bartshan-83

Well you're in pretty good shape then...15 point teaser?

I guess there are some things that TO will never understand....and maybe I'm going crazy, but I'm pretty sure I remember TO holding a press conference for the sole purpose of stating that he did NOT attempt suicide...

did you end up taking Indy -2?

I didn't see it either, but I'm going to go out on a serious limb and say that he probably mumbled something about WR being the most important position in football and because WRs are so valuable, their indiscretions (snorting coke, stabbing teammates in the neck with scissors) aren't that big of a deal. And I'm also going to guess that he said all this while wearing and obnoxiously butt-ugly suit. Either that or he talked about his joke about Tony Romo...which was not a big deal to begin with.

No doubt...JAX running backs are averaging 16 yards per carry right now. Kind of puts A-Train's 100 yards against them in perspective.

First off, congratulations to Troy Smith. I don't necessarily think he was the best player in the country (or best QB for that matter), but he played great and led the best team in the country to the big show. And what a turn around he has made since the end of 2004. Really well spoken guy and genuinely seemed like he gave a sht about the honor he was receiving. But on to the ceremony....what a joke! Little background stories on each guy, candid interviews with mom and ESPN's resident goofs trying to ask deep questions. I was waiting for Fowler to ask: "Troy, what is the cause that you are most passionate about in the world?" 55 minutes of background fluff and corny questions, 4 tragically long minutes of some guy who resembled Danny Devito as the Penguin fumbling around with the envelope and 1 minute to announce something that America has known for the better part of 2 months. Big ups to Kirk Herbstreit though...not only was he able to keep what had to be the biggest boner of his life in check while standing next to Troy Smith, it didn't seem that he was noticeably drooling when Troy would answer one of his questions. Terrific effort!

Not too bad with your math. You should join the regression towards the mean debate in PPP.

I'll let BlueFire defend himself, but I'd say that is not a worse job, but a harder one and quite probably one that would end badly for Rodriguez. If you want to talk about a coach inheriting a Bama team that was a "really, really crappy job" at the time, then I'd point you to the guy who just got fired. Shula took on a team with serious sanctions against it and an NCAA committee that was just daring them to step out of line again. I'd say he did a pretty good job all things considered, but apparently it wasn't enough. The man did win 10 games last year, but the alumni didn't think that cut it. I liken it to the ND/Willingham situation. I am speaking purely as an outsider to Alabama football, but I'd wager that the powers that guided Shula's firing can be paralleled very closely to those that bought out Willingham's contract in 2004. Maybe they saw Shula as a decent coach who had some good success given the circumstances, but he was never a guy who would get them back. But who knows? I'd say that Alabama isn't as attractive as it once was simply for a few reasons. 1. Recent up and down record (obvious one) 2. Still shaking the stigma of 2 separate NCAA penalties since 1995. 3. The general consensus that the SEC is a slaughterhouse. Having said that, they are free of the sanctions, have a ton of historical relevance and I read somewhere that their facilities are state-of-the-art. So it's not like this is the Miami job. I think that Rodriguez feels that he has a better chance of winning a NATL title at WVU. His team will compete for (and most likely be favored to win) the Big East title every year and its automatic BCS bid. And he also has a decent chance to win every game on his schedule in most of those years. With Louisville's steady climb and Rutger's apparent arrival at a national level, WVU will face some good challenges. But that's nothing compared to what Alabama faces every year. Had he taken the job, I wouldn't bet on Rodriguez performing at such a level that in 3-4 years his job would still be safe. I liken his decision to Urban Meyer's two years ago. I think Meyer saw Florida as an "easier" job than ND. They were already closer talent-wise, recruiting would be easier and pressure to win would be less severe. I think he took the easy way out. But obviously it is looking pretty good for him as he preps his team for their date in Glendale. Hopefully for him, Rodriguez will enjoy similar success. But if I were an Alabama fan, I would be disappointed. But if he didn't take the job for the reasons I mentioned (and it is quite possible that every reason I gave is total bullsht) then I wouldn't want him.

What the hell is wrong with these awards? How did Posluszny win the award for Best Defensive Player in the Nation and yet NOT win the award for Best Linebacker? Best defensive player....but 2nd best at his position. Got it...

Nice! I liked what I heard of VR's first album a lot. Still gotta say that I liked STP more, but it is what it is. I'd always been wary of collaborative efforts between members of different formerly-popular bands. It's hard to keep high expectations in check when you see all-stars line up together. But in the last few years or so, Velvet Revolver and especially Audioslave have turned out some great songs.

No doubt...it's more interesting than meaningful. I was surprised too about the other QBs. I think where he beats them for the most part is completion %. Manning 55%? Brees 47%? I think it is a self-fulfilling prophecy for the most part though. As mentioned, Jauron keeps it safe and wants to get in on the ground. Guys like Manning are expected to make plays in the redzone which could lead to more forced passes. But whatever...even if it means nothing, I'm glad it's a good rating and not a shtty one.

