Bowser Blues

Tyus Bowser is a multi-faceted player with great athleticism and the skill set to do many things in defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s scheme. He’s another Swiss Army Knife who Macdonald can deploy in many ways, allowing his defense to be chameleon-like, morphing into different looks pre- and post-snap. And when Bowser has been healthy, he’s been an effective chess piece as an edge-setter, pass rusher and in coverage.

When he’s healthy!

Bowser reported to training camp with a heavily wrapped knee and has been on the NFI (non-football injury) list since. Inclusion on the NFI list means that Bowser isn’t being paid. A look at NFLPA records indicate that Bowser in fact, has not been paid. There’s no gentlemen’s agreement between the team and the 28-year-old linebacker to the best of my knowledge.

I’m hearing that the Ravens and their doctors see no reason why Bowser can’t take the field. Yet he doesn’t despite the lack of income. Bowser is a man who takes extremely good care of his body. He’s almost always in great shape but his refusal to play costs him $250,000 per week (1/18th of his $4.5M base salary). With each missed paycheck, the Ravens receive and equal credit against the cap ($250K).

Yesterday during his presser, head coach John Harbaugh was asked about Bowser’s status.

“That’s gotten a little more complicated over the last couple of weeks. I’m really not at liberty to talk about it right now, but at some point in time, I’m sure we’ll have an announcement on that one way or another. He has to make some choices and decisions.”

Read between those lines if you wish.

We can take Harbaugh’s response to the Bowser question in a number of ways. Will his injury require surgery and if so, does it end his season? Is there something besides the injury holding Bowser back? Could the Ravens be prepared to part ways? It sounds like they’ve drawn a line in the sand and it’s all up to Bowser.

No matter how you look at it, the situation is very peculiar and given Bowser’s skill set, given the injuries to Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, the Ravens could certainly use the versatile backer. But if the team doctors truly believe that activating Bowser would not put him at further risk, yet he continues to refuse to play, from the outside looking in, it doesn’t say much about his commitment to the team.

At this point, the Ravens have realized $1.5M in cap savings while Bowser sits on the NFI list. If that continues, they could save $4.5M which the team can then carry forward into 2024. When 2024 rolls around, the last under Bowser’s current contract, they can cut him loose and realize another $5.5M in cap savings.

Not bad considering Bowser has played in just 10 of the teams last 24 games.

NFL Officiating is draining the game’s entertainment.

— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) October 17, 2023

Parting Shot

Jason Whitlock posted an article in The Blaze titled, “The NFL ‘pump and dump’ scheme has fallen and can’t get up”. In it, the thoughtful Whitlock compares the NFL to the decline of Enron. He writes:

“Nothing is more overvalued than the NFL. This year’s product is the worst the game has ever produced. The league’s most interesting story is a manufactured love story between America’s top pop star (Taylor Swift) and a vaccinated tight end (Travis Kelce). The on-field product is sloppy and uninteresting.

NFL teams are averaging just 2.32 TDs per game, the lowest average in 18 years. Individual teams are kicking 2.12 field goals per game, the highest average since the 1970s. The average of 1.84 field goals made is the highest in league history.”

Whitlock considers these developments to be “odd”, particularly in light of all the changes to the game to enhance scoring.

So why aren’t the changes working?

Practice, or the lack thereof, says Whitlock.

“High-level football requires practice. Teams no longer practice. Under the pretense of protecting players from head injuries, teams no longer practice. They train. They condition. They conduct walkthroughs. They do not practice. Not in pads. And not in any real way.”

And that might explain why there are so many stoppages for penalties. Referees were bigger factors than the players this past during some games, or at least it certainly seemed that way. One might think that penalties would diminish as the season goes on. During Week 6, games on average had 12.64 penalties for 105.57 yards. The week before, 10.86 penalties for 89.93 yards. But then there’s this thing called practice.

Remember when the NFL wouldn’t entertain a move to Vegas due to the city’s ties to gambling? Now the pair are in bed, spooning. The league knows that TV is the key and what better way to ensure a large TV audience than for fans to have skin in the game(s)?

Literally!

To borrow from U2’s Bono, the NFL wears our love like a see-through dress.

And really, they don’t care what you think as long as the TV audience is there.

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