Is Riley's contract fair to Beaver fans?

If, as a member of Beaver Nation, you have yet to hear about John Canzano's article regarding Coach Riley, allow me to give you a quick summation: though he can find no fault in coaching or recruiting, Canzano wonders if Riley's "lifetime contract" has affected the coach like it does most NBA free agents after they sign a multi-year deal.  In essence, does giving Riley security (through a guaranteed contract extension of one year for every 6 win season) create complacency?  

Now, before too many Beaver Believers get riled up, Canzano does bring up some valid arguments that should cause us all ponder: win total in the years pre-"lifetime" contact: 10, 9, 9, 8; Pac-12 record post contract: 18-22 (including 1-8 in the last 9 games).  His likening that sweet of a deal to what happens when any free agent not named Bryant signs a big deal, well, let's just say that there is evidence abound in EVERY sport.  The truth is that all but the most driven of competitors would lose a least a little of their drive when what they have been chasing is suddenly secured.  As sad as this fact may be, loyalty to team no longer exist.  Instead, the only true loyalty we regularly see is to self.

I contemplated this while arguing whether Riley is good or bad for OSU with some friends and ultimately came to understand that Riley, so long as he keeps the Beavers bowl eligible, is good for Corvallis.  You see, if you lived here during the tenure of the Erickson days you probably recall with fondness what it felt like to win week in and week out, but I wonder if you remember that he went 5-6 the next season when most of Riley's recruits were gone?  His 8-5 record the year after that?  Riley matched it upon his return.  

You see, Erickson was a high profile coach like many Beaver fans are currently coveting.  He understood that to "win now" he had to bring in JC transfers.  But how well did this work?  More important, can you recall how the attempts to appease this athlete changed the landscape of Corvallis?   

 

We know the type of kid Riley recruits, and their potential level (as evidenced by the 37 ex-Beavers playing in the NFL recently).  How he finds these kids, especially knowing very few will ever come from an inner city (small town Corvallis doesn't quite have the same appeal) sets him and his staff apart.  I will agree with Canzano though, it would take a rare competitor to keep battling when the carrot is removed from the end of the stick and placed so readily at their feet.  

Here's hoping Riley remains diligent and that his passion to produce wins stays as fueled as his passion to create good men.  If not, I for one hope that the OSU administration recognizes the changing landscape as well as its town did.

SEC + ESPN = SPENCES (which, not so ironically perhaps, is defined as a monetary allowance)

I guess some would call me a conspiracy theorist but, as I look over the current AP top 25, I am left to wonder how exactly one conference could be THAT dominant.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am not going to attempt to argue that the SEC isn't and hasn't been one of the strongest conferences in the past decade, that would be idiotic.  But strong enough that the 2nd AND 3rd place team are ranked higher than the BEST team in the PAC 12 and Notre Dame?  What's worse is that according to the supposedly unbiased pollsters, the best of the Big 10 wouldn't even place fourth in the SEC and the best of the Big 12 wouldn't even finish 5th.  

The conspiracy aspect of all of this comes further to light when one starts to dig a little deeper.  You see, the SEC network is owned and operated by ESPN, and ESPN owns the rights to the FBS playoff through 2025.  Makes one wonder how this system could be viewed by any to be fair, but it does make it easier to understand how the parity that existed in the preseason polls became so heavily skewed towards the SEC by week 4.  Week 7 gave us the true intent of those in power.  Even though multiple teams tasted their first defeat, only the SEC fared the storm well (they actually strengthened their place).  Not only did Mississippi State jump from 13 to 3, they now found themselves in a tie with an Ole Miss squad that leap frogged a still undefeated Baylor team.  What's stranger still was that even though Oregon was ranked higher, and lost to an Arizona team the pollsters saw as a top 10 side, somehow they fell ten spots while Alabama fell only four.  Couple that with the fact that sitting ahead of Oregon, and yet still somehow behind Alabama, was a Michigan State team Oregon had previously dismantled.  

Clever how all of the works, huh?  With every other major conference "voted" to positions on the outside looking in, it seems that now only FSU stands in the way.  DOn't worry, ESPN is working to handle that.  Don't believe me?  Examine two examples of college football players in recent weeks.  While I appreciate the article outlining FSU's Karlos Williams and possible domestic violence charges, I am left to wonder why ESPN neglected to cover with anywhere near as much zeal Alabama TE Kurt Freitag's drug deal involving 100 grams of marijuana and $4600 in cash?  

The answer is simple if you truly want to look.  The powers that be have shown us their plan.  In week 10, three of the top five teams in all of college football are from the SEC.  Not only that, but there are also two more cleverly sitting in the top ten should any of these stumble.  

Whether one chooses to accept it or not, the world of college football is never going to be free of corruption, not with that many zeros at stake.  The only saving grace is that there is finally a playoff.  Here's hoping the other conferences use the opportunity to shut out the SEC.  I hope more thought that the "unbiased" selection committee does it's job more honestly than the pollsters.  

What's up with Seattle?

Well it looks like the Percy Harvin debacle has inspired the Seattle front office to clean house.  If one believes the rumors, Marshawn is taking his Skittles (and fat contract) back home to the sun and fun of California.  I guess his need for more money, coupled with his apparent lack of understanding what it meant to truly be a teammate, finally wore thin with the front office.  I wonder though, does the 4th round draft pick he is slated to be traded for indicate that he is indeed past his prime and a real distraction, or is the trend of trading of obviously talented guys for next to nothing a bigger indicator of something broken in the front office? 

Let's face it, in one off-season Seattle has gone from league best to (honestly) just above average, and it is bound to get worse before it gets better.  After signing a starting secondary to contracts that eat into roughly 20% of the overall space cap space (and watching as that exact secondary repays the love by giving up 50 yards more per game) one has to wonder how the front office will manage the extension of Russell Wilson and the rumors that he is looking for around $25M per season.  I would like to remain optimistic and believe that Russell is grounded enough to realize that no one individual can win a championship.  If not, hopefully he realizes that, at $25M, he would be far and away the highest paid QB in the league, an honor he is not yet deserving of (not with guys like Manning, Brady, or even Rodgers still playing).  Mostly, I would like to believe that he is wise enough to calculate that if QBs with far better credentials routinely take pay cuts in exchange for wins, that maybe he too should do the same.  

Regardless of what Russell chooses, I hold onto the hope that this season's turnaround opens the eyes of the front office about how to build (and keep) a contender.  If you need the blueprint, look to Denver.   Maybe the front office can also convince the Seahawk players that the title of highest paid isn't as catchy as multiple time Super Bowl Champion.