HarleyQuinn

That and come on, how can a player get excited when his team continues to suck year in and year out and he puts up 1,000+ yard years every season. 1997(Rookie year): 7-9(1,129 yards) 1998: 3-13(1,130 yards) 1999: 4-12(1,200 yards) 2000: 4-12(1,435 yards) 2001: 6-10(1,315 yards) 2002: 2-14(1,311 yards) 2003: 8-8(541 yards in 13 games) They didn't even finish at .500 until 2003 and ironically, they finished at .500(8-8) again this year. Their last winning season was 1990(9-7 record).

If I were Miami, I might look at Charlie Frye or Jason Campbell as a 2nd or 3rd round QB to draft. Maybe target a DE to compliment Taylor in the 1st round and bolster the pass rush some.

LA Dodgers signed MR Aquilino Lopez to an MLC and invited to ST. Atlanta Braves signed 2B Marcus Giles to a 1 year, $2.35 Million contract. Chicago Cubs signed MR Jimmy Anderson to an MLC and invited to ST. Chicago Cubs signed OF Peter Bergeron to an MLC and invited to ST. Baltimore Orioles are close to signing MR Steve Reed.

I'd also assume defense as that is primarily Miami's strength at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised to see them draft an early round RB and maybe target a 5th or 6th round WR either.

I'd put Brady, Manning, Culpepper, and McNabb ahead of Vick. Favre just seems to make too many dumb mistakes as shown throughout his career(with the exception of 95-97). Favre also has similar YPA and has had 4 seasons with 20+ INT and 4 of the last 5 seasons has seen 16+ INT. Trent Green has the benefit of Priest Holmes which means that the defense has to play the run no matter what because any RB in that system can chew them up with that offensive line. Vick is not a great passer, nobody's arguing that. However he is a decent passing QB(He had 54.1 % in 421 attempts in 2002 and 56.4% in 321 attempts this year). He also had only 8 INT in 2002 and 12 INT this year. He has a shotgun for an arm but with the West Coast Offense, doesn't get a chance to show it off that much. He had a 7.2 YPA this season(Steve Young had a high of 8.7 and a low of 7.2 between 1993 and 1997). The thing that makes Vick rank up there among the top QB's is the fact that he can run. You can admonish his passing all you want, but the guy can flat out beat a team with his feet. That's a huge advantage considering that a defense can just focus on stopping the running game or the passing game. Instead, they also have to be aware that Vick can run at any moment and burn them for 20-40 yards.

Been on a Buffy kick so I'm listening to "Charge" by Splendid.

I'm loving the Buffy vibe I'm getting from the show thanks to Marti(specifically the dream scene) and the whole dark lighting in the scenes.

Sorry to hear that news. As for an answer, I like to think that we'd be re-incarnated but I figure it'll be more like we just float in a space of never ending darkness.

elitist? Probably. In my first post, fan was essentally my code for diehard. There is a difference to being a fair weather fan/above average fair weather fan and a die hard fan. I'm glad you like the Red Sox but don't try and pull an Eagles where you say you're a diehard fan of them. That's like saying I'm a diehard Oklahoma Sooners fan cause I brought their merchandise, etc. despite never seeing a live game in Oklahoma or making an attempt to interact with the locals from where they compete(going into bars, etc. in Oklahoma). And where did I ever say that you must adhere to family tradition? I said it's like a family tradition in that it gets passed on generation to generation. Not every generation becomes a fan. Living in that area tends to help with the new generation of fans deal since kids get that devotion from their parents and such. Parents take them to games to see them live, then the kids grow older as fans and do it with their kids, etc.

