It feels good to have the NFL back in gear. Of course my wife is of the opposite mind. If only I could get her to like football as much as she likes baseball.
I have been spending more time that I should reading about the Patriots. (For those who are new to this blog, I grew up in Boston and sat through many very, very bad seasons). I noticed a few articles about Bill Belichick, the coach the nation loves to hate. I think the nation would feel differently if they saw him practically cry at Tedy Bruschi’s retirement. Here are a few lessons that could be taken from stories that I read just this week:
- Respect Your Elders – In this Yahoo Sports article, we find that Belichick extended a lot of understanding to a veteran player, Roman Phifer, who had some family problems to deal with. Phifer became a key player in the Patriots first Super Bowl run. However, what I liked best was the Quick Slant section after the first one where it was reported that Belichick snapped at a recent draft pick: “Brandon, what the [bleep] do you know about the NFL?” In other words, you have to earn your stripes
- Belichick is the Beatles – This is more of a detailed schema of how Belichick has been successful. There’s a lot about preperation and being flexible… qualities that can you outside of football.
- There’s hope for me in football yet – “To work for Belichick, you just have to be smart enough to excel outside football — and obsessed with applying that intelligence to the sport. You have to be self-motivated and not stuck in your ways. And above all, you must be grateful for the opportunity, despite the tiny salary.” Check, check, and check. Bill, I’m ready and waiting…
- Belichick Knows His Personal Finance – The Patriots made a big move that surprised nearly everyone in the NFL. They traded one of their better players, Richard Seymour, for what looks to be one of the best draft picks in 2011. Seymour will be 30 this season though (getting a little old for the NFL) and his contract expires after this year (he can simply go to another team). Seymour has had some injuries the last few years. When asked about the trade, Belichick said it was in the best long-term interest of the team. Meanwhile Oakland seems to be happy to get better now. Unfortunately, one player is unlikely to take the team from 5 wins to 10 or 11 wins necessary to make the playoffs. It’s these kind of moves that the Patriots make that seem to provide great talent in the future. It’s like investing for the future.
With all that football stuff out of the way, let’s get to the personal finance links:
Money Writers:
- Brip Blap asks are you a success junkie?
- Digerati Life talks about green living: ways to recycle and buy used.
- Frugal Dad offers 5 ways to stay out of debt when unemployed.
- Generation X Finances says your financial success depends on the clarity of your goals.
- Learn how to convert a principal residence into a rental property at Million Dollar Journey.
- Money Smart Life writes save money by selling your car?
- Learn at My Dollar Plan on how to save for multiple goals.
- The Sun’s Financial Diary asks what is FHA Loan?
Financial Posts of the Week
- Bargaineering shares Every Penny Counts video.
- No Credit Needed explains how we organize our finances.
- Five Cent Nickel writes how to get a raise (or at least keep your job).
- Moolanomy posts rob the rich: 8 things you can buy for a steal in this recession.
- Money Crashers explains why you need to pay off debt as quickly as possible.
- The Simple Dollar shares revising my money goals – and setting new ones.
- One Money Dummy Getting Smarter blogs an unexpected benefit to using the cash system.
- Read on the topic of money by one Frugal Girl.
- Pay Less For Food asks are you leaving money behind at the supermarket?
- Rich Credit Debt Loan wonders what does it mean to be broke?
- Get Rich Slick writes my protégé just got sacked!
- Saving Advice offers 8 reasons why you need to read your bills every month.
- Wisebread is dreaming of a frugal Christmas: 6 things you can make that people on your list will use and want.
- Associate Money explains the importance of saving money.
- Debt Kid asks foreclosure lawyer: do you really need one?
- Saving to Invest shares 10 healthy and simple meals you can make for under $5
Belichick would be coaching HS if not for Tom Brady.
I don’t know, with a number of injuries last year to the defense (Thomas, Harrison, Warren, etc.) the Patriots put up an 11-5 record – and that’s with a transition to a new QB who wasn’t Brady.
