Tag Archives: Oregon

Dial It Down

For real

For real

While the 12′s were having a collective freakout about the result of last night’s Seahawks road VICTORY in St. Louis, I decided to do a little digging.  I thought to myself, when was the last time the Hawks beat the crap out of the Rams in St. Louis?  The thing is, I always thought it had been a tough place to play for Seattle.  My short-term (which gets foggier with each Halloween that goes by) was that St. Louis was a place that the Hawks never really have played well.

So after some Bing searches (get those Rewards) – I was astonished.  My short-term memory wasn’t failing me.  The Seahawks as we know them have never dismantled St. Louis at home.  The biggest blowout I could find was a victory in St. Louis in 2011 where Seattle won, 24-7.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

I Got You Keith

Keith Price and Brad Dobbs chill after spring game

This entire article is an excuse for me to use this photo.

I swear, I think everyone’s favorite player is the backup quarterback.

The thing about team sports, is that in the game of football, the Quarterback gets all the credit, all the good, and almost all of the bad as well.

However, I do subscribe to the NabNoPa (best NCAA ’10 coach to ever live) rule of thought, “If you aren’t good enough to play, you don’t deserve to be on the field.” Is Cyler Miles good enough to play? I would say yes, he is in the program, but he isn’t good enough to start now. Otherwise he would have won the starting job in camp. This is Keith’s team – so buckle up and get ready for the ride.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 Reasons Why Cougs May Not Be Bowl-Bound…(just bein’ real)

Picture3

Now before you get all hot and bothered by the title of this article, keep in mind that I want nothing more than a Bowl appearance by the Cougs.  But the more my hopes are lifted, the harder and further they can fall.  Some might call me a negative Nancy, or “not a real Coug fan.”  I like to consider myself cautiously optimistic…with a side of skepticism.

The WSU Cougars are sitting on a 3-1 record after a pair of romps against Southern Utah and Idaho.  Their defense is 13th in the nation for points against and their air-raid offense certainly looks like it’s coming together. But in all honesty, I would expect these stats to be as such after two cupcakes.

The Cougs now face a Pac-12 schedule that has never looked more challenging.  Against other FBS schools, the Pac-12 has a blistering 21-3 non-conference record through week 4.  This week, WSU will face a very well-rounded Stanford team that averages 200+ yards on the ground.  Against Auburn and USC, the Cougs gave up a combined 434 yards rushing…let’s just say defending the run is not a forte of this Cougar D.

A few weeks down the road, Mike Leach’s squad travels to Autzen Stadium…enough said.

Essentially, what I’m saying to Cougar fans everywhere is “don’t get your hopes up just yet.” Remember 2006?  The Cougs were ranked #23 and had a 6-3 record going into Dad’s weekend against a mediocre Arizona team.  After a loss there, and two more losses including the Apple Cup, the Cougs were left out of a bowl bid.

Here are three reasons why the Cougars may NOT make it to a bowl game this year:

1.   An Inconsistent Offense

Look – any Pac-12 team can hang 40+ on Southern Utah and Idaho. I’m not impressed by those.  I am worried, however, about Halliday’s performance in the other two games.  The Cougs failed to score an offensive TD against USC.  Also, in the games against Auburn and USC, Halliday threw FIVE interceptions.  Those are Eli Manning-type stats.  Not good.  All defenses have to do is stop WSU’s passing game.  At 63 yards per game, the Cougs are dead LAST in rushing among FBS schools.

2.   A Ground-And-Pound Pac-12 Schedule

Of the remaining Cougar opponents, five teams average more than 200+ yards rushing per game.  Against “formidable opponents,” the Cougs give up 200+ yards rushing per game.  You can see where I’m going with this.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Deone Bucannon is a beast when it comes to stuffing folks for short yardage or less.  He’ll be on highlight reels for his hit against Auburn’s Corey Grant, among others.  But there aren’t 11 Bucannons out there.  And if there were, the Cougs would probably lead the NCAA in penalty yardage…

Picture11

3.   My Faith in Mike Leach and the Cougs

Now before all the true Coug fans get their panties in a bunch, let me elaborate.  Last year, the Cougs were 2-1 after a couple sleepers, much like this year.  Then, they lost to a bad Colorado team by giving up 21 points in the 4th quarter…AT HOME.  I know WSU has come a long way since then (to be as cliché as I can).  They gave a spirited effort in an Apple Cup win against a bowl-bound UW, and they just won a defensive battle against USC in the Coliseum.  And while those two wins are steps in the right direction, I’m still not convinced Leach can shake the “Coug It” legacy that still lingers in the basement of some grungy frat house on NE Colorado Street (Phi Delt reference).  Am I hopeful?  Absolutely.  But every Cougar fan knows in their brain (not their heart), nothing is a given.

