Football is Faster and UW is Dumber

[Benny B]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11325349/tuesday-morning-quarterback-everything-football-speeding-up

First time I've read TMQ, and honestly, it's pretty damn good.

By the strangest and most amazing coincidence, the APR is manipulated such that money-making programs are praised while money-losing programs get sanctioned. In men's basketball, the NCAA threw the book at the likes of Houston Baptist and University of Central Arkansas -- programs that don't generate money for the NCAA. The University of Wisconsin, a men's Final Four team, generating millions for the NCAA, was not sanctioned. Everything is hunky-dory at Wisconsin men's basketball, according to the APR metric. Pay no attention to the Badgers' 44 percent graduation rate.

[GGGG]

After you read it for a few weeks, you'll find out that he pretty much says the same thing every week.  And that his football thoughts can be a little odd.

[ChicosBailBonds]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11325349/tuesday-morning-quarterback-everything-football-speeding-up

First time I've read TMQ, and honestly, it's pretty damn good.

Easterbrook is one author that I cringe reading.  Had several run ins with him years ago on NFL Sunday Ticket because his articles on ESPN and elsewhere were so factually incorrect it took us a few weeks to dig out from his claims.  It was painful, and the errors he made could have been vetted by a 14 year old with Google, or a simple courtesy call to our PR department to set him straight.  His power of the pen (keyboard), however, can make life challenging, but sometimes showing the errors and a public "oops" article can be rather entertaining as well.

[rocket surgeon]

maybe espn should suspend easterbrook for fraud/posing as a journalist and add him to the pile-lebatard, smith, kellerman, et.al.   working for espn has got to be like playing captain-may-i with walt disney and hearst=sad. 

[keefe]

Easterbrook is one author that I cringe reading.  Had several run ins with him years ago on NFL Sunday Ticket because his articles on ESPN and elsewhere were so factually incorrect it took us a few weeks to dig out from his claims.  It was painful, and the errors he made could have been vetted by a 14 year old with Google Bing, or a simple courtesy call to our PR department to set him straight.  His power of the pen (keyboard), however, can make life challenging, but sometimes showing the errors and a public "oops" article can be rather entertaining as well.

[mu03eng]

After you read it for a few weeks, you'll find out that he pretty much says the same thing every week.  And that his football thoughts can be a little odd.

This and he is also the classic example of two different people I can't stand....those that are smart but have to show you how smart they are all the time.....and someone that looks at only stats then loudly passing judgement without context

[GGGG]

This and he is also the classic example of two different people I can't stand....those that are smart but have to show you how smart they are all the time.....and someone that looks at only stats then loudly passing judgement without context

Yeah.  Like when he rails on teams for blitzing too much.  He'll say something like "Against a base defense, NFL offenses average 6.2 yards per play, but what did the Packers do when defending a 3rd and 10?  Blitz!!  The Bears got a first down."

As if the NFL average yards per play against a base defense is the only variable that matters.

[Benny B]

Truth be told, I paused reading after the APR discussion to come back here and post.  I went back to read the rest, and by the end I was using the PgDn key because my mouse couldn't scroll fast enough.

[ttheisen]

I'll be the dissenting voice, I find Easterbrook entertaining.  His TMQ writing on punting decisions in particular.  Totally agree essays are far too long, though they have a certain framework so I generally only read a handful of sections each week.

Also, his book "Progress Paradox" helped frame my own personal thoughts on modern life.

[GGGG]

Oh I think Easterbook overall is a good author.  I am glad you brought up "Progress Paradox" because that really is a fantastic book.  And here is a good read from 1980...pretty good prediction huh?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/8004.easterbrook-fulltext.html

I just don't like his football thoughts.

[ttheisen]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/8004.easterbrook-fulltext.html

His thoughts on the space program always seem to be spot on.

[JWags85]

Yeah.  Like when he rails on teams for blitzing too much.  He'll say something like "Against a base defense, NFL offenses average 6.2 yards per play, but what did the Packers do when defending a 3rd and 10?  Blitz!!  The Bears got a first down."

As if the NFL average yards per play against a base defense is the only variable that matters.

"Veryily" he will write in his notebook, GAME OVER.

He is such a haughty douche.  I can't imagine being in the same room as him during a game.  Drew Magary's takedowns of his columns are absolute brilliance.

GREEEEGGGGGGGG

[Benny B]

His thoughts on the space program always seem to be spot on.

The potential for tile damage was a well-known problem on the space shuttle; so someone wrote an article foretelling an incident whose probability wasn't exactly miniscule... even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while.  

Heck, even some low- and mid-level engineers at Morton-Thiokol and NASA were imploring their superiors to pull the plug on the Challenger launch because they could see the probability of disaster.  Any veteran NASA employee will tell you that the both losses were shocking but not surprising; the fact that a pen-jockey wrote about a well-known issue doesn't make the guy Nostradamus.

[mu03eng]

The potential for tile damage was a well-known problem on the space shuttle; so someone wrote an article foretelling an incident whose probability wasn't exactly miniscule... even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while.  

Heck, even some low- and mid-level engineers at Morton-Thiokol and NASA were imploring their superiors to pull the plug on the Challenger launch because they could see the probability of disaster.  Any veteran NASA employee will tell you that the both losses were shocking but not surprising; the fact that a pen-jockey wrote about a well-known issue doesn't make the guy Nostradamus.

Completely agree.

He is someone of above average intelligence that has found a niche by writing about things that are intuitive to know or predict if you had the time to pay attention to.  He mainstreams obscure concepts and ideas(which has value) and then pontificates about those things, hoping there aren't enough people with either the knowledge or the platform to refute him.

He has talent, there is no doubt, but he utilizes it in a pretty cynical way....I'm already cynical enough, I don't need to read someone else's cynicism.   

[CTWarrior]

I'll be the dissenting voice, I find Easterbrook entertaining.  His TMQ writing on punting decisions in particular

I'll agree with you.  He's right that teams punt too much and are in general way too conservative.  His contention that most NFL coaches are much more likely to make coaching decisions they can defend rather than making coaching decisions they think will give them the best chance to win seems right.

I find him entertaining, though long-winded.  More than once I've read up on stuff he mentions because he'll discuss things I hadn't considered.  That's a good writer for a column like his.