Are you a fan? Yes but I'd call you a fair weather one. You have the Sox as your #2 team and only started liking them because they were good in 1998 and they had a drought. You could've just as easily cheered for the Braves or Yankees that year and successive years if you didn't like the Sox cause of their drought. That's what I take offense to as a Boston based Sox fan. Fans come on from other areas because of a reason like they won the WS or they have a drought and are the underdog team. When you live in that area, you take to them not only because they're your hometown team but also because it's like a family tradition and the passion for that team gets handed down, generation to generation. I liked the Bulls because of Jordan and the Cowboys because of the trio and their dominance in the 90's, early to late. I wouldn't dare call myself a fan of either team in the sense of a diehard one because that's disrespectful to the true diehards. I was and am a fair weather fan, even if I still like the Cowboys now.

Detroit Tigers signed 3B/DH Dean Palmer to an MLC and invited to ST. Yes, he lives!

Wouldn't the appreciation of the team in the hometown by others correlate to the fandom one feels towards that team whilst living there? I mean, it's hard to compare a fan of the Sox in Iowa to a fan of the Sox in Boston because of the media representation in Boston compared to Iowa. As far as my comments, they may be bullshit but as a Sox fan, it's what I feel is a completely different environment. Knowing the Sox history, maybe I take your being a fan somewhat personally compared to my experiences and knowing the tradition up here. It's like you(Dama) being a fan of Oklahoma due to proximity, knowing the tradition & history of their team, etc. That's not something I would feel being in Boston if I was a fan of the Sooners. I wouldn't get the experience and community feel that you get down there. Most people when cheering for a city's team tend to cheer all those teams regardless if they are succeeding or failing. Boston is a huge sports city, so to ignore two of its teams and cheer for the other two is disrespectful to the fans from Boston and the rest of New England who show their faith to every team, not just the Red Sox or Celtics. Also as far as the whole "not living in the city" deal, that's not it so much as you(not you literally) come off as a fair weather fan even if you cheer for them day/night and 365, 24/7. It's all because of the lack of closeness you get when you live in the same area of the team. Look at soccer fans and how rabid they are. You don't get that intensity and spirit being a fan of Brazil while living in the United States.

Seattle Mariners signed 2B Ricky Guitierrez to an MLC and invited to ST. Kansas City Royals signed OF Denny Hocking to an MLC and invited to ST. Cleveland Indians agreed to a 1 year, $1.425 Million contract with MR David Riske. Chicago Cubs agreed to a 3 year, $12 Million contract with C Michael Barrett.

Do you understand what being a fan is Dama? It's not about wearing the team clothes. You live and die with them because they're YOUR team. It's being a Red Sox fan and having to listen to your grandparents talk about their exploits in the 1910's and 1920's. It's about hearing your relatives recounting their passion for them, citing times when they listened to Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr hitting in the 1940's and the 1947 pennant race. The experiences of your parents watching the 1986 World Series and the heartache that followed. You don't get that experience, that sense of devotion and love and passion sitting in Oklahoma. You get it in Boston. You get it sitting at Fenway, cheering with those fans and bleeding your damn heart out for their success and their failures. You get it by scrutinizing that team and knowing what makes them tick and knowing that no matter what, you'll be there. You'll be sleeping on Yawkey Way in hopes of snaring opening day tickets. You'll give your very soul to see them win that championship. Being a rabid fan of a team ain't about cheering and going "oh well". Ya cry when you see them lose in the playoffs, your heart gets broken but you continue on because you're a fan. You can't understand what it's like to be a Sox fan. You may like the Sox, but you aren't a fan.

I'm very confused too...why would the Bears pick Ronnie Brown when they got 1,375 total yards out of Thomas Jones who they are or were planning to build their team around as far as the offense went. That and TJ still had 948 yards rushing despite an awful QB situation. Braylon Edwards falls to 9 and Mike Williams to 13!?!

