Are You Ready for Some Football

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Ned
It looks like someone in law enforcement really has a stick up his A about Tank.

But he does seem to have a few marbles loose. Probably adds to his ferocity on the field.

Maybe it's that guy from House

Donegeal, you know that guy, right? Every police department has one from what I've been led to understand

[Sava]

They are probably going to rotate the three DE's with equal time and put Ian Scott and Idonje on the inside. Alex Brown might also be an option at DT. Alfonso Boone will also fill in.

I think it will depend more on the situation, but if Anderson really makes an impact, they may try to get him out there more. I don't know how much Lovie wants to sacrifice his doctrine of rotation for the possibility of putting Brown, Ogunleye and Anderson out there at the same. It's possible we might not even see that scenario at all.

[SlowwHand]

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?
There are three weeks remaining on the schedule but this is likely the greatest impact year for rookie players. Already, four rookie quarterbacks have become regular starters, including the three first-round picks who look like franchise players. There are four running backs that look special, not including Carolina's DeAngelo Williams, who has flashed the talent to be a starter.

New York Jets offensive linemen Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson are foundation players to build on for coach Eric Mangini. San Diego has gotten an extraordinary performance from rookie left tackle Marcus McNeil, a second-round pick that has started from the beginning of training camp.

In Houston, linebacker DeMeco Ryans has been stellar. The same goes for Green Bay's A.J. Hawk. Chicago cornerback and return man Devin Hester has had an incredible season that has resulted in a record six return touchdowns. So with that, the question is: who's the best of them?

Among running backs, Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints has started to blossom the past two weeks after an uneven start. Bush had four touchdowns against San Francisco and turned two short passes against Dallas into important plays. That included a 70-yard touchdown reception off a screen in which Bush did a great job of letting his blockers get in position to help him.

Overall, however, Bush hasn't been much of a threat out of the backfield as a runner, averaging 3.1 yards per carry (the second-lowest average among backs with at least 100 carries). Bush does have 79 receptions and is closing in on the rookie record of 83 set by San Francisco's Earl Cooper in 1980. But those catches are mostly elaborate handoffs with Bush averaging 7.1 yards per catch. Finally, New Orleans didn't spend the No. 2 pick and a minimum of $26 million on Bush just to have a glorified third-down back.

Laurance Maroney of the New England Patriots had an impressive first half, but injuries have stymied him during the second half of the season. Joseph Addai has been more impressive than Maroney with his play for the Indianapolis Colts. Addai has capably filled the shoes of Edgerrin James and has become a trusted receiver for quarterback Peyton Manning.

Finally, Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been the greatest bargain of all the backs with his consistent play. Jones-Drew's talent was obvious from the start of training camp and he hasn't tapered off all season, leading all rookies with 12 touchdowns. The second-round pick topped his season with three touchdowns and 303 all-purpose yards last Sunday against Indianapolis.

As for the quarterbacks, Vince Young's individual numbers haven't always been pretty, but the bottom line has been great. The Tennessee Titans are 6-4 with Young at quarterback, and his running and passing abilities have quickly made him a dynamic threat.

Matt Leinart of the Arizona Cardinals is off to one of the better rookie seasons for a quarterback, at least from a statistical standpoint. Likewise, Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos has flashed ability in his two starts to give the Broncos hope, although perhaps not for anything serious this season.

So who's the best of them? Jones-Drew has probably been the best bargain of all the rookies, giving Jacksonville great impact and the ability to keep the workload down for veteran Fred Taylor. As the Jaguars fight for the playoffs, Jones-Drew figures to be a big part of the run.

But in terms of overall impact, what Young has done this season has exceeded the expectations of many people who thought that Young would either have to take time to develop or would struggle a lot because of his odd throwing motion. Neither has happened, although it will be interesting to see what opposing defenses eventually do to Young and how he adjusts.

For now, however, Young is clearly the best of a stellar class.

[snoopy369]

Okay, I realize not everyone's on board with Colston being the obvious choice ...

... but how do you mention all of those guys, and not mention him?

That'd be like mentioning the best RBs of all time and not mentioning Eric Dickerson ...

[SlowwHand]

A lot of Colston;s success has been a good offense around him.
Young's success has been with a lot of talent not around him.

[snoopy369]

Well, for one I disagree, TN is not as bad as it's made out to be.

Secondly, Colston's ranks among ALL WRs:

Yards: 15th
TDs: Tied for 7th (with Chad Johnson among others!)
Recs: tied for 18th (about the same as Isaac Bruce, Desmond Mason, etc.)

That's out of 11 games played, the last of which he was not at 100%.

Vince Young, in 12 total games, 10 starts, all at 100%:
29th in passing yards
T-24th in passing TDs [adding in rush TDs would move him to like 20th]
29th in completed passes (and he only completes just over 50% of his passes...)
And he has a passer rating of 65.7 ... not in the top 30 passer ratings, well below even Rex Grossman (72.6)

Now, I'm not going to say that it's fair to compare a rookie QB to the rest of his field, especially when it's extremely hard to learn the position of QB, and Vince certainly is getting results, even if his personal stats are sort of meh.

But, what other offensive rookie is in the top 20 at every major category, compared to the veterans, in his position?

Answer: Joseph Addai, who is #20 in rushing yards and tied for 10th in rushing TDs. (Of course, top 20 receiver means a bit more than top 20 RB, given there's about twice as many receivers as RBs with meaningful stats...)

I can understand saying someone else (Young, based on leadership, Addai, based on his last several games, Maroney, based on his first half, Jones-Drew also based on last few games) ... but I can't understand not even MENTIONING Colston, who's just having an amazing season as a WR (rookie or not)...

[SlowwHand]

I'm not bad-mouthing him at all. He's been amazing.

[snoopy369]

Who said you'd badmouthed anyone?

[SlowwHand]

Nobody. I thought by that lengthy analysis that you might have thought so.

[snoopy369]

I complained that the long article above didn't mention Colston. You suggested Young was better than Colston. I figured maybe you didn't read my short complaint about it and/or didn't know how WTFamazing Colston is, so I posted a longer fact-filled piece about how WTFamazing Colston is

[Donegeal]

Well, this is getting just down right fun...

Police: Bears' Johnson at bar when fatal shooting took place
By F.N. D'ALESSIO, Associated Press Writer
December 16, 2006

AP - Dec 15, 1:49 pm EST
More Photos



CHICAGO (AP) -- Troubled Chicago Bears nose tackle Tank Johnson was at a nightclub early Saturday morning when a man who called himself the player's bodyguard was shot to death, authorities said.

The shooting occurred about 12 hours after Johnson offered a public apology to teammates and family for his third arrest in the past 18 months. Johnson, the Bears' starting nose tackle, will be inactive for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

Willie B. Posey, 26, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital about 2 a.m. The shooting took place following a fight at Ice Bar, a club in the city's trendy River North neighborhood, said Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond.

Bond said police did not know whether Johnson was involved in the fight or the shooting.

"He was at the bar," Bond said. There was "no information to link him to anything that occurred at the bar at this point in the investigation."

The Bears issued a statement Saturday saying the team was aware of the shooting, but didn't mention Johnson by name.

"We are currently gathering information to learn more about the situation," the statement said.

Johnson and Posey were arrested earlier this week following a raid at Johnson's home.

Posey was arrested Thursday on a count of felony cannabis possession. He was released after posting the $10,000 bond set by a Lake County Circuit Court judge and had been scheduled to return to court Dec. 21.

Johnson was not at home during the search, but later turned himself in and was arrested on misdemeanor weapons charges because six unregistered firearms were found at his residence, police said. He was released after posting 10 percent of his $1,000 bond.

Two of the weapons seized from Johnson's home were assault-style rifles, an AR-15 and a .223 caliber, said Gurnee Police Chief Robert Jones. Three were powerful handguns -- a .44 Magnum, a .50 caliber, and a .45 caliber -- and one was a .308 Winchester hunting rifle, Jones said.

Johnson practiced Friday and afterward offered a public apology. He is scheduled for a court appearance Jan. 9, which would be several days before the NFC North champion Bears play their first postseason game.

In November 2005, Johnson was sentenced to 18 months probation and 40 hours community service after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge stemming from an arrest in which a nightclub valet reported seeing Johnson with a handgun in his sport utility vehicle.

Johnson also was arrested last February after a confrontation outside a Chicago nightclub, but the charges were dropped after the police officer he allegedly scuffled with decided not to pursue the case.

Posey said in court Friday he was Johnson's bodyguard, the Chicago Tribune and (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported on the newspapers' Web sites. Gurnee police could not confirm Posey's relationship to Johnson.

[SlowwHand]

Chicago and Cincinnati, twin sons of different mothers.

[SlowwHand]

Michael Dwayne Vick, before Dallas




Michael "Kindling Wood" Vick, after Dallas

[-Jrabbit]

ZOMG this Tank Johnson thing is getting wierd.

1. Police raid home in far north suburban Gurnee, seizing 6 guns (charging Johnson with misdemeanors). Tank was at practice at the time. The raid is said to have been extremely violent, with large quantities of personnel involved
2. Johnson's old buddy/bodyguard, Willie Posey, is caught sitting at a table with about 3 oz of pot. He's charged with felony possession.

Then it gets really wierd.

Johnson and Posey went out clubbing last night (about 36 hours after the bust). About 1:30 this morning, Posey was shot. Dead. In the bar.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-061216johnson,1,2157223.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

[SlowwHand]

If the Cowboys take an OL in 1st round, which they need, whoever makes that decison should be shot.
Against New Orleans and Atlanta the DB have looked like hell.
In addition, I look for Roy Williams to be a LB next year.