So long, Mike!! Those 2 Back-to-Back Super Bowl wins were nice but.....

Mike Shanahan, 56, has been fired by the Denver Broncos. As a Raiders fan, I love this. I hate Shanahan, but it is a suprise to me that he was fired. He had been with the team since 1995 and had a 146-89 record with the Broncos. But I guess being the first NFL team to blow a 3 game lead with 3 games to go will get you canned. Did anyone see that "playoff" game Sunday night? It was a monumental collapse by the "Donkeys". I loved it!!

Shanahan will now be probably be courted by the other teams that have canned coaches, the Lions, the Browns, and the Jets. Just stay out of the AFC West and I will be happy.

Son Of A Bitch!!!!

So I get a call from my buddy in the Army tonight. He has just gotten his hands on 6 tickets to the Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl where my favorite team, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are playing the LSU Tigers tomorrow night!! He is offering 2 of them to me for free, yep, for FREE!!! I can find someone to go to the game with, no problem. The problem is, I can't get off work because Josh and the other girl that works with us have already taken the day off. So, I am stuck here tomorrow from 8:30 Am until 5:30 Pm by myself and I cannot leave. Now, I know I could leave here at 5:30Pm and head to Atlanta but it is a 3 1/2 hour drive from here so I would not get there until 9:00 Pm at the earliest. It's an idea but I probably will just watch from the comfort of my living room on the 52 inch HDTV. And yes I will make Josh's new year a living hell. You have been warned Josh, you have been warned. Go Jackets!!

Let's compare the records

Nice post, Josh, but I just wanted to post some stats for you here so you will shut up about your (18-1) Patriots. These are all-time win-loss records for the playoffs for our 3 favorite teams, the Raiders, the Patriots and the Falcons. Also I included over all records for the 3 teams against each other. Now I am not trying to brag, mainly because I have nothing to brag about, especially since both the Patriots and the Falcons beat my Raiders this year. And the Raiders will be back, just wait and see. And this does not prove my team is better than yours, I just like researching stats. And neither Josh nor I can say anything this year because neither the Raiders nor the Patriots made the playoffs. But the Falcons sure did and I am a bandwagon fan now. Go Falcons!!!!!

Raiders
25 wins 18 losses (including Super Bowls)
5 Super Bowls
3 Super Bowl wins
All-time against Patriots 14 wins 14 losses 1 tie
All-time against Falcons 7 wins 5 losses

Patriots
21 wins 13 losses (including Super Bowls)
6 Super Bowls
3 Super Bowl wins
All-time against Raiders 14 wins 14 losses 1 tie
All-time against Falcons 5 wins 6 losses

Falcons
6 wins 8 losses (includes Super Bowl)
1 Super Bowl
0 Super Bowl wins
All-time against Raiders 5 wins 7 losses
All-time against Patriots 6 wins 5 losses

I Know How Raiders and Falcons Fans Feel Every Postseason Now

With the Dolphins and Ravens wins Sunday, the Patriots became the first 11 win team since the '85 Broncos to miss the playoffs, but fans should agree that it was still a good season considering most figured an eight and eight record would be generous after Tommy Boy went down. The question for next season is, Who will be quarterback?

My guess right now is Brady. I think he'll find a way back despite reports that surgery/scar tissue setbacks could sit him down until the 2010 season. But that doesn't mean that the Pats front office should let Cassel walk off into the next big thing, million dollar sunset. We need a for sure guy who can run Belichick's system and Cassel proved this year that he is the guy. Sure, it'll cost a bunch of money and blah blah blah to keep him around, but the Pats have proved the last couple of years that they are willing to spend money to win.

Some out there are saying that the Patriots should trade Brady and keep Cassel, especially now that Brady's future is even more of a question mark. To these people I ask, are you out of your mind? Both quarterbacks had similar first seasons but that does not make Cassel a Brady calibur quarterback. If Brady never played another game he would be a Hall of Famer, hands down.

But I know what your thinking, that doesn't matter if Brady actually doesn't play another down. Who better than Cassell to lead the offense after the year he had? It's quite a quandary. You risk the future of the franchise either way. How much will the Pats really get for Brady in his current situation. Is it enough to warrant trading him? How do we know Cassel will be at least a Jon Kitna type serviceable quarterback and not another Derek Anderson?

Nobody really knows. My points on keeping Brady are this:

1. Having Tom Brady stats for one year doesn't make you Tom Brady. Back in '01, nobody could have expected Tom Brady to become one of the best quarterbacks of all time. It is rare for rookie quarterbacks to succeed at the pro level, let alone become top tier Hall of Famers. Simply, lightning doesn't usually strike twice.

2. Tom Brady is not Drew Bledsoe. While Bledsoe was an above average quarterback he never possessed the skill set and leadership ability of Brady. Plus, Brady can actually move a little bit while Bledsoe needed a Rascal to get around. There's no way anybody can compare Brady replacing Bledsoe to Cassel replacing Brady.

3. Cassel has the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to. In '01, Brady had Troy Brown, David Patten, and Terry Glenn. Enough said.

4. Most importantly, if Brady leaves so does Gisele. That fact alone should be enough to keep him around.

At least nobody is suggesting that the Pats bring Bledsoe out of retirement, although it would give the pigeons something else to shit on besides the Benjamin Franklin statue.

Raiders run all over the Bucs playoff chances

The Oakland Raiders defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-24 Sunday in Tampa to close out the 2008 season. The game was highlighted with RB Michael Bush rushing for 2 TDs and 177 yards on 27 carries. Johnnie Lee Higgins made his presence know with another great game. He finished with 6 catches for 52 yards and a score and he caught a TD pass for the third straight game and he proved he can do the Carlton. My man-crush (Zach Miller) had a quite game only catching 2 passes for 34 yards. He finished the season with a team high in catches, 56 and yards, 778 but he only scored 1 TD.

With this loss, the Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs. Tampa Bay fell to 1-6 all-time against Oakland in the regular season. I love it, it does not make up for the loss to the Bucs in Super Bowl XXXVII but it does help. And it does give Raider Nation a little bit of satisfaction to end the 2008 season and hope heading into the 2009 season. This was the first year since the 2002 Super Bowl season that the Raiders won their season finale. The Raiders finished with a 2 game winning streak and a 5-11 record, winning the most games since 2004 when they also finished 5-11. An improvement over last year, even if it is only by a game. I predicted that they won win 6 or more games this year, so I was off by 1.

Now let’s get ready for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets upcoming beat down of the LSU Tigers in the Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl at 7:30 PM on New Year’s Eve.

Oh, and on a bandwagon note, I am now on the Falcons bandwagon and pulling for them in the playoffs. The first game against the Arizona Cardinals should be a cakewalk, especially with the way the Cards have been playing lately, losing 4 out of the last 6 games. Go Falcons!!!! (This should make you happy, Lindsay, Right?)

Atlanta Falcons - Playoff Chances

The Atlanta Falcons are not only going to make the playoffs (which is a miracle in itself - see previous post), but may actually be the #2 seed! The excellent statistical analysis site Football Outsiders has the Falcons with a 55.5% chance of winning the NFC South, which will happen if the Falcons beat the Rams in Week 17 and the Panthers lose to the Saints (likely, with Drew Brees gunning for Marino's passing yards record).

But getting to the playoffs is only part of the story - How are they going to do if they get there? Football Outsiders have them with a 51.7% chance of playing in the NFC Championship Game (21.3% chance of winning it), and a 9.8% chance of winning the Super Bowl, good for 5th best odds in the NFL (Titans, Giants, Steelers, and Panthers are above them in the rankings).

Now, we knew from the last post that this is a different Falcons team from last season, but are they really this much better? Let's go to the numbers, courtesy of Football Outsiders.

