I may be a fan, but even I think this is fucking ridiculous: Broncos: Will they go undefeated? It's goddamned week 8! He couldn't even wait until November for this kind of speculation? However, I hadn't realized this: "Denver has been spectacular in the second half as it has outscored opponents 76-10." That kind of defense through 6 games is impressive, regardless of who the team is.
I have tickets to the Indianapolis Colts game on November 15 vs the New England Patriots. I fully expect Bob Sanders to murder Tom Brady on the field, and then the crowd to rush the field, grab Brady's body, and drag him around Indianapolis a la Troy. 10 dollars that its going to be a Colts/Saints superbowl this year. Guaran-damn-teed.
Here's the latest article that attempts to offer some insight http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/kerry_byrne/10/28/parity/index.html If a business is poorly managed it either fails, or goes out and finds talent that can turn things around and continues going back to the drawing board until a winning strategy (or at the very least a sustainable one) is found. Sadly, there are some front offices out there who are just too blind to see the big picture. Another question: Implement standardized rookie contract. Yay or Nay? What says you? I'd like see a standard rookie contract like the NHL combined with a limited signing bonus built up sort of like a part insurance settlement/part extra pay to offset the risk of a career ending injury prior to the end of that contract so I can live in a world knowing there was one less JaMarcus Russell.
Mike Pollak is fucking awful. He's already alternating drives with a guy that last played football in the AFL2 and now somehow in 2 1/2 quarters of sharing time he's given up 3 sacks.
Nay. It's not a terrible idea in and of itself but the NFL's current system works fine for the league. Because of the particularly violent nature of the NFL, guaranteed money in the form of signing bonuses provides most of the "insurance" young players coming into the league need. And while prolonged rookie holdouts can be annoying, remember that for every punk like Michael Crabtree there are a hundred other players who sign quickly and beginning contributing right away. And remember, even the best ideas usually have some unintended consequences. For instance, the NBA's rookie scale has had the unwanted effect of keeping European talent overseas since NBA teams can't compete with those clubs salary offers nor pay the players enough to leverage a buyout. And while that's not necessarily going to be the sort of issue the NFL would face, I think in their case they'd still be better off leaving well enough alone.
I don't care what sport you play or how violent it is, $30M+ of "insurance" is highly unnecessary. The NFL doesn't have to adopt the NBA's rookie scale, but there's a happy medium in there somewhere. If signing bonuses could be halved, and contracts were more incentive-laden, it'd be a step in the right direction. There is NO acceptable excuse for Matthew Stafford being the highest-paid QB in the NFL right now. Something has to change.
You know what, let me rephrase that. Signing bonuses provide the financial insurance that the NFLPA demands. You can make plenty of fair arguments against high bonuses, but the fact of the matter is players will probably strike to keep them. While I can understand the obvious frustrations it's important to realize that for the most part, NFL players remain in the league by virtue of talent and not money. No one is going to remain on a roster because they're too expensive to cut. Quite the opposite, actually: many players are dropped because of higher salaries. I was present in the Astrodome and heard straight out of Floyd Reeses' mouth this exchange regarding the battle for the 3rd string QB (Chris Chandler was the starter, Steve McNair was the backup/franchise QB in waiting): "Every time (former part-time starter for the Bengals) takes a snap, it sounds like $400K. Every time (undrafted rookie from D-I AA school) takes a snap, it sounds like $135K*. That sounds a lot better to me." The former Bengal was a much, much better QB. Not a single person involved thought otherwise. That undrafted rookie ended up spending the entire year with the Oilers but was cut in training camp and never came close to making another NFL team. *or whatever the minimum salary was that year, I confess my memory isn't perfect
PACKERS vs. VIKINGS Why is Green Bay just letting Farve throw it? You would think they would know how important it is to pressure him. Three man rush?? Worthless.
I think Gruden was high. I really don't like watching him in the booth. Why the hell can't he hold his hands still? It's horribly distracting.
So...... For some reason, I was put on the spot last night to sing my old college's fight song for Darren Sharper and Thomas Morestead's entire family at 2AM in Ruth's Chris. I'm still not quite sure why...
http://twitter.com/NilsAParker/status/5408318518 Yup. Snyder just might be the worst owner in sports.
Re: PACKERS vs. VIKINGS We've given up so many third and longs this season you'd think they would have abandoned it by now. For some reason our staff is convinced this is a great strategy for third and long. The fact is it doesn't matter if you double on almost every receiver, given 6+ seconds one of them is going to get open. Against the vikings they looked like the same team they were last year. Our offense played decent, but the defense didn't give them a chance to stay in the game. I wanted nothing more than to beat Favre down with a club when he was trying to act all buddy-buddy with Jennings(who got hurt) on the sideline. Favre, everyone knows you're a douche and by now we hate you as much in GB as anywhere else. He consistently pulls asshole moves behind the scenes (ie skipping training camp) and then acts ignorant towards what happened or just babbles about how much he loves his teammates and his fans. I can't wait for the January meltdown. He's been horrible in the big games since the packers won the super bowl. Besides, I'm not really convinced the vikings can beat the saints even when Favre is on.
Since week 4, i've seen the threads beginning to come together....they're going to give this years MVP to Favre. I can almost guarantee it, and it sickens me. Short of Manning or Brees breaking a bunch of records on the way to a 16-0 season, I can't see how the AP can stop sucking Favre's cock long enough to give it to anyone else.
I don't know about that. My early money is on Drew Brees. Did you watch Monday Night Football this week? The announcers stopped just short of calling him Jesus or complimenting his package (eerily reminiscent of the coverage Tebow gets or Hansbrough used to get). And there's always the argument that Favre is complemented by the best running back in football. I'm not saying I'd put it past the media to give the award to Favre even if Brees is more deserving, but I wouldn't mail it in just yet. Anyone from the old sports board knows I'm a Panthers fan. If they can knock off the Saints this week they're right back in the wild card hunt. I'm not suffering from any delusions, though. I realize the chances of this -- or the chances of Carolina reaching the playoffs with a schedule that finishes @NE, vs. MIN, @NYG, vs. NO -- is nearly nil. But what's the fun of being a fan if you can't be optimistic?
Do you think Jake the mistake has his shit back together? I was going to back the Saints at -13, assuming last week was a fluke.
7/14 for 90 yards isn't exactly promising. Carolina's best bet is to let him hand the ball off to 2 of the best RBs in the league, while throwing as little as possible. I'm still taking the Saints, Warner was exceptionally awful last week, which contributed to a lot of their points. I wouldn't expect anything like that from Brees.
New Orleans has shown some vulnerability against the run, especially with Scott Fujita out. I expect Double Trouble to at least match the success Michael Turner had. The Panthers will play ball control, and if Jake doesn't turn the ball over (a big if) it should be a close game. Am I saying they'll win? No. Am I saying I'll be taking +13? Yes. I expect the Panthers gameplan will be to replicate what the Dolphins did against Indy earlier in the year. It's worth noting Carolina's pass defense is ranked first in the league, but that's including games against Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Washington. They haven't allowed a 300-yard passer. The secondary is set now with Chris Harris returning from injury and rookie Sherrod Martin coming into his own. Peppers has been a one-man wrecking crew. But you know what? Throw all that out the window. Drew Brees and the Saints are a whole different beast. And no, I don't think Jake's back. He's a shell of himself. He used to mix great games with terrible games, but this year the great games are gone. He's become a liability. I honestly think the Panthers would have a better chance to win with just about anyone else under the center. That said, Jake is the best QB in Carolina history and by all accounts a great person and leader. Interesting note: Jake Delhomme has never lost in the Superdome as a Panther, and he won @NO the year they played in Baton Rouge due to Katrina.