I am an IT Professional by day (and yes, a masked crime fighter by night) and spent the last week at Microsoft’s TechEd conference in Orlando, Florida. At least, this was the advertised purpose. I suspect it was really a sociological experiment in which thousands of introverts are gathered together in an enclosed space and observed as they are forced to interact with each other in meeting rooms, at the cattle call breakfasts and lunches and the permanent queues at the men’s rooms. Orlando is, by my calculations, the Las Vegas of the East, with theme parks in place of casinos; unbearable heat, overpriced drinks, $40 entrees and air conditioned air redolent with desperate attempts to buy even a few moments of happiness. To cap the four and a half days of presentations and discussions about technologies, architectures, markets and trends, we were treated to an evening at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. It was here I caught a glimpse of Hell as I realized that if Hell exists it must certainly be a personalized experience. Mine would be a place where I am surrounded by thousands of people riding roller coasters.
I guess I thought I’d missed the great Jake Ballard controversy but there was a reference in ESPN Boston’s Patriots’ Blog this Sunday to a piece from nydailynews.com. Even considering the source, the commentary was breathtaking in its childishness, casting Bill Belichick as a petty, cheating crybaby. The author, Gary Myers, does acknowledge the Giants “clearly screwed up” in placing Ballard on waivers to save a roster spot but also notes that while thirty other teams passed on Ballard, Belichick would not “extend them professional courtesy by letting Ballard pass through.”
Obviously, this has a lot to do with Belichick. Haters gonna hate. If the Steelers and Mike Tomlin had claimed Ballard the story would clearly have been “What were the Giants thinking?” with little deconstruction of Mike Tomlin’s character or personal motivations.
Isn't the interesting point here that the Patriots – unlike any other NFL franchise – have the wherewithal to add a player who will not be able to play in the upcoming season? Bill Belichick just made a roster move for 2013 while the rest of the NFL is merely trying to figure out 2012. Okay, “the rest of the NFL” is a bit of an overstatement. The best franchises are managed for long term success and the Patriots are not alone in this. Still, is there a more fashionable position in the NFL at the moment than tight end? Was it really just good manners on the part of thirty other teams or a lack of foresight?
Ultimately, it seems a tempest in a teapot. Ballard was not going to play in 2012 so if the Giants were just Jake Ballard away from back-to-back Super Bowl wins I guess they were screwed in any case. As for the Patriots, given Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, Ballard would be the Patriots’ third tight end. There has been some talk about how effective Ballard will be coming back from an ACL but having seen Brady and Welker – and Mankins, knock wood – I wonder if this is a surgery and recovery that is becoming commoditized (see also, Adrian Peterson). With Ballard as an in-line option at tight end as a bookend to Gronk, it sets up play-action and puts Hernandez in Swiss Army Knife mode. It allows New England to put Gronkowski in the slot where he is the ultimate overmatch for opposing defenses.
This is just Belichick being Belichick.
Suck it, NFL.
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