The NFC preview will come next week. For now, you'll have to settle for my analysis of the plethora of young QBs in the league. Oh, and this tidbit on Mr. Viagra/Steroids himself:
Rafael Palmeiro wore earplugs last night after being booed in his first at-bat at Rogers Centre, more backlash from his steroid-related suspension. In his second at-bat, television cameras gave viewers a close-up of a plug in his left exposed ear. The other ear was covered by a flap on his batting helmet, but two plugs sat in his locker.
Awwww, what's a matter, Raffy? Can't take a little booing? You lying sack of shit?
Okay, so I mentioned this in the AFC preview earlier this week, and figured it deserved it's own article. About half the starting QBs in the NFL this season are what I would call "unproven" players, entering somewhere between their 1st and 5th years in the league. It seems that generally the press is expecting most of these QBs to be on the verge of breaking out. Typically, they're being given the benefit of the doubt, and given every chance to succeed. Why? Well, usually there are two reasons: First, these are generally high round draft picks, many of them first rounders. Secondly, with the lack of quality depth at QB these days, most teams do not have a better option. I mean, how many 2nd string QBs are out there right now who could actually step in and keep the team at about the same level of play as the starter? Not very many. I'd say 5, tops.
So here's what I'm going to do. List each QB, what year this will be for him, rate the amount of pressure/expectations he's under on a scale of 1-5 (1 being not much pressure, 5 being ready to get the hook after a bad performance), and then rate his chance of success for the season, and his career, also on a scale of 1-5 (1 being out of the league within a few years, 5 being Hall of Fame material). Oh, what the hell, I'll also list each QBs backup, so you have an idea of where part of the pressure rating came from:
Good Potential:
J.P. Losman, Buffalo Bills
Experience: 2nd Year
Backup: Kelly Holcomb
Pressure: 3
Season Success: 3
The Bills would have been a playoff team last year had they won a couple close games. Those losses can be indirectly blamed on Bledsoe's ineffectiveness. So Losman should not have to do a whole lot for this team to win games and have a shot at the playoffs. Their running game and defense should be good enough to make the playoffs. That said, Kelly Holcomb is a former starter in Cleveland who has shown flashes of talent in the past. If Losman struggles (ie, loses a game or two for the team), he could see the bench if it would help their playoff chances.
Career Success: 3
This category will be the toughest to judge for this young guys, but what the hell, I'll feeling psychic. Losman will be a quality starter in Buffalo for years, maybe even making a Pro Bowl or two.
Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
Experience: 3rd year
Backup: Jon Kitna
Pressure: 4
Season Success: 4
The pressure is on for Palmer. He has the weapons around him. He has a few years under his belt. The Bengals are expected to be better this year, and that falls on his shoulders. With a decent Jon Kitna waiting in the wings, there is a little bit of looking over his shoulder, but not much. I doubt Palmer gets benched this year, but this could be the year he starts hearing the "bust" label being kicked around if he doesn't perform. I think he'll be okay.
Career Success: 3
I actually like Palmer more than most of the guys on this list. He has a talented young receiver in Chad Johnson who he can throw to for years, and a talented young RB in Rudi Johnson to take some pressure off him. However, I refuse to give him anything higher than a 3 in Career Success because he plays for the Bungles.
Solid Starters:
Kyle Boller, Baltimore Ravens
Experience: 3rd year
Backup: Anthony Wright
Pressure: 2
Season Success: 4
I'd have maybe knocked his pressure up a notch if it weren't Anthony Wright as his backup. Who? Anthony Wright, who actually started a few games for the Cowboys a few years ago. He's awful. I think Boller will be okay because they did go out and get him Derrick Mason to throw to, Jamal Lewis should have a decent year running the ball, and the Ravens defense will keep the other team's points low.
Career Success: 3
As long as he doesn't stink up the joint, he should be a serviceable starter in Baltimore for years. But with their offensive system and defense, he won't exactly be putting up huge numbers through the air.
Drew Brees, San Diego Chargers
Experience: 5th year
Backup: Phillip Rivers
Pressure: 4
Season Success: 3
Expectations are high after the huge season Brees and the Chargers had last year. Combine that with the fact that 1st round pick Phillip Rivers is waiting in the wings, and Brees does not have a lot of room for error. This is a pretty weird situation. The Chargers were about to give up on Brees, which they signaled by drafting Rivers. (Well, actually, they drafted Eli, than traded him to the Giants for Rivers, but anyways, they acquired a highly rated new young QB to replace Brees.) Rivers had a fairly long holdout to begin training camp, and that prevented him from even competing for the opening day starting job. Brees started by default, and played so well he never gave it up. So how does Brees respond this year? I think he plays well. I think he leads the Chargers to at least contending for a playoff spot. And I think he plays well enough to keep Rivers on the bench and make San Diego management have a really tough decision about who they keep as their future QB.
Career Success: 3
Whether he stays in San Diego or goes elsewhere, I think Brees will be a solid starter in this league. Maybe even make a Pro Bowl or two.
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Experience: 2nd year
Backup: Tommy Maddox
Pressure: 4
Season Success: 2
Expectations are pretty high after last year's impressive win totals. But the wins were really his only impressive number. I'm still not sold on this kid, and I'll say it again - he's like a younger, more hyped Trent Dilfer. He manages games while his running game and defense does an excellent job of putting him in position to succeed. The high expectations and the fact that Tommy Maddox is a capable backup puts a lot of pressure on Big Ben to succeed. And do we remember how he played in the playoffs when under a lot of pressure? Poorly. I really doubt they'd bench him at all because it'd be bad for his confidence and long-term growth, but don't be surprised if he comes down with a phantom injury and Maddox steps in during some key games late in the season.
Career Success: 3
I'll say it again - I'm not convinced he has the talent to be a big-time QB in this league.
Byron Leftwich, Jacksonville Jaguars
Experience: 3rd year
Backup: David Garrand
Pressure: 2
Season Success: 3
Honestly, I don't know what to think of Leftwich quite yet. From what I've seen and read, he's big and tough and has a pretty good arm. He's not very mobile though. Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith are getting very old. The Jaguars defense is pretty good, but not sure it will be as good as last year, when I think they overachieved a bit. Still, they do have two exciting young receivers in Reggie Williams and Matt Jones, so maybe if he can develop with them, he can put together a decent year. I don't see Jacksonville as a passing team though really.
Career Success: 3
Like I said above, how he develops will depend largely on how his young receivers work out. I think he can be a solid starter, but not much beyond that.
Phillip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Experience: 2nd year
Backup: NA
Pressure: 1 since he likely won't play… 4 if he sees any substantial time as a starter
Season Success: 3
Basically, he needs Brees to get hurt or REALLY stink it up in order to get playing time. If that does happen, he had better perform. If Brees has another good season, Phillips will likely be traded. If Phillips gets playing time and stinks it up, he will likely be traded.
Career Success: 3
Hard to say, since he has yet to start a single NFL game. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he lands on his feet somewhere and develops into a decent starter.
Busts:
Chad Pennington, New York Jets
Experience: 5th year
Backup: Jay Fiedler
Pressure: 3
Season Success: 2
He's looked awful in the preseason when he's played. There's some questions about how healthy his arm is. Curtis Martin has gotten a year older, and may lose a step. Somehow, this guy has gotten pretty solid press in the NY media over his career, and it seems people still have faith in him. But he hasn't really been much more than slightly above average, and his bristling at media criticism last year is not a good sign.
Career Success: 2
Remember Richard Todd and Ken O'Brien, other former Jet QBs? Ken, Chad. Chad, Ken. Richard, Chad. Chad, Richard. Meet the players he'll most likely be mentioned in the same breath when his career is over.
David Carr, Houston Texans
Experience: 4th year
Backup: Tony Banks
Pressure: 3
Season Success: 3
Of all the QBs on this list, I'd say Carr and Harrington are the ones under the most pressure in terms of "Okay, you've had time to adjust to the NFL, let's see some results!" type of expectations. Luckily for Carr, he has god awful QBs on the bench behind him. So his job should be safe. The problem with Carr is his offensive line, and it has been his whole career. Houston has given up more sacks than any other team over the past 3 years. By far. It's not even close. I'm just pulling these numbers out of my ass because I'm too lazy to find where I read them last week, but it's something like 100 sacks. And the next team on the list is at like 60. Or something like that. Anyways, I do like his weapons with Andre Johnson and Domanick Davis, but I think this defense might put him in position to come from behind a bit too often.
Career Success: 2
Unless Houston admits defeat and gives up on him soon, and drafts a new QB, he'll probably be leading them to mediocre records for several years to come. Maybe he gets a second chance somewhere else in another few years, but I just don't see him as having the talent to become a top QB.
Total Busts:
A.J. Feeley, Miami Dolphins
Experience: 5th year
Backup: Gus Frerotte
Pressure: 5
Season Success: 2
Actually, Frerotte is listed as the starter right now, but that could change any day now. Feeley showed some glimpses of ability as a backup in Philly, where he put together some impressive wins while playing for an injured McNabb a few years ago. Miami thought they'd found their starter for years to come. They were wrong. I don't know what's wrong with this guy, but he just is not accurate with his throws. Sometimes he just looks lost. Not really a good omen.
Career Success: 2
Career backup, if he doesn't pull it together soon, he may be reduced to career 3rd stringer. Still, those games in Philly should allow him to remain employed in the NFL for awhile still.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
St. Ides AFC Preview
It's preview time! But first, an update on my Madden '06 XBox season..
Well, my Seahawks finished the season at 15-1.Lost the final game in Green Bay, 31-28. My kicked missed yet another game-ending field goal, this one a 35-yarder with about 40 seconds left. I swear, I suck at the kicking in this game. But considering I was down 31-7 at one point (due to two muffed punt returns, one of which was ran back for a TD), I really deserved to lose. Anyways, since then, I've beaten Tampa Bay and Carolina in the playoffs, and sit poised to face New England in the Super Bowl. No clue how Tampa made the playoffs, but, then again, Seattle probably won't go 15-1 this season either.. At least the Super Bowl should be a challenge.
So I figure it's about time to do an preview type thing. I'll try not to get too ridiculously long with the analysis, but what the hell, it's fun to predict things. I'll start with the AFC, and do the NFC later this week…
East:
1.) Patriots - They're still the two-time defending champs. Still the team to beat. They lost a couple players and their coordinators, but I think they'll be allright. They do have a tough schedule though, so I don't really expect them to totally run away with the division. Let's say 11-5.
2.) Bills - The J.P. Losman project begins. Their D and running game should be solid, which is good for a young QB. They came on strong at the beginning of the season, and really only missed the playoffs cause Drew Bledsoe didn't win games for them. He's gone now. 9-7.
3.) Jets - I have some questions about Pennington's arm. And, really, his talent. I mean, I know a lot of people kiss his ass, but how many season has he really gotten it done for the Jets? Not to mention Herm Edwards ranks right up there with the top coaches I consider retarded. Their defense will be okay, but between Curtis Martin being about 92 now, and Pennington choking, disappointing season all around. 7-9.
4.) Dolphins - A decent storyline with Ricky Williams returning, that other rookie RB in the backfield, and Nick Saban as coach.Their defense should be its usual solid self, though they may be more vulnerable to the pass than recent years with the departure of Surtain. But really their season comes down to two words: Gus Frerrotte. I don't even know if that's how you spell his name. 5-11.
North:
1.) Baltimore - As much as I hate Ray Lewis and Brian Billick, they should win the division this year. Should. Jamal Lewis is out of jail and ought to have something to prove. Kyle Boller has some more offensive weapons with Derrick Mason at WR and Todd Heap healthy again at TE. Of course, Boller could very well continue to stink up the place and single-handedly cost his team 2-3 wins. But I'm going with him. 10-6.
2.) Pittsburgh - I wrote at the end of last year that Big Ben was an illusion. I even compared him to Trent Dilfer in how he simply managed games and avoided mistakes and did not lose games. Here's my exact words, answering which hype is worse, for Vick or Big Ben
"I think the Ben hype is worse. For one simple reason: He hasn't really done jack shit yet to deserve it. Yes, his team won the first 13 games or whatever that he started. But they did it with an awesome D and running game. Imagine, if you will, if the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl that Trent Dilfer were a rookie. He managed the games, didn't make mistakes, and was an efficient passer when needed. What happened? He was a journeyman so he got almost no hype and wasn't even re-signed after they won the Super Bowl. Just because this kid's a rookie he's getting hyped like crazy. How many highlight film plays can you remember him making this season? Maybe one or two? Hell, I can't even think of one right now. "
So the illusion dissolves this year. Look for "sophomore slump" articles to appear all over the mainstream press by week 6. 8-8.
3.) Bengals - I almost put them ahead of the Steelers. Almost. I'm not completely sold on Carson Palmer just yet. But I think he has the tools around him and a decent young D to make a run at making the playoffs. Well, maybe next year. 8-8.
4.) Cleveland - New coaches and stuff. Trent Dilfer at QB. A bit of indecision who the top guy at RB will be. And Michigan alum (and #3 overall draft pick) Braylon Edwards at WR. They might take a step forward, but not a huge one. 7-9.
South:
1.) Colts - Yes, Manning is dope. But I still think it'd be tough to call him the best QB in the NFL when the Patriots absolutely kill him. I'll take Brady over Manning any day of the week. Is that my Michigan bias? Maybe. But I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would agree with me who are not Michigan or Patriots fans. 11-5.
2.) Jaguars - I'm not sold on Byron Leftwich yet. Seems I've been writing that a lot about young QBs, eh? Well, here's the thing. Right now there are a LOT of QBs who are in their 3rd-5th year in the NFL, and the jury is still out on them. Conventional wisdom tends to say that if they've been starting for 2 or 3 years, and the offense around them keeps getting better, the QB should break out and become a solid starter. However, there are plenty of examples of QBs who have been put in position to succeed, and not done so. Hell, I'm going to dedicate another future article just on all the QBs on the verge of making or breaking their careers this year. In the meantime, the Jags D is solid enough to almost make the playoffs. 9-7.
3.) Houston - David Carr. See statement directly above. I like Domanick Davis. I like their receivers. Their D is okay. Their O-line needs to give Carr time. They seem to beat the tough teams (like Indy and Baltimore) but lose to creampuffs (like Tennessee or Cleveland). I just don't see them pulling it together this year. 7-9.
4.) Tennessee - This team is stuck in salary cap hell. They lost their top WR and top DB, and are moving into the Pacman Jones Era. Steve McNair should be injured by week 6, and Billy Volek will put up sick numbers throwing the ball. Sadly, their defense won't stop anybody. 5-11.
West:
1.) Chiefs - Their offense still looks good, and Priest Holmes should be healthy again. They still lack big-name WRs, but Tony Gonzalez catches everything in sight. Their defense should be better with the addition of Surtain in the secondary and first round pick Derrick Johnson at LB. If they stay healthy, they should run away with the division I think. 12-4.
2.) Chargers - Let's face it, the Chargers overachieved last year. Teams won't take them so lightly this year. Is Drew Brees for real? Some are claiming maybe he just had that one career year, and isn't as good as his numbers were. Well, he's a Purdue alum, so I got to see him light it up against Michigan a few times in college. I think he's for real. What I don't think is that the Chargers will be able to quite put together the same season they did last year. Although they should come close to a playoff spot. 10-6.
3.) Broncos - Looks like Mike Anderson will be the starting RB, and he should go for about 1200 yards. Jake Plummer will for about that many yards too, but to the wrong team going in the wrong direction. Jake Plummer is not a good QB, I don't care what people say. Oh, and their defensive line is now made up of mostly cast-offs from the Browns. Not exactly an elite defense to be stealing players from. 8-8.
4.) Raiders - The Kerry "Whiskey" Collins to Randy "I only smoke weed once in a blue moon" Moss ought to be an interesting thing to watch. And a lot of people are saying LaMont Jordan will be great as a starting RB. But their defense sucks, led by Warren "I don't know when to shut up even though I'm 5 years past my prime" Sapp. By week 10, Moss ought to be pouting and feuding with Sapp. 6-10.
Playoffs:
Wild Card Round:
Ravens 20, Bills 17
Colts 31, Chargers 28
Divisional Round:
Patriots 33, Colts 18
Chiefs 29, Ravens 20
AFC Championship:
Patriots 26, Chiefs 24
Well, my Seahawks finished the season at 15-1.Lost the final game in Green Bay, 31-28. My kicked missed yet another game-ending field goal, this one a 35-yarder with about 40 seconds left. I swear, I suck at the kicking in this game. But considering I was down 31-7 at one point (due to two muffed punt returns, one of which was ran back for a TD), I really deserved to lose. Anyways, since then, I've beaten Tampa Bay and Carolina in the playoffs, and sit poised to face New England in the Super Bowl. No clue how Tampa made the playoffs, but, then again, Seattle probably won't go 15-1 this season either.. At least the Super Bowl should be a challenge.
So I figure it's about time to do an preview type thing. I'll try not to get too ridiculously long with the analysis, but what the hell, it's fun to predict things. I'll start with the AFC, and do the NFC later this week…
East:
1.) Patriots - They're still the two-time defending champs. Still the team to beat. They lost a couple players and their coordinators, but I think they'll be allright. They do have a tough schedule though, so I don't really expect them to totally run away with the division. Let's say 11-5.
2.) Bills - The J.P. Losman project begins. Their D and running game should be solid, which is good for a young QB. They came on strong at the beginning of the season, and really only missed the playoffs cause Drew Bledsoe didn't win games for them. He's gone now. 9-7.
3.) Jets - I have some questions about Pennington's arm. And, really, his talent. I mean, I know a lot of people kiss his ass, but how many season has he really gotten it done for the Jets? Not to mention Herm Edwards ranks right up there with the top coaches I consider retarded. Their defense will be okay, but between Curtis Martin being about 92 now, and Pennington choking, disappointing season all around. 7-9.
4.) Dolphins - A decent storyline with Ricky Williams returning, that other rookie RB in the backfield, and Nick Saban as coach.Their defense should be its usual solid self, though they may be more vulnerable to the pass than recent years with the departure of Surtain. But really their season comes down to two words: Gus Frerrotte. I don't even know if that's how you spell his name. 5-11.
North:
1.) Baltimore - As much as I hate Ray Lewis and Brian Billick, they should win the division this year. Should. Jamal Lewis is out of jail and ought to have something to prove. Kyle Boller has some more offensive weapons with Derrick Mason at WR and Todd Heap healthy again at TE. Of course, Boller could very well continue to stink up the place and single-handedly cost his team 2-3 wins. But I'm going with him. 10-6.
2.) Pittsburgh - I wrote at the end of last year that Big Ben was an illusion. I even compared him to Trent Dilfer in how he simply managed games and avoided mistakes and did not lose games. Here's my exact words, answering which hype is worse, for Vick or Big Ben
"I think the Ben hype is worse. For one simple reason: He hasn't really done jack shit yet to deserve it. Yes, his team won the first 13 games or whatever that he started. But they did it with an awesome D and running game. Imagine, if you will, if the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl that Trent Dilfer were a rookie. He managed the games, didn't make mistakes, and was an efficient passer when needed. What happened? He was a journeyman so he got almost no hype and wasn't even re-signed after they won the Super Bowl. Just because this kid's a rookie he's getting hyped like crazy. How many highlight film plays can you remember him making this season? Maybe one or two? Hell, I can't even think of one right now. "
So the illusion dissolves this year. Look for "sophomore slump" articles to appear all over the mainstream press by week 6. 8-8.
3.) Bengals - I almost put them ahead of the Steelers. Almost. I'm not completely sold on Carson Palmer just yet. But I think he has the tools around him and a decent young D to make a run at making the playoffs. Well, maybe next year. 8-8.
4.) Cleveland - New coaches and stuff. Trent Dilfer at QB. A bit of indecision who the top guy at RB will be. And Michigan alum (and #3 overall draft pick) Braylon Edwards at WR. They might take a step forward, but not a huge one. 7-9.
South:
1.) Colts - Yes, Manning is dope. But I still think it'd be tough to call him the best QB in the NFL when the Patriots absolutely kill him. I'll take Brady over Manning any day of the week. Is that my Michigan bias? Maybe. But I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would agree with me who are not Michigan or Patriots fans. 11-5.
2.) Jaguars - I'm not sold on Byron Leftwich yet. Seems I've been writing that a lot about young QBs, eh? Well, here's the thing. Right now there are a LOT of QBs who are in their 3rd-5th year in the NFL, and the jury is still out on them. Conventional wisdom tends to say that if they've been starting for 2 or 3 years, and the offense around them keeps getting better, the QB should break out and become a solid starter. However, there are plenty of examples of QBs who have been put in position to succeed, and not done so. Hell, I'm going to dedicate another future article just on all the QBs on the verge of making or breaking their careers this year. In the meantime, the Jags D is solid enough to almost make the playoffs. 9-7.
3.) Houston - David Carr. See statement directly above. I like Domanick Davis. I like their receivers. Their D is okay. Their O-line needs to give Carr time. They seem to beat the tough teams (like Indy and Baltimore) but lose to creampuffs (like Tennessee or Cleveland). I just don't see them pulling it together this year. 7-9.
4.) Tennessee - This team is stuck in salary cap hell. They lost their top WR and top DB, and are moving into the Pacman Jones Era. Steve McNair should be injured by week 6, and Billy Volek will put up sick numbers throwing the ball. Sadly, their defense won't stop anybody. 5-11.
West:
1.) Chiefs - Their offense still looks good, and Priest Holmes should be healthy again. They still lack big-name WRs, but Tony Gonzalez catches everything in sight. Their defense should be better with the addition of Surtain in the secondary and first round pick Derrick Johnson at LB. If they stay healthy, they should run away with the division I think. 12-4.
2.) Chargers - Let's face it, the Chargers overachieved last year. Teams won't take them so lightly this year. Is Drew Brees for real? Some are claiming maybe he just had that one career year, and isn't as good as his numbers were. Well, he's a Purdue alum, so I got to see him light it up against Michigan a few times in college. I think he's for real. What I don't think is that the Chargers will be able to quite put together the same season they did last year. Although they should come close to a playoff spot. 10-6.
3.) Broncos - Looks like Mike Anderson will be the starting RB, and he should go for about 1200 yards. Jake Plummer will for about that many yards too, but to the wrong team going in the wrong direction. Jake Plummer is not a good QB, I don't care what people say. Oh, and their defensive line is now made up of mostly cast-offs from the Browns. Not exactly an elite defense to be stealing players from. 8-8.
4.) Raiders - The Kerry "Whiskey" Collins to Randy "I only smoke weed once in a blue moon" Moss ought to be an interesting thing to watch. And a lot of people are saying LaMont Jordan will be great as a starting RB. But their defense sucks, led by Warren "I don't know when to shut up even though I'm 5 years past my prime" Sapp. By week 10, Moss ought to be pouting and feuding with Sapp. 6-10.
Playoffs:
Wild Card Round:
Ravens 20, Bills 17
Colts 31, Chargers 28
Divisional Round:
Patriots 33, Colts 18
Chiefs 29, Ravens 20
AFC Championship:
Patriots 26, Chiefs 24
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Odds and ends at 10 PM
Well SBS fans, it's 10:00 on a Saturday night. Karen and I are working on a "paint by numbers" project from "The Masters Collection". It's from Van Gogh's Sunflower series which according to the box were painted "... in preperation for Gauguin's visit to Arles". The box also goes on to point out that Van Gogh loped off his infamous ear during another of Gauguin's visits. This Gauguin fellow had some affect on Van Gogh, eliciting both incredible creativity and maniacle self mutilation by his mere presence.
Anyway, that's not what I wanted to write about.
Here's a little pop quiz: What do Najeh Davenport, John Riggins, Mr. T and my wife Karen have in common? You'll have to read on for the answer...
Answer: they all have sported Mohawks! Last week the formerly dredlocked Davenport went "Karen in her punk days" and got himself a Mohawk. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal: "The Mohawk is making a comeback in Green Bay. Running back Najeh Davenport, who trimmed his long dreadlocks a few years ago, told receiver Antonio Chatman that he wanted the styled cut. Chatman cuts many of the players' hair, and so he gave Davenport the Mohawk. He gave himself one, too. Then Ahmad Carroll wanted one, as well.
There's no real symbolism to the cut, but we'll see if long-locked Mark Tauscher goes for it. (Samichlaus has found out that Tauscher has a charity, and as part of a charity drive Taucher will cut his hair if a certain donation goal is met)
"Now everybody says they're going to get it," Davenport said. "But I don't know" " .
As if Karen needed another reason to like this guy. Yep, Mrs. Samichlaus bounded around the house in glee when I broke the news. I've got to see if there's a way to upload a picture to this blog so y'all can see Mrs. Samichlaus in her punk'd out state. Frankly though she looks a bit like Travis Bickle.
Just google it, I ain't explaining who Travis Bickle is if you don't know.
Quick check... the Mets lost 2 - 1. See? Every time I start to believe, they break my heart. Oh, and the friggin Yankees scored 5 in the 9th to win.
Anyway, that's not what I wanted to write about.
Here's a little pop quiz: What do Najeh Davenport, John Riggins, Mr. T and my wife Karen have in common? You'll have to read on for the answer...
Answer: they all have sported Mohawks! Last week the formerly dredlocked Davenport went "Karen in her punk days" and got himself a Mohawk. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal: "The Mohawk is making a comeback in Green Bay. Running back Najeh Davenport, who trimmed his long dreadlocks a few years ago, told receiver Antonio Chatman that he wanted the styled cut. Chatman cuts many of the players' hair, and so he gave Davenport the Mohawk. He gave himself one, too. Then Ahmad Carroll wanted one, as well.
There's no real symbolism to the cut, but we'll see if long-locked Mark Tauscher goes for it. (Samichlaus has found out that Tauscher has a charity, and as part of a charity drive Taucher will cut his hair if a certain donation goal is met)
"Now everybody says they're going to get it," Davenport said. "But I don't know" " .
As if Karen needed another reason to like this guy. Yep, Mrs. Samichlaus bounded around the house in glee when I broke the news. I've got to see if there's a way to upload a picture to this blog so y'all can see Mrs. Samichlaus in her punk'd out state. Frankly though she looks a bit like Travis Bickle.
Just google it, I ain't explaining who Travis Bickle is if you don't know.
Quick check... the Mets lost 2 - 1. See? Every time I start to believe, they break my heart. Oh, and the friggin Yankees scored 5 in the 9th to win.
I want to believe
It's funny how my passions change in sports. When the Mets ruled New York baseball, they were my favorite sports franchise. I was born in 1962 and really became aware of life around 1969, so the Mets were the sports team of my youth. My youth lasted until 1992.
It was in 1992 that Brett Favre arrived in Green Bay and it was in 1992 that I began to realize that it was no longer 1986. The Mets began to fall by the wayside, and quickly became weak sisters to the Yankees. Suddenly New York was a Yankee town. Yankee fans came out of the woodwork in droves, as if they'd been in hiding for the first 30 yers of my life. Some of them even spoke English. The numbers were astonishing. My loyalty to my beloved Mets never wavered. I am a Mets fan and damn proud of it, but by 1994 my absolute favorite all time professional sports team was the Green Bay Packers. That has not changed.
Yesterday the Packers were dominated by a world class football team, the New England Patriots. The domination was so complete that even the usually rose colored Milwaukee press hit the proverbial panic button. One writer wrote "Punter B.J. Sander was the best player for the Packers. Enough said." Another writer pined "If you were looking for one bright spot in the evening, there wasn't any." I planned to watch the game today at 4:00 on the NFL Network but decided against it. I figure there's no need to be a miserable fuck and ruin my beautiful wife's weekend too. Besides, I can think of better things for us to do. The Packers need to be ready ro play on September 11th in Detroit, and realistically IF they play the Patriots again it would be a minor miracle, because the only way that happens is if they make the Super Bowl. OK, a major miracle.
While the Packers were getting their asses whooped, Steve Trachsel was pitching 8 innings of shutout ball for the Mets. This was his first start of the season, a season interrupted by a major surgery that could have kept him out for the season. Trachsel pitched 8 and Braden Looper closed out the 9th and suddenly the Mets, who have not been able to win a road game to save themselves are 5-0 on the this road trip. They're also 8 games over .500, 4 games out of first, and 1.5 games off the wild card lead.
And suddenly just like that, I'm interested in baseball again.
It was in 1992 that Brett Favre arrived in Green Bay and it was in 1992 that I began to realize that it was no longer 1986. The Mets began to fall by the wayside, and quickly became weak sisters to the Yankees. Suddenly New York was a Yankee town. Yankee fans came out of the woodwork in droves, as if they'd been in hiding for the first 30 yers of my life. Some of them even spoke English. The numbers were astonishing. My loyalty to my beloved Mets never wavered. I am a Mets fan and damn proud of it, but by 1994 my absolute favorite all time professional sports team was the Green Bay Packers. That has not changed.
Yesterday the Packers were dominated by a world class football team, the New England Patriots. The domination was so complete that even the usually rose colored Milwaukee press hit the proverbial panic button. One writer wrote "Punter B.J. Sander was the best player for the Packers. Enough said." Another writer pined "If you were looking for one bright spot in the evening, there wasn't any." I planned to watch the game today at 4:00 on the NFL Network but decided against it. I figure there's no need to be a miserable fuck and ruin my beautiful wife's weekend too. Besides, I can think of better things for us to do. The Packers need to be ready ro play on September 11th in Detroit, and realistically IF they play the Patriots again it would be a minor miracle, because the only way that happens is if they make the Super Bowl. OK, a major miracle.
While the Packers were getting their asses whooped, Steve Trachsel was pitching 8 innings of shutout ball for the Mets. This was his first start of the season, a season interrupted by a major surgery that could have kept him out for the season. Trachsel pitched 8 and Braden Looper closed out the 9th and suddenly the Mets, who have not been able to win a road game to save themselves are 5-0 on the this road trip. They're also 8 games over .500, 4 games out of first, and 1.5 games off the wild card lead.
And suddenly just like that, I'm interested in baseball again.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Fantasy and Reality
Well, Seattle came back down to earth a bit last night, with a 18-10 loss to Dallas. The Cowboys' first round pick looked pretty nasty, a DE converted to LB out of Troy State (Troy State?!?!) named Ware. Two forced fumbles, a pick, a sack. Yikes. Thankfully, we don't play Dallas this regular season.
The Seattle first time offense looked okay. Aside from two turnovers, they moved the ball pretty well. The first team D looked fine too. I'm really not worried that we lost this game, and there were no injuries to report, so that's better than a "W" in the preseason anyways.
While watching Monday Night Countdown, I asked myself for the two hundredth time: Why the FUCK can't the people in charge of these shows come up with better stuff than Michael Irvin talking ebonics and slapping his knee laughing so hard about how he just insulted Tom Jackson? God, these shows are AWFUL. Anyways, when asked about Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks, TJ basically said they have good numbers and look good on paper, but they just don't have that missing intangible ingredient it takes to win. Irvin took it a step further and called them "soft". At which point ESPN actually put the words "Seattle is soft" in a graphic on the bottom of the screen while Irvin ranted. On one hand, I hope someone in the Seattle organization taped this and shows it to the team, maybe it will give them a little extra motivation. And maybe bigass Walter Jones will punch Irvin in his teeth next time he sees him. On the other hand, 90% of these talking heads are on the verge of losing all credibility. It's like they talk to hear themselves, and don't even care if they're making sense. Even John Madden, before the game, was talking about how great Seattle's defense is, but how their defense couldn't stop anybody last year. And the defense is the problem, they won't go anywhere without the defense improving. He made no mention that they have made a ton of changes on defense, including 7 or 8 new starters this year. Including bringing in veteran defenders Jamie Sharper and Andre Dyson. It was like Madden was so busy having his head up Parcells' ass praising him, he didn't even bother to check the starting defensive roster for Seattle.
But you know what. I like it this way. I prefer being under the radar and not feared. The way Hasselbeck carved up the Dallas D on several passes was impressive. And the dropped balls by receivers didn't start until the second half when the 3rd stringers were in. A few predictions for players on the bubble making the team or not:
WR Jerheme Urban (who has a lot of fan support because he's a white WR) - Cut
WR D.J. Hackett - Kept
WR Taco Wallace - Cut
WR Bobby Shaw - Cut
TE Calen Powell (not to be confused with Secretary of State Colin Powell) - Cut
DE Jeb Huckeba - Kept
CB B.J. Tucker - Kept
Obviously, these are subject to change over the next 2 preseason games, but I feel pretty confident in these assessments right now.
And, speaking of football.. We had our Fantasy Football draft last night. I'm pretty happy with my team, despite being put in a situation of "cannot pass up on him" with Shaun Alexander with the 6th overall pick. I tend to avoid drafting Seahawks for my fantasy team so I don't get hit with a double dose of disappointment when they stink it up and lose. Ah well, he should put up big numbers this year though, so I can't complain. Here's my starting lineup:
QB - Tom Brady (with Michael Vick lurking in the wings)
RB - Shaun Alexander
RB - Domanick Davis
WR - Torry Holt
WR - Hines Ward
TE - Todd Heap
LB - Terrell Suggs
LB - Takeo Spikes
DL - Julius Peppers
DB - Ed Reed
DB - Champ Bailey
K - Lawrence Tynes
P - Craig Hentrich
Arguably, Holt and Ward could both be considered Top 5 WR, so to have both of them is nice. And here is an interesting tidbit on KC Kicker Lawrence Tynes, with some of the facts courtesy Pale Ale owner Dar… He's the first Scottish-born player to ever play in the NFL. Last week he got into a drunken brawl in some bar, and punched a bouncer in the face and broke his nose. All of which was caught on videotape. He doesn't tell anybody on the team, and shows up to practice like nothing happened. Until the police show up and arrest him. You can read all about this feisty kicker's brush with the law! Just the kind of attitude the Meister Brau Shotguns look for in a kicker! We're ready to make a run at the League Championship!
The Seattle first time offense looked okay. Aside from two turnovers, they moved the ball pretty well. The first team D looked fine too. I'm really not worried that we lost this game, and there were no injuries to report, so that's better than a "W" in the preseason anyways.
While watching Monday Night Countdown, I asked myself for the two hundredth time: Why the FUCK can't the people in charge of these shows come up with better stuff than Michael Irvin talking ebonics and slapping his knee laughing so hard about how he just insulted Tom Jackson? God, these shows are AWFUL. Anyways, when asked about Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks, TJ basically said they have good numbers and look good on paper, but they just don't have that missing intangible ingredient it takes to win. Irvin took it a step further and called them "soft". At which point ESPN actually put the words "Seattle is soft" in a graphic on the bottom of the screen while Irvin ranted. On one hand, I hope someone in the Seattle organization taped this and shows it to the team, maybe it will give them a little extra motivation. And maybe bigass Walter Jones will punch Irvin in his teeth next time he sees him. On the other hand, 90% of these talking heads are on the verge of losing all credibility. It's like they talk to hear themselves, and don't even care if they're making sense. Even John Madden, before the game, was talking about how great Seattle's defense is, but how their defense couldn't stop anybody last year. And the defense is the problem, they won't go anywhere without the defense improving. He made no mention that they have made a ton of changes on defense, including 7 or 8 new starters this year. Including bringing in veteran defenders Jamie Sharper and Andre Dyson. It was like Madden was so busy having his head up Parcells' ass praising him, he didn't even bother to check the starting defensive roster for Seattle.
But you know what. I like it this way. I prefer being under the radar and not feared. The way Hasselbeck carved up the Dallas D on several passes was impressive. And the dropped balls by receivers didn't start until the second half when the 3rd stringers were in. A few predictions for players on the bubble making the team or not:
WR Jerheme Urban (who has a lot of fan support because he's a white WR) - Cut
WR D.J. Hackett - Kept
WR Taco Wallace - Cut
WR Bobby Shaw - Cut
TE Calen Powell (not to be confused with Secretary of State Colin Powell) - Cut
DE Jeb Huckeba - Kept
CB B.J. Tucker - Kept
Obviously, these are subject to change over the next 2 preseason games, but I feel pretty confident in these assessments right now.
And, speaking of football.. We had our Fantasy Football draft last night. I'm pretty happy with my team, despite being put in a situation of "cannot pass up on him" with Shaun Alexander with the 6th overall pick. I tend to avoid drafting Seahawks for my fantasy team so I don't get hit with a double dose of disappointment when they stink it up and lose. Ah well, he should put up big numbers this year though, so I can't complain. Here's my starting lineup:
QB - Tom Brady (with Michael Vick lurking in the wings)
RB - Shaun Alexander
RB - Domanick Davis
WR - Torry Holt
WR - Hines Ward
TE - Todd Heap
LB - Terrell Suggs
LB - Takeo Spikes
DL - Julius Peppers
DB - Ed Reed
DB - Champ Bailey
K - Lawrence Tynes
P - Craig Hentrich
Arguably, Holt and Ward could both be considered Top 5 WR, so to have both of them is nice. And here is an interesting tidbit on KC Kicker Lawrence Tynes, with some of the facts courtesy Pale Ale owner Dar… He's the first Scottish-born player to ever play in the NFL. Last week he got into a drunken brawl in some bar, and punched a bouncer in the face and broke his nose. All of which was caught on videotape. He doesn't tell anybody on the team, and shows up to practice like nothing happened. Until the police show up and arrest him. You can read all about this feisty kicker's brush with the law! Just the kind of attitude the Meister Brau Shotguns look for in a kicker! We're ready to make a run at the League Championship!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Seahawks Flying High
Seattle demolished New Orleans in their Friday night pre-season opener. I watched parts of the game live on the NFL Network's "No Huddle" show (where they basically jump between a bunch of live games) and then a good chunk of the replay on Sunday afternoon. I'm most excited about the defense, which if it can stay healthy, can really be an improvement from last year.
The difference people are talking about isn't the totally revamped linebacker corps or the new starting CB, but the interior defensive line. Where it looks like the starters will be last year's first round pick Marcus Tubbs and former Tampa Bay player Chuck Darby. They seem to be getting along and Darby mentoring Tubbs in a big way. Tubbs is a big guy, at 6-3, 324, and everybody has been talking about his talent since he was drafted. Last year, he was slowed by nagging injuries and missed a few games to be with his sick mother, who died of cancer during the latter part of the season. Chuck Darby isn't built like your prototypical DT at 6-0, 270, but he's been around a few years and has put up impressive numbers as a Buc while being a part of the defensive line rotation. I really like what I'm reading about these two, and some nice pressure up the middle is just what we need to better stop the run, and provide some consistency with the pass rush to allow Wistrom and Fisher to get upfield from the end positions. Not to mention a nice pass rush will take some of the pressure off our secondary.
Seneca Wallace was impressive too, with a nice long 24-yard TD run set up by a few key blocks downfield. And he also had a few pretty nice touch passes, including a touchdown to Pathon. He's locked in to the #2 QB slot right now, and I'm no longer as worried about our season should Hasselbeck get hurt.
Basically, the game went about as well as we could hope for - a convincing win with no major mistakes, and no injuries. Now to keep that up...
I did notice the New Orleans announcers were awful. Not only did they make several mistakes when describing Seattle players, but they made some pretty ridiculous statements that didn't even make sense. The most memorable one being, "Seattle actually has 4 starting cornerbacks." Uhm, what?? Unless they're using some unique defensive scheme with no safeties, I don't get it. Unless he meant that they had 4 cornerbacks capable of starting. Which really didn't make sense either, cause we only have 3 quality CBs. I don't even know who number 4 on the depth chart is. On the plus side, the second half was shown with the Seattle announcers, who were much better (though still below regular season quality).
I like our chances this year, especially since we're not the fashionable pick. Hell, most writers have the Rams finishing ahead of Seattle in the NFC West and some even have Arizona (yes, THAT Arizona!) finishing ahead of them as well.
Meanwhile, my Madden '06 Seahawks are rolling along at 6-0. My defense is frickin impenetrable against the run. My offense varies depending on how tough a D I play, but generally I have at least the running or passing game working well, sometimes both. I might have to crank up the difficulty level soon to keep it interesting.
Did anybody see the interview Chris Berman did with TO and his greedy agent on Thursday night during halftime? Pathetic. They keep talking about how he's not the bad guy, and how he's a grown man, and blah blah blah, but he doesn't shut the fuck up and stop whining for 2 minutes. Jesus H. Christ. Enough already. Stop being a big baby and honor your goddamned multi-million dollar contract. Even McNabb hates your guts at this point. I stole this point from something else I read or heard (I forget where), but during the interview, TO was talking about the Super Bowl game and how nobody expected to play, and how everybody wanted to see him fail. Well, he proved them wrong, because he went out and played and had a decent game! In his eyes, he succeeded, and that right there earned him a new contract. Last I checked though, the Patriots were the Super Bowl winners. Not the Eagles. TO, you failed, chief. Your team lost. You earned nothing. God, these two are really pissing me off, and I'm not even remotely an Eagles fan.
One last note… with the return of the NHL, I was considering ordering the "Center Ice" package on DirectTV, which would give me tons of games to watch. I figured with them coming back after such a damaging strike, it would be dirt cheap in an attempt to win back fans. I just checked the price - $129. Sorry, but I think I'll pass on that one for that much. Cut the price in half, and I might have gone for it. But no way I am forking out over a hundred bucks to a league that totally fucked us over this past season.
The difference people are talking about isn't the totally revamped linebacker corps or the new starting CB, but the interior defensive line. Where it looks like the starters will be last year's first round pick Marcus Tubbs and former Tampa Bay player Chuck Darby. They seem to be getting along and Darby mentoring Tubbs in a big way. Tubbs is a big guy, at 6-3, 324, and everybody has been talking about his talent since he was drafted. Last year, he was slowed by nagging injuries and missed a few games to be with his sick mother, who died of cancer during the latter part of the season. Chuck Darby isn't built like your prototypical DT at 6-0, 270, but he's been around a few years and has put up impressive numbers as a Buc while being a part of the defensive line rotation. I really like what I'm reading about these two, and some nice pressure up the middle is just what we need to better stop the run, and provide some consistency with the pass rush to allow Wistrom and Fisher to get upfield from the end positions. Not to mention a nice pass rush will take some of the pressure off our secondary.
Seneca Wallace was impressive too, with a nice long 24-yard TD run set up by a few key blocks downfield. And he also had a few pretty nice touch passes, including a touchdown to Pathon. He's locked in to the #2 QB slot right now, and I'm no longer as worried about our season should Hasselbeck get hurt.
