The course is over but the blog is just beginning

12 weeks have gone by fast. When I started this blog 12 weeks ago I was trying to discover my identity. I wrote passively, was long winded, and my words were cluttered. Over the 12 week span i've cleaned up some of these problems but I am still a work in progress.

In ICM 501 we were required to have a blog. At the time I wanted to write an NFL blog. However, it was the first course in the ICM masters program. I felt writing a sports blog would be considered very cliche. Instead I chose to write about traveling. At the time I was commuting over an hour a day by car to work. Quickly I discovered this was not a topic I could sustain a blogroll for 12 weeks. The blog ended up being lackluster and I felt defeated.

This course gave me a second chance at writing. I chose a topic I was passionate about and built a persona around it. I'm still building that persona but I'm happy where I am right now. Writing about the NFL is something I have always wanted to do. It is the one thing I am truly passionate about. Although i'm writing for an audience, i'm really writing this blog for me. I love talking about this league. Sometimes I have no one to talk about it with. This blog has proven to be my conversation about NFL. I thought I would have struggled since this course occurred during the NFL offseason. I think that helped me. My writing was not about games but about deeper issues affecting the league.

As I continue working on this blog I will probably remove my pseudonym. Throughout the course I never shared my writing with anyone on Facebook. I only shared my posts on twitter with the professor and my group-mates. I was afraid that people would criticize my work. Now I don't care. People will either like it or they won't...and I am ok with that. I'll let my work speak for itself.

I enjoyed this course overall. The assignments were interesting and made me brainstorm when thinking about posts. Luckily I was able to adapt all the assignments to my niche. I never was sure where I stood in this course, but quite frankly it did not bother me. I made the decision when enrolling in this masters program that I could care less about grades. I'm doing this program for self happiness and getting 100% on everything is less important actually learning something new. I liked that we were split into groups. Sometimes in large classes it is hard to follow all 25 people on a message board. If you miss a day on the message board you are behind. I liked being able to follow 2 other blogrolls and give them the attention they deserve. I wish we did a google hangout at least once during the semester. I would have liked to put faces to names (at least to people in my group).

Going forward I am just "Steve", a passionate NFL fan who is excited for the upcoming season. I couldn't be more excited to reveal myself to the world and to get to work on my writing.

This is just the beginning...

The NFL's Social Media Campaign

If you have been following this blog over the past 11 weeks then you have seen me write about the NFL's relationship with media. Regular season games get monster ratings for the networks. Post season games do even better. The league has learned how to utilize its relationship with the broadcast networks with the newest advances in television technologies (can you say 3D Super Bowl??)

That is why it's no surprise the sport also dominates on the social media playing field. The area of social media the league gets its most attention is twitter. Most NFL websites have blog writers and beat writers. Twitter is a platform for beat writers to share breaking news quickly to fans. If a story is of high priority, there is a good chance it will be written in a blog post. Twitter is the "preamble" to blog post. I follow many NFL writers and insiders on twitter. Half their tweets are about blog posts they are preparing to write. I've stolen their approach this semester and I do the same thing. I use Tiny URL to link followers to my work.

Players are actively involved with twitter. Think about it for one second, what corporate job gives you direct access to high profile employees? The NFL does. You can follow your favorite players on twitter, tweet them, and re-tweat their posts. On many occasions fans have received responses from a player they have tweeted. This is a great way for fans to interact with players and is another way of connecting fans to the sport. The league does have a strict rule prohibiting players to use social media during the games. I think its a smart rule. At some point their needs to be a sense of privacy in a locker room or on a sideline. I comparre this to an employer prohibiting their employees from tweeting in the board room.

The NFL also uses Facebook to connect with fans. Each day, my Facebook feed will show something like this:

The league makes an attempt to share multi-media with its fans. This is a fan driven sport and the more access fans have to its favorite players and teams the better it is for the NFL. By littering these types of posts on Facebook there is a better chance this link will be shared by users (this happens with viral videos all the time). Expanding your audience is always a good thing if you are a growing business; the more eyeballs on your product the better chance it has to succeed and make money for you.

