Rams 2017 - at the Bye Week

post by Ted

So I made some predictions back before the pre-season even started and we've neglected to update the blog based on some family issues that were FAR more important than football.  We both made superbowl predictions and I myself made predictions for 3/4 of the formerly high-octane Rams season.

Lets take a quick look back at how I'm doing so far, since we're at week 8, the Ram's bye week.

Week 1: Indianapolis Colts at L.A. Rams

I picked the Rams to win...  and they did.  1 - 0.

Week 2:  Washington Redskins at L.A. Rams

Advantage to the at-home Rams who by my logic had the advantage due to Sean McVay knowing the Redskins defense since practicing against it for the last three years.  My logic was recognizably flawed as their defense had also practiced against Sean McVays offense for the previous 3 years as well... duh.
Rams lose.  1 - 1. 

Week 3: L.A. Rams at San Francisco 49’ers

I don't know!!  I'm going Rams.    -  Turns out that the 49'ers aren't very good but they put on a fireworks show for both offenses.  
Rams win.  2 - 1.

Week 4: L.A. Rams at Dallas Cowboys

Even though the Cowboys will be showcasing the 2^nd year starters Prescott and Elliot, the experience those two gained in year one will be WAY too much for the Rams, and this will be embarrassing.  - well, what do I know?!?
Rams win. 3 - 1.

Week 5: Seattle Seahawks at L.A. Rams

If this game was at Seattle, I’d pick Seattle, however, it’s not!  It’s a “Rams” home game...

I told you this was a tough one…  I’ve really made no good arguments and I’m back to the beginning.  I think the Rams will pull this one out with the fresh stamp of Wade Phillips on an offense with an aging QB and star WR.  

5 turnovers by the Rams and we could have won it on the final drive with a laser beam-like throw into the end zone and off of the receivers hands.
Rams lose.  3 - 2. 

Week 6: L.A. Rams at Jacksonville Jaguars

I’m going Jacksonville...  I feel like Jacksonville was starting to put things together last year and I think they’ll continue.
Jacksonville's D is FOR REAL!!!  If they had consistent play from the offense, this team will be TOUGH!  But the Rams pulled this one out.
Rams win.  4 - 2. 

Week 7: Arizona Cardinals at L.A. Rams (London)

Or something…  Palmer broke his arm, which opened the door for Drew Stanton, I believe Fitz was also injured in this game.  Anyway, the Rams blew them out, 33 - 0.
Rams win. 5 - 2.

Week 8: Bye Week  -  Rams WON’T lose!

If you'd have told me that the L.A. Rams, which is mostly the same unit as Jeff Fisher fielded last season (with the exception of O-line and WR), would be 5 - 2 heading into their bye week in week 8 of the season, I would have laugh so hard that I would have pee'd my pants.
Yet here they are.  The highest scoring team in the league? Rams.  

U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E!!!

What should be scary for the rest of the league is that the Defense under Wade Phillips is getting a little better every game.  

This team is facing a tough second half of their schedule, but at the rate they're going, they could easily end up as a 10 or 11 win team this year.

12 or more wins?!?  A fella can dream, but I won't get my hopes up too high.

Horns up for the 2nd half of the season!

Carmelo to Oklahoma

Wow. This has been one of if not the most interesting off seasons of all time. Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, Paul George to the Thunder, Kyrie to the Celtics, and now this. My oh my, what a year to be an NBA fan.

Carmelo Anthony. A name that has been in trade rumors for a long time. The Rockets, the Clippers, the Trailblazers, the Cavs...

None of that was correct.

The Thunder, my Thunder, traded for him. Carmelo for Enes Kanter and Doug McDermot and a 2nd round pick in 2018. The Thunder are finesse gods right now. After trading an empty can of pringles for Paul George, the Thunder trade for 75 cents on the dollar for Carmelo Anthony.

He may not be the same player he was 2 years ago or have much defense, but he is still a good shooter that can average 22 points a game. He still is a superstar in my opinion and can create space for Russell Westbrook. He is the third option and that is fitting role for this point in his career and also can catch fire easily.

