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Posts Tagged ‘NFL Week 1’

T-Rac’s Top 10

September 15th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | No Comments | Filed in T-Rac's Top 10

So, everybody does their own power rankings. I decided that we should also do some. Now, all power rankings are biased, but they annoyingly pretend they aren’t. So, I am going to come out and say it: These will be the most biased power rankings you will ever find. No imperical data or thought go into these power rankings, just my own completely biased opinion.

  1. Tennessee Titans: Went into Pittsburgh and should have been up 24-7 at one point. Best team in the NFL. NO CONTEST MOTHERF***ER.
  2. Detroit Lions: To be able to go in and put up 27 points on a vaunted Gregg Williams defense with your rookie QB throwing 3 Interceptions… Color me impressed.
  3. New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees. Drew Brees. Drew Brees. (I have him on my fantasy team)
  4. Oakland Raiders: Jamarcus Russell looked like John Elway hitting that pass with 2 minutes left. Also, McFadden played just good enough and the Raiders defense held Ladanian Tomlinson down just enough for me to win my fantasy game vs. The Raging Clam.
  5. Ohio State Buckeyes: Fluky loss to USC. Won’t happen again.
  6. New York Giants: Meh… they’re allright. Somebody’s gotta be #6.
  7. Green Bay Packers: That play to Greg Jennings was off the hook.
  8. Tennessee Titans 2nd Unit: Yeah, we’re that deep.
  9. San Fransisco 49ers: You not only covered the spread against Arizona for me, you beat them outright. Thank you, Mike Singletary.
  10. Philadephia Eagles: They CRUSHED Carolina. It helped Jake Delhomme returned to playoff form.

I dare you to find one mistake in those power rankings. They’re awesome. Perfect, actually. Just perfect.

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Media Critique Monday: NFL Week 1

September 14th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | 3 Comments | Filed in Media Failures

So, by late afternoon on Mondays, I have usually seen enough to know what a few common themes the mainstream media is pounding out and throwing our way. Most are legitimate if over-covered. That’s the media now, including blogs like this one. Everything is over-covered. But a few stories being shoved down our throat are total bullshit. I will try to bring light to these stories to you, the faithful readers of the Wisdom of T-Rac and his Posse.

Kyle Orton is 1-0; Jay Cutler is 0-1: Such a common theme, I’ve seen 3 national writers bring it up, including the amazingly original Peter King. This is a bullshit way to look at it. It’s sensationalizing at its best, and sums up everything I hate about people like Chris Berman and Peter King. Josh McDaniels took an offense that a year ago was playing really well in Denver and carrying the worst defense in NFL history to an 8-8 record, which is actually quite an accomplishment, and scored 6 points that didn’t involve fluky tipped passes on the CINCINNATI BENGALS. Orton then throws a pass that in virtually any other game is intercepted, but this time leads to one of the craziest and fluky endings in a long time. On top of it, Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post summed up the failure of the Bengals best here:

“I feel so bad for the Bengals, but situational football is a huge part of the NFL. Where was the deepest man on the field? Who cares if they catch it? All they had to do was tackle anyone who touched the ball. A defense cannot get outflanked. I know this is a little like second-guessing, but it’s paramount to the situation. I wonder if the Bengals worked on that one?”

The Bengals define bad situational football, and it cost them in that fluky play. Should Josh McDaniels get credit for that? NO.

Now, Jay Cutler played horribly in the loss to the Packers, but a few points should be made about that as well: 1) The Bears receivers suck. 2) The Packers are infinitely better than the Bengals. 3) The Bears, despite Jay Cutler’s 4 interceptions, still put up more points than the Broncos, and they did not have a fluky play to do it. Jay Cutler has a lot of questions to answer for his play, but to suggest Kyle Orton played just as well or to even hint at it with this suggestive headline is laziness on the part of the media and sensationalizing bullshit. AVOID ANY WRITER THAT USES THIS AS A TOPIC FOR A COLUMN OR EVEN MENTIONS IT.

Sorry, no credit in my book for beating THE BENGALS with one of the luckiest plays in NFL history.

Sorry, no credit in my book for beating THE BENGALS with one of the luckiest plays in NFL history.

(more…)

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T-Rac Wrap: Week 1

September 14th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | 1 Comment | Filed in T-Rac Wrap

Yes, yes I know. Still two more games to play. But it’s New England vs. Buffalo and San Diego vs. Oakland. Not exactly barn burners (what does that mean again?). So… let’s start covering yesterday’s action!

