These are the times where being a sports fan is difficult. You give it your all, you give it your money, you give it your time. You believe that you're rooting for something real. You believe that those athletes you watch feel the same way.
But do they? Do they really?
It's times like this that make you really question what the point of all of it is.
After this performance put on by the "Pittsburgh Steelers", it's difficult to find a point in any of it.
It's easy to throw the cliche at us and say "You just won your second Super Bowl in four years, and your sixth of all time, you have no right to be angry". And it would be folly to totally dismiss that point. To a degree, it does make sense.
But not in Pittsburgh. Not for the Steelers. We want better. We expect better. We need better. But what we've received this season is anything but better. And the answer after this freezing, epically disappointing night in Cleveland is abundantly clear...
The players don't care.
It's not fair to us as city. It's not fair to us as fans. We expect more.
This is a team that returned 20 of 22 starters from a Super Bowl Champion. And those two new starters? They were on the team last year and they contributed. How many Super Bowl Champions can say that in the modern era? This is a team that statistically had the most difficult schedule in NFL history last year and went 12-4, 6-0 in their division and won the Super Bowl. This year, they had statistically one of the easiest schedules, and are currently 6-7, 1-5 in the division and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Frankly, it's embarrassing.
I know the Steelers followed up their Super Bowl XL victory with a lackluster 8-8 season but the comparison is ill fitting. That team was the 6th seed in the playoffs and basically had to win every game from Week 12 on to even make the playoffs. That team began with Roethlisberger nearly killing himself in a motorcycle crash, having an appendix removed and other numerous season injuries. That team was coached by a head coach already planning his retirement. That was a 10-6 team who got hot at the right time and lost numerous starters. This team dealt with none of that.
This years team inherited the majority of a 12-4 team with quite possibly the decades greatest defense. This years team had a mostly healthy Ben Roethlisberger, career years by Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, discoveries of gems of young players in Rashard Mendenhall and Mike Wallace and a favorable schedule. Sure, Troy Polamalu has been injured the majority of the season (and everything he brings to the table ridiculously obvious now) as well as the always underrated Aaron Smith. But teams deal with injuries all the time. Great teams overcome injuries. The Indianapolis Colts haven't played a single game with their starting secondary and start two rookies, one undrafted and yet sit comfortably at 12-0. The excuses are over.
It's not that this team doesn't have the talent. Up until this game, they've never trailed any team by more than 7 points. When you think about it, that's silly. This team has an abundance of talent.
That's where we come back to our initial point. The team simply doesn't care. They have no focus and they have no drive. Through 13 games, not one cornerback on the team has an interception. Their quarterback throws way too many red zone interceptions. They can't tackle. They can't cover kicks. They can't hold lead late it games. All these faults point to one answer: the team simply doesn't care about winning. They have their paychecks and most of them have their Super Bowl rings. And that seems to make them perfectly content.
It leaves us utterly non-content. It's not fair to us fans and the Steelers deserve to give all of us fans one gigantic apology. I'll be waiting.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Calmer Look at the Last Five Days...
Okay. So let's recap.
Friday Night: Pitt Basketball plays New Hampshire setting the record for fewest combined points scored in a half in the shot clock era. Somehow Pitt wins, which in will no was set the tone for the next few days.
Saturday Afternoon: Cincinnati 45, Pitt 44. Pitt has to settle for the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Saturday Night: Blackhawks 2, Penguins 1 in a shootout.
Sunday Afternoon: Raiders 27, Steelers 24. Blech.
Monday Night: Hurricanes (worst team in NHL by 9 points) beat Penguins 3-2.
Tuesday Night: Pitt Panthers lose to Indiana Hoosiers (coming off 9 win season, worst in Indiana history) at Madison Square Garden.
Yikes.
When the Pirates signing former Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby, he of the .237 career average, is the highlight of the last five days, you know we've fallen on hard times.
It's hard for us to complain after the amazing last 14 months or so the Pittsburgh sports scene has given us, Pirates excluded. But this is a little difficult to take.
However, there's gotta be some positives to take away from this, right?
The Steelers: They theoretically can still make the playoffs. We've found our next great running back in Rashard Mendenhall. Troy is going to be back eventually. The secondary can't possibly get any worse.
Pitt Football: Wannstadt, who remains underrated as a college coach, has Pitt headed in the right direction. Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin are coming back. As remarkable as Bill Stull's season has been, he'll be replaced by a quarterback who can throw the ball thirty yards. If Wanny can convince Greg Romeus to stay, Pitt should be a Big East favorite next year with a bonafide Heisman Trophy Candidate to boot.
Pitt Basketball: Ashton Gibbs is a budding star. Brad Wannamaker is coming into his own. They have a McDonald's All-American, freshman Dante "Falcor" Taylor ready to explode. Gary McGhee can't me worse than last year.
The Pens: They're not as injured as they were a few weeks ago. Mike Rupp is scoring goals. Jay McKee is blocking shots. You know Ray Shero will make a savvy deadline deal. They still have Sid and Geno. They're third in the East.
The Pirates: Bobby Crosby!
So it's not all bad. Things will get better. We'll be okay Pittsburgh. We are still the City of Champions.
Friday Night: Pitt Basketball plays New Hampshire setting the record for fewest combined points scored in a half in the shot clock era. Somehow Pitt wins, which in will no was set the tone for the next few days.
Saturday Afternoon: Cincinnati 45, Pitt 44. Pitt has to settle for the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Saturday Night: Blackhawks 2, Penguins 1 in a shootout.
Sunday Afternoon: Raiders 27, Steelers 24. Blech.
Monday Night: Hurricanes (worst team in NHL by 9 points) beat Penguins 3-2.
Tuesday Night: Pitt Panthers lose to Indiana Hoosiers (coming off 9 win season, worst in Indiana history) at Madison Square Garden.
Yikes.
When the Pirates signing former Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby, he of the .237 career average, is the highlight of the last five days, you know we've fallen on hard times.
It's hard for us to complain after the amazing last 14 months or so the Pittsburgh sports scene has given us, Pirates excluded. But this is a little difficult to take.
However, there's gotta be some positives to take away from this, right?
The Steelers: They theoretically can still make the playoffs. We've found our next great running back in Rashard Mendenhall. Troy is going to be back eventually. The secondary can't possibly get any worse.
Pitt Football: Wannstadt, who remains underrated as a college coach, has Pitt headed in the right direction. Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin are coming back. As remarkable as Bill Stull's season has been, he'll be replaced by a quarterback who can throw the ball thirty yards. If Wanny can convince Greg Romeus to stay, Pitt should be a Big East favorite next year with a bonafide Heisman Trophy Candidate to boot.
Pitt Basketball: Ashton Gibbs is a budding star. Brad Wannamaker is coming into his own. They have a McDonald's All-American, freshman Dante "Falcor" Taylor ready to explode. Gary McGhee can't me worse than last year.
The Pens: They're not as injured as they were a few weeks ago. Mike Rupp is scoring goals. Jay McKee is blocking shots. You know Ray Shero will make a savvy deadline deal. They still have Sid and Geno. They're third in the East.
The Pirates: Bobby Crosby!
So it's not all bad. Things will get better. We'll be okay Pittsburgh. We are still the City of Champions.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Worst Pittsburgh Sports Weekend Ever???
When the highlight of the weekend is a 2-1 shootout loss by the Penguins against Marian Hossa and the Blackhawks, you know the weekend is shitty.
We like to say a loss is a loss, but these weekend was much, much worse. Pitt holder drops an extra point with 1:40 left in the game to put Pitt up 6, which of course resulted with Pitt losing to Cincinnati by one point ending all hopes of a BCS bid. The "vaunted Steelers defense" (laugh) lets fucking Bruce Gradkowski lead the fucking Oakland Raiders down the field in 90 seconds to win. And both these happened in Heinz Field. I feel sick.
Pitt was up 31-10 in the first quarter against undefeated Cincinnati. Immediately after going up by 21, Pitt pulled what is a common theme in Pittsburgh football this year: giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown. Despite a 47 carry, 195 yard, three TD performance from the amazing Dion Lewis, and the Pitt offense putting up 44 points, the special teams absolutely choked. The gave up a huge kick return for a touchdown, they continued to kick to the unstoppable Mardy Gilyard, including a pooch kickoff directly to Gilyard at the 40 yard line which he returned to the Pitt 20. Of course, there was the holder flat out dropping a fucking perfect snap. It makes me sick.
The Steelers? What the fuck is going on.
Actual question to Mike Tomlin at press conference from reporter: "What is your opinion on the playoffs".
Tomlin laughs and responds with "You know Coach Mora's response, that's how I feel."
Exactly.
How do you lose a must win game at home to the Oakland Raiders playing Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback. Fucking Bruce Gradkowski. He's throwing to Louis Murphy, Johnny Lee Higgins, some guy named Chaz and some guy named Watkins. Not exactly a recipe for "offensive explosion". In the 4th quarter though, Bruce throws a 77 yard touchdown to Murphy on 3rd and 2. Then, with the Steelers nursing a 3 point lead and with the Raiders at their own 10, the "vaunted Steelers" defense lets Bruce and Company go 90 yards in about 90 seconds using no timeouts to win the game.
How does that make us feel?
Fucking angry.
Let's talk this anger out.
The Steelers have the ball right inside the Oakland 10 with just under 2 minutes left. The Steelers are behind 20-17. It's first down and the Raiders have one timeout left. Mendenhall is over 100 yards and has a touchdown on the day. What does Bruce Arians do? He calls a pass play. Of course he does, he's Bruce Arians. The play resulted in a touchdown even though a strong case could be made that there was an offensive penalty on the play. I understand you want to score, but what's wrong with giving the ball to Mendenhall and taking some time off the clock? 90 second in the NFL is an eternity. It leads to one of the Steelers major problems: Bruce Arians.
So the Steelers go up 24-20 with about 90 seconds left. A penatly gives the Raiders the ball on their own 10 yard lines making them go 90 yards. Now last year, there would be no chance the Steelers defense would let anyone, let alone Bruce Gradkowski go 90 yards on them. This year, I half expected them to. It was like the first Bengals game all over again. Now Dick LeBeau has been amazing for so many years, I'm hesitant to point the finger at him, but there's something missing with this defense. They can't consistently get pressure on the quarterback. When you combine the lack of pressure with the zone defense the linebackers and secondary play, well that's a recipe for disaster. Ike Taylor, William Gay and Deshea Townsend consistently play 10 yards off their receivers making the zone easily exploitable by quarterbacks like Bruce Gradkowski.
The secondary is an absolute joke, especially without Troy. Ike is supposedly one of the fastest players in the entire NFL, but there he was getting burned by Louis Murphy for 77 yards. Was Ike supposed to have safety help on that play? Probably, and that's another absolute joke. I think Ryan Clark is underrated, but he's clearly more dynamic when playing next to Troy and not trying to be Troy. With Troy in, Clark is fantastic at laying people out. The other safeties? Tyrone Carter is a serviceable backup: solid in run support, awful in coverage. Ryan Mundy is fucking terrible. I think anyone who watched that game wouldn't argue against that. As for the secondary in general, I've never seen a set of defensive backs with worse hands. Without Troy, there isn't a single player who's a threat for an interception back there.
For the sake of brevity and posterity, let's point out the other embarassing shit about this team (which I fully intent to cover more this week):
Kick-Off Coverage
The Inability to Pull Away In Games
The Inability to Protect 4th Quarter Leads
The Inability to Tackle
Limas Sweed's Hands
The Lack of A Fullback
Bruce Arians
The Absence of Any Screen Plays in the Offensive Playbook
I'm done. This weekend was miserable. It's a great way to start my comeback tour on Operation Shutdown. Now it's time for me to kill a bunch of 13 year old's in Modern Warfare 2 and to make sure Riley is still alive.
Thanks Pittsburgh Football for giving me my weekends back.
We like to say a loss is a loss, but these weekend was much, much worse. Pitt holder drops an extra point with 1:40 left in the game to put Pitt up 6, which of course resulted with Pitt losing to Cincinnati by one point ending all hopes of a BCS bid. The "vaunted Steelers defense" (laugh) lets fucking Bruce Gradkowski lead the fucking Oakland Raiders down the field in 90 seconds to win. And both these happened in Heinz Field. I feel sick.
Pitt was up 31-10 in the first quarter against undefeated Cincinnati. Immediately after going up by 21, Pitt pulled what is a common theme in Pittsburgh football this year: giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown. Despite a 47 carry, 195 yard, three TD performance from the amazing Dion Lewis, and the Pitt offense putting up 44 points, the special teams absolutely choked. The gave up a huge kick return for a touchdown, they continued to kick to the unstoppable Mardy Gilyard, including a pooch kickoff directly to Gilyard at the 40 yard line which he returned to the Pitt 20. Of course, there was the holder flat out dropping a fucking perfect snap. It makes me sick.
The Steelers? What the fuck is going on.
Actual question to Mike Tomlin at press conference from reporter: "What is your opinion on the playoffs".
Tomlin laughs and responds with "You know Coach Mora's response, that's how I feel."
Exactly.
How do you lose a must win game at home to the Oakland Raiders playing Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback. Fucking Bruce Gradkowski. He's throwing to Louis Murphy, Johnny Lee Higgins, some guy named Chaz and some guy named Watkins. Not exactly a recipe for "offensive explosion". In the 4th quarter though, Bruce throws a 77 yard touchdown to Murphy on 3rd and 2. Then, with the Steelers nursing a 3 point lead and with the Raiders at their own 10, the "vaunted Steelers" defense lets Bruce and Company go 90 yards in about 90 seconds using no timeouts to win the game.
How does that make us feel?
Fucking angry.
Let's talk this anger out.
The Steelers have the ball right inside the Oakland 10 with just under 2 minutes left. The Steelers are behind 20-17. It's first down and the Raiders have one timeout left. Mendenhall is over 100 yards and has a touchdown on the day. What does Bruce Arians do? He calls a pass play. Of course he does, he's Bruce Arians. The play resulted in a touchdown even though a strong case could be made that there was an offensive penalty on the play. I understand you want to score, but what's wrong with giving the ball to Mendenhall and taking some time off the clock? 90 second in the NFL is an eternity. It leads to one of the Steelers major problems: Bruce Arians.
