National Football League

[on3m@n@rmy]

Flea flicker TD Brady to Hogan. If anyone thought Pats could not get more creative, think again.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Super happy here for Falcons, who get just their 2nd Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Can you imagine how jacked Falcons Center Alex Mack is, who last year played for the Browns?

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Super happy here for Falcons, who get just their 2nd Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Can you imagine how jacked Falcons Center Alex Mack is, who last year played for the Browns?

I think a few Browns players went to the Falcons. Now the Patriots are putting the Steelers to the sword. Two very one sided games.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re:

My words after last week's games:

I personally would not want to play New England next week. Even though either team they face, especially Pittsburgh, will have a better offense than what the Pats faced in Houston, the Pats will be facing a weaker defense, and I can't imagine them, especially Brady, playing so out of sync.

I have a feeling the Patriot DBs are good enough to contain Antonio Brown. If they can do that, the D can focus more on stopping Bell. While the Steeler D has played well, I have a hunch Brady/Belicheck/McDaniels are going to exploit their DBs, who are young, which will define the game. Remember, Houston had a better D than Pittsburgh, Brady had an off game, and the Pats still put 34 points up on them.

Impressive wins, for both teams. I'm okay with whomever wins the WB, but a part of me really wants to see Roger Goodell hand the Lombardi trophy to Tom Brady, just for the look on his face.

Huge props to Dan Quinn, who Onmy@3m pointed out last week. He took a good offense and made it better, and a slew of barely known defenders and got them to play together, and play lights out. Quinn is a player's coach, but also one with a sense of order, take a look at how few mistakes the Falcons made yesterday, or the week before, for that matter. Two years of hard work, and passion for Quinn and this is well deserved.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

My words after last week's games:

I personally would not want to play New England next week. Even though either team they face, especially Pittsburgh, will have a better offense than what the Pats faced in Houston, the Pats will be facing a weaker defense, and I can't imagine them, especially Brady, playing so out of sync.

I have a feeling the Patriot DBs are good enough to contain Antonio Brown. If they can do that, the D can focus more on stopping Bell. While the Steeler D has played well, I have a hunch Brady/Belicheck/McDaniels are going to exploit their DBs, who are young, which will define the game. Remember, Houston had a better D than Pittsburgh, Brady had an off game, and the Pats still put 34 points up on them.

Impressive wins, for both teams. I'm okay with whomever wins the WB, but a part of me really wants to see Roger Goodell hand the Lombardi trophy to Tom Brady, just for the look on his face.

Huge props to Dan Quinn, who Onmy@3m pointed out last week. He took a good offense and made it better, and a slew of barely known defenders and got them to play together, and play lights out. Quinn is a player's coach, but also one with a sense of order, take a look at how few mistakes the Falcons made yesterday, or the week before, for that matter. Two years of hard work, and passion for Quinn and this is well deserved.

I would like a change and see the Falcons lift the trophy. They have been good all year and play an entertaining game. They looked a bit nervous in the first quarter with some dropped balls but after that it was pretty solid. Of course the Patriots will be a very different proposition to a banged up Green Bay and they have the master coach. It should be an intriguing game.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re: Re:

My words after last week's games:

I personally would not want to play New England next week. Even though either team they face, especially Pittsburgh, will have a better offense than what the Pats faced in Houston, the Pats will be facing a weaker defense, and I can't imagine them, especially Brady, playing so out of sync.

I have a feeling the Patriot DBs are good enough to contain Antonio Brown. If they can do that, the D can focus more on stopping Bell. While the Steeler D has played well, I have a hunch Brady/Belicheck/McDaniels are going to exploit their DBs, who are young, which will define the game. Remember, Houston had a better D than Pittsburgh, Brady had an off game, and the Pats still put 34 points up on them.

Impressive wins, for both teams. I'm okay with whomever wins the WB, but a part of me really wants to see Roger Goodell hand the Lombardi trophy to Tom Brady, just for the look on his face.

Huge props to Dan Quinn, who Onmy@3m pointed out last week. He took a good offense and made it better, and a slew of barely known defenders and got them to play together, and play lights out. Quinn is a player's coach, but also one with a sense of order, take a look at how few mistakes the Falcons made yesterday, or the week before, for that matter. Two years of hard work, and passion for Quinn and this is well deserved.

I would like a change and see the Falcons lift the trophy. They have been good all year and play an entertaining game. They looked a bit nervous in the first quarter with some dropped balls but after that it was pretty solid. Of course the Patriots will be a very different proposition to a banged up Green Bay and they have the master coach. It should be an intriguing game.

Like Alpe, SB51 is a win-win for me; I'm happy with either team winning. But I'm also with you on this SB, preferring Atlanta for the win for the same reason as yours. But how bout this: due to his 4-game deflategate suspension, Brady has only lost one game this year! So Brady hoisting the winning SB51 trophy would have special meaning wouldn't it?! (This is probably what Alpe meant saying he'd like seeing Roger handing Tom the trophy). I can picture Brady's thoughts to Roger, "shove this where the sun don't shine".

It is interesting to examine Dan Quinn's history dealing with defenses. In 2011 to 2012 he made Florida the #1 defense in NCAA Division-1. He did the same as the Seattle DC in 2013-2014. Between 2015-2016 he has helped build a young, fast defense from a #30th ranked defense in 2014. By young, I mean 7 of Atlanta defensive starters are rookies or 2nd year guys. They are continually getting better and that should continue. Much like Seattle was in 2012-2013.

More on what Quinn started with and did in Atlanta:
http://www.fieldgulls.com/2017/1/23...-julio-jones-vic-beasley-gus-bradley-seahawks

As for Super Bowl predictions, both teams offenses are well enough balanced and can score at will. This SB could be a shootout, with the winner making just enough defensive stops. Maybe Atlanta can learn something defensively from Seattle's win this season in Foxborough.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Adam Pac-Man Jones may be going full-Manziel on us. Or something like that. Tells COP hope he dies, and other lewd things. http://teamstre.am/2iXNnHZ

Edit: Bleacher link if that helps http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2688803-adam-pacman-jones-arrest-video-released-by-tmz

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

More stupidity by Browns, who are about to make MLB Jamie Collins a higher paid MLB than Luke Kuechly...

I understand the rising costs, and Collins has talent, but I have to agree with you. This new Browns management was supposed to be "sabermetric" based, akin to Billy Beane of the Oakland A's. Put another way, you don't overpay players, and use numbers to find harmony among players per position on the field. I see nothing in this signing that tells me the Browns followed that logic here. The only thing that would make sense is if Collins has shown to be a total leader in the locker room, but part of the reason Belicheck got rid of him was reportedly the opposite of that.

Browns do it. Kuechly numbers. Four years, $50M for a top 7 LB in 2015, 11th best in 2014. In 2016 after being acquired from NE after week 8, Collins recorded an average 8.6 tackles per game. Over 16 games that could have resulted in a league 7th best LB at 138 tackles. Could not use his NE stats to be fair (different system, 2 games not played). Tackles are not everything and he has upside, but paying Kuechly $$$ without putting up Kuechly-like stats is not smart IMO.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...agree-to-new-contract-latest-details-comments

 

[Nomad]

Re:

Raiders moving, Chargers moving are good examples of not being able to please everybody all the time. Rumor is many owners not happy about the Chargers move. U suppose that has anything to do with the fact SD will play home games in a 27,000-seat StubHub stadium? $$$?

Since the Rams are playing their games at the Coliseum, I wonder why the Chargers aren't going to play their games at Rose Bowl stadium, where UCLA plays. I remember when the Vikings were waiting for U.S. Bank stadium to be built, they played one season at TCF stadium, the home field for the Univ. of Minn. Nonetheless, here's the Golden palace the Rams and Chargers will be sharing in 2018:

https://youtu.be/gstweeb9eNU

And just when you thought Los Angeles stadium and the Mercedes-Benz stadium couldn't be topped off, Vegas reveals it's proposed 1.9 Billion "Raider stadium." This one's got a near invisible translucent dome and gigantic sliding curved windows. (This mega-structure must be the mother ship of E.T. Lol):

https://youtu.be/kRLTZD3ipR0

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Good article Inside the mind of Bill Belichick about defense and offense. Plus why NE traded Jamie Collins at mid-season. Material like this from Bill is always worth a read, even if somethings he says are obvious, because little gems can be buried in there.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...plains-defensive-improvement-in-simple-terms/

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

To continue with what we talked about above (Roger handing off to Brady) here is a funny comment from Cleveland tackle Joe Thomas, whose friend and ex-teammate is Atlanta Center Alex Mack:

As much as I’d like to see my buddy [Alex Mack] win a Super Bowl, I would sure love to see [Commissioner Roger Goodell] have to hand a SB trophy to [Tom] Brady!

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ing-for-the-patriots-for-one-specific-reason/

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Raiders moving, Chargers moving are good examples of not being able to please everybody all the time. Rumor is many owners not happy about the Chargers move. U suppose that has anything to do with the fact SD will play home games in a 27,000-seat StubHub stadium? $$$?

Since the Rams are playing their games at the Coliseum, I wonder why the Chargers aren't going to play their games at Rose Bowl stadium, where UCLA plays. I remember when the Vikings were waiting for U.S. Bank stadium to be built, they played one season at TCF stadium, the home field for the Univ. of Minn. Nonetheless, here's the Golden palace the Rams and Chargers will be sharing in 2018:

https://youtu.be/gstweeb9eNU

And just when you thought Los Angeles stadium and the Mercedes-Benz stadium couldn't be topped off, Vegas reveals it's proposed 1.9 Billion "Raider stadium." This one's got a near invisible translucent dome and gigantic sliding curved windows. (This mega-structure must be the mother ship of E.T. Lol):

https://youtu.be/kRLTZD3ipR0

Pretty impressive but will they end up as nice big shiny things that people drive past but don't go into ? Ticket prices will be very interesting................

 

[movingtarget]

Adam Pac-Man Jones may be going full-Manziel on us. Or something like that. Tells COP hope he dies, and other lewd things. http://teamstre.am/2iXNnHZ

Edit: Bleacher link if that helps http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2688803-adam-pacman-jones-arrest-video-released-by-tmz

Looks like someone is going to have a holiday and be out of pocket.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re: Re:

There are so many problems with that Vegas stadium it's not funny. And yet, I have a dark suspicion that it's going to be built anyway. Consider this:

While Mark Davis would sink over half his fortune into it, casino mogul, and political plutocrat, Sheldon Adelson would put even more in. What is Adelson asking for in return? Nothing. Well...nothing we know about, and nothing mentioned now.

The taxpayers would be on the hook for $750m in funding, reportedly paid for by an increase in hotel taxes. But no one has done an audit on this, coming up with any potential number of actual influx of tourists to pay those taxes, simply from Raider/Rebel games, and other events. It's all fuzzy math. And what if considerably less people show up and pay those taxes, who pays then? Not known. The assumption is that Adelson is paying all cost overruns. But that's not known for certain, and not the same as covering reduced revenue over time. Who do you think will be stuck with the bill then? Anyone want to guess? One other ugly thing no one seems to want to mention is compounding interest to be paid. It's not like the state can just cut a $750m check to pay it all off free and clear, and then over time get only $750m from tourist tax.

This also conveniently neglects to talk about ancillary costs holding of these events: extra police, traffic control, public transit, sanitation, utilities, etc.

This, despite money from Davis, Adelson and the league, would be, by far, the largest publicly funded stadium in sports history. Bigger than the new Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, and more expensive than Levi's Stadium in San Francisco. Now, if you've studied that one, you'll know the York family put money into that, and have controlling ownership of it. And here's the rub why the Raiders won't move there; despite the public coughing up over $600m to pay for that one, York doesn't want to give Davis any control if the Raiders were to move in, instead making them merely be a tenant.

There's a lot of smoke being blown about how such a stadium creates jobs and revenue. You hear this claptrap all the time in politics. And yet, now that several of these projects have been built, there's studies on them. Guess what? They never pay for themselves. Never. It's the taxpayer subsidizing billionaires to provide them with some entertainment, entertainment they also pay for at the time.

Here's a very good link that breaks it down:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2015/01/31/publicly-financed-sports-stadiums-are-a-game-that-taxpayers-lose/#277556ff6183

Here's a video that does the same, mostly related to the LA stadium proposal in Inglewood, but the same applies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1LDjTgMEGU

Here's a very good study on this subject, looking over numerous projects.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brookings.edu/articles/sports-jobs-taxes-are-new-stadiums-worth-the-cost/

This article goes into the numbers some.

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/22/pirates-in-the-desert-oakland-raiders-charging-toward-biggest-taxpayer-subsidy-in-nfl-history/

And this book and study really breaks it down, why public funding of stadiums and sports facilities, is always a loss for tax payers, and a gift for owners.

