Brick City Boxing

WHO DAT? Ok, enough of that. But I am still jacked over the big win in the Big Easy. This is the type of win that can put a mentally shaky team like Dallas over the top. We will see. Just part of the rollercoaster ride that is Dallas fandom..

How about the Mulligan Stew that is the AFC playoff race?!?! With 2 weeks to go, not 7, 8 or 9 teams in the hunt but how about 12!!! That is right there are 12 teams that are VERY much in the hunt with 2 to go.

1 Indy has the 1 seed locked up at 14-0 (home NYJ and at Bills)
2 S.D Is pretty much solid at the #2 11-3 (at Tenn and skins at home)

3 New England sits at the 3 at 9-5 and can win the AFC East next week at home against the Jags (Jags at home and at Houston)

4 The Bengals sit currently but not comfortably at the 4 seed at 9-5 but the Ravens are right on their heels at 8-6 (KC at home and at Jets)

1st Wild Card spot Ravens at 8-6 (at Pitt at Oak)
2nd Wild Card spot Denver 8-6 (at Philly and home KC)

[More:]

Followed by six 7-7 teams
7 Jags (at Pats at Cleveland)
8 Miami (Houston and Pitt both at home)
9 NYJ (at Indy Bengals at home)
10 PITT ( Ravens at home and at Fins)
11 Tenn (SD at home and at Sea)
12 Houston (at Miami and N.E at home)

The schedule makers are looking like geniuses right now with most of the AFC hangers-on, playing each other the last 2 weeks.

Boy the Jets will break your heart. Play lights out defense all day then give up the late TD drive at home. Some of the best passes thrown by someone in a Jets jersey came from the stands in the form of snowballs! Be patient Jets fans, give Mark and Rex a couple of years and I really think you will like them both. Funny how impatient fans can be when you haven’t won a championship since the Nixon administration! For you youngsters (Johnny O) he was once our president!

Mike Tomlin, is that the same guy who looked like Lombardi last year, calling an onsides kick after his team kicked a FG to take the lead with 3 minutes left?? What a difference a year makes. He got lucky to win in spite of giving the short field which led to a GB TD but that was dumb, period!

Psssss, Hey Andy Reid, next time you go for it on 4th down…PASS THE BALL!! Man he does some dumb things for such a good coach.

By the way since I am hitting on coaches that made bad decisions yet won in spite of themselves, how about Jeff Fisher not using his time outs when he had Miami pinned inside their 3 with under a minute and forcing them to punt out of their end zone, instead he let them run out the clock and was lucky to win in OT.

How about Cleveland? Talk about a stat sheet that just doesn’t add up. How is this? Starting QB Brady Quinn went 10-17 for 66 yards No TD’s and 2 INT’s his opponent Matt Cassel 22-40 331 yards 2TD’s and NO int’s….Easy win for KC right? WRONG! How about Cleveland scoring 41 points in a 41-34 game! WTF! I guess it helps when you have the best kick returner in the league (and maybe ever) on your team in Joshua Cribbs who returned 2 kickoffs for TD’s one for 100 yards followed by a 103 yarder! And oh yeah their no name running back Jerome Harrison had a respectable day… 34 carries…286 YARDS!!! And 3 TD’s WTF…WTF!!! Are you kidding? That is good enough to be the 3rd BEST single game EVER by an NFL runner, only behind Adrian Peterson’s 296 and team mate Jamaal Lewis’s 295. Good for him, that is how you put yourself on the map. Yikes.

Hey Oakland, I know Russell threw a game winner today, but just so we are clear on this....he still stinks. That was my Public Service Announcement for the day!

Well these last 2 weeks are going to be great and thank you Wade and Tony and Jason for making them actually matter to a nut case like me!

Happy Holidays and thanks for reading!

For all the latest about the fight game check out Brick City right here!

http://www.brickcityboxing.com/index.php
Posted by Quinn28 at 6:45 PM 2 comments
Monday, December 14, 2009
Week 14 thoughts...

The AFC Playoff Race.

