There were some additional twists in the history of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise.
In 1967 a Cincinnati-based ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League.
By 1966, Paul Brown wanted to become involved in professional football again. James A. Rhodes, then the governor of Ohio, convinced Brown that Ohio needed a second team. Cincinnati was deemed the logical choice, in essence, splitting the state.
However, Brown was not a supporter of the rival American Football League, stating that "I didn't pay 10 million dollars to be in the AFL," He only acquiesced to joining the AFL when he was guaranteed that the team would become an NFL franchise after the impending merger of the two leagues.
There was also a complication: the Major League Baseball Cincinnati Reds were in need of a facility to replace the antiquated, obsolete Crosley Field, which they had used since 1912. Parking nightmares had plagued the city as far back as the 1950s, the little park lacked modern amenities, and New York City, which in 1956 had lost both their National League teams, the Dodgers and the Giants to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, were actively courting Powel Crosley. However, Crosley was adamant that the Reds remain in Cincinnati and tolerated worsening problems with the Crosley Field location, which were increased with the Millcreek Expressway (I-75) project that ran alongside the park.
With assistance from Ohio governor James A. Rhodes, Hamilton County and the Cincinnati city council agreed to build a single multi-purpose facility on the dilapidated riverfront section of the city. The new facility had to be ready by the opening of the 1970 NFL season and was officially named Riverfront Stadium, which was its working title.
Here is another take:
Planning for the Cincinnati Bengals franchise began three full years before the team began playing in the American Football League in 1968. Paul Brown, who had enjoyed exceptional success as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for 17 seasons before departing in 1962, had the urge to get back into pro football. In 1965, he met with then-Governor Jim Rhodes and the two agreed the state could accommodate a second pro football team. A year later in 1966, Cincinnati's city council approved the construction of 60,389-seat Riverfront Stadium, which was scheduled for completion by 1970. The next year, a group headed by Brown was awarded an American Football League franchise that would begin play in 1968. Brown named his team the Bengals in recognition of previous Cincinnati pro football franchises with the same name in the 1930s and 1940s.
And then there's this monkey business that tells of the original ownership group, and a little of how Mike Brown gained control of the franchise.
During the dance to keep the Cincinnati Bengals from moving to Baltimore, team president Mike Brown was asked in 1995 if he could help fund a new stadium in Cincinnati.
During the dance to keep the Cincinnati Bengals from moving to Baltimore, team president Mike Brown was asked in 1995 if he could help fund a new stadium in Cincinnati.
He's right. He didn't. Twelve years earlier, his father, Paul Brown, the legendary NFL coach and founder of the Bengals, signed away the family's profits so that one day 10 years down the road, his son Mike could own and control the team.
From 1984 to 1993, the Bengals paid out every penny of profit — $66 million — to shareholders. Nearly all of that money was paid to John Sawyer and Austin Knowlton, the men whose money brought the new franchise to Cincinnati in 1968.
And some more:
Upset at losing control of and being fired as coach of the team that bears his name by the Cleveland Browns upstart owner Art Modell, football pioneer Paul Brown rebounded by planning to bring a professional team to Cincinnati.
Brown sought the political clout of Ohio Gov. James Rhodes but needed money. He turned to John Sawyer, owner of a farm management and estate brokerage firm, and a Columbus-area construction company owner named Austin E. Knowlton, known to all as "Dutch."
Before the Bengals were born in 1967, Knowlton already was a wealthy construction company owner interested in professional athletics. In addition to helping form the Bengals, over his lifetime Knowlton also was the majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds and was active in the horse racing industry, serving as a trustee of the Brown Jug Society, which runs the Triple Crown for standard bred pacing horses, as well as a breeder of show horses at his Emerald Farm outside Columbus.
As owner of 236 of the 586 shares of Bengals stock, Knowlton controlled the largest block of shares, something Chesley believes irked Mike Brown, current team president and son of Paul Brown.
That, Chesley suggested, was the driving force behind the Brown family's eventual purchase of 60 of Knowlton's Bengals shares that gave the Browns control of the team. Brown and Knowlton signed a controversial 1983 document that gave the Brown family the option to buy those 60 shares for $6 million, or $100,000 per share, a shockingly low price, Chesley maintains.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Bengals History: It was 40 Years Ago Today
Bengals History:
I saw this today on the NFL website:
NFL History
September 27, 1967
A group with Paul Brown as part owner, general manager, and head coach, was awarded the Cincinnati franchise.
Growing up in Cincy, I was a fan. All my life.
I looked up some history of the franchise. I found some on some interesting websites.
In 1965 Paul Brown and Ohio governor James Rhodes met with Cincinnati civic leaders about bringing a pro football team to the city. In 1966 Cincinnati city council set aside a 48 acre site that later would be used to construct a stadium that would house the Reds and a pro football team. With the promise of a new stadium Brown was awarded an AFL expansion team on September 27, 1967. Although many names were suggested the most popular being the Buckeyes, Brown rejected it to avoid confusion with Ohio State University and name the team the Bengals in honor of an earlier Cincinnati AFL football team of the late 30's and early 40's.
This was a recently published article that I thought was very well done:
Brown signed Stofa, the ex-Miami Dolphin, as the first Bengal on Dec. 27, 1967. Now the team needed a center. So Brown tapped Bob Johnson, an All-America from Tennessee, as his top draft pick on Jan. 30, 1968, and immediately installed him as the captain.
"I was the first guy drafted, so for an expansion team it was like I was one of the few guys that probably knew he was going to make the team," Johnson said. "You walked in and Coach Brown made me the captain, but you were the captain of sort of a strange, unusual collection of people.
"If you look back at that group, there were some good players, but as you would expect, there was no really good players in the prime of their career. They were either at the tail end or were viewed to be marginal."
Johnson played 12 seasons (1968-79), and his number — 54 — is the only one retired in club history.
Here is how the Bengals website has the history:
The Bengals arrive on Sept. 26, 1967 in a birth announcement at a packed house in the Sheraton Gibson Hotel as the newest member of the American Football League.
But the labor pains begin long before on the back porch of Paul Brown's home in exile in La Jolla, Calif., where one of his former Ohio State players, Bill Hackett, a London, Ohio veterinarian, urges him to be NFL commissioner when the job opens up again.
Brown tells Hackett what he really wants to do is own a team and the comments spark a Dec. 14, 1965 meeting of 125 Cincinnati businessmen listening to Brown make the irresistible pitch to bring an American Football League franchise to Cincinnati with local entrepreneur John Sawyer as a critical go-between.
The city and the sport are meeting in just that right intersection of opportunity and luck. Professional football is about to explode on the American scene and overtake baseball as the national pasttime, and even though Brown has been out of the game more than two years he remains one of its most recognizable faces and names.
Mike Brown, Paul's son and a Cleveland attorney, has surveyed potential cities for pro football expansion and recommends Cincinnati because of its market size and his father's Ohio ties.
The road is arduous. There must be a stadium built and there must be an accommodation with baseball's Reds, one of the country's most treasured civic prizes.
Plus, amid the NFL and AFL's trench warfare, there are peace talks about a merger, and Brown's group has to negotiate through the political minefields of not one, but two leagues.
They have help.
Ohio governor James Rhodes takes a break this night from the introductory news conference outside the hotel and recalls how he made "22 trips outside of Ohio just on this." NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who owes his position in some measure to the day in 1960 Brown turned down the job, is a key ally. Cincinnati city officials like mayor Gene Ruehlmann roll up their sleeves in brokering a deal with the Reds and Bengals for one multipurpose stadium on the riverfront.
"When I assured (Rhodes) that I was serious enough to invest a sizable amount of my own money, he began setting up a series of meetings that really started the franchise on its way," Brown later writes in his autobiography with Jack Clary.
"It wasn't too long before I was commuting often between California and Cincinnati in 1966, meeting prospective members of our ownership group and working on the details that attach themselves to such a massive venture. When I wasn't in Ohio, I was being awakened nearly every morning in La Jolla by Bill Hackett's phone calls giving me the latest news."
But it is the sheer force of Brown's personality and accomplishments that drive it. A legendary high school coach in Massillon, Ohio. Coach of a national champion at Ohio State. One of the founders and coach of a Cleveland Browns franchise that became the NFL's first dynasty.
Since Brown's firing at the end of the 1962 season by Browns owner Art Modell, all eyes have been on his return to pro football and five years later the microphones and cameras find him in Cincinnati as owner, general manager and, everyone assumes, head coach.
"This is like coming home," Brown says, barely a month removed from his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. "I'm living again. It's a happy day for me and I hope it turns out to be a happy day for Cincinnati and its environs."
There are plenty of details still dangling.
Two of the sites mentioned as possible venues for the two seasons before the stadium is finished are the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium and the Reds' Crosley Field.
And there is the matter of a name, although no doubt the name of Cincinnati's pro team in the late '30s, the Bengals, will resonate with Brown.
Even the coaching job has yet to be hammered down definitely. Brown, who'll turn 60 the day after his team's first game in September of 1968, admits he'll probably coach at least that first season and "take the bumps."
But two things are certain.
Cincinnati is a two-sport town on the pro scene and Paul Brown is back.
"I'm breathing again," he says on a September night the Bengals take their first breath.
I saw this today on the NFL website:
NFL History
September 27, 1967
A group with Paul Brown as part owner, general manager, and head coach, was awarded the Cincinnati franchise.
Growing up in Cincy, I was a fan. All my life.
I looked up some history of the franchise. I found some on some interesting websites.
In 1965 Paul Brown and Ohio governor James Rhodes met with Cincinnati civic leaders about bringing a pro football team to the city. In 1966 Cincinnati city council set aside a 48 acre site that later would be used to construct a stadium that would house the Reds and a pro football team. With the promise of a new stadium Brown was awarded an AFL expansion team on September 27, 1967. Although many names were suggested the most popular being the Buckeyes, Brown rejected it to avoid confusion with Ohio State University and name the team the Bengals in honor of an earlier Cincinnati AFL football team of the late 30's and early 40's.
This was a recently published article that I thought was very well done:
Brown signed Stofa, the ex-Miami Dolphin, as the first Bengal on Dec. 27, 1967. Now the team needed a center. So Brown tapped Bob Johnson, an All-America from Tennessee, as his top draft pick on Jan. 30, 1968, and immediately installed him as the captain.
"I was the first guy drafted, so for an expansion team it was like I was one of the few guys that probably knew he was going to make the team," Johnson said. "You walked in and Coach Brown made me the captain, but you were the captain of sort of a strange, unusual collection of people.
"If you look back at that group, there were some good players, but as you would expect, there was no really good players in the prime of their career. They were either at the tail end or were viewed to be marginal."
Johnson played 12 seasons (1968-79), and his number — 54 — is the only one retired in club history.
Here is how the Bengals website has the history:
The Bengals arrive on Sept. 26, 1967 in a birth announcement at a packed house in the Sheraton Gibson Hotel as the newest member of the American Football League.
But the labor pains begin long before on the back porch of Paul Brown's home in exile in La Jolla, Calif., where one of his former Ohio State players, Bill Hackett, a London, Ohio veterinarian, urges him to be NFL commissioner when the job opens up again.
Brown tells Hackett what he really wants to do is own a team and the comments spark a Dec. 14, 1965 meeting of 125 Cincinnati businessmen listening to Brown make the irresistible pitch to bring an American Football League franchise to Cincinnati with local entrepreneur John Sawyer as a critical go-between.
The city and the sport are meeting in just that right intersection of opportunity and luck. Professional football is about to explode on the American scene and overtake baseball as the national pasttime, and even though Brown has been out of the game more than two years he remains one of its most recognizable faces and names.
Mike Brown, Paul's son and a Cleveland attorney, has surveyed potential cities for pro football expansion and recommends Cincinnati because of its market size and his father's Ohio ties.
The road is arduous. There must be a stadium built and there must be an accommodation with baseball's Reds, one of the country's most treasured civic prizes.
Plus, amid the NFL and AFL's trench warfare, there are peace talks about a merger, and Brown's group has to negotiate through the political minefields of not one, but two leagues.
They have help.
Ohio governor James Rhodes takes a break this night from the introductory news conference outside the hotel and recalls how he made "22 trips outside of Ohio just on this." NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who owes his position in some measure to the day in 1960 Brown turned down the job, is a key ally. Cincinnati city officials like mayor Gene Ruehlmann roll up their sleeves in brokering a deal with the Reds and Bengals for one multipurpose stadium on the riverfront.
"When I assured (Rhodes) that I was serious enough to invest a sizable amount of my own money, he began setting up a series of meetings that really started the franchise on its way," Brown later writes in his autobiography with Jack Clary.
"It wasn't too long before I was commuting often between California and Cincinnati in 1966, meeting prospective members of our ownership group and working on the details that attach themselves to such a massive venture. When I wasn't in Ohio, I was being awakened nearly every morning in La Jolla by Bill Hackett's phone calls giving me the latest news."
But it is the sheer force of Brown's personality and accomplishments that drive it. A legendary high school coach in Massillon, Ohio. Coach of a national champion at Ohio State. One of the founders and coach of a Cleveland Browns franchise that became the NFL's first dynasty.
Since Brown's firing at the end of the 1962 season by Browns owner Art Modell, all eyes have been on his return to pro football and five years later the microphones and cameras find him in Cincinnati as owner, general manager and, everyone assumes, head coach.
"This is like coming home," Brown says, barely a month removed from his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. "I'm living again. It's a happy day for me and I hope it turns out to be a happy day for Cincinnati and its environs."
There are plenty of details still dangling.
Two of the sites mentioned as possible venues for the two seasons before the stadium is finished are the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium and the Reds' Crosley Field.
And there is the matter of a name, although no doubt the name of Cincinnati's pro team in the late '30s, the Bengals, will resonate with Brown.
Even the coaching job has yet to be hammered down definitely. Brown, who'll turn 60 the day after his team's first game in September of 1968, admits he'll probably coach at least that first season and "take the bumps."
But two things are certain.
Cincinnati is a two-sport town on the pro scene and Paul Brown is back.
"I'm breathing again," he says on a September night the Bengals take their first breath.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Griffey Is Between Frank Robinson and McGwire: That's About Right
Ken Griffey Jr. is now in-between Frank Robinson and Mark McGwire in terms of career home runs. Frank Robinson is ahead of him with 586 dingers, while Junior has 584, and McGwire finished with 583.
Looking at the careers of these three, it is amazing to me how many big seasons McGwire had bunched into his relatively shorter career. It's like he was really primed for fewer seasons. This compares with Griffey, who had more seasons that were the best in the league (though not 70 and 65 homer seasons).
Finally, it is really instructive to see Frank Robinson's career. Wow. The length, the productivity, the fact that he was in the top 10 of his league in homers in 15 seasons, and that he hit over 39 homers only in his Triple Crown year of 1966.
With Junior going to pass Robinson ... maybe this week, this is a good time to sit back and really take stock of Frank Robinson's career. He certainly may be the most underappreciated great player of all time.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Looking at the careers of these three, it is amazing to me how many big seasons McGwire had bunched into his relatively shorter career. It's like he was really primed for fewer seasons. This compares with Griffey, who had more seasons that were the best in the league (though not 70 and 65 homer seasons).
Finally, it is really instructive to see Frank Robinson's career. Wow. The length, the productivity, the fact that he was in the top 10 of his league in homers in 15 seasons, and that he hit over 39 homers only in his Triple Crown year of 1966.
With Junior going to pass Robinson ... maybe this week, this is a good time to sit back and really take stock of Frank Robinson's career. He certainly may be the most underappreciated great player of all time.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Terry Hoeppner: Great Man, Great Coach
Terry Hoeppner died Tuesday of complications from a brain tumor.
Months after Randy Walker, former Miami player and head football coach, died unexpectedly at a very young age, his assistant, Hoeppner, died at the age of 59.
Hoeppner was what you want a coach and a man to be. He was optimistic without being unrealistic and confident without being cocky. He knew how to handle the good times and more importantly the bad times. He was one of my favorite coaches of all time (as was Walker).
Like the time that Miami lost a very tough, very close game against Marshall at Marshall in the last seconds. Things got out of hand after the game. One Miami assistant coach was led off the field in handcuffs, while another basically trashed the visiting coaches booth. Hoeppner handled the situation with grace and humility. He apologized for the actions of the staff. And he said that Miami had had a streak of 70 straight years of acting with class that was broken, and that the'll just have to start another streak starting today.
As the coach of the mid-major Miami (my alma mater), he had a saying that he would meet anybody, any place, any time. The RedHawks were not afraid to play any team.
It of course helped to have Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback during the 13-1 season of 2003. But those teams were stacked with good players who played the game tough and right. It was Hoeppner who got those players and had them playing well.
Hep had the Hoosiers on the right track. They were going to be pretty good pretty soon. It may be a tough road to win consistently at Indiana. But they are on the right track.
OldCleat
Months after Randy Walker, former Miami player and head football coach, died unexpectedly at a very young age, his assistant, Hoeppner, died at the age of 59.
Hoeppner was what you want a coach and a man to be. He was optimistic without being unrealistic and confident without being cocky. He knew how to handle the good times and more importantly the bad times. He was one of my favorite coaches of all time (as was Walker).
Like the time that Miami lost a very tough, very close game against Marshall at Marshall in the last seconds. Things got out of hand after the game. One Miami assistant coach was led off the field in handcuffs, while another basically trashed the visiting coaches booth. Hoeppner handled the situation with grace and humility. He apologized for the actions of the staff. And he said that Miami had had a streak of 70 straight years of acting with class that was broken, and that the'll just have to start another streak starting today.
As the coach of the mid-major Miami (my alma mater), he had a saying that he would meet anybody, any place, any time. The RedHawks were not afraid to play any team.
It of course helped to have Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback during the 13-1 season of 2003. But those teams were stacked with good players who played the game tough and right. It was Hoeppner who got those players and had them playing well.
Hep had the Hoosiers on the right track. They were going to be pretty good pretty soon. It may be a tough road to win consistently at Indiana. But they are on the right track.
OldCleat
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Mr. Briggs Goes to Washington, Perhaps
Lance Briggs, Bears linebacker and all-around unhappy camper, and his agent what's his name are pushing a trade from the Bears to the Washingtons, according to Len Pasquarelli. What's his name and Washington's owner, Daniel Snyder, can agree to a contract, Lenny the P reports.
The thing that is disturbing in this whole scenario is the fact that the players through their association, the Player's Association, agreed to the whole franchise tag system that the NFL teams employ. But Briggs and what's are really just jobbing the system. Briggs said he would sit out the first 10 games and then play the six so that he gets credit for the whole year.
Washington will propose a swap of first-round draft picks in this year's draft -- the Redskins own the sixth overall selection and Chicago has the 31st choice -- in exchange for Briggs.
I don't think this is enough for Briggs. If I were Bears GM Jerry Angelo, I'd look around to see if there is a team or two that they could job the system right back. Unfortunately, the Bears I think have to protect themselves in this situation. So they have to be buyers for the right deal.
But the unhappiness of every player who is franchised (except for kickers) has to be addressed. Each player who gets slapped, so to speak, with the tag is upset.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
The thing that is disturbing in this whole scenario is the fact that the players through their association, the Player's Association, agreed to the whole franchise tag system that the NFL teams employ. But Briggs and what's are really just jobbing the system. Briggs said he would sit out the first 10 games and then play the six so that he gets credit for the whole year.
Washington will propose a swap of first-round draft picks in this year's draft -- the Redskins own the sixth overall selection and Chicago has the 31st choice -- in exchange for Briggs.
I don't think this is enough for Briggs. If I were Bears GM Jerry Angelo, I'd look around to see if there is a team or two that they could job the system right back. Unfortunately, the Bears I think have to protect themselves in this situation. So they have to be buyers for the right deal.
But the unhappiness of every player who is franchised (except for kickers) has to be addressed. Each player who gets slapped, so to speak, with the tag is upset.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Peter King Loves Pats Moves; OldCleat Does NOT
Peter King, in this week's SI, lovingly describes a New England Patriots offseason as one for the ages. "In New England, the rich don't just get richer. They get smarter," King coos. Well, I disagree. They have signed Adalius Thomas ... and that is their best offseason move so far.
I have no problem giving the Patriots credit when they've done the right thing. And they've done the right thing over and over and over again in their recent history. Most notably, they drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round of the draft in 2000.
This of course made up for the fact that they passed on Brady and instead drafted Adrian Klemm in the second round, J.R. Redmond in the third round, Greg Randall in the fourth round, the incomparable Dave Stachelski and Jeff Marriott in the fifth round, and Antwan Harris in the sixth round before Brady. I guess I'm saying that the Pats lucked into Tom Brady.
They were also lucky that Cleveland drafted the really incomparable SpergonWynn of S.W. Texas State and New Orleans drafted MarcBulger (actually, this was a pretty good pick) in the 2000 sixth round before the Pats tabbed Brady. So I guess I'm saying that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli are good, very good, but not geniuses.
But this offseason I think has been a not great one for the Pats. The Thomas move was very good, because Belichick will be able to put him in situations to succeed. I will say one thing, however. While the Pats picked up Thomas, they lost Tully Banta-Cain. This may be a little thing. But it all adds up.
I thought the Pats were very smart in being able to get a first-round pick last year for Deion Branch. However, this offseason, they had to trade a second and a seventh for Wes Welker, who is not close to being as good a wide receiver, to replace Branch. They gave up too much for Wes Welker, and that also makes the Branch deal a little less wonderful.
As for their other starter at wideout, they signed Donte' Stallworth with a $12 million signing bonus for a contract worth $30 million over six years (how muchdid Branch want?). Stallworth's best season: 70 catches, 945 yards, 13.5 yards per catch, and 7 TDs. He's been in the league five years. The Saints and Eagles ain't losing sleep over losing him. Good signing?
Last year, King notes, the Pats had to suffer with Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell and Troy Brown as their wideouts. I agree. But they are trying to fix their problem with Stallworth and Kelley Washington, who was a disappointment with the Bengals. Washington's best season was his second, with 31 receptions, 378 yards, 12.2 yards per catch, and 3 TDs. While his signing bonus was only $300,000, he has a $4 million bonus due in 2008. Bet he doesn't collect it. I've seen him play for four years in Cincinnati. He's not as good a player as he thinks he is. Washington sort of reminds me of David Terrell, without all the talent.
King says "2006 first-round pick Laurence Maroney [is] ready to become a 300-carry-a-season running back," though it appeared to me that Maroney was badly faded at the end of his rookie year. I believe the Pats had to cut Corey Dillon, though.
Been there. Dillon became unhappy in New England just like he did in Cincinnati. But King is happy with the Sammy Morris sign as an alternative. He can't be serious. I think Heath Evans is a better player than Sammy Morris. The Pats better keep looking for another back.
The Pats lost Daniel Graham at tight end, which is fine, because he wasn't their best tight end and wasn't worth $6 million a year. But then they signed a badly faded Kyle Brady for almost $3 million a year. Terrible signing. I remember Belichick almost jumping off a roof as Cleveland's head coach a hundred years ago because Kyle Brady was drafted right in front of his pick. He then traded the rights to J.J. Stokes in a huff, which turned out to be a pretty good call, though I thought it was a terrible decision at the time.
And finally, there's the Asante Samuel franchise tag for $7.79 million for one year. That's a tough one for me to decide on, because there are no good corners on the B-list. But a few years ago, the Pats would have let him walk and drafted a guy like, well, Asante Samuel in the fourth round and plugged him in.
King says: "New England's flurry of activity doesn't signify a shift in philosophy." Horsefeathers. I think the Thomas sign doesn't shift their philosophy, because they were willing to go after great, best-in-class, expensive, available players before, such as Dillon or Roosevelt Colvin. But when have they started overspending for guys like Stallworth? Or spending $5 million for the first two years of a mediocrity like Sammy Morris? Kelley Washington?
There is still time in the offseason to stick to what makes the Patriots the Patriots. The Pats haveplenty of time to pick up a couple of good players very cheap very late, a bargain like Edgerton Hartwell or Warrick Holdman, or even a LaVar Arrington at linebacker. They could get a Mike Doss at safety or a Kevan Barlow at running back at dime store prices, and that would be the Patriots I know and respect.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
I have no problem giving the Patriots credit when they've done the right thing. And they've done the right thing over and over and over again in their recent history. Most notably, they drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round of the draft in 2000.
This of course made up for the fact that they passed on Brady and instead drafted Adrian Klemm in the second round, J.R. Redmond in the third round, Greg Randall in the fourth round, the incomparable Dave Stachelski and Jeff Marriott in the fifth round, and Antwan Harris in the sixth round before Brady. I guess I'm saying that the Pats lucked into Tom Brady.
They were also lucky that Cleveland drafted the really incomparable SpergonWynn of S.W. Texas State and New Orleans drafted MarcBulger (actually, this was a pretty good pick) in the 2000 sixth round before the Pats tabbed Brady. So I guess I'm saying that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli are good, very good, but not geniuses.
But this offseason I think has been a not great one for the Pats. The Thomas move was very good, because Belichick will be able to put him in situations to succeed. I will say one thing, however. While the Pats picked up Thomas, they lost Tully Banta-Cain. This may be a little thing. But it all adds up.
I thought the Pats were very smart in being able to get a first-round pick last year for Deion Branch. However, this offseason, they had to trade a second and a seventh for Wes Welker, who is not close to being as good a wide receiver, to replace Branch. They gave up too much for Wes Welker, and that also makes the Branch deal a little less wonderful.
As for their other starter at wideout, they signed Donte' Stallworth with a $12 million signing bonus for a contract worth $30 million over six years (how muchdid Branch want?). Stallworth's best season: 70 catches, 945 yards, 13.5 yards per catch, and 7 TDs. He's been in the league five years. The Saints and Eagles ain't losing sleep over losing him. Good signing?
Last year, King notes, the Pats had to suffer with Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell and Troy Brown as their wideouts. I agree. But they are trying to fix their problem with Stallworth and Kelley Washington, who was a disappointment with the Bengals. Washington's best season was his second, with 31 receptions, 378 yards, 12.2 yards per catch, and 3 TDs. While his signing bonus was only $300,000, he has a $4 million bonus due in 2008. Bet he doesn't collect it. I've seen him play for four years in Cincinnati. He's not as good a player as he thinks he is. Washington sort of reminds me of David Terrell, without all the talent.
King says "2006 first-round pick Laurence Maroney [is] ready to become a 300-carry-a-season running back," though it appeared to me that Maroney was badly faded at the end of his rookie year. I believe the Pats had to cut Corey Dillon, though.
Been there. Dillon became unhappy in New England just like he did in Cincinnati. But King is happy with the Sammy Morris sign as an alternative. He can't be serious. I think Heath Evans is a better player than Sammy Morris. The Pats better keep looking for another back.
The Pats lost Daniel Graham at tight end, which is fine, because he wasn't their best tight end and wasn't worth $6 million a year. But then they signed a badly faded Kyle Brady for almost $3 million a year. Terrible signing. I remember Belichick almost jumping off a roof as Cleveland's head coach a hundred years ago because Kyle Brady was drafted right in front of his pick. He then traded the rights to J.J. Stokes in a huff, which turned out to be a pretty good call, though I thought it was a terrible decision at the time.
And finally, there's the Asante Samuel franchise tag for $7.79 million for one year. That's a tough one for me to decide on, because there are no good corners on the B-list. But a few years ago, the Pats would have let him walk and drafted a guy like, well, Asante Samuel in the fourth round and plugged him in.
King says: "New England's flurry of activity doesn't signify a shift in philosophy." Horsefeathers. I think the Thomas sign doesn't shift their philosophy, because they were willing to go after great, best-in-class, expensive, available players before, such as Dillon or Roosevelt Colvin. But when have they started overspending for guys like Stallworth? Or spending $5 million for the first two years of a mediocrity like Sammy Morris? Kelley Washington?
There is still time in the offseason to stick to what makes the Patriots the Patriots. The Pats haveplenty of time to pick up a couple of good players very cheap very late, a bargain like Edgerton Hartwell or Warrick Holdman, or even a LaVar Arrington at linebacker. They could get a Mike Doss at safety or a Kevan Barlow at running back at dime store prices, and that would be the Patriots I know and respect.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Monday, March 19, 2007
Pass Interference Rule Is Looked at By Mike Nolan
The pass interference rule in the NFL has been a source of frustration for years. Mike Nolan, the coach of the Niners and Dick Nolan's son, has stepped up and is being counted. He is asking the competition committee to let the officials have some say as to whether the pass interference call should be a spot foul or a 15-yard penalty.
I think that many of the pass interference calls really hurt the game. I have seen terrible calls getting 50 yards for the offense. I've seen two players go for the ball, and the offense getting an automatic first-and-goal from the one-yard line.
There are other penalties that need to be addressed. I think the 5-yard chuck rule being an automatic first down is a bad rule. There should be a minor roughing the passer rule that is a 5-yard and play over rule, and a major roughing the passer rule that is a 15-yard personal foul. I think the sideline rulings have become bad; many of these players are making football plays, and they get the 15 -yard penalties because the opposing player steps out of bounds nano-seconds before the action happens.
The NFL officials need some more flexibility on these plays.
I think that many of the pass interference calls really hurt the game. I have seen terrible calls getting 50 yards for the offense. I've seen two players go for the ball, and the offense getting an automatic first-and-goal from the one-yard line.
There are other penalties that need to be addressed. I think the 5-yard chuck rule being an automatic first down is a bad rule. There should be a minor roughing the passer rule that is a 5-yard and play over rule, and a major roughing the passer rule that is a 15-yard personal foul. I think the sideline rulings have become bad; many of these players are making football plays, and they get the 15 -yard penalties because the opposing player steps out of bounds nano-seconds before the action happens.
The NFL officials need some more flexibility on these plays.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Deon Grant Sees Safety in Numbers
Deon Grant is now the third-highest paid safety in the NFL, according to John Clayton of ESPN. Wow, that's a whole lotta dough for a mediocre safety. Grant is nowhere near a top safety in the NFL, nor does he have any sort of special skill that would warrent an $11 million signing bonus.
Teams are throwing their monies around. While I don't think it's as bad a signing as Leonard Davis, (who received more than $13 million in a signing bonus), Grant isn't that great of a player. And Davis at least has an appreciable skill of being a road grader that makes him somewhat attractive as a player. Grant isn't a huge sticker, and I've never heard anyone who has been wowed by his cover ability or speed.
Ed Reed makes more, but is much better. Best safety in the league. Roy Williams makes more, but is a much better tackler and a play-at-the-line sort of safety. Adam Archlata was signed for too much money last year, but at least he is really fast for a 215-pounder. Micheal Lewis was a pro bowler and a pretty great player.
ESPN has Grant listed as the second-best free agent saftey available, behind Ken Hamlin. I call that damning with faint praise. Of course, that says even less for the fellas that are behind these two, such as Terrence Kiel, Mike Doss, Robert Griffith, Kevin Kaesviharn, Shaun Williams, Terrence Holt, Todd Johnson, Troy Vincent, Tyrone Carter, or Tony Parrish. But I would say that all of those safeties offer something that Grant doesn't, one way or the other. (I say that even though Kevin Kaesviharn has driven me to drink several times in the last several years.) Most are better run supporters, some are better coverage guys, and a few are younger.
Grant's an OK player, not the third best safety in the league. You have to play the salary cap game correctly in the NFL, and this isn't a signing that will do that. What happened to the idea a few years ago that Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick were geniuses for not signing mediocre to good players for huge salaries?
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Teams are throwing their monies around. While I don't think it's as bad a signing as Leonard Davis, (who received more than $13 million in a signing bonus), Grant isn't that great of a player. And Davis at least has an appreciable skill of being a road grader that makes him somewhat attractive as a player. Grant isn't a huge sticker, and I've never heard anyone who has been wowed by his cover ability or speed.
Ed Reed makes more, but is much better. Best safety in the league. Roy Williams makes more, but is a much better tackler and a play-at-the-line sort of safety. Adam Archlata was signed for too much money last year, but at least he is really fast for a 215-pounder. Micheal Lewis was a pro bowler and a pretty great player.
ESPN has Grant listed as the second-best free agent saftey available, behind Ken Hamlin. I call that damning with faint praise. Of course, that says even less for the fellas that are behind these two, such as Terrence Kiel, Mike Doss, Robert Griffith, Kevin Kaesviharn, Shaun Williams, Terrence Holt, Todd Johnson, Troy Vincent, Tyrone Carter, or Tony Parrish. But I would say that all of those safeties offer something that Grant doesn't, one way or the other. (I say that even though Kevin Kaesviharn has driven me to drink several times in the last several years.) Most are better run supporters, some are better coverage guys, and a few are younger.
Grant's an OK player, not the third best safety in the league. You have to play the salary cap game correctly in the NFL, and this isn't a signing that will do that. What happened to the idea a few years ago that Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick were geniuses for not signing mediocre to good players for huge salaries?
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Cleveland Rocks the Offseason
Say what you want, but to me, it looks like Cleveland is having a helluva offseason. The Browns struck early, bagging Eric Steinbach. Did they overpay? Maybe. But at least they paid for a young, athletic offensive lineman who can swing to tackle (even left tackle) if they need him to. He has the most upside of all the offensive lineman in free agency this year.
Then, they added Jamal Lewis. With the uncertain status of Reuben Droughns, Lewis was a fantastic pickup. He will pound between the tackles. This makes Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson better, makes Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow (who is a warrior!!!) more dangerous. Maybe Lewis won't take it to the house 70 yards away anymore, but he will pound you. I hear that they may cut Droughns. That may not be a bad move, salary cap wise. But if he is on the Browns, that's just ensuring that you have a couple of pounders.
