Let's talk football (the American version)

[unleasHell]

MY PREDICTION: Los Angeles will STILL not have a team, the NFL can f-off as far as I'm concerned

[Rich-n-Texas]

Just hold on to all those great memories of the LA Raiders years! (He he snicker snicker).

[Troy]

It's all yours Rich. Make sure you smile when you say it.

Seriously tho, I lived thru TO's BS here in SF for years and even with his numbers, was glad to see him go. He pretty much ruined the career of Garcia who ended up traded to gulags in Cleveland and Detroit. Garcia is the kinda guy who is always riding an emotional high. Given the right nurturing environment and the starting role, he could be a pro-bowler . . . again. Tampa's QBs are the not ready yet Chris Simms and the truly awful Tim Rattay. Garcia should get the job.

Romo's like the kid in Chicago. Predictable and one dimensional. No thanks.

J, I know I posted a similar rant against Marty Schottenheimer on other boards as well. His losing ways are well documented and he was outright embarrassed by an inferior Patriot team in the playoffs last year after keeping Tomlinson on the bench for most of the game for no reason and then losing control of his players. The guy is a deadbeat of the first order.

You lament the lack of Cindarella teams and then cite 3 teams decades apart (and I'd have to include the 81 49ers). It really is a once a decade rarity that this happens. Even last years Saints could be argued that they looked quite good on paper before the season started. Take a long hard look at Arizona. Really.

You NFC east lovers . . . they will spawn one playoff team who will lose in the first round. BFD. Buncha mediocre teams in comparison to the NFL elite (ie: 1/3 of the AFC)

[kexodusc]

J, I know I posted a similar rant against Marty Schottenheimer on other boards as well. His losing ways are well documented and he was outright embarrassed by an inferior Patriot team in the playoffs last year after keeping Tomlinson on the bench for most of the game for no reason and then losing control of his players. The guy is a deadbeat of the first order.

Couldn't have said it better myself. We all cringed when he was hired. This guy finds a way to lose big games, and has proven incapable of rising to the challenge.
I couldn't think of any coach in the league I wouldn't rather have at playoff time.

[Swish]

Feely is a bum. I don't care how bad the program was in Miami. Loser who may someday rise a notch above mediocrity as he gets old and wise.

Garcia "drew the line in the sand" because he wants to start. He will start in Tampa, he's much better than any of their other QBs. On a team with McNabb he knew he'd never get the chance.

I don't think so, although I would never consider him starter material. Like I said, he won 4 or 5 starts subbing for McNabb in 2002, and his stats in 2 games last year look like this;

2006 PHI 2 26 38 68.4 342 9.0 3 89 0 122.9

Not bad for a backup, 'eh Troy? And don't forget the last 2 starting jobs Garcia had in Detroit and Cleveland. His stats looked like this;

2004 Cleveland Browns 11 10 252 144 57.1 1731 6.87 99 10 9 24/99 18 8 76.7
2005 Detroit Lions 6 5 173 102 59.0 937 5.42 49 3 6 6/34 11 2 65.

Yes, he played on lousy teams, but I submit that Miami was nearly that bad for AJ. Garcia was demanding too much from Philly and they let him go, plain and simple. If they met his contract number, he would still be there, so don't say he left because he wanted to be a starter.

Swish

[Resident Loser]

RL, I've got you pegged as a big golf fanatic!

...that puts a putter in my hand is miniature golf...played once in a while...My participatory "sport" of choice is bowling and I can't remember the last time I polished my ball...A 16lb. Ebonite Don Carter Gyro lll that is...

I could go on about how professional sports just so much cr@pola and a complete waste of time but I won't...

The only sports-like thing I watched with any regularity used to be rasslin' but only because it and it's cast of characters was so friggin' funny, now it's just a cartoon...Oh and the NHRA Winternationals or Summernationals when broadcast on Wide World Of Sports...give me the fire and brimstone of the 1320 any day, the circular stuff is a bore IMO...Maybe some off-road racing, but that's few and far between.

jimHJJ(...later...)

[GMichael]

Whoa. That team had an X-factor I'd say made them absolutely great, beating a Buffalo team that was way better on paper after beating a San Fran team that should've blown them out of Candlestick.

Possibly the best special-teams outfit I've ever seen. Remember a guy named Reyna Thompson? He might've had the best year I've ever seen a special-teams player have. One of the reasons I think of the '90 team as great is because they actually weren't the juggernaut the '86 team had been...although nobody remembers that that team didn't have to face the Bears in the playoffs, since they stumbled against the beatable Redskins, and their record, 14-2 just like the Giants' was, ended up meaning little. Even though they'd lost Buddy Ryan.

Also, Dan Reeves managed to put together two very decent Giants teams, which I would say could reasonably be described as strong contenders, in 1993 & 1997. No, I don't think they would've beaten the Cowboys or Packers, but those were still good teams in the era of parity.

This team beat the Vikings soundly in the playoffs in 1993, had them beaten in the 1997 game until a fluke at the end handed Minnesota an improbable victory, and then...to suggest that the 2000 team wasn't good? Come on, that Ravens team matched up well against everybody that year. Those same Vikings were absolutely throttled by the Giants in one of the most one-sided conference championship games you'll ever see--and the Giants had already pretty much manhandled the Eagles already. Baltimore destroyed them. But while I thought the comparisons of their defense to that of the '85 Bears was ludicrous, they were still the most dominant all-around team since...probably the '86 Giants & '85 Bears. I like teams that compete & win rather than necessarily dominate in that fashion, give me the 80s 49ers, most of the Super Bowl winners from the 90s, and of course the recent Patriots. Way better games. But the old-school, one-sided dominance of the Ravens doesn't negate how well that Giants team performed when they were firing on all cylinders, either.

On the Asylum last winter, someone put up a detailed post going into the failures of Marty Schottenheimer in the playoffs. It was a long post.

Eric Mangini has the potential to put a damn good team on the field, but he needs a QB. Pennington's damaged goods, a credible backup, but a poor man's Joe Montana who has a good head, some finesse in the art of being a field general, but who just can't throw the ball downfield. A couple of years ago I remember Herm Edwards--man, were his press conferences passive-aggressive, ranging from unintentionally amusing to downright unwatchable--making a remark about how the Jets were at heart a blue-collar team, and how they had to get back to that.

With a name like Chad Pennington, some might offer a shallow observation rooted in stereotypes that this guy just isn't, uh, a blue-collar sort of quarterback. Me, I'd say that a franchise that once employed Bubby Brister (albeit years past his prime) and Richard Todd might just have the least 'blue-collar' type quarterback I've ever seen (though the difference is starker due to the style of Testaverde, although he was long gone at the time of this remark), unless I can perhaps somehow conjure up an image of Browning Nagle. Of course, Edwards' remark was just stirring the pot for the local radio talk show guys. Man, did he love pretending to be a buffoon. Still, Pennington is too fragile to be a grinder, but that was never his game anyway.

Obviously San Diego can put a credible squad on the field. I think the main question has already been raised, if in a slightly different form: can Indy & NE avoid injury? I still think Tom Brady is the best QB in the league. Even if he's not the best passer. His command of the team on the field is the best since what we saw from the likes of Favre & Elway circa 10 years ago, only more consistent. Peyton Manning I see as more of a Dan Marino type who, unlike Marino, finally found the right team put together around him after both Marino's Dolphins & Manning's Colts languished for quite a few years with a pair of consistently crappy defenses. For me, personally, I like the Bradys, the guys more in the mold of Montana, than the pocket passer-types. But that's me.

Will the Broncos or Chiefs offer the Chargers much competition? With Tiki Barber gone, will the Giants find a way to put it all together? I was stunned at some of the things he said last year...if he'd always been about him & not the team, I'd missed it. Waaaaa. and too bad that he was as good as he was, but sometimes addition by subtraction is helpful, as the 2001 Seattle Mariners showed. However...Tom Coughlin is not what he seemed to be, but Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl, too, so who knows. Maybe the Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFC, but the Giants gave them all they could handle in the playoffs, and I think they probably match up well. We'll see.

Just for once I'd like to get through a season where the surprise teams that were in the dumps at least a year or two prior to getting off to strong starts...offer little intrigue...and fade more quickly than they usually do. Everybody likes an underdog, right? Fine...but just once I'd like to see no slick video packages put together on teams that sucked last year & are therefore a sentimental/trendy favorite...because none of them are the '58 Colts, or the 70s Steelers, or the Vince Lombardi Packers. They just play that way for a few weeks & everyone jumps on board. Bah, humbug, I'm sick of that crap.

Oh OK. So maybe I'm being a little rough on them. But they really pissed me off by keeping "HIM" in charge. They have enough talent to do great things (even without Tikki). But they need leadership that they don't have. Don't think Ely is ready to step up yet, but I'd love to be proven wrong.
Wasn't a big fan of Dan Reeves either though. He cut a lot of pro-bowl players who could have at least been used to trade for draft picks. But he just cut them. And then he replaced them with second stringers from Denver. I do admit that he came up with winning plans and dealt discipline well. So in that respect, he was better than our current coach.
I am one of those rare New Yorkers who actually likes both the Giants and the Jets. For some reason that doesn't seem to be aloud, but there it is. They could be good if the keep Pennington healthy for a whole season. Has that ever happened for them yet?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Who was at the stadium last night when the Phillies lost their 10,000 game? Big news here in north Texas!

Swish?

[Swish]

Who was at the stadium last night when the Phillies lost their 10,000 game? Big news here in north Texas!

Swish?

...and was happy to see Phat Albert slam a couple dingers last night, and a total of 4 in the series. I used to like the Phillies until that jackass manager Danny Ozark totally turned me off and forced me to look elsewhere.

