Let's talk football (the American version)

[Swish]

EA-GL-ES EAGLES!

Training camp starts in three weeks. Will someone please tell me who's hurt, who's been cut, who died, who got arrested... has Andy Reed lost any weight?

Ya' know, if that jag-off TO hadn't been so stoopid he would probably already have been back to the Super Bowl, but there is in in Dallas. It was one of the great pleasures of my life to watch him wilting on the sidelines, watching the Iggles pummel his team...TWICE!

Look, I was never a Cowboys fan, but they used to have some class. Once Jerry Jones got on board, those days were gone. I didn't like Jimmy Johnson, but I like that he gave Jerry the finger and resigned, and I would have too. That horse's arse should keep his fat butt off the field. Nothing worse than watching a game and seeing that Billionaire jerk's mug on the camera every minute of so.

Swish

[GMichael]

Ya' know, if that jag-off TO hadn't been so stoopid he would probably already have been back to the Super Bowl, but there is in in Dallas. It was one of the great pleasures of my life to watch him wilting on the sidelines, watching the Iggles pummel his team...TWICE!

Look, I was never a Cowboys fan, but they used to have some class. Once Jerry Jones got on board, those days were gone. I didn't like Jimmy Johnson, but I like that he gave Jerry the finger and resigned, and I would have too. That horse's arse should keep his fat butt off the field. Nothing worse than watching a game and seeing that Billionaire jerk's mug on the camera every minute of so.

Swish

Oh no. We agree. Is that aloud? I miss the Tom Landry days. I was a huge Dallas fan back then.

OK Troy and Tex, my team is the Giants. Sure, they've made the playoffs a few times since 90 but they've never really been good again. Even that 90 team was so-so. As long as they keep the current head coach, the most they'll ever be is another contender that falls flat at the end. They do grab up most of the air time on the sports channels. That's great if you don't mind them talking about how much your team doesn't live up to expectations. Again.

Watch for the Pats to have a great year. They made some good trades.

[Rich-n-Texas]

...OK Troy and Tex, my team is the Giants. Sure, they've made the playoffs a few times since 90 but they've never really been good again. Even that 90 team was so-so. As long as they keep the current head coach, the most they'll ever be is another contender that falls flat at the end. They do grab up most of the air time on the sports channels. That's great if you don't mind them talking about how much your team doesn't live up to expectations. Again.

I knew it had to be a NY team, because he used to live there until the bears(not the team, the furry ones) chased him over the border into the sticks of Pennsy.

The Giants are a team steeped in History, so I'm sure that's got something to do with the amount of attention they get. And with another Manning at the helm...

Watch for the Pats to have a great year. They made some good trades.

I don't remember the last time they had a bad year.

I say the Colts dynasty is beginning to materialize.

[Resident Loser]

...in Rave Recordings?

Come to think of it, why is this at all?

jimHJJ(...go ahead, ask me what I think of professional sports, go ahead, I dare ya'...)

[GMichael]

I knew it had to be a NY team, because he used to live there until the bears(not the team, the furry ones) chased him over the border into the sticks of Pennsy.

The Giants are a team steeped in History, so I'm sure that's got something to do with the amount of attention they get. And with another Manning at the helm...


I don't remember the last time they had a bad year.

I say the Colts dynasty is beginning to materialize.

I do also like the Colts. It was fun to watch big brother finally get the monkey off his back. But they didn't trade as aggressively as the Pats did. Look for a tough battle between these two powerhouses.

I'm not expecting much out of my Giants this year. I don't like this head coach. The team needs discipline. But real discipline. Not a fine for showing up to team meeting on time instead of 5 minutes early. Bench the guys who keep causing the same penalties over and over. Have one of these so called stars sit out a set if they cause a 15 yarder when they threw the ball at their opponents feet.

See what you've done? You got me started on this team.

[MindGoneHaywire]

my team is the Giants. Sure, they've made the playoffs a few times since 90 but they've never really been good again. Even that 90 team was so-so.

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.

[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]

Ya' know, if that jag-off TO hadn't been so stoopid he would probably already have been back to the Super Bowl, but there is in in Dallas. It was one of the great pleasures of my life to watch him wilting on the sidelines, watching the Iggles pummel his team...TWICE!

IMO, TO's stupidity and constant need to be the center of the universe is what's going to keep him out of the Hall, keep him from establishing any type of Wide Receiver records, and I'd even go as far to say lose marketability. The press down here drool all over him and he's constantly putting his foot in his mouth... the exact opposite of how Troy describes LT. Too bad 'cause he's a gifted athelete.

Look, I was never a Cowboys fan, but they used to have some class. Once Jerry Jones got on board, those days were gone. I didn't like Jimmy Johnson, but I like that he gave Jerry the finger and resigned, and I would have too. That horse's arse should keep his fat butt off the field. Nothing worse than watching a game and seeing that Billionaire jerk's mug on the camera every minute of so.

Swish

I don't think that at any time in recorded history was there ever a case of anyone being a Cowboys fan as well as an Eagles fan, so I'd say you're safe. But I agree, Tex Schram and Tom Landry were the epitome of class in the NFL; how Jerry Jones treated them in the end was absolutely classless. But how quickly the fans forget....

Right now, the big deal down here is the new stadium. So much attention. They had news coverage of the fist roof truss being laid in place. I got a little nervous while watching the workers try to line it up. It wasn't going so well.