Let’s face it; the Cougs have a good chance to make it to a bowl game this year.  But I’m not going to be the one scheduling my flight to the Fight Hunger Bowl quite yet.  I am the one, however, to fully accept multiple helpings of crow if the Cougs DO find their way to the post season…  And boy, will it be tasty.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

NCAA Punishments for Violations Need Change

Chip and Pete

There have recently been reports of both Auburn University and the University of Oregon having major violations with their football teams.  This allows us to revisit the punishment of vacated wins and scholarships being lost for sports programs, due to that being the most likely disciplinary action that will be taken with these schools. Both vacated wins and loss of scholarships  are the most ridiculous punishments possible. Vacating wins doesn’t do anything, but put an asterisk next to a season in the record books. Let’s take the 2005 National Championship Game for example. USC beat the crap out of Oklahoma 55-19. Now, technically no one won that game. The problem is we all remember that game. To say no one won that game is crazy. Vacated wins does nothing except take a trophy out of a case. All the players, coaches, fans and media know who won.

As for loss of scholarship, all this does is hurt a bunch of kids who had nothing to do with any of the violations. It also creates a trickle down effect that affects a few kids at the bottom of the scholarship offers pool, not the kids that have the talent to play at a Oregon or Auburn. It affects kids who probably wouldn’t even have a chance to play at the large school receiving sanctions. Let’s take a look at that USC example again.

USC lost ten scholarships per year for three years for the violations of the 2004-2005 season. That is ten kids that could have played at the top program in the country. Now, they have to go to elsewhere. That takes ten spots from ten other schools at the same level or just a step down from USC, for example: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida State and others.

Those ten spots continue to trickle down and take roster spots for kids who would have ended up at schools like Memphis, UAB, and Central Michigan.  This effect will work its way down to the Montanas and Portland States of the world. Moving through all teams, regardless of division, that can offer a full football scholarship.

There is a finite amount of scholarships that can be offered throughout college football. There are under 7,000 scholarships to the 225 FBS and FCS schools and there are over one million high school football players trying to earn that potential financial aid for education. You take ten scholarships away you aren’t taking them from the Andrew Luck and RGIII’s of the world, players of that caliber will receive a scholarship no matter what. This type of punishment is taking a scholarship from the kid who starred at a 2A high school and was going to go to Portland State. His spot was filled by the falling talent that got bumped off the better team and fell to the next best team.

The NCAA says they are punishing the school, but realistically they are punishing future kids. Even with the bowl bans, they are just taking away opportunity for kids that had nothing to do with the violations. If a kid cheated on a test in his first period class, you wouldn’t take it out on the second period class. You need to punish the one responsible. Make players pay back scholarships. Fine coaches, even if they have already left the school. Make the school pay back money. The schools and coaches are the ones who made the millions off the success of the team, not the student-athletes.

The easiest way to deal with these situations is to fine the school large amounts. Let them play in bowls still, but don’t let them collect the bowl money. Take their cut and spread it out to other schools in their conference or across the country. This doesn’t take away kids’ educations and opportunity to have the same fortunes as other football players. The fine will also take away the pointless vacating wins thing (which by the way, they should vacate losses too). It will also be determined by how much the school benefited financially off those wins. Money is the main reason these violations happen. Attacking the deep pockets of these programs would definitely get the attention of those in charge.

Start taking away the money and change will happen.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NFL Moneyball – Is the Tight End the Position to Exploit?

Note – this was written by Josh Deceuster, a friend of the blog, a friend of ours and all-around good guy.  You can find him on Twitter @joshmtd (give him a big follow) along with his work here on YouTube.  After I read his fanpost on The Daily Norsemen, I asked if he would want to do a version for the Hawks.

Billy Beane Meme

_____

The biggest misconception I had about “Moneyball” was that I thought it was all about
money. I am not a baseball fan and hearing about it from friends and media always seemed like
a nice little story, but not something that would apply to football. The salary cap and spending
floor/ceiling would be enough to keep teams from trying a similar system in the NFL. Of
course, that was when I only saw Moneyball as a formula for spending money on your roster.
Moneyball is really about exploiting the market.

