04/26/24
September 11, 2013
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Reggie Bush is suffering from a dislocated thumb and a groin injury. The Lions' trainers have not said if the two are related.
posted by yerfatma at 10:31 AM on September 11, 2013
Philip Rivers now available on Amazon.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:12 AM on September 11, 2013
Philip Rivers now available on Amazon.
Someone put a lot of effort to get all the small details right (the last user image on the left) and it shows. That's some comedy gold, right there.
posted by grum@work at 11:18 AM on September 11, 2013
I liked the department shortcuts on the top...
"Gritty white possession receivers" ... "Emotional leaders with one year left" ... "Tebow"
posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:21 AM on September 11, 2013
The "frequently bought together" is the icing on a very good cake there.
posted by dfleming at 12:37 PM on September 11, 2013
There ought to be a "shoppers also considered" section with a Tony Romo and Jerry Jones link.
posted by cixelsyd at 02:05 PM on September 11, 2013
posted by Hugh Janus at 02:13 PM on September 11, 2013
Did four different players fuck up on that one own goal?
The initial kick was terrible.
The bicycle kick was brutal.
The guy who let the ball bounce off him was pathetic.
The keeper was a sad sack at the end of it.
That's...that's spectacularly bad play all around.
posted by grum@work at 03:28 PM on September 11, 2013
Wow...I just...how do you not immediately cut all of them? The bicycle kick guy in particular because that was completely unnecessary and dangerous that close to his own goal.
posted by dfleming at 03:46 PM on September 11, 2013
Bicycle kick guy is in good company.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 04:24 PM on September 11, 2013
Wow!
posted by billsaysthis at 10:23 AM on September 12, 2013
There ought to be a "shoppers also considered" section with a Tony Romo and Jerry Jones link.
If you said it was that ginger Jason Garrett I would agree but leave out putting Romo in the same company as Rivers. Romo is by far a better QB than Rivers.
posted by BornIcon at 01:21 PM on September 12, 2013
Romo is by far a better QB than Rivers,
I'm going to guess that comma is where the laughter overcame you and you just couldn't keep typing.
posted by Etrigan at 01:24 PM on September 12, 2013
I'm going to guess that comma is where the laughter overcame you and you just couldn't keep typing
That's a negative. I'll take Romo over Rivers any day of the week.
posted by BornIcon at 01:26 PM on September 12, 2013
I'll take Romo over Rivers any day of the week.
Oddly, I just realized that I have each of these guys as a backup to a Manning brother in two of my fantasy leagues this year. Anyway.
Their stats are similar (1 percentage point difference in career passer rating, 1.4 percentage point difference in completion percentage), except that Rivers has won three playoff games to Romo's one.
I'd put them both in the "potentially good, but not fundamentally great" category -- they're capable of making a good team play well, even above their weight class at times, but neither will ever elevate a team to greatness. One of them may be better than the other, but by far? No. I can't get behind that either way.
posted by Etrigan at 01:55 PM on September 12, 2013
One of them may be better than the other, but by far? No. I can't get behind that either way.
If you look at how they've changed over the last two seasons, I'd say right now one is clearly better than the other. Two of (arguably) Romo's best three seasons have been the last two, while Rivers had two of his worst years. If we're talking about QB over a career, it's a wash, but today? Romo seems like the clear-cut better player.
posted by dfleming at 03:04 PM on September 12, 2013
I'm in the same boat as dfleming: if you told me one of them was playing a game this season with my life in the balance, I'd be scared shitless if it were Romo. If it were Rivers I'd start calling around now and saying my goodbyes. He looks done to me, based solely on the 15 minutes of Chargers' games against anyone but New England I can stand to stomach each of the last 3 seasons.
posted by yerfatma at 03:32 PM on September 12, 2013
I'm a Charger fan, and we all seem to be watching Rivers very closely to try to figure out whether his issues are related to the lack of a decent O-line, Rivers falling apart, bad coaching decisions, or some combination of the three. Unfortunately, we didn't really get much help on the line in the offseason, so that may still be a factor. I'd think a "great" QB could overcome the lack of a line to a certain degree, so Rivers certainly isn't up at that level, but he may still be serviceable if we can get better protection and run blocking next time around. Unfortunately, we're probably not going to suck hard enough to be able to draft a franchise QB in the next round unless we get lucky with someone who's relatively unheralded, so we should probably just stick with trying to build up the line and hope Rivers and Mathews can do well enough with that to take us someplace. But we're going to have a lot of needs on offense the next couple years - we need to try to get an eventual replacement for Rivers (because even if he can still do well, he's getting towards the end), a replacement for Gates, and probably another running back in addition to fixing our line woes.
posted by LionIndex at 03:56 PM on September 12, 2013
Two of (arguably) Romo's best three seasons have been the last two
Seriously? He went 16-16. He went 24-9 in his other two complete seasons as a starter.
Yes, Rivers' last two are definitely his worst, but by the yerfatma standard, I'd be a lot more worried for my life that Romo wouldn't even be in that game for my life.
(On another side note, I'm amazed that Rivers is nearly 20 months younger than Romo.)
posted by Etrigan at 04:09 PM on September 12, 2013
Romo and Rivers ...
Pretty much equal in my books. Both suffer from horrendous organizational issues (coaching, management). Romo plays on a much more talented team, but it's unrealized and improperly utilized talent.
Rivers really never took any flak for the Chargers failures before the past few years when a few of his mistakes were major factors in losses. When the team was better Rivers was good enough to get them into the playoffs.
Romo had pretty hefty individual stats over that same period but that didn't equate into any team success. He's blown almost every opportunity he has had to make the playoffs. At some point the folks running that organization need to acknowledge his weaknesses and adjust the game plan accordingly. It's simply unrealistic to expect Romo to carry the Cowboys the way the Manning brothers / Bledsoe / Rogers do theirs.
posted by cixelsyd at 06:07 PM on September 12, 2013
It's simply unrealistic to expect Romo to carry the Cowboys the way the Manning brothers / Bledsoe / Rogers do theirs.
Bledsoe? How the hell did he creep into this conversation? Ahhh, quarterback sneak! I see what you did right there.
Romo doesn't need to 'carry the Cowboys', he just needs to stay healthy and continue playing his position at a high level.
Also Jason Garrett needs to remember that he has a solid RB in DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant continues to prove to be an elite WR while avoiding the injury bug and hopefully the defense stays consistent all season and provides key turnovers.
Those factors are what can attribute to 'carry the Cowboys' into having a successful season IMO.
posted by BornIcon at 08:08 PM on September 12, 2013
Romo doesn't need to 'carry the Cowboys', he just needs to stay healthy
A not-inconsiderable If.
and continue playing his position at a high level.
Which includes having a solid RB, an elite WR and a consistent defense that provides key turnovers. That's not "better by far"; that's "good enough on a good team." Unless you think that Philip Rivers is dragging San Diego down to a mediocre level from the perennial playoff team they should be.
posted by Etrigan at 08:58 PM on September 12, 2013
There are days when I wish Romo played in San Diego, so if he had one of his space cadet bonehead games, it would happen late in the day with relatively few people watching. Or at least so I wouldn't have to watch it.
Part of what bothers me about Romo is his proclivity for going all Goober and Floyd when the bright lights of prime time are shining upon him. I don't want to be part of a national audience that tunes in to see him do dumb stuff.
posted by beaverboard at 09:21 PM on September 12, 2013
Romo doesn't need to 'carry the Cowboys'
My man, you would be an upgrade on the coach and management in Dallas.
Romo could be a serviceable QB. Spend some draft picks on developing a balanced running game. Put Romo in a position where he can just be Romo. The Cowboys are never going to win squat with Romo throwing the ball 40 times a game.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:54 PM on September 12, 2013
Unless you think that Philip Rivers is dragging San Diego down to a mediocre level..
He is. Rivers has been struggling more & more each year. He used to be a solid QB but I don't see him turning it around any time soon.
At the end of the year we can compare Romo vs Rivers and see who had a better season.
The Cowboys are never going to win squat with Romo throwing the ball 40 times a game.
I absolutely agree! DeMarco Murray needs to get the ball at least 20 times a game while Romo throws 25-30 times. Keep it simple.
posted by BornIcon at 08:48 AM on September 13, 2013
Romo isn't good enough to carry a team. He's a good quarterback and the Cowboys were smart to go with him long-term, but he needs a better team around him to succeed than elite quarterbacks.
posted by rcade at 10:02 AM on September 13, 2013
I can't help but note that the years in which Rivers flirted with "elite" status were coincidental with Ladanian Tomlinson's career peak.
posted by tahoemoj at 12:22 PM on September 13, 2013
And LT's peak years were when we had a decent offensive line, which is why there's a lot of concern about that. Did LT start not doing so well because our line isn't that good any more? Is that why Mathews can't do too well (aside from the fumbles, obviously)? Will getting a better offensive line help our running game and thus also get Rivers back into form? It's a tough problem, and Rivers' ability might actually be suspect, but it's certainly not the only thing. Rivers' peak years were when he had a better receiving core, a better defense, and the best RB in the game. Of course he's going to look bad now compared to that.
posted by LionIndex at 12:50 PM on September 13, 2013
Red Sox closer Koji Uehara has now retired 31 consecutive batters. And his catchers aren't happy about it: