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negative recruiting
Unverified Voracity, Unfortunately Skin Tight
The beard of the wolf. Troy Woolfolk is inspired by Lloyd Carr:
Yea, and in the year two thousand and eleven the Michigan Wolverines perceived the New Orleans Bowl and said amongst themselves "shall we not take for ourselves what Troy's punter has shown to be good?"
The mouth of the horse. Ohio State fans have suddenly found that it's not nice when your opposition says mean things about you and takes your recruits. Or they've learned to complain about the former instead of the latter no matter the facts on the ground, anyway. Kyle Kalis:
"…[Hoke] has never said anything even remotely close to (negative) about Ohio State.
"People think that he does all of this negative recruiting, but he does no such thing. Any time my dad brought up anything about Ohio State, coach would actually stop him and say 'I'm not going to say anything about that situation. It's unfortunate and I hope they can get over this hump.' "
Kalis has been manipulated. Keep that in mind. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom!
It was tough to pass up Calvin peeing on John Hamm. Jerel Worthy is trolling us with his arm:
Or he's been trolled. Click for a bigger view of a Wolverine-type object wearing a Missouri helmet being stepped upon. QED: Jerel Worthy drives a truck with fake testicles.
I wonder how these percentages break down:
% of OSU themed tattoos that involve Michigan symbols being peed on/crushed/anally penetrated
% of MSU themed tattoos w/ same
% of ND themed tattoos w/ same
% of M themed tattoos w/ same broken out by rival.
Somebody should do a survey. I'm guessing ND is in last by a considerable margin and that 90% of all redneck-tastic Michigan tattoos focus on OSU.
Your lying eyes. I usually forward along all history-related questions to MVictors, as they are specialists. This edition of mailbag by proxy involves the colors on Michigan's uniform and is actually double-proxied since Greg pinged uniform maven Steve Sapardanis for a comprehensive answer:
Let's get this out of the way first: never, ever, ever go by the color you see of pics online, in mags/programs or even in photos – see these Harbaugh photos as reference:
These two pics are from the same game, maybe even the same play, maybe even the same photographer (probably not), but notice the difference in colors.
Everything you wanted to know about Michigan's maize and more at the link.
Understatement. Rod Beard sat down with the entire basketball coaching staff for an extensive interview. Here's John Beilein doing his best George Clooney:
Q: I know you can't talk about specific recruits — even ones who have verbally committed — but how do you feel about your recruiting efforts this summer?
Beilein: I'll just say we're getting very positive feedback.
Indeed. I'm not sure just how up to date Beard is on Michigan's recent efforts, though:
Q: Is it a philosophical choice to go after unrated recruits and help make them a better players?
Beilein: As you're building a program, there's a plan that you gradually go in that direction, but you have to get solid first. In the recruiting wars, if you go after only the top-50 guys and you aren't successful, the No. 51-150 guys are long gone when you turn back. It's better to set your sights and then build a program so you get guys who have a high ceiling and in time will develop. Tim Hardaway Jr. is a great example of a guy who barely makes the top 100 — but now, he's one of the top 10 in the country out of that class. We're never going to say that we don't want to recruit a top-50 guy. If he fits what we're looking for, we'll recruit him.
The last unrated guy to commit to Michigan was Max Bielfeldt; right now the 2012 and 2013 classes are all four-star sorts. Hit the link for Bacari Alexander praising Beilein's "ability to be human." Good job, lizard coach from the fifth dimension!
BONUS BIT: Michigan may have offered another 2012 big. Marshall Wood is unrated but is attracting high-major interest. He can get up, yo:
Certainly looks like a Beilein big what with the driving to the bucket from the perimeter. Usually Michigan won't offer-offer until you get to campus-campus, which Wood hasn't yet. Michigan probably gave him the nudge-nudge wink-wink about it and they reported it as an offer, but Mitch McGary is supposedly planning another visit to Ann Arbor on or around Labor Day.
So: Michigan is definitely trying to fill their 2012 spot.
Movement. Sense? It seems this edition of the periodic NCAA let's-fix-everything tribunals may actually create a significant change in the organization, at least as it pertains to basketball recruiting. "Consensus was reached on some aspects of a new recruiting model," those being:
- A start date for official visits beginning after the men's basketball championship in April of the junior year.
- Deregulating the type of communication between coaches and prospects (including text messaging and other forms of electronic communication).
- Allowing unlimited communication after Aug. 1 before the junior year in high school.
- Permitting evaluations at certified nonscholastic events on two weekends in April, with some restrictions.
- Permitting some contact at a prospect's educational institution in conjunction with an evaluation, with some restrictions and requirements.
Somewhere, Kelvin Sampson is weeping into a Western omelet.
Both Eamonn Brennan and The Bylaw Blog rush to heap praise on this hypothetical model where coaches and recruits can approach each other like people instead of anonymous partners in a secretive arranged marriage. Brennan:
The NCAA might not be ready to let coaches talk to recruits year-round. Nor is it ready to totally reconsider its system. But it is beginning to make some serious progress, and that progress continued with the Leadership Council Friday. Incremental though it might be, at least it's a step in the right direction, right?
John Infante:
So for the Leadership Council's top-to-bottom review of the men's basketball recruiting model to wrap up within a year is a small victory for Division I's governance structure. The results of that review are even more encouraging.
Infante also mentions a new provision for "on campus evaluations"—tryouts—as the most important change. Beneficiaries of this hypothetical new system:
The model, with the NABC's limited tryout rule, would greatly favor coaching staffs who can make good evaluations during the spring and summer before a prospect's junior year.
Sounds good if John Beilein's your coach, yes?
Meanwhile, 50 superfriends gather… The NCAA is also collecting its presidents together today and tomorrow to have one of those serious discussions that usually don't lead anywhere. Everyone Gregg Krupa tried to talk to said "NCAA? Never heard of it" except Mary Sue Coleman:
"This intertwining of intercollegiate athletics with universities in the United States is unique in the world, but we risk losing it if it is not done with transparency and integrity and if people believe it is not being done by the rules," said Coleman, who can not attend the retreat because of prior commitments. "I am very hopeful we'll stay on course with this, and the meeting in Indianapolis is an important part of that."
College football's scandal epidemic and rattling from the Big Ten and SEC about upping scholarship rewards, increasing academic standards, and maybe not booting kids to South Alabama after a season do provide a background in which Actual Reform is possible. The new, far less restrictive basketball recruiting model is an indication things might get done.
They'd be in these areas:
Establishing the success of athletes in the classroom as an expectation, rather than a goal. [Ed: A toothier APR?]
Protecting integrity by retaining amateurism, evaluating and improving the behavior of athletes and enhancing enforcement.
Strengthening the fiscal viability of sports by reducing disparities in revenues, spending and subsidies.
I'm not sure how the hell they propose to do anything about the third.
And now for no reason at all. Presenting Louisville's quarterbacks in their new uniforms:
At least Adidas didn't make us look like Taylor Twellman.
Etc.: This year's edition of "Les Miles doesn't count so good." Via Smart Football, treating your goal line package like special teams. The guy behind Mets Maize has figured out he never writes about the Mets. Up next: figuring out that white text on a dark background is so 1995. Houston Nutt's been busy with his copy of Word 97. HSR on the Stonum suspension. Pre-Snap Read previews Michigan.
Unverified Voracity Returns To Eeee
Prepare the little girl screams. Tom broke OH OL Kyle Kalis's upcoming Michigan visit, then Kalis decommitted from Ohio State, and now guys who work for OSU's 247 affiliate (specifically Dave Biddle) are writing off not only Kalis but still-committed OH RB Bri'onte Dunn:
Source: OSU has "no chance" at Dunn or Kalis
Wow. This coming from the family member of an OSU player. These guys aren't just decommitting, they have written off going to OSU. Remember, there are current and former OSU players who went to the same high school as Kalis and Dunn respectively. Word going around at both St. Eds and GlenOak are that the Buckeyes have "no chance" at landing either of them.
What a complete 180 for Kalis. I'm not surprised in the least about Dunn. When I interviewed him two months ago and he said he was "opening things back up" that told me he was basically decommitting. But Kalis was Mr. Buckeye talking about how much he loved OSU and that he was going to recruit like crazy to get other top prospects to join him in Columbus. He reminded me of Brewster and Justin Zwick in that respect.
"Wow" doesn't quite cover it unless it's the sort of wow that goes along with a fondness for hot dogs. Flipping Dunn and Kalis would see Michigan graduate from drinking MSU's milkshake to drinking OSU's. It's gotten so bad for the Buckeyes that the Spartans are drinking OSU's milkshake, nabbing Se'Von Pittman. If Aldophus Washington commits to Purdue next week put the entire state of Ohio on suicide watch.
What are Michigan's chances of flipping the decommit(-ish) duo? Well, Kalis's visit in particular seems to coincide with last weekend's OL visit madness—if he is going to jump ship he's got to do it quickly and it appears Michigan is pretty much his list outside of OSU, about whom see above. Dunn is wobblier since he hasn't actually committed yet and Penn State is a factor, but if the above is reliable Michigan would have to be the favorites.
Later Biddle says Brady Hoke is "negatively recruiting the hell out of OSU," which causes the requisite amount of swooning from the daintier folks in the thread. Specifically:
He's telling these guys that OSU will get hit harder than USC and they "shouldn't fall for the same (stuff) Lane Kiffen sold all those SC recruits."
Heavens to Betsy.
NFL not so much. The National Football Post has a really interesting, extensive piece in which Michigan's seniors are evaluated for NFL potential. No one other than Mike Martin rates highly, but some of that is because of Michigan's zone system. David Molk:
A shorter, compact lineman who looks nearly maxed out physically, despite weighing 288-pounds. Looks a little tight hipped trying to sit into his stance, but has a quick first step and snaps and steps very quickly. Creates leverage for himself consistently, extends his arms and can easily reach and seal on the plays off his frame. Displays a compact, sturdy punch and can stun defenders at the point. Looks really natural when asked to quickly reach block on runs to the perimeter, as he's coordinated getting his feet around and can seal the edge routinely. Displays natural range/balance getting into blocks at the second level as well. Breakdowns well showcases the ability to routinely seal on contact.
This is three years of UFR on Molk in one paragraph. Molk is praised as a "perfect fit" for Michigan's run-first spread offense but only a potential starter in a zone scheme. If he's big enough he could end up one of those guys who gets drafted in the seventh round and plays for a long time for a good team whilst remaining totally anonymous.
Whole piece is worth a read; it's really interesting to see a professional break down Michigan players after you've formed your own opinions of them. Nothing seems particularly off base.
Hybrid until you die. I've tried to make the case that the 4-3 under is halfway between a conventional 4-3 and 3-4. My basis for the assertion usually revolves around the idea the strongside defensive end and three-tech defensive tackle are more alike than the three-tech and the nose tackle or the SDE and the weakside end. Here's a bit more ammo for that POV from an interview on Touch The Banner with Matt Godin:
"We have the main position which I'm going to play, which is the 5-technique. I guess you'd consider it more D-tackle, but I'll also play outside...I'm only going to have one guy blocking me. It's more of an outside position, actually, but I'm going to be run stopping a lot, too."
The confusion in that statement is considerable, but when he says "outside" he probably means he's going to get a look at WDE. I'm guessing that look will be brief since he's already 270 and with Roh/Beyer/Black/Ojemudia/Brown hanging out at that spot he's probably not going to bring as much pass rush as the winner of that derby.
So when you're looking at the recruiting class you can roughly bin the three-tech DTs with the SDEs; many of those guys will flip from one to the other like Ryan Van Bergen and Brandon Graham before them. If Michigan's two committed SDEs, Godin and Tom Strobel, are really 6'6" each they're a bit taller than you'd like at the three tech, which should leave a spot open for a Danny O'Brien who's more of a fit there, but rumor has it that's not the case. Like everyone else on the internet I'd much rather have a DT than a fullback or a sixth OL, but the internet does not call the shots.
This institution is mad under control, yo. The 65-page Notice of Allegations lodged against UNC yesterday contains many, many allegations headlined by one of their assistant coaches acting as a runner for an NFL agent. It does not allege the dreaded lack of institutional control, which should have Trojan fans running to Los Angeles Torch & Pitchfork.
Stewart Mandel notes this and suggests Butch Davis could keep his job as a result:
Blake's nefarious role in all this (which includes his own unethical conduct charge for withholding information from investigators) is the biggest source of mystery as to how his boss, Davis, managed to avoid the NCAA's wrath. In a document outlining its Principles of Institutional Control, one of the acts the Committee cites as "likely to demonstrate lack of institutional control" is if "A head coach ... fails to monitor the activities of assistant coaches regarding compliance." But it then follows that up with: " ... the head coach cannot be charged with the secretive activities of an assistant bent on violating NCAA rules." Apparently the school did a bang-up job portraying Blake as just such a character, absolving Davis and the school for failing to uncover his secret employer.
Because of that, North Carolina may have staved off the most severe imaginable penalties, but you have to imagine they're still going to be pretty rough. Maybe it's a one-year postseason ban instead of two. Maybe it's 10 docked scholarships instead of 20. Either way, three years' worth of wins are about to be vacated.
The biggest question: Will Davis keep his job? That one will be entirely up to the school.
I'm baffled. I'm not sure how you can possibly suggest anything was under control at UNC. I'm also in favor of removing that bit on not charging the head coach for secretive activities of his assistants. Here the canard about how you can't follow 100 college-age kids around is even more ridiculous: Butch Davis has nine assistant coaches. He should be expected to know whether one of them is working for Gary Wichard.
Mandel's just speculating when he says the UNC case will cause a smaller ripple than those of OSU and USC. I think he's likely to be wrong about OSU if only because we've already got a meaty notice of allegations in the UNC case and until that document hits for OSU we've got no idea what the NCAA will decide is impermissible in Columbus. But if he's right it's going to be a blow to this whole We're Serious Now, You Guys, Seriously campaign Mark Emmert is running. The document the NCAA produced on UNC should be enough for a firebombing.
Meanwhile, Oregon has managed to dig up some more stuff they got from Will Lyles: four spreadsheets with erratically reliable information about 2012 and 2013 recruits sent in February and March of this year, more than ten months after Oregon wrote him a check. The NCAA can't possibly buy what Oregon's selling, can they?
The next year is when the NCAA decides whether implausible deniability is a proper defense. Here's hoping the answer is
Reverse Righthaven. Rivals' Tom Dienhart sat down with Rich Rodriguez for an interview. It's the same boilerplate you'd find in any interview with a guy who'd like a head coaching job in the near future save for this small bit on Pryor:
Are you surprised by what is going on at Ohio State?
"I know some of it because we were close to the situation when I was at Michigan and part of the rivalry, the recruitment of Terrelle Pryor and all of that."
Ok, then.
It's about 1500 words. The Detroit News took 750 of them as an "excerpt" for an article in the paper without so much as linking the original piece or writing anything around it. The News just up and took half of a published article and republished it. The only explanation is there's some sort of content sharing agreement, but since Scout's Sam Webb writes for the news and Rivals' Josh Helmholdt for the Free Press, that doesn't seem likely. The News is so internet hood, yo.
The best part is that when I C&Ped the News article into Live Writer to get a word count it automatically inserted a "read more" link to the News. False.
Request. MVictors has a request, and a reward:
I summarized my take on the mascot situation in one tweet: The Michigan mascot in my head wears fierce armor made from pieces of the stadium halo, and the '93 Final Four banner as a cape.
Make that happen and I'll sign on. Someone sketch that out for me and I owe you a beer.
Etc.: Via Michigan Hockey Net, OSU hockey's schedule release says Michigan will visit Columbus for a series. Presumably this means the outdoor game is off.
Lonnie White got paid at USC back in the 80s. Also, The Daily (not that Daily) figured out this ASCII thing.
Grantland commissions Brian Phillips to write on Roger Federer, a great example of the site picking the cream of blogging-type people and not just the Klostermans of the world. Only problem is the obvious one when writing a footnote-laced article about Federer: you have giant posthumous looming competition.
Um. This happened. Why does Eastern have a football team again?
Unverified Voracity Mimics Dhani
Kellen Jones M bowtie FTW.
Improving the not LOI. Compliance people complain to each other on twitter about people who abbreviate the "National Letter of Intent" as "LOI" instead of "NLI." Apparently there are other LOIs. You have been warned.
In any case they should be heavily reformed. Right now they're one-way binds with silly timing that have created a cottage industry of kids who attempt to reserve their spot by being "committed, but open." Paul Johnson's opinion of this is similar to Artur Boruc's about corn:
What I'd like to see happen, but I'm probably by myself: if you have 85 scholarships, and you can sign 25 a year or however many you have. When they commit, they sign the papers and you stop. It would stop all the verbal commitments and all the hats. The guys who weren't ready wouldn't commit. You'd call their bluff. They couldn't make their reservation. We'll talk to kids all the time, juniors right now, who are committing. We'll say 'Are you sure you want to do that?'
"Oh coach, I'm open."
[HT: Get The Picture.]
I'm not really sure what the argument against early signing is. The way it's set up now everyone scrambles to get their class locked in on Signing Day, so someone like FL WR AJ King who has his scholarship pulled by Purdue is in a tough spot in his attempt to find a landing place. If he was signed, he'd be signed and hijinks both ways would be seriously reduced.
The Bylaw Blog has a few other suggestions, one of which I've made in this space before: the NCAA should implement a "no contact" agreement. That piece of paper would be non-binding but would allow the school specified by the player to contact the kid without restriction… and make it a violation for anyone else to. Official visits would also be off the table. That's a verbal commitment that actually exists and would help coaches figure out who's serious and who's just making a backup plan.
Heart-hurting. Remember that video of the Detroit Renaissance coach declaring Michigan's treatment of former Ren players "hurt his heart," thus explaining why Michigan couldn't get anyone out of there no matter what? Raise your hand if you're surprised that Ren's Lawrence Thomas recited the entire negative recruiting playbook:
"Why not Michigan? They had problems. There were some past experiences with other Renaissance players that I didn't like. Plus, Rich Rodriguez sent an assistant to our school to recruit me. He wouldn't even send the defensive coordinator, just an assistant. Then we'd hear that Rich Rod would be in Florida recruiting."