Note: Football Outsiders uses a proprietary system called DVOA, or Defense-Adjusted Value over Average, explained here. Essentially, DVOA measures how much better or worse a given unit (Offense, Defense, Special Teams) or personnel grouping (Defensive Line, Running Backs, etc.) is than the statistical "average" unit. Offense and Special Teams are better as the percentage goes up, and Defense is better the lower the percentage. Let's examine the percentages for the Falcons for this season as well as last, as well as any outstanding personnel groupings on either side of the ball.

Team Offense
2007: Offense DVOA = -10.7% (24/32); -6.9% passing (22) & -15.6% rushing (29)
2008: Offense DVOA = +17.6% (5/32) ; 40.6% passing (1!) & +01.5% rushing (14)

In 2008, the offensive turnaround has but one reason, and thine name is Matt Ryan. Matty Ice has a personal DVOA of 36.7% passing, which is not only tops for a rookie QB but tops in the NFL this season. Statistically, he may not lead the NFL in passing yards (Drew Brees, 4,609yds), completion percentage (Kurt Warner, 67.9%), or touchdowns (Philip Rivers, 32TDs) but he's the most successful quarterback on a per-play basis.

Also notable is off-season addition Michael Turner is second in the NFL in yardage (1491ys) and second in touchdowns (16TDs). However, his DVOA is only 2.7%, good for only 19th. The reason for the discrepancy in his conventional stats and his DVOA? A poor Success Rate (46%), and a LOT of carries (351, easily the highest in the NFL). The effect of his absurdly high number of carries is reflected in another FO stat, DYAR (Defense-Adjusted Yards Above Replacement). Here, Turner ranks 9th, with average DYAR/game of 156yds. The simple version of the two different stats? DYAR means a running back with more total value, but DVOA means a running back with more value per play. Essentially, Turner is so valuable because he carries the ball so much, not because of how successful he is with each carry. As long as he doesn't get killed by the Curse of 370, I'm okay with it. Worried, but okay.

Team Defense
2007: Defense DVOA = 14.8% (31/32); 18.8% passing (26), +4.6% rushing (28)
2008: Defense DVOA = +6.3% (17/32); 11.7% passing (17), +5.6% rushing (24)

The defense improved in 2008, but not by much. Something to note, however, is the team's variance (the consistency of the team's defensive performance). Atlanta had a variance of 11.2% this year, 28th worst in the NFL. This means that there's a lot of games where the defensive performance fluctuates wildly in one or both facets of defense from game to game, and watching the games proves this point.

However, there's a ray of sunshine in this gloomy news. The Falcons defense specializes in taking away the opponent's strength, and making the opponent beat them with their weakest unit on offense. Good examples of this are Week 14 vs New Orleans (where QB Drew Brees was held to 230yds passing, off of his average of 292yds/gm, but the Falcons defense gave up nearly 200yds on the ground) and Week 16 vs Minnesota (RB Adrian Peterson was held to 76yds, off of his average of 110yds/game, but TE Visanthe Shiancoe had 7 rec for 136yds and 2 TD's).

The bright spot on defense? The defensive line. Led by the resurgent John Abraham, the Falcons D-line is the 2nd most successful Defensive line in "Power situations" (Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown), with only 52% of successful runs allowed (NFL average is 66%) and "Stuffs" (Percentage of runs that result in (on first down) zero or negative gain or (on second through fourth down) less than one-fourth the yards needed for another first down), with 27% of runs being stuffed, good for 9th in the league (NFL average is 24%). Atlanta also sacks the QB on 7.0% of passing plays (28 team sacks), good for 11th in the league.

What This Means For the Playoffs

The Falcons are most vulnerable to a team that can shut down both facets of the Falcons offense, and execute both facets of their own offense. In the NFC, no team epitomizes this better than the New York Giants, the likely opponent for the Falcons should they make the NFC Championship Game (which, if the Football Outsiders Playoff Odds are to be trusted, both teams will.)

