NFL Discussion (Week 13) ESPN will burn in hell

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:38 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2243998

Michael Irvin will not make his scheduled appearances on the Sunday and Monday Night NFL Countdown shows on Dec. 4 and 5, ESPN announced Thursday.

The former Cowboys wide receiver, who is in his third year as an analyst for the network, will resume his regular role on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Irvin was stopped for speeding on Friday, Nov. 25, in Plano, Texas, and arrested on an outstanding warrant for a previous speeding violation. His car was searched, revealing a pipe and plastic bags with marijuana residue.

He was then charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. He was taken into custody by the Plano police, and released later that evening.

ESPN first learned of the arrest on Sunday, Nov. 27.

"I understand I was wrong for not divulging the information on Friday," Irvin said today. "I accept ESPN's decision and look forward to return to my teammates next week."

One week? What a bunch of hypocrites. You provide daily news ripping into players who use drugs/enhancing drus (TV, Radio, Internet and Print) to the masses, making a profit while doing so I might add. Yet this is how you handle your own? Plus he admits to trying to hide what happened from ESPN. I will be shocked if he does not get a raise after it is all said and done.

I am shocked Irvin did not say it was Jeffrey Luries pipe. Might as well help TO out once more. He just about named everyone else as owner, might as well get back at "the man." Who "forgets" to throw away "durg paraphernalia" from their car when they have an outstanding warrant and previous arrests for such conduct?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:17 pm

Great win for the Dolphins. Epic, embarrassing choke by my Bills.

This loss could cost Mularkey his job at the end of the year, and maybe it should. The Bills have ZERO heart. The Dolphins may stink, but Saban was able to fire up that team and make it believe it could win.

Mularkey has lost the Bills. Any team with any pride and respect for its staff never would have collapsed like that.

I hang my head in shame. At least the game wasn't high-stakes like the old Dolphins-Bills battles, but the loss could be really high stakes for Mularkey, as in costing him his job in the first week of January.

I wouldn't cry to see him go. The Bills are going nowhere with Mularkey as head coach and Donohoe as GM. In fact, they're regressing from last year. Mr. Wilson needs to clean house.

Take care,
PK

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:34 pm

Orton had what a 6 passer rating today and the Bears still win. Poor old Brett got hit pretty hard today, man he can take a lickin.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:35 pm

Yeah, the only thing at stake was a higher draft pick...because neither is going to the playoffs. Hey, at least you are on track to win that!

That game was a tale of two halves...the Dolphins were terrible in the first half, and the Bills in the second. It's the exact same thing that happened in the first game. Ronnie Brown's fumble prevented the Dolphins from scoring the game winnger (it was inside the Bills 20 when he lost the ball and the Dolphins trailing by 6). It really was a mirror image game...this time the Dolphins actually converted.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:39 pm

Does it seem like ages ago that McNair was the co-MVP to anyone else? The Titans always scare the sh*t out of me because of the old Eddie George days, they beat the crap out of the Colts back then. Good to see a comfortable win today.

Can the "Plummer is an MVP candidate" bandwagon please shut the f*ck up, by the way?

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:50 pm

Giants alone in 1st place.

The defense was incredible today while Manning crapped all over the field.

Badger_Fan · Post by **Badger_Fan** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:52 pm

Vikings sleepwalk through the second half, but the Lions are so bad it doesn't matter. That's five in a row for Minnesota with St. Louis and Pittsburgh coming to Minny in the next two weeks.

On a separate note, this could be the week I needed in the picks pool to get back in the chase for the money. The absurd comebacks by the Dolphins and Jaguars helped propel me to a perfect record in the early games.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 7:23 pm

Here you go PK...a picture of the play of the game:

The dude completely whiffed on Brown...like he didn't even touch him I don't think.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 8:37 pm

DB:

The horror ... the horror ...

Out,
PK

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 8:55 pm

pk500 wrote:DB:

The horror ... the horror ...

Out,
PK

That was quite a collapse, though I'm not sure what people were expecting with Losman in his first year as a starter. People comparing him with Roethlisburger are forgetting two key differences between Pittsburgh last year and Buffalo this year: Pittsburgh had a shutdown defense and a power running game. A power running game takes a huge load off a young quarterback. Agree with PK that Tom Clements is a horrible offensive coordinator - someone should tell him he's coaching in the NFL and not the CFL.

