Remember Jon Ritchie? He was a premier fullback for the Raiders and Eagles, who, although never carried that much, was a great blocker and pass-receiver. He's now an analyst for First Take on ESPN, which is an abomination of a show, but has one shining light, which is Jon Ritchie. He was talking about the Cowboys great running game and if only they had Ritchie to lead block!
Anywho, the Panthers really, really suck. Jake "The Snake" Delhomme is going to slither is way to leading the league in interceptions this year. He's thrown 7 already, on pace for 37, which undoubtedly is the most interceptions thrown by a quarterback in probably 40 years. I seem to remember that reading that George Blanda threw like 45 INTs in either '63 or '64 and Frank Tripucka threw a ton of interceptions for the early Broncos. And the difference is those were passing teams! Just imagine how many picks Delhomme would throw if the Panthers were a passing team! Now, I'm not saying that he will definitely throw 37 interceptions, but he'll throw a lot in a league today where 20 interceptions on the season is considered a lot.
Damn shame to see Chad Pennington hurt again. He can't seem to muster two consecutive good season (he always flip-flops from bad to good, back to bad, then back to good). He has yet another shoulder injury that will need surgery, he's likely not to return this season and may end up retiring. He's 33.
The Titans, Dolphins, and Panthers, all three of which were division winners last year, are a combinded 0-9.
29 September 2009
28 September 2009
Week III
Intriguing week that isn't over, yet. I saw both of the #1 games on each network for free.
Well, the Patriots can run the ball, but Tom Brady still threw 42 passes. His season average is down from 800, to 757. The NFL record for a single quarterback is 691 (Drew Bledsoe, 1994).
Drew Brees's not throwing a touchdown really hurt is chances of stealing the record. His pace is down to 48, which would tie Dan Marino of 1984. Despite this, the Saints won 27-7 and have already scored 120 points this season. That's an average of 40 points a game, on pace for 640 on the season, an NFL record, beating the Patriots of 2007, who scored 589 points.
The Tootsie-Roll-Steelers game was a good one, coming down to the waning seconds. The Steelers are really reeling, they can't seem to run the ball, have trouble stopping the pass, and protecting Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers came out in a very odd Hail Mary formation, Roethlisberger was in the Shotgun (no surprise there), but there were only three-wide receivers in the formation, with two backs in the backfield (no sure if it was a fullback, tight end, or a fourth-wide receiver). Also the Bengals rushed three and dropped eight, usually in Hail Mary situations, a defense will rush one and drop the remaining ten. Probably, Big Ben saw that there was a three-man rush, and changed the formation (I'll have to go back to my recording to look and verify this). Despite this, the Tootsie-Rolls still nearly picked it off, it went through the hands of a Tootsie-Roll defender, and clanged incomplete. Game over.
Speaking of Hail Maries, the Marine Mammals also came out in another odd Hail Mary formation last week against the Lucky Charms. Chad Pennington was *UNDER CENTER* and there were five-wide receivers, a la the Flutie Miracle from 1984. Pennington even rolled-out right, but his pass was picked off in the end zone.
Tonight's Cowboys-Panthers game should be a snorefest, there are plenty of other things to watch on TV, and TheDood will probably this game on some old technology called VHS.
Well, the Patriots can run the ball, but Tom Brady still threw 42 passes. His season average is down from 800, to 757. The NFL record for a single quarterback is 691 (Drew Bledsoe, 1994).
Drew Brees's not throwing a touchdown really hurt is chances of stealing the record. His pace is down to 48, which would tie Dan Marino of 1984. Despite this, the Saints won 27-7 and have already scored 120 points this season. That's an average of 40 points a game, on pace for 640 on the season, an NFL record, beating the Patriots of 2007, who scored 589 points.
