text:
Post draft hangover NFL Off-Season Thread aka The Summer Crimewave
Time to have a new off-season thread I think.
A few points for discussion to get her rollin':
- Grade your team's offseason and draft on a scale of:
A) Belichicked
B) 6 and 10
C) Same 'ol Browns/Jets/Cowboys/Bengals/Redskins
D) Matt Millen couldn't have done worse
- Expectations for your team the coming year (be reasonable, I don't want to hear any of this Andy Dalton for MVP, Steved)
- Predictions for OROY and DROY
-CRIME SPREE Update:
Greg 'Kraken' Hardy arrested for domestic violence. Apparently he threw the girl in question 'onto a bed full of loaded guns'. Which is an extremely uncomfortable sleeping arrangement if you ask me. (maybe the Panthers shouldn't pay him the franchise tag, he'll only use it on a sofa covered in knives).
Former Giants Safety Tyler Sash arrested after fleeing on a scooter and then 'hiding behind a tree' before being tasered. http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2014/05/former-nfl-player-leads-police-scooter-chase-hides-behind-tree-gets-tased.html
- General Miscellenia
Eagles have signed a guy known as 'Murderleg', a kicker who relishes contact and coverage duties on Special Teams. Sweet. His actual name Casey Spear is pretty badass too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHsAAhuowZg
Murderleg? What the hell does that even mean?
Move over Johnny Football, the worst nickname in sport has been passed on.
He is never gonna be allowed to run down the field like that
in the NFL. But, it would be awesome to see him try running after someone like Devin Hester
tbh Cordarelle Patterson > Devin Hester
right now
Oh, many subjects to consider
First I'm going to start with the Greg Hardy thing. Normally, I'm one to not let players off and think they've not done anything wrong, but it's a very strange case. There's more details on it here http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/14/4908967/court-sets-bond-for-panthers-greg.html#.U3R_DCg9UaY
And, in this day and age, you can even listen to the 911 calls.
From the start, I think it's just a mess and it's a bit of both of them.
OK, for grade draft, I gotta go b) 6 and 10. There were a few good picks, but I am not happy drafting another RB, when WR is much more pressing a need.
Possible expectations for next season, 8-8. We might not even be that lucky to get that many wins, but we still won't be last, that will be Tampa again.
OROY - Bishop Sankey. Call me crazy, but I think he's entered a good situation, where he could be the centrepiece of the offence.
DROY - I'm not sure, but probably Clowney
How stupid is that though?!
He just had the afterparty there, I'm sure he wouldn't have all his guns out (if he really had that many)
This is getting really weird now
Greg Hardy's accuser says he was upset because he found she dated Nelly.
It's getting a little clearer now
This shows everything that happened yesterday http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/15/4911720/carolina-panthers-greg-hardy-case.html#.U3XKCSg9UaY
and to me the most interesting thing is that she did not turn up to court for the restraining order and then her attorney requested to withdraw from the case and to be her attorney and this was accepted.
The more I read, the more it sounds like she is after some money
I agree
and I'm not one to think that because they are NFL players that they are allowed to do anything. Just reading into it quite a lot, there are a lot of things that don't make sense on this and are very conflicting.
If I'm wrong, I will put my hands up and say I am.
Also wanted to add
I think they have both hit each other here, so neither is completely blameless, but she's really trying to go further.
I'm quietly confident about the 2014 Vikings.
They've had a good offseason, re-signing some important players and addressing the QB position with a combination of keeping Cassell and drafting Bridgewater. The free agents they brought in were relatively cheap and address problem positions. Also, the noises coming from new coach Mike Zimmer are encouraging. I'm confident he'll turn the defense into a solid unit.
The biggest obstacle for the Vikings this year is the NFC North. If they were in the AFC East I'd think they'd make the playoffs easily, but they aren't as good as the Packers/Bears. They lost some games by small margins last year and I think they were better than their 4 wins suggested. I believe they'll go 8-8 this year, coming third in the NFC North. Obviously that won't be good enough for the playoffs in the dynamite NFC.
Gonna stick with my predictions from the draft thread for OROY/DROY:
- Brandin Cooks has the chance to be N'Orlins' WR2. With Brees chucking the ball, he'll post big numbers.
- Anthony Barr will be used well by Zimmer and will lead the turnaround in the Vikings defense, clocking up 8 sacks and a few picks in the process.
kept the offence the same
aggressive in free agency
CB and 2 DTs in the draft
still haven't brought in a safety all offseason though, so 8/10
should be a really tight division this year, but it's likely to be us and the packers at the top of it, doubt either team will be good enough to get a wildcard so it'll all be on the division, we'll be in the 8-10 win range again, hopefully it'll be enough. Alshon Jeffery to cement his place as the best young reciever (along with AJ Green) in the league with Josh Gordon out for the year. Matt Forte to be criminally overlooked as always during end of year discussions.
MVP: Peyton (got a feeling about Andrew Luck though)
OPOY: LeSean McCoy
DPOY: Earl Thomas
OROY: Teddy Bridgewater
DROY: Aaron Donald
Superbowl: Broncos > Saints (peyton retires, drives buick into the sunset)
I'd say so
Loved the focus on defense; got ourselves three potential instant starters in Mosley, Brooks and Jernigan, all at positions of need. Don't think that we needed to be aggressive at TE or WR - Steve Smith, Owen Daniels and a healthy Pitta is a clear upgrade over last year. Still have a gaping hole at RT though, looking like they'll be testing Rick Wagner there, or maybe signing Eric Winston which makes too much sense for it not to happen.
Feeling reasonably optimistic about this year. Think we've defintitely had the best offseason in the division
To keep up the NFC North theme, some thoughts on the Lions.
A mixed bag of acquisitions, stocked up on offensive weapons with Golden Tate and Eric Ebron (who seems like he'll play more at the receiver end of the tight end spectrum), didn't really do much to address needs on the defence, especially in the secondary. This probably isn't a great idea when you're playing the Packers twice a year, and as above, Daaaa Bears and the Vikings won't be slouches either.
I think I'd be happy with a winning record this year, feels like a lot of the pieces are in place, and with the possibility of Suh and Fairley not being in Detroit for much longer, Johnson and Bush probably not on the top of their game for much longer, and Stafford being Stafford, we sort of need to start winning now.
OROY: Watkins
DROY: Mack
MVP: Peyton
I really like the Tate
signing. I think it could be a little like the Bears with Marshall and Jeffrey. Finally Megatron has someone half decent on the other side and won't always get double/triple teamed.
I agree that the defense not being addressed is still a major issue and will stop the team being better than it could be.
Yeah, it's all well and good scoring 40 points a game,
as long as you stop the other guys scoring 41.Newerwaves this'd this
Nothing about Joe Haden's massive new contract?
5 years/$68 million, with $45m of that guaranteed. John Schneider must be happy man right now...
Patrick Peterson's gunna want a big slice of pie
just a matter of time until the cap gets bumped up surely? precedents are getting set that the league just won't be able to keep up with
Why is A) Belichicked ?
His draft record is very hit and miss.
of late maybe
Pats usually have a great offseason though
but his general offseason-ing
tends to be very good
Fair enough about the rest of the general offseason, although including the draft as well should probably still bring it down overall.
B+ I'm generally very happy with the way the Steelers handled the offseason so far. I've never known them to be so active in free agency and I think Mike Mitchell and LeGarrette Blount especially were great signings.
The draft is harder to call as the Steelers did their usual thing of putting "best player available" ahead of some positional needs. I'm happier with taking Shazier in the first round now they've said he'll play MLB instead of OLB but leaving CB til the 4th could cost us as Ike Taylor is getting on a bit. Taking Dri Archer in the 3rd seemed like a luxury pick we couldn't afford to make as he'll see most of his action in the return game although it's nice we have the fastest player in the draft. We also took the biggest guy in the draft with Daniel McCullers but at 6'7 352lbs he's probably too big to be a NT in the NFL:
but is he too big?
People who know more about this stuff than me say that being that much taller than the center is a hindrance for nose tackles. No idea if they're right but I can't wait to see him play even if its only a few preseason games.
I always thought an NT had to be relatively short
as the position relies more on leverage than power. Some 3-4 ends are huge though, maybe they'll play him there?
really surprised they didn't switch him to O-line in college
prototypical right tackle size. Even without great technique someone that big and strong would be a serviceable college playerdeadwrong and lospolloshermanos this'd this
I wouldn't be surprised if Pittsburgh try that
Once we've lost a few of our offensive lineman to season ending injuries in week one as per usual
all about leverage innit
you want to get under the other person's pad level to drive them back cause it stops them from digging their feet in. that's why most DTs and NTs are just over 6ft but with abnormally long arms.
B. As above, same old. Thought Johnson and Collins would leave which they duly did. Harrison and Hawkins were more surprising, but of those two Hawkins is the only one they'll miss as Vincent Rey had all but taken Harrison's spot by the end of last year. Would rate the draft haul as follows:
Dennard - Perfect pick
Hill - Good but unnecessary
Clarke - Sound
Bodine - Trading up for a centre, hmm.
McCarron - Bit Goddy
The others - special teams.
Think they'll make the play-offs but win fewer games as the division as a whole is stronger. If Dalton doesn't sort a contract before the season starts he should be better as he's playing for a new deal but what Dalton should be doing and what he actually does are two very different things.
Just going to take a moment to suggest that the Titans will pick first next year as well.
I thought the Titans might have an outside shot at the playoffs in a weak division/conference. Their O-line looks amazing on paper, and with Bishop Len Sankey they should have a good running game. They won't need much out of Locker if that's the case. Not sure on their defense, admittedly.
Chris Johnson couldn't make anything happen behind that same line last year though
And such times as they have to throw the ball there's literally no-one left to throw to with Kenny Britt in St Louis. No more Alterraun Verner either, and every other team in the division has had very strong offseasons.
They still have Kendall Wright
who had a criminally underrated season last year. Obviously not enough to be world-beaters, but still.
Good points all.
There's still no way they pick number one overall though.
I also think CJ1K might just be broken.Newerwaves this'd this
The Andy Dalton situation is one of the most intriguing storylines this season
The worst scenario the Bengals could have is Dalton doing a Flacco and lighting it up in the playoffs/end of season, then owning all the leverage in the world and demanding a huge contract incommensurate to his ability
bit Goddy :D
Surprised McCarron fell away so much, wasn't there a time he was a Heisman candidate?
his Heisman candidacy was kind of based round a career achievement argument
think Ryan Giggs winning player of the year. he was never anything more than a game manager (horrible phrase) even in college. not that hard to win national championships when you've got an NFL defence, an NFL O-line, a backfield that's included Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, TJ Yeldon & Eddy Lacy and WRs like Julio Jones and Amari Cooper.
