Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<p>The final minute of the <keyword id="909847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Atlanta-Falcons">Atlanta Falcons</keyword> playoff win over the <keyword id="865621" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Seattle-Seahawks">Seattle Seahawks</keyword> was some of the most exciting back-and-forth football action you will ever see. But it would have been even better without <keyword id="1780131" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Brian-Billick">Brian Billick</keyword>'s numerous gaffes down the stretch as the game's commentator.</p>
<p>The worst moment came after the game (fourth video below) when Billick declared this game "legitimizes the Seattle Seahawks...as the team to beat." But that was just the final questionable call in the final minute.</p>
<p>With 44 seconds remaining and the Seahawks trailing by six points, Billick actually hinged his entire commentary on the possibility of the Seahawks kicking a field goal on fourth down. At most, this should have been a passing comment as no coach would ever do this...  When Marshawn Lynch scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Seahawks, Billick tried to over-dramatize the possible fumble. Even if replays didn't clearly show that Lynch scored before fumbling (they did), the worst possible scenario for the Seahawks is they would have had second down with the ball on the 1-inch line...  After the Falcons took the lead and Seattle recovered the squib kick within striking distance of the endzone, Billick has no idea that the Seahawks have two timeouts remaining and says they'd never have time to run a play in the middle of the field and run up and snap another play...  But the worst moment came after the game when Billick tried to put a dramatic seal on the Falcons win by declaring the Seahawks the team to beat in the playoffs... </p>

An NFL Commentator Turned An Epic Playoff Game Ending Into A Trainwreck

<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Andrew Burton/Getty Images" title_caption="Tiki Barber" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50f708706bb3f7bf0f000008-960/tiki-barber-1.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Andrew Burton/Getty Images</p><p class="caption"><keyword id="1773084" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiki-Barber">Tiki Barber</keyword></p></div></div>After star New York Giants running back Tiki Barber retired from the game in 2006, he was supposed to be the next big television personality.</p>
<p>When that didn't pan out, he founded the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tiki-barber-thuzio-hire-athletes-2013-1">rent-an-athlete</a> marketplace <a href="http://www.thuzio.com/">Thuzio</a> in 2012. <a href="http://deadspin.com/5960132/tiki-barbers-life-just-gets-sadder-every-day">His detractors</a> found the venture - in which a couple grand got you a golf game with Derrick Coleman and five hundred bucks got you lunch with Barber - to be a tacky and desperate move.</p>
<p>By late 2013, fans can still pay for personalized video messages or a game of flag football, but <keyword id="1956901" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Thuzio">Thuzio</keyword> has become a go-to destination for corporations and ad agencies looking to impress clients or inspire their workforce.</p>
<p><a href="http://adage.com/article/news/tiki-barber-s-thuzio-targets-business-sports-stars/245461/">AdAge</a> took a look at the company with Barber, who told them that Thuzio began changing into a business-to-business organization after the success of his and former New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk's participation in Reebok's Spartan Races. Their participation got featured on ESPN's SportsCenter, bringing attention to the race that was much less well-known than its <keyword id="1956902" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tough-Mudder">Tough Mudder</keyword> competitor.</p>
<p>You can watch Tiki fight through the obstacle course beginning at 5:16:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Rebook only spent $7,000 but got valuable media coverage. </p>
<p>Barber realized that Thuzio could provide corporations and ad agencies with an interesting way to entertain clients.</p>
<p>Here's former pitcher Roger Clemens' profile with a list of activities and their prices. He's one of the most in-demand and expensive athletes in the roster:</p>
<p><div class="image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Thuzio.com" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5298d2e069beddcf1fd21772-960/clemens thuzio.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Thuzio.com</p></div></div></div></p>
<p>And here's Super Bowl-winning coach Brian Billick, another popular choice:</p>
<p><div class="image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Thuzio.com" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5298d5c4eab8eab352d21772-960/billick thuzio.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Thuzio.com</p></div></div></div></p>
<p>"...There's never been a way to easily access the talent. At least without knowing somebody or knowing their agent. We've taken all of that market - and put into an ecommerce marketplace which is unique," Barber told AdAge.</p>
<p>The Thuzio marketplace has grown to include over 1,000 former athletes, coaches, and entertainers. Sixty-five percent of Thuzio's clients are corporations, rather than individuals. These have included PepsiCo, Barclays, and Yahoo.</p>
<p>You can still get a personalized video message for $99 though, like this one from former Boston Celtic Gerald Henderson telling the message recipient named John why his steal, not Larry's Bird's, was the greatest in history:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Read <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/tiki-barber-s-thuzio-targets-business-sports-stars/245461/">the full interview</a> with Barber on AdAge.</p>

