issue 14 / volume 40

Rolle-ing

in the deep

» Giants safety spot on calling Pro Bowl ‘a joke’

Eric Wilkins

Sports Editor
MA sports
. @theotherpress.ca

 

An Rolle was visibly off-
put by his exclusion from
the Pro Bowl roster when he
took to Twitter, “Tell me which
safety has better numbers and
made more game changing
plays than me this year???? I'll
wait!!!! This probowl shit is a
joke.”

And after a season in
which he posted 98 tackles,
six interceptions, two sacks, a
forced fumble, and a fumble
recovery, he may have a right
to complain. He was one of
the few bright spots ona
miserable year in New York,

that Eric Berry, Troy Polamalu,
and Kam Chancellor got in
ahead of him on reputation

Rolle’s missing here is that the
roster isn’t picked solely by the
coaches and the players—it’s
also selected by the fans.

The fans’ ballots count for
one-third of the voting, which

: is more than enough to turn

: the tide in many cases. It’s

: not as if those who vote have

: to undergo any sort of NFL

: knowledge test either; they

simply head onto the site and

: vote away. If such a person

: were so inclined, someone

: who has never watched a

: game in their life could pop

: on and pick favourites based

: on team colours, and it’s

: that type of possibility that

: trivializes the game. Inasmuch

: as one understands the desire

: to involve the fans, does the

: involvement have to be in such

: asought-after honour? And if

: the fans do have to be a part of

: it, why not release two rosters:

: one selected by coaches and

: players and the other by the

and it wouldn't be hard to argue fans? Only one roster would :
: play of course, but it’s not as if

: anyone actually tunes into that

: pillow fight anyway, so no harm

mn  ? done.
and name alone. The crucial bit :

The tendency with

: armchair quarterbacks is to

: focus on stats, overemphasize
: the importance of certain

: categories, and, most

: importantly, pick the big

: names. While one can generally :

: get away with this on offence,
: there are generally a few

: notable misses on defence. Two
: of the major exclusions this
year were outside linebackers
: (OLB) Lavonte David and

: Thomas Davis; both put up

: monster tackle numbers and
: were crucial cogs for their

; respective teams. So why

: weren't they picked? Sacks.

; Fans are enamoured with the
: sack column and the outside
: linebacker spot has become

: a popular area to slot in edge

: rushers. The result? OLBs

: putting up gaudy defensive

: end sack totals that attract

: the voters like students to

: coffee shops. I wouldn't have

: an issue with either Ahmad

: Brooks or John Abraham (or

: both) coming off the roster to
: slot in David or Davis. There

: are numerous other names—
: Muhammad Wilkerson being
: another standout—but that

: duo perfectly illustrates the

: flaw in fan voting. It’s one of

: the few moments in life one

: can feel perfectly comfortable
: proclaiming the people

: shouldn't have a voice.

The price of mediocrity

» Bears ink Cutler

oy Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor
ma M sports
&. |, , @theotherpress.ca
I: their final game of the
regular season, the Chicago :

Bears lost to the Green Bay

Packers 33-28. Due to the loss, :

the Bears missed out on the
postseason for the sixth time
in seven years. Logically, the

first offseason move the team :

made was to sign the man
they’ve had behind centre
for the last five years. The

man who has led them to the

playoffs once. The man who

has never made a Pro Bowl as

a Bear. The much maligned,

: easily hated, Jay Cutler.

: It’s not that Cutler’s

: a bad quarterback per se;

: it’s just that he’s not that

: good. His new contract is a

: seven-year $126-million deal,
: though “just” $54-million is

: for an average pivot seems a

: bit steep and comes across as
: a bit of a panic move.

: That’s not to say Cutler

: hasn’t improved drastically

: this year, but with Marc

: Trestman as your coach, it’s

: hard not to. The renowned

: quarterback whisperer could

look like a QB if given the
: chance. Just look at what
: he did with Josh McCown:

: in eight games (five starts),

: McCown threw for 1,829

: yards with 13 touchdowns

: and only one interception

: while posting a 3-2 record—a
: record which could have

: easily been 4-1 were it not for
: guaranteed. $18-milliona year :
: go fora field goal on second

: down against the Vikings in

: an overtime game. McCown’s
: never been anything special,
: but he sure had that offence

rolling.

: had remained the starter
: : after Cutler returned from
: probably make Mark Sanchez
; playing. Cutler’s three games
: back weren't pretty. He was
rusty in a tight win over the

a curious call by Trestman to

On that note, if McCown

injury, the Bears might still be

 

: lowly Browns, dismal ina

: demolition by the Eagles, and
: middling in the finale to the

: Packers. In short, exactly what
: everyone’s come to expect

: from the Vanderbilt product.

: If he had stayed healthy the

: whole year it might have been
: a different story, seeing as

: Trestman had him clicking

E early on, but he didn’t, which

: brings up another issue:

: health. In the last three years,
: Cutler has missed 12 games.

: He’s set to turn 31 before

: next season and one has to

: think that—with his recent

injury struggles and always

: questioned toughness—his
; time off the field will bea

: regular occurrence.

sports // 19

Antrel Rolle // By www.fansshare.com

Looking at the big picture

: though, the Bears’ move to

: sign a man who is clearly not,
: nor ever will be, elite, toa

: top-dollar contract may be

: part of a growing trend. Last

: year it was Joe Flacco who

: cashed in. Is he great? No.

: Is he average? Yes. Do you

: know what you're getting?

: Yes. Cutler is the same. The

: Bears would have done well

: to re-sign McCown as the

: starter fora year or two, let

: Cutler walk, and draft a QB in
: the mid-rounds to develop.

: Instead, they overpaid for the
: known commodity. Just like

: Cutler, the move was anything
but gutsy.