My record prediction for both teams are Knicks 34-48. The Thunder 63-19. I know in an earlier blog I said the Thunder would be 52-30 before Carmelo. That is wrong. Paul George is much better than six wins.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.

Paul George to Oklahoma City Thunder

If you don't know, the Thunder made a trade that made them title contenders. Now they probably can't make it past the Warriors or Spurs but Paul George is a great player. Here are my predictions for the 2017-18 season.

The Trade

Domontas Sabonis                            Paul George          

                                For     

Victor Oladipo

Pros 

Pacers
I am a Thunder fan and I loved Domontas Sabonis and still do. I feel like with age he can be a knock down three-point shooter. If he gets a starting roll (which I think should happen) he could become the face of the franchise. His passing is outstanding and now that he is not playing with Russell Westbrook he should be able to have the ball in his hands more. Victor Oladipo is a Shooting Guard that does what a Point Guard should. Lucky for him he plays in Indiana where he went to college and the Pacers could use a ball dominant scorer like him. I think his defense can and will improve since he doesn't have to do half of Westbrook's defensive work while Westbrook did half the teams offensive work.

Thunder
Paul George is a Super Star that does not have to have the ball in his hands 100% of the time. You cannot pair any Super Star with Westbrook and expect it to work out. Westbrook needs the ball in his hands and hunts for shots. That would drive someone crazy. Paul George loves to catch and shoot threes and is good at it. Russell understands that if he wants a chance at a title he needs to pass to Paul George. Paul George also gives them defense at the wing that they need. Andre Roberson is probably the best defensive player in the game but provides little to no offense. Paul George is the perfect solution.

Records

Pacers        Thunder

35-47          52-30

Pacers
Paul George is the only reason Indiana has been relevant for the past few years but Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner could prove to be a deadly duo. Sabonis is going to help them to the playoffs in the next few seasons.

Thunder
Paul George is a shooter. Russell carried them to 46 wins last year and Paul George is exactly what they need. A shooter who plays good defense. Paul George is capable of  adding 6 wins to the team

Predictions: 2017 L.A. Rams Season, Part III

In the last post, we looked at the L.A. Rams games for weeks 5 - 9.  This time around, we address weeks  10 - 13.   

Week 10: Houston Texans at L.A. Rams

The Texans were a force to be reckoned with last year after spending considerable time without JJ Watt.  He’s back and supposedly healthier than he has been in a while.  This defense was the real deal last year without him for 13 games!  If he is truly healthy and is a return to form, look out AFC!  And, look out Rams in Week 10!!

Advantage Texans.

 

Week 11: L.A. Rams at Minnesota Vikings

This is the game when Sam Bradford will seek (and find!) his revenge on a Rams team who sported a crappy offense and nearly got the young man killed while playing in St. Louis!  The Viking players are said to LOVE playing behind Sammy, and therefore, I think the Vikings are going to rip an unsuspecting Rams team to shreds…

 

Week 12: New Orleans Saints at L.A. Rams

Drew Brees will set many new NFL records this year, and deservedly so!  He’s great and Miami screwed up royally when they declared his shoulder “unhealthy”. 

All that being said, their defense is a MESS!  I think the Rams defense is good enough to hold a hot Saints offense to only being good, but I think the Rams offense, especially the running game, will be good enough to outscore the Saints.

 

Week 13: L.A. Rams at Arizona Cardinals

This time, these two teams meet on American soil and I still don’t see the outcome as different unless Carson Palmer is injured and they’re starting a back-up.  They’ve got Trevor Knight, Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert as the folks behind Palmer.   I think the Rams front 7 gives every single one of those gentlemen some serious problems! 

Rams sweep the Cards this year!




So after this installment, the Rams, according to my nearly expert predictions, will be sitting at 7 - 5, which is quite impressive compared to recent years..

Again, I say, Ugh...

Predictions: 2017 L.A. Rams Season, Part II

In the last post, we looked at the L.A. Rams games for weeks 1 - 4.  This time around, we address weeks 5 - 9, which includes their bye week.  

No time for delays! Lets get to it! 

