Mailbag 7/22

What current player would have started for our 2009 team?

Ben: Ooo, this is a fun question! My gut instinct would be to cheat and say Pressley Harvin III. If I am remembering correctly, Chandler Anderson punted that season, but the fact that I’m having such an issue remembering only furthers my case there. Outside of that, I think you could make an argument for any of our receivers starting opposite Demaryius Thomas.

Jeff: This is pretty hard because you would at first think Mason but then remember Dwyer was the starter. I think Tre Swilling could have made a corner spot. I pick that position because it's one where I can't think of a player that spent some time in the NFL.

What show do you most wish had a post-finale movie?

Ben: I’ll say Community, just so they can actually have #SixSeasonsAndAMovie. Also, it wasn’t technically a post-finale movie, but the final four episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars sure felt like a movie, and personally, I think it’s some of the best Star Wars content to date.

Jake: I appreciate the Psych allusion here, but, I think I would give a lot to get another lap with 30 Rock.

Jake P.: I would have really enjoyed The West Wing getting a post-finale movie. They could have possibly played it off of the opening of the first episode of the final season. It was set three years in the future, so there was a chance to fill viewers in on many unanswered questions.

Chris: Honestly Game of Thrones. Maybe I’m just dumb for willing myself to get hurt again, but a 3 hour movie done the right way could ease some of the season 8 pains I still feel. Mostly I’m thinking that a movie would give the finale some room to breath and make it feel more weighty than just a “okay the show’s done now go home!”.

Jeff: How about the single cliff hanger season of Terra Nova. I loved that show and they just killed it after setting it up for a season two.

Similar to baseball, can the grounds crew legally doctor a grass field or an artificial turf field to provide an advantage for the home team?

Ben: Legally? I’m not sure, but I’m sure there are things they can do.

Jake: Gosh, well, I don’t know about the field, but I know something about crowd noise and the Georgia Dome but, well, I’m a little foggy on the details.

Jake P.: My Panthers fandom requires me to second Big Jake’s answer.

If so, what can be done and what are the effects of each of those things? Would a wet field make passing and getting a sure footing more difficult, perhaps blunting a pass-happy, air-raid team? At least until the water dries.

Ben: Yeah, exactly that. A wet field makes the ball harder to hold onto. Outside of that, I’m not super familiar with what else you can do to grass to affect a game.

Jake: I think watering a turf field before a football game would get us some weird looks by people with more power than you or I.

Jake P.: If a team tried to do something and it was noticeable, with all of the people that have access to the field, the team would almost certainly be outed. #Fieldgate

Do they still put sand on artificial turf fields? What effect does that have?

Ben: So I actually didn’t know the answer to this at all, so I decided to call up my old pal Google who helped me get through college. While this specifically refers to artificial grass for a home, I would think it still mostly applies to artificial turf fields:

Sand infill for artificial grass absorbs shock, deters bacteria, and provides the same durability as crumb rubber, making it a great solution for playgrounds, pet areas, and yards.

- Source

Jake: I was today years old when I learned that was a thing.

Jeff: I've been on a few artificial turfs and they all had the rubber pieces in them. It was also 90+ degrees each time and my shoes felt like they were becoming one with the field.

Got any hacks for #PandemicLife?

Ben: Honestly, I haven’t had much time to explore any #PandemicLife hacks. I picked up another job to help cover some bills, and let me tell you, it’s not fun!

Jake: Make interesting things for breakfast (or the meal of your choice), and for twice the benefit, make them healthy. It gives me everything I liked about chemistry class (mixing stuff) but you can eat the end result.

Jake P.: Even if you aren’t going anywhere, get dressed. It gives me a nice boost to start my morning. I feel myself entering a more productive mindset.

Chris: Walks. I try to get out every day for a midday walk and it’s super great at clearing my head and giving me energy. If I’m not explicitly exercising in the evening I’ll go for a walk then too.

Jeff: Don't have a toddler and a newborn in the middle of it...

The SWAC has announced they’re moving all fall sports, including football, to next spring, and their spring 2021 football will have a limited schedule. How long do you think it’ll be until we see an FBS conference do something similar? Basically… is that the first domino (at least for playing games, after the Ivy League just cancelled their season)?

Ben: We’ve been planning articles under the assumption that college football will be played in the Fall. In reality, I don’t know that there will actually be a season (at least in the Fall). In fact, until I see games being played, I don’t believe a season will happen. Even with baseball fixing to start, I still don’t believe they’ll play until the games actually start happening.

Chris: Cynical me feels like no P5 will be willing to declare no fall football because of #MoneyReasons and that we’ll end up starting the season and having to immediately cancel it because like 100 athletes will get sick. I think all it’ll take is one big name program to have all their stars out, or one big name star to get a really bad case.

Jeff: The fact the ACC, Big 12, and SEC are waiting so long to make a decision leads me to believe they are going to try. I second Chris though and believe we get a few weeks in and close up shop.

Buster Posey sitting out the short season may give Bart a chance to make the MLB in near record time, don’t you think?

Ben: While I would love for the Giants to do that, I don’t think they will. Why waste the service time on a shortened season like this? Financially, it would come back to bite them in the [Aerosmith].

Jake: Good old service time manipulation. The way he gets talked about by some in the media makes me think he’d get more eyes than even I thought turned our way, which couldn’t be bad. Since I like to consider myself an optimist, I’m doing everything to fight the cloudy inclination in the back of my mind on this one.