Basically, the game went about as well as we could hope for - a convincing win with no major mistakes, and no injuries. Now to keep that up...
I did notice the New Orleans announcers were awful. Not only did they make several mistakes when describing Seattle players, but they made some pretty ridiculous statements that didn't even make sense. The most memorable one being, "Seattle actually has 4 starting cornerbacks." Uhm, what?? Unless they're using some unique defensive scheme with no safeties, I don't get it. Unless he meant that they had 4 cornerbacks capable of starting. Which really didn't make sense either, cause we only have 3 quality CBs. I don't even know who number 4 on the depth chart is. On the plus side, the second half was shown with the Seattle announcers, who were much better (though still below regular season quality).
I like our chances this year, especially since we're not the fashionable pick. Hell, most writers have the Rams finishing ahead of Seattle in the NFC West and some even have Arizona (yes, THAT Arizona!) finishing ahead of them as well.
Meanwhile, my Madden '06 Seahawks are rolling along at 6-0. My defense is frickin impenetrable against the run. My offense varies depending on how tough a D I play, but generally I have at least the running or passing game working well, sometimes both. I might have to crank up the difficulty level soon to keep it interesting.
Did anybody see the interview Chris Berman did with TO and his greedy agent on Thursday night during halftime? Pathetic. They keep talking about how he's not the bad guy, and how he's a grown man, and blah blah blah, but he doesn't shut the fuck up and stop whining for 2 minutes. Jesus H. Christ. Enough already. Stop being a big baby and honor your goddamned multi-million dollar contract. Even McNabb hates your guts at this point. I stole this point from something else I read or heard (I forget where), but during the interview, TO was talking about the Super Bowl game and how nobody expected to play, and how everybody wanted to see him fail. Well, he proved them wrong, because he went out and played and had a decent game! In his eyes, he succeeded, and that right there earned him a new contract. Last I checked though, the Patriots were the Super Bowl winners. Not the Eagles. TO, you failed, chief. Your team lost. You earned nothing. God, these two are really pissing me off, and I'm not even remotely an Eagles fan.
One last note… with the return of the NHL, I was considering ordering the "Center Ice" package on DirectTV, which would give me tons of games to watch. I figured with them coming back after such a damaging strike, it would be dirt cheap in an attempt to win back fans. I just checked the price - $129. Sorry, but I think I'll pass on that one for that much. Cut the price in half, and I might have gone for it. But no way I am forking out over a hundred bucks to a league that totally fucked us over this past season.
Johnson returns to practice
An interesting side story from yesterdays practice: third year corner Chris Johnson returned to practice after unexpectedly being removed from the “Physcally Unable to Perform” (PUP) list.
Johnson was a 7th round draft pick out of Louisville in 2003, and was hands down the fastest player at the scouting combines. He clocked an astonishing 4.21 40 yard dash, and claimed he had once run it in 4.18 seconds. Compare this to the 4.34 that Michael Bennett of the Vikings ran (Bennett is widely considered to be the fastest man in the NFL). Johnson was having what was described as a “phenom” camp in ’03 when he suffered a season ending knee injury. He spent the next year recovering from surgerey and rehabilitating the knee, only to suffer a stress fracture on his leg in ’04. The stress fracture was a direct result of his rehabilitation.
This year the Packers didn’t take any chances and have held Johnson out to complete his strenghtening and conditioning. His return to practice is a welcome site and an indication that we may finally see what the kid can do. No one is sure how the injuries have affected his speed, or if he can remain healthy for an extended period of time, but I’m rooting hard for the kid. He’s a hard worker whose had some tough luck. I hope the football gods give him a break.
eMail me at samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
Johnson was a 7th round draft pick out of Louisville in 2003, and was hands down the fastest player at the scouting combines. He clocked an astonishing 4.21 40 yard dash, and claimed he had once run it in 4.18 seconds. Compare this to the 4.34 that Michael Bennett of the Vikings ran (Bennett is widely considered to be the fastest man in the NFL). Johnson was having what was described as a “phenom” camp in ’03 when he suffered a season ending knee injury. He spent the next year recovering from surgerey and rehabilitating the knee, only to suffer a stress fracture on his leg in ’04. The stress fracture was a direct result of his rehabilitation.
This year the Packers didn’t take any chances and have held Johnson out to complete his strenghtening and conditioning. His return to practice is a welcome site and an indication that we may finally see what the kid can do. No one is sure how the injuries have affected his speed, or if he can remain healthy for an extended period of time, but I’m rooting hard for the kid. He’s a hard worker whose had some tough luck. I hope the football gods give him a break.
eMail me at samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
Friday, August 12, 2005
Packers - Chargers preseason game.
During the second quarter of last night’s preseason opener between the Packers and the Chargers, safety Mark Roman appeared to pull up on a tackle and let a Saints receiver run past him along the sideline. My wife, who had been watching the game with marginal interest up to that point nearly leapt off the couch.
“I HATE that”, she yelled, “when players pull up like that because they don’t want to get hurt! That’s (unacceptable)! What a (sissy)! Players like that should be lashed after the game! The coach should tell them ‘If your afraid to get hurt now, wait until I get you later’. (Golly) I really HATE that.” She paused and looked at my jaw-dropped face staring back at her. “What? You don’t agree?”
I think lashing might be pushing it.
Preseason games are glorified practices and we got to see a good one. The Packers offense is focused on getting the line ready so they called a lot of runs early on. By their third possession, they were ready to unleash Favre and he delivered. The third drive was a thing of beauty, and Favre showed some of that mobility he’s worked so hard to recapture. Favre spread the ball around, hit Antonio Chatman with some mid-season touch on a fourth down out pattern and connected with Donald Driver for the score.
The defense is learning the ropes and Jim Bates kept it simple. With Cletidus Hunt and Grady Jackson out, Donnell Washington and Corey Williams got the start and played adequately. At this stage adequately works for me. Nick Collins looked like the real deal, but that could also have something to do with the big “36” on his chest. I liked what I saw from third stringers Mike Montgomery and Roy Manning, who both made plays in the fourth quarter.
So I hate to break it to my wife, but no honey I don’t agree with you this time.
The fact that the veteran Roman was in position to make the tackle was good enough for me. Last season I considered Roman to be the worst player on the worst defense in Packer history. To see him actually where he was supposed to be was a huge accomplishment. Of course, if he does the same thing on opening day then be gone with him, or as we like to say around my house “Right again honey”.
I don’t expect to determine much from last night’s game. With a few exceptions, the starting lineup is set. The players who are expected to carry this team will do so. The players who back them up will rise to the occasion if need be. There will be one or two surprises and one or two disappointments. This is a good team folks and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There’s a good balance of veterans and youth, and the best coaching staff that we’ve seen in years in place.
So go ahead and dream. And if you see Mark Roman pull up on a tackle in a meaningless game, just relax.
Insights into a happy marriage
I’m not sure how this all got started, or how I’ve let it get so out of control, but my wife does this thing where every time the camera shows Brett Favre she’ll pounce on me and tickle me unmercifully. Somehow last season she convinced me that this helps the Packers win, and I must admit: they were 1 – 4 in the pre-tickle era and an amazing 9 – 2 during the wrath of tickle. It’s not just armpits ether. She’ll dive for my feet, grab my thigh, and in the most bizarre of bizarrities, will poke me in my rather copious belly button which she calls the “love hole”.
The media obsession with Favre was never more evident than last night. Every other shot was of Favre. Favre in the huddle. Favre on the sidelines. Favre (no kidding here) picking his nose. It was brutal. By the end of the game I was so tickled out that the thought of being touched literally made the hair on my neck stand up. It’s halfway through Friday and I’m still not over it.
On the other hand I sure laughed a lot.
Laughter is the key ingredient in a happy marriage and I’ve got the happiest.
eMail me at samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
“I HATE that”, she yelled, “when players pull up like that because they don’t want to get hurt! That’s (unacceptable)! What a (sissy)! Players like that should be lashed after the game! The coach should tell them ‘If your afraid to get hurt now, wait until I get you later’. (Golly) I really HATE that.” She paused and looked at my jaw-dropped face staring back at her. “What? You don’t agree?”
I think lashing might be pushing it.
Preseason games are glorified practices and we got to see a good one. The Packers offense is focused on getting the line ready so they called a lot of runs early on. By their third possession, they were ready to unleash Favre and he delivered. The third drive was a thing of beauty, and Favre showed some of that mobility he’s worked so hard to recapture. Favre spread the ball around, hit Antonio Chatman with some mid-season touch on a fourth down out pattern and connected with Donald Driver for the score.
The defense is learning the ropes and Jim Bates kept it simple. With Cletidus Hunt and Grady Jackson out, Donnell Washington and Corey Williams got the start and played adequately. At this stage adequately works for me. Nick Collins looked like the real deal, but that could also have something to do with the big “36” on his chest. I liked what I saw from third stringers Mike Montgomery and Roy Manning, who both made plays in the fourth quarter.
So I hate to break it to my wife, but no honey I don’t agree with you this time.
The fact that the veteran Roman was in position to make the tackle was good enough for me. Last season I considered Roman to be the worst player on the worst defense in Packer history. To see him actually where he was supposed to be was a huge accomplishment. Of course, if he does the same thing on opening day then be gone with him, or as we like to say around my house “Right again honey”.
I don’t expect to determine much from last night’s game. With a few exceptions, the starting lineup is set. The players who are expected to carry this team will do so. The players who back them up will rise to the occasion if need be. There will be one or two surprises and one or two disappointments. This is a good team folks and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There’s a good balance of veterans and youth, and the best coaching staff that we’ve seen in years in place.
So go ahead and dream. And if you see Mark Roman pull up on a tackle in a meaningless game, just relax.
Insights into a happy marriage
I’m not sure how this all got started, or how I’ve let it get so out of control, but my wife does this thing where every time the camera shows Brett Favre she’ll pounce on me and tickle me unmercifully. Somehow last season she convinced me that this helps the Packers win, and I must admit: they were 1 – 4 in the pre-tickle era and an amazing 9 – 2 during the wrath of tickle. It’s not just armpits ether. She’ll dive for my feet, grab my thigh, and in the most bizarre of bizarrities, will poke me in my rather copious belly button which she calls the “love hole”.
The media obsession with Favre was never more evident than last night. Every other shot was of Favre. Favre in the huddle. Favre on the sidelines. Favre (no kidding here) picking his nose. It was brutal. By the end of the game I was so tickled out that the thought of being touched literally made the hair on my neck stand up. It’s halfway through Friday and I’m still not over it.
On the other hand I sure laughed a lot.
Laughter is the key ingredient in a happy marriage and I’ve got the happiest.
eMail me at samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Madden '06 - Initial Impressions
So I picked up Madden 06 for Xbox yesterday, and got to play it for a few hours last night. I've been a dedicated ESPN 2K series fan for years now, and always bought that version over the Madden version. With EA working out a multi-million exclusive deal with the NFL to use players' names and likenesses in the game, Madden is now the only game in town. I was hoping it would be just as good as the ESPN 2K series...
And so far, it is. I started out with this new "Superstar" mode they have. You start off by randomly selecting two parents who have 3 stats - career, hobby, and IQ. What they do in those categories determines your players stats, and what position he is best suited for. It's slightly annoying in that you basically only have two options on this screen: Accept and Try Again. Try Again simply rolls up two new parents randomly. Going in, my idea was to create a Linebacker who would then join the Seahawks and play on my Franchise for years to come. I must have hit the Try Again button at least 2 dozen times before I got a parent combo that said "LB" as the "Best Suited Position". And another dozen times before I got an LB who was white. Then probably 20 more times where I got a white LB who actually had parents who weren't morons. Sorry, but I wasn’t about to enter the draft with a father who had "Below Average IQ" and was employed "Delivering Newspapers". In the end, I wound up with two parents with above average IQ, but not very physical jobs.
The next step is actually choosing your name, position, number, physical appearance, and pads. You don't have to choose the "Best Suited Position", but it's probably a good idea. You probably don't want to be sticking a WR prospect on the offensive line.
So, now that my Superstar is created, I enter my "Apartment" where there's a bunch of things to interact with like my calendar, computer, map of the city, and telephone. Oh look! My phone is ringing! The conversation went something like this:
"Hello?"
"Yo yo yo! What's up!"
"Uhmmm, who is this?"
"It's TO! Terrell Owens! I'm an old friend of your father's, so I'm calling to give you some advice about going Pro!"
"If you’re my father's good friend, why the hell don't you spot us some money so he can stop delivering newspapers for a living?"
"Nevermind that! You need to get your ass an agent! Then you have to take an IQ test and prepare for the draft!"
"Uhmm, okay, bye!"
So I log onto my computer, and look at the list of agents. There's like 20 or so listed, but all but 5 have their names in red, meaning I can't hire them because I'm not bigtime yet. Fine. I hire a crappy agent who will work with just about anybody, including a low-end prospect like me.
Next is the IQ test. Probably the weirdest moment of the game so far. It's a combination Wonderlic/SAT type test. With 20 questions and a time limit. The questions are all multiple choice. And ranged from math ("How many feet deep is an End Zone?") to general football knowledge ("What's the distance between NFL field goal uprights?" Which I had no clue what the answer was, by the way) to SAT style analogies ("Nervous is to timid as bold is to blank.") to the personality ones. There were a lot of those. Stuff like "Would you describe yourself as sarcastic?" and "Would other people consider you cold-blooded?" Weird stuff. In the end, I was given a score of "90%". Which I'm guessing probably really only grades the questions with right or wrong answers, and the personality questions mold some internal numbers of how teams/media/fans view you.
Okay, so I have an agent, I passed the Wonderlic with flying colors, time for the draft! Now when you first startup the game, it asks you to pick your "Favorite Team", and when I picked Seattle, it set my main menu to Seahawks colors, and flashed slideshows of Seattle players in the background. I assumed something like that would be how they decide which team drafts me. Wrong. As the draft begun, and I say there watching the first round play out exactly like the actual draft a couple months ago, I started to get worried I wouldn't be taken by Seattle.. Then the 2nd and 3rd rounds came and went.. And I was still undrafted… Finally, in Round 5, I was chosen by the San Diego Chargers. That's when I decided I must have done something wrong, and exited Superstar mode for the night.
