Sunday Open Thread

TD Panthers…..weeeeheww

Go Panthers. Time to beat up on the Giants. Looks like Carolina is moving the ball well, while the Giants are having trouble. Like I’ve said before, stop Tiki, and you’ll beat ’em.

Yeah. There’s no way Eli can carry a football team. If his sub-par stats aren’t proof enough, shut down Tiki and it’ll show.

Huge special teams mistake for the Giants.

10-0 at the half—yeahhh

Carolina has to be a bit worried going into the second half up 10-0 after dominating the whole first half.Giants are one play away from being right back in this game. I hate it when teams have the chance to put teams away, dont and then lose.

Yeah Derrick, total domination by the Panthers, and they are only up 10 points. That always ticks me off, especially now that the Giants get the ball 1st.

Shockey fumbled that ball – horrible call

Another bad call on that fumble. Ref’s aren’t doing a good job today, down by contact can’t be reviewed, that’s 2 fumbles they missed.

shockey fumbled and it looks like it was just evened up with what looks like a Carolina fumble

yup – not sure whether or not that was an intentional make-up call…might have been

Manning, thats a NO NO. Never throw bak against the grain

Like I said, no run, no Eli pass. He’s the most overrated QB next to Vick. He’s not Peyton, that’s for sure.

Hey, Manning, your team is wearing the BLUE jerseys….

Force Eli to through, and the results are quite evident here. I love how the mediots talk him up. Without Tiki Barber, he’s average to below average at this point. People forget he’s only in his 2nd year.

Man, did you see kevin Lewis get mowed over on that run, WOW

Thats what I call, JACKED UP!!!

ahhhh – those sweet “boos” from the Giants crowd aimed at their own team are like music to my ears…it’s like those “Sounds of Nature” CD’s – i could put that on at night and go to sleep to it

Nice!! This is total domination at this point. Panthers have 200 yards rushing in 3 quarters. So much for that vaunted Giants defense.

Looks like that Carloina/Bears game is looking good right now. I can’t see the Skins hangin’ with the Seahawks.

bye bye eli….see ya next year

20-0 , G-A-M-E O-V-E-R

yeah Peppers…take his head off….ja ja ja

lol ! sweet! there goes that Giant crowd "boo"’ing again – i love it

Hello gentlemen,

It is good to see that one of our rivals is falling in the playoffs. I was saddened to see Washington go forward with a ridiculous 120m yards of offense. They already beat Seattle once this year…it will be horrible if Gibbs beats Parcells back to the Super Bowl!

Oh well, the win just gives the Deadskins a lower draft pick.

Is it April yet?

As far as Payton goes, I really don’t mind if he leaves or if Zimmer levaes.

It was clearly Bill Parcells running this offense as we all could see the style and it was also Parcells the one who chnged the D.

To both of them, good luck…

I think Payton will be hired as a head coach somwhere, But I think Zimmer comes back, he really likes it in Dallas, family wise.

I live in the dc area and these fools around here act like they won the superbowl,i hope the seahawks kill them.

Todays game really underscores the Cowboys weaknesses…note how Carolina stopped Tiki and screwed Peyton up all day…Dallas has to get some runstopping capability as well as o-line help. I also think Dallas needs some young legs in the receiver corps….TO comes to mind as available but his attitude scares me, maybe PC and company can control him, afterall Keyshawn Johnson also was a problem child and he has worked out well……

T.O isn’t young and wont be coming to dallas. We need an offensive line an a consistant running game.

synergy, that’s Eli, not Peyton. Also, this is the same team we beat a couple weeks ago while shutting down Smith to one reception.

 Oline is where we have to start, and TO would be nothing but a headache in my opinion.

Defense will be fine next year, just maybe another DE and LB, plus a safety. Defense won’t be the problem, it’s all about the O line.

Palmer just got hurt badly it seems. Low blow to the knee….ugly looking play

I think our deffense need swork as well and it starts with Zimmer. We’re not agressive and anybody can throw the deep ball against us….we couldnt stop anybody when it counted this season….the d needs work still

way to Giants offense…0 points…nice day at the office

That’s crucial for Cincy if he can’t come back from that injury.

I dont think he will….that looked like blown ligaments which could put him out for 6 months to a year.

Anybody else see Chris Hope whiff on that R. Johnson touchdown play. Not sure we need tackling like that in our secondary.

