It will be blacked out on local TV, but the greatest wide receiver in Rams history is poised to cross a couple of huge career marks on Sunday. If Isaac Bruce catches 6 passes for 125 yards, he will reach 1,000 receptions and 15,000 yards in his storied career. He needs 60 yards to pass Tim Brown and move into second all-time in receiving yards.
And I'll be standing on my chair and applauding every mark Isaac reaches, right after I spit on Scott Linehan for making it possible for Isaac to do it in a 49er uniform instead of the uniform he belongs in.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sorry
This has been a miserable season, and the blog has been as dead as an Illinois government ethics seminar. Starting today, I'll try to return to my goal of posting something every day, which I've been able to do in spurts.
Hey, I'm still more productive than the Ram offense.
Hey, I'm still more productive than the Ram offense.
Donnie Jones snubbed - TWICE!
Anyone watching the Rams this year knows their only consistent player, their only decent player, the only player remotely worth consideration for the Pro Bowl, has been the punter, Donnie Jones. (Scott Linehan's only good personnel move.)
While the rest of the team has crumbled into Washington General-like futility, Donnie Jones just comes on the field and blasts the hell out of the ball every time. Early in the season he was even making TD-saving tackles on punt returns. Little did I realize that coming out of Sunday's game against Seattle, Jones was the #1 punter in the NFL with a 50.2 average, and his 40.9 net led the NFC and was good for 3rd in the entire league. And as the Post-Dispatch pointed out, Jones' performance borders on historical; there hasn't been a punter with a season average over 50 yards since the just-departed Sammy Baugh.
So, he's #1 in pure distance in the league, and #1 in net in the conference (by nearly a yard), so it's obvious who the NFC's Pro Bowl punter is, right?
Of course. Jeff Freaking Feagles.
Jeff Freaking Feagles, who is TWENTIETH in the NFL in punting average (though 2nd in the NFC in net). It's not even close; he's a full SIX YARDS A PUNT worse than Jones.
So we have a further addition to the mountain of evidence that the people who pick all-star rosters in sports are IDIOTS. And the Wise can't blame the fans; Pro Bowl balloting is still 2/3 coaches and players.
Whatever the hell they're watching.
Then again, Jones' own team just this week failed to recognize him as their best player. The Rams' vote for team MVP went to O.J. Atogwe, a few days after his woeful coverage of Deion Branch on a 45-yard bomb set up the Seattle FG that beat the Rams 23-20.
Atogwe's a nice player, and an effective playmaker in his ability to force fumbles, but he's been a repeat offender in coverage, which dulls some of that contribution. Donnie Jones has been playing at a historically-unprecedented level at his position all year and his ability to help the Rams in field position has made the most valuable defensive player on the team.
Jones should be the team MVP and the NFC's Pro Bowl punter, but he gets neither distinction from his inattentive peers.
While the rest of the team has crumbled into Washington General-like futility, Donnie Jones just comes on the field and blasts the hell out of the ball every time. Early in the season he was even making TD-saving tackles on punt returns. Little did I realize that coming out of Sunday's game against Seattle, Jones was the #1 punter in the NFL with a 50.2 average, and his 40.9 net led the NFC and was good for 3rd in the entire league. And as the Post-Dispatch pointed out, Jones' performance borders on historical; there hasn't been a punter with a season average over 50 yards since the just-departed Sammy Baugh.
So, he's #1 in pure distance in the league, and #1 in net in the conference (by nearly a yard), so it's obvious who the NFC's Pro Bowl punter is, right?
Of course. Jeff Freaking Feagles.
Jeff Freaking Feagles, who is TWENTIETH in the NFL in punting average (though 2nd in the NFC in net). It's not even close; he's a full SIX YARDS A PUNT worse than Jones.
So we have a further addition to the mountain of evidence that the people who pick all-star rosters in sports are IDIOTS. And the Wise can't blame the fans; Pro Bowl balloting is still 2/3 coaches and players.
Whatever the hell they're watching.
Then again, Jones' own team just this week failed to recognize him as their best player. The Rams' vote for team MVP went to O.J. Atogwe, a few days after his woeful coverage of Deion Branch on a 45-yard bomb set up the Seattle FG that beat the Rams 23-20.
Atogwe's a nice player, and an effective playmaker in his ability to force fumbles, but he's been a repeat offender in coverage, which dulls some of that contribution. Donnie Jones has been playing at a historically-unprecedented level at his position all year and his ability to help the Rams in field position has made the most valuable defensive player on the team.
Jones should be the team MVP and the NFC's Pro Bowl punter, but he gets neither distinction from his inattentive peers.
How will Kansas City affect the Rams' offseason plans
While we're all trying to figure out what the Ram front office is going to do, heck, what it's even going to look like, after the season, we need to cast a wary eye westward. The Kansas City Chiefs are dueling with the Rams down the stretch for the #2 pick overall. And that isn't all - Carl Peterson has stepped down over there as general manager.
That makes it that much harder for the Rams to hire Marty Schottenheimer as head coach, which has been my preference ever since about halftime of Week 1 this season. Schottenheimer now has long and successful history with two other franchises - K.C. and Cleveland - very likely to be joining the Rams in offseason front-office and/or head coach searches. And complicating those searches.
And if the Rams are looking at Dick Vermeil for a team-president type role, he had a good experience across the state as well.
If the Rams have a candidate they definitely want, they're going to have to come strong and pay big.
That makes it that much harder for the Rams to hire Marty Schottenheimer as head coach, which has been my preference ever since about halftime of Week 1 this season. Schottenheimer now has long and successful history with two other franchises - K.C. and Cleveland - very likely to be joining the Rams in offseason front-office and/or head coach searches. And complicating those searches.
And if the Rams are looking at Dick Vermeil for a team-president type role, he had a good experience across the state as well.
If the Rams have a candidate they definitely want, they're going to have to come strong and pay big.
Stanley out for season
Derek Stanley blew one of his ACLs during the Seattle game and is out for the rest of the season. The timeline for his rehabilitation seems to be that he'll be out until probably the start of 2009 training camp. Bad timing for Stanley, who was establishing himself as the kick and punt return man of the future and was very slowly finding his way into some of the offensive packages.
I'd thought Seattle caused the Stanley fumble they returned for a TD last Sunday but apparently his reaction to his knee blowing out was dropping the ball. Shades of the infamous Fred Taylor groin pull a few years ago...
I'd thought Seattle caused the Stanley fumble they returned for a TD last Sunday but apparently his reaction to his knee blowing out was dropping the ball. Shades of the infamous Fred Taylor groin pull a few years ago...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Screw the NFL Network AGAIN
So, operating theory is that last week's upset by the Rams over the Redskins at the closing gun wasn't selected for NFL Replay because a) there was a lot of bad play and b) in the case of the Browns over the Giants, the game which effectively kept Rams-Redskins out of the running, the game may not have been close but was a bigger upset, I guess, and a more exciting game.
OK, so let's look at the games selected for NFL Replay by the NFL Network this week.
* Bears 48, Vikings 41. Logical choice. Any wild, high-scoring game, especially a rivalry game, is an acceptable pick.
* Bills 23, Chargers 14. A very good choice. The Bills have gotten passed over a couple of times already when they should have been picked. They're overdue for attention, plus this game was tighter most of the way than its 9-point spread indicates.
At this point, I'd like to mention:
- Rams over Cowboys was the biggest upset in the NFL this past weekend. Even without Tony Romo the Cowboys were 7 point road favorites.
- With too many things swirling around the team to list here, the Cowboys are day in and day out the league's most compelling story. A game is watchable just because the Cowboys are in it.
- The Rams-Cowboys game was filled with exciting plays, including Bulger's TD pass to Avery, Jackson's 56-yard TD run, Barber's 35-yard run and a couple of Ram interceptions.
- And who, besides Dallas fans, doesn't like to watch the Cowboys lose? That alone would certainly make Rams-Cowboys a top-four fan pick. And who doesn't love an underdog story like the Rams anyway?
You've already figured out by now, I'm sure, that the assholes at NFL Network have stiffed the Rams again. Here are their other two selections for the week's four BEST games:
* GREEN BAY 34, INDIANAPOLIS 14. You have got to be fucking kidding me. This game was a blowout by halftime, and had no significant statistical performances (like say, Steven Jackson running for 160 yards and 3 TDs). It was an ugly blowout with a boring second half which was mostly Peyton Manning making mind-blowingly bad plays. There were 21 total penalties for 180 yards. None of the team's star players performed especially well. Green Bay winning at home over anyone does not constitute a significant upset, which I say because I think the Colts were favored. There were SIX closer games in score than this which did not get NFL Replay treatment. Hell, I'd rather watch Detroit-Houston; at least the Lions made that a game at the end, though they were rarely in it.
This is a top four game at NFL Network because there is a clear Green Bay bias at NFL Network. This isn't the first time a Green Bay blowout was picked for NFL Replay over closer, more tightly-played games. Week 2, we got a Packers 3-TD blowout over Detroit instead of Buffalo's impressive 20-16 road victory at Jacksonville that came right down to the end. I know, why should Green Bay get so much love when they don't even have Brett Favre? You know who -does- have Brett Favre?
That would be the other NFL Replay this week:
OAKLAND 16, NY JETS 13. Never mind that this game was unwatchable and dreadful. The halftime score was 3-3. After three quarters, it was 10-3, Oakland. Oh, that's electrifying stuff. In its favor, Thomas Jones had a big game and the ending of regulation was wacky. Then again, these two offenses were so dreadful, all they did for 12 1/2 minutes of overtime was punt to one another before Janikowski hit a 57-yard bomb. I guess the Raiders were so excited about finally crossing midfield they figured they'd better go for a score! The teams combined for SIX fumbles (amazingly, only one lost) and TWENTY-ONE penalties. Favre added two picks. Other than its closeness, by what measure is this even considered a "good" game, let alone one of the best of the week? The bypassed Ram-Redskin game last week was easily better than this, let alone the Rams' win Sunday over Dallas!
The message last week was that an exciting upset, regardless of victory margin, makes for a better game than a close but sloppy game. But this week, the Rams' upset of the league's marquee team takes a back seat to a miserable 3 TD blowout and an even worse game than the kind of game the Rams were in last week that wasn't good enough for NFL Replay.
Ahem.
Fuck you, NFL Network. Again.
OK, so let's look at the games selected for NFL Replay by the NFL Network this week.
* Bears 48, Vikings 41. Logical choice. Any wild, high-scoring game, especially a rivalry game, is an acceptable pick.
* Bills 23, Chargers 14. A very good choice. The Bills have gotten passed over a couple of times already when they should have been picked. They're overdue for attention, plus this game was tighter most of the way than its 9-point spread indicates.
At this point, I'd like to mention:
- Rams over Cowboys was the biggest upset in the NFL this past weekend. Even without Tony Romo the Cowboys were 7 point road favorites.
- With too many things swirling around the team to list here, the Cowboys are day in and day out the league's most compelling story. A game is watchable just because the Cowboys are in it.
- The Rams-Cowboys game was filled with exciting plays, including Bulger's TD pass to Avery, Jackson's 56-yard TD run, Barber's 35-yard run and a couple of Ram interceptions.
- And who, besides Dallas fans, doesn't like to watch the Cowboys lose? That alone would certainly make Rams-Cowboys a top-four fan pick. And who doesn't love an underdog story like the Rams anyway?
You've already figured out by now, I'm sure, that the assholes at NFL Network have stiffed the Rams again. Here are their other two selections for the week's four BEST games:
* GREEN BAY 34, INDIANAPOLIS 14. You have got to be fucking kidding me. This game was a blowout by halftime, and had no significant statistical performances (like say, Steven Jackson running for 160 yards and 3 TDs). It was an ugly blowout with a boring second half which was mostly Peyton Manning making mind-blowingly bad plays. There were 21 total penalties for 180 yards. None of the team's star players performed especially well. Green Bay winning at home over anyone does not constitute a significant upset, which I say because I think the Colts were favored. There were SIX closer games in score than this which did not get NFL Replay treatment. Hell, I'd rather watch Detroit-Houston; at least the Lions made that a game at the end, though they were rarely in it.
This is a top four game at NFL Network because there is a clear Green Bay bias at NFL Network. This isn't the first time a Green Bay blowout was picked for NFL Replay over closer, more tightly-played games. Week 2, we got a Packers 3-TD blowout over Detroit instead of Buffalo's impressive 20-16 road victory at Jacksonville that came right down to the end. I know, why should Green Bay get so much love when they don't even have Brett Favre? You know who -does- have Brett Favre?
That would be the other NFL Replay this week:
OAKLAND 16, NY JETS 13. Never mind that this game was unwatchable and dreadful. The halftime score was 3-3. After three quarters, it was 10-3, Oakland. Oh, that's electrifying stuff. In its favor, Thomas Jones had a big game and the ending of regulation was wacky. Then again, these two offenses were so dreadful, all they did for 12 1/2 minutes of overtime was punt to one another before Janikowski hit a 57-yard bomb. I guess the Raiders were so excited about finally crossing midfield they figured they'd better go for a score! The teams combined for SIX fumbles (amazingly, only one lost) and TWENTY-ONE penalties. Favre added two picks. Other than its closeness, by what measure is this even considered a "good" game, let alone one of the best of the week? The bypassed Ram-Redskin game last week was easily better than this, let alone the Rams' win Sunday over Dallas!
The message last week was that an exciting upset, regardless of victory margin, makes for a better game than a close but sloppy game. But this week, the Rams' upset of the league's marquee team takes a back seat to a miserable 3 TD blowout and an even worse game than the kind of game the Rams were in last week that wasn't good enough for NFL Replay.
Ahem.
Fuck you, NFL Network. Again.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Screw the NFL Network
The NFL Network's "NFL Replay" program is advertised as a show that replays the four *best* games of the past weekend. This weekend we had five games come down to the final play. Minnesota-Detroit, though close, was so ugly it wasn't really watchable. Cowboys-Cardinals, Bears-Falcons and Dolphins-Texans all had remarkable finishes, and have been, or will be featured on NFL Replay. Good, though easy, choices.
The two biggest upsets of the season also occurred this weekend. One was the Browns whipping the Giants 35-14 Monday night. The other, of course, was the Rams over the Redskins on Sunday, a close, tense game with a fantastic finish and a fairly wild 4th quarter. What's better, a 3-TD game or a 2-point game won on the last play? No contest, right? The Rams make NFL Replay for the first and possibly only time this year, right?
Tonight on NFL Replay: Giants at Browns.
Fuck you, NFL Network.
The two biggest upsets of the season also occurred this weekend. One was the Browns whipping the Giants 35-14 Monday night. The other, of course, was the Rams over the Redskins on Sunday, a close, tense game with a fantastic finish and a fairly wild 4th quarter. What's better, a 3-TD game or a 2-point game won on the last play? No contest, right? The Rams make NFL Replay for the first and possibly only time this year, right?
Tonight on NFL Replay: Giants at Browns.
Fuck you, NFL Network.
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