On defense, the Browns signed Kenny Wright, a mediocre corner in a mediocre class, and Antwan Peek. Peek didn't pan out for the Texans as an outside linebacker in the 3-4, but maybe he will for the Browns. Maybe not, but if you run the 3-4, you can never have too many options. Mike Vrabel didn't pan out for the Steelers as a backer in the 3-4, and he's had a pretty good run in New England. Wright, well, what the hey, there aren't too many other options.
What did the Browns lose? Dennis Northcutt. No biggie.
Cleveland hasn't made the moves that Denver has, but the Brownies have improved.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Then, they added Jamal Lewis. With the uncertain status of Reuben Droughns, Lewis was a fantastic pickup. He will pound between the tackles. This makes Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson better, makes Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow (who is a warrior!!!) more dangerous. Maybe Lewis won't take it to the house 70 yards away anymore, but he will pound you. I hear that they may cut Droughns. That may not be a bad move, salary cap wise. But if he is on the Browns, that's just ensuring that you have a couple of pounders.
On defense, the Browns signed Kenny Wright, a mediocre corner in a mediocre class, and Antwan Peek. Peek didn't pan out for the Texans as an outside linebacker in the 3-4, but maybe he will for the Browns. Maybe not, but if you run the 3-4, you can never have too many options. Mike Vrabel didn't pan out for the Steelers as a backer in the 3-4, and he's had a pretty good run in New England. Wright, well, what the hey, there aren't too many other options.
What did the Browns lose? Dennis Northcutt. No biggie.
Cleveland hasn't made the moves that Denver has, but the Brownies have improved.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Paydirt: Might as well jump
Might as well JUMP. There is a nice list of juniors who are jumping to the NFL on the offensive side of the ball. Dwayne Jarrett and Adrian Peterson join that list. Jarrett sure looked good against Michigan. I would be a little leery of him, however. He just looks skinny to me. But I love Adrian Peterson. He certainly is a guy I would take a chance on. He could be a franchise-making running back.
Walk on by. Darius Walker, the Notre Dame tailback who could have used a few more carries against LSU, saw that Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma was going to go pro, so he immediately announced that he, too, was going to skip his senior season and go pro. Actually, I don't quite know what Walker is thinking. Walker is listed at 5-10, 208. He doesn't look 208 to me. He looks smaller. I imagine he will be a second-day pick, maybe a fifth or sixth rounder like Walli Lundy, who was picked fairly low out of Virginia. Lundy had a nice rookie season. To me, Marshawn Lynch of Cal seems to be the better breakaway back.
Conversation. "Roger?" "Yes?" "Roger, it's Paul." "Paul, how are you?" "Fine, Roger, fine. Now listen, Roger. My jacket size is 46, 2XL. Now my tailor is coming over to fit up the sleeves and take in at the waist. I have such a hard time being fitted for jackets." "Well, yes sir. That'll be fine." "And Roger, I'm going to have my fabric gal come over and discuss options for the gold. You know, Old Pete picked those out, and they are just garish. You know I told him many times that Chan didn't like them and that we should change them." "Yes sir." "Now, Roger, instead of that chintzy stuff, I'm going to get a nice breathable wool, and my gal ... I don't recall her name..." "It's Mitzy, sir." "Oh yes, Mitzy, is going to tone down that gold." "Is that all sir?" "Well, that's it for now. Give my best to Jane. I've called over at Michael's, and now they should be able to get you in next Tuesday." "Thank you Paul. Goodbye."
Walk on by. Darius Walker, the Notre Dame tailback who could have used a few more carries against LSU, saw that Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma was going to go pro, so he immediately announced that he, too, was going to skip his senior season and go pro. Actually, I don't quite know what Walker is thinking. Walker is listed at 5-10, 208. He doesn't look 208 to me. He looks smaller. I imagine he will be a second-day pick, maybe a fifth or sixth rounder like Walli Lundy, who was picked fairly low out of Virginia. Lundy had a nice rookie season. To me, Marshawn Lynch of Cal seems to be the better breakaway back.
Conversation. "Roger?" "Yes?" "Roger, it's Paul." "Paul, how are you?" "Fine, Roger, fine. Now listen, Roger. My jacket size is 46, 2XL. Now my tailor is coming over to fit up the sleeves and take in at the waist. I have such a hard time being fitted for jackets." "Well, yes sir. That'll be fine." "And Roger, I'm going to have my fabric gal come over and discuss options for the gold. You know, Old Pete picked those out, and they are just garish. You know I told him many times that Chan didn't like them and that we should change them." "Yes sir." "Now, Roger, instead of that chintzy stuff, I'm going to get a nice breathable wool, and my gal ... I don't recall her name..." "It's Mitzy, sir." "Oh yes, Mitzy, is going to tone down that gold." "Is that all sir?" "Well, that's it for now. Give my best to Jane. I've called over at Michael's, and now they should be able to get you in next Tuesday." "Thank you Paul. Goodbye."
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Paydirt: Famers.
Famers. Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn Sr. were elected to the baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. Ripken is No. 3 in voting percentage all time, with 98.53 percent of the votes cast for him. He beat out Ty Cobb, George Brett, and Hank Aaron. I can see Brett, maybe. That a higher percentage of voters voted for him than Aaron is ludicrous. I like Ripken, but ... . Tony Gwynn received 97.61 percent of the vote, higher than Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton, BABE RUTH, and Honus Wagner. That is insane. Sorry, Tony, but that is just wrong.
Flex time. Mark McGwire received 23.5 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The minimum needed was 75 percent of the vote. Many didn't vote for him because they think he might have taken steroids. Many argue that the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" applies in a court of law, but this ain't a court of law. That is probably true. However, when sitting in judgement of someone, you need to have some sort of due process, and McGwire's Congressional testimony doesn't cut it for me as far as due process. And certainly Jose Canseco's book means nothing to me. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, he is 13th all-time in on-base plus slugging percentage, 10th all-time in slugging percentage, and is No. 1 all-time in home runs per at-bat. I think he is a Hall of Famer, and I think he belongs in Cooperstown.
My name is Jose. What about Canseco? He received six votes for the Hall of Fame, and he is no longer eligible for elections by the BBWAA. He was a six-time All-Star. He was in the top five in slugging in his league five times, and he won an MVP award. He may not be a Hall of Famer, but he was worth more than six votes.
E. One of my top 10 favorite players of all time, Eric Davis, received just three votes (half as many as Canseco!?!) and is also no longer eligible. Davis won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Slugger awards ... and that's about it. But he was about as five-tool as you can come. Unfortunately for him, that sixth tool, namely staying healthy, wasn't in his arsenal.
Goose, Rice, Andre, Bert. Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven are the next four on the list that still have not gotten in. I hope that they do next year. They all deserve to.
Good Broncos. I think that Florida deserved the No. ranking in college football this year. I think the Broncos of Boise State should have been No. 2. They didn't play for the National Championship, so the team that wins that game deserves it. But they won their BCS bowl, and every other game that they played this year.
Bad Broncos. Not to single out Mike Shanahan, but he is responsible for firing Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. They has the best defense in the NFL after five games, and finished the season 14th overall. If you're a half-empty guy, that means you slipped 13 places in 11 games. If you're a half-full guy, it means that your defensive was top-half of the league, even though your offense wasn't holding on to the ball as much as it had been earlier. But it seems that NFL head coaches are throwing over their coordinators (and other assorted assistant coaches) much more than they had 15 or 20 years ago.
Flex time. Mark McGwire received 23.5 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The minimum needed was 75 percent of the vote. Many didn't vote for him because they think he might have taken steroids. Many argue that the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" applies in a court of law, but this ain't a court of law. That is probably true. However, when sitting in judgement of someone, you need to have some sort of due process, and McGwire's Congressional testimony doesn't cut it for me as far as due process. And certainly Jose Canseco's book means nothing to me. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, he is 13th all-time in on-base plus slugging percentage, 10th all-time in slugging percentage, and is No. 1 all-time in home runs per at-bat. I think he is a Hall of Famer, and I think he belongs in Cooperstown.
My name is Jose. What about Canseco? He received six votes for the Hall of Fame, and he is no longer eligible for elections by the BBWAA. He was a six-time All-Star. He was in the top five in slugging in his league five times, and he won an MVP award. He may not be a Hall of Famer, but he was worth more than six votes.
E. One of my top 10 favorite players of all time, Eric Davis, received just three votes (half as many as Canseco!?!) and is also no longer eligible. Davis won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Slugger awards ... and that's about it. But he was about as five-tool as you can come. Unfortunately for him, that sixth tool, namely staying healthy, wasn't in his arsenal.
Goose, Rice, Andre, Bert. Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven are the next four on the list that still have not gotten in. I hope that they do next year. They all deserve to.
Good Broncos. I think that Florida deserved the No. ranking in college football this year. I think the Broncos of Boise State should have been No. 2. They didn't play for the National Championship, so the team that wins that game deserves it. But they won their BCS bowl, and every other game that they played this year.
Bad Broncos. Not to single out Mike Shanahan, but he is responsible for firing Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. They has the best defense in the NFL after five games, and finished the season 14th overall. If you're a half-empty guy, that means you slipped 13 places in 11 games. If you're a half-full guy, it means that your defensive was top-half of the league, even though your offense wasn't holding on to the ball as much as it had been earlier. But it seems that NFL head coaches are throwing over their coordinators (and other assorted assistant coaches) much more than they had 15 or 20 years ago.
Paydirt: Whoops, I think the Gators just scored again.
Whoops, I think the Gators just scored again. Watchingthe BCS Championship Game last night, I was struck by how similar it was to the 1996 Fiesta Bowl game that Nebraska beat Florida 62-24. In that game, Florida kept using five-wide formations all night (before that was a totally accepted concept). The problem was, Nebraska's defense was so much faster than Florida's O-line that they beat the living bejesus out of DannyWuerffel. Florida's passing offense didn't produce first downs and points. Last night, Ohio State didn't adjust during the game. Florida's defensive ends specifically and D-line generally were beating OSU's O-line soundly. At some point, you need to keep more blockers in.
In the zone. At some point, if you are getting whupped by a team that is throwing bubble screen and four-yard passes time and time again, you need to get out of your zone and start manning up with some deep safety help. Yet the Buckeyes let Florida just carve 'em up.
Chris Leak. All the things thatI've now read about this kid, and, yes, I compared him to Troy Smith unfavorably ... for all that, this kid is classy. He came to Florida with huge fanfare, and he left the all-time leading passer and National Champion. Enjoy this time, Chris. You earned it probably more than most.
Ginn up the works. Boy, is Ted Ginn fast.
Zooker. If I were an Illinois fan, and I admit that I am a Ron Zook fan, I would be giddy right now. Zook knows how to recruit. I actually think he knows how to coach as well. And when it comes down to it, there isn't really much more than those two factors. I think the Illini future looks pretty good.
In the zone. At some point, if you are getting whupped by a team that is throwing bubble screen and four-yard passes time and time again, you need to get out of your zone and start manning up with some deep safety help. Yet the Buckeyes let Florida just carve 'em up.
Chris Leak. All the things thatI've now read about this kid, and, yes, I compared him to Troy Smith unfavorably ... for all that, this kid is classy. He came to Florida with huge fanfare, and he left the all-time leading passer and National Champion. Enjoy this time, Chris. You earned it probably more than most.
Ginn up the works. Boy, is Ted Ginn fast.
Zooker. If I were an Illinois fan, and I admit that I am a Ron Zook fan, I would be giddy right now. Zook knows how to recruit. I actually think he knows how to coach as well. And when it comes down to it, there isn't really much more than those two factors. I think the Illini future looks pretty good.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Paydirt
You can call me Bobby. Atlanta hired Bobby Petrino. I liked Jim Mora better, and I think that the Falcons should have stuck with him. But Petrino has some NFL coaching experience as a quarterbacks coach and an offensive coodinator. John L. Smith built the Louisville program, and Petrino took it over and advanced it a little bit. (Just a thought, but maybe Smith will come back to Louisville. I think he is fun to watch.) But the NFL is another kettle of meat. (from Bob Dylan's "Quinn the Mighty Eskimo": "Ain't my cup of meat".) More coaching changes. I think that this move helps the Steelers. Strike another team off of the Wisenhunt-Grimm bandwagon. Arizona, Miami, Oakland, and Pittsburgh are still looking. Here are some of the rumors. Norm Chow, former USC and BYU offensive coordinator and current Tennessee Titan offensive coordinator, to Arizona to coach Matt Leinart. The Dolphins are going to go all out after Pete Carroll, USC's head coach. If I were the decision maker in Pittsburgh, I would go for Russ Grimm. I also may try to start a Mike Ditka rumor to Pittsburgh. That could be fun. Oakland? Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Buddy Ryan's kid, would seem to be the front-runner. He's a Raider now. The players like him. His defense played very well. God help 'em if they pick John Shoop. I also could see them going to Ken Wisenhunt, the Steelers offensive coordinator. I would love to see Mike Singletary be a head coach somewhere. But I don't think Oakland would be the place. Tom Coughlin will be back with the Giants if the Giants can't convince Charley Weis or Bill Parcells to come coach in New York. Tony the Slip. Shut up already about the shiny, slippery football. Tony Romo just didn't handle it. Reminds all of the Brad St. Louis-Kyle Larson botched snap that killed the Bengals' playoff chances. Here's a thought: have a wide receiver do the holding. A wideout should have better hands than a backup quarterback, not to mention a punter. WRs should beway more athletic when the snap is no good. The added arm strength a QB should be offset by the speed and the fact that a wide receiver wouldn't really need tothrow a deep out on a botched extra point or even a botched field goal. Rex Kern lives. Ohio State will win the National Championship game tonight 30-14 over Florida. You say it's your birthday? Happy birthday, King. Seventy-two, if my counting is right. My friend, Hot Doug, who owns a hot dog stand, has the Dr. George Nichopoulos as his special sausage today. The game sausage of the week? Gator. Go Buckeyes.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Paydirt
Cowher power. Bill Cowher more than anything did the nearly impossible, namely, replace a Hall of Fame coach like Chuck Noll, and have a Hall of Fame career right after. Off the top of my head: Tommy Lasorda for the Dodgers, Bill Russell (maybe?) for the Celtics and Tom Osborne at Nebraska maybe sorta equal what Cowher did. I'll have to do some more research on that. Shell game. Poor darned Art Shell. I feel I doomed him bysaying it was the best coaching hire of the year. But, more, I feel bad for him because I think he deserved another shot at an NFL head coaching job for years, and when he finally got it, he really laid an egg. You can win anywhere in the NFL, but that Raiders job would be the worst place to be a head coach in the league right now, if you ask me. Secret Leak. Chris Leak was the No. 1 player out of high school as a senior four years ago. Quarterback. Signed famously for Florida. Is Florida's all-time passing yardage leader. Starter as a freshman. Won the SEC title several times. Is playing for a National Championship Monday night. Andthe biggest name in the game? Troy Smith. Smith wins the Heisman. Smith will probably be a first-day pick in the NFL draft, maybe a first-rounder. I'll be interested to see if Leak is drafted, and if he is, where. [Todd McShay of ESPN has Chris Leak as the No. 7 QB in the draft, after Kevin Kolb of Houston. He also said that Leak merits some consideration as a second-day prospect.] And Smith wasn't not only not heralded coming out of high school, he wasn't the starter his sophomore year. It was Justin Zwick, also a sophomore and the big-name high school recruit QB for the Buckeyes. Remeber that when you hear about such-and-such a school winning the recruiting wars in football.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Paydirt
Oops, I think LSU just scored again. The Tigers did anumber on the Irish in the Sugar Bowl. Be interesting to see how JaMarcus Russell is perceived by the NFL, or at least fans. He has a real nice arm and is huge. He doesn't seem to be real close to NFL-ready, but he can chuck. Quinn the Mighty Raider? If there is a team that needs a quarterback that would pass on Brady Quinn to get a player like Russell, I'm guessing that team would be the Raiders. Pennington over Brees. I said that I would take Chad Pennington over Drew Brees in terms of injured QBs coming back (I also picked Art Shell as a great coaching hire and Eric Mangini as a bad one). The AP agreed, giving Pennington the Comeback Player of the Year Award over Brees. The only problem is ... I don't agree with it. I think Brees deserved the award, albeit slightly. Barren desert. I don'tagree with those who say that the Arizona job is terrible and noone should take it. They were saying that about the Cincinnati job before Marvin Lewis.There were those who were saying that Marvin should have turned the job down and waited for another one, a better one. You can win in the NFL anywhere, despite any sort of team history. Just because Denny Green was fired in Arizona, and they haven't had a playoff game since Jake the Snake was their QB, doesn't mean you can't win there.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Paydirt
Good luck, Nick: The Alabama job ain't the Michigan State job or even the LSU job. The list of coaches forced out or fired: Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula. Two GMs do great job. The two GMs of the two best NFL teams this season are due some credit after their respective bashings earlier in their careers. A.J. Smith has received some credit for the Chargers, but, really, it is Marty Schottenheimer who receives most of the credit. And in Chicago, Jerry Angelo should be hailed. But, instead, the question is whether to pull Rex Grossman after a few bad passes in the playoffs. Michigan CB has some woes. Leon Hall was a Jim Thorpe candidate in '06, but I think his Rose Bowl might have cost him a little money. He was beat and beat bad on the Dwayne Jarrett long TD. Now, there were plenty of breakdowns in the Wolverine secondary, but I'm just sayin'. The kid is No. 3 on Mel's Big Board. ... Go where you're drafted: Heard Greeney on Mike squared this morning say that Brady Quinn should pull an Eli and try to get out of the Raiders' clutches in the '07 draft. Couldn't disagree with him more. You just don't know how things turn out. Teams change all the time. Pats top pick. OK: Here is the Super Bowl 41 (XLI) prediction: New England gets revenge for Super Bowl No. 20 by beating the Bears. Go ... Run ... Fly to Vegas and put all your money on every team other than the Pats and Bears. thankyouverymuch. OldCleat
Know Your Super Bowl MVPs, No. 4
Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This former Super Bowl MVP is the second Super Bowl MVP from JunÃpero Serra High School, the same high school that produced Barry Bonds. He is a quarterback who has been named Super Bowl MVP more than once.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Barely Representative Jack Kingston Ain't No Ripken
I always used to smile when they described Cal Ripken Jr. as the "Iron Man." Now, don't get me wrong, his onsecutive game streak was impressive. But, hey, he worked from February to October, maybe November if he was lucky. The earliest salary I got for him was in 1985, when he made $800,000 for eight months work, which might make it easier to get up in the morning.
