In what will probably be a rare admission on the blog, I must tell you that I do not like the New Jersey Devils. As a die hard Flyers fan (which is it's own kind of personal hell), the NHL is the only league where I don't have some kind of New York/New Jersey rooting interest. The biggest reason I don't like the Devils is Martin Brodeur. Plain and simple. In the nineties, anytime anyone's favorite hockey team came up against New Jersey, Brodeur was the reason to think 'ahhh, I thought my team had a chance, but not now'. The guy was, and is, a literal brick wall. As he entered his forties during the playoffs this season, one might assume that Marty just can't be the player he once was, that he must succumb to age just like any other player in any sport does. There is evidence that this is a correct assumption. For the last two seasons, Brodeur is not the player he always was. His goals against average is up about two tenths of a goal and his save percentage is down about seven tenths of a percent. Hardly a Brett Favre coming back for one season too many scenario. The guy is forty years old and he is one of the top fifteen or twenty goaltenders on the planet.
As much as I used to root for the man to fail, I now realize that Brodeur has probably given me more hockey memories than almost any other player. I now hope that Marvelous Martin plays another season, because as I was watching Game 6 on Tuesday night, I became aware that this was not how Brodeur should go out. As soon as the referee made it known that a major penalty was being called, the Devils were in trouble. In the last couple of years, there have been several teams that have tried to come back from 0-3 in NHL playoff series. In 2010, the Flyers actually came back from an 0-3 deficit against Boston. At least two other series, it has been game six that nixes the comeback. In the NHL, it seems that Game 6 is the game where nothing can go wrong for the trailing team. No major penalties, no soft early goals, no match-up mistakes, nothing can go wrong or there is your series clincher. The Devils were in big trouble immediately, and never recovered. The Kings took advantage, and hoisted the Stanley Cup, like Brodeur has three times before.
I have been a hockey fan for a long time. I even forgave the cancelled season after a while and I have now embraced the game again. There have been many goaltenders who have made a splash, won Stanley Cups, and even had sustained success in the NHL. None of them have been as consistently great for longer than the longtime Devils netminder. Martin Brodeur has won 656 games as a goaltender in his career. Since his career began during the 1991-92 season, there have been only ten other goaltenders who have played in 656 games. When he stood between the pipes for the first time, the Devils still wore green and red uniforms. He is the greatest goaltender in history, in my opinion, even though I still root against him. I hope my last image of the player I love to hate the most is not giving up a soft sixth goal during the beginning of another team's Stanley Cup celebration. My least favorite player of all time deserves a lot better than that.
Thanks Marty, you're the greatest!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Friday, December 2, 2011
Just Perfect
Just a quick one tonight, I saw something during the morning sports coverage that always upsets me. I would like to ask the following of television networks who employ former New England Patriots players. This includes ESPN, NBC, and maybe others. Please stop asking these players what it's like to be involved in a perfect season. Now I am no Patriots hater. I think Bill Belichick is one the most versatile coach in football history. His teams can usually do more different things than any other. Their quarterback isn't half bad, either. Please remember, however, that they DID NOT have a perfect season. Yeah, sure, they won all their regular season games, which gets you (drumroll, please) HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE!!!! Yay. They lost the Super Bowl. Not perfect. If you want to know about a perfect season, go get Don Shula, Larry Csonka, or as annoying as he is, Mercury Morris. They are members of the only perfect NFL team. It is hard to listen to them talk about it, but they have earned that right.
I did get a good laugh this morning on ESPN when the last item on Tedy Bruschi's list of what to do during a "perfect" season was to "finish what you start". When we're you guys gonna get back together and finish that season, Tedy? 18-1 is not, and never will be perfect. I know you networks have to have something to talk about, and the Packers are a little more than halfway to 19-0, but please stop. Just stop.
I did get a good laugh this morning on ESPN when the last item on Tedy Bruschi's list of what to do during a "perfect" season was to "finish what you start". When we're you guys gonna get back together and finish that season, Tedy? 18-1 is not, and never will be perfect. I know you networks have to have something to talk about, and the Packers are a little more than halfway to 19-0, but please stop. Just stop.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Harry Kalas Would Be A Very Busy Man
Does anybody remember the old "Fantastic Finishes" series that were presented by ALCOA? I was very young when they started sometime in the late 70's and went on until at least 1985 or 1986. They were one minute highlights that were narrated by the late, great Harry Kalas and usually came on during the commercials right before halftime, if I remember correctly. I don't remember hardly any of the specific games, other than Earl Campbell running for an eighty yard touchdown to ice a Monday night game against Miami in the late seventies. While I was watching some of the games yesterday afternoon I thought that if that series were brought back, they might have several from the same day in NFL history.
