While the NFLPA’s ad leaves much to be desired, it brings up an important question: why is the NFLPA creating ads aimed at the NFL to let their players play?  It’s not like Roger Goodell is going to see the ad and suddenly change his tone during the negotiation sessions.  What the ad is really trying to do is get fans on the side of the Players’ Association.

My question to this is simple: why?

Why does it benefit the NFLPA to have the fans on their side?  Even if the fans did take the lead and start demanding that the owners capitulate on their demands, do we really think that this group of millionaires and billionaires is going to roll over because we asked them to?  This entire negotiation is about money and which side will get more of it; neither side is going to give up some of that simply because the fans chose a side.

We all want football.  Despite having the shortest season in terms of games and calendar days, the NFL dominates the sports spectrum in the United States.  A lockout of any kind, but certainly one that would cancel games, would cripple the sport.  Again: we all want football.  But does choosing a side help us get any closer to an agreement that would avoid a lockout?

I’d love to know how it could help, but at this point I don’t see how it would.

With an increasing number of opinions scattered throughout radio and television airwaves (does that still apply for TVs?), as well as the Internet, it seems that calls for greatness in all things sports come much faster than they should.  I have previously written about which current Major League Baseball players will likely be Hall of Famers and despite the huge attention paid to players like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Cliff Lee, none of them would be Hall of Famers if their careers ended today.  In the end, I counted eleven players within the hundreds that play at the Major League level who would make it to Cooperstown.

But with more reactions and commentary from more and more people (bloggers, of which I am obviously one), we tend to be over-the-top with declarations like “he’s the best,” “he’s a definite MVP,” or “we’ll see him in Canton one day, no doubt.”

But let’s bring this back to coaching.  I have also written about former Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach Mike Brown, who was fired because the team thought that LeBron James didn’t like him.  Well, they didn’t say that for sure; it was because Brown couldn’t win enough in the playoffs, despite an NBA Finals appearance, something that many coaches throughout the history of the Association have been unable to do.

With that being said, I decided to check out our current pool of NFL coaches to see if the same can be said: that there are plenty of coaches who have won a lot of games, but who haven’t done enough in the post-season.  Of the 32 active head coaches, only five have won Super Bowls, which means that 27 have not.  Those five are Bill Belichick, who has won three, Mike Shanahan, who has two, and Mike Tomlin, Tom Coughlin and Sean Payton, who each have one.

And that’s it.  No other active coach has won a Super Bowl.  To bring the statistic even more into the current tense, only four of those five above have won since 2000, as Shanahan won his two Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999 with the Denver Broncos, a team he no longer coaches.

But winning a Super Bowl shouldn’t be the only standard.  Clearly getting to the Super Bowl is a remarkable achievement.  So how many active coaches have made a Super Bowl but lost?  How about six: Ken Whisenhunt, Lovie Smith, Jim Caldwell, Andy Reid, Jeff Fisher and John Fox.  All of these men are still with their teams, except for Fox, who was let go by the Carolina Panthers this season and is now the head coach in Denver.  So there you have it.  Ten coaches out of 32 who have made a Super Bowl.

I will add that there are currently four coaches who have yet to coach an NFL game: Ron Rivera, the newly hired coach in Carolina; Pat Shurmer in Cleveland; Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco; and Hue Jackson in Oakland.  In addition, Leslie Frazier and Jason Garrett were both interim head coaches this season, but have been named full time coaches.  So there aren’t really 22 head coaches who have not been good enough to lead their teams to the Super Bowl…yet.

Of the four teams remaining in the NFL playoffs, only the Pittsburgh Steelers have a coach who has won a Super Bowl.  If the New York Jets knock off the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, we will be guaranteed a first-time Super Bowl winner.

Another interesting fact that I picked up is that all four remaining head coaches (Ryan, Tomlin, Mike McCarthy and Lovie Smith) are all still on their first jobs.  While this also happened last year, it is something that doesn’t occur often, as NFL owners love hiring head coaches with previous head coaching experience.  Maybe that trend should change, as only two of the 12 head coaches who brought their teams to the playoffs have had jobs before their current ones (Belichick, who previously coached the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets for a day, and Pete Carroll, who coached the Patriots and the Jets before landing in Seattle).

While we get ready for a big weekend of football, just remember that if you consider Bill Belichick the best coach in the NFL, he won’t be on a sideline this weekend.

Click the picture for a better view.

Today’s Foundation Friday entry is about The Brees Dream Foundation started by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Formed in 2003, the Foundation’s mission is to “advance research in the fight against cancer and provide care, education and opportunities for children in need.”  To date, the Foundation has already committed more than $4.5 million to different charitable and academic causes in the New Orleans, San Diego and West Lafayette/Purdue communities (Brees has played for the Saints, the San Diego Chargers and his college ball at Purdue University).

What is nice about The Brees Dream Foundation is that it appears Brees is more than just a name associated with a nice cause.  Brees is the President of the Foundation and even signed the 2008 IRS Form 990 as such.  One of the programs listed on the document is the Making the Grade Program, which “provides grants to various K-12 schools in the greater New Orleans area for educational programs and capital improvements.”  In addition, the Foundation lists a “bike giveaway program for children in New Orleans” and the Rebuilding Dreams Campaign which “provides funding for projects in the New Orleans Area for several schools and parks including Lusher Charter School, Edible Schoolyard NOLA, New Orleans Outreach, Beacon of Hope Resources Centers, Best Buddies Louisiana and New Orleans Charter Science and Math.”

According to the IRS filing, Brittany Brees, Drew’s wife, plays a prominent role in the Foundation as Vice President and Treasurer, spending at least 10 hours per week working with the multiple causes they have decided to help.  John Palguta is listed as Secretary and there are no other officers listed, which furthers my belief that this is a solid foundation that is in the business of helping others.  In some instances you will see long lists of directors and other officers who are interested in adding their name to a good cause but doing nothing after that.  With a small list of officers, plus the confirmation that “the organization did not compensate any officer, director, trustee, or key employee,” you get the feeling that they are doing this work for the right reason: to help people in need.

Page 34 of the 2008 IRS filing gives a few examples of some of the organizations that The Brees Dream Foundation is helping:

- Friends of Scott Foundation (San Diego, CA)
- Lusher Charter School (New Orleans, LA)
- New Orleans Outreach
- Purdue Athletics Life Success Program
- Rady’s Children Hospital (San Diego, CA)
- Advocates for the Arts (Lusher)
- Beacon of Hope Resource Center (New Orleans, LA)
- Best Buddies Louisiana
- Edible Schoolyard NOLA
- Foundation for Science & Mathematics Education (New Orleans, LA)
- Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

A wonderful Foundation started by a powerful athlete who appears to have been doing even more since his Super Bowl win last season.  Great work, Mr. Brees.

Click here to donate to The Brees Dream Foundation

Arguably the best safety in football (I know, Troy Polamalu is a beast, that’s why I said “arguably”), Reed will miss the first six weeks of the season, at a minimum.  While no one player on the defensive side of the ball can ruin the entire unit, Reed is definitely one of the most important pieces for the Ravens.  If you think missing your best safety isn’t important, ask Steelers fans how the team looked after Polamalu went down last year.

And don’t look now, but Ray Lewis is 35 years old.  No other player on the roster recorded more than 89 tackles last season.  Last year’s sack leader was Trevor Price, who finished the season with 6.5.  The historically scary defensive roster in Baltimore now seems rather ordinary.

The defense may have the history, but the last time I checked, football is played in the present.  If Baltimore is really going to be a Super Bowl contender, the defense has to be able to step up to the level that the offense has now been placed on.

Theoretically Bud Light could become the Official Beer of Fantasy Football by ESPN.com or even NFL.com, both big players in the fantasy football universe.

What’s next, Coors Light becoming the Official Beer of Checking Your Fantasy Team Constantly on Sundays?

