We have football!

OMG!  The Redskins are going to the Superbowl!!!  And did you see Tebow?!?!  Duuuuude!!!!  MVP man.  MVP. 

And now back to reality.  This is the week where the bullshit begins.  It will remain that way until the full-on bullshit train runs full steam right after week 1 of the regular season.  It's awesome seeing football again.  But lets not go crazy just yet.  Until about week 6 we're not going to have any idea how this season is going to play out, and even then it could flip on its head.  That's what makes it so much fun to watch, right? 

Some teams are going to let their players go out and make a statement.  Others could care less about the outcome of the game and are treating them like a practice.  Teams lost all their OTA's this year, and with training camp reduced to everyone sitting around playing Madden, many coaches are in a position where preseason game tape is the most reliable source they have for evaluating teams.  Teams that are relatively stable and have had the least changes will obviously benefit the most.  But honestly, that's not most teams.

So what do we take out of the preseason?  There's still plenty, but you really have to take it in context to get much out of it, and know that it still doesn't mean all that much.  I like to use it to watch the rookies and backups and see what kind of depth teams have.  For example, watching backup qb Josh Johnson in Tampa Bay was good times.  This kid has game and is the kind of guy that Seattle should have been looking at for a young qb to lead their team into the future.  He's got a fast release, a strong and accurate arm, will stay in the pocket for his first couple of reads, but then has the athletic ability to take off and run.  That he is on the bench says a lot about how special Josh Freeman is.  If you didn't get to watch the game then you missed an amazing stat - 74 of the 90 players in Bucs camp are 25 or younger.  There are 3 guys out of 90 that are over 30.  And don't forget that they won 10 games last year and were THIRD in their division and missed the playoffs.  I told you last week to get on the boat, and I'm gonna say it again.  Get on the boat.

Some random crap:

• The signing of Steve Smith in Philly matters.  Jeremy Maclin can kiss his starting job goodbye.  I know he's ill right now but it won't matter.  Smith is solid and is an upgrade.  Maclin in the slot will still be scary, but look for him to seek a trade or release at the end of the season cause he's got an ego and will want to be a #1.  

• Speaking of Philly, I'm starting to think that Andy Reid is the best QB coach of all time.  Favre.  Mcnabb.  Vick.  Kolb.  Now Kafka?  He's like the Mike Shannahan of quarterbacks...he can give just about anybody the ball and make it work.  Speaking of which I am officially attending Eagles camp to try to get that 3rd spot.  

• I can't believe that Billy Volek has been in the league for 12 years!?!  What a life, man.  He's really talented and has had to hold a clipboard for Steve Mcnair, Matt Schaub, and Phillip Rivers.  But he gets paid and almost never has to take a snap.  Sad he never got a chance to start but it clearly doesn't bother him, so I say good for you dude.  

•  If Matt Cassel gets hurt the Chiefs can kiss their season goodbye.  They're gonna have a rough go of it anyway but their backups are AWFUL.  Stanzi might be ok in the long run but he abandons his reads too quickly.  Palko is a joke.  The Chiefs have a 5 game stretch where they play the Patriots, Steelers, Bears, Packers, and Jets.  They're good, but no team gets out of that run better than 3-2 and it comes in the latter part of the season.  Ugh.

• If I'm a Bills fan, I am pissed.  Paul Posluszny, Donte Whitner, and Lee Evans all out?   To win you must add talented players and build from the draft.  The draft is so hit and miss and ya'll hit on all three of these guys.  It ain't like you got talent to spare.  What are you doing??? 

That's it for now.  Let's see what the rest of the weekend brings us.  

Some things I think

It appears as though the craziness that was free agency has finally settled down.  For the most part we now know who is going to be where, and therefore are free to make wild and fantastic predictions about how the Eagles are going to win the Superbowl and the Browns are going to the toilet bowl.  Not so fast kiddos.