With every team aside from the colts seemingly at 7-6, should make for a great stretch run! With Cincy losing you have to feel pretty solid with the 10-3 Chargers in the 2 seed. The Bengals with a 2 game lead and 3 to play are probably pretty safe as the 3 seed and the AFC North winner. The AFC East now, that is gonna be fun. The Fins and Jets at 7-6 are not only in the wild card hunt but they are very much still in the Division hunt only 1 game behind the Pats who are a shell of teams past. Here is what remains for these teams

Pats @ Buffalo, sounds easy , but it took a flurry of a finish to comeback and beat Buffalo early in the year in New England, Jacksonville at home, a team with plenty to play for and clinging to the last wild card spot and finally @ Houston a team that will play well because they always do once they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

Fins @ TEnn, No one wants to play this team right now Period! Houston, see above, Pitt at home, you have to think this team will show an ounce of pride at some point! Plus they may have their heart back in the form of their long haired hippie Safety!

The Jets Jets Jets Atlanta at home, a team reeling, @ Colts, a team that has been inclined to rest players when they lock things up. If I was Rex, I blitz the kitchen sink at Peyton early and often and make that decision easy for Caldwell, Bengals at home, they may have nothing to play for.

Obviously the Pats have earned the benefit of the doubt, but the Jets have a solid or a punchers chance at winning this division.

Something Missing!

What is it that teams like San Diego have that teams like Dallas do not? Hard to put your finger on it. I have to say it just has to be coaching coaching coaching. Any person that thought Wade Phillips was the better choice over Norv Turner 3 years ago, took a nice slap in the mouth yesterday, as Norv’s Offense, when needed moved the ball at will against Wade’s Defense! Norv as a play caller is light years better than Jason Garrett. Garrett has no idea at all about running a play or formation in the hopes of setting up a different call later in the game. Our drives are either all passes or all runs. One does not setup the other.
Here is what Chargers linebacker Tim Dobbins said after the game regarding Dallas’ 4 straight runs into the line of scrimmage after getting a 1st and goal from the 3.

"I don't know what they were thinking but after the second time you gotta think, `don't run that play no more,''' ``I don't know if they watched film or what."Dobbins was in on three of the tackles and knew what was coming.
"In our mind, we knew he (Marion Barber) wasn't blocking. We knew he had to get the ball. He's not getting paid to block. Everybody knows that, everybody in the stands knew that. We knew it was going to be a flip or a dive, one or the other. I don't know what they were thinking,'' Dobbins said.
Let me answer that for you Tim, Garrett does not think. He simply looks at his play sheet and picks a play.
Any Dallas fan that has been watching this team over the last 30 or so games has seen this identical game at least 10 times. Defense starts out hot..Offense moves the ball but does not put points on the board..Offense finally wakes up in the 3rd qtr …defense wears down and collapses when it matters most. Is like Deja Vu over and over again for this team. My biggest fear is that Jerry let’s Wade go and promotes the Doogie Houser of coaching Jason Garrett to head coach. Because he will still call the plays and he simply can not. Now the good news is, there are guys like Shanahan, Gruden (not a big fan) and Holmgren out there. I am assuming Cower goes to Carolina, so I am not counting him. The bad news is all 3 of these guys specialize in the West Coast offense. I think Romo and Williams and Austin will fit just fine in that offense, however it is usually at least 1 or 2 seasons of a learning curve before a team really understands that offense, ESPECIALLY if Gruden is the guy who has about 9,000 plays in his play book. We will see. I go back to my preseason forecast of 8-8 for Dallas. Another year of wasted talent.

ps. How many scouting departments are re-evaluating how they do things every week that they see Desean Jackson just abuse another defense! Man that cat is fun to watch, just wish he played for another team..ANY other team!

For all the latest about the fight game check out Brick City right here!

http://www.brickcityboxing.com/index.php
Posted by Quinn28 at 7:43 AM 2 comments
Monday, December 7, 2009
Week 13 notes

Cowboys Giants!