I can empathize with Alabama though. It sucks to watch a once proud football program get repeatedly spurned by coaches of "lesser" programs. I mean lesser in the sense that it would be hard for an Alabama fan to see WVU as a superior team given the history of both. While that has no bearing on the present state of things, it still stings nonetheless. I was less than thrilled when Urban Meyer turned us down. And just as unhappy when coaches like Stoops basically laughed at us when we were searching for Davie's replacement. It's a shot to your pride. And it is disheartening to have to go back to the drawing board and find someone else who was lower on your list. But life goes on...

I'll be damned! Good for him.

I like that you are keeping track of my ratios. If you're bored, I can give you some more work to do.

I disagree...to a point. That 1st quarter had a huge impact. If you take away his stats there: 8-8 209 2TDs You are left with 41-65 511 1 TD 3 INTs 73.3 Rating. Now obviously it isn't fair to take those numbers away. My point about the inflation was really due to the way that quarter hiked his yds./attempt, which is 25% of the QB rating formula. Averaging 26 yds per throw is really what made his rating climb. If you give him the same numbers, but give him 63 yds instead of 209 (which is his yds/attempt without that 1st quarter) this his overall 1st quarter rating is 87.4 instead of 95.7. Which is still significantly higher than quarter 2 and 3. It wasn't the fact that he completed all of his passes and threw 2 TDs, it was that those 2 TDs were 83 yarders. But really, none of this means much...the fact is that he did throw them and they count so he gets full credit.

I was just looking at Losman's splits on ESPN.com in response to another thread on this board discussing a comparison between him and Jake Plummer. While checking it out, I just noticed his redzone #s were daaaamn good. It's been awhile since we had a QB who didn't sht his pants near the endzone. Too bad we have only been in the redzone 26 times (3rd last). I mean, we have only scored TDs half of the time, so by no means is JP crushing it. But his numbers ain't too shabby. 17-25 68.0% 7 TDs 0 INTs 117.7 rating....plus 1 rushing TD. Rating compared to the top 5 rated QBs: Romo: 98.6 Manning: 90.0 Palmer: 101.3 Huard: 101.5 Brees: 72.5 Could mean nothing, but I thought it was pretty cool.

I'd say that his up-and-down performance obviously makes a valid comparison. But that is where it ends. Losman has yet to "snatch defeat from victory" this season as far as I can tell. He hasn't gotten the job done at the end every time, but he has yet to drive down to the redzone and then make a crucial error. In fact, if you look at his splits by quarter, it's apparent that he has fast starts, sh------- middles, and great endings. If he can keep his chin up for the 2nd and 3rd quarter, he will become a very solid QB. 1st Q: 67.1%, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 95.7 Rating (this is inflated by his ridiculous 1st quarter at Houston) 2nd Q: 59.7%, 1 TDs, 3 INTs, 61.9 Rating 3rd Q: 60.8%, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 70.5 Rating 4th Q: 64.1%, 5 TDs, I INTs, 95.5 Rating Overall, yes, his 1st half is worse than his 2nd. But I'd say that what's more telling so far is that his 1st THREE quarters have been spotty and that he makes a mad rush at the end, but sometimes falls short. So far I'd say he is 2 for 4 in terms of successfully beating a stretch of bad play with an all out surge late in the game.

I find it strange that in the NFL, there is an ant-tampering policy to prevent teams from contacting coaches for jobs in season. Yet in college football where the players are 18-22 year old student, not professionals, a bowl-bound coach is being faxed offers on the same day he is prepping "his" players for the bowl game. Honestly, it seems a little ass backwards. In the NFL, the players are much more aware of the "business" aspect of football and a coach making other plans doesn't seem like it would be as big of a deal. I have to say though that I like the way things are done in the NCAA. I think potential recruits and current players should have the right to as much information about possible changes that could seriously impact their futures. If I was a recruit signed to WVU, I'd be happy that I knew about his now, than if he was barred from saying anything until the new year and then options could be more limited. I just feel bad for the players that are currently at the school that got caught up in the mix. My senior year when we fired Tyrone, there was a big division among the players. Some wanted to go the bowl game, some wanted to reject the bid and no one was happy. A lot of seniors who probably could/would have come back for a 5th year did not because who knew what was going to happen. Anyway, whatever...he did a bang up job with the Mountaineers, but if he leaves, coaching a [edit: previously] sanctioned SEC team with a proud history and impatient alumni might be a bit of a rude awakening... Bama

Dude, you should throw in the SBCSS. SBCSS

I'm going to cross a few off in about a month. 1. See New Orleans 2. Go someplace crazy for New Years (hopefully NO will fit the bill). 3. Se ND in a bowl game. I really want to go to Yankee Stadium before they tear it down. Not really a Yankee fan, but I bet it would be great to see a game there. I'd also like to hit up the triple crown one year for horse racing. I've been to Preakness and Derby but I think it would be tight to hit all three in a year. Especially if there was a TC winner.

Eh, I'm going to have to disagree. Even the worst set of breasts in the world don't bite.

Link Kind of interesting to hear how the players feel about it. I wonder how long before the No Fun League equates it to gambling and bans players from partaking?

Fair enough, but I think you missed the boat on that one say about 700 posts ago.

Few things in life are more disappointing than a bad blowjob.