Ineligible Man Downfield

As everybody knows, there’s extensive “research” done on the taboo that is the Madden Curse.  Yet again it has struck, knocking out one of the two people on the 2010 cover, Troy Polamalu.  Boy, did it strike fast this year too!  In the first game nonetheless.

However, that’s not why I’m here to talk about.  Obviously the Madden Curse is something to be aware of, especially if you are Larry Fitzgerald who is the second person in the tandem that is on the cover.  Instead, I’m here to reveal to you a possibly new curse that many have not taken notice, but I have with my keen eyes.  I’ll dub it the EAS Myoplex Curse.

Granted those folks at EAS probably do not intend for such an even to happen, but nonetheless some odd occurrences have been observed.  Please take a look of the data for yourself thus far:

1. Brady Quinn:  First spokesman I noticed on these commercials.  It is reported in rumorville that he was more interested in becoming a male model over playing quarterback.  I do not know if it is true, but the commercials seem to validate that conjecture.  Couple that to his latest failures in running the Cleveland Browns offense, this might be the case.  Or is it the Myoplex curse?
2. Matt Hasselbeck:  Overall, a talented quarterback who runs the Seattle Seahawk offense to perfection.  Recently, Matt went down with an injury to his ribs against the 49ers which knocked him out a couple games.  That hurt the team as they fell to 2-3, but they should rebound with Matt back (not at full strength however).  Normal football injury or the result of promoting Myoplex?
3. Larry Fitzgerald:  Currently, Larry is doing just fine.  He’s the new guy on board to the EAS advertising gig.  So it is either the curse has yet to affect him or all this is a sham.  Maybe he should take out some insurance, especially considering its a double whammy for him:  being EAS spokesman and gracing the Madden cover.

So far, we have two known incidents of decline in football “playability.”  More data is needed, but even if Larry has a drop-off, we can not ascertain the true reason for his theorized failings.  That is because he’s on the Madden cover too, confounding our results.  Unless there are other spokespersons for EAS we can gather data from, we shall never know the true nature of this purported curse.

Extra note:  This curse applies to only football spokespersons because the careers of Jen Perez and Chase Utley seem to be unaffected by their duties as spokespersons.

Its a great time to be a sports fanatic in LA.  I’m still hung over from celebrating the Laker victory and basketball season is just around the corner.  Just imagine?! The starting five could be the following:

Kobe, Artest, Odom, Gasol and Bynum

The only weak point might be Bynum, but with more experience and “practice” (a la Allen Iverson), we should be and are the favorite to raise another banner in 2010 in Staples Center.

On top of those good feelings, the Dodgers are experience a momentous revival in the postseason with Joe Torre at the helm.  Up 2-0 on the St. Louis Cardinals, the Blue Crew should be set up to meet in the NLCS.

As if that was not good enough news, the Angels of Anaheim (of also Los Angeles; all I can say is que?) are on off on the right foot in the postseason with a dominating performance against those hated Boston Red Sox.  Hopefully, this trend continues and we shall also be in the next round, the ALCS.

My hope is that the World Series this year will be one known as the Freeway Series.  Let’s make it happen guys! Go Dodgers and Angels!

Its definitely going well in these parts.  I’m rooting for my hometown teams, including the USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins and UCI Anteaters!  Go LA (and the OC)!

Being as we are, downstream and downfield (sometimes with an illegal man or two) from the action, we are behind a bit in the news.  However, that is not necessarily a disadvantage because our focus is on the analysis of news events and stories.  We get to absorb the whole story and make an educated comment.

And so we begin:

The Michael Vick Experience at the outset was touted as a revolutionary change at the quarterback position.  Not only could Vick pass, but he could run like a speedy running back when called upon, making it tough on the defense to keep track off.  All was well as long as the Atlanta Falcons won games and made the playoffs.  Times were good not only for the team, but for Vick himself, earning him millions of dollars in terms of his playing contract and endorsement deals.

Well you know what they say about money:  More money, more problems!  And boy did Vick conjure up some problems. It started with spats and verbal jabs at fans.  The team soon began to lose games they were expected to win as favorites.  Then it escalated to the infamous dogfighting ring he ran.  Amazingly, if that were his only problem, he’d be relatively okay however we soon found out that he blew all his money.  On top of that he lied to the commissioner Roger Godell about his crime, became suspended indefinitely byGodell, and for awhile we thought his career was over.

Surprise, surpise!

The Michael Vick experience is rebooted onto Version 2.0.  He did his time and now is “supposedly” reformed.  Godell gave him a second chance.  I do not know for sure if he is truly reformed (and we may never know), but he seems sincere about it.   I believe in giving people second chances based on that act alone (but that’s me).  If Tony Dungy, a highly respected coach says so then you got to give the guy the chance. It can’t hurt that Dungy is mentoring him either.

That doesn’t mean however that he will necessarily play quarterback or quarterback on the par that he was before.  Since he left, the league became introduced to the Wildcat offense (through the Miami Dolphins) and many believe that he will perform well in that type of scheme, but not as a full-time quarterback.  He claims that he wants to be known only as a QB and nothing else.  I might give him the chance, but for this year he is going to be a decoy.

Yes, you heard me say it, decoy!

Being away from the game for that long and wanting to play a such a critically skilled position requires a lot of training and in Vick’s case, “re-training.” Remember this guy just came out of jail and has lost a lot of football time, especially when you consider the ever increasing athletic ability of today’s players, even in a two-year time span.  He might be able to play next year as QB. At the very least his troubles of yesteryear are in the past (or so we hope).  He gets to go back to the job that many of us wouldn’t have been able to do if convicted of similar crimes . (The luxury of celebrity-hood).  I consider that lucky in itself  and he should cherish that moment this time around.

The road to redemption is not an easy one, but if one toils and works at it, the reward will be bountiful.   It may not be what is expected, but it is better than before:  A changed person working toward the good of society.  We see that today as he is advising kids to stay out of trouble.  To that I say bravo.

The new Michael Vick Experience ensues.  I wish him luck and much success.  There are those who may disagree with me, but to them I say, you can’t put him in the doghouse forever now can you?  That would be cruel treatment, even to a real dog.

This reminds me of a song that supports such a change from a fellow Atlanta native who is going through similar circumstances.  Boy is the world is full of coincidences or what?

Please do enjoy:

If you haven’t heard the news that came out of Atlanta yesterday, than you must be really living under a cave. Though baseball nowadays, America’s past pastime, is lacking firepower glamour and glitz in comparison to America’s new pastime, football (see NFL Hall of Fame Game rankings over regular season MLB game), there are still some decent people out there.

Prime example:  Bobby Cox.

He always gets the best out of players and is a model of consistency.

Evidence:  The Braves under his tutelage made the MLB playoffs consecutively 1991-2005 and won the 1995 World Series.

Though he only won one championship, his players loved playing for him.  He was a fixture out in Turner Field.  Well, that is until 2011 as he has  announced that he will be retiring after the 2010 season.  It is with great respect and honor that I announce this on this blog.  He’s a total class act and we need more people like him.  Persistence and good character still count for something in this world.

Unfortunately with how the politics and business of sports today, a Bobby Cox probably will not happen for awhile, just as there is only one Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy (oops did I get into the NFL again, my bad).  I hope he rides into the sunset enjoying those days outside the grind of managing.

Don’t get it mixed up though.  He’s still going to be in Atlanta as a consultant for the Braves making his presence felt.  Just not on the field.

Heck, he’s going to have an everlasting presence felt there!  Good riddance Bobby!

Courtesy of mcmilkd through Webshots.com

If Drew Brees was still the Charger quarterback, I wonder what might have been accomplished, especially with LT at his prime and Antonio Gates blowing up?  Ah might a Super Bowl or two been in our midst?  We can only speculate now.  I know the Chargers and A.J. Smith were concerned with taking a risk after Brees injured his shoulder at the end of 2005-2006 season, but its the type of risk, I’m calling it the Tom Brady risk, that makes a champion.  Now I will have to wallow in mystery and hope the rascal from NC state (who ain’t bad but no Drew Brees), Philip Rivers, and a gimpy LT can pull out even a chance at making the Super Bowl.  I’m aiming low and not even thinking about a trophy at this moment.

But I shall try to keep it positive.

With that said, it is not an understatement when I say the quarterback is the critical central figure of a football team and often this is the reason why teams win championships (unless you were the 2000-2001 Ravens who did it almost exclusively on defense and a right moment right time quarterback aka ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer).  Without a solid quarterback, your team’s season is going to be a long, excruciating painful one.  Though I hate to say it, Philip Rivers actually give me hope .  Too bad I can’t say the same to the Ragin’ Cajun Jake Delhomme.

Everybody has an opinion on where their favorite quarterbacks rank in comparison to others, but is that opinion based on any solid evidence?  Of course CBS Sportsline and ESPN rankings are right?  Yeah right! Not by a mile.  That’s why I’m here, to give you my view after two weeks of football, based on a ranking system decided by performance.  They may not agree with other rankings, but at the very least, its factually based.