Because e'body wants to talk Eagles, I'll indulge for a moment.  Could we chill the f*** out for a minute?  Cause I know we all want to name, well, just about anybody the next Heat, or the next Jordan, or the next Tiger (not that the Heat should be in that class, but you get my point.)  Let's play a game.  How many top flight free agents did the Eagles sign this offseason?

I'll wait while you think this out.  No cheating.  Take a real guess.

Tell ya what, I'll talk about something else and we'll come back to that in a jif.  Time for a bunch of stuff that I predict we will see this season...

• The Packers will not go to the Superbowl again.  Now don't get me wrong, they're extremely talented.  But back-to-back appearances are rare enough that I feel comfy making this prediction.  Remember that a first place team plays a first place schedule.  The NFL does this on purpose ya'll.  
• The Patriots probably will.  Cause, well, the evil genius is the evil genius and the additions of 85 and Haynesworth (who they got basically for a ham sandwich) make them dangerous.  
• The Eagles and Falcons are gonna contend for a trip to the big game.  
• The Seahawks are gonna suck.
• So will the Redskins.
• And the Jags.
• Tampa Bay will not.  If you haven't been paying attention, you'd better (Josh Freeman grew up a Chiefs fan so he's on my happy list).  Same goes for the Rams.  
• Bills will be better than the Fins.  Fo sho.  And Fitzpatrick will finally get some love from the media. 
• Somebody is gonna get desperate and sign T.O.  It won't matter. 
• Cam Newton is going to make a great play to win a game (a...as in singular.) and people are gonna go crazy and crown him the king for no good reason.  
• The Broncos are gonna be horrible and Tebow is gonna get a shot.  It. Will. Not. Matter. 
• Bob Sanders will tear his bicep.  Again.  And retire.
• We're gonna hear Favre's name again around week 5.  
• Kolb will be ok, and the Cards will go 7-9 and finish in 2nd in the west.  Ugh.  
• Ray Lewis plays his last season with the Ravens.  

There's probably more but that's it off the top of my head.  Now back to the Eagles.  The answer?  One.  Sounds low right?  Except it's true.  Vince Young (backup.)  Ronnie Brown (backup).  Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin (top tier? not so much.)  So the answer is...One.  One dude.  Now they traded for Rodgers-Cromartie and he's solid.  Not top 5, but solid.  So why the Heat comparisons?  The Heat added three top flight stars to a 5 man lineup.  That's 60%.  The Eagles would have to add thirteen top flight players to their team to do the same thing.  NO team can afford that.  So what did they do?  Add two solid corners and sign the only dude in the NFL who can be a decent backup to Vick when he goes down.  That's not an upgrade, it just prevents a massive downgrade.  That said, I still think they're gonna be a great team, and they are incredibly fun to watch.  But let's not crown 'em just yet.

Oh, and before I forget, Rodgers-Cromartie is about to find out the hard way why it sucks to be the second good corner on a team.  Cause the other team is going to throw.  Period.  And if the best corner is on the other side of the field they're gonna have to just suck it up and throw at you.  And I don't care how good a corner is, he's gonna get beat more often than not cause that's how the NFL have set up the rules.  He should ask his cousin how his year went with the Jets playin opposite Revis-Island.  He had 3 interceptions (tied with 25 other players for 30th in the NFL) and had 30 tackles (that didn't even make the top 100 among all DB's in the league.)  Ironically, Asante Samuel will probably have the better year.  I actually think he may get more picks than any other DB in the league cause he'll be playing against slot receivers, and lately those guys have become the go-to receivers in the league. 

That's it for now.  Gonna go set my DVR cause football starts THURSDAYYYYYYYYYY!

Go Chiefs. 

The Decision...2011?

Breaking news - the owner of an Ohio professional sports franchise has watched its star player walk away from his team, leaving it potentially in shambles for the foreseeable future, and has responded in a childish manner that makes him look like a fool.  Give you two guesses to figure out who it is? 

Dan Gilbert?

Yes actually, but that's not who I'm writing about.  This time it's Mike Brown, owner of the Cincinnati Bengals.  