The McCarron pick is so funny
Bengals decided that in order to challenge Andy Dalton they needed to select the absolute Daltoniest QB available.deadwrong and tea_segall this'd this
He was linked to that one around the time he got nicked for the first one
Wonder why they waited so long to indict him
The same Aaron Hernandez who keeps taking photos of my sister?
Depressing to think that less than 18 months ago we had two of the best TE in the league and they were set to just destroy other teams for years to come. Now one's being tried for no less than three murders, the other's probably one more injury from retirement and we had to resort to playing Michael Hoomanoo... Hoomeywanooey... some Hawaiian dude who caught about three balls in his career. Such is life in the NFL.
So Michael Sam is getting a reality show
Which the Rams didn't know about until after they drafted him. Not sure I can get on board with this, the guy was only a few picks away from being Mr Irrelevant so has a huge task in making the roster which should be his only focus. Not to mention that many teams were hesitant to draft him because of the media distraction which seems to be something he's actively looking for.
Plus reality tv is fucking shite.
Have to agree with you here
He's just about picked and really his head should be all about getting ready for training camp, learning the play book and trying to the best rookie he can be.
I wouldn't assume that it means he won't be doing everything 'to be the best rookie he can be', as cringe worthy as that sounds. Players have a life outside of the game to distract them, regardless of whether it is televised.
Reality TV is just awful though.
According to Deadspin it's being handled by Oprah's company
and run by the guys who did American Chopper and Lindsey Lohan's show. If it was a genuine attempt at documenting his attempts to make the team then I could understand it (and would watch it) but this sounds like the worst kind of trash TV.
Hopefully the Rams will ban the crew from filming at any facility to at least minimise the distraction. Assuming they weren't one of the teams to volunteer for Hard Knocks this year.
Deadspin article here:
spot on
nothing organic about this at all.
"He is another packaged product being sold to us at heavy markup—commodified smarm at best, and at worst something downright cynical, something that leverages real emotions in service of a marketing strategy."
in all likelihood it's his agent and 'advisors' pushing him into all this and co-ordinating his every move so the internet should probably put their pitchforks down and look at him as the passive figure in this
I'm sure it's his agents doing
trying to maximise what they get from their 12% as his earnings as a player aren't that likely to be high as a 7th round pick. They won't have forced him into this though, he could have refused and didn't so the buck still stops with him IMO
The show is undoubtedly going to be rubbish
It doesn't mean it will distract from his efforts to make the roster. Even that article dismisses the idea of 'distractions' as an issue.
It is not an admirable project for him to undertake, but it would be patronising to suggest it makes him less of a player because of it.
still don't understand why anyone's got a problem with him for this
fair enough have a problem with agents, or the networks or whatever. but as a 7th round pick it would be so stupid to leave money on the table when you're unlikely to be in the league in 12 months time
Because it's like he's accepted he won't make the team already
So has set out to become the next Kardashian instead. I just think his mind should 100% focused on football, on learning the playbook and learning how to play OLB. Signing a deal with Oprah to do a reality show before you've even been drafted just seems like he's got his priorties all wrong to me.
i'd say it's sensible on balance of probability
the chances of him getting a second contract are incredibly slim, and that's where the money is. he's still going to be putting in a massive amount of effort to get a roster spot (won't be OLB anyway, special teams and possibly 3rd down pass rushing specialist). anyone who's in his situation and gets a decent $$$$$ offer should take it, cause there's no way he's ever going to get a serious big bucks contract in the NFL
it's a fair point
but if this is the decision he wants to make then he'll have to accept the criticism from people who would rather he just made the most of the football opportunity however unlikely it is that he makes the 53 man roster.
for sure
it's a cynical and pragmatic decision rather than a noble one. but I think it's one that the majority of people would make in his situation
I disagree
I'm sure there are guys fighting for a spot on a roster who only care about making a team and wouldn't consider something like this for a second
but what about rookie's who have a kid?
that's definitely more hours of work than shooting a documentary, but no one would consider it a distraction
Not considering this for a second does not equate to being 100% focused on football.
From the write you linked to before:
thing is, if any other late round rookie was offered a reality show
they'd take it. AJ McCarron's going to be in one for example. As annoying as you may find it (and it kind of is) it's worth remembering that the average NFL career is 3-4 years long. he might not make a roster, he might get an injury on his first play in a preseason game. Like every other prospect, he has a very small window of earning potential in terms of his football career, and only a tiny amount of late-round picks will make enough money off football to set them up for life. with this in mind I totally understand him taking any money on the table
Marcus Lattimore reportedly fit and ready to compete for 49ers RB2 job
really hope he manages to have a career of some sort. went back for his senior year when he would've been a 1-2 round pick so he could get his degree, then suffered the worst injury i've seen in a game i've seen as it happened in any sport ever. was horrendous. seems like a good bloke, really wish him the best
A little related to this
Saints sign Devon Walker who was paralysed in a College game. Things like this really make you feel good about the gameaggressively_passive this'd this
for the non-squeamish
(though the reaction of both teams to it is really nice)
I haven't seen that before
that's brutal.
Reminds me a little of Sid Vicious' injury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSYcM4AJ8k (again, if you are squeamish, don't watch)
fuck, that's awful
Lattimore's was ACL, LCL, PCL, dislocated knee and a break. mental that he's got back to anywhere near a football field tbh
Moment of astonishment for this from the Ravens official twitter
" Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident."
Oh the NFL, one small step forward, 2 giant leaps back
fucking nuts that this was tweeted out by the official Ravens account
fucking disgusting. too drunk for more comment
"I won't call myself a failure. Failure is not getting knocked down. It's not getting up."
It'd be utterly farcical if it wasn't so offensive
He apparently apologised to a long list of people. EXCEPT HIS WIFE
how embarrassing
Anyone have any memories of the XFL?
I think it was pretty much my first exposure to American Football, since it arrived at a time when Channel 4 was showing WWF Heat on a Sunday and there was a lot of cross promotion. Some interesting stuff on it here:
I never watched it
Only heard about it after it's death. Would be cool to have different wrestling organisations go at each other on the field. Wonder who would win?
Pretty interesting articles using #stats to predict the 2014 season.
Texans to win the AFC South - put a monkey on it!
Just read this half an hour ago too, t'is excellent.
I'm still reserving judgement on the Texans though.
Somewhat interesting
But each factor is considered in isolation. How do the factors (and others not tested) interact with each other?
So basically, if the Lions stop giving up leads in the fourth quarter,
we might actually win some games? Interesting...
The Ravens are having a really bad offseason
Jacoby Jones and Bernard Pierce got a bit too tipsy and get kicked out of a club. At least none of them got bottled by a stripper named Sweet Pea this time
Slightly better boat-based PR for the Vikings
Just wait
Zimmer will turn him into a linebacking machine, just like he did with Rey Mau...oh.
Kapernick gets a 6 year, $126m deal, $61m guaranteed.
Makes him the best paid QB in football on an annual basis. Woof.
The full contract details make for interesting reading:
Very nice work by Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh. They can cut him loose without any cap charges and the bulk of it is incentive-heavy, so less pressure if he doesn't improve and develop. And they must be anticipating future injury problems the way this deal is structured - the only deal can think of that is similar is Manning's Denver contract, and that came off the back of multiple neck surgeries
Only just saw this but
apparently Cam Newton and Richard Sherman are the last two being decided for the Madden 2015 cover. Cam has challenged Sherman to a game of Madden and says he's the best https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DS_ZSbg5m4
Personally, I really hope Sherman wins the cover, as there is no way Cam can break the Madden curse
Just been researching on Wiki:
In December 2010, EA announced their plans on developing a movie based on the Curse, which will be a comedy, and not based on fate-based horror movies like Final Destination.[84] As of June 2013, EA hasn't commented on the status of the Madden Curse movie since the initial announcement.[85]
The Madden Curse has sort of died down a bit though
It didn't really affect Brees, Fitzgerald or Megatron who have all been on the cover in recent years.
I'm sure Peyton Hillis isn't a fan though.
Loving the obscenely in-depth look at QBs on PFF this month
Been wondering what RG3's YAC per completion was on comeback routes in 2013? Average dropback depth when facing 5 defensive backs? The world is your oyster:
How much is pro football focus?
I'm so NFL deprived at the moment that I'll read anything even vaguely insightful to get my fix so PFF would be a godsend, particularly after clicking through some doofus at Bleacher Report power ranking punters.
Something like 29 dollars a year
they put lots of stuff online for free, most of the articles as far as I can tell. unless you just love stats and want to make graphs for yourself/your blog or use them to score points in this thread, I can't see the interest in having a sub.
I'm happy with my current reading:
ESPN blogs on each conference/Jets/Seahawks for the nitty gritty day to day stuff
Doug Farrar and Chris Burke on the SI Audibles Blog for decent entry level analysis.
Occasional Bleacher Report articles if they have nice pictures and gifs
Whatever PFF throws up online for free.
Above all, Sports On Earth. Mike Tanier is insightful, enjoyable and very often utterly hilarious reading - best writer on the NFL today along with Farrar. Ross Lande is a really good 'player profile' guy who translates scouting knowledge into readable, enjoyable articles.
- lospolloshermanos this'd this
Agree about the ESPN blogs btw
Coley Harvey is the most reliable Bengals reporter on the internet.
Suspect the Jets guy, Rich Cimini, is a bit of a snidey weasel
but he gives good report and does nice little mini analyses based on actual observation of training camps and practices. So give a fuck.
Seahawks is a bit vanilla but good info too.
Please feel free to use this subthread to recommend more reading.
I love Chase Stuart's Football Perspective for his obscenely nerdy stats based breakdowns. Used to right for the sadly now much worse off Fifth Down Blog for the NYT http://www.footballperspective.com/
ESPN blogs are good for keeping up to date
But the quality of the writing is somewhat of a lottery in terms of getting a good writer for your specific team.
Also follow loads of individual writers./bloggers on twitter
I should sort them into a list one of these days and the post it on here for others to add to.
yeah the subscription is purely for the sortable premium stats
Which, if you're a stat wanker like me, is worth it in my opinion.
Would add SB Nation and Grantland (Bill Barnwell in particular) to LBC's above list. Also, I think someone's already posted about this but Matt Bowen's current NFL 101 series on Bleacher Report is essential reading
Kissingsuzykolber for the lolz too, of course
Think plenty of SBNation and Grantland guys masquerade on there
accidentally posted it in the pre-draft thread a couple of days ago but..
johnathan franklin forced to retire after 1 season with a neck injury :( http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2103067-johnathan-franklin-injury-update-on-packers-rbs-neck-and-recovery
Looking for some NFL-related books to get into over the summer. Any recommendations? Already read Friday Night Lights
These were both well reviewed:
Collision Low Crossers, which follows the Jets for a year
Slow Getting Up
I really want to read George Plimpton's classic Paper Lion (his account of trying out at QB for the Lions), but it's out of print so struggling to find a copy.