The NFL uses video to assist its social media campaign. Video blogs have become the standard for most reporters. During training camp, fans want to see the newest practice videos and post practice soundbites associated with blog posts. Here is an example of a Jets Blog written by Rich Cimini of ESPN New York. Rich is perfect at writing two to three blog posts a day, tweeting about his posts, and supporting his writing with a video package. 

My original proposal was to move an existing NFL franchise back to Los Angeles, the second largest media market in the country. This is something the league is already talking about and there is an online presence about the subject. If I were to lead up the social media campaign for this project I would create a webpage in conjunction with the league informing fans about the topic. The page would highlight my points for placing a team in LA. I would use twitter to tweet articles from this blog specifically relating to the topic. If the project grew attention I would utilize video platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo to distribute league provided video materials and commercials centered around the topic. If the topic were to be talked about on television, radio, or in print I would direct viewers to those distribution platforms through Facebook and Twitter. 

When proposing a topic the most important component is the credibility of the writer and the source. I would make sure the information being disseminated to the public was thorough and accurate. Then I would take to the social media masses and spread my word. This has become the way of the world on the web and it has been successful so far.

Better Bounce Back Season in 2013?

The video bellow is of a show I produced at my job last week. Every once in a while I get to produce a show on a topic I am passionate about. For this show we argued over which NFL team would have the better bounce back season in 2013, the NY Giants or the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can watch the cutdown version of the show here or go to FanSportsLive.com to watch the full version.

It's no secret, I'm a Giants fan. But i'm going to disagree with the jury here and say the Steelers have a better shot at a bounce back season. I think both teams are talented. Call me crazy, but I think both teams can compete for a Super Bowl this season. But the Giants play in the NFC, which is far more competitive on paper than the AFC. Look at their division alone. The Redskins are a formidable team that won the NFC East last season. The Cowboys are full of talent, despite their ineptitude at the coaching position, and don't sleep on the Eagles, who I think will be vastly improved and could win between 6-8 games this season. The teams in the NFC East are probably separated at the end of the season by a game or two.

Meanwhile, the road to a division title is probably easier for the Steelers. Their main competition, the Ravens, took a hit offensively over the weekend losing Dennis Pitta to injury. I think they will still be a competitive team but miss out on the playoffs in the AFC. Last month I wrote a post about the Cincinnati Bengals and how they are primed to win this season. They are a threat to the Steelers. The Browns are a young team that is getting better but are nowhere near competing with the big boys.

Despite their age, I believe the Steelers have the best Quarterback and coach in the division; two components to a winning team. The last time the Steelers missed the playoffs was in 2009. The following two seasons they went 12-4. They have never had a losing season under coach Mike Tomlin.  Their defense is still a top 10 defense in the league. Plus on the schedule they play the AFC East within their conference. They are better than 3 of the 4 teams in that division. I don't think enough people are talking about the Steelers and they will feel foolish come November.

Breaking Format, but for a good reason

I am going to break format of my blog for this one post. Although I love the NFL, It has always been a dream of mine to write and produce a short web series. For my capstone project I plan to create an interactive web page for a web show I have been writing for years with a couple of close friends. The goal is to produce, direct, and edit about 3-4 "webisodes" of our original web series entitled "Perfect Men". 

Bellow is an example of a script for one of the episodes. I'm not expecting many people to get it right away. Writing for comedy is incredibly difficult to do. What one thinks is funny can be stupid to hundreds. Yet, this is our attempt. I would actually love some honest feedback on this script. Please take a look...enjoy!

ESTABLISHING SHOT OF DINNER

CUT TO 4 SITTING TOGETHER AT DINER BOOTH

ERIC, STEVE. KEVIN HAVE HANDS OVER THEIR FACE IN DIGUST

GREG IS HOLDING HIS COFFEE IN HIS HAND

Greg

What's the problem

Eric

Greg, this is the third date in a row that you have ruined for me...with a ladder!

