Why Do I Continue to Read Peter King?

E5 Yaz

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On Dec. 31, PK tweeted linked to the best MMQB stories of 2015. A lot of media outlets create such lists, so no big deal.

PK, however, is probably the only one who tweeted them out in this order: 10-8-7-9-5-6-2-3-4

Still no No. 1
 

joe dokes

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Peter "I'll put Jeffrey Dahmer in the Hall of Fame because voting rules don't exclude murderous cannibals" King on his all-pro ballot:

Below is the ballot I filed to the Associated Press as one of the voters for the annual All-Pro team. (Note: I vote for one left tackle and one right tackle, instead of the best two tackles regardless of position; same thing at guard. Also, the AP asks for two running backs and a fullback, but I vote for one running back only, because teams don’t play two running backs at once with much regularity.)
 
The Steelers/Bengals game horrified Peter King, and as the NFL's moral barometer, he wants the players to think of the children.

This is what America—families watching together, fathers, mothers and children, teens, college kids, everyone else along the football spectrum, all important consumers of your game—saw in the last 17 minutes of this game...


I find it strange that King lists families and various members of families, but then dumps single and/or childless folks into an "everyone else" bucket. And why are the fathers alone but the moms are with the children?

Pittsburgh linebacker Ryan Shazier ramming Cincinnati running back Gio Bernard with the crown of his helmet, something that year after year, practice after practice, players have been trained and warned not to do.

Do NFL coaches teach proper tackling in practice after practice? That seems like an exaggeration. If they do, with the NFL limitations to padded practices, it might be verbally expressed but not actually trained. There are fewer opportunities to practice tackling than ever before.

By the way, someone wrote this earlier in the season: "Ricardo Allen... plowed through running back Devonta Freeman and sent him sprawling, in clear violation of the spirit of the practice. Players were supposed to stay up and wrap up, not blow them up. But the coaches, after yelling about protecting your teammates, just smiled. Those messages got sent throughout training camp."

Yep, the writer was Peter King. Allen may not have used the crown of his helmet--who knows--but the messages hardly sync.

Cincinnati running back Jeremy Hill running on the field and trying to fight or somehow challenge four different Steelers while Bernard lay injured.

Some people consider teammate loyalty to be a good thing, even King's disgusting defense of Robert Klemko.

Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict... trying to drive a knee into the injured shoulder of Roethlisberger.

This line irked me for two reasons. First, replays are pretty clear that Burfict did drive his knee into Roethlisberger's shoulder. Now, you might argue intent, but that brings up my second issue: King's usage of "trying to drive a knee" indicates that King believes it was intentional. So, King's wording indicates that he isn't sure if Burfict connected, but the intent was there. King also failed to add that the hit sent Roethlisberger off the field, which is a weird detail to omit when King's overall point that games like this will cost the NFL viewers.

Steelers linebacker coach Joey Porter in the middle of the field where he shouldn’t have been (assistant coaches are not allowed on the field during the game) jawing with assorted Bengals until Cincinnati’s Adam Jones burst past an official to challenge Porter.

This is an awfully simplistic and one-sided account for an NFL insider. Forget that you can see plenty of Cincinnati assistant coaches on the field... didn't King find Hill completely in the wrong for challenging Steeler players after the hit on Bernard? He disregarded the context for Hill's outburst. But now Porter is the one at fault, even though Jones challenged him?

I'm going to try to break this down logically. I have to assume that Hill's and Jones's actions are equal, since they both challenged others to fight. Although, you probably should give an uptick in awfulness to Jones, who threatened a coach--someone without a helmet and protective gear. Now, Shazier's illegal hit (using a technique which he has been repeatedly told not to use) on Bernard did not excuse Hill's actions. But whatever Porter said, and his geographical positioning, did excuse Jones's outburst. Thus, Porter was worst of the bunch.

Demean yourselves. Shame your former coaches and your parents.

That seems a bit dramatic.

Parents who grew up loving the game are agonizing about whether they’ll let their children play football.

As does this. Is agonizing the right word? Besides, I doubt this is a winning argument to the current players. I have a suspicion that they care more about their own pride, ambition, and earnings than they do about the league's long-term future.

A movie, “Concussion,” is out, and Will Smith plays a doctor warning America about the long-term, inescapable dangers of the sport. Have you seen it? You should. I’ve seen it twice, and I’d go again.

Listen up, children--King watched a movie! And it starred a famous actor! Forget the actual research and studies, ignore Chris Borland's rationale and personal example, set aside the common sense that repeated blows to the head are probably bad for you, and Go. See. This. Movie!

King's conflation of the movie's entertainment and educational value is just... so him. The cherry on top is how he makes it about himself. How does it matter that he'd willingly watch it a third time?

You know what I was thinking when I watched the disgusting hit of Burfict on Brown? I have no idea what the short-term impact of that hit will be, but I know there’s a good chance the effects will be seen on Brown’s brain when he’s 50 or 60 or 70. Or 40.

Did King really watch the movie or did he just read the title?

I am writing to issue this plea: Take care of yourselves. Take care of your game.


Forget the children, won't someone think of Peter King?

Nelson could have hit Daniels in the head or knees, but in a split second, he took care to hit Daniels in the upper torso.

King does the NFL no service by using this anecdote to validate a myth. Players can aim for certain areas, but they cannot mentally process the situation and contort themselves to react appropriately within a nanosecond. It's dangerous thinking to believe they can.

I also encourage you to watch the play. Nelson drops his head and fails to wrap up Owens, which is poor fundamental tackling. Also, Owens staying upright was the only reason there was not helmet-to-helmet contact. So, yea for Nelson because Owens didn't have time to protect himself? Finally, it was a big hit, and the back of Owens's head almost hit the ground first. That easily could have caused a concussion. Otherwise it's really good example by King.

More games like this, and Congress will get involved. And I would be happy if Washington does, because games like that one show you’re not capable of looking out for the common good.

Wow. Even for King, this level of attributing blame is stupefying. Where are Blandino, Vincent, and Goodell? King is the uncle who advises his brother to call the cops on his nephews.

What if this game caused more interest in the NFL, and what if big hits meant big ratings? That would mean that the NFL benefits from this carnage, so I guess it would make sense--if the players cannot police themselves--to bypass the league and head straight to Congress. In fact, perhaps Goodell's arbitrary and capricious discipline are part of the problem.

This King guy, he gets it.

I hope you were glad to see the NFL on Monday night suspend Burfict for the first three games of next season. The hit on Brown was part of it. If you didn’t see the bigger reason, you missed Burfict’s incredibly brutal hit on Baltimore rookie Maxx Williams.

The league gave Burfict a $50,000 penalty for this incredibly brutal hit on Williams, which was the basis for the three game suspension. Apparently in King's world the NFLPA should have petitioned the league for a stronger penalty, or the players should have gotten together and told Burfict to stay away. Or told him to cut it out. Just, just, the players should have done something! I hope you all are happy that ol' Roger had to turn this car around and now King is not getting a quarter pounder with cheese and fries and a shake like papa promised.

You know, if the league had been more forceful with it's penalty at the time, maybe Burfict would have thought better of his hit on Brown. It kind of seems like the league has enabled such behavior and reacts out of proportion when public pressure mounts, and might be part of the problem.

If you have a chance Friday night, watch a re-airing of the lost tapes of Super Bowl I.

That's right, watch as players competed in a simpler time when there were fewer player safety rules, concussions were ignored, and players could clothesline each other. What was King's point again?
 

Bowhemian

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The Steelers/Bengals game horrified Peter King, and as the NFL's moral barometer, he wants the players to think of the children.

Do NFL coaches teach proper tackling in practice after practice? That seems like an exaggeration. If they do, with the NFL limitations to padded practices, it might be verbally expressed but not actually trained. There are fewer opportunities to practice tackling than ever before.
I can't answer the question from the perspective of an NFL coach. I can tell you that without question, proper form tackling is taught at all levels of football, at least through high school. I have coached 6th-8th graders at the youth level, as well as high school kids. We teach proper form tackling throughout the season, every single year. Unless NFL players are taught differently at a higher level, I tend to doubt that an NFL player would forget everything they learned. I could be wrong though.
Proper form tackling absolutely can be taught without pads. In fact, our tackling training starts with helmets only when we walk through the form. We take further steps (literally) as we add pads. But if a kid doesn't pick up the concept, he will not progress until he does.
 