**UPDATE** Miller Lite is apparently also a proud sponsor of Fantasy Draft Week on ESPN.com

So, since my previous strategies clearly have not worked, I figured I would just make all of my picks now, halfway through the preseason.  I will also make picks throughout the season and if my preseason choices are better than my in-season picks, then I’ll do preseason choices from now on.

Without further ado…

Week 1: Tennessee Titans at home vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 2: Carolina Panthers at home vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 3: New England Patriots at home vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 4: Green Bay Packers at home vs. Detroit Lions

Week 5: Baltimore Ravens at home vs. Denver Broncos

Week 6: Pittsburgh Steelers at home vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 7: New Orleans Saints at home vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 8: Dallas Cowboys at home vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 9: Minnesota Vikings at home vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 10: San Francisco 49ers at home vs. St. Louis Rams

Week 11: Cincinnati Bengals at home vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 12: Denver Broncos at home vs. St. Louis Rams

Week 13: San Diego Chargers at home vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 14: Washington Redskins at home vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 15: Indianapolis Colts at home vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 16: Miami Dolphins at home vs. Detroit Lions

Week 17: New York Jets at home vs. Buffalo Bills

There you have it.  As you can tell by my picks, I do not have high expectations for the Raiders, Lions, Bills, Browns Jaguars, Rams or Buccaneers.  I’m sure one of these teams will be this year’s sleeper team (there are already a plethora of articles about how the Raiders or Lions will be good this year) and win ten games, but luckily I can always fall back on the “how should I have known? It was still the preseason when I made these picks” argument if these go horribly wrong.

Over six seasons: 16 games, 3,852 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions

To give you some perspective, Kyle Orton of the Denver Broncos threw for 3,802 yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions during the 2009 season.

Orton wasn’t a bad quarterback last season, but his statistics can hardly be considered elite.  So whose career averages are similar to Orton’s 2009 season after removing his best and worst seasons?

Scroll down to find out…

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That’s right, none other than New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady.

And the seasons that were removed:

I didn’t think it would be fair to include his rookie year when he barely played in the regular season and 2008 when he was hurt on the first drive of the season, so technically four seasons were removed.

Either way, it’s something to consider before he becomes one of the richest players in the NFL. I understand he has been incredible over his career, but it’s interesting to think that he is about to become one of the highest paid players in the NFL when the better part of his career is likely behind him. Does anyone realistically believe that he will lead the Patriots to four more Super Bowls over the next six to eight years that he has left? If not, why does he deserve the payday now?

**UPDATE** For those who are curious, Peyton Manning has averaged 4,183 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over his career after removing his rookie season in 1998 and his 49 touchdown season in 2004.

After finishing second in the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year voting last season (an outrage that I have written about before), Revis is now looking to become the highest paid player at his position, a spot currently held by Nnamdi Asomugha of the Oakland Raiders, who last year signed a three year, $45.3 million contract, which included $28.5 million in guaranteed money.  New York Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan has publicly stated that he thinks Revis deserves to be the highest paid player at his position and thanks to the Asomugha contract, we know what the floor is for such a deal.

The New York Daily News is reporting that the Jets and Revis’ agents are now $40 million away from reaching a deal.  Revis continues to ask for a specific figure of guaranteed money, while the Jets are adamant about agreeing on a total compensation amount before discussing any type of guaranteed payout.  This, unfortunately for Jets fans, is ridiculous.  Guaranteed money is the most important part of the contract for professional football players because of the fact that teams can cut players at any moment with almost no notice.  The Jets have reportedly offered Revis a ten-year, $120 million contract, but with no specifics about guaranteed money.  Revis’ agent explains why this seemingly generous offer is not:

“If the Jets had offered a two-year, $1 billion contract with $1 million this year and $999 million next year, that is not guaranteed. The contract is only worth $1 million.  But it would be reported that Revis was offered a two-year, $1 billion deal.”

Again, guaranteed money is the key here.  With uncertainty about whether the next NFL season will be in 2011 or 2012, many players are trying to lock in as much money as possible as quickly as possible.  While players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady continue to negotiate for their deals, 2009 NFL sack leader Elvis Dumervil of the Denver Broncos has already inked his extension; and that deal is probably why the Jets are hesitating to lock up Revis.