Doing a bit of research today, it seems the draft is fairly random… you can't really predict where you'll be taken. But most players seem to go in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Which leads me to believe my player is worse than the typical beginning "Superstar". I'll probably remake him tonight, and hold out for a "NFL Hall of Famer" dad.
So, Franchise mode.. More what I expected.. Take over Seattle, and begin a multiple-year run towards greatness. Thankfully, for the first year the drafting and signing is al done already, and Seattle's roster was nice and up-to-date. A little later I noticed a few fringe players missing from the roster, and I haven't looked for them yet among the free agents, but I'd say they're pretty accurate with what the opening day roster will probably look like.
Training cap was actually very cool. You have an assortment of like 10 drills, for assorted positions. For each drill you choose an individual player (and each player can only do one drill). For my first drill, I chose Lofa Tatupu and a tackling drill. I was lined up with one other computer-controlled defender against a quarterback, running back, and a blocker. A bunch of blocking dummies also were placed near the line. Basically, I had to make the tackle and allow as little yardage as possible, being awarded points for good quick tackles, and losing points for missing tackles or giving up big gains. At the end of a set amount of snaps, my point total is compared to a few goal numbers. Depending on if I met any of the goals, I was awarded extra skill points to assign to the player. So basically I got the hang of the tackling drill quickly, met my goals, and Tatupu gained 3 extra points in his stats. Which is a decent amount.
The other drills varied between fun and confusing. There was one where the QB had to throw the ball through these rings and hit moving receivers on the other side. Another had Shaun Alexander taking handoffs and scoring as many TDs as he could from the 10 yard line in 3 minutes. Another one had a ball launching machine firing footballs to a receiver. All in all, I enjoyed doing the drills, even if I only actually met the goals for extra skill points on about half of them.
With training camp over, it's time for some pre-season football! My first game was against the Saints, just like Seattle will be playing this coming Friday night. The gameplay itself is a little different from the ESPN game, but not a ton. Defense is very similar - you control a guy, fly around the place, try and avoid blocks, and try and make tackles. On offense, the running game seems a bit more difficult so far, but I'm still learning. Maybe I'm hitting the holes too soon or not soon enough. The jury is still out on the running game since, like a true pre-season game, Shaun Alexander (and most of my other starters) were benched after the first quarter. It was kinda cool that I didn't even have to do this - the game did the substitutions automatically. So I was running Maurice Morris most of the game, and wasn't too impressed with his cutting ability. Basically, it seemed like everytime I wanted to cut, his momentum still took him in the previous direction, then stopped, then he was gang-tackled.
The passing game was better. And even with rookie southpaw QB David Greene in for most of the game, I was able to complete passes on a fairly consistent basis. They have this new "QB Vision" feature which I don't understand, so I turned it off for now. Basically, it makes QB'ing a lot harder. So I'll wait til later to learn that.
I lost the game when the Saints punted to me late in the 4th quarter with Seattle leading 13-10. A high punt, down to about my 15, I tried to call a fair catch. Only I didn't know what button it was. So I didn't get it called. Mo Morris catches the ball, gets instantly popped hard by 3 guys, and fumbles. It's scooped up by a New Orleans player who scampers the short distance for the go-ahead touchdown. I had plenty of time to mount a comeback, but couldn't get the passing game going once the Saints went into prevent mode. Every receiver had 3 guys on him, and they knocked down every ball. Thankfully, it seems that the defensive backs don't catch that well, which is good. Nothing more annoying than throwing 5 picks a game because the cornerbacks catch the ball better than your receivers. The Saints tacked on a late FG and I lost 20-13.
I wanted to play at least one regular season game before calling it a night, so I simulated the rest of the pre-season. We went 1-3 (yikes). And also suffered injuries to my starting RB (Alexander), Center (Tobeck), and CB (Trufant). All the injuries were listed as only 1-2 weeks, so I didn't reload the game. First team up! Jacksonville.
Without going into too much detail, I enjoyed the game, and felt it played out well. I mixed up the run and the pass, and even though Mo Morris was again not very effective as the RB (something like 15 carries for 25 yards), continuing to run the ball seemed to keep the defense honest. Hasselbeck was dead on with his throws, and my receivers did not have a single drop. On defense, I mixed up switching between man-to-man and zone coverage, depending on the down and situation. Throwing in an LB occasional blitz on obvious passing downs. The defensive play of the game came in the 3rd quarter, Seattle up 10-0 and Jacksonville near the 50 yard line. 3rd and 6, I call for a linebacker blitz. I control Tatupu. The ball is snapped, and I delay the blitz while my defensive line locks up with the offensive line. I fly through the opening, and dive towards Leftwich, hitting him just as he releases the ball. The ball is a little wobbly, but heads towards the intended receiver. Jaime Sharper jumps up, and grabs the dying duck for the INT. A few plays later, Mo Morris dives into the endzone for a short touchdown run, and the score is 17-0 and ends that way.
So far, the game is a ton of fun, and there's still a bunch of features I haven't even touched yet. I'll write more as I get a better feel for the game and march the Seahawks towards the Super Bowl. :)
And so far, it is. I started out with this new "Superstar" mode they have. You start off by randomly selecting two parents who have 3 stats - career, hobby, and IQ. What they do in those categories determines your players stats, and what position he is best suited for. It's slightly annoying in that you basically only have two options on this screen: Accept and Try Again. Try Again simply rolls up two new parents randomly. Going in, my idea was to create a Linebacker who would then join the Seahawks and play on my Franchise for years to come. I must have hit the Try Again button at least 2 dozen times before I got a parent combo that said "LB" as the "Best Suited Position". And another dozen times before I got an LB who was white. Then probably 20 more times where I got a white LB who actually had parents who weren't morons. Sorry, but I wasn’t about to enter the draft with a father who had "Below Average IQ" and was employed "Delivering Newspapers". In the end, I wound up with two parents with above average IQ, but not very physical jobs.
The next step is actually choosing your name, position, number, physical appearance, and pads. You don't have to choose the "Best Suited Position", but it's probably a good idea. You probably don't want to be sticking a WR prospect on the offensive line.
So, now that my Superstar is created, I enter my "Apartment" where there's a bunch of things to interact with like my calendar, computer, map of the city, and telephone. Oh look! My phone is ringing! The conversation went something like this:
"Hello?"
"Yo yo yo! What's up!"
"Uhmmm, who is this?"
"It's TO! Terrell Owens! I'm an old friend of your father's, so I'm calling to give you some advice about going Pro!"
"If you’re my father's good friend, why the hell don't you spot us some money so he can stop delivering newspapers for a living?"
"Nevermind that! You need to get your ass an agent! Then you have to take an IQ test and prepare for the draft!"
"Uhmm, okay, bye!"
So I log onto my computer, and look at the list of agents. There's like 20 or so listed, but all but 5 have their names in red, meaning I can't hire them because I'm not bigtime yet. Fine. I hire a crappy agent who will work with just about anybody, including a low-end prospect like me.
Next is the IQ test. Probably the weirdest moment of the game so far. It's a combination Wonderlic/SAT type test. With 20 questions and a time limit. The questions are all multiple choice. And ranged from math ("How many feet deep is an End Zone?") to general football knowledge ("What's the distance between NFL field goal uprights?" Which I had no clue what the answer was, by the way) to SAT style analogies ("Nervous is to timid as bold is to blank.") to the personality ones. There were a lot of those. Stuff like "Would you describe yourself as sarcastic?" and "Would other people consider you cold-blooded?" Weird stuff. In the end, I was given a score of "90%". Which I'm guessing probably really only grades the questions with right or wrong answers, and the personality questions mold some internal numbers of how teams/media/fans view you.
Okay, so I have an agent, I passed the Wonderlic with flying colors, time for the draft! Now when you first startup the game, it asks you to pick your "Favorite Team", and when I picked Seattle, it set my main menu to Seahawks colors, and flashed slideshows of Seattle players in the background. I assumed something like that would be how they decide which team drafts me. Wrong. As the draft begun, and I say there watching the first round play out exactly like the actual draft a couple months ago, I started to get worried I wouldn't be taken by Seattle.. Then the 2nd and 3rd rounds came and went.. And I was still undrafted… Finally, in Round 5, I was chosen by the San Diego Chargers. That's when I decided I must have done something wrong, and exited Superstar mode for the night.
Doing a bit of research today, it seems the draft is fairly random… you can't really predict where you'll be taken. But most players seem to go in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Which leads me to believe my player is worse than the typical beginning "Superstar". I'll probably remake him tonight, and hold out for a "NFL Hall of Famer" dad.
So, Franchise mode.. More what I expected.. Take over Seattle, and begin a multiple-year run towards greatness. Thankfully, for the first year the drafting and signing is al done already, and Seattle's roster was nice and up-to-date. A little later I noticed a few fringe players missing from the roster, and I haven't looked for them yet among the free agents, but I'd say they're pretty accurate with what the opening day roster will probably look like.
Training cap was actually very cool. You have an assortment of like 10 drills, for assorted positions. For each drill you choose an individual player (and each player can only do one drill). For my first drill, I chose Lofa Tatupu and a tackling drill. I was lined up with one other computer-controlled defender against a quarterback, running back, and a blocker. A bunch of blocking dummies also were placed near the line. Basically, I had to make the tackle and allow as little yardage as possible, being awarded points for good quick tackles, and losing points for missing tackles or giving up big gains. At the end of a set amount of snaps, my point total is compared to a few goal numbers. Depending on if I met any of the goals, I was awarded extra skill points to assign to the player. So basically I got the hang of the tackling drill quickly, met my goals, and Tatupu gained 3 extra points in his stats. Which is a decent amount.
The other drills varied between fun and confusing. There was one where the QB had to throw the ball through these rings and hit moving receivers on the other side. Another had Shaun Alexander taking handoffs and scoring as many TDs as he could from the 10 yard line in 3 minutes. Another one had a ball launching machine firing footballs to a receiver. All in all, I enjoyed doing the drills, even if I only actually met the goals for extra skill points on about half of them.
With training camp over, it's time for some pre-season football! My first game was against the Saints, just like Seattle will be playing this coming Friday night. The gameplay itself is a little different from the ESPN game, but not a ton. Defense is very similar - you control a guy, fly around the place, try and avoid blocks, and try and make tackles. On offense, the running game seems a bit more difficult so far, but I'm still learning. Maybe I'm hitting the holes too soon or not soon enough. The jury is still out on the running game since, like a true pre-season game, Shaun Alexander (and most of my other starters) were benched after the first quarter. It was kinda cool that I didn't even have to do this - the game did the substitutions automatically. So I was running Maurice Morris most of the game, and wasn't too impressed with his cutting ability. Basically, it seemed like everytime I wanted to cut, his momentum still took him in the previous direction, then stopped, then he was gang-tackled.
The passing game was better. And even with rookie southpaw QB David Greene in for most of the game, I was able to complete passes on a fairly consistent basis. They have this new "QB Vision" feature which I don't understand, so I turned it off for now. Basically, it makes QB'ing a lot harder. So I'll wait til later to learn that.
I lost the game when the Saints punted to me late in the 4th quarter with Seattle leading 13-10. A high punt, down to about my 15, I tried to call a fair catch. Only I didn't know what button it was. So I didn't get it called. Mo Morris catches the ball, gets instantly popped hard by 3 guys, and fumbles. It's scooped up by a New Orleans player who scampers the short distance for the go-ahead touchdown. I had plenty of time to mount a comeback, but couldn't get the passing game going once the Saints went into prevent mode. Every receiver had 3 guys on him, and they knocked down every ball. Thankfully, it seems that the defensive backs don't catch that well, which is good. Nothing more annoying than throwing 5 picks a game because the cornerbacks catch the ball better than your receivers. The Saints tacked on a late FG and I lost 20-13.
I wanted to play at least one regular season game before calling it a night, so I simulated the rest of the pre-season. We went 1-3 (yikes). And also suffered injuries to my starting RB (Alexander), Center (Tobeck), and CB (Trufant). All the injuries were listed as only 1-2 weeks, so I didn't reload the game. First team up! Jacksonville.
Without going into too much detail, I enjoyed the game, and felt it played out well. I mixed up the run and the pass, and even though Mo Morris was again not very effective as the RB (something like 15 carries for 25 yards), continuing to run the ball seemed to keep the defense honest. Hasselbeck was dead on with his throws, and my receivers did not have a single drop. On defense, I mixed up switching between man-to-man and zone coverage, depending on the down and situation. Throwing in an LB occasional blitz on obvious passing downs. The defensive play of the game came in the 3rd quarter, Seattle up 10-0 and Jacksonville near the 50 yard line. 3rd and 6, I call for a linebacker blitz. I control Tatupu. The ball is snapped, and I delay the blitz while my defensive line locks up with the offensive line. I fly through the opening, and dive towards Leftwich, hitting him just as he releases the ball. The ball is a little wobbly, but heads towards the intended receiver. Jaime Sharper jumps up, and grabs the dying duck for the INT. A few plays later, Mo Morris dives into the endzone for a short touchdown run, and the score is 17-0 and ends that way.
So far, the game is a ton of fun, and there's still a bunch of features I haven't even touched yet. I'll write more as I get a better feel for the game and march the Seahawks towards the Super Bowl. :)
Notes from other people's notes
The very first blog I ever did started out with the postulate that I didn’t like to write. I always found writing to be an exercise in tedium at best, surpassed in its bore-inducing uselessness only by reading. Now there’s a waste of time. I can read a 400 page novel about the battle of Gettysburg and take a good month to finish it or I can watch a finely crafted TV show that takes a little less than an hour if it’s Tivo’d. Isn’t this a far better use of my leisure time?
Of course, writing the blog has changed my opinions considerably. I find that I actually enjoy writing. What’s more astounding is that I really enjoy reading the things I write, which has had a curious side effect: I’m enjoying reading what other people write as well.
