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And Merriman appears to have proven the haters right, arrested for assaulting Tila Tequila.
This has caught me completely off guard, what an idiot. I'm actually gonna change my avatar after this event. After reading the article on this on ESPN.com, it seems as though Tila was about to drink and drive and Merriman was doing whatever it took to protect her. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen, but I really hope he only misses a few games because the Chargers really need him if they're gonna contend for a Superbowl this year. This incident also pretty much guarantees this is Merriman's last season in San Diego.
 
it's just essentially a one year rental for the raiders. They spent a first round pick for a rental and it's funny cause we all know Richard will sign with another team next year.
 

pdxKingsFan

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it's just essentially a one year rental for the raiders. They spent a first round pick for a rental and it's funny cause we all know Richard will sign with another team next year.
Most likely and where the potential for it to be a stroke of genius lies is that in 2011 there will be a new CBA (or lockout), but the expected end result is that rookies will finally have a pay scale like in the NBA which means if the Raiders remain the Raiders of late the Pats will have an elite pick at a reasonable wage.

Still sad to see Seymour go, but it reminds me of Lawyer Milloy all over again.
 
Most likely and where the potential for it to be a stroke of genius lies is that in 2011 there will be a new CBA (or lockout), but the expected end result is that rookies will finally have a pay scale like in the NBA which means if the Raiders remain the Raiders of late the Pats will have an elite pick at a reasonable wage.

Still sad to see Seymour go, but it reminds me of Lawyer Milloy all over again.
There's not a lot of sentiment within the players' association for a rookie pay scale. I know it will come up, but I'm not as confident as you are that it will happen.
 
I think what they might look at doing is setting a cap on the number of years for a rookie contract, maybe four, and make them restricted free agents in year five, or something like that.
 

pdxKingsFan

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There's not a lot of sentiment within the players' association for a rookie pay scale. I know it will come up, but I'm not as confident as you are that it will happen.
I'm a little surprised with the hard cap that they wouldn't favor it since it benefits their existing membership. When those rookies sign those big deals they eat up the spots of 3 or 4 vets.

In other news... Cutler!!! haha.
 
I'm a little surprised with the hard cap that they wouldn't favor it since it benefits their existing membership. When those rookies sign those big deals they eat up the spots of 3 or 4 vets.

In other news... Cutler!!! haha.
die hard bears fan's random thoughts while watching Bears game (a-la Bill Simmon's draft diary only not chronological and not so funny)

