Dappa Dan

Holy freaking [censored].... That would have to be one of the great World Series games ever wouldn't it? Great call by Joe Buck. See you all tomorrow night.

What it the hell is going on in the NFL? Marino's 5086 yards in a season record not only looks like being broken, but it looks like being broken by 3 different guys? I keep expecting Brady and Brees to have a bad day somewhere along the line... but Rodgers, with 20 TDs through 7 games... nothing can stop that guy. Even the rookie Newton is averaging enough to get around the 4500 mark in a season, which is to say nothing of his running ability. Wow...

Good post. Colts and Miami. You would think both sides would stampede towards Luck. You might even find that one or the other might be offered a deal they can't refuse, though. Henne actually didn't look awful before he got hurt (though I saw him live last year, and he was deplorable)... And Manning is, well, Manning. Both sides might consider trading it on for a raft of picks and good players. I can. They've been relatively competitive here and there. Yup. There's a reason everyone had them coming back up the standings this year. It's all about that OL, isn't it... and by extension OC. When you first start watching the game it's about the big plays, QBs etc... then after a while you love pulling apart the line of scrimmage, and following the elephants on parade. The Rams will be ok next year, and will have a number of years where they look good. That's what's great about the NFL in any given season, the team is always a maximum of 3 years away from turning things around.

Check the stats. For some reason Luck had slightly better stats in all the major passing categories (he's continued his great form this season, hasn't dropped momentum at all) but lost the Heisman to Newton, who is an out and out phenom. Fins fans have started the "suck for luck" movement... :D Should send them our way for some advice. I couldn't help but think that, yeah. They're not as bad as they're showing though.

Yeah what the hell happened to that guy? I thought that wasn't a bad signing given you have the best RB in the league. McNabb can hustle, when in doubt. Give him a bit more time, he's not nearly as bad as he's shown. My Eagles have been a disgrace though. This Wide 9s malarkey, can't stop the run, Mick the [censored] Vick throwing picks... Can't believe the Lions and Bills... And the Pack are miles ahead of everyone.

I cant get into the link... Am I too late?

Iggles did ok... but meh... you don't learn too much. Vick barely played... Jackson wasn't sighted, and Maclin wasn't around. We didn't even start our main running back. Why? OOOOOH!!!! Can I come? You stay the hell away from me DL7...

I love the idea, considering we have the blue-chip midfield we've always wanted as demons fans since... well... since I've been alive... I don't hate the Sydney model whete they just keep recruiting big forwards as they peter out in their careers... but they pick them up from clubs that are having trouble with delivery from their midfields. I like the White one. Though I'm not sure he has as much upside as we would perhaps need. The Fev one I'm warming to, and I'll tell you why. I really think that the AFL, over the space of the next 20-30 years will get more and more like the NFL. In their game, they recruit players from absolutely anywhere, and at older ages than you would think. They're certainly not as youth obsessed as we are. If you had told me about a player who had great form in the VFL, had developed late, kicked big bags regularly, and had found improvement you didn't know was there.... I'd have given serious thought to giving him a rookie spot. If you told me he'd won a couple of Colemans I'd be jumping at it. It's really only the peanut factor that makes me question it, as it is with everyone. I think all in all if you plan to use him for 15 games in the year at least, and you're SURE he'll behave, then go for it. But if he's only on the list as a get-out clause, like what Campbell is now... then forget it. Not worth poisoning the list if you're not going to get 30 goals from him. The main aspect I like about recruiting players for 1-2 years is that you don't get left with a Newton situation. We keep going for these massively speculative picks... because that's how you recruit young KP players. If you want a good one, you have to use a first round pick. And with recruiting being as it is, usually they end up in the first few picks. All in all, I'd rather us offer a couple of years to an out of contract free agent-type player, while allowing Jack to stay in his spot, than to go for some NQR youngster that asks for WAY more money than he's worth.

Mick the [censored] is the reason I follow the NFL now. Watching him from a Hooters in Miami monster the redskins, and then create the miracle at the new meadowlands... One of the most amazing things I've seen in sports. Maybe not quite the best footballer in the NFL, but I reckon the best overall athlete.

Phillies looking dominant. A lazy 9 in the 8th...

That's awesome. Hence this year where we play Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks as all won their divisions, as did the Iggles... So we play both our division rivals twice (6 games), then everyone from the NFC West once (4 games), everyone from AFC East once (4 games) and then, as you say, the winners of the two remaining divisions of our own conference (NFC division champions Bears and Falcons = 2 games)... I like it. Makes my head hurt, but I like it. Kind of like a complicated seeding program there, where the best play the best every year. The more I see it, the more it makes our own scheduling look amateur.

I don;t watch so much of it... I catch up over the net though.

Alright yank sports fans... Is there going to be a season this year? Tentative word is, yes...

