{"id":6677,"date":"2023-09-24T08:21:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T12:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6677"},"modified":"2023-09-24T08:21:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T12:21:39","slug":"sunday-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/09\/24\/sunday-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is NOT a Sunday Story – even if it starts like one. There’s plenty of politics<\/em> here!!!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bengals Fan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was born and spent most of my childhood in Cincinnati.\u00a0\u00a0Like it or not, I became a Bengals (football) fan in 1968, the first year they played in the AFL.\u00a0\u00a0They shared Nippert Stadium with the University of Cincinnati for that first year, with Greg Cook, a UC alum, as the quarterback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a Bengals fan I\u2019ve learned when to care, and when to let go.\u00a0\u00a0There have been some great years:\u00a0\u00a0a couple in the \u201880\u2019s, one in the late 90\u2019s, and then this past couple of years.\u00a0\u00a0And there have been some awful years, when the Bengals \u201cfreed\u201d me from concern, usually by the third game or so.\u00a0\u00a0I got my Sundays \u201coff\u201d in those several, many, seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of my relatives are Cleveland Browns fans, and we have a good natured rivalry.\u00a0\u00a0Oddly, good year or bad, the Browns often beat the Bengals, giving my nephews bragging rights.\u00a0\u00a0However, the rest of the Browns\u2019 seasons have been pretty sad. I give the nephews the sympathy they deserve most of the time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selling Souls<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Both Cleveland and Cincinnati have \u201csold their souls\u201d for quarterbacks in the past year.  Cleveland picked Deshawn Watson off the list of suspended NFL players (sexual impropriety to therapists), paying $350 million over ten years for his presence in the backfield (and hopefully not on the massage table).  Cincinnati paid even more, close to three-quarters of a Billion dollars, for Joe Burrow, an Athens, Ohio boy who made very, very, good.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why are we talking about football on this NFL Sunday morning?  Because how the Browns and the Bengals handle their two quarterbacks should be instructive to Kevin McCarthy, the beleaguered Speaker of the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeShawn, the $350 million man, is known for his \u201cjailbreak\u201d (hah!) form of play.  He starts in the pocket, then runs wide and far, improvising plays with his receivers.  He\u2019s also a running threat himself, the \u201celeventh man\u201d the defense can\u2019t cover.  It\u2019s that \u201cloose\u201d form of play that makes DeShawn great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burrow also can run, but is best known for his precision passes from the pocket.\u00a0\u00a0Give Joe an inch, and he can thread the football to whichever receiver gets single coverage.\u00a0\u00a0He can see the \u201cwhole field\u201d in a split-second, so quickly that defenses can\u2019t react to his throws.\u00a0\u00a0And if he can\u2019t find an open receiver, Burrow himself can scramble to make up the difference.\u00a0\u00a0Unlike Watson though, Burrow is a technician in the backfield, rather than a loose cannon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Square Peg<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Bengals coaching staff does everything they can to capitalize on Burrow\u2019s abilities.  They have rebuilt the offensive line, twice, to get him the time needed to read defenses.  And, when Burrow has a deficit, like he does now with a damaged calf muscle, they try not to put him in a position to have to run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Browns coaches, much to the dismay of many fanatical Browns fans (including a nephew or two), are trying to make DeShawn into a \u201cpocket passer\u201d, like Burrow.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0DeShawn was an improvisor in college at Auburn, and with the Houston Texans.\u00a0\u00a0Presumably he was in high school as well.\u00a0\u00a0So while the Browns literally \u201cbought\u201d a scrambler, a runner, a \u201cdraw the play in the sand\u201d quarterback; it\u2019s clear that the coaches want him in the pocket, carefully dissecting defenses, and throwing precision passes.\u00a0\u00a0They want Watson to be like Burrow.\u00a0\u00a0But he\u2019s not.\u00a0\u00a0And the Browns are struggling because of it. (By the way, the Bengals are struggling too.\u00a0\u00a0Burrow is playing hurt, and the calf injury is impacting his ability to throw long precision passes \u2013 his biggest asset).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sold Out<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to Kevin McCarthy.\u00a0\u00a0Like the Browns and Bengals, McCarthy paid a huge price to gain the Speakership.\u00a0\u00a0The Republican majority is so narrow, literally five Republicans can defeat any motion on the floor.\u00a0\u00a0Extremists in the Republican caucus demanded concessions from McCarthy, so many that it took fifteen ballots for him to even secure the position.\u00a0\u00a0Like the Browns (and the Bengals), McCarthy has \u201csold out\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He owes and keeps his Speakership at the \u201cwill\u201d of any five Republicans.\u00a0\u00a0And five that are united together hold his fate in their collective hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCarthy wanted to be Speaker.  It was a lifelong quest.  He wanted the title so much, that he gave away most of the power of the Speakership in order to get the title (an earlier essay on that situation:  Better to Reign<\/a><\/em>).  The laundry list of \u201cpromises\u201d (Matt Gaetz\u2019s secret list) was long.  The extremists demanded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n