Today Dempsey became the first American to ever record a hat trick in the English Premier League.
A tremendous talent, and a tremendous grinder. Well done Clint!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Rams take a dump on their fans in St. Louis
The St. Louis Rams may not have totally alienated their season ticket holders, but they at least took a good first step in that direction.
How? The NFL announced that the Rams have agreed to play one of their 8 home games in London for the next 3 seasons. Their 2012 game in London will be against the New England Patriots.
Why do this? Rams majority owner Stan Kroenke is also the majority shareholder of Arsenal FC in England. The NFL is hoping to put a franchise in London one day, so anything that makes the people of England more excited about football (and you could easily argue that subjecting them to 3 Rams games in a row will have the opposite effect) is a boon for them.
Who gets screwed in all of this? The Rams fans. Not only is their team at a competitive disadvantage with respect to the rest of the league for 3 straight seasons (in playing 7 true home games while everyone else plays 8), but these fans are deprived of what is likely their last chance to see Tom Brady play in St. Louis as Brady isn't scheduled to go back to St. Louis until 2020.
For shame, Rams, it's not like you've given your fans much of anything the last 6 years, this is just adding insult to injury.
How? The NFL announced that the Rams have agreed to play one of their 8 home games in London for the next 3 seasons. Their 2012 game in London will be against the New England Patriots.
Why do this? Rams majority owner Stan Kroenke is also the majority shareholder of Arsenal FC in England. The NFL is hoping to put a franchise in London one day, so anything that makes the people of England more excited about football (and you could easily argue that subjecting them to 3 Rams games in a row will have the opposite effect) is a boon for them.
Who gets screwed in all of this? The Rams fans. Not only is their team at a competitive disadvantage with respect to the rest of the league for 3 straight seasons (in playing 7 true home games while everyone else plays 8), but these fans are deprived of what is likely their last chance to see Tom Brady play in St. Louis as Brady isn't scheduled to go back to St. Louis until 2020.
For shame, Rams, it's not like you've given your fans much of anything the last 6 years, this is just adding insult to injury.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Suck for Luck, Divisional Round
| Rk | Team | W | L | T | Pct | SOS | Conf | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indianapolis | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | .539 | 2-10 | 2-4 |
| 2 | St. Louis | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | .590 | 1-11 | 0-6 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | .559 | 3-9 | 0-6 |
| 4 | Cleveland | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | .531 | 3-9 | 0-6 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | .551 | 3-9 | 2-4 |
| 6 | Washington | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | .477 | 5-7 | 2-4 |
| 7 | Jacksonville | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | .500 | 4-8 | 3-3 |
| 8 | Carolina* | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | .504 | 3-9 | 2-4 |
| 9 | Miami* | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | .504 | 5-7 | 3-3 |
| 10 | Buffalo | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | .520 | 4-8 | 1-5 |
| 11 | Kansas City* | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | .512 | 4-8 | 3-3 |
| 12 | Seattle* | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | .512 | 6-6 | 3-3 |
| 13 | Arizona | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .469 | 7-5 | 4-2 |
| 14 | Dallas | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .473 | 6-6 | 2-4 |
| 15 | Philadelphia | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .488 | 6-6 | 5-1 |
| 16 | New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .500 | 6-6 | 3-3 |
| 17 | Oakland | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .504 | 6-6 | 3-3 |
| 18 | San Diego | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .516 | 7-5 | 3-3 |
| 19 | Chicago | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .527 | 7-5 | 3-3 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | .461 | 7-5 | 3-3 |
| 21 | Cincinnati | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | .492 | 6-6 | 2-4 |
| 22 | Atlanta | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | .480 | 7-5 | 3-3 |
| 23 | Detroit | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | .535 | 6-6 | 3-3 |
| 24 | Pittsburgh | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | .492 | 9-3 | 4-2 |
| 25 | Denver | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | .520 | 6-6 | 3-3 |
| 26 | Houston | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | .453 | 8-4 | 4-2 |
| 27 | New Orleans | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | .441 | 9-3 | 5-1 |
| 28 | Green Bay | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | .457 | 12-0 | 6-0 |
The first tiebreaker for draft position is strength of schedule (lower SOS gets the higher pick in round 1).
After SOS, the next tie-breakers are conference record and division record. After that it comes down to a coin flip.
