V and Football
Before I get to a brief run-down of the NFL draft (first three rounds) yesterday, allow me to comment on something I noticed in re-watching the movie V for Vendetta. I actually read the comic V back when it first came out in a British black-and-white newsprint combo comic called Warrior in 1982. It was written by the great Alan Moore, though Moore chose to take his name off the film credits.
And the comic was much better than the film, though the film was very very good. The comic was pure genius.
In both, the character V is frequently referred to as a "terrorist." And that's gone without comment, other than some remarks in the 'making of' video. But here's the thing: V was not a terrorist.
Oh, sure he killed lots of people. But who did he kill? Government agents. People wearing uniforms. People ion the employ of the fascist government. The research doctor who had committed crimes against humanity - and against V. The "Voice of Fate" - a civilian who had been the military camp commander in the place where thousands were tortured, experimented on, and killed.
I challenge anyone to find an instance in the comic or movie where V killed someone who was not either an active government agent (military, police, ministry employee) or a former agent who had committed illegal acts (by recognizable international standards).
So V was more of a guerrilla - a partisan, a revolutionary. And though he may have induced terror among the bad guys, no person who was innocent had anything to fear from him.
Because a 'terrorist' in our understanding is a person who attacks civilians in order to create public fear. Terrorists try to provoke a response that they believe will help their cause. Terrorists believe that their cause is far more important than the public's right to not be killed by them.
But a uniformed soldier (and V does wear a uniform) who attacks other uniformed combatants is a soldier fighting a war. Does he attack in sneaky ways, often silently? Sure. So do our Special Forces.
The point is that when you put on a uniform and pick up a weapon, you've taken sides against those who oppose people wearing that uniform. You are a declared combatant, and must be prepared to deal with the consequences.
Football
Interesting day in the draft. The Raiders didn't do the outlandishly stupid thing by passing on QB JeMarcus Russell. The Jets traded up, the Browns traded in, and the Patriots traded out.
The Jets, led by Belichick protege Eric Mangini, traded up to get the top CB on their board (second on most others) Darrelle Revis. Revis is reported to be a guy who can fill many roles - play safety, return kicks. And that's a good thing in the Jet (Patriots) system. They also traded up in the second round to grab ILB David Harris. As Mangini installs his 3-4 defense, it's crucial to have good ILB's, so I think it was a good value for them to get these two guys, even though they had to spend most of their picks to get them.
Cleveland, under another Belichick guy Romeo Crennell, pulled off a coup. With the third overall pick, they took OT Joe Thomas, a guy who will solidify their OL for a decade. Great pick - even though they're still shaky at QB.
But when QB Brady Quinn was still there at #22, having tumbled down past Miami at #9, the Browns traded up with Dallas to take him. They overpaid by the standard of the trade chart that most teams use, but I don't fault them for that. They had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to grab a blue-chip QB at #22 to go with their blue-chip OT, and they did what they had to do to get him. He couldn't have slipped much further before some else - even bumbling Miami - would have traded up from the second round.
Yes, Miami bumbled, thankfully. The Billed took a predictable RB to replace Willis McGahee - a classic misuse of a draft pick (replacing a guy you should have held on to in the first place), and are little improved. The Jets got better. And Miami blew their chance, taking Ted Ginn, a tiny little guy who will help their return game (as long as he stays healthy) but has about zero receiving skills. Then in the second round, they reached for 26-year-old BYU QB John Beck.
So it's still going to be a two-team division in the future.
So how did the Pats do?
They took a safety, as predicted. But with their other first round pick (#28), they traded out. They got a 2008 first rounder (from SF - that will be a good pick) and a fourth this year. Their next pick was in the third round (#91) they traded with the Raiders and hot a third next year and a sixth this year. Of course, the Raiders third next year will be closer to 65 than 91, so it's a significant upgrade.
My take is that Belichick and Pioli didn't see the value in the top rounds this year and opted out. Also, I think they see a lot of depth in the second day picks and loaded up to get lots - they have two 4ths, one 5th, four 6ths, and two 7ths. That's nine second day picks to the one guy they took day one - S Brandon Meriweather.
Look for them to slide up and down the picks today, trading up and own to stockpile picks and target guys they really want. anything goes - the value of these late round picks is perceived to be far less, so there is no media scrutiny or fan backlash to worry about. With that many picks, they can take some chances on guys they feel good about.
Look for at least one OL and one RB. Other than that, who knows?
I buy draft magazines less for the big name guys than for the 'who dats.' When the Pats take those sixth rounders, I'll be ready to get a perspective on them.
And thank goodness for NFL Network - gavel to gavel today.
And the comic was much better than the film, though the film was very very good. The comic was pure genius.
In both, the character V is frequently referred to as a "terrorist." And that's gone without comment, other than some remarks in the 'making of' video. But here's the thing: V was not a terrorist.
Oh, sure he killed lots of people. But who did he kill? Government agents. People wearing uniforms. People ion the employ of the fascist government. The research doctor who had committed crimes against humanity - and against V. The "Voice of Fate" - a civilian who had been the military camp commander in the place where thousands were tortured, experimented on, and killed.
I challenge anyone to find an instance in the comic or movie where V killed someone who was not either an active government agent (military, police, ministry employee) or a former agent who had committed illegal acts (by recognizable international standards).
So V was more of a guerrilla - a partisan, a revolutionary. And though he may have induced terror among the bad guys, no person who was innocent had anything to fear from him.
Because a 'terrorist' in our understanding is a person who attacks civilians in order to create public fear. Terrorists try to provoke a response that they believe will help their cause. Terrorists believe that their cause is far more important than the public's right to not be killed by them.
But a uniformed soldier (and V does wear a uniform) who attacks other uniformed combatants is a soldier fighting a war. Does he attack in sneaky ways, often silently? Sure. So do our Special Forces.
The point is that when you put on a uniform and pick up a weapon, you've taken sides against those who oppose people wearing that uniform. You are a declared combatant, and must be prepared to deal with the consequences.
Football
Interesting day in the draft. The Raiders didn't do the outlandishly stupid thing by passing on QB JeMarcus Russell. The Jets traded up, the Browns traded in, and the Patriots traded out.
The Jets, led by Belichick protege Eric Mangini, traded up to get the top CB on their board (second on most others) Darrelle Revis. Revis is reported to be a guy who can fill many roles - play safety, return kicks. And that's a good thing in the Jet (Patriots) system. They also traded up in the second round to grab ILB David Harris. As Mangini installs his 3-4 defense, it's crucial to have good ILB's, so I think it was a good value for them to get these two guys, even though they had to spend most of their picks to get them.
Cleveland, under another Belichick guy Romeo Crennell, pulled off a coup. With the third overall pick, they took OT Joe Thomas, a guy who will solidify their OL for a decade. Great pick - even though they're still shaky at QB.
But when QB Brady Quinn was still there at #22, having tumbled down past Miami at #9, the Browns traded up with Dallas to take him. They overpaid by the standard of the trade chart that most teams use, but I don't fault them for that. They had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to grab a blue-chip QB at #22 to go with their blue-chip OT, and they did what they had to do to get him. He couldn't have slipped much further before some else - even bumbling Miami - would have traded up from the second round.
Yes, Miami bumbled, thankfully. The Billed took a predictable RB to replace Willis McGahee - a classic misuse of a draft pick (replacing a guy you should have held on to in the first place), and are little improved. The Jets got better. And Miami blew their chance, taking Ted Ginn, a tiny little guy who will help their return game (as long as he stays healthy) but has about zero receiving skills. Then in the second round, they reached for 26-year-old BYU QB John Beck.
So it's still going to be a two-team division in the future.
So how did the Pats do?
They took a safety, as predicted. But with their other first round pick (#28), they traded out. They got a 2008 first rounder (from SF - that will be a good pick) and a fourth this year. Their next pick was in the third round (#91) they traded with the Raiders and hot a third next year and a sixth this year. Of course, the Raiders third next year will be closer to 65 than 91, so it's a significant upgrade.
My take is that Belichick and Pioli didn't see the value in the top rounds this year and opted out. Also, I think they see a lot of depth in the second day picks and loaded up to get lots - they have two 4ths, one 5th, four 6ths, and two 7ths. That's nine second day picks to the one guy they took day one - S Brandon Meriweather.
Look for them to slide up and down the picks today, trading up and own to stockpile picks and target guys they really want. anything goes - the value of these late round picks is perceived to be far less, so there is no media scrutiny or fan backlash to worry about. With that many picks, they can take some chances on guys they feel good about.
Look for at least one OL and one RB. Other than that, who knows?
I buy draft magazines less for the big name guys than for the 'who dats.' When the Pats take those sixth rounders, I'll be ready to get a perspective on them.
And thank goodness for NFL Network - gavel to gavel today.
posted by fiduciary at 10:28 AM
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