Wellness

[brewhaha]

On 1/19/2014 gardenman said:

brewhaha. One of our local papers had another story today about how much the Browns love Manziel and would like to trade up to get him. I'm pretty sure that's a bluff at this time since they haven't had a chance to interview him or do any real evaluation of him. Of course, they also wanted RGIII and Manziel is the guy closest to him, so maybe they really do want him. It's good for the Rams no matter what. If the Browns are scaring teams further down who want Manziel then a bidding war could erupt over that Rams' spot. They could end up getting more for that spot than they got from the Redskins. My money is still on Manziel dropping a bit (maybe a lot) as the draft gets closer.

Jadeveon Clowney is working hard to rehab his image. He's vowing to do every drill at the combine and show people what he's capable of. He could still end up being the first overall pick if he makes a good impression. If he goes first then the Rams' pick gets more valuable as every quarterback would still be available

This early game has been a bit disappointing in terms of excitement. It's good that the Broncos are leading, but I'd like the game to be a tick closer. It's not the most exciting game I've ever seen. Game two should be a tad more intense.

I'm sure a lot of the rumors are smoke screens. We could still take Jake Matthews with the second pick. The Rams are also interested in a WR. Marqise Lee & Sammy Watkins are both expected to go early. I saw a mock draft where we would take Sammy with the thirteenth pick although I don't think he drops out of the top ten. Wouldn't it be great if we trade out of the second pick, package one of those picks with our thirteenth pick to move into the top ten and get both Matthews and Lee or Watkins? So many possibilities and so exciting.

[sueinsf]

On 1/20/2014 gardenman said:

Sherman's rant at the end of the game was pretty entertaining. Kudos to Erin Andrews for not whacking him with the microphone. It was a very professional job by her and a very unprofessional job by him.

Now we've got two weeks until the Super Bowl. Expect lots of hype and tons of reporters lining up to interview Richard Sherman. He's going to be very, very popular with the press leading up to this game. I strongly suggest the trainers make sure he's had his meds before each media session.

I understand there is passion/emotion involved but Sherman's remarks were shameful. I guess he hasn't heard of good sportsmanship and athletes being a role model. I sure hope we don't continue to see his over the top arrogance in the media, but I suspect you're right that they will be all over him and we probably will. Personally, I would have loved to have seen Erin Andrews whack him in the head with the microphone!!!

[Spurt]

The Sherman explosion was due to bad blood in the summer---

Both Sherman and Crabtree attended Larry Fitzgerald's charity event. Sherman went to shake Crabtree's hand, and Crabtree tried to start a fight, according to Sherman's older brother, Branton. "Im going to make a play and embarass him" Richard Sherman vowed that day.

Both most analyst think that this bad blood is due to the rivalry between the 49ers and Seahawks (including the rivalry between the two coaches)......and feel that there wont be anomosity between the Broncos/Seahawks......just more talk of strategy etc etc.....

[gardenman]

You kind of like to think Sherman might have calmed down a teeny bit since last summer after playing the Niners twice earlier in the year. Some players get themselves a little too amped up to play. It's gotten him lots of press anyway. No one knows who plays the other cornerback spot for the Seahawks, but even very casual fans now know Sherman.

I'm not sure how I feel about this new Pro Bowl format. I think the NFL might be better off just dropping the Pro Bowl completely. If you're going to do it then maybe have the pros play against the top college players coming out in the draft like they did many, many years ago. That would give personnel people a better chance to judge the college kids and the college kids a taste of what they'll find in the NFL. Maybe combining the Senior Bowl and Pro Bowl into a single event would make the most sense.

[Spurt]

On 1/21/2014 gardenman said:

You kind of like to think Sherman might have calmed down a teeny bit since last summer after playing the Niners twice earlier in the year. Some players get themselves a little too amped up to play. It's gotten him lots of press anyway. No one knows who plays the other cornerback spot for the Seahawks, but even very casual fans now know Sherman.

I'm not sure how I feel about this new Pro Bowl format. I think the NFL might be better off just dropping the Pro Bowl completely. If you're going to do it then maybe have the pros play against the top college players coming out in the draft like they did many, many years ago. That would give personnel people a better chance to judge the college kids and the college kids a taste of what they'll find in the NFL. Maybe combining the Senior Bowl and Pro Bowl into a single event would make the most sense.

GARDENMAN......NO! NO! NO!.....I remember the NFL vs the College All Star games back in the 70's....it was downright boring....crowds were dwindling....the NFL won 31 out of the 42 games....2 games ended in a tie.....I always thought it would be interesting if the NFL played the #1 college team intact...but maybe the nfl was afraid they might lose...

