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Inspiration

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  1. Inspiration

    Owens in his prime VS Fitzgerald

    I don't recall Peerless Price or Alvin Harper pulling in 101 receptions for 1377 yard with Jeff Blake at QB and no Larry Fitzgerald across from him. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why you dislike Boldin so much. In a different thread you label him as a locker room cancer (unlikely, considering Larry Fitzgerald is willing to restructure his contract simply to keep him and Kurt Warner considers Boldin's presence on the team a key factor in his decision on whether to play or not next season). Obviously Fitzgerald has surpassed him a receiver, but Boldin remains one of the elite players in the league at his position.
  2. Inspiration

    Chiefs hire Todd Haley as HC

    I appreciate the kind words. I lurk on a few boards but rarely post on any of them, which explains my low post count. Thanks for the friendly debate!
  3. Inspiration

    Chiefs hire Todd Haley as HC

    First, the numbers side: Yes, he posted similar total numbers in past season, but his actually production per opportunity is dramatically up. Look at his yards after the catch average per reception by year: 2004: 3.3 2005: 3.7 2006: 3.2 2007: 3.0 2008: 4.8 His YAC average for the first four years of his career was 3.3. By comparison, the aforementioned Marvin Harrison, who was never known for his YAC prowess (to say it lightly) averages 3.3 YAC for his career. (Above stats courtesy of Yahoo Sports) Now look at how that improvement translated into overall success in a measure of yard per target: 2004: 6.78 2005: 8.54 2006: 8.55 2007: 8.46 2008: 9.31 After plateauing for three years, Fitzgerald production per target dramatically increased in the same year his YAC increased. While his raw numbers may not have displayed his dramatic improvement on the field, his actually efficiency per opportunity did. (Target numbers retrieved from FFToday) I will say numbers are not always the best method of measuring a players' success, as they can be made to lie. I have no way of verifying that a change in another element in the offense was not responsible for the increase in his numbers. Granted, I think that when used in combination with my actual observations of Fitzgerald playing, the above numbers can be used to support my point. However, singlehandedly, they offer no absolute proof of my point. I completely agree that Fitzgerald's size is an incredibly important part of his game. I didn't mean to take that away from him with my post; I treated it as a "given". Perhaps that was my mistake; I should have been more specific. In terms of getting separation, I still think he wasn't very good in that regard for the early part of his playing career (as I mentioned, he is much improved in that area this season). Also, I do not feel that I am knocking his route-running simply for the reason of finding a fault in his game. I honestly feel he ran frequently ran sloppy routes in the early part of his career and relied on his size, leaping ability, and body control to come away with the ball in tight coverage. That's not to say it didn't work more often than not; as you posted above, his raw numbers iin the early part of his career were still incredibly good. In regards to Marvin Harrison, I would disagree that "he got what he could". In fact, I think he frequently got less than he could before taking a dive or stepping out of bounds (perhaps 'falling down' had the wrong connotation to it. I didn't mean to say that he passed up 30 yards of open field just to end the play. I simply meant he never got the "tough yards" or even the "slightly difficult" yards). That isn't to say that avoiding contact is a bad strategy. In fact, Harrison's avoidance of the big hit is probably what has allowed him to play such a long and most injury free career. However, in the short-term, passing up potential YAC is always an inferior strategy. As far as Haley goes, I wasn't trying to make a comment on his abilities. Maybe he is the reason Matt Leinart hasn't progress. However, I do think that he played a role in making Fitzgerald the elite receiver that he is today. None of this is meant to knock Fitzgerald; the guy is perhaps the best wide receiver in the NFL. I admire the fact that the biggest single year improvement in his game (after his rookie season, of course) came immediately after he received a contract that made him the highest paid receiver in the NFL. That speaks volumes about his character. I am simply pointing out that I think he wasn't always the incredible, all-around player that he has developed into this season. As for Boldin, we'll see. I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona simply continued to offer Boldin an extension while refusing to trade him. Honestly, unless Boldin forces the Cardinals' hand (which, obviously, is quite possible knowing Drew Rosenhaus), I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in a Cardinals' uniform next season. The Cardinals' have too much leverage here for them to cave in to Boldin's demand.
  4. Inspiration