Week 5: Seattle Seahawks at L.A. Rams

If this game was at Seattle, I’d pick Seattle, however, it’s not!  It’s a “Rams” home game at the coliseum and my belief is that the Rams are coming off of a loss, after three straight wins to start the season.  I think they’re confident and a bit cocky at this point on top of the fact that they’ve fared well against Seattle under Jeff Fisher.  If you go back 12 seasons to 2005, the last 24 games were settled as such:  Seattle 18 :  Rams 6

However, if you go back to the 2012 season, it’s a split series at 5 and 5.  Quite a difference!

If you really want to cherry pick data, start at the 2014 season and the Rams step up to 4 to 2!

On top of that,  if the press is to be believed, there’s still some internal strife going on in Seattle from the Superbowl loss to the Patriots when everybody in the entire galaxy knows that they should have given the ball to Marshawn Lynch instead of throwing what would be a game clinching pick.  I don’t believe that they are healed of this event yet.

So, with a new coaching staff, and therefore, a whole new methodology, I’m not confident at all in this game, but I’m going to go with the home team.

Week 6: L.A. Rams at Jacksonville Jaguars

I’m not sure what the actual stats are for teams that travel across the country are, but I know that the Rams weren’t a great traveling team, and that was from when they were based in the middle of the freakin’ country!!  It seems like they did better traveling West than they did East, but they weren’t stellar whichever direction they went. 

I’m going Jacksonville for that reason alone…  Well that reason and I feel like Jacksonville was starting to put things together last year and I think they’ll continue.

Week 7: Arizona Cardinals at L.A. Rams (London)

This is a tough one.  In talking about the Jacksonville game, I said that the Rams don’t travel well.  London would certainly qualify as some BIG travel!  During the Fisher era of the Rams, it was well known and documented that the Bruce Arians (Cardinals Head Coach) despises the Rams and the Rams didn’t think much of them either!  Both teams are traveling roughly the same distance, so what’s the difference in this one?  An aging Cardinals team in two of the skilled positions (QB & WR) in Carson Palmer (38) and Larry Fitzgerald (34). 

Don’t get me wrong, I would still gladly take Fitz on the Rams at 34 years old, as he would be an instant upgrade to the Rams receiving core, however, with the 38 year old Palmer getting the ball to him, I don’t buy it. 

And don’t get me wrong again,  Carson Palmer has been a very good/great QB for 13 years now (a couple of off years in there…) and still threw for over 4200 yards last year, starting 15 games.  His TD’s declined from 2015 while his INT’s increased for the last two seasons.

I told you this was a tough one…  I’ve really made no good arguments and I’m back to the beginning.  I think the Rams will pull this one out with the fresh stamp of Wade Phillips on an offense with an aging QB and star WR. 

Or something…

Week 8: Bye Week  -  Rams WON’T lose!

Week 9: L.A. Rams at N.Y. Giants

Traveling.  Have I mentioned how the Rams travel?  The good news is that the Rams are coming off of a bye week after the trip abroad.  That being said, the Giants are also coming off of a bye after playing in New York in week 7 in the afternoon game, against Seattle. 

Advantage:  Giants.

So at the end of this post, we’re sitting at the halfway point and more importantly, I think the Rams are sitting at 5-3.   Which means they’re slipping…   Ugh!

Predictions: 2017 L.A. Rams Season, Part I

It’s fun making predictions.  And for the most part, relatively harmless unless you’re a meteorologist and miss a BIG storm that damages much and causes great discombobulation (that's a John Madden term!  :-)  )  to the local masses.   

Other than that, predictions gone wrong are mocked for a brief time and then forgotten.  Sent down the proverbial pipe into the bit-bucket,  never to be mentioned again...  

Unless, of course, they’re saved because some goofy dude, feeling highly confident at the time of writing, posted them to the world-wide-interwebs for all to see!

So that’s exactly what I’m going to do for the 2017 L.A. Rams schedule.  Hopefully, I won’t come off as a simple “homer”.  I will provide a bit of thought as to why I predicted as I did and we’ll move closer to my public shaming as we wait for all three people to read it…

Lets get this thing moving. 