So, a new league is launching with six teams and no kicking game...
Interesting, but why launch it when all other football is being played, surely it will just be drowned out?
NFL also chatting about a new type of minor league:
Love it when it's the boring players doing crime
When it's some loudmouth OLB or WR then it's kind of expected, but when it's a backup QB or a centre or someone it's great. You just wouldn't think they had it in them.
Jimmy Graham ruled to be a tight end for franchise tag purposes
Losing him (and saving the Saints) $8m in the process. Best of luck hanging on to him next year, guys.
Has it though?
Doesn't he line up for something like 70% of snaps in the slot or out wide? If he plays as a wide receiver he should be paid like one.
He's always listed as a TE in fantasy.
Case closed.
as far as I'm concerned
if you take snaps with your hand in dirt alongside the tackles, you're a tight end - regardless of how many snaps taken there. doesn't make sense to classify Graham as a WR when the average WR spent 98% of their snaps split out wide compared to Graham's 67%
Part of the arguement seems to be
That when he is not on the line he's closer in than most slot receivers anyway. The best slot guys don't actually get paid a whole lot more than the top TEs anyway do they?
Meanwhile, Jordan Cameron is now listing himself as a 'pass catcher' on twitter after the case pointed out that Graham actually classifies himself as a TE on his twitter profile.
Josh Gordon arrested
Not doing himself any favours before his suspension hearing.
the boy is fucked, will probably never play for us again, real shame
every team seems to get a nugget like this every now and again. It's the Browns though so it would have to be our best, most talented player...
Now with the NFL
Maybe giving him a years suspension, it will now definitely be a year.
It's strange how it's another WR that is just messing up. Only a few month ago, it was Justin Blackmon. Such a shame, both of them had real potential and could have become excellent WR, but now looking at possibly being cut.
Am I wrong that
I've started preparing for the fantasy already? I started preparing my draft order today, I think there might be something wrong with me.
I've decided to put it off until the world cup is over
I have had a few thoughts on possible sleepers this year though and I renewed my Gamepass so I've watched a bit of NFL Network recently too which has gotten me excited about it.
That's on next months pay for me.
I've been looking at the rookies as well, really trying to figure out who really will make an impact and who won't.
Yeah you don't really need it til pre season starts
Although they have added Hard Knocks as an On Demand feature which is pretty cool. I think they have NFL Network programmes On Demand too.
Ah, that's good that
Hard Knocks is on there. I think I might get it for that, as I never really get around to watching it properly each season.
I'm keeping half an eye on it.
Keep changing my keepers, can't seem to settle. Apart from that, too busy with the fantasy cricket to give it the attention it deserves, then it's fantasy (other) football to consider in a couple of weeks. Full fantasy NFL research-a-thon will have to wait until mid August probably.
I've been trying to set up the scoring for my potential 'crap players win' league
But I'm struggling to get it right, particularly for WR/TE.
It really needs drops to be a scoreable stat.
I had to be quite forgiving to kickers and give points for short field goals. Points for misses still left all but Garrett Hartly as no significant points going by last season.
I'll post my scoring system so far and the 'star' performers from last season shortly.
Any thoughts or tweaks you can suggest to improve and if I can get it how I want it, you can all join.
Incompletion 1pt
25 yds -1pt
Touchdown -2pt
Interception 4pt
Sacked 2pt
300yd bonus -2pt
400yd bonus -5pt
Attempt 2pt
3 yds -1pt
Touchdown -6pts
100yds -2pts
200yds -5pts
Fumble 3pts
Fumble lost 10pts
Catch 4pts
5 yds -1pt
Touchdown -4pts
Fumble 3pts
Fumble lost 10pts
PAT miss 20pts
FG Made
50+ -3pts
40-49 1pt
30-39 2 pts
20-29 3pts
0-19 4pts
50+ 5pts
40-49 8pts
30-39 11pts
20-29 15pts
0-19 20pts
Sack -1pt
Interception -2pts
Fumble recovery -2pts
Safety -2pts
Touchdown -6pts
Points allowed
0 -15pts
1-6 -10pts
7-13 -5pts
21-27 5pts
28-34 10pts
35+ 15pts
Yards allowed
<100yds -10pts
100-199yds -5pts
300-399yds 5pts
400-449yds 10pts
450-499yds 15pts
500+yds 20pts
Top 5s
Eli Manning 287pts
Joe Flacco 281pts
Ryan Tannehill 274pts
Geno Smith 269pts
Carson Palmer 246pts
Ray Rice 374pts
Pierre Thomas 308pts
Maurice Jones-Drew 288pts
Chris Johnson 271pts
Le'Veon Bell 264pts
Julian Edelman 197pts
Pierre Garcon 168pts
Kendall Wright 156pts
Harry Douglas 144pts
Andrew Johnson 124pts
Antonio Gates 141pts
Tony Gonzalez 126pts
Heath Miller 122pts
Jermaine Gresham 115pts
Jordan Cameron 109pts
Garrett Hartley 119pts
Randy Bullock 104pts
Jay Feely 102pts
Nick Novak 93pts
Caleb Sturgis 93pts
Vikings 165pts
Cowboys 129pts
Falcons 128pts
Bears 121pts
Jaguars 119pts
The issue is that I have to make it worthwhile to have active players
But who don't do well. If I could score drops it would really help as the WRs are proving particularly difficult to bring up in line with the RBs and QBs without rewarding good play more. WR scoring drops off very quickly too.
I'm happy with kickers despite having to reward field goals to some extent. The defences are fine and I'm happy with the QBs too.
The RBs is OK. I don't mind rewarding attempts there provided I remove those points for good gains.
I was thinking about this as well
but, you could just have a fair competition rule that you have to always have active players in each slot.
I also don't want people to play guys who will never make the field though
It's fairly straightforward to choose a WR4 if WRs are going to always score negatively.
I'll send you the details and you can sign up now, but there could be loads of tweaks and I might end up cancelling it if it can't be any good.
Will PM you now.
If anyone else wants in, PM me and I will add. Probably will make it easier to get an idea of the scoring issues if you want to be able to see all players scores.
Thanks for this
Just joined up. No worries if it doesn't work and you cancel it. Just the thought of it is an awesome thing.
That's a fair point about something like a WR4, hadn't thought that far ahead.
No problem
My thinking with the RBs for example was that I could reward caries of 3yards or less and penalise ones of 4yards or more and a point per carry then negative yard modifier makes that work nicely.
It's harder to translate that to receivers.
I think I wanted to give reward for receptions of 10yards and less and drops, but that really didn't work out.
Take a look at the player lists. I'm totally on board with any suggestions.
Now I understand more about
the 1 point per -3 yards and -5. Makes sense now to me and I like that, because otherwise they are more than likely be in minus points without it. I think it will be quite a low scoring league, which will make games quite close.
I see fractional scoring is enabled, how does that work with the scoring or does it not come into play?
After thinking about it more, it might make the kicker the highest scoring player in the league, which to me is the funniest thing.
Fractional actually means decimal
So without it you only score the whole points.
ie 13yds rushing = 1pt rather than 1.3pts
I would like QB, RB and WR to have similar scoring levels which will be a bit more than the K & DEF.
I think you may be correct that I just need to scale down the other scoring a bit.
My word, I was being dim
Yeah, it's obvious and I've been in loads of leagues with it.
Fair dos, it just made me laugh, as loads of people think kickers are almost worthless in fantasy (which is something I disagree with)
This sounds awesome
count me in when you open the league to joiners.
Going through your scoring, some of it confuses me, as some things I would have thought to be minus points are actually plus. Things like a catch for a WR is 4pts. Is it just that you forgot the minus or I'm just being stupid?
For the kickers, for the made FG's could you just go -1 for 0-19, -2 for 20-29, etc?
This one is gonna be super hard to set the draft order up for, as I will have to totally rewire my brain and I can see me taking someone like Adrian Peterson as I would just get confused!
It is very hard to have the WRs score any points if you don't give them those receptions, so it is supposed to be 4pts.
With kickers, those negative points you suggested were in my first draft, but only Hartley finised with positive points and that was about 4, so it simply wouldn't work unless I made a miss count for a lot more points, but it's not great to give a tonne of points for one play.
Fair dos
You have clearly thought about this a lot. I will have a look at the full scoring of everything and have a think.
Jimmy Smith becomes the fifth Raven arrested this off season
(Joining Ray Rice, Lorenzo Talafierro, Jah Reid and Deonte Thompson, fact fans). To put that into perspective the other 31 NFL teams have only had 14 arrests between them.
Statistical anomaly
It's all good.
Jimmy Graham finally signs a new deal
4 years, $40m and $21m guaranteed. not sure how the Saints are going to squeeze this under their salary cap. must be a heavily backloaded deal
I know TEs don't get big deals
but that still doesn't sound like enough.
he's averaging $1m more per year than Gronkowski
and if he were a receiver he'd rank 7th in average per year. sounds about right to me
Time we had a thread set up I reckon, I'm getting twitchy. I'm sending the batsignal up, didyousayhand, lospolloshermanos and Smyth2 need to be looking to the sky...Smyth2 and lospolloshermanos this'd this
Yeah its definitely time to get the thread going
Although probably still a little while before we should draft; plenty of ACLs still to be torn in training camp/pre-season
Oh yeah, no draft until late August.
Just want to get everyone assembled and the register taken.
Almost time to blow the dust off the Big Board spreadsheet and sigh sadly at the prospect of picking the three tallest dwarves to pick up the baton after last season's keeper disaster.
And can someone explain, in terms a five year old would understand, how which keepers I...keep will affect my draft picks? Particularly if I keep a player acquired as a result of a trade.
I believe, and I will try to pick out the post somewhere,
that your keeper's draft round is the same as where he was drafted last year, regardless of who drafted him, and regardless of whether they were dropped and picked up off the wire.
Hence Julio Jones, who was a... second round pick? last year, will take a second round pick this year, even though he got injured and dropped before being picked up late on.
Presumably we can wait to see the draft order before we decide?
Giving up the 12th pick for Peterson is a no brainer, not sure I'd give up the 1st.
I think they have to be in before the draft date.
But there already seems to be a draft order on the league page, which incidentally has you drafting first.
I think we need our league commissioner to turn up.
that's the general gist, yes
I'll post up the full rules in the proper fantasy thread. also need to address the business of reassigning the Jajaguwars to a new owner
But what if...