Dumervil signed a six-year, $63 million extension with the Broncos last month, which included almost $43 million in guaranteed money.  Unfortunately for Dumervil, and possibly more so for the Broncos, Dumervil tore his pectoral muscle in training camp and could potentially miss the entire 2010 season.  Dumervil must be thrilled that he signed his contract in time, but many teams around the League were immediately reminded why giving away tens of millions of dollars of guaranteed money is so risky.

Football is an amazingly dangerous sport that is constantly filled with injuries, which is why players are always looking for their biggest payday right now.  However, it is also the reason why teams are so hesitant to give exorbitant amounts of money to players who could theoretically have career-ending injuries at any moment.  Sure, insurance helps teams pay for some, if not most, of a player’s salary (and maybe bonuses), but ultimately it’s a far greater cost to pay out this guaranteed money and then lose a player to injury.  While this probably isn’t the reason why the Jets are hesitating to give Revis the raise that he, and many others, feels he deserves, it has to be part of the equation.

The story going around now is that the Jets and Revis are $40 million apart on their negotiations, which I would argue is not quite accurate.  The Jets’ offer of ten years and $120 million averages out to $12 million per season, whereas Revis is looking for an amount closer to $16 million; at ten years, that’s $160 million in total, hence the difference of $40 million.  However, Revis has not publicly stated that he wants or needs ten years on his contract; all he is looking for is a boatload of guaranteed money.  If the Jets want to give him a $120 million contract, I’m sure he’d gladly take it as long as it included somewhere around $40 million in guaranteed money.  Instead of saying the team and the player are $40 million off in negotiations, let’s be clear that Revis continues to demand more guaranteed money while the Jets are still talking about total compensation.  I guess it’s not easy to negotiate when you’re not negotiating about the same thing.

The NFL Draft is always a tough time for NFL veterans because they see unproven rookies grab enormous contracts despite never playing a down in the League.  The St. Louis Rams recently gave former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford $50 million in guaranteed money; now, Darrelle Revis wants his payday and he most certainly thinks he deserves more than Bradford.  Unfortunately for the Jets, two other important players are looking for their own paydays.

Linebacker David Harris and center Nick Mangold are at the end of their contracts and are looking to lock in their own amount of guaranteed money.  Revis has three years left, while the other two have one year each; how do you think they will feel if Revis gets his money before they do?  It could be a very very sticky year for the Jets.

My final point on all of this: Jets fans want the team to just give Revis his money.  When was the last time a player held out and had the full support of the fan base?  This is an incredibly powerful situation that Revis is now in, which is why I think he’ll end up with somewhere around $35 million guaranteed based on a $100+ million contract.  Hopefully it’s before training camp ends…

Well, if we’re going to turn everything upside down, why don’t we actually do it so something comes out of it that is at least partially coherent.  With that, below are my suggestions for a total realignment in college sports.  Five power conferences, with a few schools left out…but there are always some that are left out, so who cares!?

West States Conference

USC, UCLA, Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Colorado, Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada, BYU, Utah

The Great Plains Conference

Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Kansas, Baylor, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Arkansas, LSU, New Mexico, New Mexico State

Southeastern Conference

Florida, Florida State, Miami (FL), Alabama, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Memphis, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest

Midwestern Conference

Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Purdue, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette

Big East Conference

Syracuse, Boston College, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Connecticut, Rutgers, Temple, Marshall, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence, George Washington

I realize there are some bigger or popular schools missing like DePaul, South Florida, and Gonzaga, but I wasn’t quite sure where they would even fit in.  The Big East clearly is in trouble with only 10 football playing schools, but at least it cuts it down from the ridiculousness that it has now…and since I am a Villanova grad, I had to put them somewhere even though they are D-1AA in football (I know they call it something else, but it will always be D-1AA to me).

Anyway, it’s a thought.  Chew on it.