I hope the Pats trip and fall.

I imagine it should read "not watch sports on TV"

not a sermon, just a thought!

while sticking pins into an Antonio Pierce voodoo doll in the locker room the other day

LMGO! I wonder if I can pick up a Chris Larry doll to stick pins in. lol

So let me see if I understand, Jasno: you suggested to Stephon Heyer that you and he wade through a screening of either "Mildred Pierce," "Antwaan Fisher" or the Peter Sellers movie of his choice, and he cryptically replied "A rolling stone gathers no Moss," and according to Barno you translated that into the above post.

Oh, I see what's wrong. You omitted the part where he bashes Gibbs.

I am sleepy.

As I said yesterday, I actually give the Pats a pass on the 21 sticker, since they are already wearing the number of their teammate that died over the summer and may just want to keep some attention on their honor to him. As for everyone else, I just cannot imagine thinking, well, it's Monday, I can take this sticker off the back of my helmet.

There Jason goes again! Making up stories to make himself look better and make everyone else look not so good. When is the Washington Post going to wise up and hire some guy who will tell me everything is okay and the Redskins will win a super bowl in this decade?

Barno

PS- Where's my DVD?

____________________________

The gauntlet has been thrown.

Wow, a quiet day 'up here' today.

No way I can go for another Boren Ultimatum, much as I would like to. I have year-end, new year kickoff, actual work stuff to be doing. Those trite, banal, irrelevant marketing-type slogans won't write themselves you know!

If anyone needs me, I'll be down at the gym strengthening my positioning statements.

From the ToDD's blog!

Hey all you TC admirers out there, it's the NFC Offensive Player of the Week here to give you a little preview of what might happen this weekend against my former Michigan roommate Amani Toomer and the New York Giants. It's amazing what love I've been getting on this blog and from the media just because the rest of the world has finally realized the power of TC that I've been preaching for the past year and a half on the blog. Looks like you loyal readers will have to move over since there is plenty of hop-a-longs on this TC bandwagon.

JLC, you may have rekindled my creative fire with that Sellers piece. I've got the beginnings of a Sellers logo... I just need him to punish some Lilliputians to fuel my fire.

Update: The RIP 21 shirts have raised almost $390, with the potential to jump up to almost $500 with CafePress sales bonuses (not quite sure how they work, but I'll know once I close sales and collect the profits for donation). Thanks all... HAIL!

Nice Work Bucktown!

Not sure how much passing will be going on Sunday since we are getting 6-7 inches of snow tomorrow and they are calling for a lot of snow game day.

JM, they said that the Boston area could get from 1-2 feet on Sunday, so I'm sure that NY might be getting some snow as well. Passing yards might be hard to come by. Now more than ever we'll need to have our running game firing on all cylinders.

One good thing G is that the Giants RB fumble more than Betts. lol

No JLC-bashing post yet from Barno? Even though I think they're undeserved, I've actually started looking forward to them. They're kind of fun to read, and fortunately I don't think anyone (including Jasno) takes them seriously.

It's always fun to read Jasno's blog, and then see how Barno has parsed every word and punctuation in order to interpret it in some offensive way. LOL! Reminds me of when my wife is mad at me, and every word I say (no matter how innocent) just makes her angrier... if I tell her I love her she says, "you're just feeling guilty because you were looking at that woman!". ROTFL!!!

No doubt, I think Jacobs put the ball on the ground LATE in the game on Sunday, when the G-men were trying to put the game away.

More than anything, putting Manning under sever duress needs to be the first priority.

where's our crazy loco mullen for a weather report? Somehow, he seems like one of those guys that couldn't figure out how to get past registration.

I'm glad TDawg finally made the switch...

Welcome back.

Hurricane Todd meets a blizzard.

Sounds like the Perfect Storm to me.

Reminds me of when my wife is mad at me, and every word I say (no matter how innocent) just makes her angrier... if I tell her I love her she says, "you're just feeling guilty because you were looking at that woman!". ROTFL!!!

Posted by: Alan4

LMGO

F sports. IMS is the man.

I am a dumass;

I am sitting there on the last thread, just refreshing wondering why nobody was posting. I kept looking in the Recent Posts section to see if there was a new thread.

So then after 3 hours of doing that, I looked at the link below the thread main text and i saw the 21 stickers thread.

D'oh and flag on me for idiocy

I think with collins going to michigan, and starting his carrer in buffalo he should be use to the weather, we all know eli is no good after nov. If we stay on the positive side of the turnover column we should be able to win this one

Uh, I don't care for this forecast one bit... are we talking about blizzard-like conditions, for a night game in the Meadowlands -- an inhospitable hellscape on the nicest of days -- that's going to get colder and colder and messier and messier... hmmm...

Wait a minute, this just in from the East Rutherford weather bureau: the forecast calls for PAIN.

Effin' Jints! Bring on the snow, bring on the wind, bring on the ugly locals with their reeking cologne and gold chains and big blue parkas. Bring. Them. On.

SAK2, great point.

Every time Collins has watched a bad weather game over the past decade, in person or on the teevee, in his mind he's been playing in that game. So he's prepared for any conditions.

You can't outprepare Todd Collins.

We need Springs to keep Plax in check. I think if that happens, then we're in ok shape. Shockey is going to give them trouble, I think.

On another note, the 'times' had a piece on Cooley in today's paper. The only TE with more touchdowns than he is Gates, thats some pretty good company.

gregmarino88,

Cooley may finally get a pro bowl invitation which is well deserved.

Straub, while I agree that Cooley deserved the invite to the Pro-Bowl, its never about who deserves it. I'd bet that a combination of Alge Crumpler/Jason Whitten/Shockey will probably go despite Cooley having better numbers than all but Whitten.

The pro-bowl is never about who deserves it. LFB deserves the nod at MLB, but I doubt he'll get the invite. Its funny, its such a crock who makes it, but then it can be such a heavy factor when talking about the HOF.

I think whitten is leading the te vote for the nfc. Plexico will slip and fall in snow so Im not so sure that he will be a factor, he is hurt and playing in snow will not help him out.

Greg;

The probowl voting, I think, is 1/3 fan vote, 1/3 player vote, 1/3 coaches vote.