Mike Brown is an idiot.  In case you haven't already read it, here's what he said regarding Carson Palmer asking for a trade or telling the team he would retire: 

"Carson signed a contract. He made a commitment. He gave his word," Brown said. "We relied on his word. We relied on his commitment. We expected him to perform here. He's going to walk away from his commitment. We aren't going to reward him for doing it."

Are you kidding me?  How many times in the last 10 years do you think Mike Brown has decided to cut a player who was under contract with the Bengals?  Bet the number has 3 digits.  Ask all of these players how much good it would do them to say those same words to Mike Brown.  "Hey Mike, you gave me your word.  I relied on that word to feed my family and pay my mortgage.  I know that I've (sucked lately / been injured / gotten old), but you made me a promise and I'm not going to reward you for breaking your word."

Carson told him he wanted out.  Then he sold his house.  The Bengals thought he was, what, joking?  He was specific, and gave them plenty of time to prepare.  They were able to draft a qb, and there are any number of capable veteran qb's on the market right now.  That's highly unusual, and they're in great position to make the change.  But no, he want's to be a vindictive asshole about it.  What is it with Ohio sports team owners and their ridiculous behavior?  Good lord people, let it go.  Please tell me there's gonna be a video of Mike Brown burning Carson's jersey on the street. 

Hey Mike, here's the thing...he's not asking to be released.  He's asking to be traded.  In your blind rage, chill the f*** out for a second and listen.  Traded.  That means you give him to someone else, then they give you something in return.  It's like buying a Mercedes.  You give them money, they give you a car.  See?  Your alternative is to stand your ground, be very principled, don't let a player push you around, and watch an asset walk away with a zero return to your business.  You're a business man for gods sake...THIS SHOULD MAKE SENSE TO YOU!  By the way, the second option hurts your team, and should offend your fanbase.  I really hope it does cause I don't give two shits about the Bengals either way and it offends me. 

Okay I feel better now.  Thanks for listening. 

Football stuff...cause it's comin' soon. Plus a little college ball too!

We got a lot of CBA crap happening.  Most of it is boring and I don't care, but here's the stuff I think is interesting:

The owners vote was 31-0....who didn't vote?  Yep.  Raiders.  Come on.  Even the crappy small market teams voted for it.  No deal is gonna fix shitty management.  Give it up Al.  It ain't the 70's anymore.  You did a lot for this league - they should build you a statue - but it's time to let it go man.  

Fans win with the new CBA....not saddled with shitty contracts when your team makes a bad pick in the top 10.  AAAAAAAAND looks like the structure for the top picks are pretty much locked down which means no more holdouts.  YES.  Yes yes yes.  Worth the wait.  Also there's now a 46 man rule - and changes the game in a good way.  Ask any coach and he'll tell you what a difference it makes to be able to have that extra man available to him on Sunday.  One more guy can make all the difference.  It means depth and flexibility.  No more need for the Colts/Pats/Steelers to dress 3 qb's.  Good for teams with strong qb's.  Good for teams that have a multidimensional guy that can play qb in the wildcat but also play wr/rb/or be on special teams cause now you can put him in for a play and pull him right back out without losing your starter for the rest of the game.  Good things happening here folks. 

Now for our Asshole of the Week Awards:

I wanna take a second to call out Parrish Cox of the Denver Broncos.  Not JUST because you're a Bronco, though that would be enough, but in particular for carrying a blacked-out girl (fireman-style) into you're bedroom and raping/impregnating her while she was unconscious.  Classy holmes, classy.   And special thanks to your other NFL player roommates for leaving you alone with her after you tried to get them to do it but they refused.  Way to go guys. 

And our runner up goes to Braylon Edwards.  Not that this should be any surprise, but the government needs to get its priorities straight.  Plaxico gets 2 years for shooting HIMSELF in the leg in a nightclub in NY.  Braylon Edwards gets a DUI (.16 fyi) , also in NY, no jail time.  No probation.  $500 fine.  Huh?  Why is no one talking about this?  Anybody out there think that's not more dangerous than carrying a handgun?  (ok so it was in his sweatpants, but still.)  Drinking and driving, particularly when you are THAT drunk, is a phenomenally stupid idea, particularly when you're a millionaire and your team has a service whose entire reason for existence is to drive drunk players home.  Braylon Edwards - you're a fuckin idiot, and that the government would let you cut a deal that is that weak is a sham.  Guess they can give all the money they saved to the feds so they can try to prosecute Clemens.  #totalfuckingwasteoftimeandmoney.  On second thought, perhaps the NY state government deserves to share the award with Braylon. 

And I'm gonna comment about this against my better judgment, but...Favre to the Eagles?  As the guys on Fox would say, C'mon Man!  Yes, he can still play, I get it.  But you wanna back-up Vick?  Ummm....no. 

Sad note of the day - The AP got their hands on some old and unreleased suicide prevention PSA's filmed by...ugh...Steve Mcnair.  *sigh* 


On a college football note : The Texas Longhorns have a TV station.  They partner with ESPN.  ESPN will begin televising high school football games featuring athletes who are unsigned but verbally committed to Texas.  Well kids, if ya don't feel like goin to Ohio State any more, guess you can get some early airtime at UT.  Big 12 opponents just got smoked.  How long before the Big Ten network follows suit? 

That's all for today.

Stay cool kids. 

(no global warming my ass.  you been outside?  okay so its summer but whatever.)

The Blog is Back!

Fear not friends, the SportsRantsEtc blog is not dead.  It has risen again for your general reading pleasure.  Thanks for hangin' in there, and I hope not to disappoint.  As I am no longer ensnared by the duties of a full-time student, and will be desperately seeking an outlet, I believe these will be more frequent, and perhaps even of higher quality.  Probably not, but just know that I mean well.  To all 5 of my followers - thank you for your loyal followership, and I apologize for my lengthy absence. 

For the sake of our sanity I will try not to spend much time on this whole lock-out, CBA bullshit that we have been trapped by for the last 6 months.  I'll say this - I'm glad it's gonna be over soon.  Headlines as of now of course read "Not So Fast."  Because, ya know, the owners voted it in but the players might not.  Then the players will vote it in tomorrow and the headlines will read "Why It's Still Not Over."  Then when they settle all the legal bullshit that we don't care about, we'll get cute little synopsis explaining the new CBA to the average Joe.  Then off to the shit we actually care about - free agency, training camp, preseason, and grown men kicking each others asses every week for our general enjoyment.  YES!!!!

What I did find interesting was that underneath all the headlines, buried on the bottoms of sports web pages everywhere, was that the first football game of the season - the Hall of Fame Game - has been cancelled.  Yes kids, the lockout actually did cost us football.  Not much, but seriously, I have been known to stay up until 3am to watch the fucking America Bowl (played usually in Japan, or China, or wherever-the-hell they play it) because I'm so desperate to see some football after the endless weeks of golf, soccer, world poker tour, whatever-the-hell-they-fill-ESPN-with-when-there's-no-NFL-or-NBA.  Ok so I like some of that stuff a little, but it's not the same.  But back to the point - they insisted all along that we'd never lose this game.  Analysts and experts everywhere predicted it.  But when it happened, the media buried it behind the news that "YAY the owners ratified the deal!!"  Well I'm not letting it slide and I'm calling out all you assholes to own up to your mispredictions tomorrow.  Probably 10 seconds before commercial on hour 3 of your radio program.  Rams fans and Bears fans are allowed to officially flip out, and I encourage you all to do so cause I'd be livid if it was my team.  I know the game is stupid and most people just don't care, but some of us really do want to sit and watch our 6th-round-draft-pick beat the-other-guys-6th-round-draft-pick's ass .  Probably cause ours is gonna have to start this season, but whatever.  

I guess what this all boils down to is - THANK GOD THESE GREEDY ASSHOLES FINALLY AGREED ON A WAY TO STEAL MY MONEY FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS!  And I mean that lovingly and with genuine excitement.  Thank you.  Fuck you a little, but mostly thank you.

Word.