BTW, is there a sweeter sight on sports T.V., other than watching Michael Irvin taken away in hancuffs, than watching Ed Kilgore after yet another Bills loss

I swear, I love watching Buffalo teams lose just to see homer Ed tearing up. You can't imagine how much Southern Ontario viewers despise that guy! One of the worst sports reporters I've seen outside of ESPN.

Best wishes,

Doug

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:06 pm

Can the "Plummer is an MVP candidate" bandwagon please shut the f*ck up, by the way?

And can Palmer for MVP bandwagon turn up the volume a bit.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:30 pm

EDiddy wrote:And can Palmer for MVP bandwagon turn up the volume a bit.

Yes, as long as it is a little quieter than the Manning or Edge for MVP bandwagon

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:35 pm

Yeah, it will proably will be, and proably justified.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:57 pm

Dave wrote:
EDiddy wrote:And can Palmer for MVP bandwagon turn up the volume a bit.
Yes, as long as it is a little quieter than the Manning or Edge for MVP bandwagon

Shaun Alexander for MVP. All the guy does is run for 1,400-plus per season, ho hum. Seriously, this guy is carrying Seattle to the playoffs, and he's averaging 5.1 yards per carry this season. He also has 20 TD's in 11 games and leads the NFL in rushing yards and TDs.

I'd take Alexander as MVP over Palmer, Manning or Edge. Still, it's pretty damn impressive that Palmer has a higher passer rating than Manning, the reigning supercomputer, er, MVP.

I wonder if there's a more underrated offensive superstar in the NFL than Alexander. Maybe because the Seahawks have been so mind-numbingly mediocre for the last 10 seasons -- between seven and nine wins eight of the last 10 seasons -- or so or because Seattle isn't exactly a major media market. But the guy is a stud, plain and simple.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:02 pm

Alexander is an absolute stud. Can you imagine the hype if he played for the Jets or Giants? Or that no one was interested in trading for him (or Edge) during the off-season?

As an admitted homer, I think Peyton should get it if his team ends up with the best record in the league as long as he puts up his typical numbers. No one player has more of an impact on either side of the ball during the course of the game.

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:13 pm

Yeah, Alexander is a freak. Why does he not have a new contract? He seems like a stand up guy also, no off the field concerns at all. The MVP race will be rather tight this year. I think (unfortunatly) Palmer is slightly below PEyton, L.T., and Alexander and slightly above Edge. I would proably have LT slightly beating out Alexander slimply based on his involvement in the passing game.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:59 pm

I can't even imagine the mental gymnatsics that the Orton apologists are going to cook up this week to justify retaining him as the starter. If they think this stooge is contributing to the Bears winning record by helping keep the defense on the field for 55 out of 60 minutes against one of the worst defenses in football, they're flat-out delusional.

OTOH, I was there and it was freaking awesome to see the defense just pummel Favre during the fourth quarter. The atmosphere was absolutely phenomenal.

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:16 pm

I guess you like Grossman. His interceptions will be thrown with a bit more velocity, thats about it. I think the GB defense is a bit underrated, as they do seem to get consisten pressure on the QB.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:23 pm

EDiddy wrote:I guess you like Grossman. His interceptions will be thrown with a bit more velocity, thats about it.

Maybe, but I'll take the unknown but potentially ok over the known mediocrity every day of the week. Hell, at this point even Blake might be a better option. And that is not a sentence that I type lightly.

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:29 pm

Yeah, I like Grossman to. But something about Orton I really like. You know, he was a heisman canidate untill his line fell apart. He threw two nice touch mid range- deep balls today, which is a pretty tough pass to complete in the NFL. His balls tend to sail though, which is proably the worse mechnical problem a QB can have.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 12:57 am

Orton played like ass today. But I still think putting Grossman in would be a mistake. The Bears's QB situation is what it is. Grossman has played in six career games and hasn't played in the regular season in more than a year. Blake is old and wasn't that great to begin with. Orton is probably as good as it will get this year. Unless Orton starts turning it over more, they should stick with him and open up the competition for the job after the season.