So the Steelers go up 24-20 with about 90 seconds left. A penatly gives the Raiders the ball on their own 10 yard lines making them go 90 yards. Now last year, there would be no chance the Steelers defense would let anyone, let alone Bruce Gradkowski go 90 yards on them. This year, I half expected them to. It was like the first Bengals game all over again. Now Dick LeBeau has been amazing for so many years, I'm hesitant to point the finger at him, but there's something missing with this defense. They can't consistently get pressure on the quarterback. When you combine the lack of pressure with the zone defense the linebackers and secondary play, well that's a recipe for disaster. Ike Taylor, William Gay and Deshea Townsend consistently play 10 yards off their receivers making the zone easily exploitable by quarterbacks like Bruce Gradkowski.
The secondary is an absolute joke, especially without Troy. Ike is supposedly one of the fastest players in the entire NFL, but there he was getting burned by Louis Murphy for 77 yards. Was Ike supposed to have safety help on that play? Probably, and that's another absolute joke. I think Ryan Clark is underrated, but he's clearly more dynamic when playing next to Troy and not trying to be Troy. With Troy in, Clark is fantastic at laying people out. The other safeties? Tyrone Carter is a serviceable backup: solid in run support, awful in coverage. Ryan Mundy is fucking terrible. I think anyone who watched that game wouldn't argue against that. As for the secondary in general, I've never seen a set of defensive backs with worse hands. Without Troy, there isn't a single player who's a threat for an interception back there.
For the sake of brevity and posterity, let's point out the other embarassing shit about this team (which I fully intent to cover more this week):
Kick-Off Coverage
The Inability to Pull Away In Games
The Inability to Protect 4th Quarter Leads
The Inability to Tackle
Limas Sweed's Hands
The Lack of A Fullback
Bruce Arians
The Absence of Any Screen Plays in the Offensive Playbook
I'm done. This weekend was miserable. It's a great way to start my comeback tour on Operation Shutdown. Now it's time for me to kill a bunch of 13 year old's in Modern Warfare 2 and to make sure Riley is still alive.
Thanks Pittsburgh Football for giving me my weekends back.
Last Steelers Post of the Year
I don't want to be affiliated with this team anymore. I've never seen such a pitiful performance by any team I have ever been a fan of. Never have I seen a team with any amount of talent roll over and die the way this team has. The coaching staff let them down almost from the start, but there has been an utter refusal to play with any passion whatsoever. I'm sorry that Troy has to play for a team like this. It really is unfair to such a great and passionate player to have to play with such ungrateful, lazy, pathetic teammates. And sure, this is probably unfair to most of the players on that team, and clearly 99% of the blame lies in the d-backfield.
But it's over, and I'm over it.
But it's over, and I'm over it.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Old Browns 20, Steelers 17 (OT)
Hm. Well, that blows. I didn't expect a lot out of Dennis Dixon. How could you? I think he's very talented, and has the potential to be an effective QB in the NFL, maybe not as a starter, but certainly as a very dangerous backup. As it turns out, Dixon's got a solid head on his shoulders. He was about as poised as you could hope a guy with one prior pass attempt to be. Mendenhall looked good, as always. As a matter of fact, the run game was really solid. Huh. Maybe we should consider using it more often.
But, clearly, there were a lot of issues. If we're going to lose to such a mediocre team, something must have gone awry. Well, the first place I'm looking is Bruce Arians. I am growing pretty weary of his pathetic play calling. Twice on 3rd and 10+'s, Arians called draws to Mewelde Moore. Now, I get it, you have a rookie QB and you don't want him doing anything stupid. But to win, the kid has to play well, and if you aren't going to give him the chance to succeed, you're taking points off the board. Also, Mewelde Moore should never have his number called. He should never ever, ever be the focus of the offense. The only time he should ever get touches like that is if we are up 21 points, and running the clock out late in the 4th quarter. Otherwise, he should be a safety valve and nothing else. Mendenhall does everything that Moore does. And yes, he may not be as consistent, but for Christ's sake, at least a draw to him has some chance of succeeding in that situation.
Arians' play calling has stopped making any sense whatsoever, and a change needs to be made.
I'm also more than a little concerned about the DBs. It had been suggested to me that maybe LeBeau was slipping a little bit - that his scheme was becoming haggard and that the rest of the league had figured things out. However, after watching Sunday's game, I'm convinced that it has nothing to do with LeBeau's scheme.
The trick is that Ike Taylor, William Gay and DeShea Townsend suck. Ike Taylor may be the fastest corner in the league, but it is clear that he is not playing with any kind of conviction out there. He just doesn't care, and as a result, he's getting beaten by lesser players who want it more. William Gay - I'm not sure that he isn't just a bad player. I'm not sure if he's lost confidence in himself or what, but teams have started exploiting him, and he seems powerless to stop it. Ryan Clark has been gashed for deep balls twice in as many weeks. It may be that he's overcompensating for the diminished range that the SS covers when you trade out Troy for Ty Carter, but he's been way out of position on both, and has let very, very average passing teams beat him at important times.
So, it isn't that LeBeau's scheme doesn't work. It's that the defensive backs aren't good enough to execute the scheme. If they give the front 7 any time at all, someone is getting to the QB. Harrison/Woodley/Timmons looked as good on Sunday as any time this year. But when the 9-yard out is open all game long because Ike Taylor and Will Gay aren't good enough to stop it, the pass rush isn't going to do a whole lot.
So, what does this mean for the rest of the season? Well, not much at all. The fact remains that the next two weeks, we have the Raiders at home and the Browns on the road. Now, we should have slaughtered the Chiefs, that's true. But wins in the next two weeks should still be expected. That leaves us at 8-5 going into a home rematch against Baltimore. And, frankly, you can understand Hines' frustration that Ben wasn't able to play (although this seems like it's all been blown out of proportion - it was Tomlin who said Ben couldn't play because the fucking team doctor wouldn't clear him... Shit, you gotta look big picture and recognize that your franchise and its $100 million investment need to last), because the team played relatively mistake-free football, and almost certainly wins with Ben at the helm.
Further, you have to expect that we'll be seeing Troy back in a few weeks. If he comes back healthy and ready for the Baltimore game, there's no reason that we don't win.
This team can certainly go 10-6 or 11-5. If they do that, they're in the playoffs. Lots of mediocre teams in the AFC this year, and lots of room for us to sneak in with a not-so-great season. Plus, if we somehow do make the playoffs, I'll take a team with a healthy Ben, healthy Troy and a head of steam any day of the week and twice on Sunday (which is important if they ever have to play a double-header).
So, 6-5 sucks. It reinforces just how important that loss to the Chiefs could end up being, too. If this team is 7-4 (and, ultimately, 9-4 after these next two weeks), I'd be sitting here saying, yeah, whatever, we lost with our backup in. Who cares? We're still basically a lock for the playoffs. But all hope is not lost.
And this season really isn't all that different from 2005, when you think about it. Coming off of a stellar season, everyone expected the team to be that much better. After a great start (7-2 that year, 6-2 this year), they lost 3 straight, in part due to an injury to Ben. During that 3 game losing streak, they also lost a disappointing home game to eventual division champ Cincy, and an overtime game to the Ravens on the road.
We were also playing the NFC North as our non-conference schedule, too. Well, all I'm gonna say is that if we do find a way into the playoffs, people should watch out.
As for the rest of the sports world:
But, clearly, there were a lot of issues. If we're going to lose to such a mediocre team, something must have gone awry. Well, the first place I'm looking is Bruce Arians. I am growing pretty weary of his pathetic play calling. Twice on 3rd and 10+'s, Arians called draws to Mewelde Moore. Now, I get it, you have a rookie QB and you don't want him doing anything stupid. But to win, the kid has to play well, and if you aren't going to give him the chance to succeed, you're taking points off the board. Also, Mewelde Moore should never have his number called. He should never ever, ever be the focus of the offense. The only time he should ever get touches like that is if we are up 21 points, and running the clock out late in the 4th quarter. Otherwise, he should be a safety valve and nothing else. Mendenhall does everything that Moore does. And yes, he may not be as consistent, but for Christ's sake, at least a draw to him has some chance of succeeding in that situation.
Arians' play calling has stopped making any sense whatsoever, and a change needs to be made.
I'm also more than a little concerned about the DBs. It had been suggested to me that maybe LeBeau was slipping a little bit - that his scheme was becoming haggard and that the rest of the league had figured things out. However, after watching Sunday's game, I'm convinced that it has nothing to do with LeBeau's scheme.
The trick is that Ike Taylor, William Gay and DeShea Townsend suck. Ike Taylor may be the fastest corner in the league, but it is clear that he is not playing with any kind of conviction out there. He just doesn't care, and as a result, he's getting beaten by lesser players who want it more. William Gay - I'm not sure that he isn't just a bad player. I'm not sure if he's lost confidence in himself or what, but teams have started exploiting him, and he seems powerless to stop it. Ryan Clark has been gashed for deep balls twice in as many weeks. It may be that he's overcompensating for the diminished range that the SS covers when you trade out Troy for Ty Carter, but he's been way out of position on both, and has let very, very average passing teams beat him at important times.
So, it isn't that LeBeau's scheme doesn't work. It's that the defensive backs aren't good enough to execute the scheme. If they give the front 7 any time at all, someone is getting to the QB. Harrison/Woodley/Timmons looked as good on Sunday as any time this year. But when the 9-yard out is open all game long because Ike Taylor and Will Gay aren't good enough to stop it, the pass rush isn't going to do a whole lot.
So, what does this mean for the rest of the season? Well, not much at all. The fact remains that the next two weeks, we have the Raiders at home and the Browns on the road. Now, we should have slaughtered the Chiefs, that's true. But wins in the next two weeks should still be expected. That leaves us at 8-5 going into a home rematch against Baltimore. And, frankly, you can understand Hines' frustration that Ben wasn't able to play (although this seems like it's all been blown out of proportion - it was Tomlin who said Ben couldn't play because the fucking team doctor wouldn't clear him... Shit, you gotta look big picture and recognize that your franchise and its $100 million investment need to last), because the team played relatively mistake-free football, and almost certainly wins with Ben at the helm.
Further, you have to expect that we'll be seeing Troy back in a few weeks. If he comes back healthy and ready for the Baltimore game, there's no reason that we don't win.
This team can certainly go 10-6 or 11-5. If they do that, they're in the playoffs. Lots of mediocre teams in the AFC this year, and lots of room for us to sneak in with a not-so-great season. Plus, if we somehow do make the playoffs, I'll take a team with a healthy Ben, healthy Troy and a head of steam any day of the week and twice on Sunday (which is important if they ever have to play a double-header).
So, 6-5 sucks. It reinforces just how important that loss to the Chiefs could end up being, too. If this team is 7-4 (and, ultimately, 9-4 after these next two weeks), I'd be sitting here saying, yeah, whatever, we lost with our backup in. Who cares? We're still basically a lock for the playoffs. But all hope is not lost.
And this season really isn't all that different from 2005, when you think about it. Coming off of a stellar season, everyone expected the team to be that much better. After a great start (7-2 that year, 6-2 this year), they lost 3 straight, in part due to an injury to Ben. During that 3 game losing streak, they also lost a disappointing home game to eventual division champ Cincy, and an overtime game to the Ravens on the road.
We were also playing the NFC North as our non-conference schedule, too. Well, all I'm gonna say is that if we do find a way into the playoffs, people should watch out.
As for the rest of the sports world:
- I'm bored with the Tiger story. However, the fact that Tiger Woods has texted the words "I am going to wear you out...when was the last time you were fucked" really is mindblowing.
- Deadspin posted a report by some ND blogger that says that Brian Kelly of Cincinnati's gonna take the job. I buy it, and hope that it's true. I could recruit quality talent at ND. What they need is someone who can actually coach.
- I never knew that there were articles written about poker players. Did you know that "Isildur1" is on the cusp of being in the top-10 in the world? That's right, a guy who is known by nothing more than a fucking avitar is considered one of the best players in the world. Fucking lame.
- I was looking at a site this week that brought me close to quitting the whole blogging thing forever. The website is called http://bleacherreport.com/. What I found was a bunch of sad, middle-aged men who I guess sit around pretending to be real live journalists, writing serious columns that are really nothing more than B- papers for a freshman journalism class. It was really depressing. The one guy uses the word "myopic" 3 times on his profile page. And you misspelled "fiancee".
Their Tiger Woods is especially interesting - with article titles such as "Alleged Tiger Woods Mistresses Need to Shoulder Some of the Blame" to "Tiger Woods Is in Deep Rough: Can He Par The Course?" Hehe, that last one is pretty great. Maybe I'll start titling everyone of my posts in pun form. We could call this one "Steelers stopped for a loss in Baltimore - face 3rd and long for remainder of season". Or maybe not. Maybe I'll realize how fucking hackneyed that would be.
But I guess that the site is intended to be a way for writers to "catch their big break". You know, publish some stuff in a very public forum and then hope that some of the folks at ESPN who have hiring power just happen to spend some of their day reading this grade-school dribble. True, this isn't any better, but at least I'm not fooling anyone. - Back to Tiger for one more second. Why does everyone keep using the word "transgressions". I propose that we change the word "transgressions", whenever used in reference to Tiger Woods to "fucking a bunch of women that aren't [Tiger Woods'] wife, potentially costing [Tiger Woods] hundreds of millions of dollars, and most importantly, creating a horrendously negative behavior model for his two young children".
- The Pens won again last night - beat the Avalanche 4-1, including a pair of empty-netters. For a team that was supposed to finish somewhere around 14th in the west, they're a feisty, well-coached team, and they're going to be a pain in someone's ass come playoff time. I can definitely see them in one of those 3OT games you used to see from the Stars and Canucks. They're really young, but things look good for Colorado for 2-3 years from now.