Greg

I don't see why you are complaining! You said you were in the middle of a project. Plus. I rented this ladder from sears hardware on a home equity line of credit and I figured getting to your room the quickest way was in a straight line. Hence, why i used the ladder.

Kevin

You don't have a home, how do you have a line of credit?

Greg

Ask the government

Steve

Whatever the case, Greg, this is becoming a habit. We spend money on rent so that we can pretend to have semi-nice places to take girls home to and the property value goes down every time you arrive to "Help Out"!

Eric

Yea, and Crap! this reminds me that i'm behind on my rent!

Greg

I don't understand why you don't just live at home like I do. All the free bananas you can eat. "I am Potassium incarnate!"

Kevin

Why don't you just ask for a raise at your job

Steve

Where are you working now anyway

Eric

I've been doing some part-time work over at the day care center

CUT TO ERIC GETTING HIT BY LITTLE KIDS WITH BASEBALL BATS

Steve

Where were you before that. I thought you worked at a coffee house

Eric

I did until I caffeinated the Kiddy Cappuccino.

CUT TO ERIC BEING BEATEN BY LITTLE KIDS WITH BATS IN COFEE SHOP

Kevin

You need to get a job where there aren't any kids. Why not here...i mean we are here all the time?...Hey Jose

Jose

yea!

Kevin

Any chance you guys are hiring?

Jose

Whose asking?

Eric

Well, i'm trying to look for a new job. I need some extra pay to make rent

Jose

you got Breast's?

Eric

we'll no...

Jose

then were not hiring are we! Tough break, if you had breast's no problem, but this is a showman's business. You should try at the milk mart.

Greg

[cuts off jose]

I LOVE THE MILK MART..I'M THERE ALL THE TIME!

Kevin

what the hell do you have to do at the milk mart?

Greg

Buy Milk...I"M THE CALCIUM CHAMPION!!

Steve

well apply, you cant lose..

Greg

I don't understand why you spend all this money in rent to impress girls. You should do what I do, just have sex with girls in your car.

Eric

The thought of you doing anything sexual in your car makes my stomach turn, especially since you drive every Saturday.

Kevin

Have you no shame! don't you care that people can see you

Greg

no no no.. i go where no one ever goes, besides i have mirrored windows so it's impossible to see inside.

Steve

Greg, those only work during daytime, at night you can see everything

Greg

No No No, trust me, as a man who has had sex at least 3 and a half times in a car, i know what I'm talking about. My windows are like my cars condom.

Eric:

Gross. But you know what? children don't hang out at the milk mart...I think i'll apply. Can you give me a lift tomorrow Kev?

*fades to Eric walking over to the milk mart, with Kev's car in the background*

Manager:

You know what, you're the most qualified applicant i've ever received. You have an impeccable beard.

Eric:

why thank you sir, it's my pride and joy

Manager:

you look just like a dairy farmer. You got the job. Let me walk you out...Milkman.

*eric and the manager walk out of the store*

Manager:

So, we'll see you at the opening shift tomorrow morning!

Eric:

Thank you so much for this opportunity sir,

*sounds of Greg over run, Eric's closing sentance, eric looks over at the car moving in the background and see's Greg humping nothing in his car.*

Manager:

OH SWEET NONFAT DAIRY

Eric:

NO!

*greg uncomfortably humping something in his car, Eric looks sick and proceeds to puke all over himself and the milk mart.*

Manager:

Oh...oh that is not pasteurized....we can't allow any of our employees at Milk mart to throw up all over the building...I'm sorry but you're just not Milk Mart Material....

*kevin pulls up*

Kevin:

Didja get the job? Oh, greg's here. *HONK HONK*

*eric looks at kevin*

[end]

Training Camp is upon us

To players it's similar to the first day of school. For fans it's similar to christmas day (well..kind of, week one is more like christmas but you get the picture). Training camp has begun for all 32 teams. If you're an NFL junkie like I am then you have been watching NFL Networks coverage of inside training camp religiously since Wednesday.

