1821

I’ll be around with my 360 on for most of the day. Shoot me a message or post a time here and I’ll try to be there.

1822

damn. I forgot sunday is mother’s day. So if I want to have any chance of surviving it, I can only play early in the morning while the wife is still sleeping: say sometime between 7:00 - 8:00 am PDT?

I can play… right now… if you’re on: I’ll check on XBL and send you a message just in case. Otherwise we’re talking early sunday morning or sometime Monday.

1823

See ya then.

1824

I’ve got some stuff going on Sunday, but should be able to make Sunday night work around 10pm EST.

1825

Cowboys beat the Bucs, 21-17. Felix Jones could do no wrong, the Bucs pass rush couldn’t get to Romo before he could launch a last-second, 10-yard pass to Whitten, and the Cowboys defense came up with several INTs to kill off promising drives. Tampa did have a Pick 6, though, so the defense wasn’t completely ineffectual. And we nearly won the game in the dying minutes, but the Cowboys defense held on 4th-and-goal.

Tampa did pick up a fumble at the Dallas 37 or so, with 40-some seconds to go, to give us one last chance, but before we could snap the ball it was overturned on a booth review.

If only we’d prevented the Dallas two-point conversion, we could have kicked a game-tying field goal and tried our luck in OT.

Good game, though. I don’t mind losing close ones.

1826

I’ve given Technoverse the bump so Lenkenobi can play vs. the AI. (I also gave him a re-invite to the league in case he shows back up)

1827

Be on in a sec - I don’t have a mic though (see Fantasy Draft Thread) :)

1828

I haven’t played in a game where it felt like Madden was actively trying to make me lose before tonight. You’re lucky you didn’t have a mic, my wife was worried that I was yelling obscenities at you and not just the empty room.

1829

you caught some bad breaks and battled back. Don’t think I’ve seen a game that featured a batted ball caught by a reciever and a battled ball intercepted by a lineman before.

At least you crippled Leroy Hill and kept Willy Parker hiding under the bench so you couldn’t hurt him any more most of the game.

1830

I don’t normally comment about games vs. the computer but I wanted to mention that Trevor Pryce broke the right tackle of the Atlanta Falcons. It was a sad day to be a turnstile.

1831

I posted out of anger so I should probably clear things up. You played a great game; I had no answer for your offense in the first half and your d-line probably put more pressure on me than anyone else has this season. I just could not catch a single break and my frustration grew throughout the game to the point that I was just swearing intermittently. I had two guys get injured on your first offensive series. On the ensuing kickoff I got a chop block penalty, then Vernon Davis couldn’t catch a ball that was between his hands. As you mentioned, you caught a pass that was tipped by me and intercepted one of my passes off a tip. In the second half TJ caught a pass in the middle of a 360 spin and Deion Branch caught a ball as he was falling on the ground.

I went in to the game over-confident, and that was a big mistake. I should never expect to execute perfectly or to win against anyone, but I’ve never played a game where every break went against me. I’ve also never seen so many injuries in one game. We each had at least three players who were injured in the game. I hope Hill isn’t out for too long.

1832

Saints 27, Redskins 27, called after 3.

A game of EPIC blooper-reel potential was killed by the game locking up in the third. After Pierre Thomas almost scored a TD, the camera followed him back to the huddle and sat there for five minutes, and we eventually dropped out. As soon as my opponent left, it pushed the game back into action, but we’re trying again tomorrow night.

I am so sad we’re losing this. Brees throws a pick-six to a lineman by throwing the ball 30 feet straight up. Courtney Roby returns back-to-back kicks for a TD, sandwiched around a 70-yard screen pass to the Redskins’ backup halfback. The Saints PICKED OFF A TOSS PLAY to end the half and stay down only 13-7. We had tied the game and were driving to go ahead into the fourth when it died.

Watch our next game be one of us losing by 50.

1833

HAH! It doesn’t just happen to me!

1834

Lost 35-17 to Ryan this weekend. Had a lot of fun, just wish I could have given him a better game.

Defensively it worked out pretty much as I expected - going in I figured I’d have to score at least 30 to have a chance. I actually felt like I called a decent defensive game and contained Girley’s speed, but I didn’t account for just how good he is at breaking tackles. (Plus Ryan juked me out of my cleats a couple times) Also, I got repeatedly burned by paying so much attention to Girley (cheating my safety, etc) that Ryan was able to hit wide open receivers. Nothing more frustrating than holding him to 3-and-8, cheating my man over to double Girley on the swing pass and then watching Ryan hit a receiver for 12 yards. Also worth mentioning: Ryan made a great read against my Cover 1 and threw a beautiful fade route for a TD. My game plan going in (other than trying to contain Girley) was to take away the TE posts/crosses and make him go to his WRs. Unfortunately for me, he did exactly that. The only other comment I have on the defensive side is that I wasn’t able to generate much of a pass rush. Hate to whine about injuries, but I’m really starting to miss my injured DE Maybin. Not only did he lock down the strong side vs. the run, but he occupied blockers and opened up blitzing lanes for my LB. My favorite blitz hasn’t worked for 3 games now and yet I’m still too stubborn to stop trying it.

Anyway, my real problem wasn’t on the defensive side. Going in, I really thought I’d be able to put up 30 against the Cleveland D, but I never really got it together. First of all, his pass rush was a lot fiercer than I expected. I don’t know how many sacks he got, but it seemed like I spent half of my drives looking at 2nd and 17. When he didn’t sack me he made me rush my throws or, in one case, hit me as I was throwing and returned the resulting wounded duck for a TD. In general I just didn’t adjust well to his rush and then started pressing once I fell behind. As I was telling Ryan during the game, since switching to the Bills I still haven’t found that “go-to” 5-yard play that you call when you need a first down or just a high % play to get your offense moving forward.

As I said, it was a lot of fun and I just wish I could have put up more of a fight. Well called game, Ryan.

1835

yeah great, great game. lots of fun. so sorry that it got hosed.

1836

7 weeks broken ass collar bone - sounds like I could get him back if we make the playoffs - (which isn’t going to happen).

Y’know our first game ended when I threw a late pick during a game-tying TD drive…

1837

Here’s one of the highlights from the Packers/Lions game:

http://www.easports.com/media/play/video/19904445

1838

I hate when my guys break their ass collar.

1839

Mute, we’re gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?

1840

Good write up, James. I know how tough it is to play from behind when the Madden turnover & injury gods turn against you: it totally changes the playcalling on both sides of the ball. Despite playing, at times, against the whims of Madden, James played a great game that ultimately wasn’t decided until the final quarter.

James is a good sport and a fun guy to chat with while playing the game: definitely what makes this league worth playing in!