The Tootsie-Roll-Steelers game was a good one, coming down to the waning seconds. The Steelers are really reeling, they can't seem to run the ball, have trouble stopping the pass, and protecting Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers came out in a very odd Hail Mary formation, Roethlisberger was in the Shotgun (no surprise there), but there were only three-wide receivers in the formation, with two backs in the backfield (no sure if it was a fullback, tight end, or a fourth-wide receiver). Also the Bengals rushed three and dropped eight, usually in Hail Mary situations, a defense will rush one and drop the remaining ten. Probably, Big Ben saw that there was a three-man rush, and changed the formation (I'll have to go back to my recording to look and verify this). Despite this, the Tootsie-Rolls still nearly picked it off, it went through the hands of a Tootsie-Roll defender, and clanged incomplete. Game over.
Speaking of Hail Maries, the Marine Mammals also came out in another odd Hail Mary formation last week against the Lucky Charms. Chad Pennington was *UNDER CENTER* and there were five-wide receivers, a la the Flutie Miracle from 1984. Pennington even rolled-out right, but his pass was picked off in the end zone.
Tonight's Cowboys-Panthers game should be a snorefest, there are plenty of other things to watch on TV, and TheDood will probably this game on some old technology called VHS.
27 September 2009
What the Hell are the Seattle Blue Men Group Wearing?
Or should I say the Seattle Neons? I can honestly say, I have never seen sillier uniforms on a professional sports team. They should break out the throwbacks, like many of the other NFL teams seem to be doing, because the original (1976-2001) Seahawks unis looked cool.
The "Deciders" Have Come Through
WTTE has fired up the satellite, and is showing a real game, Falcons @ Patriots, being called by Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver, Fox's #1 commentating teir.
26 September 2009
TheDood's TV Schedule For Tomorrow
Well, after watching Ohio State knock-off Illinois 30-0, I'm now watch every coma-inducing snap of the Texas-UTEP woofer ('Horns currently lead 64-7). And I'll probably record the Texas Tech-Houston game, as it's scheduled for a 9:15 p.m. ET start time.
But let's look toward tomorrow:
WBNS again has an Oranges (Release 3.0b)-Tootsie Rolls double-header. I'm fulling expecting the Oranges (Release 3.0b) to now go nine games with only one offensive touchdown against the stellar Nevermores. That game is scheduled for a 1:02 p.m. start. On WTTE's website, they *LIST* that they will show Typos @ Flying Elvii, but if last week was any indication, their program director will "call an audible" and switch to a woofer, like Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons @ Peugeots, or Packers @ Mouflons. And once again, there are only two late games on Fox, which will only be shown in those teams' respective markets. The other late game on WBNS (CBS) is Steelers @ Tootsie-Rolls, which should actually be a good one, Pittsburgh is hurt, can't run the ball or pass block. The Tootsie-Rolls scored 31 points and sacked the quarterback 5 times, which they should get close to that against the Steelers' piss-poor O-Line, and not to mention, they won on the road.
The two games that everybody can see (if you have basic cable, that is) are Lucky Charms @ Cardinals and Panthers @ Cowboys. The SNF game should be good, hopefully an offensive shootout, the Colts D isn't as good as it has been, but, you can't say the same about the Cardinals D. I'm hoping that Dallas can pull itself together and actually win and that's easily plausible because the Panthers suck. So far, Jake Delhomme has thrown a league-leading 5 interceptions (that means he's thrown 10 interceptions since the last regular season ended). Although Marion Barber is injured, the Cowboys have two other running backs that could be starters on other NFL teams, and there's less pressure on Romo to get a certain somebody the ball.
I will have an as-it-happens update as to what game WTTE decides to carry, so stay tuned.
But let's look toward tomorrow:
WBNS again has an Oranges (Release 3.0b)-Tootsie Rolls double-header. I'm fulling expecting the Oranges (Release 3.0b) to now go nine games with only one offensive touchdown against the stellar Nevermores. That game is scheduled for a 1:02 p.m. start. On WTTE's website, they *LIST* that they will show Typos @ Flying Elvii, but if last week was any indication, their program director will "call an audible" and switch to a woofer, like Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons @ Peugeots, or Packers @ Mouflons. And once again, there are only two late games on Fox, which will only be shown in those teams' respective markets. The other late game on WBNS (CBS) is Steelers @ Tootsie-Rolls, which should actually be a good one, Pittsburgh is hurt, can't run the ball or pass block. The Tootsie-Rolls scored 31 points and sacked the quarterback 5 times, which they should get close to that against the Steelers' piss-poor O-Line, and not to mention, they won on the road.
The two games that everybody can see (if you have basic cable, that is) are Lucky Charms @ Cardinals and Panthers @ Cowboys. The SNF game should be good, hopefully an offensive shootout, the Colts D isn't as good as it has been, but, you can't say the same about the Cardinals D. I'm hoping that Dallas can pull itself together and actually win and that's easily plausible because the Panthers suck. So far, Jake Delhomme has thrown a league-leading 5 interceptions (that means he's thrown 10 interceptions since the last regular season ended). Although Marion Barber is injured, the Cowboys have two other running backs that could be starters on other NFL teams, and there's less pressure on Romo to get a certain somebody the ball.
I will have an as-it-happens update as to what game WTTE decides to carry, so stay tuned.
23 September 2009
Wild Cats
The Wildcat formation has taken football on all levels by storm, ever since the Miami Dolphins ran six Wildcat plays and scored five touchdowns against the Patriots. Their
Quarterbacks Coach, David Lee ran the offense at Arkansas. There are really only three plays that are included in the formation (Speed Sweep, QB Counter, Split Zone). In the context of the Dolphins, Speed Sweep is where Ricky Williams will be in motion when the ball is snapped and Ronnie Brown will give Williams the ball, Williams will take it right end. QB Counter is the same as Speed Sweep, except for that Ronnie Brown keeps the ball, fakes the give to Williams, and runs up the middle. Split Zone is where the ball is directly snapped to Ronnie Brown and he simply runs up the middle (no motion, or fakes). The formation itself consists of an unbalanced line, with a guard, an eligible tight end (in the Dolphins' case Anthony Fasano), and a slot receiver (typically a running back, in the Dolphins' case Ricky Williams) to the left of the center. To his right, there are two tackles, another receiver (Ted Ginn Jr.), and the quarterback (Chad Pennington).
This formation took the NFL by storm in 2008, with nearly every team attempting to use it in games, but really only the Dolphins utilized it well (although admittedly, they usually had less than 10 Wildcat snaps per game, defenses probably game-planned for the Wildcat, while their regular offense was able to move the ball).
An interesting case is Michael Vick, whom, undoubtedly, have to run a few wildcat plays, because of his athleticism. But what most teams who copied the Dolphins seemed to have forgotten is what its original purpose is: to run with the football. Nearly all teams that copied it tried to do these epic gadget passes (look for the Eagles to do this with Vick) that don't work.
Other prognosticators point to that the Wildcat is a modern-day instillation of the Single-wing formation, which is only half-right (the overused Shotgun formation is more a kin to the Single-wing than the Wildcat). The Single-wing was used in the NFL in the 20s and 30s, both on offense and defense (because all 11 players were two-way players back then). The formation consisted of 5 lineman (two tackles, two guards, and a center), two "ends" (which would evolve to the tight end and split end positions), a quarterback, a left halfback, a right halfback, and a fullback. The quarterback would line-up roughly 5 yards behind center (which is why I think this is similar to the Shotgun), along with the three running backs. The ball could be snapped to any of the four men and any four of them would run with the ball or pass it to one of the other, or one of the 2 ends. The ball could also be snapped to the quarterback and he would pitch or lateral the ball to one of the backs. This lost its favor to the T formation, which was no different except for that the quarterback would be under center and not run as much with the ball. The formation took the NFL by storm when the Bears beat the Redskins 73-0 in the 1940 Championship Game, where the Bears scored 6 rushing touchdowns. One holdout was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who utilized the Single-wing until 1952, which is when many teams were running plays from both the T and Pro formations, with one halfback, a fullback, a flanker, a split end, and a tight end (still a staple of NFL offenses today). The NFL flanker of the 50s would be a guy who could either be one of the halfbacks in the T formation or a wide receiver in the Pro formation (examples would be Lenny Moore and Frank Gifford, and later on Charley Taylor). Although by the twilight of all three of these men's careers, they would be receivers-only, because their teams only ran the Pro formation by that time.
