More Rules McNabb Doesnt Know

Pretty cool that the Arizona Cardinals just tried the obscure “free kick” rule.  I actually knew about that one and wonder why teams don’t try it more often.   Sure it was an awful attempt, but still cool.  I’m sure McNabb didn’t know about that one.

Another rule McNabb probably didn’t know about was the backup quaterback rule.   Apparently if you really suck, a coach can make you stand on the sidelines and let someone else play.   Who knew?

Best Rip On Us Ever

While I don’t like excerpting complete posts, I think this one is a good exception, I love it.

From Trooper York.

New name on the blog roll. With Mustard.

Hey I added a new blog on the blog roll, The Mets Police written by dedicated Mets fans about the team in Flushing. It is a very well written and informative blog about those poor souls who are stupid enough to root for those perennial losers who play under the flight path of Laguardia airport. I enjoyed his work very much and you should give it a chance.

I Go Away For A Week And Mets…..Do Nothing?

So the blog has been on auto-pilot all week while I did some of my Clark Kent wok to pay the bills.   I’m home now and decided to scan the papers and blogs and see what I missed.  

Surely the Mets have acquired someone by now…or at least made a big bid for a free agent.

Nope.  Nothing.   Nothing to the degree that if you search “Mets” on google blog-search you get my dropey generic post about the Shake Shack opening at Shea.

Oops, I typed that naturally – old habits die hard.  I decided not to go back and edit.

Shake Shack opening at Citi Field is what I meant to say.  Which brings us to the closest thing we have for news:  whill Citi even exist in April or will the Mets be playing at El Stadio Del Banco Popular or Mizuho Financial Group Stadium.  

It’s the Mets, you know we’ll wind up with a dopey name.

In good news, maybe this silly blog is working.  Read the next post down where I bitch about the NFL doubleheaders…we’re getting two games at 1pm today, hooray.   It’s only because both the Jets and the Evil PSL Team are on the road, but I’ll take it.

This sentence is the obligatory Red Bulls mention.  MLS championship today.   Who cares.

It’s 2008: Can We Have The NFL Doubleheader

If you live anyplace else you get something cool called the “NFL Doubleheader.”   That’s where one channel shows both a 1pm game and a 4pm game.  In one of those time periods you will find there’s a game on both channels.  You may have even occasionally seen this when the Giants or Jets are off.

Unfortunately there’s a horrible phrase that I’ve heard since I was a child, “Except in New York.”

Yep the rest of the country will get to see the 11-0 team play the 10-1 team but you in New York get to see the 3-7 Jets take on the 1-9 Chargers (ok maybe not this year but you get the point.)

The NFL has this antiquated thinking that if there’s a “second” game on in New York suddenly people won’t attend football games.   That’s right, it’s fine to send someone a $20,000 PSL bill but it’s the chance to watch Chiefs-Ravens that will make them give up the seats they’ve had for 50 years.

The Giants waiting list is said to have over 80,000 people on it.  The Jets have over 10,000.   I’m sure it won’t be televising the Browns-Raiders game to NYC that bankrupts the league, they seem to be doing ok.

NFL Seeks To Speed Up Games

This is a few days old but I’ve been writing ahead to cover the blog this week while I’m on the road.

The NFL is worried about the length of games, which is a good thing.   Much like baseball, the game has gotten way too long.   It’s very annoying when a game sails past 1pm and we get cut-off at 4:15.  I stopped watching SNF and MNF because I can never see the end.  I stopped watching the baseball playoffs this year for the same reason.  I don’t even start the games, I just live without it.

Anyway. the NFL is putting the onus on the refs.

The league hires professionals to calculate different variables each week – total plays, instant-replay reviews, injuries, penalties called – to project how long games should have taken. Refs overseeing contests that go over that specified time are graded down.


Interesting:

As scoring has steadily increased over the last three years, from an average of 41 points per game in 2005 to 45 through last weekend, it’s a challenge for the league.
Each point adds an average of 43 seconds to a contest, according to league data.

And silly:
The NFL has also steadily cut the length of halftime by about 15 seconds in the past three years.