Pearl Trade

Come to the light side, Jet. I'll make you an honorary Texans fan.

Who's watching the Monday night game? Texans vs Colts, game two of the series. Texans destroyed the Colts in week one, Arian Foster rushed for over 200 yards. Colts are missing some huge players, and they haven't been swept in a division series in something like ten years. It's gonna be an exciting game with Cushing moved to middle linebacker, rushing straight up the middle into Manning's face.

Texans 34 vs Colts 27

__________________

Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.
Give me convenience or give me death!

Redlemon

Favre, congratulations on another consecutive start. The Patriots appreciate the win more.

My prediction: Favre's true final game of his career will be December 12th, versus the New York Giants. They've legally injured five other quarterbacks this year.

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Tully Mars

I kind of hope you're right but think it'll likely be closer and the Texans will lose.

But I thought GB would lose yesterday so what do I know. Well, I know I'm happy Dallas is a spectacular failure thus far.

__________________
I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

Xazy

And Randy Moss is a free man, he got cut by Vikings after giving up on a play yesterday.

__________________
Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.

Pearl Trade

The play he gave up on was the one where he got the pass interference call and he watched the ball land 2 feet away from him. He could have scored and then they'd decline the penalty. I saw that play and I was like "why didn't he catch the ball! It was right there!" even though I'm a Pats fan. I just hate to see players mail it in when they're on the field. None of the broadcasters said anything about Moss giving up on that play either, they were too busy giving Moss the reach-around by drawing the penalty.

Moss is old and washed up. He's a shit receiver compared to what he should be. He gives up on every team he's ever played for and doesn't go hard when he puts the helmet on. All he can do now is run the fly pattern straight up the field, he can't run any other route. GARBAGE.

__________________

Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.
Give me convenience or give me death!

Redlemon

Has anyone from the Vikings actually stated a reason for dumping Moss on his ass, or is it just conjecture at this point? I haven't been able to find anything.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Jetée

malcontent

I'm not a usual for being succinct, but the above is the answer.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Wes Mantooth

My god I just can't get away from Randy Moss, he played for the Pats when I lived up in Maine and somehow followed me to Tennessee...what are the odds? He was pretty fun to watch though.

Anyway hopefully he'll be useful, with Britt going down and CJ struggling a bit it might be just what the offense needs...and hopefully that's how it turns out.

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Jetée

I need to start preparing my "rookies of the year" feature (thinking about a week 10 opener is ideal) for the most talented and essential key rookies for nearly all teams, on both sides of the ball.

Wes, do you have any nominations for Titans players?
(I believe Javon Ringer is a rookie, but other than being C. Johnson's backup, he hasn't played much of a role. Although, at the beginning of the season, the Titans were so impressed, I guess, with CJ, and Ringer, I suppose as well, that those were the only two RBs that were kept on the 53-man roster.)

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Wes Mantooth

Yeah Ringer is pretty good, but I think he played last year if I remember right so I'm not sure he counts as a rookie, if he does I'd say he'd probably be my top pick. Otherwise I'm kind of drawing a blank right now over which rookie is really standing out above all others nobody has REALLY blown me away yet.

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Pearl Trade

Sam Bradford as ROY? He's been playing decent. Haven't been following the rookies this year like I usually do.

No Texans nominations here, Jet. None of our rooks are any good. Our number one pick cornerback gets burned every time the opposing QB throws it at him. Saying his name is a sin, at this point in the season.

__________________

Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.
Give me convenience or give me death!

Jetée

Is anyone else here an NFL geek like me? (not just a home-team investor.) Because I need some help - does anyone know of a servicable, or an actually good way of measuring the worth of a team's offensive line (and more specifically, the value of an individual guard or tackle)?

I don't usually vote for the Pro-Bowl, nor do I ever watch it, but thinking about desrving names to put into an O-line's ballot, is really really difficult, unless you watch hundreds upon hundreds of hours of game film over weeks to compare. At this point, all I think I know is that Michael Oher is good, and so is probably Trent Williams, and then maybe one or two ( or all) of the Indianapolis O-line is good. Defensive lines are so much easier to evaluate, as there are actually tracking stats worth monitoring there (tackles, forced fumbles, sacks, QB pressures, stuffs, Running YPC Average, etc.).

There's too many unwritten variables for me to process and compute well on the offensive line, however: pass-blocking, run-blocking, penalties taken, costly-miscues, opening running lanes, max protection, QB pressures and sacks, and so on. (if there's any facet of football where the 'team mentality' goes more into effect, I believe it is found within how a team's O-line works together.)

I know that FootballOutsiders.com probably has a value-based scale on the exact thing I'm asking, but I'm just looking for a simple "eye-test" here. Anyone have a cheatsheet?

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Pearl Trade

Look at the team's rushing yards per game and the amount of sacks on the QB. That covers the two facets of the offense, rushing and passing. Like you said, other than watching a ton of game film, there's not a whole lot of hard stats for the O-line (even though it's the most important part of any team). I can't help you individually for each player, again, no stats for the posisition. Start out looking at the best teams (or best offenses) in the NFL and check out how many sacks they give up or their rushing yards per game. The best teams will all have a high power running game and a low sack count, while you'll see a steady decrease as you move down towards a team like the Buffalo Bills.

__________________

Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.
Give me convenience or give me death!

Tully Mars

I don't know I see some progress, I think there's hope yet. The Texans are 4-3 and the rest of their schedule isn't all wine and roses but I'd think they could beat JAC and match up pretty well against most of the other teams left.

I still think they could see post season play this year, likely lose their only play-off game but possibly do even better next year.

In the NFL you just never know.

Still would have loved to see them play in Dallas for the Superbowl this year. Oh well, at least Dallas is going down in flames nicely.

__________________
I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

Jetée

I really like that the perennial losers of the past 2-8 years (the Chiefs, the Lions, the Rams, and the Raiders) seem to be "surprising" everyone in how well they are playing at this point in the season.

Not just better offensively, but in the case of the Rams and the Chiefs, their defenses have vastly improved as well (while the Raiders and Lions defense still give up a lot of points, I do think both team there are in the top 5 of the league when it comes to sacks, as well as eye-opening special-teams play).

I wouldn't call the Seahawks or Browns markedly better yet, but I do see the upgrades insceme, play-calling, and overall, the "feel" of a team in a better position than they were last year (more on the defensive side of the ball for these two, but it's an improvement, no less).



Plus, I'm just as surprised as anyone at how well the Buccaneers are playing right now, and it's being done with middle-of-the-pack play, and just a drive to win (and a cushy opening slate of games). I knew they weren't going ot be one of the dreg teams this season, because for the better part of the last decade, they were consistently a winning ball club (and only last year's record, as well as the year before where they had a 1-game lead in the division with a month to play, and let both Carolina AND Atlanta bypass them, and they ended up missing the playoffs at 9-7 due to the tiebreaker against Atlanta).



Finally, remember that preseason prediction I made in this very thread, what about the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions? It looks like I made a (semi-)good call on both. I stated that Detroit would be much improved on offense, (and they needed to be, what with their still in-progess shamble of a defense) and they are only the sixth best team in the NFL in average total points per game (at 26.1, right behind the Chargers and ahead of the Giants, Eagles and Texans) ; additionally, Detroit has being scrappy enough to be in a position to win in nearly every single game they've played thus far up until very late in the fourth quarter. This is a team, more than any other I can name at the moment, that is tailor-made to be involved in "shoot-outs" on a weekly basis (potent offense, plus lousy defense -- though I do think the Bills might be the second team in such an argument to come to mind, along with the Texans and Cowboys).

About the 'Skins defense prediction (a return to top-10 status) I made, however; I don't know what Jim Haslett thinks he is doing, or where the "identifiable" problem seems to be, exactly, but this team is wholly underperforming. Nearly every week (Washington will have already been five nationally-broadcast games this season, when you also factor in the Week 10 Phi@Was Monday Night re-match) I see good play after tremendous tackle, interception-opportunity made, yet still, like always, this is a "bend-but-don't-break" defense. In half the games they'e played thus far, Washington has limited their opponents to 14 pts or less, which is great, (and also ties Pitt. and the NYJ defense for most in the season) yet they've also allowed Indy and Houston to basically dial up their respective offenses at will against this defense, due to uncapitalized opportunities (mainly, interceptions that are right there for the taking). And then there goes the mentioning of losing to lowly teams like the Rams and Lions (both teams scored 30+ against the 'Skins, and both teams, in the past 3 seasons, have a combined 4-2 record against Was.). It's a very Jeykll-and-Hyde-type season for this D -- really no other way to put it. I see LaRon Landry as an All-Pro safety this year, DeAngelo Hall has a very good chance at making another Pro-Bowl, London Fletcher is always a consistent tackling machine, and I think he should be making his second consecutive tropical trip; additionally, CB Carlos Rogers might be able to a claim for a Pro-Bowl spot if he'd only learn to catch the errant/lob ball interceptions that are thrown to him, and it goes without saying that LB Brian Orakpo is among one of this defense's most valuable cogs (he is tied for third in the league with seven sacks, right behind Cowboys' LB DeMarcus Ware). There's just something missing in the play-calling or coverage or something else that has this team playing so out of sync, when it has at the very least five potential Pro-Bowlers lining up each week, yet it is still giving up the second-most yards per game (nearly 400 ypg! mostly via the pass; only Houston gives up more) in the NFL.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Eddie38

What happened to our Fantasy Football thread?

ZombieSquirrel

I hate the Steelers.

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Attack ZombieSquirrels

Jetée

This is a discussion thread. Is there a particular reason you hate the Steelers (in that every player on their roster is a criminal offender, in your mind?) or are you just stating an obviously-cliched rivalry phrase because you are a Bengals fan?


(I dislike the Steeers, too, but more because they should have lost their most recent SB title, yet the officiating basically handed them an ill-gotten win ; and two, that last MNF game cost me two sure wins by less than a margin of five points, thus bringing down my overall win percentage.)

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Jetée

"Cool story, bro": Minnesota Vikings DE Jared Allen could salvage season

excerpt:
+ bonus
[ESPN.]

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Tully Mars

Wow not turning out to be my week. I really was hoping Houston would prevail, heart breaker. Seattle and San Fran are both getting their asses handed to them. plus Dallas won, twice now, fuck.

I need several drinks. Least GB won.

__________________
I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo

Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

Jetée

The graphic below was posted on Reddit Tuesday morning by the user danchan22 and it has since become viral.
It shows a circular progression of NFL parity based on head-to-head wins and losses.


Here's how to read it: Viewing it clockwise, the team that comes first beat the team next to them
who, in turn, beat the team next to them. It's not as confusing as it sounds. Look at the Steelers
logo at the top. The Steelers beat the Falcons 15-9. The Falcons beat the Bucs 27-21. The Bucs
beat the Browns 17-14. And so on and so forth.


[shutdowncorner.]

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Redlemon

^ awesome.

I wonder if such a image could be created from any year (that didn't have a 16-0 or 0-16 team), or if this year is special.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Jetée

I'm quite sure it could feasibly be done 3 or 4 times in the past decade (the only time we had an undefeated and a winless regular season team in that span was in the same year, 2008); we could work with the most recent year, being that of last season. You'd need to sart with the St. Louis Rams, (1-15 record) and see who they beat, and then upwards on onwards through the league based on winning record, crossing off and checking possible combinations, until you get stuck. Afterwards, do you then go onto the circular logic of a win-lose graph, as previously seen above.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

hunnychile

WoW!....the Browns just beat the Panthers!

Gigantic helium-filled pig balloons are flying with iceburgs in tow and dropping 'em smack dap into the middle of Hell!

Plus the Steelers just won, too. This is a banner day in NE Ohio. Yeowzaaa!