Some credit has to be given to Belichick for holding the St. Louis Rams to 17 points in Super Bowl XXXVI. He also held Manning to bad performances a few times after that, until either Manning figure Belichick out or the Patriots secondary just lacked the physical talent.
The Dolphins were also 11-5 last season too. Should we be giving credit to Tony Sporano too? By my record (give or take a game), Belichick sports a career record of 52-61 without Brady. Including last season.
About the Belichick and personal finance comment… not sure I get the reference regarding the trade. Seymour is owed 3.7M in the last year of his deal and can leave for nothing (or get re-signed) by the Pats. Seymour would probably command a high salary, but then again so will a top-10 draft pick from the Raiders. For instance, BJ Raji signed a 5 year 29M deal with 18M in guaranteed money (at the #9 draft slot this year). Financially its a wash, though knowing Belichick’s draft prowess he would probably find a good/great player with the Raider’s draft pick.
I think Tony Sporano does get a lot of credit for the Dolphins last year. They also had an easy schedule (coming off a 1-15 or so season) while the Patriots should have had one of the more difficult ones (having come off a 16-0 season).
Belichick didn’t have complete buy-in from everyone in his stints before the Patriots, so I don’t know how much I count them. Belichick has also dominated the draft moving in and out with the Patriots. Examples are too numerous to mention here. I don’t know if was able to do that with other organizations, but I don’t really remember it.
The personal finance part is that he’s putting something in the bank today for tomorrow. Instead of having the value of Seymour this year (and then maybe never), he’s going to have the value of one of the highest rated players in the draft for another 5 years minimum, maybe 10.
The top ten pick from the Raiders comes in 2011 where it’s expected that rookies will have a different pricing system after the new bargaining agreement. It’s a gamble if that happens.
Could Belichick find a guy as good as Seymour in the draft? I think so, considering that he’s betting the tail end of Seymour’s career vs. the whole career of a new guy.
Also the 3.7M saved this year can be used to help renegotiate Wilfork’s contract. That saves them possibly losing both Wilfork and Seymour in the same year and not getting a great pick for it.
I don’t really understand this from the Raiders perspective. It’s not as if they are 1 player away from being a great team. Even if they’re able to build a solid core to move forward, Seymour is going to be in the twilight of his career before it gets off the ground.
Seymour will probably piss off Al Davis and get cut by mid-season, like that d-back they signed as an FA last year (name is eluding me, and I’m too Lazy to look it up).
DeAngelo Hall?
I’m with you where I don’t get what the Raiders get out of it. I think they still are looking at a challenge in winning 5 games this year.
Well, this is a football themed post, right? So I don’t feel bad about saying this – Vikings have the best team in the league!
I feel bad for the teams on our schedule. Facing AP, Favre, and our other offensive weapons while at the same time having to try to get past our defense? Ouch!
Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the only person not in Viking management who thinks he can still play.
If Brady got hurt again and I had to choose between Favre and our current Hoyer (who I think is a rookie that went undrafted), I’d take Hoyer.
If you think I’m the only person not in Viking’s management who thinks he can’t play, you obviously haven’t been around Minnesota much the past month :P
You forget that Favre doesn’t have to do much. We have the top player in the NFL at running back and a backup RB who could be starting on a lot of teams.
We hardly had a passing threat last season. Now the fact we have a QB who can complete passes when there is 1 on 1 coverage (which will happen when they load up the line against AP) makes Favre justifiable and definitely desireable.
He might complete passes on 1 on 1 coverage, but it’s a toss-up which team he ends up completing it to. :-)
2 Words:
DIRTY BIRDS…
LETS GO FALCONS!
I’m a Vikings fan, and I hate Favre. Sure, he’ll have more passing yards, but he’ll also throw away a few games with horrible decision (he is, after all, the career leader in interceptions). The whole charade of skipping training camp rubs me the wrong way, too.
I plan to skip the NFL season this year until Favre is benched/injured. With the baseball winter leagues, winter meetings, free agency, etc, I should be able to keep plenty busy without the NFL :)