Tag: sports

79 Blackmouth Banksters (2-0)
49 Mounds View Meerkats (0-2)

77 Winston Reverends (2-0)
54 Judean Rhyneauxs (1-1)

52 Bane Sidhe (1-1)
36 RR Redbeards (1-1)

85 Valders Quixotes (1-1)
50 MS Swamp Spartans (0-2)

76 Meigs Marauders (1-1)
49 Greenfield Grizzlies (1-1)

It is suddenly beginning to look like my much-ballyhooed first-year starting RBs are worthless. Considering that I picked them up in lieu of two keepers, this appears to have been a very poor decision.

78 RR Redbeards (1-0)
48 Moundsview Meerkats (0-1)

61 Blackmouth Banksters (1-0)
51 MS Swamp Spartans (0-1)

75 Greenfield Grizzlies (1-0)
44 Valders Quixotes (0-1)

72 Winston Reverends (1-0)
47 Meigs Marauders (0-1)

55 Judean Rhyneauxs (1-0)
48 Bane Sidhe (0-1)

This week’s lesson: don’t leave an RB with 29 points on the bench.

It didn’t get started right, but at least it got started.

MIN at NO Vikings Saints
CAR at NYG Giants
ATL at PIT Falcons
CLE at TB Browns
DEN at JAX Jaguars
IND at HOU Colts
MIA at BUF Bills
DET at CHI Lions
OAK at TEN Titans
CIN at NE Bengals
ARI at STL Cardinals
SF at SEA 49ERS
GB at PHI Packers
DAL at WAS Cowboys
BAL at NYJ Ravens
SD at KAN Chargers

The Vikes will win tonight. The reason is simple. The Vikings reliably beat the team that most recently dealt them a big loss. All Vikings fans know this. In fact, the very first NFL football game I ever attended was a Monday Night Football game in which the Vikings beat the Steelers 17-6 at the old Met stadium. This was, of course, two seasons after the Vikes lost to the Steelers 16-6 in Super Bowl IX.

Minnesota was, and probably is, a better team than the defending champions. (Winning the Super Bowl makes a team the league champion, it does not somehow prove it to be the best team in the league.) The fact that the Vikings took the Saints to overtime despite losing five turnovers as a visiting team is a strong indication that they could have, and probably should have, won last year’s NFC Championship. But they didn’t, and it was not exactly the first time they lost a big game they really should have won. Either way, it’s only Week One, so don’t get too excited or too depressed regardless of how the game turns out.

I’m just glad it’s football time again.

It’s at 5:30, not 7 PM. Just a reminder.

Football Outsiders offers a refresher course in NFL statisticology:

You run when you win, not win when you run.

The first article ever written for Football Outsiders was devoted to debunking the myth of “establishing the run.” There is no correlation whatsoever between giving your running backs a lot of carries early in the game and winning the game. Just running the ball is not going to help a team score; it has to run successfully.

There are two reasons why nearly every beat writer and television analyst still repeats the tired oldschool mantra that “establishing the run” is the secret to winning football games. The first problem is confusing cause and effect. There are exceptions, usually when the opponent is strong in every area except run defense, like last year’s New Orleans Saints. However, in general, winning teams have a lot of carries because their running backs are running out the clock at the end of wins, not because they are running wild early in games.

The second problem is history. Most of the current crop of NFL analysts came of age or actually played the game during the 1970s. They believe that the run-heavy game of that decade is how football is meant to be, and today’s pass-first game is an aberration. As we addressed in an essay in Pro Football Prospectus 2007 about the history of NFL stats, it was actually the game of the 1970s that was the aberration. The seventies were far more slanted towards the run than any era since the arrival of Paul Brown, Otto Graham, and the Cleveland Browns in 1946. Optimal strategies from 1974 are not optimal strategies for today’s game.

And yes, I am very, very nervous about going into the 2010 NFL season with The Tavaris Jackson Experiment as the confirmed backup QB to a man who is on the verge of entering George Blanda territory. Come to think of it, I’d be more comfortable if it was George Blanda backing up Favre and he’s 83 years old.

VPFL UPDATE: It shouldn’t be necessary to worry about the exclusions in the VPFL draft tonight. Yahoo has added the ability to specify keepers and I have done so for everyone. Blackmouth is not keeping anyone, the Meerkats have only one keeper, and Winston is keeping two. The other seven teams are all keeping three.

Your live online draft is set for Sat Sep 4 7:00pm CDT

We’re still missing Greenfield (White Buffalo), Alamo City (Clay) and Bane (Red). Get thee hence to Yahoo and register! Everyone else, make sure you’ve got your three keepers selected as your top three rankings. If you aren’t keeping three, then make sure that your third choice is NOT someone else’s keeper.

The coaches for the open spots were randomly selected and were then randomly assigned to teams. For the sake of continuity, we recommend you either change the team location or the nickname, but not both. An email with the league access information will be sent out shortly. The draft is September 4th, so post your three keepers here on or before September 1st otherwise one of the commissioners will choose your keepers for you. The draft will be in the reverse order of last year’s finish with the order flipping in each round.

The Meerkats will be keeping Aaron Rodgers, Visanthe Shiancoe, and either Chad Ochocinco or Austin Collie or Larry Johnson or Matt Forte while wondering how they made the playoffs last year.

Greenfield Grizzlies
Coach: White Buffalo

Bernard Berrian (Min – WR)
Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG – RB)
Tashard Choice (Dal – RB)
Braylon Edwards (NYJ – WR)
Greg Jennings (GB – WR)
Jeremy Maclin (Phi – WR)
Donovan McNabb (Was – QB)
Carson Palmer (Cin – QB)
Pierre Thomas (NO – RB)
LaDainian Tomlinson (NYJ – RB)
Carnell Williams (TB – RB)
Kellen Winslow (TB – TE)
Kris Brown (Hou – K)
Pittsburgh (Pit – DEF)
Seattle (Sea – DEF)

Winston Reverends
Jason Marianna

Joseph Addai (Ind – RB)
Antonio Bryant (Cin – WR)
Matt Hasselbeck (Sea – QB)
Vincent Jackson (SD – WR)
Peyton Manning (Ind – QB)
Hakeem Nicks (NYG – WR)
Greg Olsen (Chi – TE)
Darren Sproles (SD – RB)
Chester Taylor (Chi – RB)
Reggie Wayne (Ind – WR)
Roy Williams (Dal – WR)
Ryan Longwell (Min – K)
Matt Stover (Ind – K)
Dallas (Dal – DEF)
Green Bay (GB – DEF)

Bane Silvers
Red Cornett

Cedric Benson (Cin – RB)
Brent Celek (Phi – TE)
Donald Driver (GB – WR)
Brett Favre (Min – QB)
Calvin Johnson (Det – WR)
Marshawn Lynch (Buf – RB)
Brandon Marshall (Mia – WR)
Terrell Owens (Cin – WR)
Adrian Peterson (Min – RB)
Kevin Smith (Det – RB)
Kevin Walter (Hou – WR)
Kurt Warner (Ari – QB)
Mason Crosby (GB – K)
Kansas City (KC – DEF)
Philadelphia (Phi – DEF)

Black Mouth Curs
Josh

Marion Barber (Dal – RB)
Dwayne Bowe (KC – WR)
Steve Breaston (Ari – WR)
Dallas Clark (Ind – TE)
Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ – WR)
T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Sea – WR)
Mario Manningham (NYG – WR)
Laurence Maroney (NE – RB)
Knowshon Moreno (Den – RB)
Santana Moss (Was – WR)
Tony Romo (Dal – QB)
Jonathan Stewart (Car – RB)
Garrett Hartley (NO – K)
Baltimore (Bal – DEF)
New York (NYJ – DEF)

Alamo City Spartans

Miles Austin (Dal – WR)
Kevin Boss (NYG – TE)
Ronnie Brown (Mia – RB)
Jason Campbell (Oak – QB)
Fred Davis (Was – TE)
Andre Johnson (Hou – WR)
Maurice Jones-Drew (Jac – RB)
Eli Manning (NYG – QB)
Mike Sims-Walker (Jac – WR)
Alex Smith (SF – QB)
Jason Snelling (Atl – RB)
Wes Welker (NE – WR)
Beanie Wells (Ari – RB)
David Akers (Phi – K)
Arizona (Ari – DEF)

Valders Valkyries
MS Quixote

Anquan Boldin (Bal – WR)
Jay Cutler (Chi – QB)
Jermichael Finley (GB – TE)
Ryan Grant (GB – RB)
DeSean Jackson (Phi – WR)
Fred Jackson (Buf – RB)
Derrick Mason (Bal – WR)
Rashard Mendenhall (Pit – RB)
Ben Roethlisberger (Pit – QB)
Jeremy Shockey (NO – TE)
Steve Smith (Car – WR
Benjamin Watson (Cle – TE)
Dan Carpenter (Mia – K)
Denver (Den – DEF)
New England (NE – DEF)

Judean Front
Fitz

Drew Brees (NO – QB)
Marques Colston (NO – WR)
Pierre Garcon (Ind – WR)
Anthony Gonzalez (Ind – WR)
Tony Gonzalez (Atl – TE)
Steven Jackson (StL – RB)
Randy Moss (NE – WR)
Ray Rice (Bal – RB)
Steve Smith (NYG – WR)
Michael Turner (Atl – RB)
Ricky Williams (Mia – RB)
Vince Young (Ten – QB)
Rob Bironas (Ten – K)
Lawrence Tynes (NYG – K)
Minnesota (Min – DEF)

Masonville Marauders
Rob Bright

Deion Branch (Sea – WR)
Vernon Davis (SF – TE)
Antonio Gates (SD – TE)
Frank Gore (SF – RB)
Jerome Harrison (Cle – RB)
Santonio Holmes (NYJ – WR)
LeSean McCoy (Phi – RB)
Sidney Rice (Min – WR)
Philip Rivers (SD – QB)
Matt Schaub (Hou – QB)
Hines Ward (Pit – WR)
Roddy White (Atl – WR)
DeAngelo Williams (Car – RB)
Nate Kaeding (SD – K)
New Orleans (NO – DEF)

If you’re interested in participating, post your name and email here. Last year’s champions, the Alamo City Spartans, will be joining the permanent league members, Mounds View, Burns, and Greenfield. This year we will also permit the VP-AFL champion to participate, however, he will take over one of last year’s teams just like the other five newcomers.

In tangentially related news, inquiring minds are wondering why the Tarvaris Jackson Experiment is still listed as the Vikings starter.

Brett Favre’s stint with the Minnesota Vikings appears to be over after a single season. Favre has informed the Vikings he will not return to Minnesota this fall, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.,

The 40-year-old Favre called coach Brad Childress to say his injured ankle is not responding as well to surgery and rehabilitation as he had hoped, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not made an official announcement.

I’ll believe it when I don’t see it at the end of training camp. Either way, that game against San Francisco alone was worth all the lunacy. I’m glad they didn’t trade for McNabb, but I would prefer to avoid a return to the Tarvaris Jackson Experiment.