFL have the right to ask if  Manti Te’o is gay?

 

 

 

Source:

http://www.nugget.ca/2013/02/25/nfl-teams-reportedly-want-to-know-if-manti-teo-is-gay

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manti_Te%CA%BBo

 

www.youtube

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 



Media Day Gone Bad

 

During the two week media build up to Super Bowl XLVII, I happen to come across a web story about a 49er player named Chris Culliver. I had to ask myself who is this guy? I don’t even know what position he plays. It all started with an interview by Artie Lang, the former sidekick of the Howard Stern show.  Artie Lang quickly asked him the following question. “Would a gay player be welcomed on the team”   Culliver responded ... "I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that." Artie followed up by asking, “do the 49ers have any homosexual players, Culliver responded: "No. Ain't got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do“ “Culliver then suggested homosexual athletes keep their sexuality private until 10 years after they retire” After the interview, the 49ers released an statement “there is no place for discrimination within our organization at any level”. Do you think this behaviour exists in the NFL?

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Source:

Hayne, M. (2013). 49ers' Chris Culliver uses Super Bowl media day to bash gays: Says 'they have no place in NFL' .

A Matter of Debate

Today I would like to debate whether the felony convictions of Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis were justified in comparison to former Atlanta Falcon quarterback, now with the Philadelphia Eagles Michael Vic. With the conclusion of Super Bowl XLVII, the victorious Baltimore Ravens had to deal with the flash back story in January 2000, resulting in the indictment of Ray Lewis on murder and aggravated assault charges.  While celebrating his 2000 Super Bowl victory, Ray and his entourage engaged in a fight resulting in the stabbing deaths of two people.   The white bloody suit Lewis was wearing was never found; including the muttered statements of “no one says anything” from Lewis.  Ultimately, Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for testifying against his two friends.  In April 2007, Michael Vic was implicated and later convicted on interstate dog fighting.  He served twenty one months in prison and lost his lucrative endorsement deals.  In conclusion, two high profile NFL players were both convicted, but only Michael Vic served time.  Both had plenty of money for attorneys and fan base who wanted to believe it was not true. In my opinion Ray Lewis should have served prison time, he got off too easily.  Was the outcome fair when it came to these players, or did the system fail?  What do you think?

 

                                             

Quarterback Comparison

 

 

 

My next topic I would like to discuss the public opinion on whether or not Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is worth the money the Detroit Lions are willing to pay him.  Since being drafted number one in 2009, I believe the jury is still undecided if he rates a legitimate MVP quarterback for our beloved Detroit Lions.  The highly regarded quarterback is entering his fifth year of a six year $72 million dollar contract.  The numbers show in comparison to his peers of producing a modest ranking of 22^nd (78.8%) in pass rating.  His touchdown ratio is another eye opening statistic, only 20 touchdowns against 17 interceptions for a sloppy 2012 season.  The real truth is the Detroit Lions can’t afford not to sign him, Stafford is the beneficiary of the mess we all call “LION FOOTBALL”.  I believe that Matthew Stafford is nothing more than an average NFL quarterback.  To prove it, all you have to do is look at the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, namely Joe Flacco. All he did was lead his team the Baltimore Ravens on an impressive season capped off by winning the Super Bowl.  He proved himself in the last year of his contract. This is the perfect example of the disparity of deserving a new contract worth over $20 million per year.  When you compare the numbers you will find that bad teams such as the Lions will pay too much for an average player. What is your opinion?

Tim Tebow Debacle

My next topic I would like to talk about is the debacle of the acquisition of quarterback Tim Tebow.  The New York Jets decided in the offseason to trade for the unorthodox quarterback.  Jets owner Woody Johnson was eager to add another weapon to his already vanilla offense lead by starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.  The Wildcat offense was the master plan to improve the already declining team.  What makes it more bizarre was the signing of Mark Sanchez to a multimillion dollar contract extension.  It just did not make any sense to me or the average fan, why would the Jets want to create a circus atmosphere of both quarterbacks? Maybe Sanchez needed the contract extension to be validated as the starting quarterback.  In my opinion, perhaps it could have been a way to infuse the sale of the team jerseys. During the 2011 season the Bronco jersey with Tebow’s name on it was very popular, it was ranked second in sales to Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, MVP of Super Bowl XLV. Or perhaps, maybe it was just a good idea gone bad, you can make up your own mind.

Signing of Peyton Manning

Hello, today I would like to talk about on how the Denver Broncos were the winners of the Peyton Manning sweep stakes.  When the dust settled it was clear and apparent that Peyton wanted to select a good fit for himself.  The Denver Broncos are a solid team with a good mix of veteran and young talent.  It was a perfect fit for a mending quarterback coming of serious neck injury.  He was so successful by leading the Broncos to a 13 and 3 record with a first round bye in the AFC Divisional Playoff game. However, the Broncos suffered a heart breaking loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 38 to 35 in overtime on January 12, 2013.  The issue I have here was when the game was tied, there was 31 seconds left and the Broncos had the ball. Coach John Fox had Peyton take a knee and go into overtime. If it was up to me you have to ask yourself this question, you have Peyton Manning, one time out and the coach has him take a knee, WHAT is he doing!!!.  In my opinion this goes down as the worst decision in playoff history.  What do you think?

NFL 2012-13 Season

NFL 2012-13 Season


Hello my name is Frank Caputo; the topic of my blog is the 2012-13 National Football League season in review.   I will further create a dialog with other interesting story lines thought the season.  I will comment on how the qualifying teams fare in the playoffs and the Super Bowl.  Like many of us fans, the highlights of the 2012-13 seasons brought some interesting storylines.  Like many of us loyal fans, I find the 2012-13 season very interesting in regards on how the game has changed in reference to the play at quarterback. 

 As another season has come and gone, we as diehard fans can’t get enough of our favorite teams. With the playoffs in full swing, the final remaining teams will create an enjoyable finality leading to the city of New Orleans, home of Super Bowl XLVII.

 The season started on Sept. 5, 2012 when the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants faced off against their arch rival the Dallas Cowboys.

An interesting story developed during the off season, it entailed the inept judgment of the New York Jets management on how they handled the circus surrounding the Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow debacle.

Adding to the storyline, many NFL fans were weighing in on the highly anticipated scenario on which team will have the services of one Peyton Manning.  The Peyton Manning story caught the attention of a wide scope of fans, loyal and not so loyal.  Fans were trying to guess which teams were logical locations for him.