Fight for Old DC

Written by Andrew O'Toole, the Fight for Old DC started in 1932 when laundry store tycoon George Preston Marshall became part owner of the Boston Braves franchise in the National Football League. To separate the team from the baseball team of the same name, he renamed it the Redskins in 1933 and moved them to Washington in 1937. 

Marshall was an innovator, his team were the first to telecast all their games, have their own fight song (as is customary in College Football), have half-time entertainment and assemble a cheerleading squad.

However, innovation does not come without controversy. As a proud patriot of the old South and the flag of the Confederacy; Marshall insisted on his team remaining white, his team were the last team to intergrate black professional football players.

Partly due to pressure by NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle who wanted league expansion across the nation and the new television contracts, as well as pressure from Congress; the reluctant owner would eventually relent and pushed the team trading for Bobby Mitchell, in 1962 becoming the team's first black player. Mitchell's image adorns the books front cover.

O'Toole does a fine job of not only researching the era, but painting a picture of the systemic problem of racism that is so paramount and at the forefront of current affairs in the United States currently.  Quoting Sam Lacy, columnist for the Baltimore Afro-American;

'Only in the capital of the nation, in a stadium be-deckled by flags of freedom 

does the spirit of democracy get kicked in the pants'

Lacy liked referring to Marshall's team as lily-white, which would go hand-in-hand with contemporary beat writer Shirley Povich, who would refer to 'the decor Marshall has chosen for the Redskins is burgundy, gold and Causcasian'.

Yet for all his innate bigotry, the forward thinking of Marshall cannot be ignored:

'

You'll see the time comes when having good seats to a pro football game becomes a status symbol, when almost every stadium in the land is sold out before the season begins....Going to the football games will be the thing to do in the social fabric of the nation. It will be all that because we're going to make fans of the women, and what appeals to the women will carry along the men who are national football fans.'

This was said by Marshall in 1952 as he nursed a drink with writers, what he states could easily be used as the tagline for the NFL by Goodell in the 21st century.  From humble beginnings, the NFL has become this monster of commerce, growth and yet it has sometimes forgotten about the well-being of its players, be it the black players being segregated or up to now the safety of the players being put at risk by a high impact physicality that cannot be absorbed by the human body irrespective of padding and protection.

Imagine an owner today being so racist, you cannot because at that level of professional sport there is a need to be integrated and understanding of all people you employ, your fanbase may be of that skin colour so you have to embrace it.  There has been a lot of misunderstandings with the stance Colin Kaepernick has taken in light of police brutality in targeting black individuals culminating in another tense few days in Carolina, yet no owner has come out and told their players that they can or cannot stand and protest like Kaepernick has done. The owners stand too lose too much, in this day and age it is right to protest peacefully.

While it is good to see people like Marshall be out of the game now, for all his fall backs he was a trend-setter who did burn a trail for louder-than-life owners who wanted the team they owned to be an extension of their personality, like we have Jerry Jones now and his JerryWorld complex.

The book itself is fascinating with its insights into the world of professional sports and how it has changed pre and post Second World War, how sport became more and more a part of the social fabric Marshall mentioned, how NFL has slowly overtaken Major League Baseball.

Filled with amazing anecdotes and brimming with interesting characters who pour out of this opus ranging from the aforementioned Rozelle and Lacy to the hard working Secretary of Interior, Stewart Udall who after being picked for the job by JFK, took it upon himself to integrate the nation's football team, it gives the appeal of a big picture of new v old and liberalism v bigotry.

The Fight for Old DC is not just a valuable football book but an important book of cultural understanding.

Published by University of Nebraska Press it is released on 1st November in Hardback for £22.99RRP

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Let's Talk About Robert

We are going to talk about an NFL player who in his third season in professional sport is quickly becoming one of the most troubled young stars not through off-the-field issues for once, but for his conduct and lack of performance on the field.

Robert Griffin III was drafted by the Washington franchise three years ago with the second overall pick, in a trade deal where they went all in on the Baylor quarterback who had won the Heisman Trophy at a canter following his scintillating play in Art Briles' system.

Behind Andrew Luck, RG3 was considered to be one of the future elite signal callers in the game. However, not all has gone to plan for the QB as serious injury led to him failing in his first play-off game and then repeated injuries has led to a quarterback contest with Kirk Cousins, his back-up and now his continued poor play upon return from a dislocated ankle has led to calls for the team to drop him and play Colt McCoy.

Now playing McCoy would be the wrong thing to do and a cry for help, however, RG3's play has been absolutely woeful in recent weeks. The failure to make plays down the field with his arm, failure to extend plays with his legs due to a fear of re-injurying himself, the failure to protect himself from constant pressure has led many to call him a deer in the headlights.

Nevermind that, he is a very big deer. He cannot read defences, he does not throw away the ball quickly to avoid a hit, he has talented receivers who do not get the ball. You could question the offensive line for failing to defend their franchise man under centre, much like the Carolina Panthers are failing to protect Cam Newton this season.

Both men look like shadows of their former selves yet it should not be forgotten that neither of them came into the league as renowned passers, this has not improved for either of them. Whilst Cam has improved in the pocket, for RG3 it sometimes resembles a heave and hope format, whereas Luck's mechanics are second to none. Cam is helped by his height, RG3 is short in comparison - yet Russell Wilson (drafter in the third round by Seattle in the same draft as Luck/Griffin) is the best passer on the run in the league and is even shorter than both of them.

Griffin is guilty of having a meteoric rise far too quickly and guilty of cashing in on his own talent. He trained for the combine and impressed a lot of people and had a televisual charm in abundance, however, he is being spoilt by an owner who will bend to his every wish.  You can change the coaches, the co-ordinators but sometimes you have to expect better results from a starting quarterback who should be maturing by now and instead this week has been involved in a back and forth tittle tattle with his coach Jay Gruden via the national media.

Don't worry though it should be easier for Griffin this week on the road in San Francisco against a rejuvenated defence who will be salivating at the thought of getting to Griffin numerous times. Then they face the porous Colts so some respite might arrive, before a home game versus the St. Louis Rams who made Peyton Manning's life a misery on Sunday gone.

This is before the NFC East stretch at the Giants and before two home games versus the Eagles and Cowboys. All teams are built on having a capable pass rush, my prediction is the Rams game on 7th December may be the final coffin for the team, as it is at home where the fans may be their most vocal in asking for Griffin to be sat for the rest of the season. They are 3-7 meaning the Raiders will not win that many to make the Redskins get the overall first draft pick with Marcus Mariota earmarked to be the first quarterback off the board.

So what is the solution for the Redskins?  Oh god, lets talk about Jameis

NFL Wildcard Preview

After 17 weeks of bone-crunching, mouth-whetting amazing football with ups and downs across the boards and after Black Monday when seven coaches were shown the door, we now have 12 teams remaining across two divisions with eight teams (four in each over two games) starting the Wildcard weekend where teams play for the right to go on the road to a higher ranked conference opponent.  There are some great match-ups starting with the Bengals on the road at the Texans.

#6 Cincinnati v #3 Houston
Oddly for a 6-3 matchup in the playoffs you have a team that has played with momentum in the last few weeks going on the road to face a team that has lost three of its last four games which saw them fall from the No.1 overall seed to No.3 and no bye week. The Bengals have a quarterback who has won a play off game in Andy Dalton, whilst this is Matt Schaub's first play off game as he missed the play offs last year due to injury.

Dalton is getting help from his offensive weapons, Ben-Jarvus Green Ellis is getting good mileage from RB not Adrian Peterson numbers but 100 yards a game is not bad.  And they have AJ Green who is becoming as potent as Andre Johnson, the Bengal defence is playing with fire aswell.

The Texans need to go back to the drawing board they have done away with Arian Foster touches and instead relying on the deep threat of Johnson, yet if the Bengals can tie up Johnson there are no other weapons of variable ability to throw to.

Prediction: Bengals by 3

#6 Minnesota v #3 Green Bay
One week after the Vikings defeated the Packers to enter the play offs, it is a repeat of the match but this time it is on the hallowed turf of Lambeau field.