The good news for Giant fans? You swept the Cowboys and are only a game out of first place in the division! The bad news, aside from your QB, is that you can’t play Dallas anymore this year and you have to beat other teams in the NFL now, and you are 5-5 against everyone else. The first half of this game was eerily similar to the 07 playoff win by NY with the Giants scoring late in the half to completely sway momentum going into the half. I am not sure why this team feels Marion Barber III is the best option as the starting Running back. Much like Brandon Jacobs he is becoming a power runner that wants to dance around and break all his runs outside, which generally results in a 3 yard loss. I would have Tashard Choice as my starter, I would have give Felix about 8-10 carries but ALSO have him lining up all over the offense to force a defense to account for him. How he doesn’t get 5-6 passes thrown to him a game is mind boggling to me. Then have a fresh MB3 for late in the game. The bottom line is this game came down to a handful of big plays and the Giants made most of them. This is the second time this season the Dallas Defense was abused and both times was by this Giants team. The biggest reason in my opinion is the Giants O-line. Holding Dallas to 1 sack when they have been accumulating at least 3 per game over the last 2 months is a great job by them. When you are a team reliant so much on the pass rush, you had better get there, and they did not. The bright side of this brutal schedule that Dallas is playing, is as big as that loss was, a win against a big time team like 9-3 San Diego gets you back on track, and the dark side is you have to play San Diego! We will see what they are made of. The fact that Romo played turnover free football on the road against a division rival gives me some confidence that if they have to score 35 they might be able to.

A quick look at what’s left for the NFC East:
8-4 Dallas plays SD at home, @ the Saints, @ Wash and Philly at home.
7-5 NYG plays Philly @ home, @ Wash, Caroline @ home, and @ Minny
8-4 Eagles @ Giants, SF @ Home, Den @ home and on the road @ Dallas

Looking at what remains, I would say the smart money is on Philly to win this division. If that is the case, Dallas had better hope Baltimore beats Green Bay tonight, because they would be on the outside looking in if it comes down to a tie breaker to make the playoffs with NY who swept you and GB who beat you also.

How Bout them Raiders!
Boy if you are a Raiders fan, after you get done celebrating with your fellow inmates, oops I mean friends, you have to be thinking…Why in the $@#@ world did we waste this season with Russell at QB when we actually have a young QB that CAN play QB??? Answer..Al “Count Chocola” Davis! His stubbornness to keep the new Ryan Leaf at QB for so long cost this team a chance at a playoff run. I liked Gradkowski in Tampa and felt they gave up on him way to early. I am happy to see him get his chance. It really seems like you are watching Garcia back there.

The most overlooked Great team in the NFL…

The San Diego Chargers. They are 9-3 and I am hearing fans talk about getting rid of Norv Turner?? I believe they have not lost YET in December since he took the job and have won multiple playoff games since he got there, yet some believe the team is so talented they should win every game. Maybe I am just so desperate for a playoff win as a Dallas fan that I can not relate to such high expectations, but this sounds crazy to me! When Jerry hired Wade Phillips and it was between he and Norv for the job, I wanted NEITHER of them! Both had never won at their previous stops and were in my opinion cut out to stay coordinators! But I am more than willing to say that at least one of them NORV has proven me wrong. With the Colts, Saints and Minnesota getting all the hype this season, it is easy to see why the Chargers are overlooked but look again, because they might be better than all 3 of the other teams.
Well 4 more weeks of the best regular season in sports, then begins the best post season in sports. The AFC race should be interesting to watch as there are a bunch of 6 and 7 win teams that are still right in the mix. By the way Jets fans, a win against the Bucs and you guys are right back in the wild card mix.

Who are those imposters wearing the Pats helmets? Surely they bounced back after the humiliation in New Orleans to thrash a hapless Miami team...

