Pre-game BS!!!

[ajzepp]

I look forward to the weekend games - both college and pro - as much as or more than anyone else. But what I am really tired of is all the sunshine that these coaches and players blow up each others rear ends in the pre-game interviews. The only one you can ever really rely on anymore for a little gamesmanship and/or trash talk is Rob Ryan. Everyone else just goes on and on about how great the other team is, position by position. It's so predictable and boring that I just don't see the point of it anymore. When Rob Ryan talked trash about Megatron, saying that he couldn't hold a candle to Dez Bryant, it was like a breath of fresh air.

 

I understand the issue with "bulletin board material" and all that, but like Flutie said back when he was a Bill, "what are they going to do, play HARDER? Why wouldn't they be playing their hardest anyway?" I wish more coaches/players would adopt that attitude and start stirring things up a bit. Heck, don't even trash talk...just discuss areas where you expect to have an ADVANTAGE here in there....where a match-up is favorable to YOU instead of just goign on and on about how tough the other team is, how the game will be hard fought, etc, etc.

 

It's a sad day when we have more trash talk going on in GOLF than we do the NFL or college football. We need more Rob Ryans!

[PaattMaann]

well the obvious answer of why you wouldnt want to say what you think your advantages are is b/c thats tipping your hand to your opponent...

 

if chan gailey came out and said "the giants cant stop the run whatsoever, so im not even going to call a pass play for the first quarter and just cram it down their wussy throats" - I think the giants might be a little more prepared for the run?

 

with that said, maybe Chan should say that, and then throw all over them for the first quarter hahaha

[ajzepp]

well the obvious answer of why you wouldnt want to say what you think your advantages are is b/c thats tipping your hand to your opponent...

 

if chan gailey came out and said "the giants cant stop the run whatsoever, so im not even going to call a pass play for the first quarter and just cram it down their wussy throats" - I think the giants might be a little more prepared for the run?

 

with that said, maybe Chan should say that, and then throw all over them for the first quarter hahaha

 

lol, true, but there are plenty of other topics for discussion than the game plan...I'm not saying this should turn into a Mike Tyson press conference when he goes Hannibal Lector on the reporters, but my gosh there must be some way to liven things up a bit. I want to see some pre-game build up! Let's get some of these rivalries heated up with some trash talk! The NFL has become too sterile in some aspects...needs more cowbell!

 

I was listenign to Mark Richt (UGA 'dawgs coach) on the radio coming into work today going on and on in his monotone voice about how awesome Vanderbilt was and how tough the game was going to be today...there is absolutley no WAY UGA should even allow Vanderbilt to remain in the game today. But according to Coach Richt, it's going to be one heck of a struggle all afternoon...

 

Anyone who watches the NFL knows darn well that the players trash talk the BEJEEZUS out of each other when they hit the field...I'm just sayin' lets take some of that and get it out there before the game. Enough with this PC crap!

[jaybills]

This is the best topic ever in the messageboards. Keep it up fellas.

[Pirate Angel]

I look forward to the weekend games - both college and pro - as much as or more than anyone else. But what I am really tired of is all the sunshine that these coaches and players blow up each others rear ends in the pre-game interviews. The only one you can ever really rely on anymore for a little gamesmanship and/or trash talk is Rob Ryan. Everyone else just goes on and on about how great the other team is, position by position. It's so predictable and boring that I just don't see the point of it anymore. When Rob Ryan talked trash about Megatron, saying that he couldn't hold a candle to Dez Bryant, it was like a breath of fresh air.

 

I understand the issue with "bulletin board material" and all that, but like Flutie said back when he was a Bill, "what are they going to do, play HARDER? Why wouldn't they be playing their hardest anyway?" I wish more coaches/players would adopt that attitude and start stirring things up a bit. Heck, don't even trash talk...just discuss areas where you expect to have an ADVANTAGE here in there....where a match-up is favorable to YOU instead of just goign on and on about how tough the other team is, how the game will be hard fought, etc, etc.

 

It's a sad day when we have more trash talk going on in GOLF than we do the NFL or college football. We need more Rob Ryans!

 

its Rex Ryan......and do you noticed how the media blows up every situation they can, Its not just about giving your opponent something to feed on its not having to deal with the media badgering you. If you say something negative about your opponent then you have to answer 26,000 other questions that week about that one single comment.

[ajzepp]

its Rex Ryan......and do you noticed how the media blows up every situation they can, Its not just about giving your opponent something to feed on its not having to deal with the media badgering you. If you say something negative about your opponent then you have to answer 26,000 other questions that week about that one single comment.

 

No, I'm referring to Rob, the DC for the Cowboys. Before they played the Lions he was doing a little trash talking about C.Johnson.

[Chandler#81]

One reason for all the accolades strewn about regarding opponents is because they're actually true. What are there, 1900 NFL players out of 10 million wannabe's? The vast majority of them are human freaks by birth who dedicate themselves to develop their bodies and skills for this rarest of opportunity. As fans, we take dark joy lambasting certain players as worhtless, but the reality is none of us could do better.

 

I, for one, am getting pretty sick of the showoff show-boating ("I'm gonna get ejected and fined in the 1st quarter this week!") that's growing every week. It's a team game made up of special athletes who must contribute their best to achieve success as a team. Most of them get it and that's why all the love.

[UConn James]

My in-week reading and pre-game viewing has all but ended.

 

Never thought I'd've said that 10 years ago but there it is. (Not having to listen to marblemouth Shannon Sharpe instantly makes Sundays 164% better.)

 

As The King sang, "A little less conversation, a little more action!"

[ajzepp]

My in-week reading and pre-game viewing has all but ended.

 

Never thought I'd've said that 10 years ago but there it is. (Not having to listen to marblemouth Shannon Sharpe instantly makes Sundays 164% better.)

 

As The King sang, "A little less conversation, a little more action!"

 

That's so true...I used to watch HOURS of pre-game on Sundays. I'd get up in time to see our boy Tim Russert talk some politics, and then that would segue into the ESPN pregame until the national networks finally came on air about an hour before kickoff. Now I rarely even get up before noon or 1pm on Sundays...just in time for the start of the game. I don't care about pregame analysis much at all anymore. I will still watch some post-game stuff, but like you, not much during the week.

[jwmann2]

So you like Rex Ryan, huh? I also assume you like these clowns like Jim Rome, Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless too? Because thats exactly what they are. They say outlandish things to get people to listen to them. They want attention and get paid based on their ratings. Its really all in good sportmanship, you don't want to say anything to fire up your opponent either.

[CosmicBills]

I look forward to the weekend games - both college and pro - as much as or more than anyone else. But what I am really tired of is all the sunshine that these coaches and players blow up each others rear ends in the pre-game interviews. The only one you can ever really rely on anymore for a little gamesmanship and/or trash talk is Rob Ryan. Everyone else just goes on and on about how great the other team is, position by position. It's so predictable and boring that I just don't see the point of it anymore. When Rob Ryan talked trash about Megatron, saying that he couldn't hold a candle to Dez Bryant, it was like a breath of fresh air.

 

I understand the issue with "bulletin board material" and all that, but like Flutie said back when he was a Bill, "what are they going to do, play HARDER? Why wouldn't they be playing their hardest anyway?" I wish more coaches/players would adopt that attitude and start stirring things up a bit. Heck, don't even trash talk...just discuss areas where you expect to have an ADVANTAGE here in there....where a match-up is favorable to YOU instead of just goign on and on about how tough the other team is, how the game will be hard fought, etc, etc.

 

It's a sad day when we have more trash talk going on in GOLF than we do the NFL or college football. We need more Rob Ryans!

I hear you, and agree. It's not just the NFL but it's every major sport. Players and coaches have become so cliched in their responses because with the 24 hour news cycle, ANYTHING they say can be spun one way or the other that could embarrass them or their employers. In many ways, the move to go more PC and watch what they say makes sense. People generally don't want press conferences to become WWE re-enactments.

 

But ... we forget that this is supposed to be entertainment. I know for the players and coaches it's their livelyhood and they need to respect the game. But I think there's a way to infuse fun into the sport and give fans a behind the scenes glimpse that isn't sanitized and isn't WWE either. Some athletes made their careers doing that (Yogi, Shaq, etc).

 

I don't think anyone wants every player and coach to become more like the Ryan brothers -- balance is needed. Variety. But the problem is right now everyone is white-washed. Everyone says the same quote 100 times a week regardless of the situation. Which, in many ways, is what has made ESPN and other sport outlets just a recycling center for the same 10 stories and cliches. Seriously, watching sports center is painful now to me because I know exactly what I'm going to hear and see before it ever airs. The highlights are fun ... but even those lose their appeal after awhile if there's no substance behind them.

 

This isn't the fault of the talking heads in my view (though they share some blame for killing the athletes who DO speak their minds). It's more to do with the leagues themselves. The NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL all want to protect their brand. But they forget that controversy (of the non felonious kind) is what creates entertainment in the first place.

 

It's a game played for our entertainment. Let it be entertaining.

 

So you like Rex Ryan, huh? I also assume you like these clowns like Jim Rome, Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless too? Because thats exactly what they are. They say outlandish things to get people to listen to them. They want attention and get paid based on their ratings. Its really all in good sportmanship, you don't want to say anything to fire up your opponent either.

But there's a line you can walk between talking trash just to get attention and lifting the curtain a bit for the fans to see behind the scenes. Not everyone has to like one another ... I would love to hear how Aaron Rodgers really feels about what Brett Favre said about him. But we never will because Rodgers would get killed for any answer he gave.

 

The games are losing their personality because no one wants to step over the line. As such, that line keeps being moved closer and closer to the standard cliches. Sometimes you need to step over the line just to keep it from being moved. And there are ways to do that without disrespecting yourself, your team or your opponent.

[ajzepp]

I hear you, and agree. It's not just the NFL but it's every major sport. Players and coaches have become so cliched in their responses because with the 24 hour news cycle, ANYTHING they say can be spun one way or the other that could embarrass them or their employers. In many ways, the move to go more PC and watch what they say makes sense. People generally don't want press conferences to become WWE re-enactments.

 

But ... we forget that this is supposed to be entertainment. I know for the players and coaches it's their livelyhood and they need to respect the game. But I think there's a way to infuse fun into the sport and give fans a behind the scenes glimpse that isn't sanitized and isn't WWE either. Some athletes made their careers doing that (Yogi, Shaq, etc).

 

I don't think anyone wants every player and coach to become more like the Ryan brothers -- balance is needed. Variety. But the problem is right now everyone is white-washed. Everyone says the same quote 100 times a week regardless of the situation. Which, in many ways, is what has made ESPN and other sport outlets just a recycling center for the same 10 stories and cliches. Seriously, watching sports center is painful now to me because I know exactly what I'm going to hear and see before it ever airs. The highlights are fun ... but even those lose their appeal after awhile if there's no substance behind them.

 

This isn't the fault of the talking heads in my view (though they share some blame for killing the athletes who DO speak their minds). It's more to do with the leagues themselves. The NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL all want to protect their brand. But they forget that controversy (of the non felonious kind) is what creates entertainment in the first place.

 

It's a game played for our entertainment. Let it be entertaining.

 

 

AMEN!! YES!! You said it perfectly...much better than I did! "Cliched" responses is exactly what they are, and that is exactly what I'm finding annoying. I can tell by the other responses in this thread that people have lost sight of the art of good trash talkign. It's still plenty within the realm of good sportsmanship...there is NOTHIGN wrong with a little trash talk. I'm not talking about being mean-spirited or acting like some arrogant douchebag. I'm talkign about letting yourself get into the heat of the moment BEFORE the moment takes place. Allowing yourself to feel the intensity of the impending match-up and engaging your opponent ahead of time. Just listen to what is said on the field...just the other day I saw a clip of Revis and Dez Bryant goign up agaisnt one another. They were talkign a lot of smack during the game and then afterwards they went up to one another and told each other how much respect they had for the other's game. That's the sort of thing I'm talkign about...an extension of what already happens on the field anyway.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I look forward to the weekend games - both college and pro - as much as or more than anyone else. But what I am really tired of is all the sunshine that these coaches and players blow up each others rear ends in the pre-game interviews. The only one you can ever really rely on anymore for a little gamesmanship and/or trash talk is Rob Ryan. Everyone else just goes on and on about how great the other team is, position by position. It's so predictable and boring that I just don't see the point of it anymore. When Rob Ryan talked trash about Megatron, saying that he couldn't hold a candle to Dez Bryant, it was like a breath of fresh air.

 

I understand the issue with "bulletin board material" and all that, but like Flutie said back when he was a Bill, "what are they going to do, play HARDER? Why wouldn't they be playing their hardest anyway?" I wish more coaches/players would adopt that attitude and start stirring things up a bit. Heck, don't even trash talk...just discuss areas where you expect to have an ADVANTAGE here in there....where a match-up is favorable to YOU instead of just goign on and on about how tough the other team is, how the game will be hard fought, etc, etc.

 

It's a sad day when we have more trash talk going on in GOLF than we do the NFL or college football. We need more Rob Ryans!

 

that kid's giving off a wicked stinkeye...

[CosmicBills]

AMEN!! YES!! You said it perfectly...much better than I did! "Cliched" responses is exactly what they are, and that is exactly what I'm finding annoying. I can tell by the other responses in this thread that people have lost sight of the art of good trash talkign. It's still plenty within the realm of good sportsmanship...there is NOTHIGN wrong with a little trash talk. I'm not talking about being mean-spirited or acting like some arrogant douchebag. I'm talkign about letting yourself get into the heat of the moment BEFORE the moment takes place. Allowing yourself to feel the intensity of the impending match-up and engaging your opponent ahead of time. Just listen to what is said on the field...just the other day I saw a clip of Revis and Dez Bryant goign up agaisnt one another. They were talkign a lot of smack during the game and then afterwards they went up to one another and told each other how much respect they had for the other's game. That's the sort of thing I'm talkign about...an extension of what already happens on the field anyway.