Speaking of Phat Albert, if he stays healthy, he will shatter the HR records, and probably a bunch of others. He is the only play in history to hit 30 HRs in his first 6 seasons, and with 20 at this point, he's a cinch to do it again. If you compare his stats to Barry Bonds through the first 7 seasons, and Albert's 7th isn't complete yet, he is completely dominant in batting average, HRs, RBIs, runs, and slugging percentage. He should be more than 100 HRs ahead of Barry's pace if he hits at least 30, and that's a given.

Swish

[Rich-n-Texas]

Danny Ozark?!?! Oh Gawd!!! Those were some sad years to be a Phillies fan.

They showed camera video of fans holding up posters and signs at the game acknowledging the milestone. It was pretty funny and ironic at the same time. The Phillies are the first team to be able to tout that dubious distinction.

Yeah, they had some good years, and I was a devout fan for a long time, but baseball just doesn't hold my attention anymore like it used to.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I also lived in Atlanta for a few years, and have developed a soft spot for the Falcons...go easy on 'em.

It'll be very interesting to see how the Falcon's season plays out now that Vick's been indicted on animal cruelty and other charges. If what he's accused of turns out to be true, the Falcons better start developing their #2 ASAP. And, I know, the trial won't start until the season's over.

[Swish]

It'll be very interesting to see how the Falcon's season plays out now that Vick's been indicted on animal cruelty and other charges. If what he's accused of turns out to be true, the Falcons better start developing their #2 ASAP. And, I know, the trial won't start until the season's over.

...and has the class of fellow idiots Barry Bonds, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens. I'm not convicting him before his day in court, but I'm not surprised he was indicted. I just don't get how athletes with mega-millions can be so stupid. Well, I suppose they were stupid before they got all that money, so maybe that's the problem.

Swish

[kexodusc]

...and has the class of fellow idiots Barry Bonds, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens. I'm not convicting him before his day in court, but I'm not surprised he was indicted. I just don't get how athletes with mega-millions can be so stupid. Well, I suppose they were stupid before they got all that money, so maybe that's the problem.

Swish

Yeah, I think the money is the means to higher stupidity for a lot of these guys. I mean, if they were working at Denny's or something they'd probably have a bit of humility and a lot less opportunity to screw up on such a large scale.

Wow. Of all the things to get busted for - you can't really spin this to give Vick the tough-guy, bad-ass image either.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Yeah, I think the money is the means to higher stupidity for a lot of these guys. I mean, if they were working at Denny's or something they'd probably have a bit of humility and a lot less opportunity to screw up on such a large scale.

Wow. Of all the things to get busted for - you can't really spin this to give Vick the tough-guy, bad-ass image either.

This isn't anything new though. When you bring a talented kid out of the poor, lower class neighborhood, fast-track him through high school and college, throw millions at him, this is generally what you're going to get. Some aspects of situations like this in my opinion can be blamed on the education system and greed for not teaching these kids common sense economics.

[3-LockBox]

It'll be very interesting to see how the Falcon's season plays out now that Vick's been indicted on animal cruelty and other charges. If what he's accused of turns out to be true, the Falcons better start developing their #2 ASAP.

Well that's OK cuz they got a good #2 in....oh yeah, they traded him...


oops.

[Troy]

I like the idea of Culpepper going to Atlanta.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Looks like Jacksonville's interested in Culpepper as well. Joey Harrington is #2 for the Falcons. Never much liked him though... he didn't come across to me as a team player, and I don't think his stats would support a starter's position.

[Troy]

Jacksonville has 2 good QBs already. Neither one is old and retiring soon. They don't really need Culpepper like ATL do.

Vick may not even be on the squad by the season opener if things continue to spiral downward like this. His baggage will be too disruptive to the team.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Jacksonville has 2 good QBs already. Neither one is old and retiring soon. They don't really need Culpepper like ATL do.

Vick may not even be on the squad by the season opener if things continue to spiral downward like this. His baggage will be too disruptive to the team.

Two good points. I think Daunte would be a good fit in Atlanta, I just wonder if he'd be a good leader. He had good success with the Vikings, but he had a great supporting cast there. I always admired Chris Carter during his Eagle and Viking years not just for his abilities as a receiver but also his abilities as a team player. Daunte just doesn't seem like he can command the offense like a Peyton Manning or a Donovan McNabb can.

[Swish]

Two good points. I think Daunte would be a good fit in Atlanta, I just wonder if he'd be a good leader. He had good success with the Vikings, but he had a great supporting cast there. I always admired Chris Carter during his Eagle and Viking years not just for his abilities as a receiver but also his abilities as a team player. Daunte just doesn't seem like he can command the offense like a Peyton Manning or a Donovan McNabb can.

Remember that famous Buddy Ryan line? Well, from what I understand, he didn't want to reveal the fact that Carter was a 'substance abuser', and got rid of him solely for that reason. Culpepper is too self-absorbed, and now he's damaged goods. He's played only a few games or so the last 2 seasons, and I doubt anyone will give him too much latitude off the bat. He'll need to accept a smallish contract and prove himself, although he certainly has the ability.

Swish

[Rich-n-Texas]

I think Michael Vick's goose is pretty much cooked.