For all the latest about the fight game check out Brick City right here!

http://www.brickcityboxing.com/index.php
Posted by Quinn28 at 7:17 AM 9 comments
Friday, November 27, 2009
NFC East Showdown

The Date, September 20th, The Place the Palace in Dallas on Sunday Night Football! Jerry Jones showing off his brand new Stadium, the biggest HD TV in the history of man kind, and oh yeah his football team, who he has spent plenty to build. Something happened on the way to the party, the Giants forgot to read the script and lay down and take their beating! Romo threw 3 int's and Eli leads the team down the field against an awful Dallas Defense. Things were going just fine for the Giants. Eli had "arrived" and they were able to spoil the grand opening. The Dallas Defense was full of holes and Romo was lofting punt like turnovers again just like the Baltimore loss last year. 2 teams heading in completely different directions. And THAT is the beauty of the NFL, here we are heading into a week 13 rematch and the Cowboys lead the division with an 8-3 record and the Giants and Eli are reeling. Romo has thrown 13 TD’s to only 4 ints since that week 2 matchup. The Cowboys have won the next 5 home games at Jerry’s new toy box. Now one would think Dallas fans should be feeling pretty cocky going into this game. No way! The Giants are a wounded animal and nothing is more dangerous. Now I did say before the season started that the Giants and their fans were drastically underrating the impact of losing Spagnuolo to the Rams. But they still have their Head Coach and I find it hard to believe that he won’t find a way to refocus this team at some point, and with 5 losses they are probably 2 away from being eliminated from playoff contention. I think this will be a great game and as a Dallas fan I am glad they at least picked up a little momentum against the Raiders. I understand the Raiders are not the Giants but they really needed to see the offense making plays again. I will be at this game taking the abuse from the Giants faithful and loving it! As much as the Giants need the game I think the Cowboys need it just as much. Not only can they not allow the Giants to sweep them in case of a tie breaker, but they really need to show the world and especially themselves that they can win a big division road game when the clock strikes December! Romo improved his regular season record to 35-15 in his first 50 starts. Now that is an awesome record but imagine how good it would be without the 5-8 December record. This team and Romo need to change that and it needs to start next weekend!

2 teams desperate to make a statement usually equals a great game Stay tuned!

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, even Giant fans!

For all the latest about the fight game check out Brick City right here!

http://www.brickcityboxing.com/index.php
Posted by Quinn28 at 8:29 AM 2 comments
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Being a Dallas fan= painful

What a pain in the neck team to root for! A last drive TD to beat a washed out Redskins team…..pathetic! Is this the same team that demolished the Falcons and went into Philly and stole one on the road? Who do you blame for such a lackluster performance? The head coach? Sounds right, but his defense saved the day and was very solid all day and really has been since allowing the late game tying TD to Kansas City with 24 seconds left. Jason Garett? I am not loving the play calling. He heard all week that he did not run enough against the Packers, so he comes out in this game and runs every play to start the game. This was successful until Marion barber fumbled it away. But the point is, can you not make a game plan that keeps a defense off balance? Not all runs after a week that you called all passes?? Tony Romo? I am a huge fan, but geez you are gonna get someone killed with your high passes over the middle! Roy Williams? I can no longer defend you dude. Make ONE tough catch in traffic Please! How much fun it must be to root for New Orleans or Minny right now, just mowing down teams like Washington. I have news for Dallas, Oakland is coming in for the holidays and in spite of their bad record, they are no joke. We will see what they can do with their last 6 games, but if they went 1-5 I would not be shocked.

The Giants get back on track finally after a 4 game skid. It took overtime but they got back on track. Now they face their AFC mirror image Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving night. 2 teams that were once a combined 11-0 and are now a combined 12-8. The OT win against Atlanta may give them some much needed momentum. They are not the same defensively without Pierce.

The Pats took out some anger on the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. I am sure during the week Rex Ryan was yelling at his TV for ESPN to stop harassing Belichick as it would just piss him off and have him open up a can of whoop ass on the jets.

What a great game on the schedule next week! The New England Patriots at the Saints! I think the Brady bunch give the Saints their first loss of the year. That is a can't miss game.

For all the latest about the fight game check out Brick City right here!
http://www.brickcityboxing.com/index.php
Posted by Quinn28 at 9:41 PM 6 comments
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Football thoughts for week 9!