He is going to the Hall of Fame. He was a great player.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ripkeca01.shtml
But the Iron Men (metaphorically, just sounds better than "Iron People") that I think of are the guys and gals who work 50 weeks a year, five or six days a week, laying pipe, or even in an office, or out on the road, or in a police station or a firehouse. And they ain't making $800,000. And then there are those men andwomen who had to leave their families behind to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
And then there are the folks in Washington who sent them there.
House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is makingthe members of the House of Representatives work a five-day week. Five whole days a week. The response?
Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), says "Keeping us up here eats away at families. Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families, that's what this says."
Really? You had me at "stupid SOB." How about all those folks you and your friends sent to Iraq? Was that an "anti-family" action?
This isn't new for representative Kingston. Accordingto the Chicago Sun Times, in 1998 Kingston said, "You can't be in Washington five days a week and service your district. I'm just enough of a populist to believe that the real action is on the streets of America and not in Washington."
Here is an editorial from the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120601780.html
He is going to the Hall of Fame. He was a great player.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ripkeca01.shtml
But the Iron Men (metaphorically, just sounds better than "Iron People") that I think of are the guys and gals who work 50 weeks a year, five or six days a week, laying pipe, or even in an office, or out on the road, or in a police station or a firehouse. And they ain't making $800,000. And then there are those men andwomen who had to leave their families behind to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
And then there are the folks in Washington who sent them there.
House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is makingthe members of the House of Representatives work a five-day week. Five whole days a week. The response?
Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), says "Keeping us up here eats away at families. Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families, that's what this says."
Time away from Washington is just as important tobeing an effective member
of Congress as time spent in the Capitol, said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga.
"When I'm here, people call me Mr. Congressman. When I'm home, people call
me 'Jack you stupid SOB why did you vote that way?' It keeps me
grounded."
Really? You had me at "stupid SOB." How about all those folks you and your friends sent to Iraq? Was that an "anti-family" action?
This isn't new for representative Kingston. Accordingto the Chicago Sun Times, in 1998 Kingston said, "You can't be in Washington five days a week and service your district. I'm just enough of a populist to believe that the real action is on the streets of America and not in Washington."
Here is an editorial from the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120601780.html
The 109th Congress will have been in session for agrand total of 103 days
this year, which, as Lyndsey Layton pointed out in yesterday's Post, is seven
days fewer than the "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948. Anordinary full-time worker
with a generous four weeks of vacation would have clocked 240 days of work
duringthat same period.
... they need time to campaign and to grub for campaign cash. But it's
undeniable that the time lawmakers spend in the capital, actually legislating,
has been on a downward path for the past few decades. According to the American
Enterprise Institute's Norman Ornstein, the average number of days in session
for a two-year Congress has dropped from 323 in the 1960s and '70s to just 250
during the first six yearsof the Bush presidency.
Eats away at families? Gee, Mr. Kingston, they could move here. And, we
wonder: Where, exactly, did you think the Capitol was when you ran for this
job?
Monday, November 06, 2006
Know Your Super Bowl MVPs, No. 3
Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This Super Bowl MVP led his college football team to back-to-back Grantland Rice Bowls. He was named the MVP of the Grantland Rice Bowl as a junior when his college team beat Akron, 33-13. In this Super Bowl MVP's senior year, the Rice Bowl was a different story, as his squad lost to East Tennessee State, 34-14. This quarterback was sacked 12 times in that game. The quarterback for East Tennessee that game was named Larry Graham. Who is this Super Bowl MVP?
Some Slug(ger)s Rank Louisville No. 4
This is ridiculous. Louisville is undefeated, and somehow, in the USA Today poll, they are ranked No. 4 in the nation, behind one-loss Texas.
Now, I understand that Texas' only loss was to Ohio State, and that they should be rewarded for playing a team like that. I have litte problem with them being a top-five one-loss school. But Louisville just beat the No. 3 team in the nation, formerly undefeated West Virginia! And they are undefeated. And they beat Miami (OK, not a great accomplishment, but, who knew?)
Who cares what the Cardinals do Thursday night? (As my good friend, Doug Sohn, says ... "On any given Thursday night ... ") The Cards play the Knights of Rutgers, another undefeated team. (Greg Schiano for Governor of New Jersey!!! ... or maybe mayor of Miami, Florida, if you know what I mean.)
And why is Rutgers No. 14 in the nation, behind two-loss LSU? Sure, an SEC schedule is brutal, but Rutgers beat everyone they've played.
Ahhh, the joys of the polls.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Now, I understand that Texas' only loss was to Ohio State, and that they should be rewarded for playing a team like that. I have litte problem with them being a top-five one-loss school. But Louisville just beat the No. 3 team in the nation, formerly undefeated West Virginia! And they are undefeated. And they beat Miami (OK, not a great accomplishment, but, who knew?)
Who cares what the Cardinals do Thursday night? (As my good friend, Doug Sohn, says ... "On any given Thursday night ... ") The Cards play the Knights of Rutgers, another undefeated team. (Greg Schiano for Governor of New Jersey!!! ... or maybe mayor of Miami, Florida, if you know what I mean.)
And why is Rutgers No. 14 in the nation, behind two-loss LSU? Sure, an SEC schedule is brutal, but Rutgers beat everyone they've played.
Ahhh, the joys of the polls.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Friday, November 03, 2006
Know Your Super Bowl MVPs No. 2
Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This is the second question. This Super Bowl MVP was a 12th-round draft pick out of Texas Christian University. He was one of the first Super Bowl MVPs to use his breakout game to score a big contract the following year. He was a Cowboy.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Know Your Super Bowl MVPs
Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This Super Bowl MVP broke Chuck Foreman's school rushing records in college at the University of Miami. He went on to become the first rookie running back in NFL history to average more than 100 yards a game rushing over the course of an NFL season. Who is this Super Bowl MVP?
Friday, October 27, 2006
Sean Casey for ... for ... for MAYOR
Sean Casey is a cool guy. Sean Casey is a great ballplayer.
Sean Casey is sssssslllllloooooowwww.
But, what the hey. Love the Mayor.
Tim Sullivan describes Casey as "baseball's best Samaritan, a genuine, honest-to-goodness, real-life George Bailey, only with much better bat speed. " I just think that George Bailey would beat Case in a foot race. While carrying all the kids.
This from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "On the slow side: Leyland occasionally jokes about Casey's lack of speed. Yesterday, Leyland said: "My steal sign for Casey is when I jump up in the air and don't come down. When that happens, he can run." Casey, a 9-year veteran from the University of Richmond, has 15 career steals, peaking with four in 2003." -- John Markon
Sullivan also writes: "Long before he attained All-Star status, Casey was so friendly to fans of the Cape Cod League that Brewster (Mass.) manager Mike Kirby was moved to remind him that he was a ballplayer and not the mayor. Casey has been known as “The Mayor” ever since. "
Anyway, I love the Mayor, and I'm glad to see him get a shot at the postseason.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Sean Casey is sssssslllllloooooowwww.
But, what the hey. Love the Mayor.
Tim Sullivan describes Casey as "baseball's best Samaritan, a genuine, honest-to-goodness, real-life George Bailey, only with much better bat speed. " I just think that George Bailey would beat Case in a foot race. While carrying all the kids.
This from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "On the slow side: Leyland occasionally jokes about Casey's lack of speed. Yesterday, Leyland said: "My steal sign for Casey is when I jump up in the air and don't come down. When that happens, he can run." Casey, a 9-year veteran from the University of Richmond, has 15 career steals, peaking with four in 2003." -- John Markon
Sullivan also writes: "Long before he attained All-Star status, Casey was so friendly to fans of the Cape Cod League that Brewster (Mass.) manager Mike Kirby was moved to remind him that he was a ballplayer and not the mayor. Casey has been known as “The Mayor” ever since. "
Anyway, I love the Mayor, and I'm glad to see him get a shot at the postseason.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Boomer Esiason Foundation Is a Four-Star Charity
If you live in New York or on the East Coast, a fantastic charity does great work and has a ton of great events for you.
Here is a link to a piece about the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
http://heartdonation.blogspot.com/2006/09/boomer-esiason-foundation-is.html
Here is another link regarding Jim Otto and the "Legends of Center" award.
http://rbcsacramento.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/otto-finalist-for-legends-of-center-award/
The BEF does great work, and is a four-star charity.
Here is a link to a piece about the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
http://heartdonation.blogspot.com/2006/09/boomer-esiason-foundation-is.html
Here is another link regarding Jim Otto and the "Legends of Center" award.
http://rbcsacramento.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/otto-finalist-for-legends-of-center-award/
The BEF does great work, and is a four-star charity.
Rashad Jeanty Makes Jump From CFL to NFL
It's all about Rashad.
Rashad Jeanty was an undersized defensive end out of Central Florida who dropped out of school and headed north the the Canadian Football League to help his mom, who was evicted from her house.
This young man was signed by the Bengals, backed up David Pollack, beat out eight-year veteran Hannibal Navies for the job, and started Sunday's Season Opener in Kansas City as Pollack has what Dave Wannstedt loving calls a "hammy."
Jeanty recovered a muffed punt by Dante Hall and had three tackles in the Bengals season-opening 23-10 victory over the Chiefs.
Rashad Jeanty was an undersized defensive end out of Central Florida who dropped out of school and headed north the the Canadian Football League to help his mom, who was evicted from her house.
This young man was signed by the Bengals, backed up David Pollack, beat out eight-year veteran Hannibal Navies for the job, and started Sunday's Season Opener in Kansas City as Pollack has what Dave Wannstedt loving calls a "hammy."
Jeanty recovered a muffed punt by Dante Hall and had three tackles in the Bengals season-opening 23-10 victory over the Chiefs.
Texas Longhorns Now 4-1 in No. 1 vs. No. 2 Football Matchups
Here's a piece of trivia: before the Ohio State loss on Saturday, Texas was 4-0 all-time in No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups, with all four coming en route to the national championship. The other previous meetings were in 1963 (No. 2 Texas beat No. 1 Oklahoma 28-7), the 1964 Cotton Bowl (No. 1 Texas beat No. 2 Navy 28-6) and 1969 (No. 2 Texas beat No. 1 Arkansas 15-14).
The Goose's trivia question during the game was naming the first regular season No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in college football. The answer, I believe, was the 1963 game, when the Longhorns beat the Sooners.
Taking the long view, the BCS championship concept does seem to be working better than not having a BCS, if you just consider the No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a bowl. Not that there aren't problems with the BCS, but there are problems with the polls as well. There are some coaches who don't know who they voted as the No. 1 team in the nation.
I got this info off of CBS's Sportsline:
Since the AP poll started in 1936, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams have met 36 times -- 21 during the regular season and 15 in bowl games. Since the first matchup in 1943, the No. 1 team has beat the No. 2 team 23 times, lost 11 and tied twice.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the AP Poll
Date Matchup Result Bowl
Sept. 9, 2006 No. 1 Ohio State def. No. 2 Texas 24-7
Jan. 4, 2006 No. 2 Texas def. No. 1 Southern Cal 41-38 Rose
Jan. 4, 2005 No. 1 USC def. No. 2 Oklahoma 55-19 Orange
Jan. 3, 2003 No. 2 Ohio State def. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 31-24 (2OT) Fiesta
Jan. 4, 2000 No. 1 Florida State def. No. 2 Virginia Tech 46-29 Sugar
Jan. 4, 1999 No. 1 Tennessee def. No. 2 Florida State 23-16 Fiesta
Nov. 30, 1996 No. 2 Florida State def. No. 1 Florida 24-21
Jan. 2, 1996 No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 2 Florida 62-24 Fiesta
Jan. 1, 1994 No. 1 Florida State def. No. 2 Nebraska 18-16 Orange
Nov. 13, 1993 No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 1 Florida State 31-24
Jan. 1, 1993 No. 2 Alabama def. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 34-13 Sugar
Nov. 16, 1991 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Florida State 17-16
Sept. 16, 1989 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Michigan 24-19
Nov. 26, 1988 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 USC 27-10
Jan. 1, 1988 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Oklahoma 20-16 Orange
Nov. 21, 1987 No. 2 Oklahoma def. No. 1 Nebraska 17-7
Jan. 2, 1987 No. 2 Penn State def. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 14-10 Fiesta
Sept. 27, 1986 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Oklahoma 28-16
Oct. 19, 1985 No. 1 Iowa def. No. 2 Michigan 12-10
Jan. 1, 1983 No. 2 Penn State def. No. 1 Georgia 27-23 Sugar
Sept. 26, 1981 No. 1 USC def. No. 2 Oklahoma 38-24
Jan. 1, 1979 No. 2 Alabama def. No. 1 Penn State 14-7 Sugar
Jan. 1, 1972 No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 2 Alabama 37-6 Orange
Nov. 25, 1971 No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 2 Oklahoma 35-31
Dec. 6, 1969 No. 1 Texas def. No. 2 Arkansas 15-14
Jan. 1, 1969 No. 1 Ohio State def. No. 2 USC 27-16 Rose
Sept. 28, 1968 No. 1 Purdue def. No. 2 Notre Dame 37-22
Nov. 19, 1966 No. 1 Notre Dame tied No. 2 Michigan State 0-0
Jan. 1, 1964 No. 1 Texas def. No. 2 Navy 28-6 Cotton
Oct. 12, 1963 No. 2 Texas def. No. 1 Oklahoma 28-7
Jan. 1, 1963 No. 1 USC def. No. 2 Wisconsin 42-37 Rose
Nov. 9, 1946 No. 1 Army tied No. 2 Notre Dame 0-0
Dec. 1, 1945 No. 1 Army def. No. 2 Navy 32-13
Nov. 10, 1945 No. 1 Army def. No. 2 Notre Dame 48-0
Dec. 2, 1944 No. 1 Army def. No. 2 Navy 23-7
Nov. 20, 1943 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight 14-13
Oct. 9, 1943 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Michigan 35-12
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
The Goose's trivia question during the game was naming the first regular season No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in college football. The answer, I believe, was the 1963 game, when the Longhorns beat the Sooners.
Taking the long view, the BCS championship concept does seem to be working better than not having a BCS, if you just consider the No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a bowl. Not that there aren't problems with the BCS, but there are problems with the polls as well. There are some coaches who don't know who they voted as the No. 1 team in the nation.