Rumors are starting to spur that Brady Quinn (QB ND) may declare himself eligible for the NFL draft. The list is growing and here is the latest that I’ve seen:

Antonio Cromartie Fl St CB Jr.
Vernon Davis Maryland TE Jr.
Maurice Drew UCLA RB Jr.
Ray Edwards Purdue DE Jr.
Charles Gordon Kansas WR Jr.
Willie Hall M Tenn. St. OT Jr.
Devin Hester Mia-FL RS/DC/WR Jr.
Santonio Holmes Ohio St WR Jr.
Chad Jackson Florida WR Jr.
Omar Jacobs Bowling Green QB Jr.
Greg Lee Pittsburgh WR Jr.
Danieal Manning Ab Christ. CB Jr.
Laurence Maroney Minn RB Jr.
Richard Marshall Fres. St. CB Jr.
Stanley McClover Auburn DE Jr.
Haloti Ngata Oregon DT Jr.
Bernard Pollard Purdue DS Jr.
Leonard Pope Georgia TE Jr.
Rob Smith Tennessee OG Jr.
Stephen Tulloch N.C. St LB Jr.
Demetris Summers Sou Car RB So.
Marcus Vick Virginia Tech QB Jr.
Dee Webb Florida CB Jr.
Donte Whitner Ohio State S Jr.
Mario Williams N.C. State DE Jr.
Michael Williams Tex Col De Jr.
Vince Young Texas QB Jr.

I dont think Brady Quinn will declare for this years draft. With Young declaring, Quinn is the early oss on favorite to be the number one rated Qb coming out next year.

just a rumor i heard …

Raf or anyone else,

You have any information on Willie Hall? Seems to be an interesting underclassman.

Out of all of those juniors I would love for the Cowboys to pick up Devin Hester (maybe 2nd or 3rd round). That guy is a playmaker and a tremendous athlete. I could see him being to BP what Dave Meggett was with the Giants, and we NEED a playmaker. Hester doesn’t have a true position, he’s played CB and receiver, but he is an incredibly explosive KR/PR. I could see him being kind of like Dante Hall to whichever team takes him, receiver who demands attention and special teams standout. The only other underclassman that intrigues me as much is Teddy Ginn, Jr. and he isn’t going to be coming out for a few years still.

The more I think about this year’s playoffs and the teams left, the more I want the Panthers to win. I really don’t like any of the teams left, and actually HATE the Skins and Broncos. The main reason I want the Panthers though is that we beat them at their place late in the season. It’s always nice to say you beat the eventual Super Bowl Champion.

Either way, I’ll be watching my ‘History of the Dallas Cowboys’ DVD instead of watching much of this postseason.

Fisher strikes again.
Mike fisher is again referring to “insiders” at the ranch that keyshawn is on the chopping block for next year. Seems his lack of production isnt worth his big mouth.

when was the last time home teams blew up like this in the first round?

Sterling:
This page:
http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/declareduc.htm
has the following description of Willie Hall:
“While many people aren’t familiar with Hall, he is truly an intriguing prospect.
Extremely agile, with very good footwork he’s a pure left tackle.
Hall also possesses tremendously long arms are exhibits good blocking technique.
The major knock on Willie is a presumed lack of strength which will hurt him against power rushers at the next level.
Hall elected to enter the draft due to the combination of poor grades and a new coaching staff.”

That same page lists Danieal Manning’s position at Abilene Christian as strong safety. Eric_R’s post lists Danieal as CB. If he could play free safety, and if his name could be legally changed to Archie, some helpful signs at 2006 home games could ask, “Peyton: who’s your daddy?” and
“Eli: who’s your daddy?”

Correction:
my post was a reply to Eric_R

Quinn too??? I thoght he was staying to win a title in title town.

Quinn, Young, Leinhart, Jay Cutler this would be quite an interesting QB class and all those guys are first round first day guys……makes our pick all the better.

Sterling,
I too am rooting for the Panthers the rest of the way. It was nice to see how quiet the NY crowd was as the game progressed.

It’s funny that only one home team, New England, won this weekend. So much for homefield in the Wildcard round. I think that trend will be reversed next week, as the home teams are much better than the home teams were this weekend. I’d like to see how well New England will play at Mile High this late in the season. I want the Broncos to win. It should be a great game.

Jon,

My bad, I read that Quinn article wrong. It said “whether Quinn was leaning to enter the NFL” and I misread it as “Quinn was leaning to enter the NFL”. .. Sorry for the misinformation, it looks like he is staying in college.

pats looked tough again
panthers bears will be a good ole fashion football game, cant wait

“Itâ€â"¢s funny that only one home team, New England, won this weekend.”

onepaniolo: that’s not funny.

EricR:
You surprized me when you said that Quinn was leaning to enter, with Weiss on the team, as in a Parcells/Belichick alumn, I just wasn’t seeing his QB trying to get in early… Just as I don’t see another Jr coming out of that team, not even Fasano, and that’s a shame, because I can see that guy getting drafted by Dallas from the 2nd to 3rd Round.

There was an article in one of the New York papers today that the Saints are leaning toward hiring Payton as their HC. I would think he’d rather be in GB than deal with all the craziness with the Saints organization. Doesn’t he have some ties to Wisconsin?

Either way, sounds like he’s not going to be with the Cowboys next year. I wonder if BP will even formally replace him or if he will just take over and do like the Patriots did at the beginning of this season. He has been with Bledsoe for quite a while and they have to be on the same page by now.

Rev. Michael,

Oh well, the win just gives the Deadskins a lower draft pick.

I don’t think so. To my knowledge, draft order is not affected by playoff results unless a team makes it to the SuperBowl.

Nope, the teams making it into the playoffs are lower teams in the draft, as they drop out of the competition, they start going back into the draft….with the worse record going first…

It doesn’t matter that much in the case of the Skins because they traded away their 1st round pick for this year to the Broncos last year so they could draft the Auburn QB. The only team that gets hurt by the Skins going deeper in the playoffs in the Broncos.

It does affect where the Skins draft in the subsequent rounds, but they are already going to be at the bottom of the 2nd and later rounds.

Given the choice I would rather just see them lose NOW. I can’t stand seeing those bastards win after the luck they’ve had this year. I guarantee this years playoffs are going to be the high point of this franchise for the next 5 years minimum. Probably the next decade.

I am glad that everyone who has been calling Joe Gibbs an “offensive genius” and saying that he is “revitalized” can see his team set the NFL record for LEAST yards of offense in a playoff game. Now it’s time for these PRETENDERS to lose big time.

Devin Hester would be a nice pickup. He is as fast and as quick as any player I’ve ever seen. however, to grab him would mean we’re not getting an OT, an OLB, a FS or a Center with that pick. On the other hand, we could get several picks in the 2nd and 3rd by trading Ellis and Glover. Getting Hester with one of those extra picks trades would provide us would likely provide the team an extra 28 points through the year in his rookie season – not by TD returns necessarily, but by just providing unusually great field position, and demoralizing the opponents.

joey2zs:

You got it man. Hester has incredible acceleration. He’s listed as running a 4.3 40-yard dash, but I’d like to know what he runs a 10 or 15 yard dash in. He’s a difference maker, which we sorely need on this team.

I don’t know if he’ll be there in the 2nd round though. He may not even be on the board at #18, since the Dolphins pick at #16 and he’s a local favorite that fits their needs. I kind of doubt that BP would draft him anyway though. I have never thought of BP as liking players from “The U” much on his teams.

CCBoy,

Nope, the teams making it into the playoffs are lower teams in the draft, as they drop out of the competition, they start going back into the draft…, with the worse record going first…

Your statement is not inconsistent with mine, provided that ‘with the worse record going first’ means the ‘worse’ regular season record. Playoff results are not taken into consideration in the draft, unless a team makes it to the SuperBowl. The winner drafts at #32, the loser at #31. No other postseason results matter.

For instance, in 2004, Indianapolis finished the regular season at 12-4. They were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in a wildcard game. They drafted at #29. Atlanta finished the regular season at 11-5. They made it to the NFC Championship game where they lost to the Eagles. They drafted at #27. No trades were involved.

I don’t believe the rules have changed since last year.

No, that was the intent…the matter of who goes into the playoffs was already determined by the fact that there was a seperation of teams for the purpose of the playoffs…Now, I have a question for you, since you have stated that it is the record prior to going into the playoffs, Mr. Bill, does that include the situation where for example, a 10-6 team DOES NOT make the playoffs in the NFC AND a 9-7 team makes the playoffs in the AFC?

Does that sound fair…they make it to the dance card AND draft higher?

Mr. Bill

Are you the same individual who frequented the DMN before the many changes occurred? Back in the final days of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith….

CCBoy,

I have found conflicting variations of the draft order rules on various web sites. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything at all at NFL.com, which would resolve the matter.

Interestingly, NFL.com does not answer e-mail questions about anything other than site problems. I tried. They responded with the mailing address of the NFL offices.

Here is what ESPN.com has to say about the matter:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft06/news/story?id=2278820

The Houston Texans will make the first choice of the 2006 National Football League Draft on April 29-30. The order of the top 20 picks (non-playoff teams) is determined by record. Draft-order ties are resolved by the cumulative record of each team’s opponents. The team with the weaker opponents receives drafting priority.

Within a tied segment, non-playoff clubs are given priority over playoff clubs. Priority of playoff clubs within a tied segment will be based on their advancement in the playoffs, but they will not drop out of their tied segment unless they participate in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl champion will select 32nd and the runner-up 31st.

This leaves open the definition of a ‘tied segment’. From other research, it appears that a ‘tied segment’ is two or more teams with the same record. In other words, opponents’ winning percentage is not a factor in that definition. This is supported by the fact that teams with the same record rotate position in the draft in later rounds.

This all means that I was not correct in my earlier assertion. A team’s draft position may be affected by playoff results, other than the SuperBowl participants, but only within their segment — ie, with the same won-loss record. It also means that a playoff team can draft earlier than a non-playoff team, if it has a worse won-loss record. [That can’t happen this year.]

If I can find a draft-order rule set that is more complete than the one above from ESPN, I will post it on this blog.

As for the DMN forum, I was a frequent poster from about 1999 up until the summer of 2004. In fact, at the time, I was the most frequent poster there who had not been banned. Unfortunately, the level of discourse at that forum had greatly deteriorated over time. I finally decided that I had a lot better things to do with my free time than argue with people whose only purpose was to inflame, and who were completely uninterested in any kind of serious discussion. So, I left. On the few times I have peeked back, things seemed still as bad as ever. I do frequent a couple of other forums in read-only mode, just to pick up news, and to sample current opinions.