Passing Defense: -2.9% (9th); 7.8% in sack rate (5th)
Rushing Defense: -4.4% (10th); 27% "Stuffs" (8th), 56% "Power Situations" (4th)

Passing Offense: + 24.8% (7th); Eli Manning 18.8% DVOA (9th)
Rushing Offense: + 18.4% (2nd); Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs are 2-3 in DVOA (23.2%, 21.8% respectively).

However it unfolds, I'm just happy to be in the playoffs. The Falcons have found ways to win this season, and let's hope that hot hand continues in the playoffs.

Atlanta Falcons make the playoffs!

Last season, the Atlanta Falcons defined the term "dysfunctional".

The franchise quarterback was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for dogfighting. The head coach ditched the team after 13 games to return to college. Many veterans players, led by TE Alge Crumpler, turned on the coaching staff. The team suffered through three different starting quarterbacks and fifteen season-ending injuries to finish 4-12.

This year's iteration of the Atlanta Falcons couldn't look any more different. New GM Thomas Dimitroff orchestrated a blockbuster draft weekend for the Falcons, bringing in a new franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan, his blindside protection in T Sam Baker, and a new starting MLB in Curtis Lofton. They gave big money to free agent RB Michael Turner (6 years, $34.5M, $15M guaranteed) and 3rd overall pick Matt Ryan (6 years, $72M, $34.75M guaranteed), and threw them both into the starting lineup immediately. They made defensive coordinator Mike Smith from the Jaguars a first-time NFL Head Coach, and gave him a team with eleven first-time starters.

The result? 10-5, with a guarantee playoff berth and a chance to win the NFC South and clinch the #2 NFC seed in the playoffs (and the 1st round bye that comes with it).

I'd say that's quite a turnaround.

Paul Johnson finishes 4th in AP Coach of the Year Voting.

Nick Saban wins the AP Coach of the Year Award. Understandable, he had a great season at Bama, but I was holding out hope that Paul Johnson from Georgia Tech would win it. What can I say, I am a Yellow Jacket fan? PJ did finish 4th in the voting which is very respectable for his 1st season with the Jackets.

Coach Paul Johnson took Tech to a 9-3 record beating Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Georgia and earning ACC Coach of the Year honors along the way. He re-energized a Georgia Tech fanbase that had been lulled to sleep for the last 6 seasons under Chan Gailey. Tech's next game is against LSU in the Peach Bowl (Sorry, I just cannot call it the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, it just does not sound right). Tech has already rewarded PJ with a 53% pay raise for his success this season. He is now being payed $2.45 million per year which is more than Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (33 seasons as head coach, 27 consecutive bowls, 12 ACC titles) and Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer (22 seasons as head coach, three ACC titles, three Big East titles).

AP Coach of the Year Voting

Nick Saban Alabama 32 Votes
Mike Leach Texas Tech 9 Votes
Kyle Whittingham Utah 6 Votes
Paul Johnson Georgia Tech 5 Votes
Joe Paterno Penn State 3 Votes
Brady Hoke Ball State 2 Votes
Mack Brown Texas 1 Vote
Turner Gill Buffalo 1 Vote
Bob Stoops Oklahoma 1 Vote
Brian Kelly Cincinnati 1 Vote
Chris Peterson Boise State 1 Vote

Fan Day at Gillette Stadium

Not really, although it might be fun to be tackled by a future Hall of Hame linebacker just once. Actually, according to this story, the fan was enjoying Sunday's game and just wanted a hug, awwww. I hope Seau doesn't treat the United Way kids like this.

Dress for Success?

Let me get this straight: The Red Sox have won the World Series twice in the last four years, after an 86 year drought, and the front office and marketing gurus have decided that now is the time for a uniform and logo change. Sounds like they've been smoking some of the oregano looking stuff Manny forgot to clean out of his locker.

