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"I'll never catcall, I'll treat and respect and help create an Ireland that will stand in awe of all mná"-Emmet Kirwan, Heartbreak.
If the Catholic Church would listen and loosen its grip on the Irish state; women could decide their own fate, or more importantly their own body autonomy. The church and state think of themselves as 'embassadors' of the patriarchy thinks they have ownership over the Irish female body. This is why we need to repeal the 8th amendment and give Irish women the rights they deserve. I have spoken at length about body autonomy and after reading many articles recently surrounding the Strike4Repeal movement, feminism and even the horrors that arose from the Tuam Mother and Baby home investigations; I agree that the 8th amendment is more than pro-choice; it is about the obsessive control of Irish women and their reproductive integrity.
Going back to Kirwan's Heartbreak, the Catholic church never treated single mothers or their children with respect and they never will. A referendum for abortion rights is needed now more than ever because although it can not repair the sufferings of the past, it can be start of a new era for women's health and wellbeing. It will show that Ireland actually cares about its vulnerable and will help them when they need it the most. With a repeal on the 8th amendment, there will be no more Ann Lovetts, Ms. X's, Ms. Y's and no more Savita Halappanavars abandoned by the Irish state. There will never be a need for the future generations to march through the streets of Dublin with repeal signs shouting 'ENDA, ENDA, WE WANT A REFERENDA' for their human rights will be acknowledged and respected by the state. They will ever be denied these rights and forced to become human vessels, losing their bodily autonomy to a barbaric religious institution.
The hashtags that were used to support the strike on social media were #WECANTWAIT #WEWONTWAIT and it aptly describes the urgency that surrounds this issue. By making abortions illegal,it only makes safe abortions illegal, women who have been put in that desperate situation will find a way out which puts them in further danger and risking their own lives. This needs to stop and if the 8th would be repealed, it will stop as free, safe and legal abortions will be available to everyone and anyone in need. It is very frustrating knowing that the €1 penalty for abortion was rejected by the government just yesterday as that would have been progress for the pro-choice movement, alas, we might get a referendum in early 2018. It is most unlikely however as Enda Kenny is the Church's sheep when it comes to women's reproductive rights. The fight continues but I am hopeful that one day, our rights will be granted.
The 8th of March is also International Women's day and it was strange spending it in America with Trump in office. I went to a rally at the corner of Central Park and stood in a sea of red clothes and pink hats and the speakers motivated the crowd to keep fighting for gender equality, ending the pay gap and to keep holding each other up as powerful and strong women. It was an incredible experience to hold my fist up in solidarity with the American women and chanting 'BE BOLD FOR CHANGE' and 'A DAY WITHOUT WOMEN, A DAY WITHOUT ME', the rally ended with the crowds dispersing and heading to surround Trump Tower and make a human wall.
It reminded me that the women of New York and America are angry as ever and ready to stand up against their oppressor. It reminded me of the turbulent days after the election results and again during the inauguration and I saw, with my own eyes, the struggles for women increasing-white women, black women, Latina women, Muslim women, working class women and even disabled women. They were prepared to fight back however and the resilient energy was incredible to witness.
'Never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it', this is Hillary Clinton's infamous line from her concession speech that women everywhere took away and ran with it. Even me. We declared to never stop being 'nasty women', because if we do then the patriarchy has won again. The American and the Irish patriarchy has won again.
That was an unfortunate day in November when an alleged rapist, racist and misogynist was elected the 45th president of the United States. The day when a woman was not elected even though she was the better candidate and more suited to the job because the white man couldn't handle a powerful woman. And yet the fight continues…there's still a long way to go, for Hillary, for me and for women everywhere.
We must persist with the repeal the 8th movement as we must continue to challenge our oppressors. The 8th of March challenged the 8th Amendment, it was a historic march in march. Let's persevere together to get a historic outcome.


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- Martin Amidu has said his letter of apology to late President John Evans Atta Mills in 2012 was forced out of him
- Mr Amidu made the revelation during his vetting for the Special Prosecutor position
Special Prosecutor nominee, Martin Amidu, has controversially claimed that he was forced into writing an apology letter to the late President Mills after being dismissed as Attorney General.
Mr. Amidu was on a collision course with the late Mills after accusing the then government of covering up certain corrupt acts.