But on the team that really matters, the Pens have won their last 3 games by a total score of 17-6, with Sid putting in 11 points himself (7 goals, 4 assists). He's playing maybe the most dominating hockey I've ever seen from him. The switch from wood to composite, that Sid thinks has given him more power and control on his shot, has definitely coincided with an increased scoring touch. Whether its actually the stick, or an increased confidence in his own shot (and hence, more incentive for him to shoot) is unclear. What I do know, though, there isn't a more dangerous player in the league right now. - While we're on hockey, I was secretly pleased to see Alex Ovechkin snag a 2-game suspension for another knee-on-knee hit. It's a very interesting situation, because not only is he a face of NHL, but his "faults" are related, at least in most people's minds, to playing the game too hard and being too competitive. Now, it may just be that because he's such a talented player, people give him the benefit of the doubt, while guys like Sean Avery and Jarkko Rutuu are presumed to be "dirty" players. Either way, the guy seems to have a tendancy to stick his leg out, and to board players on a somewhat regular basis. And that's a problem.
If you ask me, I think it's related to Ovie trying to be something that he's not. He's so image-conscious that he's trying to hard to seem like the "ultimate competitor", the guys that will do anything to help his team win. But in reality, he probably never really learned how to check growing up. Additionally, the guy's playing style has always been to move at 100 MPH straight ahead all the time. This has created a lot of success in the offensive zone (though it does cause him to get caught out of position sometimes), but you really can't play that way on the defensive end.
He says he won't change his style of play, and that's his choice. But my question is - what happens when he takes out a big player the next time. He got away with Gonch in the playoffs because he had never really had issues with that before. But what happens if he takes out a team's star, like Kovalchuk in Atlanta, Gaborik in NY, or, god forbid, one of the two-headed monster for the Pens? What happens when the NHL's poster boy makes the next dirty play, and it happens to sideline a star of the league for a long period of time?
All I know is that the dude needs to learn how to play the game. He plays it like a child, and that will only work for so long. This isn't the minors anymore, and he can't dominate every player, every night. True, no one back in Russia could stop you like this. But he has to get over that. He might be the best player in the world. But he's not unstoppable, and that's OK. I actually hadn't noticed this until I watched the video in that link just now - after he skates to the bench, he sits down, and lets out an exhasperated "whaaaaaaat?" that was less frustration, and more shock and disappointment, like a spoiled 8-year-old single child who showed up at school and realized that not everyone was going to give him what he wants all the time.
So, my conclusion is that Ovechkin needs to grow up, both as a person and as a hockey player. He needs to recognize that there will be obsticles to his success, and that he won't win every time or every year. He further needs to recognize that playing with such a petty style where he feels that he has the right to drag his leg out to trip other players, or shove them head-first into the boards is going to shorten his career. We saw it with Eric Lindros (allbeit that his problem was skating with his head down too much, it was still a reckless, immature style of play that ultimately cost him when he got on the ice with the best players in the world), and we all know how his career turned out, despite his immense talent.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Have You Ever Heard a Death Rattle Before?
For those who don't know, a death rattle is that gargling noise that someone makes right before they die in the movies. It's also followed by their still-open eyes rolling back, and their head moving dramatically from right-to-left, or left-to-right, depending on which side the person who they were sharing their greatest secrets with was sitting on.
But that aside, it sure seems like the BCS is in the middle of its death rattle. Apparently, there is a website called www.playoffproblem.com that explains how stupid a playoff would be. Of course, it was also created by the BCS, apparently in 1998, judging by the site design, and explains how stupid and unfair a playoff system would be, and how it would be super unfair to the #19 team in the country if they were left out.
This sounds an awful lot like the death of the BCS, that they would (1) feel the need to defend themselves in such a way and (2) that they would be forced into making such blatantly stupid arguments to do it.
But, let's look forward - the BCS will die. It's only a matter of time at this point, and everyone knows it. The funny thing is that there is a lot more money to be made by creating a playoff, yet somehow, the BCS is completely unwilling to recognize that. Seriously, how much money could you make off of multiple playoff games, all of which mean something? That's more games on national TV. That's more competition. That's more interest from casual fans. All of which is good. Indeed, that's the single factor that has allowed the NFL to pass MLB as the premier sport in the country. When only 10 teams have any shot at winning a championship, there isn't a whole lot of reason to be interested in your team (provided that your team is outside of the countries handful of major metropolitan areas). I mean, Jesus, it's pretty clear that allowing teams in Tampa Bay and Baltimore and Charlotte and Nashville has seriously hurt the NFL. It's a good thing that MLB has never done anything so stupid. Gotta make sure you have that LA market, am I right?!
But seriously, I have antagonized Deadspin writer Dashiell Bennett in the past, and while the system he proposed in an article once upon a time is probably far too much change all at once, it does seem to make every change that should be made in the NCAA. Here's a link to it.
So, take a look at how things would shake out (or be set to shake out) by Mr. Bennett's methodology. First, we would have to find homes for the remaining NCAA independents. That means Army, Navy and Notre Dame. Notre Dame would end up in either the Big Ten or the Big East - but probably the Big Ten. The Big Ten has more $$ to offer, better teams top-to-bottom, a big rival in Michigan (as well as a regularly scheduled game against Michigan State), and geographic similarity.
Plus, it would allow the Big Ten to get with the times and create a championship game and divisions, since it is impossible to play every other team in the conference during the season.
So the Big Ten would then look like this:
Eastern Division: Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue
Western Division: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame
And the standings: East - Ohio State (7-1), Penn State (6-2), Michigan State (4-4), Purdue (4-4), Michigan (1-7), Indiana (1-7)
West - Iowa (6-2), Northwestern (5-3), Wisconsin (5-3), Notre Dame (4-4) (a guess), Minnesota (3-5), Illinois (2-6)
The poor Big Ten would then have to put Iowa and Ohio State through another game to decide who goes to the playoff. But, if you notice, Notre Dame is in the weaker West division, giving them a leg-up on getting to the playoff, and having any shot at playing for a title.
So, there's one game that means a shot at the title - between 9. Ohio State and 13. Iowa.
The ACC, we have 7. Georgia Tech and 15. Clemson set for the ACC championship, and rather than it meaning just a trip to Miami, it would actually mean a shot for a Georgia Tech team that has won 8 straight games to have a chance to make something happen.
The Big 12 is less interesting, and would likely result in the coronation of 3. Texas into the playoff, but who'd really be upset with that?
The Big East would now be looking at a pseudo-championship game of its own when 5. Cincinnati meet 8. Pitt next weekend.
The Pac-10's de-facto championship is placing 10. Oregon against 16. Oregon State.
Of course, the SEC Championship has maybe the 2 best teams in the country with 1. Florida and 2. Alabama going at it.
So there would be 6 automatic bids. The remaining 2 bids would go to the two best teams, decided by committee, from C-USA, the MAC, the MWC, the Sun Belt and the WAC - almost assuredly undefeateds TCU and Boise State (ranked 4 and 6, respectively).
So, that would mean that, as of today, with only 8 days left before bowl season, and going by the AP Top 25, every single top-10 team would still be in contention for the national championship, and 13 of the top-16.
The teams that would be left out include:
11. Oklahoma State (who have 2 losses, including a 41-14 thrashing by division-rival Texas)
12. Penn State (who lost to both Ohio State and Iowa - the 2 teams playing for the Big Ten title)
14. Virginia Tech (whose 3 losses include a 28-24 loss to G-Tech)
And beyond that,
17. LSU (who has suffered losses to both Florida and Alabama)
18. BYU (who had a shot at home against TCU, and lost 38-7)
19. Miami (who beat Georgia Tech, but has taken 3 conference losses, including a loss at home against Clemson)
20. Ole Miss (who lost to division-rival Alabama, and has 2 other conference losses to dwell on).
So, looking at this, it appears to me that the top-20 teams in the country either have a shot at the national title, or have definitive losses to other teams in the division or conference that knocked them out of contention.
Every team has had its shot, and every team can point to time in the season where they lost a game, and the team that beat them has advanced.
Now, people might gripe that the loser of Alabama/Florida has no shot at the title, and that the loser is probably better than most of the teams that would qualify for a playoff. This is true, but what shot does the loser have now? Furthermore, what's more fair than putting them in a position of knowing that this game means life-or-death for their title hopes?
But before I end this post - the website posits this series of questions:
As for the two-loss teams, Ok State is out (they got shit on by Texas), as is Penn State (shit on by BOTH Iowa and Ohio State), BYU (shit on by TCU), Utah (also shit on by TCU - to the tune of 55-28), and Houston (what?! they might not even win their conference - and if they do, they can chalk it up to losses against Central Florida and Texas-El Paso, and if they have any wonder why they aren't winning the national championship, they probably will have a good idea of where to look).
So, more controversy? Hm, probably not. Seeing that all of the 10 best teams in teh country have a shot, and know that they need to win to stay in the hunt. That seems like an easy thing to understand.
More equity? Fairness? Fan interest? Games with meaning? High-rating games in December? Yes, definitely.
But seriously, guys, c'mon. You see how excited I get just thinking about a playoff? Do it for me, if nothing else...
But that aside, it sure seems like the BCS is in the middle of its death rattle. Apparently, there is a website called www.playoffproblem.com that explains how stupid a playoff would be. Of course, it was also created by the BCS, apparently in 1998, judging by the site design, and explains how stupid and unfair a playoff system would be, and how it would be super unfair to the #19 team in the country if they were left out.
This sounds an awful lot like the death of the BCS, that they would (1) feel the need to defend themselves in such a way and (2) that they would be forced into making such blatantly stupid arguments to do it.
But, let's look forward - the BCS will die. It's only a matter of time at this point, and everyone knows it. The funny thing is that there is a lot more money to be made by creating a playoff, yet somehow, the BCS is completely unwilling to recognize that. Seriously, how much money could you make off of multiple playoff games, all of which mean something? That's more games on national TV. That's more competition. That's more interest from casual fans. All of which is good. Indeed, that's the single factor that has allowed the NFL to pass MLB as the premier sport in the country. When only 10 teams have any shot at winning a championship, there isn't a whole lot of reason to be interested in your team (provided that your team is outside of the countries handful of major metropolitan areas). I mean, Jesus, it's pretty clear that allowing teams in Tampa Bay and Baltimore and Charlotte and Nashville has seriously hurt the NFL. It's a good thing that MLB has never done anything so stupid. Gotta make sure you have that LA market, am I right?!
But seriously, I have antagonized Deadspin writer Dashiell Bennett in the past, and while the system he proposed in an article once upon a time is probably far too much change all at once, it does seem to make every change that should be made in the NCAA. Here's a link to it.
So, take a look at how things would shake out (or be set to shake out) by Mr. Bennett's methodology. First, we would have to find homes for the remaining NCAA independents. That means Army, Navy and Notre Dame. Notre Dame would end up in either the Big Ten or the Big East - but probably the Big Ten. The Big Ten has more $$ to offer, better teams top-to-bottom, a big rival in Michigan (as well as a regularly scheduled game against Michigan State), and geographic similarity.
Plus, it would allow the Big Ten to get with the times and create a championship game and divisions, since it is impossible to play every other team in the conference during the season.
So the Big Ten would then look like this:
Eastern Division: Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue
Western Division: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame
And the standings: East - Ohio State (7-1), Penn State (6-2), Michigan State (4-4), Purdue (4-4), Michigan (1-7), Indiana (1-7)
West - Iowa (6-2), Northwestern (5-3), Wisconsin (5-3), Notre Dame (4-4) (a guess), Minnesota (3-5), Illinois (2-6)
The poor Big Ten would then have to put Iowa and Ohio State through another game to decide who goes to the playoff. But, if you notice, Notre Dame is in the weaker West division, giving them a leg-up on getting to the playoff, and having any shot at playing for a title.
So, there's one game that means a shot at the title - between 9. Ohio State and 13. Iowa.
The ACC, we have 7. Georgia Tech and 15. Clemson set for the ACC championship, and rather than it meaning just a trip to Miami, it would actually mean a shot for a Georgia Tech team that has won 8 straight games to have a chance to make something happen.
The Big 12 is less interesting, and would likely result in the coronation of 3. Texas into the playoff, but who'd really be upset with that?
The Big East would now be looking at a pseudo-championship game of its own when 5. Cincinnati meet 8. Pitt next weekend.
The Pac-10's de-facto championship is placing 10. Oregon against 16. Oregon State.
Of course, the SEC Championship has maybe the 2 best teams in the country with 1. Florida and 2. Alabama going at it.
So there would be 6 automatic bids. The remaining 2 bids would go to the two best teams, decided by committee, from C-USA, the MAC, the MWC, the Sun Belt and the WAC - almost assuredly undefeateds TCU and Boise State (ranked 4 and 6, respectively).
So, that would mean that, as of today, with only 8 days left before bowl season, and going by the AP Top 25, every single top-10 team would still be in contention for the national championship, and 13 of the top-16.
The teams that would be left out include:
11. Oklahoma State (who have 2 losses, including a 41-14 thrashing by division-rival Texas)
12. Penn State (who lost to both Ohio State and Iowa - the 2 teams playing for the Big Ten title)
14. Virginia Tech (whose 3 losses include a 28-24 loss to G-Tech)
And beyond that,
17. LSU (who has suffered losses to both Florida and Alabama)
18. BYU (who had a shot at home against TCU, and lost 38-7)
19. Miami (who beat Georgia Tech, but has taken 3 conference losses, including a loss at home against Clemson)
20. Ole Miss (who lost to division-rival Alabama, and has 2 other conference losses to dwell on).
So, looking at this, it appears to me that the top-20 teams in the country either have a shot at the national title, or have definitive losses to other teams in the division or conference that knocked them out of contention.
Every team has had its shot, and every team can point to time in the season where they lost a game, and the team that beat them has advanced.
Now, people might gripe that the loser of Alabama/Florida has no shot at the title, and that the loser is probably better than most of the teams that would qualify for a playoff. This is true, but what shot does the loser have now? Furthermore, what's more fair than putting them in a position of knowing that this game means life-or-death for their title hopes?