Week 1: Indianapolis Colts at L.A. Rams

I picked the Rams to win this one for a few reasons.  The biggest being that I’m typing this up late on Sunday night, July 2^nd and to date, Andrew Luck, the Colts QB, has still NOT thrown a ball since his shoulder surgery in January 2017.  That’s a big deal since he plays behind a truly offensive offensive line.  In that aspect, his career sort of resembles that of David Carr who took a crazy beating behind a porous Texas O-line and set a record for number of sacks endured.

2^nd reason is that the Colts defense in 2016 wasn’t anything to be proud of either!  My thinking is that the Rams improved O-line will press the D-line of the Colts and allow for good running lanes for Gurley, taking the pressure off of Goff.  

The Rams defensive front seven will have a field day against the Colts O-line.  I'm thinking it may even be a smart thing by the Colts to start Scott Tolzien in place of Luck for week 1.

Week 2:  Washington Redskins at L.A. Rams

The Redskins play a home game against the Eagles in week 1, so no big advantage is to be had there, other than they travel across the country in week 2 to play in L.A.  

I also think the Rams hold an advantage over the Redskins since McVay was the O-coordinator there for the last 3 years and as a result of that, knows a good bit about what the Reds’ do on defense.

The Redskins additions of two receivers in particular, are notable;  Terrelle Pryor and Bryan Quick.  Pryor will pay dividends for QB Kirk Cousins and has the ability to absolutely TORCH the Rams secondary.  But then there's Quick. As Rams fans know, he will shave off many benefits that any other receiver adds to the team by dropping balls and running incomplete routes.

Advantage to the at-home Rams.

Week 3: L.A. Rams at San Francisco 49’ers

In the 2016 season, the Niners won two games…  both of those games were against the Rams!  So, if there was any sort of confidence, I have to only remember that and I will quite quickly, come falling back to Earth.

This is one of many non-sense laden Thursday night games.  In week 2, the Niners play up North in Seattle so no big travel advantage for either team here.

I really don't know what to think, but as a SWAG, I will go with a win for the Rams even though I think the Niners had a great off-season with some amazing talent acquisitions.  

However, I don’t think it will all be “put together” by week 3, but the same could be said for the Rams... 

I don't know!!  I'm going Rams.  

Deal with it.

Week 4: L.A. Rams at Dallas Cowboys

Yikes!  This is going to be a bloodbath in my opinion.   

The newly minted Rams will be feeling all salty and confident coming off of three straight wins, only to run into the charging rhinoceros of my previously predicted Superbowl Champion Dallas Cowboys!   

The Cowboys play Arizona, in Arizona, on Monday Night Football in week 3 so there's that.  However, that's not a big travel burden and should have zero impact on this game.

Even though the Cowboys will be showcasing the 2^nd year starters Prescott and Elliot, the experience those two gained in year one will be WAY too much for the Rams, and this will be embarrassing.

So, thru week four,  my best guess is that the mighty Rams will be sitting at 3-1.  That sounds like a glorious and wondrous thing, right? 

Well, not so fast, they had exactly that same record last year, and then went 11-1 the remainder of the year… 


In my next post, we'll observe the next 4 games in the Rams schedule and determine just how miserable I'll need to be during weeks 4 - 8.

Thoughts on the L.A. Rams 2017 Season

post by Ted

It has caused great pain in my life to remain a St. Louis/L.A. Rams fan for the last many years.  In the last 13 seasons, we've won precisely 68 times...  yes, you read that correctly, 68!  That is to say, a winning percentage around 33% or roughly 5 games per season.  Yikes! 

If that is not a statement in futility, I have no idea what is.

So it's a new year.  Hope springs eternal this time of the year.  We have an entirely new coaching staff.  We are playing our second year in the City of Angels and have eliminated some of the logistical crap that Fisher had to deal with (that's NOT an excuse, btw!). We have some new pieces to the puzzle on what was one of the worst offenses in the league the last two years under head coach Jeff Fisher and offensive coordinator, Rob Boras.

So, with that, I am going to take a look at the three biggest reasons why I believe the Rams will be a dramatically improved team this year.

1.) Sean McVay
He came from the Washington Redskins where he spent 7 years, the last three of those as the offensive coordinator.  Their offense ranked 13th, 17th and then 3rd last year.  I would have liked to see a bit more consistency in those numbers, but they're better than the last 13 years rankings for the Rams.  