*-indicates 2 teams who require a coin flip to determine the order of their 1st round picks
With two weeks of the playoffs behind us, the order of the first 28 selections of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft are now set in stone (though with trades the teams listed above may not all make their own picks in these slots, see below) minus the ties above that need coin flips, as indicated above.
The 29th and 30th picks will go to the teams that lose their respective conference championship games. The 31st pick will go to the Super Bowl loser, and the 32nd pick will go to the Super Bowl winner.
Trades:
Oakland's first round pick (#17) belongs to Cincinnati as part of the 2011 Carson Palmer trade.
Atlanta's first round pick (#22) belongs to Cleveland as part of a 2011 draft-day trade.
New Orleans' first round pick (#27) belongs to New England as part of a 2011 draft-day trade.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Divisional Round Thoughts
Three thoughts from each of this past weekend's games:
49ers 36, Saints 32
- I think it's possible to win a Super Bowl with Alex Smith as your quarterback. I would never have acknowledged that possibility before Saturday evening, but he had to take the 49ers down the field twice in the last 5 minutes, and he did it both times.
- It's good for Gregg Williams that his contract ran out at the end of the season. That spares him the humiliation of being fired after letting Alex Smith take his team down the field for touchdowns twice in the last 5 minutes. The second one was especialy egregious. The 49ers have wasted 40 seconds to get 15-20 yards, and you send two straight all-out blitzes, even though you have proven that you cannot cover Vernon Davis one-on-one, and Brett Swain almost just got behind your defense for a backbreaker. You sit back, and best case San Francisco gets to try a long field goal attempt.
- What an indictment of the Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary coaching regimes, that Jim Harbaugh was able to come and and not just achieve a winning record, not just win his division, but win a playoff game over a team that many had pegged as the best in the NFC entering the playoffs.
- (bonus) If the Saints never see the Pacific Coast again in January, it will be too soon. Between Beast Mode in Seattle last year in the first round and The Catch II in San Francisco this year, that's 2 years in a row the Saints lost a road game they were favored in to the NFC West division champion.
Patriots 45, Broncos 10
- The Patriots finally won a playoff game, and they barely had to break a sweat to do it.
- The Patriots haven't played a team that finished the season with a winning record since they lost to the Giants (at home) in week 9. In related news, they have won 9 straight, including Saturday night's blowout.
- I'm not sure even this allows John Elway to go into the 2012 season with anyone other than Tebow as his starting quarterback. In fairness to Tebow, he deserves the chance to show what he can do after a full offseason's work with the coaching staff, something he did not get last offseason.
Ravens 20, Texans 13
- Ugly, ugly, ugly game. This is why Ravens fans don't trust either quarterback Joe Flacco or offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Flacco completed only 51.9% of his passes, and Cameron allowed him to throw it 27 times, including multiple times on their second-to-last drive (not counting the kneel down drive at the very end) which resulted in 2 incompletions and gave the Texans an extra chance at a tying drive they should never have had.
- The Texans had a heck of a season. If they can retain Wade Philips and keep Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, and Mario Williams healthy for a full season, they could make some serious noise next season.
- If Joe Flacco cannot complete greater than 65% of his passes next week against the Patriots and their pass (lack of) defense, it may be time to admit that he cannot get the Ravens over the hump.
Giants 37, Packers 20
- An absolutely embarassing performance put on by Green Bay's receivers/tight ends/backs and defensive backs. Giants receivers were running free, Hakeem Nicks must have been invisible, and the sheer number of drops was staggering.
- Eli Manning has arrived. It's funny to say that about a Super Bowl winning quarterback, but this season, and especially the last 4 games (2 regular season and 2 playoff) he has been outstanding. Whereas you could (and many did) make the argument that Eli was a supporting piece during the 2007 run, he is unquestioningly leading the charge this season.
- Green Bay has to fix their defense. Their lack of a pass rush all season was astounding when you compared it against their play down the stretch in 2010.
Finally, one last bit of trivia. In the AFC (but not the NFC) this season, the top 2 seeds will square off for a spot in the Super Bowl. In the 22 seasons (counting this one) the NFL has had a 6-team-per-conference playoff format, that has happened just 8 times (36.4%) in that conference, and the #1 seed is 4-3. In the NFC, it has happened 14 times (63.6%), and the #1 seed is 9-5.
