mdowdle
3981
I can’t imagine what the market demand is for a former strength and conditioning coach.
He could probably go do the same thing for some college, or he could work for a gym somewhere. But no, there aren’t a ton of options to a guy who makes a living telling people to push harder (and isn’t a midwife).
Except Spygate actually involved the Jets. It’s just hilarious that a Jets coach would claim they knew nothing about their sideline while at the same time point a finger at the Patriots, a team that’s not involved in the particular incident.
I just wouldn’t be surprised if, after a review of tape, using the line in this way was actually not an uncommon practice.
Everyone has people on the line. It’s one of my pet peeves with football. And it’s not because they just want a better view of the action (unless it’s cameramen.) It’s gamesmanship. I’m sure some NY blog will soon post a story about how Bellicheat once stepped in front of Marvin Harrison and manipulated his brainwaves. The issue is whether people are on the line as a deterrent and intimidation to the opponent or are they looking to make “accidental” contact.
This is the NFL, it’s always more stupidly complicated than that. Here’s the relevent rule and chart.
yes, there’s a chart for this.
Ever see a player get flagged for delay of game because he doesn’t make it back on the field in time after flying into the other teams bench?
That actually happened earlier in the very Tripgate game.
Apparently the NFL does find the wall a violation. From the wording, I think it has to do with the use of inactive players rather than where they are standing.
Sarkus
3985
So the plan of having the Vikings/Bears MNF game at the college stadium is encountering some issues. The stadium does not have a way to heat the field, so apparently Bear players are grumbling about the conditions possibly not being safe.
You know what else doesn’t have a heated field? Hockey. And yet people play…
Lorini
3987
Even though hockey players seem to like to slam other players heads into the ice, it’s not an actual part of the game the way it is in football. So a frozen field could be an issue. Who knows. If the players end up with several broken bones, then it will have been a bad idea.
Sarkus
3988
That game tonight pretty much went as expected. I’m still baffled at what happened to the Chargers against the Raiders a few weeks back.
Edit: Also, Haynesworth has the NFLPA behind him in challenging his suspension. If what the article says is true, which is that the Redskins didn’t provide any written reprimand until the actual suspension, my guess is that Shanahan and co. are going to lose that challenge.
Edit Edit: Weird to see the Rams almost didn’t sell out the game with the Chiefs this week. I was under the impression that fan interest in St. Louis was way up with Bradford and the competitive season.
Sarkus
3989
Given all the attention being given nationally to the possibility that the NFC West will send a 7-9 team to the playoffs this year, that debate has been happening on Seattle sports talk radio as well. John Clayton was on earlier today and made a comment that I thought was interesting. He pointed out that the NFC West is paired with the NFC South this year, meaning that those two divisions are playing each other. Given the apparent strength of the NFC South, the NFC West is obviously suffering was Clayton’s argument. So I wondered how the NFC West looks when you break down their records into different groups:
Team/Divisional record/rest of NFC record/vs NFC South record/vs AFC/Overall
Rams/2-2/2-4/1-3/2-1/6-7: So the Rams are 1-3 vs. the NFC South and solid against everyone else.
Seahawks/3-2/2-2/1-1/1-3/6-7: The Seahawks still have two NFC South games to go (where they will be underdogs) and have otherwise been solid except for being beaten up by the AFC.
49ers/3-1/0-6/0-4/2-2/5-9: The 49ers have gotten creamed by the NFC South at 0-4. They are good in the division and ok elsewhere.
Cardinals/1-4/1-3/1-2/2-2/4-9: The Cardinals could, if they beat the lowly Panthers, actually end up with a 2-2 record but have blown their division games.
This doesn’t mean these teams don’t suck, just that if you take the NFC South out of the equation they don’t look that bad. The argument might be made that the NFC South isn’t that good because it’s feasting on the NFC West, but at least in the case of the Saints and Falcons, the records indicate those are pretty good teams even outside of the NFC West wins this year. The only team that looks like it’s really weaker then their win total would indicate is the Bucs, who haven’t beat at team with a .500 or better record (for the season) yet. They are 5-5 if you take the NFC West wins away.
Being a 49ers fan must suck so much. I mean, they are a team that is close to being good. Close. But those missing ingredients mean that they truly suck.
Yeah but… at least they have memories of all those great Montana/Rice/Young teams. And rings. All we get (Charger fans) is bittersweet revenge. (Humiliate us in one of the most lopsided Superbowl wins will you…)
Lorini
3992
That WAS a bad Superbowl. The Chargers looked like a high school team in that game. I forgot about that history:)
Erik_J
3993
Redskins are benching McNabb for Grossman this weekend. Gets better and better.
On what planet is Rex Grossman a step up from McNabb?
Maybe Shanahan is a racist, that’s the only explanation that makes sense.
jeffd
3995
Didn’t they just sign McNabb to a multi-year deal.
The move makes no sense. It doesn’t help them win on Sunday, doesn’t help them win next season… It’s just mind boggling. Is this Shanahan’s work, or Snyder’s?
edit: answering my own question - he’s only guaranteed about 3.5 mn so they can afford to part with him if they choose. Which it seems is what they’re doing.
So yeah, okay, let McNabb go at the end of the year, if you want. And if you want to bench him to try your new QB of the future, okay, sure.
But Grossman is nobody’s QB of any future worth having, and they have to know that. So why fuck around with it? Just to slap McNabb in the face a bit?
McNabb got one of those deals with a big figure but little guaranteed money behind it. They can pay him $3.5M and wave goodbye.
Dan Synder’s a hoot. “Oh boy, I’ve finally got my coach in Steve Spurrier.” “Oh boy, now I’ve got my coach in Joe Gibbs.” “Ok now, finally, FINALLY I have my coach in Shanahan.”
He’s run Haynesworth off the team, though to be fair Haynesworth did a lot of that heavy lifting himself, and now he’s running McNabb off the team. He inherited a decent defense and brought in a coach that changed the scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4 and now the Redskins are last in the league in defense. Shanahan is a mastermind!
Yeah, it makes little sense unless Shanahan thinks he can somehow mentor Grossman and make him a better QB. The Redskins aren’t making the playoffs. I guess it is important to try to finish the season on a high note but what is the point of playing Grossman?
So where does McNabb end up next year? Arizona? San Francisco?
Very weird. McNabb hasn’t been having a stellar year, but his numbers for the last game were actually pretty good. The 'Skins lost on missed field goals and the PAT, not on lack of QB effort.
His TD/INT ratio is horrible, however.