I traded my 5th pick for someone else's second pick, whilst keeping my own 2nd pick. Do I lose my second and third or second and fifth picks?
(NB: Purely hypothetical situation, I traded my first 3 picks away last season, useless humps that they were).
you lose whatever pick corresponds to the round that the player was picked in
regardless of whether you own a pick in that round anymore. if for instance you keep a player you picked in the 4th round and you traded away your 4th round pick, you would be charged a round up, so the third round pick would be assigned to that keeper.
Yes please!
I think you were planning to pick a candidate out of the hat though.
I'm going to start 'mocking' imminently, let's do this.
This is reigning non-keeper league champ and keeper league runner up deadwrong's new username btw.
Ahhhh, that's who you are
I like it.
I've started setting up
my draft order already.
Are the regular leagues going to be setup soon?
was trying to wait until at least August, but aye i'll get on it when I get home from work.
Need to avenge last year...
Were the Div 2 reigns handed on to brusma?
i did mean to start a thread on Sunday trying to sort out fantasy signups
but i forgot. let me just get me head around what needs to happen
can i get the vacant fantasy spot
if it's still open? i'm in the weekly threads lots and i'm proper shit at fantasy leagues so i should be a reliable whipping boy
question for Gamepassers >>
the season plus subscription (the $199.99 package) includes the playoffs doesn't it? it says the playoff games will be only viewable in archived format after they've finished but I can circumvent that with the the hola unblocker extension right?
If you're in the UK
then you can't watch the playoffs live. Sky has exclusive rights on them.
You can probably get around them via an unblocker, but it might not be quick enough for streaming something like Gamepass
Forgot to add
Sky do an online player thing, which you can subscribe to for a month. When I was in England, I did this for the playoffs
So for the DiS Championship is now active. We generally do a standard draft but I wanted to know folks thoughts on doing an auction draft, or sticking with standard.
Never done an auction draft but they sound great. Bill Simmons is a fan:
"Because nobody in the history of mankind has ever NOT had fun during an auction. Because it spares us from the missionary-position feel of a round-by-round draft"
This below:
- brusma, Steved, and colonel_getafe this'd this
- The_Excession and lospolloshermanos this'd this
Used to run a fantasy premier league auction.
It is fun, but will probably take at least twice as long. And how does autodraft work for people not there? I think I'll vote auction for the bants anyway.
As I got relegated from Division 2
should I now be removed from the DiS Championship, as I thought this was Division 1?
right, here's the state of play:
i've kicked out 4 users for inactivity:
Doodletown Junkies who i know was prof-kitsch
The Chumpions - dunno who that was but he did Sweet FA
Thornbury Kittens - likewise
AFC Ajax - this was OvertakenByTractors, who seems to have vanished. OBT, if you're lurking and still want to be in, can you post in reply to this or drop me a DM, you were fairly active last season but you have disappeared, that said you're back in if you want.
teams remaining in Division 2:
svlad - Staffordshire Oatcakes
tea_segall - the unfortunate Brighton B-52s, who really deserved promotion last year
FusionTR - Les Savy Favre, winner of Best Name
songforsaturday - Preston Lambs
brusma - London Riots
teams relegated last year:
spit-fire is already invited
i need e-mail addresses from POWERFULMELLOW and NEWERWAVES so that i can invite you
after all that, there are 4 vacancies
i think aggressively_passive had first dibs, but fluffybum sent me about 500 blank PMs and i can't be arsed to trawl back to find out if that's the case. a_p, can you PM me your e-mail address so i can invite you?
long story short, there are THREE SPARE SLOTS in Division 2. those who are interested, post here or PM me, and you can go in on a first-come first-served basis
Hello, I said in the other thread I'd be keen to get involved,
I'm a total newbie so will get all excuses in now, but I'll certainly do my best to keep it going all season.
okidoke, DM me your email address
i can always abuse you via twitter if you get slack
Paris Poisson Rouge are going to win the league this year
If I can actually avoid drafting like a drunk Jerry Jones.
Darnell Dockett's Menagerie have had a rebrand and are now The Inflatable Drinking Swans.
What is the deal if you picked a keeper up on the waiver wire? Do they cost a draft pick?
Not if no-one drafted them originally.
Well, they cost your last round pick but that's largely irrelevant.
If someone did draft them originally, it costs the equivalent draft pick to where they drafted them.
Found it.
Go into the league, choose History, choose 2013 season, choose draft results.
Oh wow, forgot Trent Richardson was a first round pick last year
*Jettisons him from team*
By me!
Good job I also drafted Forte.
Bernard was a 6th round pick?
By me?
That's a piece of genius from my wreckage of a draft. I'll be holding onto him then.
Sidney Rice retires
sad, I remember that season with the Vikings when he was unstoppable.
Seahawks starting to look a bit thin at WR
Behind the perennially injured Percy Harvin (who surely won't be returning anything any more) they've got Ricardo Lockette, Jermaine Kearse and that massive bloke they've just drafted. Actually that's not particularly thin at all is it...
Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Norwood, Richardson, Lockette
Norwood looks and plays like Anquan Boldin.
Richardson is a speed demon.
So no, I'm not too worried.
Kearse just ran go routes and flag patterns all year
he's utterly massive, fast and he catches everything.
Have you fully defected to the Seahawks then?
Shame on you.
everyone forgets about Doug Baldwin
that's how he gets open
don't know
My first season of watching I actually supported them before I went green.
Could have been a great number 1 receiver. Couldn't find a video of it, but I'll always remember that sideline catch vs the Steelers for the Vikings. Great ball skills (lol).
This game is amazing
Favre is throwing some utter pies and Rice comes down with everything.
Whilst Josh Gordon is appealing his 1 year ban for smoking weed
Ray Rice will be back by week 3 after beating the shit out of his fiancée. The NFL really needs to get it's priorities right.
But that's still absurd as it effectively rules domestic violence as equal to smoking weed.
NFL's approach to disciplinary matters has always been a joke.
"The NFL really needs to get it's priorities right."
This applies to pretty much the entire world, to be fair.
Ravens sign ex-Giants safety Will Hill
... who has a pending six game suspension for PEDs. an odd one PR-wise following the media shitstorm surrounding the Ray Rice situation. potentially great pickup (graded 3rd among safeties last season on PFF despite not playing a full season) but this really isn't helping our burgeoning bad boy reputation
Somebody really should work out how much each player
Who has been suspended for smoking weed has lost in earnings, endorsements and future contracts from it, so we can find out what was the most expensive roll-up ever smoked.
Might put the occasional player off lighting up too.
This is his 3rd season in the league
This is his second weed suspension and in his other season he was suspended for PEDs.
Great player though, but your season can be cooked after 6 games as the Giants showed last season.
He returned for us around the same time we traded for Beason and we went from being one of the leagues worst defences at that time to finishing the season with the 8th best.
Assume (when he gets onto the pitch) he'll be a direct replacment for Ihedigbo?
Him, Jimmy Smith, Matt Elam and Ladarius Webb are an annoyingly good secondary.
looks like it
Elam is locked in at SS, and Darian Stewart and rookie Terrence Brooks will battle it out as starting FS, but Hill is considerably more talented than those two so if he stays clean (big if) then he'll take over. potential top 5 secondary that could come undone without a decent nickel corner
Pouncey twins are capably handling the duties of NFL's Biggest Arseholes
Something in the water down in Gator land. I blame Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow.
Depends on whether there is any truth to the allegations
"A worker from the club, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Local 10 that he saw the Pounceys a few tables away from the altercation, but said they were not involved."
Patrick Peterson a new deal, and it's a whopper
$70m for 5 years, $48m guaranteed. Great off-season to be a cornerback.
Can't ever actually remember seeing him play
I barely ever see the Cardinals as they're East Coast and never seem to play any AFC North teams. That said, in an off season where $26m can get you 4 years of Alterraun Verner I'm deeply skeptical of the deals people like Talib, Do-Ro-Cro and Peterson are getting.
God I'm so ready to watch some football.
I watched the 30 for 30: Straight Outta LA last night just for a taste of it.
I didn't realise pre-season was so close now
HoF game on 3rd August and pre-season starts 7th August. I really need to get my Gamepass membership renewed
Can any of you jerks confirm for me that Game Pass still doesn't work
with Chromecast? It didn't when I got the free trial for the draft.
so had anyone successfully
used hola unblocker or something similar to bypass the sky blackouts on Gamepass (particularly for the playoffs)?
It worked for the NBC games
possibly CBS as well? Not FOX though
Watched 4 or 5 last year and it worked for all of them
No idea if it has anything to do with which network they're on over there.
oh yeah
duh, yes it works on nfl.com
JESUS! guess this is a knock-on of the flacco deal but still, JESUS!
Apparently it's structured very similarly to the Kaepernick deal
The initial hit is 2 seasons for $25m with the rest pay as you go with lots of incentives and targets and whatnot. That said I'd have rather they waited and made him prove it this year, but as long as there's still space for Burfict and Green it's not the end of the world.
still, mental amount for someone who's not a top 10 QB
the precedents being set for quarterbacks and corners are mental, the cap will have to go up soon i'd guess
Why Your Team Sucks is back!
Football is on its way!
and they've kept the emails too, good. always remember the Raiders fan who shrugged and said that Pryor was their best receiver last season. i love that level of pessimism
KSK preseason previews are way more entertaining than serious previews
Five ways Joey Porter will toughen up the Steelers linebacking corps:
– Mandatory bullet-in-the-ass training camp initiation.
– Starves, beats and sings off-key to Jarvis Jones.
– Only refers to Ryan Shazier as Charlie Villenueva
– Daily unpadded Oklahoma drills versus his pit bulls.
Have we all seen this utterly bonkers Madden advert?
My most recent Madden game has gone fairly bonkers
The Rams moved to LA, the Titans moved to London and the Chargers moved to Austin (and rebranded themselves the Bats). None of which have stopped the Bengals cruising to 3 consecutive Superbowls, obviously.
That actually sounds quite good
I haven't bought one since Madden '13 which I really didn't like as they ruined Superstar mode
I just want Football Manager for the NFL
where I can design my own wacky blitzes and route combinations. Is that so much to ask?
Didn't someone link to an indie game that was exactly that
a little while ago?
DiS pick'em league set up on nfl.com
DiS Picks
Password: drowned
I love Johnny Manziel even if he's going to be terrible
He has next Tebow written all over him
He'll be starting by the end of the season, benched somewhere next season and in a cushy ESPN booth the season after that.
it's gotten to the point
you can't help feeling the Browns may as well just draft the best QB available with every single draft pick, in the hope that they find one who can throw the ball
I feel so sorry for Joe Thomas
Consistently the best left tackle in the league and yet he's had to protect a parade of awful, awful quarterbacks. How he motivates himself is an utter mystery.
i bet Alex Mack is wishing he had been able to go to Jacksonville
it's that bad. Browns to rival Raiders for #1 overall next year right?
I think the Browns and the Raiders will continue on their 4-12 plateau of badness
But the Dolphins or the Titans will plunge to the deeper depths of awful, a la the Texans last year.
Titans are a decent shout, especially if Locker gets injured early
Dolphins will win at least 5 with Tannehill under center, surely?
i just think the Raiders are next level terrible. they don't have a WR2 let alone a WR1, they've basically signed a 2008 roster. i mean, at least otherwise crappy teams like the Rams and the Bills and the Jets have half decent defenses. what do the Raiders have?
I love this year's Raiders
They're basically The Expendables 3 in NFL form. reckon they'll do better than expected.
Jets don't have a decent defense. We have a genius defensive head coach and a frankly terrible lack of depth in the secondary.
The Raiders have Khalil Mack, Sio Moore, Justin Tuck and Lamarr Woodley
Dennis Allen is a strong defensive coach too, although that secondary is nothing to write home about. James Jones, Rod Streater and Andre Holmes are a reasonable if not spectacular receiving corps too, particularly if Matt Schaub rediscovers any sort of form.
I like Tannehill but he plays behind an abysmal line and has only Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline to throw to and a running game that's barely serviceable. Cameron Wake aside the defence is nothing to write home about either.
Way off about the Dolphins (appear to be describing last year's team)
They are loaded at WR at the moment, with stiff competition to make the roster. Offensive line is completely changed from last season with only Pouncey remaining (whether it is much better remains to be seen). Defense is shaky at linebacker, but strong elsewhere.
Not sure about the Titans
Zach Mettenberger could be good in NORVBALL when Locker inevitably gets injured. Very underrated bunch of WRs too.
The Dolphins o-line might make Tannehill do a David Carr and curl up into quivering, weeping ball of foetal position as soon the ball is snapped .
wouldn't surprise me if the Titans made the playoffs
8-8 is probably enough to get a wildcard in the AFC this year and they're capable of that
The abysmal state of the AFC South and Ray Horton are the only things going for them
As soon as Jake Locker gets injured they'll really struggle unless Bishop Sankey can carry that offence by himself.
He would self destruct due to his character though
Tebow was a model professional, who simply couldn't play football at NFL level.
er, has anyone else read this yet?
warning: very long, probably the maddest thing I've ever read (*definitely* in the field of sportswriting), yet massively entertaining...
sbnation are batshit
sometimes I like it, sometimes they try WAY too hard. This is the latter
you would
you ARE internetz ;)
whatever this means
it is probably true.
The World Belongs To Brian Hoyer
Damn, knew I should've refreshed.
Bit disappointed the Steelers won't get to play against Manziel in Week 1, we have a pretty solid record against rookie QBs
Hoyer gets the nod as Browns QB
How long til they start Manziel instead? I reckon Week 7
Don't really understand this.
They're both throwing to absolutely no one so why not go with the guy who might roll out and make a play with his feet.
maybe because they're not both throwing to no-one
Hoyer's throwing to no-one, Manziel's (potentially) throwing to defensive backs
Who's been watching Hard Knocks?
Watched the first 2 episodes yesterday, the first time I've ever seen it. Compelling stuff. I particularly like Roddy White vs William Moore.
I've been watching
Seem to be less likable guys that last year with the Bengals. Not sure I'll be sad at cuts time.
White vs Moore is good. Cupcake is a star in the making.
Roddy got OCD Harry Douglas in some hot baby water. That was funny.
The reality TV woman is awful and I don't like Kroy Biermann.
Osi and Roddy's chat was very cool.
Watching on gamepass. 3rd episode should be up sometime in the next 24hrs I guess.
On Gamepass too, I finally bit the bullet.
I don't like Kroy Biermann either, he has closet racist written all over him. Harry Douglas' wife is great -"living with you is like living with 5 children". Agree about Osi and Roddy's heart to heart, that was probably the highlight so far.
this year's season has been pretty dull and uneventful
so far. enjoying that no. 45 who starts fights with everyone though
Also I can't get enough of Why Your Team Sucks. The Rams one:
"We drafted our janitor in the 4th round. No really. Defensive back Mo Alexander worked as a janitor at the Edward Jones Warehouse—err—"Dome" after being suspended from Utah State for fighting. I imagine, "Good Will Hunting" style, he was making his rounds in the locker rooms emptying trash cans when he stumbled upon a chalk board. Here was written one of Brian "Let's Run Up the Middle on 3rd & 15" Schottenheimer's ingenious Tavon Austin double-reverse-handoffs with the inscription "UNSTOPPABLE!!". Mo no doubt picked up the chalk and drew a line showing the safety/OLB tackling Austin for a 7 yard loss. Shottenheimer returned the next day flabbergasted, and once Jeff Fisher heard that the man who solved it had a disciplinary problem, he was immediately interested."
Insert blunt jokes here:
I felt for you* when I read this earlier this morning.
*chuckled to myself and rubbed my hands together a little bit.
You really need to let that Willis McGahee trade go.
I mean, what trade? Who is this McGillis of whom you speak?
Should make the Steelers backfield interesting if they're both suspended for the same time. Issac Redman should probably expect a phonecall soon.
FINALLY a crime worth renaming my Keeper team for
Farewell Desmond Bryant's Neck, hello LeCheech and LeChong!
- lemonbrickcombo this'd this
New deal for Vontaze Burfict
And it's an absolute steal at $20m for 4 years. Nice to see Paul Brown going back to what he knows after his uncharacteristic splurge on Andy Dalton's deal.
Wes Welker done?
Like the 'Days without an arrest' counter on that page
Currently at 4 days.
Steve Smith scored a bit of a tasty first TD for Baltimore
3-0 in pre-season, seems to be linking up with Flacco well, Ray Rice has remembered how to run despite the fact he probably shouldn't be playing any more, quietly confident...
I'm really happy to see that play
Really hope Smith scores a whole tonne of TD's this season and makes the Panthers brass look like a bunch of idiots.
As morally satisfying NFL plays go
I'm not sure Michael Sam sacking Johnny Manziel and doing the money sign will ever be topped.
Just so perfect on every level.
If there's one thing I have learnt from watching pre-season games this year
It's that it will be an absolute flagarama this year if they don't sort it out. Like yellow confetti.
I have no doubt it will sort itself out
Players and indeed officials will adjust to the rule changes, just like they always do. Preseason is always relatively 'sloppy', particularly without settled starters on the field for much of the time, so more penalties is not unexpected.
If there's one thing I have learned from watching pre-season games it is that you can have a 4th Timeout.
Bradford's done his ACL again
out for the year.
Rams apparently interested in Mark Sanchez, aka The Sanchize, aka Nacho, aka Buttfumbler General.
Schottenheimer Sanchez reunion, now there's something to make you shiver. 4 yard outs and digs galore.
Feel really sorry for Bradford
He was on course for 30 TDs last season before getting hurt, I really thought this would be the year he proves his worth as a #1 overall pick but it's probably more likely he's played his last game as a Ram.
I think there are better options to the Rams than Buttfumble, surely seeing what the Washington Racists want for Kirk Cousins would make more sense.
Mmm but Schotty and Marky Mark & The Fumbly Butt have history
(that most of it is terrible is a moot point at this stage)
They appear to be sticking with Shaun Hill for now
No need to make a panic move now and over pay for someone else who is uncertain to be any better than Hill. At the very least a serviceable backup to Hill would be freely available once teams make their final roster cuts.
Trying not to get too excited about Bridgewater
but by gum is it nice to have a young quarterback who actually progresses through his reads and doesn't shit himself under pressure. I'd still like him to spend the season on the bench mind.
Logan Mankins to the Bucs for Timothy Wright and a 4th Rounder
Belichick makes out like a thief in the night as ever. Mankins is a quality guard but he's only got a couple of good seasons left in him.
Every single off-season
the Pats pull off a bit of business like this. Belichick must have Jedi mind tricks or something, Mankin's cap hit alone should've scared the Bucs off.
it's so aggravating
i can't even persuade myself that Timmy Wright's a naff acquisition, he looked like a real nifty pass-catcher last season. even if he can't block for toffee, him and Hoomanawanui (didn't look up the name before typing, get me) would be a good alternative 2-TE set to cover for Gronk when he breaks again. that's not even mentioning that he played WR in college
It's just an NFL rule that everything has to go their way
Also I don't believe you about Hoomanawanui, even he has to look up how to spell it before typing.
it's easy, it's spelt how it sounds, Ho-o-mana-wan-ui
I'd still like this deal if I was a Bucs fan
if only because it means they don't end up signing Richie 'Guy' Incognito.
Goodell drops the ban hammer on Gordon's terrible back tattoo
Out for one year.
I laugh in the general direction of whoever it was who drafted him last weekend in the Keeper League
The message is clear
smoking da ganja is worse than beating a woman unconscious.
#nofunleaguecolonel_getafe this'd this
quite enjoying
watching Matt Miller of Bleacher Report digging himself deeper into a twitter storm on this point
Seems especially ridiculous when you consider the general direction
America seems to be going in regarding the legalisation of weed. #fuckthenfl
I think he can still ask the state to intevene
Like Jonathan Vilma did with his suspension. At least half of Ohio would support him in that.
Still insane that the Commish' is being this heavy handed not to mention how long he took to not change his mind in the slightest even after the (perfectly valid) criticism of the Ray Rice suspension.
was *this* close to using a keeper pick on him
Did anybody see
that Matt Prater has been suspended for the first 4 games of the season? http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_26408552/nfl-releases-statement-broncos-punter-matt-praters-suspension
Can't believe it's been 4 years since he was put on the program and he still can't drink this much amount of time later
Anyone fancying getting into college football this year?
I'm going for Maryland because of their deranged uniforms: http://allsportsdiscussion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/university-of-maryland-terrapins-rock-their-new-jerseys.jpg
Mad Max meets Rollerball meets Indy 500. Or as commenters on twitter put it "looks like it's been made of recycled jockeys" "good god they're awful" "like a fascimile of every seersucker sports jacket Doug Stanhope and Hunter S ever wore"
And I'm easily amused by yelling "roll 'pins"
They do have Stefon Diggs at WR though. CAN. YOU. DIGG. IT?
Every year I mean to
And every year I just don't have time. If I watch college football as well I could lose my entire weekend.
will probably do what I do every year
and watch the odd big game if I'm home on a Saturday night, and keep with the potential 2015 draft prospects. It's too big and sprawling to dedicate the time required to have any authoritative knowledge on it. I spend enough hours every week watching pro football...