The Bears D got pushed around more than I would have liked to have seen, but they clearly had Favre's number today and held when it counted. The offensive line continues to impress me as the Bears could have a paroled Bam Morris in the backfield and still run the ball well.

Hats off to the Bengals for a tough win. I feel bad for the Steelers fans here, but it's nice to see Cincy get turned around. The AFC playoffs look like they will be incredible this year.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:20 am

RobVarak wrote:
EDiddy wrote:I guess you like Grossman. His interceptions will be thrown with a bit more velocity, thats about it.
Maybe, but I'll take the unknown but potentially ok over the known mediocrity every day of the week. Hell, at this point even Blake might be a better option. And that is not a sentence that I type lightly.

Whatever you may think about Orton, and I don't think he is playing well at all. No one in there right mind is going to lift the QB during an 8 game winning streak. One thing you can't measure is team chemistry, for whatever the reason they have rallied around Orton, there is no way they are making this change until the Bears lose a game. But fear not, going to Pittsbrugh next week is not a game I see our Bears winning. So perhaps once they lose, then we may get a switch.

Now if the Bears were 4 and 5, no one would give a rats ass about Orton, they would be saying he is a rookie, he is making rookie mistakes let him learn on the job.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:27 am

Why is everyone complaining about Orton? He's a 4th round draft pick. What do you expect. Winning 9 games with a 4th round rookie is way beyond expectations. He sucks but he's meant to suck, so no reason to complain. 49 yards of total offense will catch up with the Bears soon enough in a round1 playoff loss so they better make some plans to generate some more offense.

People are comparing this bears team with the 85 bears but the better comparison would be with that 2001 bears team. That teams inept offense caught up with them against the Eagles that year in the playoffs.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:43 am

Inuyasha wrote:Why is everyone complaining about Orton? He's a 4th round draft pick. What do you expect.

I expect a playoff-bound team with a world-beating defense to do whatever it needs to do to find some way to keep their f'in defense off the field now and then. They need to avoid the fate of that 2001 team if they can, and Orton's not going to do it.

I don't expect either of the immediate alternatives (Blake or, when 100% healthy, Grossman) to be Johnny Unitas. But they need to find someone who can open things up a bit for their running game consistently, and to put together a drive now and then.

How good would this defense be if they didn't have crappy teams like GB running almost 90 plays against them? That's asking a lot of even the best defense.

Some random oddities looking at the stats from today's game.

The Bears D had 140 yards on INT returns and the Bears O gained 150 yards from scrimmage.

The Bears were 0 for 10 converting third downs.

The Bears started 5 drives in Packer territory and netted 3 points from them.

Inuyasha is right. This does look like another 1 and done in the Playoffs. But excuse me for not being content with that BS. I'm tired of the token periodic playoff appearance! They could put a run together if they find some production at QB, but they won't if they keep running this unit out there as is.

And I understand the political and "chemistry" ramifications of changing QB's, but those are just weaknesses that afflict chicken bleep head coaches. Those last 8 games are history and I want my coaching staff figuring out how to win the next few games.

Wrekcut1 · Post by **Wrekcut1** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:55 am

Its a tough situation. I think Orton will get better, but that will be down the long road and it will not help us this year.

The one thing that really scares me about Grossman is that it seemed to me that he was just horrible in the red zone. It always seemed like he would throw an interception any time he got under the 20. It scared me to see him throw it up. I remember the play that knocked him out last year, thinking "oh thank god he is going to run it and not pass." It was a great scramble until we found out that we lost him for the season.

Orton may not be much, but outside the Cincy game where he seems to have lost all his confidence, when I see him throw it it doesn't bother me as badly. Right now, his passes seem to float and are overthrown, but that is better than interceptions.

We definitely have a QB problem again. Its just not as obvious this year. I do wish Orton would get his throwing back on track to the point where he was throwing in his first few games, but keep the knowledge he has gained up to this point.

I don't disagree that we need to do something with the QB position, but we are on a 8 game winning streak. I'm just hoping that the coaching staff can and will do something to help improve our offense at this point with what we have.