But before I end this post - the website posits this series of questions:
Just try to create an eight-team playoff based on latest rankings (November 23rd). Should a one-loss Georgia Tech (10-1, #7) get in but not a one-loss Pittsburgh (9-1 #9)? Should a two-loss Oregon (9-2, #8) get in but not one-loss Pittsburgh or any of the SEVEN teams with two losses: Ohio State (10-2, #10), Iowa (10-2, #11), Oklahoma State (9-2, #12), Penn State (10-2, #13), BYU (9-2, #19), Utah, (9-2, #19), or Houston (9-2, #23)? If you think the BCS is controversial, try sorting that out. A playoff would guarantee bigger problems, more controversy, more disappointed teams and more frustrated fans.Well, Mr. Hancock, chairman of the BCS, the first thing to remember is that this playoff would be based on the outcome of competition, not a computer ranking. So, the answers are easy: loser of Florida/Alabama doesn't get in, because they weren't even the best team in their conference. Georgia Tech gets in, only if it wins its conference title game. That's easy enough, right? If they lose, too fucking bad, and I think their fans will accept that. Pitt? Beat Cincy! If you don't you're out, if you do, you're in and they're out! It's that simple!
As for the two-loss teams, Ok State is out (they got shit on by Texas), as is Penn State (shit on by BOTH Iowa and Ohio State), BYU (shit on by TCU), Utah (also shit on by TCU - to the tune of 55-28), and Houston (what?! they might not even win their conference - and if they do, they can chalk it up to losses against Central Florida and Texas-El Paso, and if they have any wonder why they aren't winning the national championship, they probably will have a good idea of where to look).
So, more controversy? Hm, probably not. Seeing that all of the 10 best teams in teh country have a shot, and know that they need to win to stay in the hunt. That seems like an easy thing to understand.
More equity? Fairness? Fan interest? Games with meaning? High-rating games in December? Yes, definitely.
But seriously, guys, c'mon. You see how excited I get just thinking about a playoff? Do it for me, if nothing else...
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Week 11 QB Rankings
1. Drew Brees (NO) 97.373 (1)
Def. TB 38-7, 19-29, 187 yards, 3 TD-0 INT
2. Brett Favre (MIN) 95.696 (2)
Def. SEA 35-9, 22-25, 213, 4-0
3. Peyton Manning (IND) 90.501 (3)
Def. BAL 17-15, 22-31, 299, 1-2
4. Tom Brady (NE) 83.824 (4)
Def. NYJ 31-14, 28-41, 310, 1-0
5. Aaron Rodgers (GB) 83.771 (5)
Def. SF 30-24, 32-45, 344, 2-0
6. Matt Schaub (HOU) 78-901 (6)
Lost to TEN 20-17, 25-39, 305, 2-0
7. Philip Rivers (SD) 76.398 (7)
Def. DEN 32-3, 17-22, 145, 1-0
8. Eli Manning (NYG) 75.074 (11)
Def. ATL 34-31, 25-39, 384, 3-1
9. Donovan McNabb (PHI) 74.660 (9)
Def. CHI 24-20, 23-32, 244, 2-1
10. Kurt Warner (ARI) 73.100 (13)
Def. STL 21-13, 15-19, 203, 2-0
11. Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 72.750 (8)
Lost to KC 27-24, 32-42, 398, 3-2
12. Carson Palmer (CIN) 70.461 (12)
Lost to OAK 20-17, 14-22, 207, 0-1
13. Kyle Orton (DEN) 67.682 (9)
Lost to SD 32-3, 15-29, 171, 0-1
14. Tony Romo (DAL) 67.487 (14)
Def. WAS 7-6, 15-27, 158, 1-1
15. Vince Young (TEN) 65.392 (16)
Def. HOU 20-17, 12-22, 116, 1-0
16. David Garrard (JAC) 62.863 (18)
Def. BUF 18-15, 21-30, 215, 1-1
17. Joe Flacco (BAL) 61.417 (15)
Lost to IND 17-15, 23-35, 256, 0-1
18. Jason Campbell (WAS) 61.276 (17)
Lost to DAL 7-6, 24-37, 256, 0-1
19. Alex Smith (SF) 59.806 (23)
Lost to GB 30-24, 16-33, 227, 3-1
20. Kevin Kolb (PHI) 57.459 (20)
DNP
21. Matt Ryan (ATL) 57.253 (24)
Lost to NYG 34-31, 26-46, 268, 2-0
22. Shaun Hill (SF) 56.988 (21)
DNP
23. Matt Cassel (KC) 55.144 (27)
Def. PIT 27-24, 15-30, 248, 2-0
24. Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 53.622 (25)
Lost to MIN 35-9, 19-26, 231, 0-1
25. Chad Henne (MIA) 52.404 (26)
Def. CAR 24-17, 17-29, 172, 1-0
26. Josh Freeman (TB) 49.884 (19)
Lost to NO 38-7, 17-33, 126, 1-3
27. Byron Leftwich (TB) 49.745 (28)
DNP
28. Seneca Wallace (SEA) 49.575 (22)
0-3
29. Trent Edwards (BUF) 48.505 (30)
DNP
30. Jay Cutler (CHI) 48.044 (29)
Lost to PHI 24-20, 24-43, 171, 1-1
31. Chad Pennington (MIA) 46.791 (31)
DNP
32. Matthew Stafford (DET) 42.734 (37)
Def. CLE 38-37, 26-43, 422, 5-2
33. Brady Quinn (CLE) 41.938 (42)
Lost to DET 38-37, 21-33, 304, 4-0
34. Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 37.993 (32)
Lost to NE 31-14, 8-21, 136, 1-4
35. Jake Delhomme (CAR) 36.790 (33)
Lost to MIA 24-17, 19-42, 227, 1-1
36. Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF) 35.288 (35)
Lost to JAC 18-15, 18-31, 297, 1-2
37. Kerry Collins (TEN) 34.713 (36)
DNP
38. Marc Bulger (STL) 33.567 (34)
Lost to ARI 21-13, 19-37, 215, 0-1
39. Kyle Boller (STL) 30.856 (38)
DNP
40. Daunte Culpepper (DET) 29.158 (39)
DNP
41. Josh Johnson (TB) 22.267 (40)
DNP
42. JaMarcus Russell (OAK) 20.275 (41)
DNP
43. Derek Anderson (CLE) 7.568 (43)
DNP
Def. TB 38-7, 19-29, 187 yards, 3 TD-0 INT
2. Brett Favre (MIN) 95.696 (2)
Def. SEA 35-9, 22-25, 213, 4-0
3. Peyton Manning (IND) 90.501 (3)
Def. BAL 17-15, 22-31, 299, 1-2
4. Tom Brady (NE) 83.824 (4)
Def. NYJ 31-14, 28-41, 310, 1-0
5. Aaron Rodgers (GB) 83.771 (5)
Def. SF 30-24, 32-45, 344, 2-0
6. Matt Schaub (HOU) 78-901 (6)
Lost to TEN 20-17, 25-39, 305, 2-0
7. Philip Rivers (SD) 76.398 (7)
Def. DEN 32-3, 17-22, 145, 1-0
8. Eli Manning (NYG) 75.074 (11)
Def. ATL 34-31, 25-39, 384, 3-1
9. Donovan McNabb (PHI) 74.660 (9)
Def. CHI 24-20, 23-32, 244, 2-1
10. Kurt Warner (ARI) 73.100 (13)
Def. STL 21-13, 15-19, 203, 2-0
11. Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 72.750 (8)
Lost to KC 27-24, 32-42, 398, 3-2
12. Carson Palmer (CIN) 70.461 (12)
Lost to OAK 20-17, 14-22, 207, 0-1
13. Kyle Orton (DEN) 67.682 (9)
Lost to SD 32-3, 15-29, 171, 0-1
14. Tony Romo (DAL) 67.487 (14)
Def. WAS 7-6, 15-27, 158, 1-1
15. Vince Young (TEN) 65.392 (16)
Def. HOU 20-17, 12-22, 116, 1-0
16. David Garrard (JAC) 62.863 (18)
Def. BUF 18-15, 21-30, 215, 1-1
17. Joe Flacco (BAL) 61.417 (15)
Lost to IND 17-15, 23-35, 256, 0-1
18. Jason Campbell (WAS) 61.276 (17)
Lost to DAL 7-6, 24-37, 256, 0-1
19. Alex Smith (SF) 59.806 (23)
Lost to GB 30-24, 16-33, 227, 3-1
20. Kevin Kolb (PHI) 57.459 (20)
DNP
21. Matt Ryan (ATL) 57.253 (24)
Lost to NYG 34-31, 26-46, 268, 2-0
22. Shaun Hill (SF) 56.988 (21)
DNP
23. Matt Cassel (KC) 55.144 (27)
Def. PIT 27-24, 15-30, 248, 2-0
24. Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 53.622 (25)
Lost to MIN 35-9, 19-26, 231, 0-1
25. Chad Henne (MIA) 52.404 (26)
Def. CAR 24-17, 17-29, 172, 1-0
26. Josh Freeman (TB) 49.884 (19)
Lost to NO 38-7, 17-33, 126, 1-3
27. Byron Leftwich (TB) 49.745 (28)
DNP
28. Seneca Wallace (SEA) 49.575 (22)
0-3
29. Trent Edwards (BUF) 48.505 (30)
DNP
30. Jay Cutler (CHI) 48.044 (29)
Lost to PHI 24-20, 24-43, 171, 1-1
31. Chad Pennington (MIA) 46.791 (31)
DNP
32. Matthew Stafford (DET) 42.734 (37)
Def. CLE 38-37, 26-43, 422, 5-2
33. Brady Quinn (CLE) 41.938 (42)
Lost to DET 38-37, 21-33, 304, 4-0
34. Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 37.993 (32)
Lost to NE 31-14, 8-21, 136, 1-4
35. Jake Delhomme (CAR) 36.790 (33)
Lost to MIA 24-17, 19-42, 227, 1-1
36. Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF) 35.288 (35)
Lost to JAC 18-15, 18-31, 297, 1-2
37. Kerry Collins (TEN) 34.713 (36)
DNP
38. Marc Bulger (STL) 33.567 (34)
Lost to ARI 21-13, 19-37, 215, 0-1
39. Kyle Boller (STL) 30.856 (38)
DNP
40. Daunte Culpepper (DET) 29.158 (39)
DNP
41. Josh Johnson (TB) 22.267 (40)
DNP
42. JaMarcus Russell (OAK) 20.275 (41)
DNP
43. Derek Anderson (CLE) 7.568 (43)
DNP
Monday, November 23, 2009
You've Gotta Be Fucking Kidding Me...
Really?
There's no recap for this week. I don't want to talk about it - I just want to forget about it. So, let's just look forward. Where do things stand?
Well, we are technically the 7th seed at this very moment, but are in a 3-way tie for 5th. Ben has a concussion. Chaz Batch is out 6 weeks, and Troy is out a month. That's the bad news.
The good news is that our remaining schedule isn't that tough. We are technically in a tie for 5th, but we're tied with Jacksonville and Denver. Denver is really headed the wrong direction fast, and Jacksonville's remaining schedule includes the 49ers on the road, Houston, Miami, Indy and the Pats. I don't like Jacksonville to win any of those. Oh, and the Bengals lost, keeping us faintly in the division hunt.
So, maybe we see Dennis Dixon next week? That would definitely make things interesting. Would also be interesting to see if we don't run the ball a little for once.
So, I'm going to do what I always do when I'm too depressed about the Steelers - I find other things to entertain me. And you?
Nena - 99 Luftballons
Chris | MySpace Video
Nena - 99 Luftballons
Chris | MySpace Video
Journey - Separate Ways
Big D | MySpace Video
Oh, and one other thing. Is it just me that the latest "effort" by the Black Eyed Peas sounds to have been written by a 5 year old? I agree, I listen to too much pop radio, but no one should be subjected to that.
And Madonna wrote a song about people being obsessed with her? Jesus, lady, you aren't that great. "Disease" is actually the word I would most associate with your visage.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Week 10 QB Rankings
So, one reader, who shall remain nameless, suggested that I explain how I come up with these rankings. He said he ignores these posts. Which would have made me feel self conscious if I hadn't been that drunk. I will continue to post, but will also explain where these come from, in the hopes that my attempt at a compromise is met by him ignoring them less.
As you can probably tell, I'm pretty tired, and finding it hard to string sentences together.
So, first, how I come up with these numbers. There are 9 categories:
(1) Win-loss record. I decided that this was the one place I was going to give credit for playing in more games. That was mostly because I didn't think that 9-0 should equal 1-0. So, you give +2 for a win, -1 for a loss. Ultimately, you should end up with a positive number. Peyton and Brees are +18's right now. Ben's a +9. Kerry Collins, the worst, is at -6.
(2) Adjusted rating. This is a calculation available at www.pro-football-reference.com. It takes QB rating and adjusts it based on peer performance for that particular season. 100 is square on 50th percentile (or supposed to be). It's really more useful when comparing across seasons, but I still like to use it because it makes the calculation a little easier.
(3) Adjusted completion percentage. Same thing as #2.
(4) The sum of adjusted TD percentage + adjusted INT percentage minus 200. So, higher is better in both measurements, and if 100 is average for one, 200 is average for 2. This gives credit for high TD% and low INT%. I guess I think the point is obvious.
(5) Adjusted Net Yards Per Attempt. Same as 2 and 3, but let me explaint the "Net Yards Per Attempt" thing. It's basically YPA, but including sacks. So, it's the average number of yards picked up per pass call while the guy is under center. Hurts guys like Rodgers and Ben, compared to guys like Brady and Manning (Peyton).
(6) Aggregate Value. This is basically overall production per game, using a standard, albeit fantasy football-like, calculation. I wanted to give credit for guys who are putting up big numbers. There's value in throwing often while throwing effectively.
(7) Rating on 3rd/4th down and 6+ yards. A big part of being a good/great QB is being able to convert long downs when you're almost assured of having to pass. This is generally the most adverse situation in any given game for a QB, and I think goes a long way to displaying how capable a QB is.
(8) Aggregate production on passes thrown to targets >20 yards downfield. Being able to stretch the field is important, I think, and I wanted to give credit not just for being effective when you did it, but also crediting guys who do it more often than others. It's similar to aggregate value, but only on those particular attempts.
(9) Rating in the Red Zone. Self-explanatory. Another difficult passing situation, because you can't stretch the field. Plus, if you can't put it in the end zone, you aren't going to go far.
Get all of the information together. Award 10 to the highest total for any individual category. Zero for the lowest. Award point totals to the remainder based on where they fall on this imaginary continuum between the two. So, e.g., record - you have Brees and Manning at 18, Collins at -6. Manning/Brees get 10.000. Collins gets 0.000. Then, a guy like Favre at 15, gets 8.750. Ben gets 6.250, and so forth.
Oh, and Record, Adjusted Rating, Aggregate Value and Red Zone rating are multiplied by 1.4, and the remainder are 1.0. Max total is 106. Minimum is 0, naturally.
So, here are the rankings. I'd be happy to accept suggestions on improving the ratings. But, seriously, don't give me too much shit, because I put together this equation in about 6 minutes, and just did it because I'm bored, and a nerd, and this is what I do when I'm bored. Still, I like the results, for the most part.
1. Drew Brees 96.620 (1)
2. Brett Favre 93.292 (3)
3. Peyton Manning 92.636 (2)
4. Tom Brady 85.756 (4)
5. Aaron Rodgers 84.186 (5)
6. Matt Schaub 81.143 (7)
7. Philip Rivers 77.719 (10)
8. Ben Roethlisberger 75.253 (6)
9. Donovan McNabb 74.660 (8)
10. Kyle Orton 74.497 (13)
11. Eli Manning 74.362 (9)
12. Carson Palmer 73.178 (11)
13. Kurt Warner 72.710 (15)
14. Tony Romo 68.901 (12)
15. Joe Flacco 67.574 (14)
16. Vince Young 66.335 (18)
17. Jason Campbell 63.752 (24)
18. David Garrard 62.845 (22)
19. Josh Freeman 59.728 (New)
20. Kevin Kolb 58.045 (19)
21. Shaun Hill 57.841 (23)
22. Seneca Wallace 56.500 (25)
23. Alex Smith 56.424 (17)
24. Matt Ryan 56.276 (21)
25. Matt Hasselbeck 56.183 (16)
26. Chad Henne 52.032 (28)
27. Matt Cassel 51.631 (26)
28. Byron Leftwich 50.756 (27)
29. Jay Cutler 50.475 (20)
30. Trent Edwards 49.370 (29)
31. Chad Pennington 48.052 (31)
32. Mark Sanchez 44.619 (30)
33. Jake Delhomme 38.411 (35)
34. Marc Bulger 36.510 (37)
35. Ryan Fitzpatrick 35.764 (32)
36. Kerry Collins 35.575 (33)
37. Matt Stafford 34.025 (34)
38. Kyle Boller 31.735 (36)
39. Daunte Culpepper 29.165 (38)
40. Josh Johnson 21.749 (40)
41. JaMarcus Russell 20.145 (41)
42. Brady Quinn 17.088 (39)
43. Derek Anderson 8.002 (42)
I'm pretty sure Derek Anderson throws more TDs in this video than Cleveland has scored all season.
How right you are, Quentin... A little too close to Mr. Shit.
As you can probably tell, I'm pretty tired, and finding it hard to string sentences together.
So, first, how I come up with these numbers. There are 9 categories:
(1) Win-loss record. I decided that this was the one place I was going to give credit for playing in more games. That was mostly because I didn't think that 9-0 should equal 1-0. So, you give +2 for a win, -1 for a loss. Ultimately, you should end up with a positive number. Peyton and Brees are +18's right now. Ben's a +9. Kerry Collins, the worst, is at -6.
(2) Adjusted rating. This is a calculation available at www.pro-football-reference.com. It takes QB rating and adjusts it based on peer performance for that particular season. 100 is square on 50th percentile (or supposed to be). It's really more useful when comparing across seasons, but I still like to use it because it makes the calculation a little easier.
(3) Adjusted completion percentage. Same thing as #2.
(4) The sum of adjusted TD percentage + adjusted INT percentage minus 200. So, higher is better in both measurements, and if 100 is average for one, 200 is average for 2. This gives credit for high TD% and low INT%. I guess I think the point is obvious.
(5) Adjusted Net Yards Per Attempt. Same as 2 and 3, but let me explaint the "Net Yards Per Attempt" thing. It's basically YPA, but including sacks. So, it's the average number of yards picked up per pass call while the guy is under center. Hurts guys like Rodgers and Ben, compared to guys like Brady and Manning (Peyton).
(6) Aggregate Value. This is basically overall production per game, using a standard, albeit fantasy football-like, calculation. I wanted to give credit for guys who are putting up big numbers. There's value in throwing often while throwing effectively.
(7) Rating on 3rd/4th down and 6+ yards. A big part of being a good/great QB is being able to convert long downs when you're almost assured of having to pass. This is generally the most adverse situation in any given game for a QB, and I think goes a long way to displaying how capable a QB is.
(8) Aggregate production on passes thrown to targets >20 yards downfield. Being able to stretch the field is important, I think, and I wanted to give credit not just for being effective when you did it, but also crediting guys who do it more often than others. It's similar to aggregate value, but only on those particular attempts.
(9) Rating in the Red Zone. Self-explanatory. Another difficult passing situation, because you can't stretch the field. Plus, if you can't put it in the end zone, you aren't going to go far.
Get all of the information together. Award 10 to the highest total for any individual category. Zero for the lowest. Award point totals to the remainder based on where they fall on this imaginary continuum between the two. So, e.g., record - you have Brees and Manning at 18, Collins at -6. Manning/Brees get 10.000. Collins gets 0.000. Then, a guy like Favre at 15, gets 8.750. Ben gets 6.250, and so forth.
Oh, and Record, Adjusted Rating, Aggregate Value and Red Zone rating are multiplied by 1.4, and the remainder are 1.0. Max total is 106. Minimum is 0, naturally.
So, here are the rankings. I'd be happy to accept suggestions on improving the ratings. But, seriously, don't give me too much shit, because I put together this equation in about 6 minutes, and just did it because I'm bored, and a nerd, and this is what I do when I'm bored. Still, I like the results, for the most part.
1. Drew Brees 96.620 (1)
2. Brett Favre 93.292 (3)
3. Peyton Manning 92.636 (2)
4. Tom Brady 85.756 (4)
5. Aaron Rodgers 84.186 (5)
6. Matt Schaub 81.143 (7)
7. Philip Rivers 77.719 (10)
8. Ben Roethlisberger 75.253 (6)
9. Donovan McNabb 74.660 (8)
10. Kyle Orton 74.497 (13)
11. Eli Manning 74.362 (9)
12. Carson Palmer 73.178 (11)
13. Kurt Warner 72.710 (15)
14. Tony Romo 68.901 (12)
15. Joe Flacco 67.574 (14)
16. Vince Young 66.335 (18)
17. Jason Campbell 63.752 (24)
18. David Garrard 62.845 (22)
19. Josh Freeman 59.728 (New)
20. Kevin Kolb 58.045 (19)
21. Shaun Hill 57.841 (23)
22. Seneca Wallace 56.500 (25)
23. Alex Smith 56.424 (17)
24. Matt Ryan 56.276 (21)
25. Matt Hasselbeck 56.183 (16)
26. Chad Henne 52.032 (28)
27. Matt Cassel 51.631 (26)
28. Byron Leftwich 50.756 (27)
29. Jay Cutler 50.475 (20)
30. Trent Edwards 49.370 (29)
31. Chad Pennington 48.052 (31)
32. Mark Sanchez 44.619 (30)
33. Jake Delhomme 38.411 (35)
34. Marc Bulger 36.510 (37)
35. Ryan Fitzpatrick 35.764 (32)
36. Kerry Collins 35.575 (33)
37. Matt Stafford 34.025 (34)
38. Kyle Boller 31.735 (36)
39. Daunte Culpepper 29.165 (38)
40. Josh Johnson 21.749 (40)
41. JaMarcus Russell 20.145 (41)
42. Brady Quinn 17.088 (39)
43. Derek Anderson 8.002 (42)
I'm pretty sure Derek Anderson throws more TDs in this video than Cleveland has scored all season.
How right you are, Quentin... A little too close to Mr. Shit.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Who Dey? Not fucking us...
I honestly didn't really see that coming. I've been a strong advocate of the "Bengals are way overrated" platform. And I still am. Maybe I'm just in denial, but yesterday's game said a lot about the Bengals, and it wasn't all that good.
But first, let's talk about the shitshow that was the Steelers' 6-point loss at home to Cincy yesterday. Everyone, at every position, made some mistake yesterday. Whether it was Ben taking sacks in the red zone twice, or Santonio letting a sure TD slip through his hands, or Stefan Logan getting out of his lane, and letting some chubby, no-name for the Bengals take it to the house.
Actually, I'm going to start there. I remember when the season started and I thought to myself that for the first time in a while, I felt like we really had something going on special teams. I mean, last year, Skippy was near-perfect, but we couldn't find a punter who could kick the ball more than 30 yards, and we had Mewelde Moore and Carey Davis returning kicks. So, with Sepulveda coming back and Stefan Logan in the mix, I was pretty pumped about the idea of having a "legit" returner. Well, my faith is starting to slip. He hasn't done shit on returns this year, and in fact seems to have some trouble understanding when not to return the ball (specifically, when it's kicked 7 yards deep), and if you look at this (start at :40), it looks an awful lot like he is the guy who gets out of his lane and lets whats-his-face-pudgy-dreadlocked-Bengal break one.
I really want to like the guy. Great story. Seems like a hard worker. But man, he's just not getting it done.
The defense looked good, especially for playing without Troy for 95% of the game. (By the way, the word on DVE this morning was that we're looking at 1-2 weeks this time, and then he should be back, which I guess isn't terrible). We need him to be close to 100%, though, if we're going to win number 7 this year. I feel like the guy could win MVP just based on how the team has played without him. I mean, it's a very good defense without him. But he is so fast to the ball, and such a sure playmaker, that it is really tough to go without him. Ty Carter is a decent backup safety, as far as backup safeties go... But there's no one who makes game-changing plays on this defense quite like Troy. Even Big James is limited by the position he plays - he really can only affect passing plays, and plays run to his side. Troy is running free on every play.
The Steelers are still lacking focus a bit, though. We haven't had all 53 guys put it together for 60 minutes quite yet... Well, maybe last week in Denver, but even at that, we somehow gave up a fumble return for TD. Now, I know that you can second-guess and what-if until the cows come home, but let's just look at the season so far, but if the team had played mistake-free... And I know that each play changes how the game subsequently plays out, I'm sure, but let's just look at how many points we gave away or left on the field, and where we might have been if not for those mistakes:
Week 3: at Cincy. Interception returned for TD. Happened early 3rd quarter. Took the game from 13-3 (Steelers dominating and with the ball) to 13-9 in an instant. On top of it, we scored the next points, which would have made it 20-3 in the 3rd quarter. Cincy doesn't rebound from that. Additionally, without those 6 points, it's 20-9 (probably 20-10) when Cincy gets the ball late for its final drive.
Week 4: vs San Diego. Fumble returned fro TD. 12:37 of the 4th. Steelers were up 28-7. San Diego had just broken up the shutout, and had gotten the ball back looking to make it a game. I was at the game, and right before the Chargers drive, they pumped up "Renegade" and the whole stadium went nuts, as usual. Ike Taylor bats down a deep pass to Vincent Jackson on 3rd and 19, and the stadium is losing it, the defense is losing it, the Chargers are all but done for. And then this happens. All of a sudden its 28-14, and San Diego has the momentum. The Chargers went on to score two more TDs, and if not for some solid offense, we might not have escaped this one either. Ben came out on the next drive after the fumble, and shoved it right down the Chargers' throats, but 28-7 or 35-7 mid-4th quarter makes a difference. And 38-21 is never in doubt - there's no need a drive and field goal to seal it.
Week 5: at Detroit. How this was ever a game is beyond me. Another pick-6, at a bad time. Rather than being up 21-6 at the half, and 28-6 in the 3rd, it's 21-13 and 28-13, leaving Detroit with some hope, and Steelers fans with some ulcers.
Week 6: vs. Cleveland. Josh Cribbs KO return for TD in 2nd quarter. The Steelers had just gone up 14-0, and had all the momentum (see a theme). Although we ultimately won 27-14, we dominated Cleveland, and 27-7 would have been a far more fitting score line.
Week 7: vs. Minnesota. Kickoff return for TD. This was right after LaMarr's fumble return TD. We were up 20-10, and they made it a 3-point game again, with barely any time off the clock. Then, instead of it being 20-10 in the waning seconds, its 20-17, with Minny going for the win. Again, we still won, but it was a lot uglier than it should have been.
Week 9: at Denver. Fumble return for TD. Without that, Denver only puts up 3 points.
Week 10: vs. Cincy. Cincy won this game fair and square. But that KO return for TD was the difference. Stings...
So, I look at it, and in 2 of our 3 losses, the difference has been a return TD that should never have happened. In the other games, it kept the other team in it, and made us struggle to get the "W".
We've got to clean that shit up. If we do (and Skippy keeps making FGs), we'll beat everyone we play. If we don't, I'm afraid this will be 2006 (or 2004 or 2002 or 2001 or 1997 or 1996 or 1995 or 1994 or 1993) all over again........
But I do like our playoff chances. A quick look at the remaining schedule.
at KC (2-7)
at BAL (5-4)
vs OAK (2-7)
at CLE (1-8)
vs GB (5-4)
vs BAL (5-4)
at MIA (4-5)
By the time we host Green Bay, if we aren't at least 9-4, we don't deserve to go to the playoffs. Simple as that. KC, OAK and CLE are unloseable games for a playoff team. Playing at Baltimore is always tough. They aren't as good this year as last, but they will definitely be gunning for us, after we took them out 3 times last year. Additionally, they could easily be 5-5, given that they have Indy next week. That would mean that they'd be playing for their lives in that game.
