"Player Profile" Archive

This photo shows Redskins QB Rex Grossman in his most comfortable position--dropping the ball.

The life of a Redskins fan was lookin up sort of. The Redskins were performing better than analysts predicted. Last night, they ran into a desperate Eagles team. Oo I hate to say that but it’s true. Redskins came into the game with one of the better performing defenses in the league and an up and down offense with a QB that has made some crucial mistakes.

In addition to Grossman being shaky on offense, the Redskins receivers are extra regular, and one of their best options in the past, the tight end Chris Cooley, has regressed due to injury. The Redskins biggest threats are running backs Ryan Torain and Tim Hightower.

The Eagles got off to a fast start scoring 20 points in the first half. In the 2nd half the Eagles didn’t score at all, but the Redskins just couldn’t take advantage of any of it.

In the 4th quarter of the game, after Grossman threw 4 interceptions,  the Shanahans had seen enough. They pulled Grossman from the game and put in John Beck, the dude I WRONGLY predicted would be the starter from the beginning. Not because he’s “so good” but because we already know what Rex Grossman has to offer. And we already know (or I thought we knew?) that it’s not good enough to be a starting QB in the NFL. We don’t know what Beck has to offer, and if he’s the only other option, it might be good to see what he’s got. That way you know if next year needs to find you drafting a QB, looking at David Garrard, or trying to wrestle Ryan Mallet away from the Patriots.

Although I thought that Beck should be the starter for the season, I still see an issue with the Shanahans benching Grossman at Week 6.

If nothing else, thus far Redskins seemed stable. They were low on mistakes (especially non-QB mistakes), they were competitive in their 1 loss coming into this game, and have already won more games than many analysts predicted. Benching Grossman throws the team into an uproar again and I’m not sure that the Redskins offense is one that Beck is gonna be so much better in. While the receivers are reliable, the Redskins don’t have the kind of explosive offensive weapons that can help a struggling QB not look so..well…struggle’ish.

Secondly,  I think that the decision to bench Grossman should stand for the entirety of the season win or lose. I don’t think that Grossman should start again unless Beck can’t play. It just doesn’t serve anyone to have that kind of controversy at the QB position. But given the Shanahans’ history, we might see another benching at week 9, around the time that offenses really need to be clicking on all cylinders.

That’s just bad. How does it help a QB’s performance to have the threat of benching hanging over his head after every game?

Grossman finished against the Eagles with a QB rating of 23.7, apparently he’s given 3 worst performances in his career. He’s the same Gross we always knew and I can’t ever  complain about Grossman being offered a seat on the sidelines. But I worry that this is just another act in the Redskins Quarterback play, and the rest of the cast deserves better performances from the lead characters.

Wasn't sure what photo to use for this post so I just kept it safe.

In my travels cross the mighty internet, I ran across this Q&A on Reddit with an anonymous “closeted” (kinda hate that term) gay college football player. The player opened the threat himself under the name “youdneverknow” and took questions from anyone who posted. You can read the entire thread here, but I picked out my favorite ones. The reason that these are my favorites are because they’re the type of “concerns” people express most often when they are against gay dudes participating in sports.

Whoever this guys is, assuming he’s really who he says he is, did a really good job answering the questions. Everything made sense to me. And a lot of it made me feel kinda sad. What a lonely feeling to hide who you are every day? From the thread, it looks as though he hasn’t slept with a man yet.

Q. What position do you play? Do any of your team mates, coaches, family members know at all? How do you deal with going to parties after big games?

I’ve heard of this happening!

Q. I’m really sorry. That would really suck, I can’t imagine having to do that. Do you ever get a chance to be with guys?

A. I don’t ever get the chance to be with guys. This year I think I’m going to try and change that though - I’m not sure. I’m not even sure what to do/where to meet people.

Q. As an offensive lineman in Australia. I’ve always wondered, do the OL in college get much action?

A.Actually more than you’d think. It’s not like we’re getting as much as the WRs or QBs but there are plenty of girls (and guys I think…) that like bigger, stronger men. They like to feel safe and secure.

**Raises hand** o/ I know I do!

Q. As a gay guy, I know how difficult this sort of thing can be and I think its great that you’ve started coming to terms with it for yourself. I will say, though, that the only way ignorant people are going to realize that gay folks are normal, everyday people like them is if more people like you are willing to take a risk and come out. Right now they see pride marches on TV and sitcom portrayals and gays are this anonymous “other,” but if they could see that their friendly neighbor, or the guy at the grocery store, or, better yet, their favorite football player is both masculine and gay it could start to have a real impact on public acceptance and the disintegration of the gay = feminine stereotype. I remember when the TV show Ellen had a parental advisory in front of it after she came out. Now gay people are all over TV, but they still aren’t real. Someone like you is real.

I hope you don’t take offense to my post; I know its a complicated, intensely personal situation and I would never be arrogant enough to suggest that I know what path you should follow. I guess I just wonder if you agree that having someone in your position come out would be a positive step for homosexual rights and if you have any opinion on that subject?

A. This is a great comment! I think about this a lot actually. One part of me feels like I should take advantage of the opportunity I have and come out publicly. The other part of me feels like an ass because I don’t want to just yet.

I figured someone would ask this question. It probably would be helpful to someone for this guy to be openly gay, but I couldn’t see myself risking it if I were him. I don’t wanna be the guinea pig!

Q. Why are you closeted/What keeps you from coming out?

A. When I was younger I noticed how kids in school would treat others that were gay, perceived gay, or just different. I didn’t want to be treated like that. As I grew up, I denied the fact that I was gay. I never felt comfortable bringing up the subject with friends or family due to the fear that I wouldn’t be loved/accepted.

Qs and As

A Smiling Dustin Keller

It’s always interesting to me to see which things players are passionate about. This week I ran across Dustin Keller’s post on NFL.com about healthy eating. Apparently he’s written on this topic before in the NY Times and will now be doing a series of posts on it for NFL.com.  I found Keller’s first post to be pretty damn practical, especially the part about saving money by not eating junk and incorporating soups and beans and brown rice.

One thing I always tell people is to limit the amount of junk food they purchase and consume, and that includes salty and sugary foods. You need to drink a lot of water and stay away from foods that are high in saturated fats. Snacking is one area that can really sneak up on you. People snack out of boredom sometimes, rather than from being hungry. Try getting fat-free, sugar-free instant pudding made with nonfat or 1 percent milk. Fiber One Bars, Whole Grain Fig Newtons and other cookies made from high fiber are much, much better for you, and they’re not that expensive.

Another way to continue eating healthy on a budget is to include things like brown rice, frozen produce and canned fish. Brown rice is a whole grain, and it helps in weight loss and fights against heart disease. Plus, you can use brown rice in a lot of different things like soups, stir-fries, stews, or you can eat it by itself.

Read the whole post here.

The television show Millionaire Matchmaker ended this season with an appearance by Former Philadelphia Eagle Freddie Mitchell. According to Bravo’s storyline, since leaving the Eagles Mitchell has been working as a venture capitalist (really?), is currently considering a return to the NFL (huh?), and is looking for love after having being burned (financially) by supposed golddiggers. (Relax black girls, he aint talkin about yall. He only dates white Euros and Latinas)

If you haven’t seen the show, the owner of the Matchmaking service, Patti, matches two millionaires with dates. She first diagnoses their dating problems-in Mitchell’s case, Patti said he couldn’t tell a winner from a loser. She said “his picker” his “off.” After the millionaire gives Patti a few preferences to work with, Patti sets up a mixer with about 20 potential dates.

Mitchell ended up picking a southern girl who at first tried to hide her accent. Even after she faked an accent, Mitchell still chose to go out on a date with her. On their date, she said she googled him and proceeded to confront him about whether or not he’d pay child child support in the past. Mitchell decided not to go out with her again, but to continue to use Patti’s service to find someone else.

I knew that Mitchell’s appearance would be stereotypical, but I didn’t know he’d hit every cliche about athletes.

• Big spender in the club? Check
• Preference for nonblack girls? Check
• Crippling fear of being used financially? Check
• Unkempt appearance? Check
• Baby mama? Check
• Child support issues? Check

While I enjoyed Mitchell’s turn on MM I do lament that this is the image we constantly see of NFL players. Its far too one-dimensional for my tastes. Obviously, outlandish personalities and flashy lifestyles make us more likely to keep up with athletes’ comings and goings. I think that becomes really  clear when you look at which players have made it into the mainstream (think: T.O and Ochocinco). It’s no wonder that 90% of the content on 90% of sports sites is gossip. Still, I think there’s room to give players more visibility that doesn’t feed into the most base stereotypes.

We often see players in extremes: Either building homes for Hurricane Katrina survivors or dodging child support payments. Where is the middle?  This is one of the reasons I started this blog. It’s so easy to forget that there’s usually  A LOT more to players than what we’re fed on a whole.

To Mitchell’s credit, he did seem like a nice guy. And he didn’t display any of those no-thank-you qualities on camera that made him so hard to love when he was with the Eagles. I don’t expect a fairly scripted reality show to provide us with a clear picture of someone, but a departure from a stereotypical storyline would have been nice. I wonder what  Mitchell thinks about his portrayal.