READ ALSO: Martin Amidu unanimously approved as Special Prosecutor
His misunderstandings with the then government led to his dismissal as Attorney-General in 2012, amid much controversy.
Surprisingly, Mr. Amidu later wrote a letter to the late Mills apologizing for his conduct in the whole matter.
However, speaking before Parliament's Vetting Committee, the Special Prosecutor nominee has disclosed that he was coerced into writing that apology letter.
According to him, the letter of apology was obtained from him by the late Kofi Awunnor, who was then the Chairman of the Council of State, together with Captain Kojo Tsikata.
He explained the only reason why he obliged the "elderly" duo was because of the values from his northern culture, which always considers the view of an elderly as always right, even if the young one is right.
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"They [Awoonor and Tsikata (rtd)] asked me to write this letter and I've said it, Captain Tsikata is alive, and when Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu called me and said they wanted this letter, I told him they could sack me, but when the two of them asked me to write this letter, the first letter didn't have Captain Tsikata's name, my secretary, Perpetual Alatsane, who is still working, sent it to Kofi Awoonor's office, then he added the Tsikata and when he brought it, the girl typed it and added the name," Mr. Amidu said.
"It was procured by the chairman of the Council of State, who said he was meeting the president that day and that he and Captain [Tsikata (rtd)] were going to the president to present it to him and that they had had certain discussions.
"At the back of my mind, I knew that they were just looking for evidence of an apology to do what they wanted to do but my custom respects age; I've worked with these people since 1982, so, I gave them the letter, how come that a confidential letter delivered by the chairman of the council of state to the president is now making the rounds."
He added: "But I have already replied to this letter and stated what I'm telling you here today that it was procured from me by two elders who convinced me that this was not a matter; 'just give us the letter and we'll send it'. So, I wrote it. In any case, for me, I don't see anything wrong when a young person has had a misunderstanding with an elder – somebody who has been his friend for over 35 years – and who invites him: 'Come and help me', and there is a breakdown of trust. Just one day, 13th, Sir Bebaako-Mensah, is alive, until the 13th, the president and myself have never had a problem, so, if we had a problem and he is older than me, in northern custom no young man is right, if I'm telling lies tell me.
"Even when you are right, you meet elders, you apologise, when you go out then they tell the man: 'You are wrong, we just have to let him apologise', that is what this letter means, you are a northerner, you know that," he said.
READ ALSO: Rawlings reduced corruption – Amidu
Source: Yen.com.gh

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello, sorry to disappoint you, but our new website will launch January 2019.
We are busy developing new products, please visit our Facebook page to see them before they come online.
Call our friendly team at the shop on 01595 696889 ext 143 who will be more than happy to help you.
Thank you for your continued support and see you in January.


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Name: RANGO Product code: 2626028606004
Free shipping and returns
Italian size Size guide
This very modern and wearable piece plays with contrasts of colour and proportions. Made up of a graphic fusion of three colours, the dress follows the lines of the body and flares out at the skirt. Fluidly undulating pleats and a bold button fastening decorate the front, while a sleek funnel neckline and balloon sleeves add further interest to the silhouette.Composition and care
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Name: RANGOProduct code: 2626028606004


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In the News: Sept. 9, 2015
By Michael Duricy
Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.Innovation within Tradition: Joseph Ratzinger and Reading the Women of Scripture has been published by Fortress Press. This book is a revision of the Ph.D. thesis of Mary Frances McKenna.
Click here for details or to order copies online.
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., sent us the article below with the following comments: "This is from a monthly bulletin by Father Paul Landolfi about our Marianist candidates for sainthood.
Food for Thought in This New Scholastic Year
As we begin a new scholastic year, perhaps it would be helpful to review the situation of our "saints."
Did you realize that we have nine in the Marianist Family who have been named Blessed? The Church sees these as persons in heaven and we can offer them public veneration. Martyrs need no miracle to be named Blessed. All the Blesseds need a miracle to be canonized as Saints.
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade is credited with interceding with God for the cure of Elena Gracias Otero from Argentina. Even though the Church did not accept another healing as a miracle because of the possibility that it might have come about through some medical intervention, we are grateful for the answers to our prayers and we believe that Father Chaminade and our "Saints" do intercede for us.
We have seven Spanish martyrs from two different cities during the period of the Spanish civil war. The martyrs, Brothers Carlos Erana, Jesus Hita, and Fidel Fuidio were martyred in Ciudad Real. They were teachers in our school there.