No time for this, otherwise I probably would.
Where can you watch it anyway?
There's a bunch of games on BT Sport/ESPN
Then ESPN Player have a college football pass I think, or something like that.
I do have a College side alredy
in Notre Dame, but really don't follow it that much. Just not the time and it's really hard to watch it over here
Except my side are the Wisconsin Badgers
The Vikings go 4-0 in preseason.
Does anyone have any articles linking preseason success to regular season success? I feel like getting carried away.
There was a good one by Bill Barnwell on Grantland.
Found it.
Good article that. I especially like the bit pointing out that Ryan Leaf was better than Peyton Manning in the 1999 preseason.
I'm choosing to believe that the Vikings will follow the example of the '02 Patriots and choosing to ignore the '08 Lions. THIS IS OUR YEAR.
Michael Sam has been cut by the Rams
They sold a lot of jerseys though!
He hasn't even made a practice squad yet.
Bills C Eric Wood says it's ESPN's fault. The situation is ridiculous, he apparently played well in the preseason and no-one is interested? The Vikings should sign him, it might go some way to repairing their homophobic reputation earned after the Chris Kluwe fiasco.
He sacked Johnny Football.
He should get a medal, let alone a job.
ESPN/the media in general have definitely made things harder for him.
I'd like to think the Rams have proven that an NFL locker room can handle a gay player without having any issues and Sam has played well enough in training camp and the pre-season to justify a spot on a practise squad somewhere.
Hopefully another team will give him a shot. I know he won over a few Steelers fans with that sack of Manziel and we could use more depth on the line.
That ESPN article was just apalling
Even by US journalism standards it was low.
Imagine he'll catch on somewhere, there are plenty of teams with utterly woeful pass rushes and he's had a great pre-season.
This is what I don't understand
He plays well in pre-season, which is the bar that all players on the cusp have to do. Then he doesn't make the team (fair enough), but doesn't even make the practice squad, it's a bit odd. I did read the press release that they have urgent needs elsewhere, but it's odd that someone else hasn't snapped him up.
This is the problem with the press, they are making players who get a lot of attention not be able to play or making it hard for them. Either it's the press or the teams being a bunch of scaredy cats (more likely both, thinking about it).
Yeah, I understand why he didn't make the Rams final 53
They're stacked at the defensive line and I guess they want to use the practise squad for other positions but I'm pretty surprised no-one else shown any interest in him yet.
I think it's more because of the media hype that he hasn't been signed yet. The Montreal Alouettes have already reached out to him as they own his CFL rights, maybe a year in Canada would be the best thing for him.
I think it's a bad idea for him to go to Canada already
Would be a real struggle to go from Canada and then come back to the NFL.
He was outplayed by the UDFA DE from A & M, Westbrooks
he's a speed rusher who can't hold at the point of attack and he's not so fast as to really interest a lot of NFL teams. To most teams he looks like a DE who's too small and not consistently fast enough. Plus he has no experience as an OLB and so would be exposed in coverage. Yeah he got sacks but against 2nd and 3rd stringers and a rookie QB holds onto the ball too long trying to make things happen.
He plays hard, contributes on STs and is a team guy so he'll get picked up eventually, may get a shout as a nickel package/3rd Down rusher. This is good for him and for the status of players like him. He's being judged on football, not on his sexuality. Read any article (Tanier, Farrar) written by a non idiot and this is the point they make
Derek Carr to start over Schaub
somewhere, David Carr is fistpumping going YES BROTHER, YOU'VE TAKEN THE PLACE OF THE MAN WHO TOOK MY PLACE. said fistpumping will last until he realises his brother is starting for the damn Raiders
JJ Watt signs huge contract extension too, which isn't surprising since he said he wanted one and if JJ Watt asks you for something, well, show me a man who'd say "no"
So Carr is the first rookie to start
What does everyone think of his chances?
Definitely deserved contract for Watt. Glad they got it done early, instead of waiting and making him be paid less than he should, doesn't happen too often.
Oakland have a fairly underrated receiving corps TBH
James Jones, Rod Streater and Andre Holmes are all good players and probably better than what certain teams (Cleveland, Carolina) will be starting with. The problem will come when those glass running backs of theirs fall to pieces and he's essentially carrying the offence on his own, but knowing Oakland they'll already be miles out of touch by then.
Think what I'm trying to say is that his receivers are competent and expectations are low, which is a pretty good situation for a rookie QB to be in.
He'll get ragdolled by the Jets Sons Of Anarchy in Week 1
and spend the rest of the season curling up into the foetal position as soon as the ball is snapped.
I know nothing of their O-Line
Other than it doesn't contain Rodger Saffold or Jared Veldheer, for different reasons.
Nor British FSU Tackle Menelik Watson
who just got benched
at least let Schaub fail so you have an excuse to start Carr
that Jets front seven is going to eat him alive come Sunday
we all love pointless lists and predictions
so let's get everyone's for this season:
AFC North: Ravens
AFC South: Texans
AFC East: Patriots
AFC West: Chargers
AFC Wild Cards: Broncos, Bengals
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Saints
NFC East: Eagles
NFC West: Seahawks
NFC Wild Cards: 49ers, Bears
AFC Champion: Patriots
NFC Champion: Seahawks
Superbowl Champion: Seahawks
MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Offensive POTY: Aaron Rodgers
Defensive POTY: Gerald McCoy
Offensive ROTY: Mike Evans
Defensive ROTY: CJ Mosley
Coach of the year: Mike McCoy
Chargers taking the AFC West ahead of the Broncos?
Bold stuff.
AFC North: Steelers
AFC South: Colts
AFC East: Patriots
AFC West: Broncos
AFC Wild Cards: Bengals, Chargers
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Saints
NFC East: Eagles
NFC West: Seahawks
NFC Wild Cards: 49ers, Buccaneers
AFC Champion: Patriots
NFC Champion: Seahawks
Superbowl Champion: Seahawks
MVP: Andrew Luck
Offensive POTY: Andrew Luck
Defensive POTY: Dont'a Hightower
Offensive ROTY: Brandin Cooks
Defensive ROTY: Clowney
Coach of the year: Lovie Smith
I'm really high on San Diego this year
Retain all their starters on offense, Keenan Allen and Ladarius Green should become stars and the defense will be nowhere near as bad as it was last season. Plus I'm expecting Denver to regress a bit
Wildcard, sure
But an injury to Peyton aside there's no way the Broncos will fall too far. Think the Chiefs are going to have a rough season, particularly after the losses on their O-line.
San Diego get tipped every year
and they should, because they're a solid team, but their defence lets them down and then Rivers will have a brainfart, every season.
AFC North: Bengals
AFC South: Colts
AFC East: Patriots
AFC West: Broncos
AFC Wild Cards: Chargers, Steelers
NFC North: Bears
NFC South: Saints
NFC East: Eagles
NFC West: Seahawks
NFC Wild Cards: Packers, Falcons
AFC Champion: Broncos
NFC Champion: Saints
Superbowl Champion: Saints
MVP: Drew Brees
Offensive POTY: Matt Forte
Defensive POTY: Luke Keuchly
Offensive ROTY: Brandin Cooks
Defensive ROTY: JaDaveon Clowney
Coach of the year: Mark Trestmann
ok, i've now tried to post my predictions twice
and both times DiS has stopped me. fuck you and the weird dad vibe horse you rode here on, sean adams. let's just say that whatever i predict, it'll be right, and the Saints will win the superbowl
Woke up to find WesWelker with a 4 game suspension
He has no idea how he took performance enhancing drugs.
Expect there are thousands of things Wes Welker can't remember doing though
A mixture of regular concussions and a life of extraordinary leisure doesn't do wonders for short term memory.
Apparently he took MDMA (which isn't a PED) that was cut with
amphetamines (which is a PED) after winning big at the Kentucky Derby, which is quite hilarious.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/02/source-welker-took-molly-at-kentucky-derby/ (contains good picture)
You'd think a man with his history of brain injuries would want to lay off the mind-altering chemicals.
now that I'm an adult with a job
it's time to stop trusting shitty broken streams and watch NFL properly; I got Gamepass.
Got a 15% by finding a code too, REP15 if you're still thinking about it, made it under £30 a month
welcome to the club
watching Flacco throwing three picks a game unfortunately doesn't look any better in HD
Your first job is to catch up with Hard Knocks
Final ep should be up on GP tomorrow if the past is a guide.
how does the gamepass work?
can I use any PC anywhere or do I need software and is it restricted to 1 or 2 machines etc?
does it work on android mobiles too?
It launches in-browser so you don't need software
You log in, I assume you can only log in once so it can't be used on multiple devices at once. It does work on mobile though.
i'm pretty sure the idea is you can use it anywhere
it's just a pop-up window, on Flash I think?
im tempted. just to be able to catch up with the previous days games etc.
oh shit I just rememebr
this only covers regular season right..? how much are the playoffs on top of that :|
*Technically* you can't watch them on gamepass
Of course, I've heard stories of industrious folks getting round it with Hola unblocker. Season plus is £20 more.
cheers Steved
for those of us who still want shitty broken streams
who's currently at least got passable streams?
cool, i'd been relying on
a site which shares its name with a Sheffield Wednesday footballer, i should probably try that one
The Summer Crimewave is nearly over
Is it time for a week 1 thread yet? Football tomorrow!
That has snuck up on me. Shame I can't watch this game live (3:30am kick off for me), but will have to watch it after.
i've got a bloody job interview friday morning. they could've at least made it the afternoon :/
Going to avoid both this thread and anyone who might tell me the score on Friday
Then watch it when I get home.
Can we just have some general new season chat please?
Seeing as it's all going a bit JG Ballard on here today.
Things I'm looking forward to (misc):
- Mike Zimmer being a runaway success as a head coach
- Jay Gruden catastrophically failing in Washington
- Clowney turning the Texans from a 2-14 team to a 5-11 team
- Margus Hunt flattening people (especially Flacco)
- The Eagles offence
- The Buccaneers defence
- Gratuitous shots of boats during the coverage
- Clowney looking like a player created by a child playing Madden with maximum stats.
- Pittsburgh being relevant again
- Minnesota going 9-7 and bravely missing the playoffs
- Adrian Peterson in Norv Turner's offense
- Aaron Rodgers being the best QB of all time
- The new season of Mike and Molly this Thursday at 9pm Eastern Time
They've mercifully cancelled Almost Human
Which I saw at least 3 million adverts for last NFL season. Looking forward to American adverts being generally better than ours though ("discount daaaaaaaahble check").
so much junk food
- Severed799 and Matt_was_taken this'd this
even their pizza deals are silly.. get 19 massive pizzas for only $10.. shit like that.. its crazy.
and they're always advertising massive pick up trucks..