Quarterbacks Coach, David Lee ran the offense at Arkansas. There are really only three plays that are included in the formation (Speed Sweep, QB Counter, Split Zone). In the context of the Dolphins, Speed Sweep is where Ricky Williams will be in motion when the ball is snapped and Ronnie Brown will give Williams the ball, Williams will take it right end. QB Counter is the same as Speed Sweep, except for that Ronnie Brown keeps the ball, fakes the give to Williams, and runs up the middle. Split Zone is where the ball is directly snapped to Ronnie Brown and he simply runs up the middle (no motion, or fakes). The formation itself consists of an unbalanced line, with a guard, an eligible tight end (in the Dolphins' case Anthony Fasano), and a slot receiver (typically a running back, in the Dolphins' case Ricky Williams) to the left of the center. To his right, there are two tackles, another receiver (Ted Ginn Jr.), and the quarterback (Chad Pennington).
This formation took the NFL by storm in 2008, with nearly every team attempting to use it in games, but really only the Dolphins utilized it well (although admittedly, they usually had less than 10 Wildcat snaps per game, defenses probably game-planned for the Wildcat, while their regular offense was able to move the ball).
An interesting case is Michael Vick, whom, undoubtedly, have to run a few wildcat plays, because of his athleticism. But what most teams who copied the Dolphins seemed to have forgotten is what its original purpose is: to run with the football. Nearly all teams that copied it tried to do these epic gadget passes (look for the Eagles to do this with Vick) that don't work.
Other prognosticators point to that the Wildcat is a modern-day instillation of the Single-wing formation, which is only half-right (the overused Shotgun formation is more a kin to the Single-wing than the Wildcat). The Single-wing was used in the NFL in the 20s and 30s, both on offense and defense (because all 11 players were two-way players back then). The formation consisted of 5 lineman (two tackles, two guards, and a center), two "ends" (which would evolve to the tight end and split end positions), a quarterback, a left halfback, a right halfback, and a fullback. The quarterback would line-up roughly 5 yards behind center (which is why I think this is similar to the Shotgun), along with the three running backs. The ball could be snapped to any of the four men and any four of them would run with the ball or pass it to one of the other, or one of the 2 ends. The ball could also be snapped to the quarterback and he would pitch or lateral the ball to one of the backs. This lost its favor to the T formation, which was no different except for that the quarterback would be under center and not run as much with the ball. The formation took the NFL by storm when the Bears beat the Redskins 73-0 in the 1940 Championship Game, where the Bears scored 6 rushing touchdowns. One holdout was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who utilized the Single-wing until 1952, which is when many teams were running plays from both the T and Pro formations, with one halfback, a fullback, a flanker, a split end, and a tight end (still a staple of NFL offenses today). The NFL flanker of the 50s would be a guy who could either be one of the halfbacks in the T formation or a wide receiver in the Pro formation (examples would be Lenny Moore and Frank Gifford, and later on Charley Taylor). Although by the twilight of all three of these men's careers, they would be receivers-only, because their teams only ran the Pro formation by that time.