__________________
"I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

Jetée

This is no longer 2008 - the Browns are now an adequate team (as opposed to a perennial disappointment / embarassment for 75% of the past decade) in the NFL, and the Panthers are now the "banner" team to lay claim that coveted #1 pick come next year's NFL Draft (for whatever that may be worth).

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

hunnychile

Us Browns fans will gladly take "Adequate"....it sure beats the "Mistake by the Lake"!

__________________
"I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

Jetée

For those that might like the feature, I'm currently going to be taking the next three days (off/on) to compile this season's listing of the standout NFL rookie class, as portrayed in order of impact, circumtance, production, and future outlook.

If any one at all would like to chip in a voice and nominate players from their respective teams, I'm wholly receptive to it (though I probably have already them in mind).

Thank you for your patience.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Redlemon

Breaking news: Brett Favre sabotages roof of Metrodome in attempt to extend his consecutive starts record.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Jetée

I've finally finished. I'll post the listing tomorrow night around halftime, or whenever I get around to touching down and finding a port.

On another note, this was the worst weekend for me as a fan of the NFL. Horrendous weather conditions, atrocious football teams squaring off against the quality, and too many bone-headed miscues to count.

Well, at least three of my teams won today, even if only one of them played what can be deemed 'winning adequately'. I have to go and re-shuffle some pieces.

I'll leave you with a thought: what has surprised you this season? This can be in terms of anything, like coaching, a particular week's win, a season-up-until-this-point that looks promising for (state it here) team, yet you would have never have guess it. Individual player news is okay as well, so long as we can get a little dialogue going.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Xazy

I hope sal alosi is fired for what he did yesterday, should have been an instant resignation / firing in my book.

__________________
Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.

The_Jazz

Why the hell didn't he immediately resign after the game? How can Ryan not find out what happened (albeit after the press conference since that's essentially where he found out) then pull the guy aside and say "I can either fire you or you can do the right thing and resign."

Oh, and the Bears are who I thought they were.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Redlemon

Totally agreed, Jazz. There's no WAY we should be 12 hours after the episode and he's still an employee. It looks like the Jets are waiting to see what the NFL says before they do anything, which is a classless approach.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Redlemon

Just to continue on the Sal Alosi situation. The minimum acceptable response that I can imagine would have been for the Jets to announce by 10 am this morning that they were suspending Alosi while they considered what their final punishment would be. Obviously, that hasn't happened.

I'm waiting to see what they will do, but I don't imagine that I'll be impressed.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

The_Jazz

What minimal faith I had in the Jets organization being "classy" has now been completely destroyed. My opinion of them took a nose-dive when they completely mishandled Pennington. After this, they may have replaced the Raiders as the team I hate most. And by that, I mean that I immediately assume that any player on the team or anyone associated with the franchise is a bad human being.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Jetée

I totally disagree with you here. You are not in any part a member of the NFL coaches association, (I'm assuming) or a member of the New York Jets organization. When you implicate and state your broadly-generalized "WE", (-should be 12 hours after...) it comes across that you are only speaking as the general audience of being an NFL fan and/or casual watcher.

Sure, what that assistant did was funny, and at the same time cheap and/or wrong. You can even argue that it was egregious, and a serious issue to which could be cause for termination, but in now way should you (or I, or "WE", as fans) be the sole judge and determinators to what happens to him as a ramification of his actions, and whether or not he is still employed by the NFL.

You have no right to determine his fate by your own moral clause of what you happened to catch on television and/or subsequent highlight (lowlight) reels.

What no one else is willing to take issue with is that the Dolphins speal-teamer in question (Cb Nolan Carroll) was already WAY outside the bounds of play when he was streaking. He was knee deep in sideline white chalk, and was just a step or two from taking a seat on the Jets bench. Now, I'm not defending this Sal guy, for what he did was just a very fine step short of deliberate interference, and he should at the very least be fined for his contemptible actions (and my guess is he will be handed a end-of-year suspension from the NFL board, and regarding his fate with the Jets, it's a 60/40 split in my mind that he will be fired within a two-week period).