Pizza is very cheap
and just plain better out there.
In NOLA last year was able to get Pizza with proper foldable slices. This September I want chinese food in those little boxes.
^thinly veiled went to New Orleans
and now going to New York post.Matt_was_taken this'd this
and a hotdog from a street vendor!
whilst the grates are steaming away
am i the only person who thinks Pittsburgh
are going to have a losing record this season? i can't see the improvement from last season. Shazier looks wildly inconsistent and Wheaton's a WR2 who caught about one-tenth of a pass last year, and Le'Veon Bell's the new Trent Richardson
oh yeah, Dri Archer
their new running back is 5ft 2 and weighs 8 stone wet through
Watch them try to tackle him.
He's shifty and fast
the first lineman that tackles him
will actually break him though
"they called him the galloping gazelle..."
Wheaton's going to see a lot more work with Sanders gone
Disagree on both Shazier and Bell, and even if Bell did turn out terrible Blount's a solid runner. Plus they could start cardboard cutouts on D and Dick LeBeau would still turn them into a top 10 defence.
Yeh, I'm confident their crapness on defence last year was just temporary.
Their problem was age, and they've a few young talents who should turn that around. Mike Mitchell is a big improvement over Ryan Clark also. Remember they very nearly made the playoffs last year when everything turned to shit, it won't take much improvement for them to get 10 wins this year.
- Chargers shocking everyone and going 12-4
- The return of Revis Island
- Gerald McCoy as Warren Sapp reincarnated in Lovie's Tampa 2
- Watching Marc Trestman's offense in full flow after an offseason of tweaking
- The Rams defensive line
- Not having to endure Kevin Cadle and co. now I have Gamepass
- Seeing the Ravens in the flesh for the first time (and the Broncos)
re: Cadle
Instead you get to watch a floating NFL logo in silence.
Don't diss big Kev. I was a big London Towers fan.
Completely agree
on the return of Revis Island. He is going to be unstoppable this year.
AFC North: Steelers
AFC South: Colts
AFC East: Patriots
AFC West: Broncos
AFC Wild Cards: Chargers, Bengals
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Saints
NFC East: Eagles
NFC West: Seahawks
NFC Wild Cards: Bears, Falcons
AFC Champion: Patriots
NFC Champion: Packers
Superbowl Champion: Packers
MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Offensive POTY: Aaron Rodgers
Defensive POTY: Earl Thomas
Offensive ROTY: Brandin Cooks
Defensive ROTY: Anthony Barr
Coach of the year: Chip Kelly
London NFL fans without Gamepass
Might be you can see your team. They're going to show 4-5 games at once it seems.
This Sunday they will show:
18:00 Patriots vs Dolphins, Jaguars vs Eagles, Browns vs Steelers, Redskins vs Texans
21:00 49ers vs Cowboys, Panthers vs Buccaneers
literally completely forgotten
that I'm going to see a real NFL match for the first time next month at Wembley
Just a reminder about
DiS pick'em league set up on nfl.com
Group name: DiS Picks
Password: drowned
And if you are registered, don't forget to get at least your GB@SEA pick in before tomorrow night.
Michael Sam to Cowboys:
that'll be, interesting
Oh, only practice squad?
Tweet I saw suggested he'd been put on the 53!
So after Jerry Jones got upset by not drafting Manziel
since it would have made the Cowboys relevent for the next ten years
he has decided to become relevent with the other most hyped (kind of) player from this years draft and signed Michael Sam to their 53.
He'll be wearing 46 for those of you who need to buy another tranch of jersies. Should see some snaps in that ropey defence.
46? That's a secondary number.
Are they going to put him at safety to try and sure things up?
46 that's a bear defense
bear is a word for a hairy gay man
Looking forward to:
- Kam Chancellor breaking receivers
- Percy Harvin breaking ankles
- The Jets' Sons of Anarchy breaking QBs
- The over/under on Phil Simms 'heeeem' and 'talked about' https://twitter.com/philsimmsquotes
- The continuing hilarity of more Molly based NFL arrests
- The Eagles after this amazing hype video http://vimeo.com/105044491 (BABY HUEY!!!)
- Ivory, Johnson & Powell - Earth, Wind & Fire Mk 2
Not looking forward to:
- Watching the Seahawks suffer a post superbowl comedown
- Watching the Jets implode once again as Geno throws 5 interceptions against the Raiders on thursday
- Seeing Golden Tate playing for the fucking Lions.
- Watching any game involving Cleveland.
Bonus: Marshawn Lynch beating Joe Flacco for sugar related tie-ins
Who's starting the first thread then?
It's usually Severed right?
Wouldn't like to step on any toes. It needs to be done now though!
you forgot:
Earl Thomas returning punts


text: Jan 15 2013 Certified Payments Professional The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) offers the Certified Payments Professional (CPP) designation to individuals who demonstrate both the skills and knowledge necessary to perform well in the field of electronic payments. Many first-time CPPs are sales professionals with one to three years of experience who have specialized knowledge related to technology, risk, security, operations or compliance. The designation may apply to functional specialists and professionals who want to have a credential that verifies industry expertise. The ETA began administering the CPP in 2011, and merchant demand for the credential has increased. According to experts, many independent sales organizations (ISO) and other processing agents may have to obtain the CPP designation in order to remain competitive. The ETA website hosts a registry for CPPs that is searchable by last name and state. In addition to demonstrating individual expertise, the CPP delivers a training and retention tool for ISOs and agents. These organizations can use the designation to train their personnel and to promote a standard of professionalism within the industry. Critics of the designation point out that becoming a CPP is a good starting place for payment processing professionals. However, they argue that while the credential tests business knowledge well, it does not offer enough ethical policing. Currently, the ETA currently does not have a procedure to decertify CPPs who practice unethically. Also, the designation may develop limited value if companies do not reward employees who obtain the credential. Objectives of the CPP and Reasons for Certification The ETA has developed the CPP to implement uniform standards of practice and knowledge for ISOs, sales personnel and other payment industry employees. At the same time, the education associated with the credential discourages both inappropriate and unethical practices. The credential also quantifies the expertise of professionals, enhancing both productivity for individuals and credibility for the industry as a whole. For professionals, becoming a CPP signified recognition of expertise from a well-respected organization. Also, the designation represents knowledge, skill and dedication to the profession. In some companies, certification may lead to promotion or increased earnings. The ETA structure for continuing education allows for ongoing professional development throughout a CPP's career. Employers that promote the credential within their organizations receive a boost to professional reputation, which will enhance customer satisfaction. Also, employees can be directed into an existing professional development structure to lessen learning management requirements for companies. Industry-wide, the CPP shows the ability for self-regulation within the field. The credential identifies competent service providers as well as enhancing knowledge of industry and government regulations. Certification Requirements Payments processing professionals must have three years of industry experience to sit for the CPP exam. Alternatively, with a high school diploma, associate degree or a baccalaureate degree, candidates need only one year of experience. The ETA defines industry experience as full-time work in a payments-related company selling electronic payments products, service or solutions to other businesses. Additionally, professionals can work for a company that either services or delivers consulting to a payments processing company. Other CPP requirements include signing a candidate attestation and obtaining a recommendation from a supervisor or manager in the industry. All documentation must be submitted to the ETA, which will evaluate candidate eligibility for the CPP exam within seven business days. Then, 30 days before a testing window, qualified candidates will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS) delivered via e-mail. The NTS contains information about setting up a testing appointment. Testing can be scheduled no later than seven days before the test date. The CPP exam covers eight subject areas, or domains, including Security Principles and Practices, Business Principles and Practices, Legal Aspects, Personnel Security, Physical Security, Information Security, Crisis Management and Investigations. The exam fees as of 2013 are $350 for ETA members and $450 for non-members. The ETA's CPP Candidate Handbook explains testing procedures and provides sample exam questions, which are largely scenario-based. In addition to the Candidate Handbook, exam candidates will receive a link to the ETA CPP Examination Study Guide. Some organizations plan group training sessions for employees including both content and test-taking strategies. Continuing Education Candidates who pass the exam to receive CPP designation will have a valid credential for three years. Within the three-year cycle, candidates must earn 36 credits of continuing education (CE) to qualify for recertification. Approved activities include attending industry-related seminars, workshops, webinars, conferences and other courses. CPPs can also take industry-specific college or university courses. In addition to learning activities, CPPs can earn CE credits when they lecture or deliver speeches related to the industry, publish industry-related articles under a byline or participate as members of ETA or related industry committees. CPPs can also earn CE credits for earning other industry-related certifications. Certain activities are not considered by the ETA for CE credit. For example, attendance at presentations for marketing, business development, sales-specific or organizational products is not an acceptable CE activity. Taking introductory courses or exam preparation courses in similar fields does not count for CE credit. Career development topics unrelated to payments processing will not receive credit. CPPs also cannot time spent in CPP exam prep courses. To document credits earned, CPPs should obtain signed copies of letters or program agendas certifying that they completed an appropriate CE activity. The ETA may audit any CE documentation and recommends that CPPs keep their CE documents for two years after recertification. If CPPs cannot provide verification of credits earned, then the activities will be disqualified. Companies like Visa, MasterCard Worldwide, COCARD Marketing Group, Merchant Warehouse, First Data Corporation and National Processing Company/Fifth-Third Processing have endorsed the CPP credential. These endorsements could increase the industry's acceptance and promotion of the designation. Sources http://www.paymentssource.com/news/Certified-Payments-Professional-Credential-Could-Become-Vital-3012636-1.html http://www.electran.org/certification/ http://www.clearent.com/blog-iso/industry-news/how-will-the-etas-cpp-program-impact-merchant-services/ http://www.asisonline.org/certification/cpp/steps/CPPexaminationStructureContent.pdf https://www.castleworldwide.com/ETA/AppSystem/10/Public/Resource/ETA_Candidate_Handbook.pdf https://cayan.com/preparing-for-the-certified-payments-professional-exam Tags: Basics Share Post:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
'End of 2 for 1 booze'
TWO-for-one deals on cheap booze in supermarkets and off-licences face the axe, the Government will reveal today.
This would increase the price of some wine by 70p and a two-litre bottle of cider by £1.30.
A 50p minimum has already been mooted in Scotland.


text:
Fire Protection & Security in Columbus, IN
Koorsen's Columbus, Indiana location has been providing protection from theft and fire to businesses in the local marketplace for many years. Under the leadership of branch manager, Curt Settle, who is also the district manager, this location boasts strong management and expertise in the industry.
The Columbus team is able to satisfy all of its customers' fire protection and commercial security needs, and the team prides itself on building lasting relationships with its customers.
This team is also a strong supporter of their local community, and they regularly participate in local golf outings for charity and sports leagues.
See the difference that working with a highly-trained and experienced team, who truly cares about you and your business can make. See below for a list of product and services the Columbus, Indiana location offers.


text:
GREGORY Flowmeters
GREGORY flowtronic systems made by GREGORY Technology GmbH in Germany are developed for fuel consumption measurement of internal combustion engines (suitable for gasoline, diesel, bio and alcohol based fuel types, depending on system). They are suited for use with for example motor bikes, passenger cars, busses, trucks, specialized vehicles and boats. The systems can be used mobile in vehicles as also stationary at the test bench. Due to easy operation, robust and durable construction, high measuring accuracy and unique quality the flowtronic systems suit many kinds of fuel consumption measurement. flowtronic fuel consumption test equipment is (formerly as a Swiss product) in worldwide operation for more than 40 years. GREGORY Technology in Germany has taken over the complete product line for several years and is doing continuous development as well as production and service.


text:
CONOVER, NC -- Just one week from Election Day a middle school art class partook in a fun election tradition. Every 4 years, one local woman has a unique way of predicting election results by putting candidates' heads on pumpkins and launching them in a trebuchet, similar to a catapult.
"The Hilary pumpkin turned out extremely well," said Greta Lint.
Lint's done this 4 times now, since the 2004 Presidential election.
Students taking art class at Newton-Conover Middle School each got a picture of a candidate running for various political offices, and a pumpkin.
"They were able to use that to draw on a sphere instead of a flat piece of paper," Lint said.
Tuesday, they were launched in a trebuchet.
"We measure the distance and that predicts the winner of the election," Lint said.
This tradition has accurately predicted the President two of the three previous times. To keep the trebuchet fair and balanced, the pumpkins for each race weigh the same. Some go more to the left, some to the right.
"These pumpkins have a mind of their own once they get out of the sling," Lint said. "And that's where the excitement comes in."
In the Governor's race, Roy Cooper was a fast line-drive. Pat McCrory, a deep fly ball. Clinton and Trump landed close to one another, Tim Kaine fell short and Mike Pence exploded when he hit the ground.
The final tally predicts McCrory over Cooper for Governor. Individually, Hilary Clinton beat Donald Trump, but combined with their running mates, Trump and Pence went further than Clinton and Kaine. We'll see how accurate the pumpkins are to the real candidates after elections.


text:
About Our Graduates
What they're saying, learning and where they end up
I was hired at a biotech company before I even graduated from the SCC biotech program, something I had been trying unsuccessfully to do with just my microbiology degree for over five years.
—Jenna Gravley, Research Cell Bank Manager, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
"The first experiment I did in my molecular biology class was isolation of plasmid, that was also one of my first responsibilities at my job.
—Reshma Dani, MD, Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc.
After finishing the program, you can:
- Assist research scientists in the laboratory.
- Perform technical procedures such as cell counting, solution and media preparation, DNA extraction and characterization, electrophoresis, cloning, polymerase chain reaction, ELISA and other immunology techniques, maintenance of cell lines transfection, fermentation, protein isolation and purification using various chromatographic techniques.
- Conduct research experiments following operating and safety protocols and apply knowledge of theory and techniques to troubleshoot appropriately.
- Analyze and display data using computer technology including the Internet and software designed for maintaining a database, preparing spreadsheets, conducting statistical analysis, and graphical display.
- Manage laboratory activities including record keeping, ordering supplies and preparing reports.
Who hires Shoreline graduates?
Among others, employers of our graduates include:
- Amgen
- Berlex
- Celgene
- CMC Biologics
- Dendreon
- Digital World Biology
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Gilead Sciences
- Matrix Genetics
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
- Seattle Children's Research Hospital
- Shoreline Community College


text:
Dr Arthur Hsueh
Senior Lecturer
University of Melbourne
Ya-Seng (Arthur) Hsueh is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Health Policy (CHP), University of Melbourne. Dr Hsueh has extensive experience in both teaching and research in health economics. He is the coordinator of the teaching and supervising research project of Health Economics and Economic Evaluation within the Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne since 2007. His research is focusing on cost-effectiveness analysis on various public health interventions on topical health issues, for example, cost-effectiveness of community pharmacists' involvement in enhancing compliance and health outcome of cardio vascular disease patients; and cost-effectiveness of Australia and New Zealand nationwide randomised controlled trial of early physical activities on health outcomes for spinal cord injured patients.


text: I'm going to be getting a pb pretty soon. Most people here say that i should get the 1.67Ghz so i can get the 128mb vram. Could i just get 64mb vram, then maybe, upgrade after a year or so? Just askin' cause the 1.5Ghz is impossible to upgrade. Also, when Tiger comes around, could I borrow the cd from somebody else? Or is that impossible to do? I know poeple can do it with iLife 5. thanks for your help!


text:
Colorado Rapids' defender Kosuke Kimura participates during practice April 24 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. (Photo by Joe Nguyen/AsiaXpress.com)
Rapids' Kimura's dream takes him halfway around world
Japanese-born Colorado Rapids defender finds home in U.S. in pursuit to play professional soccer
By Joe Nguyen, AsiaXpress.com
May 15, 2009
Colorado Rapids' 'Asian Pacific Heritage Night'
Date: Saturday, May 23
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City, 80022
Cost: $12 to $35
Come enjoy the Colorado Rapids' "Asian Pacific Heritage Night" and watch them take on the Seattle Sounders FC. Enjoy the fun, food, music and dance throughout the evening. For more information or tickets, go to www.coloradorapids.com.
Kosuke Kimura has come a ways to pursue his goal of playing professional soccer.
A long ways.
The 25-year-old starting defender for the Colorado Rapids has emerged as one of the team's quickest and most energetic players, but seven years ago, he was simply looking for an opportunity to play. That opportunity took him on a trip that spanned more than 6,000 miles.
Kimura was born on May 14, 1984 in Kobe, Japan, the middle child of Takahiro and Hideyo Kimura. When he was 3 years old, his family moved to the city of Kawasaki. His father played soccer and handball when he was younger and that influence rubbed off on his sons.
"When I was little, there was a soccer ball around us all the time," he said. "When I was, like, 6 years old, I joined a club team — me and my brothers. I really liked it and I kept playing."
A natural talent at the game, Kimura made the Kawasaki Frontale's youth team at age 14 and a year later he began playing for its professional reserve league, he said. He had a chance to sign with the pro club, but a foot injury when he was 17 hampered his opportunity. So he looked for post-secondary education options that also allowed him to play the sport he loves.
"I was thinking about going to college and playing soccer, but I wanted to study at the same time," he said. "If you go to college in Japan, you just either study or play."
Listening to the advice of his best friend and teammate, he began looking for colleges in the U.S. because they let him pursue both goals. What he found was Western Illinois University and its soccer coach Eric Johnson. But in order to become eligible to play in his freshman year, he had to learn English — and fast.
Kosuke Kimura
Height: 5-8
Weight: 155
Born: May 14, 1984 in Kobe, Japan
College: Western Illinois
Drafted: 35th pick in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft by the Colorado Rapids
• Video of Kosuke Kimura's first career goal on May 2, 2009 (800K)
"This was a big risk for him and his family since there was no guarantee that he could achieve the test score he needed to be eligible by coming to the U.S and learning the language in one semester," Johnson said.
Early on, he segregated himself from the school's Japanese community in order to fully immerse into the English language, Kimura said.
"My college was not that big, but we had Japanese people who got together, like a community thing," he said. "But I isolated myself and tried to make friends and tried to speak English."
His diligence paid off and Kimura was allowed to play in the spring.
"On the second day of classes in the spring semester, he showed up at my office," Johnson said. " ... He knocked on the door and said, 'I am Kosuke, I am here.'"
His impact on the Leatherbacks was felt immediately. Kimura started 18 of the 19 games he played and was named to the All-Mid-Continent second team. By his sophomore year, he was named a team captain and helped lead the team to the national tournament.
"Kosuke is the hardest working and most dedicated player I have ever coached," Johnson said. "He lived and breathed soccer but approached all of his academic work the same way.
"His favorite saying to the team was, 'We must run more.'"
That hard work earned him more collegiate accolades and caught the attention of professional scouts. After he graduated, Kimura was selected by the Colorado Rapids as the 35th pick in the third round of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft, becoming the first Japanese-born player in league history.
Although he primarily played midfield in college, the Rapids converted him to a defender.
"I didn't like it that much at first, but as I started playing it more and more, I liked it more," he said. " ... Now it fits me very well and it fits for the team.
"Yeah, maybe I want to play midfield sometimes, but when it comes down, it's all about the team."
Even though Kimura is still the only Japanese-born player in the league, he said he expects more Japanese players to arrive in the coming years. But he admits he has to be a shining example to help open the doors for them.
"I have to be a good example for other Japanese to come in the future," he said. "I have to play hard every second in the game, every second in training. That's all I can do."
But for now, his goals are simple.
"Try to be one of the best right backs in this league and try to get this team into the playoffs," he said, "and get the MLS Cup."


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High School Completion
Education is the cornerstone of Conservation Corps North Bay's youth service programs. This program focuses on formal classroom instruction for year-round corpsmembers and is reinforced through project-based learning in the field. Accommodating young men and women with diverse needs, CCNB facilitates their access to high school and college courses, English-language instruction and internship opportunities.
John Muir Charter School Named 2015 Hart Vision School of the Year
A key part of Conservation Corps' work with youth is helping them to earn a high school diploma. We do that through an on-site charter school, the John Muir Charter School. We are thrilled to announce that the John Muir Charter School has been named by the California Charter Schools Association as the 2015 Hart Vision School of the Year.
The CCSA presents the Hart Vision Awards each year during their annual California Charter Schools Conference to honor outstanding achievements. Originally established by the California Charter Schools Association's predecessor (CANEC) in 1995, the awards are named in honor of Gary K. Hart, retired California State Senator and former California Secretary of Education. While serving as a state senator, Hart sponsored the legislation that established California charter schools. The awards recognize individuals and schools that have made significant contributions to the Association's mission to increase student achievement by supporting and expanding California's quality charter public school movement.
2014 Milestones
- Of 68 corpsmembers who were on the high school graduation track, 18 have already graduated with a diploma from the John Muir Charter School, CCNB's accredited on-site high school. (In 2015 we are changing our model to increase this number significantly.)
- 34 Corpsmembers earned $5,550/year in credits towards two years of AmericCorps Education Award Program post-secondary education scholarships in 2014.
2014 milestones are as reported in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014.