-Not sure which team Cutler was playing for in that first quarter... there were so many bad reads it was borderline ridicilous
-He looks like he is beyond forcing it - he's not reading the coverage and by the end of the first quarter I trully was asking myself if maybe Heine is the way to go here...
- 3 INT in first half... a bevy of injuries.
- How the hell did Rodgers get up from that hit Urlacher laid on him... my god either Brian's lost it or Rodgers has moved up a notch in my book
- Urlacher dislocated wrist (report on ESPN.com)... out for season. How did the Cubs manage to spread the bad luck disease all the way to Soldier...
- Grant is a BEAST. Besides Turner, Peterson, and Jacobs I have not seen a RB hit the line and move the pile like that in a long time.
- 'Wale was abusing that RG (not sure of his name) so bad that someone should have checked if that guy's testicles are still attached to him or if 'Wale has them in his pocket.
- The offensive display by both teams is pathetic. Short of the huge grab by Knox and the bomb by Cutler to Hester, the Bears are anemic. Green Bay has looked more solid, with passes mixed in with Grant bulldozing his way.
- Bears have utilized the bubble screen pass well... I guess Turner understands that Hester is fast and maybe he should use him.
- Where the **** is Forte... I don't know if this is terrible play calling or just ****ty blocking (betting on the latter) but man this guy is just hitting right where the LB are...
- Hands down funniest moment of the game (please YouTube this if you need a laugh) - Patrick Mannely (longest tennured Bear - very smart guy, great mistake-free long snapper) sees that GB has too many men on the field, and tries to snap the ball quickly to get a penalty. He points to Garret Wolfe (the RB acting as blocker), changing the play to a direct snap instead of a long snap. Problem is that Wolfe is not paying attention, and hillarity ensues. Think Monthy Python crossed with 3 Stooges. Mannely snaps it great, right into Wolfe's gut. However, Wolfe is flabbergasted as to why he has the ball, and the moment he gets it his whole body twiches as there is a half second pause in the game where nobody (except Mannely) knows what the **** is going on. Then, all of a sudden Wolfe jukes to the left, hits the hole, and...! Right into GB defense because no Bear is blocking. If you're a Bears fan, you cussed every profanity you know. Everybody else was laughing their *** off. However, that moment when Mannely snaps it to Wolfe - awesome... just, pure awesomeness.
- OK... Cutler playing better in second half but still not sure why he's forcing so many passes. It's almost like his thought proccess is the following:
1st Read - Hester double covered and he's running the wrong route... maybe... I'll get back to him...
2nd Read - Olsen slant down the middle - safe route... I'll get maybe 3-4 yards... screw it, I need to make up for the 3 Inos...
3rd Read - Damn I think Pace retired... probably going to get hit from the blind side... Bennet is double covered with the LB closing in since I've been burning a hole in that side of the field the whole game...ehhhhhhh screw it
- Our secondary is an insult to the game. What happened to Vasher... he seems to gamble on every pass. It's almost like he's wired to just try and intercept every pass on the field. All it took was the smallest of fakes by Jennings for Vasher to completely bite. I mean Lovie should have had a a safety camping on their fastest receiver anyway but man... that is terrible, awful playcalling. Single coverage on their best/fastest guy while simultaniously placing the self proclaimed "interceptor" on him... what did you thing was going to happen???
- Jennings crying at the end of the game like he won an oscar... Where's Madden when you need him?
- I SWEAR, if you rewind to the play with Wolfe... at the end of the play you can see the ref laughing... not smiling, but laughing his *** off while he's resetting the play.
 
I'm a little surprised with the hard cap that they wouldn't favor it since it benefits their existing membership. When those rookies sign those big deals they eat up the spots of 3 or 4 vets.

In other news... Cutler!!! haha.
Yeah, I can still smell Cutler from last night. Horrible performance.

About the rookie contracts, the new president of the Players' Association is on record saying that rookie contracts only represent a small percentage of the salary cap, and that he doesn't think they present a problem. That's the leadership of the association talking, not a player's agent. I was shocked to hear it, and it's pretty obvious to me that rookie contracts are hurting the game, but it doesn't appear that the players have a problem with it, at least not that's really been vocalized.

Of course, the teams you and I root for never have these rookie contract problems because we always draft at the end of the first round, but when you look at what's going on in San Francisco, there's never been a better team to fix it. I hope they make some changes, even just limiting the length of these contracts if that's all you can do, but I think the fans and the old school players are more concerned about it than the players in the NFL right now.
 

pdxKingsFan

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So... when did it become illegal to tackle the quarterback?

Yeesh, I about stopped watching the Pats game after the 2nd roughing the passer. Glad I didn't.
 
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Well, the Raiders lost in typical Raider fashion again... virtually dominate an entire game only to forget that defense is a necessary component of football on the last drive... Why do I continue to watch the two hardest teams to watch in pro sports?
 
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all concerned about the Chargers after last night's showing. I know they won, but they shouldn't have had any problems with the Raiders (no offense Kings Faithful) and they had to get lucky on the last drive just to beat them. Baltimore will come in to San Diego and kick their butts next week if they play as bad as they did last night.

P.S., the Seymour trade looks like a genius move for the Raiders if he can keep up that style of play. What a game.
 
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all concerned about the Chargers after last night's showing. I know they won, but they shouldn't have had any problems with the Raiders (no offense Kings Faithful) and they had to get lucky on the last drive just to beat them. Baltimore will come in to San Diego and kick their butts next week if they play as bad as they did last night.
You need a new coach.

P.S., the Seymour trade looks like a genius move for the Raiders if he can keep up that style of play. What a game.
It looks good now, but how will it look in 2011 when the Raiders are giving up a first rounder for a player who signed with a different team a year before? Belichick jumped at the trade because they weren't going to re-sign Seymour after this season. For Al Davis to give up a first rounder for a one year rental is ridiculous. It's worse than the Roy Williams trade.
 
You need a new coach.



It looks good now, but how will it look in 2011 when the Raiders are giving up a first rounder for a player who signed with a different team a year before? Belichick jumped at the trade because they weren't going to re-sign Seymour after this season. For Al Davis to give up a first rounder for a one year rental is ridiculous. It's worse than the Roy Williams trade.
They gave up a 1st rounder for him? Scratch that then. I thought it was like a 3rd
 

pdxKingsFan

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The first one was bad. I didn't mind the second one.
If they aren't blowing the whistle when the QB is in the grasp and the QB doesn't willingly go down, what's a guy supposed to do? Darn right it was a violent tackle, but it also wasn't a shot at the knees or anything that would seriously injure the QB.
 
If they aren't blowing the whistle when the QB is in the grasp and the QB doesn't willingly go down, what's a guy supposed to do? Darn right it was a violent tackle, but it also wasn't a shot at the knees or anything that would seriously injure the QB.
That's why I didn't mind the second one: the refs did blow the whistle before Thomas whipped him around and into the ground. It's not that they had to call it, but I completely expected that to be called. For about four years now, there's no leniency when you put the quarterback down after the whistle or drive him down after the ball is gone. It's noticeably affected pass rushers, too, with some of them afraid to take the quarterback down hard for fear of a penalty. You might remember Dwight Freeney missing a sack on Tom Brady a couple years back because Tom pump faked and Dwight didn't want to get the roughing call. It's a little overbearing at times, but I don't think it's a very blurry line.
 

pdxKingsFan

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Yes, I remember that. And I remember the Pats losing SB 42 because they don't call in the grasp. I just think its lame the way they overprotect the QBs in this era. On the second call they blew the whistle about a half second before the take down was complete. They were wrestling for a lot longer than that, if they are going to call in the grasp it should have been sooner than when it was finally blown.

Let's talk about the Raiders non-touchdown.

In my eyes it was the correct ruling of a semi-crap rule. Much like the tuck rule. Correct call, questionable rule.
 
Yes, I remember that. And I remember the Pats losing SB 42 because they don't call in the grasp. I just think its lame the way they overprotect the QBs in this era. On the second call they blew the whistle about a half second before the take down was complete. They were wrestling for a lot longer than that, if they are going to call in the grasp it should have been sooner than when it was finally blown.

Let's talk about the Raiders non-touchdown.

In my eyes it was the correct ruling of a semi-crap rule. Much like the tuck rule. Correct call, questionable rule.
That was as close of a call as I've seen. I also thought it wasn't a touchdown even though all the announcers disagreed. Then again, I never heard of any of them other than Steve Young, so I'm not taking much pride in making the right call.
 
That was as close of a call as I've seen. I also thought it wasn't a touchdown even though all the announcers disagreed. Then again, I never heard of any of them other than Steve Young, so I'm not taking much pride in making the right call.
I didn't think they made the right call, but I didn't agree with the announcers either, who didn't even have the rule right. Steve Young was adamant that the play is over as soon as the receiver's feet get down, which used to be the case, but the rule is that he has to complete the catch all the way to the ground and maintain control of the ball. So I was calling him out on that.

Still, the receiver did maintain control of the ball, and it didn't move until he started to get up. A veteran receiver stays down and hugs the ball, covering it from the cameras, so that even if it does move, they can't catch it on replay. The young guy was in such a hurry to get up and celebrate that he let the ball move as he was getting up. But it was clear that he had his arm under the ball, it didn't move as he hit the ground, and had he laid there, it wouldn't have moved. I don't think it should have been overturned.
 