    Chiefs hire Todd Haley as HC

    Was my comment a hyperbole? Sure, but some of these I just assumed when I said "leaping ability and hands". Concentration, strength (using the definiton you put), body control etc are similar traits to the ones I mentioned. I was stating those skills in a general sense; you are looking for very specific skills. I didn't mention his excellent size (which you are correct in stating that he possesses) as I didn't consider that a 'skill'. However, I do have to disagree with some of these. In fact, after reading this, I almost have to assume that the first time you watched Larry Fitzgerald play was in the playoffs. Elusiveness? He's not bad, but I wouldn't classify as a strength of Fitzgerald at all. Separation? No, especially not before this season. He was a mediocre router-runner who compensated for it with his excellent size and body positioning. That's why he made so many highlight-reel catches with defenders draped all over him: he wasn't elite as at getting separation from them. He made significant improvements in that area this season, but in terms of that skill alone, Anquan Boldin is still better at separating from a defender when facing man coverage (granted, Boldin is one of the best in the league in that category). Deceptive Speed? I don't know what makes speed 'deceptive' or not. Fitzgerald isn't going to be the fastest player on the field; he rarely runs by players (although he did so in the Super Bowl, as well as against Washington and New England. At the same time, though, he was chased down in the open field against Miami). I will say that he is faster this season than he was in years past, likely due to him losing ten pounds in the offseason. As I mentioned above, I disagree; he hasn't always been a good route runner. Has he improved in the past year? Absolutely. As far as him falling down, yes, that's exactly what I mean. He was Marvin Harrison-esque in his after the catch mentality prior to this season. Sorry, I don't know where I could find video of this for proof. My observations come from living in Arizona and being forced to watch every Cardinals game (actually, it hadn't been so bad in recent years). Also, here is a final excerpt from an article on Haley and Fitzgerald: In the end, you don't have to agree with me; I'm just trying to give you my viewpoint on the topic.
  5. Inspiration

    Chiefs hire Todd Haley as HC

    Actually, he did. Last season Fitzgerald was a player who had only his leaping skills and his hands to rely on. He was a mediocre route-runner and had a tendency to simply fall down after a reception rather than look for yards after the catch. In the offseason, Haley constantly pushed Fitzgerald to work on both of those areas of his game. After the Cardinals' victory over the Eagles, Fitzgerald personally sought out Haley to thank him for "keeping his foot on his throat" in the past year.
  6. Inspiration

    Public Service Announcement

    corps vs. core > parity vs. parody
  7. Inspiration

    Fantasy Football Fair Play?

    If your story is true, the commissioner's action do seem a bit unsporting. However, I don't think the offense is large enough to make a public issue of it. If you think this is an intentional attempt to cheat, I would consider not participating in any future leagues with him, but from the what you have stated in your post, I wouldn't call him out publicly (or even privately). Considering that the commissioner is a friend of yours, the gain likely isn't worth the potential fallout of your cheating accusations. I will say this though: I have always appreciated owners who continued to manage their teams competitively even after they are eliminated from the playoffs. If an owner has the sportsmanship to stick around and make the final weeks of the regular season enjoyable for those still in contention, they will always have a spot in my leagues.
  8. Inspiration

    Arizona Cardinals

    You do realize that Boldin is not a free-agent this offseason, right? To be completely honest, I think you are exacerbate a fairly minor event. Kurt Warner had a heated exchange with Haley earlier in the game. There is chance you may be right, but unless we hear more from either Boldin or Haley regarding the situation, I'm not going think much of it.
  9. Inspiration

    Warner in the cold?

    Situation G QBRat Comp Att Pct Yds Y/G Y/A TD Int Rush Yds Y/G Avg TD Sack YdsL Fum FumL Outdoors 53 83.0 1172 1843 63.6 13652 257.6 7.4 65 65 70 140 2.6 2.0 1 147 924 52 24 Indoors 56 105.4 1155 1714 67.4 14939 262.1 8.7 117 49 82 136 2.4 1.7 2 89 573 37 16 Precip. 1 42.4 6 18 33.3 30 30.0 1.7 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 7 0 0 Windy 13 77.3 260 426 61.0 2991 230.1 7.0 15 17 24 47 3.6 2.0 0 42 239 11 6 Cold (21 - 40 F) 4 41.8 72 142 50.7 774 193.5 5.5 3 11 1 1 0.3 1.0 0 16 93 4 1 Mild (41 - 60 F) 20 88.9 423 651 65.0 5066 253.3 7.8 28 22 32 54 2.7 1.7 0 39 246 12 6 Warm (61 - 80 F) 25 85.9 561 879 63.8 6598 263.9 7.5 32 27 32 66 2.6 2.1 1 77 480 32 16 Hot (> 80 F) 4 79.9 116 171 67.8 1214 303.5 7.1 2 5 5 19 4.8 3.8 0 15 105 4 1 Found here: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/4541/s...LYF?year=career I don't know why it matters though. If Arizona ends up playing in New York, I can't envision any result other than a blowout in the Giants' favor.
  10. Field-goal kicking contest
  11. Inspiration

    Don't look now......

    He's not heating back up. Seattle has one of the worst pass defenses in the league and Larry Fitzgerald is playing out of his mind (as usual).
  12. Inspiration

    Who's more honest? Libs or cons?

    None of the above.
  13. Inspiration

    Did Scooter die ?

    Chris Crocker, is that you?
  14. Inspiration

    Mike, MKB4 says he is sorry

    So every Sunday then, along with assorted weekdays?
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