I got this info off of CBS's Sportsline:
Since the AP poll started in 1936, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams have met 36 times -- 21 during the regular season and 15 in bowl games. Since the first matchup in 1943, the No. 1 team has beat the No. 2 team 23 times, lost 11 and tied twice.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the AP Poll
Date Matchup Result Bowl
Sept. 9, 2006 No. 1 Ohio State def. No. 2 Texas 24-7
Jan. 4, 2006 No. 2 Texas def. No. 1 Southern Cal 41-38 Rose
Jan. 4, 2005 No. 1 USC def. No. 2 Oklahoma 55-19 Orange
Jan. 3, 2003 No. 2 Ohio State def. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 31-24 (2OT) Fiesta
Jan. 4, 2000 No. 1 Florida State def. No. 2 Virginia Tech 46-29 Sugar
Jan. 4, 1999 No. 1 Tennessee def. No. 2 Florida State 23-16 Fiesta
Nov. 30, 1996 No. 2 Florida State def. No. 1 Florida 24-21
Jan. 2, 1996 No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 2 Florida 62-24 Fiesta
Jan. 1, 1994 No. 1 Florida State def. No. 2 Nebraska 18-16 Orange
Nov. 13, 1993 No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 1 Florida State 31-24
Jan. 1, 1993 No. 2 Alabama def. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 34-13 Sugar
Nov. 16, 1991 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Florida State 17-16
Sept. 16, 1989 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Michigan 24-19
Nov. 26, 1988 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 USC 27-10
Jan. 1, 1988 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Oklahoma 20-16 Orange
Nov. 21, 1987 No. 2 Oklahoma def. No. 1 Nebraska 17-7
Jan. 2, 1987 No. 2 Penn State def. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 14-10 Fiesta
Sept. 27, 1986 No. 2 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 1 Oklahoma 28-16
Oct. 19, 1985 No. 1 Iowa def. No. 2 Michigan 12-10
Jan. 1, 1983 No. 2 Penn State def. No. 1 Georgia 27-23 Sugar
Sept. 26, 1981 No. 1 USC def. No. 2 Oklahoma 38-24
Jan. 1, 1979 No. 2 Alabama def. No. 1 Penn State 14-7 Sugar
Jan. 1, 1972 No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 2 Alabama 37-6 Orange
Nov. 25, 1971 No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 2 Oklahoma 35-31
Dec. 6, 1969 No. 1 Texas def. No. 2 Arkansas 15-14
Jan. 1, 1969 No. 1 Ohio State def. No. 2 USC 27-16 Rose
Sept. 28, 1968 No. 1 Purdue def. No. 2 Notre Dame 37-22
Nov. 19, 1966 No. 1 Notre Dame tied No. 2 Michigan State 0-0
Jan. 1, 1964 No. 1 Texas def. No. 2 Navy 28-6 Cotton
Oct. 12, 1963 No. 2 Texas def. No. 1 Oklahoma 28-7
Jan. 1, 1963 No. 1 USC def. No. 2 Wisconsin 42-37 Rose
Nov. 9, 1946 No. 1 Army tied No. 2 Notre Dame 0-0
Dec. 1, 1945 No. 1 Army def. No. 2 Navy 32-13
Nov. 10, 1945 No. 1 Army def. No. 2 Notre Dame 48-0
Dec. 2, 1944 No. 1 Army def. No. 2 Navy 23-7
Nov. 20, 1943 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight 14-13
Oct. 9, 1943 No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 2 Michigan 35-12
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Illinois College Football: Northwestern and Illini Stink It Up
Wow, does Big Ten football in Illinois stink.
I only saw the first quarter of the Illinois-Rutgers game on the tube. Going in, I thought that Rutgers was a trap game for the Illini. Rutgers is a downtrodden Big East team that is improved, and could give the Illini trouble.
Rutgers blew threw Illinois like nuthin'. How is Illinois going to play Ohio State or Iowa? And Rutgers will win the National Championship! OK, probably not. But they made Illinois look slow and small.
The reason I only saw the first quarter was that I took the fam to Northwestern-New Hampshire game. NHU rolled up 300 and some odd yards againt the Northwestern defense. On the pregame radio show on WGN, new coach Pat Fitzgerald kept talking about how he wanted NW to be physical, but it was NHU that took the game to the Big Ten team.
Rutgers creams Illinois, 33-0. Division I-AA team New Hampshire gives Northwestern a beat-down, 34-17. Yesterday was a black day in Illinois football.
I only saw the first quarter of the Illinois-Rutgers game on the tube. Going in, I thought that Rutgers was a trap game for the Illini. Rutgers is a downtrodden Big East team that is improved, and could give the Illini trouble.
Rutgers blew threw Illinois like nuthin'. How is Illinois going to play Ohio State or Iowa? And Rutgers will win the National Championship! OK, probably not. But they made Illinois look slow and small.
The reason I only saw the first quarter was that I took the fam to Northwestern-New Hampshire game. NHU rolled up 300 and some odd yards againt the Northwestern defense. On the pregame radio show on WGN, new coach Pat Fitzgerald kept talking about how he wanted NW to be physical, but it was NHU that took the game to the Big Ten team.
Rutgers creams Illinois, 33-0. Division I-AA team New Hampshire gives Northwestern a beat-down, 34-17. Yesterday was a black day in Illinois football.
Friday, September 08, 2006
How Should Marion Jones Be Viewed?
The Marion Jones case of the "A" test and the "B" test is a tough one.
I assumed, as I think many people did, that Jones was finally caught, and that was that.
There is a story in the L.A. Times that discusses her problems.
Then the unthinkable, at least to me, happened. Jones's "B" sample of the test didn't match the "A" sample of the test, and thus she was cleared. At least of this one test.
And, to quote Jones, "I have always maintained that I have never, ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact."
So, given her history, what to think?
Well, Jon Saraceno of USA Today, for one, doesn't believe her.
I agree, but with reservations.
When athletes fail one drug test, they are automatically suspended. Many of these suspensions are long term. Many thus are banned basically for life because of the nature of their sports.
By that logic, if Jones passes one drug test, doesn't it follow that she should get to claim that she is completely drug free, any evidence to the contrary? But the drug-testing standard, Marion Jones is a clean athlete.
While to me that really doesn't pass the sniff test, I think that she needs to be considered clean as of now. Especially considering that while this was a drug test that got some publicity, this wasn't the only drug test that she has ever passed. Up until now, she's passed all of her tests.
Mark McGwire has been accused of using steroids (mostly by that paragon of virtue, Jose Canseco), and it is confirmed that he used "andro," which was banned by most other sports organizations but not HIS ruling body, Major League Baseball. He seemed evasive in front of Congress when asked point-blank if he had ever used steroids.
Having said all of that, I think that, historically, Mark McGwire, never having failed a drug test, never admitting to using steroids, should be considered a clean athlete. You can bring the circumstantial issues up when discussing him. But to me, he's clean.
As is, as of this moment, Marion Jones.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
I assumed, as I think many people did, that Jones was finally caught, and that was that.
There is a story in the L.A. Times that discusses her problems.
The 30-year-old sprinter had fallen on hard times after winning three gold
medals and two bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Her ex-husband C.J. Hunter and ex-boyfriend Tim Montgomery had been
suspended for doping violations, and her former coach Trevor Graham had been
sanctioned.
Jones also had been swept up in the BALCO scandal,
confronted with allegations of steroid use, which she steadfastly
denied.
Then the unthinkable, at least to me, happened. Jones's "B" sample of the test didn't match the "A" sample of the test, and thus she was cleared. At least of this one test.
And, to quote Jones, "I have always maintained that I have never, ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact."
So, given her history, what to think?
Well, Jon Saraceno of USA Today, for one, doesn't believe her.
... It is an Olympian leap of logic to be cleared of any doping in one meet and
then claim that means you never used performance-enhancing drugs.
I agree, but with reservations.
When athletes fail one drug test, they are automatically suspended. Many of these suspensions are long term. Many thus are banned basically for life because of the nature of their sports.
By that logic, if Jones passes one drug test, doesn't it follow that she should get to claim that she is completely drug free, any evidence to the contrary? But the drug-testing standard, Marion Jones is a clean athlete.
While to me that really doesn't pass the sniff test, I think that she needs to be considered clean as of now. Especially considering that while this was a drug test that got some publicity, this wasn't the only drug test that she has ever passed. Up until now, she's passed all of her tests.
Mark McGwire has been accused of using steroids (mostly by that paragon of virtue, Jose Canseco), and it is confirmed that he used "andro," which was banned by most other sports organizations but not HIS ruling body, Major League Baseball. He seemed evasive in front of Congress when asked point-blank if he had ever used steroids.
Having said all of that, I think that, historically, Mark McGwire, never having failed a drug test, never admitting to using steroids, should be considered a clean athlete. You can bring the circumstantial issues up when discussing him. But to me, he's clean.
As is, as of this moment, Marion Jones.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Damon Allen's Passing Yards Mark Flies Under Radar
Damon Allen, who is the younger brother of NFL Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, broke Warren Moon's all-time professional passing yards mark over the weekend. Allen now has 70,596 yards passing. As is the case with almost all Canadian Football League news, this flew under the radar here in the States.
Moon's mark stood at 70,553 yards combined in the NFL and the CFL. The Hall of Fame doens't really recognize any of the yardage of course, so you can't really tell that Moon had the combined mark. The NFL's policy seems to be that AFL records are in, but all other records are to be kept separate.
They do, however, mention Moon's five Grey Cup victories ... pretty much almost in passing.
I like CFL football. I like football. I wish that the U.S. press would pay more attention to the CFL. I had hoped that the internet was going to help the situation, and it has, but only marginally. I have occasionally watched some action on my satellite, but I haven't seen that much CFL.
Here are Allen's career stats.
Career Passing Statistics
YEAR TEAM ATT COMP % YDS TD INT RATING
1985 EDM 98 48 49.0 661 3 3 68.4
1986 EDM 87 49 56.3 878 8 3 107.4
1987 EDM 287 150 52.3 2,670 17 13 85.3
1988 EDM 218 94 43.1 1,309 4 12 46.2
1989 OTT 434 209 48.2 3,093 17 16 69.6
1990 OTT 528 276 52.3 3,883 34 23 79.6
1991 OTT 546 282 51.6 4,275 24 31 68.7
1992 HAM 523 266 50.9 3,858 19 14 76.2
1993 EDM 400 214 53.5 3,394 25 10 92.4
1994 EDM 493 254 51.5 3,554 19 15 75.2
1995 MEM 90 228 58.5 3,211 11 13 80.6
1996 BC 368 219 59.5 2,772 13 10 83.5
1997 BC 583 378 64.8 4,653 21 11 93.5
1998 BC 479 282 58.9 3,519 16 16 79.0
1999 BC 521 315 60.5 4,219 22 13 89.9
2000 BC 525 324 61.7 4,840 24 11 98.4
2001 BC 471 251 53.3 3,631 18 14 79.0
2002 BC 474 268 56.5 3,987 22 10 90.9
2003 TOR 450 267 59.3 3,395 17 10 86.3
2004 TOR 312 189 60.6 2,438 12 4 92.6
2005 TOR 549 52 64.1 5,082 33 15 102.7
2006 TOR 145 85 58.6 1,274 6 4 85.7
TOTALS 8,881 5,000 56.3 70,596 385 271 --
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Moon's mark stood at 70,553 yards combined in the NFL and the CFL. The Hall of Fame doens't really recognize any of the yardage of course, so you can't really tell that Moon had the combined mark. The NFL's policy seems to be that AFL records are in, but all other records are to be kept separate.
They do, however, mention Moon's five Grey Cup victories ... pretty much almost in passing.
I like CFL football. I like football. I wish that the U.S. press would pay more attention to the CFL. I had hoped that the internet was going to help the situation, and it has, but only marginally. I have occasionally watched some action on my satellite, but I haven't seen that much CFL.
Here are Allen's career stats.
Career Passing Statistics
YEAR TEAM ATT COMP % YDS TD INT RATING
1985 EDM 98 48 49.0 661 3 3 68.4
1986 EDM 87 49 56.3 878 8 3 107.4
1987 EDM 287 150 52.3 2,670 17 13 85.3
1988 EDM 218 94 43.1 1,309 4 12 46.2
1989 OTT 434 209 48.2 3,093 17 16 69.6
1990 OTT 528 276 52.3 3,883 34 23 79.6
1991 OTT 546 282 51.6 4,275 24 31 68.7
1992 HAM 523 266 50.9 3,858 19 14 76.2
1993 EDM 400 214 53.5 3,394 25 10 92.4
1994 EDM 493 254 51.5 3,554 19 15 75.2
1995 MEM 90 228 58.5 3,211 11 13 80.6
1996 BC 368 219 59.5 2,772 13 10 83.5
1997 BC 583 378 64.8 4,653 21 11 93.5
1998 BC 479 282 58.9 3,519 16 16 79.0
1999 BC 521 315 60.5 4,219 22 13 89.9
2000 BC 525 324 61.7 4,840 24 11 98.4
2001 BC 471 251 53.3 3,631 18 14 79.0
2002 BC 474 268 56.5 3,987 22 10 90.9
2003 TOR 450 267 59.3 3,395 17 10 86.3
2004 TOR 312 189 60.6 2,438 12 4 92.6
2005 TOR 549 52 64.1 5,082 33 15 102.7
2006 TOR 145 85 58.6 1,274 6 4 85.7
TOTALS 8,881 5,000 56.3 70,596 385 271 --
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Anibal Sanchez Hurls No-No as a Rookie
Last night, Anibal Sanchez pitched a no-hitter as a rookie. He gets added to the list.
Anibal Sanchez, Florida, beat Arizona, 2-0, Sept. 6,2006.
Here are a couple of lists of rookie no-hitters in the past century or so. I have several different lists because there are some disagreements about who should be on and who shouldn't.
This first list is circa 1983, and it came from the New York Times (or, as I like to call it, the paper of records - HA!). I've added it because it includes the pitcher's career won-loss record.
Pitcher, team Yrs. W L
'01 Earl Moore, Indians 14 161 153
'07 Nick Maddox, Pirates 4 43 20
'12 Jeff Tesreau, Giants 7 119 72
'22 Charles Robertson, W. Sox* 8 49 80
'34 Paul Dean, Cardinals 9 50 34
'35 Vern Kennedy, W. Sox 12 104 132
'47 B. McCahan, Athletics 4 16 14
'53 B. Holloman, Browns 1 3 7
'55 Sam Jones, Cubs 12 102 101
'62 Bo Belinsky, Angels 8 28 51
'67 Don Wilson, Astros 9 104 92
'70 Vida Blue, Athletics 17 209 161
'72 Burt Hooton, Cubs 15 151 136
'73 Jim Bibby, Rangers 12 111 101
'73 Steve Busby, Royals 8 70 54
'83 M. Warren, Athletics 3 9 13
*Perfect game.
This list is from ESPN.
Rookie no-hitters since 1900
Pitcher Team Opponent Result Date
Bud Smith St. Louis San Diego 4-0 9/3/01
Jose Jimenez St. Louis Arizona 1-0 6/25/99
Wilson Alvarez Chicago (AL) Baltimore 7-0 8/11/91
Mike Warren Oakland Chicago (AL) 3-0 9/29/83
Jim Bibby Texas Oakland 6-0 7/30/73
Steve Busby Kansas City Detroit 3-0 4/27/73
Burt Hooton Chicago (NL) Philadelphia 4-0 4/16/72
Vida Blue Oakland Minnesota 6-0 9/21/70
Don Wilson Houston Atlanta 2-0 6/18/67
Bo Belinsky L.A. (AL) Baltimore 2-0 5/5/62
x-Bobo Holloman St. Louis (AL) Philadelphia 6-0 5/6/53
William McCahan Phila. (AL) Washington 3-0 9/3/47
Vernon Kennedy Chicago (AL) Cleveland 5-0 8/31/35
Paul Dean St. Louis (NL) Brooklyn 3-0 9/21/34
Charles C. Robertson Chicago (AL) Detroit 2-0 4/30/22
Charles Tesreau New York (NL) Philadelphia 3-0 9/6/12
Nicholas Maddox Pittsburgh Brooklyn 2-1 9/20/07
Christy Mathewson New York (NL) St Louis 5-0 7/12/1900
x -- first major-league start
For a synopsis of at least one of the rule changes for a no-hitter, click here.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Anibal Sanchez, Florida, beat Arizona, 2-0, Sept. 6,2006.
Here are a couple of lists of rookie no-hitters in the past century or so. I have several different lists because there are some disagreements about who should be on and who shouldn't.
This first list is circa 1983, and it came from the New York Times (or, as I like to call it, the paper of records - HA!). I've added it because it includes the pitcher's career won-loss record.
Pitcher, team Yrs. W L
'01 Earl Moore, Indians 14 161 153
'07 Nick Maddox, Pirates 4 43 20
'12 Jeff Tesreau, Giants 7 119 72
'22 Charles Robertson, W. Sox* 8 49 80
'34 Paul Dean, Cardinals 9 50 34
'35 Vern Kennedy, W. Sox 12 104 132
'47 B. McCahan, Athletics 4 16 14
'53 B. Holloman, Browns 1 3 7
'55 Sam Jones, Cubs 12 102 101
'62 Bo Belinsky, Angels 8 28 51
'67 Don Wilson, Astros 9 104 92
'70 Vida Blue, Athletics 17 209 161
'72 Burt Hooton, Cubs 15 151 136
'73 Jim Bibby, Rangers 12 111 101
'73 Steve Busby, Royals 8 70 54
'83 M. Warren, Athletics 3 9 13
*Perfect game.
This list is from ESPN.
