bartshan-83

A few more Fitzpatrick breakdowns that I found kind of interesting. Keep in mind that his QB rating is an even 85. 1. He is awful on 2nd downs and terrific on 3rd downs. BY DOWN CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT 1st down 80 131 901 61.1 6.88 45 10 4 4.0 94.4 2nd down 64 122 638 52.5 5.23 54 2 4 8.0 59.4 3rd down 71 115 916 61.7 7.97 65 8 3 6.0 99.0 4th down 6 10 71 60.0 7.10 28 1 0 1.0 115.0 I mean, his 1st and 3rd stats are pretty identical, yet he takes a 25 point drop on 2nd down and suffers across the board. Comparing him to the Top-5 Rated QBs in the league (Brady, Vick, Rivers, Rodgers & Cassel) NONE of them have such a huge outlier (highest drop is 12 points for Rivers on 3rd down - 103 to 91). Comparing him to the Bottom-5 Rated QBs (Clausen, Anderson, Favre, Sanchez & Hasselbeck)...same thing. No one has such a bizarre anomaly based on downs. In fact, of all the QBs I checked (and I didn't check all of them) only Eli Manning had a similar split. He ***** himself on 3rd downs (29 point drop from 88 to 59) which IMO, is more understandable than 2nd down. Breaking it down further, he is absolutely awful on 2nd and SHORT! I figured maybe his problem was that we were getting suck in 2nd and longs and he was forced to pass out of them. But look at his numbers on 2nd and <6! 50% completion, 3 YPA...uggh! And then, on 3rd & 8-10, he has his best statistical split...gains 34 points on his average. Now, by nature of the circumstance, some passers will see bumps here due to the YPA since they are in a good medium of distance and completion percentage. But none of those 10 passers have anything like Fitzpatrick's except Sanchez (29 point bump). And a bunch actually go way down (Favre, Cassel, Anderson). DOWN/DISTANCE CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT 2nd & 3-7 17 39 133 43.6 3.41 53 0 2 2.0 31.3 2nd & 8-10 28 51 306 54.9 6.00 113 2 1 5.0 77.7 2nd & 11+ 16 28 195 57.1 6.96 116 0 0 1.0 78.7 2nd & <6 12 24 72 50.0 3.00 33 0 2 1.0 21.5 2nd & 6+ 52 98 566 53.1 5.78 253 2 2 7.0 68.7 3rd & 3-7 33 53 403 62.3 7.60 131 6 2 5.0 107.7 3rd & 8-10 18 30 320 60.0 10.67 102 2 0 1.0 118.8 3rd & 11+ 15 23 156 65.2 6.78 66 0 1 0.0 66.6 3rd & <6 24 42 234 57.1 5.57 93 3 1 3.0 86.8 3rd & 6+ 47 73 682 64.4 9.34 223 5 2 3.0 106.1 2. He does not like throwing to his right. PLAY DIRECTION CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT Right Side 35 58 319 60.3 5.50 23 1 2 0.0 66.7 Right Sideline 54 108 622 50.0 5.76 54 5 4 0.0 67.7 Left Side 42 66 566 63.6 8.58 65 2 2 0.0 88.3 Left Sideline 51 77 597 66.2 7.75 45 9 1 0.0 123.1 Middle 25 45 280 55.6 6.22 37 3 2 0.0 78.0 Besides maybe Clausen and Anderson (and they weren't nearly as uniform), I couldn't find anyone with such a clean split differential. I mean, it is clear cut that the man does better throwing across his body. So, in my expert conclusion...I propose all we need to do to turn Ryan Fitzpatrick into Tom Brady is: 1. Run on 2nd down 2. Only call pass plays to the left. GAME OVER.

