Mariners September Review/Season Wrap Up

Remember when the Mariners started off their season by beating Oakland 5 of their first 7 games in the first two weeks of the season?

Yeah, me either.

At the begining of the year, I woke up super early for our first game against Oakland... that was held in Japan. While I was a little too aggressive with the time I woke up, I took the extra few minutes to jot down some season thoughts.

Man, am I an optimistic little bitch. Here are some of the classics:

• "Smoak should, he was batting .263 with 12 home runs before taking a ball off the hand that derailed his season." Damn.
• "Jesus Montero by all accounts has Mike Piazza power" Eh, he had flashes. But they were very brief. Very, very brief.
•  (in reference to a good hitter emerging out of the young bunch) " Will it happen? Ackley will, I'm confident in that" If the word "good" in Seattle is translated to .226 avg and 12 home runs, then yes, I would be correct.
• I also said Mike Carp was going to be good. HA!
• "Ichiro needs to either get back over 200 hits, or he needs to put 20 balls in the seats. He is batting 3rd this year, so I wouldn't be opposed to him showing more power." He didn't do either. And actually wasn't good till he found a locker next to Derek Jeter and his vat of HgH.
• "Michael Saunders needs to not suck"  He actually didn't. So I'm going to give that to myself. He hit 19 bombs, good for 2nd on the team.
• I didn't talk about Kyle Seager at all in the opener. I was drinking the "Chone is a lot more comfortable at lead off juice." I was wrong on both accounts. Thankfully, being wrong on Seager was a good thing.
• I mentioned that "Felix needs to be Felix." If we forget that he didn't win in September (0-4 in 6 starts) and just remember August and the Perfect game... then I was right.
• I asked for a .300 hitter or a 30 home run season. We got 20 home runs out of Seager and a .260 average out of Jesus Montero. So, fuck.
• Lastly, I made a brief plead for one of the "three amigos" to get called up and make a Pineda impression. None of them made it to the majors this year, but Denny Hultzen made it to Triple A. He should have a good shot at making the team next year. We are also on the clock for shortstop Nick Franklin and catcher Mike Zunino. 

Real quick, before I put a bullet in this seaons head let me touch on something. The fences. The Mariners announced they were moving them in for next season. My thoughts? Thank God. Maybe the field wasn't the problem and the players were, but at some point it becomes psychological (right, Justin?). These players seemed to have dreaded home games (we were 7th in runs scored and 6th in homeruns on the road), and desperately need a shot in the arm.

Maybe with the pulled in fences they could lure Josh Hamilton to come roam right field for us? That would be swell.

Well that will wrap it up. Another up and down here that ends 13 games below even at 75-87. One day we'll get back in the playoffs, I'm sure of it.

Side Note: Before I go, I want to get in an offseason prediction. With the fences moving in, some of team ideologies are going to change.  Some players have been hindered by those deep fences, while some have exploited them. One such player, American League Pitcher of the Month for July, Justin Vargas has had more then his share of bail outs due to playing in Yosemiti National Park  Safeco Field.  He went 14-11 with a 3.85 era over 217 innings this year.

With the fences coming in, I bet Seattle looks to sell high on Mr. Vargas. His value will never be higher then it is right now. It only makes sense (shit, use him in a package to drop Chone Figgins).

See you next year, guys.

Week 5: Rehashing Flynn v Wilson

In August I wrote an entry called, "The Great Debate: Russell vs Flynn" where I came out in favor of Matt Flynn while hedging my bet with Russell Wilson. During that post, I detailed my thoughts on what was a supremely polorizing topic of conversation for Seahawk fans every where: who should be our starting QB?

I went with Matt Flynn. Not because I wasn't in love with Wilson, rather it was because I actually thought this team was good and didn't want to derail the season with a rookie QB. I didn't see a reason to toss the rookie into the deepend when we had recently signed a player who in his second career start tossed 6 touchdowns.

I wanted to see the Seahawks demonstrate patience, or as I called it "Let Russell Wilson  'Carson Palmer' " because I felt Matt Flynn had done enough to atleast prove that he wasn't good enough. If that doesn't make sense, let me restate it: Matt Flynn in his two regular season starts for Green Bay had shown enough to atleast  get the oppertunity to fail in Seattle.

It's not like Russell is making a lot of money. He was a 3rd round pick. It's not like he is an aging veteran who came here with the intention to start. He is 24 and we drafted him. Why did we not let Russell watch for a bit?

Now hindsight is 20/20. And Wilson has not looked good. He has had moments, like the begining of the Ram's game, where you send a text message to your brother saying "he's turning the corner." But so far those moments have been immidiately followed by a punt (or in Sundays case: an interception).

I haven't turned my back on Russell. In the August piece, I said that "I think Russell Wilson will be our starting Quarterback when we contend for Superbowls." And I still do. I think he is a playmaker and smart. I just don't think he was ready. Through four games: 73.5 QBR, 594 yards, 4 td's, 4 picks. He has completed 60 percent of his balls, but they're only going for 5 yards a clip (translation: check down machine).

Matt Flynn could've atleast done that.

Just to see what life would've been like with Flynn under center, I stared a Madden 13 Connected Career (this years Franchise mode). The first half of the week 1 Cardinals game saw him go 11/13 and we had a 17-3 lead. That would've been a lot better.

Had Pete Carroll gone with Flynn, there would've been 4 likely scenereos: 1, Flynn sucks. If that was the case, Pete would be able to pull him after proving that he isn't the guy and seemlessly move to Wilson. 2, Flynn is great. And Seattle beats Arizona, crushes Dallas, doesn't need the hailmary against Green Bay, and doesn't throw 3 picks against STL. We start off 4-0 and he looks like the franchise. No big deal here, because again, Wilson isn't getting paid much.

3, Flynn is average. You take your 8-8, 7-9 record and move on to Wilson next year. You developed a franchise QB, while remaining competative. No one is upset.  Or the last one, Flynn plays and slips a hamstring a couple weeks in, Wilson comes in and plays like he should be the starter. If Wilson plays good, Pete can justify staying with him. If Wilson plays bad, you go back to Flynn because he was the original starter and you let Wilson continue to study what he saw.

By going with Wilson first, none of those can happen. You don't want to 'Alex Smith' him and damage his confidence. Pete took a gamble and so far it hasn't paid off like he had hoped. But there is no recovery from this unless Russell gets hurt. That is the only way a change under center can happen and the franchise can save face.

Our bed is made. Lets hope Wilson turns it around in Carolina (for the record: This is NOT anti- Wilson. Again, this is pro-patience)

• Arizona Cardinals vs St.Louis Rams +1 I don't see how we could wake up tomorrow morning in a world where Arizona is 5-0. Should the beat St. Louis? Absolutely. But Green Bay couldn't go undefeated because they lost to a terrible KC team last year, and St. Louis has a kicker who drops 60 yard field goals like it's a video game.
• Cleveland Browns vs New York Giants -8 1/2 Giants by over a td? I don't really want to do that, but the Giants are following a loss. The lack of Giant homefield concerns me though. Screw it. I'm going G-Men.
• Green Bay vs Indianapolis Colts +7 I hope this game is on tv. It's goign to be a wild shoot out. The Packers on turf? Oh man. Whatever the over/under is... take the over.
• Philadelphia Eagles vs Pittsburgh Steelers -3 when I first went through the weeks slate, I found myself picking basically all road teams to cover. This was the exception. Rashard Mendenhall is returning and for fantasy purposes I need him to go ape shit. So, GO STEELERS.
• Atlanta Falcons vs Washington Redskins +2 1/2 Yeah, the Redskins are depleted. Atlanta managed to escape last week with the win. Atlanta needs to make a statement.
• Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs +6 Sometimes games are as simple as this: Kansas is very bad. Baltimore is very good. Now some might say, "But Kansas is at home, bro." To those I say this, " KC is 0-2 at home this season and have given up 38.5 points in those two games."
• Miami Dolphins vs Cinncinati Bengals -3 this is one of those instances where I hope I'm wrong for fantasy purposes. But Miami is giving up 56 yards a game in the rushing department. Thats 2000 Baltimore good. Poor, poor Ben Jarvis.
• Chicago Bears vs Jacksonville Jaguars +6 Cutler was decent last week. Chicagos defense was insane. Jacksonville got blasted at home by the Bengals. Am I really about to pick Cutler to cover on the road when they are giving a touchdown? Yes (DeMarco Murray 11 carries 24 yards last week).
• Seattle Seahawks vs Carolina Panthers -3 Remember 2 picks ago when I talked about Miami being great against the run? Well Seattle is only giving up 6 more yards a game. They also sent 3/4's of their secondary to the pro-bowl last year. They also sacked Aaron Rodgers 9 times two weeks ago, and Cam Newton isn't Aaron Rodgers. Seattle baby.
• Bufalo Bills vs San Fransico 49ers -5 1/2 I hope I'm wrong.
• Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots -8 1/2 Here is what I think: I think The Hoodie will game plan for Mannings lack of arm strength and plan to take away the short throws. On the otherside, Brady will cut the head off the Bronco's similar to how he did the Bills for 45 points in the second half on Sunday. In other words, I need to find a way to get Manning out of my fantasy lineup.
• San Diego Chargers v New Orleans Saints -3 Because they can't lose every game, right?
• Houston Texans v New York Jets +8 I was wrong about Mark Sanchez. That dude needs a change of scenery. Houston wins, and Tebow is starting within two weeks.

Week 4

Tuesday morning I woke up with a giant smile on my face. Seattle was 2-1 and for once was on the good end of a terrible call by an official. I wrote a quick thought, I posted a picture, and I went about my day. Smiling the whole time. I was in the minority. Fans outside of Seattle were foaming at the mouth. "What an injustice" they screamed. "Aaron Rodger's is a marter." They announced. "How dare the Seahawks not correct the officials ruling." They clammored.

My blood started to boil and I released a rant of my own. I was not about to sit back and allow my Chickens get drug through the mud because they were placed in an awkward situation. You want war, douchebags? I'll give you war.

Here is the scope of my rant (tightened up, of course)

I think its bush league the people are upset with the Seahawks over this. If you disagree with the call, feel free to be mad at the referee's. Or Roger Goodell and the owners. But the Seahawks? Please, grow up and learn a thing or two.

That is directed to everyone. Outraged players and fans alike. Green Bay Packers Guard Josh Sitton went onto "Rome" Tuesday morning to vent about being on the losing end of the call. At one point during the interview, Sitton took shots at wr Golden Tate and coach Pete Carroll by suggesting they should admit the call was wrong.

"I think the two biggest goats out of this whole thing is Pete Carroll and Golden Tate," Sitton told Jim Rome. "They're calling it a good call. And Golden Tate's saying he caught it and there was no push in the back. I mean, be a man. You can be happy you won the game. I understand that. Stuff's gonna happen. But be a man and admit that it was a bullshit call and stand up and have some integrity."


Seriously, bro? That is who you are mad at?

You want to put blame on Tate for doing his job? He fought for the ball, like he has been taught to do most of his life. And lets not ignore that there are pictures and angles that exist that actually support Tate having possession (ESPN won't show that though).

You're upset that he pushed the dude in the back on a hailmary? I know football wasn't your primary sport, so feel free to review some youtube videos of other hailmary attempts. Shoving happens. The officials (even the real ones) wouldn't have called pass interference on that in a million years.

And suggesting that Pete Carroll is wrong for sticking up for his players is even more retarded. What would you have Pete say, "Oh shit. Green Bay really got screwed on that one. I'm going to have to talk to Golden in the locker room about the rules of the game." Don't be nieve.

How ridiculous is that? To be upset with a coach and a player over a referee's call. They went into a dog fight and came out on top and you want the world wants them to openly discredit themselves by admitting they were given a gift. This is the real world. Not some mystical world of dragons and magical gum drop houses. Grow up and accept the loss. 