49ers 36, Saints 32
- I think it's possible to win a Super Bowl with Alex Smith as your quarterback. I would never have acknowledged that possibility before Saturday evening, but he had to take the 49ers down the field twice in the last 5 minutes, and he did it both times.
- It's good for Gregg Williams that his contract ran out at the end of the season. That spares him the humiliation of being fired after letting Alex Smith take his team down the field for touchdowns twice in the last 5 minutes. The second one was especialy egregious. The 49ers have wasted 40 seconds to get 15-20 yards, and you send two straight all-out blitzes, even though you have proven that you cannot cover Vernon Davis one-on-one, and Brett Swain almost just got behind your defense for a backbreaker. You sit back, and best case San Francisco gets to try a long field goal attempt.
- What an indictment of the Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary coaching regimes, that Jim Harbaugh was able to come and and not just achieve a winning record, not just win his division, but win a playoff game over a team that many had pegged as the best in the NFC entering the playoffs.
- (bonus) If the Saints never see the Pacific Coast again in January, it will be too soon. Between Beast Mode in Seattle last year in the first round and The Catch II in San Francisco this year, that's 2 years in a row the Saints lost a road game they were favored in to the NFC West division champion.
Patriots 45, Broncos 10
- The Patriots finally won a playoff game, and they barely had to break a sweat to do it.
- The Patriots haven't played a team that finished the season with a winning record since they lost to the Giants (at home) in week 9. In related news, they have won 9 straight, including Saturday night's blowout.
- I'm not sure even this allows John Elway to go into the 2012 season with anyone other than Tebow as his starting quarterback. In fairness to Tebow, he deserves the chance to show what he can do after a full offseason's work with the coaching staff, something he did not get last offseason.
Ravens 20, Texans 13
- Ugly, ugly, ugly game. This is why Ravens fans don't trust either quarterback Joe Flacco or offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Flacco completed only 51.9% of his passes, and Cameron allowed him to throw it 27 times, including multiple times on their second-to-last drive (not counting the kneel down drive at the very end) which resulted in 2 incompletions and gave the Texans an extra chance at a tying drive they should never have had.
- The Texans had a heck of a season. If they can retain Wade Philips and keep Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, and Mario Williams healthy for a full season, they could make some serious noise next season.
- If Joe Flacco cannot complete greater than 65% of his passes next week against the Patriots and their pass (lack of) defense, it may be time to admit that he cannot get the Ravens over the hump.
Giants 37, Packers 20
- An absolutely embarassing performance put on by Green Bay's receivers/tight ends/backs and defensive backs. Giants receivers were running free, Hakeem Nicks must have been invisible, and the sheer number of drops was staggering.
- Eli Manning has arrived. It's funny to say that about a Super Bowl winning quarterback, but this season, and especially the last 4 games (2 regular season and 2 playoff) he has been outstanding. Whereas you could (and many did) make the argument that Eli was a supporting piece during the 2007 run, he is unquestioningly leading the charge this season.
- Green Bay has to fix their defense. Their lack of a pass rush all season was astounding when you compared it against their play down the stretch in 2010.
Finally, one last bit of trivia. In the AFC (but not the NFC) this season, the top 2 seeds will square off for a spot in the Super Bowl. In the 22 seasons (counting this one) the NFL has had a 6-team-per-conference playoff format, that has happened just 8 times (36.4%) in that conference, and the #1 seed is 4-3. In the NFC, it has happened 14 times (63.6%), and the #1 seed is 9-5.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
NFL Picks, Divisional Round
Okay, last week was a total train wreck. If not for the inability of Detroit’s defense to be even a speed bump against the New Orleans offense in the second half last Saturday night, I would have gone 0-4 on the weekend, which would have been rather embarrassing. Since I’m clearly not doing it correctly, I decided to look back to last year’s divisional round as an indicator for how these games will go this weekend:
New Orleans (-4) over SAN FRANCISCO
Last year’s game this reminds me of: Green Bay at Atlanta
Tell me if this sounds familiar: one team is coming off of a first-round win and has been an offensive juggernaut to close out the regular season. The other team achieved a first-round bye thanks to a great regular season, but is a significantly more limited team that needs to hold down the juggernaut to have a chance of winning this game at home.