I just don't see the blatant outrage and undue entitlement that a few folks like yoursleves have to pass down instant Roman Emperor judgment ('thumbs down'). I can see having an opinion on the matter, and if you think this is the most important talking point from the weekend, so be it. That's your right to free thought. But I don't understand whatsoever what role any of us have as fans (or a "rival" team fan) have to castigate him any further than what he already (likely) has coming to him. His life, role, and particular one-noteworthy actions probably never affected you before yesterday, nor will ever again. I just can't see why others won't let it go (I'm speaking very-broad here, and while I'm encompassing a couple few replies above here, it's more an essay on what other anonymous voices are crying out about, and on mainstream {ESPN} media).


Have some more fun hate beating down on the horse, if you so choose, I guess.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Jetée

The NFL's Exceptional Rookie Class: 2010 ... (Just based on my observations and research)


AFC

East
New York Jets - no notable instances
Miami Dolphins - OFF. no notable instances ; DEF. Koa Misi, LB (#) ; ST Nolan Carroll, KR/CB (#)
Buffalo Bills - OFF. David Nelson, WR (##) ; ST/OFF. C.J. Spiller, KR/RB (##) ; DEF. no notable instances
New England Patriots - OFF. Rob Gronkowski, TE ; OFF. Aaron Hernandez, TE ; DEF. Devin McCourty, CB ; DEF. Brandon Spikes, LB ; ST/OFF. Brandon Tate, KR/WR

West
Denver Broncos - OFF. J.D. Walton, C ; DEF. Perrish Cox, CB ; OFF./ST Demaryius Thomas, WR/KR (##) ; OFF. Zane Beadles, OT (#)
Kansas City Chiefs - OFF. Tony Moeaki, TE ; DEF. Eric Berry, S ; DEF./ST Javier Arenas, CB/KR (#) ; ST/OFF. Dexter McCluster, KR/RB/WR (##) ; OFF. Jon Asamoah, OG (#)
Oakland Raiders - OFF./ST Jacoby Ford, KR/WR (#) ; DEF. Rolando McClain, LB ; DEF. Lamarr Houston, DE ; OFF. Jared Veldheer, OT
San Diego Chargers - OFF. Ryan Mathews (##) ; DEF. no notable instances

North
Baltimore Ravens - no notable instances
Cincinnati Bengals - OFF. Jermaine Gresham, TE ; OFF. Jordan Shipley, WR ; DEF. Carlos Dunlap, DE (##)
Cleveland Browns - OFF. Colt McCoy, QB ; DEF. T.J. Ward, S ; DEF. Joe Haden, CB
Pittsburgh Steelers - OFF. Maurkice Pouncey, C ; ST/OFF. Emmanuel Sanders, KR/WR ; DEF. no notable instances

South
Houston Texans - OFF. Arian Foster, RB (*) [the only second-year NFLer. He joined the Texans starting roster after the mid-point of last season, so in my opinion, he still has less than 1 year of NFL experience]
Indianapolis Colts - OFF. Blair White, WR (##) ; DEF. Pat Angerer, LB
Tennessee Titans - DEF. Alterraun Verner, CB ; ST Marc Mariani, KR/WR
Jacksonville Jaguars - OFF. no notable instances ; DEF. Tyson Alualu, DT ; ST Deji Karim, KR/RB

NFC

East
Washington Redskins - OFF. Anthony Armstrong, WR (#) ; OFF. Trent Williams, OT ; ST/OFF. Brandon Banks, KR/WR ; OFF. Keiland Williams, RB (##)
New York Giants - DEF. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE ; ST Matt Dodge P
Philadelphia Eagles - OFF. no notable instances ; DEF. Nate Allen, S
Dallas Cowboys - OFF./ST Dez Bryant, WR/KR ; DEF./ST Bryan McCann, CB/KR ; ST/DEF. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, DB