DJnVa

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Peter "I'll put Jeffrey Dahmer in the Hall of Fame because voting rules don't exclude murderous cannibals" King on his all-pro ballot:

So the HOF rules MUST be adhered to. But when he doesn't like the Pro Bowl rules, he disregards?
 

joe dokes

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More games like this, and Congress will get involved. And I would be happy if Washington does, because games like that one show you’re not capable of looking out for the common good.
King is angling to be called to testify in front of Congress. Man of the people.
 

GeorgeCostanza

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Ok skipped that one. At any rate, why the hell would congress get involved because some players got a little chippy? We see a game like that at least once a month during the season. And I know the answer is because Peter King is a moron but I felt like asking anyway.
 

LuckyBen

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Peter King on Twitter

"These are the measurements that try men’s souls."

This is life or death!! Except when it comes to illegal hits.
 

E5 Yaz

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Remember that story I did on Carson Palmer learning and absorbing and putting into action a game plan? And I wrote about this play called Pistol Strong Right Stack Act 6 Y Cross Divide? On the first play of overtime, its cousin got used.

a. “Conflagration.” See, I like to give you a word every couple of weeks or so to expand your vocabulary.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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b. I’m not particularly fond of ornithology, but wow, is this a cool map and story in the New York Times about bird life patterns.

c. I do believe that is my first reference to birds in 19 seasons writing this column. Other than Ravens and Eagles and Seahawks.
I guess he thinks the team in Phoenix is named after the priests?

I have a theory about Peyton Manning. It’s that in the 48 days he sat out with a bad foot and other maladies, he looked around at his team and thought: I need to be complementary player, not the leader of the band. If I don’t turn it over, we’ve got a pretty good chance to win. Maybe that happened subconsciously, maybe not. The point is, Manning has come back with the attitude of a player focused on taking care of the ball.

Regular-season Peyton Manning versus post-season Manning:

Starts Turnovers Turnover Margin Passer Rating
Regular Season
9 18 -8 67.9
Postseason 2 0 +2 81.7
Let's just ignore that whole backward pass thing that is credited to Manning as a fumble in the AFCG. We have water to carry!
 

CantKeepmedown

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King was on Dan Patrick's show yesterday, talking about Manning and his legacy. Patrick brought up the post season record. King said, yes, you can't ignore that, BUT, if you look at all of his playoff losses (outside of the SB vs Saints) he never really did anything in the last 2 minutes of the game to lose it. He was just on some teams with bad defenses.

So, Manning's play in the first 58 minutes really didn't have anything to do with those losses either. It's amazing how badly the media wants him to win this. Hell, I think they'd just be happy with him playing well and Denver losing. At least they can say what a warrior he is.
 

Dehere

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Patrick brought up the post season record. King said, yes, you can't ignore that, BUT, if you look at all of his playoff losses (outside of the SB vs Saints) he never really did anything in the last 2 minutes of the game to lose it.
That's hilarious. I mean, other than throwing the most crippling pick six in football history, when has he ever cost his team a big game?!?

You know, Lee Harvey Oswald did a pretty good job of keeping his nose clean other than murdering the president.

I 100% give PM his due as an all-time great player but that is some preposterous spin.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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King was on Dan Patrick's show yesterday, talking about Manning and his legacy. Patrick brought up the post season record. King said, yes, you can't ignore that, BUT, if you look at all of his playoff losses (outside of the SB vs Saints) he never really did anything in the last 2 minutes of the game to lose it. He was just on some teams with bad defenses.

So, Manning's play in the first 58 minutes really didn't have anything to do with those losses either. It's amazing how badly the media wants him to win this. Hell, I think they'd just be happy with him playing well and Denver losing. At least they can say what a warrior he is.
It's shit like this why people (outside of fans of their teams) don't love great athletes like Manning or Tom Brady or Derek Jeter or the newest media binkie, JJ Watt. It's the constant apologizing and reimagining of reality. Peyton Manning is a hell of a quarterback, but he has trouble in the postseason. It's okay to say that. Derek Jeter is a tremendous shortstop but he got old and lost a lot of his skills. It's fine to say that. People don't like being lied to or bullshitted.