Whilst Adrian Peterson has been a freak this year, last week it was Christian Ponder's best game as a pro wiht 200+ yards and 3 touchdowns allowed AP to eat up those holes.  Expect Green Bay to press Ponder when he drops back and shut off the bubbles/screens he usually throws.

This is also a different game, last week the Packers who were probably going 80% due to their play off place being assured, will be pumped for this game and wanting to make amends for the last Lambeau play off game when the Giants came in and shocked them.  Plus the Packers have a decent QB in Aaron Rodgers, you may have heard of him - last week he had 300+ yards and 4 TDs in a losing effort.

Prediction: Packers by 8

#5 Indianapolis v #4 Baltimore
This has all manner of storylines, you have the team that left Baltimore the Colts returning with the prodigal son in Andrew Luck, the continuing recovery of Chuck Pagano the Colts coach from leukeamia and now the Ravens' linebacker Ray Lewis has annouced this is his last ride as he is set to retire once the Ravens' play off run ends either in defeat or victory.

The Ravens much like the Packers were assured of a play off berth and were half-hearted versus the Bengals last week; they have a lot of talent still at their disposal in Joe Flacco and Ray Rice.  If the Ravens can use Rice's dynamism effectively as they should do then expect them to run this game.

The Colts are a different animal on the road away from Lucas Oil Field, and whilst Luck has been amazing at times he has still committed turnovers (24 in total) and this defence with a returning Lewis still has Ed Reed on its roster and can generate enough pressure to confuse and disrupt Luck's rhythm.

Prediction: Ravens by 10

#5 Seattle v #4 Washington
This is the game of the weekend and the toughest one to predict owing to both teams having X factors under centre in Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III - both rookie quarterbacks who have led teams with low expectations to the play offs.

RG3 is a dynamic player, but has been helped by Alfred Morris his running back whose big numbers have helped open up receivers and led to few turnovers by the Redskins.  The defence has improved significantly under Jim Haslett and they may be able to create pressure.

Seattle is very much similar to Washington, a rookie quarterback helped out by a good running back. The only difference is that Seattle's O-line does allow pressure to get to Wilson, yet their defence has been huge for the team in general.  That makes this game all the more tougher to predict, it will be close but expect the Seahawks defence to get to RG3 whose mobility has not been the same since he sat out a game a few week ago.

Prediction: Seahawks by 3

That would make my Divisional play offs these:
AFC - Bengals @ Broncos and Ravens @ Patriots
NFC - Seahawks @ Falcons and Packers @ 49ers

A Tale of Two Refs

On Sunday, in the world of sport, the image of impartial refereeing took quite a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Almost immediately, after the live coverage of the game between Chelsea and Manchester United ended on Super Sunday, the accusations started flying in the direction of referee Mark Clattenburg who was said to have used 'inappropriate language' towards two different Chelsea players.  The fact that the complaint by Chelsea was done so quickly after the game to the match delegate is quite startling.  Nevermind, the controversy already caused by Clattenburg's decision to send off a second Chelsea player - Fernando Torres - for a contentious second caution, for simulation.  Also, Manchester United's third and winning goal scored by Javier Hernandez was scored from an offside position.

Chelsea, did well to get back from a 2-0 deficit to gain parity with the Red Devils, yet Branislav Ivanovic was sent off for a professional foul on Ashley Young when denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.  Not much complaint with that one, but then soon after the game descended into chaos following the Torres' dismissal just five minutes after the first one.

The complaint aimed at Clattenburg insinuates he called Jon Obi Mikel a monkey and he also called Spanish international, Juan Mata, a 'Spanish t**t'.  The latter complaint has since been dropped, with Chelsea focusing on the racism charge.

What makes the matter murky is the act of Chelsea bringing independent lawyers to state their case leaves them exposed to a libel suit if the evidence proves unfounded.  The only people who know what was said are the three assistants to Clattenburg - Simon Long, Michael McDonough, Mike Jones - who are all wired up to converse to each other throughout the game; yet these conversations are not recorded.

The failure to be transparent - unlike say rugby union, rugby league and American football - which has miked up officials whose comments to and with players are broadcast to main television rights holder, is a mistake by the English Premier League, which remains a global brand and highly representative sport not just for the sport but for our nation.  As a man in black myself at weekends, I would welcome the need for the conversations to be recorded, why have something like that in the first place if it cannot be a black box like equipment, but the need to broadcast to the spectators is something that is not manageable in this day and age, the pace of the game is too fast to slow it down by having the match referee explain himself.

Take a look at Lee Mason in Wednesday night's League Cup match between Chelsea and Manchester United - he had two penalties, one penalty appeal not given, and a yellow card for a foul that looked like it denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity.  Would Mr. Mason (who was brilliant by the way) have to explain only the decisions given and not the ones he does not - that is why the non-verbal signals are utilised and have been for over 100 years.

Then you look at the NFL on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Washington Redskins, a Redskins defender DeAngelo Hall was ejected from the game for getting into the face of a head linesman Dana McKenzie, whom Hall thought should have thrown a flag for a personal foul on Hall by Emanuel Sanders of the Steelers.

Visually what the people saw was Hall totally losing his cool screaming in the face of McKenzie, prompting the ejection.  This is a worry for the Redskins defence as the threat is that an additional suspension may be served by Hall of one game, yet Hall has come out fighting stating that McKenzie baited Hall by talking smack or jawing off himself prompting Hall's reaction.  Hall is looking for video evidence to back up his statement, and says respect is a two way street.

In this instance, much like Clattenburg, it is hard to believe an experienced proven match official would say anything derogatory or profane in the direction of the player.  The beauty of the NFL is that players play in helmets, so their body language speaks volumes on the field of play, the mistake Hall did was take the helmet off when arguing.  In this combat sport, like in hockey when players throw down their gloves, the helmet removal can be construed as 'Let's go punk!' Hall just did not have the presence of mind to realise he was facing an official, you expect more of a defensive leader and a 29 year old man.

Now a porous Redskins defence must do without one of their better defensive players.  Another question can be where were Hall's team-mates to drag him from this provocative scene, look at the fellow referees of McKenzie's crew who back him swiftly.

It may appear on face value to have been a bad week PR-wise for match officials of two different sports, but under the helmet and off the field of play.  Yet what it occurs to be is two situations when heavily paid professional athletes crying wolf the minute the boot is on the other foot.

That last sentence is not condoning the use of the word 'monkey' towards a black player by Mr.Clattenburg is found to be true, yet it appears to be the height of hyprocrisy from Hall if he takes offence from an official when professional players call the referee all manner of things and said officials must then remain tight-lipped and endure the ordeal of doing something they love.

Follow me on twitter @JamieGarwood

NFL Week 7 review

Week 7 was as ever full of surprises, full of dead certs that never came off.  Its Monday morning after a NFL Sunday and twitter has blown up over Robert Griffin III's performance on the road against the New York Giants.

In a sign of things to come over the next few years in the NFC East, a rivalry has been planted between two of the most durable quarterbacks in Eli Manning and RG3.  RG3 kept the Redskins in the game, and gave them a 23-20 lead when he hooked up with Santana Moss for a 30 yard touchdown after scrambling what seemed like an eternity.  You saw the best of him when he evaded two pass rushers out of the pocket on 4th and 10, yet somehow found Logan Paulson for 19 yards which led to the Moss TD a few plays later.  RG3 was ready to celebrate his first statement win.

Yet he - and we for two minutes - forgot that he was facing two-time Superbowl winner Eli Manning who is renowned for running the two minute drill as well as anybody.  And whilst RG3 is a dynamic individual who can pretty much do anything with his offense.  RG3 cannot play defense.  Manning was able to connect with Victor Cruz for the go-ahead TD that ended the scoring at 27-23.

The Redskins might have lost the game yet they remain potentially in a wildcard race from the NFC East and right now they have the second best QB in the NFC East.  The Giants are the cream of this Eastern crop, with Manning again winning, last season they would have lost this game at home.

Time to Buc up
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers conspired to lose a game they should have won.  At home to the New Orleans Saints, the Bucs took a 21-7 point lead thanks to some great passing by Josh Freeman (who seems to get big numbers v the Saints D, then yet again who doesnt) who ended up with a career-high 420 yards and three touchdowns.  Attempting to engineer a game-tying TD drive in the dying seconds, Freeman did connect with Mike Williams to send the home fans into a frenzy, yet Williams had already stepped out of bounds and so by rule cannot be the first receiver to touch the ball.  The penalty resulted in a 35-28 victory for the now 2-4 Saints, who have won two in a row and still have something to play for.

My problem here is that the Bucs had seemed to turn the page in the summer.  They hired a new coach in Greg Schiano, who would plug a leaky defense; they made moves in the off season to get a name receiver in Vincent Jackson who had a 200+ receiving game and one TD.  Jackson should have had two, yet in a 95 yard play was tackled at the one.

The Saints then had a big goal-line stand as the Bucs went for it on fourth and goal, yet it was the play-calling that was mystifying as three times they lined up pack horse, LaGarrett Blount in the backfield and three times they handed it to him.  The Bucs were woefully guilty of naivety here, where was the invention, where was the pick and roll, where were targets Doug Martin and Jackson who went awol.

Instead of being 3-3, the Bucs are now 2-4 along with the Saints, both teams are four behind the Falcons who were on a bye and now need three more wins to tie up the division.  Admittedly, both teams have to face the Falcons twice yet the chance of gaining a wildcard is slipping away due to the impressive starts by teams in the NFC West and North.

Cameron lets down Rice
The Baltimore Ravens are seemingly a different side away from home to the team at M&T Stadium.  The Ravens went to face the only other AFC team with a winning record in the Houston Texans, who were swept aside by a rampant Aaron Rodgers last Sunday night as he threw for 6 TDs in the Texans' first game without Brian Cushing who tore his ACL.

Cam Cameron must have hit upon the idea to try and outshoot the Texans, yet in an advert for selling yourself wrongly, Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offense forgot what it was that made them good, two words: Ray Rice.  Rice was neglected in terms of momentum and usage.  During the first half, Rice had only six carries, whilst Flacco had 20 attempted throws, completing 7 and one pick six.which led to a 29-7 half-time deficit from which they could not recover.

All in all, the Texans outgunned the Ravens by 244 yards in total offense, Rice ended up with 42 yards from just 9 carries.  The Ravens are better engineering plays for Rice from the backfield - screens, tosses, runs - here they thought they could out throw the Texans.  The Texans stuck with a mix of air and rush, Arian Foster had 19 carries for 98 yards and 2 TDs.  Schaub threw 37 times. Flacco threw 43 times.

This was a bad weekend for Baltimore as the Steelers won on the road at the Bengals. Even though they were without two running backs, they stuck to their gameplan and got yardage from Dwyer (17car, 122 yards) and Big Ben threw for 278 yards.  Pittsburgh got the job done, and with the Ravens suffering terrible season-ending injuries to Ray Lewis and DeMarcius Webb, they may have got Terrell Suggs back but morle must be low at the moment.

The Pats almost sent packing
Will the real New England Patriots please stand up, as the reigning AFC champions are struggling with continuity and a lack of finesse on both sides of the ball.  The good defensive work in the first few weeks of the season is being undone by injuries to the worrying secondary, too many long balls are being executed, too many plays of 20+ yards given to receivers.

The offense are thinking they can get by on reputation alone, both tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are not fully fit, Wes Welker is still get good yards but Brandon Lloyd is letting down his expectation levels, dropping too many passes that a man of his talent has.

Thanks to some dumb play-calling from the New York Jets offense, the defense came up with a recovered fumble to end the game and put a stake in the heart of the Jets.  The Pats sit atop the AFC East at 4-3, and own a tiebreaker over the Jets.  The Bills lost at home to the Titans, and the Dolphins had a bye.

In hindsight, this week will be a good one, yet it could have been far worse for Tom Brady and the Patriots.  Instead of packing their up their hopes of title aspirations, they pack their bags ready to travel to the United Kingdom to face the St.Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium. The Rams lost to the Green Bay Packers at home 20-30.  The Patriots may return to Boston 5-3 and feeling a lot better about themselves.

Follow me on twitter @JamieGarwood