Josh Norman The Redskin
This off-season better stay as fun as it’s been in the past two weeks. The draft has practically taken a backseat to all the fun. Massive trades, angry Sam Bradford, Johnny’s descent into a human trainwreck and now, of all things, another chapter to the deflategate saga. Lastly, the topic seen above: Josh Norman is now a Redskin. Oh Goody. When the OBJ/Norman kerfuffle happened it was a bad week for me since I was at my future in-laws house handling Christmas stuff, and I simply didn’t have the time to do a thing about it, so I’ll say my piece on that now.
OBJ acted like a giant baby jerkoff that game and I was glad to see him get suspended. It was pretty disgusting to watch the future of the franchise acting like a human missile after a play. I imagine it was incredibly cathartic to fans of other teams to see the big hype machine that is OBJ basically single-handedly set back his #brand in 60 minutes. Now instead of being the most electrifying new WR in the league, he’s a talented but hotheaded asshole who other CBs will go out of their way to provoke because it clearly works. If Beckham wants to be as great as he says, he needs to channel his competitive aggressive nature into his game, and beat people the right way. Obviously I hope that happens. I think most Giants fans were in agreement with this general sentiment when it happened. We aren’t going to turn our back on him because we know he’s better than that and we want to see him be so.
I was pretty annoyed however that Josh Norman pretty much got viewed almost blamelessly in the whole thing because he wasn’t that much better. He body-slammed OBJ early in the game and while he wasn’t as bad as Beckham overall, that doesn’t make him a saintly victim. He was just the lesser of two evils. I also don’t remember an apology coming out of him afterward, where OBJ did attempt to vocally take responsibility for his actions. In fact I think I remember him continuing to run his mouth. At least he did get fined. Safe to say I came out of that whole mess thinking less of them both. I’m not looking forward to them playing each other twice a season now, if only for the inevitable coverage and constant reminders of the incident. Part of me is interested though, because if you actually watch the game, Beckham was really only beat mentally. That counts as beat for sure because it took him out of the game, but Beckham can burn the shit out of Norman when he tries to. He just can’t let Norman into his head.
From a football standpoint, it feels like a classic Skins free agency overpay a’la Haynesworth (probably not that bad though). Part of me thinks I can’t criticize it because the Giants gave Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins similar absurd money but really, does anyone think a 28 year old corner who has had one breakout year is worth that kind of money? Josh Norman is already approaching football middle age, that point in a career where a player could last another decade or drop dead the very next week. He’s had one meaningful season as a cog in an already excellent defense. The Panthers and Ron Rivera seem built to make DBs look good. On top of that they have a killer defensive line (which always makes it easier on DBs) and an all-pro linebacker helping out. Norman won’t have that level of support in Washington. I don’t think Norman will be bad in DC, I think he’ll be fine. But that is probably his ceiling now. Fine. Not great. Just decent at best. I think the Skins get two decent years out of him with a questionable year in there somewhere. Then the wheels come off. He’s certainly not worth what the Skins paid him, at least not as of this writing.
Called it with the Norman comic for Tuesday. Speaking of Tuesday…
The first game from last week, Cleveland at Philly, went exactly as expected with the (3-1) Soul winning 67-50 over (1-3) Cleveland.
The second game of week was closer than expected, but the final score was deceiving because despite (4-0) Orlando’s victory over (2-2) L.A. being only by a 43-40 score, the last 19 points for the KISS were garbage time points.
The third and final game of the week showed just how fun an Arena game can be. The game was neck-and-neck throughout as when the game entered the one minute warning (running clock until last minute of each half that only stops for TDs, timeouts, challenges, and commercials) it was tied 62-62 The home Sharks threw a long bomb to WR Joe Hills (who has a TD catch in 60 straight games now, starting 4 years ago when he played for tampa) to give J’ville a 68-62 lead, but they missed a PAT. Then Arizona got the ball back after an onside kick. J’ville let Arizona score with 23 seconds left so they could be the last team with ball. But the RattlersRattlers also missed the PAT, tying the score at 68-68. The Sharks looked like they could win at the last second, but they fumbled the kickoff and gave Arizona the ball back. The Rattlers had an opportunity to win it, by QB Nick Davila threw a rare INT on the last play of regulation and the Sharks were going to their f second-ever O.T. game. Arizona scored their first drive and made the PAT (75-68), but Jacksonville couldn’t score on their drive as the game ended with Arizona improving to 4-0 with Portland ready to be the victims of a second Rattler blowout while 1-3 Jacksonville would head south to Tampa Bay for an easy win.