Inside Tiki Barber's Rent-An-Athlete Business

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Expectations for rookie NFL players vary widely depending on their position and draft position.</p>
<p>One of the older assumptions of the NFL Draft is that rookie wide receivers face one of the steepest learning curves adjusting from college to the pros.</p>
<p>"Wide receiver has become one of the toughest positions for rookies to adapt to in the pros," Brian Billick <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000246769/article/toughest-transition-why-rookie-wide-receivers-struggle-in-nfl">wrote for the NFL Network in 2013</a>. "There are a lot of challenges that factor into this: eluding press coverage, getting separations on a break, running disciplined routes (both in terms of positioning and timing) and mastering the myriad sight adjustments and choice routes that are a big part of the modern pro game."</p>
<p>The wide receivers of the 2014 draft class are blowing away that assumption. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://medium.com/the-cauldron/2014-year-of-the-rookie-wide-receiver-ae911c38148d">Jared Dubin outlined on The Cauldron</a>, the 2014 class of wide receivers are severely outpacing the numbers rookie receivers have put up in previous years. Several wide receivers taken in the 2014 draft have emerged as regular rotation players and some of the top targets in their teams' offenses.</p>
<p>This chart from Dubin's post shows the projected final numbers of the top 15 rookie receivers in receptions compared to the top-15 in receptions from previous draft classes. The 2014 class is on pace to finish with far more targets, catches, yards, touchdowns, and yards per game.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>It's worth noting, of course, that many of the teams with rookie receivers excelling have losing records. <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/measuring-nfl-teams-pass-happiness-isnt-as-straightforward-as-it-seems/">Losing teams often throw the ball more</a>, so there are more catches to be had. Nonetheless, this class of rookies are destroying the narrative that wide receiver is the toughest position to adjust to in the NFL.</p>
<p>Five rookies already have more than 500 receiving yards: <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Carolina's <strong>Kelvin Benjamin</strong> (leading all rookie wide receivers with 659 yards and 7 touchdowns), Buffalo's <strong>Sammy Watkins</strong> (617 yards and 5 TDs), Tampa's <strong>Mike Evans</strong> (585 yards and 5 TDs), Jacksonville's <strong>Allen Robinson</strong> (548 yards and 2 TDs), and New Orleans' <strong>Brandin Cooks</strong> (500 yards and 5 TDs).</span></p>
<p>Several other rookies have stepped into bigger roles because of injuries to their team. F<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">or the Giants, <strong>Odell Beckham Jr.</strong> has stepped up in Victor Cruz's absence, becoming Eli Manning's go-to receiver in recent weeks. After not playing early in the season, Beckham has 370 yards to go with 5 touchdowns in five weeks. He <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000426179/article/richard-sherman-odell-beckham-jr-is-a-great-player">earned praise from Richard Sherman</a> last Sunday en route to 7 catches and 108 yards in the Giants' loss.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Even some winning teams seem to have found receiving talent deep in the draft.</span></p>
<p>The Eagles, Cardinals, and Steelers have all been targeting their rookie receivers, none of whom were taken in the first round. Philadelphia's <strong>Jordan Matthews</strong>, taken in the second round, has 451 yards on 39 catches; Arizona's <strong>John Brown</strong> (third round) 399 yards on 29 catches. Pittsburgh's <strong>Martavis Bryant</strong>, taken in the fourth round, has 310 yards on 14 targets, but is second among rookies in touchdowns with 6.</p>
<p>Given how quickly this batch of rookies have adjusted to the NFL, with more years under their belts, they could be the next crop of elite wide receivers.</p>

A Bunch Of Rookie Wide Receivers Are Blowing Away An Old Assumption About The NFL Draft

You Searched For "Brian Billick" and got 3 results

An NFL Commentator Turned An Epic Playoff Game Ending Into A Trainwreck

Cork Gaines

Inside Tiki Barber's Rent-An-Athlete Business

Richard Feloni

A Bunch Of Rookie Wide Receivers Are Blowing Away An Old Assumption About The NFL Draft

William Scott Davis

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides