Are Quarterbacks Human? (And Other Stupid Thoughts After Five Weeks of Football)
Wait, what?
Sports?
I thought this site was about movies and TV shows and unnecessarily complex interpretations of media?
Have no fear, obnoxious hot takes are here to stay. Today, however, those hot takes are about sports. Deal with it.
The return of the NFL amidst a global pandemic that has claimed over 200,000 lives in the U.S. alone was and continues to be a controversial matter. As a huge football fan, I couldn't help but feel excitement as the 2020 season kicked off, but the NFL's lack of a coherent COVID-19 plan has remained an ugly wart on what could have been a welcome distraction.
Of course, the very notion of sports as "distraction" is tricky. The NBA, for example, took great strides to not become a distraction from the very real events happening outside its bubble in Orlanda, FL. Players wore gear dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement, and spoke on issues of race at every opportunity. The league supported efforts to combat COVID-19 in the Orlando region, and even tackled issues of voter suppression as well. If basketball were to be a welcome distraction after a distressing 2020, the NBA knew it had to be a meaningful one.
The NHL made lesser but still respectable efforts to provide entertainment in a safe and responsible manner. The MLB, after learning its lesson the hard way early on in its 60-game season, wised up and implemented a bubble for its playoffs. Now, as the most popular sport in America wraps up its fifth week, it is worth questioning whether or not football should have returned at all.
Trust me when I say that suggestion pains me very much to admit. I am an avid football fan, and setting my fantasy football lineup each week has been just one of many much-needed diversions the NFL has granted me over the last month. Still, I worry that the cultural impact of this unprecedented NFL season far outweighs any personal enjoyment I or others might derive from it. My concern is not for the Tennessee Titans or the New England Patriots, who have a combined 28 cases of COVID-19 between them, but with the fans at home and, in some cases, at stadiums across the country.
Sure, it is despicable that the NFL and some of its franchises would put the health of players, coaches, and staff members at risk, but I mostly trust that these positive cases are hiccups in what has otherwise been a surprisingly smooth start to the football season. What truly disgusts me about the NFL's approach to COVID-19 is just how apathetic it has been. This apathy stems not just from the league's front offices, but from coaches and even broadcasters around the league.
The NFL has fined three head coaches thus far for improper mask etiquette: Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks, Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, and Vic Fangio of the Denver Broncos. Each of these coaches seems to have learned their lesson since being slapped with a $100,000 fine, but the damage may already be done. I'm not talking about the spreading of the coronavirus, although that is a legitimate and terrifying concern. I am more so scared that images of NFL personnel not wearing masks could influence viewers to do the same. The NFL has a responsibility to set an example for its fans. The NFL's close relationship with the military and American exceptionalism more broadly has already garnered both the league and its fanbase a certain reputation, and while I hesitate to cast all football fans in any one light, there is certainly a large swath of NFL fans who are in desperate need of proper guidance on COVID-19 safety protocols.
Nevertheless, the league has punished those who have violated its COVID-19 regulations. Perhaps even more concerning is the behavior of the men calling the games on FOX, CBS, and ESPN. When the San Francisco 49ers met the Philadelphia Eagles for Sunday Night Football during week 4 of the NFL season, the broadcast cut to Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth in the booth early in the second half. Both men were wearing masks, and they were even standing at a proper distance from one another. And yet, the words that left their mouths were undeniably stupid. Michaels and Collinsworth were required to wear masks by Santa Clara County Officials, and were clearly not happy about it.
"We're good boys..." Michaels said. "We're going to get lollipops at the end of the game tonight." Collinsworth complained that his ears were hurting him and Michaels even ended the broadcast by promising to "get rid of these things as soon as we possibly can."
While broadcasters of any sporting event have not been expected to wear masks, it is not at all unreasonable for Santa Clara county to require it of the Sunday Night Football crew. Their decision to make light of and complain about the mask mandate is unbelievably ignorant. The United States has the largest COVID-19 death toll in the world, and it continues to climb everyday. And yet, Chris Collinsworth's ears hurt. Poor thing. Their rhetoric may seem harmless in isolation, but it almost certainly inspired those watching at home to take masks a little less seriously, inevitably endangering those around them.
It's not just the on-air personalities that make these NFL broadcasts dangerous, however. For some inexplicable reason, roughly half of the franchises in the NFL are allowing fans back into stadiums. While the varying amounts allowed by each team may seem safe, the broadcasts make it clear that they are not. No matter how few fans are allowed inside a stadium, it seems they all manage to crowd together in one or two sections, very few of them wearing masks for the duration of the game.