I’ve been reading all sorts of stuff that other people write: blogs, magazine articles, news papers and books just to name a few. The whole book thing is really cool and if you’ve never read one they’re kind of like a blog except bigger. They cover all sorts of subject matter. Some of them are about true events and some of them are about events that are completely made up. The latter, referred to as “fiction”, are reminiscent of the Packers defensive game plans from last season. The other thing about books is there’s this whole secret cult that book people belong to. These people, called “readers”, both announce their membership and attempt to ascertain yours by asking the secret cult question: “So, what are you reading?” Non cult members do not comprehend this question, and usually reply with a snide comment like “Reading? I thought I was talking to you, asswipe.” Cult members that I have identified have several appropriate responses, but the one most frequently given is “The Da Vinci Code”. I have concluded that there is a heirarchial structure to the cult and that these are the lowest, most common members.
Today I’ve been reading about my beloved Packers. Training camp is in full swing as the Packers prepare for tomorrow night’s game against the San Diego Chargers. Expect the starting unit to play for the first quarter, the second unit to play for the second and third quarters, and the waver fodder to wrap it up in the fourth quarter. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN, and despite this I’ll still be tuning in.
Some of the things I’ll be watching:
1. Favre’s arm strength. As mentioned in the previous post, Favre’s arm looked a bit relaxed during the scrimmage. Favre worked hard on conditioning during the off season, but mostly on improving his quickness. The coaching staff does not seem to be worried about his arm, but I’m terrified.
2. The offensive line. The impact of the loss of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera was never more evident than during the Packers – Bills scrimmage last Friday. Bills linemen and blitzing defensive backs were constantly harassing Packer quarterbacks. Once again, the coaching staff is not worried. Once again, I’m terrified.
3. Nick Collins from Bethune – Cookman. According to published reports, Collins has move into the starting unit at the free safety position. The rookie has had an outstanding camp thus far, but now faces two new challenges. First, he will be going against the opposing teams best players. Second, he will line up along side of strong safety Mark Roman who is universally regarded as the worst player on the worst defense in Packer history. I mention his college, Bethune - Cookman because St. Ides unmercifully busted my balls over this second round draft pick.
4. Mike Hawkins, fifth round draft pick and second unit / dime package corner. Here’s what Cliff Cristl had to say in today’s J.S. Online (Milwaukee newspaper): “In the close to 60 years that the Green Bay Packers have played two-platoon football, they might have had only one rookie cornerback display as much potential as Mike Hawkins this early in camp. That was Willie Buchanon in 1972. Some old scouts still claim he was the best cornerback prospect ever, at least pre-Deion. To this point, Hawkins has made a play almost every day that jumps out.”
5. Najeh Davenport. Well, at least Karen will be watching him. Najeh returned to practice on Tuesday after injuring his ankle during Friday’s scrimmage. Expect him to see some playing time against the Chargers.
6. The Packers Defense. I saw some things I liked on Friday and some things that I didn’t. For example, I liked the aggressive play of the first unit linemen. I didn’t like the second unit at all, which looked an awful like Bob Slowik’s “defense” from last year. This time the coaches agree with my assessment. I’m liking this Jim Bates guy more and more.
7. Aaron Rogers. I can’t wait to see him play at game speed. I liked the way he handled himself on Friday. He showed a strong quick release and a nice touch on the ball, but for the most part the kid was running for his life.
Enjoy the rest of your day, you wacky SBS fans!
email me at samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
Of course, writing the blog has changed my opinions considerably. I find that I actually enjoy writing. What’s more astounding is that I really enjoy reading the things I write, which has had a curious side effect: I’m enjoying reading what other people write as well.
I’ve been reading all sorts of stuff that other people write: blogs, magazine articles, news papers and books just to name a few. The whole book thing is really cool and if you’ve never read one they’re kind of like a blog except bigger. They cover all sorts of subject matter. Some of them are about true events and some of them are about events that are completely made up. The latter, referred to as “fiction”, are reminiscent of the Packers defensive game plans from last season. The other thing about books is there’s this whole secret cult that book people belong to. These people, called “readers”, both announce their membership and attempt to ascertain yours by asking the secret cult question: “So, what are you reading?” Non cult members do not comprehend this question, and usually reply with a snide comment like “Reading? I thought I was talking to you, asswipe.” Cult members that I have identified have several appropriate responses, but the one most frequently given is “The Da Vinci Code”. I have concluded that there is a heirarchial structure to the cult and that these are the lowest, most common members.
Today I’ve been reading about my beloved Packers. Training camp is in full swing as the Packers prepare for tomorrow night’s game against the San Diego Chargers. Expect the starting unit to play for the first quarter, the second unit to play for the second and third quarters, and the waver fodder to wrap it up in the fourth quarter. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN, and despite this I’ll still be tuning in.
Some of the things I’ll be watching:
1. Favre’s arm strength. As mentioned in the previous post, Favre’s arm looked a bit relaxed during the scrimmage. Favre worked hard on conditioning during the off season, but mostly on improving his quickness. The coaching staff does not seem to be worried about his arm, but I’m terrified.
2. The offensive line. The impact of the loss of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera was never more evident than during the Packers – Bills scrimmage last Friday. Bills linemen and blitzing defensive backs were constantly harassing Packer quarterbacks. Once again, the coaching staff is not worried. Once again, I’m terrified.
3. Nick Collins from Bethune – Cookman. According to published reports, Collins has move into the starting unit at the free safety position. The rookie has had an outstanding camp thus far, but now faces two new challenges. First, he will be going against the opposing teams best players. Second, he will line up along side of strong safety Mark Roman who is universally regarded as the worst player on the worst defense in Packer history. I mention his college, Bethune - Cookman because St. Ides unmercifully busted my balls over this second round draft pick.
4. Mike Hawkins, fifth round draft pick and second unit / dime package corner. Here’s what Cliff Cristl had to say in today’s J.S. Online (Milwaukee newspaper): “In the close to 60 years that the Green Bay Packers have played two-platoon football, they might have had only one rookie cornerback display as much potential as Mike Hawkins this early in camp. That was Willie Buchanon in 1972. Some old scouts still claim he was the best cornerback prospect ever, at least pre-Deion. To this point, Hawkins has made a play almost every day that jumps out.”
5. Najeh Davenport. Well, at least Karen will be watching him. Najeh returned to practice on Tuesday after injuring his ankle during Friday’s scrimmage. Expect him to see some playing time against the Chargers.
6. The Packers Defense. I saw some things I liked on Friday and some things that I didn’t. For example, I liked the aggressive play of the first unit linemen. I didn’t like the second unit at all, which looked an awful like Bob Slowik’s “defense” from last year. This time the coaches agree with my assessment. I’m liking this Jim Bates guy more and more.
7. Aaron Rogers. I can’t wait to see him play at game speed. I liked the way he handled himself on Friday. He showed a strong quick release and a nice touch on the ball, but for the most part the kid was running for his life.
Enjoy the rest of your day, you wacky SBS fans!
email me at samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Are You Ready For Some Football?
I'm getting rolling now…
Monday Night Football made its (pre-)season debut last night with the Hall of Fame game between Miami and Chicago. I had it on, if only to see how Ricky Williams looked. The first thing I was reminded, before the game even started, is that some how, some way, the people who put on these productions have no fucking clue how to get in touch with the actual fans…
The opening scene for last night's game included the Muppets. The goddamned Muppets! Now, do they think there are actually young kids who are familiar with the Muppets interested in watching a meaningless pre-season game? Or are they attempting to "connect" with my generation, who grew up with The Muppet Show? Either way, it seemed like a bad idea. But it got worse. Out came the "old timers" (the ones who used to sit in the balcony heckling Kermit and Fozzie, I think their names are like Waldorf and Dinkleberry, or something like that) sporting Miami Dolphins caps and jerseys. And huge gold chains. The scene went something like this (and, dear god, I WISH I was making this up):
Waldorf: "Yo yo yo, are you ready for some football, dawg?"
Dinkleberry: "Fo shizzle my nizzle."
Waldorf: "The Dolphins are in the hizzouse."
Dinkleberry: "Word up."
*Dramatic pause*
Waldorf: "I have no idea what we just said."
*They both break out in laughter*
*Enter Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, sporting Bears clothing*
Kermit: "Hi ho! Are you ready for some football?"
Dinkleberry: "Fo shizzle, froggy-nizzle."
Kermit: "Then let's get the pigskin ready and get this party started!"
Miss Piggy: "Pigskin?!?!!? Haiiiiiiii-Yaaaaa!"
*She karate chops all three of them*
Like I said, I wish I had imagined that. But I hadn't. And if that's a sign of things to come from the NFL pre-game, post-game, halftime, and commercial breaks this year, I might just have my TV on permanent mute.
I only half watched the game really, I mean, it's frickin pre-season. But I did catch a fairly interesting interview with Ricky Williams. For the first time in recent memory, a sideline reporter during a game actually asked a few GOOD questions. Among the questions: "Did the lawsuit with the Dolphins suing you to get back millions of your contract money have any influence on your decision to come back?" (Ricky didn't say no, but didn't say yes. You know it had to.) "How are your teammates treating you after you stood them up last year?" (Ricky basically said that he understands that he let them down, and has to put in the hard work to show he's serious about contributing this year." And, my personal favorite, "Do you think you are going to be able to avoid further problems with smoking marijuana?" I couldn't believe they asked this, I actually laughed and cheered when they did. I think Ricky was a little surprised too. He basically said that he's planning on moving forward, he learned a lot in his time off (yeah, like he can't pay his bills without an NFL paycheck) and thinks he can control himself.
In other football news, Madden 2006 comes out today. I'm going to try and pick it up during lunch. I'm a little bit apprehensive because I have been a ESPN NFL2K fan over the past several years, and always picked up that one over the Madden series. But with EA Sports and NFL banging out an exclusive multi-million dollar deal to be the only ones with rights to use actual player names, Madden is now the only game in town. They even merged with ESPN to use the graphics and style and stuff this year. So I'm just hoping there isn't a huge difference between the gameplay and franchise modes I've learned to love in NFL 2K. And I'm looking forward to playing with Seattle's revamped defense. Lofa Tatupu is getting plugged in at starting MLB no matter what they have his rating at.
Monday Night Football made its (pre-)season debut last night with the Hall of Fame game between Miami and Chicago. I had it on, if only to see how Ricky Williams looked. The first thing I was reminded, before the game even started, is that some how, some way, the people who put on these productions have no fucking clue how to get in touch with the actual fans…
The opening scene for last night's game included the Muppets. The goddamned Muppets! Now, do they think there are actually young kids who are familiar with the Muppets interested in watching a meaningless pre-season game? Or are they attempting to "connect" with my generation, who grew up with The Muppet Show? Either way, it seemed like a bad idea. But it got worse. Out came the "old timers" (the ones who used to sit in the balcony heckling Kermit and Fozzie, I think their names are like Waldorf and Dinkleberry, or something like that) sporting Miami Dolphins caps and jerseys. And huge gold chains. The scene went something like this (and, dear god, I WISH I was making this up):
Waldorf: "Yo yo yo, are you ready for some football, dawg?"
Dinkleberry: "Fo shizzle my nizzle."
Waldorf: "The Dolphins are in the hizzouse."
Dinkleberry: "Word up."
*Dramatic pause*
Waldorf: "I have no idea what we just said."
*They both break out in laughter*
*Enter Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, sporting Bears clothing*
Kermit: "Hi ho! Are you ready for some football?"
Dinkleberry: "Fo shizzle, froggy-nizzle."
Kermit: "Then let's get the pigskin ready and get this party started!"
Miss Piggy: "Pigskin?!?!!? Haiiiiiiii-Yaaaaa!"
*She karate chops all three of them*
Like I said, I wish I had imagined that. But I hadn't. And if that's a sign of things to come from the NFL pre-game, post-game, halftime, and commercial breaks this year, I might just have my TV on permanent mute.
I only half watched the game really, I mean, it's frickin pre-season. But I did catch a fairly interesting interview with Ricky Williams. For the first time in recent memory, a sideline reporter during a game actually asked a few GOOD questions. Among the questions: "Did the lawsuit with the Dolphins suing you to get back millions of your contract money have any influence on your decision to come back?" (Ricky didn't say no, but didn't say yes. You know it had to.) "How are your teammates treating you after you stood them up last year?" (Ricky basically said that he understands that he let them down, and has to put in the hard work to show he's serious about contributing this year." And, my personal favorite, "Do you think you are going to be able to avoid further problems with smoking marijuana?" I couldn't believe they asked this, I actually laughed and cheered when they did. I think Ricky was a little surprised too. He basically said that he's planning on moving forward, he learned a lot in his time off (yeah, like he can't pay his bills without an NFL paycheck) and thinks he can control himself.
In other football news, Madden 2006 comes out today. I'm going to try and pick it up during lunch. I'm a little bit apprehensive because I have been a ESPN NFL2K fan over the past several years, and always picked up that one over the Madden series. But with EA Sports and NFL banging out an exclusive multi-million dollar deal to be the only ones with rights to use actual player names, Madden is now the only game in town. They even merged with ESPN to use the graphics and style and stuff this year. So I'm just hoping there isn't a huge difference between the gameplay and franchise modes I've learned to love in NFL 2K. And I'm looking forward to playing with Seattle's revamped defense. Lofa Tatupu is getting plugged in at starting MLB no matter what they have his rating at.
Monday, August 8, 2005
Steroids, Halls of Fame, and Football, oh my!
So many things to talk about, so little time. Let's start with the steroids thing. Frickin Rafael Palmeiro, probably the only player in baseball history to hit 500 homeruns and not be a lock for the Hall of Fame. And that was BEFORE this steroid thing hit. I mean, really. If you followed baseball casually or very closely, have you ever said to yourself (or heard anybody else say) "Uh oh, Palmeiro is up next. Look out." I mean, quite simply this guy was never really a feared hitter. So how did he quietly reach the magic plateau or 500 HRs and 3000 hits. I think we know the answer to that…
Performance enhancers maybe? And no, I don't mean Viagra. And yes, that joke has been beaten into the ground (since Palmeiro has done Viagra commercials in the past), but I'm still using it dammit. All of the sudden, Giambi, McGwire, and yes, even Bonds don't look like such bad guys. Under oath, Giambi admitted taking steroids. His testimony was leaked, he's struggled through the past 2-3 seasons, and I think it's safe to say he's "clean" now (the loss of 50 pounds or so might be a good hint) and his bat is starting to heat up. From all accounts from players, coaches, and reporters, he's a "good guy". Under oath, McGwire did not admit to using steroids, but he did not deny it either. His double talking jive about "Let's not talk about the past" was bashed in the press, who pretty much jumped to the conclusion that his lack of denail was admission of guilt. Under oath, Mr. Palmeiro not only categorically denied taking steroids, but he defiantly wagged his finger at Congress. Now, the jackass is busted. Not only has he been suspended from baseball, made the poster child of MLB's "tougher drug policy", had all his records and numbers tarnished, been a target of daily Viagra jokes, and probably blown his chances at the Hall of Fame.. If that's all not bad enough, he's under investigation for perjury! Yikes.