A few weeks ago the Sox unveiled their four new uniform choices and alternate hat to the masses to a torch and pitchfork mob response. I have no problems with the throwback options, but what "Project Runway" reject designed the deplorable looking alternative hat with the team's new "hanging sox" logo, which, by the way, is now the team's new primary logo? So long "Circle Sox" logo, which has been redesigned making it and the red "B" secondary logos.

These new hats look terrible. Usually alternative options are rarely ever worn but even rarely is too often for these monstrosities. If the folks in marketing thought they would make the team a few more bucks by unleashing these for fans to buy, they are mistaken.

While these hats just look bad, I have a problem with them for the sake of timing and tradition. The Sox are the last team that needs to be changing logos and uniforms. It made sense for the Rays last year. They were perennial losers and the uniform and name change symbolized a new beginning, but we are winners. The Sox have bodyslammed the 86 year curse and are arguably the team of the decade.

As far as tradition goes, this type of "hanging sox" logo actually debuted in 1931, but the "B" is the Red Sox logo. It is the logo recognized throughout the world, despite what Sox brass say about the "hanging Sox." I'm concerned that by making the "hanging Sox" the primary logo, the front office is just biding its time to replace it with the "B". What's next, are they going to tear down Fenway Park?

These changes were totally unnecessary and are obviously a marketing ploy to generate more money. Hopefully fan backlash will bring the "B" and "circle Sox" logos back, but it could be worse. We could have ended up with the 80's orange and yellow Astros uniforms.

Photos taken from bostondirtdogs.com and fansedge.com

The Year in Sports

In America, we're prone to hyperbole. Everything is bigger, better, and more awesome than...well, whatever came before it. And by now, we all know that's how it's going to be. We're used to it. We're used to "Super Bowl" this and "Best Week Ever" on VH1. We're desensitized to the hype by now.

But that being said, we must consider 2008 for a sports fan perspective. Has there been a greater year in sports? Lleyton Hewitt wins an marathon five-setter at the Australian Open. The New York Football Giants upset the New England Patriots on a miracle catch by David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII. Bob Knight retires from college basketball. Brett Favre retires after a 17-year Hall-of-Fame career. The Kansas Jayhawks and Memphis Tigers have a great Overtime thriller for the NCAA Basketball Championship. We meet Trevor Immelman at the Masters and Big Brown at the Kentucky Derby. Danica Patrick finally wins a race. The Detroit Red Wings defeat Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburg Penguins for the Stanley Cup. Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final. John McEnroe calls it "the greatest match ever." I agree. Tiger Woods (on one leg) outplays Rocco Mediate (on two) in Sudden Death at the Masters. The possible rebirth of a Boston Celtics dynasty. Michael Phelps wins 8 Gold Medals (and sets 7 World Records) at the Beijing Summer Olympics, and then drowns on "SNL". Brett Favre unretires...again, and gets traded to the Jets. The Tampa Bay Rays become baseball's Cinderella team, winning the AL Pennant and making the first World Series in team history. Jimmie Johnson wins a 3rd consecutive championship for driving fast and turning left.

If it wasn't the greatest year in sports to date....I can't wait for next year. And The Walk Ons will be there for every minute of it.

And he's down for the count!!

Maybe St Louis Ram's RB Kenneth Darby has learned his lesson about arguing with NFL umpire Garth DeFelice.

"WE"

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fan. I have been ever since 7th grade when all of my friends suddenly became Georgia Bulldog fans. I did not want to follow the herd, so I choose to be a Georgia Tech fan. I found out later on that I had family that went to Tech so that is the reason I use now when someone asks me why I like Georgia Tech. But back to the point. Georgia Tech beat UGAy (Tech fans throw the y onto UGA just to fuck with 'em a little bit) in the 2008 edition of "Clean, Old Fashioned Hate" on Nov 29th. The game was an instant classic and Tech pulled out the win 45-42 to end UGAy's streak at 7 games. Georgia Tech still owns the all time streak at 8 games from 1949-1956. This "poem" I found today sums up my love of the Ramblin Wreck. Check it out.