Yeah, another vote for Wham. And not to hijack, but I had an interesting conversation with my wife last week about Christmas songs (actually, only one of us thought it was interesting I think). My point was that Christmas music (excluding religious hymn-types) is an interesting genre because it is comprised of mainly a static group of songs that get played every year. It is very difficult for "new" Christmas songs to break into the rotation of classics. Every tacky Walmart Christmas Collection CD seems to pick from the same 20-30 songs. And I might be exaggerating a little, but it seems like every one of those songs was written between 1930 and 1960. I'm no music expert, but maybe the advent of Rock & Roll caused this. Maybe Christmas music just meshes better with the Mel Tormes and Bing Crosbys of the world. It's just strange that, for a long time (1930s-40s) new Christmas songs were being written every year and they have stuck around for decades. But I could count one on hand the number of original Christmas songs written in the past quarter century that have managed to elbow their way into the rotation. Weird. (By the way, if you made it to this sentence, that's about 150 words more than my wife did before she unpaused Oprah and wondered why she married me).

So I just agreed to foster a rescue dog for the holidays (and maybe beyond). I'm excited but a little freaked out. I posted awhile back in some dog thread about how my wife and I had adopted our first rescue dog this past spring. He (Dewey) was a mess...completely frightened of people, noises, new places, everything. I'm very happy to say that he has made leaps and bounds over the past 6 months. He's still a jittery guy and he acts in ways that I think are very atypical of your normal dog. But he has become so much more comfortable and playful. It's like night and day from last June. The place we adopted him from still sends occasional emails regarding updates and sometimes about dogs and cats that need temporary fostering. My wife always forwards them to me with some sort of smiley-face. I've held strong and not given in, but this last one was just too much. Apparently the adoption center does their last pickup of the year this Saturday and he was the last dog left. And if no one could take him, he was going to have to go back to the shelter alone for the holidays in an outdoor kennel. We just have a townhouse, a jittery dog and a neurotic cat, so I hope this new guy doesn't expect the Plaza Hotel. But I'm pretty excited about this experience. Nothing like an extra family member for the holidays... Anyway, now that I've rambled on about how wonderful I am , does anyone have any experience with fostering pets? We're getting him (Melbourne is his name) in a few days so we're shooting from the hip. He sounds a lot like our current dog (shy and neglected) so I'm thinking aggression won't be a problem. Here is the link to his profile...cute little guy! Melbourne Any stories/advice would be great. And plenzmd1, my thoughts are still with you and your lost dog. I know it's gonna work out!

Sorry, I have to go back to the logo for a second. Apparently I sold them waaay short. It's actually some sort of Hidden Image puzzle where things aren't what they seem. The designer explains it much better than a simpleton like me: :beer:

Stoop Kids and Corner Kids. If you're familiar with The Wire you know what I'm talking about. If not, it was a plot-line of the 4th season in which a retired police officer worked with some academia types to create a system of classroom segregation. Not a novel concept of course, but they attempted to identify the worst disruptors who simply could not exist in a normal classroom. The idea was that the other 90% of the class would greatly benefit without their presence. They removed 2-3 "corner kids" from every class and isolated them together. This new class didn't have a traditional teaching agenda and was monitored by multiple adults. It obviously had a lot of drama, but the idea was to focus on ways to reach kids who, for an abundance of reasons, cannot function in a normal classroom environment. In the show, the kids spent time talking about the dynamics of being in gangs and basically surviving in their environments. There was a even a "Dangerous Minds" moment where 3 kids won a group activity and got to go out to dinner with the teacher and sure enough, could not deal with the culture shock of a nice restaurant. In the end, the program was scrapped because standardized testing was forced upon them and they reverted to their behavior problems when they were forced to be taught that way. Like I said, not a novel concept and I'm certainly not equating a TV show with reality (although The Wire surely hit the bulls-eye far better than most). But it's an interesting idea that kept me thinking for awhile after watching it. The tug of war between not wanting to pigeonhole or write-off young children by segregating them vs. making hard choices that may be more in line with reality than we are comfortable with is very difficult. The problems with education seem to come from all sides and I think sometimes its easy to pick a culprit and focus the blame too narrowly. It's just so overwhelming, whenever I start thinking about it, I end up with more questions than answers. I do know that I have tons of respect for the teachers who work in those awful environments. Dealing with the day-to-day abuse is bad enough, but the underlying fear that you are fighting a losing battle in a broken game where the stakes are so high (educating our youth) has to be infinitely worse. It's depressing enough to talk with friends (or on a message board) about how bad the education system is. It has got to be soul-crushing when you are actually on the front lines.

