The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Mac Jones Nails Down QB2 Job in Jax

You don’t care about football and, at a certain level, neither do I, but the NFL saga of quarterback Mac Jones has fascinated me ever since he was a first-round draft pick for the New England Patriots in 2021. That followed Mac’s undefeated, record-setting National Championship season at Alabama and, in retrospect, can we all […]

#DUUUVAL! Patriots Trading Mac Jones to Jacksonville; Now I’m a Jags Fan?

First, the news from ESPN: The New England Patriots are finalizing a deal to trade quarterback Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday. The Patriots will receive a 2024 sixth-round pick as compensation, sources told Schefter. The trade cannot be processed until the new league year begins Wednesday […]

The End of Two Football Dynasties

In the span of 24 hours this week, we learned that Nick Saban would retire as head football coach at the University of Alabama, and that Bill Belichick would “part ways” with the New England Patriots. Can we take just a moment — before discussing anything else about this news — to extend our condolences […]

An Inauspicious New Year

The FBI needs to investigate the crime that happened Monday night in Pasadena, California — a case of identity theft, in which a group of young men claiming to be the University of Alabama football team perpetrated an implausible impersonation of the Crimson Tide. The fraudulent “football team” that took the field at the Rose […]

Ex-NFL Player: ‘Average White Guys’ Shouldn’t Be Talking About Football

Rashard Mendenhall kicked a hornet’s nest this week, and even after getting ratio’d into oblivion, refused to apologize: Let us stipulate that we don’t know what set him off. Something must have provoked him to say these offensive things, and his willingness to maintain his defense suggests that either (a) the provocation was great, or […]

‘The Patriot Way’ Has Turned Toxic

Tonight, the New England Patriots play in prime time against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and bid fair to set an unwelcome NFL record: The betting over/under total on the “Thursday Night Football” game between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers is testing a 30-year low, and weather isn’t even a factor. The total on the […]

An Unusual Consensus

Tyson Bagent — remember that name, because some people who know a lot about football agree that he’ll be the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears before this season is over. Remember what I told you last month about Trey Lance? In the 2021 NFL draft, five quarterbacks were first-round picks: 1. Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) […]

Is There Any Hope for the Patriots?

Football is a team sport, but I became a New England Patriots fan in 2021 because of one player. When the Patriots drafted Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, they also acquired me as a fan: Roll Tide. Jones had led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated season and the National Championship after spending three years on […]

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