Theo and my denial...

Another one of my co-workers, Keith Martin, is an avid Sox/Pats fan and he called me on my denial on the Theo Epstein...issue. I will admit to serious denial - I believe that if I don't hear about Sox ownership reverting to Yawkey/Gormanism, then it isn't really happening. With his permission, here are Keith's observations...

Kevin:
You are either in dire denial of Theo's departure or you just can't see clearly through the tears to type up a blog entry. Given the events of the last few days, I've put on my "Letterman-esque" hat and thought of 10 other jobs Mr. Epstein can take now that he is free. What you may find amusing my wife finds troubling.
10. Candygram deliveryman: That gorilla costume could just turn into a few bucks when Theo shows up at your next party with balloons and a song for your special day.
9. Defensive coordinator for the Patriots: Gets along great with players and knows his defense. Remember this is the guy that got John Olerud to help out Millar and Ortiz at first base.
8. Assistant GM of the Yankees: Like Clemens and Boggs (and now Tony Pena), he could be the next one to jump to the Dark Side.
7. Pearl Jam cover band guitarist: Loves his Eddie Vedder just as much as his baseball. 6. Red Sox analyst: Could join Rem Dog and Orsillo in the booth for some great insight next season such as: "Kevin Youkilis, batting .286 and who slept on my floor most of last season."
5. Vendor at Fenway: C'mon, if this guy can sell Adam Stern as a prospect to hold onto, he can sell peanuts. 4. President of the "Bitter GM's Club": Imagine it if you will, Theo, Dan Duquette and Lou Gorman sharing a booth at the Cask N' Flagon every game night bitchin' about the Sox like everyone else.
3. Tom Brady's stunt double: With Tom's Hollywood career calling, someone's got to take the lumps in "The Waterboy 2." 2. Dean of the Theo Epstein Institute of Baseball Management: How many fantasy geeks and teenage GM-wannabes would enroll for classes with Theo? Tons just to hear from the boy who would be king.
1.GM of the Red Sox: Denial is my middle name. It's not over until Larry Lucchino sings.
Keep the faith,
Keith

NVA 58, DC 48

Here are photos from the final regular season game of the Baltimore-Washington Eagles metro league tournament. We're still waiting to find out whether or not Northern Virginia will be facing DC, or Baltimore in the Grand Final next weekend.
For teammates, grab any photos you find interesting, for other readers, feel free to contact me via the site if you're interested in finding out more about the game. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the final regular season metro match...

My daughter makes a decent tackle on me...might garner a call for a high tackle, though. 

FOXSports.com - NFL- The NFL's most overpaid players

I've put the list up, but the notes at the site are what's interesting - it really boils everything down to an empirical look at contract value versus production. Personally, I think there really aren't any surprises here...

10. RB Kevan Barlow, San Francisco 49ers
9. QB Chad Pennington, New York Jets
8. QB Aaron Brooks, New Orleans Saints
7. LB LaVar Arrington, Washington Redskins
6. CB Eric Warfield, Kansas City Chiefs
5. DL Warren Sapp, Oakland Raiders
4. WR Charles Rogers, Detroit Lions
3. K Mike Vanderjagt, Indianapolis Colts
2. CB Charles Woodson, Oakland Raiders
1. Houston Texans Offensive Line

And from today's guest writer...

From Patrick Dunne, a co-worker of mine from the Philly area and a Penn State Alumni. Being an Eagles fan, he's looking at options in the AFC to root for. Gotta admit - in spite of the Pats injury problems, I only need to look at Philly to see a team with even worse issues. Here are Mr. Dunne's observations...

My family is considering adopting an AFC team after last week.

Up for the job:
Bills – They've got Troy Vincent, one of the best cornerbacks ever to wear the Eagles jersey. Plus they too have freezing cold home games.
Chargers – Great weather would make for great road trips! Also they're a decent team and after Week 6, we own them.
Chiefs – They've got one of the greatest Philly coaches in Dick Vermeil, who still owns a house in the 'burbs.