Training camp is great because it represents a fresh start. Every team is equal, looking to develop their own identity. It's great for fans because they can go out to practice and watch their favorite team up close. Most teams offer special incentives for coming out to practice such as autograph nights (the NY Giants did this sunday after their practice).

But there is one thing that teams hate during training camp...injuries. And already several teams have been hit with the injury bug early in camp. On Saturday the Philadelphia Eagles lost wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for the season to a torn ACL he suffered in practice. Despite the presence of DeSean Jackson, Maclin has been the teams most productive receiver over the past two seasons and is in a contract year. A tough break for him and the Eagles, as they look to learn a new offense under first year coach Chip Kelly over the next 6 weeks.

The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens also lost a key piece of their offense on Saturday when tight end Dennis Pitta injured himself on a jump ball in practice. Pitta landed awkwardly and was initially diagnosed with a dislocation of his hip. The Ravens were so concerned that he was rushed into surgery Saturday night where it was revealed he has a fracture in his hip bone. Pitta is also done for the season. This is sure to hamper the Ravens offense, especially since they were relying on Pitta and fellow tight end Ed Dickson to make up for the loss of WR Anquan Boldin (traded to the 49ers). The Ravens signed productive tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in an attempt to alleviate the loss of Pitta.

In Denver, the Broncos also suffered a season ending injury to offensive lineman Dan Koppen. Koppen was expected to play center for the team. This now leaves the Broncos thin on the O-Line as several of their other starters are recovering from off season injuries.

Injuries are the biggest fear of teams during training camp. Injuries in preseason games are even worse (a reason why the preseason should be shortened but that is a whole other argument). The silver lining for the Eagles, Ravens, and Broncos are that these injuries happened early in camp. They have plenty of time to adjust and move on with other players before the season begins. A loss to a star player in week 1 or the first month of the season can be far more devastating to a teams season.

Here's to good health and good competition for the next 6 weeks.

Presentation: Moving an NFL team to Los Angelas

Welcome to the Kick is Good! blog. My name is Paul James, the writer and managing editor. This is our first video blog. We hope you enjoy our presentation. The season is just 7 weeks away. Training camp is opening up this week. Preseason games are start in about 2 weeks from now. It's an exciting time to talk football. But today's "Vlog" is centered around a league issue that I believe should be talked about in NFL circles. I propose the league move a team to the Los Angeles market. If you have been following the blog over the past couple of weeks you might have noticed my elevator pitches on the topic. Allow me to further explain why I think this idea will help the game.

 The NFL is all about making a "buck". This is a made for television sport. It's a much watch every sunday in the fall. Local bars are packed, people host house parties, pizza and wing places are busy all day with orders. This lasts the whole day because you have 1pm games, 4:15pm games and a Sunday night game. The baseball, hockey and basketball seasons can't compare to the NFL ratings wise. It's not because their product is not any better, it is because their season is so long. Hockey and Basketball are 82 games over a seven month span. Baseball is 162 games over a 6 month span. When viewers are provided with the same content almost every single day of the week they will be more inclined to "skip" a game because they can just watch it tomorrow. Also the sting of a loss does not hurt as bad because their is a game the next day. That's not the case for the NFL. Every game is a big game because their is only 16 of them. A win in week 1 is as important as one in week 15. Hence why these games become must watch. They provide so much drama. Drama equals television ratings.

LA is the second largest media market in the country. I think the NFL has been foolish for not having a franchise in this market since the Rams left in the mid 90s. The league has tried to create a presence in there placing NFL network in culver city, but that fails in comparison to having an NFL team in town. From a television standpoint, putting a team in LA is a fantastic idea. It will produce more eyes watching the games on CBS, FOX, and NBC in the second largest market, because their would be a local game in town.

Some have argued that LA is not a great sports town. I disagree. I think its a bad sports town if a team is non-competitive. Prices of tickets are expensive. If a team plays in a large market they are going to charge more for tickets to the game. If the team is not playing well people are not going to spend money to come to the game. I know the Dodgers and Angels have suffered through this in recent years. But when the Lakers are playing well (and now the clippers), fans flock to the staples center. When USC football was in its hay day in the mid 2000's their stadium was packed and ABC was showing their games nationally ever Saturday night. This shows me that the Los Angeles market can support an NFL team, especially if it is an established winner.