Wow. Was that a big game? I read all week how Philly will win because Romo and Dallas can not win a “Big Game”. I am sure all of those writers will be issuing apologies tomorrow morning! Yeah..Sure. It was a big game when we played Atlanta until we won. Any ways, it was a big game as far as the regular season goes. It changes my view on the “potential” of the season. In my mind they should not win less than 10 games now. That would only be a 4-4 second half.

The Giants. Wow talk about the tale of 2 teams. The 5-0 world beaters and the 0-4 doormats. I would love to say they are finished. Or to quote the great Neal Zell, “Take those steaks off the grill because just like the Giants, They Are Done!” However, I know better. I have more faith in Tom Coughlin than to believe this team will fold up. I expect them to be playing meaningful games the last 3 weeks of the season still.

I have to wonder about the offensive play calling by Philly. I mean where were the big explosive plays? They came out and decided they would run on us. That is not the way to beat Dallas. I was very surprised by that. Happily surprised.

Dallas is showing signs of being a hard nosed team, but OF COURSE just like everyone else I need to see it crunch time. But they really seem to be heading in the right direction. I heard on the radio people talking about Wade being gone regardless of how this season ends….I have NOT been a Wade fan AT ALL. However, if Wade gets to and wins a playoff game or 2, why in the world would Jerry get rid of him? He will have done a great job if he does that and of course he should get a new contract…

Saints and Colts both have a scare today but find a way to win. These teams are vulnerable but they sure are resilient. I think BOTH of these teams need to win home field so they can throw 50 times per game with out weather being a factor. They are both well on course to accomplish that.

I also want to point out a very impressive season that is somewhat going under the radar. Aaron Rogers is being sacked at a Green Bay Packer Record pace. In spite of this fact he is completing 63.1% of his passes for 16TD’s and only 5ints for a tremendous 8.3 yards per attempt and a QB rating of 103.3. I know stat haters will say big deal they are 4-4, but if you look closer you see a QB that is carrying a team that maybe should be 0-8 to a 4-4 record.
Posted by Quinn28 at 9:50 PM 3 comments
Sunday, November 1, 2009
NFC Beast!

Now we are about to see a showdown in Philthy! The Giants are collapsing, The Skins are dead. Philly and Dallas clash in the city of brotherly abuse. I was hoping to be 6-1 coming into the game but I will settle for 5-2 after a 2-2 start. Dallas may or may not be up to the challenge physically and talent-wise, but I am most interested to see what this team brings to the table after getting scorched in the season ender last year. What kind of heart does this Cowboys team have? They showed they can beat the upper echelon of teams last week when they beat Atlanta. They showed they can come out and pound the weaker teams when they are in front of them like Seattle. Now for test #3 can they go on the road into their MOST hostile division rival and beat them. I can’t wait, but to say I am confident would be a lie. I have to give big props to Jason Garrett who in the last 2 games did some excellent play calling. I have questioned his play selection a lot in the past, but I like the use of multiple running back sets, I like the slants to Roy Williams EVEN though they seem to be impossible to complete. I gotta tell you if you are the rest of the NFL you are praying that Tony and Roy never get in sinc, because they are getting zero production from their "#1 receiver" and still averaging over 28 points per game! Can you imagine what this offense is capable of if they could pencil in Williams for 5 catches and 75 yards. Yikes. The defense is getting to the quarterback and the secondary seems to be gaining confidence. The Eagles just dismantled the Big bad Giants and are rolling with “super nova” Desean Jackson. This kid is a different kind of fast! He, in my opinion is a faster version of the old Falcon star Andre Rison. This game will be ALL about pass rush. Which QB will be under the most pressure? I can’t wait. I love games like this where the pressure to win is more on the opponent as it is their home game. But if you win a game like this on the road, it would put them at 6-2 at the half way point and show that maybe they took back some of the dignity they lost in week 17 in Philly last year. We will see.

Now the Giants…What in the Wide World of Sports is going on with them? I looked at their schedule in the second half and it does not get any easier for them. Giants have the Chargers coming to town next week. Not a good time to be struggling in the secondary
Posted by Quinn28 at 4:51 PM 4 comments