Should Peyton Manning Retire Now?

Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever lived. There is little doubt about that fact. His record in the playoffs and the sole Super Bowl win, one less than his younger brother, certainly makes it difficult to put him above Tom Brady, Joe Montana or maybe even Terry Bradshaw, rarely mentioned in the top pantheon of the position even as he amassed an incredible four Super Bowl rings, all time. Most would put Aaron Rodgers, Brady, Luck (at least until Monday night) and Roethlisberger above him in their ratings of quarterbacks coming into this season and maybe should be putting a lot more names above him now based on his current performance. Yet he has led the Broncos to a 2-0 start and recently joined Brett Favre, also in two Super Bowls with one win, as the only quarterback in history to surpass 70,000 yards. He has won five league MVPs, between 1998 to 2010 led the Colts to eight division championships, three AFC championships, and one Super Bowl championship and then led the Broncos to another Super Bowl two seasons ago with one of the best offensive performances in the history of the NFL. His five NFL MVPs are a league record, he won the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLI, has been named to 14 Pro Bowls, has thirteen 4,000-yard passing seasons and is the Indianapolis Colts' all-time leader in passing yards (54,828) and touchdown passes (399). In 2009, he was named the best player in the NFL and Fox Sports, along with Sports Illustrated, named him the NFL player of the decade for the 2000s. Before the 2013 season had even finished, SI had named him their Sportsman of the Year.

Yet it is hard to ignore the decline in his performances dating back to last season, even as we now know a calf injury was partially to blame for the late season fade. He actually finished with impressive numbers – a total QBR of 75.1, 4,727 yards, a completion percentage of 66 and 39 touchdowns. But those number declined precipitously in the second half of the season, particularly after the loss to New England on November 11. Including that loss, here were his QBR numbers by game for the rest of the season: 49.3 (NE), 66.1 (Oakland), 33.7 (St. Louis), 93.7 (Miami), 52.7 (Kansas City), 34 (Buffalo), 92.1 (San Diego), 29.9 (Cincinnati) and 50.7 (Raiders). Beside two standout games against Miami and San Diego, those are mediocre to downright bad numbers. Over that nine game stretch, he threw for under 300 yards five times, 17 TDs and 12 INTs and saw his completion percentage dip below 65 percent five times (with three games in the 50s). Again, we know about the late season injury, but the problems started much earlier, really in that loss to his career nemesis Tom Brady, in a game he threw for 438 yards with two touchdowns and two costly interceptions. This year things have only gotten worse.

Manning has had four surgeries to repair the neck damage sustained over his 18 years in the league. He no longer has feeling in his right hand and it apparently takes him a full fifteen minutes to get out of his uniform after games. Through two games this year, which he admittedly helped win, he has the 29^th total QBR in the league (41.0), is averaging just 215.5 yards passing, has a completion rate of just 58.8 percent and has been sacked seven times. To put those numbers in context, his career numbers are a QBR of 78.91 (since 2006), 271.8 yards per game, 65.4 percent completion ratio, and 1.14 sacks a game. His touchdown to interception ratio over the course of his career is 2.26 (533 versus 236), compared to only three touchdowns and two interceptions in this young season. His average yards per attempt is 7.7 for his career, but only 5.1 this season. His highest quarterback rating (the old number) is third among active players at 97.3 (behind only Rodgers and, take a seat, Tony Romo), and his career rating is 97.3, though only 74.2 this season, with only his rookie rating of 71.2 lower for a season. And questions about arm strength, which his intelligence and pinpoint precision have quieted for most of his career, are coming into focus, as he has only completed 25 percent of his passes thrown over 15 yards – tied for third worst in the league). 

At some level, Manning exemplifies the current debates about whether Pro Football, and high school and college and even the peewee variety, are too dangerous to continue in their current form. In two weeks of pro football, 14 players have already sustained concussions that we know of, and there might be many others who have failed to be properly diagnosed. A recent study, reported by Frontline (http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/researchers-find-brain-damage-in-96-percent-of-former-nfl-players/406462/), found that 96 percent (87 of 91) of deceased former NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease believed to stem from repetitive brain injury. Including players in high school and college as well, 79 percent showed evidence of CTE (131 of 165 in total). We all know of the tragic case of ex-San Diego star Junior Seau, who killed himself arguably as a result of this condition. We also know of Chris Borland (http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12496480/san-francisco-49ers-linebacker-chris-borland-retires-head-injury-concerns), the San Francisco 49ers linebacker who quit over fears that the injury and long-term potential for CTE was too great and walked away from millions of dollars and what appeared to be a Pro Bowl laden career.

Should Manning quit now, while he still has a chance to pick up his young twins and enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor (and shilling products to the American public)? What more does he really have to accomplish in the game at 39? Can his body really take much more stress and suffering? These questions are difficult to answer. The clear and solitary reason one can surmise for Manning continuing to punish his body is to try to win that elusive second ring and more firmly solidify his place in the conversation of the greatest ever. That was why he and John Elway hooked up in the first place and, after a stunning year two seasons back, the gamble seemed to be paying off, until they met Seattle in the Super Bowl and everything rather quickly fell apart. Now Elway has brought in his old backup Gary Kubiak to try to take one more shot at that ring. Is it really worth it? How likely is it that a quarterback with some of the lowest numbers in the league after two weeks can continue to win enough close games to get all the way to the Super Bowl? And what if he does win that second ring? At what cost will that achievement be garnered?

The narrative of the old star getting one more win to silence the critics, remind the young whippersnappers to respect their elders anew and solidify his legacy has always held a certain appeal in the American imaginary. It defies a culture increasingly addicted to the young, dismissive of the aging and even of the past. We are the country of reinvention, of second acts, of long shot hopefuls finding glory on the unlikeliest of stages. We are a country that loves the underdog, even if that dog is blind and takes 10 minutes to crawl out of his dog bed just to meander over to the bowl for some sustenance. What does it cost those fading stars to win one more for the Gipper? What does it cost us to watch players young and old wager their futures for our entertainment? This is the real question that confronts us not only with Peyton Manning but with the sport itself. The same questions have been asked of boxing for several decades now, even broached way back in the Hollywood of the early 1950s. Today, the NFL is a money making machine that continues to be the most popular sport in America. It serves our blood lust, our dreams of a lost masculinity, our imaginary communities and our history of violent redeemers of our greatest heroes. It also appears to serve to destroy the lives of too many young men, some well compensated others less so. How long can this go on?

Questions

Should Peyton Manning retire now, before it’s too late?

Do the Broncos have any realistic chance of making the Super Bowl this year?

Should the NFL be doing more to address the clear health risks associated with the sport in its current form?

Can the sport really last in the long run?

NFL Week 2 Wrap: Giants Give Another One Away; Patriot Quiet Buffalo; Romo TKOd; Green Bay Exact a “Little” Revenge; Jets Win

The second week of the NFL season again brought some expected results, some surprises, a couple late wins and a slew of aborted comebacks, together with a few more big injuries. Things started on Thursday with a 31-24 victory by the Broncos over the Chiefs, when a second Jamaal Charles’ fumble led to the game-winning recovery with a mere 27 seconds left on the clock. On Sunday, the Chargers mounted a late drive against Cincinnati only to fall short 24-19 after Philip Rivers threw an interception (in the same game he broke Dan Fouts’ record for career Chargers touchdowns), the Giants fell short again failing on four straight pass plays at midfield to lose 24-20 to the Falcon and the Bills impressive fourth quarter comeback (19 points to 3) fell short 40-32 after an interception on their last drive. Um, weren’t the Bills supposed to have a great defense? Not against the Patriots, it appears, as New England makes an early statement in their attempt to make it two straight Super Bowls.

In the other early games on Sunday, the Redskins quieted their critics for at least one week with a 24-10 home victory over the Rams, the Vikings beat the Lions 26-16 (with Peterson gaining 192 all-purpose yards), the Steelers reminded the Niners that one week does not a season make (43-18) and the Buccaneers piled the misery on the reeling Saints by beating them 26-19 at the Superdome. Elsewhere, Manziel recorded his first victory as a starter for Cleveland with two long touchdown passes in a 28-14 victory over the Titans (though he only finished 8 of 15 for 172 yards in a clearly “controlled” performance). The Panthers moved to 2-0 with a 24-17 victory over the 0-2 Texans, who are somehow among the top 10 richest teams in world sports, and the Cardinal did the same after beating the lowly Bears 48-23 on four touchdown passes from Carson Palmer. Jay Cutler went out injured with a hamstring pull and Tony Romo would follow a couple of hours later.

Romo was in what appeared to be the cream of the afternoon lineup as DeMarcus Murray tried to exact some revenge on his former team and help the Eagles bounce back from a disappointing loss. Both finished the game disappointed. The Eagles offense was non-existent in the first half (21 total yards) as concerns about Sam Bradford seemed to come to full fruition and the Cowboys continued to shoot themselves in the foot (pun intended) with 10 penalties and several missed catches ending promising drives – along with a strong defensively stand by the Eagles from first and goal at the 1 saving the home team four points. The half ended with what seemed like the longest drive in the history of the NFL, in the real time it took, with one penalty after another (about equally split) before the Cowboys wasted time from the five yard line, added one more penalty, got a penalty against the Eagles and ultimately had to settle for three points and a 6-0 halftime lead. The second half started with another poor Eagles drive, with Murray caught in the backfield twice, before a blocked punt gave the Cowboys a 13-0 lead. Then things got really interesting, in a bad way, with Romo fumbling the ball and breaking his left clavicle as they were driving for what probably would have been a game killing TD.  Many more penalties and turnover followed on the way to a 20-10 Cowboys win, as Bradford threw an interception from the two-yard line and another as the Eagles finally started to drive effectively, sub QB Wheaton fumbled a play before Bradford gave it right back and the Cowboys committed one penalty after another (a record 18 by the end of the game for 142 yards). That was coupled with five turnovers, though Brandon Weeden was 7 for 7 with a TD after coming on and the Eagles got a late consolation TD. The Cowboys are now 2-0, but will need to play with more discipline with a backup QB, who has more career interceptions than touchdowns, if they are to stay in the hunt for a playoff birth while, as I predicted, the Eagles are struggling. Relying on two quarterbacks with among the worst career QB ratings ever, one looking eerily like a young Ben Affleck and the other like a male model, is just not a strong approach to winning games. On top of this, the Cowboys might have pulled off the equivalent of a Joe Barry Carroll for Parrish and McHale trade by letting Murray go to the Eagles, as he had a second poor rushing game in a row.

In the other afternoon games, the Dolphins and Jaguars found themselves tied at 20 early in the second half, the same score in the Ravens Raiders game at the same moment. Only three more points were scored in the first game, with the Jags winning on a late chip shot 23-20, while the Raiders got their first win of the season 37-33 over the struggling Ravens, with a go ahead touchdown in the final 30 seconds. Sunday night brought us the matchup of the weekend, as Green Bay tried to exact some revenge for two losses in a row to Seattle, including the late collapse in the NFC Championship Game last season that cost them a Super Bowl birth. Green Bay largely dominated the first half, but failed to get it in the end zone from the one-yard line right before halftime, settling for a 13-3 lead. Seattle scored the next 14 points before a Green Bay field goal brought them within one. In the fourth quarter another impressive Aaron Rodgers drive capped by a touchdown and two-point conversion gave Green Bay a seven point lead. Wilson threw an interception on the next possession with about seven minutes left followed by a series of rugby like scrums, with Seattle’s E.J. Wright ejected, before a time consuming short drive resulted in a field goal to make it 27-17 with less than two minutes left. A final fumble by Seattle wrapped things up, to leave the Seahawks 0-2 and Green Bay getting that revenge and, maybe, a home game against Seattle if they meet in the playoffs.  

Monday night football pitted the New York Jets against an Indianapolis Colts team trying to get back to winning ways after the opening game loss to the Bills. For the first three quarters, the Jets defense was imperious, with Darrelle Revis having three turnovers himself (an interception and two fumble recoveries; one right at the goal line). But the Jets offense was almost as inept and they were only up 10-0 going into the fourth. Then Luck came alive and led the Colts on a 90-yard drive that brought them within 3, before the Jets finally gave Fitzpatrick some freedom on the offensive end and returned the favor leading the Jets all the way down the field to answer and make it 17-7. There was still time for the comeback kid, but he threw yet another interception for the 10^th turnover by the Jets in two games to essentially wrap things up with about five minutes left (leaving Luck 18 of 34 for 227 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions!). The Jets went on a nice time-eating drive, including a key third down completion for Fitzpatrick, to ultimately kick a field goal and seal the deal, with about a minute on the clock. The loss was bad news for the Colts, who would have to become the first team in NFL history to get to the playoffs two years in a row after going 0-2. The Jets, on the other hand, can now claim the best defense in the league, a quality running game and a quarterback who appears, at least for the moment, to be less prone to mistakes than the last three disasters they have had at that position. Could the Geno Smith freak injury be a blessing in disguise? Could it finally be their year? As I Jets fan for many years, I doubt it.  

Some thoughts on Week 2:

It Ain’t Over til the Giants Blow the Game

Two weeks, two blown games. The Giants were again suspect in their time management, again dropped catchable throws (including one on fourth down that would have kept the drive alive) and again lost a game they should have won. The final score was 24-20, after they lost the fourth quarter battle 14-0, leaving the surprising Falcons at 2-0 and looking like a force to be reckoned with given their improved defense. The Giants led 13-10 at halftime and 20-10 going into the fourth quarter before the Atlanta offense, behind Ryan and Julio Jones, struck the suspect New York passing defense for two touchdowns. Truly terrible from Manning, Coughlin and a team that has been pretty terrible over the past eight years but for two surprise Super Bowl wins over the Patriots.  Coughlin took over in 2004, in Eli Manning’s first year, and after a 6-10 season, led the Giants to the playoffs three years in a row, culminating in the upset win over the undefeated Patriots 17-14 in 2007. Since then, they have only made the playoffs two times in the past seven years, losing to the Eagles in 2008 and again surprising the Patriots 21-17 in the 2011 Super Bowl. Now at 0-2, their record in 11 years is 96-82, though 8-3 in the playoffs with two rings. As a Jets and Cowboys fan, I would take even one of those rings over everything that has happened in the past 20 years, but the Giants have largely been a regular season disappointment under Coughlin and Manning, with the error prone brother of one of the best quarterbacks in history to blame for most of those successes, and failures. As a result, a team that could easily be 2-0 continues to be an enigma. The only good news for the Giants is the Eagles look abject on offense and the Cowboys will be playing without their two best players for the foreseeable future.  

The Unpredictability of Predictability

Last week the Niners defense looked incredible in shutting the Vikings down completely until late in the game. This week they were lit up by the Steelers to the tune of 43 points and 453 total yards, even as they held Pittsburgh to 84 rushing yards and crushed them in time of possession with almost 40 minutes. The difference was Roethlisberger’s 369 passing yards and the Steelers being five for five in the Red Zone. The same can be said of the Buffalo defense, which was supposed to be among the best in the league before giving up 40 points and over 500 yards to the Patriots. The Eagles, after last week’s second half display, seemed likely to score some points against an oft-suspect Cowboys’ defense. Instead they were completely inept and shutdown, with Murray following the statistical trend of most running backs to have a fall off in productivity after a workhorse year (21 carries for 11 yards in two games). The Eagles problems run deep, as Chip Kelly’s constant tinkering has cost him some of his best offensive weapons, a reasonably capable quarterback and the offensive line he needs to run his fast paced offense. They were strong defensively, but it wasn’t enough to beat a battered and mistake-prone Cowboys team, led by 14 tackles from returning LB Sean “the General” Lee.

Meanwhile, Cam Newton, the most underrated quarterback in all of football, threw for two touchdowns and scored a third on the ground to get the Panthers to 2-0 and make them rivals for the impressive Falcons, another early season surprise. Johnny Manziel also had two throwing touchdowns, Dalton had three and Winston ran for a touchdown and threw a second as all four of these maligned quarterbacks led their teams to victory. On the flip side, Peyton Manning is 2-0 but 20 points below his career QBR, completing less than 60 percent of his passes for an average of 5.07 per attempt with three touchdowns and two interceptions so far this season. Drew Brees is 0-2 with only 1 touchdown pass, to go with one interception, in two games of action. And Marcus Mariotta was brought back to earth in a 28-14 loss, with two fumbles and seven sacks surrounding a decent 21-37 for 252 yards and two touchdowns (though two additional fumbles and an interception were luckily called back for defensive penalties). Ultimately, it appears that the only thing one can predict from one week to the next is that Belichick will get the best of Ryan whenever they meet (since the reverse situation early in their matchup) and that predicting things is kind of hard.

Early Troubles for Some “Pretenders?”

Getting back to those Giants, several teams that some thought would make a run at division titles or the playoffs find themselves 0-2, including the New Orleans Saints, the Detroit Lions, the Ravens, the Eagles and those same ole Giants. There was some suspicion the hype around the Giants might be overwrought, along with the Saints, who lost some offensive potency while their defense got worse. But the Lions appeared like a team that could make some noise this year, with more consistent play from their quarterback and better defending. Instead they have started 0-2 and need to get going quickly to salvage the season, with suspicions among many that Matthew Stafford will never quite live up to the hype. This is even truer with the Eagles, who were abject against the Cowboys offensively (particularly Bradford and Murray) and not good enough on defense or in special teams as they now sit 0-2 and searching for answers. Buffalo were brought back to earth, as were the Niners and Tennessee. And the Ravens without Suggs look like a much more suspect defensive unit – sitting at 0-2 for the first time in the Harbaugh reign. It’s still too early to make any definitive assessments of teams, but the Patriots, Cardinals and Green Bay appear to be the early in form team in the league with questions surrounding all of the other 2-0 teams. The Bengals are better than last year but one still worries about relying on Dalton long term, the Broncos might be flattering to deceive with a Manning clearly below his best and two somewhat lucky wins, the Falcons and Panthers are yet to show if they can sustain their play on both ends of the ball and the Cowboys suddenly find themselves without their two biggest stars.