The Tebow Show- No matter what anybody thinks, I don't think Tim Tebow is going away anytime soon. The only question is how long can he last running ten to fifteen times a game. I know he's a big, strong, hard working guy but he has to be on the field every play if Denver is going to run a zone-read type offense. That being said, putting up 298 rushing yards on the Raiders is impressive, and Tebow as a running threat actually seemed to open big running lanes for Willis McGahee. Tebow definitely has to improve his passing accuracy, and Denver can't count on long punt returns for touchdowns every week, but they are only a game out of first place in a down AFC West division.
Stat Of The Week- Tim Tebow has thrown one interception in 97 attempt this season. San Diego QB Philip Rivers has thrown fourteen interceptions this season, one about every 22 attempts.
NO! No. No? Yes. Yes! YES!!!!- I have no proof, but that is what I would have said if I was Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt and my rookie punt returner fielded an overtime punt at his own one yard line and then returned it for a game winning touchdown. I wonder if the football experts would have stopped dogging Patrick Peterson if he had been tackled at his own three yard line. I know that this illustrates why I love overtime in the NFL. They actually continue to play a football game! If this was a college game, it couldn't end this way.
Shootout at the Murph- San Diego was down 45-24 halfway through the fourth quarter, but a touchdown pass, recovered onside kick, touchdown pass sequence made it 45-38 late. The Chargers defense got Rivers and company the ball back, but without enough time, as a third pick by the Pack sealed a shootout win.
The Other Manning - Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Jake Ballard, a little known TE who is all over ESPN today, with fifteen seconds left in their game against the Patriots on Sunday afternoon. A big buzz was made when he said he thought he was an elite quarterback during the past off-season.
Manning, as a QB in the New York market, has won a Super Bowl, has a winning overall record as a starter, a winning playoff record, and two playoff fourth quarter comebacks. Looking at the careers of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Namath, Ben Roethlisberger, Phil Simms and Philip Rivers, only Big Ben and Tom Terrific have all those accomplishments in their careers. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a lifelong Giants fan, and a bit of an Eli apologist, but the numbers don't lie in this case.
So, which finish do you think was the most fantastic? I think it had to be the Ravens finally getting a comeback win against Pittsburgh. I thought that there was no way Baltimore goes on the road and beats the Steelers, especially after the opening day beatdown that the Ravens gave them. flacco and company finally got one, now let's see if they can turn that into some home playoff games later on.
It has been a good year for comeback victories so far, maybe we'll get another good one tonight. If we do, I'll be thinking of what Harry Kalas would say while he was narrating the highlights.
The Tebow Show- No matter what anybody thinks, I don't think Tim Tebow is going away anytime soon. The only question is how long can he last running ten to fifteen times a game. I know he's a big, strong, hard working guy but he has to be on the field every play if Denver is going to run a zone-read type offense. That being said, putting up 298 rushing yards on the Raiders is impressive, and Tebow as a running threat actually seemed to open big running lanes for Willis McGahee. Tebow definitely has to improve his passing accuracy, and Denver can't count on long punt returns for touchdowns every week, but they are only a game out of first place in a down AFC West division.
Stat Of The Week- Tim Tebow has thrown one interception in 97 attempt this season. San Diego QB Philip Rivers has thrown fourteen interceptions this season, one about every 22 attempts.
NO! No. No? Yes. Yes! YES!!!!- I have no proof, but that is what I would have said if I was Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt and my rookie punt returner fielded an overtime punt at his own one yard line and then returned it for a game winning touchdown. I wonder if the football experts would have stopped dogging Patrick Peterson if he had been tackled at his own three yard line. I know that this illustrates why I love overtime in the NFL. They actually continue to play a football game! If this was a college game, it couldn't end this way.
Shootout at the Murph- San Diego was down 45-24 halfway through the fourth quarter, but a touchdown pass, recovered onside kick, touchdown pass sequence made it 45-38 late. The Chargers defense got Rivers and company the ball back, but without enough time, as a third pick by the Pack sealed a shootout win.
The Other Manning - Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Jake Ballard, a little known TE who is all over ESPN today, with fifteen seconds left in their game against the Patriots on Sunday afternoon. A big buzz was made when he said he thought he was an elite quarterback during the past off-season.
Manning, as a QB in the New York market, has won a Super Bowl, has a winning overall record as a starter, a winning playoff record, and two playoff fourth quarter comebacks. Looking at the careers of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Namath, Ben Roethlisberger, Phil Simms and Philip Rivers, only Big Ben and Tom Terrific have all those accomplishments in their careers. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a lifelong Giants fan, and a bit of an Eli apologist, but the numbers don't lie in this case.
So, which finish do you think was the most fantastic? I think it had to be the Ravens finally getting a comeback win against Pittsburgh. I thought that there was no way Baltimore goes on the road and beats the Steelers, especially after the opening day beatdown that the Ravens gave them. flacco and company finally got one, now let's see if they can turn that into some home playoff games later on.
It has been a good year for comeback victories so far, maybe we'll get another good one tonight. If we do, I'll be thinking of what Harry Kalas would say while he was narrating the highlights.
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Best of the Worst
After a grueling research session, the Geek has compiled a list of the worst National Football League since the AFL/NFL merger. Ever wonder who the worst team ever is? Do you think you already know? Well, you probably do, but that's the way these lists go sometimes. Spend all that time waiting to be surprised, and then it doesn't happen. The ten worst teams will be listed, with a little background on each one. The rules for compiling this list went like this.
To be considered, a team had to have the worst record in the league and could not have won more than 3 games in that season. Examples include in 1975, the Saints and Chargers both had records of 2 wins and 12 losses, tied for the worst record in the NFL. Neither is considered to be the worst team ever, because they weren't even clearly the worst team in that season. In 2003, nobody in the NFL had less than 4 wins, therefore no team is considered from that season. Everybody ready for some bad football? Today, we'll be counting down numbers ten to six, so here we go...
10. The 1972 Houston Oilers
With a 1-13 record, this club didn't have much of anything going for it. Their only win came in week 3, a 26-20 home win over Joe Namath and the New York Jets, who would miss the playoffs. The '72 Oilers were outrushed by over 1000 yards over the course of 14 contests, and had a turnover ratio of minus 13. Quarterback Dan Pastorini was in his second year in the NFL, and future Hall of Famer Ken Houston would play his final game as an Oiler in 1972.
9.The 1991 Indianapolis Colts
It's hard to believe that a team whose roster included Jeff George and Eric Dickerson would only average 8.9 points per game on offense, but Dickerson was past his most effective seasons and George had not reached his yet. Outrushed by more than 1000 yards, these Colts scored just 14 touchdowns and allowed 46. A decent passing game and a respectable minus 3 turnover ratio keep them from being worse than ninth on this list. Their only win was a 28-27 triumph at the Jets in week 11, helped along by a Clarence Verdin kickoff return for a score. The interim coach for the last 11 games was Rick Venturi, whose record in three stints as either an NFL or major college head coach yielded a record of 3 wins, 48 losses and a tie. Ted Marchibroda would take over as coach and the Colts improved to 9-7 in 1992.
8. The 1990 New England Patriots
Rod Rust's head coaching career started with a close loss to the Dan Marino led Dolphins and then a win against the Colts. It ended after his Patriots closed out the season with a 14 game losing streak. Steve Grogan, in his 16th and final NFL season, led the Patsies to their only win. Legendary Pats offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong was the lone Pro Bowler on the team, making his first of six appearances. The team gave up more 25 more sacks than they got, and (i'm sensing a theme here) were outrushed by more than a thousand yards. The worst ever edition of the Patriots scored 19 touchdowns, while allowing 50. Longtime Syracuse University coach Dick MacPherson was hired the next year and seemed to begin a turnaround until the bottom fell out in 1992. All of this led to Bill Parcells starting to put his grocery list together in 1993.
7. The 1971 Buffalo Bills
So apparently O.J. Simpson wasn't a 2000 yard rusher out of the chute. He was the leading rusher for the Dennis Shaw quarterbacked Bills in 1971, but rushed for less than 800 yards. The most astonishing stat to look at is that the '71 Bills turned the ball over 48 times and had a turnover ratio of -26 in a 14 game season. Their only win came against the New England Patriots in Week 11 27-20. As if being down almost 2 turnovers per game wasn't bad enough, Buffalo also finished last in the league in points scored and points allowed, and yes, they were outrushed by over a thousand yards. The next season Lou Saban would return to Buffalo and do a pretty good job rebuilding them, and two years later the Juice would have his record breaking season.
6. The 2009 St. Louis Rams
Ah, so now we get to the more recent stinkers. The '09 version of the Rams are different from the others on our list so far in that they're running game was pretty good. Steven Jackson, the workhorse running back and lone Pro Bowler in St. Louis in 2009, held up his end of the bargain as the Rams superstar. Due to injuries at the quarterback position and bad play by the backups, St. Louis was outpassed by a thousand yards, and new coach Steve Spagnuolo's blitzing defense only generated 25 sacks. Their one win came in week 8 against the Detroit Lions, 17-10. Strange that if the Lions win that home game, they would not be the only 0-16 team in NFL history. The Rams were able to win a game, but the first year of Spagnuolo's tenure was certainly painful to watch.
So there you have numbers ten to six. Stay tuned... the top? five worst teams since 1970 will be coming soon!
To be considered, a team had to have the worst record in the league and could not have won more than 3 games in that season. Examples include in 1975, the Saints and Chargers both had records of 2 wins and 12 losses, tied for the worst record in the NFL. Neither is considered to be the worst team ever, because they weren't even clearly the worst team in that season. In 2003, nobody in the NFL had less than 4 wins, therefore no team is considered from that season. Everybody ready for some bad football? Today, we'll be counting down numbers ten to six, so here we go...
10. The 1972 Houston Oilers
With a 1-13 record, this club didn't have much of anything going for it. Their only win came in week 3, a 26-20 home win over Joe Namath and the New York Jets, who would miss the playoffs. The '72 Oilers were outrushed by over 1000 yards over the course of 14 contests, and had a turnover ratio of minus 13. Quarterback Dan Pastorini was in his second year in the NFL, and future Hall of Famer Ken Houston would play his final game as an Oiler in 1972.
9.The 1991 Indianapolis Colts
It's hard to believe that a team whose roster included Jeff George and Eric Dickerson would only average 8.9 points per game on offense, but Dickerson was past his most effective seasons and George had not reached his yet. Outrushed by more than 1000 yards, these Colts scored just 14 touchdowns and allowed 46. A decent passing game and a respectable minus 3 turnover ratio keep them from being worse than ninth on this list. Their only win was a 28-27 triumph at the Jets in week 11, helped along by a Clarence Verdin kickoff return for a score. The interim coach for the last 11 games was Rick Venturi, whose record in three stints as either an NFL or major college head coach yielded a record of 3 wins, 48 losses and a tie. Ted Marchibroda would take over as coach and the Colts improved to 9-7 in 1992.
8. The 1990 New England Patriots
Rod Rust's head coaching career started with a close loss to the Dan Marino led Dolphins and then a win against the Colts. It ended after his Patriots closed out the season with a 14 game losing streak. Steve Grogan, in his 16th and final NFL season, led the Patsies to their only win. Legendary Pats offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong was the lone Pro Bowler on the team, making his first of six appearances. The team gave up more 25 more sacks than they got, and (i'm sensing a theme here) were outrushed by more than a thousand yards. The worst ever edition of the Patriots scored 19 touchdowns, while allowing 50. Longtime Syracuse University coach Dick MacPherson was hired the next year and seemed to begin a turnaround until the bottom fell out in 1992. All of this led to Bill Parcells starting to put his grocery list together in 1993.
7. The 1971 Buffalo Bills
So apparently O.J. Simpson wasn't a 2000 yard rusher out of the chute. He was the leading rusher for the Dennis Shaw quarterbacked Bills in 1971, but rushed for less than 800 yards. The most astonishing stat to look at is that the '71 Bills turned the ball over 48 times and had a turnover ratio of -26 in a 14 game season. Their only win came against the New England Patriots in Week 11 27-20. As if being down almost 2 turnovers per game wasn't bad enough, Buffalo also finished last in the league in points scored and points allowed, and yes, they were outrushed by over a thousand yards. The next season Lou Saban would return to Buffalo and do a pretty good job rebuilding them, and two years later the Juice would have his record breaking season.
6. The 2009 St. Louis Rams
Ah, so now we get to the more recent stinkers. The '09 version of the Rams are different from the others on our list so far in that they're running game was pretty good. Steven Jackson, the workhorse running back and lone Pro Bowler in St. Louis in 2009, held up his end of the bargain as the Rams superstar. Due to injuries at the quarterback position and bad play by the backups, St. Louis was outpassed by a thousand yards, and new coach Steve Spagnuolo's blitzing defense only generated 25 sacks. Their one win came in week 8 against the Detroit Lions, 17-10. Strange that if the Lions win that home game, they would not be the only 0-16 team in NFL history. The Rams were able to win a game, but the first year of Spagnuolo's tenure was certainly painful to watch.
So there you have numbers ten to six. Stay tuned... the top? five worst teams since 1970 will be coming soon!
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Sixty-Pack Edition
This was supposed to be the first edition of Running Numbers, where every so often numbers will be analyzed to see which teams, players and coaches are the best and worst at all things football. This first edition was going to be about the worst teams since 1970, but in light of what happened last night in New Orleans, I have decided to spend some time talking about the "Blowout on the Bayou" or my favorite, the "Sixty-Pack on Bourbon Street".
I had a short discussion last night with a friend who called the Saints "classless" for running up the score against her way shorthanded Colts. While I understand the feelings that happen when the favorite team is getting beaten badly, I disagree that the Saints did anything out of line. New Orleans threw the ball ten times less than their season average last night, and seemed pretty content to run the ball on first and second down and let the clock run for most of the second half, including not calling a pass play in the fourth quarter. If the Colts didn't want them to score anymore, they should have stopped a running play on defense. I usually don't accuse teams of running up the score very much, because the team that is down rarely quits trying to run their offense. An example is the Saints' last touchdown last night, which came on a pick-six by Curtis Painter. If Indianapolis does not want to risk the score getting further out of hand, they shouldn't have been throwing the ball. Hand it off, kneel on the ball when you get it, and go home. Thanks for not showing up. I would never tell a team that is losing that badly to quit. I would also never tell a team that is winning by fifty points to quit playing. They didn't throw it deep or do anything to try and slow down the game. The Colts were so demoralized that they gave up 78 yards on the Saints' last twelve offensive plays. They were all runs, and the last five were all behind the right guard. That is as close to mercy from the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick/Sean Payton coaching tree as you're gonna get.
There have been only twenty-two occurrences of a team scoring 60 points, including the playoffs, since 1940. Three of those were in the AAFC in the 1940s. The last time it happened was in the 1999 playoffs, where Jacksonville beat Miami by the same 62-7 score as last night, in Dan Marino's last game. The last time a team was defeated by 55 or more points during the regular season was actually the 1973 New Orleans Saints who lost (surprise!) 62-7 to the Atlanta Falcons on opening day. While last night's blowout was partly due to Peyton Manning not playing, that game got out of hand because Archie Manning was playing and throwing six interceptions.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Houston Oilers 61-7 in 1989. I can't find the play by play for this game, so bear with me while I try to explain what happened in this game. In an example of exactly what the Saints didn't do last night, I believe the score was 45-0 when the Bengals kicked off straight up in the air after a long touchdown pass. The Oilers weren't ready for it, and one of the Bengals' players recovered the free ball, leading to another touchdown. That is running up the score.
The Colts can take something from the fact that last night was not the biggest blowout loss in pro football history, it is just tied for fourth. Pittsburgh beat the Giants 63-7 in 1952, and Cleveland beat Washington 62-3 in 1954, but the blowout of all time continues to be the 1940 NFL Championship Game. Stats and boxscores were in their football infancy in those days and are often incomplete or hard to find, but this was a championship, so the whole thing is there. The Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0. Three Washington QBs (including Slingin' Sammy Baugh) threw eight interceptions, three of which the Bears brought back for scores. There was no free substitution in this era, so one of the strangest facts about this game to a modern football fan is that there were five different Bears players who successfully kicked extra points in this game.
So the Colts have escaped the distinction of playing the worst game in history, now all they have to do is win a game so they don't end up on that Worst Teams list I've been working on.
I had a short discussion last night with a friend who called the Saints "classless" for running up the score against her way shorthanded Colts. While I understand the feelings that happen when the favorite team is getting beaten badly, I disagree that the Saints did anything out of line. New Orleans threw the ball ten times less than their season average last night, and seemed pretty content to run the ball on first and second down and let the clock run for most of the second half, including not calling a pass play in the fourth quarter. If the Colts didn't want them to score anymore, they should have stopped a running play on defense. I usually don't accuse teams of running up the score very much, because the team that is down rarely quits trying to run their offense. An example is the Saints' last touchdown last night, which came on a pick-six by Curtis Painter. If Indianapolis does not want to risk the score getting further out of hand, they shouldn't have been throwing the ball. Hand it off, kneel on the ball when you get it, and go home. Thanks for not showing up. I would never tell a team that is losing that badly to quit. I would also never tell a team that is winning by fifty points to quit playing. They didn't throw it deep or do anything to try and slow down the game. The Colts were so demoralized that they gave up 78 yards on the Saints' last twelve offensive plays. They were all runs, and the last five were all behind the right guard. That is as close to mercy from the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick/Sean Payton coaching tree as you're gonna get.
There have been only twenty-two occurrences of a team scoring 60 points, including the playoffs, since 1940. Three of those were in the AAFC in the 1940s. The last time it happened was in the 1999 playoffs, where Jacksonville beat Miami by the same 62-7 score as last night, in Dan Marino's last game. The last time a team was defeated by 55 or more points during the regular season was actually the 1973 New Orleans Saints who lost (surprise!) 62-7 to the Atlanta Falcons on opening day. While last night's blowout was partly due to Peyton Manning not playing, that game got out of hand because Archie Manning was playing and throwing six interceptions.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Houston Oilers 61-7 in 1989. I can't find the play by play for this game, so bear with me while I try to explain what happened in this game. In an example of exactly what the Saints didn't do last night, I believe the score was 45-0 when the Bengals kicked off straight up in the air after a long touchdown pass. The Oilers weren't ready for it, and one of the Bengals' players recovered the free ball, leading to another touchdown. That is running up the score.
The Colts can take something from the fact that last night was not the biggest blowout loss in pro football history, it is just tied for fourth. Pittsburgh beat the Giants 63-7 in 1952, and Cleveland beat Washington 62-3 in 1954, but the blowout of all time continues to be the 1940 NFL Championship Game. Stats and boxscores were in their football infancy in those days and are often incomplete or hard to find, but this was a championship, so the whole thing is there. The Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0. Three Washington QBs (including Slingin' Sammy Baugh) threw eight interceptions, three of which the Bears brought back for scores. There was no free substitution in this era, so one of the strangest facts about this game to a modern football fan is that there were five different Bears players who successfully kicked extra points in this game.
So the Colts have escaped the distinction of playing the worst game in history, now all they have to do is win a game so they don't end up on that Worst Teams list I've been working on.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Just Another Dull Week In Football.....
Just some random thoughts on the weekend that was...
Fool Me Once, Shame On You- There has seemed to be a small rise in the use of trick plays at the college and pro levels this year, and there were two great ones this past weekend. On Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers lambasted the Indiana Hoosiers 59-7. Hidden in that game was QB Russell Wilson catching a touchdown pass from RB Montee Ball on a beautifully executed (if not beautifully thrown) trick play. On Sunday, the Oakland Raiders faked a field goal, resulting in a TD pass by punter Shane Lechler to TE Kevin Boss. Cleveland never saw it coming. The only thing that could have made it better is if Sea Bass himself had chucked the ball up there for Boss. Well done, coaches, it's nice to see a little trickeration on the weekend.
Um, Congratulations- There is nothing too awful about the confrontation between coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz on Sunday afternoon. Harbaugh was excited that his team won the game and was a little too exuberant when he shook Schwartz's hand. Most of the TV experts are right, both teams have to love the way their coaches are as excited and passionate about the game as they are. What I get out of this whole thing is that Harbaugh should tone it down and start chest-bumping his players after the handshake, and Schwartz seems to be kind of a sore loser. There is very little difference between Harbaugh's handshake and Schwartz yelling at Harbaugh to "learn the rules" after the 49ers coach mistakenly challenged a scoring play and cost his team an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. Mr. Schwartz, if it is okay for you to yell at opposing coaches and players and do your little "shoulder punch" thing during the game, it's okay for the their teams coaches and players to get excited when they win. Think of that as the new "protocol".
A New NFL Record?- Speaking of coaches, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton tore his MCL and broke his leg when Saints' TE Jimmy Graham was tackled into him during Sunday's game, and coached the rest of the first half from the bench. In the same game, Buccaneers DB's coach Jimmy Lake tore his patella tendon while jumping up to celebrate an interception with one of his Bucs players. We've seen coaches get hurt on the sidelines before. Joe Paterno's injury comes to mind as one of the most recent notable coach injuries. My question is, has there ever been an NFL game where two coaches have had serious injuries before yesterday? They'll do anything to break a record in that league.
Tiger Stripes- The Bengals are 4-2 after losing their longtime starting QB/WR tandem, another testament to head coach Marvin Lewis and his ability to get pretty good results with what he has in Cincinnati. He never seems to have as much to work with as other teams, and the Bengals are better under him than any coach since Sam Wyche.
So Far, So Fast- The Denver Broncos must see what Tim Tebow can do as a starting QB. They are not a very good football team, and they traded WR Brandon Lloyd to St. Louis today. It doesn't matter which coach drafted him, Tebow is a number one draft pick, and Denver can't just not let him play. The fans want to see him, and the team probably won't win more than six games no matter who starts at quarterback. The Elway/Fox regime might as well see if he can be the guy, and if he can, they can concentrate on the many other problems this franchise has on the field.