Link Interesting decisions: 1. Keeping the name Big Ten, but putting a fun new twist on the logo where they substitute the number 1 for the "I" in "BIG" 2. Seriously naming the two divisions "Leaders" and "Legends" 3. Creating a list of bizarre hyphenated-name trophies that are so numerous they would make a little league baseball team blush. Championship Game Trophies Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy Amos Alonzo Stagg, Chicago Joe Paterno, Penn State Grange-Griffin Championship Game MVP Harold Edward "Red" Grange, Illinois Archie Griffin, Ohio State Postgraduate Awards Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award Gerald R. Ford, Michigan Nile Kinnick, Iowa Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award Tony Dungy, Minnesota Anthony Thompson, Indiana Annual Awards/Trophies Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year Otto Graham, Northwestern Eddie George, Ohio State Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski, Minnesota Charles Woodson, Michigan Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes, Ohio State Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Michigan Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year Darrell Thompson, Minnesota Antwaan Randle El, Indiana Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year Dave Rimington, Nebraska Orlando Pace, Ohio State Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, Michigan State Courtney Brown, Penn State Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year Bob Griese, Purdue Drew Brees, Purdue Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year Alan Ameche, Wisconsin Ron Dayne, Wisconsin Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year Jack Tatum, Ohio State Rod Woodson, Purdue Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Dick Butkus, Illinois Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year Pat Richter, Wisconsin Desmond Howard, Michigan Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year Ted Kwalick, Penn State Dallas Clark, Iowa Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year Jim Bakken, Wisconsin Morten Andersen, Michigan State Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, Illinois Brandon Fields, Michigan State To quote the great Adam Sandler: "Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?"

You really want to make Bill throw up? Another one! Wooohoooo!

Yeah, I know some of you are already talking about this on the main board, but I'm all about strengthening our sub-forum brand lately. My take: My first ever impression of Urban Meyer was extreme excitement. I was a senior at ND and Tyrone "Sunday thru Friday" Willingham had just been relieved of duty. Word everywhere was that that the hot, up and coming Utah coach, who was a former ND assistant and supposedly cited ND as his dream job, was a sure thing to take over the reins. It seemed all we had to do was not F up the offer and he'd be in South Bend before the New Year. Of course, we screwed it up. My anger towards ND for botching another coaching hire was also supplemented by my anger towards Meyer for spurning us. Most of it was jilted-lover jealousy, but I had this feeling deep down that he was taking the easy way out and that disappointed me. I thought to myself that if he didn't want the extra challenge that comes with coaching Notre Dame, then I didn't want him either. If I had known he was going to go on to win 2 of the next 4 National Championships, I might have thought differently. Looking back on it now, I think I'm still glad he passed on ND. Here are my reasons: 1. I believe he is a great coach. Intense motivator and incredible offensive mind. BUT, I think he hit a grand-slam, World Series homerun with Tebow. I know people mock him, but I don't think I've ever seen a more singularly impactful player than Tebow (Vince Young comes close). Beyond the talent, his leadership and sheer will...just incredible. I think if Tebow had picked Alabama, Meyer would only have the 2006 ring at best. Not to say that is not respectable. It takes such a crazy amount of talent and luck for even the best coaches to win a single championship. But with no Tebow, I think Meyer's legacy is that he took Zook's talent to the next level, but could never replicate it on his own. 2. If what he says is true, and the stress he puts on himself is what caused his health problems and led to his stepping down (twice), then he would never have lasted at Notre Dame. No disrespect to Florida, but if his heart couldn't take Gainesville, he would have stroked out probably 2-3 years ago at ND. And I don't mean to make light of his health problems. I just honestly believe he would have burned out even earlier in South Bend. 3. Citing the above two paragraphs, it is likely that his career at ND would have ended unfulfilled. I'm not sure he would have been able to lead us to a National Championship and it is likely the stress would have forced him out in less time than he lasted at UF. ND would likely be no better off than we ended up after Weis left. More talent, a little more legitimacy, but still not elite. So if he truly is burned out, I do wish him the best and I hope he stays true to his word and takes it easy. I never really liked him at UF. The endless arrests and recruiting stories turned me off (Jevan Snead's story always made me laugh ). But he does have 2 rings...and that's 2 more than many great coaches ever got. Faustus...what say you? Mullen seems to be the name tossed around the most. Although, I've also heard Foley may make another run at Stoops. I think he is shaky at OU and I believe ND almost had him last year. It wouldn't rock my world if he left Norman for Gainesville.

