Sports

[Spurt]

@gardenman  @teganslaw 

Golic & Wingo was hilarious......For the last couple months the viewers have only been able to hear the show as they show still photos of the gang...... the show is being broadcast from Mike Golic Sr's basement at his home....FINALLY they got cameras hooked up so now everyone can see the guys.....  Well Mike has two pug dogs running around.....one slept in his son's lap during the show....  Well they brought a cake out to celebrate finally being able to show video (they always celebrate everything with food--LOL)....they put the cake on the coffee table.....and near the end of the show---the other pug dog went up to the cake stood on his hind legs and started eating it.....ROFL..... TOO FUNNY!!!!  

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Yeah, I think JJ might be bribing people to generate enthusiasm for the Cowboys. Losing Byron Jones, Heath, and Robert Quinn on defense isn't good. Quinn had 11.5 sacks last year. Jones was an All-pro corner and Heath was a good, solid safety. Add in losing Travis Frederick and Witten, two leaders on offense, and that's five top tier starters gone from an 8-8 team. As a general rule, losing five top tier starters hurts a team. Randall Cobb was a pretty valuable receiver for them also. He's the sixth starter they lost.

It's not like they had a lot of bad breaks go against them last year either. They weren't horribly injured. They just played at an 8-8 level. They replaced the guys they lost with "name" players, but those guys were at their best four or five years ago.

I have a rather strong suspicion that the Niners will drop out of the top ten in the FPI pretty quickly. Their front office was a little too open about the possibility of replacing Jimmy G. That kind of talk affects a team. Add in the Super Bowl hangover and a better NFC West, and they could miss the playoffs completely.

The Bucs at seven is pretty optimistic also. They'll be better with Brady, but seventh best in the league? Eh, I'm not so sure about that.

Teams I have no clue about are the Browns and Rams. The Browns have a ton of talent, but can they finally harness it? The Rams are a complete mystery to me. They built the team around Gurley and now he's gone. I don't think Goff is special, but they might need him to be special.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Yep, Jerrah must be using bribes or something to get people to buy in to this "Super Bowl Bound Team".....  I hope he hasn't booked reservations in Tampa....unless its to see another Golf Tournament.....    Maybe he and Dan Snyder can hook up..... 

[gardenman]

The folks at Bet Online have released the odds on Coach of the Year. In order, the likely winners are Bill Belichick, Bruce Arians, Mike McCarthy, Frank Reich, Andy Reid, Kevin Stefanski, Kliff Kingsbury, Sean McDermott, Kyle Shanahan, and Mike Vrabel. 

Poor old Doug Pederson didn't even make the top ten. Given the QB situation in New England, I'd be shocked if Belichick won it. Arians has a shot, but I'm not sure how effective Brady will be early on in a new system. Frank Reich could win it also. Andy would likely be my early favorite given the Chief's situation.

I don't get the Mike McCarthy love. The Packers clearly played better without him. He's not really a player's coach and is more of a disciplinarian. Some players respond well to that, but many don't. A guy like Sean Lee will like that aspect of his style, but many other players won't. The Cowboys wanted a coach who would instill "fear, accountability, and discipline" in the players according to Jerry Jones. Modern players don't typically respond so well to that style of coaching. Teams tend to respond better to the "I love you guys" style of coach these days. Leadership in the modern NFL is more about forming an attachment to your players and getting them to not want to let you down. The good coaches tend to instill an attitude of wanting to win for the team, coach, owner, fans, and not playing out of fear of being benched or cut. 

It'll be interesting to see how things play out in 2020. The good news from an Eagles perspective is the Eagles' underdog mentality keeps getting reinforced each time someone insists the Cowboys will be great and when they diss Doug Pederson. 

[teganslaw]

For some reason, the Eagles aren't given the credit they deserve. Even when they went to the Super Bowl, they were underdogs and not expected to win. That could be  in their favor, though, as it makes the team more determined. 

If the Colts make the playoffs, Frank Reich could be Coach of the Year. It all depends on the type of season they have. 

What about John Harbaugh? The Ravens were said to have a good draft, and expected to be leaders in their division. Harbaugh should be on the list instead of Mike McCarthy IMO. 

[Spurt]

@teganslaw  @gardenman 

Well Clowney turned down the Brown's big offer....and with his injury history....I mean come on "beggers cant be chosers".....  At one time it looked like the Eagles were a bit interested but they apparently didnt offer enough...supposedly the Ravens & Titans also made him an offer....

GARDENMAN----  I'm not a fan of McCarthy....I think his coaching and system failed Aaron Rodgers, Rodgers was left on his own to make things happen.....  So it will be interesting to see how he does with the Cowboys and the OC Moore......

My Redskins had a "player's coach" in Jay Gruden, but some of the players complained about how lax he was and I'm wondering if that contributed to how so many players underperformed and all the injuries.....  Now we have a disciplinarian who is all about "TEAMWORK" but I think thats what they need.....but your right, sometimes those coaches dont last long---especially with the mentality of players these days.....It worked for Chuck Noll and Bud Grant but too many divas and "me focused" players in todays game....

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

For some reason, the Eagles aren't given the credit they deserve. Even when they went to the Super Bowl, they were underdogs and not expected to win. That could be  in their favor, though, as it makes the team more determined. 

If the Colts make the playoffs, Frank Reich could be Coach of the Year. It all depends on the type of season they have. 

What about John Harbaugh? The Ravens were said to have a good draft, and expected to be leaders in their division. Harbaugh should be on the list instead of Mike McCarthy IMO. 

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@teganslaw  @gardenman 

I agree Harbaugh deserves to be on that list over McCarthy...it just shows the bias for the Cowboys...

@sunshine45 

What say you about Harbaugh???????????  Also what do you think of the FPI ratings with Ravens at #2 behind the Chiefs as picks for the Super Bowl??????

[Spurt]

@gardenman  @teganslaw 

Here's an interesting scenario......Former GM Mike Tannebaum thinks a good fit for Cam Newton would be the Steelers, if Cam would be willing to wait behind Big Ben who is 38 ......  and coming off of elbow surgery.....

Too Hilarious----  A Madden Video Game contest was held on May 16.....  and the winner. Raidel Brito,  had an interesting lineup---he chose Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders as his RB, and Chiefs DT Frank Clark .....but as his QB he chose none other than the Redskins, PUNTER, Tress Way....Yep Tress did double duty as both QB and Punter...who wouldve thought.... 

Way has been the punter for the Washington Redskins for the past six seasons. He led the NFL with 41 punts inside the 20-yard line with zero touchbacks in 2018, then took his game to another level last season, earning his first Pro Bowl appearance and second-team All-Pro honors. These accomplishments have solidified Way as one of the best punters in the league today.

Brito made sure to utilize Way at his natural position, routinely booting 50-plus yarders and pinning opponents deep in their own territory. But he also found another role for him.

"The reason I went with Tress Way is because in Madden, if you have a lefty quarterback, they hand off the ball with their right hand," Brito explained. "So if I run a halfback dive with a lefty quarterback, my running back is going to take the hand-off to the left. If I have a righty quarterback, my running back is going to take the hand-off to the right.

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

Here's an interesting scenario......Former GM Mike Tannebaum thinks a good fit for Cam Newton would be the Steelers, if Cam would be willing to wait behind Big Ben who is 38 ......  and coming off of elbow surgery.....

Too Hilarious----  A Madden Video Game contest was held on May 16.....  and the winner. Raidel Brito,  had an interesting lineup---he chose Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders as his RB, and Chiefs DT Frank Clark .....but as his QB he chose none other than the Redskins, PUNTER, Tress Way....Yep Tress did double duty as both QB and Punter...who wouldve thought.... 

Way has been the punter for the Washington Redskins for the past six seasons. He led the NFL with 41 punts inside the 20-yard line with zero touchbacks in 2018, then took his game to another level last season, earning his first Pro Bowl appearance and second-team All-Pro honors. These accomplishments have solidified Way as one of the best punters in the league today.

Brito made sure to utilize Way at his natural position, routinely booting 50-plus yarders and pinning opponents deep in their own territory. But he also found another role for him.

"The reason I went with Tress Way is because in Madden, if you have a lefty quarterback, they hand off the ball with their right hand," Brito explained. "So if I run a halfback dive with a lefty quarterback, my running back is going to take the hand-off to the left. If I have a righty quarterback, my running back is going to take the hand-off to the right.

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Cam to the Steelers makes a lot of sense. I think I mentioned that earlier also. He's another big, tough, strong armed QB like Roethlisberger. (Well, if his shoulder is healthy.) I suspect he'll just wait for a starting slot to open up rather than be a backup though.

[sunshine45]

@Spurt 

i do think the ravens will be a formidable team this year.

not surprised that the chiefs are at number one.

this is jacksons second full year as a quarterback. still growing to do and hopefully improving......and learning how to avoid "the choke" if we move into playoffs.

we did pick up some good players and we have some solid qb backup choices.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR FOOTBALL!

utmost respect and confidence for harbaugh and his coaching. so glad he is still with us.  definitely one of the best in the business right now!