Rookie no-hitters since 1900
Pitcher Team Opponent Result Date
Bud Smith St. Louis San Diego 4-0 9/3/01
Jose Jimenez St. Louis Arizona 1-0 6/25/99
Wilson Alvarez Chicago (AL) Baltimore 7-0 8/11/91
Mike Warren Oakland Chicago (AL) 3-0 9/29/83
Jim Bibby Texas Oakland 6-0 7/30/73
Steve Busby Kansas City Detroit 3-0 4/27/73
Burt Hooton Chicago (NL) Philadelphia 4-0 4/16/72
Vida Blue Oakland Minnesota 6-0 9/21/70
Don Wilson Houston Atlanta 2-0 6/18/67
Bo Belinsky L.A. (AL) Baltimore 2-0 5/5/62
x-Bobo Holloman St. Louis (AL) Philadelphia 6-0 5/6/53
William McCahan Phila. (AL) Washington 3-0 9/3/47
Vernon Kennedy Chicago (AL) Cleveland 5-0 8/31/35
Paul Dean St. Louis (NL) Brooklyn 3-0 9/21/34
Charles C. Robertson Chicago (AL) Detroit 2-0 4/30/22
Charles Tesreau New York (NL) Philadelphia 3-0 9/6/12
Nicholas Maddox Pittsburgh Brooklyn 2-1 9/20/07
Christy Mathewson New York (NL) St Louis 5-0 7/12/1900
x -- first major-league start
For a synopsis of at least one of the rule changes for a no-hitter, click here.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Brining Your Pork Chops
Pork chops are among the perfect foods for a barbeque or a tailgate. They are delicious, they are relatively quick to prepare, they are delicious, they have some wiggle room as to being well prepared, and they are delicious.
One of the techniques to preparing great pork chops is to brine the chops.
Here are some tips to brining pork chops. Many of these tips came from James P. DeWan's article in the Chicago Tribune.
* Brining makes meat juicer. The meat has more liquid when you start grilling, and thus is juicier when grilling is finished.
* Brining seasons the inside of the chops, so while you may be a big proponent of rubs, as I am, this will get the whole chop tasty.
* The brining time for most regular-sized pork chops takes only about an hour.
* Make sure you have enough liquid to cover all the chops.
* About 1/4 cup of table salt per quart of water.
* Dissolve salt in a little hot water first. Add the rest of the cold liquid solution to cool the temp of the liquid.
* BRINE IN THE REFRIGERATOR. Don't send your guests to the hospital. While funny, it's not that nice.
* Remove chops from fridge, pat dry, add rub, grill.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
One of the techniques to preparing great pork chops is to brine the chops.
Here are some tips to brining pork chops. Many of these tips came from James P. DeWan's article in the Chicago Tribune.
* Brining makes meat juicer. The meat has more liquid when you start grilling, and thus is juicier when grilling is finished.
* Brining seasons the inside of the chops, so while you may be a big proponent of rubs, as I am, this will get the whole chop tasty.
* The brining time for most regular-sized pork chops takes only about an hour.
* Make sure you have enough liquid to cover all the chops.
* About 1/4 cup of table salt per quart of water.
* Dissolve salt in a little hot water first. Add the rest of the cold liquid solution to cool the temp of the liquid.
* BRINE IN THE REFRIGERATOR. Don't send your guests to the hospital. While funny, it's not that nice.
* Remove chops from fridge, pat dry, add rub, grill.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Bronson Arroyo Does His Stopper Bit
Bronson Arroyo proved to be a stopper. Boy, did he step up big, holding the Giants to three singles in a 3-0 shutout last night.
Despite it all, I'm still not in favor of the Wily Mo trade. Every time that Arroyo pitches well, it softens up my staunch opposition to the deal. But Pena can smoke the horsehide, and he is soooo young.
I do understand, however, that if you want to change the culture of a team, you have to make some hard decisions.
The Reds are floundering. Junior is hurt, but this time, they aren't overflowing with outfielders to cover his loss. Thank heavens for Todd Hollandsworth.
Despite it all, I'm still not in favor of the Wily Mo trade. Every time that Arroyo pitches well, it softens up my staunch opposition to the deal. But Pena can smoke the horsehide, and he is soooo young.
I do understand, however, that if you want to change the culture of a team, you have to make some hard decisions.
The Reds are floundering. Junior is hurt, but this time, they aren't overflowing with outfielders to cover his loss. Thank heavens for Todd Hollandsworth.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
I'd Like To Buy The World A Coker
Can't beat the real thing.
But, hey, lose twice in a row to your rivals, and, as Larry Coker is finding out, not All the 'Cane World Loves a Coke-r.
Winning a national championship and over 80 percent of your games just doesn't buy the same happiness that it used to.
The long knives are already out for Larry Coker.
'Cane mutiny? by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports put it pretty well: The U Nation is not happy.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=AnQht1iGWuBL_jY8TaF69E45nYcB?slug=dw-coker090406&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Dan Le Betard of the Miami Herald has a column sure to infuriate some of the faithful. He says Miami is just not good enough anymore.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/colleges/florida_state_university/15440236.htm
Matt Zemek of College Football News makes the point that the Canes didn't just lose to the Noles by being beaten, but that Miami's new-look offense "was limp, lame and panicky."
http://cfn.scout.com/2/564659.html
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
But, hey, lose twice in a row to your rivals, and, as Larry Coker is finding out, not All the 'Cane World Loves a Coke-r.
Winning a national championship and over 80 percent of your games just doesn't buy the same happiness that it used to.
The long knives are already out for Larry Coker.
'Cane mutiny? by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports put it pretty well: The U Nation is not happy.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=AnQht1iGWuBL_jY8TaF69E45nYcB?slug=dw-coker090406&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Dan Le Betard of the Miami Herald has a column sure to infuriate some of the faithful. He says Miami is just not good enough anymore.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/colleges/florida_state_university/15440236.htm
Matt Zemek of College Football News makes the point that the Canes didn't just lose to the Noles by being beaten, but that Miami's new-look offense "was limp, lame and panicky."
http://cfn.scout.com/2/564659.html
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Monday, September 04, 2006
The OTHER other Bush
This is a bad story about Bush -- not Reggie, and certainly not this guy, but Michael Bush.
Before his broken leg, Michael Bush looked like he had it all. A big, strong, tough, and fast running back, he had to work for a starting job at Louisville against near NFL-quality backs Lionel Gates and Eric Shelton. Bush is 6-3 and about 245 or 250 pounds. He led the Big East in rushing in 2005 with 1,143 yards, and he had 23 rushing TDs. He also had a TD reception, and his 144 points on 24 TDs led the nation.
In the story it says that Bush has to decide whether to redshirt or not. The way the pros draft, I don't see that his missing the entire 2006 season will be a big issue. Knowing them, they will probably think that the fewer carries he had will mean that he is a little more highly regarded.
The ESPN story said that Bush didn't want to go back to Louisville in 2006, but he didn't enter the draft because he didn't project to the first round. Truthfully, I think he was a better prospect as an NFL running back than DeAngelo Williams or Joseph Addai.
There are some mock drafts or rankings for 2007, such as NFL Draft Countdown, About.com football guy, DraftDaddy, Fox Sports, TheFootballExpert, and others that have Bush going pretty high.
Before his broken leg, Michael Bush looked like he had it all. A big, strong, tough, and fast running back, he had to work for a starting job at Louisville against near NFL-quality backs Lionel Gates and Eric Shelton. Bush is 6-3 and about 245 or 250 pounds. He led the Big East in rushing in 2005 with 1,143 yards, and he had 23 rushing TDs. He also had a TD reception, and his 144 points on 24 TDs led the nation.
In the story it says that Bush has to decide whether to redshirt or not. The way the pros draft, I don't see that his missing the entire 2006 season will be a big issue. Knowing them, they will probably think that the fewer carries he had will mean that he is a little more highly regarded.
The ESPN story said that Bush didn't want to go back to Louisville in 2006, but he didn't enter the draft because he didn't project to the first round. Truthfully, I think he was a better prospect as an NFL running back than DeAngelo Williams or Joseph Addai.
There are some mock drafts or rankings for 2007, such as NFL Draft Countdown, About.com football guy, DraftDaddy, Fox Sports, TheFootballExpert, and others that have Bush going pretty high.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Walker Looks to be Irish MVP
The thing that hit me over the head while watching the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech game last night was that while Brady Quinn may be the Heisman Trophy winner and Jeff Samardzija may be the two-sport threat, the MVP of the Irish offense (and thus probably the whole Notre Dame Eleven) is Darius Walker.
The Irish were lucky (where have we heard that before) that the Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler was called for a helmet to helment hit on Quinn -- a questionable call at best. But the Irish prevailed.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
The Irish were lucky (where have we heard that before) that the Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler was called for a helmet to helment hit on Quinn -- a questionable call at best. But the Irish prevailed.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Friday, September 01, 2006
RedHawks Drop Opener in Randy Walker Game
Well, it didn't go quite as I had hoped.
The RedHawks dropped the opener, 21-3, to Northwestern in the Randy Walker game. The game was preceded by tributes to Randy Walker, who was the winningest coach in Miami University history who died suddenly on June 29 at the age of 52. Walker was honored with a plaque at Miami's "Cradle of Coaches" plaza.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/SPT02/609010326/1035/SPT
Of course, Northwestern was Walker's team now, not Miami. And the game seemed to prove more than anything that a somewhat experienced squad from the Big Ten can beat an inexperienced squad from the Mid-American Conference. Despite losing quarterback Brett Basanez and Zach Strief, the Wildcats have seven returning starters on offense and eight on defense. The RedHawks have four returning starters on offense (and Brandon Murphy, their tailback, was out last night) and only two (or two and a half, if you count Frank Wiwo who as been a nickel corner for a couple of years) on defense.
Pat Fitzgerald (who I am still amazed didn't make an NFL squad coming out of Northwestern) gave Tammy Walker, Randy's wife, the game ball. It all seemed so fitting.
Quick observation about the two new starting quarterbacks. Mike Kafka of Northwestern, who is a redshirt freshman, is very athletic and looks to have a good future. Mike Kokal of Miami, who is a junior, didn't appear as athletic, and he didn't appear all that comfortable passing the ball. Could be a long season.
The RedHawks dropped the opener, 21-3, to Northwestern in the Randy Walker game. The game was preceded by tributes to Randy Walker, who was the winningest coach in Miami University history who died suddenly on June 29 at the age of 52. Walker was honored with a plaque at Miami's "Cradle of Coaches" plaza.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/SPT02/609010326/1035/SPT
Of course, Northwestern was Walker's team now, not Miami. And the game seemed to prove more than anything that a somewhat experienced squad from the Big Ten can beat an inexperienced squad from the Mid-American Conference. Despite losing quarterback Brett Basanez and Zach Strief, the Wildcats have seven returning starters on offense and eight on defense. The RedHawks have four returning starters on offense (and Brandon Murphy, their tailback, was out last night) and only two (or two and a half, if you count Frank Wiwo who as been a nickel corner for a couple of years) on defense.
Pat Fitzgerald (who I am still amazed didn't make an NFL squad coming out of Northwestern) gave Tammy Walker, Randy's wife, the game ball. It all seemed so fitting.
Quick observation about the two new starting quarterbacks. Mike Kafka of Northwestern, who is a redshirt freshman, is very athletic and looks to have a good future. Mike Kokal of Miami, who is a junior, didn't appear as athletic, and he didn't appear all that comfortable passing the ball. Could be a long season.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Fight to the Very End
Fight to the very end.
Northwestern travels to Oxford, Ohio, to play Miami University in a season-opening game tonight at 7:30 Eastern. This game was supposed to be a homecoming forRandy Walker.
Instead, it will turn into a memorial for RandyWalker.
The earliest I can remember Randy Walker was when he was a running back for Miami in the 1970s.
But one of my most vivid memories was a quote about Walker in one of the Cincinnati papers after he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1977. He was picked No. 371 overall in round 13. In training camp that year (they lasted a whole lot longer then), the running backs coach for the Bengals, I believe, commented on how Walker filled notebook after notebook with info.
They were commenting that even then, he knew that he wanted to be a coach.
Walker took over the program at Miami from Tim Rose, a handsome young man who was not a great football coach. The RedHawks (or whatever they were called) were 0-10-1 and 2-8-1 in the two years before Walker took over.
When Walk took the program over, he brought back sometoughness to the team.
In 1995, he brought the RedHawks to Dyche Stadium to face Gary Barnett's Northwestern team that had just beaten Notre Dame at Notre Dame. The Hawks had a pretty good QB in Neil Dougherty. The Wildcats were in control of the game, leading 28-7 in the third quarter. But Dougherty brought them back, scored some easy TDs. And then Northwestern had two fumbled snaps from their backup long snapper to lose to Miami, 30-28.
After that game, Gary Barnett was distraught, and really didn't give Miami any credit. But Walker was having none of it. He was calm, and he said the right thing, that his team just kept fighting.
I remember when Walker was coaching the Northwestern 11 years later and they beat Michigan State in a great game in Dyche Stadium, in 2001. Charles Rogers returned a punt for a TD in the fourth quarter to put State up 20-17. Northwestern had a long drive and scored a TD with only 29 seconds left to go in the game, to go up 24-20.
Northwestern kicked off, and Herb Haygood of Michigan State returned the kick 84 yards for a TD, with only 18 seconds left to go in the game. The Spartans were up 26-24.
But Northwestern wasn't done. They got a paw on the point after, making it go wide. Michigan State only had a two-point lead. They kicked off, and Zak Kustok of Northwestern had the ball on his own 15. Game over?
Kustok threw a huge pass that was almost intercepted but was in fact completed, in State territory. Nortwestern sent in a kicker, with almost no time left, and he got it through. The Cats won the game, 27-26.
And all the years that I watched Miami football, then Northwestern football, that is the one thing that really is foremost in my memory. Any Randy Walker team would keep fighting. Fight to the very end.
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/walker_randy00.html
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060831/SPT0103/608310391/-1/CINCI
Northwestern travels to Oxford, Ohio, to play Miami University in a season-opening game tonight at 7:30 Eastern. This game was supposed to be a homecoming forRandy Walker.
Instead, it will turn into a memorial for RandyWalker.
The earliest I can remember Randy Walker was when he was a running back for Miami in the 1970s.
But one of my most vivid memories was a quote about Walker in one of the Cincinnati papers after he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1977. He was picked No. 371 overall in round 13. In training camp that year (they lasted a whole lot longer then), the running backs coach for the Bengals, I believe, commented on how Walker filled notebook after notebook with info.
They were commenting that even then, he knew that he wanted to be a coach.
Walker took over the program at Miami from Tim Rose, a handsome young man who was not a great football coach. The RedHawks (or whatever they were called) were 0-10-1 and 2-8-1 in the two years before Walker took over.
When Walk took the program over, he brought back sometoughness to the team.
In 1995, he brought the RedHawks to Dyche Stadium to face Gary Barnett's Northwestern team that had just beaten Notre Dame at Notre Dame. The Hawks had a pretty good QB in Neil Dougherty. The Wildcats were in control of the game, leading 28-7 in the third quarter. But Dougherty brought them back, scored some easy TDs. And then Northwestern had two fumbled snaps from their backup long snapper to lose to Miami, 30-28.
After that game, Gary Barnett was distraught, and really didn't give Miami any credit. But Walker was having none of it. He was calm, and he said the right thing, that his team just kept fighting.
I remember when Walker was coaching the Northwestern 11 years later and they beat Michigan State in a great game in Dyche Stadium, in 2001. Charles Rogers returned a punt for a TD in the fourth quarter to put State up 20-17. Northwestern had a long drive and scored a TD with only 29 seconds left to go in the game, to go up 24-20.
Northwestern kicked off, and Herb Haygood of Michigan State returned the kick 84 yards for a TD, with only 18 seconds left to go in the game. The Spartans were up 26-24.
But Northwestern wasn't done. They got a paw on the point after, making it go wide. Michigan State only had a two-point lead. They kicked off, and Zak Kustok of Northwestern had the ball on his own 15. Game over?
Kustok threw a huge pass that was almost intercepted but was in fact completed, in State territory. Nortwestern sent in a kicker, with almost no time left, and he got it through. The Cats won the game, 27-26.
And all the years that I watched Miami football, then Northwestern football, that is the one thing that really is foremost in my memory. Any Randy Walker team would keep fighting. Fight to the very end.
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/walker_randy00.html
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060831/SPT0103/608310391/-1/CINCI
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Milwaukee Brewers and the Reds
My family and I went to the Reds and Brewers game July 3 in Milwaukee. The Brewers won the game 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth off of the Reds closer, Todd Coffey. Of course, the Brewers closer, Derrick Turnbow, blew the save in the top of the ninth.
The game was fun, had everything (except good defense), and the hot dog won the sausage race.
The game was fun, had everything (except good defense), and the hot dog won the sausage race.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Super Bowl XVI (16) and Dan Ross
I was just looking over the obits for Dan Ross, one of my favorite players. And I started looking into Super Bowl XVI, or as I like to call it, Super Bowl 16.
Ross had 11 catches that game, as the Bengals tried to come back from a 20-0 halftime deficit. And they did a pretty good job, losing the game 26-21. Ross caught a TD pass, his second of the game, with less than 20 seconds left in the game, but the onside kick was recovered by the Niners.
The Super Bowl was played in the expanse that was the Pontiac, MI, Silverdome. Different stadia mean different things, and the Silverdome always reminds me of Barry Sanders, Wayne Fontes, and the wacky Lions of that era.
Ross was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He must have been some college player. And he is one of the all-time great Bengals.
Looking into Super Bowl 16, I was struck that the leading rusher for the 49ers that season was none other than Ricky Patton. Patton gained 543 yards for the Niners. It took a while to get the Roger Craig kill ya running or passing thing down, I guess.
Ross had 11 catches that game, as the Bengals tried to come back from a 20-0 halftime deficit. And they did a pretty good job, losing the game 26-21. Ross caught a TD pass, his second of the game, with less than 20 seconds left in the game, but the onside kick was recovered by the Niners.
The Super Bowl was played in the expanse that was the Pontiac, MI, Silverdome. Different stadia mean different things, and the Silverdome always reminds me of Barry Sanders, Wayne Fontes, and the wacky Lions of that era.
Ross was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He must have been some college player. And he is one of the all-time great Bengals.
Looking into Super Bowl 16, I was struck that the leading rusher for the 49ers that season was none other than Ricky Patton. Patton gained 543 yards for the Niners. It took a while to get the Roger Craig kill ya running or passing thing down, I guess.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Raider Who May Have Lost His Arc
Aaron Brooks is the new Raider starting quarterback. The plan seems to be let him start for a little while, then let Andrew Walter will take over. (I think being a starter for the Raiders is over for Marques Tuasisopo, at least in their minds).
Brooks had it all going for him, but for the last year and a half, he seems like a below average quarterback who occasionally has a good game.
Of course, this also could be said for Gus Ferotte, and he went out and had a good season for the Dolphins. And Brooks' numbers aren't that bad, taken as a whole.
Season Team G QBRat Comp Att Pct Yds Y/G Y/A TD Int
2000-01 New Orleans 8 85.7 113 194 58.2 1514 189.3 7.8 9 6
2001-02 New Orleans 16 76.4 312 558 55.9 3832 239.5 6.9 26 22
2002-03 New Orleans 16 80.1 283 528 53.6 3572 223.3 6.8 27 15
2003-04 New Orleans 16 88.8 306 518 59.1 3546 221.6 6.8 24 8
2004-05 New Orleans 16 79.5 309 542 57.0 3810 238.1 7.0 21 16
2005-06 New Orleans 13 70.0 240 431 55.7 2882 221.7 6.7 13 17
Career 85 79.7 1563 2771 56.4 19156 225.4 6.9 120 84
Aaron Brooks took over a newly reconfigured Saints team for Jeff Blake, who was doing a great job, and he led them to the playoffs his first year, winning the franchise's only playoff game. But the past few years, it hasn't been the same. Last year, the entire season was just a bad year for the Saints. With Katrina, one is inclined to give the whole franchise and all of the players a pass. I know I am.
It'll be interesting to see what the Raiders can do with Brooks. He has a strong arm, and they want to throw the ball downfield. And they have Randy Moss and Jerry Porter.
Andrew Walter should be ready to start in the NFL soon. He was a fine pick by the Raiders, and he will be the guy for Art Shell at some point.
Here are Walter's numbers at Arizona State.
Year G/GS Comp/Att Yds. Pct. TD/Int. Lg. Avg./G Eff.
2001 11/2 38/86 546 44.2 3/2 53 49.6 104.4
2002 14/10 274/483 3877 56.7 28/15 85 276.9 137.1
2003 12/12 221/421 3044 52.5 24/10 80 253.7 127.3
2004 11/11 244/426 3150 57.3 30/9 79 286.4 138.4
Total 48/35 777/1416 10617 54.9 85/36 85 221.2 132.6
Brooks had it all going for him, but for the last year and a half, he seems like a below average quarterback who occasionally has a good game.
Of course, this also could be said for Gus Ferotte, and he went out and had a good season for the Dolphins. And Brooks' numbers aren't that bad, taken as a whole.
Season Team G QBRat Comp Att Pct Yds Y/G Y/A TD Int
2000-01 New Orleans 8 85.7 113 194 58.2 1514 189.3 7.8 9 6
2001-02 New Orleans 16 76.4 312 558 55.9 3832 239.5 6.9 26 22
2002-03 New Orleans 16 80.1 283 528 53.6 3572 223.3 6.8 27 15
2003-04 New Orleans 16 88.8 306 518 59.1 3546 221.6 6.8 24 8
2004-05 New Orleans 16 79.5 309 542 57.0 3810 238.1 7.0 21 16
2005-06 New Orleans 13 70.0 240 431 55.7 2882 221.7 6.7 13 17
Career 85 79.7 1563 2771 56.4 19156 225.4 6.9 120 84
Aaron Brooks took over a newly reconfigured Saints team for Jeff Blake, who was doing a great job, and he led them to the playoffs his first year, winning the franchise's only playoff game. But the past few years, it hasn't been the same. Last year, the entire season was just a bad year for the Saints. With Katrina, one is inclined to give the whole franchise and all of the players a pass. I know I am.
It'll be interesting to see what the Raiders can do with Brooks. He has a strong arm, and they want to throw the ball downfield. And they have Randy Moss and Jerry Porter.
Andrew Walter should be ready to start in the NFL soon. He was a fine pick by the Raiders, and he will be the guy for Art Shell at some point.
Here are Walter's numbers at Arizona State.
Year G/GS Comp/Att Yds. Pct. TD/Int. Lg. Avg./G Eff.
2001 11/2 38/86 546 44.2 3/2 53 49.6 104.4
2002 14/10 274/483 3877 56.7 28/15 85 276.9 137.1
2003 12/12 221/421 3044 52.5 24/10 80 253.7 127.3
2004 11/11 244/426 3150 57.3 30/9 79 286.4 138.4
Total 48/35 777/1416 10617 54.9 85/36 85 221.2 132.6
Bears Win Race for Griese Monkey
In the race for Brian Griese, it appears the Bears beat out the Bengals. Don Pierson of the Chicago Tribune, one of the best football writers in the country, said (at least by implication if not outright) that he likes Griese better than Jay Fiedler, Jeff Blake, Gus Ferotte, Jeff Garcia, and Jon Kitna.
The one thing this does is move Kyle Orton back to third string. I am a huge Kyle Orton fan, and I think that the Bears ain't really treating him right after his stint as the starter last year. Another thing this does is give some competition to Rex Grossman. Is Brian Griese better than Sexy Rexy? I don't know, and neither, really, does anyone else.
How much does a quarterback like Brian Griese cost? It seems that he is a five year, at least $14 million with at least a $4 million signing bonus.
Brad Biggs of the Suntimes reports that Griese signed with the Bears because of Lovie Smith's quick hook for quarterbacks. Fair enough.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-bear22.html
Geoff Hobson's story on Bengals dot com says that Aaron Brooks considers himself a starter, so the Bengals don't fit. They may be down to Joey Harrington and Jaimie Martin. I still want them to explore the Jay Fiedler option. But I am fine with Joey Harrington.
http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5149
The one thing this does is move Kyle Orton back to third string. I am a huge Kyle Orton fan, and I think that the Bears ain't really treating him right after his stint as the starter last year. Another thing this does is give some competition to Rex Grossman. Is Brian Griese better than Sexy Rexy? I don't know, and neither, really, does anyone else.
How much does a quarterback like Brian Griese cost? It seems that he is a five year, at least $14 million with at least a $4 million signing bonus.
Brad Biggs of the Suntimes reports that Griese signed with the Bears because of Lovie Smith's quick hook for quarterbacks. Fair enough.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-bear22.html
Geoff Hobson's story on Bengals dot com says that Aaron Brooks considers himself a starter, so the Bengals don't fit. They may be down to Joey Harrington and Jaimie Martin. I still want them to explore the Jay Fiedler option. But I am fine with Joey Harrington.
http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5149
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
John Sandusky, longtime NFL assistant, dies at 80
John Sandusky died recently. If you were from Ohio, you knew of John Sandusky. If you were a lineman, you knew of John Sandusky.
He was a line coach in the NFL for 35 years. He coached some of the best offensive lines in the history of the NFL.
Again, I would like to state: There is a real need for referees in the pro football hall of fame. Can't have a game without them, and we all notice the real good ones from the average ones.
And there is a real need for assistant coaches in the pro football hall of fame. No team doesn't have them. And we all can spot the real good ones from the average ones.
Baltimore Sun
He was a line coach in the NFL for 35 years. He coached some of the best offensive lines in the history of the NFL.
Again, I would like to state: There is a real need for referees in the pro football hall of fame. Can't have a game without them, and we all notice the real good ones from the average ones.
And there is a real need for assistant coaches in the pro football hall of fame. No team doesn't have them. And we all can spot the real good ones from the average ones.
Baltimore Sun
"He was part Irish, part Polish," [Don Shula] the former Miami Dolphins and
Colts coach said of Sandusky. "But the Irish part, he had that great Irish voice
and he sang those great Irish songs like 'Danny Boy.' Invariably when we went
out together as a staff, John would burst out in song. And I never got tired of
listening to it."John was a great teacher, and on top of that, he was just a
wonderful human being."
The First Cut Is the Deepest: Can Any Early Cuts Help the Bengals?
The following players have been waived. Several of these players represent an upgrade at a position, and, depending on cap number, salary, and health, might be good pickups. The Bengals need a defensive tackle (or two) and a safety (or two).
Defensive Tackle
Sam Adams, DT BUFFALO
Brentson Buckner, DT CAROLINA
La'Roi Glover, DT DALLAS
Ted Washington, DT OAKLAND
Let's start at defensive tackle. Three of the four big DTs are just that, big DTs. Washington, Adams, and Buckner are big take-up-two-blockers, two-gap run-stuffers at their best. They all probably have left their best days behind. Washington at his best was a Hall of Fame type DT. Adams was a Pro Bowl level DT. Bucker was a big dude with occasional ability. All would probably be a step up from Bryan Robinson. But the Bengals will probably choose to go the youth route. I would hope, however, that they at least give Ted Washington a call. Glover is 6-2, 285 or 290. He is a one-gap DT, and was probably the premier one-gap DT for a year or two in New Orleans. Had a couple of good years for the Cowboys, but when Dallas went 3-4, Glover became a bad fit. He is too small for a nose, and, at 30-plus, he probably wasn't given the opportunity to win a DE spot. Pittsburgh would have used him as a DE, though. Glover is a step up from John Thorton, but Thorton is probably going to be more value priced. Someone will take Glover. [Note: Glover has already been signed by the Rams, who may have had a worse problem stopping the run than the Bengals]. And I think the Bengals need a two-gap guy more. It would surprise me, however, if they go for one of these older guys.
Safety
Marcus Coleman, S HOUSTON
Tebucky Jones, S MIAMI
Lawyer Milloy, S BUFFALO
To me, this is a no-brainer. After Madieu Williams and Kim Herring got hurt and missed most of the season, the Bengals were left with probably the worst set of starting safeties in the NFL. Kevin Kaesviharn and Ifeanyi Ohalete were the Bengals starters for most of the season. Kaesviharn is a former corner who doesn't have enough speed and can't cover that well. He also is a poor tackler. Ohalete -- who was cut by the Cardinals at the beginning of the season and picked up by Cincy when they put Herring on IR -- is a big safety without enough speed who occasionally hits hard. But he misses more than he hits and tight ends just roam free. I wanted the Bengals to go with Herna Daze-Jones or Patrick Body or both, just to give them experience. It didn't seem that they could be much worse. With Williams coming back, I think the Bengals need to get one veteran safety. Williams was moving toward Ed Reed territory as far as safeties go by the end of his rookie year. I hope that he if fully recovered and ready to start at free safety. As far as strong safety, I would go for Tebucky Jones, a classic strong safety, if he doesn't cost that much. He played in only six games in '05, so he may need some rehab. But he's big, fast, strong, and experienced. Lawyer Milloy is a little small for a strong safety, but he is ultra productive and would be fine. I would take a pass on Marcus Coleman. But, hey, worse comes to worse, so to speak, he's better than nothing.
Defensive End
Trevor Pryce, DE DENVER
Brady Smith, DE ATLANTA
Always pays to look at who else is out there. I like Brady Smith, but someone else will like him more. Trevor Pryce is not my cup of tea. There will probably be better DEs cut later. And this isn't really an area of need.
Quarterback
Tony Banks, QB HOUSTON
Kerry Collins, QB OAKLAND
Jay Fiedler, QB NEW YORK JETS
Tommy Maddox, QB PITTSBURGH
With Jon Kitna set to find a new home, Cincinnati needs a veteran backup QB. I would sign Jay Fiedler in a heartbeat. I like him. He is a lot like Kitna. The only problem is that Fiedler had a shoulder injury and was out for many months. I think the Jets cut him because they didn't want to chance it that he couldn't come back by sometime in training camp to help. But I think the Bengals should look longer term, and Fiedler is the sort of guy that can carry the old clipboard and make everyone feel better. So I would sign him. And, I would sign another veteran. Right now, these are the other guys available. Ouch. Out of the three of these guys, I think I would take Tommy Maddox. He will be cheap, and maybe he could be an OK guy for a couple of games if you needed him. I would feel more comfortable if he was a third-stringer. Same with Banks. Collins would be a good second-stringer, but I don't see him coming cheap. Hopefully there will be better options a little later.
Cornerback
Andre Dyson, CB SEATTLE
Michael Harden, CB SEATTLE
Reggie Howard, CB MIAMI
Sam Madison, CB MIAMI
Denard Walker, CB OAKLAND
Eric Warfield, CB KANSAS CITY
Willie Williams, CB PITTSBURGH
The Bengals have had two straight cornerbacks make the Pro Bowl in two straight years, which shows you what a crock of manure the Pro Bowl is. The base your corner play on interceptions only. On the theory that you can never have too many corners, here's what's available. I like Madison and Dyson from the above list. If value priced, I'd bring 'em in. But they probably won't be value priced. Charles Woodson is also probably going to be available. The Bengals need to suck it up and start trying to get corners through the draft. And is Keiwan Ratliff a starter? I don't know. But I think James may be nearing the end (perhaps he can be a free safety?), and O'Neal is occasionally great, frequently maddening.
Offensive Line
Brad Hopkins, OT TENNESSEE
Kevin Mawae, C N.Y. JETS
Damion McIntosh, OT MIAMI
Ron Stone, G OAKLAND
I like Mawae, and I would bring him in if you could. Hopkins would be a great backup. He can play left tackle, and he is built like a guard, so one would hope that he could play guard. Mawae and Hopkins both are probably better than a starter for the Bengals, and both could probably start. Both will probably cost too much, and are too old. McIntonsh and Stone are backup material only. Both are also probably too expensive.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Defensive Tackle
Sam Adams, DT BUFFALO
Brentson Buckner, DT CAROLINA
La'Roi Glover, DT DALLAS
Ted Washington, DT OAKLAND
Let's start at defensive tackle. Three of the four big DTs are just that, big DTs. Washington, Adams, and Buckner are big take-up-two-blockers, two-gap run-stuffers at their best. They all probably have left their best days behind. Washington at his best was a Hall of Fame type DT. Adams was a Pro Bowl level DT. Bucker was a big dude with occasional ability. All would probably be a step up from Bryan Robinson. But the Bengals will probably choose to go the youth route. I would hope, however, that they at least give Ted Washington a call. Glover is 6-2, 285 or 290. He is a one-gap DT, and was probably the premier one-gap DT for a year or two in New Orleans. Had a couple of good years for the Cowboys, but when Dallas went 3-4, Glover became a bad fit. He is too small for a nose, and, at 30-plus, he probably wasn't given the opportunity to win a DE spot. Pittsburgh would have used him as a DE, though. Glover is a step up from John Thorton, but Thorton is probably going to be more value priced. Someone will take Glover. [Note: Glover has already been signed by the Rams, who may have had a worse problem stopping the run than the Bengals]. And I think the Bengals need a two-gap guy more. It would surprise me, however, if they go for one of these older guys.
Safety
Marcus Coleman, S HOUSTON
Tebucky Jones, S MIAMI
Lawyer Milloy, S BUFFALO
To me, this is a no-brainer. After Madieu Williams and Kim Herring got hurt and missed most of the season, the Bengals were left with probably the worst set of starting safeties in the NFL. Kevin Kaesviharn and Ifeanyi Ohalete were the Bengals starters for most of the season. Kaesviharn is a former corner who doesn't have enough speed and can't cover that well. He also is a poor tackler. Ohalete -- who was cut by the Cardinals at the beginning of the season and picked up by Cincy when they put Herring on IR -- is a big safety without enough speed who occasionally hits hard. But he misses more than he hits and tight ends just roam free. I wanted the Bengals to go with Herna Daze-Jones or Patrick Body or both, just to give them experience. It didn't seem that they could be much worse. With Williams coming back, I think the Bengals need to get one veteran safety. Williams was moving toward Ed Reed territory as far as safeties go by the end of his rookie year. I hope that he if fully recovered and ready to start at free safety. As far as strong safety, I would go for Tebucky Jones, a classic strong safety, if he doesn't cost that much. He played in only six games in '05, so he may need some rehab. But he's big, fast, strong, and experienced. Lawyer Milloy is a little small for a strong safety, but he is ultra productive and would be fine. I would take a pass on Marcus Coleman. But, hey, worse comes to worse, so to speak, he's better than nothing.
Defensive End
Trevor Pryce, DE DENVER
Brady Smith, DE ATLANTA
Always pays to look at who else is out there. I like Brady Smith, but someone else will like him more. Trevor Pryce is not my cup of tea. There will probably be better DEs cut later. And this isn't really an area of need.
Quarterback
Tony Banks, QB HOUSTON
Kerry Collins, QB OAKLAND
Jay Fiedler, QB NEW YORK JETS
Tommy Maddox, QB PITTSBURGH
With Jon Kitna set to find a new home, Cincinnati needs a veteran backup QB. I would sign Jay Fiedler in a heartbeat. I like him. He is a lot like Kitna. The only problem is that Fiedler had a shoulder injury and was out for many months. I think the Jets cut him because they didn't want to chance it that he couldn't come back by sometime in training camp to help. But I think the Bengals should look longer term, and Fiedler is the sort of guy that can carry the old clipboard and make everyone feel better. So I would sign him. And, I would sign another veteran. Right now, these are the other guys available. Ouch. Out of the three of these guys, I think I would take Tommy Maddox. He will be cheap, and maybe he could be an OK guy for a couple of games if you needed him. I would feel more comfortable if he was a third-stringer. Same with Banks. Collins would be a good second-stringer, but I don't see him coming cheap. Hopefully there will be better options a little later.
Cornerback
Andre Dyson, CB SEATTLE
Michael Harden, CB SEATTLE
Reggie Howard, CB MIAMI
Sam Madison, CB MIAMI
Denard Walker, CB OAKLAND
Eric Warfield, CB KANSAS CITY
Willie Williams, CB PITTSBURGH
The Bengals have had two straight cornerbacks make the Pro Bowl in two straight years, which shows you what a crock of manure the Pro Bowl is. The base your corner play on interceptions only. On the theory that you can never have too many corners, here's what's available. I like Madison and Dyson from the above list. If value priced, I'd bring 'em in. But they probably won't be value priced. Charles Woodson is also probably going to be available. The Bengals need to suck it up and start trying to get corners through the draft. And is Keiwan Ratliff a starter? I don't know. But I think James may be nearing the end (perhaps he can be a free safety?), and O'Neal is occasionally great, frequently maddening.
Offensive Line
Brad Hopkins, OT TENNESSEE
Kevin Mawae, C N.Y. JETS
Damion McIntosh, OT MIAMI
Ron Stone, G OAKLAND
I like Mawae, and I would bring him in if you could. Hopkins would be a great backup. He can play left tackle, and he is built like a guard, so one would hope that he could play guard. Mawae and Hopkins both are probably better than a starter for the Bengals, and both could probably start. Both will probably cost too much, and are too old. McIntonsh and Stone are backup material only. Both are also probably too expensive.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Reds' Best Lineup?
There is a lineup analysis tool on the Internet (wow, I think this thing may catch on!). It does some cipherin' on the best lineup you can have to score the most runs, based on on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Put in the 2006 Reds lineup, using 2005 stats.
Don't know why I did this, but here are the top 10 results.
Best Lineups Runs per Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4.942 Jason LaRue Adam Dunn Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.941 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Jason LaRue Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.938 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Jason LaRue Ken Griffey Austin Kearns Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.937 Jason LaRue Adam Dunn Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Edwin Encarnacion Wily Mo Pena Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.937 Adam Dunn Jason LaRue Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.936 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Jason LaRue Edwin Encarnacion Wily Mo Pena Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.936 Jason LaRue Felipe Lopez Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Adam Dunn Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.934 Adam Dunn Austin Kearns Jason LaRue Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.934 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Jason LaRue Ken Griffey Austin Kearns Edwin Encarnacion Wily Mo Pena Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.933 Jason LaRue Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Ken Griffey Austin Kearns Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
http://www.baseballmusings.com/cgi-bin/LineupAnalysis.py?Player0=Jason+LaRue&OBA0=.355&Slug0=.452&Player1=Felipe+Lopez&OBA1=.352&Slug1=.486&Player2=Adam+Dunn&OBA2=.387&Slug2=.540&Player3=Ken+Griffey&OBA3=.369&Slug3=.576&Player4=Austin+Kearns&OBA4=.333&Slug4=.452&Player5=Ryan+Freel&OBA5=.371&Slug5=.371&Player6=Wily+Mo+Pena&OBA6=.304&Slug6=.492&Player7=Edwin+Encarnacion&OBA7=.308&Slug7=.436&Player8=Aaron+Harang&OBA8=.027&Slug8=.027&Model=0
And here's the tipsheet I found at another website.
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/
Put in the 2006 Reds lineup, using 2005 stats.
Don't know why I did this, but here are the top 10 results.
Best Lineups Runs per Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4.942 Jason LaRue Adam Dunn Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.941 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Jason LaRue Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.938 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Jason LaRue Ken Griffey Austin Kearns Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.937 Jason LaRue Adam Dunn Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Edwin Encarnacion Wily Mo Pena Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.937 Adam Dunn Jason LaRue Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.936 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Jason LaRue Edwin Encarnacion Wily Mo Pena Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.936 Jason LaRue Felipe Lopez Austin Kearns Ken Griffey Adam Dunn Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.934 Adam Dunn Austin Kearns Jason LaRue Ken Griffey Felipe Lopez Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.934 Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Jason LaRue Ken Griffey Austin Kearns Edwin Encarnacion Wily Mo Pena Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
4.933 Jason LaRue Adam Dunn Felipe Lopez Ken Griffey Austin Kearns Wily Mo Pena Edwin Encarnacion Aaron Harang Ryan Freel
http://www.baseballmusings.com/cgi-bin/LineupAnalysis.py?Player0=Jason+LaRue&OBA0=.355&Slug0=.452&Player1=Felipe+Lopez&OBA1=.352&Slug1=.486&Player2=Adam+Dunn&OBA2=.387&Slug2=.540&Player3=Ken+Griffey&OBA3=.369&Slug3=.576&Player4=Austin+Kearns&OBA4=.333&Slug4=.452&Player5=Ryan+Freel&OBA5=.371&Slug5=.371&Player6=Wily+Mo+Pena&OBA6=.304&Slug6=.492&Player7=Edwin+Encarnacion&OBA7=.308&Slug7=.436&Player8=Aaron+Harang&OBA8=.027&Slug8=.027&Model=0
And here's the tipsheet I found at another website.
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/
1. This is the most OBP-centric spot in the lineup. Your hitter here might very well be your best hitter, IF his best attribute is his OBP. A hitter with a .425 OBP and a .500 SLG would fit in here well, provided that there's not a better OBP threat elsewhere on the roster. When I looked at it, I decided that Derek Jeter is really the optimal leadoff hitter. He has a good OBP and acceptable power, and he's generally a solid hitter.
2. The 2-hitter should be the lineup's most balanced hitter, a good combination of OBP and SLG. David Wright fits the bill here, as does the player I chose, Chase Utley. The first guy I thought of was Mike Lowell in his prime, when I looked at the results and coefficients.
3. This was the biggest surprise: the 3 hitter should be the player that doesn't fit into any of the other spots. Every other spot has some significance, but if I were building a lineup, I would just put the leftover player in the 3 hole. This seemed very counterintuitive to me when I first heard it, but David Pinto noted, "Part of what it's telling us is that you need to spread out your easy outs." I still struggled to get this, but I'm starting to, now. Marc said something to the effect of "the worst players have to go somewhere." I guess this is really it; the other spots just have greater needs. If you can get a good hitter here, it means that your lineup is very deep.
4. This is the bopper. This guy's best attribute should be his power, with OBP being of secondary importance. He should be the foil to the leadoff hitter, in a way; both players could be similar if they're both very complete. Andruw Jones, though, is an ideal #4 hitter: slightly above average OBP, and "phenomenal cosmic power," to quote Aladdin.
5. Picking the 5 hitter is simple: it's the second choice for the two slot. Paul Konerko, who I picked for this spot, had a very similar line to our #2 hitter, Chase Utley.
6. The 6 hitter shows the biggest difference between SLG and OBP on the roster. This is because you're going to want to have guys driving in the leftovers. The 6 hitter is the most exclusively power-dependent hitter of the bunch. His OBP is VERY unimportant. Alfonso Soriano and Jay Gibbons are good picks for this
slot.
7. The 7 hitter is the less extreme version of the 6 hitter, with less of a need for power and more usage for OBP. I picked Vernon Wells here.
8. This is the worst hitter in the lineup. If it's the pitcher, he goes here, unless it's Dontrelle Willis or Jason Marquis or someone similar. This is because you'd rather not put the pitcher close to two of the best hitters in the lineup: the 1 and 2.
9. The 9 hitter should be a "punchless wonder," of sorts. Scott Podsednik, Gregg Zaun, and Brad Ausmus fit into this role nicely: guys with acceptable OBPs and absolutely no power. This is the "stereotypical leadoff hitter" to the extreme. He's not actually leading off because you don't necessarily want these guys to imbibe plate appearances, I think.
This is all very new stuff, and I could have interpreted this wrong. I think that Cyril Morong is onto something because you CAN rationalize these positions, even if there's a high level of initial cognitive dissonance. I would say that you should try to go over this checklist when you try and optimize the lineup for whatever team you want, and see if it checks out or comes close to it.
And They Called It, "Tuffy Love"
Love the Tuffy.
LOVE THE TUFFY!
Tuffy Rhodes is back and badder than ever.
Tuffy Rhodes signs with the Cincinnati Reds. I actually think he has a 1-in-10 shot to make the team (but, really, who knows? It would be a better shot if Jim Bowden were still the GM). Rhodes has been called the greatest American player in the history of Japanese Baseball (at least according to the headline from The Japan Times; I couldn't click on the story).
Tuffy Rhodes: the best ever foreign player in Japan The Japan Times, Japan - Feb 18, 2006 The 10-year Japan career of Tuffy Rhodes has apparently come to an end with the announcement last week he had signed a contract with his hometown team, the ...
Here's another story.
http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060222&content_id=1319606&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin
http://www.middletownjournal.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/03/01/mj030206redsnotes.html
The Reds have signed on a lot of veteran players in the bullpen and on the bench.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060302/SPT05/603020326/1035
Bullpen: 36-year-old David Weathers, 37-year-old Rick White, 38-year-old Kent Mercker and 40-year-old Chris Hammond.
Bench: 34-year-old Rich Aurilia and 35-year-old Frank Menechino and 35-year-old Quinton McCracken and 36-year-old Scott Hatteberg and 36-year-old Tony Womack and 37-year-old Tuffy Rhodes.
And out of those guys, who do I love? I LOVE THE TUFFY!
Looking at that bench, hells bells, Johnny Bench is only 58.
Last year, it was Aaron Holbert. (Don't worry, Aaron. Still pulling for you this year. But Tuffy's a better story right now.)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/holbeaa01.shtml
This year, so far, it's Tuffy Rhodes.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rhodeka01.shtml
I live in Chicago, surrounded by Cubs fans and (curiously enough, many more) Sox fans. And never will I forget when Karl Tuffy Rhodes took Doc Gooden deep three consecutive times on Opening Day 1994. This was made especially important to me because of an inside joke I had and still have with a coworker regarding Jim Frey, who went to Western Hills High School in Cincinnati (as did Tuffy Rhodes, Don Zimmer, and Pete Rose [you betcha]). (I had a date to a high school dance with Jim Frey's niece back in the Seventies. Still cracks my friend up.) Doc Gooden was still considered a pretty damned good pitcher Opening Day 1994.
Here is the Cubs 1994 Opening Day starters (in alpha order), provided by Baseball Almanac:
1994 Chicago Cubs
Opening Day Starters
Steve Buechele
Shawon Dunston
Mark Grace
Derrick May
Mike Morgan
Karl Rhodes
Ryne Sandberg
Sammy Sosa
Rick Wilkins
And to think they were 49-64.
LOVE THE TUFFY!
Tuffy Rhodes is back and badder than ever.
Tuffy Rhodes signs with the Cincinnati Reds. I actually think he has a 1-in-10 shot to make the team (but, really, who knows? It would be a better shot if Jim Bowden were still the GM). Rhodes has been called the greatest American player in the history of Japanese Baseball (at least according to the headline from The Japan Times; I couldn't click on the story).
Tuffy Rhodes: the best ever foreign player in Japan The Japan Times, Japan - Feb 18, 2006 The 10-year Japan career of Tuffy Rhodes has apparently come to an end with the announcement last week he had signed a contract with his hometown team, the ...
Here's another story.
http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060222&content_id=1319606&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin
http://www.middletownjournal.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/03/01/mj030206redsnotes.html
The Reds have signed on a lot of veteran players in the bullpen and on the bench.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060302/SPT05/603020326/1035
Bullpen: 36-year-old David Weathers, 37-year-old Rick White, 38-year-old Kent Mercker and 40-year-old Chris Hammond.
Bench: 34-year-old Rich Aurilia and 35-year-old Frank Menechino and 35-year-old Quinton McCracken and 36-year-old Scott Hatteberg and 36-year-old Tony Womack and 37-year-old Tuffy Rhodes.
And out of those guys, who do I love? I LOVE THE TUFFY!
Looking at that bench, hells bells, Johnny Bench is only 58.
Last year, it was Aaron Holbert. (Don't worry, Aaron. Still pulling for you this year. But Tuffy's a better story right now.)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/holbeaa01.shtml
This year, so far, it's Tuffy Rhodes.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rhodeka01.shtml
I live in Chicago, surrounded by Cubs fans and (curiously enough, many more) Sox fans. And never will I forget when Karl Tuffy Rhodes took Doc Gooden deep three consecutive times on Opening Day 1994. This was made especially important to me because of an inside joke I had and still have with a coworker regarding Jim Frey, who went to Western Hills High School in Cincinnati (as did Tuffy Rhodes, Don Zimmer, and Pete Rose [you betcha]). (I had a date to a high school dance with Jim Frey's niece back in the Seventies. Still cracks my friend up.) Doc Gooden was still considered a pretty damned good pitcher Opening Day 1994.
Here is the Cubs 1994 Opening Day starters (in alpha order), provided by Baseball Almanac:
1994 Chicago Cubs
Opening Day Starters
Steve Buechele
Shawon Dunston
Mark Grace
Derrick May
Mike Morgan
Karl Rhodes
Ryne Sandberg
Sammy Sosa
Rick Wilkins
And to think they were 49-64.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
NFL Combine on NFLNetwork
Did you watch the coverage of the combine on the NFL Network?
Oh, Pete Rozelle, what have you wrought?
I have major issues with the NFL combine. I think there are too many people making too many decisions about too many players instead of seeing if these players can play football.
Every time that I think it is easing up, I hear things like Jay Cutler is passing up Vince Young as a higher rated QB, based on what Cutler did in shorts in Indy. I thought that Vince Young was a first-round pick, a top-15 pick, after the Rose Bowl Game. Not the USC-Texas thriller, but the Michigan-Texas thriller in 2005 when Vince ran for 192 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 180 yards and one touchdown.
He had a better season last year, and a better Rose Bowl game for the National Championship.
I don't get it. Not Jay Cutler. Sorry. And maybe Jay Cutler will be a fine NFL quarterback. But what does Vince Young need to do?
Vernon Davis, tight end from Maryland, ran a 4.38 40 at 255 chisled pounds. The speeds of these things just keep getting more ridiculous. Having said that, I like that Leonard Pope of Geogia and would draft him first as a tight end. Probably that Byrd kid from USC would be No. 2.
Joseph Addai as a first-round pick? Not me. I think he's about Mewelde Moore. Which ain't all that bad, but not a first-round pick.
Oh, Pete Rozelle, what have you wrought?
I have major issues with the NFL combine. I think there are too many people making too many decisions about too many players instead of seeing if these players can play football.
Every time that I think it is easing up, I hear things like Jay Cutler is passing up Vince Young as a higher rated QB, based on what Cutler did in shorts in Indy. I thought that Vince Young was a first-round pick, a top-15 pick, after the Rose Bowl Game. Not the USC-Texas thriller, but the Michigan-Texas thriller in 2005 when Vince ran for 192 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 180 yards and one touchdown.
He had a better season last year, and a better Rose Bowl game for the National Championship.
I don't get it. Not Jay Cutler. Sorry. And maybe Jay Cutler will be a fine NFL quarterback. But what does Vince Young need to do?
Vernon Davis, tight end from Maryland, ran a 4.38 40 at 255 chisled pounds. The speeds of these things just keep getting more ridiculous. Having said that, I like that Leonard Pope of Geogia and would draft him first as a tight end. Probably that Byrd kid from USC would be No. 2.
Joseph Addai as a first-round pick? Not me. I think he's about Mewelde Moore. Which ain't all that bad, but not a first-round pick.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)