The Renaissance players were Andre Criswell, a last-second addition at FB who never saw the field and was kept on as a GA after leaving the team before his fifth year, and Carson Butler, the insane tight end who finally ran out of chances towards the end of Rodriguez's first year. Butler was treated so badly he stuck up for Rodriguez during the jihad. Michigan did as well by those kids as they could given the latter's hatred of nerds, be they in the wrong dorm room or playing for Notre Dame.
So… this was not a situation likely to produce a commitment even if Rodriguez showed up with every assistant he had, and one that would likely have continued under Hoke. Similarly, when Taiwan Jones complains about a lack of attention from Michigan during his visit to the UConn game he's complaining as a guy who had been a MSU commit for months already and who Michigan never even considered offering.
This continues the theme from these Blue Chip articles in the News since the beginning of time: Michigan commits asked about State say something short, polite and vague, State commits asked about Michigan rant about a lack of respect, and the guys towards the bottom of the list submit a tear-stained questionnaire because neither school thought they were good enough. This will happen next year, and the year after, and so on and so forth.
Adventures in re-evaluating wins. So… how about not losing to Iowa by twenty points? Yeah, got a whole new sheen on it today, that does.
I mention it by way of inserting this "Fran-graph" from BHGP:
Michigan's at the top and you can see the extreme focus on the rim or the three point line in Michigan's field goals. BHGP's Horace E Cow explains:
In men's basketball in the NCAA this year, players have made 34.5% of threes and 48.2% of twos. The average value, then, of a three-point attempt is 3*.345 = 1.04, and the average of a two is 2*.482 = .964. This fact has led many college (and pro) coaches to the reasonable conclusion that three-point shots are better bets than two-point shots, and that their teams should take as many threes as possible (Todd Lickliter was one of these coaches, actually).
Not all twos are worth less than threes, though: shots at the rim are usually made at a very high percentage (60-70%) and thus the average dunk or lay-up is worth 1.2-1.4 points, much more than the average three. Putting these two facts together (threes are better than most twos, but dunks are better than threes), coaches have developed what could be called a "hollowing-out" strategy on offense: threes and dunks are encouraged, anything in between in discouraged.
My first experience with this line of thinking was watching some Kentucky game back in the day when Pitino was coaching them and hearing the announcer go on about how Pitino loathed shots just inside the arc. Beilein's system is the logical extension of that thinking. Michigan's makes against Iowa: 14 threes, nine layups/dunks, and ten anything else.
If you can get it to work it's great, and it's not a strategy that seems to have a ceiling. One of this year's other proponents of the dunk-or-deep strategy is #1 and current opponent Ohio State. Because they have Jared Sullinger they aren't launching as many threes but both their 2PT% and 3PT% are off the charts—they're in the top ten in both nationally. They've got four guys who take a large volume of two-point shots, and two of them are shooting a Jordan-Morgan-like 59%. Ohio State's distribution isn't quite as extreme but it's essentially the same thing.
The slight difference between the programs is the ability to recruit Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas every damn year.
BONUS: Do you like slow? You'll love tonight's basketball game.
180 update. Media 180, Signing Day edition:
- Brady Hoke's first recruiting class looks like unqualified success
- Brady Hoke earns first win as U-M head coach — in recruiting
- Brady Hoke's first recruiting class adds toughness to Michigan football team
And I'm not even looking at the Free Press, which remains dead to me. I can only imagine the tiny drawings of angels.
I like the one that says there's more toughness now. That's definitely true. Being not tough was the problem, not the secondary being old enough to drive only if they all stood on each other's shoulders in a huge trenchcoat. Also that's the same guy who wrote about the "impossible expectations" driving Tate Forcier away. Pete Bigelow needs to make up his mind about toughness.
[Disclaimer section: Hoke did an okay job, but nothing that should push opinions either way. Not going into the year down eight kids is good. Losing Willingham to Central Florida(!?!?) is pretty wack, but being in a position to say that's wack is impressive since Michigan was nowhere with that kid before Mattison showed up. Losing Jake Fisher makes the tackle depth chart terrifying. I also don't understand telling Rivals 250 receiver Devin Lucien, a guy who was seriously looking at Stanford and silently committed to Rodriguez during The Process because he liked Michigan's academics, "defense or GTFO." Even if you don't want Hakeem Flowers, Michigan had room for another five players and has no receivers in this class.
Meanwhile, most of the guys picked up were of the low-hanging fruit variety: guys who were committed to Indiana or Minnesota or Vandy and didn't have a ton of other confirmed Big Ten options (Heitzman, Carter, Taylor, Bellomy) or guys who had been openly coveting Michigan offers (Poole, Rawls, Taylor again) but didn't get them until later. TX TE Chris Barnett is the exception.
This class is a wait-and-see sort of thing. We won't know if these late pickups were players RR and other Big Ten schools misevaluated or warm bodies for a while, and we won't know about Hoke's recruiting prowess until the 2012 commits start rolling in and he's competing against Ohio State. Not that Rodriguez won many battles against OSU.
On the other hand, a quarter of the class won't fail to show up or wash out by the end of spring like the last RR class so that's cool. Snatching Frank Clark away from MSU despite his existence in close proximity to Ted Ginn is promising. Also: kicker. Hoke uber alles.]
Etc.: Thomas Rawls may be a member of the Jackson family. The awkward Hoke-Rodriguez video. Going back to the 4-3. Michigan finishes 21st in the Rivals rankings. Hoke's got 8 years before the deck stacks against him significantly. Don't play the Hoke "toughness" drinking game. Nutt greyshirt hijinks.


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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; http://xpertsports.com/teamreports.php4?id=276 Team Overview: New Orleans Saints by Bob Stepaniak Add a Comment to this Article | Read Comments Even with some of the best talent in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints haven't made the playoffs since the 2000 season. ...
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XpertSports Team report
Team Overview: New Orleans Saints
by Bob Stepaniak
Add a Comment to this Article | Read Comments
Even with some of the best talent in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints haven't made the playoffs since the 2000 season. Since then, head coach Jim Haslet has failed to lead the team to a winning record. He will enter 2005 on the hot seat, just as he has the previous two years, and a playoff appearance may be the only thing that would keep him around to see the 2006 season.
Many people forget that the Saints won their final four games last season to finish 8-8, and only missed out on the playoffs due to a tiebreaker. The most noticeable change during that stretch was how the Saints finally figured out how to use RB Deuce McAllister effectively to help them win football games. A new commitment to the running game is coming, along with a new offensive coordinator in Mike Sheppard. This offense has been filled with underachievers the past couple seasons. More consistent play from the quarterback and receivers are a must in 2005.
But, as good as the Saints' offense was, the team will go nowhere if the defense doesn't improve from dead last in the league. They failed to address this problem in free agency or in last spring's draft. The free agents they did add are not the play makers they are in dire need of.. Thus, if the current personnel doesn't show dramatic improvement, the Saints could find themselves falling short once more.
While having outstanding weapons around him and unique physical tools, Aaron Brooks needs to reduce his terrible decision making if he wants to be considered one the league's standout quarterbacks. This will be the fifth year Brooks has been running the show in New Orleans, but many are growing tired of his tendency to cost the team games. Brooks has, however, proven to be durable. Not missing a start the past four seasons, Brooks can at least be counted on to stay healthy throughout the year.
Brooks was drafted as an early-round starter in most fantasy leagues last year, but frustrated owners with his inability to consistently have big fantasy games. Brooks only had four games in which he passed for two or more touchdowns, but he did manage 12 games where he passed for 200 or more yards. Rushing for four touchdowns last season, Brooks also showed he could occasionally earn some points on the ground as well as through the air.
In each of the previous four seasons, Brooks has managed to throw for at least 3,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. Although these totals make him one of the more consistent QBs over this stretch, his 2004 total of just 21 touchdowns was a four-year low. He has also been ranked in the top eight among fantasy quarterbacks the last three years. One concern, though, is the 38 fumbles and 39 interceptions he has had the past three seasons. If your league deducts points for turnovers, take that into consideration when reviewing your cheat sheet on draft day.
Being the backup in New Orleans has been an easy job for Todd Bouman the past few seasons. He didn't make an appearance in any games last year, and has only seen the field five times during the prior three seasons. Bouman possesses a very strong arm, and will be called upon should Brooks suffer an injury.
In the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, the Saints chose the athletic QB from Florida State, Adrian McPherson. He played just one season with the Seminoles before getting caught up in a gambling scandal. He then headed off to the Arena League, where he became one its best quarterbacks. The thought is that eventually McPherson could end up the successor to Brooks, but that would be years down the road. If McPherson matures quite a bit this season, he could take over the backup role as early as next year.
Fantasy Twist
The Saints will be handing the starting job over to Aaron Brooks again this season, but the team is growing tired of all the bad mistakes. Nevertheless, there is really no threat of any of the other quarterbacks earning any kind of real playing time, so Brooks is a lock to be the starter the entire year. Although he has the starting job, the drafting of Adrian McPherson is an indicator that the Saints may be looking to replace the inconsistent Brooks in a year or two.