As with the NFL, I follow Philly... I can't believe we landed Lee in the off season. Makes no sense at all. The more I think about it, the more it seems they're like the Collingwood of American sports. Small place to the north of the most important city... Parochialism and love of the common man has turned them into a powerhouse in football. And the Phillies have had little success for many, many years, but are now one of the favourites for the world series, and have been for the last 3-4 years. Love me the big 4, Doc Halladay, Hamels, Lee and Oswalt. Not bad closers and set-up guys in Madson and Lidge. But it's our offence that has me worried. When you don't address your issues, they multiply... and we've had injuries, and can't hit to save ourselves. We only have the second best record in the MLB because of our league-best pitching rotation. 45, what are the big 4 sports? NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL? NFL has now probably taken over Cricket as my second favourite sport. Baseball's a fair way down the list though. Ok sport, lots to think about, but the inequity is frustrating, and the length of the season, while not something they'll ever change, is just too much. I only start really thinking about it after the all-star game. Maybe when they get to the last 3-40 games of the season, when magic numbers start appearing on the standings.

Great game, and great win by the Pack. They deserved it on the day... though probably not through the season. Can't wait for next season. Jeez what a tough comp eh?

Bah... watch out for the Eagles in Philly... And the whole team has just had a lovely week off too...

Wouldn't be difficult though, would it?

Naah.... The tie -breaking procedure is like 12 steps long, and ends (with identical records) in a coin toss... The only steps that really matter are, in order: 1: Head-to-head (win-loss-tie record between the two teams) 2: Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. 3: Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (games played against the same opponents) 4: Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. After that it gets into complicated things like percentage in victories, and amounts of touchdowns. The first ones are the ones to keep an eye on. In the Rams/Seahawks one, both teams are on 3-2 in their division. If the Rams win they'll be 8-8, and Seahawks will be 7-9... easy. But if the Seahawks win, both sides would end up 8-8... both teams will have won once each against each other (Rams earlier this season, Seahawks this week), and their division records would be: Rams 3-3, Seahawks 4-2... That last stat being the tiebreaker. Exciting stuff.

Actually they'll be on .500, since they have to beat the Seahawks to get in. It's amazing though. If that doesn't usher in some change, I don't know what will. Imagine if they somehow beat the Saints/Falcons in week one?!

My worst fear came true in the first play. The OL has been going really well all season, but in recent weeks has been overwhelmed by the Giant's amazing pass rush, and now the Vikings who have a respectable defence. The league now has the information they need to get at Vick. I worry... especially with defenders dropping like flies. He's an amazing football player, Mick the [censored], but if they don't go nuts recruiting guards and tackles next season I'll be worried. Reid came out and said that if he had to play today he couldn't and that he's unlikely to play on the weekend. Which is good. That is essentially our bye now. So if we want to get to a superbowl, we'll have to beat one of the Packers, Giants or Buccaneers at home... then go on to beat probably Bears then Atlanta away... Tough call.

Yeah, but there really isn't a system to fix this. At the heart of the problem is the fact that the worst sides NEED the picks the most... You can fiddle with the system all you like, but it'll always be exploited. The closest thing I've seen to a fix is the lottery system in the NBA. And even that is HORRIBLY unfair when the team who came last doesn't get the #1 pick. IMO, having gone as badly as we have the last 3 years, I think a draft system with compensation pick etc is actually working a lot better than people claim. I don't think we tanked, by definition. We certainly did everything within the rules to get those first picks, but it's not like the players ever kicked the ball backwards deliberately. I'm almost certainly in the minority, but the fact we've had something to cheer for for the last 3 years (the draft, ie the future) is what's kept me sane. It's not perfect, and no system will be no matter how complicated you make it... but this is doing it's job. Look at our list. :D

The Wildcard part is actually the GOOD part. The conference system itself (Wild Cards aside) is what's messed up. I can't believe one team that's 6-8 will get there. It's actually an embarrassment. It did? That'd be a first. So the season is 16... that's 6 games between you and your division rivals... then you'll play all the teams from 2 different divisions... and those two divisions are selected from both conferences. After that, there's two more games selected, though I don't know how they're selected. So for example, for the Eagles who are in... 6 vs NFC East teams. These are the big ones. 4 X NFC North teams. That's a Division in the Eagles' own conference. 4 X AFC South teams. That's a division OUTSIDE the NFC's conference. These are SLIGHTLY less important, as you're unlikely to need a tie breaker where your record against these teams matters. 2 X games against one team from the remaining two divisions. So the only two divisions in the Eagles' conference they haven't played are NFC South (Falcons) and West (49ers). As with most of these suggestions for fixture changes, there's an immediate merit to it. But then, a season isn't 11 games long. It's a marathon. If, say, we won our first 6 games... then went badly at the end of the year, I'd feel jibbed. Also... if you think it'll make the end of the season better, it'll almost certainly make the start of the season less important. Teams will be trying harder at the end of the year when their situation becomes clearer, and taking their foot off the gas at the start of the year. As with most of these suggestions, the league will only change them when MADE to... Like when new clubs come in. I love the idea that it'll stay a final 8, even though that's less than half of the teams in the league.

And I've been so good lately, haven't I? At least I save my relapses for the off season... Yeah. That's messed up. It's great now that the divisions are 8 X 4... Everyone has 3 competitors for the chance to compete in the playoffs, and every year your team's chances vary WILDLY. Injuries can make you 13-3 or 3-13 at any given time. The MLB one makes NO sense to me at all. The American League has 14 teams, and the National League has 16. So the way it works out the American League west division gets 4 teams, but the National League Central Division gets 6?!!!! It's not like they're all in the same places in the country either. Houston and Chicago? They're on opposite ends of the country! I think, from memory, that it's a historical thing. Back when there were two separate leagues, before the MLB became one big organisation, the leagues were lopsided. But I can't see why, in the homogenised game as it is, they can't just take Chicago and whack it in AL West. Then it's 15 teams in each conference, 5 a division... everyone's happy. That whacky old MLB. I might start an MLB thread next season... Part of the deal in which I became an Eagles supporter (in exchange for my American friend becoming a Demons supporter) was that I follow the Phillies too... and we just took Cliff Lee from under the noses of the Yankees!!! That's like Nicking Dane Swan on half pay from the Pies! Giants in 2007 did it. The year the Patriots went undefeated until the superbowl. One of the biggest boilovers EVER. NOBODY expected the G-girls to get close. I still remember that. It was my first few months in the States, and people couldn't believe it. The thing with those Wild Cards is that they're still a pretty legit way to make it. I mean, you can quite easily be the second best team in your division, and still get a wild card. The New Orleans Saints, right now for example... In the NFC, the Falcons are way out ahead on 12-2... But there's a few teams on 10-4... namely the Eagles, Bears and Saints. You could argue with Brees (Saints QB) throwing as well as he is, that they're the biggest threat... after all they hold the NFL title at the moment. But because they're in the same division as the Falcons, their best hope is for a Wild Card, but they're as much of a chance to win the lot as anyone. Brees is a star.

Well, they change their setup a fair bit, but they'll be staying where they are with it for the near future, until more teams come in. Think of a 32 team comp split into 2 "conferences" of 16 (American Football Conference, and National Football Conference... or AFC and NFC). Now. Those two conferences are divided up into 4 further groups of 4... North, South, East and West. How the year works is that the winner of each of these divisions goes to playoffs. Obviously that would suck if the 2 best teams in a conference are both in the same division, so they have a "wild card" opportunity... That is that in each conference, the two teams with the best records that HAVEN'T won their divisions get to go through to the playoffs. So that makes each conference have 4 playoff teams, plus the two wild cards... Which makes 12 teams out of the 32 make the playoffs. I won't go into the playoff system, that's a bit more complicated (but makes sense, the teams that rank the highest get the best run)... I thought it was a bit messed up at first but now that I think about it it makes a lot more sense. The NFL season is only 16 games long... not 22 like us, and not 31, so even if you wanted to, you could never play EVERY team in the league once. So instead of just random seeding, you're placed in these 4-team divisions... and in the 16 game season you have to play your division rivals twice. Once at home and once away. So for my team, the Eagles we play 3 teams that have become massive rivals over the years... the Giants, Redskins and Cowboys who are all big-money, big-name teams. So it kind of heightens the storyline, if you like. What's more we play them all in the last 3 weeks, or near enough to. The reason this is a big deal is if you're tied at the top of your division with some other team, the tie-breaker there is your record against these teams. This year for example, the Eagles are only one win ahead of their hated division rivals the New York Giants, with 2 games remaining. But as it happens, the Eagles have won BOTH games against them this season... which means that if we somehow end on the same amount of wins, we go through to the playoffs instead of them... Which is awesome. The goofy thing about the system, especially this year, is that you ALWAYS get one division that is just terrible. They have this awful situation at the moment in the National conference, where there's 3 teams fighting for the last Wild Card spot. The Saints (10-4), the Giants (9-5) and the Packers (8-6).... And yet in the NFC West, the team on top of that division has a record of 6-8. A full 2 wins less than one of the teams that'll miss out on playoffs!!!!! So you end up with the 6th-best team in the conference missing out, and one of the finals being played by a genuinely awful team. They're looking into it now though. I think maybe something like, you can only advance past the regular season if you have a winning record, or something like that. Plenty of good wiki pages that are nice and simple, if none of that made sense. :D