rawaction

I believe B is correct.

Only voted for 2 at this point. Blackburn and Rondon. I'll vote for a 3rd once I can decide between the cluster that is McNutt, Ha, Martin, Bruno, Jensen and Zych. Hell, I really like McNeill too.

Georgia by 13 (Youngstown State beat them by 12)? Butler by -2? I also wouldn't be counting the game at Purdue as a win just yet. I've seen some pretty bad Purdue teams beat some pretty great IU teams (1992 springs to mind). And Georgia was IU at its absolute worst the first game leaving the campus. Butler was walking distance from their campus and they lost on a last second shot in OT.

I agree on the undervaluing of Big Ten homecourt, but I think Indiana is currently overrated by Pomeroy due to their Wisconsining of their crap opponents. Oh, sure.* What have they done? Right now, their best win per Pomeroy is North Dakota State (No. 45). Now, I wouldn't agree that's their best win, but the other candidates aren't much better: at No. 51 Iowa (my vote), home to No. 52 North Carolina, and neutral to No. 64 Georgetown. That's, um, less than impressive. *Well, I'd be tempted to give them more of an "incomplete." They've done nothing to really deserve a top-5 ranking; but I think it's certainly possible they could be (or, at least, could be eventually). That is to say that I don't believe this is a facially laughable situation like Wisconsin being No. 1 last year. Not a lot of teams have a ton of top 5 worthy wins. They are clearly top 5 in talent and have beaten the teams they should have, the way they should have. But this is a big game tomorrow. About as excited as I've been about a game in a long time. A win over another top 10 team would be huge at this point in the season. A loss and the "haven't beaten anybody" people will get louder and more support for their argument. A win and IU is probably 8-0 to start conference play before hosting Michigan to start February. All other teams in the conference would have a loss at that point except for Michigan who have to go to Ohio St. and Minnesota this week.

Kind of interesting. This is the way I see my personal top 4: Trestman- has gotten QBs with mediocre talent to play at a pro bowl level. Clements- has gotten talented QBs to play at record-breaking HOF levels Dennison- has gotten OLinemen and RBs with mediocre talent to play at pro bowl levels McCoy- has gotten the most of offenses with mediocre talent. Should this hire be about Jay solely or should it be about the offense overall? While I'd love Jay to turn into the best QB in the league, I think it's more realistic to get the most out of his abilities (may or may not lead to him being the best) and get this offense to be a consistent force.

I don't think Trestman would be that bad. It's a very "outside the box" hire. He has a decent track record of working with QBs. Getting the most out of some QBs a lot less talented than Jay. He also worked with Jay before his pro day (according to Wikipedia). A pro day where Cutler propelled himself to the #11 pick seemingly out of nowhere. Of the candidates, I'd say he'd be my #3 after McCoy, Clements, and Dennison. I'd take him over Carmichael or Arians, though I'm not a big fan of either. I'd be very interested to see what his offense looks like. Could be pretty innovative with some of the Canadian intricacies coming into play. They only have 3 downs to get 10 yards up there so, I don't think there's any fear of a 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense. His pass plays are probably either A) quicker to get the ball in an athlete's hand to run with the ball or B) have routes going further down the field. Also, because of the width of the field, I'd assume Trestman can get really creative with spreading the field. One interesting thing is that CFL doesn't really have TEs. I'd wonder how he'd incorporate that position along with the FB position. I'd think a lot of H-back type formations with the TE lined up behind the line of scrimmage. That actually could benefit Evan Rodriguez more than the current offense. If Trestman is ultimately hired, I won't hate the move in the least. I'll be very intrigued by what the offense will look like in 2013.

That poor dead horse.

Well, this is the week before championship week. Best case scenario involving teams in the playoffs, would be to hire a guy on Monday. If ONLY Emery's #3 guy is available, but he really wants #1 or 2, then he only has to wait 1 more week to get his guy. After the championship games next Sunday, teams have 2 weeks off. So, win or lose, you can hire a coach that next Monday. It's not worth settling for only a week. If Dennison was the #3 and the Texans lost last week, then maybe you hire him if he's not a very distant 3rd choice. So, it would be fair game to hire, say, McCoy on Jan 21st even if the Broncos are in the Super Bowl? Somehow I missed that detail. I thought they would only interview a 2nd time but still need to wait until Feb 4. He already had 1 interview. Could hire him today if they wanted. He could still coach this weekend and thru the Superbowl too if the sides agreed.