All in all, you just have to take the good with the bad when drafting Aaron Brooks. He will have big games with all those talented weapons around him. But he has proven in the past, he just can't consistently put up good stats week in and week out. All though it is a stretch to trust him as a full time starter, getting him as a quality back up is great fantasy value. He would be a great bye week fill-in player, and could be a nice spot starter in favorable match ups. Early summer drafts have Brooks coming off the board as the eleventh quarterback chosen, which makes him a seventh round pick. This still seems a bit early, if you can get him in the ninth or tenth round it would be an ideal time to grab him.
Even with all the mistakes Aaron Brooks has made, the Saints still don't feel that Todd Bouman is any thing more than a second stringer in this league. Bouman has been a career back up in Minnesota and New Orleans, but has played well in his few opportunities. Although not the most accurate of passers, he does possess a strong arm. If Brooks were to go down with an injury, Bouman would be a great fill in. The Saints have some very speedy receivers, and he would take advantage of that with several shots downfield. With that said, he has no fantasy value until an injury is occurred, and will go undrafted in all leagues.
McPherson will most likely just get his feet wet this year and remain the third-string quarterback. He may try to challenge Bouman as the backup, but he won't be winning that job over until next year. It is obvious the Saints have some interest in making him the starter in a few years, which makes McPherson an outstanding pick in dynasty leagues. His value this year will be zero, but holding on to a possible starter in an offense filled with young talent is something that could pay off big in a couple of seasons.
Running Backs
One of the biggest first round busts last year was Deuce McAllister. An early season ankle injury caused McAllister to miss two games, and slowed him for about a month. The ankle was fully healed by the end of last year, though, and is no threat to bother him again this season. In 2004, he was widely drafted as a top-five pick, but just did not produce enough to be worthy of such a high selection. Although it was too late for most owners that drafted him, McAllister ended the season with a tear. In the final four games, he had 440 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints won these four games, so this production could be a sign of things to come.
Even with the amazing drop off in yards from his previous two seasons, he still managed to have a nine-touchdown year. His weekly yardage totals were very inconsistent, having five 100 yard rushing games, mixed in with six games in which he failed to reach the 65 ard mark. Don't forget his receiving abilities, though. Averaging 365 yards the past three seasons makes him a threat to consistently score points through the air.
Brought in via free agency from Tennessee was veteran Antowain Smith. New Orleans signed Smith to a one-year deal, giving them a reliable back up should McAllister miss any time again this season. Smith had a productive year as the backup in Tennessee a year ago. He filled in for Chris Brown, who was always fighting injuries. Appearing in 13 games, he managed 670 total yards and four scores. Smith also rushed for 85 yards or more in three games.
Also making a splash on the New Orleans depth chart is a sixth year RB out of Western Illinois, Aaron Stecker. Stecker was in Tampa Bay for four years until he signed with the Saints prior to the 2004 season. When McAllister was out with the ankle injury, Stecker stepped in and did a nice job. As the year went on, however, he didn't see much time except for third down situations.
Fantasy Twist
McAllister is one of the most talented running backs in the league: now the Saints need to learn how to use that talent to their advantage. New offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard wants to go into this season with more of an emphasis on running the football. Doing this will put McAllister back in the elite class runners in the NFL. With the rushing productivity of the Saints at an all time high at the end of 2004, they managed to win their final four games. This seems to be the winning formula they will try to use in the 2005 season.
With this new offensive scheme in place, McAllister should be valued as a top five pick in this year's draft. His miserable performance in 2004 will not sit well with a handful of owners, however, possibly making him a draft day steal. He has slipped down to the early teens in some leagues this summer, so jump on him with any picks after the top five. He will not only be the feature back in New Orleans, but he will also handle the red zone duties and is a double threat with his ability to catch the ball.
With everything looking up for McAllister in 2005, count on 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns. Add another 300 yards and three touchdowns through the air, making McAllister an elite franchise fantasy back for any team lucky enough to draft him.
The Saints will have an open competition for the backup duties this season. Smith is the early favorite to win the job, as he has the most experience in a talented backfield. New Orleans liked how he handled his role last season in Tennessee, and will expect him to be a reliable source should the need arise. The Saints will also give Stecker a shot as a back up in training camp. It is possible for him to win the job, but he will need to clearly out perform Smith this summer. If there does become one clear standout for the backup job, that player would be worth a handcuff to McAllister in the draft, but let the battle play out before taking a chance on either one.
Wide Receivers
Another position where the underachieving Saints have a lot of talent is at wide receiver. Joe Horn is coming off an outstanding year, in which he set career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. The great all-around receiver has been the Saints' number one aerial target since coming from the Chiefs as a free agent in 2000. He is one of the most consistent fantasy receivers of the previous five seasons, and has averaged an amazing 87 receptions, 1258 yards, and nine touchdowns over that stretch. Last season, Horn had career highs with 94 receptions, 1399 yards, and 11 touchdowns. But his consistent game-to-game stats are what make Horn so valuable. He had at least 12 games with five or more receptions. Adding to that were five 100-yard games and 11 games with at least 75 yards, making Horn an easy weekly fantasy starter.
As a rookie in 2002, Donte' Stallworth had a great year with 594 yards and eight touchdowns. Since then, he has faced big expectations that he hasn't delivered upon. In 2003, leg and ankle injuries limited him to just 11 games and a career low 25 receptions. Stallworth was looking for a bounce back last season, and many fantasy owners drafted him as if he would. He did manage to avoid any injuries, and appeared in all 16 games. The stats he produced, though, were again below expectations for the value he was given in the summer drafts. His best was a six game stretch in which he caught 27 passes for 421 yards and four touchdowns. If he could manage those numbers over a full season, Stallworth would exceed expectations and become a great secondary receiver for fantasy owners, but this is by no means certain.
The biggest offseason move that will affect this offense will be the addition of free agent speedster Az-Zahir Hakim. Signed to a one-year deal, he instantly becomes the third receiver for New Orleans. The other options the Saints have are young and unproven, but Hakim will have to play well to avoid giving the youngsters a chance to steal the third spot from him. In St. Louis, Hakim won a Super Bowl with the offense commonly referred to as, "The Greatest Show on Turf." But he was a big disappointment in Detroit, after they offered him a big contract to leave the Rams and become a top receiver in the Lions' system. Working alongside Horn, instead of being looked at as the number one or two receiving option, may help his numbers..
Behind these three on the depth chart are a bundle of young question marks that can't be counted on as yet. Nagging injuries and lack of playing time equaled a horrible rookie campaign for the Saints' second round pick last season, Devery Henderson. He also failed to catch a pass in his first year. New Orleans is looking for Talman Gardner to make a push him for playing time as well this season. Gardner is a physical wide receiver who has not yet produced at all. With only 52 career receiving yards, Gardner has to have an impressive training camp to get extensive playing time.
With their fourth round selection, the Saints chose the injury prone Chase Lyman. He is a big, strong, physical receiver that has already had gone through six surgical procedures. His injuries have included hip, hamstring, ankle, groin, and appendicitis. Lyman asked the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility, but was rejected and joined the 2005 draft.
Michael Lewis is going to add depth, but will not get on the field as a receiver unless the youngsters really fall on their face. All of is value comes from kick and punt returns.
Fantasy Twist
This season Horn will again be Brooks' number one man, but improving on last year giant totals may not be possible. With Sheppard's emphasis on running the football, Horn's numbers may dip a bit from last year's totals. Even if his numbers dip, though, Horn's fantasy value is a top seven WR, and he would be a great #1 receiver to get in the second or third round of your draft. Many early owners have been selecting Javon Walker and Andre Johnson over the proven Horn: don't make this mistake. Although, those guys would be outstanding picks in dynasty leagues, Horn is still more valuable this season. Producing another 1,300 yard and nine touchdown season will not be a problem. His average draft position has been in the tail end of the third round, which is a steal for such a proven and reliable player.
This year Stallworth could be the biggest "high risk, high reward" player in the draft. Fantasy owners have grown tired of his underachieving the past two seasons, but he did show signs of turning it all around at the end of 2004. The problem with trying to draft Stallworth is many owners will consider him a "sleeper" pick again this year. This will cause him to go much higher than he should, and he will go higher than other receivers with better draft value. Don't reach for him, unless you can afford to keep him on the bench as a number four receiver. A realistic projection for this year would be 900 yards and eight touchdowns.
As for the value of the newest Saint, Hakim, there is not much to get excited about. He is still just a track star in shoulder pads, and won't make any noise in the fantasy world this year. Even if he does lock down the number three spot, it will be tough to see him getting more than just a couple throws coming his way per game. With special teams star Lewis still handling return duties, Hakim doesn't have any value as a return man either. Just stay away from him all together.
Henderson needs just one catch this year to have a better statistical season than he did last year. He will be healthy going into training camp, and looks to challenge Hakim for the number three spot. But, like Hakim, he should not get any looks as a fantasy player.
The other receivers that the Saints are looking at have no fantasy value. Gardner and Lyman are two very raw and unproven talents that won't see the field this year and should be left undrafted in all leagues.
Tight Ends
With a solid ending to the 2003 season, Boo Williams set many fantasy owners up for another Saints flop in 2004. He was horrible last season with only 362 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, he had only one game with over 45 yards receiving, and failed to score in the second half of the season. By the end of the year, Williams had dropped off almost every fantasy roster.
The other tight ends the Saints will be inviting to training camp didn't exactly light it up either. Ernie Conwell only had 10 catches for 102 yards, and just one score. Newly acquired free agent Shad Meier comes over from the Tennessee Titans. He had career highs with 25 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in 2004.
Fantasy Twist
The Saints were looking to trade Williams in the off-season, but didn't find much of a market for the tight end. Williams might find himself all the way down to the third string this season. His value has dropped to the point where he is not draftable for any type of league.
The battle for the starting spot looks to be between Conwell and Meier in training camp. Either way, the position will have little value, and neither should get any looks on draft day as well.
Offensive Line
Trading up to the 13th spot in this year's draft, the Saints acquired the rights to Jammal Brown, the athletic RT from Oklahoma. He was an All-American in 2003, and will become an immediate starter. In his previous two seasons at Oklahoma, Brown only allowed one sack. New Orleans is banking on him to give Brooks good protection from the right side while still being a productive run blocker.
Another addition for the line this season will be Jermane Mayberry. Starting 12 games for the Philadelphia Eagles last season, he will become the starter for the Saints at right guard. He has been a primary starter with the Eagles since 1997, but has missed 15 games over the past two years due to injuries.
Back at center again this year will be three-year starter LeCharles Bentley. He started all 16 games for the Saints in 2004, and gives them a solid blocker in the middle of the line. Kendyl Jacox has been a key contributor to this line since he came over from the Chargers in 2002. He will enter the year starting at the left guard position, but he also has the ability to play center should the need arise. This flexibility gives the Saints some real depth on the line when injuries come up during the season. Wayne Gandy is a 12-year vet who has only missed one game since 1995. The ever reliable Gandy has the left tackle position wrapped up and will again provide the Saints 16 games of quiet leadership from the left side of the line.
Fantasy Twist
The fantasy outlook for this line is very good in 2005. With the additions of first round pick Brown and veteran free agent Mayberry, the Saints have the best line they have had in years. The question mark of Mayberry's ability to stay healthy, though, could be something they have to deal with all season long.
With the new commitment to the run, the line could be responsible for a 1500-yard rusher in McAllister. If the team is this successful with the run, the team may not throw the ball as much, thus cutting down the number of sacks they will allow. The upside to this line is enormous, but they must prove they can run the ball effectively early in the year to avoid another pass-happy season.
If you are looking to draft this offensive line, you will be happy with the results. New Orleans should be able to turn into an effective running team, and will have one of the better offenses in league. Don't be afraid to go and get these guys right away.
Team Defense
As underachieving as the offense has been, the defense was the worst part of the Saints' 2004 season. They are a mess at linebacker, and need improved play in the secondary. Ranking 30th against the pass and 27th against the run in 2004 made this defense dead last overall in the NFL. They were also in the bottom half of the league with just 13 interceptions and only 37 sacks. Even worse, the defense allowed 25.3 points per game in 2004. Furthermore, the additions made this past offseason will not overturn these numbers. But in spite of the terrible stats, they did have a couple positive things happen on the defensive side of the ball. They caused 23 forced fumbles, which was good enough for second in the league. They also tied for ninth with 33 turnovers all together.
Fantasy Twist
This defense needs to take some steps at getting better as a unit this season. A full season from Mike McKenzie will help, not to mention the free agent signing of safety Dwight Smith from Tampa Bay. On the defensive line, the Saints will be all over opposing teams QB's with some great young talent. Darren Howard, Charles Grant and Will Smith may emerge as one of the best defensive end trios in the league.
The real problem of this defense is the linebackers. Up and down, the list is a mix of young and old players who won't be stamping a ticket to Honolulu any time soon. This is the main reason the Saints' defense will not make a huge improvement over last year's product. The only way you should draft this horrible defense is if your league combines the special teams with the defensive unit. The kickoff and punt return could produce up to three touchdowns by itself. Otherwise, the defense won't produce many touchdowns, and will give up large yardage and scoring totals all season long. Even with the nice turnover total from a year ago, there are many better options to look at on draft day.
Kicker and Special Teams Unit
Saints' kicker John Carney had 104 points last season, which ranked him 15th among kickers. Carney excelled at being accurate from long range, however, going five of six from 40-49, and kicking two of three from over 50 yards. The 16-year vet will be entering his fifth year in a Saints' uniform. He has been a very accurate kicker in his long career, with an 81.5% career average.
Michael Lewis was again counted on for most of the return duties last season. The fifth-year return specialist is still considered one of the league's premiere return men. Lewis is very valuable in leagues that award points for return yardage. In 2003, he set an NFL record with 2,432 combined return yards on kickoff and punt returns. He occasionally will get in at receiver, but don't count on any points coming from him when the Saints' offense is on the field.
In the past five seasons, Lewis has produced four special team touchdowns. He was 12th in kickoff returns and 4th in punt returns last season, while also returning one kickoff for a touchdown. Back up running back Stecker also showed he has some special teams skill, by returning a kickoff back for a touchdown. Overall, the Saints rank in the top-10 in both kick and punt return yardage.
Fantasy Twist
With such a strong offense this season, Carney should have plenty of opportunities to score. He will be the only kicker the Saints will be looking at in training camp, so there is no threat of anyone else winning the job before the regular season begins. With a new offense in place, you can expect the kicker to get 110 points this season, which would place him just outside the top ten. This will make him draftable in some leagues and not in others. If you are drafting two kickers, Carney would be a great kicker to have as a backup, maybe starting him when the Saints play teams with bad defenses.
Saints' special teams will again be among the best in the league with return specialist Lewis handling the all the return duties. Another thing that makes the return game so strong is the depth they can go with after Lewis. Stecker and Hakim both have proven they can be strong return men, and will produce well if they are asked to take a few returns. If you are drafting your special teams unit separate from a team defense, consider the Saints a top-five return team. On the other hand, if your league combines defense with the special teams, then the Saints' stock drops like a rock. The defense will not produce points, and is among the league worst. In this situation, stay away from the Saints.
Individual Defensive Players
Up front, the Saints have two defensive ends that would not only be great for drafting this season, but in dynasty leagues as well. While starting every game the past two seasons, Charles Grant has accumulated 20.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and 135 tackles. This makes him one of the best defensive linemen in fantasy football, and he should be taken as a top-five lineman on draft day. On the other side, Will Smith had a great rookie season while splitting time. He managed 40 tackles and 7.5 sacks, but may not start because of the depth at the spot. Failing to grasp a starting spot, makes him a middle-to-late round pick. He will still be one of the best young prospects for dynasty leagues. Outside the two youngsters, Darren Howard is the third defensive end that makes this group complete. He led the team in sacks with 11, and will begin the season as a starter along with Grant. There have been trade rumors surrounding Howard all offseason with the Cowboys. If he stays in New Orleans, he will be splitting time with Smith and would be worth a middle-to-late round pick. If dealt to Dallas, or another team, his value would go up to the early rounds because he would then be a full-time starter. This trade would also boost Smith's value to an early round pick, so keep an eye on this situation.
Inside at the defensive tackle spots, Howard Green and Brian Young are going to be the starters. Their fantasy value is low even in leagues where you must draft defensive tackles.
As far as the linebacking group, there is little talent and not much fantasy value anywhere. Courtney Watson was a second round draft choice in 2004, and will start in the middle. He is still unproven, and shows no indication of become anything more than just another average middle linebacker. On the outside it gets even worse: Penciled in as starters will be James Allen and Derrick Rodgers, neither have any value and should be left off every draft board. Also fighting for playing time on the outside will be Colby Bockwoldt, but expect nothing from him either. Finally, Alfred Fincher was the Saints' third round pick in 2005, but will not play much defense. He will make a living on special teams, and wouldn't be a safe pick for dynasty league either.
This past offseason the Saints said goodbye to the man that led them in tackles in 2004, Tebucky Jones. He was a great tackler, but the Saints grew tired of his blown coverages. To replace Jones, the Saints brought in the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Dwight Smith. Smith has had some off-field issues, but is now the best fantasy prospect in this secondary. He was outstanding last season with 83 tackles and 3 interceptions, and those stats should improve considering the horrible linebackers in front of him. Starting along side Smith will be 12-year vet Jay Bellamy. His productivity hasn't slipped a bit, averaging 91 tackles the last four seasons. He will be a good backup to get on draft day.
Mike McKenzie came to New Orleans mid-season after a long hold out in Green Bay. By season's end, he finally caught stride and look liked the cover corner of two years ago. With a full training camp and season upcoming, look for him to play the way he finished last season. He should be drafted as a starter in most leagues. The corner on the other side will be Fahkir Brown, but he will not be worth anything, so look at other options. Second round pick Josh Bullocks will back up the two safety positions. He set Big 12 records his junior season with 10 interceptions and 154 return yards. So this Jim Thorpe Award runner-up should get a look in dynasty leagues.