Everyone wanted to copy the Yankees, so the A’s exploited the player market to find
guys other teams were missing in their quest to duplicate successful franchises. The NFL also
has its fair share of copycats. Often many teams adjust their rosters trying to be like the most
recent Super Bowl winner or the hot team for the last few seasons. This creates similar market
conditions that Moneyball used to help the A’s, so now it is about finding where to exploit
said markets. Instead of thinking of the market solely as acquiring talent, let’s take a look at
exploiting how the roster to put together.

If the market is roster spots, the NFL is primed for a Moneyball-style takeover. Or at
least, prime for experimentation. Most NFL teams carry the same number of quarterbacks,
receivers, pass rushers, cornerbacks, etc. when making up their 52. The biggest shift on most
rosters depends on what your team’s defensive scheme or whether the GM likes having more
of a specific position on the roster. Receivers, however, are pretty uniform across the board.
Every team is looking for the same specific talents to play X, Z, & Y. This is where teams could
exploit the player market to their advantage.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cats & Dogs + The Six Pack – 10-27-12

First, get yourself a rundown of the latest Cats and Dogs in the CFL!  I think we are really onto something here.

Hear us on the Locker Room on Fox Sports 1380, where this was mostly about Luke Michener & the SPSL, in which Maury thinks about starting a Luke Michener segment.

If we aren’t starting segments or talking about Spanaway, it really wouldn’t be Cats & Dogs.

Then Brad gets depressed about Arizona, Ben stays optimistic no matter what (a true NoFairWeatherFan) and looking forward to Oregon State.  We love posting these after the fact, because you can see if we are any good at this.  Brad sure isn’t!

The guys on the Locker Room also let us on another segment, called the Six Pack before Cats & Dogs.  You should theoretically already know we were on that segment too because you listen all the time, but if you don’t – here’s that!  General sports!

CLICK TO PLAY CATS & DOGS IN YO BROWSER

CLICK TO PLAY THE SIX PACK IN YO BROWSER

Tagged , , , , , ,

Cats & Dogs – 10-20-12

“Welcome to Paradise” on Cats & Dogs on the Locker Room on Fox Sports 1380.

CFL?  Tecate’s (pronounce it!)

Brad makes some excuses for red zone mistakes against USC, but then goes back to the well for a Dawg win in the desert.  Yeah – how did that go again?  Someone needs to bring him back to reality.

The Cougs are on the bye, so lets tell Alex Brink stories – who doesn’t love CFL’s Alex Brink?

CLICK TO PLAY IN YO BROWSER

Tagged , , , , , ,

Cats & Dogs – 10-13-12

Leach calls out the radio show, or at least his own team as corpses on Cats & Dogs on the Locker Room on Fox Sports 1380.

In this show, Ben lets the realist Coug come out and prays for 6 wins, while an over-confident Brad feels a USC upset in the wings at CenturyLink.  How did that go?  Someone gets Brad’s number!

We will be back this coming Saturday, be sure to be listening live – but if you didn’t, you can subscribe at the top right or…

CLICK TO PLAY IN YO BROWSER

Tagged , , , , , ,

Cats & Dogs – 10-6-12

Marathon props for all (Nick’s Mom upstaged Brad for sure) and Cats & Dogs is back from a week hiatus on the Locker Room on Fox Sports 1380.

Ben, Josh (yes, @joshMTD on the Twitter as Brad was MIA running through Leavenworth for the 1/2 Marathon and Oktoberfest) talk through the UW/Stanford game, as well as WSU/Oregon.

We will be back this coming Saturday, be sure to be listening live – but if you didn’t, you can subscribe at the top right or…

CLICK TO PLAY IN YO BROWSER

Tagged , , ,

No Fair Weather Fans #8 4-8-12

We hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, and what better to come back to work on Monday (or if you are a night-owl on Sunday) your podcast fetcher finding another episode of No Fair Weather Fans.  We are up to episode #8, which is 2 podcasts away from the ever important 10 podcast milestone.  Why is that a milestone you ask?  Well, you need to set goals, and setting one that is only 2 spots away feels good to complete when it is easy!  BUCKETS!

Podcast topics this week -

  • Bountygate
  • Seahawks New Uniforms
  • Mariners off to the right start

Sit back and relax with the sounds of the Soundmen to take you in, and also take you out.

Make sure to subscribe on iTunes, Zune – or even with the handy-dandy feed in the top right of the site.  If you don’t do any of that, you can always…

CLICK TO PLAY IN YO BROWSER

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 25 other followers