Brother Carlos Erana was Basque and struggled with the Spanish language, He became a great teacher of Spanish. He was a great soccer player, When the Brothers were forced to leave the school, they took up residence with friends of the school. He was well-known as a religious teacher and would walk through the streets to maintain contact with the other Marianists, offer them help, and, in general, support them.
Brother Jesus Hita was one who overcame a stuttering problem to become a great teacher. He saw this crisis as a time for him to prepare for the worst. He spent much time praying, listening to news reports, following the progress of the armies on maps.
Brother Fidel Fuidio was older, a nationally-known archeologist, a professor in the University.
There were four other Marianists killed for the faith during the Spanish civil war. These were killed in Madrid: Father Miguel Leibar, Brothers Florencio Arnaiz, Sabino Ayastuy, and Joachin Ochoa.
There were a number of other Marianists killed during the civil war, but they were not judged to have died primarily for the faith. The Church studies to see if their deaths were truly for the faith or for political or other reasons.
Father Miguel Leibar was a mentor for the other three martyrs from Madrid. Through an informer, their residence was searched without warning. They saw his cassock and arrested him.
Brothers Florencio Arnaiz, Sabino Ayastuy, and Joachin Ochoa had been given a new assignment. Before they could get there, they were arrested, taken to a distant place, a cemetery, and murdered. They found religious articles on their persons.
Blessed Jakob Gapp was martyred for the faith because he refused to accept National Socialism. He had studied it and was convinced it was incompatible with Christianity. He preached against it wherever he could. The Superiors moved him from country to country in order to protect him and our works. In Spain, two Gestapo followed him, pretending they were Jews wishing to convert. When they had gained his confidence they took him on a little outing. Pretending they wanted to visit a friend in France, despite Jacob's objections, as soon as they were in France--then controlled by the Nazis--they arrested him and took him to Berlin. He maintained his opposition to the Nazi ideology because of his Christian faith. They beheaded him, used his body for research. What is left is his gold ring, sign of his perpetual consecration.
These nine Blesseds in heaven are members of the Marianist Family. They know us and want to help us. We must get to know them on a first name basis and ask them to intercede for us in our own efforts to live our Marianist charism. All our Blesseds need one more declared miracle in order to be canonized as Saints.
We also have three members of the Family who have been declared Venerable. They have been recognized for practicing heroic virtue. They need a miracle to be considered Blessed. We may privately venerate them and ask God to have mercy on us through their intercession. Venerable Adele de Trenquelleon, Foundress of the Daughters of Mary, is claimed to be instrumental in the healing of a Marianist Sister in Italy of ovarian cancer. This case is being studied at present.
Venerable Therese de Lamourous spent her life at the Misericorde (Mercy House) and was instrumental in the founding of other Mercy Houses in France and even in Poland. Saint Faustina, a Sister of Our Lady of Mercy, is a member of a congregation that was inspired by Therese.
Venerable Faustino Perez Manglano Magro was a Marianist Sodalist, who wanted to become a Marianist missionary in South America. He died of Hodgkin's disease. He was judged to have lived a life of heroic virtue.
There are other members of the Marianist Family who are being considered for their holiness. These are Servants of God. Father Domingo Lazaro was a noted educator. Father Vicente Lopez was chaplain at one of our schools and was known as an excellent confessor.
We really believe in the Communion of Saints. Blessed Father Chaminade's dream was that we would become a nation of Saints.
The French Province is considering Father Emil Neubert, noted Mariologist. In Latin America, Brother Miguel Quiroga gave his life defending his parishioners, who were being harassed by a lay militia group.
Besides these, we must remember the large number of the Marianist Family who are with God already. These are the unknown saints who also pray for us.
This is why it is important that we ask all our "saints" to intercede for us in our various needs. It is also good for the building up of our faith to hear that God has listened to their prayers. If a favor is granted through the intercession of one of our "saints," please let us know. You can reach me by mail, email, or phone.
Rev. Paul Landolfi, SM
Chaminade HS
340 Jackson Ave
Mineola, NY 11501
Phone: 516-742-5555 ext. 476
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com
May God bless the entire Marianist Family during this coming year and show us His mercy through the prayers of our Marianist "saints."