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 6,941
Nice article. I think I will take Brooks as my back-up in the 9th or 10th round.
But seriously, good read. One error I did see was them saying Haslett has not posted a winning record since the year we won the playoff game, which isn't true. We were 9-7 the following year.
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|2004-04-19, 15:10
|Link #101
Lord Chairman God King
What the F***? (2nd and 3rd dumbest things)
Read this and see why I'm pissed off at Anime Jump the Shark... er, Jump. Yes... "Anime Jump".
My, this reviewer just pissed me off completely with monotonus bashing and cheap-shots. Then he goes on ranting about nothing. It was slapped together in 10 minutes (if that much), pointless comments and all. (One of my top 3 most riduculus crap I've ever heard in the newspaper or on the internet.) Third place for stupid things. (Internet)
Most pointless AzuDai thread in all of existance.
How can you spend 5 and more pages mocking the box!? How?! Someone explain this to me please! Because they found a way somehow.
Second place. (Internet)
|2004-04-19, 17:26
|Link #104
Don't use animesuki now..
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: London, UK
Age: 28
|2004-04-19, 17:39
|Link #106
the Iniquitous
sladex: LOL! that site is funny and creepy at the same time, my favorite, the guy who was stealing gas and connect the tube to the sewerage pipe the most disturbing the "scrotum self repair" (if you are to sensitive you better should not read it, and of course you gravitation are not allowed to read that because you are underage :P .... is really disturbing but funny at the same time...)
|2004-04-20, 23:46
|Link #107
Tekkaman Blade!
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bakersfield, CA, USA,
Age: 30
I recently told the fact about blue whale semen to my friends. After I grossed them out with that, I added the finishing touch by asking them why sea water is so salty...
It got really bad when a friend of mine described to us an image of being chased by oversized whale sperm. I mean, just imagine frolicking in the water at the beach, and you see these tadpole-looking things heading straight for you...
|2004-04-21, 16:13
|Link #111
Lord Chairman God King
|2004-04-21, 19:19
|Link #112
A few month ago why i was on my way home from school with train some strange man sat in front of me. After the train started to move he suspiciously looked at every direction then looked deep in my eyes ( scared the sh*t outta me ) and started talking "they are after me!" "The goverment!" "I know things that i shouldn't know ... they are trying to put me in a madhouse" "they have already put me there twice, but i have escaped".
Then on the next stop some ticket checker guys entered the wagon and he started to scream and ran outta the train ... O.o
lol, i didn't responded a single word to him ( back then i was totally confused like "WTH does this guy want ?! " ) ^^;;
|2004-04-21, 21:17
|Link #113
Join Date: Mar 2004
Age: 31
wow Biohazard, that's insane I would've been scared shitless, esp if I was by myself :O
I heard something quite ridiculous in history class yesterday. Stanley Williams: this man received the death penalty and awaits for doom in the death row, was also nominated for the Nobel Prize! He was nominated for his efforts with poverished children, he wrote some sort of self help book I think for kids who were part of gangs...something like that :/
But can you imagine condemning to death a man who's about to receive the Nobel Prize? It's just crazy ***
|2004-04-21, 22:00
|Link #114
Coordinated Insanity
You mean... that was you? I see... you know too much... before they come for me... I must silence you.
I guess I'm going to germany... I'll just use a picture of JAppi naked to lure you in... and when you've taken the bait... I'll make sure they won't put me back in the madhouse... hahaha... hahahahahaa.... ahahahahahahahahhah!!!
|2004-04-22, 10:16
|Link #117
|2004-04-24, 07:09
|Link #119
Go Suzuka!
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Malaysia
Here's one, my friend ordering food at McDonald's. "I'd like a double cheeseburger meal without the fries and two fries." True story.
And some strange Singaporean laws.
- oral sex is illegal. And I believe so is anal sex.
- littering is illegal. If caught, you have to do social work wearing a shirt saying "I am a litterbug"
- eating chewing gum is legal, but the sale of it isn't.
- cosmopolitan magazine was banned. This was recently lifted.
- spitting is illegal
- vandalism and defacing of public property is punishable by caning/whipping.
|2008-11-10, 02:06
|Link #120
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: UK
Age: 8
Another thread I dug up from ancient times when AS members knew how to party.
This comment made me laugh...
Spoiler for quote:
The most ridiculous thing I heard is that there are many old UK laws still in effect, which are:
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
2. It could be regarded an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down.
3. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned.
4. In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants.
5. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen.
6. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing.
7. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour.
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The Miami Dolphins made a splash this offseason, spending roughly $175 million to upgrade the team. But the makeover gets completed this week.
The Dolphins have two approaches that govern how the team operates during the NFL draft.
The first is the use of a horizontal draft board, which stacks players up by position in different tiers.
"I don't go through the board and say, 'This guy over this guy over this guy over this guy over this guy.' I have the draft more horizontally by position (and) by round," General Manager Jeff Ireland said. "So if you're in a position where you have a guy at guard and you have a need at guard, he's up there, but you have maybe two other players at the same value then you might take the guard because it's a player of need."
The second is Ireland's approach of prioritizing the team's desires into "musts, needs and wants."
Here is a breakdown of the top five areas the Dolphins should upgrade, and a snapshot of the draft's landscape.
Offensive line: The Dolphins aren't certain that Jonathan Martin is a top shelf NFL starting left tackle, and have concerns about John Jerry's weight (340 pounds now), and fit in a zone blocking scheme.
Early options: Luke Joeckel, Eric Fisher and Lane Johnson are the three elite offensive tackles, but all three will likely be top 10 picks. Jonathan Cooper is the type of athletic guard this offense needs, but taking a guard that early isn't ideal.
Later Options: Syracuse's Justin Pugh, Oregon's Kyle Long, FSU's Menelik Watson, Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Terron Armstead, Colorado's David Bakhtiari, Florida's Xavier Nixon and UNC's Brennan Williams are the second-tier talents at one of the draft's deepest areas.
Breakdown: Miami upgraded most positions in free agency, but left the offensive line for the draft. Expect Ireland to use early picks to improve the right side, and trading a second-round pick to Kansas City for Branden Albert is an option being debated.


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TB: They're all pretty big, physical guys. They have some really good players over there, especially in the front. Good run technique and certainly a lot of the scheme is built to stop the run. They're a very good defense and Coach said they were fourth-rated in the league and one of the best first down defenses in the league, which leads to second-and-longs and third-and-longs and then they get their blitz packages going. You can't really fall asleep at any point against this defense because they have a lot of negative plays in the run game and they create disruption in the pass game too. We played them in Week 2, had a tough time against them. It wasn't a good performance by our team – by our offense certainly – by our team it was actually pretty good; our defense played great. But we're going to have to go out and do a lot better this week. Read
Q: How difficult is it for you to keep this thing going with pieces falling down around you? Read
TB: We've faced some different challenges. I think in the NFL, a lot of teams face challenges it's just really how you deal with them. We've lost some guys, dealt with some issues, like every other team. We're handling them OK, we're 5-1. It's a decent start. It doesn't really get you anywhere at this point and I think we're still looking to make improvements. I think that's the most important thing, to try to improve every day in practice and the walkthroughs and hopefully it ultimately translates to better execution over the course of the season. But we're not really where we need to be right now; we're trying to get there. Read
Q: You've been here a long time. Do the injuries around you put more of a burden on you? Read
TB: Well, part of my job description is what it's been for a long time. Regardless of who is out there with me or other captains that have gotten injured or different guys that have come and gone, that happens with every team too. I've just been fortunate to be here and see my way through a lot of it and try to be a good example, be a good leader and certainly try to play well, that's the number one thing. That's how you probably stick around, is play as best you can. We've been lucky to be here and play in a place that I really love to play for a team I really love to play for. Read
Q: How do you reconcile the emotions of losing a key guy but also move forward to do your job? Read
TB: When you lose someone like we did with Vince [Wilfork] or Jerod [Mayo], it's tough. But I'd say a lot of teams deal with it too. You don't want to feel sorry for yourself. What you realize is somebody has to fill in and do the job. As much as you hate to lose guys, there's nothing you can do about it and the season doesn't end. You have to keep fighting on, just as they would want us to, just like they did when I went out, just like they did when guys like Rodney [Harrison] went out. We've lost some pretty key, critical guys over the years – Ty Law got hurt at one point. I mean, there are a lot of guys who have been injured. You just have to try to fill the spot and other guys have to pick up the slack. Hopefully our execution on offense is better, that would take some pressure off the defense who have been playing great all year for us. Read
Q: Are you as calm as you appear in important situations? Is it important for you to convey that sense of calm to your teammates? Read
TB: I've been around for a little bit so I've been in these situations. Good execution usually solves a lot of the issues. When you're not executing well, you don't score many points. I think you're just trying to focus, really, on what the situation is, not what has happened over the course of the game. You get in a situation where you need a touchdown at the end, that's the situation you're in. You talk about those situations, you go through in your head the type of plays you're going to run, the type of reads I'm going to make, the type of defenses you're going to see and then you go out and you try to execute. Everyone does that, from the quarterback to the offensive line. We have meetings about those types of things so when those situations come up, no one is really surprised, you're just focused on what you need to do and you go out there and try to execute it. Read
Q: Do you guys feel pressure that you have to come through or else? Read
TB: This is a game of pressure – it's a pretty pressurized environment, especially around here on a daily basis. There's not much time where we get to take breaks and go. It's just pedal to the metal from the moment we report to training camp until the end of the football season. Guys get tired, you get worn down but you have to fight through it. You have to be mentally tough enough to just grind through it. It feels like a regular season Wednesday today and we've been at it for awhile, but there's no letting up. We just have to keep making improvements. Read
Q: Bill Belichick mentioned that Austin Collie has been staying two hours late to pick up everything. Are you doing some of that this year, helping guys and staying later than you normally would? Read
TB: I feel like I try to do whatever we need to do and whatever it takes and whatever guys need from me. The job is really never finished. You only have so many days, so many hours in a day and you try to commit those hours to the places where you think you need it the most. Sometimes it's treatment, sometimes it's more film, sometimes it's staying extra to throw more. There are lots of things that come up so you're just trying to be as prepared as you can every week. However that falls on a given week, it ends up being a little bit different. But we have to do whatever it takes. I think that's the important thing, is whatever we need to do to be on the same page with our communication, so we can execute better, that's what we're focusing on. Read
Q: Have you noticed players staying longer to make up any gap? Read
TB: Yeah, we started earlier this year. We start pretty early in the morning. Guys always joke, 'Start earlier and stay later.' That's what this year has been about. That's what it takes. You have to put it in. There's no way I can do it for you. You have to do whatever it takes to make the improvements you need to make. We started off offensively pretty slowly. Hopefully we're building toward something that is better but ultimately that is decided on how we play every week. We get a test every week, whether you win or lose, you have a chance to come back the next week and do it better. We're 5-1 and we're really trying to get to 6-1. Read
Q: Yesterday Bill Belichick said you have a vision that when you come to the sideline, you can recount what took place and everything you say shows up on tape after. Have you always had that vision? Where does it come from? Read
TB: I don't know. I don't think about that too much. I don't know, I don't know what other guys go through. I just know what's natural for me. I'm just trying to go back and make the right read, find the open guy. We try to put pressure on the defense in different ways and find where the weak spots are and make those plays. I'm not sure. It's probably good that I don't think about it. Read
Q: You've got a little mark there under your eye. Any idea where that came from? Read
TB: Yeah, I know. I got [it] in the game at some point. One of those dirty plays – no, it happens. Read
Q: Has Austin Collie adapted pretty quick? Read
TB: Yeah, he got a chance the other day. We were just joking walking off the field, he was like, 'Man, that was, at practice we were getting after it today.' I said, 'Well, you could be sitting at home you know and just watching other guys and saying, 'Man, the Patriots sure had a great win the other night.' Or you could be the one making the plays.' He did it. He had a chance to come in, his number was called. He came in and did a great job. He asks really good questions. He's trying to really figure out what we do, which is different from some of the things that he's done in the past, really trying to understand and find a role for himself. I've been really positive and encouraging with his work ethic. As a quarterback, you always want guys out there that you trust. Certainly me throwing him the ball in those critical situations shows you how comfortable I am with him. Read
Q: Bill Belichick said you had poise from the beginning and mentioned the Oakland playoff game. Were you as poised as he said? Have you always had that? Read
TB: I went to a big school so there were 110,000 people that came to our games in college. I learned pretty early. I came here and there are 65,000 people. It's like, 'Man, where is it? It's half the stadium.' You try to be in those pressurized situations and put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform well. Practices have always been important. You just try to do your best every single day. I'm usually not very much fun to be around at practice or in the game because I don't joke around much, I'm pretty focused on our execution and what we need to do and what we need to do better. Hopefully guys understand that and they try to get better too. But we're making progress. We're 5-1. This week is as big as any game we've played all season. It's our second one against the Jets. It would do great things for us in the division. We know how challenging it is to play against those guys. They're very well coached. They have a great defense, they've played well offensively at times this year. It's going to be a good challenge. Read
Q: How prepared are you to make changes to the offense if Rob Gronkowski does end up playing this week? Read
TB: Our offense is kind of what it is. Who knows when he's going to be out there. I feel like I've been saying it every week: If he's out there, great. If he's not, we have to go out and win anyway. I'm trying not to think about that too much. Read
Q: Willie Colon was quoted as saying he hates the Patriots. Does that stuff phase you at all? Read
TB: Not much phases me with Jets-Patriots at this point, or Yankees-Red Sox. I've been around to hear the banter that goes back and forth. It's a healthy rivalry. It's because both cities take a lot of pride in winning and we love our sports. It should be an exciting weekend. Read
Q: It's my impression that guys aren't thrown into the fire here. Was Austin Collie an exception to the rule because of extenuating circumstances? Read
TB: The role he was put into, he was pretty comfortable with at that point. It wasn't like, 'Let's go in there and run 85 plays.' He got put in for a specific role and did a great job with the things that he was asked to do. He's been building slowly since the day he got here but he's really been working hard at trying to understand how we do things. Certainly the other night, he was doing things we were all comfortable with him doing. Read
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Disney's California Adventure features a walk thru self-guided tour of Boudin Bakery down on Pacific Wharf. Soon as you enter, samples of sourdough bread await consumption. Several TV monitors play a humorous explanation by Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mochrie...
Posted by Lisa Berton on May 19, 2011 5:00 AM
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Compro Technology, announced
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Humbling arrogant politicians
Retired military officers do not steal or rob ("Military association takes aim at Wu," Feb. 1, page 3). I don't see anything wrong about their moonlighting or having second careers to earn extra money for a better quality of life. The pursuit of happiness is a right granted to every citizen by the Constitution. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng's (吳育昇) criticism of retired officers was absurd and arrogant.
Recently, Examination Yuan President John Kuan (關中) behaved in a manner similar to Wu. In an interview last month with a Taipei-based radio station, Kuan said that the government paid NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) to feed each civil servant for 58 years.
By using the word "feed," Kuan insulted civil servants by speaking about them as if they were dogs or pigs. In addition, one would have to be a civil servant from the age of 20 and live to be 79 in order to realize Kuan's allegation. It is almost impossible to pass the civil service examination at that age, and most people will not even live that long.
The government did not listen to civil servants' views on reforming the pension system before making decisions that affect millions.
Kuan's haughty, ridiculous remarks have merely rubbed salt in the wound.
As it says in the Old Testament: "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighted." (1 Samuel 2:3).
Or as Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist David Hume put it: "When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities."
I have long seen the arrogance and hypocrisy shown by politicians across the political spectrum.
Now KMT heavyweights have become the leading actors in this farce — what a shame.
David Tzou
Okinawan view on Diaoyutais
Some say that the Diaoyutais Islands (釣魚台) were ceded to Japan — which calls them the Senkakus — by China's Qing dynasty in the Treaty of Shimonoski as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War. They then argue that since Japan accepted the terms of unconditional surrender stipulated in the Cairo Declaration after World War II, it should observe these terms and fulfil its obligation –– including losing all islands in the Pacific region.
Manchuria, Taiwan, the Pescadores and other affiliated islands were restored to China automatically when Japan surrendered. The Ryukyu Islands, including the Diaoyutais, were stripped from Japan and put under a US trusteeship.
Why weren't the Diayoutais returned to China when Taiwan was restored? Apparently, they were not considered spoils of war taken by Japan.
The international community took the post-World War II regime for granted. Even the People's Republic of China that had assumed power in Beijing in 1949, kept acknowledging the "status quo" until 1971.
In the Jan. 8, 1953, edition of the People's Daily, an article describes the island chain stretching between Kyushu and Taiwan — the Ryukyus — and calls an island group in the chain "the Senkaku Islands."
The article was discovered among Chinese government archives in December last year and is reported to describe the Senkakus as part of the Ryukyu Islands, which were a geo-political entity at the time.
The Treaty of Taipei signed on April 28, 1952, stipulates that Japan renounced all rights to Taiwan, Penghu, the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) and the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), over which Japan no longer had any jurisdiction, but it left out the Diaoyutais.
These documents and historical evidence reflect that China — regardless of who was in power in Beijing — had thought until at least 1971, that the Diaoyutai Islands were Japan's sovereign territory, not just something that Tokyo won after the First Sino-Japanese War.
Yoshio Shimoji
Naha, Okinawa


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Gallery: Rashida Jones Shows Off Her Ridiculously Sexy Side In Flaunt Magazine
Earlier today, one of my Facebook friends posted a link to this photo spread with the comment, "RASHIDA JONES, COT DAMN." I clicked the link, only to find sweet and beautiful Ann Perkins like I'd never seen her before. While Rashida Jones is obviously a good looking woman, she tends to style herself more in a cute way than a sexy way, so I was surprised to find she'd done a sultry, wetted down, lingerie clad shoot for the aptly named Flaunt Magazine. Not that I'm complaining. Here are the photos in question, plus some photos of her normal look for comparison.
