Sports Perspectives

Without crowd noise, NFL defenses are at the mercy of the hard count

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady calls the signals during a game against Denver.<br>TNS

Raucous road crowds often force offenses to limit communication or utilize a silent count. Quarterbacks this year are free to fool defenses with varied snap counts, home or away — yet another advantage for offenses in an era rife with them.

Air Force defenders tackle Navy quarterback Tyger Goslin during their game Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, at Colorado Springs, Colo.<br>Chancey Bush/The Gazette via AP

COMMENTARY

Navy football getting routed by Air Force was stunning to see

Stunning does not seem like a strong enough word to describe what unfolded at Falcon Stadium on Saturday night.

Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, before a game in 2018.<br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

COLUMN

Juan Soto's stunning season for the Nationals was fleeting; what it foreshadows could be historic

Mike Trout, Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Mookie Betts and Mickey Mantle never led their league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average in the same season. Right now, 21-year-old Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals leads the NL in all three categories.

Army coach Jeff Monken.<br>Stars and Stripes

COLUMN

Army's Jeff Monken: Football coach and family man

Football coaching – whether it be the NFL, major colleges and even high schools – is often a thankless, 24/7 job, requiring many lost weekends, cold dinners and missed school functions. The demands are plentiful and often unavoidable. So when the opportunity arises, enjoy the free time.

Former Indiana University coach Bobby Knight makes his first public appearance at IU's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in years, during a game between the IU Hoosiers and the Purdue Boilermakers, at IU, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020.<br>TNS

PERSPECTIVE

20 years after Bob Knight's Indiana basketball coaching career came to a fiery end, a look at how it happened

An institution of higher learning that had, to that point, existed for 180 years, and surely intends to keep on going for another 180 or more, may never again know a more fractious day.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes directs his offense during Super Bowl 54 against the San Francisco 49ers.<br>Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star/TNS

PERSPECTIVE

The new rule of NFL roster construction: Build a team that can beat Patrick Mahomes

The rest of the NFL chases the defending Super Bowl champion every year, but the Chiefs' first championship since 1970 provided the league's other 31 teams a more urgent mandate.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) eyes down a pass during practice at the NFL team's training facility, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, in Berea, Ohio.<br>TNS

PERSPECTIVE

NFL football during a pandemic promises to look sort of similar and yet radically different

It will be football, but it will occur in a bizarre environment — sort of the same and yet radically different, like a vivid dream with enough twisted details to remind you something is off.