I personally think most teams and players know about Cooley and Fletcher.

Crumpler is doing nothing on a crap team... he is not getting in.

Sadly there are only TWO spots for TE's. I voted for an hour yesterday.

For what its worth, Marquise Hill drowned because he couldn't swim and refused to wear a lifevest. Sean Taylor was murdered in his own home, protecting his family. Stay classy, Belichick.

1buj I thought he drowned trying to save the girl that was with him. If they want to remember him I have no problem with that. The G Men on the other hand not wearing 21 should fire this team up to lay the wood on everyone including their coach.

1buj, couldn't agree more. Bill is a classless prick.

When one of his players was injured near the Pittsburgh sideline 2 years ago, the Pitt trainer came out to assist the player, who was in obvious pain. Bill comes running across the field screaming, "get the F away from my player".

When his team becomes irrelevant, and it will, I hope people don't forget how he piled on, and ran up the score.

I have a recollection that Heyer did OK with Strahan last time. Am I misremembering that? Did Heyer play in the Giants game at FedEx?

When his team becomes irrelevant, and it will, I hope people don't forget how he piled on, and ran up the score.

Posted by: gregmarino88 | December 12, 2007 10:21 AM

He'll walk away at this point

greg, I appreciate the sentiment, but it looks like we'll have to suffer through a few more seasons at least before the Pats decline into irrelevance. At least our Skins won't face them for three years (unless we meet in the SB, ha ha ha!).

I think the title is the Pats' to lose. I also think there's going to be another doozy of an AFC title game, Colts at Pats, and that's the best chance we have to see anyone knock them out of the tournament.

(A good measure of how much I've come to despise the Pats is that I would feel almost -- almost -- as much disgust if they won the SB as if Dallas won. Ugh. Perish the thought of a NE-DAL Super Bowl.)

What do you guys think? Who has the best chance of knocking off the Pats in the playoffs?

Also, kudos to the late night bloggerists last night and their quality thread count pushery. Re: Rob Ryan, the chubby pirate ... his brother Rex in Baltimore is just chubby. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.baltimoreravens.com/uploadedImages/Team/Coaches/Ryan_Rex07.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.baltimoreravens.com/Team/CoachBio.aspx%3Fid%3D1332&h=211&w=226&sz=8&hl=en&start=11&um=1&tbnid=5gT7usQzgPBYfM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drex%2Bryan%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

... but I would take either of them as the next post-Gibbs head coach for the Skins. Its in their blood to be good.

The issue with the pro bowl voting has always bugged me. I always wished they would take the public voting out and go purely on stats, come up with some equation like the QB rating for all the other positions. Though that would mean that we would need to start keeping track of OL stats too.

N8, the Pats will be cratering sooner than you think. They have 41 players under contract for next season ... and the free agents left will be bolting for BIG money (which means we might see a few on the roster next season). This past offseason was very un-Pats-like in the go-for-broke-big-splashery. I was thinking that after they sign Adalius Thomas, and was convinced when they picked up Randy Moss, that Bellichek is thinking he wants to go out in style and on top. I predict Bellichek will cash in his chips and step down like Johnny Carson did ... at the top of his game and not looking back. Brady may have a few Favre-like seasons left in him, but the Pats' O-line has played together forever and is getting old. See the Chiefs for what happens in that scenario. Going out on a limb here, but the Jets got way better and younger on their O-line over the past two seasons, and will eclipse the Pats in about two seasons (sorry Red ... er ... Toddcoat) as the new perennial leaders of that division. After a year or two, people will be saying "what ever happened to the Patriots?" [The correct answer is that they went for broke ... and won ... and then broke.]

alex###, as a big proponent of the strength of a team following the strength of its O-line, I hear ya on the need for O-line stats. Thing is, its just tricky b/c you need to track every guy. For as unliked as postgameheroes is up here, they DO have a a reasonable way to track O-line performance (i.e., play by play).

Agreed, I can imagine that tracking things like pancakes would be time consuming stuff,but you don't really need to calculate them in there, but Sacks Allowed is a piece of cake. And they just need to come up with an equation like plays in/ sacks allowed =x

Let's say the Pats go undefeated...if you were a star player on that team, what motivation would you have to keep pressing ahead? Besides money, of course. And we all know from watching the sadsack 'Skins franchise that money is hardly a motivator that translates into wins.

Personally, I respect the heck out of the Pats. That offense is amazing. Extraordinary players, to be sure. But exceptional play design and play calling.

One of the things I used to love to do as a kid was tape a 'Skins game, then go back and diagram out all of St. Joe's plays to get an idea of how he calls a game (I know, I'm a huge nerd). I was bored these last two weeks and did the same for the Pats' offense. It's simply amazing. Of course it helps to have Tom Brady and Randy Moss, but Josh McDaniels' coaching is out of this world...

Oh and I guess YPC needs to be added in too.

Subtract holding calls and false starts in that OL formula. 2X holding and false starts if they occur in the red zone...

The pats are one injury to Brady away from being 7-9, or worse. Don't anyone get fooled into thinking that Bill is a genius, just look at his 6 years with Cleveland, and his 1.5 seasons with the Pats before Brady took over, and tell me where his genius was then?

Moss, and Stallworth, both could leave that team after this season. And for all the prowess he supposedly has in drafting, that is where the downfall of that team will happen.
Meriweather this past year, and he can't get on the field, he was the ONLY player they drafted that made the team.
Maroney, 2 years ago, and he's injury prone, and just not that good
Chad Jackson, with a 2nd and a 3rd, 3 years ago, and he can't get on the field either.

Thats where their downfall will come from.

alex####, here is an example of how the pgh site breaks down O-line performance.

http://www.postgameheroes.com/?p=1470

I gotta say, I'm already loving the Vicount's idea about creating the formula. The redzone stuff kills me.

I agree, greg. But that's also like saying that Bill Walsh wasn't a genius because he had Montana. Brady is exceptional, but the coaching job Belicheck has done this year is very impressive. That team is prepared every week, with no let-downs. It reminds me...dare I say it?...of St. Joe in his first stint.

greg(b), unfortunately the consequence of what to do if you draft badly ... is what the Skins have done in past years ... trade away the picks. [Though the Skins have been drafting better in recent years, at least in terms of guys who make the roster ... still, it would be nice if they would find just one Devin Hester or Marques Colston.]