Best Penalty in Football

I’m certainly not the first person to note that professional football has a suspiciously close proximity to homoerotic literature of a certain ilk. Plays generally start with a man in tights and shoulder pads grabbing a ball from between the legs of another man. We then have “tight” ends and “wide” receivers trying to catch a “pass” from their on-field leader or running backs carrying balls for gains or losses all while ends and inside and outside linesman fight each other to see who can “score”. If a pass play goes wrong, the quarterback is “sacked” or a defensive back might be called for interfering with one of those passes. When a team can’t get past third down, they have to take a punt on that “drive” or try to kick a ball between two “posts.” The infamous coach turned announcer John Madden only added to this tendency making getting “down and dirty” the key statistically- difficult-to-assess attribute of players. And slow motion, close-up replays of the key “action” from a game is one of the main reason a sport that only has about 21 weeks of action is still the highest earner among the big four. On top of all this (pun intended), “penetration” on the offensive and defensive end is really the keys to every game, along with “turnovers.” This is all made more ironic by the fact that the NFL is arguably the key battleground alongside Hollywood in the struggle to rescue American masculinity. In what must be an attempt to address these many oversights, the best penalty in the league is without question “illegal touching.” Enough said, I think.

EPL Week 6 Recap: Chelsea and United Win, City lose; Rodgers on the Hot Seat?

Week 6 of the EPL season brought us very little to get excited about; nothing to see here really … unless you count two red cards on the way to another Mourinho victory over Wenger (2-0), West Ham scalping another member of the Top 5 on the road (2-1 over Manchester City,) a Korean scoring his third goal this week for Tottenham (in a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace) or Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers maybe moving a step closer to the sack (in a 1-1 draw with Norwich). The weekend started with Chelsea hosting Arsenal after two very different results in their first UCL Group Stage. Chelsea had gotten back to winning ways with a 4-0 victory over an Israeli team probably surprised to even be in the main competition while the Gunners suffered a questionable red card for Giroud on the way to a 2-1 upset loss. The trend continued Saturday, as another controversial red card played a role in Arsenal losing, with a second thrown in for fun by Mike Dean in one of the worst refereeing days we’ve seen in the league in, at least, three weeks – yes read that as sarcastic! Chelsea ultimately won 2-0, continuing Wenger’s dismal record against his greatest “rival” (I will continue to use quotes until he gets a second victory over the Chelsea manager). The next game that might have gotten the heart racing was Everton versus Swansea, two teams who have been scoring with regularity while playing more suspect on the defensive end. So they, of course, played out a nil-nil draw.

In the other Saturday clashes, two Premier League regulars provided further evidence they could be on their way to the Championship, losing to teams that are newly promoted. Bournemouth beat Sunderland 2-0 and Newcastle lost 2-1 to Watford at home. And Stoke City and Leicester played out a 2-2 draw, leaving the Potters in the drop zone and Leicester in fourth place. In the late Saturday contest, Man City hosted giant killers West Ham, knowing the Hammers had already beaten Arsenal and Liverpool on the road this season. What then happened in the first half is hard to explain. City dominated possession and chances, but West Ham was brutally efficient on the counter, finding themselves up 2-0 before De Bruyne pulled one back right on the cusp of the halftime whistle. It was a fine strike for the Belgian, who showed his quality throughout the game. That was not the case for Sergio Aguero, who seems a little off his best form at the moment, missing several quality chances to score. West Ham were masterful defensively in the second half, particularly their goalkeeper Adriano, who kept out shot after shot by a rampant City, and somehow held on for an unlikely 2-1 victory. City might point to the absence of captain Kompany and Silva, who was injured in warm-ups, but the result seems better explained as the weekly machinations of the EPL – where heroes become zeroes and vice versa from week to week. It was a great advertisement for the sport to any Americans watching and a reminder that calling a title race after five games is rather insane.

On Sunday, Liverpool drew with Norwich 1-1, their fifth game without a win in a row, with the team leaving the field to a booing Kop crowd. Rodgers is certainly on the hot seat now, with the team having trouble finishing chances, keeping clean sheets since the early going or holding court at home. Manchester United, on the other hand, were the beneficiaries of an offsides goal, a terrible backpass and two wonder saves from the goalkeeper who was supposed to be in Madrid by now. They held on to win 3-2 nonetheless and now find themselves in second place in the EPL, among the top point accumulators this calendar year. For all the criticism, it appears LVG is building a team not only for the future, with a number of bright young future stars, but maybe for the present as well.

Some thoughts on Game Week 6:

1. Boring, Boring Spurs: the Spurs won another game 1-0 today, beating back a hot Crystal Palace team on a 68th minute goal for the suddenly hot South Korean Son Heung-Min, who scored two more goals in their Thursday 3-1 win over FK Qarabag. Those three goals in the Europa League were only the second time the Spurs have scored as many as two goals all season, the other time in a scintillating 2-2 draw with Stoke. In their other games, they outplayed but were beaten by United 1-0, drew with Leicester 1-1, had a goalless draw with Everton at White Hart Lane and then beat Sunderland 1-0. The main reason behind the relative dearth of goals appears to be the flagging performance of last year’s standout star Harry Kane, who has only scored 1 goal in his last 12 games, after 12 in his previous 11. One can see the strain of the pressure starting to get to Kane, whose seems to be playing worse from week to week, unable to finish the chances given to him. Beyond Kane, the Spurs have really missed Erickson, who appears to be the creative spark that makes their offense flow, generally involved in games this season that seem to be played more in the midfield, lacking the openness and excitement one tends to find in the EPL these days. A few years ago, Tottenham were the toast of the EPL, winning or losing games with real verve. Then AVG was dismissed, as was interim manager Tim Sherwood, and the more conservative Pochettino took over. He might be starting to get results, but I find the Spurs games all but unwatchable, except on fast forward.