When Dak Prescott went down with a gruesome ankle injury Sunday in the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium, it was undoubtedly disheartening. Even this Eagles fan felt for Dak in that moment. It's never good for a sport when one of its stars goes down like that, and Dak's honesty regarding his mental health struggles has always made him an admirable athlete in my eyes. During the CBS broadcast of Sunday's Giants-Cowboys game, however, producers made the boneheaded decision to cut to the crowd at AT&T Stadium. Unsurprisingly, fans were packed in alongside each other, leaning on one another and screaming (without masks, of course) in agony. Certainly, Cowboys fans had a right to be upset. Their franchise QB (pay the man, Jerry!) just saw his season come to an end in the blink of an eye. But for Dallas to permit its fans to comingle in such a way, and for the broadcast to use this kind of fan interaction to generate pathos under circumstances that already had a surplus of it, is so incredibly tone-deaf.
As my very own Philadelphia Eagles are now opting to welcome fans back into Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, I recognize that this is the direction the league is heading. Still, I don't want to see it. I don't want to know about it. Fans may be returning around the league, and I wish all the best to those fans brave (or is it stupid?) enough to venture back into the stadium, but broadcasts should not be including shots of fans as if we are under normal circumstances, because this NFL season is many, many things, but normal is certainly not one of them.
Put COVID-19 aside for a second. The NFL this year is still pretty fucking abnormal. DeAndre Hopkins is a Cardinal and Tom Brady is a Buccaneer (and maybe not a very good one either.) Teddy Bridgewater has turned a rebuilding Carolina Panthers franchise into one of the most exciting teams to watch around the league, while Adam Gase and the New York Jets stand a genuine chance at going 0-16. Okay, maybe that last one is pretty normal. Still, the NFL of today looks drastically different from the NFL just one season ago, and a lot of that has to do with the quarterbacks.
And if there's an important lesson to be learned from this aberration of a football season: quarterbacks, despite popular belief, are people too.
The humanity of athletes has always been downplayed in order to justify extreme expectations and, in many cases, evil exploitation. However, the NFL has been particularly complicit in the dehumanization of its athletes. Colin Kaepernick made this effort rather transparent when he was so heavily vilified for making an overwhelmingly normal political gesture. Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem after being advised to do so by teammate Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret. And yet, fans were up in arms. Even owners, coaches, and players around the league took issue with the peaceful protest advanced by Kaepernick, as well as Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, and many others across the NFL.
Perhaps some fans viewed the knee as offensive. And if so, those people are ignorant and beyond help. However, Kaepernick's protest highlighted an even more troubling phenomenon, one that I refer to as the "stick to sports" conundrum. By and large, fans were not necessarily bothered by Kaepernick's specific form of protest, but rather the fact that he had any political agency at all. Sports fans are a passionate bunch. They love their teams and the players that play for them, but it is a very limited kind of love. Love for an athlete is more often than not limited to an admiration for their physical ability and on-field accomplishments. When players like Kaepernick disrupt that relationship, drawing attention to their existence off the field, fans grow uncomfortable. It's a disappointing dynamic, but one that deserves further inquiry as several NFL quarterbacks, the position arguably most affected by this due to the lofty expectations attached to it, have had their humanity exposed, undressed, unleashed in front of fans this season.
I mentioned earlier Dak Prescott's incredible work on mental health. Dak has endured unthinkable hardship in his life, and his willingness to discuss his own grief regarding his brother's suicide was likely a huge help to so many people. Dak's authenticity did wonders for the "QBs are humans" movement, but it sadly wasn't enough to stop media morons like Skip Bayless from calling the Cowboys QB weak simply for being depressed. Bayless' words were harmful for very obvious reasons. He was rightfully condemned for his comments, but the damage was done. Bayless had reinforced the harmful notion that emotions make men, and athletes in particular, weak.
But at least Dak encouraged an acknowledgement of the emotions athletes deal with on a daily basis. In considering the QB situation in Philadelphia, I worry we are forgetting the human element altogether. Allow me to explain.
Carson Wentz has struggled, no doubt. He has unfortunately revealed himself to be a good but not great starter in the NFL. Whereas his MVP-caliber season in 2017 convinced Eagles fan that he could be a top-five QB in the NFL, it is probably more appropriate to consider him a top-fifteen player at the position. But Wentz has received very little support from the coaching staff or front office in Philadelphia. Ever since Frank Reich left to coach the Indianapolis Colts in the wake of his success as Philly's offensive coordinator during their 2017 Super Bowl run, the team has lacked any originality or creativity in its playcalling. Even worse, General Manager Howie Roseman has provided Wentz with very few weapons in the passing game, and the depth at offensive line has been troubling to say the least. Injuries have further plagued the Eagles, leaving Wentz with a ragtag group of practice squad players and undrafted free agents to go to battle with each week. To Wentz' credit, he's turned many of these guys into respectable NFL players. College QB Greg Ward has emerged as a reliable, if uninspiring, set of hands for the Eagles, and Travis Fulgham just might be the downfield threat Alshon Jeffery never truly was. Still, the lack of support has to affect Wentz mentally. Perhaps most egregious was Roseman's decision to waste a 2nd round draft pick on QB Jalen Hurts, an exciting prospect who now has to waste his first couple NFL seasons riding the pine because the Philadelphia Eagles think of themselves as a "QB Factory." Because 2nd-rounders are generally expected to contribute right away, the Eagles waste a few snaps each week to get Hurts on the field and run for two or three yards before taking a seat for the rest of the game.
