the world of football is a weird one. to succeed in it, the individual must possess talent, confidence, and focus that measure off the charts. this makes the inhabitants of this weird world, you know, absolutely nothing like you and me. in a nod to this strangeness, fuhbaw presents odds and endzones, a collection of weird news from the football world that promises to run randomly and without warning.
$#!%@ a lot of ink was spilled last year over a 37 year old quarterback, but don't expect that trend to continue despite another old man qb plying his trade at the age this year. david epstein over at si.com put together a fascinating portrait of aaron garcia, the veteran arena league player. garcia's story is one brimming with as much odd dedication - what with his 14 years of service in the hardscrabble league - as it is hard luck. the list of his varied injuries and surgeries is nearly as engrossing as his almost shots and near misses. while garcia's story is a great one, what really made my jaw drop is the almost nonchalant mention that he pulls down six figures a season, low six figures, but six figures nonetheless. it's a startling sum from what amounts to a third tier league. and speaks to the power of television contracts, in particular the afl's 2006 agreement with espn.
$#!%@ the nfl continues its push into the larger world with a second regular season game at london's wembley stadium this upcoming season. last year's contest pitted the giants and dolphins in a muddy, sloppy game. despite that game's general ugliness, it didn't deter interest in this year's match-up between the chargers and saints. according to reuters, the first batch of tickets - nearly half of wembley's 81,000 football seats - sold out in 90 minutes yesterday, at the same rate as last year's flurry of demand. that's good news for the league which has committed to two more seasons beyond this one in the united kingdom. there's talk of eventually expanding further into europe, but first the league will need the uk experiment to be an unqualified success.
$#!%@ peter king began this slowest of offseason weeks going deep on tarvaris jackson in his monday morning quarterback column. king expressed hope that the minnesota quarterback in his third year is ready to lead a ridiculously talented team through a serious playoff run. mds over at the fanhouse pokes holes in king's arguments, specifically king's use of stats that aren't telling, to support his belief that jackson will never be a quality starting qb in the nfl. but the last word of the week goes to zac at throwing into traffic. zac dives right into jackson's paradox, his dual nature, possessor of incredible talent and moments of baffling incompetence. however, if minnesota truly desires greatness, zac argues that the vikings need jackson:
If the team is going to get everything it can out of RB Adrian Peterson, it’s going to need to get defenders out of the box, and neither Frerotte nor Booty is shaking defenses down. If Jackson even starts to find a rhythm, however, there’s not a single throw he can’t make, and that, combined with his mobility, forces defenders to adjust.
the picture zac paints for the vikings upcoming season is one vibrant colors. there is no middle ground left, and, apparently, no place for game managers. zac's thought piece is definitely well worth a read.
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