Now the question becomes, how does a team get to LA? One thought is expansion. I am not in favor of this idea. Right now the league has 32 teams. It's a perfect number for conference structure (4 divisions of 4 teams each). Adding another team ruins this balance and makes scheduling along with division alignment a nightmare. Plus, expansion teams take time to develop talent. The Texans and Browns were the last two expansion teams. It took the Texans over a decade to finally become competitive and the Browns are still trying to win over 8 games a season. Expansion also dilutes the talent pool around the league since you would need more players. The NBA deals with this problem all the time and why they have discussed contracting several teams to make the sport more competitive.

My plan is to move an existing franchise into the Los Angeles area. I would start by looking at small market teams that have difficulty selling out their building for home games. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the first team that come to mind. They struggle to draw fans and their games are constantly blacked out locally since they don't sell out. Jacksonville is not a great pro sports town. It's a southern city which makes it a possible destination for a Super Bowl, but the league already did that once in 2004 and the reviews of the city were not positive. They are one team I would consider moving.

The Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings are two other teams i'd be interested in relocating. Both have old stadiums. The Vikings are struggling to get a new stadium built in Minnesota. Both teams have decent roster talent  (the Vikings made the playoffs last season). But the fan base in these cities are so passionate about their teams. Lets face it, their is not much to do in Buffalo NY and Minneapolis in December and January. Football provides entertainment for people in these regions. Even when these teams are bad (the Bills have not made the playoffs since 1999) they still sell out their building. I would rather leave these two teams in their markets.

Finally we come to the St. Louis Rams, a franchise that previously played in Los Angeles and left after the 1994 season because their stadium lease expired. Five years later they won a Super Bowl in St. Louis. The team was successful in the early 2000's and was able to fill its building. But since 2003-2004 the team has struggled to be a consistently good. Normally they are picking at the top of the draft. The positive about picking high is that you accumulate good players. I think the Rams have a good foundation of young athletic players, starting with Quarterback Sam Bradford and defensive players Chris Long and James Laurinitis. They also have a head coach in Jeff Fisher who is a proven winner and can coach in the big game. This team is on the rise. It's unfortunate that they play in a division with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, otherwise I think they could threaten for a Wildcard spot in a competitive NFC. In two years from now the Rams could be a top team in the conference and an exciting watch for a new fan base.

Ironically, two years from now is when their stadium lease expires. Recently the team was denied $700 million dollars by the CVC to make advances to the Edward Jones Dome. When the Rams first signed a contract with the city of St. Louis on a stadium deal for 30 years, part of the agreement stated that their stadium remain in the top 25 percent of the league. Denying money for repairs takes the dome out of this percentile and allows the Rams to break their lease in 2014.

Stan Kronke, the teams owner and real estate tycoon, would not be apposed to moving the team to LA. Ultimately, the Rams to LA are a great fit. They already play in the NFC West division. Moving to LA makes sense because they could stay in that division. It would not affect the current structure of division and conferences like moving a team such as Jacksonville would. It also makes sense for travel purposes. Currently the Rams are located in the central time zone, which means most of their home games are played at the 1pm time slot. But, most of their away games are played in the 4pm time slot since Arizona, Seattle, and San Francisco are all west coast based teams. Moving to LA would mean all four teams would play in the same timezone, making start times consistent for players and fans.

More importantly, the Rams have a history in LA. Returning them back home would re-ignite the LA Ram fan base and spark a new interest in younger fans. If the team is competitive, they will play in nationally televised games and gain greater exposure to the country. The Rams hardly ever get a Sunday or Monday night national game in St. Louis. Advertising revenue from a new stadium in LA would help the team financially. Playing in a big market might attract some big name free agents. A lot of players live in California in the offseason so playing in LA would be convenient. And a new stadium in the market means a Super Bowl could be played their. Who knows? Perhaps it could be the Rams that play the first Super Bowl in their home stadium?