We got 35 glorious Bowl Games ahead of us. You think you know College Football? Prove it. I set up a Yahoo group for Two Bills Drive. You just have to pick the winner of each game. Highest score wins. We are playing for pride....BUT....if we can get at least 10 TBD'ers to sign up, I'll throw in a $25 Amazon.com gift card to the winner. Please use your TBD handle...and good luck! LINK Group ID: 17901 Password: belinda

We are officially the lamest board at TBD. With my new magical moderator powers, I was going to move the Urban Meyer thread here and chastise people for not posting it in the right forum. But then I realized that I don't blame anyone for not posting things here because they die immediately. It's my fault as much as anyone's...I've contributed basically nothing all year. So let's try to liven it up a little. I know this isn't the best timing as the season is about to end, but we have a great bowl season upon us and then National Signing Day is around the corner. Of course we then hit the doldrums, but if we can at least build some momentum, then hopefully this place will be better for the 2011 season. Speaking of bowl games, I'm thinking we should do a little contest. Yahoo has a nice Pick 'Em format...I'll post details in a separate thread.

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Agreed. It's most certainly marketing...I don't pretend it's anything other. But I freely admit that was enough to pull me. It was a morbid curiosity (how gross can this be?) combined with admiration of their packaging style. Well, from my Whisky Bible referenced above: Lagavulin Aged 16 years (2005 edition) Score: 88 Nose: 23 -the peat, though full, is also unusually linear and lacking its trademark complexity: much more gristy than normal Taste: 22 -exceedingly soft with quick surge of vanilla followed by some fruity notes. The sweet peat, of course, is everywhere. Finish: 21 -slightly oilier than usual and bitter, too Balance: 22 -a bit unfair to pass judgment on this bottling: looking at my notes since year 2000, the average mark runs out at a fraction under 92. I trust that's exactly how you'd describe it, eh Kevin? (and that's actually one of the tamer descriptions...) After I got a bottle of Remy VSOP as a graduation gift years ago, I swore by it. But when I finally got around to comparing it to the Henny VSOP...no comparison, IMO. Remy is Kenny Davis to Hennessy's Thurman. No I was sadly describing a 12 y.o. scotch. I was half-kidding in my description. If all I really tasted was gasoline and fire, I surely wouldn't be posting in a Bourbon/Scotch loving thread. But I sure as hell didn't taste the hints of cocoa and molasses that Mr. Murray seemed to instantly recognize.

A few years ago I bought Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2005 in a thrift bookstore. Apparently, this Murray guy is the Robert Parker of whiskeys...the preeminent expert. In this book, he rated hundreds of Whiskys, Scotches, etc. He rated them all on a 100 pt scale (4 categories/25 points each). Now, if you think waxing poetic about wine flavors is a bit much, you should see the way this man describes Scotch. Either he takes a bunch of acid before he samples, or he has an ungodly palate. I mean, he's throwing around flavors of fruitcake, almond, honey, marmalade, chocolate, berries, brown sugar, etc. I tried to compare my thoughts to his for one a bottle I had, but the best I could come up with was "choking burn mixed with smoke and gasoline." I guess I'm not there yet... But seriously, for people who enjoy scotches and whiskys, and either have a much more developed palate then me (or like to laugh at the descriptions like me), I recommend checking it out. His website Beyond my poking fun, it was very interesting (and impressive) to hear someone put such exhausting detail into countless hundreds of reviews. And if he didn't like it, he pulled no punches. I read one he rated like a 9/100...he said it was unbearable and the primary flavor was soap. Cheers!

Also, speaking of whiskey, has anyone ever tried this cool looking guy? I would always see it in the liquor stores next to the "proper" looking whiskeys and bourbons and smile. I finally bought one and tried it out. Refined, it ain't. But it's not bad. Pretty raw and the wide mouth makes for a initial eye-burning smell (AND very difficult to pour). But it's cool and I dig the mason jar presentation. Makes me want to build a still and start whippin up Black Bart's Badass Boondocks Bourbon...

Yeah I was quite the badass... This wasn't too long ago...8 years. I have no problem with people carding hard. I was a dumbass kid who was trying to get over. It just still stays with me to this day that the one person who took that ID to the ropes was a sweet looking, 50ish waitress and that it was about 8pm and I was with my parents. But you're probably right that they look for setups like that. I would like to go back there though. It's definitely a cool spot.

It's worthless speculation. It's in the "Rumors" section. Summary: - we wrote last week Carolina might pursue Carson Palmer - it is possible they might also take a top QB - Schefter says that Luck will go #1 to ANY team if he declares (including Carolina) - NFC South ESPN blogger says it's too soon to tell if Clausen is good or not. Groundbreaking...

Great, The Senator chimed in. Only a madder of thyme before we here about the grate exploits of Mark Leash.

If I recall, Buena Vista lays claim to popularizing the Irish Coffee in the US, yes? The only time I've ever been to SF was with my parents on a family trip when I was 19. My dad really wanted to check BV out to we stopped in for a drink. I had my slick fake ID AND I was with my parents, but the waitress there grilled me like I was a prisoner of war. THREE times she came back and tried to "trick" me: HER: "Wow you're already 23? You look young!" ME: "No ma'am, I'm only 21, the birthdate is in red." HER: "Ohhh...gosh I need to get glasses." And on and on it went. I eventually wore her down and she served me. Delicious. I used that fake from Delaware to Los Angeles and countless places in between. Never once even had so much as an eyelash batted at it by cops, liquour stores, bouncers or bartenders. But that savvy broad at Buena Vista almost got me. I'll have to make it back there one day. I think I owe her an Irish Coffee on me.

I gotta stay away from these threads. I feel sick now. Our stupid little cat is only 4 years old but now I'm already thinking about "one day" for her. My sympathies to you, Joe. It's crazy enough that I can get broken up over thinking about my pet that will hopefully live another 10+ years. Going through it in reality is the worst. I was 2 days from coming home from college when my first dog died. I can't imagine the crushing pain of being in the room when it happens, but it can't be worse than never getting to say goodbye like I didn't. Best wishes for whatever you decide to do, but I'll echo others that it sounds like you already know.

This is the reason. A lot of trademark protection stories can seem petty and overbearing at first glance. But unfortunately, it is a strong legal principle that you need to take affirmative steps to protect your mark. You don't have the luxury of being flexible when deciding who and who not to sue. Any evidence of cutting someone a break could be used by a legitimate infringer to defend their case. It's pretty rigid, but it's the rules of the game right now.