The Eagles trade now looks like shit
I expected a battle to the death between these two. God dammit Odell!!!
Odell needs to do what Julio Jones does. He got called out by Patrick Peterson, balled out for the game of his life. Someone on the Packers trashed him, he goes off for 300 against them. Julio lets his game talk for him. I can’t expect that kind of turnaround from Odell but anything helps.
As good as a player Norman is, this is shaping up to be the latest Redskins free agency flop under Snyder. At least they’ll have fun destroying us two times next year. Maybe Odell can rip Norman’s head off and we might have a chance to win.
The Draft’s in two days. If Ezekiel Elliott is still on the board at #10, the Giants better take him. Then I can change my username to ” An Ezekiel Elliott 3 Yard Run”. But I think that moron Jerry Jones will take him or Bosa at #4. We’ll probably be stuck with another O-Lineman.
Rams are probably set to take Goff, which is the smart pick because I think Carson Wentz is overrated. It’s great that he’ll go to Philly at #2, because of the #2 pick curse (RGIII, Ryan Leaf), which means he’ll suck forever. Also they gave Bradford all that money and now he wants out. The Eagles are falling apart and it’s great. But they’ll still sweep us next season.
I’m predicting that the next comic will be about Tom Brady and Goodell’s never ending story. Those two should just get a room.
They did, it’s called Boston Legal
(According to p*ts fans
Do you think Goff is that much better than Wentz that it wasn’t an awful trade for the Rams too?
Seems pretty clear to met that with their fresh start in LA, a city notorious for its sports apathy, they wanted to make a big splash that’ll earn them lots of media airtime AND net them a new homegrown California QB to start over with. His talent (or lackthereof) seems to factor in very little.
But I thought before the trade everyone had Wentz as the 1 QB and Goff as the 2. Or at least very close and interchangeable. I don’t know enough about either, but it sure seems like doing these sorts of trade for either of them is a HUGE mistake.
Or did you just mean smart from a business and PR standpoint?
I’m not saying it was an awful deal for the Rams either. Both deals are awful, but it gives the teams the QB they want for the next 10-15 years if they play to their potential. Or they can both be busts, but we’ll see.
And yes, while Goff is from California and going to LA makes sense PR wise, I think that Wentz is overrated and Goff is the better of the two. Wentz may have the raw talent of an NFL QB, but he was playing against FCS schools, where the level of competition is nowhere near that of FBS schools. I think there is too much hype surrounding him and he’s set up to fail with the Eagles or any team that drafts him.
But we shall see what happens. I’m just worried about who the Giants will select at the #10 spot.
Wentz was beating FBS schools too. NDSU has beaten like 7 or 8 FBS teams in a row. People need to stop disregarding NDSU because they’re an FCS school.
People aren’t disrespecting Wentz for playing in the FCS per say, it is just an important thing to note that part of his college dominance may have something to do with the lack of talent on defenses he’s playing against.
Fair enough. When you put it like that, it does seem like Wentz is way more Boom-or-Bust whereas Goff probably has a passable floor at least
What’s your #1 Want & #1 Do-not-want! for the Giants in R1?
Also take a look at some stats. Goff is the better passer between the two. Surprisingly much more accurate downfield as well.
#1 Want for the Giants, if he’s still on the board, is Elliott, because we need a running game. Rashad is my man but he’s nothing special. Laquon Treadwell might also work out as the #2 WR behind Odell. Because let’s be real here, Cruz is never playing again, and if he does, he won’t be the same as he was in 2011/2012.
I just hope we don’t take another O-Lineman who will be a bust or off the team in two years. If neither of the two guys I mentioned earlier are on the board at #10, I think we should take a defender. Hopefully someone who actually knows the game of football, like the opposite of Landon Collins.
“Now instead of being the most electrifying new WR in the league, he’s a talented but hotheaded asshole who other CBs will go out of their way to provoke because it clearly works.” Aren’t you describing every young transcendent WR to come out of the draft? See: T.O, Moss, Dez, Ochocinco, B.Marshall, Steve Smith, DJax, Plaxico, Irvin, Keyshawn and more… There’s a reason why they are known as the divas of football.
I don’t remember any of those guys besides Steve Smith and DJax ever getting so worked up during a game that they attacked a CB. There’s a difference between Diva and Hothead.
I remember Andre Johnson beating the stuffing out of Cortland Finnegan. That’s the kind of thing that happens when a player goes dirty on another one and the refs don’t call it.
Dez and DeShawn aren’t even assholes. As a Packers fan, yes, that was a disgusting act. Always had mixed feelings for Moss.
Dez and DeSean aren’t assholes?
Dez Bryant left his team behind to head to the locker room early after his team turned it over with 1:20 left against your Packers in 2013. (http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/why-dez-bryant-left-the-cowboys-packers-game-early-121513)
He also badmouths his own coach and teammates during games. (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000270350/article/dez-bryant-unhappy-with-tony-romo-in-sideline-spat).
He also may or (most likely) may not have beat his mom. He also has poor taste in Star Wars movies. (http://www.thedrawplay.com/comic/the-dez-bryant-video-revealed/)
Those are some reasons why people hate him and think he’s an asshole. I just hate him because he consistently burns the weak-ass Giants secondary for a few touchdowns a game.
And don’t even get me started on DeSean fucking Jackson.
I think OBJ will be just fine. I truly believe he learned his lesson about letting his emotions get away from him because it cost the Giants 2 potential wins and it cost him money too. I’m excited for week 3 to see OBJ run rampant on the Skins D and burn them for 3 TD’s 215 Yards.
What worries me about OBJ is that he doesn’t seem to have a support system to help him calm down when he gets mad. During the Panthers@Giants game last year, Josh Norman had a bunch of teammates come to him in an attempt to calm him down. The Panthers coach Ron Rivera even talked to him on the sideline. That didn’t seem to happen to OBJ. Coughlin basically left him alone and left him in the game, and OBJ was left alone on the sideline.
OBJ needs some veterans to help him. I think OBJ can put this behind him, but I think he will do the same thing again unless he is held accountable by his teammates.
I doubt Mac’ll make that mistake. That was definitely one of the most glaring issues with Coughlin’s coaching last year– he even said after the game he “didn’t really know what was going on” with ODB/Norman. After I heard that I was ready for him to go.
Whereas Mac is very much a player’s coach, and he saw firsthand how bad it got with ODB getting worked up and how inept the offense became without him… I bet he’ll make it a priority to keep Odell’s head in the game.
Does anyone else find it a bit hypocritical that the NFL fined them and suspended one for this, plus made a new rule because of this very event, and now NFL.com is selling the Giants redskins match-up based on this same thing?
That is the kind of hypocritcal shit the NFL lives on
I love fat baby Beckham,
“Acting like a human missile after the play” really Dave? You should watch again.
First, disclaimer: I’m with you for 95% of the post– ODB (and Norman) acted like children, ODB let Norman into his head, and he probably deserved the suspension. He did set back his brand, and he definitely opened the door for more DBs to try and get under his skin in the same way.
But the “headhunting” helmet-to-helmet play is such total media spin baloney:
1. It was a LIVE PLAY, with the ball carrier right next to/under Norman, when ODB took his shot. The play was by no means over, let alone far away from the contact (like ESPN’s favorite angle of the hit would indicate)
2. Norman ran over to the ballcarrier, and looked like he was jumping into the tackle/pile, but basically stopped and pulled up at the last minute when ODB hit him. If Norman had continued his tackle, ODB would’ve crushed him in the back.
More disclaimers: Yes ODB was going for basically a blindsind ‘cheap’shot, and yes it was a stupid vengeful play with the intent of harm. But it wasn’t after/away from the play, nor was it deliberately going for a head-to-head. You can see ODB leading with his arms; they just whiff and he ends up crashing helmet to helmet into Norman.