Is there a quantifiable way to gauge how well an offensive lineman does in run or pass blocking, specifically? I don't think so, but throwing it out there for the creative geniuses in the gallery...

I think sacks allowed + holding + false start + Red Zone is a good way to subtract the negative plays, but the formula lacks a way to counterbalance with positive plays...

Wow, we're all so bored with this team that we went from Toddapalooza to creating formulas for offensive linemen...maybe we should all go outside and get some fresh air :-)

Diddy, ground level ozone in DC is some of the worst in the country ... I'm stayin in and making up O-line formulae.

.. and b/c Nate has not yet pooped on my pgh references, I'm linking to their breakdown of the previous Giants game. http://www.postgameheroes.com/?p=970 Looks like Samuels was the man and Wade was the goat.

I'm thinking the positive parts of the formula would need to provide O-line points for passes completed, as well as incompletions due to drops, i.e., passes the QB was able to deliver. Those probably would need to be weighted to account for the number of down D linemen and blitzers.

Diddy;

you could do something similar to the NHL's +/- system. Theirs is + for your team scoring while you are on the ice and minus for goal against while you are on the ice.

But for the O line you would have pass plays vs penalties. For running plays it would people blocked with a multiplier for pancakes and TD's scored if your block broke the run.

This is just a quick thought, and definately needs refinement.

Not that I want to talk draft at this time, but the Redskins really need to get some young blood on this line via the draft. A guard or two, and not just any guard, but a large, mean and nasty fella, and a tackle wouldn't hurt in the least.

(A good measure of how much I've come to despise the Pats is that I would feel almost -- almost -- as much disgust if they won the SB as if Dallas won. Ugh. Perish the thought of a NE-DAL Super Bowl.)

What do you guys think? Who has the best chance of knocking off the Pats in the playoffs?

Posted by: NateinthePDX | December 12, 2007 10:29 AM

I hear ya Nate. Hard to believe but NE and Belicek is the one team I'd cheer Dallas to beat (I feel dirty just typing that).

greg(b), plus younger at RB and taller at WR, but just like its premature to talk about playoffs unless and until we run the table (where does that phrase come from?), its way premature to talk draft.

Lets expand.

Lets say you are passing 28 times a game.

26 of those times your player was negated.

+ 26

1 play was a hold for ten yards on you

-10

1 play was a sack by your man (based upon yards lost, not occurances)

-5

So for the passing game your ranking is +11

For running your team runs 30 times, 12 to your side.

Positive gains = +1. Negative Gains = -1 (multiplied by yards lost)

10 were positive.
2 were negative (4 yards lost total) = 0

You pancaked two guys on one of those plays + 5 x2 = 10

One TD on those runs to your side = +10

For a run ranking of 20.

At least this way, if your team passes a lot or runs alot, the two separate categories help to tell the story.

I wouldnt want to hear it from cowgirl fans if they won the superbowl, I really hope they dont make it to the superbowl and would love to see them fall in their first playoff game.

I am with you SAK2. I would love for them to go out in their first playoff game. I also would love for the Pats not to lose in regular season and then not make the big show.

greg(b), plus younger at RB and taller at WR, but just like its premature to talk about playoffs unless and until we run the table (where does that phrase come from?), its way premature to talk draft.

Posted by: dcsween | December 12, 2007 11:13 AM

Wouldn't McFadden look good in burgundy and gold? Just sayin...

I guess you would have to eliminate anything outside the pocket... award extra points for screen passes where your fat ass gets down field to block someone, and I shudder to think about how to quantify when the d line does a stunt or a nose tackle shoots the gap on the guard and center.

But its something i guess

Nope, we go O line first 3 rounds. Possession revciever/te 4th(or 5th I guess since we dont have a 4th?).

Address CB or/and S through FA.

The OL formula doesn't have to be perfect. God knows the QB rating isn't. It just needs to be a close approximation of how to stack rank linemen.

You have to know that teams in the NFL already do this. How else do they "grade out" their players after a game...I wonder what Joe Bugel does...

Sheesh, all this talk about formulas and such makes me wonder if I should dig up the scratchwork I did last season, trying to put together a cohesive formula of shoddiness that I dubbed the 'Bingus Factor' (Bf). Just turned into a trainwreck, eventually....

Reminds me of when my wife is mad at me, and every word I say (no matter how innocent) just makes her angrier... if I tell her I love her she says, "you're just feeling guilty because you were looking at that woman!". ROTFL!!!

Posted by: Alan4 | December 12, 2007 09:33 AM

Alan- I think you married my wife!

The Pro Bowl historically is a load... rarely do players get their on merit alone

FYI Jason....

Jake Plummer was fined by the NFL a few years ago when he wore Pat Tillmans number sticker on his helmet after the 1 week mandated by the NFL.

I think all teams must wear it the first week, then they cannot wear it after that. Only the player's team can.

At least, that's the way it was a couple years ago.

(from Jasno's post)

The Redskins starting WR combo - Moss/Randle El - has combined for 1 TD this season ..

Am I the ONLY one who finds this dreadful/startling/porous...fill in the blank. I know there are injuries to the line, but our "explosion" on offense is ZERO. No big runs from the RB's , defense-stretching plays from the WR's.

I'm sorry, but anytime you lean on the TE's for big plays, you are in trouble.

The easy thing is to blame Receiver, The...(although that is one of my favorite pasttimes !) But there is just a fundemental problem with our passing game....Lloyd or not.

On a side note....These last 3 games (hopefully more!!) could remind us of 2005. We need to win out with an aging QB with a weak arm, but can pick ya apart. Hopefully our Def/ST can take a dew back like they did during that run.

dcsween, postgameheroes is an excellent site, with intelligent methodology which informs terrific, insightful analysis... for me to poop on!

trentpulver they must have changed that rule. The Eagles had 21 on their helmets when they played the Giants.

Z, I agree re: free agency and the secondary ... but right now, all RI mojo must be focused on BEATING THE GIANTS.

