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Best / Worst NFL Columns (1 Viewer)

daivos

Footballguy
What are you best / worst NFL columns?

I do read other sites, but amazingly enough, all my best / worst come from CNNSI.

In my opinion, anything written by Dr. Z is complete and utter crap. About two years ago, I made it a point not to click on anything written by him in hopes that the lack of web traffic might get SI to reconsider his prominant position. I found that I rarely, if ever, agreed with his point of view and I thought his year-end announcer grading was the absolute worst.

I was once a fan of Peter King, but his column has grown with a lot of fluff. I really could care less about his opinion on non-NFL issues, and this includes coffee, House and the war in Iraq. If I do bother to read King anymore, I always skip ahead to the 'things I think' section, which is the only section that has any value at all anymore.

The one column I look forward to on a weekly basis is Don Banks, who doesn't weigh his column down with personal opinions or over-the-top biases. He has some good inside information and tends to talk only about football.

 
I enjoy rehashing this topic once a year to see if there is other stuff out there that I should be reading...

I read Kings MMQB, TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) by Gregg Easterbrooke on ESPNs page 2, I used to read Bill Simmons when he was actually writing...and all three of these guys give very different perpsective...and all three are guilty of having a lot of non-football info that turns off other people... Thursdays I enjoy reading Joe's Random Shots, you can tell he enjoys writing about football...

I read Don Banks, occasionally check out 'Talented Mr Roto' on ESPN...but really haven't found much from him.

I am hoping to find others to add to this list...

 
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I enjoy rehashing this topic once a year to see if there is other stuff out there that I should be reading...I read Kings MMQB, TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) by Gregg Easterbrooke on ESPNs page 2, I used to read Bill Simmons when he was actually writing...and all three of these guys give very different perpsective...and all three are guilty of having a lot of non-football info that turns off other people... Thursdays I enjoy reading Joe's Random Shots, you can tell he enjoys writing about football...I read Don Banks, occasionally check out 'Talented Mr Roto' on ESPN...but really haven't found much from him.I am hoping to find others to add to this list...
Good stuff. Easterbrook is good. He does indeed pontificate about a lot of non-football stuff, but he isn't egotistical and always writes enjoyably. Did Simmons leave/get booted from ESPN.com? I swear I saw that somewhere . . . .
 
I enjoy rehashing this topic once a year to see if there is other stuff out there that I should be reading...I read Kings MMQB, TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) by Gregg Easterbrooke on ESPNs page 2, I used to read Bill Simmons when he was actually writing...and all three of these guys give very different perpsective...and all three are guilty of having a lot of non-football info that turns off other people... Thursdays I enjoy reading Joe's Random Shots, you can tell he enjoys writing about football...I read Don Banks, occasionally check out 'Talented Mr Roto' on ESPN...but really haven't found much from him.I am hoping to find others to add to this list...
Good stuff. Easterbrook is good. He does indeed pontificate about a lot of non-football stuff, but he isn't egotistical and always writes enjoyably. Did Simmons leave/get booted from ESPN.com? I swear I saw that somewhere . . . .
Simmons is in a pissing match with ESPN right now. He has been on a 10 week break finishing up his second book...and will be coming back this week since the NFL is starting up again.
 
I enjoy Easterbrook's colum, but you have to be aware of his ego as a reader because he is prone to distortion of fact to support one of his theories or "immutable rules." I read King just because he obviously has great access to players and coaches. With King, I only read the top stories each week - don't care about his personal opinion ("Things I think" stuff), which more often than not turns out to be stunningly wrong.

I too am amazed that a prominent sports publication gives bandwidth and (sometimes) actual ink space to Dr. Z's senile, irrelevant and often absurd pontifications.

 
I like Easterbrook. Any of the regulars on Football Outsiders. Rich Gosselin and Bob McGinn. And for pure fun, I used to really enjoy Rich Eisen over at NFL.com. Wish he'd write more.

 
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I like Easterbrook. Any of the regulars on Football Outsiders. Rich Gosselin and Bob McGinn. And for pure fun, I used to really enjoy Rich Eisen over at NFL.com. Wish he'd write more.
Love pretty much everything over at Football Outsiders.
I went over to Outsiders and checked out their site... i have heard about them for years, and I have tried to figure our their site before....Where do I go to even get started? Is it mainly the message boards, or do they actually have articles they publish that you like, and if so what is the best way to find them...?TIA....
 
So if you disagree with the opinions expressed by a columnist that makes him/her a bad writer?

Dr. Z has forgotten more about football than anyone, and I mean anyone, on this board will ever know. Too much red wine and redhead talk but his football knowledge is second to none. His love for everything that goes on in the trenches is particularly insightful and he makes some very valid points about announcers who simply don't know how to draw attention to the things that the general viewing audience may have missed.

I think the powers that be over at SI insist that their columnists add fluff bits to their articles in some mistaken belief that it will attract a wider audience. I guess the five additional wine & coffee drinkers that King and Z get every week must be paying dividends for SI.

 
I like Easterbrook. Any of the regulars on Football Outsiders. Rich Gosselin and Bob McGinn. And for pure fun, I used to really enjoy Rich Eisen over at NFL.com. Wish he'd write more.
Love pretty much everything over at Football Outsiders.
I went over to Outsiders and checked out their site... i have heard about them for years, and I have tried to figure our their site before....Where do I go to even get started? Is it mainly the message boards, or do they actually have articles they publish that you like, and if so what is the best way to find them...?TIA....
Yeah, their layout isn't all that great. Essentially that's in large letters on the main page is an article though. I think their main articles that they run every week are: Scramble For the Ball, Every Play Doesn't Count, The Week in Quotes, Walkthrough, Any Given Sunday and their DVOA rankingsIf you go to their Archives link near the top middle of the page, it will give you links to all of their features that they have.
 
I don't read many NFL columnists, but I was perusing Matthew Berry's fantasy column on ESPN this morning and this made me wince....

Week 1 players I love

Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins: Expect coach Jim Zorn to take pressure off QB Jason Campbell in a big road game by handing off to Clinton. And this year, I think Portis should have themes for his wacky press conference characters. I nominate "One-hit wonder rappers from the early '90s." First up, Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Chris Cooley, TE, Redskins: Last year, Campbell threw more touchdowns to Chris Cooley than to everyone else combined.
Ouch. :goodposting:
 
That is not only cold and brutal, it is ill-informed and simply not true.

Sir Mix-A-Lot was so much more than that. From "Posse on Broadway" right on through Return of the Bumpasaurus, he was the voice of a generation.

 
That is not only cold and brutal, it is ill-informed and simply not true.

Sir Mix-A-Lot was so much more than that. From "Posse on Broadway" right on through Return of the Bumpasaurus, he was the voice of a generation.
:goodposting: Are you drunk?
 
That is not only cold and brutal, it is ill-informed and simply not true.

Sir Mix-A-Lot was so much more than that. From "Posse on Broadway" right on through Return of the Bumpasaurus, he was the voice of a generation.
I completely agree. SWASS was an awesome release. Mall Dropper was :D
 
anything written by Dr. Z is complete and utter crap.
:lmao: I thought I was the only one who got this. He is SO self-indulgent and insists on repeatedly trying (and failing) to make these witty, clever remarks. ie an annoying twit.King is not much better. He is occasionally worthwhile, but it is not worth wading through his similarly idiotic, cutesy routine to get to it. Hey, "I think I think," how about Starbucks and guess what this hotel I stayed at blah blah giggle.....gawd. Just go write for Oprah and get it over with.

Various others are good at various times, but no single one stands out offhand IMO. Seems sports writing has gone the way sports is going in general, ie away from the sport itself and into this circus clown "entertainment" BS, with ESPN as the ringmaster. :vomit:

 
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I can't stand Dr. Z and Peter King. Both of them are a waste of time IMO. I like Banks and Tucker quite a bit, though, and Brooks isn't bad either so I still visit SI. I also like Clayton and Pasquarelli at ESPN. I am looking forward to Pasquarelli coming back. He hasn't written anything in a while due to illness. Chadiha and Mosely are ok sometimes too. Other people at ESPN are just meh at best IMO, although sometimes they have some good chats.

 
I enjoy Easterbrook's colum, but you have to be aware of his ego as a reader because he is prone to distortion of fact to support one of his theories or "immutable rules." I read King just because he obviously has great access to players and coaches. With King, I only read the top stories each week - don't care about his personal opinion ("Things I think" stuff), which more often than not turns out to be stunningly wrong.I too am amazed that a prominent sports publication gives bandwidth and (sometimes) actual ink space to Dr. Z's senile, irrelevant and often absurd pontifications.
That assessment is dead on. 3 to 4 years ago Easterbrook was at the top of his game…now he’s just a complainer. It’s painful to read some of his crap nowadays.
 

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