Baltimore 38 Kansas City 24: Apparently Brodie Croyle looked decent and Kansas City was not scared much by that vaunted defense. However, Joe Flacco decided to turn into a good quarterback and threw for 307 yards and 3 TDs while the Ravens run game racked up 198 total yards. Ridiculous numbers. However, all I take from it is “Baltimore’s defense ain’t no good no more!” Hopefully that analysis holds up throughout the year.

Philadelphia 38 Carolina 10: I am so glad I backed off my Carolina as division winners and NFC Super Bowl representatives. Jake Delhomme reverted to playoff form and now has 11 turnovers in his last 2 games. That is AMAZING. Record setting, I believe. However, the Eagles didn’t come out completely smelling like roses as McNabb came out injured with broken ribs. Look next week for Kevin Kolb to be the man.

Dallas 34 Tampa Bay 21: As usual, Dallas starts out looking amazing. As everyone around here knew, TO would not be missed. My fantasy team benefited. Thank you Roy Williams. Tampa Bay’s offense did not look horrible, but their defense did. That secondary looked like Monroe Tech playing Oklahoma or something. Tony Romo also had a great fantasy day, but Lando will cover all of that tomorrow. (more…)

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PosseCast: NFL Lines Week 1

September 13th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | No Comments | Filed in PosseCasts

I am joined once again by The Meena from LA for what will be a weekly podcast in which we both go through and predict each NFL game against the spread. We will then keep track throughout the year and see who does better. So take a listen and enjoy our utterly ridiculous predictions.

Click here to Subscribe with iTunes

Click here to Subscribe with Zune or other RSS/XML Feed Reader

Click here to download the .mp3

And, as always, you can 0066cc; text-decoration: none;" title="PosseCasts" href="http://tracsposse.com/?page_id=66" target="_blank">listen here on our podcast page or listen streaming from the media player below.

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Posse Review: Titans vs. Steelers Week 1

September 11th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | No Comments | Filed in Posse Review
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The Titans should be embarrassed by how sloppy they played

My stomach hurts.

This was painful to watch. I tried writing this last night, couldn’t do it, and now am back this morning. Still hurting. And here it goes. A review of last night’s game.

My Doghouse

  • Penalties: Why? Why? Why? WHY DID WE GET 4 ILLEGAL FORMATION PENALTIES!?!? It seemed to happen in a couple REALLY important situations too, like on 3rd and short that we would convert, then out comes the flag. It’s sloppy and ridiculous. What exactly was the point of the preseason?
  • Special Teams: Once again, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE PRESEASON!?!?! At no point did Finnegan return punts for any meaningful amount of time if it all (I did not watch every minute of preseason so he may have played when I missed a game) in preseason and yet he was our return guy? He wasn’t good, and it feels like the Titans are just begging for him to get hurt. Why risk him if he isn’t that good? And he was BAAAD. On top of that we got destroyed in field position. I said in the PosseCast previewing the game that it only takes one bad punt from Hentrich in a bad spot to hurt us, and last year he had a lot of shanked punts. Sure enough, he shanked it in a crucial spot. Then, of course, the kicking game was really, really bad. Bad snap on the first field goal, then to give up a block on the 2nd field goal… That’s just inexcusable. INEXCUSABLE. We had a kick blocked in preseason!! Why does it then happen again 2 weeks later!!
  • Chuck Cecil: I do not like to question playcalling. It’s something that I think is amateur and easy to do when a play happens to not work, when there are 20,000 other factors that go into why plays do and do not work. But after the Kearse sack and it is 3rd and 12, you can’t rush only 3. That plays right into Ben Roethlisberger’s strength and our weakness. It was such a dumb move in terms of general strategy. We got good pressure with 4. Not transcendant, but good. But on 3rd and 12, you HAVE to make sure you get pressure. You have to make Roethlisberger throw a quick pass for short yardage. We did that on 3rd and 7 earlier, we blitzed and got to him, he hit the hor route, which was a 4 yard dump to Hines Ward that we easily got to. 4th and 2, Steelers punt. Then, in Overtime, to sit in the same defense while the Steelers just march down on us… This might be second guessing a bit but, you have to change it up. You have to go for the big play. It’s overtime. One field goal and we’re done. “Bend, but don’t break,” does not work in overtime.
  • Mike Heimerdinger: 23 rushes. 23. That makes no sense to me.
  • Chris Hope: Blew two HUGE plays on the Touchdown drive. One will happen. But two on the same drive is inexcusable for a pro bowler.
  • Clock Management: Bad. Just bad. It ended up okay due to Hines Ward’s fumble, but how do we not get it to the 2 minute warning before punting, at least?
  • Nick Harper: Old and slow. Can only play zone. Bigger weakness than I expected, and I expected him to be a weakness. (more…)

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T-Rac Live Game Chat: Week 1 – Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

September 10th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | 2 Comments | Filed in Live Gameday Chat

So it is finally here. Game time.

Come on in and chat with us while the game is going on. Screw the Steelers.

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Blogger Wars: Titans vs. Steelers

September 10th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | 5 Comments | Filed in Blogger Wars

I told you we would be having an email battle with bloggers for rival teams, and this week is obviously the Steelers. Donald from Steelers Today was who we did eBattle with this game.

Donald, as stated on his site, feels he crushed me. I feel differently. I think I tried to be civil and he shot back with analysis that… well… its filled with a lot of typical Pittsburghian (a Peter King word) irrationality. I’ll let you decide.

My first email:

So, Steelers Today, as you know the Titans and the Steelers open the NFL season this Thursday. I find this appropriate because I felt last year we were the two best teams in the NFL and  going into this year, I see no reason for this not to be the case again. So lets cut to the chase. This is why I think the Titans will be the victorious team on Thursday:

1) Line domination: When we won last year, it was all because our Offensive Line held serve against your insanely good defense enough for Chris Johnson to get some daylight and for Kerry Collins to get a pass in on a Polamalu misread. On defense, our line dominated your struggling Offensive Line, the closest thing the 2008 Steelers had to an Achilles Heel, and this was WITHOUT Albert Haynesworth. I really see no reason why this won’t happen again. The same units are lining up for the Titans on both sides, and I doubt your Offensive Line has improved enough to keep Big Ben upright.

2) Improved Offense: We were able to put up 31 points with our offense last year, and our offense this year is drastically improved. While I do not think we will get 31 points again, I could see us reaching 24 points with our improved weapons, and I don’t think your offense can put up that many on our defense.

3) Special Teams: The Titans almost always win the special teams battle, and I feel the Steelers always are below average on special teams themselves. In a game with two teams as close as these two are, special teams always seems to play a role. I give that edge to the Titans.

4) Terrible Towels Crush it, LenDale. Crush it.

You disagree with any of this, Steelers Today?

His response back to me and my well thought out and brilliant points though, was this: (more…)

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PosseCast: Titans vs. Steelers Preview

September 9th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | No Comments | Filed in PosseCasts

I am joined by Lando and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Titans and how each unit, Offense, Defense, and Special Teams, will fair in the game tonight. I also wrote a post with my thoughts here, so take your pick of whether to read or whether to listen. Or both. Preferably both.

So take a listen and then join us Thursday Night for our Live Chat during the game.

Click here to Subscribe with iTunes

Click here to Subscribe with Zune or other RSS/XML Feed Reader

Click here to Download the .mp3

And, as always, you can 0066cc; text-decoration: none;" title="PosseCasts" href="http://tracsposse.com/?page_id=66" target="_blank">listen here on our podcast page or listen streaming from the media player below.

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Posse Preview Week 1: Titans vs. Steelers

September 8th, 2009 by Rogersworthe | 12 Comments | Filed in Posse Preview

2 days. We are 2 days away from the first game of the NFL season. To open the regular season, we are stuck with playing the returning champion Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a game I both dread and look forward to. So, without further stalling, lets preview it:

Strengths for the Titans

  • Controlling the Line of Scrimmage: Any good Tennessee Titans team starts and ends with this. Our Offensive Line is generally acknowledged as top 3 in the league and will remain so barring a major injury. The Steelers defense is extremely impressive, but our line showed last year that they are good enough to get Chris Johnson some space and Kerry Collins enough time to make a decision. So while we obviously won’t dominate the line of scrimmage offensively, we’ll at least hold serve and possibly control it for a drive or two. The big question mark is on the Defensive Line. While we are talented and deep, there is a question of whether we can dominate as our D-Line has for the past 2 years. Pittsburgh has a weak Offensive Line and while their O-line is expected to improve, nobody expects it to be a top unit. Our D-Line MUST take advantage of this or we will be in some trouble.
  • Running the Ball: We’re a better running team than Pittsburgh. This can be neutralized by how good Pittsburgh’s run defense is, but I don’t think it will be enough. If our running game can get us to 3rd and 3 or better, we have enough of a passing game to convert these with some regularity. I know we won’t get our usual yards rushing, but to expect 3 yards a carry is not ridiculous, and could be enough to keep the Steelers defense on their toes.
  • Tight End: We will need to use all 3 of our Tight Ends in different ways to help out the Receiving Corps. Cook, if he is fully healthy, could be the X factor, as his speed will be unexpected coming from that position. I imagine the Tight End will be Collins’ first look on 3rd downs, and even with our O-Line you rarely get a 2nd look against this defense so our Tight Ends will need to come to play.

Weaknesses for the Titans (more…)

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