[Notwithstanding the preceding, I say the Skins should bust the bank for a restricted free agent free safety ... from ... gulp (I say that b/c it reeks of all things bad Archuleta-wise) ... the Rams ... O.J. Atogwe is a stud and is worth making an offer. Also, at CB, many peeps know of my dibs on Nnamdi Asomugha.]

The Pats have San Francisco's 1st round pick this coming year which means they could potentially have a top 5 pick. A local sports talk radio host was saying how scary it would be if they got Darren McFadden to add to their arsenal. I think Moss will stay. He'd be a fool not to even if its for another minimal contract. He already got paid in Minnesota & Oakland

I think Asomugha would be great...so would Atogwe.....let's trade for Osi Uminyoura...bring back Joe Salavea...call Green Bay about Kabeer Biamila and the Bears about Adwele Ogunleye ...maybe we can pull N.D. Kalu our of retirement!

The defense would suck, but I would love for Madden to have to pronounce the names back to back....

" Ya see Asomugha jumps the route, picks the ball off , then gets a block from Uminyoura and Salavea, uh, then laterals to uh..uh Ato-ato--atogahuna...and well they score"

dc good to seen you around again....Pats not going away for along time....brady just enetering his prime, they will sign moss, have sf pick....looking at a 49ers kind 15yr run of sustained excellence if i had my guess.....hate it cause i live up here..... as for the skins we are in desparate need of a play making wr and running back....then the usual younger, bigger, faster, better everywhere else save for QB.....thats sums up our offseason

Have y'all seen the forecast for Sunday in Hoffa Memorial Stadium? They're now predicting -- and keep in mind that the weather poodles are rarely right -- a Nor'Easter.

I don't understand the thought that the Redskins need to draft a rb? Has Portis had anything to work with all year? If we had no injuries to our line, then no one is questioning our RB's. We need to draft some OL before we go rb.

You gotta hand it to the folks on here. No matter how reasoned the criticisms are of Jason La Canfora, no matter how clearly the facts are laid out, the sheeps on here will always come back with nonsensical straw mans and lame innuendo, because they simply can't argue the facts.

I say Jason La Canfora should be both ashamed of himself and reprimanded for including in his very first article about Sean Taylor's fatal shooting: "The NFL also has fined Taylor for illegal hits, uniform violations and spitting on Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006." And the response from the sheep on here is "Peter King says he runs a good blog so there!"

Let's look at the facts:

I say Jason La Canfora should be reprimanded for incorrectly claiming multiple times that Sean Taylor broke a team rule by not telling the organization that he was going to Florida on his off-day. Even after Joe Gibbs made clear not once, but twice, that there was no such rule, and therefore Taylor broke no team rule, La Canfora stubbornly stood by it. He wanted to demonstrate that Taylor was breaking team rules and was still not disciplined all the way up to his last day on earth--even when the facts didn't support this claim. And the response from the sheep on here is "if you think what he writes is wrong, why don't you just ignore it"

I say Jason La Canfora shouldn't routinely quote "many" anonymous veterans who he claims privately bash their head coach. I ask why no other reporters in town ever report anything like this. I pose the question is he exagerrating, or worse, fabricating these sentiments? And the response from the sheep on here is "You're just mad about him not giving you a dvd"

I say Jason La Canfora shouldn't routinely try to start controversies, such as when he claimed "several" anonymous veterans on the Redskins defense resented Clinton Portis for missing pre-season games, even though every on the record comment from his teammates regarding that situation was supportive. And the response from the sheep on here is "you have sex with family members."

I say Jason La Canfora doesn't show one ounce of respect for certain players and coaches whom he doesn't like, gushes over the players he does like, never ever under any circumstances tries to remain objective, opines far too often for a beat reporter, and demonstrates time and again that his coverage is agenda-driven. And the response from the sheep on here is "You just want all the coverage to be positive all the time"

I ask why does Jason La Canfora have sole ownership of the Washington Post's Redskins blog, when fellow beat reporter Jason Reid shares the same duties of covering the team in the print edition of the newspaper? Wizards beat reporters Michael Lee and Ivan Carter don't seem to have a problem sharing their blog, why is Jason Reid not permitted to post entries on the Redskins blog? Is it because Reid doesn't have the same agenda as La Canfora? From the huge differences in the tone and substance of their respective coverage, it's obvious one of them has an agenda and one does not. Interestingly, La Canfora publicly demeaned Reid on Comcast's Washington Post Live when Reid first joined the same beat as him. La Canfora also publicly tried to fued with another fellow colleague and blogger at the Post, over a player, Brandon Lloyd, La Canfora felt should be more harshly criticized. In this one instance, many of the folks on here actually thought La Canfora should stop complaining about it, and he finally did.

Never is their any rational debate on this blog over the many issues surrounding Jason La Canfora's irresponsible and careless coverage of the team. The owner and head coach of the team he is assigned to cover have publicly called him out for some of the things he has irresponsibly written, such as his undue criticisms of undrafted rookie tackle Stephon Heyer in the pre-season. Yet the sheep on here blindly support the reporter through thick and thin, presumably (and incorrectly) believing that were it not for La Canfora, this blog and forum wouldn't exist.

In response to this, they will go ahead and ignore all the facts laid out for them about Jason La Canfora's irresponsible coverage. They'll bash me as a loonie with a grudge over a stupid prize. But the truth they don't want to admit is, while he may be a talented writer and is surely a hard-working reporter, Jason La Canfora rarely writes nor acts in a manner consistent with that of a responsible journalist.

We need to draft some OL before we go rb.

Posted by: gregmarino88 | December 12, 2007 12:19 PM

Amen

baaaa - baaaa

Portis is past his prime lingering knee injuries will only get worst down the road

Jumpin Todd Flash was *born* in a crossfire Nor'Easter. Advantage Redskins.

Barno, glad to see you back broseph. Next time can you bring a paddle so we can navigate through all these tears.

(eyes getting blurry--and tired from the Barno post---must shut them for a few to get the feeling back)

You made your handle about having family sex my man.

just because his numbers are down doesnt mean portis is past his prime. he's what, 27 years old now? is larry johnson past his prime because his line can't block for him? should the chiefs go out and search for a new rb to replace him? portis is the farthest thing from the problem with this offense.

Well, if the weather is bad up in NY/NJ, I sure am glad we have that running game to lean on all night...wink wink...That running game that can churn up yards and first downs for 4 qtrs...wink wink

I'm starting a "STOP THE TEARS" petition for Barno. Anyone who wants to put an end to the tears just because Cooley won't sign his DVD Give me a Hell Yeah.

Send me the DVD...I'll have Mike Cooley of the Drive-by Truckers sign it on NYE. Close enough. I'm giving him a Chris Cooley jersey, so it's the least he could do.

Sams3 and cej75024,

Like I said. Can't. Argue. The facts.

jspaceman72, I can't stop laughing.

Already have a cooley jersey...says CAPTAINCHAOS on it. I'm in section 122 row 1 every home game for anyone that wants to drop by...

I'm sure its easy to find you, everone around you has to wear scuba gear so they don't drown from the tears.

If the Patriots go 16-0, I think that will hurt their chance of winning the Super Bowl. It's no way they can keep up their intensity in the play offs after a perfect regular season, not to mention that every team they face in the playoffs will be out for blood.

Moved on to the Police? More like regressed.

back to the weather on Sunday...

Historically, bad weather helps the underdog because it levels the playing field. But it obviously also helps running teams more than passing teams, because it's a lot harder to throw and catch a slippery ball than it is to hand it off to someone.

Hoping it's the Nor'Easter to end all Nor'Easters! (except no lighting of course...)

section 120

every team in every playoff game is out for blood. once it reaches that point, i don't think it matters if they're 16-0 or 15-1. i just hope somebody lays the wood on brady sometime soon.

Sams3,

I know where to find you as well...you're the guy sitting next to everyone with the earplugs.

(A good measure of how much I've come to despise the Pats is that I would feel almost -- almost -- as much disgust if they won the SB as if Dallas won. Ugh. Perish the thought of a NE-DAL Super Bowl.)

What do you guys think? Who has the best chance of knocking off the Pats in the playoffs?

Posted by: NateinthePDX | December 12, 2007 10:29 AM

I hear ya about a DAL-NE Super Bowl - I think my disgust with the Patriots trumps my deep-seated hatred of the Cowboys at this point. The Cowboys fans may be insufferable pr*cks if they win the SB, but they are just fans. The players (with the notable exception of T.O.) are not that bad. The Patriots, particularly Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, are insufferable pr*cks, and that I can't stand. I can't stand the smugness that's been oozing from Foxboro all season, and I REALLY can't stand how RUDE Belichick is to players, coaches, team staffs, etc. of other teams. That to me is inexcusable and unsportsmanlike. I think that the murder of Sean proved that the Cowboys - players, coaches, staff, and fans - can put aside the game and remember what's really important in life. I don't think Belichick is capable of doing that. As for Brady, I don't deny his talent, but every time someone describes him as "classy," I cringe. Classy people don't act like irresponsible playboys.

I think the only team that has a snowball's chance in H*ll of knocking off the Pats in the playoffs is the Colts. And I'd love to see them do it. In spite of being the defending Super Bowl champs, they've been largely ignored all year, thanks to the Pats' currently undefeated season. It would be poetic justice if the Pats lose - again - to the Colts in the AFC Championship game. Then it won't matter who else is playing in the Super Bowl, because I'd be rooting for the Colts to make it two in a row!

In the NFC, I think that Green Bay has the best shot of knocking off Dallas in the playoffs. I think they learned their lesson from the game a couple weeks ago, and they won't make the same mistakes again. This is most likely Brett's last year in Green Bay, so I don't think he's going down without a fight.

By that logic wouldn't you want good weather? About the only things the skins have a prayer of being able to do is pass.

I have one question for Barno. If you have such a problem with JLC. Why do you keep coming back to his blog? If you have that big of an issues with him. Why not send him an e mail about whatever problem you have with him? I just don't get you blasting him on every post he makes.

If it turns out to be serious snow I say lets' see a heavy dose of Iron Mike. Portis can barely stay on his feet in good weather conditions he has no chance in the snow

You will be able to find me because i'll be sitting with your mom.

No. Bad weather or not, I think we'll be pounding the ball on Sunday 35-40 times. We're a running team, we just haven't gotten it done with the injuries to the O-line and Sellers of late. But expect a return to Gibbs preferred style of football on Sunday...

Barno;

I guess I just dont get it. Fine, you have made your point about why you think Jasno is a hack. Ok, now what. Are we supposed to all say, your right, and just stop posting?

Are we supposed to start a letter writing campaign to get J3 as the blog writer?

Jasno has a personal, albeit anonymous, relationship with many on this blog. Happy Hours, games, whathaveyou.

Most people here disagree with your sentiment. Most of the people who dont like Jasno or his reporting style do not come here anymore.

But because you think your opinion is right, you think it should change, even though so many others dont? Why? If we find it fun, informative and unslanted, are we not entitled to that?

At the risk of being called a hypocrite or putting words in your mouth, you are free to rant here all you want... but are you really going to keep doing so even though it will not change?

Life isnt fair and I assume you think the same about this blog, but at some point you have to bury the hachet and either deal with it or move on.

In all sincerity, such as and the like-- Barno, trying to see exactly what angle you're coming from here. Safe to assume you're a regular viewer of Fox News Channel, aka "fair and balanced". Yes? Do you find their presentation of the news to truly be fair and balanced? Or do they have an "agenda"? Is everything (by which, I mean, 'everything') simply black and white in your eyes? Do you see any shades of gray (as in 'not just either or') in the world? Again, just askin' with sincerety, maps, and the like, such as.

jaradel - i completely agree with everything you said. it's flip-flopped from week to week as to who i hate more, but i think the pats get the cake for the overall season over the cowboys.

as for the colts, i still think they're the better team. we saw very mediocre teams like the eagles and ravens move the ball at will on the pats, and i think the colts are much more balanced and better overall than the pats. i predicted it before their first matchup, the pats beat the colts in indy and lose in foxboro in the playoffs, and i'm sticking by it.

Don't see gibbs ever cutting portis...i have just said all along that portis is not who i thought he was....as the carries mount in dc it is just obivious that his numbers were a result of the broncos system, which we don't run so he is a solid nfl back, tuff and all that but not a real threat with ball in his hand, he is a 205 pound plow horse....he is not the problem so to speak he is solid but we need the guys on our team who have the ball all the time to make the more than occasional big play...if we are going to run a power running game i would like my plowhorse to be around 230/240 and have my 205 guy in on third down.....long story short my issue isn't so much portis as it is he is the wrong back for what we do..... 1900 carries or what ever has kind of confirmed that for me...

notguy is Nate. language/tone/diction ... its his tell (esp. mapping such as his guts out today and yesterday).

I say bad weather is good, except for hammies of O-linemen. Levels the playfield as someone said, see e.g., that 3-0 game in Pittsburgh a little while ago.

Which team has the poetry and irony to beat the Pats? The Browns.

Who would have ever thought the any team could be more loathed than the cowboys!

I hope the Nor'Easter ends around Baltimore, although it would be cool to watch the SnowCam....for future use:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/webcams/snowcam.htm

in my mind, the power running game isn't dependent on the back, it's on the o-line. two teams with very successful power running games: pitt and baltimore. their backs? willie parker and willis mcgahee. both with very similar build and skill sets to portis. neither would be successful if they were hit in the backfield on every play. give portis back a healthy and consistent o-line, and i see a 1400+ yard season again.

notguy is not me, sween, but I accept that as a compliment, sween.

notguy is funny as hell, and quick, and succinct, and pithy, and all that. Plus he obviously loves the blog and its peeps.

Also, F the Giants. Here's to Stephon Heyer using Michael Strahan as a snowplow.

i just hope somebody lays the wood on brady sometime soon.

Posted by: psps23 | December 12, 2007 12:45 PM

You can add Tony Romo to that list....VERY few are able to get clean hits on these two.!!!! ( Testament to how good the OL is)

I just wish one time ... ONE TIME... Rocky Mac comes clean on the blindside and lays out Romo. Even if he gets up, I'm OK with that...just level the douche!!

I'm not knocking Portis in particular, nor Betts (and definitely not Rock or Sellers), but I just say that no position has less mileage than RB. The purpose of the position is to take a beating. I'm just saying the Skins need to get younger/fresher at the position ... let all of them compete. [My plans also include using Mike Sellers as a DE in goal line situations, so he is untouchable.] A new RB does not need to be an early round pick ... first round RBs seem historically overrated anyway. One of the RBs who got chosen for the AP All-American team, the one from Central Florida (who will go in a later round b/c franchises will say "Central Florida?") would be a fine choice.

This past offseason, I was loving the fact that the Skins had Betts AND Portis, but now it is December. These two need to play some Skins' Decemberball (also known as Toddball) to convince me that they are both still explosive (though not sure that term ever really fit for Betts).

Echoing the sentiments of the rest of the team, Wade expressed confidence in the 13-year veteran, "Todd Collins played a great game. I expect him to do the same this week as well. He knows this system as well as anyone."

From the other TODD!!!

JM220,

I have communicated countless times with JLC by email. His usual response is of the "get a life" variety. But sometimes, he'll blame his editors, like when he said he "ripped his editors asses for it." It being including the stuff about Taylor's on the field infractions in his story about Taylor's shooting. Now, I find it very difficult to believe he didn't A) write it himself, since it was in a story where the byline clearly said "by Jason La Canfora". B) that he hadn't read it before it went to press.

Also, I *heart* the WashPo snowcam.

What a relief to see the SnowCam again. Skins football in DECEMBER! Also, remind me. What happened to the gnome?

cej75024, amen to that. i want to see romo chase down another one of those botched snaps 20 yards behind him, and when he turns the corner...

Have y'all seen the forecast for Sunday in Hoffa Memorial Stadium? They're now predicting -- and keep in mind that the weather poodles are rarely right -- a Nor'Easter.

Posted by: TheCindy | December 12, 2007 12:19 PM

LMGO! Weather poodles!

You gotta hand it to the folks on here. No matter how reasoned the criticisms are of Jason La Canfora, no matter how clearly the facts are laid out, the sheeps on here will always come back with nonsensical straw mans and lame innuendo, because they simply can't argue the facts.

...

Posted by: Barno | December 12, 2007 12:23 PM

Dude, Barno - lay off of Jason. We know he's not perfect. We know he makes mistakes and can't type worth a damn and is critical of the Redskins at times. But you know what? We don't care. As for his coverage of Sean, his name was attached to the byline of several articles because his blog posts were referenced. Jason wasn't necessarily the one putting the information about Sean's prior transgressions in those articles. In the end, he kept us informed of every bit of news on the situation, no matter how small, and he was very respectful of the Redskins organization during that time. He was also very sensitive to the strong and shifting emotions of the fan base and did his best to mitigate any misunderstandings. I may not agree with Jason all the time, but I still turn to his blog for up-to-the-minute news on my favorite team. We're all tired of your whining. Go grind your axe somewhere else.

You shouldn't have a problem rooting for the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. We'll be the ones wearing the 21s on our hats. Didn't see a man without it on Sunday.

not guy is Sween. Fess up!

One would hope that the Skins have put this guy under deep sleep hipgnosis to get as clear a read on the NYG playbook as possible. This is from the Skins site:

"The Redskins plucked wide receiver Anthony Mix from the Giants' practice squad on Nov. 20. Mix is in his first NFL season from Auburn after signing with the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 13, 2006.

Mix spent all of last season on the Giants' practice squad. He opened the 2007 season on the Giants active roster and played in the team's first four games with three receptions for 39 yards. He went back to the practice squad in Week 5.

Mix played with Redskins' quarterback Jason Campbell at Auburn."

do you think that if the skins win out the rest of the way (beating ny in ny, minnesota in minnesota, and beating dallas the last game of the year, all with an undefeated 4-0 quarterback) that the skins would be considered the "hottest" or "most dangerous team" riding into the playoffs?

(provided NO loses a game)

SMACK, the one who smelt it, dealt it. YOU are notguy!

If we were all sheep, according your name, you would try to sex us.

Todd inthe PDX
DC-Todd
Todd-no
Toddblazer658
todds-todds23

yours truly Todd75024

pcp, unfortunately, if the Skins ran the table with 4-0 Todd (who is actually Todd v.13), then after beating the Giants, Vikes, Dallas, the media would HAVE to proclaim that the most dangerous team going into the playoffs is ... the Patriots.

Wouldn't McFadden look good in burgundy and gold? Just sayin...

Posted by: mtnskinsfan | December 12, 2007 11:18 AM

I may know th eteam who could swap you the pick that makes that possible. I'll have my people call your people (Vinny) to set up a deal.

SMACK, the one who smelt it, dealt it. YOU are notguy!

Posted by: dcsween | December 12, 2007 01:16 PM

A half-hearted denial, at best.

Devils Advocate Question....

Who would you rather see in the next 3 games at QB the TODD or the SOUP?

We have seen Jason's ability to give games away at the end... I am in no way talking about the future TODD's age keeps him out of that discussion but in a vital e game stretch to keep playoffs hopes alive...

If Soup was in there could we have pulled it off not saying we will just sayin'

"A half-hearted denial, at best."

Posted by: SMACK1 | December 12, 2007 01:23 PM

Right on the heels of a half-hearted accusation, but nice deflection.

Darren McFadden would be WAY too expensive. In P.King's column this week, he gives the run down of every team's cap space, ranging from btwn about $5-$40 million under ... except for one team ... the Skins who are $20 million OVER. Something tells me that after robbing Peter, we are going to need to rob Paul too.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/12/09/week14/4.html

Also, with the "new" P.King who now (AFTER serving on the HoF selection committee) likes the Skins, does he also get a new name, like Bejing?

Given that Jason can't really walk very well right now, I'd rather see the Todd. Is this a trick question?

Barno, here is the thing I don't get. You have a 'strong dislike' for all things Jason LaCanfora. You've made that pretty clear. In fact, you've made it crystal clear.

Why bother reading his blog then? Aren't you just torturing yourself, and then subsequently the rest of us by posting?

DC

I meant even if Jason was healthy... Does anyone think he could have one these games?

i loved what todd did last week, but he still hasn't started a game in forever. you know what jason can do, and you have to think he will only get better (even on a weekly basis). so you'd have to go with jason. he can still do things collins can't, (like turn possible sacks into decent gains) and i think sooner than later (figuratively) he'll come through in a late-game clutch situation.

ah HA, it WAS a trick question. I'd take the starting QB uninjured in a heartbeat. I'd rather dance with the date I brought with me.

It was tough to watch him throw those late game interceptions... but the flip side of that is (of course) He put us in a position to win those games had he not thrown those picks. It is of course a catch 22 of sorts. I do agree... I think as he gets more experience he wont try to force those passes and be able to read the defense better...

Greg, barno continues to read and post here because, according to him, we're all too dumb to realized that JLC is lying to us and making stuff up. he hopes that by continually posting these long rants, that people will wake up and realize the "truth".

According to him, at least

Okay, this is the last time I EVER respond to a Barno post on this subject, so all please skip past if you don't care to read.

You gotta hand it to the folks on here. No matter how reasoned the criticisms are of Jason La Canfora, no matter how clearly the facts are laid out, the sheeps on here will always come back with nonsensical straw mans and lame innuendo, because they simply can't argue the facts.

FACT: Plural of 'sheep' is 'SHEEP'. Plural of 'straw man' is 'straw MEN'.

I say Jason La Canfora should be both ashamed of himself and reprimanded for including in his very first article about Sean Taylor's fatal shooting: "The NFL also has fined Taylor for illegal hits, uniform violations and spitting on Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006." And the response from the sheep on here is "Peter King says he runs a good blog so there!"

Fact: NOTHING in that extract above is factually incorrect, so what's your point?

Let's look at the facts:
I say Jason La Canfora should be reprimanded for incorrectly claiming multiple times that Sean Taylor broke a team rule by not telling the organization that he was going to Florida on his off-day. Even after Joe Gibbs made clear not once, but twice, that there was no such rule, and therefore Taylor broke no team rule, La Canfora stubbornly stood by it. He wanted to demonstrate that Taylor was breaking team rules and was still not disciplined all the way up to his last day on earth--even when the facts didn't support this claim. And the response from the sheep on here is "if you think what he writes is wrong, why don't you just ignore it"
FACT: JLC did NOT 'claim' that, that is YOUR interpretation of that statement; it's not the only one possible. What JLC DID highlight was that there were two versions in circulation of how Sean Taylor came to be in Miami; one from the team and one from his manager, and they seemed at face level to be in conflict. He drew NO conclusion from that, you did, and then put your conclusion in his mouth.

I say Jason La Canfora shouldn't routinely quote "many" anonymous veterans who he claims privately bash their head coach. I ask why no other reporters in town ever report anything like this. I pose the question is he exagerrating, or worse, fabricating these sentiments? And the response from the sheep on here is "You're just mad about him not giving you a dvd"
FACT: You have ZERO idea of who JLC does and does not talk to and what they say to him. I've worked in business for almost 30 years and played sports since I was a youngster and in both those pursuits you ALWAYS have people who do their bellyaching 'off the record'. Sometimes it's just venting, sometimes it's genuine, but it absolutely happens. Football teams are crammed with egos, do you expect that they all just line up behind the management like sheep and blindly follow? Players and coaches alike respect JJG as a man, but I'm sure plenty of them disagree with some of the things he does, the same as they would with any other coach.

I say Jason La Canfora shouldn't routinely try to start controversies, such as when he claimed "several" anonymous veterans on the Redskins defense resented Clinton Portis for missing pre-season games, even though every on the record comment from his teammates regarding that situation was supportive. And the response from the sheep on here is "you have sex with family members."
FACT: This statement does not in ANY way refute those claims. As I state above, a whole world of difference between on and off the record. Try asking 'deep cover' if you can ever find out who it was.

I say Jason La Canfora doesn't show one ounce of respect for certain players and coaches whom he doesn't like, gushes over the players he does like, never ever under any circumstances tries to remain objective, opines far too often for a beat reporter, and demonstrates time and again that his coverage is agenda-driven. And the response from the sheep on here is "You just want all the coverage to be positive all the time"
FACT: You haven't produced one shred of proof that supports this assertion. You need to show me who he has done this with where it can be incontrovertibly shown that he was wrong to do so. If you mean Heyer, his game is 'up and down' as a rookie will be, and you will never hear Joe Bugel call him out on that because he's from the old school of 'we keep it in-house'.

I ask why does Jason La Canfora have sole ownership of the Washington Post's Redskins blog, when fellow beat reporter Jason Reid shares the same duties of covering the team in the print edition of the newspaper?
FACT: I don't know, have you asked his Editor? The blog is extra-mural activity for him, so I don't think he 'owns' it, but I do think he's been 'assigned' it. Ask the people who assigned him.

Wizards beat reporters Michael Lee and Ivan Carter don't seem to have a problem sharing their blog, why is Jason Reid not permitted to post entries on the Redskins blog? Is it because Reid doesn't have the same agenda as La Canfora? From the huge differences in the tone and substance of their respective coverage, it's obvious one of them has an agenda and one does not.
FACT: This paragraph is completely your speculation from beginning to end, no facts included at all.

Interestingly, La Canfora publicly demeaned Reid on Comcast's Washington Post Live when Reid first joined the same beat as him. La Canfora also publicly tried to fued with another fellow colleague and blogger at the Post, over a player, Brandon Lloyd, La Canfora felt should be more harshly criticized. In this one instance, many of the folks on here actually thought La Canfora should stop complaining about it, and he finally did.
FACT: I have no idea whether he 'fueded' (sic) with anyone or not, but do you think the world of journalism is all about sweetness and light? My daughter is a journalism graduate, I can tell you it isn't. JLC, Jason Reid and Dan Steinberg are all humans, sometimes they say or do things they aren't proud of. So what?

Never is their any rational debate on this blog over the many issues surrounding Jason La Canfora's irresponsible and careless coverage of the team. The owner and head coach of the team he is assigned to cover have publicly called him out for some of the things he has irresponsibly written, such as his undue criticisms of undrafted rookie tackle Stephon Heyer in the pre-season.
FACT: The job of the coaches and the ownership is to keep the media at bay, NOT to let them in - except when it suits them to do so. Why do you think Dan Snyder has spent so much time building his own voices in the market? He wants to control the message (as many owners do) and he resents
the fact that sometimes the 4th Estate catch him out on that. If you think that's wrong, you maybe think that the whole "FEMA briefing" thing was a non-issue too. If that's so, I'm really sorry.

Yet the sheep on here blindly support the reporter through thick and thin, presumably (and incorrectly) believing that were it not for La Canfora, this blog and forum wouldn't exist.
FACT: There is NO evidence either way on that, so why are you right and they wrong?

In response to this, they will go ahead and ignore all the facts laid out for them about Jason La Canfora's irresponsible coverage. They'll bash me as a loonie with a grudge over a stupid prize. But the truth they don't want to admit is, while he may be a talented writer and is surely a hard-working reporter, Jason La Canfora rarely writes nor acts in a manner consistent with that of a responsible journalist.
FACT: The assertion about JLC that you make above could just as easily have been made of Edward R. Murrow when he was going after McCarthy.

SUMMARY: You haven't presented any facts Barno. It's a mish-mash of your own speculation, innuendo, selective 'between the lines' reading and blatant misrepresentation. How can that be when that's what you're accusing JLC of? Funny thing is I can't answer that because I don't have enough FACTS.

Posted by: Barno | December 12, 2007 12:23 PM

ok, that being said... say collins wins out and we get in the playoffs. jason heals miraculously and is 100% for the first game. do we play him? how about if he's only healthy for the 2nd round or nfc champ.? at what point do we give collins the reigns for the rest of the season regardless of JC's health?

Toddblazer,
A lot has to do with the play calling. We've been complaining about how predictable its been all season.

Soup (QB of the future) is learning the offense and gaining experience. Then he's hurt. Now, Todd goes in and things start to click.

What's surprising is that the coaching staff seems to have started Soup this season, knowing that he limits the offense, and kept him in behind a decimated OL.

A NE/Dallas SB will be my version of hell - boyfriend lives in Texas (I'm here, obviously, see my handle) and normally go there to watch the SB - have told him that I will not enter the state of Texas if Dallas is in the Super Bowl - he is a Pats fan - and a smug one, who likes to talk about how they are a dynasty, blah, blah, blah - sorry, but a team that has sucked since their inception, but for a few years ago, I just cannot put them in the same category as those that have been around for 70+ years - so I am all over Green Bay and the Colts (being realistic that the Skins won't make it all the way)

Game.

Set.

Match.

Toddcoat.

Fact: Barno is a D-Bag.

Fact: Barno wears panties.

Fact: Barno cries all over his panties.

Fact: Barno in no way has ANYTHING signed by Chris Cooley and his panties are in a bunch becuase of this.

Fact: The only way Barno would ever find his DVD is if it was up his ass because that is where his head resides.

beep beeeeeeep

Oh and....

Beep Beep...

I hope Sunday night is TODDRIFIC!

in my mind, the power running game isn't dependent on the back, it's on the o-line. two teams with very successful power running games: pitt and baltimore. their backs? willie parker and willis mcgahee. both with very similar build and skill sets to portis. neither would be successful if they were hit in the backfield on every play. give portis back a healthy and consistent o-line, and i see a 1400+ yard season again.

Posted by: psps23 | December 12, 2007 01:03 PM

I agree! In the Bears game alone, I watched Alex Brown and others along the front four blowing by Samuels, Heyer and Kendall most notably and getting a hand on or redirecting Portis in the backfield. This was a Bears team without Tank Johnson, that had Urlacher playing invisibly and a D that overall really didn't do much to stop the run all year. Portis is ideally an eye-formation cut-back runner. Until our O Line is healthy and decides to consistently knock the opponent backwards, we need to put Portis in the eye behind Sellars, pitch it to him and let him hit the hole at full speed.

i do understand that the weather and rain probably played a part in why the coaches went without many eye/pitch plays