Magnetic Curses

It is. But -- I think in that case, they were going for awful. Mainly, I think geico and progressive should simply advertise less. We all know they exist, and they want us to insure our stuff through them. they may have been going for awful, but it wasn't even stylized awful, it was a trite, non-sequitur lazy mess. i cringe every time i see that falcon commercial, too.

i think that they have the offense to be special this year, i'm just worried about the defense after losing its top 2 players.

this temple quarterback throws about the ugliest ball i've ever seen.

freaking SAT question there. I'm confused. In making predictions before a game, we're basing our opinions on: Week 1: 100% preseason hype and expectation Week 2: 10% preseason expectation, 90% what happened in Week 1 but if we whipped the team that was hyped and expected of going into week 1, that throws your equation off.

schlereth picks against the bears. i think he's literally never picked the bears, ever.

he's a nice backup running back at this point in his career, he gives a different look than forte and can brutalize tired defenses. this is assuming he can get on the field.

they're still more interesting than wisconsin

Ah if only we could produce the type of talent that Penn St. was bringing in. I don't spend every off season pretending that my team is just one good recruiting class away from a title. In fact, I don't follow PSU recruiting at all. because no one does, or cares.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/1stand10-11week2/biggest-nfl-games-week-2-john-clayton Melton didn't play DT until this year, while Okoye and Paea weren't on the Bears last year. Try again John Clayton. Paea isn't really on the Bears this year, either. because he's bad.

Only 2 of 10 Urlacher's similar players through year 10 on football reference are in the hall of fame, and only 3 of the 10 of his career similar players have made it. I don't think he's a lock at this moment. As for Lewis, through year 14 7 of his 10 comparables are in the HOF and 7 of his 10 career comparables are also in the HOF. I'd consider Lewis a lock and players like Brooks, Urlacher, and Thomas as probables. One of those three could easily get left out though. by and large i see the same names from year to year for both of them. and, as i stated, Urlacher has primarily played in a system where he was under a considerable more amount of pressure to cover area. Urlacher has essentially been playing a hybrid safety/linebacker combination position that a lot of those guys couldn't play. you also conveniently failed to mention that one of those guys whom Lewis is compared to through year 10 is not in the hall of fame because he's Brian Urlacher. That's because I didn't look at the comparables for Lewis through year 10. I looked at the final year for both of them right now-Urlacher through year 10 and Lewis through year 14. I appreciate your point about Urlacher's position, but I doubt the HOF voters will get that nuanced. They're more likely to see Lewis's ring as a point in his favor rather than consider Urlacher playing a harder MLB position...especially because the perception of the Bears is they play Cover 2 where the MLB isn't that important (of course, the Bears don't play a traditional cover two precisely because of Urlacher's talents). If Urlacher has four more Pro Bowl seasons in a row he'll be where Lewis is now. There's nothing to indicate he can't do that right now, but I'd still bet the chances are less than 50/50. It's just hard to predict any non-quarterback to sustain a high level of play that long. Really that's the only main thing Lewis has above him though is longevity. fair enough, though i think you underestimate the fact that Urlacher is the vicar of Butkus and Singletary, which will undoubtedly influence voters as well.

i think it's Woodridge, actually.

Only 2 of 10 Urlacher's similar players through year 10 on football reference are in the hall of fame, and only 3 of the 10 of his career similar players have made it. I don't think he's a lock at this moment. As for Lewis, through year 14 7 of his 10 comparables are in the HOF and 7 of his 10 career comparables are also in the HOF. I'd consider Lewis a lock and players like Brooks, Urlacher, and Thomas as probables. One of those three could easily get left out though. by and large i see the same names from year to year for both of them. and, as i stated, Urlacher has primarily played in a system where he was under a considerable more amount of pressure to cover area. Urlacher has essentially been playing a hybrid safety/linebacker combination position that a lot of those guys couldn't play. you also conveniently failed to mention that one of those guys whom Lewis is compared to through year 10 is not in the hall of fame because he's Brian Urlacher.

they really should adopt Lord Humungus as a mascot, it may help with recruiting. at halftime he can come out onto the court in his rocket car and demand the opposing team surrender their precious juice.