22 September 2009
WTF Game on Monday Night
The Colts won last night's game with only 14 1st Downs and 35 offensive plays. Despite having about 2 1/2 less times the plays of the Dolphins, the Colts gained only 47 less yards. The Colts did however, have 131 more passing yards than the Dolphins. While, the Dolphins had 239 yards rushing, to the Colts' 61. But the most striking stat of all was the disparity in time of possession. The Dolphins possessed the ball for 45:07 (just a hair over 3 quarters), while the Colts possessed the ball for 14:53 (just a hair under 1 quarter). The Dolphins, also, only had 1 turnover.
More Random Statgeekery: Ted Ginn Jr. caught half of Chad Pennington's completions and Dallas Clark caught half of Peyton Manning's completions.
Here are some other games from TheDood's memory bank where there were huge disparities in time of possession: On November 4th, 2002, the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers played in a nationally televised "Battle of the Bay", which was hyped as Jerry Rice's return to Candlestick Park. The 49ers won 23-20 in overtime, where they would possess the ball for 44:33. The Raiders possessed it for 24:08 (remember this game went into overtime) and had 50 offensive plays to the 49ers' 84. The Raiders had half as many 1st downs as the 49ers (15-30). In the 2nd half the Raiders only had 2 possessions. Although in the 4th Quarter the Raiders took the ball with 12:57 remaining, and were able to milk it down to 6:33, where Charlie Garner scored a 10-yard touchdown. The 49ers would then take the ball and run the rest of the time out. They then won the overtime coin toss and took the ball to Oakland 5 to kick the game-winning figgie.
On December 8th, 2002, the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-6 in a game where they only had 47-yards of offense and 40 offensive plays. The Steelers, on the other hand, ran 95 offensive plays (58 passes, 31 rushes) and 422 yards of offense. The Texans had only 3 1st Downs, 37-yards rushing on a whopping 26 attempts, and only 10 net passing yards. David Carr was sacked four times for 23 yards, and they were an atrocious 1/12 on 3rd Down. In the 1st quarter, the Texans roared to a 14-0 lead, on a Kenny Wright fumble return, and an Aaron Glenn interception return. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters, Josh Reed kicked field goals, bringing the score to 14-6 at the beginning of the final quarter. Then Kris Brown would kick a field goal and Aaron Glenn returned yet another interception. This was by far the weirdest game in NFL history, if any of you know another, let me know.
More Random Statgeekery: Ted Ginn Jr. caught half of Chad Pennington's completions and Dallas Clark caught half of Peyton Manning's completions.
Here are some other games from TheDood's memory bank where there were huge disparities in time of possession: On November 4th, 2002, the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers played in a nationally televised "Battle of the Bay", which was hyped as Jerry Rice's return to Candlestick Park. The 49ers won 23-20 in overtime, where they would possess the ball for 44:33. The Raiders possessed it for 24:08 (remember this game went into overtime) and had 50 offensive plays to the 49ers' 84. The Raiders had half as many 1st downs as the 49ers (15-30). In the 2nd half the Raiders only had 2 possessions. Although in the 4th Quarter the Raiders took the ball with 12:57 remaining, and were able to milk it down to 6:33, where Charlie Garner scored a 10-yard touchdown. The 49ers would then take the ball and run the rest of the time out. They then won the overtime coin toss and took the ball to Oakland 5 to kick the game-winning figgie.
On December 8th, 2002, the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-6 in a game where they only had 47-yards of offense and 40 offensive plays. The Steelers, on the other hand, ran 95 offensive plays (58 passes, 31 rushes) and 422 yards of offense. The Texans had only 3 1st Downs, 37-yards rushing on a whopping 26 attempts, and only 10 net passing yards. David Carr was sacked four times for 23 yards, and they were an atrocious 1/12 on 3rd Down. In the 1st quarter, the Texans roared to a 14-0 lead, on a Kenny Wright fumble return, and an Aaron Glenn interception return. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters, Josh Reed kicked field goals, bringing the score to 14-6 at the beginning of the final quarter. Then Kris Brown would kick a field goal and Aaron Glenn returned yet another interception. This was by far the weirdest game in NFL history, if any of you know another, let me know.
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