My rankings are based on my fantasy football league’s stat performance on Yahoo Fantasy Football.   (I know, a bit corny but I’m not going to pay tons of money for stats when I can get decent ones through Yahoo).  Not to get too much into the technical information, but points are allocated based on yardage and TDs and adversely affected by interceptions, sacks and fumbles.  The total amount of points is a summation and the person with the most points is the best player.  By each rank, I will give a little blurb or explanation why they rank the way they rank (with my Quackster style of analysis).  I hope you will enjoy it as much as I like discussing them.

Now without further adieu, the rankings for quarterbacks:

1. Drew Brees – My oh my, who would’ve known?  Just kidding, this is obvious as Brees is launching dive bombs left and right like nobody’s business.  Lucky for me, I’m his fantasy handler and obviously he’s a must start every week.
2. Peyton Manning – The man is more cerebral then even some PhDs out there!  Did you see that winning drive where he pulled an audible out of thin air after taking stock of the Miami defense?  This is the stuff of legends.
3. Joe Flacco – Joe cool is moving up in this league.  The surprise for the Ravens this year is having an formidable offensive to go along with that stout defense headed by evergreen Ray Lewis.
4. Tony Romo – I know he’s a bit high considering his “fail” moment at JerryWorld’s grand opening.  Better shore up kid, or Jerry’s going to ship you out.  Don’t worry, he’ll do that to the Pillsbury Dough Boy Wade Phillips first.
5. Eli Manning – I know he dissed Chargers in the draft way back when, but you’ve got to hand it to him for his solid play, especially taking out JerryWorld and his large LED screen.  He’s my backup in fantasy.  Trades anyone?
6. Matt Ryan – He’s continuing to take flight and now that he’s developed a go to guy mentality with Tony Gonzalez and continues to throw those long bombs comfortably to Roddy White, the sky’s the limit.
7. Byron Leftwich – Really?  I have to follow where the data leads me and this is very unlikely.  All I can say is he’s managing the game and doing somewhat a decent job.  Too bad managing doesn’t always lead to wins.
8. Matt Schaub – Always under the radar, but he’s ready to take the next step into stardom with the help of Andre Johnson.  Only problem, we’ve been saying that these last couple years.  A little defense could help.
9. Philip Rivers – May the force be with you young Anakin.  Just make sure you don’t get all crazy darkside on me.  Hold yourself together long enough for a Super Bowl ride.  Please don’t pull a Ryan Leaf on me.
10. Trent Edwards – Underrated for sure, but the stats don’t lie.  He’s a top ten quarterback.  A smart guy that won’t turn the ball over.  Does going to Stanford have anything to do with that? Continue reading

You know what season it is?  Excuse me Santa, but the Fall Season is the most wonderful time of the year!  After a summer chocked full of NASCAR and MLB baseball (which can be tiresome with circles around the track or the engrossing amount of games, respectively), I’m sure happy football is back.

For those who are like me, average Joe’s, this also signals the season of fantasy football.  Sure, there is fantasy NHL, MLB, NBA, etc, but fantasy sports was essentially made for football.  Why?  It does not require too much attention like those other sports which play schedules that vary between 82-162 games.  The successes of one’s fantasy team (as well as its downfalls) are magnified by the 17 weeks of football.  It creates an excitement that sometimes rivals the actual football game itself.  Want proof?  Drew Brees did not have to throw 6 TDs last weekend and could have sat down for the game after 3 or 4 TDs, but for those owners (your truly) who were playing an opponent (like I did) who happened to have Adrian Peterson (and his monster 180 yards and 3 TDs) on their team, that was the equalizer as well as the icing on the cake that helps one (like myself) win the game.

So much is involved in fantasy football nowadays since its inception.  They now have fantasy football insurance.  If your player such as Tom Brady like last year gets knocked out of the season, you get to recoup your investment.  Obviously for a person like me who does not spend more than a friendly $20 wager with buddies, this insurance deal is wack.  However there are fantasy leagues now that have $100,000 buy-ins.  That’s ludicrous!  I suppose for an investment like that, insurance is a must.  Let’s just hope fantasy owners don’t get out of hand with the actual players themselves such as the unfortunate event of vandalism at Buffalo Bills CB Leodis McKelvin’s property yesterday.

Its an alternate, virtual reality for fantasy owners.  Fantasy football is a chance to escape the perceived boredom at the office (luckily I love what I do which is what I’m doing right now, writing).  Companies are definitely locking on to this trend and we have not only the regular sports analysis such as ESPN and CBSSportsline, but the companies are hiring fantasy football analyst or gurus.  One can make a living predicting and partaking in the analysis of an imaginary concoction.  That is only part of the story too. You  can also  buy trophies to display like real athletic trophies as a testament to your imaginary managerial prowess where in real life you could just be a paper pusher.

All I can say is what will they think of next?  If the following movies are any indication, we might be in not for only a change in sport but life as it is.  Please do enjoy:

I am quite lucky to see what transpired a couple nights ago when Novak Djokovic made quick work of Radek Stephanek.  He acknowledged the crowd for their support and soon after called out John McEnroe, asking to him to play some balls with him.  McEnroe soon agreed and as he was making his way down from the press box, Djokovic did an impersonation of McEnroe.

The importance of all of this  is that Djokovic and McEnroe are giving the fans a “show” in appreciation of their devotion to tennis.  Truly, it is the fans that help these players make the millions of dollars and without them in the stands, they would not be where they are today.  Both Djokovic and the oldtimer, “Johnny Mac” recognize this.  If we only had more professional athletes follow in their footsteps, the world of sports might be just a tad bit better don’t you think?

Without futher adieu, I present you the events that unraveled Monday night, September 7th, 2009:

Ever since the Miami Dolphins ran the “wildcat offense,” all the rage is about what version of the wildcat offense does your football team play.  So off the top of my head, I can count several teams including the Dolphins who have used it:  Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens and a whole host of other teams.  The total stands at about 16 or basically half of the teams of the NFL.  The Philadelphia Eagles are the latest to use this formation with the addition of the versatile and controversial Michael Vick.  Some teams should use it such as the Chargers with the more than capable LT as the hybrid quarterback/running back.

Why such interest?

I think the answer is quite simple.  Its the same reason gadget plays (made famous by Ken Whisenhunt) work.  The answer is leverage.  If the defense does not know what the offense is going to do, the advantage defaults automatically to the offense which helps them score more points.  Unlike gadget plays which are used once or twice in a game, teams are using the wildcat more regularly.

Isn’t the wildcat a college play?

Sure, the wildcat is used more often in college and high school, because not every school has a capable quarterback that can throw the long ball. (Some NFL teams such as the 49ers or Lions should look into this).  With that said, the obvious question would be since this offense has been around for so long, wouldn’t coaches have a defensive scheme for it?  Yes and no.  The college game is different from the pros where defensive coordinators already have it on the books.  It was inconceivable that a college play such as the wildcat would have succeeded in the NFL that it was assumed unnecessary for defenses to plan for it.  However we know now how that turned out.  Some assumptions need to be tested and this passed with flying colors.

Significance of the wildcat

So what is the importance of this discussion anyhow?  The NFL has relied on the same number of plays over the years and the wildcat represents possibly a new revolution in scheming in the NFL.  New plays and formations may change the game, making it more exciting.  (Aside:  Dang, Roger Godell should hire me for my type of analysis!).  What if we line up with two quarterbacks or what if we only line up with 3 running backs?  Wouldn’t that be intersting?

This begs the following question:

Can the spread offense work in the NFL?

The Lakers have added a major piece signing Ron Artest to a 3 year contract for around 33 million.  Though it was at the cost of Trevor Ariza to the Rockets, a young, up and coming player, Ron Artest is an upgrade.  If you don’t agree, you should check out Artest’s stats and compare them with Ariza’s.

Artest brings proven defensive skill, rebounding and added offense.  Some claim that he’s Kobe’s Rodman as Dennis was to Jordan.  Like Rodman, in addition to his basketall skills, he brings other intangebles.  If you don’t know what I mean, you should check out several videos below:

Continue reading

Summer has begun and you know what that means right?  All the major sports (basketball, football) are on hiatus.  Even hockey playoffs are done.  It leaves us with the great American pastime, baseball.  Personally, I enjoy parts of baseball, but dang, 162 games not including playoffs in 7 month span is ridiculous.  Maybe that’s what summer in SoCal is all about:  the beach, surfing, bbqing and chilling out.  If you got nothing to do over there (aka rest of the nation), come by Cali!  (My little plug to help the local economy).

On a different note, congratulations to US soccer for shocking the world and almost winning a international competition.  Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Landon Donovan should be a force the rest of the way.

Now to enjoy some tea at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club where Roger Federer can make history by breaking Pete Sampras’s record.  Also, the William sisters never go away which makes them interesting.

Before I go, here’s a little video treat for those long summer nights: