Dust off your team jerseys and break out that buffalo chicken dip recipe, because football is back! The season has just started and already there has been plenty to talk about – the NFL lockout, last minute player contracts and some shady goings-on at Miami. What’s a fan to make of all this? We asked the experts, DC’s own Sports Junkies: Jon “Cakes” Auville, Eric “EB” Bickel and J.P. Flaim. The Junkies rule the sports talk airwaves weekdays from 5-10 a.m. on 106.7 FM. Recently, they took a break to talk with ON TAP about college and professional football.
ON TAP: What is the impact of the NFL lockout on the fans, on the players?
JON AUVILLE: As far as the fans, they could care less. They just want football to start on time. As far as players, yeah, they haven’t had time to work with teammates, so we could see some rust in early season games.
ERIC BICKEL: I think the fans have a little bit more of a hangover on this than Cakes is giving credit for. I think fans are resentful over the guys making money over more money. We’ve seen it in training game attendance and pre-season attendance. As for the players, young quarterbacks are going to be the ones who struggle the most. Veterans have been around and know what to expect — a rookie linebacker can go shake a quarterback, but quarterback is such a knowledge-specific position.
JP FLAIM: What we learned from the lockout, based on ratings and web hits, is people are dying for football, and once regular season starts the ratings are going to be high as ever.
OT: There have been lots of last minute signings of players and some craziness with free agents, where is this all going to end up?
JP: A lot of people prefer a short time period for free agencies. It’s not any different this season than last and there are always guys that think they want more. NFL players don’t have guaranteed contracts so they have a short window to make their cash, and they try to get it when they can.
JA: Free agency had to be compressed ‘cause of the lockout. It was exciting for fans to see four or five big deals every day for a week and a half so that was good for fan interest. In terms of existing guys, as years go by and the pie gets bigger to split up, players are always going to want to redo deals. It’s just if teams are willing to redo them or not.
OT: Given the lockout and the recession, how do you think teams should or will interact with fans?
JA: I think it depends on what product you’re selling in the NFL. If you’re the Green Bay Packers, you don’t have to sell the stadium out. But, if you’re in a market like the Jacksonville Jaguars, where they are struggling to sell the stadium, you could have to cut the price on tickets or do investor promotions. It all depends on what situation each team is in and, if they need to, they will have to come up with new incentives for fans.
EB: It’s the same as it’s always been: if you win, they will come.
OT: Who is the underdog that will rise up and surprise people this season?
JA: Redskins! I think if the Redskins get near 8-8, the coach is a candidate for coach of the year.
EB: If I had to pick a dark horse it would be Houston. They have a balanced offense, have never made the playoffs and been in the league for 10 years now. They could sneak in.
JP: Dallas Cowboys. Last year a lot of people had them as the Super Bowl favorite. This year they have Jason Garrett as the head coach and brought in Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator. They’ve improved defensively and have a lot of talent, so I think they will be a playoff team. Romo is healthy and has good talent around him.
OT: Let’s talk quarterbacks – who is going to be the quarterback that others teams watch out for?
EB: Sanchez. He surprises me every year and now with the addition of Plaxico Burress, there is a big threat in the red zone that could really help Sanchez’s numbers. He may surprise people and get to that next level, the elite level.
JP: It’s obvious that Tom Brady will have another ridiculous year. The Patriots brought in Chad Ochocinco, which will be a deep threat that complements Wes Walker. The other guy to look out for is Josh Freeman in Tampa. Look at his touchdown-to- interception ratio and completion percentage: phenomenal. He’s an up-and-coming younger guy that will become an elite quarterback in the league.
JA: Love Phillip Rivers this year. I think he will put up huge numbers for the San Diego Charger’s offense. As far as a break out guy, I like Kevin Kolb with the Arizona Cardinals. They traded to get him from Philadelphia and it was a terrible quarterback situation in Arizona last year. Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald together will work well.
OT: How is the University of Miami booster scandal going to affect the sports programs at other schools?
EB: As long as the NCAA has been around they have always been aware of things like this. But I don’t think people were thinking it occurred at such a great level, so that was surprising. It’s just another reminder, so coaches and administrators can look at these kids and say “don’t let what happened at Miami happen here.”
JP: We had Coach Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech on the show recently. He said that something his team talks about every day is how to be compliant and how to stay away from shady characters.
JA: I think every top 25 program in the country’s athletic directors will be running scared that boosters are out there that could bring down their program in the same way Miami is facing. It’s certainly front-and-center in a lot of people’s minds. These are multi-million dollar corporations, just look at Ohio State or Michigan. There is bound to be some sort of corruption, but it’s the athletic director’s job to sniff it out and make sure it doesn’t happen.
Just like the rest of us, it sounds like the Sports Junkies are ready for some football. You can catch them and their hilarious anecdotes weekdays from 5-10 a.m. on 106.7 FM, call them at 1-800-636-1067, text at 95351 or email studio@1067thefan.com.