it's a quote from groundhog day. it means nice post

well that's certainly a bad article. Excellent critique, sir. What a garbage article. I'm no Texas fan, but this idea that Texas came in and forced a bunch of change on these poor innocent Big 8 schools is a joke. The unequal revenue sharing that teams like aTm and Nebraska have made such a big deal over? They all voted for it. All the power brokers in the Big 8/Big 12 had the opportunity to install equal money distribution. But guess what. Schools like aTm and Nebraska didn't want to share. They knew they would be bringing home the serious loot, and they wanted to keep it for themselves. (KU was also against it. They make a nice chunk off tier 3 hoops rights, and they didn't want to share.) 15 years later, two of these schools are the biggest whiners about the deal THEY pushed for and are leaving the conference. All 12 schools also voted to have a watered down, powerless commissioner. Can't bitch about Beebe (and what changes he's capable of effecting) when he's the monster YOU created. Kevin Weiberg approached the Big 12 about having a dedicated network. The schools all passed. Weiberg quit as Big 12 commish and sold the idea to the Big 10. Once again, all 12 schools shoot themselves in the foot. UT approached aTm about being a partner in the LHN a while back. aTm passed. UT got the nerve to go it alone, and look what happened. They got a ton of money out of it. Now aTm has their panties in a wad over it. Texas is and always has been one vote in the Big 12. They got control because the original Big 8 never nutted up and stood up to them. As a result, the power shifted south. The money shifted south. And the cracked foundation for this dying conference was irreparably laid. Texas carries a lot of blame. But so do all the other schools. lol, did you actually want to talk about the weather or were you just making chit-chat?

now do one with marshawn lynch

I dunno about that. Perhaps being a Bears fan and living up there has caused some bias in that regard. I mean, Lewis was on the cover of Madden, played for the U, was in the news a ton with the obstruction of justice stuff years ago, and has this whole "Godfather" of the NFL players thing going on. That's not to say that Urlacher isn't also enormously recognizable and famous, but I don't think as much as Lewis. Also, Urlacher is definitely a HOFer. No doubt. urlacher was on the cover of 2k when 2k>>>> madden actually, 2k still >>> madden, they're just not allowed to make a game anymore. 2k3. loved those games.

I don't think this is accurate at all. Ray Lewis was the starting MLB on a Super Bowl champion team that went something like 22 consecutive quarters during the regular season without scoring an offensive touchdown. (ETA - The Ravens still won 3 games during that stretch.) The quarterback for that Superbowl champion team was Trent Dilfer. Urlacher's defense led a team to the Superbowl with Grossman in charge (better than Dilfer), and they only took second that year. That year was the first of 7 playoff appearances for the Ravens, while Urlacher has only been part of 4 playoff teams. EDIT - I'm only addressing the Urlacher-Lewis comparison, not his overall HOF chances. He'll get in. hailing the awesomeness of the bears offense at really any time in history is not a good idea. saying grossman was better than dilfer so lewis is better than urlacher is kind of baffling. the ravens were a very good running team with one of the best left tackles that ever put on an NFL uniform and they were basically middle of the pack in terms of scoring offense. if you want to talk about terrible quarterbacks, the list starts in chicago with the guys who have been here since urlacher arrived, you're probably barking up the wrong tree, there. lewis couldn't play mike in our defense, not like urlacher, whereas i have little doubt that urlacher could extend his career a few years playing in that 3-4 the ravens utilize.

I don't think there's a chance that Urlacher will be an analyst. I could see him in coaching, though. Wasn't real clear the way he wrote it, but he meant Lewis would be an analyst. it was totally clear the way i wrote it.

enough about this iowa stuff, i think everyone's dying to hear more about wisconsin!

i'm sure that's it

Why? Because they rated an Iowa recruit higher than an Illinois recruit? espn's been getting better but they're still a joke. i'm just [expletive] with you, i think it's great that they got this woodburg guy.

I think he is, but he's gonna need a few more pro bowls (may not get that) and a bit more hype in his later career. I don't think the rest of the county hears as much about Urlacher after his first few years where he came out and was instantly one of the best linebackers in the league. He's had a quiet last 5 or so years since his DPOY. A Superbowl victory will help his case, certainly. :-" Yeah, a ring would probably seal it for him. But I also think he gets in if he has about 3-4 healthy seasons playing at a high level. I think his career intertwining with Ray Lewis may hurt him a bit, as Urlacher is not even the "standard bearer" (no pun intended) at his position for his generation. But I think the numbers are there. The injuries are overblown as he's only missed games in 2 seperate seasons, 5 years apart. But perception is what it is. If he can play at a high level until 36 like Lewis, I think he has to get in. NOt going to be a first ballot guy, but shouldn't take long if that's the case. i think urlacher, while not as engaging as lewis, who will most certainly be some sort of analyst after his playing days, has had a better career in the fact that his position is more important to what his team has done over the years. the standard has passed between urlacher and lewis from season to season it seems and i don't think there's a noticeable difference there, and despite all of lewis's personality and theatrics, urlacher is probably still a more recognizable name and face.

he's almost as ugly as nick smith, too. leonard meyerson, on the other hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maVbQvqJmQ8 that's pretty

this isn't communist russia, them plane execs gotta eat