Heres the scoop---

http://www.yourememberthat.com/media/14404/NFL_Champs_Vs._College_All-Stars_1934-1976/

The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason football tilt played annually (except 1974) from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. (There was one exception: The 1935 game involved the 1934 runner-up Chicago Bears instead of the champion New York Giants.) The game originally was a benefit for Chicago-area charities. Except for the 1943 and 1944 games which were held at Northwestern University, the game was always played at Soldier Field in Chicago. The first game, played before a crowd of 79,432 on August 31, 1934, was a scoreless tie between the all-stars and the Chicago Bears. The following year, a game that included future president Gerald Ford, the Bears won, 5-0. The first all-star win was in 1937 for a squad that featured Sammy Baugh. In the 1940s the games were competitive affairs that attracted large crowds to Soldier Field. But as the talent level of pro football improved, the all-stars had diminishing success. The last all-star win came in 1963, when a team coached by legendary quarterback Otto Graham beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17. By the 1970s, crowds for the event were dwindling. In addition, NFL coaches were reluctant to part with their new draftees (who would miss part of training camp) for a meaningless exhibition in which the players might be injured. A players' strike forced the cancellation of the 1974 game. The last game took place in a torrential downpour on July 23, 1976. Despite featuring stars such as Chuck Muncie, Mike Pruitt, Lee Roy Selmon and Jackie Slater, the collegians were hopelessly outclassed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh was leading 24-0 late in the third quarter when play was suspended due to the awful weather conditions. The game was not restarted. Chicago Tribune Charities Inc., the sponsor of the game, elected not to bring it back for 1977. A program from the 1941 game is shown here. Overall, the NFL teams won 31 of the 42 games. The all-stars won nine. Two games ended in ties.

Personally I would prefer a SKILLS CHALLENGE---QBs thowing challenge....RBs running obstacle courses....weight lifting contests and the like....

[gardenman]

And the Browns seemingly never-ending head coach search continues. They're now going back to re-interview guys they've already interviewed. I'm beginning to wonder if they might not end up re-hiring Rob Chudzinski? Talk about an awkward press conference, "You know, when we fired Rob we thought there were better head coaches out there. We couldn't find one, so we hired him back."

You really get the impression that the Browns have no clue what they're doing. Before you fire a coach you should have a list of top prospects. Start with the guy at the top of your list and unless he implodes in the interview process, you offer him the job. If he does implode, move on to guy number two. They've interviewed pretty much everyone now (I'm not sure they aren't interviewing cheerleaders at this point) and they look a bit clueless going back to interview the prospects again. What did you forget to ask them the first time?

Personally, I think Rob Ryan might be a good option for them. He was DC in Cleveland before. He's got the chops to be a head coach. He's a blue collar guy who would go over well in Cleveland. I haven't heard his name mentioned for Cleveland, but he makes sense. Of course, since he makes sense they won't hire him.

[chessylady]

I heard an interview with a writer who interviewed Sherman for an article. He said Sherman is out to make a name for himself and that much of what he does is an act. His parents would not let him associate with gangs and he went to college at Stanford. His childhood idol was Muhammad Ali who was known to make outrageous statements which attracted attention. That being said, i still don't like his attitude. I too will be cheering for the Broncos. Full disclosure, I'm a 49er fan.

[DoneTryin]

On 1/21/2014 chessylady said: I heard an interview with a writer who interviewed Sherman for an article. He said Sherman is out to make a name for himself and that much of what he does is an act. His parents would not let him associate with gangs and he went to college at Stanford. His childhood idol was Muhammad Ali who was known to make outrageous statements which attracted attention. That being said, i still don't like his attitude. I too will be cheering for the Broncos. Full disclosure, I'm a 49er fan.

Interesting. The only problem is, he didn't quite get Ali's technique, which was not shouting, but rather an aggressive, poetic banter (I miss that). A stark contrast to Manning's mature, sometimes humorous remarks. Hopefully, Sherman will mellow with age & experience.

I hope Sherman can be a gracious loser on 2/2. Oh, and full disclosure, here too - Denverite & Broncos fan Omaha!

[tdog]

Having the Super Bowl in New York is just plain dumb, and so is having the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl!! They could get lucky with the weather but odds are that it will be cold, and maybe really nasty. As a fan I would not want to sit out for hours in bad weather, and what about the half time show if it rains or is snowing really hard - will the performers be dressed in down jackets?? What are you thinking, Roger Goddell?? Richard Sherman made an a** of himself on tv for all to see. I heard he was a trash talker, but I didn't know he acted like a sore winner, too!! If the guys want to trash talk each other, that's one thing, but putting it out over the air waves to humiliate another player is just wrong. I wish the players would have more class and respect for the game and each other and stop all the showing off antics. I am old school as far as behavior is concerned. I hope someone cleans his clock for him.

[gardenman]

And the Browns finally hired a coach! It's Mike Pettine the DC from the Buffalo Bills. It's an interesting choice. He could be a homerun (and had better be for the Browns' sake) but he's a somewhat risky pick for them. He's a blue collar type guy who's likely to be a fan favorite if he can eke out a few wins. Getting those wins will be a challenge though. The Bengals are pretty good, the Steelers are pretty good and the Ravens are pretty good. Getting wins against those teams will be a challenge. The Browns aren't really great at anything. He's got his work cut out for him.