Johnathan Martin's Texts Paint a Bad Picture

How many major stories get beaten into the ground? Almost all of them really. At some point, you say "I am so sick of seeing x, we know everything.'  This could be a major cable news story, Tim Tebow on ESPN, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Armstrong, the names go on forever and really the news networks tend to exhaust every angle. Currently, the story with that title is Johnathan Martin and Richie Incognito bullying scandal. The topic will not die. Martin made an appearance on the Today Show to explain what happened and then a bomb dropped as the texts between the two were finally released saying more about Martin's character and what it comes with always be the bad guy.

The Big Lead had the story detailing all the texts between the two guys. As you will read, these are the type of things you hear from guys all the time. I do not text my friends this sort of explicit stuff, but when I am around them, I will say things that I would never say around my mother although nothing this intense usually. These two really sound like two big frat boys trying to get laid almost every night by random strange.  Being vulgar is how many people interact whether they are male or female. While I am not condoning everything Martin and Incognito talked about, I hope everyone realizes this is par for the course when dealing with two jocks in the National Football League. 

It truly makes Martin look like he tried to set up Incognito. There are some things where you can tell Martin is getting pressured into a friendship; most of the time these two are acting like best friends. Who doesn't text their friends to see what plans are for the evening?  Would you check that out with a guy whose been picking on you at the office?  Probably not. Same goes with recaps of how their night was if the two were not together. You do not talk with a bully about this sort of thing.  The jokes were pretty even on what's the worst thing that could be said along with making fun of the other person. Martin acts like a victim when really he was a playful participant in the whole things rendering his whole case against Incognito meaningless. 

The more I think about it, the more I overreacted when I first heard the news about the topic. Much of it had to do with Incognito being known around the league as a complete and utter asshole. He is not a likable players in the NFL or the media. When his name gets brought up around bullying? It is to believe he is a bully rather than flush out the topic due to his demeanor and overall attitude since college. If this were say Russell Wilson accuses of bullying, would people rush to criticize him like they did Incognito? Probably not rather they would try to find all of these facts out right away before burning him on the stake. I do not think Martin ruined Incognito's career, but this at least provides some solace for him in the upcoming years.   

The last page of the whole thing is truly sad. Incognito seemed blindsided by the whole thing and wanted Martin to help him except for he was too chicken shit to fix what he had done. Martin believed Incognito to be a bully versus a friend whom might take things a little too far every now and again. Most of the time, actions speak louder than words, but in this case, the words provide nearly most of the context needed to figure out and end this story. 

Charlie. 

NFL Liquor Cabinet Week 16: Everybody is drunk

For the entire NFL season, we will be breaking down the rest of the NFL not named Green Bay by looking at it like a liquor cabinet. Why did we choose this method? I like to booze and it makes things really easy to determine what's great, average and poor. 

I usually do not put a tag, but I really think I have no idea what's going to happen in the playoffs. Like we are heading for a 'Red Wedding' style playoffs where no one is safe. I cannot believe I said multiple times on Sunday, 'Philadelphia might be the best NFC team.'  Let's talk about it I guess and try to make sense of all that happened this week. 

TOP SHELF 
Talk me out of a New England-Philadelphia Super Bowl -  Here's where the NFL season has left me folks. These are the two best teams right now in both divisions. San Francisco is pretty good, but giving up 350 yards to Matt Ryan at home worries me a bit. Philadelphia seems to be cooking on all cylinders, and I feel like the Minnesota game is a blip on the radar. New England keeps winning games no matter who is lining up on both sides of the football. Tom Brady's statistics might not be great, but he's playing great this season for what's he's been given this year.

Cam Newton's big balls performance - While Robert Griffin III suffered all the criticism after he had a successful rookie season, Cam Newton received it during the draft process, his first season, second season and to think there are still losers whom still call him Scam. He led Carolina down the field late in the game trailing and notched a victory for the Panthers. I do not care if he only threw for 181 yards. That took massive testicular fortitude, and I am impressed with his season. Cam Newton is winning an MVP award before 2018.

Indianapolis leaves me uneasy like an STD - That might be a little too extreme, but I do not know what to make of the Colts. I am starting to think Indianapolis plays down to their opponents hence the reason why they have some brutal losses in juncture with impressive wins against Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and others. They will get a home game against this Kansas City team, but I also wonder if Andy Reid played a vanilla offense/defense showing nothing to Indianapolis which is very possible. We have seen this before with teams.

Cowboys come back and Romo gets hurt? - Dallas made a valiant comeback against Washington with Tony Romo leading a comeback to beat Washington and set up an NFC East showdown next Sunday. But they could be without Romo as he has a back injury. First, it was a herniated disk, then it was day-to-day injury and now it is back spasms. I have no idea what to think about this Dallas team although I will admit it would be the most Romo thing ever for Kyle Orton to lead Dallas to a playoff appearance.  

MIDDLE SHELF 
I feel legitimate bad for Arizona - As someone who cheers for an NFC North team, I feel bad Arizona might miss the playoffs with an 11-5 record. That would be insane. I mean the NFC West is an excellent division, but still it feels wrong in all sorts of ways for Arizona or New Orleans missing the playoffs although more so the Cardinals who have been playing great of late.

Peyton breaks the record, but how much meaning does it have? - I am really happy for Peyton Manning's season because it in large part won me 260 dollars so for that I thank him, but at the same time, passing records post the new NFL rules will be looked at like the steroid era numbers in baseball. All of these records being broken and re-broken by others in the last couples years is honestly pathetic, but it is not Peyton's fault for taking advantage.  

Somehow Andy Dalton is sixth in passing - See what I mean about what I just ranted about above?

Jeff Fisher is the king of .500 - I probably should not call him the king, but he is the prince of it. In eight of his 18 seasons of a full-time head coach, Fisher's teams have been either 7-9, 7-8-1 or 8-8. That's incredible. I do not know what that says about his teams or his coaching. Just find it interesting how it always seems to Ihappen with Fisher.

BOTTOM SHELF 
DETROIT..... Football :( - We were at Lambeau, and they showed the highlights of New York-Detroit... Right before they did it, my buddy Seth goes 'I bet Stafford threw a pick-six here.' and sure enough, he did throw that interception and sure enough, Detroit lost the football game.

Miami pulls a Dan Marino - For as long as I could remember, Dan Marino was famously known for choking in December football games on the road. He could not win in the cold to save his soul.  Apparently, this version of the Dolphins do the same thing as they were shutout by the Bills, the same team who gave up 33 points to Jacksonville. Thankfully, Miami has New York Jets at home.

I have no control in Week 17 - I absolutely hate how I have no idea how things will pan out next week. I am exhausted from this season.

Charlie.

NFL Liquor Cabinet Week 15

For the entire NFL season, we will be breaking down the rest of the NFL not named Green Bay by looking at it like a liquor cabinet. Why did we choose this method? I like to booze and it makes things really easy to determine what's great, average and poor. 

ED Note: I realize there is no need to recap everything coming from the NFL this week because there were some meaningless games along with some meaningless finishes. This is why the Liquor Cabinet is a little shorter than it usually is during the week.  

TOP SHELF
Jamaal Charles makes an MVP Case - NFL always needs new things to talk about especially when it comes to Most Valuable Player. Peyton Manning will probably get it, but Jamaal Charles could win Offensive Player of the Year. Charles deserves it for the season he is currently having right now. The Texas product rushed for 1,181 yards with eleven touchdowns and has 655 receiving yards with seven touchdowns. Although many of the receiving numbers come from Oakland with Charles having 195 yards of receiving with four touchdowns. All on screens. CLASSIC Oakland. Charles definitely has the numbers to at least give Manning a run for his money.  If he has two massive games to finish out the year, it will only help his case.