Absolutely!

 

Look at The Decision. I know it's a different sport, but Lebron TRIED to infuse more fun into the situation by making it an event -- he just chose to do it in the worst way possible. He did it for ego (which is always transparent) -- but it got the Cav's owner fired up enough to write that fantastic letter and spur on (what was left of) his fan base. Then, when the first match up came between the Heat and Cavs in Cleveland, rather then let it be what the game should have been (a tough game about revenge), the Cleveland players all bowed down to Lebron and shook his hand DURING the game.

 

Come on! The dude took a great first step towards becoming a black hat and the other team's response was to shower him with respect! That's not what the fans (on either side) want to see. The Heat fans wanted Lebron to punish Cleveland even more while the rest of the world wanted to see the underdogs get their revenge by putting Lebron in his place.

 

Regardless of where you stand on the NBA or The Decision -- what Lebron's move did was bolster the ratings and interest in the entire sport BECAUSE he did something that WASN'T cliche. Hate on him for how he did it and his motives -- that's totally fair -- but whether intentional or not, he created a controversy that carried over for the entire season and got millions of people re-invested in the NBA even if it was only to watch the trainwreck. But what they saw was that the game, which had been waning in popularity since the last strike and Jordan's departure, was actually entertaining again.

 

Of course now they screwed that all up ... but that's off the topic:)

 

The NFL isn't the NBA. It's a ratings monster. It's the undisputed king of American entertainment. More than movies or TV or any other sport. In some ways, that works against them because the NFL doesn't want to rock the boat. It's working as it is ... so why change it up? And any player or coach who steps over the line gets dinged. I get it from a straight business perspective ... but they're losing sight of the bigger picture. It's supposed to be entertaining.

 

I want to hear James Harrison go off on the refs after a game without fear of getting killed by the talking heads or the league office. I want to hear Megatron fire back at Rob Ryan after he torched the Dallas secondary -- even if it's just a classy "moving on" kind of sound bite. Hell, as much hate as Donte got for his twittering (which I don't follow so I'm talking out my ass), at least he was speaking his mind and generating something for fans to talk about between games.

 

It's just funny ... technology has given us more access than ever to hear the insights of our favorite players and coaches and yet we're getting less than ever before simply because the corporate mentality of professional sports is afraid of it. There has to be a line of course but that line doesn't have to be just cliche after cliche after cliche.

[Nanker]

My in-week reading and pre-game viewing has all but ended.

 

Never thought I'd've said that 10 years ago but there it is. (Not having to listen to marblemouth Shannon Sharpe instantly makes Sundays 164% better.)

 

As The King sang, "A little less conversation, a little more action!"

That sounds like me.

 

That's so true...I used to watch HOURS of pre-game on Sundays. I'd get up in time to see our boy Tim Russert talk some politics, and then that would segue into the ESPN pregame until the national networks finally came on air about an hour before kickoff. Now I rarely even get up before noon or 1pm on Sundays...just in time for the start of the game. I don't care about pregame analysis much at all anymore. I will still watch some post-game stuff, but like you, not much during the week.

Yep. I listen a lot to Sirius NFL radio going to and from work each day. They have the best coverage, but even that drags when they drone on for twenty minutes about a single subject or a team I have no interest in.

 

that kid's giving off a wicked stinkeye...

 

Best avatar EVER!

[Tcali]

One reason for all the accolades strewn about regarding opponents is because they're actually true. What are there, 1900 NFL players out of 10 million wannabe's? The vast majority of them are human freaks by birth who dedicate themselves to develop their bodies and skills for this rarest of opportunity. As fans, we take dark joy lambasting certain players as worhtless, but the reality is none of us could do better.

 

I, for one, am getting pretty sick of the showoff show-boating ("I'm gonna get ejected and fined in the 1st quarter this week!") that's growing every week. It's a team game made up of special athletes who must contribute their best to achieve success as a team. Most of them get it and that's why all the love.

 

I think the Bills have dipped into the 10 million wannabes a few too many times.

[ajzepp]

that kid's giving off a wicked stinkeye...

 

LOL, yeah he is

[KD in CA]

That's so true...I used to watch HOURS of pre-game on Sundays. I'd get up in time to see our boy Tim Russert talk some politics, and then that would segue into the ESPN pregame until the national networks finally came on air about an hour before kickoff. Now I rarely even get up before noon or 1pm on Sundays...just in time for the start of the game. I don't care about pregame analysis much at all anymore. I will still watch some post-game stuff, but like you, not much during the week.