Photos: Flaunt Magazine, Pacific Coast News[ITPGallery]


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Office Space to Rent in Stoney Stanton
We have a variety of serviced offices available to rent in Stoney Stanton. Each office space is offered at the best rates and suited to your individual needs and requirements.
We have a variety of serviced offices available to rent in Stoney Stanton. Each office space is offered at the best rates and suited to your individual needs and requirements.
A landmark building in Hinckley town centre, providing conventional style office space on a flexible license agreement. All offices have external entrance doors onto a central car park. Parking for 10 cars. A pleasant building and location within easy walking distance of the town centres shops, banks and eating places.
Newly converted factory into twelve studio / offices with gas fired conventional central heating, suspended ceilings, disabled facilities and parking available.
A recently restored former hosiery factory, full of character, this small business centre has its own private carpark and licensed meeting room offering a full catering service.
Business office space set in a recently refurbished Grade II listed building. Flexible terms offered in office ranging from 150 square feet through to open plan areas 6,000 square feet in size. The building has been a finalist in major regeneration scheme awards and presents an ideal environment to work in.
The centre is fully equipped with all the infrastructure that a modern office requires. The centre contains various sized offices with many established clients.
Luxury, modern two-storey office building of traditional brick and tile construction offering high quality self-contained office accommodation. Eleven office suites ranging from 145 to 215 sq ft, all with kitchenette and WCs. Flexible terms. Carpeted throughout. Suspended ceilings. Category 2 lighting, electric heating, double glazed windows and electric entry system. Ample free parking. Safe and convenient with 24 hour access, 365 days a year. Cost from £85 per week (incl).
This business centre sits at the entrance to Grove Park, a landscaped business park of some 12.5 hectares (105 acres). The Park has already attracted a number of high profile occupiers including HSBC, Mattioli Woods, Centrica, Transco, Topps Tiles, Marriott Hotel, NHS, Sytner and many other well respected organisations. Also have easy access to Fosse Shopping Park situated opposite which includes M&S, Next, Boots and WH Smiths. This centre offers all-inclusive pricing, so you can move in with peace of mind that there will be no unexpected costs each month.
This centre is an art deco style building in Old Aylestone, approximately 25 offices & workspace.
The centre specialises in providing a high quality and professional environment with full support services. Established for over 15 years and with high client retention, you are assured of being with an organisation that has a trusted and proven track record, giving you consistency, reliability and delivery - vitally important and crucial to benefit you, your staff and your business. With the village right on the doorstep you can walk out and have a break with plenty of choices to get some lunch without needing to drive, lose your parking space or take unwanted time away from your desk.
This is a modern business centre providing a range of furnished offices, workshops and studios that are available on flexible terms. The centre is fully telecoms & IT enabled and provides free car parking. The offices range from 315 to 650 ft2 (29 to 98 m2) and each has its own services with lighting, heating and carpets. The workshops range from 974 to 1366 ft2 (91 to 127 m2) and benefit from powered roller shutter doors, 3-phase electricity, lighting and WC facilities.
Below you can see the nearest areas to Stoney Stanton where you can find serviced offices:


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NFL: AroundTheLeague @NFL_ATL
Report: GM Tom Heckert to interview with Jets, isn't a package deal with Andy Reid in potential Cardinals deal http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...gn=Twitter_atl
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
1 other thing to watch w/C Kelly: I'd bet he's consulting w/Belichick now. And Bill's impressions of Roseman & Banner likely come from Reid.
ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk
Wednesday morning one-liners include Russ Brandon on running the Bills and 49ers WR A.J. Jenkins needing to step up http://wp.me/p14QSB-6QVT
ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk
Tom Heckert's on the Jets list, and guess what, he has a mystery team http://wp.me/p14QSB-6Ruo
Manish Mehta @MMehtaNYDN
Jets season was failure thanks to mistakes Rex Ryan strategically distanced himself from. Now he's fallen silent http://nydn.us/U7DTb4 #nyj
Rich Cimini @RichCimini
Keeping coach, hiring GM comes with a tough set of challenges. This is what #Jets face. http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/stor...uccess-failure
Rich Cimini @RichCimini
Forty-eight hours ago, Woody Johnson fired his GM. He still hasn't made a public comment. #Jets
NFL: AroundTheLeague @NFL_ATL
Bills to start analytics department to help front office http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...gn=Twitter_atl
Rich Cimini @RichCimini
This just in: Neither Rex Ryan nor Woody Johnson will be available today to comment on, like, everything. #Jets
A little after 9 a.m. ET, the team announced that General Manager Mike Tannenbaum will not return to the team in 2013. In a statement, owner Woody Johnson also announced that Rex Ryan would remain the team's head coach.
"This morning, I informed Mike Tannenbaum that he will not return for the 2013 season," Johnson said in the statement. "Mike devoted 15 years of service to the Jets, and I want to thank him for his hard work and dedication. Although he helped guide us to two consecutive AFC Championship games, we are not where we want to be, and a new General Manager will be critical to getting this team back on the right track."
I guess Cimini didn't get the memo.....
what is the media obsession with comment from the jets? Mike T gone, Owner made as statement, its all over the news that they are interviewing GM candidates...are they just annoying that they are not getting to ask their typical dumbass questions that never get a straight answer?
i can see it now...
...Rex do u think its fair that Mike T is gone and you are still here...
...Woody, why was Mike T made the scapegoat, and Rex is remaining...
NFL: AroundTheLeague @NFL_ATL
Saints player says Spagnuolo is a "control freak" that should be fired http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...gn=Twitter_atl
Jeff Darlington @JeffDarlington
Hope for the Losers: Redskins' NFC East title marks 10th consecutive season a team has gone from worst to first in division within one year.
NFL: AroundTheLeague @NFL_ATL
From same article on Spagnuolo: Saints player says Spags can't adjust during game, has no personality.
Rex is obviously under orders from ownership to not talk. Simple as that. If he did talk he would just be sticking his foot in his own mouth anyway. Leave him be already. I'm sure once the Jets hire a new GM Rex will get in front of the camera again. Not soon enough for Manish but too flippin bad.
Brian Costello @BrianCoz
No Rex or woody today for the media #soundsofsilence
Not an endorsement either way, but I find it funny how the Jets can't win for losing.
> *Jets talk*
> *Jets don't talk*
I could imagine why the media is so upset at the Jets. Rex & Co have been giving them easy material for so long and now they're cut off, haha. So upset that they're calling for his head. Screw the media. You're gonna gave to work for a story for a change.


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Bows, bows bows!! This week I am spending some time in New York City
to work on my clothing line LC Lauren Conrad. The season that I am
currently working on is filled with my favorite pretty detail… Bows!
After spending a day surrounded by beautifully knotted ribbons and
chiffons, I simply can't help but be inspired. So if you are a bow
lover like myself, why not let that trend carry over into The Beauty
Department? Nails, hair and even lashes are all just waiting to be
adorned with a lovely bow.
XO Lauren


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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A 2-year-old boy has survived a car crash on a Los Angeles freeway that left a woman dead and the vehicle badly mangled.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said Sunday that the toddler was properly restrained in a car seat when the sedan slammed into a pole on State Route 118 in Mission Hills.
He said the impact was so severe that rescuers spent more than hour cutting the car apart to get to the driver. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name and relationship to the child were not immediately released.
Humphrey said the boy was taken to a hospital in fair condition.
The California Highway Patrol shut several lanes to investigate, causing traffic in the San Fernando Valley to back up for miles.
All contents herein copyright San Diego Source ® 1994-2018


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The latest railroad employment data shows the addition of 1,340 employees in March 2011, the largest since September 2010, bringing the industry to 155,842 employees nationwide.
"April's carload decline is the first year-over-year monthly decline since February 2010," said AAR senior vice president John Gray. "April 2010 was a relatively strong month and therefore a difficult comparison, and coal traffic was down for the first time since July 2010. April's carload decline was offset by continued intermodal growth. Rail traffic deserves a close watch over the next several months because it's a useful gauge of the strength of the economy."
Overall, nine of 20 commodity categories saw carload gains on U.S. railroads in April 2011 compared with April 2010. Traffic gains were led by grain, up 13.6 percent (11,377 carloads); metallic ores, up 19.4 percent (5005 carloads), and motor vehicle and parts, up 9.6 percent (4713 carloads). Coal carloads were down 2.9 percent (15,225 carloads). Other commodity groups with carload declines included crushed stone, sand, and gravel, down 5.6 percent (4203 carloads); waste and nonferrous scrap, down 14.2 percent (2140 carloads), and primary forest products, down 26.4 percent (1910 carloads).
Despite the mixed results this month, there are still positive signs of growth. Year-over-year chemical carloads have risen for 18 straight months. In addition, cumulative volume for the first four months of the year is also positive with U.S. rail carloads up 3.8 percent (180,791 carloads) and intermodal loadings up 8.8 percent (304,702 trailers and containers) compared with the same period in 2010. Intermodal loadings in April 2011 averaged 228,630 units, the second highest average for any April in history, behind only April 2006.
As of May 1, 2011, 276,228 freight cars, or 18.2 percent of the fleet, were in storage. This represents a decrease of 7421 cars from April 1, 2011.
For more information, visit www.aar.org.