Justin Tucker earns new fans in Chicago and Detroit - Monday Night Football got their big game, but this game was pretty damn ugly. Baltimore's kicker Justin Tucker has been the best Special Teams player in the AFC this season, and probably guaranteed himself a trip to Hawaii. He became the first NFL kicker to make a field goal in the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's with the 61 yard field goal being the game-winner. Tucker single-handily beat Detroit by himself with six field goals. Baltimore did not have a touchdown. Ravens are winning in the weirdest ways possible.

How legit is Miami? - Given all the bullshit they have been through this season, Miami is still very alive in the playoffs. They need a Baltimore loss and they need to keep winning. Miami needs to beat Buffalo on the road and New York Jets at home. They could easily make it to 10-6.  They might not be a playoff team this year if Baltimore wins out, but they can be a true contender to the AFC East crown for the coming years. Miami feels like they are one or two more pieces from being a real good team in the AFC that can win playoff games. On Sunday, that was the first good Miami crowd in the last five years, maybe overreacting, but it feels like they have been struggling forever yet the fanbase finally saw hope last week.

MIDDLE SHELF
The forgotten great game - Due to Green Bay Packers comeback, everyone forgot about Arizona-Tennessee during the same time slot. Arizona took a 34-17 lead in the fourth quarter only to see it dissolve in the final three minutes of the game leading Tennessee to tie up the game and force overtime. Once again, Ryan Fitzpatrick's Turnover Spectactular struck again in overtime leading to a Jay Feely field goal. Arizona is still very alive in the playoff hunt and even more so with New Orleans losing meaning they could be in the Wild Card position if Arizona does the unthinkable and beats Seattle in the Pacific Northwest.

Jay Cutler's big second half leads Bears - Cutty returned to the field against Cleveland. Some people worried about the Browns defense against Cutler, and they were right at the beginning with two interceptions, one being in the end zone and the other a pick-six. Chicago quarterback played a hell of a second half leading the charge for this Chicago team in a must-needed victory. This also saved head coach Marc Trestman questions as to why Josh McCown was not out there which is ideal for him and this team moving forward in the next couple of weeks.

AFC is hot garbage - I said it last week and I will say it again, AFC is not a good conference. All of the top three teams lost in the playoff seeding and why two of the top three in the NFC lost as well, I promise you it is different. The reason being is Denver fell to San Diego on Thursday meaning both teams knew the door was open and they decided to shut it because why not, right?  I guess what upsets in whatever sport it may be football, basketball, golf, baseball, etc. I want to see a team or an individual win whatever they are doing instead of backing their way into a championship or first round bye. Hopefully, one or two teams seize the AFC by the balls.

BOTTOM SHELF
Who should be concerned more: Philly's defense or road Saints? - I am going to hedge this answer right here. If New Orleans loses to Carolina next week, my answer is the Saints especially if they have to go to Green Bay or Chicago in round one. New Orleans' road struggles is pretty well-documented, but it could get real nasty if they fall to Carolina on Sunday meaning they will play a game in likely sub-zero temperatures. Philadelphia's defense reared its ugly head on Sunday. They have been good for the last six weeks, and looked like the old version of themselves. I feel like I will have a better answer to this question after next week.

Mike Shanahan is trying to get fired on-site - I would love to try to explain Shanny going for two at the end of the game attempting to win the football game. It is not like this is some David versus Goliath matchup here rather two really poor football teams. Shanahan wants to be fired. He is not going to step down, I can guarantee that. Further, he will continue to do dumb shit in the coming weeks to see what puts Dan Snyder going off the ledge. I, for one, will be entertained to see what he continues to do try and pull off.

New York Giants are back baby! - Remember when people were talking about New York making a comeback for the playoffs? They were 4-6 at the time and now they are 5-9 meaning they have lost three of their last four. They put up a pathetic effort against Seattle including Eli Manning had five interceptions meaning he is only five away from 30. Let's dream the dream.

Charlie.