I said last year that Atlanta wouldn’t give you anything less than a B/B+ game, but also wouldn’t give you anything more than that either, whereas Green Bay could give you anything from an A game to a C- one. New Orleans has been playing at A/A+ level for 8 solid weeks, but they do have D games in them away from home (see their losses to Tampa Bay and St. Louis). San Francisco is a limited team, but they’re good enough defensively to limit and frustrate their opponents and squeeze out wins in the end.
The problem is this puts a ton of pressure on the steady team, and a single mistake can turn the game into a rout. Last year that mistake was Matt Ryan’s pick-6 at the end of the first half. Atlanta simply couldn’t recover from that. San Francisco’s defense is miles better than Detroit’s, but at some point Alex Smith is going to have to make some plays to keep pace with the Saints, and he will not be equal to the task.
NEW ENGLAND (-13.5) over Denver
Last year’s game this reminds me of: Seattle at Chicago
One team is coming off of a shocking, emotional win at home over a heavy favorite, while the other is a team with a great record, but is visibly flawed and thus people aren’t talking them up as true contenders as much as one would expect. The key difference here is last year Seattle had defeated the Bears in Chicago during the season, while Denver hosted the Patriots already, and got blown out. The other difference, of course, being Mr. Tebow.
What happened last year to Seattle is essentially, they had won their Super Bowl the week prior. Beating New Orleans was so shockingly beautiful that they simply didn’t have it in them to reach that level again, let alone exceed it. Instead, they fattened up on clips of the 67-yard touchdown play that put the game away (Marshawn Lynch and Beastquake), and only Matt Hasselbeck came out ready to play the divisional round game. By the time Seattle had found their footing, they were down 28-0.
Every report out of Denver this week has the Broncos still riding high, and everywhere you go you see highlights of the 80-yard touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas that won the game, and I see the Broncos suffering the same problems as last year’s Seahawks, by the time they get going, the Patriots will be up 2 or 3 scores and running on all cylinders.
Houston (+7.5) over BALTIMORE
Last year’s game this reminds me of: New York Jets at New England
Last year the Jets knocked off the Colts at the last minute, and nobody gave them a chance against the Patriots. Conventional wisdom said that no one had held down Tom Brady to that point, and you certainly weren’t going to bet on Sanchez over Brady with a Belichick defense. Of course, we hadn’t fully realized yet how devoid of talent the New England defense was (and is) and the Jets crafted a masterful game plan to hold down Brady and sneak off with the win.
This isn’t a perfect parallel, but few people believe in Houston because why would you trust TJ Yates against the Baltimore defense? Add in Baltimore (like New England last year) was a perfect 8-0 at home, and this seems like another occasion to back the favorite.
I admit, I don’t see Baltimore losing this game, but I also don’t see them running away from Houston either. Houston is (thanks to their injuries at QB) in a similar mold to Baltimore: great running game, great defense, enough from the passing game. Baltimore is better at it, but Houston actually defends the pass better than the Ravens. I see lots of field goals with the occasional touchdown, but neither team breaking out offensively.
New York Giants (+7.5) over GREEN BAY
Last year’s game this reminds me of: Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Last year the Ravens split their games with Pittsburgh, losing a close game to the Steelers late in the season. That made many believe they could take the next step when they drew Pittsburgh in the divisional round. And for a while, those people looked brilliant, as the Ravens jumped out to a 14-point halftime lead. But then the Ravens started making Ravens-ish mistakes: penalties, turnovers in big moments, brainfarts. Pittsburgh made some adjustments to counter their pass rush, and all of a sudden started putting up points.
The Giants came very close to upsetting the Packers late in the season, and they have the weapons to neutralize the dynamic Packer offense, but they were a 9-7 team for a reason. They have flaws, and they make some big mistakes (drops, turnovers, penalties). Last week the Falcons made most of the mistakes, but at the level Rodgers is playing at right now, you can’t expect similar results this week, and if the Giants’ pass rush is neutralized, they don’t cover well at all, which is death against Green Bay.
That being said, Eli Manning has had too good of a season to go down without a fight, and I say he at least gets it back within a one-score game late in the fourth, but that the Packers pull it out in the end.
Postseason: 1-3
Regular Season: 51-55-4 (.482)
New Orleans (-4) over SAN FRANCISCO
Last year’s game this reminds me of: Green Bay at Atlanta
Tell me if this sounds familiar: one team is coming off of a first-round win and has been an offensive juggernaut to close out the regular season. The other team achieved a first-round bye thanks to a great regular season, but is a significantly more limited team that needs to hold down the juggernaut to have a chance of winning this game at home.