West
Arizona Cardinals - OFF. no notable instances ; DEF. Daryl Washington, LB (#)
San Francisco 49ers - OFF. Anthony Davis, OT ; OFF. Mike Iupati, OT (#) ; DEF. Taylor Mays, S (#)
St. Louis Rams - OFF. Sam Bradford, QB ; OFF. Rodger Saffold, OT ; OFF. Michael Hoomanawanui, TE (#) ; DEF. no notable instances
Seattle Seahawks - OFF. no notable instances ; DEF. Earl Thomas, S

North
Minnesota Vikings - no notable instances
Detriot Lions - OFF. Jahvid Best, RB (#) ; DEF. Ndamukong Suh, DT ; DEF. Amari Spievey, S
Green Bay Packers - OFF. Bryan Bulaga, OT (#) ; DEF. Morgan Burnett, S (##)
Chicago Bears - OFF. J’Marcus Webb, OT (#) ; no notable instances

South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - OFF. Mike Williams, WR ; DEF. Cody Grimm, S ; DEF. Gerald McCoy, DT (#) ; OFF. LeGarrette Blount, RB (*) ; OFF. Arrelious Benn, WR (#)
Carolina Panthers - OFF. Jimmy Clausen, QB (##) ; OFF. David Gettis, WR (##) ; DEF. Greg Hardy, DE (#)
Atlanta Falcons - OFF. no notable instances ; DEF. Corey Peters, DT ; DEF. Sean Weatherspoon, LB
New Orleans Saints - OFF. Christopher Ivory, RB (*) ; OFF. Jimmy Graham, TE (#) ; DEF. Patrick Robinson, CB (#)

-- (to note: I have tried to list this year's rookie crop in order of impact in their respective divisions, by level of production on the field, and the importance to which their individual role factors into the team as a playmaker.
A subjective listing - feel free to add any commentary.)

- - - - -

additional(s):
(*) UDFA (undrafted free agent) Rookie Acquisition AND/OR [half-]second-year player.
(#) unespecially notables, either due to: sporadic team production, sub-par starter's performance (i.e., not very good, save for one or two instances all season) and/or lingering injuries. Two [##] means so long as the rookie started maybe two games, and an okay outing in one of them, they qualify. Basically, they're The Replacements.

Note: I tried to figure at least one offensive and defensive player on each team, yet some are just shown with a caveat (they may have had 1 average game and 1 great, promising day, but have been inconsistent in all others). With some teams (like the NE Patriots) I decided to showcase only the 5most prominent rookie contributors. That team is DEEP with young talent. All teams are capped at a maximum of five bright rookies to watch for, but not all teams met the minimum requirements of two (1 OFF., 1 DEF.).


-- The above listing was aided by the following resources: 1, 2, & 3.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

The_Jazz

You've got the right to your opinion just like I've got the right to mine. You're correct that he never entered into my sphere of recognition until yesterday, but I don't see how that's in any way relevant. The only reason he did was because he did something that's so outside the recognized rules of conduct both on and off the field that, in my mind, he forfeited his right to his job immediately. He interferred with and attempted to hurt a player from an opposing team. There is no room for that in the game, especially from a coach/staff member. I can't draw a line between what actually happened and taking a folding chair to the back of his head.

As far as saying that there was no deliberate interferrence, well, Sal Alosi disagrees with you since he's already admitted as much.

As for the rest of what you posted blathering about "undue outrage" and Roman emporers, I'm not going to apologize for stating my opinion. I don't care if you agree with me or not, but telling me that I don't get to have one make you look arrogant. You don't own this thread and you don't get to tell folks what they can think.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Xazy

Sal Alosi did was almost criminal in my mind, he was not a player he was not expecting to be hit by a coach or staff, and it could have severely injured a person. Not even an opposing player, since Sal Alosi is not a player. He physically assaulted and injured a person.

He does not belong on the field in any stadium ever again in my mind, and is lucky he is not talking to the police. Not that I think the NFL would ever allow the police to get involved.