Marian Events
Tuesday, September 15, 2015, the Office of MultiCultural Affairs at the University of Dayton will host Communities Engaging Mary. This panel will present three perspectives on Mary: Mary in Christian Scriptures, Mary in the Qur'an, and Mary in Latin America with a response by a member of the Society of Mary. A reception and informal discussion will follow.
This event will be held from 7-8 p.m. in the Sears Recital Hall on the campus of the University of Dayton. It is being sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Marianist Community of Alumni Hall, the Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Department of Religious Studies.
Mary in the Catholic Press
Pope Francis and Our Lady from Zenit (Rome) September 8, 2015
Anyone who has known former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio understands well that his Marian devotion, far from being a recent manifestation, is a long-established devotion. From the very beginning of his Petrine ministry, he has let us experience his love for Mary, Mother of the Lord. Appearing for the first time to the world, he told us on the night of March 13, "Tomorrow I want to go to pray to the Madonna, that she may protect Rome." We were moved the following morning by the scenes of the newly-elected Pope praying in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
This Basilica was built in honor of Mary, Mother of God, which is the first and most important title of Our Lady. It is a living witness to that great moment in the history of the ancient Church, the Council of Ephesus, in which the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary was authoritatively defined. This Church is the first Marian shrine in Rome and in the entire West, in which the image of the Mother of God Theotokos (God bearer) is venerated under the title of Salus Populi Romani.
From his very first meeting with his brother cardinals in the Clementine Hall on March 15, Pope Francis stressed his link with Mary and the role he ascribes to Jesus' Mother. He said: "I entrust my ministry and your ministry to the powerful intercession of Mary, our Mother, Mother of the Church. Under Her maternal gaze may each one of you walk happy and docile on your path, listening to the voice of Her divine Son, strengthening your unity, persevering in your common prayer and bearing witness to the true faith in the constant presence of the Lord."
Francis has visited the Roman basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on the eve of every one of his foreign visits, and upon returning to Rome, goes from the airport to the basilica to pray in gratitude for graces and blessings received on the journeys. On the eve of his departure for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for World Youth Day 2013, Pope Francis visited once again the Basilica and entrusted World Youth Day 2013 to Mary's care. During his unforgettable experience at World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil, he made a side-trip to the famous shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in central Brazil....
Click here to see the complete article from Zenit.
Mary in the Secular Press
The director and editors of The Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.
The Extraordinary Sacred Sites Where People Have Seen Visions Of The Virgin Mary (The Huffington Post) September 8, 2015
Sightings of the Virgin Mary can happen in the unlikeliest places. Some people encounter her high in the mountains of the French Alps, while others find her in a school playground. Sometimes, Mary comes awash in a bright light. Other times, she's in tears.
In the twentieth century alone, there were about 386 sightings of Mary "reported at a level beyond local rumors," according to The New York Times.
The bishops of local dioceses study these apparitions. In any given case, a bishop might have to make sure the sighting isn't a moneymaking scheme, or confirm that it doesn't contradict church doctrine. Church authorities also evaluate the backgrounds of the witnesses, sometimes even making use of psychiatric exams and brain scans.
If local bishops put their stamp of approval on the apparition, the site often becomes a place of pilgrimage for the faithful.
The Catholic Church celebrates September 8 as the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day when the woman Christians believe to be the mother of God was born in Jerusalem. In honor of her nativity, here are just some of the sites where Mary is said to have appeared....
Click here to read the complete article.


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Any current BADN member who registers for the 2012 National Dental Nursing Conference on 24 November at the Blackpool Hilton, and brings along a non-member delegate gets to come for free! In other words, a current BADN member and a non-member colleague can both attend the Conference for just £119.50 (excludes travel and hotel accommodation)
How to take advantage of this special offer: (please read Terms and Conditions below first)
- Click here to go to conference registration site
- The BADN member should register first – choose any of the Member registration types; once you have typed in your name and e-mail address, your details may appear in the address and other fields
- Complete your details, presentation choices, optional extras (Harry Ramsdens, car valet, shopping trips) and questions
- When you arrive at the "Registration Summary" page, check your details but do not click on the "Next" button – click instead on "Add Person" button on left top
- Register the non-member – choose "Non member dental nurse" as the registration type (or "Non-member Other" as appropriate); you will need a separate e-mail address for the non-member
- Repeat the process of completing details, choosing presentations and options and answering questions (the questions are slightly different for non-members)
- At the "Registration Summary" page, check the non-member's details. You can click between the two registrations at the top of the page on the left side. If everything is correct, click "Next"
- This brings you to the "Submit Payment" page. You will note that this shows the full amount of both a member and a non-member registration fee, plus any optional extras. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THIS – it will be corrected in the BADN office!