Another thing about McVay is what the players are talking about, and that is the positive energy he brings.  Most of the players have described it as "infectious" and opposite of the Jeff Fisher years.  

He has hired Matt LaFleur as his offensive coordinator.  The two worked together in the past at Washington, and have very similar philosophies when it comes to running an offense.  LaFleur spent last season as the Atlanta Falcons QB coach for Matt Ryan, and Ryan had an MVP year.  Note also that McVay and LaFleur were responsible for developing Kirk Cousins!  So McVay will be calling the plays but LaFleur will help implement the offense that McVay wants to run.

On the downside, McVay is the youngest ever head coach in the NFL and obviously, entirely unproven in that role.  However, he is smart enough to check the ego at the door and admit that he needs help in his new role, which brings me to point number two.


2.) Wade Phillips
Wade has around 40 years of coaching experience in the NFL, with 34 of those years as either defensive coordinator or head coach.  There is a GREAT article written by Alden Gonzalez at ESPN (the whole article is worth a read or two!), but check out this little section of it:

"Below is a look at each defense before and after Phillips came in. They're listed with their rankings in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), then yards and points allowed, followed by the number of Pro Bowl players from that defense. Phillips, who has coached 30 Pro Bowl players and has been a part of 20 top-10 defenses, started as defensive coordinator at all those stops except Dallas, where he was head coach. His defenses before 1988 are not listed because DVOA was unavailable for them.

2014-15 Denver Broncos
    Before Phillips: 4th in DVOA, 3rd in yards allowed, T-16th in points allowed; 5 Pro Bowlers.
    After Phillips: 1st in DVOA, 1st in yards allowed, 4th in points allowed; 5 Pro Bowlers.

2010-11 Houston Texans
    Before Phillips: 31st in DVOA, 30th in yards allowed, 29th in points allowed; 0 Pro Bowlers.
    After Phillips: 6th in DVOA, 2nd in yards allowed, 4th in points allowed; 2 Pro Bowlers.

2006-07 Dallas Cowboys
    Before Phillips: 14th in DVOA, 13th in yards allowed, 20th in points allowed; 2 Pro Bowlers.
    After Phillips: 9th in DVOA, 9th in yards allowed, 13th in points allowed; 4 Pro Bowlers.

2003-04 San Diego Chargers
    Before Phillips: 30th in DVOA, 27th in yards allowed, 31st in points allowed; 0 Pro Bowlers.
    After Phillips: 13th in DVOA, 18th in yards allowed, 11th in points allowed; 0 Pro Bowlers.

2001-02 Atlanta Falcons
    Before Phillips: 26th in DVOA, 30th in yards allowed, 24th in points allowed; 1 Pro Bowler.
    After Phillips: 12th in DVOA, 19th in yards allowed, 8th in points allowed; 1 Pro Bowler.

1994-95 Buffalo Bills
    Before Phillips: 19th in DVOA, 17th in yards allowed, 22nd in points allowed; 1 Pro Bowler.
    After Phillips: 10th in DVOA, 13th in yards allowed, T-12th in points allowed; 2 Pro Bowlers.

1988-89 Denver Broncos
    Before Phillips: 27th in DVOA, 22nd in yards allowed, 20th in points allowed; 0 Pro Bowlers.
    After Phillips: 4th in DVOA, 3rd in yards allowed, 1st in points allowed; 3 Pro Bowlers.

The Falcons, Chargers, Texans and Broncos (the second time around) each made the transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 under Phillips.  The Rams will do the same."


That is stunning!  The Rams defense under Fisher and DC Gregg Williams was always the Rams strong point, but the offense was so dreadful, that the D was a wreck for the last 1/3 of the season because they were simply out of gas.  

Phillips, out of those 34 seasons, had a top 5 defense 10 times and a top 10 defense 20 years, by my count.  He has the personnel to do it all again!

So if we truly have an offense that isn't truly offensive, the D should be on the field for less snaps and be able to sustain their high level of play for the entire season.

A win-win situation.



3.) The blind side
The Rams biggest improvement on a truly horrific offense, is the situation at left tackle. They traded away Greg "the human turnstile" Robinson last week after acquiring Andrew Whitworth as a free agent from the Cincinnati Bengals.

That is a huge step up in talent and adds a veteran to a line that desperately needed someone to show them how to succeed.  He should be able to provide an extra second for the play to develop which should be a great help for our 2nd year QB, Goff.



That's it for now.  Next, I'll take these things into consideration while examining the Rams 2017 schedule and how I think their year will turn out.

Thanks for reading!

2017 NBA Mock Draft

The first two picks are 99.99 percent guaranteed but the rest of the top ten is anyone's game.

Markelle Fultz

To the Philadelphia 76ers

Lonzo Ball

To the Los Angeles Lakers 

 

Josh Jackson

To the Boston Celtics

 

Jayson Tatum

To the Phoenix Suns

 

De'Aaron Fox

To the Sacramento Kings

 

Dennis Smith Jr

To the Orlando Magic

 

Jonathan Isacc

To the Minnesota Timberwolves

 

Frank Ntilikina

To the New York Knicks

 

Lauri Markkanen 

To the Dallas Mavericks 

Luke Kennard

To the Sacramento Kings

 

 

 

What are the Celtics Doing in the NBA Draft?

If you don't know the Celtics traded down to #3 in the draft from #1. Everybody thought that Markelle Fultz was the future of the Boston Celtics. Now he is the future of the 76ers. Since Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball are everybody's consensus #1 and #2 picks, this leaves 3 people left that could be taken in the third spot. Deaaron Fox, Josh Jackson, and Jayson Tatum. We will go through the 3 players and discuss pros and cons and at the end decide who it is going to be a Celtic.

Deaaron Fox

The most explosive player in the draft the 6 ft 3 inch point guard is hard to pass on. He attacks the rim with speed and force and is a dogged defender. His jumpshot may struggle but Russell Westbrook doesn't have the best jumpshot and we saw him post a Triple-Double average the entire season. Deaaron might not be the best fit for the Celtics because they have Isaiah Thomas. The only reason I see the Celtics drafting Fox is if they don't want to pay a 5 ft 9 inch guy 100,000,000 when he is about out of his prime. But Isaiah Thomas has proved to people again and again that he is worth a lot of money.

Josh Jackson 

A dominant 6 ft 8 inch forward its very easy to see why the Celtics would take him. Being teammates with Frank Mason might help him prepare for what would happen if the Celtics did draft him because of Isaiah Thomas. Jackson can give 15 points and stellar defense while giving teammates confidence as well. The Celtics main problem last year was nobody could stop LeBron and defense was gone. Isaiah Thomas is a liability on defense because of his height. Al Horford won't make LeBron think twice about attacking the rim. Amir Johnson is an average defender on a good night. Avery Bradley cannot guard Kyrie and LeBron at the same time. He might not even be able to guard LeBron alone. Josh Jackson strengthens there defense and might even give them an edge.

 

Jayson Tatum

A 6 ft 8 inch forward able to dunk on a 11 foot rim and can dunk while wearing armor is pretty impressive. With similar measurements to Jackson, Tatum brings explosive offense they need so Isaiah Thomas doesn't have to score 30 for the Celtics to have a chance. Tatum also has played along stars at Duke that could prepare him for Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics. He also does not have to be the number one option, and has played along stars like Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen. 

Verdict

While everyone has tremendous upside, I think the Celtics will pick Josh Jackson with the #3 pick in the 2017 NBA draft.

Superbowl Predictions!

Every year, Robby and I find it fun to make our initial Superbowl predictions after free agency and the draft has concluded.  And so, with the advent of our new blog, we'll do it publicly this time so as the embarrassment can be cast upon us from anywhere in the world instead of just making fun of each other for our ridiculous predictions!

What we're going to do is make our predictions now and revisit them at the following points;  
1.) After training camps and based on the injuries that happen
2.) After the preseason games and final rosters are set
3.) And after every team has played 8 games (**note** - I haven't to see which week that is, but logically speaking, it should be after week 9).


So here we go!
Robby's picks:
NFC Championship game:
Tampa Bay  vs.  Dallas


AFC Championship game:
New England  vs.  Oakland


Superbowl (2002 Redux!!):
Oakland vs. Tampa Bay with Tampa Bay winning it all!!




