Alfie Dogs

Written by Daniel Suarez      There is a growing trend in narrative to suggest that QB'S can not be judged by win-loss record. It may seem as if it is a reasonable conclusion considering the nature of football as a team sport with infinite unknown variables. However, I argue that not only are they ignoring universal football truths analytically, they also conveniently forget the history of QB accolades. Perception The NFL has always honored winning over stats. There are 26 QB exclusive players in The Pro Football Hall of Fame; "exclusive" meaning they did not play multiple positions. Only two QB's had losing records. The NFL has always valued winning above all, and for good reason; ultimately it is the only statistic that matters. Turnovers. For all the infinite variables that exist in a violent sport that uses an oblong ball, the sport still generates THE UNDISPUTED STATISTIC CHAMP  that directly results to winning in professional sports, not including the obvious ...

  If I am being honest my love of football was born from my fathers obsession over the sport. My father was a Miami resident during the perfect season and the reign of that Dolphin team’s greatness. So naturally, as an impressionable 6 year old, I was indoctrinated to love football. However, my first unbiased moment of unabated love for the sport was when I first saw Steve Largent play the receiver position.  November 25, 1984 John Elway being a contemporary of Marino, my father had a vested interest in watching Elway play. Denver was the home team, and my father kept pointing to me and saying “Concentrate on Elway, “Es un dolor de cabeza”! I didn’t understand the importance of the QB position, nor was I capable of comprehending why my father had so much respect for Elway. No!! All I remember is watching that game with fledgling eyes and thinking “WHO THE FUCK IS THIS WHITE BOY #80. Seattle won the game, and the First Ballot Hall of Famer Largent had 12 receptions for 191 yard...

The irony of the controversial “Redskins Name” is that it’s origins where a manifestation of reverence to one Sioux Native American man and the style of football he created. William Lone Star Dietz July 5th 1933, George Preston Marshall of the National Football League’s Boston franchise is quoted as saying that he was changing the team’s name from “Braves” to “Redskins” to avoid confusion with Boston’s baseball Braves. The name change was apparently necessary because Marshall had entered into an agreement for his team to play in Fenway Park in 1933, rather than in Braves Park, as it had done in 1932.  July 1933, Marshall had decided that he was going to bring “Indian football” back to the National Football League. Indian football was a wide open brand of early twentieth century football, usually played by Native American teams, that featured lots of passing and trick plays. It was most strongly associated with the college teams fielded by the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Ca...

    Since the unification of the NFL and AFL in 1967 only 8 Defensive Tackles have won Defensive Rookie of the Year. The first to win the award as an interior Defensive player in 1969 was rated by the NFL as the 13th greatest player in HISTORY!! “Mean” Joe Greene! Don Shula had so much admiration for Joe Greene that in 1991 he hired Joe Greene to be his Defensive Line Coach. 1994 During the teams scouting process in preparation for the upcoming draft, One of the greatest players of all time, Joe Greene, saw a momentary glimpse from an unknown player with practically no experience. He was so enamored by what he observed that he convinced Shula to personally travel to meet this unknown and dismissed player. That player was Tim Bowens , who only played 9 games in his college career. The GREAT Joe Greene, by himself, traveled to Mississippi to meet Tim in order to verify his conviction. They met at a local dilapidated pool hall often visited by the very private Bowens, and after a...

      I first noticed Tindall in the National Championship against Alabama. I was mesmerized by his physical talent, and according to my objective observation he was the most impactful/disruptive Linebacker on a stellar defense. I saw a player with balance and unparalleled conviction when he decided to attack. I remember that with 7 minutes left in the first half, with Alabama threatening on Georgias 6 yard line; In a 3rd and goal situation, Tindall was asked to spy the talented and elusive Heisman winning QB Bryce Young. The ball is snapped, Tindall maintains his line of sight by strafing left and the moment that Bryce exits the pocket he attacks the QB from 10 yards out and in a fraction of a second he engulfs the agile signal caller with devastating conviction, a conviction that could not be side stepped, or deceived.  https://youtu.be/-006vmVNdug Needless to say I was intrigued. Consider that I was well aware of how talented Georgia’s defense was, but yet I truly...

Zyon McCollum CB Sam Houston State RAS 10 (perfect score) Very few athletes score a perfect Relative Athletic Score. Although, I do not evaluate players on their athleticism, it is a good indicator when trying to project division 2 players. Zyon was nothing short of dominant at his level of competition. Exceptional man coverage, tenacious with length, elite lateral mobility, great ball skills, and fundamentally sound in press man. Scoring a perfect RAS only verified what I see as a special player regardless of athleticism. Channing Tindall LB Georgia RAS 9.67  The unsung hero of the championship bulldog defense. I would argue that he is the most talented ILB on a roster with Nakobe Dean. Elite athlete that plays with absolutely no hesitation and rare speed. He would routinely beat everyone to the edge with both his athleticism and his read reaction time. Exceptional pass rusher and an advanced violent tackler. Joshua Ezeuda OT North Carolina RAS 9.15 I love the way he moves lateral...

 When you obsessively watch football you begin to develop a clinical eye, you inevitably begin to ignore the metrics. Stats, measurables, statistics start to fade in importance. An experienced eye recognizes and takes into consideration the infinite variables that equates to a football player’s success.   For me, the first thing that I see is how the player moves on the field, his balance. I have been incredibly frustrated with the Dolphins because they have invested high picks on unbalanced players. i.e. Noah, Parker, and Austin Jackson. It perplexes me because that imbalance was on their college tape.    However, the current FA crop that Miami has invested in all have a unifying theme. They are all Balanced athletes with great body control and awareness.  Cedric Wilson - SMOOTH SMOOTH athlete and a pure hands catcher. At 6’3” 195. Rare athleticism. 3.5 yards of avg separation, better than Waddle. Chase Edmonds - Another incredibly balanced player. 5.7 yards pe...