I was watching the game without any emotional investment in the outcome until that red flag hit the field. At that moment I knew who I wanted to win, and it wasn't the team coached by a chicken-crap piece of garbage who dresses like a thug and has the morals and behavior to match his attire. Watching him leave the field with his tail between his legs before the game was even officially over was the best moment of the entire NFL season.
To use the protest flag because an opposing player was a mere foot short of clearing the field of play before the ball was snapped displayed just how little regard Belichek has for the game he coaches. Accepting advantage from a penalty called by an official is one thing. Seeking advantage from a marginal and uncalled penalty by means of the protest flag is simply unconsionable. It displays just how willing he is to abuse the rules to seek advantage; to place winning over decency and sportsmanship.
This piece of slime is an affront to all who love the game of football. He dishonors the field that has felt the footsteps of men named Lombardi and Halas and Walsh. He is an insult to the men who toil and sweat to play the game for the fans. Rumor has it that some new taping episodes have surfaced, and Roger Goodell will do a great disservice to the game if he does not ban this garbage from coaching for life.
The Giants played a great game, particularly on defense. They went toe-to- toe with a record-breaking offense. They said "We are not afraid of any of your receivers, and we do not fear your quarterback." They took New England on at the line of scrimmage and beat them. It was a joy to watch.
If you took the phrases "you know" and "I mean" away from Troy Aikman he would be unable to speak. At times he uses them together, "The ball, I mean, you know, went 50 yards." I can remember when one of the requirements for being an announcer was that you had to be articulate.
I'm sure Keith Olbermann is going bonkers. He was one of, I believe, three people predicting a Giants win. I can't wait to see his show this evening.
Was it just me or were the blockbuster Super Bowl commercials mind-bogglingly lame this year? There was one that had a bunch of lizards dancing with a hot chick that was kind of cute, but...
So what's left now that football is done? American Idol? Oh, God...
Showing posts with label NFL football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL football. Show all posts
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Sunday Football
Chargers are favored at Tennessee by a half point this morning. Seems a bit odd, since the latter are a bit better statistically and are the home team. I've been flipping a coin all morning and it has come up heads half the time and tails the other half. Drove the cat crazy.
For the second game we here in sunny (well, cloudy at the moment) San Diego get to watch a titanic battle between two teams with losing records. Our local CBS affiliate has decided that a far more exciting game between the Patriots and Steelers is not in our best interest because the KC/Denver game is in our division and if KC wins that game the Chargers will clinch our division. The Chargers are going to win the division simply by being the least crappy team: I'd rather watch a game with some excitement in it and where it mattered who won.
An interesting weather tidbit: the jet stream is actually dipping to the south of us today. (That's the northern jet stream. There's also a southern one that is almost always south of us.) That's not freakishly unusual, but it is uncommon and the forecast is that it will dip even farther down the Baja Penninsula tomorrow. In addition to being interesting to weather freaks such as myself, it also means that we have to get our snuggies out of storage.
For the second game we here in sunny (well, cloudy at the moment) San Diego get to watch a titanic battle between two teams with losing records. Our local CBS affiliate has decided that a far more exciting game between the Patriots and Steelers is not in our best interest because the KC/Denver game is in our division and if KC wins that game the Chargers will clinch our division. The Chargers are going to win the division simply by being the least crappy team: I'd rather watch a game with some excitement in it and where it mattered who won.
An interesting weather tidbit: the jet stream is actually dipping to the south of us today. (That's the northern jet stream. There's also a southern one that is almost always south of us.) That's not freakishly unusual, but it is uncommon and the forecast is that it will dip even farther down the Baja Penninsula tomorrow. In addition to being interesting to weather freaks such as myself, it also means that we have to get our snuggies out of storage.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Football Observations
Updated below
An observation about Chicago Bears fans. In most stadiums (stadia?), when the home team is down by 17 points with 8 minutes left in the game the stands will begin emptying in droves. That would be especially true if the home team offense had been playing flat for the entire second half. It looked to me like not one single fan had left the house when the Bears tied the game, and then won in overtime. Those are some kind of loyal fans.
Again, the local writers are losing sight of just who the Chargers beat last week, and are suggesting we will win in a walk today against a team that held the Colts to 13 points two weeks ago. I no longer make predictions on the Chargers, but I’m not quite as sanguine as our local pundits. Depends on which team got on the plane.
I am so sick of the grandstanding of one Shawne Merriman, who treats us to his “Lights Out” sack dance and literally pounds himself on the chest after making a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. “Um, Merriman, no one even attempted to block you on that play. Pretty much anyone in the NFL can tackle someone who is standing still when no one tries to prevent them from doing so.” There are many in the NFL who are as good or better at playing football as this egotistic jerk, and there are hundreds who are far better men.
I am a big fan of Philip Rivers, have been since he was drafted, but someone needs to take him in hand. Even in a winning cause last week he was unimpressive. Nick Canepa asked “…would you rather have an excitable quarterback, or one who comes off the field hanging his head?” Well, Nick, those are not the only two choices. I’d actually rather have a professional.
If you watch Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, every single pass is precisely on target. Quarterbacks like these either throw the ball away or they hit their receiver precisely where they mean to do so. Rivers hits the receiver in full stride part of the time, but too many of his completions are made because the receiver made an athletic grab of a pass that was just a bit off-target. You cannot throw with deadly accuracy when you are excited; that kind of throwing comes from being professionally calm and in control. Rivers doesn’t seem to be growing in that direction.
Chargers are playing at Arrowhead Stadium today. Buckle up.
Update: Tuesday 9PM
Finally, a deserved win. Still some problems with the aerial part of the offense, but look what happens when you (a) keep attacking them with the best running back in The League and (b) turn the dogs loose on defense. Rivers needs to graduate from grade school, though.
Tomorrow I will comment on the total lack of sanity in Washington.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Football Follies
I don't usually go in for "I told you so" but...
Vikings 35, Chargers 17, but don’t let that deceive you; the game was nowhere near that close. One of the Chargers’ touchdowns was a missed field goal by the Vikings returned 109 yards, and the Vikings fumbled the ball away twice inside the Chargers 20-yard line. It could quite easily have been a 49-10 score.
All and sundry were crowing about last week’s blowout over Houston. Go back and read what I wrote. I was unimpressed by 21 offensive points against a second-rate team, and I stated that I saw this loss coming. (I did not think it would be quite this humiliating.) Nick Canepa claimed they did not run up the score on Houston because Norv Turner is too much of a gentleman. I claimed it was because the locals didn't have the horsepower to do so. After this week's debacle, what do you think?
Someone should get Philip Rivers a MRI to see if he has a brain tumor or something. I can count on my thumbs the number of passes he threw accurately. Yes, sometimes he was pressured, but even when he had time to step into the throw he was missing receivers that were wide open.
It’s hard to believe how a team with this much talent can play this poorly.
Or is, perhaps, the degree of talent overstated?
One thing of note, Tom Powers reports in an article in the Pioneer Press of Minneapolis, that Philip Rivers may have actually fueled the debacle.
"He started talking trash, and it got us going a little bit," Sharper [Vikings defensive back] said. "I like it when a quarterback talks to us."
Powers goes on to say that he doesn’t think that it was Rivers’ trash talking that caused the rout, but points out that certainly Rivers' performance was, shall we say, less than stellar.
My point is that when you are on the field performing in a second rate manner, it’s probably a good idea to keep your big mouth shut. It’s also a good idea not to start thinking you are Superman just because you whipped up last week on a team with a losing record.
Maybe I'll point out here that Brees was 35-49 (71%) yesterday for New Orleans, for 449 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 0 interceptions.
Vikings 35, Chargers 17, but don’t let that deceive you; the game was nowhere near that close. One of the Chargers’ touchdowns was a missed field goal by the Vikings returned 109 yards, and the Vikings fumbled the ball away twice inside the Chargers 20-yard line. It could quite easily have been a 49-10 score.
All and sundry were crowing about last week’s blowout over Houston. Go back and read what I wrote. I was unimpressed by 21 offensive points against a second-rate team, and I stated that I saw this loss coming. (I did not think it would be quite this humiliating.) Nick Canepa claimed they did not run up the score on Houston because Norv Turner is too much of a gentleman. I claimed it was because the locals didn't have the horsepower to do so. After this week's debacle, what do you think?
Someone should get Philip Rivers a MRI to see if he has a brain tumor or something. I can count on my thumbs the number of passes he threw accurately. Yes, sometimes he was pressured, but even when he had time to step into the throw he was missing receivers that were wide open.
It’s hard to believe how a team with this much talent can play this poorly.
Or is, perhaps, the degree of talent overstated?
One thing of note, Tom Powers reports in an article in the Pioneer Press of Minneapolis, that Philip Rivers may have actually fueled the debacle.
"He started talking trash, and it got us going a little bit," Sharper [Vikings defensive back] said. "I like it when a quarterback talks to us."
Powers goes on to say that he doesn’t think that it was Rivers’ trash talking that caused the rout, but points out that certainly Rivers' performance was, shall we say, less than stellar.
My point is that when you are on the field performing in a second rate manner, it’s probably a good idea to keep your big mouth shut. It’s also a good idea not to start thinking you are Superman just because you whipped up last week on a team with a losing record.
Maybe I'll point out here that Brees was 35-49 (71%) yesterday for New Orleans, for 449 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 0 interceptions.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Weekend Football
Female eye rolling is reaching epic proportions, as the Raiders are coming to San Diego this weekend. Yeah, the despicable silver and black is coming to pollute Qualcomm Stadium. Now we just have to worry about which Chargers team will show up: the one that thrashed Denver last week, or the one with its collective head firmly up its collective ass. There's also the question of which Raiders team will show up. Talk about unpredictability. I'm guessing one team or the other will win and the margin will be either large or small. How's that for expert reckless prognostication?
I probably should set up some sort of bet with the Utah branch of my family, as San Diego State plays Utah at noon Saturday in Salt Lake City. SDSU is less than a mile from where I live; in fact, there is a mini-dorm across the street from me. SDSU students, happily, are rather quiet. At least these are. Anyway, much the same conditions apply to this game as the one above, and my fearless prediction is the same. One team will win, by a few points or many. Am I good, or what?
On a parting note, I have to say that Faith Hill really does it for me singing the intro to Sunday Night Football. When it was MNF the singer was something to be suffered through, but Ms. Hill is an extraordinarily pretty lady with a lovely voice. She can spend as much time singing that intro as she likes.
And is there any better pair than Al Michaels and John Madden?
I probably should set up some sort of bet with the Utah branch of my family, as San Diego State plays Utah at noon Saturday in Salt Lake City. SDSU is less than a mile from where I live; in fact, there is a mini-dorm across the street from me. SDSU students, happily, are rather quiet. At least these are. Anyway, much the same conditions apply to this game as the one above, and my fearless prediction is the same. One team will win, by a few points or many. Am I good, or what?
On a parting note, I have to say that Faith Hill really does it for me singing the intro to Sunday Night Football. When it was MNF the singer was something to be suffered through, but Ms. Hill is an extraordinarily pretty lady with a lovely voice. She can spend as much time singing that intro as she likes.
And is there any better pair than Al Michaels and John Madden?
Monday, October 01, 2007
Sack Dancing
The “Lights Out” sack dance is back. Believe me, this is not a plus, as evidenced by it being performed on the short end of a 30-16 score.
Merriman performs the dance to celebrate having done what he is paid to do, namely pressuring the opposing quarterback. He is less eager to call attention to himself the other twenty times that he rushed the opposing quarterback and imposed no pressure whatever. You fail at your assigned task twenty times, succeed once, and you want to crow about it? Not in the world that I live in. In my world that success rate gets you fired.
If you talk to the left offensive tackle of the New England Patriots he will say, “I am part of a unit that protects my quarterback.” If you talk to the offensive tackle of the San Diego Chargers he will say, “I am the best tackle in the NFL.” Both statements will be quite possibly true, but…
That pretty much sums up the problem that faces the Chargers.
Sack dances and big egos don’t win the important games.
Merriman performs the dance to celebrate having done what he is paid to do, namely pressuring the opposing quarterback. He is less eager to call attention to himself the other twenty times that he rushed the opposing quarterback and imposed no pressure whatever. You fail at your assigned task twenty times, succeed once, and you want to crow about it? Not in the world that I live in. In my world that success rate gets you fired.
If you talk to the left offensive tackle of the New England Patriots he will say, “I am part of a unit that protects my quarterback.” If you talk to the offensive tackle of the San Diego Chargers he will say, “I am the best tackle in the NFL.” Both statements will be quite possibly true, but…
That pretty much sums up the problem that faces the Chargers.
Sack dances and big egos don’t win the important games.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
More Football Follies
Articles providing quotes by Chargers players are having them saying things to the effect that a) they "did some things right," b) "did a few things wrong," and c) "we'll be fine."
Well, no. For two games now the defensive secondary has totally sucked. While we have been up against two good defenses, the offense has been clumsy and out of synch most of the time. Palming that off with platitudes is not going to result in winning future games.
My wife says the loss to the Patriots was a "wake up call." Maybe. Only if someone hears the alarm clock and gets out of bed. Nothing said by anyone on the team suggests to me that such is the case. Farve knows how to throw passes and he has receivers that know how to catch them. Past performance suggests that the Chargers are pretty helpless against that combo. We'll see tomorrow if the Chargers heard the alarm clock.
I'm in Salt Lake City for the weekend, so I won't see the game until I get home and can see it on tape. I would see it, but there is a game in Denver at 2PM so NFL rules prohibit televising a game in SLC at 11AM because Denver is considered a "home team market" here. So if a division rival is on television at 11, people in SLC will not go to the game in Denver at 2, but if it's blacked out in SLC they will. The NFL never looked at a map and noticed that there's a whole range of huge mountains between Denver and SLC. It's not a short drive.
The rule applies even when the game they are protecting is sold out. To protect attendance at a sold out game in Denver against Jacksonville at 2PM you black out a San Diego / Green Bay game in Salt Lake City at 11AM. Figure that out, if you can.
Well, no. For two games now the defensive secondary has totally sucked. While we have been up against two good defenses, the offense has been clumsy and out of synch most of the time. Palming that off with platitudes is not going to result in winning future games.
My wife says the loss to the Patriots was a "wake up call." Maybe. Only if someone hears the alarm clock and gets out of bed. Nothing said by anyone on the team suggests to me that such is the case. Farve knows how to throw passes and he has receivers that know how to catch them. Past performance suggests that the Chargers are pretty helpless against that combo. We'll see tomorrow if the Chargers heard the alarm clock.
Blacked out
I'm in Salt Lake City for the weekend, so I won't see the game until I get home and can see it on tape. I would see it, but there is a game in Denver at 2PM so NFL rules prohibit televising a game in SLC at 11AM because Denver is considered a "home team market" here. So if a division rival is on television at 11, people in SLC will not go to the game in Denver at 2, but if it's blacked out in SLC they will. The NFL never looked at a map and noticed that there's a whole range of huge mountains between Denver and SLC. It's not a short drive.
The rule applies even when the game they are protecting is sold out. To protect attendance at a sold out game in Denver against Jacksonville at 2PM you black out a San Diego / Green Bay game in Salt Lake City at 11AM. Figure that out, if you can.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Football Follies
Back when I was in high school we had a game we played where we crammed as many guys as we could into a car and drove until we got to a red light. As soon as the car stopped we all jumped out of the car and ran high-speed circles around the car in both directions until the light turned green, at which point we all got back in the car and drove off, laughing hysterically. We called this game, for reasons that I cannot recall, a Chinese Fire Drill.
It caused us to actually try to catch red lights so that we could play the game which we regarded as hilariously entertaining. Why we thought that escapes me at this point, but we were high school guys, and it never lost its amusement value.
It’s less entertaining when performed by eleven guys wearing blue and white football uniforms. Patriots 38, Chargers 14. It wasn’t actually that close.
It caused us to actually try to catch red lights so that we could play the game which we regarded as hilariously entertaining. Why we thought that escapes me at this point, but we were high school guys, and it never lost its amusement value.
It’s less entertaining when performed by eleven guys wearing blue and white football uniforms. Patriots 38, Chargers 14. It wasn’t actually that close.
Football Sunday
The Chargers play the Patriots later today and in my tradition of fearlessly predicting outcomes, here goes: I don’t know. It depends on which Chargers team shows up: the one with enormous talent, or the one with an astounding lack of mental discipline.
Most (but not all) San Diego writers are crowing about how wonderful our defense was against Chicago. I was less impressed. The front seven excelled, but the secondary was saved by the fact the Grossman gets rattled when he is pressured. Brady does not, so the secondary is going to have to play substantially better than it did against the Bears.
The offense was simply pathetic against the Bears in pretty much every aspect of the game. If a defense puts eight men on the line of scrimmage for the entire game and you cannot pass the ball against the remaining three you are going to win very few games. Did the Chargers even have more than one wide receiver on the field last Sunday? An offense that drops more passes than it catches is not a Super Bowl contender.
So, which team will show up this evening? That’s a familiar refrain.
One Mike Argento writes a column for the York Daily Record and his column yesterday contained a couple of real treasures. You should really read the whole thing, but a portion of my favorite is about a kid who impaled himself atop a spiked, twelve-foot fence in the attempt to enter the York County Fair. He had a ticket in his pocket, oddly enough, and the gate was a mere fifty feet away. Mike writes,
This should be part of the No Child Left Behind testing: “Johnny is walking to the fair and gets tired of walking, should he:
“A. Continue walking the last block to the gate anyway.
“B. Try to climb a 12-foot-tall, spike-topped fence.
“C. What was the question?”
One of the firefighters who rescued him said an old guy walked by after they duct-taped Fry to the fence to prevent him from moving and committing further damage to himself, and asked, “You aren't going to leave him up there?”
This guy, by the way is a pretty good discovery. In the “header” on the left at that link above you’ll see the Mike Argento’s name. Click on it and you’ll get an archive of his columns. You will have a lot of fun exploring them.
Most (but not all) San Diego writers are crowing about how wonderful our defense was against Chicago. I was less impressed. The front seven excelled, but the secondary was saved by the fact the Grossman gets rattled when he is pressured. Brady does not, so the secondary is going to have to play substantially better than it did against the Bears.
The offense was simply pathetic against the Bears in pretty much every aspect of the game. If a defense puts eight men on the line of scrimmage for the entire game and you cannot pass the ball against the remaining three you are going to win very few games. Did the Chargers even have more than one wide receiver on the field last Sunday? An offense that drops more passes than it catches is not a Super Bowl contender.
So, which team will show up this evening? That’s a familiar refrain.
A columnist to enjoy
One Mike Argento writes a column for the York Daily Record and his column yesterday contained a couple of real treasures. You should really read the whole thing, but a portion of my favorite is about a kid who impaled himself atop a spiked, twelve-foot fence in the attempt to enter the York County Fair. He had a ticket in his pocket, oddly enough, and the gate was a mere fifty feet away. Mike writes,
This should be part of the No Child Left Behind testing: “Johnny is walking to the fair and gets tired of walking, should he:
“A. Continue walking the last block to the gate anyway.
“B. Try to climb a 12-foot-tall, spike-topped fence.
“C. What was the question?”
One of the firefighters who rescued him said an old guy walked by after they duct-taped Fry to the fence to prevent him from moving and committing further damage to himself, and asked, “You aren't going to leave him up there?”
This guy, by the way is a pretty good discovery. In the “header” on the left at that link above you’ll see the Mike Argento’s name. Click on it and you’ll get an archive of his columns. You will have a lot of fun exploring them.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Oh boy, football season
Oh boy, oh boy… This is the time of year when my wife starts rolling her eyes a lot. The Chargers opened training camp today. All our draft picks are signed, all of last years starters are back… Well, the starters that really matter are back except one.
I hate to see Donny Edwards gone. He was a really good guy and our leading tackler, but most of his tackles were on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage. Wilhelm is, I think, going to do a fine job of filling his shoes so we still have (imho) the best corps of linebackers there is.
New head coach, and I’m a Norv Turner fan. There is no question he can run an offense, so we just have to see if he can run a team. With this pool of talent I think he can. I’m excited about our prospects this year.
Except, of course, that Quentin Jammer is still with us. If he could defend against opposing receivers with his mouth he would be as good as he thinks he is, but unfortunately he’ll still be out there committing penalties, blowing coverages, and tripping over his own feet.
Less than three weeks until the first preseason game. Pant, pant, pant.
I hate to see Donny Edwards gone. He was a really good guy and our leading tackler, but most of his tackles were on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage. Wilhelm is, I think, going to do a fine job of filling his shoes so we still have (imho) the best corps of linebackers there is.
New head coach, and I’m a Norv Turner fan. There is no question he can run an offense, so we just have to see if he can run a team. With this pool of talent I think he can. I’m excited about our prospects this year.
Except, of course, that Quentin Jammer is still with us. If he could defend against opposing receivers with his mouth he would be as good as he thinks he is, but unfortunately he’ll still be out there committing penalties, blowing coverages, and tripping over his own feet.
Less than three weeks until the first preseason game. Pant, pant, pant.
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