__________________
Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.

Redlemon

"Funny"? Can you possibly be serious in that opinion?
Of course I have no say in his punishment. Note that I DIDN'T say "fire the bastard". I said that I believed that the Jets organization should have made some serious moves on its own (i.e., not waiting for the NFL as a whole to make a decision) to show that they care about the integrity of the game. I still believe that they should not have waited for someone else to punish him before saying anything.

There are laws/rules, and then there are honorable and dishonorable practices. I believe that Alosi broke a rule, and that the Jets organization did not show honor in their handling of the situation.

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Jetée

I'm not sure what you are getting all riled up about, Jazz, as in no way did anything I write have the inference that your opinion is wrong, and/or unworthy.

And what arrogance am I displayng here? I argued both sides of what the issue was, yet I still believe (as much as it is my right to offer stated opinion here as well) that not a one of us has the authority and/or right connections to decide, based upon what we saw, of whether or not this assistant gets fired, fined, put in jail, and what have you. If it's solely because I stated it was "funny", you can't really believe I'd recant that.

The assistant didn't walk towards the player in any manner, he didn't stick his leg out so blatantly as you'd regularly in Monty Python skits, (45-degree full-leg extension, heel-to-ground) and he was surrounded by other assistants who were just as far out as he was. now, they didn't subtly lean forward and extend their knees as a punt-coverage player was streaking towards them, but again, there was no reason for Carroll to be that far out of bounds. Not that I have to do so, but yeah, Alosi's actions this past weekend were definite grounds for dismissal, and shows in just an infintesimal degree what sort of character of person he could really be.

And I didn't quite state it the way you made it out, Jazz. Of course what Alosi did was interference, but when I added the caveat of "blatant", he didn't run straight at any one Dolphin player and truck him, nor did he ever step foot onto the game field and interrupt process. Additionally, did I even refer to you or call you out on something to get you this upset? I'm talking in generalities here of how most people initially reacted to this, both here, on blogs, messageboards, televsion, and on ESPN; and I don't think I even quoted one word of what you stated above. Like I assumed above, the assistant was both suspended by the Jets organization for he rest of the reason, and then the NFL board ruled a few hours later the same thing (including the playoffs). He's still an employee of the NFL, but it stand to reason he's on very thin ice for a while now (possibly blackballed for the rest of his tenure in the NFL, however long he may wish it to be, for what occurred).

I actually rather stand up for, and call out non-stories, and I haven't watched any television since the weekend (ther than the Monday Night game on my phone) because I knew the media firestorm would only be talking about Favre's consecutive start-streak ending, with just a little bit of this Alosi's verdict sprinkled in to spark controversial thoughts. Is this really the only important thing that happened this past week? I'm not trying to quell the discussion you guys are trying to have about this, but how many ways can you dissect it? And this is the only noteworthy piece of NFL news to happen in the past three weeks - really? (judging by the lack of other responses towards teams, players, coaches, and playoff implications.)


Maybe I'm just a different breed of fan. I like discussing with people, but not when you get into the hypotheticals and suppositions of what fine or punishment a dirty player or cheating coach may get. That's gossip and rumours. I reserve my participation for the actual game played on the field. I'm sorry if offended you by stating it just so. I'll re-enter this topic when we actually make just a bit of progress back to what occurred when the time is actually ticking down on the game clock. This isn't arrogance. I'm responding am I not? Trying to put forth absurd hypotheticals (my words) just as much as the next, asking questions, and trying to elicit some sort of real opinion. But... yes, I'd much rather it be pertaining to game action and consequences thereof, if only so I can join in on the participation (selfish me) and allow a healthy exchange of ideas.

This news, I agree, was pertinent, but the guy got what was deserving, and I'll re-iterate, it just doesn't make sense to someone like me to invest too much of my time hashing out what happened, or the reasons (excuses) he might have given for what he had done - because in the end, I'll just make myself (and possibly others) upset in trying to play judge, jury and executioner.

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi