Benjamin Eckstein's Slip Story

LAS VEGAS - Pink slip!

You get the pink slip and you’re gone.

Where did the phrase originate. Glad you asked.

There’s no standard answer, but we went all the way to Washington D.C. for you and found Peter Liebhold. He’s a curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and Chair of the Division of Work and Industry. VERY impressive title huh.

Well, Liebhold has been chasing the pink slip mystery for a long time. We know what the phrase means, but no one seems to know where it originated.

Apparently, the Smithsonian dude told the Baltimore Sun it was from the Ford Motor Company. While reading a history journal, he found a footnote about the daily evaluations of Ford’s assembly line workers. The workers all had lockers where they kept their things, and at the end of the day they would find a slip of paper from management. A white paper meant the day’s effort was acceptable. A pink slip, meant that they weren’t wanted back in the morning. Mystery solved!

Staying with the theme of the pink slip, we have not even played the first exhibition game, and of course there are odds available on Sportsbook is Matt Rhule of the Panthers at 7/2.  Ruhle had three good seasons in college, two with Temple (10-4 and 10-3) and one with Baylor (11-3). However, since coming to the NFL, his record is well under water at a very UGLY 10-23. And with Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Matt Corral fighting for the top spot at QB, you can understand why Mr. Ruhle is the favorite to get the first pink slip. The second choice at 9/2 is Mike McCarthy from the Cowboys. Not interested in that bet because Double M is coming off a fabulous 12-5 season and 1st place in the NFC East. But Double J, Jerry Jones is lurking, and that could be a problem for Double M. The third choice is Pete Carroll from the Seahawks at 6/1. Love Carroll and his 119-73 record in Seattle. That doesn’t quite measure up to his SICK 97-19 mark at USC, but it ain’t terrible. What is terrible is superstar quarterback Russell Wilson leaving for the Broncos. Sadly, Pete’s choices at QB are Geno Smith and Drew Lock. OUCH! Geno has a 13-21 record in 34 starts. And Lock, who is absolutely NO lock, is 8-13 in 21 career starts. Unless they make a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo, and he’s healthy, my money is on Mr. Carroll. The rest of the top ten include Ron Rivera at 8/1; Frank Reich and Kliff Kingsbury both at 10/1, Dan Campbell and Mike Vrabel both at 12/1 and Kevin Stefanski and Robert Saleh both at 15/1.

Just in case you have not seen this INCREDIBLE stat, lemme throw some John Harbaugh numbers at you. Over the last five preseasons, the Ravens are 20-0 straight up and under the Harbaugh umbrella. But here is the number all my people are waiting for, the betting angle. Baltimore is a STUNNING 18-1-1 against the spread the last five preseasons! The Ravens go on Thursday and are currently -3.5 or -4 points over the Titans depending on where you shop. Who you flying with?

Benjamin Eckstein is a nationally syndicated sportswriter/oddsmaker. His column, America’s Line, with the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has run in the New York Daily News and over 100 other papers since 1988. You can follow him online at www.americasline.com. He is beloved by most, when he picks winners, and detested by others, when he picks the occasional loser. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit his email... ben@americasline.com.