- Complete the card details – payment is not taken on line, it is done in the BADN office. Click "Finish".
- You will receive confirmation e mails which suggest that the full registration fees for both delegates have been paid. Again, do not worry about this – when payment is actually debited from the card a few days later in the BADN office, only the non-member fee will actually be debited. You will receive a credit card receipt in your delegate pack at Conference. If you need one earlier than that, please send a SAE to Katie Ball, BADN, Room 200, Hillhouse International Business Centre, Thornton-Cleveleys, FY5 4QD with a copy of your confirmation e mails and a note requesting your credit card receipt.
If you have any problems, contact Katie on 01253 338364 or email@example.com – but it is actually easier to do than to explain!!
Terms and Conditions:
- One delegate must be a current BADN member and the other currently not a member
- Both delegates must register together (see above for instructions)
- Both delegates must pay on the same debit/credit card at time of registration
- Each delegate must have a separate e-mail address (registration cannot be completed without an e mail address – only one delegate can register per email address)
- If the non-member subsequently cancels, the BADN member must pay the £49.50 conference registration fee (see also refunds policy – cancellations are subject to an admin fee and refunds are subject to conditions) before 24 November 2012
- The offer covers the Conference registration fee only – travel and hotel costs are the delegates' responsibility
- By proceeding with the conference registration, you agree to these conditions.


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James Delegencia
Contact James
- Phone
- 773-330-8378
"Every day I come into the office with the goal to make things as smooth and relaxed as possible for our clients. Managing the details ensures and enables successful outcomes every single time."
James joined CES Partners in 2011 and has brought enthusiasm and a varied background in executive search industry. His executive search assistant role brings him in regular direct contact with CES Partners clients and candidates as the situation demands.


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Preparing for a hearing
Witness statements
The Local Court Practice Note 2 of 2012 - domestic and personal violence proceedingsrequires the applicant to file all witness statements in support of his or her application at the court by a certain date (usually two weeks after the mention). Practice Notes are issued by courts to assist in managing cases and set out the steps people are expected to take to prepare a case for hearing. In a police application, the applicant police officer will arrange to prepare witness statements and a brief of evidence to be served on the defendant. The defendant is then required to file a statement in reply. Statements must be signed and dated to certify that the statement is true and correct and should only be about relevant issues for seeking or defending the application. As a statement can be tendered as a witness's evidence in an AVO hearing it is important to seek legal advice before providing a statement.
Although there are some protections to guard against defendants making admissions of guilt in a statement, it is advisable for defendants to seek legal advice if there is doubt.
Exchanging statements can help clarify the issues in dispute, weed out frivolous and vexatious applications, and avoid a 'trial by ambush'. A statement should include all relevant information. It may be tendered at an AVO hearing as a witness's entire evidence. If a party wants to add any more information before the hearing it will need to ask for the court's permission. Amendments can be made in statement form or, with permission of the court, by giving oral evidence at court. While the witness statements should refer to all relevant supporting evidence such as photos, it is not necessary (or practical) to annex all potential supporting items to the statement. However including relevant photos or 'Facebook' screen shots or lists of harassing text messages can be useful for applicants and may save them from having to amend the application before the court date.
Witness statements may help convince a defendant to consent to an AVO before a hearing. However, even if there is a statement, a witness may need to be cross-examined (asked questions by the other party to challenge their version of events) on the information contained in it.
At a mention following an exchange of statements the magistrate or registrar will check to see if the Directions Order has been complied with. If the orders are not complied with, the Practice Note provides that the application for an AVO may be struck out. However, the magistrate may adjourn for another mention if satisfied there is a good reason for non-compliance. Non-compliance with an order for exchange of statements could result in a costs order.
If the parties have complied with the exchange of statements then the matter may be listed for a hearing date. In some courts this may mean waiting up to three months. An interim AVO may be made or extended (continued) until the hearing date.