I didn't think they made the right call, but I didn't agree with the announcers either, who didn't even have the rule right. Steve Young was adamant that the play is over as soon as the receiver's feet get down, which used to be the case, but the rule is that he has to complete the catch all the way to the ground and maintain control of the ball. So I was calling him out on that.

Still, the receiver did maintain control of the ball, and it didn't move until he started to get up. A veteran receiver stays down and hugs the ball, covering it from the cameras, so that even if it does move, they can't catch it on replay. The young guy was in such a hurry to get up and celebrate that he let the ball move as he was getting up. But it was clear that he had his arm under the ball, it didn't move as he hit the ground, and had he laid there, it wouldn't have moved. I don't think it should have been overturned.
It certainly looked good when it was shown live. Too bad (for the Raiders) that it occurred in the closing seconds before the half so that they had to review it. I think the call could've went either way and nobody would get too upset about it, because it wasn't an obvious TD or an obvious incomplete pass
 

pdxKingsFan

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I didn't think they made the right call, but I didn't agree with the announcers either, who didn't even have the rule right. Steve Young was adamant that the play is over as soon as the receiver's feet get down, which used to be the case, but the rule is that he has to complete the catch all the way to the ground and maintain control of the ball. So I was calling him out on that.

Still, the receiver did maintain control of the ball, and it didn't move until he started to get up. A veteran receiver stays down and hugs the ball, covering it from the cameras, so that even if it does move, they can't catch it on replay. The young guy was in such a hurry to get up and celebrate that he let the ball move as he was getting up. But it was clear that he had his arm under the ball, it didn't move as he hit the ground, and had he laid there, it wouldn't have moved. I don't think it should have been overturned.
I honestly thought that one angle clearly showed the ball start moving away from the receiver once he was on the ground and the ball was touching ground at that point.
[yt=Reversed TD]UnBS8tTsnWE[/yt]
Right around the 40-50 seconds in, the ball is moving when he hits the ground and appears to hit his knee and then go back into his hand. But you're right, it was clearly a rookie vs. a vet move as the Watson play at the end of the Pats game shows - Watson kept his arm under the ball the whole time and even though it too hit the ground because he kept that arm in place they couldn't overrule it.
 
I honestly thought that one angle clearly showed the ball start moving away from the receiver once he was on the ground and the ball was touching ground at that point.
[yt=Reversed TD]UnBS8tTsnWE[/yt]
Right around the 40-50 seconds in, the ball is moving when he hits the ground and appears to hit his knee and then go back into his hand. But you're right, it was clearly a rookie vs. a vet move as the Watson play at the end of the Pats game shows - Watson kept his arm under the ball the whole time and even though it too hit the ground because he kept that arm in place they couldn't overrule it.
The call wouldn't have been made if it was the patriots or the steelers scoring the touchdown. It truly sucks being a Kings and a Raiders fan right now.
 

pdxKingsFan

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The call wouldn't have been made if it was the patriots or the steelers scoring the touchdown. It truly sucks being a Kings and a Raiders fan right now.
In case you missed it the Pats (at home) last night got some very questionable calls called against them, one of which should have sealed the game for the Bills had their kick returner had the good sense to take a knee instead of fight for a few trivial yards. There's not some magic conspiracy against the Raiders. There just isn't.
 
The call wouldn't have been made if it was the patriots or the steelers scoring the touchdown. It truly sucks being a Kings and a Raiders fan right now.
Believe that if you want to, but it's not true. The refs just suck. They cost the Chargers a game against the Broncos last year with a brutal fumble call.
 

pdxKingsFan

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Believe that if you want to, but it's not true. The refs just suck. They cost the Chargers a game against the Broncos last year with a brutal fumble call.
Right, and so they fixed that rule with another rule that is going to screw over some other team (now you can recover a fumble after the whistle, really, whistle means dead ball or we'll flag you for roughing/unsportsmanlike, unless you saw a ball on the ground?).

I may be wrong, but the "going to the ground" rule may have actually been made in response to clarify situations like Troy Polamalu's 2006 interception against the Colts that was
wait for it...
called back.
 
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