Imagine being either of these QBs for a second. In Hurts, you have a guy who clearly believes himself to be worthy of a starting job in this league. Instead, he's warming the bench while the guy in front of him struggles through the worst season of his career. In an environment like Philly, the situation is ripe for a QB controversy any day now. In Wentz, you have a guy who is the guy, as evidenced by his $128 million contract, but is certainly not playing like he is. On one hand, I totally expect a fifth-year QB playing on a lucrative contract to be capable of playing through adversity, but on the other hand, I'd like to encourage us all to consider Carson Wentz as a person, and not a football player, for just a moment. While the team has ostensibly demonstrated its commitment to Wentz via his contract extension, it's no secret that large deals in the NFL only go so far since teams can terminate them each offseason with only minor penalties. So, Wentz deserves a little more reassurance from the team that traded up to pick him 2nd overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. How about getting the guy some help? Adding some depth along the offensive line or bringing in some reliable options in the passing game? It would be understandable if Wentz felt all alone at the end of last season, having put the team on his back in spite of seemingly desolate circumstances. And yet, the Eagles' front office responded to Wentz' tenacious finish to the 2019-20 NFL season by drafting a backup QB in the 2nd round! If you are reading this and you are not a sports fan (first off, thank you) then just know that is nearly unprecedented and absolutely bonkers.
Sure, the Eagles did select WR Jalen Reagor in the first round. They did go on to select WRs Quez Watkins and John Hightower in the later rounds of the draft, and they did select Andre Dillard in the first round just last year. Because all of these players have either gotten hurt or simply underwhelmed, perhaps my gripe lies more with the team's ability to develop its personnel, but in the NFL, identification of talent has always superseded development of it.
Wentz and his wife had a daughter in April. He continues to do charitable work through his AO1 Foundation. Of course, plenty of athletes juggle their careers with family, service, and other work. Still, it's always seemed to me that Wentz is a guy who loves football, but recognizes it as just one of many important things in life. In America, and not just in the world of sports, we expect a person's career to be their greatest passion in life. We expect one's work to define them. Not only is this an unrealistic expectation, but it's also a foolish one. This expectation places particular pressure on athletes to eat, live, and breath their respective sports. I believe that Wentz is passionate about football and about the Philadelphia Eagles, but I also believe he is passionate about being a father, a husband, a hunter, and a Christian. These are not excuses for his struggles. Heck, they may not even be related. But the Eagles have failed to properly support their franchise QB, and I fear that their inability to consider his emotional response to that lack of support could signal an undoing for all parties involved.
Staying within the NFC East, the Washington Football Team has unsurprisingly made another bad football decision, one that miserably fails to recognize the humanity of second-year QB Dwayne Haskins Jr. Haskins was benched prior to Week 6 of the NFL season due to his erratic play up until that point. Rumors also circulated that Haskins' personality and ego had rubbed some coaches and players the wrong way. Now, it seems most likely that he will be traded prior to the league-wide trade deadline on November 3rd.
And for Haskins' sake, I hope that is the case.
Haskins clearly has an NFL-ready arm. There is no denying that his decision-making is questionable at best, and his overall ability to run an offense is probably not where it needs to be. With that being said, the young QB needs the team to express faith in him if he is to grow as a player. Not only did Washington head coach Ron Rivera bench Haskins, but he relegated him to third on the depth chart, which means Haskins will likely be inactive on Sundays. Haskins is only five months older than I am. Such a drastic shift in status will inevitably damage the 23-year-old's self-worth, and will do very little to help him improve. Washington is not in any position to make a Super Bowl run, so why turn to a guy like Kyle Allen, whose ceiling is as a career backup? Perhaps even more terrifying was when Alex Smith entered the game for Washington this past weekend. Smith's return to football is remarkable, and his comeback is a testament to his strength. Still, I couldn't help but clench my teeth every time Smith took a snap on Sunday. I have immense respect for Smith, but he should probably hang up the cleats after suffering what might have been the most gruesome injury I've ever seen back in 2018. As for Haskins, I could imagine a new home in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, or Atlanta doing him some good.
As QBs like Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, and even Lamar Jackson struggle early on in the NFL season, there's never been a better time to stop thinking of these athletes as robots, and start considering them as humans, with emotions, beliefs, politics, and ideas all their own.