Of course every time ESPN or anyone else shows this play it’s from the angle where you can’t see the ballcarrier literally feet from Norman; and you don’t really see Norman’s turn-and-head-for-the-pile-then-pull-back.
I completely accept that most of the league sees this as deliberate attempt at head-to-head contact, and that most people think way less of Beckham from it. 100% fair enough, as (again disclaimer) he was behaving like a punk.
But cmon Dave! I’d expect you as a Giants fan to realize that as stupid as ODB was that game, he wasn’t stupid enough to risk his own career for one blindsind hit. Let the media and everyone else hate on our boy; and while we should take this all as a reminder that he is still just a young kid… don’t fall for the “deliberate post-play headhunting” narrative ESPN has been selling ever since this game.
Wow. Your bias is clearly showing.. Just wow.
You are officially the first person I’ve seen to rationalize that hit away. Even in Giants fandom.
He straight up launched himself at Norman, his arms don’t even attempt to wrap up or block. There is no attempt at a block. He doesn’t go for a shove and whiff, holy shit man. He launched himself. You really need to take off the Giants homer blinders and just accept he was a complete shithead in that moment. I’m still going to root for him, I’m still behind him, but in that moment, and for most of that game, he was acting like the kind of player that deserved the hate he got.
Pause the video at 1:21. Look at his arms. Watch them during this entire replay angle. He launched himself, headfirst, into Josh Norman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIhuIBa3Pa8
I’ll give you that the play wasn’t technically over yet.
I’m definitely not trying to ‘rationalize that hit away’. That’s what the second bunch of disclaimers are for; it WAS a blindsind cheapshot driven almost entirely by malice & vengeance & intent to harm.
But I’m looking exactly at his arms at 1:20-1:22. They start in front, but when he turns/adjusts at the last second he ends up hitting with his head first. If he *was* purposefully trying to hit Norman helmet-to-helmet he did an awful job at it.
Is Odell 100% at fault for putting himself into a position where he ends up leading with his helmet? YES!!
Is he trying to hurt Norman somehow? YEAH PROBABLY!!!
Odell was a punk and an itiot. But in what was an overall ugly game between two punks/idiots, I don’t see the need to embellish (admittedly) one of the dirtier incidents into “LITERALLY TRYING TO END NORMAN’S CAREER WITH A CONCUSSION, ON A HIT COMPLETELY LATE AND UNRELATED TO ANY FOOTBALL PLAY”
Basically all I’m arguing is that this is in the 95th percentile of most dirty hits, not the 99th. It’s an incredibly ticky-tack point, driven entirely by fandom… but isn’t that what sports are all about??
Also it bugs me that this hit gets all the attention, but the first incident where Norman literally picked up and body slammed ODB (which WAS completely 100% after the play, away from any action) is almost completely forgotten.
I get why, because head safety is such a critical issue right now (and I apparently am the only person who doesn’t think ODB would’ve ever purposefully gone for a h2h hit), but seriously– picked up and thrown down!! That’s pretty dangerous in itself, with literally zero basis at all for a ‘relevant to the game’ argument.
It has just been announced Skip Bayless will leave ESPN in August. Will the next comic be about the draft or a celebration about his departure?
Probably a celebration considering what happened when Colin Cowherd left ESPN
Deflategate is as you said the gift that keeps on giving. Brady suspended again oh boy
Why won’t deflategate end?…
This is gonna be a rough season. With Norman in D.C were gonna see these two brawl twice a year. And I can’t even imagine him wearing red and yellow. How is he gonna do it? The only other good corner on the redskins is DeAngelo Hall, who I forgot a long time ago. I dunno how he’ll do it.
And the soap opera that is the NFC North continues.., now with Norman vs. OBJ twice a season.
True, as an outsider looking in on the G-Men I was shocked by OBJ’s conduct. I was actually admiring OBJ. He was one of the newest names on my short list of “not on my team good guy favorites”–like J.J.Watt. Not now. He did definitely hurt his #brand.
#503 Dave. Jus’ sayin’.