Teddy's picks  (I am inclined to go Patriots all the way thru since I believe they have gotten better this off-season!   But, I can't):
NFC Championship game:
Tampa Bay vs. Dallas  (at Dallas)


AFC Championship game:
Oakland  vs.  Texans  (at Oakland)


Superbowl:
Oakland  vs. Dallas with Dallas winning it all!!

Kaepernick: Blackballed Or Just More Non-sense From The Media

Post by Ted

I have been a faithful reader of Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com for many years now.  I know that the website's original writer (if not the creator of the site), Mike Florio, gets on a tangent now and then.  When he does, there becomes a deluge of posts relating to that particular subject, for maybe a month, sometimes longer.

One of the longer running obsessions from Florio is his apparent dislike of journeyman QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick,  and the constant put downs/slags/other nonsense about the man and his talents.

Best QB ever?  Nope.

Even an upper tier/game changing QB?  Nope and probably not, respectively.

However, Florio and his henchmen, Michael David Smith, Josh Alpers, Curtis Crabtree, Darin Gantt, have written piles upon piles of articles with wild donkey guesses about why Colin Kaepernick is still unemployed (end of May) this far into free agency.  Occasionally, you'll even get a post that suggests something nefarious about Kaps unemployment AND a dig at Fitz.

Why?  Dunno...  With the way that Profootballtalk has propped up Kap would suggest that, at worst, someone associated with them has a financial interest in his gainful employment (pure speculation on my part!) or at best, he's good click-bait to gain money from the ad placements on the side of their page.

Either way, for a player of Kaps stature, it's getting embarrassing!

Lets look at some stats.  I've eliminated Kaps 2011 stats as he only played in 3 games with 3 completions on 5 attempts.  I've also eliminated the 2006/2007 seasons for Fitz as he played in only 1 game per season with zero attempts passing in late game mop-up duty. 

Here we are:



Obviously from looking at the chart, Fitz has played twice as many seasons as Kap.  So lets double some of Kaps numbers, giving him the benefit of the doubt, since the teams he played on were arguably better than most of the teams that any journeyman QB would be part of, including Fitz.

Total games played:    Kap   132        Fitz     127
Games started:           Kap   116        Fitz     116
Total Completions:      Kap 2016        Fitz    2315
Total Attempts:          Kap  3374       Fitz    3876
Completion Percent     Kap   59.8       Fitz    59.7
Total Yards:               Kap 24472      Fitz   25888
Total TD's:                 Kap    144       Fitz     166
Total Interceptions:     Kap     60       Fitz     133
Rating:                      Kap   88.9       Fitz    79.7

So after looking at these numbers, what do you think?  I know what I think but I'd like to hear comments, rebuttals, arguments and whatever else in the comments.

I think they are very similar QB's even though one has played twice as long as the other and when Kap gets another chance, things could end up very differently. However, since he chose to kneel for the National Anthem last year in protest (which is his right and I support his right to do it),  I suspect that Kap will end up as a journeyman QB much like Fitz and his numbers will be not as good.  Remember, he played on some 49'ers teams with Jim Harbaugh as coach and went to the NFC Championship game 3 times in a row, and the Superbowl once.

Also, when considering stats, Fitz is pretty much a classic "pocket passer" QB while Kap was part of the new wave of pulling-it-down-and-running-with-it QB's.  I know that Kaps running stats are far and away greater for one year than Fitz's entire career, but we're talking about why Kap doesn't have a job and why Fitz does.

Any GM worth his proverbial salt will recognize the fact that running QB's in the NFL seem to  have a much shorter shelf-life than pocket-passers and they would be nuts NOT to consider that when looking at signing these two individuals.

That is my opinion on why Fitz is gainfully employed and Kap is on the outside looking in.  Yes, his protest last year probably has a small percentage of a roll in his unemployment, but it's certainly not THE deciding factor.


To make my point a bit more clear, here are the posts (not all of them, mind you) about Kaepernick (and sometimes Fitzgerald) that were posted on Profootballtalk.com in the month of May only.  Sorry for the lack of links!!  I screwed them up getting started and had so many listed that I didn't want to go back and changed them...  I promise to do better in the future.


