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Rufio's Playbook: Pattern Matching in Zone Defenses
by rufio on Feb 9, 2010 3:00 AM EST
0 comments
Zone defenders play an area instead of a man, right? Not always. Not the good zone defenses, anyway.
Have you ever seen a Browns defender guarding a patch of grass while his teammate has to try to hopelessly guard two receivers? Were you frustrated? If you answered yes, this post is for you.
0 comments | 0 recs |
How to Beat the House: Value in the Draft
by Bernie19Kosar on Feb 8, 2010 12:30 PM EST
42 comments
If you asked most NFL fans "Where is the best place to draft?", the most likely answer you would get is "as close to the top of the round as you can get". The most talented players are picked first. That is why the draft order is in reverse of the standings. The worse a team is, the more it needs talented players. The assumption would be, the higher the better. You know what they say about assumptions.
What are the odds that this pass was incomplete or intercepted?
42 comments | 1 recs |
Grading the Super Bowl Commercials
by Ryan Kelsey on Feb 8, 2010 3:10 AM EST
49 comments
Yeah, I watched the game. It was pretty good. The Saints story is pretty cool. I like Drew Brees a lot. I cheer for Ohio State grads to succeed, so yay for Will Smith and Malcom Jenkins. But I'm rarely too pumped up about the Super Bowl game. It makes me pissed off that the Browns season has been over for like 6 weeks. I'm a little burned out on football. And I often just find reasons to hate both teams. Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey led to my rooting for the Colts. And while Peyton Manning made some incredible throws in the first quarter, and Drew Brees can hit a wide open receiver pretty constantly, I didn't think this was a particularly well-played game. Lots of blown coverages. Bad defenses generally.
So, the highlight of my evening was the half-time show and the commercials. Besides, that's what the NFL is. A little bit of game action, a bunch of replays, and a crap load of ads. (NFL- 11 minutes of actual action per game!)
It was a relatively down year for Super Bowl commercials. None of the funny ads elicited much more than a giggle. None of the movie trailers made me excited for them to come to theaters. None were inspirational or all that motivating. What follows are my grades on the best and worst of the commercials.
You can watch all of the ads here.
Basically, my evaluation of commercials goes something like this:
1.) What was the goal of the ad?
The most common goal is humor. It could be inspiration. Announcement of a new product or service. To make the audience say "wow".
2.) Did the ad meet that goal?
If it was supposed to be funny, was it? What was the reaction of the audience to the ad?
3.) Did the ad relate to the product or service it was trying to sell?
If you spend most of the ad trying to figure out what the heck it is for, it probably was a waste of the company's money to run it.
4.) Do I have a higher opinion of the product, service, or company after watching the ad?
49 comments | 0 recs |
Super Bowl Game Thread - Saints vs. Colts
by Chris Pokorny on Feb 7, 2010 5:27 PM EST
in General News
52 comments
The Indianapolis Colts will battle the New Orleans Saints to determine the winner of Super Bowl XLIV. This game truly features the best of the best, as both of the league's No. 1 seeds will square off against each other. The thing that is so dangerous about both teams is that they are never out of a game. We saw it earlier this season when the Colts stunned the Patriots, and also when the Saints rallied against the Redskins.
New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts
Game Time: 6:25 PM on CBS
Line: Colts by 5 | Over/Under: 57
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VS |
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SB NATION GAME THREAD IS RIGHT HERE
Both teams have the leaders at quarterback -- Peyton Manning with Indianapolis and Drew Brees with New Orleans. DE Dwight Freeney will be ready to play, which is a huge lift for the Colts' defense. He'll be countered by S Darren Sharper of the Saints.
The only way I could see this game going south is if one of the backup quarterbacks had to play. Nobody wants to see Curtis Painter or Mark Brunell quarterbacking the Super Bowl.
Yesterday, I mentioned that the open game thread would be at SBNation.com. There is a slight change in that. You may use the game thread here at Dawgs By Nature as you wish. In addition though, I encourage you to stop by the SBNation game thread as well and join in on the fun!
As for my prediction with today's game, I'm taking the Colts. I don't have a good reason why other than the fact that I always root for them and I love watching Manning.
52 comments | 0 recs |
Around the Pound (2/6): Stallworth's Reinstatement, Former Browns in Super Bowl
by Chris Pokorny on Feb 6, 2010 6:11 PM EST
in General News
30 comments
We're just one day away from the Super Bowl, where the Indianapolis Colts will square off against the New Orleans Saints. Preliminary details indicate that SB Nation would like to try out something unique for the game thread of the Super Bowl. Basically, this is how it will work. Because the Colts and the Saints are the two Super Bowl teams, those two blogs will host their own game threads.
