While colleges intending to play this fall work out social distancing strategies (like not having quarterback lockers next to each other in case on tests positive), it's not just the players who can find themselves sidelined during the pandemic.
The Philadelphia Eagles found that out when head coach Doug Pederson had a positive test.
That led NBC Sports Philadelphia to pull together a story under the headline, Eagles have built-in backups for every coach on their roster that mentions a couple of Dartmouth alums who could add to their responsibilities if things take a turn. (LINK)
Matt Burke '98, a safety on the undefeated 1996 Big Green and a 17-year veteran of the NFL coaching wars, would be in the mix to serve as Philly's interim defensive coordinator. From the story:
The other choice for an interim DC would likely be run game coordinator/defensive line coach Matt Burke. Burke joined the Eagles’ staff in 2019 as a defensive special assistant but after the Eagles fired Phillip Daniels, they gave Burke the DL job. Burke was the Dolphins’ DC from 2017-18 and has a long history with Jim Schwartz. Burke worked under Schwartz in Tennessee and Detroit.
Also getting a mention is Ryan Paganetti '14, the Eagles' assistant linebackers coach, who would be in line to potentially lead the linebacking group. From the story:
Since 2017, Ryan Paganetti (brother of T.J.) has been the Eagles’ assistant linebackers coach and had “game management” added to his title before the 2019 season. Paganetti has always been a big part of the Eagles’ analytics department. Paganetti played RB at Dartmouth and was a scouting intern for the Cowboys in 2013.
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While the CAA has pulled the plug on the fall championship season Villanova is among the conference schools still looking into some kind of fall campaign. Apparently that's not good enough for two Wildcats as a highly regarded offensive lineman and a 1,000-yard receiver have entered their names in the transfer portal. (LINK)
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The 2020 Dartmouth roster features four fifth-year seniors who have to be hoping for some clarity from the Ivy League regarding either spring football or eligibility next fall. They are:
Ross Andreasik – linebacker
DJ Avery – defensive back
Drew Estrada – wide receiver/returner
Seth Simmer – defensive line
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Hero Sports has a look at FCS conference-by-conference plans HERE.
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An Indiana TV station has story under the headline: Indianapolis’ Ivy Leaguers head back to campus without fall sports. While the first athlete mentioned is a Brown football player, an athlete who thought he'd be in Hanover this fall has decided he won't be. From the story (LINK):
“It wasn’t a surprise, but it was still more painful than I expected it to be,” said Dartmouth runner Isaac Weber. “I decided to take a gap year because of the circumstances.”
Green Alert Take: He won't be the last.
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In response to "Unity Demands" posted by the "Players of the Pac-12" in a column posted on The Players' Tribune site (LINK), a San Diego Union Tribune columnist looks at the other side of the arrangement between the athletes and their schools.
Under the headline, It’s time for college sports to tell athletes take it or leave it he writes that athletes don't do badly for themselves (LINK):
They get a full scholarship for five (and sometimes six) years, plus grad school if you finish your undergraduate degree early and still have eligibility. In some cases, that’s worth $350,000.
You get housing and cost of attendance stipends, recent additions because the scholarship alone wasn’t enough. That can be another $10,000 per year in cash.
You get priority registration so you don’t have to wait a semester or six for that popular, upper-division class with the primo professor.
You finish with no student loans, or $37,468 less than the average California grad did last year.
You get academic tutoring 24/7. You have food available 24/7. You fly charter, stay in five-star hotels, get per diem, get boxes and boxes of gear. You have access to some of the best doctors and dentists and ophthalmologists in the county. You work out in a private weight room with state-of-the-art equipment. You’re conferred an elite social status on campus.
The column concludes this way:
At some point, college administrators need to say: “Here’s what we can offer. We think it’s more than generous. If you don’t like it, you are under no obligation to accept it. College sports aren’t for everyone.”
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EXTRA POINT
There's a saying that "The best camera is the one you have with you."
I thought about that yesterday while I was writing (or trying to write) at our local lake. When I looked up from the keyboard and through the oversized windshield of the BGA Mobile World Headquarters I saw a woman standing motionless in waist-deep water with two loons no more than 15 feet away from her. The woman stood there for a good 10 minutes looking at the birds before stealthily making her way to the beach. Understand, it's a treat to see loons for even a few seconds, but to see them stationary and so near a person was highly unusual.
Once on the beach the woman, a local painter, dug a digital camera out of her pack and zoomed in on the loons. The usually solitary birds – the painter and several passersby all agreed it looked like a mother and its young offspring – remained not far off the beach for at least another 10 minutes.
While the artist shot close-up pictures that may well be transferred some day to her canvas, I rued the fact that my digital camera was home on my desk and the best camera I had was the one I had with me – an older iPod Touch that couldn't come even close to doing the picture justice:
