Another monster upset. The Colts go down in the first round.

Drat! Fucked again! You know that's what Peyton Manning and the Colts are saying right now. The Colts have once again exited the playoffs in the first round.

This has happened before... several times. I suppose we really shouldn't be surprised. It was a nasty rough year for the Colts in 2010. If ever they were going to get out quick, it would be this year. Still, the Jets didn't look like the right candidates for the job. As it turns out, they were.

Let's face the facts folks: This is a fluke year. We've been feeling this vibe all year long. The games were exceptionally hard to pick all the way up until week 12 because their was so much noise in the system. Even after week 12, we still had no clear-cut dominant team. The Swami, Chris Berman said early on that he felt this was the kind of year when anything could happen, and dark horse might win the whole frickin' thing.

As we approached this weekend, I felt I should sit down and make my picks several different times. I did not. As you can see in this blog, no playoff picks ever went up. Why is that? Because I was not confident in making any picks. I had a feeling we were in a fluke year, and that means big playoff upsets, but I wasn't confident enough to sit down and call a slew of them.

Right now, things are looking bad for the favorites in the playoffs. If you are favorite, you better run scared. Who knows, the Ravens may be the next favorite to go down in flames. Certainly, Ed Reed's personal tragedy does not help their focus.

Get Mark Sanchez together with Kristen Bell

So I was just reading RottenTomatoes.com just a few moments ago, and Kristen Bell was offering up her top 5 favorite movies of all time. The list does not appear to be in any particular order. One of the top 5 movies just happens to be Fletch, staring Chevy Chase.

What a co-inky-dinky?!?! In the run up to the NFL Draft, Mark Sanchez announced that Fletch was his favorite movie of all time. Or maybe he said that during the preseason game with the Rams. I don't fucking remember.

Anyway, it sounds like a match made in heaven. Mark, you should get after her. She's drop dead gorgeous. She's a heart attack thriller. She could get your mind off the 5 interceptions; make you feel all better, send you back out to the field with a positive mind set. You two can watch Fletch together and see what happens.

Since she is a 1980 baby, she is a tad old for Mark. Mark is a 1986 kid. She is a little more than 7 years older than Mark. Nevertheless, I say GAME ON! Don't be conservative. Go deep and get the big play. I am giving you the green light.

I saw Fletch. I have never much of a Fletch guy myself. I am hard to please when it comes to comedy. Hard to believe I am 13 or 14 years older than this girl, and old enough to be Mark's pappy. Shocking that I can remember the entire Raider campaign from 1980. I remember the Giants' campaign from 1986.

Don't laugh. Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin are just about my same age. My brother Bruin Troy is almost 2 months younger than me. Michael is just about 6 months older than me. I bet they remember the Raiders 1980 campaign also. I know they remember the Giants' 1986 campaign.

Quick thoughts about the pre-season

So the month of August is winding down to an end, and I realize that I have only blogged some 5 times during this month. It has been an incredibly busy time. I have been working late every night on a major project at work involving WPF, I took advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, and I am preparing to buy my first shogun and townhome. Wow... that is a lot of stuff in just one month.

Item #1: Bulger breaks his right pinking finger. Well, here we go again. It has often been said Buger is a china doll. How many QBs have busted the pinkie finger on their passing hands taking snaps from a Pro-Bowl center? This is not a good sign. Our guys have not mastered the West Coast, and now we are loosing precious practice time necessary to get it right.

Item #2: Coach Cable busts his assistant's jaw. Well what can I say about this? The scuttlebutt says that Defensive assistant Randy Hanson is Al Davis's personal snitch. This is the dude who reported all of Lane Kiffen's sayings to Al Davis. Rumor has it that Mr. Hanson was continuing in this role under the Cable administration. Cable found out about the leak and busted Hanson's jaw. The X-Rays show a clean fracture. Yesterday, it was reported that Hanson is cooperating with the police and the police intend to question Cable about this incident. Wow... I do have a new found respect for Cable. This is a man's man. He's don't take no shit from his subordinates. Gotta feel bad for the Raider fans. Just as they appear to be getting it together, it seems to be coming unglued again.

Item #3: Tom Brady looks like shit in his return from the IR. The NFL Network showed split screen side-by-side comparisons of Brady throwing during his historical 2007 season and during the 2009 preseason. It is clear that Brady's movement and comfort level are not the same. Specifically, he is not planting and stepping into his throws correctly. Why? Because it hurts like hell, that's why. The results have been some wildly off-course throws sailing well over the head of Randy Moss.

Item #4: Brett Farve looks like shit in his first outting with the Vikings. Well... what can you say about this? He looks like a dead man walking. He looks like a guy with about 1,000 injuries. The debut was last Friday night at the Metrodome. It was terrible. On Saturday night, the Packers played the Panthers at home in Green Bay. The cheese-heads in the stands were waving signs saying "Cash for clunkers: The Vikings are paying Brett Farve." Rumor has it that there is now an insurgency in the locker room. Some Viks want Tavaris to be the QB.

Item #5: Kyle Orton looks like shit in his first two outings with the Broncos. I suppose owner Pat Bowlen will come to Shannahan on bent knee asking him to take his old job back at the end of the 2009 season. Orton looks obnoxiously bad. I mean he sunk up the joint like a dead skunk. Phil Simms son Chris should be the man for the Broncos this year.

Item #6: Tony Romo looks pretty damn fine in the Texas opener. I have to say that the Cowboys looked pretty damn fine destroying the Titans 30-10 in the grand opening of the new Taj Mahal of professional football. On the opening drive, the Cowboy starters jammed the football right down the throat of a starting Titan defense that was absolutely determined to stop them. The Titans weren't fooling around either. Dallas just knocked them off the line of scrimmage on running plays, and Romo made some tremendous throws in the passing game.

Item #7: Stafford is struggling a bit. I really like Matt Stafford. I really hope he will be the solution for the long suffering Lion fans. There is nothing I would like better than the Lions and the Rams to be the Miami and Atlanta of this 2009 season {except maybe for the Cardinals to win SB44}. May the meek inherit the NFL. Still, Matt is struggling right now. He's doing exactly what Mike Mayock said he was prone to do. He makes one sensational throw that takes your breath away. He then makes one bone-headed decision which results in an Interception. Matt Stafford may become the new Brett Farve. Detroit will accept that and embrace that if it happens. Brett Farve is better than anything they have had in 50 or 60 years.

Item #8: Sanchez looks pretty good: Sanchez has already been declared the opening day starter. I think it is a good decision. The Jets have one of the finest offensive lines in football. Mangold, Faneca, and Ferguson are the best left side of a line since Dalby, Upshaw and Shell. Sanchez's ass is covered. Let him learn how to play and prosper.

Item #7: It looks like Packers vs Dolphins in the Super Bowl.

If we look hard at the preseason results, the most outstanding teams early have been the Packers and the Dolphins. A strong nod should be given to the Colts and the Saints also. We know preseason football is largely meaningless because of the number of scrubs playing. However, 1-vs-1, these four teams have looked superior. If I was to call it I would say that the Saints face the Packers in the NFC Championship, and the Dolphins face the Colts in the AFC Championship.

Item #5: Ocho Cinco kicks pretty good. We know the Bengals occupy one of the smallest markets in the NFL. They might well also be in the poorest of the 32 NFL cities. I think the Bengals should save money and improve their special teams by letting Chad kick all the time.

So did Bill Devaney tip his hand to us?

I sure hope so.

Just a quick followup to my last blog.  I just read a piece on the St. Louis Rams website which portends well in some ways.  You can see it here.  Some note worth points to ponder:

1. The Rams have conducted personal interviews in St. Louis with 23 specific players.  I sure would like to know who those young men are.
2. The first name mentioned would be that of my favorite guy: Eugene Monroe, Left Tackle of UVA.  Nothing against Jason Smith, but I sure hope Eugene is the guy.  I will be happy with Smith if we take him, but Eugene looks more flexible and faster to my eye.
3. The Rams top needs are enumerated as follows: offensive tackle, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive tackle.  I concur with this list, as long as we acknowledge that the last two positions are much further down the list.
4. Odd prospects like Jeremy Maclin and Mark Sanchez are listed as young men who spent 2 days visiting with the Rams.  I hope that is a form of military and strategic deception.  I hope we were punking the Denver Broncos when we borough Sanchez in.  Surely we can't be serious about burning our top pick on a Junior QB this year?  I am sure Sanchez would go along with the game as he would rather be the #2 pick by the Broncos than the #12 pick by the Broncos.  It means money.  I cannot fathom why Maclin would be in the list, unless we intend to do a deal with the Broncos.  He is not the #2 pick.  He is not really a top 10 pick.
5. On the NFL network, Devaney clearly stated that Steven Jackson is our best man, and we are going build around him.  In the article I mentioned, Pat Shurmur, our new offensive coordinator, is paraphrased as advocating a "Power Up" for muscle football.  Translation:  He wants bad-ass offensive linemen to knock 'em loose in every direction.
6. An interesting quote from Devaney in this piece goes as follows.  "There may be a point when you get down into the third round, things are kind of falling apart at that point and probably three or four picks before your turn comes up, you’ll have a group of names pulled out on the side. There may be four or five guys pulled out and we’ll talk about it one more time. We’ll say okay we haven’t taken a receiver at this point. This is the last chance to get the receiver, the next receiver we have now is not until the fifth or sixth round."

The final point is the most by far the most interesting and perhaps telling.  Devaney has a rep for being shut-mouthed, but he slips.  I hope this indicates that we are not intending to draft a receiver until the 3rd round.  I hope we can take this statement seriously, but I seriously doubt it

Let me tell you why.  If I had to project who the Rams are going to take, I would only be willing to predict 3 players right now.  This list presumes we are not doing a deal with the Broncos and we draft where we are.  These men are:

• #2 overall Jason Smith, LOT Baylor University
  
• #35 overall Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State University
  
• #66 Eric Wood, C/G Louisville.
  

So why do I say these three?

• Jason smith gets the nod over Eugene Monroe because Monroe has a small medical flag on his record.  He dinged up one of his knees last season.  No big deal, says the scouts, but enough separate #1 from #2.  Also, Smith is known for being mean on the battlefield.  He has a streak of nastiness according to Mike Mayock.  He finishes hard. These two factors add up to a the best "Power Up" candidate, from the Rams' point of view.
  
• Brian Robiskie was expected to slide into the second round.  He may not.  The Giants may take him in the first.  If he falls to the second round, as originally projected, we would be stupid not to take him.  He would be the perfect continuation of our great 2nd round receiver tradition.  It should be noted that both Henry Ellard and Issac Bruce were both selected in the 2nd round, and they both wore #80.  Like these fine gentlemen, Robiskie is said to be a consume professional with all the right character traits.  He is a great replacement for Issac Bruce, but not Torry Holt.
• Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but I am hoping Eric Wood falls to us in the 3rd round.  He has a grade worthy of a late first rounder.  Nobody but nobody has even suggested that a center will go in the first round.  Nobody but nobody has suggest a guard will go before the 3rd round.  One thing is for sure:  Centers and Guards are going no place but down in this draft, and I don't know why.  Perhaps it is because they play the least sexy and least coveted positions in the NFL.  In any case, I am wondering if the best guard/center in the draft may fall to us at the #66 position.  If so, it is a gift from God.  I think this kid is a future Pro Bowl player, deprecated because of his position.