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Field-of-Schemes,673388.aspx

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

There are so many problems with that Vegas stadium it's not funny. And yet, I have a dark suspicion that it's going to be built anyway. Consider this:

While Mark Davis would sink over half his fortune into it, casino mogul, and political plutocrat, Sheldon Adelson would put even more in. What is Adelson asking for in return? Nothing. Well...nothing we know about, and nothing mentioned now.

The taxpayers would be on the hook for $750m in funding, reportedly paid for by an increase in hotel taxes. But no one has done an audit on this, coming up with any potential number of actual influx of tourists to pay those taxes, simply from Raider/Rebel games, and other events. It's all fuzzy math. And what if considerably less people show up and pay those taxes, who pays then? Not known. The assumption is that Adelson is paying all cost overruns. But that's not known for certain, and not the same as covering reduced revenue over time. Who do you think will be stuck with the bill then? Anyone want to guess? One other ugly thing no one seems to want to mention is compounding interest to be paid. It's not like the state can just cut a $750m check to pay it all off free and clear, and then over time get only $750m from tourist tax.

This also conveniently neglects to talk about ancillary costs holding of these events: extra police, traffic control, public transit, sanitation, utilities, etc.

This, despite money from Davis, Adelson and the league, would be, by far, the largest publicly funded stadium in sports history. Bigger than the new Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, and more expensive than Levi's Stadium in San Francisco. Now, if you've studied that one, you'll know the York family put money into that, and have controlling ownership of it. And here's the rub why the Raiders won't move there; despite the public coughing up over $600m to pay for that one, York doesn't want to give Davis any control if the Raiders were to move in, instead making them merely be a tenant.

There's a lot of smoke being blown about how such a stadium creates jobs and revenue. You hear this claptrap all the time in politics. And yet, now that several of these projects have been built, there's studies on them. Guess what? They never pay for themselves. Never. It's the taxpayer subsidizing billionaires to provide them with some entertainment, entertainment they also pay for at the time.

Here's a very good link that breaks it down:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2015/01/31/publicly-financed-sports-stadiums-are-a-game-that-taxpayers-lose/#277556ff6183

Here's a video that does the same, mostly related to the LA stadium proposal in Inglewood, but the same applies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1LDjTgMEGU

Here's a very good study on this subject, looking over numerous projects.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brookings.edu/articles/sports-jobs-taxes-are-new-stadiums-worth-the-cost/

This article goes into the numbers some.

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/22/pirates-in-the-desert-oakland-raiders-charging-toward-biggest-taxpayer-subsidy-in-nfl-history/

And this book and study really breaks it down, why public funding of stadiums and sports facilities, is always a loss for tax payers, and a gift for owners.

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Field-of-Schemes,673388.aspx

The murky world of business and politics and how to come out of it a winner when it involves a serious cash grab. Someone always makes a squillion and others will get burnt.

 

[movingtarget]

Johnny Hekker

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jan/25/johnny-hekker-rams-pro-bowl-punter-nfl

Maybe the Rams can build a team around him.............................

 

[movingtarget]

Not enough buzz about the Falcons ?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/jan/24/atlanta-falcons-super-bowl-li-nfl

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re:

Not enough buzz about the Falcons ?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/jan/24/atlanta-falcons-super-bowl-li-nfl

I care, am outside Georgia, and I clicked on the article. So the author can feel good she/he did not waste thoughts, ink, bytes, or the editor's time (actually read it too). Also, I actually think the Falcons will win.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I thought you were in the Seattle area?

I don't think the Falcons will win, because I think NE has a slightly better defense, and better coach. Having said that, if the Falcons do win in a fairly high scoring game, it won't surprise me at all.

Great article on Johnny Hecker. Ray Guy must be proud of him.

“Punters are usually off to the side and kind of unknown” said Fassel. “But Johnny is the opposite of that. He’s front and center, hard-working, vocal and encouraging. There’s not many guys at his position who are like that.” That probably stems from Hekker’s days as a quarterback...He’s a freakish athlete who has found a niche.

Fassel says one technical thing that makes Hekker special is “his ability...to pick up new techniques and implement them into a game.”

This really reminds me of Guy, who was also a QB in high school, and the Raiders 3rd string QB. Guy was very athletic, and studied minute technical aspects of punting, special teams, the game.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Not enough buzz about the Falcons ?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/jan/24/atlanta-falcons-super-bowl-li-nfl

I care, am outside Georgia, and I clicked on the article. So the author can feel good she/he did not waste thoughts, ink, bytes, or the editor's time (actually read it too). Also, I actually think the Falcons will win.

