Tecmo playoffs

With four games to go, the Chicago squad starts their playoff run with a game against L.A. It's clearly the pre-back to Oakland Raiders. Their RB is number 34. Yep, it's going to be a battle.

I take the opening kickoff and easily tear down the field. I actually throw it to my tight end for once. The rest is all Payton. After scoring and giving up a few first downs, I get in front of a pass (Jeff George?) and have the ball at my own eight. The last time I got a turnover so close to my end, I gave up a safety. Payton took care of that. Counting a sack, he gained 99 yards on the drive, including a third and 17. The touchdown was a spectacular 48-yard effort. There are no runaway scores in this game. If your runner gets a big lead on the way to pay dirt, he slows down and the defense speeds up. The only way to keep going is to avoid the diving tacklers. Payton avoided three tackles in the final ten yards. I feel good at 14-0 heading into the second quarter.

The Raiders give it up and it's a few Payton hand-offs to pay dirt. I'm winning 21-0 and cooking dinner at the same time. Ask me about Dad's Favorite Potatoes.

Bo Jackson is the exception to the "slow down after breaking the D" rule. He busted one on me in the third quarter. I blocked the extra point and won 28-9. I tried to kick a 60-yard field goal at the end but just missed. Chicago rolls on.

Tecmo Break

After four hours of NFL draft excitement, I started to look like Bill Cosby wearing his Temple outfit. I took a Tecmo break.

My mighty Bears had been defeated by the Vikings in the previous week. To be more accurate, it was Chicago losing to Minnesota. I led 17-10 going into the fourth quarter but fell apart and gave up 20 straight points. This team had a tough defense.

I started well, returning a short kickoff for a score. Minnesota had a long return and scored back. The game went back and forth, tied 17-17 going into the final quarter. On fourth and six an outside run blasted the purple guys into the end zone. My next drive ended on a fourth-down sack. If the other team calls your play, you are screwed. On the next drive I was able to get an interception. It was time for my running back to take over. I scored with less than 30 seconds to go. I wondered if there was an overtime option.

With 14 seconds to go, Minnesota had a fourth and five. Instead of punting, they went for it. They ran the WR reverse which can't be too shocking the 12th time in the game. I read it and made the stop. Starting at the 40, I needed a few yards to get into field goal range. I was stuffed on first and second, but on third down got inside the 35. It was time for a 52-yard attempt with less than five seconds. I was glad that I didn't have to adjust for side to side or wind. I got all of it and the Chicagoans were still undefeated.

I might need another game before I can start on the draft again. If Todd McShay and Mel Kiper could liven things up with a "two men enter, one man leaves" style cage match, that would be great.

Edited to add that I played "Dallas" in the following week. This is the Year 2 of the Jimmy Johnson era. I crushed the semi-Cowboys, who looked like Columbia University, 49-13 to give me a division championship. The rest of my games will be playoffs. Can I bring home a title? I know you're all very excited, especially you Mr. Funk. Don't forget my Wii Bowling title from last night.

Random draft diary part two

While my Internet connection decides to be annoying, I’ll go with my diary part two here. It’s more about observations than anything else.

I liked it when ESPN moved to Connor Barwin’s living room. Both Barwin and his mom were texting. Good times.

When Mel Kiper and Todd McShay “faced off”, it was as compelling as Bill Belichick talking to Eric Mangini. It’s obvious that they don’t like each other, and they gave zero insight to the first round. Yes, Heyward-Bey was a reach. I think my 96-year-old grandmother could have come up with that nugget.

While I wasn’t paying attention, the Patriots managed to get nearly half of the second-round picks. That’s where you can get some good values. When they took Ron Brace, a defensive tackle out of Boston College, it was officially the first player selected whom I had never heard of. The Pats need help at LB but they must like Brace. It was a rare trade up for the Pats, who gave up three picks to the Raiders to move up seven spots.

The Pats go defense with their first three picks. I’d say that D was their big need, although offensive line and running back are issues as well. My friend Paul has to be happy because he’s a Pats uber fan and a UConn alum.

With all of the talk of the Jags going QB or WR, they were really smart in going tackle with their first two picks. OL was a major issue last year and they’ve gone without “stud” wideouts since the Jimmy Smith/Keenan McCardell era.

I like how Everette Brown, DE out of Florida State who’s dropping like a rock, is at home but wearing a suit. Way to spend your pre-draft money wisely, guy.

This is when the draft gets confusing, with teams picking during commercials. I’m going to only recognize skill position guys from now on.

The Panthers are the final team to make their first pick. They take the guy wearing the suit.