 

I thought the whole point of this thread was you ranting about the "pre-game BS"??

[ajzepp]

Absolutely!

 

Look at The Decision. I know it's a different sport, but Lebron TRIED to infuse more fun into the situation by making it an event -- he just chose to do it in the worst way possible. He did it for ego (which is always transparent) -- but it got the Cav's owner fired up enough to write that fantastic letter and spur on (what was left of) his fan base. Then, when the first match up came between the Heat and Cavs in Cleveland, rather then let it be what the game should have been (a tough game about revenge), the Cleveland players all bowed down to Lebron and shook his hand DURING the game.

 

Come on! The dude took a great first step towards becoming a black hat and the other team's response was to shower him with respect! That's not what the fans (on either side) want to see. The Heat fans wanted Lebron to punish Cleveland even more while the rest of the world wanted to see the underdogs get their revenge by putting Lebron in his place.

 

Regardless of where you stand on the NBA or The Decision -- what Lebron's move did was bolster the ratings and interest in the entire sport BECAUSE he did something that WASN'T cliche. Hate on him for how he did it and his motives -- that's totally fair -- but whether intentional or not, he created a controversy that carried over for the entire season and got millions of people re-invested in the NBA even if it was only to watch the trainwreck. But what they saw was that the game, which had been waning in popularity since the last strike and Jordan's departure, was actually entertaining again.

 

Of course now they screwed that all up ... but that's off the topic:)

 

The NFL isn't the NBA. It's a ratings monster. It's the undisputed king of American entertainment. More than movies or TV or any other sport. In some ways, that works against them because the NFL doesn't want to rock the boat. It's working as it is ... so why change it up? And any player or coach who steps over the line gets dinged. I get it from a straight business perspective ... but they're losing sight of the bigger picture. It's supposed to be entertaining.

 

I want to hear James Harrison go off on the refs after a game without fear of getting killed by the talking heads or the league office. I want to hear Megatron fire back at Rob Ryan after he torched the Dallas secondary -- even if it's just a classy "moving on" kind of sound bite. Hell, as much hate as Donte got for his twittering (which I don't follow so I'm talking out my ass), at least he was speaking his mind and generating something for fans to talk about between games.

 

It's just funny ... technology has given us more access than ever to hear the insights of our favorite players and coaches and yet we're getting less than ever before simply because the corporate mentality of professional sports is afraid of it. There has to be a line of course but that line doesn't have to be just cliche after cliche after cliche.

 

That's a fantastic point about social media...in fact, I think you could even make the case that the reason why what these athletes are saying on twitter is because people WANT MORE of exactly what we're talking about. They DO want to be entertained, like you said, and quite frankly I am entertained when I hear all the feedback - positive and negative - about what is said on twitter. It wasn't really a trash talking example, but look how much mileage Stevie got out of it when he tweeted to God about the dropped TD pass? That was all OVER the damn place. And there are lots of examples of that too, cause nearly every time I turn on sports center or NFL Total Access they are saying what so and so tweeted.

 

I know Chan and a lot of these players haven't been here for ten years, but if I were on the Bills and we were going into the Pats game a few weeks ago, I would have NO PROBLEM talking about how frustrating it's been to drop so many in a row to these guys and how I can't wait to hit the field and leave it all out there trying to up-end those fukkers!!!

 

You make a good point about Lebron, too...I hadn't really thought of it that way, but yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing that can make for a lot of controversy/discussion/etc. Even when he, Wade, and Bosch came out with the smoke and the fanfare and all that...I don't really see anything wrong with that at all. They didn't back it up, of course, and I was one of the first ones to jump all OVER them when Dallas took them down, but that's what makes sports fun!

 

I thought the whole point of this thread was you ranting about the "pre-game BS"??

 

I still see a lot of these pre-game interviews when I watch Total Access, Sports Center, talk radio, etc. I don't make it a priority to get my arse out of bed on Sundays to see it anymore, but I still hear it just due to how much time I still spend with these programs. You can pretty much predict what they're going to say no matter when it happens, seems like. A lot of it seems to happen when the media have the telephonic press conferences/interviews with the coaches during the week. Those have become really boring unless there is something going on with the team where we're awaiting news, you know?

[ajzepp]

If anyone saw the banter between Norv Turner and Rex Ryan this week, it's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. They each took a couple shots at each other, and it made for some entertaining discussion on sports radio this past week...now the game has a little more hype for Sunday...dig it?