rawaction

12-2 pass/run. Zona 11/11

James had like 6 carries of at least 5 yards on the opening drive.

Biggest play of the game.

Calm down people.

I said the Cards would score 2 TDs this game. Hopefully, they don't continue on their 8 TD pace. FWIW, the Cards were up 14-0 last week vs. KC and lost.

sonofab

Seriously, 1 run played call so far?

Run the ball, do the short passes they are doing.

You gotta run the ball to take the crowd out of it.

That was easy.

Didn't think the run D would be this crappy.

I like the idea of going deep early in the game. I remember the old Bears would once in a while try to get Neal Anderson down the sideline vs. a LB on the first series.

Been a long time since I wanted the Bears offense on the field first.

Day late and a dollar short for me. Just moved, dish gets hooked up tomorrow. So, I will miss this game due to lack of cable. Thought about going somewhere to watch, but I just don't feel like it.

Yeah, I'm sure he'll remember this game for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if he throws 2 picks and gets sacked 8 times, but I think he can make positive things happen.

I think this game is a lot tougher than people think. I think Leinart is going to be a decent QB. Boldin scares me with his big play ability. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cards are the first team to get in the endzone offensively against the Bears before they are already down 30 points. I wouldn't be surprised if they got into the endzone twice. The Cards have played pretty tough in all but the Atlanta game. And I always worry about the home team coming out with a lot of momentum in a game like this. Monday Night, Primetime, maybe the only game the Cards have on national TV all year, nothing to lose against the best team in the league so far. But in the end, the Bears will win. Cards will be one-dimensional. They can't run at all. And won't against the Bears. My pessimistic prediction. Bears 20, Cards 14, with the Cards scoring a late TD making it closer.

The middle ground would be about 4.20. Which is above league average. And I do agree that he's not worth seeking out in a trade and Padilla is very likely to put up similar numbers. But the scenario here involves taking Hudson to facilitate getting Andruw Jones. And if the Braves eat some of Hudson's deal, Padilla won't be much cheaper. Hudson only makes 6M next year, Padilla will likely make more in 2007. FWIW, that 4.20 ERA would likely be about a 108 ERA+ next year. Padilla's career ERA+ is 106, and he hasn't been that high in 3 years.

I love everything about San Diego but their coach. I wouldn't have laughed at the AFC side of your prediction. The NFC side on the other hand... :) Yeah, I hate Shotty. But I had to pick the Giants. I really like their team. They have Eli coming into his own. Their skill players are in their prime. They have a ton of defensive talent. And I have a thing against picking my team. Unfortunately, I'm usually right when NOT picking the Bears and Cubs.

Is it really a batted balls thing? His BABIP last season was .307, which is only slightly higher than it should be. His K rate has fallen from his established 1999-2003 rate and he has walked more guys the last two seasons than he did in 2002-2004. For his last two seasons in Oakland he was helped by an extremely lucky HR to flyball ratio - and that evaporated when he moved to Atlanta. Looking at his peripherals the last two seasons, it becomes apparent that 2006 was in line and 2005 was not. I agree somewhat. Obviously his 05-06 is a far cry from his previous seasons in Oakland. But his peripherals from 06 weren't that much different than they were in 05, which says to me that he was probably a little lucky in 05 and a little unlucky in 06. Which is why I said I think he will settle somewhere between his 05-06 numbers.

My preseason SuperBowl pick was Chargers/Giants. Everyone at work laughed at me for picking SD. Gotta think about it. SD was the #1 team against the run last year, brought back their entire front 7, with the exception of Foley, who was replaced with a player who is at worst, a lateral move. Their pass rush is better due to experience, making their pass defense better. They lost like 7 games last year by 7 or fewer points, and they played probably the toughest schedule. Plus, Rivers has a better arm than Brees. Not as good a passer, yet, but pretty close, and with more big play ability. Easier schedule this year + #1 run defense + improved everywhere else = serious contender. The Giants are looking good now that they started to play defense. Most well rounded offensive team in the league.

My team finally came to play. Portis, and the Browns both had great games. Reggie Brown would have been a great pick if not for the last minute Stallworth trade, pushing Brown to #2.

Since I think USC will lose to Cal, it's starting to look like the BCS title game will feature the winner of the UM/OSU game against the winner of the Louisville/WVU game. Again, I think Louisville if they win have a shot. I don't think the BCS will be very friendly to WVU, even if they go undefeated. I honestly think whoever doesn't lose again between Auburn, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, CAL, and Notre Dame or an undefeated Louisville will play Ohio St. (who will beat Michigan) for the National Championship. I think Michigan's out if they lose, because they will have lost too late in the year. I think USC is out if they lose at all, because it will likely come to ND or Cal, teams they are competing for the #2 spot with.

Even if the Yanks don't have a job opening, I don't see Piniella in Chicago for the long-haul. I think he has 2-3 years at the most. I believe the Cubs have a 2-year window. If Hendry doesn't win in 2 years, he's gone. Piniella likely goes with him. If the Cubs win w/i the next 2 years, I think Piniella retires on top. He's over 60. No job is gonna be long-term for him.

Well, he certainly had an off year this season. But he isn't too far removed from success, so there is a chance that he can return to his previous performance level. However, I'm not in favor of acquiring Hudson as the #2 behind Zambrano. If taking on Hudson's contract does indeed make it easier to acquire Andruw Jones, that might be reason enough to take him. IMO, the Cubs need to sign a top of the line starter. My choice would Matsuzaka. If the Cubs fail to acquire the right to bargain with him, then I would go after Schmidt. If they can get one of those two pitchers, then Hudson would be filling the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation depending on how Prior does next spring. Hudson in that spot is fine. Expensive, but fine. If the payroll is going up, and if he brings with him Andruw Jones, and if the other options are Soriano or Dunn, I say bring on Hudson and his contract. I don't see how Hudson is all of a sudden, "not good". 2006 was by far his worst year with a 91 ERA+. He has a career ERA+ of 128, and is just a year removed from that level posting a 125 ERA+ in the previous season. Even in a down year, he improved his K rate, walk rate didn't change much, if at all, and GB/FB ratio was right at his career norm. He was still dominant vs. RH hitters. His biggest problem this year was giving up extra bases. He gave up career worsts 25 HRs and a .435 SLG against. He's only 31 years old, so he should still have a couple solid years left. Statistically, he's one of the top 10 active pitchers in the league, career wise. I'm not gonna argue that he will continue on that level, but there's no reason to expect that 2006 is gonna be the norm for him. I expect him in the 110-120 ERA+ range for at least 2 more years, putting him as a middle of the road #2. That would likely give him an ERA within 0.2 either way of a 4.00 ERA. Combined that with him throwing at least 185 innings every year, that's a solid pickup. For the record, everyone's favorite FA signee, Jason Schmidt had a 125 ERA+ this season, after posting a 94 in 2005. Schmidt and Hudson are different types of pitchers, but have been very similar recently as far as durability and overall effectiveness is concerned. Schmidt improved greatly at age 33. I'll gamble that Hudson can have similar improvement 2 years younger, and with about 300 less innings under his belt this time last year.