Sparty In "Bronze"- I didn't know that old gold, or "Bronze" as Nike was calling it, was one of Michigan State's school colors. Their colors are green and white. Last year, they added gold trim to the numbers on the jerseys and yesterday they came out with gold helmets and numbers and black pants. I think they would have looked better without the gold, but Michigan saved the day with some sweet road throwbacks in their school colors. I am not a big fan of teams wearing "special" jerseys every week. If they do, It would be nice if they used their school colors. No matter what you think of Maryland's new uniform combinations, they all include the Terps' school colors. There is one exception to every rule, and since they were first, Oregon gets to be that exception. The Pirate Duck look from Saturday was good. Silver helmet, black jersey, silver pants. Too bad they probably won't wear it for another ten years.
The Dolphin's invade the Meadowlands tonight looking for their first win. It's not gonna happen tonight, Rex Ryan and the Jets fix enough of their woes to get the home win, 23-14.
Fool Me Once, Shame On You- There has seemed to be a small rise in the use of trick plays at the college and pro levels this year, and there were two great ones this past weekend. On Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers lambasted the Indiana Hoosiers 59-7. Hidden in that game was QB Russell Wilson catching a touchdown pass from RB Montee Ball on a beautifully executed (if not beautifully thrown) trick play. On Sunday, the Oakland Raiders faked a field goal, resulting in a TD pass by punter Shane Lechler to TE Kevin Boss. Cleveland never saw it coming. The only thing that could have made it better is if Sea Bass himself had chucked the ball up there for Boss. Well done, coaches, it's nice to see a little trickeration on the weekend.
Um, Congratulations- There is nothing too awful about the confrontation between coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz on Sunday afternoon. Harbaugh was excited that his team won the game and was a little too exuberant when he shook Schwartz's hand. Most of the TV experts are right, both teams have to love the way their coaches are as excited and passionate about the game as they are. What I get out of this whole thing is that Harbaugh should tone it down and start chest-bumping his players after the handshake, and Schwartz seems to be kind of a sore loser. There is very little difference between Harbaugh's handshake and Schwartz yelling at Harbaugh to "learn the rules" after the 49ers coach mistakenly challenged a scoring play and cost his team an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. Mr. Schwartz, if it is okay for you to yell at opposing coaches and players and do your little "shoulder punch" thing during the game, it's okay for the their teams coaches and players to get excited when they win. Think of that as the new "protocol".
A New NFL Record?- Speaking of coaches, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton tore his MCL and broke his leg when Saints' TE Jimmy Graham was tackled into him during Sunday's game, and coached the rest of the first half from the bench. In the same game, Buccaneers DB's coach Jimmy Lake tore his patella tendon while jumping up to celebrate an interception with one of his Bucs players. We've seen coaches get hurt on the sidelines before. Joe Paterno's injury comes to mind as one of the most recent notable coach injuries. My question is, has there ever been an NFL game where two coaches have had serious injuries before yesterday? They'll do anything to break a record in that league.
Tiger Stripes- The Bengals are 4-2 after losing their longtime starting QB/WR tandem, another testament to head coach Marvin Lewis and his ability to get pretty good results with what he has in Cincinnati. He never seems to have as much to work with as other teams, and the Bengals are better under him than any coach since Sam Wyche.
So Far, So Fast- The Denver Broncos must see what Tim Tebow can do as a starting QB. They are not a very good football team, and they traded WR Brandon Lloyd to St. Louis today. It doesn't matter which coach drafted him, Tebow is a number one draft pick, and Denver can't just not let him play. The fans want to see him, and the team probably won't win more than six games no matter who starts at quarterback. The Elway/Fox regime might as well see if he can be the guy, and if he can, they can concentrate on the many other problems this franchise has on the field.
Sparty In "Bronze"- I didn't know that old gold, or "Bronze" as Nike was calling it, was one of Michigan State's school colors. Their colors are green and white. Last year, they added gold trim to the numbers on the jerseys and yesterday they came out with gold helmets and numbers and black pants. I think they would have looked better without the gold, but Michigan saved the day with some sweet road throwbacks in their school colors. I am not a big fan of teams wearing "special" jerseys every week. If they do, It would be nice if they used their school colors. No matter what you think of Maryland's new uniform combinations, they all include the Terps' school colors. There is one exception to every rule, and since they were first, Oregon gets to be that exception. The Pirate Duck look from Saturday was good. Silver helmet, black jersey, silver pants. Too bad they probably won't wear it for another ten years.
The Dolphin's invade the Meadowlands tonight looking for their first win. It's not gonna happen tonight, Rex Ryan and the Jets fix enough of their woes to get the home win, 23-14.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Man Who Changed The Game
This is not a joke. I'm not being sarcastic or anything like that. I think Al Davis, who passed away Saturday at the age of 82, was the best owner in the history of sports. Bar none. His passing gives me another reason to appreciate what NFL Films did for the growth of the game. We'll always have the old shows about the big game losses in the late 60's and early 70's, and the Super Bowl wins during the mid 70's and early 80's. The most memorable of those films, and all fans who followed the league then have seen it, was after Super Bowl XVIII. There is an image of Al Davis, who a year earlier had won lawsuit he had filed against the NFL when they tried to block the relocation of his Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles, in the locker room after the game. He is holding the Lombardi Trophy while congratulating his team on their 38-9 dismantling of the Washington Redskins. After congratulating his team, he smiles and utters the phrase that will always make football fans anywhere think of Al Davis and the Raiders.
"Just win, baby!"
I am personally not a fan of the Raiders. There was a mystique about them when I was a child, when the only time fans outside of northern California could see them was when they were playing in your team's area or on Monday Night Football. They truly were the renegades of professional sports, their roster filled with last chance players that Davis decided could still play. Names like Hendricks, Matuszak, Sistrunk, Plunkett, and Alzado come to mind as players who nobody else wanted who won championships for Davis. The list of players that were original Raider draft picks is impressive as well. Shell, Upshaw, Stabler, Branch, Allen, and Brown were all great players. Although Davis was criticized for his evaluation of talent in recent years, it is arguable that he drafted and signed more talent than anybody in pro football history.
Al Davis and his Raiders are the main reason that the NFL has franchises in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Arizona, and back in Baltimore. Indirectly, he is also responsible for the lavish new stadiums that have been recently built, mainly to entice the franchises to stay in their cities.
His team did not perform well on the field the last few years, but the Oakland Raiders have been to more Super Bowls in the last ten years than such yearly championship picks as the Ravens, Jets, Vikings, and Chargers. His teams were among the fastest and most physically talented in football even when the wins didn't pile up.
When Al Davis purchased the Oakland Raiders outright in 1966, the price tag was $180,000. In 2008, Forbes listed the Raiders as being worth $861 million dollars. He is not the last of the original American Football League personalities, but he certainly remains the most influential owner in history.
There seems to be a misguided notion in professional sports that in order to be successful, an owner must be invisible. Al Davis may have been the first owner in football that was more widely known than his players, yet the success followed. Always guaranteed to speak his mind and fight for what he thought was right, Davis took on his own league and won. He did as much or more to popularize the game of American football as anyone. He will never be forgotten.
Yesterday afternoon, the Raiders were statistically dominated by the Houston Texans. Their running game, among the best in the league, struggled. Houston threw for over 400 yards and kept the ball for over thirty-five minutes, but when Micheal Huff intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the game, the Raiders won 25-20. It was a game Al Davis would have loved.
His team just won, baby.
"Just win, baby!"
I am personally not a fan of the Raiders. There was a mystique about them when I was a child, when the only time fans outside of northern California could see them was when they were playing in your team's area or on Monday Night Football. They truly were the renegades of professional sports, their roster filled with last chance players that Davis decided could still play. Names like Hendricks, Matuszak, Sistrunk, Plunkett, and Alzado come to mind as players who nobody else wanted who won championships for Davis. The list of players that were original Raider draft picks is impressive as well. Shell, Upshaw, Stabler, Branch, Allen, and Brown were all great players. Although Davis was criticized for his evaluation of talent in recent years, it is arguable that he drafted and signed more talent than anybody in pro football history.
Al Davis and his Raiders are the main reason that the NFL has franchises in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Arizona, and back in Baltimore. Indirectly, he is also responsible for the lavish new stadiums that have been recently built, mainly to entice the franchises to stay in their cities.
His team did not perform well on the field the last few years, but the Oakland Raiders have been to more Super Bowls in the last ten years than such yearly championship picks as the Ravens, Jets, Vikings, and Chargers. His teams were among the fastest and most physically talented in football even when the wins didn't pile up.
When Al Davis purchased the Oakland Raiders outright in 1966, the price tag was $180,000. In 2008, Forbes listed the Raiders as being worth $861 million dollars. He is not the last of the original American Football League personalities, but he certainly remains the most influential owner in history.
There seems to be a misguided notion in professional sports that in order to be successful, an owner must be invisible. Al Davis may have been the first owner in football that was more widely known than his players, yet the success followed. Always guaranteed to speak his mind and fight for what he thought was right, Davis took on his own league and won. He did as much or more to popularize the game of American football as anyone. He will never be forgotten.
Yesterday afternoon, the Raiders were statistically dominated by the Houston Texans. Their running game, among the best in the league, struggled. Houston threw for over 400 yards and kept the ball for over thirty-five minutes, but when Micheal Huff intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the game, the Raiders won 25-20. It was a game Al Davis would have loved.
His team just won, baby.
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