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boilerhorn

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by boilerhorn

  1. I do not think they are dogshit. They ran into a good team that is healthy: The Rams. Rams were 8-4 in games Kupp played (2-3 with him out). They were 8-3 in games w/ Nacua. 8-3 when they both played. The Rams are a team that had beaten them earlier in the season. Rams were 1-3 against the NFC North, the lone win coming against Minnesota. Losses to Chicago and GB: both Kupp and Nacua were out. Lost to Lions in OT. 2 bad losses: 40-10 to Az - oof. 37-20 to Philly (Barkley had 255). The Rams final regular season game saw them sit 8 starting offensive players and lose 30-25 to Seattle. After starting 1-4, the Rams went 9-3 in their final 12 games.
  2. (1) 4-2: vs NFC North: Lions swept them. They swept Chicago, Green Bay. (2) 4-0: NFC North drew AFC South as their cross-conference schedule (NFC north was 14-2 against the AFC South) AFC South was 25-43. (3) 3-1: NFC North played NFC West (Az, SF, Sea, Rams) - loss to Rams. (Lions: 4-0; Bears: 1-3; Packers: 4-0); NFC West was 34-34. (3) 2-0: 3rd place 2023 finish allowed them to draw 2 games against the other 3rd finishers from last year's NFC (NYG, Atl) (4) 1-0: Jets Basically, they drew a relatively easy schedule and were 9-1 in 1-score games.
  3. Wealthiest in what ways? Willingness of alumni and/or fans to legally use NIL? Perhaps, but Oregon and others are in that game, too (already mentioned) Willingness of alumni and adjacencies to skirt the rules to incentivize player? Maybe, but Texas was not in that game. Alumni wealth? Perhaps, but there are others in this space. School endowment. tosu is not even in the top-20. Vandy, Emory, and Cornell have larger endowments than tosu, for example. I will concede I am picking nits and possibly being pedantic here, but MOST of the schools are financially separated from football programs and/or athletics departments, for the most part. Especially the blue bloods.
  4. Steelers started 7-2, then 10-3, closing out the regular season with 4 losses to end at 10-7. Their schedule strength was back-loaded, but 1 win in the final 4 games (Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, Bengals) may have shown *some* signs for optimism. In 3 of those games, they were totally outclassed. As they were last night. The Steelers are in a real bind, in that they seem to be stuck at 8-10 wins (only 1 season over 10 wins since 2017 - and they lost in the wild-card round). It's not a bad place to be, but there are NO signs it could get better before it gets worse. The DL and LB are aging and they've always had problems at DB. The OL struggles to run block and the RB room is just "ok." Their best WR - George Pickens - seems to be a moron and has largely been neutralized in the past 5 games - and he's had a case of the drops. Moreover, he said he was not optimistic about the offense going forward - in a post-game interview YESTERDAY. At QB, both Wilson and Fields are free agents. Wilson has looked good at times, and I think he's still getting paid by Denver, so he could be an option. But that just kicks the can down the road. Tomlin is a good coach and I think he gets more wins out of his rosters than most other coaches could. However, his coordinator hires have been suspect. DC Teryl Austin (yes, the same guy who was the supposed DC for Urban Meyer, if Meyer arrived here) looks like he gets out-coached. Arthur Smith is just OK, but his system is predicated on effective rushing. Don't think you can fire Tomlin, but something needs to improve. Time of possession last night: 40 to 20 in favor of Baltimore. 20 to 10 in both halves and 299 yards rushing for Baltimore. Hard to win a game like that.
  5. For time immemorial, QB2 is the Texas fan favorite of many. Will not change when Manning becomes QB1. smh.
  6. I think Arch was concussed. It would have irresponsible to use Arch in those circumstances and the staff knows it. Let's just hope that was his knee-jerk reaction to the play getting blown up and that he backtracks later. That said, players win games, coaches lose games. Regardless of emotions, Sark *should* have said, "Defense made a play," and moved on.
  7. Quoting myself, but pointing out there were 3 (!!!) holds on that play that were "missed" here's a screen-cap of the youtube link posted earlier.
  8. Big12 ACC officials with thumbs on the scale - again? Perhaps they confused the red jerseys for OU and f-ed Texas over again
  9. I know. I concede I am being an internet reactionary jerk w/ what I posted.
  10. redacted b/c I was an emotional fool - my post is quoted later. sigh - were were VERY close. 1st and goal from the 1 should be a TD.
