I love how people are saying that Ryan Williams is going to be some sort of breakout star this year. Umm.... dude? Your quarterback is Kevin Kolb. Even if the running game is halfway threatening, their defense means they'll be facing deficits all season and you'll see Kolb chucking up incompletions and INTs like he was getting paid for it.
Uh, no. He's still a dick. He fucked off his opportunity in the Arena Football League by not showing up to a charity hospital appearance, and only playing home games unless he for some reason really wanted to go. Grantland ran a story on him that was trying to be fair to him, but T.O. will always be T.O. God forbid he has some success, I don't know if Pete Carroll can handle that attitude. And I know your blanket term for minority athletes that misbehave is "thug" but I'd rather have T.O. be a thug than a diva. Thugs don't cry on national TV and don't take games off. They might kill someone, but they don't take games off. And they gave Flynn the contract because the Packers organization got a reputation of training QBs pretty well. Hoping Flynn has some of that Rodgers-Favre dust on him. I'm not saying they should have done it, but who knows.
You are correct, I had to check wikipedia to make sure the Seahawks just weren't created so T.O. had a team to play for. He also started a team named the Buffalo Bills apparently.
I am just so god damn happy it's back. As for the whole TO thing, when I read that yesterday all I could do was laugh. Although it's true that he does draw attention to any team he's on, is it always the good kind? Nope. My opinion of him now is so low. It's really such a shame that a guy who was and/or could be so successful in the NFL has turned himself into a running joke in the eyes of many. To me that is the only reason he draws attention to whatever team he's on. It's more to see what crazed things he'll do (or things he should but won't do) than what he brings to the team. But, I really don't give two shits about the guy. Football is back, preseason or not I don't care. The Packers play the Chargers Thursday night. I will be watching. This year I will be seeing my first NFL game in person. To say I am stoked is a severe understatement.
Top 3? He has the numbers for it, but I don't disagree with this list (as far as the top 5, anyway): <a class="postlink" href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/390780-the-top-25-wide-receivers-in-the-history-of-the-nfl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3907 ... of-the-nfl</a>
Not a terrible list, but I'd go something like this: 1. Jerry Rice 2. Don Huston 3. Randy Moss 4. Marvin Harrison 5. Chris Carter
From another conversation: Fuck, I gotta say bears are a better overall team, even though Broncos got Peyton. Broncos O-line can't possibly be up to the learning curve that the Colts O line was when it comes to audibles. And let's be honest, audibles is what makes Peyton elite...
It's also worth mentioning that they were one of the best teams in the league last year before getting decimated by injuries. Well, that and the broncos rolled 7s seemingly every game. I was surprised they didn't play Peyton more. I know, he's Peyton fucking Manning and there's more preseason games to go, but the guy has been out a loooong time. For receivers, I would go: 1. Rice 2. Moss 3. Hutson 4. Owens 5. Tim Brown I don't know if putting Hutson there makes sense. It's impossible to really say how he stacks up to modern receivers, but I don't think anyone has ever been that much better than everyone else at their position at any point in NFL history.
That game is why preseason football sucks. As a Bears fan, I learned more or less nothing about how this team will be this year. No Cutler, even Jason Campbell didn't play much. No Forte, Urlacher, Peppers, or even Michael Bush. Shae McClellan looked alright and times and Alshon Jeffrey was promising, but its hard to watch your favorite team in the first game of the year get ass raped by anyone while trotting out a 4th string QB from a D-III school for the lions share of the second half. Yeesh.
See, I wouldn't even put Owens top 5. Maybe top 10. He has a horrible drop rate for a top receiver, and in my opinion is basically a faster version of Michael Irvin, someone who gets by on physically dominating smaller secondary players. I would go: 1. Rice 2. Sterling Sharpe He put up great numbers in an injury shortened career. However, there were times when the whole of the Packers offense was basically "get Sterling the ball". The fans knew it, the offense knew it, the opposing defense knew it, and yet he still delivered. 3. Randy Moss His rookie season was absolutely ridiculous. Has there ever been a more dangerous deep threat? 4. Tim Brown Someone else who flew under the radar playing on crummy Raider teams, but consistently put up great numbers. 5. Cris Carter Imagine if he'd played his whole career like he did in Minnesota where he gave a flying fuck? Even in Philadelphia, once you got in the red zone you were throwing him the ball. Other players I considered: Art Monk, Andre Rison (people forget about him, but he did work in the run and shoot), Steve Largent, Isaac Bruce. Also, I think Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald will be in the argument once it's all said and done.
I was surprised the GBvSD game was on normal old ESPN. I have to say SD got one hell of a backup QB. GB's didn't look too bad after he shook the new off a little bit. It felt so good to sit down and watch a game, preseason or not. I am a happy happy girl.
I can't tell if you're kidding or not. As a rule of thumb, the better a player is, the less time he's likely to see during the preseason - and they prefer it that way. The only thing any fan can reasonably learn during the preseason about their favorite team is what kind of depth it has. Cutler, Forte, Urlacher, et al have nothing to prove; it's recent draftees and journeymen who are playing for roster spots. This book (which every fan owes it to themselves to read) outlines how not playing in the preseason is pretty much a badge of honor in the NFL. You think Tom Brady gives a shit about football in August?
That's his point. From a fan's perspective, the NFL Preseason serves no purpose other than waggling the idea of watchable football at a just-out-of-reach distance. The players all suck, the game sucks, and there are no players you care about. It's like drinking light beer.
Yes, it is. It's like drinking light beer, when you've been forced for 6 months to drink vodka that comes in a plastic bottle at $5 per handle. It's not amazing, but it's cold and refreshing and it takes the edge off the cravings.
The chargers qb was their #3, which is stupid because he is probably better than Whitehurst (the #2 qb) but Whitehurst knows the playbook so there is no way that Lee even makes the team. Chargers defense has already improved, but the offensive line.... My god it racks my nerves.
It doesn't get much sweeter than "Look, all you need to do to be our starting quarterback is convincingly beat out Tavaris Jackson." And yet he still couldn't.
To give you an idea of how highly regarded Tarvaris Jackson is, Pete Carroll was asked if he was going to play next week after splitting the game up between Flynn and Wilson. His answer? "I don't know yet." I'm trying not to read into this too much, but that sounds to me that Jackson is either going to A: restructure his contract down to the league minimum or something to stay on, or B: get his ass cut. Speaking of Russell Wilson, he fucking balled. His naked bootleg at the end of the game was a thing of beauty. I was halfway into moaning about a two yard loss when I see that little bastard hauling ass up the sideline. I want to see him play with the starters. Wilson is the man.
I saw a lot of him on TV last year. If I was building an NFL franchise, I'd pick Andrew Luck. If I needed someone to lead my team on a game-winning drive, I'd pick Russel Wilson. It's a shame that he got no respect for being short, even as Drew Brees is getting paid the biggest contract in the league. I hope he gets a chance to play. I think he's significantly better than Tannehill and Weeden.