So, the next question is.. What do we do about the Hall of Fame caliber players during this "juiced era" of baseball? Good frickin question. I think it's fairly safe to assume at this point a vast majority of the big home run hitters over the past decade have been juiced: McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro, and Giambi are the most visible, but no doubt there are more. You'll hear arguments like "Yeah, but steroids doesn't help them hit the ball! They still are very talented players!" Fair enough, but the juice could be the difference between a home run and a routine fly ball. It's impossible to quantify the difference in home runs it would make.It's going to be interesting to watch how the rest of this plays out, and how the voting goes in a few years. But really, how can you take one of the bunch and not the rest? Seems like it should be an "all or none" type approach. And then, you get to the issue of uncertainty. Bonds still denies using. So does Sosa. McGwire never said he did, but never said he didn't. Can you really say Bonds is a Hall of Famer but McGwire is not? I don't see how.
Speaking of Hall of Famers… Dan Marino and Steve Young were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. I watched some of the ceremony on the NFL network, and it was classy and touching. Two very deserving QBs who I was lucky enough to watch in their primes while I was growing up. Even in New York playing pickup fooball games, Dan Marino jerseys were very popular. It's too bad they never really gave him the running game he needed to win a Super Bowl, but he still has to rank right up there among the best QBs ever. And between the Hall of Fame ceremony, tonight's pre-season game on TV, and our fantasy football league starting to take shape, I think I'm about ready to kick into full NFL blogging mode. ;)
Performance enhancers maybe? And no, I don't mean Viagra. And yes, that joke has been beaten into the ground (since Palmeiro has done Viagra commercials in the past), but I'm still using it dammit. All of the sudden, Giambi, McGwire, and yes, even Bonds don't look like such bad guys. Under oath, Giambi admitted taking steroids. His testimony was leaked, he's struggled through the past 2-3 seasons, and I think it's safe to say he's "clean" now (the loss of 50 pounds or so might be a good hint) and his bat is starting to heat up. From all accounts from players, coaches, and reporters, he's a "good guy". Under oath, McGwire did not admit to using steroids, but he did not deny it either. His double talking jive about "Let's not talk about the past" was bashed in the press, who pretty much jumped to the conclusion that his lack of denail was admission of guilt. Under oath, Mr. Palmeiro not only categorically denied taking steroids, but he defiantly wagged his finger at Congress. Now, the jackass is busted. Not only has he been suspended from baseball, made the poster child of MLB's "tougher drug policy", had all his records and numbers tarnished, been a target of daily Viagra jokes, and probably blown his chances at the Hall of Fame.. If that's all not bad enough, he's under investigation for perjury! Yikes.
So, the next question is.. What do we do about the Hall of Fame caliber players during this "juiced era" of baseball? Good frickin question. I think it's fairly safe to assume at this point a vast majority of the big home run hitters over the past decade have been juiced: McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro, and Giambi are the most visible, but no doubt there are more. You'll hear arguments like "Yeah, but steroids doesn't help them hit the ball! They still are very talented players!" Fair enough, but the juice could be the difference between a home run and a routine fly ball. It's impossible to quantify the difference in home runs it would make.It's going to be interesting to watch how the rest of this plays out, and how the voting goes in a few years. But really, how can you take one of the bunch and not the rest? Seems like it should be an "all or none" type approach. And then, you get to the issue of uncertainty. Bonds still denies using. So does Sosa. McGwire never said he did, but never said he didn't. Can you really say Bonds is a Hall of Famer but McGwire is not? I don't see how.
Speaking of Hall of Famers… Dan Marino and Steve Young were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. I watched some of the ceremony on the NFL network, and it was classy and touching. Two very deserving QBs who I was lucky enough to watch in their primes while I was growing up. Even in New York playing pickup fooball games, Dan Marino jerseys were very popular. It's too bad they never really gave him the running game he needed to win a Super Bowl, but he still has to rank right up there among the best QBs ever. And between the Hall of Fame ceremony, tonight's pre-season game on TV, and our fantasy football league starting to take shape, I think I'm about ready to kick into full NFL blogging mode. ;)
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Packers have a long way to go
Watching the scrimmage between the Packers and the Bills last evening reminded me of watching one of those “Jason” movies. I saw a lot of characters wearing green and gold absolutely killed, and in the end there was no sense of satisfaction or vengeance. The Packers were out classed in every aspect of the scrimmage. Their offensive line was consistently backed into the pocket leaving quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Craig Nall running for the nearest whistle. The defense looked no better than last year, though at this stage of the season I suppose could indicate an improvement. Only place to go is up, right?
Here’s the breakdown by positions:
Quarterbacks:
Brett Favre opened the show leading the first team offense, and although he wasn’t close to sharp, he played well. Favre was 7 -13 and threw three TD’s during a red zone drill. His arm looked, how shall I put this, relaxed? Favre did pedestrian work and gave way to Rodgers, who never really got anything going. Mind you, this was not his fault. Two of his passes were dropped, and he was sacked three times. Craig Nall was uneventful, and J.T. O’Sullivan looked small and out of place. I suspect O’Sullivan won’t make the next round of cuts.
Receivers:
Driver and Walker were quiet. Walker broke open on a deep route but was overthrown by Favre. Driver had one reception for 16 that included a nice run after the catch. Robert Ferguson did not catch a pass. Punt Returner / Receiver Andre Chatman had two receptions, but dropped two easy passes and did not adjust his route on two hot reads by Rodgers. Tight End Ben “Butterfingers” Steel made 2 easy catches look difficult and scored a TD on each.
Running Backs:
Davenport was hurt on his second run and did not return. According to Sherman, he didn’t realize Najeh was out. "I'm not exactly sure when that happened. I was unaware of it until I was calling for him and realized he couldn't go in," Sherman said. Ahman Green looked solid and managed to hold on to the ball. William Henderson and Nick Luchey looked OK out of the full back position.
O-Line.
Be afraid, be very afraid. I saw more Sam Adams in the Packers backfield than I usually do in St. Ides’s refrigerator. Favre’s going to second guess his decision to continue playing if this situation does not improve.
Defense:
Jim Bates has not finished installing his defensive scheme. I hope. Although there was some improved tackling, the defense didn’t look much different than last year’s version. Bates’s running defense attempts to contain the runners to the middle of the field. The Bills backs figured this out quickly and countered by running plays into the middle, then bouncing the backs around the pile for big gains. The secondary picked up where they left off last year leaving players uncovered for huge receptions. It’s only August 6th, right? I’ll be fine.
Odds and ends
Mike Sherman looked like (in Karen’s words) a broken man. We couldn’t help but notice the tremendous amount of weight that Sherman gained this off season. Every time they’d show him Karen would go “Wow! Look at his ass!” It was hard to miss. One of Sherman’s ass cheeks looked like two of Donald Drivers. It was also hard to miss Jim Bates, all fit and trim with a fresh hair dye and a newly grown mustache.
Sherman is in the last year of his contract and clearly his ego has taken a huge hit. Stripped of his GM duties, Sherman looks like he’s taken out his frustration on the nearest side of beef he could get his hands on. He doesn’t look healthy. He needs to take control of his life, check his ego at the door and get in shape soon.
Or else this job will kill him.
Here’s the breakdown by positions:
Quarterbacks:
Brett Favre opened the show leading the first team offense, and although he wasn’t close to sharp, he played well. Favre was 7 -13 and threw three TD’s during a red zone drill. His arm looked, how shall I put this, relaxed? Favre did pedestrian work and gave way to Rodgers, who never really got anything going. Mind you, this was not his fault. Two of his passes were dropped, and he was sacked three times. Craig Nall was uneventful, and J.T. O’Sullivan looked small and out of place. I suspect O’Sullivan won’t make the next round of cuts.
Receivers:
Driver and Walker were quiet. Walker broke open on a deep route but was overthrown by Favre. Driver had one reception for 16 that included a nice run after the catch. Robert Ferguson did not catch a pass. Punt Returner / Receiver Andre Chatman had two receptions, but dropped two easy passes and did not adjust his route on two hot reads by Rodgers. Tight End Ben “Butterfingers” Steel made 2 easy catches look difficult and scored a TD on each.
Running Backs:
Davenport was hurt on his second run and did not return. According to Sherman, he didn’t realize Najeh was out. "I'm not exactly sure when that happened. I was unaware of it until I was calling for him and realized he couldn't go in," Sherman said. Ahman Green looked solid and managed to hold on to the ball. William Henderson and Nick Luchey looked OK out of the full back position.
O-Line.
Be afraid, be very afraid. I saw more Sam Adams in the Packers backfield than I usually do in St. Ides’s refrigerator. Favre’s going to second guess his decision to continue playing if this situation does not improve.
Defense:
Jim Bates has not finished installing his defensive scheme. I hope. Although there was some improved tackling, the defense didn’t look much different than last year’s version. Bates’s running defense attempts to contain the runners to the middle of the field. The Bills backs figured this out quickly and countered by running plays into the middle, then bouncing the backs around the pile for big gains. The secondary picked up where they left off last year leaving players uncovered for huge receptions. It’s only August 6th, right? I’ll be fine.
Odds and ends
Mike Sherman looked like (in Karen’s words) a broken man. We couldn’t help but notice the tremendous amount of weight that Sherman gained this off season. Every time they’d show him Karen would go “Wow! Look at his ass!” It was hard to miss. One of Sherman’s ass cheeks looked like two of Donald Drivers. It was also hard to miss Jim Bates, all fit and trim with a fresh hair dye and a newly grown mustache.
Sherman is in the last year of his contract and clearly his ego has taken a huge hit. Stripped of his GM duties, Sherman looks like he’s taken out his frustration on the nearest side of beef he could get his hands on. He doesn’t look healthy. He needs to take control of his life, check his ego at the door and get in shape soon.
Or else this job will kill him.
Friday, August 5, 2005
Mike Tyson's Penis
This can’t possibly be true…
From NYDailyNews.com
Mike Tyson might be turning from his fists to another body part to make a living.
The former champ says he's been approached by reps for porn star Jenna Jameson to co-star in a X-rated movie. The free-spending pugilist, who was pummeled recently by the tax man, says he told Jameson's people, "I need the money up front."
Boxing writer Pedro Fernandez recalled in Zoo magazine that, "according to court documentation from Tyson's rape trial, his member is at least 14 inches long. If Tyson brings out some of the ferocity that made him a champion, he could definitely become a successful porn star."
The muscleman has been spending this week on the beaches of Saint-Tropez with some shapely ladies. Maybe he's in training.
Not the porn part, I totally buy that, but there's no way Tyson has 14”. Any man with that kind of penis couldn’t possibly be as angry as Tyson. Besides, I’ve seen him at weigh-ins in those little shorts, and unless he’s got it tucked under his balls and halfway up his ass he’s got a normal pecker just like all the rest of us.
How the hell could he box? He'd have to wear a cup the size of Don King's hair.
Then there’s that cute little lisp, but I won't even go there.
Tyson was a really good boxer once, but he'll always be a disgusting excuse for a man. No matter what his penis looks like.
From NYDailyNews.com
Mike Tyson might be turning from his fists to another body part to make a living.
The former champ says he's been approached by reps for porn star Jenna Jameson to co-star in a X-rated movie. The free-spending pugilist, who was pummeled recently by the tax man, says he told Jameson's people, "I need the money up front."
Boxing writer Pedro Fernandez recalled in Zoo magazine that, "according to court documentation from Tyson's rape trial, his member is at least 14 inches long. If Tyson brings out some of the ferocity that made him a champion, he could definitely become a successful porn star."
The muscleman has been spending this week on the beaches of Saint-Tropez with some shapely ladies. Maybe he's in training.
Not the porn part, I totally buy that, but there's no way Tyson has 14”. Any man with that kind of penis couldn’t possibly be as angry as Tyson. Besides, I’ve seen him at weigh-ins in those little shorts, and unless he’s got it tucked under his balls and halfway up his ass he’s got a normal pecker just like all the rest of us.
How the hell could he box? He'd have to wear a cup the size of Don King's hair.
Then there’s that cute little lisp, but I won't even go there.
Tyson was a really good boxer once, but he'll always be a disgusting excuse for a man. No matter what his penis looks like.
The Diabetic Football Fan
Much like my 3 greatest childhood heros: BB King, Wilfred Brimley and the Pillsbury Dough Boy, I am a diabetic. About 2 months ago I took a blood test known as the A1C which revealed that my blood was made up of 22% hemoglobin and 78 % maple syrup. This caused ol’ Samichlaus to reevaluate his lifestyle, and although I was no longer the “beer drinking fool” of my younger days, I could no longer afford to be a “carb eating fool” either. I began to wonder where the root of my health issues lay, and realized that one need not look any further than this blog.
“Super Bowl Sunday proved to be a gastronomical Armageddon at the Samichlaus household, featuring my famous Italian breaded wings served with blue cheese and buffalo sauce, a baked brie en cruet , little pizza thingies, sausage and pepper sandwiches, potato chips, onion dip, tortilla chips, 2 kinds of salsa, cheese dip, fresh veggies with ranch dressing, Ritz crackers and Triscuits. I never did break out the pimento dip. This feast was enjoyed by the whole gang, which consisted of Karen, Holly and me.”
Yep.
I didn’t even bother to mention the beer, and if you’re thinking “Well, it was Super Bowl Sunday, he couldn’t possibly eat like this every week” you’d be right. Usually I wouldn’t bother putting out the fresh veggies.