  11. 2004 tOSU at Purdue. Bought tickets when both teams were 3-0. By the time we got there, tosu was 6-3, Purdue was 5-4, and Kyle Orton was injured. Because we bought tickets at 3-0, my brother was only able to score endzone seats, among many traveling tOSU fans. Went with brother, his wife, and my dad. People in the endzone were "ok" as they were (1) graduates of tOSU and (2) 40+ years in age. We exchanged reasonable banter and jabs - never felt at risk. Hell, it was a Purdue home game, so why should I feel at risk. Purdue went up 17-3 at half with backup QB Brandon Kirsch. The defense kept a tOSU team with Troy Smith, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn, and Antonio Pittman in check. tOSU ties the game with 3:50 left. Enter Kyle Orton. He goes 7-8 for 54 yards and a TD on a drive that lasts around 2 mins to put Purdue up 24-17. Purdue intercepts Smith for a 3rd time with 2:00 left to seal the win. The older fans became a little less friendly, but no real risk. As we walked back to my brother's house in West Lafayette, at least 2 groups of tOSU fans attempted to fight us. We just kept walking and ignored them. However, they continued to engage and challenge Purdue fans as they walked away from the stadium. Seems like a fanbase with a problem. I am aware of what happened in 2006 in the UT Social Work building, but did not experience it firsthand.
  12. A hill in Arlington is actually an overpass.
  13. csb Buddy of mine grew up in Miami. Went to Miami and his first job was in Boca. He was transferred to Burlington, VT, and was convinced that he'd never miss work because of snow. So, he bought a truck with a plow, and backed it into his driveway. On the first big snow, he was undeterred. He shoveled his way out of his house to the truck. He started up the truck, attempting to plow his way to work. After about 20 feet of travel in his driveway, he had covered the top of his truck with snow and was stuck and could not see. He turned off the truck and walked back inside. He had never practiced snow plowing before. /csb
  14. Time to pull this baby out of storage...
  15. boilerhorn

    Bert!

    2 challenges with Stone: left footed kicker and impact to holder (already noted) launch angle of his kicks seems a little lower #2 is not really an issue for kickoffs provided he's accurate and able to get the proper placement and distance (which he has). It can be a problem for FGs. I saw him kick in HS quite a few times, and it seemed as though his kicks were a tad lower at launch than most top-flight kickers. That can make them prone to being blocked. I will concede that (1) it's been 3 years and that he likely has improved and (2) my comments are subjective. Here's his hudl. 2021 was fall of his senior year. This is not to denigrate him, but to point out some observations...
  16. Port Arthur or Port Aransas?
  17. If she wanted access to Jeff George, it might have been on the table.
  18. I can smell the interior of that vehicle.
  19. Seems like it is. My oldest played Pop Warner in the Cedar Park / Leander league around 2006. Coaches were the prototypes for Pop Warner - guy who thought he knew football and wanted his kid to play QB, guy who played DL in college at some point, guy who worked out a lot and did not have kids on the team (was friends or business partners with the HC - I * think* he played college ball). The level of instruction was abysmal. Well, it is dad coach Pop Warner. Anyhow, we "travel" to play a team from Pflugerville. Every kid on the team is bigger and more athletic that the kids on our team. Their only coach was around 30 and had no kids on the team. They were running a scaled-back version of the Pflugerville HS playbook. Anyhow, it's clear they are going to destroy us. They are up 14-0 after the first 2 series. One of our better players gets injured and the HC just ignores it - tries to put him back out there - and the guy's mom is beside herself. "He's fine," says the dad. Injury to the coach's son was treated in a similar fashion by coach. Anyhow, we go down 28-0. Pretty quickly. Each score by Pflugerville is treated - by fans - like it's the first time they've ever seen a TD before in their life (they had not - they are crushing everyone). At a 28 point lead, a running clock begins and all plays must be runs between the tackles. The Pflugerville team changes its offense - splitting the tackles out to the hashes. Nice. Not sure I recall the final score, but it was a blowout. The 3 things that stand out: splitting the tackles to the hashes, Pf not using 2nd or 3rd team guys until mid-way through the 4th, dads not caring about the health of their own kids - even when it was clear they needed to be removed. Not as interesting as CTJ's story about Hampton rag-dolling his friend, but a small glimpse into Central Texas Pop Warner.
  20. I was curious and did a few searches. Enrolled at Texas in June 2015. Transferred to USF in Sept 2015. Looks like he was on the USF roster for 2015 and 2016; had 30 tackles in 2016. In 2017, he played for Coahoma, CC in Oklahoma. Looks like he played for Grambling in 2018 and Tennessee-Martin in 2019. He was on the 2023 Roster of the Arizona Rattlers, having played in the "fan controlled" league in 2022 and the "The Spring League" in 2021. I gave up looking for 2020 (COVID). Here is his XFL player profile. The following is from his BIO at UTM: BEFORE UTM: Joins the Skyhawks from Grambling State where he played one season for head coach Broderick Fobbs…He played in six games for the Tigers where he compiling 15 total tackles, including nine solos and six assists…Notched 3.5 tackles for loss totaling 13 yards…Recorded two sacks and an interception…Spent one season at Coahoma Community College where he was named to the MACJC All-State North first team defense…Combined for 104 total tackles, including 72 solos and 32 assists…Notched eight tackles for loss…Tabbed MACJC Defensive MVP, MACJC Linebacker of the Year, NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American and named to NJCAA Region 24 Defensive Team…Originally signed with Texas before transferring to South Florida in 2015…Tallied 30 tackles in 2016, helping the Bulls to a 10-2 record and a berth in the Birmingham Bowl under head coach Willie Taggert….Prepped at Victory Christian Academy where he played for head coach Tommy Lewis…Named Small School Defensive Player of the Year by the Lakeland Ledger…Posted 160 tackles, two sacks, four interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior…Named to the first team all-county twice…Selected to the Ledger’s Super 16…Tallied 90 tackles and 4.5 sacks as a junior at Frostproof High School...Ranked No. 12 among inside linebackers in the nation…Four-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports. PERSONAL: Born on Oct. 10, 1995...Son of Winston D Cherry and Tami Flint...Has 19 siblings...Graduated from Grambling State with a degree in criminal justice…Pursuing a graduate degree in secondary education...Comes from a deep NFL bloodline of Ray Lewis (NFL Hall of Fame; Godfather), Warren Sapp (NFL Hall of Fame; uncle), Demetrius Cherry (brother), Travis Henry (uncle), and Alvin Harper (uncle).
  21. Agree - Purdue was utter roadkill this year, and should not have been. A competent staff wins 4-5 games with that roster. Walters was in over his head - there were signs of it last year and was clear this year. As noted before, I attended both the Notre Dame and Nebraska games in West Lafayette (decided to change plans and missed Oregon). Notre Dame was an utter ass-kicking. In no way did the the score indicate how overmatched Purdue was. Purdue was leading over Nebraska (3-0) after the first drive of the 2nd half and proceeded to give up 28 straight. At one point in the 4th quarter, Purdue had more penalty yards than offensive yards. Odom is competent, so I am optimistic. Fixing the mess is going to take a little time, though.
  22. Quick update for the 3 people here who care about Purdue football (3 might be an exaggeration). I will not address their losses too much, other than that 3 QBs are out (Card - graduated, Davila - Nebraska, Browne - UNC), DT Brevard to Texas, Safety Thieneman to Oregon, TE Klare to tOSU. 3 QB in: Evans Chuba (Wash State, #79 QB in 2024 class), EJ Colson (UCF, #64 QB in 2024 class), Malachi Singleton (Arkansas, #17 QB in 2023 class) 7 UNLV transfers, composed of Starting CB and LT, 2nd team TE and LB, and some other folks who red-shirted. 3 Arkansas transfers: QB noted above, and what appears to be a couple of JAG LBs. 1 JAG WR from USC (Charles Ross - Grad transfer) A handful of UNLV commits changed to Purdue. Still optimistic, as I believe Odom and staff will be superior to Walters and his staff. However, talent-wise: OUT >>> IN
  23. In comparing the two tOSU-Oregon games, I observe.... tOSU offensive production was roughly the same (467 yards vs. 500 yards) Oregon offensive product was 496 regular season vs. 276 in playoff game. tOSU had 2 fewer turnovers in the playoff game tOSU sacked Gabriel 8 times in playoff game; zero times in first game Oregon sacked Howard 1 time in first game; zero in playoff Jeremiah Smith was 9-100-1TD in the first game (10 targets) with an OPI; he was 7-187-2TD in playoff game (10 targets) - some longer plays, but similar "focus" in the offense in both games tOSU shut down Oregon running game in 2nd game Penalties Game 1: Oregon: 3-25, tOSU: 7-80 Game 2: Oregon: 3-14, tOSU: 2-13 The Oregon win over PSU had a similar "feel" to the first Oregon-tOSU game. Gabriel was protected. PSU made some mistakes. PSU had considerably more penalties. Oregon has struggled on defense against decent teams; in most of those games, they just outscored folks. In this game, tOSU had fewer mistakes and the D made Gabriel play from behind the sticks for in the entire 2nd half. Neither the Tennessee nor Oregon defense compares to Texas, IMO. Texas D is better than Michigan D and the Michigan D held tOSU in check. Both the Texas D and the Mich D have NFL DL and DB. tOSU targeted Jeremiah Smith on 9 plays. He had 5-35-1TD. 2 incomplete. 2 DPI.
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