"WE"

You weren't the quarterback snubbed in the '99 Heisman voting, but you still say it. Your foot didn't kick the second chance OT field goal against Georgia that sent the Tech faithful into euphoria, but you still say it. You could no more stop saying "WE" than Calvin Johnson could have stopped pulling catches out of thin air. "WE" gotta convert. "WE" gotta move the ball. Because "WE" is an equal opportunity pronoun. Unless, of course, you're a Bulldawg or Tiger. You say "WE" because you yearn for the sound of the steam whistle, because you know a proper education starts with learning every word of "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" and "Up with the White and Gold." And if "WE" had been there for the 222-0 game, "WE" would have sung along until it hurt. Until it hurt good. You say "WE" because your mascot has a stinger that strikes deep into the souls of every team in the ACC; and woe to the opponent who disturbs the SWARM living in the old North Stands. "WE" were there when the 1990 National Championship team drove up Techwood after "The Game" in Charlottesville, savoring the aftertaste of victory. And "WE" will be there every Thanksgiving weekend with a little "Good Old-Fashioned Hate" in our hearts and the answer to "What's the Good Word?" on our lips. "WE" cheer at Yellow Jacket Alley. "WE" wear warpaint in white and gold. Because "WE" are the Ramblin' Wreck. The home of John Heisman. Of Bobby Dodd. And of Paul Johnson's spread offense. "WE" are the Yellow Jackets. And "WE" are ready to show everyone just what kind of sting "WE" have.

Raider Nation is proud once again! (At least until next Sunday)

The Oakland Raiders defeated the Houston Texans 27-16 Sunday in front of a nearly empty Oakland Coliseum. This was by far the best performance by the team this year and we, as fans, needed it. I have been ready to give up on this team for years now but for some reason I just keep holding on and I don’t know why. Well, I do know why but after years of losing you can easily forget why you love a team. But enough about that, I could go on for days about how many bad choices the Raiders and Al Davis have made over the last few years, but this is about the great game they had yesterday.

This was a fantastic game by the youngsters with rookie wide receiver Chaz Schilens, rookie running back Darren McFadden and rookie-like quarterback JaMarcus Russell all contributing to the win. But the real story of the game was wide receiver/punt returner Johnnie Lee Higgins.

He caught a beautiful 29 yard laser from Jamarcus for a TD to start the 3rd quarter. The second year WR from UTEP finished the game with 3 catches for 59 yards and a TD. He also had a record setting 80 yard punt return for a TD. He now holds the Raiders team record for punt returns in a season with 3.

He now has 16 receptions for 314 yards and 3 TDs. Modest, I know but I believe that he will earn himself a starting position at WR. And his punt return stats are looking good too, 40 returns for 503 yards and 3 TDs. Nice. If you keep this up you might have me rethinking my man crush on TE Zach Miller (I Love This Guy, 94 Recs, 1118 yards and 4 TDs in 30 games). You have been warned.

So, Johnnie Lee, thank you for reminding me why I am a Raiders fan. Now let’s hand Jon “Chucky” Gruden and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers a loss next Sunday and finish the season on a high note.

Go Raiders!!

Welcome

We are not ESPN and will never claim to be, although 99 percent of our posts will probably have a link to the 24/7 sports juggernaut because they are everywhere and we are stuck at work or wasting away on our Dorito infested couches. We are three lads who simply want to write about our favorite sports teams and bicker about the going ons in the sports world. We ask that you do not come here expecting up to date scores and what have you because we will never be able to deliver, and frankly don't want the pressure or expectations. We figure if we set the bar low we'll have reason to celebrate more. We hope you enjoy our ridiculous banter about the sports we love.