Tonight begins my first foray into the world of diabetic friendly football viewing. I must say that I am thrilled the NFL network is showing the “Packer Family Night” scrimmage. This friendly practice between the Packers and the Inferior Assembly of Football Players And We Use The Term Players Loosely Known As The Bills will prove an excellent opportunity to try some new football finger foods. I’ll be snacking on some low fat, low carb dilectables like fat free cheese with turkey pepperoni, turkey pastrami Reubin sandwiches on low carb bread, and we’ll throw in some celery for good measure. I’ll wait until next week to break out my chicken wing replacement: Grilled chicken breasts basted in wing sauce, hold the breading thank you very much. That should be a treat.
The scrimmage should be a lot of fun. We’ll get our first look at Jim Bates’s defense, albiet a vanilla version of it, as well as Aaron Rodgers who according to publised reports looked “better than Favre” yesterday. We’ll get to hear some cheesy local Green Bay announcers too. Family Night is a local broadcast tradition in Green Bay and all that the NFL network is doing is picking up the local feed. I love stuff like this. Everytime I think “Gosh, I wish Karen and I lived in Green Bay instead of the goddamn Confederacy”, it’s broadcasts like this that make me thank the good Christ that we don’t. That, and the fact that my little wife would probably look like a red headed popsicle by mid November. No thanks.
There isn’t much you can learn about the Packers or the Bills tonight. Remember, this isn’t even a preseason game. It’s a practice, so the teams aren’t going to show much. Favre will run a couple of drives, then probably give way to Craig Nall… or Rodgers. That’s something to look at: who do the Packers bring in second? If Rodgers comes in after Favre, that tells me that he’s having a better preseason that we’ve thought. It also could mean the end of last year’s third stringer J.T. O’Sullivan. Watch for Najeh Davenport to see some action since the Packers are already depleted in the running back position. It will be interesting to see how he looks playing at 243.
For the Bills, all eyes will be on quarterback J.P. Losman, whom the Packers nearly drafted last year. Losman is expected to start for the Bills, replacing Drew Bledsoe and is considered to be quite the prospect. Wisconsinites will also be cheering for WR Lee Evans and DB Troy Vincent who were standouts for the UW Badgers. Evans is fun to watch, if you can spot him. The diminutive Evans runs a 4.3 40, so look for the guy sprinting past Al Harris and you’ve found him.
Enjoy the practice, and stop by again tomorrow for my review…
SportsBlogSteves goes legit, with our own domain name and everything!!!!
Email me at Samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
…and email St. Ides at stides@sportsblogsteves.com . Steve needs a little prodding to blog again folks so let him know how annoyed you are that he hasn’t written.
“Super Bowl Sunday proved to be a gastronomical Armageddon at the Samichlaus household, featuring my famous Italian breaded wings served with blue cheese and buffalo sauce, a baked brie en cruet , little pizza thingies, sausage and pepper sandwiches, potato chips, onion dip, tortilla chips, 2 kinds of salsa, cheese dip, fresh veggies with ranch dressing, Ritz crackers and Triscuits. I never did break out the pimento dip. This feast was enjoyed by the whole gang, which consisted of Karen, Holly and me.”
Yep.
I didn’t even bother to mention the beer, and if you’re thinking “Well, it was Super Bowl Sunday, he couldn’t possibly eat like this every week” you’d be right. Usually I wouldn’t bother putting out the fresh veggies.
Tonight begins my first foray into the world of diabetic friendly football viewing. I must say that I am thrilled the NFL network is showing the “Packer Family Night” scrimmage. This friendly practice between the Packers and the Inferior Assembly of Football Players And We Use The Term Players Loosely Known As The Bills will prove an excellent opportunity to try some new football finger foods. I’ll be snacking on some low fat, low carb dilectables like fat free cheese with turkey pepperoni, turkey pastrami Reubin sandwiches on low carb bread, and we’ll throw in some celery for good measure. I’ll wait until next week to break out my chicken wing replacement: Grilled chicken breasts basted in wing sauce, hold the breading thank you very much. That should be a treat.
The scrimmage should be a lot of fun. We’ll get our first look at Jim Bates’s defense, albiet a vanilla version of it, as well as Aaron Rodgers who according to publised reports looked “better than Favre” yesterday. We’ll get to hear some cheesy local Green Bay announcers too. Family Night is a local broadcast tradition in Green Bay and all that the NFL network is doing is picking up the local feed. I love stuff like this. Everytime I think “Gosh, I wish Karen and I lived in Green Bay instead of the goddamn Confederacy”, it’s broadcasts like this that make me thank the good Christ that we don’t. That, and the fact that my little wife would probably look like a red headed popsicle by mid November. No thanks.
There isn’t much you can learn about the Packers or the Bills tonight. Remember, this isn’t even a preseason game. It’s a practice, so the teams aren’t going to show much. Favre will run a couple of drives, then probably give way to Craig Nall… or Rodgers. That’s something to look at: who do the Packers bring in second? If Rodgers comes in after Favre, that tells me that he’s having a better preseason that we’ve thought. It also could mean the end of last year’s third stringer J.T. O’Sullivan. Watch for Najeh Davenport to see some action since the Packers are already depleted in the running back position. It will be interesting to see how he looks playing at 243.
For the Bills, all eyes will be on quarterback J.P. Losman, whom the Packers nearly drafted last year. Losman is expected to start for the Bills, replacing Drew Bledsoe and is considered to be quite the prospect. Wisconsinites will also be cheering for WR Lee Evans and DB Troy Vincent who were standouts for the UW Badgers. Evans is fun to watch, if you can spot him. The diminutive Evans runs a 4.3 40, so look for the guy sprinting past Al Harris and you’ve found him.
Enjoy the practice, and stop by again tomorrow for my review…
SportsBlogSteves goes legit, with our own domain name and everything!!!!
Email me at Samichlaus@sportsblogsteves.com
…and email St. Ides at stides@sportsblogsteves.com . Steve needs a little prodding to blog again folks so let him know how annoyed you are that he hasn’t written.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Men, their bathroom escapades, and training camp
The first part of this blog has nothing to do with football. While combing through last month’s email putting together my monthly status report, I came upon this litte biscuit that I sent to my cousin. I really can’t explain why as I hurtle towards my 43rd year this stuff still makes me laugh. Hysterically. As in I was starting to get funny looks at the office. But it does, and I suspect our male readers will agree. Here’s the first paragraph:
Hey Dude,
I haven’t heard from you in so long, I thought I’d write. Things are going really well lately, though it’s been hot as hell down here. Every day it gets into the upper 90’s and every night there’s a Wizard of Oz storm that cools things off to the mid 90’s. Gotta love the South. What really prompted this email though was the shit I just took. Since becoming a Weight Watcher 13 weeks ago, my shits have become these big, wide, O-ring busting boulders that leave me prostate on the can after I finally squeeze them out. In fact, I hadn’t taken a shit since Wednesday morning. That’s got to be a family record of some sort, at least in the men’s division. I remember Anne had an issue once where she didn’t go for something like 12 days but I digress. Anyway, last night I took some Metamucil to try to loosen things up, but all it did was create a whole lot more bulk, so when I finally did poop it was like passing a fuckin football. Christ almighty.
In case you’re wondering, my cousin appreciated the email. Here’s a small edited sample…
LOL. This is great. I love emails about shits!
The shits are tough on the low carb diet. I would go 2-4 days without a shit. It's unreal. But it's not an uncomfortable 2-4 days, and when the shit finally comes it's like a bonus.
Hey, does Metamucil give you the farts?
The discussion carried on for a few more emails but I’ll spare you the details. I suspect this is all our fans care to know about Samichlaus’s adventurous anus. Well, Packer training camp is open and in full swing! The only starter not in camp is Bubba Franks, who has not signed a contract. Franks’s contract expired last year, so the Packers designated him a “transition” player and offered him a one year deal.
A little tutorial on NFL contracts. Teams can designate one player per year either a “franchise player” or a “transition player”. These are sort of insurance policies for the team. There are several subcategories of each, but here’s the easiest definition: a franchise player must be paid a salary equal to the average of the 5 highest salaries for his position, while a transition player is paid a salary equal to the average of the 10 highest salaries for his position. If another team makes and offer to a transition player, the team has the right to match the offer. It's a little more complicated with Franchise players but you get the gist.
Bubba’s one year deal is for about 2.1 million, but he’s looking for a multi year offer in the 3 – 4 million a year range. The Packers aren’t biting, and are playing hardball. Essentially, Franks is a good Tight End. He’s a great blocker and pretty much catches everything thrown near him. He’s not very fast, but he’s deceptively quick. Is he one of the top 5 Tight Ends in the league? I think so, but I’m an old school kind of guy. The “modern” Tight End is smaller and faster than Franks. He is a deep threat and can stretch defenses. But he doesn’t block the run like Bubba, and he doesn’t have Bubba’s soft hands.
Franks is also a team leader. He’s never missed a start in 80 games. He keeps himself in top condition, and works hard to improve his game. He’s a great example to the younger players. The Packers need Bubba Franks in camp and soon. In fact Brett Farve said as much this week. They better stop messing around and get this done.
The reports out of camp have been encouraging. Yesterday I watched an interview with Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates and by the time he was done I was convinced that I should draft the Packer Defense in my fantasy league. You know ol’ Samichlaus is crazy enough to do it too. There have been several defensive standouts so far, including Nick Collins (the Bethune-Cookman all star) and Roy Manning (the undrafted free agent from, hwat's that small school program again? Oh yeah, Michigan). Bates even had high praise for super stoner Cletidus Hunt, who decided to show up after missing the two mini-camps.
The Offense has yet to show much, mostly due to Favre’s rustiness. Coaches are singing the praises of second round pick Terence Murphy, who has shown speed, good hands, and maturity. Also, Karen’s main man Najeh Davenport showed up weighing a trim 243 lbs after losing 22 lbs on the Jenny Craig plan. Davenport had hired a nutritionist and had worked to lose weight but was not having success. In desperation, he literally wandered in to the Jenny Craig office on South Onedia St across from Lambeau field. The staff member who worked with him had no idea who he was. Davenport reported that she asked him if he ran, to which he replied “I try”.
TV Viewing Update: The NFL network will be broadcasting “Family Night” from Lambeau Field this Friday at 8:00 EDT. This years Family Night features a scrimmage with the Buffalo Bills. Next Thursday, August 11th, the Packers kick off their preseason schedule with an 8:00 game against the San Diego Charges. ESPN will carry the game live.
Hey Dude,
I haven’t heard from you in so long, I thought I’d write. Things are going really well lately, though it’s been hot as hell down here. Every day it gets into the upper 90’s and every night there’s a Wizard of Oz storm that cools things off to the mid 90’s. Gotta love the South. What really prompted this email though was the shit I just took. Since becoming a Weight Watcher 13 weeks ago, my shits have become these big, wide, O-ring busting boulders that leave me prostate on the can after I finally squeeze them out. In fact, I hadn’t taken a shit since Wednesday morning. That’s got to be a family record of some sort, at least in the men’s division. I remember Anne had an issue once where she didn’t go for something like 12 days but I digress. Anyway, last night I took some Metamucil to try to loosen things up, but all it did was create a whole lot more bulk, so when I finally did poop it was like passing a fuckin football. Christ almighty.
In case you’re wondering, my cousin appreciated the email. Here’s a small edited sample…
LOL. This is great. I love emails about shits!
The shits are tough on the low carb diet. I would go 2-4 days without a shit. It's unreal. But it's not an uncomfortable 2-4 days, and when the shit finally comes it's like a bonus.
Hey, does Metamucil give you the farts?
The discussion carried on for a few more emails but I’ll spare you the details. I suspect this is all our fans care to know about Samichlaus’s adventurous anus. Well, Packer training camp is open and in full swing! The only starter not in camp is Bubba Franks, who has not signed a contract. Franks’s contract expired last year, so the Packers designated him a “transition” player and offered him a one year deal.
A little tutorial on NFL contracts. Teams can designate one player per year either a “franchise player” or a “transition player”. These are sort of insurance policies for the team. There are several subcategories of each, but here’s the easiest definition: a franchise player must be paid a salary equal to the average of the 5 highest salaries for his position, while a transition player is paid a salary equal to the average of the 10 highest salaries for his position. If another team makes and offer to a transition player, the team has the right to match the offer. It's a little more complicated with Franchise players but you get the gist.
Bubba’s one year deal is for about 2.1 million, but he’s looking for a multi year offer in the 3 – 4 million a year range. The Packers aren’t biting, and are playing hardball. Essentially, Franks is a good Tight End. He’s a great blocker and pretty much catches everything thrown near him. He’s not very fast, but he’s deceptively quick. Is he one of the top 5 Tight Ends in the league? I think so, but I’m an old school kind of guy. The “modern” Tight End is smaller and faster than Franks. He is a deep threat and can stretch defenses. But he doesn’t block the run like Bubba, and he doesn’t have Bubba’s soft hands.
Franks is also a team leader. He’s never missed a start in 80 games. He keeps himself in top condition, and works hard to improve his game. He’s a great example to the younger players. The Packers need Bubba Franks in camp and soon. In fact Brett Farve said as much this week. They better stop messing around and get this done.
The reports out of camp have been encouraging. Yesterday I watched an interview with Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates and by the time he was done I was convinced that I should draft the Packer Defense in my fantasy league. You know ol’ Samichlaus is crazy enough to do it too. There have been several defensive standouts so far, including Nick Collins (the Bethune-Cookman all star) and Roy Manning (the undrafted free agent from, hwat's that small school program again? Oh yeah, Michigan). Bates even had high praise for super stoner Cletidus Hunt, who decided to show up after missing the two mini-camps.
The Offense has yet to show much, mostly due to Favre’s rustiness. Coaches are singing the praises of second round pick Terence Murphy, who has shown speed, good hands, and maturity. Also, Karen’s main man Najeh Davenport showed up weighing a trim 243 lbs after losing 22 lbs on the Jenny Craig plan. Davenport had hired a nutritionist and had worked to lose weight but was not having success. In desperation, he literally wandered in to the Jenny Craig office on South Onedia St across from Lambeau field. The staff member who worked with him had no idea who he was. Davenport reported that she asked him if he ran, to which he replied “I try”.
TV Viewing Update: The NFL network will be broadcasting “Family Night” from Lambeau Field this Friday at 8:00 EDT. This years Family Night features a scrimmage with the Buffalo Bills. Next Thursday, August 11th, the Packers kick off their preseason schedule with an 8:00 game against the San Diego Charges. ESPN will carry the game live.
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