Um, we'll call you… :
Browns – Being sworn enemies of Pittsburgh is a plus, but they're nothing special.
Colts – They have a great quarterback and Corey Simon, but it's a bandwagon team and we're above that … until they beat the Patriots, that is…
Ravens – Ray Lewis might be the only linebacker up for another Body-Bag Game. Only strike is that they suck right now and are too close to the Redskins.
Steelers – Tempting because they're also a Pennsylvania, blue collar team with Duuuuuuuce. But they're right down the pike...
Titans – Coach competed with Andy Reid for the Eagles position, so he can't be all-bad. But the team is just so-so.

Hahahahaha:
Bengals – No matter how good they are, they're still the Bungles in my mind, plus they have Carson Palmer who beat Larry Johnson (Penn State) for the Heisman Trophy in 2003.
Broncos – Never forget, Plummer (and the Cardinals) made us look like fools in 2002 and 2005. Plus, he's a shaggy, shady redneck who probably lives in a trailer next to the stadium.
Jaguars – Remember the Superbowl? Neither do I, thank god for repressed memories, but I heard it was in Jacksonville.
Patriots – Never support a team that beat you in a Superbowl, even if you can't remember it.
Raiders – See "Patriots"
Texans – Close enough to Dallas to be contaminated.

Bruschi proves he's a key piece - The Boston Globe

Waiting for last night's Pat's game was kind of like being a kid on Christmas morning. Sure, they didn't play a great game...hell, they didn't play a good game, but HE was back. Is Bruschi a cure all - no. But, for the first time since Harrison went down, the Patriots defense finally showed some intensity. Some nice hits by Eugene Wilson and Asante Samuel in there. Unfortunately there were also some defensive breakdowns - mostly communication problems.
I have a hunch that as the season progresses, the defense will have fewer and fewer communication issues. Arturo Freeman will remain in the backfield with Wilson and, I'm guessing here, that next week Richard Seymour will be activated for the Monday Nighter against the Colts at the Razor. The defense will come out in a 4-3 with Bru in the middle with Mike Vrabel and Willie McGinnest on the edge.
With the four down linemen, the Pats will be tougher to both run and pass against. Third and long will revert to a 3-4 with Vrabel going to the middle and Colvin rushing the passer from the blindside (although I have a hunch we'll see a 3-3 alignment with 5 defensive backs or even 2-3 or 3-2 if the down and distance are long enough - Poteat and Hobbs are going to begin meriting more time back there).

Do the Redskins know that points can't be transferred from week to week? They're not like your cellular minutes, guys. There is no carryover. That being said, I know a scoring plan you might be interested in. If anyone in the 'Skins organization is interested, dial 1-800-THE-SEASON-IS-16-GAMES LONG.
The 49ers suck. What's the 'Skins' excuse for not showing up?

Preaseason picks revisited -

I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong

NFC East - Right now I'm guessing it'll finish like this -
Cowboys
Giants (WC)
Eagles
Skins
The Eagles and the skins I think will finish with about 7 or 8 wins a piece, Dallas and the Giants might both get to 10, but both have holes in their defenses that will need to be addressed before the playoffs -oh, and Eli's gonna need to squeak one or two road wins out to do it. Two teams have absolutely embarassed the Eagles, both doing it in the same way. A lot of upcoming opponents are going to be looking at the film of the Dallas and Denver debacles. An injured Donnie Mac with no running game is a potential ticket to staying at home in January. The 'Skins can't play like they did against the Giants with a defense like the Giants have and expect to go anywhere at the end of the season.
The Eagles or the Skins might make the playoffs by default (just not enough NFC teams playing well in the other divisions, but 2nd wild card is most likely to come from the NFC South). That is their big hope.

NFC North - I'm sorry I thought anyone in this division could win more than 10 -
Bears
Lions
Packers
Vikings
Bears win it with a 9-7 record. Packers edge over the Culpepperless-Vikings in the battle of the basement and...oh who am I kidding? This division is in danger of being last year's version of the NFC West, and the division winner likely to be the victim of an embarassing blowout in the playoffs.

NFC South - With Simms QBing, it becomes a foot race between the Panthers and the Falcons to the playoffs
Panthers
Falcons (WC)
Bucs
Ain'ts - as it ain't happening this year either.
I had high hopes for the Saints when they went into the Panthers house and pulled it out, but, like some of the establishments along Bourbon Street, the Saints were just a tease. With no running back pounding the middle and Simms under center it looks like the Bucs will be lucky to go .500 in their remaining games. My guess is, unless someone there on O gets healthy fast, you're looking at 8-8 and out.
I will admit to being wrong about the Falcons in regards to making the playoffs, but they will have a better shot at the Lombardi Trophy with Schaub starting at QB. Vick is an exciting, athletic player who happens to be one of the worst starting QB's in the league. He is, in the long run, a liability.

NFC West - This year's version of last year's NFC North
Seahawks
Rams
Cardinals
49ers
Seahawks will be best of bad division. Like last year, most of the teams in this division will not make past 8 wins - the only exception will be the 'Hawks, who are likely to get bounced in the second round of the playoffs. They are erratic - when on, very good, when off, very bad. The Rams will continue to struggle, the Cards won't cut and the Niners need to go play some college football to get their confidence back...maybe against Columbia.

AFC West - When did the Browns D line begin playing...evidently when they left Cleveland
Broncos
Chargers (WC)
Chiefs
Raiders
The autumn wind blew the Raiders down, the Chargers will claw their way ahead of a Chiefs team that is better than last year's, and the Broncos may well win 12 games with a defensive front that couldn't stop the Energizer Bunny last season. There is an outside chance that this division could produce both wild card entrants into the post-season dance.

AFC South - Indy finally gets homefield advantage
Colts
Jags
Titans
Texans
Titans will continue to experience growing pains, Texans seem to be going backwards and the Jags are probably going to get edged in the standings by Pittsburgh for the final playoff spot. The Colts, with a soft schedule, are likely to get into the postseason with the best record in football and a reasonably healthy squad...could this finally be the Colt's year?

AFC North - Steelers and Bengals represent, Ravens and Browns barely present
Bengals
Steelers (WC)
Browns
Ravens
Ravens made a lot of noise about how the prognosticators disrespected them in the preseason. I actually thought some of that attitude would carry over onto the field...evidently it was just a lot of hot air. The Ravens are going to wrong way, Crennel will eek a couple of extra wins out of this team and the Steelers will be in a dogfight with the Bengals for the division title. The Bengals will go a long way to seeming like a legitimate Super Bowl contender if they can manage to beat the Steelers in the next meeting. If not, look for one and done in the playoffs.

AFC East - Freak injuries reverse course for once-powerhouse division
Patriots
Bills
Phins
Jets
Pats will manage to take care of business within the division, but will the team have jelled enough come playoff time to make a serious run in the post-season? I'm beginning to have my doubts. It could happen, but halfway through the season is a little late to still be Jeckyll and Hyding it. Right now their identity is as an erratic team that's soft in the middle and with enough holes to give any team, no matter how bad, legitimate reason to believe they can beat the world champs.
The rest of the division is a crap shoot. I'm calling for the Bills because they have the best division record. The Phins and Saban are probably two seasons away unless he's able to make some major personell changes in the off-season, and the Jets are likely to be in a four way First-pick-a-thon with the Texans, the Niners, and the Vikings.

Coaches - Martz is as good as gone. Mike Tice won't make it to next year, and the following might have a few issues retaining employment; Dom Capers, Norv Turner, Jim Haslett (might be saved by the hurricane situation). Also Brian Billick might incur some owner wrath. I wouldn't be surprised to see any, if not all of them, searching for new jobs come the offseason.