I don't remember a single instance of players or teams admitting they came out favorable in a bad call. When did Tom Brady admit to fumbling in the tuck rule game? I forget who asked the Steeler's to admit that the Seahawks got jobbed in '05. Remember when Vinny Testeverde didn't score that touchdown (also against the Seahawks) on a Quarterback sneak, but was given credit for the touchdown anyway and that helped keep Seattle out of the playoffs and eventually lead to the instillation of Instant Replay? I sure as shit do, but what I don't remember is people asking Vinny to admit that the referees were wrong.
 

It's unfortunate, sure. But it's not just the call that was unfortunate. It was the whole situation. It's the replacement officials being involved in the first place. I sure hope Josh Sitton doesn't expect Pete Carroll to apologize for the official lockout.

And lets not undersell WHO is responsible for this in the first place. The real guilty party is Roger Goodell and the Owners. They have put teams in these situations ( like the hailmary, or last night's Raven/Patriots clock expiring fieldgoal) by putting under qualified dudes out in high pressure situations. High School Chemistry teachers should not be policing professional football players. It's that simple. Roger Goodell is trying to strong arm Ed Hochuli and company, and thats why this has happened.

So the REAL goat, Mr. Sitton, are the guys who signs your paychecks (but you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you, I understand).

Look, should the Packer's and their fans be upset that they lost the game? Absolutely. I would've been. But don't stop at the call. They should also be upset that their offensive line gave up 8 sacks in the first half (and 9 for the game). They should also be furious that they weren't able to score at all in the first half. And while we are on the subject of poor referee calls that swayed the game, please don't forget that if it weren't for a phantom PI call, the Packers wouldn't have been in position to score ANY touchdowns.

Remember to be mad at that as well, Sitton and company.

Bascially, the brunt of the anger should be at the fact that your team held the seahawks to a shade over 150 yards for the first 58 minutes yet Seattle had a chance to win the game with a touchdown.

It's true after Monday, Packer fans have a lot to be upset with. But I assure you, it's nothing like getting jobbed in a superbowl. Stop bitching, it happens.

And Seahawk fans, remember to be thankful. 2-1 baby!

• Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens -12 I have a theory that I have absolutely no stats to back it up, but here goes: if you are picking a game that features a team giving a ton of points immediately following a super emotional game against a team they should curb stomp, you pick the shittier team. That being said, I really think Baltimore is insanely good. But I'm going to test out my theory a few times this week. So I'm going with Cleveland.
• San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs PK Uh, I'll take Kansas City at home with no points. That seems fair.
• Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans -13 1/2 Let's see, Tennessee gave up 90 yards to Steven Ridley, 130 to a montley crue of Chargers, and a 100 spot to Mikil Leshoure. Now they are playing Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Are you sure 13 1/2 is all you want?
• Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons -8 Cam Newton embarrassed himself last Thursday. If he's a man, they'll cover. We are going to find out alot about Cam Newton on Sunday.
• Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis +2 1/2 Using an altered version of the argument I used to pick the Browns, I'm going to take St. Louis against my Chickens. This smells like one of those games where we lose and then I get to listen to talking heads scream, "see, they aren't that good." for a full week.
• San Fransico 49ers @ New York Jets +4 My Cleveland/Baltimore theory was successful last week for the 9ers/Vikings game. No knock on SF, I just figured they'd come out flat. This week they won't. Have fun, Jet fans.

• New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills +4 Last week I figured the Patriots were going to make Baltimore pay for Arizona's sins. They almost did. Before last week, the last time they had lost two games in a row I was a virgin. Buffalo is 2-1, but they could be 15-0 and I would put my money on Tom and the Terrifics. Take the Patriots and Tom is going for 400+
• Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions As of right now thee isn't a line to this game because of Mathew Staffords uncertainty.
• Miami Dolphins @ Arizona Cardinals -5 1/2  This was JUST made official: Arizona is good.
• Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos -7 I will take Oakland, thank you.
• Cincinnatti Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars +1 This game has a 0 percent chance of making it on my tv this week. So, Bengals and lets move on.
• Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 1 I'm going to say Tampa, only because they're at home. As someone who has Alfred Morris on his fantasy team, I hope I'm wrong.
• New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers -9 You know how I just wrote like 1500 words about Green Bay and thier fans, REVENGE GAME.  Saints are about to get executed.
• New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles PK I'm going to say Philly. Basically, I think New York likes hovering around .500.
• Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys -3 Blah. I dunno. Is Forte playing? Thats kind of important. ESPN just said Forte practiced yesterday, so I'm going to say Chicago and not feel good about it.

That Final Call.

A Picture thats actually worth a 1000 words.

 

 

For those of you pretending to be up in arms about the winning TD last night, simmer down. It's the least the league could do for what happened to us in the Superbowl 8 years ago. It's not even that unjustifiable. You could argue that it was a simultanious catch.

 

I'm not saying it was, just that you could argue that point.

 

Fact is, those ref's were awful. And it wan'ts just on that play. The game was littered with phantom pass interfences, questionable late hit's, and an assortment of unintelligible judgements. Go back and youtube Kam Chancelors' PI call. That was clean. It also saved Green Bay's drive that ended with their soul touchdown. So before you get righteous on the Seattle Screwjob (as some on the Twitters have called) why don't you pump your breaks and do some rewatching.

 

The replacement ref's are bad. They have turned 2 and half hour games into 4 hour life decisions. They have swayed the outcome on a couple games (Batlimore/Philly, New England/Baltimore, Washington/St. Louis, etc) so lets not start pounding chests like this is a travesty. We knew this was coming. It had to.

 

 Maybe this will serve as the agent of change for Goodell to finally pull his head out of his ass and bring back Hochuli and co. I hope so. I'm tired of waiting 4 minutes between plays while these 7th grade science teachers and JV football coaches bumble their way through these calls. They're actually hurting your game, Roger.

 

Will the ref's be back next week? Probably not. We'll probably see this same crew running a 1:00 et start time in Buffalo while Hochuli sits at home and crushes out another 100 push up's just in case. Goodell has got to  break the ref's like he broke the players. It's all about the dollar.

 

In the meantime we'll gladly be 2-1, thank you very much.

 



Week 3 and the AP Press Release

NEW YORK (AP)- New Player Safety rules maybe amended by the National Football League as soon as this afternoon, according to sources close to league sources.

 


The new rules, which are expected to be passed by dictator commissioner Roger Goodell, would effectively eliminate most contact within a football game by adopting rules set forth by the American Flag Football Association of America.

 

Goodell, who has long since declaired his intention to ruin clean up the NFL of dangerous physicallity, has long been rumored to be in favor of eliminating tackling all together.

 

The rule change has gained momentum following the hit WR Golden Tate applied to engaged LB Sean Lee, during Seattle's win over the Dallas Cowboys. A hit that has been classified by the League as a 'blindside hit' and will cost the wide reciever $21,000 dollars, despite not being called for a penalty.

 

Following the game, Tate took to twitter to justify protecting his Quarterback from the persuing defender. "I hope Sean Lee is ok. I never have intentions on injuring another player. It's football which means its physical. (A) Dirty hit would be if I went for his head or neck area."

 

Even Sean Lee, who was medically cleared to return to action after a few plays, didn't seem to have too much a problem with the hit. “That’s part of the deal,” Lee said following the 27-7 loss. He went on to add, “ I bet you if we went head-to-head and square up he probably won’t be celebrating as much. It’s part of the deal and part of football, and hits like that happen.”

 



Sexy.

When Goodell ratifies the new rule change, it is expected to be implimented as quickly as this week. However, it is believed that no one will be told until Sunday, when someone gets flagged randomly for performing previoulsy acceptable actions.

Like running.



 

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 Now, on to the picks. Althought I should probably stop there, because last week I went 0-2 in fantasy and 6-10 against the spread. If week 3 continues to be bad, I'm bringing in relief for next week. ( Picks in Red)

• New York Giants @ Carolina Panthers -1 1/2 Because it wouldn't be a Giants season without Tom Coughlin almost getting fired.
• Buffalo Bills @ Cleveland Browns + 2 1/2 I was going to take the Bills. Then I remember they aren't good and Trent Richardson might be.
• San Fransico 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings +7 Huge win on Sunday night for SF. That usually translates to a team like Minnesota hanging around longer than they should the next week.
• Detroit Lions @ Tennessee Titans + 3 1/2 I feel like the Lions should run the Titans by 15 here.
• Cincinnati Bengals @ Washington Redskins -3 I'll take the Washington crowd during their home opener, thank you.
• Kansas City Chiefs @ New Orleans Saints -8 1/2 This is the last week. You hear me, Saints? The last fucking week. You don't blow these dudes out of the water, I'm trading Brees off my fantasy team's and riding against you the rest of the season.
• New York Jets @ Miami Dolphis +2 1/2 Reggie Bush has 6 straight games of atleast 100 yards from scrimmage. Thats the longest in the NFL in that time (Thank you, Mathew Berry).
• Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts -3 Andrew Luck > Blaine Gabbert
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Dallas Cowboys -8 Am I the only one that saw Tampa put up 34 against New York last week and thought "these guys really don't suck?" Because getting 8 points against the Cowboys would suggest I am. I still think Romo is good,but Tampa is going to cover.
• St. Louis Rams @ Chicago Bears -7 1/2 In Chicago, following 10 days of every calling Cutler a bum? I actually expect a good Cutler game. The Ram's might be decent though. Ram's cover.
• Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals +3 The Eagles should be 0-2. Arizona has beat 2 good teams. Michael Vick likes to throw picks and Arizona likes to recieve picks. ARIZONA GOES 3-0.
• Pittsburgh Steelers @ Oakland Raiders +4 Oakland, you broke my heart last weekend. Now the Steelers will break your backs.
• Houston Texans @ Denver Broncos PK How brutal was Peyton Manning last week? He literally did just enough to beat me in one of my fantasy leagues while simultaniously costing me the game in my other league. I have never been so mad at a player in my life. This is a total spite pick.
• New England Patriots @ Baltimore Ravens -2 1/2 Look, I'm heavily invested into the 2012 Patriots. They need to win for my sake.
• Green Bay Packers @ Seattle Seahawks +3 My stepmom is from Wisconsin and her whole family are Packers fans. Typically, I love them all. But this is not a typical situation. This is Monday Night Football. We beat the Packers and I have a throbing boner for 6 days. This is bigger then family. THIS IS WAR!

Tony Romo and the Inaccurate Scope of his Criticism

"Tony Romo is a Fucking bum."

As a fan of our nation's favorite sport, how many times have you heard this statement (or something to this effect)? Better question: how many times since August started have you heard this? That might make it easier to track.

The last time I heard it was this morning while driving to work. I was catching up on "The Adam Carolla Show" from last Tuesday (prior to the Giants-Cowboys game) with Brandon Steiner as the guest. For those of you who don't know (I imagine all of you fall under this category) this dude makes his money by selling sports memorabilia. He's  a New York guy. Specifically, he is in the Giants/Yankees camp.

 

The Cowboys/Giants game came up and this guy interjects some comment along the line of, "they don't have a quarterback" when asked why the Giants would win. Normally, I would just roll my eyes and make a mental comment about how dumb New Yorkers are; but I was litterally raging about this topic a few days ago so it's almost like the universe is asking me to take a stand.

 

And stand I will.

 

Because this notion that Tony Romo is not a good Quarterback is complete, and utter bull hooey. Infact, I suggest that if you are ever in a situation where someone tries to interject this as an opinion; you consider it your obligation as a red blooded american to beat the  shit out of them and make them apologize. 

 



Once and for all: Romo has not been the problem.

Tony Romo is many things (Jessica Simpson ex boyfriend, Carrie Underwood's ex boyfriend, Eastern Illinois Alumni etc) but a "bad Quarterback" is no where near that list.

 

Unlike those douche bags who fling recklace opinions to and fro all willy nilly, I like to ground my arguements in a little something called "proof". First, let me throw this out: Bad Quarterbacks exsist on bad teams. The only time a Romo lead team finished under .500 was the season he only played in 6 games. So, there.

 

But thats not going to be good enough, I understand. After all, Fantasy Football is king in this town. My arguement needs stats. Lucky for all of you, I have come prepared. Fasten your seatbelts.

 

Including last week, the Romosapian has started 78 games as the QB of the Dallas Cowboys. In those starts, he has compiled a yard's-td-int stat line of 20,879-149-70.  Using Eli as a comparison (divison rival. Romo's week 1 match up. The QB of Brandon Steiner's Giant team that made him feel confident enough to call Romo a bad QB) He has racked up 27,726-186-129 in 120 games. 42 more games, 37 more touchdowns.

 

I don't think I need to tell you that Romo's per game averages are better( and obviously his per/16 game stats are better).  But I should highlight that there are two factors skewing these stats outside of Eli's 42 additonal starts. 1, Romo missed 10 games in 2010. Through those six games he was completeing a curly hair under 70 percent of his pass attempts. Who knows what kind of magic he would've thrown up that year. And 2, Eli just gave his career average's HgH last year by dumping almost 5000 yards in a pass happy offense. If you really wanted to see how awesome Romonucleosis career has been so far, you should just  just compare the two through the first 78 games of Eli's career.

 

Actually lets do that, while expanding at the same time. By my count there are 6 QB's heading to Canton as soon as they hang up their cleets. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Rothlisburger, Eli Manning and (baring a catestrophic injury) Aaron Rodgers (Aaron hasn't played in 78 games yet thanks to Favre, so lets just ignore him for the rest of the arguement).

 

• Drew Brees:  17,479-109-73
• Tom Brady:  18,029-123-66
• Peyton Manning: 20,107-134-98
• Eli Manning:  16,190-110-80
• Ben Rothlisberger:  16,860-110-73

So Eli, armed with his 2 superbowl rings, is considered a future Hall of Fame QB. Ben Rothlisberger with his 2 rings, same boat. And rightfully so for both. They're legacies are not on trial here. Drew Brees, armed with his 1 ring and the greatest Passing Season of all time. And Brady and Manning will be forever locked into the death match for Greatest QB of All Time arguement.

 

Yet here is Romo who has compiled better stats then all of them. Through 78 games. So why does Romo get all the heat and none of the praise?

 

There are actually a couple different factors that have caused the hating of the Romocoaster. 1, he plays for one of the 5 most covered team's in sports. They were unquestionably the most covered team in the NFL prior to this offseason, but took a backseat due to bounties, neck surgeries and Tebow. Since 2006, we have had a severe over saturation of the Cowboys Quarterback.

 

2. That (lovely, wonderful, glorious, magestic, perfect) botched field goal hold against Seattle in 2006. Romo seemed like he was the answer to the "When is Dallas going to replace Aikman" question that they had been asking for half a decade at that point. Then he muffed a hold and everything became murky. The third reason, his famous ex girlfriends. I've never seen him try and complete a 15 yard out to Jessica Simpson (maybe that's because she's built like a tackle?) so this should be a non issue.

 

The fourth, which ties into the fifth: he doesn't have a signature win and he doesn't have a ring. Think back to Romo's biggest win of his career. Seriously, whats his most important win? This is where the Romo hate gets it's steam. All those HoF Qb's I listed up there have wins that we can look back and say, "remember when Peyton rallied the Colts in the AFC championship game" or "remember Big Ben's final drive in Superbowl XLIII?"  and they all have rings. Romo doesn't have one of those. Yet.

 

How would you feel about Romo if he were in this picture?

(editor note: using the 78 start's bench mark again, only Brady, Rodgers and Big Ben had rings. All three have won all their championships before the 78 game marker. Moving on.) 

 

What he does have is an ass load of positive fantasy numbers while leading the NFL's craziest reality show (this is not an argueable point: his most talent WR has a professional baby sitter). What he does do is keep his head low, his hat backwards, and his moutshut; while he pray's to whoever he pray's to that somebody on his line will block a blitzing linebacker. Dallas isn't neccesarily talent starved (especially at WR) but they do consistantly lack depth at positions aimed to keep their franchise QB alive.

 

I read an article last year (I wish I saved the link, but it was too ridiculous at the time) asking if Dallas should move on from Romo. It upsets me to think that people honestly feel like Romosexual is the problem with this franchise. He isn't. He is the brighspot. His numbers put him in the conversation of future HoF. Go back and re-read the stat comparisons with Brady and the Mannings.

 

Through 78 games, Romo's numbers say he belongs in the ellite conversation's. Unfortunately, his lack of jewelry gives the ignorate masses amunition to ignore those claims. The solution for #9 is simple though, he has to win. Anthony Romo win's one Superbowl, and as if he rattled of a string of hailmary's, all will be forgotten.

 

But he's got to get something out of his teammates to do that. No team has ever won a superbowl with one player.

 

But one player can sure get a shit load of the blame. 

 

 

 

Week 2 Picks

Last week, for lack of a better word, sucked. It sucked for my fantasy teams. It sucked for my real life team. It really sucked for my picks against the spread column. Basically, my wife could've handled all my football related affairs last weekend and I would've had a more productive weekend.

Except my Sanchez pick is off to a good start. That one made me smile (even though I didn't really buy into my own bs... as I picked Buffalo to beat the Jets last week).

Picks in Red.

• Chicago @ Green Bay (-5) Do I think Green Bay will fall 0-2? No. Do I think Green Bay can stop Matt Forte from having a good game? Again, no. So, do I think Green Bay will cover? I do not. Moving on.
• Arizona @ New England (-14) Despite Seattle losing to Arizona last week, I still think they suck. Tom Brady is going to leave behind scorched earth this weekend, which is going to shit all over my Seattle week 1 loss justification "Arizona had a really good defense"
• Oakland @ Miami (+3) Miami blows. Oakland will run this to 10.
• Minnesota @ Indianapolis (+ 1 1/2) Adrian Peterson did NOT blow out his ACL last year. He got a hang nail and was tired of running into 8 man fronts. Thats the only way to explain how he has come back to the point where he is now. Healthy (ish) AP is > Colts.
• Houston @ Jacksonville (+ 7 1/2) This game sucks. Jacksonville covers.
• Cleveland @ Cinncinati (-7) I mean they ARE divison rivals. One would hope Cleveland can keep it within a touchdown. If not, please start warming up that rotator cuff, mr. McCoy.
• Kansas City @ Buffalo (-3) Buffalo took a huge ass whoopin' from the Jets and I can't even remember the name of the Reciever who caught the two touchdowns. That being said, me picking KC is more about me hoping Dexter McCluster goes ape shit, and less about Buffalo and how they looked last week.
• Balitmore @ Philladelphia (-3) Philly should be getting 3 points, not giving. In fact, I'm 70 % sure I wrote this down wrong. Hold on. Holy shit, I wrote it down right. Baltimore, all day.
• New Orleans @ Carolina (+3) I'm not overly prepared to write New Orleans off, and Carolina can't remember where they put their running game. Again, unfortunately for BOTH MY FANTASY TEAMS.
• Tampa Bay @ New York Giants (-7) Tampa can run a little bit, pass a little bit and defend a little bit. I'm sure they can stay in this game.
• Dallas @ Seattle (+3) Seattles going to win. So, there.
• Washington @ St. Louis (+3) I guess St. Louis looked improved. Best player on the field is wearing a Redskins jersey though.
• Tennessee @ San Diego (-6) San Diego should win, but I don't see them winning by a touchdown.
• New York @ Pittsburgh (-6) If the NFL season were a game of horse, last weeks Sanchez game was some insane behind the backboard, blindfolded bull shit of a shot. There is a good chance he tried that shot to be funny, only it happened to go in. However, there is also a good shot he stays outside and practices shots like that. So, Mark, prove it.
• Detroit @ San Francisco (-7) Lets do some more math. Green Bay is better than Detroit. San Francisco is better than Green Bay. Detroit is on the road where they are going to be able to run the ball less than normal. This equates to San Fransisco, handily.
• Denver @ Atlanta (-3) I have no reasons for this. I'm just going to take the home team and pray Peyton has a set back.

Lets hope I'm better than last week. I sure as shit couldn't be any worse.