2. Martial Madness: there was nothing but criticism for United when they signed relative unknown youngster Anthony Martial, who had only scored 13 goals in his diminutive 52 game career, for an inflated 36.3 million pounds. It might turn out to be a bargain. The 19-year-old scored two more goals on Sunday after his wonderful effort last weekend and his combination of pace, dribbling acumen and finishing poise look set to be a force to reckon in, particularly in a season that has seen a number of misfiring strikers. The injury of Rooney might have actually been a blessing in disguise, as United appear to have finally found a natural striker again who can finish the opportunities in front of a relatively solid midfield and back four. They did give up two goals to Southampton today, though, and would have arguably lost 4-3 but for two wonder saves from David De Gea. United, in fact, appear to finally be coming together under LVG – forgoing the disappointing midweek loss to PSV – and while they still have some issues and seem to win a lot of games with more than a little luck thrown in (as for example with the fortuitous back pass that led to one of their goals and a second that should have been ruled out for offsides).
3. Losing Stars Hurts: looking at the Spurs issues more deeply, a clear message emerges – losing your star player really, really hurts. A few years back, Tottenham had arguably the best player in the league, as Gareth Bale lit the league up as the Spurs only lost out because fourth place didn’t merit a Champions League spot that season – with Chelsea winning it all. Bale was sold for a record fee still yet to be broken and the Spurs have struggled ever since, even with major investment. The same can be said of Liverpool, a slip away from winning the title two seasons back and now struggling through a second poor season in a row. Players like Suarez are simply impossible to replace, and Brendan Rodgers could be the first manager to be axed this season as a result. It truly was the “bite heard round the world” for Liverpool fans at the World Cup, facilitating a move to Barcelona that might have otherwise taken another year to happen. And United have not fully recovered from the declining form of their star player – Robin Van Persie – now plying his trade in Turkey, even as they currently sit in second place. Speaking of Robin Van Persie, Arsenal have failed to replace their main striker since he left to win a title for United and, ignoring their aborted title run two seasons ago, still suffer from the inability to finish chances often enough.

In a broader sense, it appears that strikers are struggling at most of the top teams in England. Sturridge has largely been on the sidelines for Liverpool but big summer signing Benteke has not exactly started the season in fine fiddle. Rooney was struggling himself before his injury allowed the 19-year-old phenomenon to show his class with three goals in his last two league games. City have started in blistering fashion, but that has been without a big contribution from talisman Aguero, who missed several more chances this weekend. Arsenal’s struggles at striker have been well-chronicled, even if both Walcott and Giroud have scored a few goals. And Tottenham’s misfiring Kane is the main reason they find themselves in ninth place, even with two wins in a row. Maybe Wenger had a point about world class strikers? Well, maybe one just had to look a little wider, as Bournemouth, United and Crystal have all shown in the early going of this campaign.

4. The Upstarts: given their recent record in Europe, the only argument for the EPL being the best league in the world is the relative parity across the division. Sure only four teams have won the title in the Premier League era, but upsets like West Ham beating an undefeated Manchester City are now becoming the norm. Every year there are one or two surprises hanging around near the top of the table as the season progresses. Tottenham has been that team far too often, Everton almost pipped Arsenal to fourth two seasons ago, Southampton were in the Top 4 for large portions of last season, before the almost inevitable late season fade. This year, West Ham sits in third, Leicester in fourth and Swansea and Crystal in seventh and eighth. These teams have been incredibly adventurous and provided some of the best action in the league as all of the traditional Top 6 struggle for goals and momentum, forgoing Manchester City – themselves the victims of one of these upstarts. By the end of the season, one assumes the usual suspects will return to the top, with Arsenal, Chelsea, City and United taking up the Champions League places, but one never knows in a league where results are far less predictable than in Italy, Spain, Germany or France. Looking at those leagues, Bayern have run away with the title since the two Dortmund titles, Juve have won four on the bounce, PSG three straight and Barcelona and Real duking it out year after year, but for the surprise Atletico title two seasons back (won on the last day of the campaign with a late equalizer against Barca). By the way, even with the 2-0 win, title holder Chelsea still sit in 15th, 8 points behind City after only six games!

5. Time for the Video Replay: technology has been incorporated into other sports in a way that football has consistently resisted. Few would argue, though, that goal line technology has not been a positive, eliminating mistakes that have cost teams points, titles and cups far too often over the years. Yet other possibilities exist that have yet to be incorporated into the game. Maybe it’s time to start seriously considering their viability. Red cards are flying in the EPL in the early season and real questions exist about some that have been given and some that have not. After an incident, would it really undermine the integrity of the game to allow one additional official, working in a video booth off the field, to make calls retroactively? That would have influenced at least two games this weekend and countless over the season. For example, while Gabriel maybe should have been sent off for kicking out at Costa, it was a very minor touch after Gabriel came to the defense of Koscielny, who was physically assaulted by Diego Costa not once, not twice, but thrice, before the Chelsea player goaded him endlessly. Costa got off with a yellow, unrelated to the Kos incident, and was still on the pitch for the second half. The second yellow on Cazorla was almost as questionable, as he appeared to pull out of the tackle with Fabergas, in what was a 50/50 ball to begin with. And that was the third questionable red on Arsenal in just four days, with Giroud suffering two yellows in the first half for dissent and then a very minor foul. Arsenal have also been the victims of a wrongly disallowed goal for offsides in a goalless draw with Liverpool, who themselves were the beneficiary of two bad calls in one game in a 2-1 win the week before. And then there was the aforementioned mistake on one of United’s goals that arguably cost Southampton at least a point.

Maybe it is time for something to be done about the growing list of errors by officials this year, and really every year. It’s not like the NFL where there is a score every 10 minutes or so. In football, the average game has somewhere between 1 and 3 goals and no more than .3 overruled goals per game. That means maybe four reviews a game that could be done in less than two minutes – generally the time of the celebration – together with a quick review of any red card incident. Some might baulk at adding six to 10 minutes of delay to a football game, but it is the most controlled game regarding time in sports. At minimum, it does seem that a manager should have at least one challenge a game, to allow video replay to review questionable calls. The purists will balk at this suggestion and maybe even call me out for sour grapes, which is true, but Arsenal have arguably lost 8 points between the champions league and premiership already this year, and something has to be done to address the injustices that undermine the integrity of the game in quite different, and arguably more profound ways. I see the other side of the argument and the notion that these balance out over time, but also know the statistics on the Gunners of the past and the way referees have cost them enough points to win the league more than once. Liverpool and United have both benefitted from some poor refereeing decisions this year already. And Chelsea, after claiming to be the recipients of a campaign against them by the officials again this year, can now claim an official-assisted victory themselves.

This gets me to the final point, which is the unique case of Diego Costa. As an Arsenal fan, I know I bring bias into this argument, but his antics are truly ugly and undermine the beautiful game. I actually like Costa and his desire to win, but his constant attempts to get one over on the officials, to complain about every call and to instigate trouble has grown more than a little tiresome. Why the officials are doing nothing to stop it is beyond me and Mike Dean really looked meek in acquiescing to the Brazilian on Saturday. Wenger has called for a retroactive suspension for Costa and I do think he has a point. It started with him pushing Koscielny in the face, continued with him slamming his arm to his face on the other side and then finished with a chest bump that sent the Frenchman to the ground. Then he goaded Gabriel, hit him on the chest, pushed him and finished the Abbott and Costello act by crowding him 50 yards from a dead ball (at midfield). If that’s okay, why not bring back Dan Revie’s ghost and return to the old days of physically brutish English football? 

Chelsea Beat Arsenal Again; What Else is New?

Two games, three red cards, two own goals and two losses. That sums up Arsenal’s week and really what is starting to look like yet another disappointing season under Wenger. How many more can the team afford before they slide to Liverpool status? On the other end, just when we thought Chelsea’s season was unraveling, they won their opening group game in the Champions League 4-0 and beat their “rivals” Arsenal 2-0 in a span of four days. It was their first clean sheets of the season and their first comprehensive win, even if it got a huge assist from Arsenal-killing ref Mike Dean. Diego Costa might receive a retroactive suspension though and there are real questions emerging about whether John Terry’s time at Chelsea is moving toward its end. Arsenal will feel rightfully aggrieved with the red card on Gabriel after Costa appeared to be the instigator of it all, but his kick out was rather ill advised coming in extra time of the first half. The second red, for two yellows on Cazorla, was equally suspect, as he appeared to pull out of the challenge after going for a 50/50 ball with Fabergas.

The reality, though, is that Chelsea were outplaying Arsenal, if marginally, in the first half and maybe deserved the points anyway. We will never know though and it is starting to feel like that old referee campaign against Arsenal is back in full force. The team that already has the most red cards in Champions League history is developing a troubling habit of accruing them in big games against rivals in the league and in their bigger games in European football. Nonetheless, it is hard to ignore three reds that were all questionable; particularly the two yellows accrued by Giroud on Wednesday. On the other hand, the lack of discipline by the Gunners is troubling and indicative of Wenger’s inability to get his teams up for big games over the last decade. The goal that gave Chelsea the lead came, not surprisingly, on a free kick in the 53rd minute. Monreal got caught in between defending two Chelsea players and Zouma was thus set free at the far post, sending a powerful header just past the outstretched arms of Cech. Arsenal played with real verve from there, almost getting in for an equalizer on a couple of counters before the Gabriel sub, Calum Chambers, saw the shot from Hazard bounce off his back and into the goal. The second Chelsea score was somehow given to Hazard, but it seemed from my perspective to be a clear own goal. In any case, Mourinho is still undefeated in the league against Arsenal and, with Coquelin suffering an injury that had him pulled at halftime, there is every chance that the Gunners could be in for a difficult stretch.

Some thoughts on the game:
1. Costa the Bully: in Italy and Portugal there is respect for players that can get away with a fake dive, earn a suspect penalty or elicit an unwarranted red. It is part of the game that doesn’t appeal as much to the Victorian-infused ethics of the English fan and I think they have a point. Costa has not exactly set the world afire this season with his goals, though he did have one midweek, but he has certainly done other things to help the team, riling up opponents and getting inside their heads. Today it directly led to a red for fellow Brazilian Gabriel, who should have known better than to get into it with the fiery beast. The real argument though is whether Costa should have had the chance to incite Gabriel at all, after three straight fouls on Koscielny, including a swinging arm into the defender’s face and a chest but that sent the Frenchman to the ground somehow went unpunished. It really should have been red from a player that bullies defenders, constantly complains at referees and attempts to get away with as much as possible. We could admire the performance of a player hungry to win, but his antics sometimes seem to influence his productivity, as has generally been the case with the Spanish National team and in most games this year. Not surprisingly, it is another example of Mourinho players engaged in the “dark arts” of football, something that the great Arsenal teams of the early oughts were actually quite good at themselves, though this has been largely forgotten by most fans. It appears this new version of Arsenal could use a little of that grit though; Wenger called Costa’s behavior “disgusting,” and it probably was, but how about meeting disgusting with smart disgusting themselves and winning an important game more than a couple of times a year?

2. Bilic vs. Wenger: Arsenal’s main problem over the last several seasons, in fact, is an inability to beat their main rivals or play their best football in the biggest games of the year. In the second half of last season, they seemed to have partially addressed that, beating City at the Etihad, beating United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup, crushing Liverpool and earning draws against Chelsea and United before winning their second FA Cup on the bounce. Yet that papers over a loss to Tottenham at White Hart Lane in a game they probably should have won, the terrible first leg 3-1 loss to Monaco they could not quite overcome and a mediocre run-in that saw them pipped to second by City. Before this season started, Wenger finally beat Mourinho to add the rather marginal Community Shield to his hungry trophy case. Then the season started and Arsenal were outplayed by West Ham to lose at home. They came back to win at Crystal Palace before a wrongly disallowed goal and several missed chances cost them against Liverpool. The Champions League group seemed like something of a gift, even if second place looked the more likely result against Bayern. Then they earned the first of their three red cards this week and were summarily beaten 2-1. And now yet another loss to Chelsea as the Gunners title hopes have already taken a hit, though they are lucky City lost to upstart West Ham. So let’s compare that performance to those same Hammers, who beat Arsenal at the Emirates 2-0, beat Liverpool at Anfield 3-0 and then beat an undefeated City at the Etihad 2-1. Bilic appears rather more astute at preparing his team for the big games, using different players, different formations and different tactics in each of those wins. Even as their results in other encounters have been far more suspect, including a 4-3 loss to newly promoted Bournemouth, a 2-1 loss to Leicester, both at home, and an ignominious early exit from the Europa League, the win over Newcastle 2-0 last weekend together with the win today mean they are in second place a mere three points behind the suddenly kryptonite-infected City, who have now lost two on the bounce at the Etihad, including the 2-1 loss to Juve. It is this sort of tactically acute younger coach that might be able to get more out of a talented Arsenal side that need a few additions and a more flexible approach to games. Wenger is a great manager, as I have written on numerous occasions over the years, but he just does not seem to have it in him to make the right moves necessary to again win the title, or get to the latter stages of the Champions League.

3. Mourinho’s Madness: listening to Mourinho describe matches in his post-game interviews increasingly sound like performance art pieces, surrealist re-envisionings of reality that suit his rather skewed worldview. After the win today he refused to answer questions about the enfant terrible display by Costa and why it was not punished, instead telling the interviewer to ask about Gabriel before claiming Costa tongue-in-cheek as the “player of the match.” After being destroyed 3-0 by City earlier in the campaign, he argued Chelsea had outplayed the Citizens and only lost because of a missed penalty claim, ignoring the two second half goals by City. Similar claims were made after the other losses this season and the oft-entertaining Portuguese manager is starting to grate in ways that even surpass his final season in Madrid. One wonders if it is his sometimes juvenile narcissism that undermines his winning mentality and is thus to blame for a habit of poor third seasons in each of his managerial stops, though Chelsea are starting to play with more pomp, at least this week. Given the loss by City, they can now try to make another charge toward the top of the table and look set for a relatively comfortable route to the knockout stage of the Champions League. On the other side of London, Wenger will have to right a ship that is again wavering in the early going of a season, hoping to stay within reach of the top of the table.

In regards to the players on the pitch, Walcott was pretty disappointing, missing a few good chances to get free on goal with heavy touches, Sanchez as abject as he has been most of the season and Ozil decent but failing to turn an important game for not the first time in his third season with Arsenal – though it should be noted he has created more chances (76) than any other player in the EPL this season, further evidence of Wenger’s mistake in not buying another striker this summer to finish some of that surfeit of opportunities. Chelsea looked better for long stretches of the game with Zouma in particular looking strong on both ends of the pitch, scoring the opener and having a number of important interventions to stop Arsenal attacks. The game was turned by a couple of questionable calls, as the first half did end scoreless, but Arsenal failed to score a goal against Chelsea in the league for the fifth game running. I think back to the scintillating 5-3 win from four years ago and wonder where that highflying Gunners team has gone. The only good news for the Gunners is the chance to get back to winning ways in their Capital One Cup tie against hated rival Tottenham on Tuesday. A loss then could move the conversation about Wenger’s ineptitude further along toward the only natural conclusion. For now, he can continue to come up for clever bon mots to deflect that rather salient point from Mourinho that he is, in fact, a “specialist in failure.” He certainly is when it comes to playing Chelsea with Mourinho in charge!

UCL Match Day 1: Arsenal, Man City and United all Lose; Chelsea Cruise

Arsenal started their campaign in the Champions League in rather inauspicious fashion, losing 2-1 to Dinamo Zagreb, who, though on a 41-game undefeated streak, were 0 for their last 15 games in the UCL Group Stage. As has too often been the case in recent games, Arsenal dominated the early going without scoring before giving up a goal against the run of play in the 24th minute (an own goal by Oxlade-Chamberlain) before a second yellow for Giroud meant they would be playing a man down for 65 minutes. The only good news in a depressing game was that after falling behind 2-0, they were able to draw to 2-1 with a late Walcott goal.

Things looked bright for Arsenal in the early going as they dominated possession (63 percent by halftime) and almost scored on a powerful Giroud header saved on the stretch (9’). On 18 minutes, Giroud again got his head to the ball, this time on a fine cut back cross from Ox, seeing his looping header hit the outside of the post. The Frenchman had a good chance to pound in the rebound, but it was bundled away by the Zagreb keeper. On 24 minutes, the profligacy in front of goal again came back to haunt Arsenal, as a Zagreb through ball was saved by Ospina only to hit a charging Ox and carom into the corner of their own net. A minute earlier, Giroud had picked up a completely unnecessary yellow card for protestation, after a foul call went against him. Then on 40 minutes, a poor start turned into a nightmare when a rather minor foul by Giroud earned a second yellow and a dismissal. It was an absurd call but Giroud knew he had to be careful, particularly given that many referees in Europe appear incredibly fast to the pocket and the Gunners are often the victims of that quick-draw-McGraw approach (they have 16 reds in UCL history).

The one-sidedness of the refereeing continued throughout much of the game until a bevy of late yellows for Zagreb players, but Arsenal still should have dispatched the Croatians without much trouble. That they didn’t reinforces a couple of problems that have cropped up in the early part of the season – the inability to finish chances and moments of defensive frailty around a generally tight defense. As many worried, whenever Coquelin is out of the game, the Gunners defense becomes immediately suspect and that trend continued in stretches throughout the game, even after he came on. As is also too often the case, the Gunners attack suddenly became inept after they fell behind, seemingly lacking the will to win necessary for champions. The second half started with two quality chances for Zagreb, one only saved by the post, before Arsenal started to assert themselves, with Koscielny missing a free header in the 48th minute and then Ozil missing a golden opportunity less than a minute later. He did put the ball in the back of the net in the 54th minute, but he was clearly offsides and should have held up his run. Another good chance went wanting in the 56th minute as Ozil tried to chip the keeper from in close on the right side and that profligacy again came back to haunt them as Zagreb made it 2-0 on 57 minutes, with a strong header from a corner by Fernandes. It was terrible marking by the Gunners and really emblematic of the dropped points in the league this season.

Theo Walcott did score a nice goal in the 79th minute, on an excellent through ball from fellow sub Coquelin, tallying his 12th goal in his last 12 games for the club. From there the mistakes started piling up for Arsenal, particularly for Joel Campbell who again failed to impress with his time on the pitch (finally earning a yellow in the 87th minute after a number of poor fouls and deserving a second as extra time ran out). To be fair, Arsenal can feel aggrieved for the second time in the young season. In the home match against Liverpool an early Ramsey goal was incorrectly adjudged offsides in a game that ended scoreless. Tonight, a questionable second yellow card on Giroud cost them dearly as they attempted to draw even and maybe even go on to win the match, though both Ospina and Campbell could have been sent off in the second half. Yet one could also ask why Petr Cech wasn’t in goal, why Coquelin was rested until late and, if you are committed to playing Arteta, why Ramsey did not play beside him to shore up the defense (as a clearly superior choice to Cazorla in that regard). The toothlessness of the Arsenal attack continues to be a problem, with Sanchez having another bad game, Debuchy failing to impress in for Bellerin and Gibbs not doing much better in his first start of the season (probably the most guilty on the second goal). One can understand resting a few players with Chelsea on tap Saturday, but six changes seems a little radical when one wants to get the campaign off to a winning start. And the inability to score clear chances continues to haunt a team that did a much better job in this department last season. Even with all the mistakes, they still could have easily won this one 3-2. The Gunners are probably still the favorites to go through in second place, but will have to avoid any slips at home or a loss at Olympiakos, a team that once cost them first place in the final group stage game in Greece, and hope Zagreb does not pull off any further upsets.

A few quick thoughts on the UCL Match Week 1:

1. England European Woes Continue: Man City had the toughest matchup of Match Week 1 against last year’s finalists and Series A champions Juventus, but found themselves 1-0 up and in a position to snatch all three points at home, before giving up two goals and losing. At the same time, United were pulling off the same feat against PSV on the road, blowing their own lead to lose 2-1. Today Arsenal lost 2-1 as well and only Chelsea were able to snatch all three points with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel-Aviv. That’s only three points from four games and further evidence that England are just not up to the task in Europe at the moment, in danger of losing their fourth place position in the qualifying round to Italy. There are all sorts of excuses for the poor performances since 2012, but one of the obvious ones is the defensive lapses, as that is six goals conceded by Man City, Arsenal and United against teams that are clearly inferior – except maybe Juve, though they were winless in their first three league games this season after losing a number of their top players including Pirlo, Vidal and Tevez. English teams better wake up quickly or we will be talking about the race for the “Top 3” going forward and either Arsenal, United or Chelsea playing Thursday night football.

2. Barcelona Held: Defending champion Barcelona got their campaign off to a rocky start, only able to earn a 1-1 draw at Roma, though the equalizer will probably stand as the goal of the Group Stage, as Alessandro Florenzi scored from just over the midfield line (sending the ball looping over ter Stegen) eight minutes after Suarez had opened the scoring with a header into the roof of the net. It was surprising to see Messi go a game without scoring, particularly when his archrival Ronaldo put in three more, after five last weekend. Barcelona will not be too worried though, as a point away from home should be fine and they remain favorites to win the group. A second slip up could be costly though as Roma do appear dangerous.

3. German/Spain Start Strongly: Germany, unlike England, had an impressive start to their campaign, with a 3-0 road win for Bayern (at Olympiakos), a 4-1 home win for Bayern Leverkusen (against BATE Borisov) and a 3-1 win for Wolfsburg over CSKA Moscow. Only Borrusia Monchengladbuch lost, 3-0 to an impressive Sevilla side. Guardiola will be hoping to lead Bayern past the semifinals after two straight years of being crushed at that stage of the competition, while Leverkusen and Wolfsburg both have good chances of advancing. Sevilla was joined by Real (4-0 winners over Shaktar) and Atletico Madrid (2-0 at Galatasaray) garnering three points, while Barcelona grabbed that road point at Roma and only fifth place team Valencia lost (3-2 to Zenit St. Petersburg).

4. Costly Injury Losses: The first game of the Group Stage saw some major injuries and injury scares for some of the best teams in the world. United lost their young right back Luke Shaw to a horrific leg break, right as his form was starting to really improve. Real lost both Ramos and Bale, though neither are expected to be out too long. And a few other concerns exist across the teams in the competition.

5. Should He Go or Should He Go? I cannot speak for all Arsenal fans, and there is clearly still a chance the Gunners could win the league or even the Champions League, but isn’t it time for Wenger to leave (at the end of the season)? He has gotten the team into the UCL for 18 straight years and won two FA Cups in a row, but has gone over a decade without a league title and appears to be making the wrong moves far too often. Reviewing complaints I have made in the past, which still seem relevant, Wenger is suspect tactically, average with his substitution choices (Campbell was terrible, even as Walcott scored), sometimes bizarre in his starting lineup decisions (exhibit A tonight), does not do enough in the transfer window (still talking about the necessary striker and defensive midfielder three years after that conversation started) and does not seem to instill the winning mentality in his team that he once did. I’m so tired of writing the same argument over and over again and just hope Wenger finally calls it quits if he fails to win that league title or at least get the Gunners to the semifinals of the Champions League. Will he? I have my doubts, but a Gooner can dream … can’t he?