All other SB Nation NFL blogs will point their users toward a "cumulative" Super Bowl game thread over at SBNation.com. This means that instead of just commenting with fellow Browns fans, you could be talking to some of the fans from Arrowhead Pride (Chiefs), Big Cat Country (Jaguars), Buc'em (Buccaneers), etc. While this might sound annoying for some of you, if you planned on stopping by the DBN game thread to begin with, I encourage you to at least stop by this thread to take part in this experiment.
Now, onto today's edition of Around the Pound!
Stallworth to be Re-Instated After the Super Bowl
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that WR Donte Stallworth will be reinstated following the Super Bowl. The new front office hasn't made a public commitment as to what they will do with Stallworth, but odds are that he will be cut prior to March 20 when he is due a $1 million bonus. That gives the Browns a little over a month to make a final decision.
Former Browns Players in the Super Bowl
From what I can recollect, these are the former Browns players who will participate in the Super Bowl:
Saints
Colts
It's not an extremely impressive bunch, but it's our "representation." Moore was an UDFA with the Browns in camp in 2005, Kyle was taken in the expansion draft, Dinkins was the tight end Romeo Crennel and Jamal Lewis loved, and everyone should remember Stover.
Information on Browns Season Tickets
In summary, season ticket prices will not increase for the 2010 campaign. Additionally, season tickets will now be available in the stadium's "Family Zone."
"Having faced the Browns several times in Cleveland as a head coach, I know what a home field advantage our stadium can provide," said Browns President Mike Holmgren. "We're excited about continuing to build the type of team that our fans can be proud of. I know that they will be an integral part of any success that we have and that is why we are pleased to keep our ticket prices as affordable as possible for our fans."
Off-Beat Notes
- It's been discussed here before, but I continue to get infuriated with the stupid and/or disrespectful comments over at Cleveland.com. I know what to expect from there, but any time I read an article, I still scroll down to the comments with the false hope that maybe, just maybe I'll read somebody who will even post an ounce of the insight that can be found in the comments on this site.
- I dug the two-hour season premiere of LOST. Before the show started, earlier that day I saw a headline that said something like "read about LOST's brain-liquefying premiere." Brain-liquefying was the perfect term, because that's what I felt like was happening to me upon the initial "what!?!" of the parallel timelines. Upon reading fan theory following the show and checking out Lostpedia.com, watching the show for the second time last night helped me see some of the details I missed the first time around.
- How about all of that snow, Clevelanders? There's nothing funner than playing a little football in it; doing it this morning with the wind blowing non-stop for several hours straight doesn't have an affect when your adrenaline is going and you're layered up.
30 comments | 0 recs |
Stampede Blue Interviews Peter King
by Chris Pokorny on Feb 6, 2010 4:15 PM EST
in General News
18 comments
Brad Wells, who runs Stampede Blue (our Indianapolis Colts blog), has been in Miami with press credentials for the Super Bowl event. He has scored so many interviews this week that it is unbelievable. The one I want to specifically point out is the one he just ran with Sports Illustrated's Peter King.
The interview, which has been transcribed by Stampede Blue, was very entertaining to read, touching more so on topics related to sports media than the actual Super Bowl itself.
Brad: In the two days I've seen you work, you're just a regular guy. You work with precision. I'm wanting to know what you think of how bloggers think of you? Does it bother you? Does it baffle you? What?
Peter takes another sip of his Pilsner Urquell and thinks. It's a long pause before he answers.
King: When I did a bunch of these [online] chats [like the Deadspin one several months ago]…
Brad: Some negative things were said.
King: Yeah. "You’re a know-nothing, fat, piece of shit. You don’t know football. You're totally out of touch with reality. You’re an idiot. You’re gay for Favre." I… I don’t know what to say. I don’t know, I mean, all I can do is try and do my job, and do the best I can.
Wells, who has always been a Peter King-basher in all the years I've been here at SB Nation, came away from his 30-minute interview with King with the following thoughts:
I think back on all the harsh, nasty, hateful words I’ve used to describe Peter King, and I cannot help but feel the bitter tingle of shame. Do I regret writing them? No. I believe in writing as a fan, and a fan’s voice is best written unfiltered and raw. No editing. No holding back; first thoughts in your mind pushed out into the digital world. And, quite frankly, many of the other media people I’ve taken shots at over the years deserve the harsh words. Hell, some of them write their crap to solicit those words. And in meeting several of them here, it has actually made me feel better about bashing them. They deserve it because they are lazy, stuck-up, entitled douchebags.
Not Peter King.
I recommend that everyone read the transcript of the interview (links below). I've always been a big fan of King's and have always wished that he'd get more credit for the work he does.
18 comments | 0 recs
How to beat the House, NFL Edition: Intro
by Bernie19Kosar on Feb 4, 2010 8:31 PM EST
97 comments
97 comments | 6 recs |
Eagles hire Phil Savage as draft consultant
Back in the pro game-- at least temporarily.
4 days ago
Western Reserve
55 comments
0 recs
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