I know I covered Palin extensively in the other Palin thread, but I think if ever there was a perfect, perfect microcosm of the scenario you described above, it is what just happened in my state, Delaware. I mean seriously, you couldn't make up a more neatly mirrored situation if you tried. DE '10 US '12 Majority of registered voters Democrats X X Mainstream Republican candidate likely to win X X Democrat nominee considered very liberal X X Republican nominee viewed as under-qualified by majority X X Republican nominee looks and acts like Sarah Palin X X Delaware actually has a history of votes crossing party lines pretty regularly. What O'Donnell did (intentionally through her campaign strategy and unintentionally through her overall perception) was force people back to rank and file. It became an election of who is least electable. That is a battle Republicans could not win in Delaware. And I think it is one that Republicans will likely not win in the national election either. ESPECIALLY if they can't even get behind her as a unified front like they never did for O'Donnell.

Funny story...a few years back, right after they switched from 86 to 80 I suppose, I was skiing with some friends in New Hampshire and we stopped in a liquor store to pick up a handle of Jack for the weekend. So I bring it up to the counter and the guy just looks at me and shakes his head. I asked him if there was a problem (I figured he thought we were underage). He says: "You still want that after that sneaky sh** they just pulled on us??" I had no idea what he was talking about, but he was more than happy to oblige. He launched into this 5 minute rant about how the Jack Daniels brand didn't mean anything anymore and how they had just lowered the alcohol 3% under the cover of night hoping no one would notice. It was like listening to a Baltimore Colts fan talk about the midnight mayflower trucks. I've never seen someone take a change in booze so personally. Anyway, I agreed with him that it sucked and paid and quickly and left before he could maybe decide life wasn't worth living anymore and should take us with him. To your (and Dean's) point, I don't really know why I like it so much. I think, like many drinks and foods, it's probably more nostalgia than actual substance. It reminds me of high school parties and college tailgates. I like the smell the Jack and coke (or diet as I've too begun to prefer less sugary drinks) make when they combine. I'm sure I'll look back on this one day and wonder why I felt the need to sweeten up my booze. But everyone goes through those taste changes I think. Even my grandpa sitting there sipping his Dewars like I talked about in my first post asked me why the hell I was drinking hard liquor. I told him I wanted to be a pimp like him. He said "BLECHHH I didn't even touch that stuff until I was 40! Drink beer!"

Absolutely. I remember in high school, Jack Daniels was the thing everyone feared. When you are first starting to drink, whiskey is like drinking gasoline and JD was the flagship of the "Shots you hope no one suggests you do" club. Everything about it was badass...the square bottle, the all black label, the toxic fumes, the intense burn. But I think I have a fondness for it because of that. It felt like an accomplishment when I actually started to enjoy it. A nice stiff Jack and Coke is my standby bar order and is very hard to beat in my book.

I first started drinking bourbon when I was 19 when I'd play Gin against my grandpa. He'd be sitting there sipping his Dewars like a old baller so I'd pour a glass of Knob Creek and try to be cool too. I remember it tasting like fire and my bright idea of adding more and more ice only served to make the drink last forever! I enjoy: - Knob Creek - Woodford Reserve - Maker's - Russell's Reserve - Booker's -- similiar to the Stagg RK just mentioned. It is a cask-strength bourbon from the Jim Beam family. Ranges from 120-130 proof or so. I bought a bottle for my dad several years ago at Christmas and we occasionally brought it out from time to time. It'll put hair on your chest. My favorite though is Evan Williams Single Barrel. If you've never tried this one, I strongly suggest you check it out. I used to think Knob Creek was real smooth, but side-by-side, the EW crushes it...and I still love Knob Creek. Every time I go to the liquor store I end up standing in the bourbon/whiskey section for 10 minutes or so just looking at the different types I'd like to try. I feel like I did when I was a kid in Toys 'R Us or something. I've heard good things about Four Roses and Elijah Craig. Anyone have opinions on them?

Next up for Big East is probably Villanova. That gives them 10 teams for football, with the goal of getting to 12 soon I imagine. Of course, this also gives them 17 for basketball. Looks like someone might get cut in the next year... TCU is trying to get that Orange Bowl money. The Big East has shown for the past decade that a dominant team can pretty much run train straight to the BCS.