I do like us in every other remaining game. Green Bay is good, but they've had some real issues with good pass-rushing teams. I just don't think they can come to Heinz and get the W. Ultimately, I'm calling 12-4 right now. That may be ambitious, but I honestly think the team is that good, and that Troy will be healthy by the time we get into the tougher games late in the year.
Here are my other thoughts on shit this week:
- If you read Deadspin or Modesi's House, you've seen this already. But just in case you haven't, you really need to check out this little animated short about Doc Ellis' no-hitter on LSD, narrated by Doc Ellis. It might be five of the most entertaining minutes of your life...
- Andrew McCutchen got stiffed on the ROTY award. Cutch, hitting leadoff for the Bucs, had more triples, homers, RBIs and steals. I'm not sure what this dude did, but he did it while being the #3 or #4 option on the team. Cutch has the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, and responded by playing great baseball. But then again, we shouldn't forget that Manny Ramirez lost out to Bob Hamelin in the 1994 ROTY voting, and we know how the rest of that went.
- Everyone's going crazy over Bill Bellichick's decision from the other night. Lot's of people think he did the right thing, including SI's Joe Posnanski. He notes that this blog post by Brian Burke of the NYT found the following: (1) on average, teams score on 4th and 2s about 60% of the time; (2) teams score TDs from the 30 about 53% of the time and (3) teams score TDs from the opposing 34 (or so) about 30% of the time. The result is that Bellichick's call was about 10% more likely to win going for it than sitting on it.
I don't think numbers tell the whole story here, but you gotta credit the guy for having some balls to make a tough call - one that was entirely on him. - LeBron playing in the NFL? What? No, shut the fuck up. ESPN, no. No. No. Has everyone forgotten about MJ trying to play baseball. He hasn't played football since 2002. At his greatest, he may have been an All-State football player. But let me just toss this out. Disappointing outfielder Jeff Francouer was on the USA Today All-American football team in 2001 (the year that James was supposedly All-State). Where are the calls for him to get a shot in the NFL? Cause they have about the same amount of proven football talent. So, seriously, LeBron. STFU and just play basketball. Please. You are no longer being called "the next Jordan", because you have established yourself as great in your own right. Jordan was never the physical freak that you are. But please, please, don't make that same mistake, humiliate yourself, and taint your legacy.
- I can be overly defensive of my teams. It's this weird kind of little-brother dynamic, where I believe that I have free reign to criticize and hate on them, but I take serious offense if anyone else does it. That happened today. Listening to Barry Melrose's NHL Podcast. The comments were regarding the Pens playing like shit for about 5 games. Now, admittedly, they shouldn't have been that bad under any circumstance. But, they were missing, in some combination, Geno Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Max Talbot, Sergei Gonchar, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang and Alex Goligosky. You know what Melrose's response was? "Adversity doesn't make character, it exposes it."
What the fuck Melrose? Did you miss the Cup Finals last year. Yeah, they're playing like shit, but where does that comment come from? They were losing a starter every night for about 2 weeks. Their top 2 lines/defensive pairings were missing 7 guys from how the lines were set in last year's playoffs. Only 10 guys play on those lines/pairings. I don't care who you are, but you lose that many guys, it's going to take a few games to rebound/adjust to your new guys, etc.
So, I knew that the mullet (he has it because he has a cowlick on the back of his head) hated the Pens, but it still pissed me off. - Bengals fans burned a terrible towel. That's a new way of doing it, but they best start fitting Ben for number 3.
- Back in college, I got a special sports package with the cable. Included was Fox Soccer Network. I watched a lot of soccer. A lot of Sky Sports Report (which was on each evening). I got really into soccer. The team I picked was Arsenal. Why? I dunno, they seemed cool, red uniforms, nicknamed the gunners. Plus, they had Thierry Henry (Tee-air-ee On-ree), probably the most talented forward in the world at the time.
Well, apparently, Thierry handed a ball down, and scored, giving France a 1-1 tie with my native Ireland, giving France a birth in the World Cup and knocking Ireland out.
I don't know how to feel. I was frankly surprised that France didn't forfeit the game before it even started (didn't see that one coming, I bet, right?? Haha. Awesome.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
QB Rankings - Week 9
So, if I'm making anyone's head hurt with these, I apologize. I could be more simplistic about it, but then my bias would play too much into it.
1. Drew Brees, NO - 95.194 pts (LW: 1)
Brees is still #1 because he had a mediocre game, by his standards, and still put up 330 yards and got the win. He certainly isn't unstoppable, and it was his mistakes, in large part, that put the Panthers in the game early. However, the dude is damn close to unstoppable.
2. Peyton Manning, IND - 90.423 pts (2)
Beat Houston 20-17, 34-50, 318 yards, TD, IntThe two 8-0 guys are 1-2 on this list. Probably not coincidence. But really, Manning is holding on to this spot by a thread. With that said, he's still head and shoulders above the rest of the league over time. Best QB in the league, regardless of what this list says.
3. Brett Favre, MIN - 89.562 (3)
Bye WeekDude's playing the best football (statistically) of his career. I look at it, and keep waiting to find out that it's a mistake. So, I dunno. We'll see, but the man's getting it done big time.
4. Tom Brady, NE - 82.863 (5)
He's not playing his best football. And that makes me uneasy about him (and the Pats) as we go on here. Now, you may be saying, what the fuck, dude, what do you want? You're worried about Favre because he's been too good, but worried about Brady because he hasn't been good enough.
Yes, that's correct. They both suck.
5. Aaron Rodgers, GB - 82.340 (4)
What's the dillyo, Rodgers? Making me look bad like that. The guy is legit, but he's still young. Still has the ability to lose games, and he's still struggling to find the consistency he needs to stay at the top of these rankings.
6. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT - 81.264 (7)
7. Matt Schaub, HOU - 79.721 (6)
8. Donovan McNabb, PHI - 76.484 (8)
9. Eli Manning, NYG - 75.614 (13)
10. Philip Rivers, SD - 72.598 (12)
11. Carson Palmer, CIN - 72.153 (11)
12. Tony Romo, DAL - 71.930 (14)
13. Kyle Orton, DEN - 70.231 (9)
14. Joe Flacco, BAL - 67.233 (10)
15. Kurt Warner, ARI - 64.732 (15)
16. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - 61.704 (21)
17. Alex Smith, SF - 60.920 (NR)
18. Vince Young, TEN - 59.686 (NR)
19. Kevin Kolb, PHI - 59.018 (16)
20. Jay Cutler, CHI - 58.503 (20)
21. Matt Ryan, ATL - 58.425 (19)
22. David Garrard, JAC - 57.189 (23)
23. Shaun Hill, SF - 56.675 (18)
24. Jason Campbell, WAS - 56.043 (17)
25. Seneca Wallace, SEA - 53.928 (22)
26. Matt Cassel, KC - 50.681 (26)
27. Byron Leftwich, TB - 49.984 (24)
28. Chad Henne, MIA - 47.849 (25)
29. Trent Edwards, BUF - 47.043 (27)
30. Mark Sanchez, NYJ - 45.045 (28)
31. Chad Pennington, MIA - 44.493 (29)
32. Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF - 40.655 (30)
33. Kerry Collins, TEN - 32.008 (32)
34. Matt Stafford, DET - 30.870 (31)
35. Jake Delhomme, CAR - 30.751 (34)
36. Kyle Boller, STL - 29.939 (33)
37. Marc Bulger, STL - 29.938 (35)
38. Daunte Culpepper, DET - 28.551 (36)
39. Brady Quinn, CLE - 25.993 (37)
40. Josh Johnson, TB - 20.782 (39)
41. JaMarcus Russell, OAK - 19.958 (38)
42. Derek Anderson, CLE - 8.734 (40)
Bye
Bye
Steelers 28, Broncs 10
Well, that was nice. That's the first complete game I've seen from this team all year, and just at the right time, too, with Cincy next weekend in the 'burgh. I don't think a whole lot needs to be said about the game, I really don't. Ben was great. Yeah, the INT was not a good throw, but the fumble wasn't something he could avoid, and besides those two plays, he's 23-28 for 220-some and 3 TDs. I'll take it.
Mendenhall is awesome. He doesn't get the ball nearly enough. The receivers did everything they needed to. Heath was curiously absent, and that surprised me a little. It was almost as if the offense was trying to make a point against this vaunted pass defense: (1) we aren't scared of anyone's rush and (2) we aren't scared of anyone's corners.
The o-line is starting to convince me that they are the right group of guys. They look great. I have zero complaints.
Defense was great, too. Troy is getting his explosiveness back. Ty Carter played MUCH better than the last time he started a game against a Denver/Chicago QB. We're getting pressure, everyone is playing with intensity... Orton made some plays in the passing game, but much like in years past, he only did so between the 30's, and that's really what matters. Ike made some solid plays. I still don't get why we give them 9 yards of space on 3rd and 8, but you can't argue with 3 offensive points.
I still don't get why Rashard doesn't get the ball 30 times a game when he's running like that. Ben is an awesome QB, but if you throw on 1st and 2nd all the time (or even most of the time), you limit your options on 3rd down. Establish the running game, and you'll get 3rd and 3's, which opens up the whole playbook.
Big win. Still too many mistakes, but the team that played on Monday night was the one that I envisioned when I said this was the most talented Steelers team in 30 years. They are really fucking good, and at every position.
Denver has a ways to go. They're good, and I still think they're better than San Diego (who, if we had been playing them on Monday night, would have lost 45-3), but I'm not sure they're ready to make a playoff run.
A few other thoughts for the week:
Mendenhall is awesome. He doesn't get the ball nearly enough. The receivers did everything they needed to. Heath was curiously absent, and that surprised me a little. It was almost as if the offense was trying to make a point against this vaunted pass defense: (1) we aren't scared of anyone's rush and (2) we aren't scared of anyone's corners.
The o-line is starting to convince me that they are the right group of guys. They look great. I have zero complaints.
Defense was great, too. Troy is getting his explosiveness back. Ty Carter played MUCH better than the last time he started a game against a Denver/Chicago QB. We're getting pressure, everyone is playing with intensity... Orton made some plays in the passing game, but much like in years past, he only did so between the 30's, and that's really what matters. Ike made some solid plays. I still don't get why we give them 9 yards of space on 3rd and 8, but you can't argue with 3 offensive points.
I still don't get why Rashard doesn't get the ball 30 times a game when he's running like that. Ben is an awesome QB, but if you throw on 1st and 2nd all the time (or even most of the time), you limit your options on 3rd down. Establish the running game, and you'll get 3rd and 3's, which opens up the whole playbook.
Big win. Still too many mistakes, but the team that played on Monday night was the one that I envisioned when I said this was the most talented Steelers team in 30 years. They are really fucking good, and at every position.
Denver has a ways to go. They're good, and I still think they're better than San Diego (who, if we had been playing them on Monday night, would have lost 45-3), but I'm not sure they're ready to make a playoff run.
A few other thoughts for the week:
- Has anyone read this story? Well, just a quick overview: apparently some dude wrote in to Deadspin as part of a series about first-hand accounts of coach-normal person run-ins. Well, Deadspin (Drew Magary) published this, it turned out to be a bunch of lies, and they are now apologizing left-and-right for it.
Now, Deadspin's editor basically gave the response of, hey, don't blame us, the whole idea is that it's supposed to be first-hand accounts. But this one turns out to have been especially falsified, and it's forced me to rethink my general position that blogs (Deadspin included) should be able to post whatever they want - true or not - because no one reallly cares or believes any of the crap gossip anyways.
However, has Deadspin, for instance, gotten too big? Are too many people thinking they can make a name for themselves b/c the site will publish anything? Has Deadspin reached newspaper status, and as such, needs to start vetting like a newspaper (the real reason newspapers vet is so that they don't get caught up in giving misinformation)?
I dunno, but the ugly way in which Deadspin was taken advantage of is concerning, given their style combined with their size and exposure... - When is baseball going to realize that the current (salary cap-free) system is actually hurting the sport?
- Can the Pens lose more players? We're missing 2 starting forwards (Geno and Talbot), plus 3 starting d-men (Gonch, Letang and Brooksie). 12-0 in the last 7 periods? I can't say I'm worried, per se. It's only 3 games. And we're still 12-6 (pretty fucking good even in the NHL). That's still pace for 103 points. But we need people to start getting healthy, and staying healthy. Our defense is slow, it isn't moving the puck well, and as a result, the whole team is suffering. This streak doesn't really say anything about the team - maybe just that they can't lose half the starting lineup and still maintain a decent level of play.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Weekly Quarterback Rankings
Before I start, just a few comments on the past week in sports:
- Eric Mangini is upset that the GM got fired? Well, I'm not sure what so say, except that they fucking blow. I saw a comparison between their QB situation in 1999, as a brand new expansion franchise with TIM FUCKING COUCH at QB, basically explaining how much better off they were then. What a clusterfuck.
- IU got completely screwed. There is no doubt in my mind that the Big Ten official in that booth got a phone call telling him that Iowa had to win. No doubt. Iowa sucks, and they don't deserve a shot at the national title, undefeated or not.
So, now to it. There were 33 QBs last week. Now there are 40. Adjust accordingly.
1. Drew Brees, NO (99.502 Points) (Previous Rank: 1)
This Week: Def. Atlanta 35-27, 25-33, 308 yards, 2 TD, INT, 1 fumble lost
He's just plain slinging the ball better than anyone else. He ranks high in all categories, but really excels with the long ball. He's been almost twice as productive on throws of 20+ yards as anyone else.
2. Peyton Manning, IND (92.781) (2)
This Week: Def. San Francisco 18-14, 31-48, 347 yards.
Finally a mediocre week out of the guy. He, like Brees, is just killing this year (as usual), but he's been "struggling" in the Red Zone, with only an 87.6 passer rating - as opposed to his 100+ rating overall. This may be related to the fact that the Colts have no running game, and everyone knows they're gonna pass, but I'm not sure how that's different from anywhere else on the field.
3. Brett Favre, MIN (90.234) (4)
This Week: Def. Packers 38-26, 17-28, 244 yards, 4 TD
With a huge game in his first trip back to Green Bay, Favre hopped his former apprentice in the rankings. Yeah, he's getting it done, and he's been near-perfect doing it, but they aren't putting a lot of pressure on him. On the other hand, Favre has struggled against the better defenses he's played - specifically, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. What he'll do (and be able to do) against the league's better teams come January and February is yet to be seen.
4. Aaron Rodgers, GB (89.245) (3)
This Week: Lost to Vikings 38-26, 26-41, 287 yards, 3 TD
Yeah, the dude fell off a little bit, but really had a solid game nonetheless. Despite his imperfections, I like Rodgers a lot, and think the Packers definitely made the better choice. The Vikings don't ask Favre to do much, so when he does it perfectly, I find it less impressive than what the 4th-year guy on a pass-first offense is getting done. He makes all the throws.
5. Tom Brady, NE (83.482) (6)
This Week: Bye
The bye week and a bad performance from Schaub let Brady move up here. He's having a good year, but doesn't quite seem to be his same old self. He's missed Moss on a lot of deep balls, and its shown - he's mid-teens when it comes to deep passing this year. But with that said, the guy still gets it done, and he's a sure-fire HOFer for a reason.
6. Matt Schaub, HOU (81.324) (5)
This Week: Def. Buffalo 31-10, 25-34, 268 yards, 2 INT
Like I said, a mediocre week, but his team got the win. I've been really impressed with the guy, and I think that with any QB, it takes about 2,000 throws for them to really take their game to the next level. If this is Mr. Schaub's starting point, the sky really is the limit.
Of course, having injuries for Johnson and Daniels may have hurt his numbers last game, and may expose him to an extent in the weeks to come.
7. Ben Roethsliberger, PIT (80.449) (7)
This Week: Bye
A bye week and he picks up another sack? The dude has been absolute money, except on 3rd and longs, where he's been about as bad as anyone. I'm not sure if that's because he's been taking a lot of risks downfield on hopeless situations, but the numbers don't reflect positively. If this guy can figure out how to be more efficient on 3rd down, you'll see him move up fast. Still 2nd-best Red Zone guy in the league behind Brees.
8. Donovan McNabb, PHI (79.118) (9)
This Week: Def. Giants 40-17, 17-23, 240 yards, 3 TD
Another great performance, and McNabb has moved up further, despite only 4 starts. He's putting the ball in the end zone and not making a lot of mistakes. I think that this ranking is a little bit of a red herring, but don't expect him to fall too far. He's still probably a top-10 QB.
9. Kyle Orton, DEN (77.239) (8)
This Week: Lost to Baltimore 30-7, 23-37, 152 yards
Meh. The Broncos took the loss, and Orton didn't fuck anything up, but didn't make anything happen either. This should signal his return to the middle of the pack, where he belongs. The guy knows how to win with a good team around him, but he'll never win you any games himself.
10. Joe Flacco, BAL (73.084) (13)
This Week: Def. Denver 30-7, 20-25, 175 yards, TD
Flacco reminded everyone of the high hopes they had for him with his performance on Sunday. The guy is legit, and does seem to have a nack for winning the football game. His 3rd down and Red Zone numbers are OK, but not great, but that's something that will improve with time.
11. Carson Palmer, CIN (72.506) (12)
This week: Bye
Another Bye Week player moving up. Palmer's season looks pretty mediocre without the fucking gaudy Week 7 performance against Chicago. This is another guy who I see moving back down some. He's a 75-rating QB normally, and really needed that huge performance to pull his head above the 80 mark.
12. Philip Rivers, SD (71.920) (11)
This Week: Def. Oakland 24-16, 16-25, 249 yards, TD, INT
He got another win this past weekend, but he isn't putting up the same numbers he was last year. He doesn't throw a pretty ball, he doesn't take chances, and he just isn't quite getting it done this year. The Chargers are right in the mix, but Rivers is not really making a case for QB of the year.
Plus, he sucks.
13. Eli Manning, NYG (71.412) (10)
This Week: Lost to Philadelphia 40-17, 20-39, 222 yards, TD, 2 INT,
That comical sound you keep hearing that sounds like Wile-E-Coyote going over the edge of a cliff? Yeah, that's Manning's season right now. Through 5 games, he was 5-0 and top-5 in rating, playing the best football of his life. Now, he's playing like pure crap. Really, there aren't many QBs playing like that right now who aren't about to lose their job.
14. Tony Romo, DAL (70.989) (15)
This Week: Def. Seattle 38-17, 21-36, 256 yards, 3 TD, 1 lost fumble
Just like the Cowboys are headed in the opposite direction from the Giants, Romo is headed in the opposite direction from Manning. Interesting how QB quality is really mirroring team success this year...
15. Kurt Warner, ARI (58.134) (16)
This Week: Lost to Carolina 34-21, 27-46, 242 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT, 1 lost fumble
Big drop-off here. Warner somehow moves up despite the crappy outing.
16. Kevin Kolb, PHI (58.053) (19)
This Week: DNP
Just as a note, there's some movement here, and I'm not completely sure why. I think that movement on the top and bottom ends of certain stats have changed the dynamic here in the middle.
17. Jason Campbell, WAS (57.355) (17)
This Week: Bye
18. Shaun Hill, SF (56.956) (21)
This Week: DNP
19. Matt Ryan, ATL (56.418) (14)
This Week: Lost to New Orleans 35-27, 19-42, 289 yards, TD, 2 INT, 1 fumble lost
20. Jay Cutler, CHI (55.427) (20)
This Week: Def. Cleveland 30-6, 17-30, 225 yards, INT
21. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA (54.164) (22)
This Week: Lost to Dallas 38-17, 22-39, 249 yards, 2 TD
22. Seneca Wallace, SEA (53.652) (-)
This Week: DNP (at QB)
23. David Garrard, JAC (53.443) (18)
This Week: Lost to Tennessee 30-13, 14-27, 139 yards, 2 INT
24. Byron Leftwich, TB (50.264) (-)
This Week: Bye
25. Chad Henne, MIA (49.454) (-)
This Week: 12-21, 112 yards, TD
26. Matt Cassel, KC (48.053) (23)
This Week: Bye
27. Trent Edwards, BUF (47.766) (24)
This Week: DNP
28. Mark Sanchez, NYJ (46.141) (27)
This Week: Lost to Miami 30-25, 20-35, 265 yards, 2 TD
29. Chad Pennington, MIA (45.865) (-)
This Week: DNP
30. Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF (42.489) (NR)
This Week: Lost to Houston 31-10, 15-23, 117 yards, 2 INT
31. Matt Stafford, DET (34.015) (25)
This Week: Lost to St. Louis 17-10, 14-33, 168 yards, INT
32. Kerry Collins, TEN (33.253) (28)
This Week: DNP
33. Kyle Boller, STL (30.097) (-)
This Week: DNP
34. Jake Delhomme, CAR (30.090) (31)
This Week: 7-14, 90 yards, TD
35. Marc Bulger, STL (28.869) (26)
This Week: Def. Detroit 17-10, 17-35, 176 yards, INT
36. Daunte Culpepper, DET (28.072) (29)
This Week: DNP
37. Brady Quinn, CLE (25.567) (30)
This Week: 1-3, 9 yards
38. JaMarcus Russell, OAK (20.808) (32)
This Week: Lost to San Diego 24-16, 14-22, 109 yards, INT
That's right. He isn't last. Not even second-to-last.
39. Josh Johnson, TB (20.612) (-)
This Week: Bye
40. Derek Anderson, CLE (9.966) (Last)
This Week: Lost to Chicago 30-6, 6-17, 76 yards, 2 INT, 1 lost fumble
Yeah, I can't really explain how bad this dude is. He is having perhaps the worst season at QB in NFL history. Projected stats: 132-308, 1,362 yards, 4 TDs, 18 INTs, 36.2 Rating. What can you even say?
This week: Bye
Another Bye Week player moving up. Palmer's season looks pretty mediocre without the fucking gaudy Week 7 performance against Chicago. This is another guy who I see moving back down some. He's a 75-rating QB normally, and really needed that huge performance to pull his head above the 80 mark.
12. Philip Rivers, SD (71.920) (11)
This Week: Def. Oakland 24-16, 16-25, 249 yards, TD, INT
He got another win this past weekend, but he isn't putting up the same numbers he was last year. He doesn't throw a pretty ball, he doesn't take chances, and he just isn't quite getting it done this year. The Chargers are right in the mix, but Rivers is not really making a case for QB of the year.
Plus, he sucks.
13. Eli Manning, NYG (71.412) (10)
This Week: Lost to Philadelphia 40-17, 20-39, 222 yards, TD, 2 INT,
That comical sound you keep hearing that sounds like Wile-E-Coyote going over the edge of a cliff? Yeah, that's Manning's season right now. Through 5 games, he was 5-0 and top-5 in rating, playing the best football of his life. Now, he's playing like pure crap. Really, there aren't many QBs playing like that right now who aren't about to lose their job.
14. Tony Romo, DAL (70.989) (15)
This Week: Def. Seattle 38-17, 21-36, 256 yards, 3 TD, 1 lost fumble
Just like the Cowboys are headed in the opposite direction from the Giants, Romo is headed in the opposite direction from Manning. Interesting how QB quality is really mirroring team success this year...
15. Kurt Warner, ARI (58.134) (16)
This Week: Lost to Carolina 34-21, 27-46, 242 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT, 1 lost fumble
Big drop-off here. Warner somehow moves up despite the crappy outing.
16. Kevin Kolb, PHI (58.053) (19)
This Week: DNP
Just as a note, there's some movement here, and I'm not completely sure why. I think that movement on the top and bottom ends of certain stats have changed the dynamic here in the middle.
17. Jason Campbell, WAS (57.355) (17)
This Week: Bye
18. Shaun Hill, SF (56.956) (21)
This Week: DNP
19. Matt Ryan, ATL (56.418) (14)
This Week: Lost to New Orleans 35-27, 19-42, 289 yards, TD, 2 INT, 1 fumble lost
20. Jay Cutler, CHI (55.427) (20)
This Week: Def. Cleveland 30-6, 17-30, 225 yards, INT
21. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA (54.164) (22)
This Week: Lost to Dallas 38-17, 22-39, 249 yards, 2 TD
22. Seneca Wallace, SEA (53.652) (-)
This Week: DNP (at QB)
23. David Garrard, JAC (53.443) (18)
This Week: Lost to Tennessee 30-13, 14-27, 139 yards, 2 INT
24. Byron Leftwich, TB (50.264) (-)
This Week: Bye
25. Chad Henne, MIA (49.454) (-)
This Week: 12-21, 112 yards, TD
26. Matt Cassel, KC (48.053) (23)
This Week: Bye
27. Trent Edwards, BUF (47.766) (24)
This Week: DNP
28. Mark Sanchez, NYJ (46.141) (27)
This Week: Lost to Miami 30-25, 20-35, 265 yards, 2 TD
29. Chad Pennington, MIA (45.865) (-)
This Week: DNP
30. Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF (42.489) (NR)
This Week: Lost to Houston 31-10, 15-23, 117 yards, 2 INT
31. Matt Stafford, DET (34.015) (25)
This Week: Lost to St. Louis 17-10, 14-33, 168 yards, INT
32. Kerry Collins, TEN (33.253) (28)
This Week: DNP
33. Kyle Boller, STL (30.097) (-)
This Week: DNP
34. Jake Delhomme, CAR (30.090) (31)
This Week: 7-14, 90 yards, TD
35. Marc Bulger, STL (28.869) (26)
This Week: Def. Detroit 17-10, 17-35, 176 yards, INT
36. Daunte Culpepper, DET (28.072) (29)
This Week: DNP
37. Brady Quinn, CLE (25.567) (30)
This Week: 1-3, 9 yards
38. JaMarcus Russell, OAK (20.808) (32)
This Week: Lost to San Diego 24-16, 14-22, 109 yards, INT
That's right. He isn't last. Not even second-to-last.
39. Josh Johnson, TB (20.612) (-)
This Week: Bye
40. Derek Anderson, CLE (9.966) (Last)
This Week: Lost to Chicago 30-6, 6-17, 76 yards, 2 INT, 1 lost fumble
Yeah, I can't really explain how bad this dude is. He is having perhaps the worst season at QB in NFL history. Projected stats: 132-308, 1,362 yards, 4 TDs, 18 INTs, 36.2 Rating. What can you even say?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
OUR FIRST COMMENT IN MONTHS!
Fuck me in the ass! Someone commented. This isn't quite as great as having a mailbag, but I'll take it!
So, allow me to address the comment (which came following the Steelers recap post):
Joshua said...
Lucky win for the steelers. Where was the mention of the phantom tripping penalty and the "defensive delay of game" that has basically never been called before in the history of the world...
October 28, 2009 5:42 PM
Well, Joshua, you are right. I did not mention the "phantom" tripping call or the defensive delay of game penalty. Now, I agree, defensive delay of game is almost never called, but what do you want me to say? Just because Jared Allen was having flashbacks while in a three-point stance, doesn't mean that he can start screaming before the play starts.
But while we're at it, let's be fair, and mention the bullshit pass interference call on Heath Miller on what would have been a Santonio Holmes TD pass in the first quarter. It was a perfectly legal play, and it isn't even clear that it happened while the ball was in the air. Oh, and did I mention that it was on the other side of the fucking field? So, not only was it not a penalty, but it didn't even affect the play, unlike the alleged "phantom" trip, where the o-lineman dove and then rolled, kicking his legs out as James Harrison jumped over him... Hm, I have no idea how the ref could have though something untoward was occurring...
We lost a TD there. Would have been 7-0. Vikes would never have had the lead, and would have been driving with a chance to tie on a TD late in the game. Really changed the whole dynamic, and was the only thing that kept them in it.
But let me address the bigger picture here. Bullshit calls happen in every game to one team or another. I can point to lots of them through the years ("running into the kicker" on Joe Nedney in the 2002 AFC divisional playoffs, the bullshit incomplete pass call on Troy Polamalu in the 2005 AFC divisional playoffs, which even the NFL came out and said was wrong, holding on Hartwig in the end zone in the Super Bowl, pass interefernce on Troy in Week 1 against the Titans, 1 holding call a game on the tackle covering James Harrison, when the whole world can see that the tackle has him by one arm around his neck all game long...).
I really can go on for much, much longer than this. But I won't. Why? Because teams that lose dwell on bad calls. They blame bad calls for their misfortune, and want to believe that their team would be good enough to succeed if a call had just gone the other way. I've been down that road. I can distinctly remember comments from guys like Kordell Stewart about how "the best team lost today". Horseshit. The best team on a particular day wins the football game. That's how you can tell who is good and who is bad - by adding up how many times a particular team was the better team on a given day.
Bad calls happen every game. Stuff gets missed. It happens. Brett Favre still fumbled, because he was being careless with the football. I know, shocking. And he still threw that INT, because, well, he just likes to force that football in there sometimes. There's a reason that you don't throw the football at a group of 5 players. It's because if something goes wrong, you're fucked.
So, I would hope that all the readers of the blog would learn this from a guy who didn't see a championship until he was 22, and now has 3 from his hometown teams in the past 4 years: don't ever complain about the reffing. Ultimately, it all works out, and if they lose, it's your own team's fault, and not the refs. The Vikes should never have really been in it, and they were lucky that the refs helped them out so early, so that there would be a game to watch in the first place.
Something I forgot to mention, but that actually did deserve a few words is how sick Adrian Peterson is. That dude has some Jim Brown in him - he just wants to hurt people. I don't really want to see him again, I can tell you that.
So, allow me to address the comment (which came following the Steelers recap post):
Joshua said...
Lucky win for the steelers. Where was the mention of the phantom tripping penalty and the "defensive delay of game" that has basically never been called before in the history of the world...
October 28, 2009 5:42 PM
Well, Joshua, you are right. I did not mention the "phantom" tripping call or the defensive delay of game penalty. Now, I agree, defensive delay of game is almost never called, but what do you want me to say? Just because Jared Allen was having flashbacks while in a three-point stance, doesn't mean that he can start screaming before the play starts.
But while we're at it, let's be fair, and mention the bullshit pass interference call on Heath Miller on what would have been a Santonio Holmes TD pass in the first quarter. It was a perfectly legal play, and it isn't even clear that it happened while the ball was in the air. Oh, and did I mention that it was on the other side of the fucking field? So, not only was it not a penalty, but it didn't even affect the play, unlike the alleged "phantom" trip, where the o-lineman dove and then rolled, kicking his legs out as James Harrison jumped over him... Hm, I have no idea how the ref could have though something untoward was occurring...
We lost a TD there. Would have been 7-0. Vikes would never have had the lead, and would have been driving with a chance to tie on a TD late in the game. Really changed the whole dynamic, and was the only thing that kept them in it.
But let me address the bigger picture here. Bullshit calls happen in every game to one team or another. I can point to lots of them through the years ("running into the kicker" on Joe Nedney in the 2002 AFC divisional playoffs, the bullshit incomplete pass call on Troy Polamalu in the 2005 AFC divisional playoffs, which even the NFL came out and said was wrong, holding on Hartwig in the end zone in the Super Bowl, pass interefernce on Troy in Week 1 against the Titans, 1 holding call a game on the tackle covering James Harrison, when the whole world can see that the tackle has him by one arm around his neck all game long...).
I really can go on for much, much longer than this. But I won't. Why? Because teams that lose dwell on bad calls. They blame bad calls for their misfortune, and want to believe that their team would be good enough to succeed if a call had just gone the other way. I've been down that road. I can distinctly remember comments from guys like Kordell Stewart about how "the best team lost today". Horseshit. The best team on a particular day wins the football game. That's how you can tell who is good and who is bad - by adding up how many times a particular team was the better team on a given day.
Bad calls happen every game. Stuff gets missed. It happens. Brett Favre still fumbled, because he was being careless with the football. I know, shocking. And he still threw that INT, because, well, he just likes to force that football in there sometimes. There's a reason that you don't throw the football at a group of 5 players. It's because if something goes wrong, you're fucked.
So, I would hope that all the readers of the blog would learn this from a guy who didn't see a championship until he was 22, and now has 3 from his hometown teams in the past 4 years: don't ever complain about the reffing. Ultimately, it all works out, and if they lose, it's your own team's fault, and not the refs. The Vikes should never have really been in it, and they were lucky that the refs helped them out so early, so that there would be a game to watch in the first place.
Something I forgot to mention, but that actually did deserve a few words is how sick Adrian Peterson is. That dude has some Jim Brown in him - he just wants to hurt people. I don't really want to see him again, I can tell you that.
The First-Ever Weekly Quarterback Rankings
So, apparently Boomer Esiason came up with a "ranking" that would give you the absolute word on "who the best QB in the league is" at any given point. Well, that's fucking horseshit, and is really disrespectful to the few out there who use statistics for what they are worth, which is to document patterns and past behavior.
So, I decided to put together rankings for myself, since that's totally something that I would want to do. I tried to make it relatively comprehensive, and also make it representative of the player's overall performance and value to his team. However, it most certainly does not give us a determination on who the "best QB in the league" is. Rather, it's merely a way of ranking overall performance, more than just yards and rating (although those numbers are considered).
So, what I did is I took every QB who has started at least 2 games this year (so, Ryan Fitzpatrick has another week until he's on the list), and I quantified various statistical categories, based on performance relative to the other individuals on the list. So, you could get a set number of points for each category, and the best player would get the full total, the worst would get 0, and everyone in the middle would get an amount, not based on their place in the rankings necessarily, but rather based on where they fell on this imaginary continuum between the best and the worst. The categories I included were: win-loss record, QB rating, completion percentage, ratio of TDs to INTs, net yards per attempt (includes sacks in the total number of attempts), total production value, performance in difficult situations (3rd & 6+ and 4th down), performance on passes thrown more than 20 yards downfield, and red zone performance.
So, I will be redoing these each week, and I encourage anyone using them to use them as a conversation point, something to get the discussion started, and not as any evidence of my opinion as to how good the players actually are right now (well, not precise evidence, at least).
1. Drew Brees (93.27 points (out of potential 106))
Strength: Win-Loss Record, Passes thrown deeper than 20 yards (1st)
Weakness: 3rd and Long (5th)
2. Peyton Manning (90.41)
Strength: Win-Loss Record, Rating, Completion Percentage, TD-Interception Ratio, Net Yards/Attempt, Total Production (1st)
Weakness: Red Zone Performance (17th)
3. Aaron Rodgers (86.55)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio (2nd)
Weakness: Win-Loss Record (tie-9th)
4. Brett Favre (79.91)
Strength: Win-Loss Record (4th)
Weakness: Passes Thrown Over 20 yards (5th)
5. Matt Schaub (78.91)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio (5th)
Weakness: 3rd and Long Production (18th)
6. Tom Brady (78.35)
Strength: Total Production (tie-4th)
Weakness: Passes Thrown Over 20 yards (14th)
7. Ben Roethlisberger (76.52)
Strength: Red Zone Performance (3rd)
Weakness: 3rd and Long Performance (27th)
8. Kyle Orton (76.44)
Strength: Win-Loss Record (tie-1st)
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards (11th)
9. Donovan McNabb (72.87)
Strength: Red Zone Performance (1st)
Weakness: Completion Percentage (24th)
10. Eli Manning (72.41)
Strength: 3rd and Long Performance (1st)
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards (8th)
11. Philip Rivers (68.23)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio (10th)
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards (10th)
12. Carson Palmer (67.59)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
13. Joe Flacco (67.49)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio, Total Prodcution
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
14. Matt Ryan (62.19)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
15. Tony Romo (59.39)
Strength: Net Yards/Attempt
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
16. Kurt Warner (58.89)
Strength: Completion percentage
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
17. Jason Campbell (56.58)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
18. David Garrard (55.98)
Strength: Win-Loss Record
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
19. Kevin Kolb (55.76)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone performance
20. Jay Cutler (54.67)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
21. Shaun Hill (53.83)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: Total production
22. Matt Hasselbeck (49.11)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: 3rd and Long Performance
23. Matt Cassel (48.20)
Strength: Red Zone Production
Weakness: Passes over 20 yards
24. Trent Edwards (45.57)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Passes over 20 yards
25. Matthew Stafford (40.92)
Strength: 3rd and Long Performance
Weakness: Passes over 20 yards
26. Marc Bulger (36.03)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: Win-Loss Record
27. Mark Sanchez (35.98)
Strength: Win-Loss Record
Weakness: Net Yards per Attempt
28. Kerry Collins (30.68)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Win-Loss Record, Passes over 20 yards
29. Daunte Culpepper (29.45)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
30. Brady Quinn (27.31)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
31. Jake Delhomme (24.00)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: TD-INT Ratio
32. JaMarcus Russell (18.00)
Strength: 3rd and Long Performance
Weakness: Total production, passes over 20 yards
33. Derek Anderson (12.46)
Strength: Win-loss record
Weakness: Rating, Completion Percentage, Net Yards per Attempt, 3rd and Long Performance
Just as an aside, Derek Anderson, on 3rd and 6+ and 4th downs, combined, Anderson is 7-30, 70 yards and 5 interceptions. QB Rating is 0.0. And THAT is why he is all the way at the bottom...
So, I decided to put together rankings for myself, since that's totally something that I would want to do. I tried to make it relatively comprehensive, and also make it representative of the player's overall performance and value to his team. However, it most certainly does not give us a determination on who the "best QB in the league" is. Rather, it's merely a way of ranking overall performance, more than just yards and rating (although those numbers are considered).
So, what I did is I took every QB who has started at least 2 games this year (so, Ryan Fitzpatrick has another week until he's on the list), and I quantified various statistical categories, based on performance relative to the other individuals on the list. So, you could get a set number of points for each category, and the best player would get the full total, the worst would get 0, and everyone in the middle would get an amount, not based on their place in the rankings necessarily, but rather based on where they fell on this imaginary continuum between the best and the worst. The categories I included were: win-loss record, QB rating, completion percentage, ratio of TDs to INTs, net yards per attempt (includes sacks in the total number of attempts), total production value, performance in difficult situations (3rd & 6+ and 4th down), performance on passes thrown more than 20 yards downfield, and red zone performance.
So, I will be redoing these each week, and I encourage anyone using them to use them as a conversation point, something to get the discussion started, and not as any evidence of my opinion as to how good the players actually are right now (well, not precise evidence, at least).
1. Drew Brees (93.27 points (out of potential 106))
Strength: Win-Loss Record, Passes thrown deeper than 20 yards (1st)
Weakness: 3rd and Long (5th)
2. Peyton Manning (90.41)
Strength: Win-Loss Record, Rating, Completion Percentage, TD-Interception Ratio, Net Yards/Attempt, Total Production (1st)
Weakness: Red Zone Performance (17th)
3. Aaron Rodgers (86.55)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio (2nd)
Weakness: Win-Loss Record (tie-9th)
4. Brett Favre (79.91)
Strength: Win-Loss Record (4th)
Weakness: Passes Thrown Over 20 yards (5th)
5. Matt Schaub (78.91)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio (5th)
Weakness: 3rd and Long Production (18th)
6. Tom Brady (78.35)
Strength: Total Production (tie-4th)
Weakness: Passes Thrown Over 20 yards (14th)
7. Ben Roethlisberger (76.52)
Strength: Red Zone Performance (3rd)
Weakness: 3rd and Long Performance (27th)
8. Kyle Orton (76.44)
Strength: Win-Loss Record (tie-1st)
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards (11th)
9. Donovan McNabb (72.87)
Strength: Red Zone Performance (1st)
Weakness: Completion Percentage (24th)
10. Eli Manning (72.41)
Strength: 3rd and Long Performance (1st)
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards (8th)
11. Philip Rivers (68.23)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio (10th)
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards (10th)
12. Carson Palmer (67.59)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
13. Joe Flacco (67.49)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio, Total Prodcution
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
14. Matt Ryan (62.19)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
15. Tony Romo (59.39)
Strength: Net Yards/Attempt
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
16. Kurt Warner (58.89)
Strength: Completion percentage
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
17. Jason Campbell (56.58)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
18. David Garrard (55.98)
Strength: Win-Loss Record
Weakness: Passes thrown over 20 yards
19. Kevin Kolb (55.76)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone performance
20. Jay Cutler (54.67)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
21. Shaun Hill (53.83)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: Total production
22. Matt Hasselbeck (49.11)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: 3rd and Long Performance
23. Matt Cassel (48.20)
Strength: Red Zone Production
Weakness: Passes over 20 yards
24. Trent Edwards (45.57)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Passes over 20 yards
25. Matthew Stafford (40.92)
Strength: 3rd and Long Performance
Weakness: Passes over 20 yards
26. Marc Bulger (36.03)
Strength: TD-INT Ratio
Weakness: Win-Loss Record
27. Mark Sanchez (35.98)
Strength: Win-Loss Record
Weakness: Net Yards per Attempt
28. Kerry Collins (30.68)
Strength: Red Zone Performance
Weakness: Win-Loss Record, Passes over 20 yards
29. Daunte Culpepper (29.45)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
30. Brady Quinn (27.31)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: Red Zone Performance
31. Jake Delhomme (24.00)
Strength: Completion Percentage
Weakness: TD-INT Ratio
32. JaMarcus Russell (18.00)
Strength: 3rd and Long Performance
Weakness: Total production, passes over 20 yards
33. Derek Anderson (12.46)
Strength: Win-loss record
Weakness: Rating, Completion Percentage, Net Yards per Attempt, 3rd and Long Performance
Just as an aside, Derek Anderson, on 3rd and 6+ and 4th downs, combined, Anderson is 7-30, 70 yards and 5 interceptions. QB Rating is 0.0. And THAT is why he is all the way at the bottom...
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