I have a little bit of everything. I have points to give away. I could take on 300-400 points depending on who I keep. I have a couple expendable exempt players.

You have Ryan Braun, but it was agreed before you got in the league that he would be traded to me for Edwin Encarnacion and prospects.

Well, this is the week before championship week. Best case scenario involving teams in the playoffs, would be to hire a guy on Monday. If ONLY Emery's #3 guy is available, but he really wants #1 or 2, then he only has to wait 1 more week to get his guy. After the championship games next Sunday, teams have 2 weeks off. So, win or lose, you can hire a coach that next Monday. It's not worth settling for only a week. If Dennison was the #3 and the Texans lost last week, then maybe you hire him if he's not a very distant 3rd choice.

Kouandijo, Richardson, Matthews, Lewan, and if he can put it all together, Seantrel Henderson are all top 20 caliber players at LT next year. Eric Fisher and Lane Johnson are the happiest people in America right now. I'd imagine at least 1 goes top 15 now. The other top 25. With Lewan and Matthews, both were borderline 1st rounders.

Yeah really starting to like him as a decent #3 option. Hopefully Houston, Denver and Green Bay all lose thisweek so we can get something done fast.

She's cute. Was that a real [expletive] question?

CHAMPIONSHIP Da Bears 197, Packers 2.

TE is not 1A. Its a distant 2nd. The Bears could usr all 5 spots on the OL before 1 TE. If I had to realistically break it down TE would be 3 after OT and OG.

Yeah, I got nothing but a pessimistic hunch.

Interesting seeding there. Arizona a 4-loss, 4 seed? Michigan and IU with the same record but IU gets the 1 seed. Butler as a 13-seed is probably a crime too.

First sentence, agree. Second sentence. Disagree. Though maybe Herbstreit should get in on it. I'm sure he could pull her.

Better than DeCastro or Iupati?? Or go even a little farther back with Mankins or Hutchinson? I suspect not many people saw Iupati play in college. I did and wasn't "ga-ga" about him. Big fan of DeCastro though and I like Warmack a little better. I liked Mankins too, but about the same as DeCastro. I don't think anyone can F with Hutchinson though. He was really good in college.

Until this hire is done and one of the guys I hope it is, I will be very afraid of Emery's choices. I still fear that he picks an "underdog", hard worker type as a head coach instead of a young up-and-comer. Because that's basically what Emery is/was when he got hired as GM. He was a scout putting in several hours a day riding around the southeast, watching film and compiling info on prospects. I worry that he'll go for a guy like DeCamillas who has been around forever, but never had a chance to be a HC. Or a guy like Sullivan who has the similar military background. All over guys that have had the "fortune" of coaching Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers or coaching under Sean Payton and Mike Shanahan, citing some type of silver spoon theory for those guys.

I was going to post something about how I really want him on the Bears next year. FYI, both Stanford TEa turned pro - Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo. Both are big targets, great pass catchers. If I'm running the Cowboys, he doesn't make it to the Bears. He's probably going to end up being my draft pet until I'm convinced he won't make it to 18 for the Cowboys to pick him. Yeah, no chance he makes it past Dallas at 18. He's really good. Kind of funny story about Warmack, a friend and I walk into a bar and they're showing Bama highlights a year ago about this time. He's not a big college football fan and only pays attention to the draft when people on his Giants message board talk about it. We walk in and he sees 1 play and says, "Dude that #65 is so big, fat, and mean I want him on the Giants whenever he comes out". My response was, well you better lose a bunch of games then because he's going to be a top 15 pick.

Trying to remember if he is a true freshman or soph. Either way cracking the Bama line that early is impressive. True sophomore. He's the most talented on their o-line but each time I've watched them, I've come away disappointed that he hasn't put it all together yet. He's playing great tonight. You're watching him in the wrong offense if you want to see him be a wall against a speed rusher at LT on a 7-step drop. He hasn't put it all together yet, but he's the truth. Fires off the ball and crushes people.

Warmack is putting on a show! Kouandjo (sp?) isn't too bad either.

That would be an NFL penalty