Pittsburgh Pirates will sign SP Josh Fogg to a 1 year, $2.15 Million contract later today. San Diego Padres signed 3B Sean Burroughs to a 1 year contract. Colorado Rockies will announce the signing of SP Joe Kennedy to a 1 year, $2.20 Million contract. Florida Marlins agreed to a 1 year, $2.60 Million contract with MR Guillermo Mota. Florida Marlins agreed to a 1 year, $350 K contract with MR Tim Spooneybarger. Anaheim Angels agreed to a 1 year, $950 K contract with OF Jeff Davanon. Atlanta Braves agreed to a 1 year, $5.60 Million contract with SS Rafael Furcal. Atlanta Braves agreed to a 1 year, $1.85 Million contract with MR Chris Reitsma. Florida Marlins agreed to a 1 year, $3.65 Million contract with SP A.J. Burnett. Cincinnati Reds agreed to a 1 year, $4.60 Million contract with OF Adam Dunn.

I'm interested to see how involved Westbrook is and the matchup between Moss and Lito.

Here's my problem with this theory. The Patriots knew they had a rookie quarterback going in the first game and Roethlisberger proceeded to go 18/24 for 196 yards and two touches. The Pats never sacked him, never forced a fumble, never made a pick. They had game footage from his bad games earlier in the year for that game. What makes you think they're going to poof up a magic plan now? And, on top of that, what makes you think that the Steelers aren't going to adjust either? Roethlisberger turned in a pretty average day against the Ravens in his first outing (12/20, two picks), but he managed to carve them up for a 125.1 QB rating in the rematch (14/19, 221 yards, two TDs, one pick). Believe it or not, he got better against the Jets in the playoffs, as they handed him the worst game of his career during the regular season (9/19, two picks). And now he gets the Patriots at home with a game of playoff experience. I'm not saying he's going to light them up for 300+, but I think he's still capable of chipping in 200 yards and one or two touchdowns, which may be all the Steelers require. Keep in mind that they had a distinct advantage in TOP with 42:58 to 17:02. They also had 40 carries and 190 yards rushing between Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. Brady also was 27/43(63%) for 271 yards in that game. With Dillon running 20-25 times, Brady should lower his attempts to around the 32-33 level and have a similar completion % without trying to win the game with his arm. With the huge upgrade in the running game, the TOP should level out to 32 vs 28 or so between both teams. I think it will come down to defense and which team can force the turnovers. Both teams have solid special teams, have a great running game, very good defenses, and mistake-free QB's. The Steelers also converted 9/16 3rd down conversions, so if the Pats can limit that number then they should see the ball more. Interesting to note that the Steelers had more penalties(9 vs 6) for more yards(90 vs 55).

Minnesota Twins re-signed MR J.C. Romero to a 2 year, $3.70 Million contract with a team option for 2007. Minnesota Twins signed 3B Eric Munson to an MLC and invited him to spring training. Washington Nationals signed SP Tony Armas Jr. to a 1 year, $2.26 Million contract.

My predictions: Patriots 28, Steelers 17. Patriots D will be able to limit the Steelers running game to 140-160 yards total and force Roethlisberger to throw it. If Ben can throw the ball well then the Steelers could have a very good chance of taking this. Corey Dillon is a huge piece for the Pats offense and should see 20-25 carries easy which will help the Pats control the clock and possibly do what they did this game. Actually, if I were the Pats I'd try and repeat their performance vs the Colts because the Steelers rely on the running game so much. If the TOP is low and the Steelers are down 10-0 entering the 3rd, they may be forced to pass more and Belichek can take advantage of that. Falcons 27, Eagles 14 I think it'll be a close contest but the Falcons special teams are dangerous and the rushing game is a lot like the Steelers in that they can sub in Duckett for Dunn at will. The Eagles also have to be wary of Vick and his ability to get a big run and as a result, Vick will be able to make a few big plays with his arms.

Seattle Mariners signed SS Benji Gil to an MLC and invited him to spring training.

Washington was The NFL's No.2 Defense this year and The Steelers beat them 16-7. Also, I believe Bettis ran for over 100 yards against them. Good enough? Well, what I'm saying is that it's kind of hard to get 70+ yards running on a defense when you only carry the ball 7-10 times as a RB. You'd need roughly 10+ yards a carry to reach that goal. As for your example, Jerome Bettis did indeed get 100 yards but after carrying the ball 31 times. That's a YPC of 3.2, not exactly a stellar number. Against Baltimore, he carried the ball 27 times for 117 yards(4.3 YPC), Philadelphia 33 times for 149 yards(4.5 YPC), and New England 15 for 65(4.3 YPC). Now if a Clinton Portis were given the ball 22 times, I'm pretty sure he would've gained roughly 90-110 yards. As is, he only carried the ball 6 times for 17 yards. Projecting Portis out to 20 carries means he'd get 56 yards presuming he had the same YPC(2.8) all game(kinda farfetched but still). 25 carries means 70 yards and 30 carries means 84 yards. As far as teams abandoning the run, it seemed to hold somewhat true(Down or Up being the team shown). Oakland: Down 14-7 at the half. Baltimore: Up 13-0 at the half. Miami: Down 3-0 at the end of the half. Cincinnati: Down 14-10 at the half. Cleveland: Down 27-13 at the half. Dallas: Tied 10-10 at the half. New England: Down 24-10 at the half. Philadelphia: Down 21-3 at the half. Cleveland: Down 14-3 at the half. Cincinnati: Up 14-10 at the half. Washington: Down 13-0 at the half. Jacksonville: Down 14-7 at the half. NY Jets: Down 3-0 at the half. NY Giants: Down 20-14 at the half. Baltimore: Down 10-7 at the half. It seemed like there were quite a few teams who were still with-in a TD of the Steelers at half time and could stand to run the ball some more. 9 of their 16 games had the opposing team down at most a TD at the half which means that it's somewhat curious why they don't have as many 20+ opposing RB's as they do. Yes, I understand the whole controlling the clock, they have the lead, etc.

As far as Dillon getting seemingly shut down Pittsburgh only faced on average, 22.3 carries per game which also means that with teams running their star RB 6-11 times against them, odds are they won't be gaining that many yards. Rudi Johnson was able to gain 123 yards on them on 24 carries in Week 4 and the Jets showed that if you consistantly run, you'll start getting some production. They also allowed a 3.60 YPC which again was helped by the number of rushing attempts they faced. Week by Week Breakdown of the most attempts by one runner Week 1: 11 carries Week 2: 24 carries(Lost 30-13) Week 3: 21 carries(Won 13-3) Week 4: 23 carries(Won 28-17) Week 5: 11 carries Week 6: 10 carries Week 8: 5 carries Week 9: 6 carries Week 10: 18 carries Week 11: 16 carries Week 12: 8 carries Week 13: 27 carries(Won 17-16) Week 14: 24 carries(Won 17-6) Week 15: 18 carries Week 16: 14 carries Week 17: 18 carries Out of 16 weeks, they only faced 5 teams that ran a RB 20 or more times. I do think that their defense is a little overrated in terms of facing the run. Do I think they have a good defense? Yes but I wouldn't call their run D fabulous. When you face 11 or fewer attempts 6 times, I highly doubt those RB's will be busting out 100 yards on you. I think Corey Dillon will make more of an impact then most would think. He'll not only help control the clock, thus keeping the offense off the field but he'll also be wearing down the Steelers D. I expect him to get 20-25 carries for 80-105 yards and 1 TD. As far as "the excuses"...lets see your Steelers win a game against a good defense by running a guy 5 times and running the other guy 1 time.

Much agreed with Frigid. The Patriots only ran the ball 6 times against the Steelers in their Week 8 matchup and were still able to score 20 points. With a healthy Corey Dillon, expect 20-25 carries for Dillon and much better time management. The Patriots also were plagued by turnovers(2 INT and 2 lost fumbles). If Brady doesn't turn the ball over(He lost a fumble as well) then it should be a lot tougher for Pittsburgh to stop them on offense.

there's an aim chat at tsmplayoffs so...yeah