I also think the Falcons will win. Last year it was best defense this year I think it will be best offense. If Matt Ryan has a good game I think they will win but they have to play mistake free like they did in the last three quarters against Green Bay. If they turn over the ball and don't keep moving downfield they are done. I don't see this as being a low scoring affair. I have doubts about the Patriots having the defense to shut them down and I think they will have chances to pressure Brady.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Yes, I am in the Great PNW, 202 miles to the east and south of Seattle out in the desert to be exact. Great back road cycling area, and arid. I just responded to the article in that way because the author humorously started off by saying he/she did not think anyone living outside the state of Georgia would care about the article enough to click on it and read it.

Possible bad news for Teddy Bridgewater, who could miss the ENTIRE 2017 season due to the knee injury. That's going to be a tough one for him to handle mentally. But he should get plenty of encouraging support from teammates.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...tes-on-vikings-qbs-recovery-from-knee-surgery

 

[movingtarget]

Yes, I am in the Great PNW, 202 miles to the east and south of Seattle out in the desert to be exact. Great back road cycling area, and arid. I just responded to the article in that way because the author humorously started off by saying he/she did not think anyone living outside the state of Georgia would care about the article enough to click on it and read it.

Possible bad news for Teddy Bridgewater, who could miss the ENTIRE 2017 season due to the knee injury. That's going to be a tough one for him to handle mentally. But he should get plenty of encouraging support from teammates.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...tes-on-vikings-qbs-recovery-from-knee-surgery

That is some knee injury ! Not so bad for Bradford who rather be on the field than on the sideline. The Vikings seemed to be another team decimated by injuries this year after such a good start to the season. They were looking so good early on. Injuries are never good at any time but they definitely affected Green Bay in the playoffs and then you had teams like the 49ers who had over 20 players on IR and without the roster depth of other teams they would have needed Chip to walk on water to get results !

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Well, he'd have a sympathetic ear, and hopefully encouragement from Bradford, whom the Vikings should definitely keep on now. Sam actually had a very good year, with almost no one to throw to, and Peterson out most of the season. Sam always struck me as a very nice guy, and I think having Teddy play "under" him, would possibly help Teddy a great deal for 2018, and beyond.

So, you're in Tri-Cities on@3m? Or near there is my guess. That's a bit too arid for my likes. However, my former boss retired to Walla Walla, and about an hour east of there are fantastic hills for riding. Somewhat forested, somewhat open, never too steep, or too monotonous. Just a lot of quiet roads.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Yep. Tri-Cities. Not as great access to hills as Walla Walla, but has some. Walla2 is nice place with similar weather as here with distinct seasonal temperature extremes. For real bodacious hills, I like the Tour de Blast (on Mt St Helens) that qualifies as a mountain ride.

Well, this next news is a head scratcher. Someone tell me what the 9ers are doing now by hiring John Lynch as their new GM. Ya he's an ex-NFL Pro Bowl safety. But he has been a Fox analyst since 2008. He should understand talent, but how about other aspects of the position? Who knows. He may be successful.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I can only presume they have a coach in mind, and the two of them see eye to eye. But I thought that coach was 98% likely to be Shanahan at this point in time?

As to Mt. St. Helens - Have you ever ridden the road from Pine Creek Center to Windy Ridge? I like that ride, and area, a lot more than the Tour De Blast. A lot less traffic too. There was a ride there some 10 years ago, it had Gifford Pinchot in it's name I think. I never rode that specific ride, but have ridden Windy Ridge 3 times. Depending on the support (and legs) you could start anywhere form Pine Creek, Northwoods, Muddy Fork, or even if not feeling like an epic ride, skip Elk Pass, and just ride the final climb up NF-99 up the ride. Just spectacular views. You could also hit this ride from the north, leaving anywhere south of Randle.

There are also really nice open roads with great views near Mt. Adams. Goldendale, Trout Lake, etc. I imagine you know about these.

Of course, there's always Rainier. A buddy and I keep talking about a Rainier Super Epic one year. Starting at Longmire and riding past Paradise, all the way to Sunrise. We may get old before it happens, and a summer weekend would be dangerous with traffic. But that would have to be one of the most spectacular rides in the entire US.

I'm not sure about Rte 12, and Rte 410, between Yakima and Rainier, but I imagine those are great rides to do too.