Micheal David Smith:
May 30th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/30/torrey-smith-goes-to-bat-for-colin-kaepernick/

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/30/report-seahawks-not-expected-to-sign-colin-kaepernick/

May 29th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/29/john-mara-says-signing-colin-kaepernick-would-lead-to-fan-backlash/

May 26th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/26/eric-mangini-would-vouch-for-colin-kaepernick-if-a-team-asked/

May 23rd:
More comments suggesting that the "writers" at ProFootballTalk.com know that Kaepernick is being black-balled:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/23/goodell-still-doesnt-think-colin-kaepernick-is-being-blackballed/

May 18th:
Former head coach Tony Dungy supplies a bit of much needed common sense:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/18/tony-dungy-if-teams-saw-colin-kaepernick-as-a-starter-theyd-sign-him/
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/18/hamilton-tiger-cats-have-cfl-rights-to-kaepernick-manziel-rgiii/


May 16th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/16/seahawks-reached-out-to-colin-kaepernicks-agent-on-friday/

May 9th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/09/colin-kaepernick-wants-to-play-hopes-to-be-in-a-training-camp/


Josh Alper:May 30th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/30/rams-add-a-third-quarterback-to-the-roster/

May 15th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/15/pete-carroll-were-considering-colin-kaepernick-rgiii-as-backup-options/


Curtis Crabtree:
May 17th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/17/trainer-says-colin-kaepernick-preparing-like-hes-still-a-starting-quarterback/


Darin Gantt:
May 30th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/30/report-nothing-is-imminent-between-seahawks-and-colin-kaepernick/

May 24th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/24/seahawks-looking-at-austin-davis-along-with-colin-kaepernick/

May 24th:
More 3rd grade'ish snotty comments suggesting the "highly-talented" one is being black-balled:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/24/report-seahawks-expected-to-work-out-colin-kaepernick-others/

May 16th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/17/trainer-says-colin-kaepernick-preparing-like-hes-still-a-starting-quarterback/

May 1st:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/01/philadelphia-wants-to-host-the-2026-super-bowl/


Mike Florio:May31st:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/31/john-lynch-49ers-would-have-cut-kaepernick-if-he-hadnt-opted-out/

May 27th:
This one at least mentions a few other unemployed QB's:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/27/jim-caldwell-isnt-interested-in-kaepernick-but-believes-in-him/

May 27th:
Nothing more than "click-bait" here, which I'm assuming is the primary reason for the flood of Kaepernick reports:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/27/spike-lee-is-0-for-1-as-nfl-reporter/

May 26th:
And BOOM!  An article about the future emplyment of a former head coach, which contains the last paragraph with a mention of how the NFL inept Kelly could help ProFootballTalk.com's source of "click-bait" revenue:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/26/espn-hires-chip-kelly/

May 25th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/25/kaepernicks-seattle-trip-was-a-visit-only-not-a-workout/

May 24th:
More of Florio presenting his own opinion as fact, but coming off as more of a personnel spokesman from a company/agency with lots of money wanting to promote a high-profile candidate.  The primary article is about Kenny Stills, yet, the focus?  You decide:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/24/kenny-stills-on-possible-2017-anthem-protest-well-see-when-the-time-comes/

May 20th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/20/kenny-stills-expresses-support-colin-kaepernick/

May 19th:
One of Florio's MANY shots at QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and even lower in the article, a back-handed slap at Fitz after saying he may be more of a "mentor" to Winston:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/19/buccaneers-didnt-consider-colin-kaepernick-as-jameis-winston-backup/

May 16th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/16/leak-of-seahawks-sudden-interest-in-kaepernick-sparks-some-cynicism/

May 13th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/13/colin-kaepernick-speaks-to-shannon-sharpe/

May 12th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/12/kaepernick-has-received-zero-inquiries/

May 11th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/11/harry-edwards-three-teams-have-inquired-about-kaepernick/
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/11/the-colin-kaepernick-alternative-facts-continue-to-percolate/

May 10th:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/10/colin-kaepernick-helps-kids-know-their-rights-and-their-identities/
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/10/free-agency-rules-change-today/
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