Author: bobbyhink15

Categories
Football

The Packers Are Confusing

When Brian Gutekunst and the front office drafted Jordan Love to be the heir to Aaron Rodgers, what is happening this season HAD to have been one of the possibilities that crossed their minds. Yet they seem like they have no idea how to handle the current situation.

Green Bay is content for the time being after beating the Bears in Chicago, and Rodgers showing that he still owns the greater Chicago area. But we still have a dilemma. A-Rodg has not looked like an MVP this season. Whether it is regression, losing Davantae, losing his QB coach and OC, being injured almost the entire year, or a combination of all of that, Rodgers and the Pack are experiencing a rare losing season. We got to see a bit of what Jordan Love can do against the Eagles last week, and he looked awesome. He has learned from Rodgers and you can see that in his laser quick release that is reminiscent of his elder teammate.

Those passes against the Eagles would have been all we needed to see to shut down an injured Rodgers for the season. What point is there in throwing an injured quarterback out and risking further injury? And we’d get to see what we have in Jordan Love and up his trade value or be comfortable trading away Rodgers. Instead, we’re rolling out an injured 39-year-old QB in a nearly meaningless last few games of the season.

Let’s see what we have in the Christian Watson and Jordan Love duo and get fans excited again. An offseason quarterback controversy is an easy way to make a football-less few months of summer go by a bit quicker. Make it happen Gute and LaFleur!

Categories
Football

Graham Mertz Deserves Better

Playing quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers has to be one of the most stressful jobs in the world. Everyone knows Wisconsin loves to run the football, but we don’t fully commit to the run like the military academies do, so we ask our quarterbacks to throw the ball 15-20 times a game. In theory that seems like it should be an easy job, just fake a few handoffs and throw it to a tight end a few times a game. Wrong. There is so much more pressure on every pass, and that can’t be easy for a 19-23-year-old kid to have their every move on and off the field scrutinized.

In the modern era of Badger football, we have had a plethora of average quarterbacks, with a singular outstanding season from Russell Wilson thrown in the mix. So when fans heard that Graham Mertz, a 4-5 star recruit from Kansas, was coming to Madison, they immediately touted him as the savior. And it started out as good as anyone could have drawn up. Coming out and torching Illinois in his first start as a redshirt freshman gave Wisconsin so much hope. But then Covid decimated that season and we never saw Mertz get into a proper rhythm. Then the next two years he was not asked to do much and would struggle when he was asked to throw. A lot of that is playcalling and the situations the coaching staff put him in.

Throughout it all, the media was not kind to Mertz, but he would go up to the podium and say the right things with his head held high, but was still hated. I think Mertz is still talented, but Wisconsin was not the place for him. I am happy that he entered the transfer portal after the coaching change, and I hope we see him go to a smaller school, preferably in a small conference like the MAC. Michigan State legend Rocky Lombardi followed this blueprint after three meh seasons at MSU, and Mertz should do the same. Getting to go and sling the rock at a small school and show off his arm in case he still wants to play at the next level is the best thing for him. He deserves to fly under the radar in his last two years of eligibility and I hope nothing but the best for a fellow Badger.

Categories
Basketball

The Ten Commandments of Pickup Basketball

Pickup basketball is one of the best instances in this world of guys being dudes. Just show up to the gym at any given time and team up with guys you’ve never met before and play a team sport where you have to be very involved with one another. No plans, typically there’s no groupchat, just show up and play. However, pickup basketball is not a lawless land, there are a couple of unspoken rules one must follow.

  1. In a competitive game, get back on defense
    • There is nothing worse than a cherry picker. Both playing against one and having one on your team. Giving up easy baskets because someone is too out of shape to run back on defense is not fun. The arguments of “if you don’t like it stay back with them” and “why don’t you do it” are horseshit. This is supposed to be fun and there is nothing fun about wide-open layups. If it’s the last game or two of a run and everyone is tired, this rule is of course different, but if you sense a game is competitive, just get back on defense.
  2. It’s almost never that serious
    • Part of the fun of pickup basketball is beating the dudes who take it too seriously and try to talk actual shit. Just don’t be the guy that other people go home saying “fuck that guy, what was his issue?” If you’ve never had that conversation with people on your team, I hate to break it to you but you might be the one taking it too seriously.
  3. No undercutting, pushing people from behind
    • Turning an ankle and catching accidental elbows should be the only injuries that take place in a pickup run. It has never once been a good idea to go underneath someone when they’re going up for a dunk/layup. It has genuinely never been the right play to push someone square in the back after they get by you. If you get beat just be a man and don’t do something that might injure someone. I was playing outdoors once and blew past an old head and went up for a layup and he pushed me into the metal pole underneath the hoop. Got up to confront him and he threatened to pull a gun on me. Once again, it’s never that serious.
  4. Win by two
    • My biggest pet peeve is people playing 1s and 2s, since anyone who knows fractions understands that 1s and 2s is a completely different game than the regulation 2s and 3s. That has been accepted as a norm and I live with it, but one thing that I cannot live with is people who play straight up, especially in 1s and 2s. It makes games more competitive at the end and should just be a rule of thumb.
  5. Shooting around while waiting your turn
    • Getting warmed up while a game is going on is totally fine and normal, but there is nothing worse than oblivious pieces of shit who don’t notice when the active game is coming down on the hoop they are shooting on. Totally fucks up the pace of play and is an extremely easy problem to avoid. Just be aware and considerate and it should never be a problem.
  6. Dap up after a game or a run
    • If you’re running multiple games with the same people, it is okay to wait until after everyone’s last game to exchange pleasantries. If it’s a winner-stay situation, it is common courtesy to say good game and high-five the other team, even if they sucked or kicked your ass. Don’t be the irrationally angry guy who storms off because he thinks his team “sold” on him. No dude you took 80% of the shots and went 4/25 from the field, you’re the one who sold on your team asshole.
  7. Don’t overly hog the ball
    • Everyone has been a part of a game where off-ball movement isn’t a thing and it’s mostly iso ball. That’s totally fine and it’s fun to see what everyone has in their bag. But the only way that works is if everyone gets their turn. A good baseline is never having three straight possessions where you don’t pass the ball, unless you’re hot. Nothing at all is worse than the guy who thinks they’re good because they take every shot, not because they MAKE every shot.
  8. If you’re gonna wear accessories, make sure you’re good
    • Another easy way to put a target on your back is by non-ironically wearing unnecessary accessories to a run where you don’t know the people. If you’re bad and have a shooting sleeve on, yes I am going to say “let him shoot” and most likely put my shoulder into you for an easy layup. I don’t make the rules (yes I do bozos).
  9. Keep the arguing to a minimum
    • Another rule to try to keep the game going. This might be a little bit of the old guy yelling at clouds but I don’t care. I go to the gym to play basketball, not to yell at each other over what may or may not have been a shooting foul. Shoot for it if you can’t come to a decision. Nothing is worse than someone trying to recreate their move with the game stopped and explaining why it’s not a travel (if this ever happens it is 99% of the time a travel).
  10. Stopping an open layup by grabbing someone
    • It’s not game seven of the finals. Hell, it’s not even intramurals. If someone has an open layup let them make it. It’s funnier if they miss it organically. And now take fouls are banned in the NBA, so don’t do it it pickup.
Categories
Football

What Should Jordan Love do Next?

It doesn’t take a football genius to figure out what the Packers were thinking when they drafted Jordan Love. In 2005 they drafted Aaron Rodgers to be the heir to the reverse Robinhood, Brett Favre, and that worked out brilliantly, to say the least. Rodgers sat behind Favre for three years and took over the starting role at the beginning of his fourth. If the front office planned on following that plan, Love should be starting next year.

That obviously isn’t what looks like is going to happen, as Arod is coming off of back-to-back MVPs and signed a three-year extension that does not even begin until the 2024 season.

So that leads us to the question what are the Packers going to do with Jordan Love? Here are a few serious options.

  1. Move to defense and play defensive tackle
    • It might be too early to tell, but it certainly looks as if the Packers whiffed on DT Devonte Wyatt with the 28th overall pick. He has been too shitty at practice to even put on the field, so we might as well have one 1st round pick playing DT. Just lean into the Wisconsin lifestyle and go comatose on some fried cheese curds and Miller Genuine Drafts.
  2. Sign an extension to be a career backup to Rodgers
    • I always jokingly said that being a backup QB who has no chance of actually playing meaningful snaps is maybe the best gig in all of sports. I assume Jordan Love wants to start at some point, but no one would blame him if he wanted to wear a visor, and headset, and hold a clipboard for the rest of his career. A lot safer than getting drilled by the freaks that play defense nowadays.
  3. Go play backup point guard for the Bucks
    • George Hill was a liability for the Bucks in the playoffs last year, and Jordan Love tested phenomenally at the combine, and I assume he played at least some basketball in high school and dominated a few pickup games at Utah State. Put him out there for 15 minutes a night, what’s the worst that can happen?
  4. Retire
    • No one would blame Love if he decided to hang it up to avoid more Packers QB drama and the uncertainty of playing on a prove-it deal somewhere else where the microscope would be on him on every snap. He could call it quits and be an analyst for NFL, or a great motivational speaker where he gives the same “How to get paid for doing nothing” presentation at convention centers all over the country. Lord knows I would attend and listen to his advice.
Categories
Basketball

Draymond is a Great Teammate

If you haven’t seen the video of Draymond Green knocking out Jordan Poole, it is a punch that would make Mike Tyson proud.

Do not be duped by the fake pictures on Twitter of Jordan Poole’s face but I believe that Poole’s face was definitely worse for the wear after acting as a roadblock for Draymond’s fist.

I believe this is exactly the spark that the Warriors need as they look to repeat as champions. The people calling this a sucker punch are idiots. Obviously, words were exchanged between the two, and when Draymond got in Poole’s face and then shoved Draymond away, he was very foolish to not protect his face. He has been teammates with Draymond for a while now and had to know a punch was a possibility and should have put his hands up.

Credit to Poole for recognizing that and agreeing that Draymond should not be suspended for the dust-up. That shows the respect Poole has for Draymond as a teammate and person. Now Draymond is taking time away from the team, and let me say, throwing a punch at a younger unruly teammate is an all-time way to get out of training camp, well done Dray. Latrelle Sprewell tried a similar tactic during his time with the Warriros, when he choked his coach, was asked to leave practice and then returned 20 minutes later to throw a punch. That ended up being a 68-game suspension, so Draymond must have really done his homework and decided that the best way to get away with violence at practice is to throw a punch at someone you know has to look up to you. Absolutely genius move and that’s why Draymond will go down as one of the greats of the 2010s and 20s.

Categories
Betting Football

This Fantasy Football Season in Wedding Crasher Quotes

  • “You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me!”
    • This is what Allen Robinson owners are saying to the so-called experts who told them to draft A-Rob over Amon-Ra.
  • “I know it doesn’t feel like it but we’re making progress.”
    • Dereck Henry hasn’t had a trademark Dereck Henry game yet, but he has been much better the past two weeks and is starting to look faster and the Titans have another game this week against a bad Commanders Defense.
  • “Sandbagging son of a bitch!”
    • Mike Tomlin was holding George Pickens hostage under the QB play of Mitch Trubisky for the first three weeks. When Kenny Pickett got put in the game we saw what everyone saw from Pickens in camp and preseason. Head coaches love nothing more than sandbagging when it comes to talented rookie QB’s that could be franchise guys. Look at Justin Herbert, Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and even Baker Mayfield. All of them were forced to sit out seasons, or part of seasons when they gave their teams a better chance of winning.
  • “Tatoo on the lower back? Might as well be a bullseye.”
    • “Established starting QB with proven rushing upside in the 6th round? Might as well be a bullseye.” Guys who took Jalen Hurts in one QB leagues after the first wave of QBs are feeling like real geniuses right now after his first four weeks that have him as QB3.
  • “Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts!”
    • People ignoring the warning signs of drafting Zeke. Backup who is clearly better? Clearly doesn’t have the same burst. Erroneous on both counts.
  • “I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup.”
    • I happen to know everything there is to know about drafting receivers first. Number one target in elite offenses, less risk of injury, safer picks. If only Jonathon Taylor wasn’t so damn good people would have universally taken Justin Jefferson 1st.
  • “Grow up Peter Pan. Count Chocula.”
    • This isn’t 2007. You can survive on elite receiver play and have only one reliable running back. Injuries exist and waivers and trades are your best friend. Grow up and move on from LaDainian Tomlinson’s 2003 season.
  • “Rule 76 no excuses play like a champion.”
    • Even if you drafted Kyle Pitts in the 3rd round, or have dealt with injuries. Hunt the waivers and trade market and find the next Jeff Wilson or Romeo Doubbs. Or blackmail the idiot in your league and get their WR1 for two borderline flexes!
  • “Hello, Red.”
    • Hello Andy Dalton and thank you for being better than Jameis and allowing the Saint’s skill positions to produce.
  • “Make me a bicycle clown!”
    • Give Kyle Pitts a red zone target Arthur Smith you clown.
  • “We gotta get outta here, we got a stage five clinger.”
    • Anyone who picked Clyde Edwards Helaire has to trade him while they still can. He is not even the lead running back on the Chiefs. He has only had 50% or more of the snap share once this season and relying on a short running back to continue to get goal line receiving touchdowns is very risky. Get out while his value is high.
  • “Crabcakes and football! That’s what Maryland does!”
    • Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford connecting for 10 completions for 100 yards. That’s what the Rams do and we were crazy for thinking their success last year wouldn’t be repeated.
  • “It wouldn’t kill you to play some competitive sports, Todd.”
    • This is surely what Tom Brady is saying to his receivers who refuse to all be healthy at the same time and allow Brady to look like the Brady of years past.
  • “Nature Vs. nurture. And nature always wins.”
    • Mid to late-round rookie WRs vs veterans who might give you eight points on a bye week. The rookies always win. Thank you Chris Olave, Drake London, and hopefully now George Pickens. Jalen Tolbert, I hate your guts.
  • “Why don’t you try getting jacked off under the table in front of the whole damn family. Have some real problems, jackass.”
    • Try being the guy who has to decide which TE to stream everyweek, and have some real problems, jackass.
  • “I hope you flip your bike over and knock out your two front teeth out, you selfish son of a bitch.”
    • Every league seems to have the guy that hit the running back lottery, and now has Jamaal Williams and Jeff Wilson sitting on their bench. To you my friend, I hope to see you in the dentist office sooner than later.
  • “The painting was a gift Todd, I’m taking it with me.”
    • To the guy who threw Chris Olave into a trade as a filler after week one, no you cannot have him back now that the red rifle is leading the Saints to the promise land.
  • “I’m reading don’t kill myself books.”
    • Anyone who gambled on the unknown that was Trey Lance almost immediately regretted it after a tough performance in a monsoon against the Bears, then a season-ending injury the next week. They likely have one of these books in their amazon cart.
  • “What an idiot! OHHH what a loser!!”
    • Can’t have a crasher’s article without the iconic Chaz Reinhold making an appearance on the list. This is anyone who drafted Amon-Ra referring to anyone who drafted Diontae Johnson ahead of the star in Detroit. All the signs were there last year. How could we all be such idiots and losers?
Categories
Baseball Betting

10/7 MLB Wild Card Early Plays

Oct 5, 2020; San Diego, California, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan (62) prepares to pitch against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning in game one of the 2020 ALDS at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

That time of the year is finally here… Playoff baseball. The second half of the season really drags along but it all becomes worth it in October. With the new wild card format, there is plenty of action today.

First two games PrizePicks play

  • Shane McClanahan Over 4.5 Ks. + Tommy Edman Over 0.5 total bases from hits
    • The Rays like to lean on their pen… Unless McClanahan is on the mound. He has struggled over the past month or so, but the Rays pitching always shows up in the playoffs, so I expect to see a strong outing from McClanahan. Edman has been a staple in the Cards lineup all year and hits well against both sides as a switch hitter. He plays all over the infield so I do not expect to see him get subbed out, so with four or five at-bats, Edman should poke one into the outfield

Rays @ Guardians play

  • Runs in the first inning +150
    • NRFI’s (no runs first inning) have been the hot bet this year, which is exactly why I like fading it here. Everyone loves a plus sign when they bet, plus the Guardians are the youngest team not just in the playoffs, but the entire league. They have nothing to lose so I expect them to come out swinging early.

Phillies @ Cardinals play

  • Cardinals ML -110
    • This Cardinals team is built for an October run with a core of seasoned veterans and young guys who are hungry to make an impact. The Phillies had a good season, but their wild card birth wasn’t as much won as it was lost by the putrid Brewers who had every opportunity this season to distance themselves both in the Central and the Wild Card race.
Categories
Football

Chryst Was Not the Problem or the Solution for Wisconsin

As a lifelong Badger fan who was born and raised in the great Green Bay, Wisconsin, I have seen the same brand of football for too many years. The DNA of the team has been to control the clock by running the ball and fielding an elite defense year after year, but what happens when we cannot run the ball and do not have an elite defense? We lose to out-of-conference teams at home, Big Ten teams at home, and get blown out by Ohio State. All that happened within the first five weeks of the season, and the University decided it was time for a coaching change.

Paul Chryst was a good hire back in 2015 and helped the Badgers win a lot of games during his tenure, but nothing he was doing was original, and that is not all his fault.

Barry Alvarez helped turn Wisconsin back into a formidable football program, but when he stopped coaching, he became even more involved in the program as he became the AD. You could still see his imprint on the way the Badgers play, and in my mind, because he pressured all the coaches to coach like him and call plays like he did in his time. And mostly Wisconsin has gotten away with it, mainly thanks to the ridiculous offensive line play, talented running backs, and elite defenses.

Chryst’s first two years gave the program hope, as even without a superstar RB we were able to finish 10-3 and 11-3 respectively. Play calling that first year was even bordering on creative, as we would run the wildcat here and there with the 2-way legend Tanner McEvoy. Then 2016 Chryst had the help of some bum on defense named TJ and the 2nd ranked defense in the country. Then the next three years felt like a bit of a blur but saw more success. This was largely due to the emergence of once-in-a-generation talent who goes by the name of Jonathon Taylor. Three years of the best running back in the nation can cover up a lot of issues elsewhere on and off the field.

In the past two years and change, we have gotten to see what Chryst can do without the help of Jonathon Taylor, and it has not been up to the standard that now surrounds the Wisconsin program. Moving on from Chryst to Jim Leonard is the move that fans have been calling for, and let’s see if he can deliver.

He is a youthful spark that can hopefully speak to younger recruits and convince the Wisconsin recruits to stay home and swing recruits from outside the state to come to Madison.

Most importantly, Barry Alvarez is no longer the AD, and if Jim Leonard has the final say over what goes on, I would not be shocked to see a change in identity on the offensive side of the ball in the coming seasons.