Battle Red Blog
With the NFL in its “dead zone”, a chance to answer the “real” questions about the league.
Anyone can figure out the “best”. Best team, best player, etc. However, it takes real talent to figure out the “best” of the “worst”. Especially when looking at the NFL owner. Who’s is the worst for this year? Let’s find out.
First off, a quick review of the past 3 winners:
[We skipped over 2022, ‘cause that season was too boring, and we at Totally Not Fake News were too busy celebrating the Astros to care]
As a reminder, we at Totally Not Fake News only use the most scientifically proven/most totally accurate-and-in-no-way-misleading polling mechanisms to determine this “honor”.
With that, on to the contenders for this year:
Cal McNair (Houston Texans):
At one point, a perennial favorite. However, things have improved remarkably for Mr. McNair. He ditched Easterby, replacing him with new consigliere Hannah McNair. The Texans are coming off of back-to-back Division titles/Divisional Round appearances. The team is gearing up for another playoff run, and maybe, they might actually breakthrough to a championship. Attendance is back up and overall, the organization is in good shape.
So, what could possibly drag Cal back down into this discussion? The Texans are starting to covet a new stadium. The current lease on NRG Stadium runs out in 2031. While it has served Houston well since its opening in 2002, that will make the facility nearly 30 years old. While all preliminary discussions center on potential options within the greater Houston municipal area, this can make some fans uneasy. In particular, those, uh, more experienced Houston fans remember all-too-well the last time a Houston-based NFL owner started making noise about a new stadium. We’ll have to see if history repeats.
Jimmy Haslam (Cleveland Browns):
Sure, Haslam appears to have the plans and backing ready for a new stadium in Cleveland, but what sort of team is going to play in that new facility? The trade with Houston for Deshaun Watson continues to age very badly for Cleveland. Now the Browns hope that something emerges from its “stacked” QB room (Pickett, Flacco, Gabriel, Sanders). Watson is not likely to play this season due to a major Achilles injury, but is apparently imparting his wisdom on Sanders. That won’t go wrong, right? The team won’t be rid of the cap pain due to Watson until 2030. They had to significantly overpay to keep Myles Garrett in town, but at the cost of him never getting to the Super Bowl. Will Haslam ever let his fans get there?
Art Rooney II (Pittsburgh Steelers):
For once, the ownership of the Steelers is in the discussion. Complaints of major stagnation dog the franchise. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2017 and they’ve made more than a few curious personnel decisions, especially at QB. They continue to produce talented, yet malcontent, WRs they have to ship out at under-market value. This...
