Outshined_One

\:D/ \:D/ \:D/

This was the first thread posted to Transactions, where the topic belongs.

I've seen a lot of innuendo that Carroll to the Seahawks might go down in part because USC's program is about to go down in flames. Link

The shovel pass call was the horrible part of all that. Texas gets the ball back and, rather than kneel, they decide to run up the middle, which resulted in a sizable gain. Texas then called timeout, rather than let the clock run out to go to half. At this point, I figure they're going to try for a deep pass down the field. If it gets picked off, the odds of Alabama returning it for a TD are pretty minimal. Even if Alabama picked it off, there only would have been a few seconds remaining and it would have been well down the field, meaning Saban would have likely taken the knee to end the half. However, if the deep pass succeeds, Texas either ends up with a TD or they run like hell down the field for a spike and a FG attempt. All of that is fine in my mind. But then...the shovel pass was called. I simply don't get that call. As he was going in for the half, Mack Brown claimed it was a high percentage play; that it was a safe call. That makes no sense. He had a really young QB with limited experience behind center. Alabama's DL had been getting penetration all night. Moreover, the probability of a shovel pass getting Texas within FG range, even if it worked, was fairly small. Had the RB caught it clean, I don't think he would have made it very far. The DL seemed to have him covered. I really don't see how that play was supposed to result in a favorable outcome for Texas.

Link Just in case any of you out there were still concerned he might join the Cubs.

Notre Dame, imo.

:thumbsup:

Kimo von Oelhoffen won't be around to save the AFC this time.

Yep.

Kubiak's going nowhere.

Maybe they'll keep everyone on board. :banghead:

Those sound like pretty marginal changes. The fact that our new OC will be working for a coach on the hot seat (read: lame duck) will limit our choices. A new DC will be brought in, but again, for a lame duck coach and likely another Lovie type guy. So the defense will essentially be the same -- unless Lovie magically decides we should try a new defense. I wonder if they'd be interested in bringing in a potential future HC type of guy at one of the coordinator positions. Let him get his schemes and players set for the team, then, when Lovie gets canned after next season, have a seamless transition to the new guy, who will already have familiarity with the rest of the coaching staff, front office, and players. I don't think it'll happen, but if there's a promising guy out there who's a position coach, it couldn't hurt to try it.

Sounds like Tom Cable's going to get launched. Link

Yep. I can see Jerry Angelo hiring a new OC and bringing in a DC to do the play calling in an attempt to get Lovie frustrated and have him quit.

That sums it up. This isn't a bad deal, but it's not something I like that much, either.

I don't think it's any more difficult than identifying who can become a great starting pitcher. UK can go more in-depth on this particular subject if he wants to jump into the conversation, but Huseby can be a good example of this. I'm not Huseby's biggest fan for various reasons, although I still think he could be a good relief pitcher if he makes the majors. He has very good deception from the right side to go with two plus pitches. He has qualities that should make him an effective relief pitcher in the majors. Assuming he stays healthy and his development continues on its current path, he should be able to make the majors and be an asset in the bullpen.

I would like to thank Mike Leach for his efforts in adding "Concussion Closet" to my vocabulary.

This subject came up in the NSBB Prospect Chat, particularly in the context of Jay Jackson versus Andrew Cashner. In one camp, those who supported Jay Jackson over Andrew Cashner made the case that, if Cashner became a top-flight reliever and Jackson became a 2-3 starter, Jackson would be more valuable since he would pitch more innings, be an above average starter, etc. However, the other camp made the case that a top-flight relief pitcher can be just as good as, if not better than, an average/above average pitcher. With Cashner, he has two devastating pitches in his fastball and slider. Not only does he profile as a closer/top-flight setup man as a reliever, but he profiles as a really good one. In other words, they would take a great relief pitcher over a very good starting pitcher. Granted, I think those same posters would take a great starting pitcher over a great relief pitcher. My point was mostly that Sickels falls firmly in the former camp. I tend to follow that particular line of thought, but the opposing viewpoint has given me food for thought.

Sickels places a much higher value on starters than relievers. I think he's only willing to rank relievers high if they either are really talented or if they are close to the majors (Caridad, Parker, Gaub, etc.). That explains Huseby. I'm not totally sure why he was down on the rest of them, though.

Has there ever been a year where all of the Week 17 matchups were also the matchups in the first round of the playoffs?

Just added Sickels to the first page. I'm annoyed I overlooked Beliveau in making my list. I'm still not 100% on where I'd add him to my list, since he had substantial control problems, was a touch old for the MWL, and didn't spend his entire season logging substantial innings. However, there are some parallels with Rich Hill, where a few mechanical tweaks and repetition in his delivery could see him fly through the minors. He doesn't have the same stuff as Hill did, though. I'd probably slip him into my 20-30 range.

If Lovie's fired in the offseason, Jerry Angelo and everyone else in the front office will probably get to keep their jobs for another two years since the team will want to give the new coaching staff as much leeway as possible. However, if Lovie gets another season and the Bears lay another egg, I think there will be a bloodbath in Halas Hall from top to bottom. I'd be okay with that scenario, especially since a lot of the problems with this team seem to stem from poor decision making on the part of the front office.

Hopefully Jaws will finally figure out how to properly pronounce Aromashadu's name.

Regarding Nolan Ryan's philosophy, is this something they are solely implementing at the major league level, or are they also implementing it in their farm system?

Yeah. They are looking awfully good. Having them in the mix and playing great will only make the playoffs that much more interesting, from my perspective. If they didn't have Norv Turner as a HC, they'd look like a much more legitimate playoff threat.