I've laid out how moving the an NFL Franchise back to Los Angeles is both economically smart for the league and a team. I think the St. Louis Rams are the team to move. Please understand that I am a fan just like all of you. I hate the idea of moving a team out of a city where there already is a fan base. I am not try to hate on the city of St. Louis. It is a great sports town, as evident by the Cardinals fan base. I just think the league and Los Angeles need the Rams.

Thanks for checking out our first video blog. Check back weekly for new posts consisting of news and notes about the National Football League. Enjoy the start of training camp and we will see you next time on The Kick is Good Blog!

Offseason Improvements: AFC teams most improved and trending up

It's getting to that point where we can taste training camp. Teams begin reporting next week and fans get a first look at their favorite teams roster. Camp signals the end of the offseason. All the work by general managers and scouts putting their teams together through free agency and the draft are now complete. It's hard to make wholesale changes to a team during the regular season. The NFL is not like baseball where teams can make multiple moves at the trading deadline to drastically get better (you can blame the salary cap for that).

Two AFC teams that I think had a great offseason were the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins.  Let's start with the Chiefs, who after a 2-14 season were bound to make several changes. Perhaps the biggest change came off the field. The hiring of John Dorsey as general manager and Andy Reid as head coach is a great foundation that the team can build on for years. Reid is a proven winner and won several NFC East division's with Eagles teams that had good, but not great talent. His presence alone on the sideline should provide the team with an extra 2-3 wins this season. Trading for quarterback Alex Smith in exchange for a second round draft pick was good value. Smith, although not a top 10 QB, is a solid professional that can manage a west coast offense. He does not have the strongest arm but is intelligent with ball decisions. He has a myriad of offensive talent to spread the ball to. Jamal Charles is a pro-bowl caliber running back. The team re-signed number one receiver Dwayne Bowe to a multi year contract. Drafting Eric Fisher with the first overall pick is not sexy but the right choice. Fisher will be a pillar of their offensive line for a decade. Teaming him with left tackle Brandon Albert will provide the team with strong bookend tackles to protect Smith and to help run the ball. The teams defense has some good players like linebacker Derrick Johnson and budding star Eric Berry at safety.

The Dolphins rebounded nicely with a 7-9 season after a disastrous 2011. First year coach Joe Philbin was a good hire, and has developed a winning culture in Miami (something its lacked since the Marino era). Quarterback Ryan Tannehill did not get the same amount of exposure that Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russel Wilson received (most likely because his team was not a playoff team), but had a formidable rookie season considering he had very little weapons on offense. He should improve in his second year as a starter. The team chose not to resign left tackle Jake Long (which I think was a mistake) and have yet to replace him with another player of his caliber. But they have improved the offense by re-signing last years leading receiver Brian Hartline and pairing him with pro-bowler Mike Wallace (formerly of the Steelers). Wallace is a burner that will provide Tannehill  with a deep threat down the field. They also signed wide receiver Brandon Gibson, a productive player for the St. Louis Rams the past few seasons. Miami stole tight end Dustin Keller away from the division rival Jets by signing him to a one year contract. These additions should make their passing attack fairly potent. On defense they signed Dannell Ellerbe from the super bowl champion Ravens to play linebacker. Cameron Wake is still on the roster and I believe one of the best pass rushers in the league. They will pair him with first round pick Dion Jordan out of Oregon, who the team expects to contribute on defense right away. They lost corner back Sean Smith in free agency to the Chiefs and have not replaced him.

Overall, the AFC conference is a lot weaker than the NFC conference (a conversation for an article that is coming soon). The Broncos, Patriots, Ravens (although weaker) and the Texans are the class of the conference, with the Colts, Steelers and Bengals also in the mix for playoff contention. But the improvements made by the Dolphins and Chiefs put them right in the thick of things. I think one of these two teams could surprise and win a wild card spot. Right now my money is on the Chiefs who play in a weaker division than the Dolphins (they play the Raiders twice). Either way both teams futures look bright and their stock is trending upward.