Between last night and this morning, I’m going to get through the first two rounds just in time for round three to begin.

Pat White goes to the Dolphins. It’s an interesting pick since Pennington is the guy and Henne is the QB of the future. They’re drafting QBs like the Titans drafted RBs. Maybe they finally got it right. He could start as a gimmick/Wildcat guy and move on to being a full-time QB. But can he be their QB when he’s a left-hander and they just threw a ton of money at a left tackle in last year’s draft? The team got more interesting for sure.

The Raiders grab the first player that no one in the draft room has heard of shy of Mel Kiper. I can relate, though. The Titans took an unknown DT out of Eastern Michigan last year and it worked out. Knowing the Raiders, when they go out on a limb, it always works out.

And my TiVo runs out midway through the second round. I didn’t know that they were changing stations to show NBA basketball. I find out later that the Titans took Sen’Derrick Marks, a defensive tackle with a unique name. Other than that, I got nothin’.

NFL draft, delayed

It's 10:48 p.m. in Atlanta and I am watching the draft on TiVo. I knew prior to leaving the house at 4:45 knowing that Matthew Stafford got more guaranteed money than Albert Haynesworth and Jason Smith was the number two pick.

Let's do this thing, TiVo fast-forward style. The Chiefs take Tyson Jackson, a DE out of LSU. I had barely heard of this guy prior to the draft. I love how Herm Edwards is an "expert" at ESPN. He's at the second table. I will fast forward any time ESPN refers to his expertise.

The Seahawks take Aaron Curry. Curry was supposedly the top player in the draft. Seattle already had two solid linebackers. I like the pick.

In the biggest move of the day, the Jets traded with the Browns for the number five overall pick. I have not seen good things about juniors at QB making it in the NFL, but this year two are taken in the top five. Mark Sanchez is a Jet. It's not a bad trade either way, as the Jets threw some players in and only had to give up their second round pick. The Browns get Brett Ratliff and two other players.

The Bengals take Andre Smith, the tarnished offensive lineman out of Alabama. Smith got suspended for the Crimson Tide's Sugar Bowl and left early from the combine. No matter.

The Raiders take the first obvious "tools" pick of the draft with Darius Heyward-Bey of Maryland. I had Heyward-Bey on my college fantasy team, and he rarely cracked my lineup. I could start four wide receivers in that league. I'm just saying. I feel Troy Williamson 2.0 coming up.

The Jags, aka sparkly helmet, are up next. While I thought that Michael Crabtree could be the guy, they take Eugene Monroe, tackle out of Virginia. The main reason why the Jags fell so far last year was their offensive line. Take a starting left tackle and call me in the morning.

The Packers are up next. Since cameras are in the grill of every player, we know who's going to be picked well before he's picked. B.J. Raji is smiling and on his cell phone at least five minutes before the Packers take him. Raji is supposedly an ideal 3-4 nose tackle, and the Packers are going to the 3-4. Good for them. I don't like making such a dramatic shift on D when you don't seem to have the personnel.

The 49ers are up, and Crabtree is the obvious pick. I don't know if Crabtree is the in same nebula as Jerry Rice. He's the first guy to win two Biletnikoff awards, given to the top wideout in college. Crabtree won as a freshman and as sophomore. I think he's the top "skill position" player in the draft. Good pick by the 49ers, and they didn't have to do a thing.

The Bills take Aaron Maybin. All I know about him is that he went to Penn State and that he's a redshirt sophomore. Mel Kiper "Boom, he's a pass rusher." That's all I need to know.

After signing every scrub RB in the league, the Broncos take Knowshon Moreno. I guess he's the guy. See you later, Correll Buckhalter. Didn't the Broncos suck at defense last year? I forget. It must have been Jay Cutler's fault.

This draft's moving quickly. The Redskins take Brian Orakpo. While I am not a scout, Orakpo was pretty solid versus the Missouri Tigers last year. I guess he's a defensive end.

I thought the neon green Seahawks hat was ugly. The yellow Redskins hat is pretty close.

The Saints take Malcolm Jenkins, who I hope is slightly better than Mike Jenkins. He's a "slow" cornerback. At least the Saints took defense instead of jumping on "Beanie" Wells when they already have a good guy in Pierre Thomas.

I really have no idea who's the best linebacker out of USC. Brian Cushing goes to the Texans. Is he the WLB?

The Chargers select Larry English out of Northern Illinois. English was a DE in college but is an OLB in the NFL. That's a future pick.

The Browns trade down again. The Bucs trade up two slots, giving up a sixth-rounder for the effort. It's probable that the Bucs will take Josh Freeman. Freeman was easily the 8th best QB in the Big 12 last year. He's tall, he has Daunte Culppeper-esque skills on the ground, and has upside. It makes sense since I gave a lot to trade for Byron Leftwich in a dynasty league. Josh Johnson's value has dropped.

The Broncos are up. Will they take a defensive player? Chris Berman says "so much has happened." I yawn. Broncos take Robert Ayers, DE from Tennessee. Hey, it's another guy who puts up middling efforts yet has all of the talent in the world.

Jeremy Maclin goes to Philadelphia. That's a good value. He can at least return kicks and punts to start, although DeSean Jackson is a similar guy. Interesting. Has a team traded down three times like the Browns have today?

The Lions take Brandon Pettigrew, the top two-way tight ends in the draft. I don't know how high his upside is, but he can help a team with not a lot of blocking.

After all this wait, the Browns take Alex Mack out of California. He's a center with "upside".

The Vikings take Percy Harvin. OK. Harvin is an athlete.

The Pats trade to the Ravens, who get Michael Oher. I think it's a good pick.

I'm going to fast forward to the Titans' pick. I'm getting way too sleepy to stay up.

Donald Brown to the Colts? Joseph Addai's value just fell to the ground.

The Giants take Hakeem Nicks. It's time.

The Titans take a receiver in Kenny Britt. This was after the ESPN crew talked up Chris "Beanie" Wells, who gave Titan fans heart attacks. Another running back? OK, WR was a big need, and other than having an attitude, Britt looks like a potential WR1 who can block.

Good night, all.

Tecmo Bowl

When I came home today, I immediately decided to be unproductive. Wifey was working and the Don Funk Sports Bar was closed. I didn't have many options. I did have 500 points in credit at the Wii store. I downloaded Tecmo Bowl.

This is the game that started the football video game craze. It only featured 12 teams and there were no player names. You got to choose from four plays. If you picked the right one on defense, you stuffed it. If you didn't, most likely you were giving up a big play. Each quarter was 90 seconds and the clock stopped after every play. Kicks were based on strength and had no side to side wiggle.

I was crushed in my first game. I was Miami against San Francisco. Remember when San Fran was a major power? Pass defense was almost impossible since you had to pick one of the three receivers. If you were wrong, you were giving up a big play. Cornerbacks seemed to not cover a receiver. I couldn't figure out the pass game, learning only in the third quarter that the 2 button switched the receiver and 1 threw the ball.

In game two I was more competitive. Going into the fourth quarter I trailed by 13. I scored. My defense got the big interception. Since I can't cover at all, I decide to try to run the clock. On fourth down I'm stuffed. It's over. For some reason, though, two plays later the non-49ers pass and I make the interception. I run, something that Miami couldn't do in real life, and I scored with 8 seconds left. I won 34-33.

I decided to move on to week two and faced Minnesota. At halftime the purple team had zero first downs but I was losing 13-7. I threw 11 interceptions in the game, and three were returned for touchdowns. I was crushed.

When I switched to Chicago and a more balanced offense, I found my rhythm. I still haven't won consecutive games. I can't tell if the wife hates this game's music or the music from Ice Hockey. It's a tossup.

The deal not made

I had a minor epiphany this weekend. It was no apple-on-the-head moment. It was simply a methodology for completing tasks that have been vexing me. Step one is to plan. Step two is to act.

You have to believe that your favorite sports team has a plan. After getting waxed twice by the Indians, Yankees fans have to assume that there's a plan for "fixing" Chien-Ming Wang. It's not often that a starting pitcher gives up 8 runs in an inning in consecutive starts.

The more I delve into the pre-draft scouting process, the less I know. I do understand that prospects come in two generic flavors. They're either finished or nearly finished products or projects. Last year the Falcons knew what they were getting in Matt Ryan. He was a polished college quarterback. He turned out to be more than expected.

I listened to a few of the excellent footballguys.com podcasts while shopping today. It's interesting to understand the changes that are occurring in the game. A switch to 3-4 defenses means that a lot of top college defensive ends are converting to outside linebackers, and personnel directors are dreaming of the next James Harrison. A player must fit the team's system, be coachable, not have off-the-field concerns, and ideally a will to improve. No wonder GMs aren't getting a lot of sleep these weeks. When it comes to scouting, what you won't know is how the player will react to being a professional football player. You can guess, but looking at draft results from the past ten years, you can tell that the guess is often wrong.

I had a plan going into my fantasy baseball season. I wanted to make the playoffs, not necessarily win the regular-season title, and have players who would be peaking in September, not falling off. That's why I just traded for two players who will not help me immediately. I traded Jose Valverde, a good closer on a bad team, for David Price, currently in AAA, and John Smoltz, currently on the DL. At least with Smoltz I can get an active player while he gets back into mid-season form. Ideally Price will get between five and ten minor league starts and slide into the Rays' rotation. It's possible that he'll run into his first professional struggles and help me not at all. Smoltz is old and injured, but he plays for a good team and might be perfect if he only has to start 20 games in the regular season. Valverde closes. Closers in baseball are kind of like team defenses in football. Even the best aren't worth much.

Week One

Week one of the baseball season’s in the books. As a fan of the White Sox, there’s not a ton to get out of the 3-3 record. I’ll go via bullet point:

Pitching is good. Five of six starts were quality, and the other one was mainly a bullpen implosion. Mike MacDougal’s new nickname is “The Arsonist”.

Sunday’s leadoff hitter, Brent Lillibridge, had one walk in spring training. He had two yesterday. I call that an outlier. DeWayne Wise is on the verge of getting benched and Brian Anderson isn’t much better.

Josh Fields has been good in the field and at the plate. He might stick as the number two hitter in the order.

Alexei Ramirez will not have a slugging percentage under his batting average for long.

Runs scored against the Royals: 5

Runs scored against the Twins: 19

Series that featured the “real” Sox offense: Hopefully the Twins.

Carlos Quentin and the previously mentioned Mr. Lillibridge are the only two hitters with a positive BB/K mark.

I also won the opening series of my fantasy baseball season. I was saved by a Sunday miracle. James Shields, Aaron Harang, Erik Bedard, and Jose Valverde combined for 25.1 scoreless innings. Those innings got me over the top in wins, ERA, and WHIP. My opponent had ten starting pitchers to my five.

The NFL schedule “drops” tomorrow at 7 p.m. Looks like I better get the TiVo rolling. The NFL’s still in a weird place with their network. It’s kind of like their Direct TV deal. While they are the most popular sport in all the land, their main platform is only available to a third of the country. I doubt that even a third of the country can get Direct TV, or would be willing to go satellite solely so they can get all the games. Because of an ongoing legal issue between Comcast and the NFL Network, I might not get the channel anymore starting in May. These kinds of issues don’t make sense coming from a league that tends to do things the right way for their fans.

I just saw that the NFL draft starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The first day is only two rounds, but it still will end way past my dad’s bed time. Part of me wants to watch it all and part of me wants to wait until Sunday and catch up. One minute a pick’s a long time for my local fantasy draft, so 15 is torture.

Not Going with the Flow

Thanks to a recent deal between the NFL and Direct TV, I'm going to lose my NFL Network connection. At least I get it through the draft. While I was not the least bit compelled by their 24-hour coverage of Cutlergate, I did turn on the channel this morning and get a nice dose of nostalgia.

Lists are cheap programming on cable TV. My wife and I watched almost three hours of "the top 100 one-hit wonders from the 80s" last week. The NFL Network has tons of these "top ten" shows. I turned on the TV this morning in time to see Eddie George's 216-yard performance in the Memphis debut of the Oilers. Most Titan fans remember George's stumbling performance near the end of his career. Few look back and remember when he was a battering ram.

The same goes for Vincent Paul Young Junior. The Titans were considered a suitor for Jay Cutler, who went eight picks after Young in the 2006 draft. If you compare the numbers, Cutler's the obvious pick by far. I would take today's Cutler over Young, but it's not the landslide you'd think.

Take Young's rookie year. Count the astounding performances he had that season. His overtime TD run against the Texans. His mad scramble at the half in Buffalo, and the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The 21-point rally against the Giants. These are the kind of performances you see over the career of an all-timer.

How many such moments does Cutler have? In last year's 39-38 win over the Chargers, he fumbled the ball, famously called an incomplete pass by Ed Hochuli, before delivering the game-winning score. He pulled off a few good victories in college, but was unable to beat Kentucky or Middle Tennessee State. A win in either game would have earned the Commodores a bowl berth.

Bears fans have every right to be excited about Cutler. The franchise paid a price equivalent to what people think Cutler should be, not necessarily who he is yet.

If you look at what the Bears have at wideout, it's a collection of stiffs nearly as impressive as that Young had to play with in his rookie year. It's likely that Young will never reach the heights of his rookie year. That was a tough standard to reach. I wouldn't call him responsible for team success, but the Titans have been to two playoff games in his career, while Cutler hasn't made the dance yet.

Maybe I will pull my Young jersey out of retirement. If someone gives me crap, I'll reply "this is for 2006". Until the Titans win a title, it will be hard to beat the season where the team pulled itself out of last place and made the impossible possible.