Charlie Pierce can really turn a phrase which helps to make him a fun writer to read. But the problem isn't how Pierce is saying something - it is the something he tries to say. In his latest Grantland offering Charlie Pierce puts forward the idea that Bill Belichick is the NFL's last anarchist. Ummm - NO!
Anarchists don't have a uniform way of doing things - the Patriot way. Anarchists aren't known for requiring people to just do their jobs. Any personal flair or on-field demonstrations of individuality are normally swiftly dealt with by Coach Belichick.
Bill Belichick isn't an anarchist. The very idea is stupid but that doesn't jive with Charlie Pierce's thinking. Describing Belichick as he is wouldn't allow Pierce to utilize his beloved quotes from Leftists such as Emma Goldman or Bob Dylan.
It is this mindset that will be the doom of Grantland. These people are writing more for each other than for a paying audience. It is a giant echo-chamber. The problem is the readers can only be sucked in so many times. For instance I was sucked into listening to the podcast of their TV critic guys mostly because they were going to talk about Justified. Problem is one of the critics couldn't get into Justified because he thought there was too much shooting - on a show about a US Marshall with a Western gunslinger mentality - too much shooting. Really. And the other critic agreed with him. Needless to say - you won't find me wasting any more time with those podcasts.
Grantland was a great idea. It was supposed to be this place you'd check every day because of the great content. But I'd guess I might check it once a week now (if that) because I already know what I'm going to see. What's the point of reading an article on Grantland if it is just the same viewpoint rehashed over and over?