I'm not sure when this whole cult of personality started, but I don't really remember it too much when I was a kid (80s). Of course, I could have been buying into it at the time, but I feel like it's gotten worse over the ensuing decades. Maybe reporters feel that they need to keep blowing smoke up these guys assess for the "exclusive access". The ironic thing is that for the most part these guys never say anything worth printing any way.

The guys who do say legitimately interesting (read: SCARY!) stuff, like Richard Sherman or Allen Iverson are the ones who get ripped by people like King the most ("No respect of the game. Doesn't carry THE SHIELD either, durrrrrr.").
 

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The guys who do say legitimately interesting (read: SCARY!) stuff, like Richard Sherman or Allen Iverson are the ones who get ripped by people like King the most ("No respect of the game. Doesn't carry THE SHIELD either, durrrrrr.").
Sherman, Iverson, and Cam Newton (another guy King goes out of his way to bash) have something in common that Manning doesn't share with them.

What do you think that is?
 

joe dokes

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Sherman, Iverson, and Cam Newton (another guy King goes out of his way to bash) have something in common that Manning doesn't share with them.

What do you think that is?

Names ending in "n." Whereas King and Manning have the "ng."
 

E5 Yaz

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Richard Sherman occasionally writes for MMQB. King might have had issues with him early on, but that relationship has changed substantially
 

Average Reds

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Sherman, Iverson, and Cam Newton (another guy King goes out of his way to bash) have something in common that Manning doesn't share with them.

What do you think that is?
We all know what you are driving at, but the reality is that Newton doesn't give King the access he craves. And in King's world, access = favorable treatment. And as noted above, Sherman now has a good relationship with King and King reciprocates by providing a platform for him to bloviate.

King shits on those who don't kiss his ass. Pure and simple.
 

johnmd20

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We all know what you are driving at, but the reality is that Newton doesn't give King the access he craves. And in King's world, access = favorable treatment. And as noted above, Sherman now has a good relationship with King and King reciprocates by providing a platform for him to bloviate.

King shits on those who don't kiss his ass. Pure and simple.
What's he's driving at is ridiculous and inflammatory for no reason and has no basis in reality. It was a pretty pathetic implication.
 

GeorgeCostanza

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If Peter King were a racist, it would be bang us over the head obvious. He doesn't have the mental capacity to do nuanced racism.

This is a man who likes to tell us stories about duping unsuspecting children out of souvenir baseballs and belittling the disabled.
 
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coremiller

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This from the guy who said he would refuse to consider any off-field behavior w/r/t Darren Sharper:

I’ve written this on a few occasions. When Dungy first became eligible, I phoned the keepers of the rules, Joe Horrigan, at the Hall of Fame. I asked him if part of our deliberation either could or should be the fact that Dungy has been such a beacon for African-American coaches in the NFL and, to a lesser degree, all other levels of football as well. Horrigan told me that it would be my call as to whether that could be considered. And you’re right. Many who have criticized me for this selection and others have said that I can’t have it both ways.

To that point, let me go back and talk about one other person and his Hall of Fame case. When John Madden was up for election, his case was supposed to be judged based on his contribution to the game as a head coach of the Oakland Raiders. He coached the Raiders for 10 years with very laudable results. But it’s difficult to not think about what Madden did after he left the sidelines. He has become an advisor to so many coaches over the years; he has gotten millions of young people interested in pro football through his video game; and he is one of the best football analysts in history.

The job we do as voters is difficult to define in exact terms. Another example is Michael Irvin. When he was eligible, I was adamant that his leadership and his influence on the team and how the team performed by what he did in the locker room and on the sidelines should count. I was around that team in those days and I knew how important Irvin was in making his teammates practice hard and play hard and be accountable on a great team. I think that stuff should count. I also think a person’s contribution to the game as a whole should count. That is why I feel the way I do about Tony Dungy and his influence on the game beyond what he did on the Tampa Bay and the Indianapolis sideline.
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/02/09/denver-broncos-2016-schedule-nfl-kickoff-game-opponent
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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The biggest mistake that Peter King makes in his HoF voting is the biggest mistake he makes in all walks of his life: things are either good or bad and then defends them as if they are 100% certainties.

He's a moron.
 

E5 Yaz

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In case you're wondering, PK still carrying the pizza box for Peyton
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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In case you're wondering, PK still carrying the pizza box for Peyton
It's breathtaking to see him be so tone deaf to defend Manning and discount the whole story as a "he said-she said" situation, then a few paragraphs later he writes about he female PR person from the Browns and how unfair it was she lost her job over some comments by Kellen Winslow. Jesus fuck.
 

ifmanis5

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Nice of Peter to recommend his conclusion but the basis for that conclusion is still half-assed from him at best.

Roger and the NFL weren't simply stupid, they were stupid AND Liar AND one-sided public opinion manipulators. They weren't merely surfing this wave of a weird story, they were the authors. They leaked the Tweet to Mort, let it stand, completely blew the enforcement of the balls, promised an objective third party investigation only for it to be the total opposite, then leaked damaging one-sided details that suited their publicity needs and then escalated Brady's involvement to conspiracy Ringmaster in an appeal that got summarily rejected.

Nice of King to try and start the media ball rolling on this, and it will be interesting to see if any others follow suit (likely not) but for King to miss all of Roger's thumbs on the scale here is a sin of omission. The NFL didn't merely fail to enforce their own laws, they kept dishonestly moving the goalposts to suit their own botched power grab.
 

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Nice of Peter to recommend his conclusion but the basis for that conclusion is still half-assed from him at best.

Roger and the NFL weren't simply stupid, they were stupid AND Liar AND one-sided public opinion manipulators. They weren't merely surfing this wave of a weird story, they were the authors. They leaked the Tweet to Mort, let it stand, completely blew the enforcement of the balls, promised an objective third party investigation only for it to be the total opposite, then leaked damaging one-sided details that suited their publicity needs and then escalated Brady's involvement to conspiracy Ringmaster in an appeal that got summarily rejected.

Nice of King to try and start the media ball rolling on this, and it will be interesting to see if any others follow suit (likely not) but for King to miss all of Roger's thumbs on the scale here is a sin of omission. The NFL didn't merely fail to enforce their own laws, they kept dishonestly moving the goalposts to suit their own botched power grab.
Objectively, you're right. And while I think there is literally no chance that Roger the Lying Moron reverses course on this and suddenly acts with integrity, if King had been as thorough as you have been, he would have sealed that conclusion.

Again, not that Goodell is open to doing the right thing here but, IF he was based on pressure from the likes of Peter King, the best way to paint him into a corner from where he could not return would be to accuse him of being a manipulative lying douche bag. Just getting it wrong is something that King might believe that Goodell could come back from. Not the other.
 

E5 Yaz

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a. RIP, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird. She died in her sleep Friday at 89. Just imagine writing a first book and selling 40 million copies ...

Yes, he goes on to give lip service to what TKAM meant historically ... but that the first thing across his keyboard was sales says something about PK's priorities
 
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a. RIP, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird. She died in her sleep Friday at 89. Just imagine writing a first book and selling 40 million copies ...

Yes, he goes on to give lip service to what TKAM meant historically ... but that the first thing across his keyboard was sales says something about PK's priorities
Isn't there enough to mock Peter King over, without reaching to take offense to his choice of metric to quantify the cultural impact of her life's signature achievement?
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I didn't read the piece yet, but I wonder if Goodell is using Peter King's weekly pulpit as a trial balloon to see if giving the Pats back their draft pick will be met with disdain from the fans of the other teams?
 

ifmanis5

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I didn't read the piece yet, but I wonder if Goodell is using Peter King's weekly pulpit as a trial balloon to see if giving the Pats back their draft pick will be met with disdain from the fans of the other teams?
I think public sentiment about the Pats is very well established by now (as in almost unanimously negative) and a trial balloon is unnecessary in this case.
 

E5 Yaz

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Isn't there enough to mock Peter King over, without reaching to take offense to his choice of metric to quantify the cultural impact of her life's signature achievement?
Not really. PK is the gift that keeps on giving, in ways big and small ... much like you
 

dcmissle

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I think public sentiment about the Pats is very well established by now (as in almost unanimously negative) and a trial balloon is unnecessary in this case.
Plus, this supposed "trial balloon" would be met with disdain from 31 owners, and that would be conclusive.

So PK makes a good strong point and makes it well and this thread is ISO ulterior motives.