I said last year that Atlanta wouldn’t give you anything less than a B/B+ game, but also wouldn’t give you anything more than that either, whereas Green Bay could give you anything from an A game to a C- one. New Orleans has been playing at A/A+ level for 8 solid weeks, but they do have D games in them away from home (see their losses to Tampa Bay and St. Louis). San Francisco is a limited team, but they’re good enough defensively to limit and frustrate their opponents and squeeze out wins in the end.
The problem is this puts a ton of pressure on the steady team, and a single mistake can turn the game into a rout. Last year that mistake was Matt Ryan’s pick-6 at the end of the first half. Atlanta simply couldn’t recover from that. San Francisco’s defense is miles better than Detroit’s, but at some point Alex Smith is going to have to make some plays to keep pace with the Saints, and he will not be equal to the task.
NEW ENGLAND (-13.5) over Denver
Last year’s game this reminds me of: Seattle at Chicago
One team is coming off of a shocking, emotional win at home over a heavy favorite, while the other is a team with a great record, but is visibly flawed and thus people aren’t talking them up as true contenders as much as one would expect. The key difference here is last year Seattle had defeated the Bears in Chicago during the season, while Denver hosted the Patriots already, and got blown out. The other difference, of course, being Mr. Tebow.
What happened last year to Seattle is essentially, they had won their Super Bowl the week prior. Beating New Orleans was so shockingly beautiful that they simply didn’t have it in them to reach that level again, let alone exceed it. Instead, they fattened up on clips of the 67-yard touchdown play that put the game away (Marshawn Lynch and Beastquake), and only Matt Hasselbeck came out ready to play the divisional round game. By the time Seattle had found their footing, they were down 28-0.
Every report out of Denver this week has the Broncos still riding high, and everywhere you go you see highlights of the 80-yard touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas that won the game, and I see the Broncos suffering the same problems as last year’s Seahawks, by the time they get going, the Patriots will be up 2 or 3 scores and running on all cylinders.
Houston (+7.5) over BALTIMORE
Last year’s game this reminds me of: New York Jets at New England
Last year the Jets knocked off the Colts at the last minute, and nobody gave them a chance against the Patriots. Conventional wisdom said that no one had held down Tom Brady to that point, and you certainly weren’t going to bet on Sanchez over Brady with a Belichick defense. Of course, we hadn’t fully realized yet how devoid of talent the New England defense was (and is) and the Jets crafted a masterful game plan to hold down Brady and sneak off with the win.
This isn’t a perfect parallel, but few people believe in Houston because why would you trust TJ Yates against the Baltimore defense? Add in Baltimore (like New England last year) was a perfect 8-0 at home, and this seems like another occasion to back the favorite.
I admit, I don’t see Baltimore losing this game, but I also don’t see them running away from Houston either. Houston is (thanks to their injuries at QB) in a similar mold to Baltimore: great running game, great defense, enough from the passing game. Baltimore is better at it, but Houston actually defends the pass better than the Ravens. I see lots of field goals with the occasional touchdown, but neither team breaking out offensively.
New York Giants (+7.5) over GREEN BAY
Last year’s game this reminds me of: Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Last year the Ravens split their games with Pittsburgh, losing a close game to the Steelers late in the season. That made many believe they could take the next step when they drew Pittsburgh in the divisional round. And for a while, those people looked brilliant, as the Ravens jumped out to a 14-point halftime lead. But then the Ravens started making Ravens-ish mistakes: penalties, turnovers in big moments, brainfarts. Pittsburgh made some adjustments to counter their pass rush, and all of a sudden started putting up points.
The Giants came very close to upsetting the Packers late in the season, and they have the weapons to neutralize the dynamic Packer offense, but they were a 9-7 team for a reason. They have flaws, and they make some big mistakes (drops, turnovers, penalties). Last week the Falcons made most of the mistakes, but at the level Rodgers is playing at right now, you can’t expect similar results this week, and if the Giants’ pass rush is neutralized, they don’t cover well at all, which is death against Green Bay.
That being said, Eli Manning has had too good of a season to go down without a fight, and I say he at least gets it back within a one-score game late in the fourth, but that the Packers pull it out in the end.
Postseason: 1-3
Regular Season: 51-55-4 (.482)
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