One way of obtaining documents that belong to other individuals or services so they can be used in court proceedings is to issue a subpoena. A subpoena is a court order that requires a person to produce specified documents to the court, or which orders a person to attend court to give oral evidence (tell their version of events to the court).
In a police application, the police will issue the subpoenas. In a private application the applicant or their solicitor will prepare subpoenas to be issued by the court. There are costs associated with issuing and serving subpoenas and with a person's reasonable expenses in complying with the subpoena. These costs are the responsibility of the person who issues the subpoena.


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Basic Principles Make You a Smarter Negotiator
The way that you conduct yourself in a negotiation can dramatically influence the outcome. I've been teaching negotiating to business leaders throughout North America since 1982 and I've distilled this down to five essential principles. These principles are always at work for you and will help you smoothly get what you want:
Get the Other Side to Commit First
Power Negotiators know that you're usually better off if you can get the other side to commit to a position first. Several reasons are obvious:
1. Their first offer may be much better than you expected.
2. It gives you information about them before you have to tell them anything.
3. It enables you to bracket their proposal. If they state a price first, you can bracket them, so if you end up splitting the difference, you'll get what you want. If they can get you to commit first, they can then bracket your proposal. Then if you end up splitting the difference, they get what they wanted.
The less you know about the other side or the proposition that you're negotiating, the more important the principle of not going first becomes. If the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein had understood this principle he could have made the Fab Four millions more on their first movie. United Artists wanted to cash in on the popularity of the singing group but was reluctant to go out on a limb because United Artists didn't know how long the Beatles would stay popular. They could have been a fleeting success that fizzled out long before their movie hit the screens. So they planned it as an inexpensively made exploitation movie and budgeted only $300,000 to make it. This was clearly not enough to pay the Beatles a high salary. So United Artists planned to offer the Beatles as much as 25 percent of the profits. The Beatles were such a worldwide sensation in 1963 that the producer was very reluctant to ask them to name their price first, but he had the courage to stay with the rule. He offered Epstein $25,000 up front and asked him what percentage of the profits he thought would be fair.
Brian Epstein didn't know the movie business and should have been smart enough to play Reluctant Buyer and use Good Guy/Bad Guy. He should have said, "I don't think they'd be interested in taking the time to make a movie, but if you'll give me your very best offer, I'll take it to them and see what I can do for you with them." Instead, his ego wouldn't let him play dumb, so he assertively stated that they would have to get 7.5 percent of the profits or they wouldn't do it. This slight tactical error cost the group millions when the director Richard Lester, to every one's surprise, created a brilliantly humorous portrait of a day in the group's life that became a worldwide success.
If both sides have learned that they shouldn't go first, you can't sit there forever with both sides refusing to put a number on the table, but as a rule you should always find out what the other side wants to do first.
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Copyright© 2002, Roger Dawson
Copyright © 2002, The Negotiator Magazine


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Virginia Wedding Articles » Wedding Ideas
Wedding showers are a long standing tradition. Most showers are a celebration of the wedding, and a chance for the guests to bring gifts and plan special effects, shows, or games for the couple. A good wedding shower will be fun, and consist of good food and fun games. Showers can be as simple or as elaborate as desired, but no matter the size, there are a few aspects of planning that must be considered.


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Since graduating in 1984 with a BSc Honours in Civil Engineering Brian has gained a depth of knowledge and experience across the fields of Engineering, Project Management, Budget Management, Health & Safety and the Provision of Leisure Services.
Brian has also developed an in-depth knowledge of working in and for local government. In 1995 and 1996 he worked as a Civil Engineer for Castlereagh Borough Council and was responsible for budgets, health & safety maintenance, design, plans in relation to all playgrounds, parks, leisure facilities and council buildings.
In his current role at Allplay, Brian is responsible for the strategic and general management of the company. He takes the lead in all issues relating to Health & Safety and also oversees the medium-long term scheduling of contracts. He maintains a 'hands-on' approach to management and is involved with clients and projects on a daily basis.
Hollie graduated from the University of Gloucestershire in 2008 with a degree in Geography. Since then she has worked in retail, managing stores including Julian Graves and the British Heart Foundation and has developed skills in visual merchandising, customer service and staff management.
Since joining Allplay in 2012 Hollie is now responsible for the day to day running of the business including overseeing memberships, staff training, health and safety issues, completing tender suitability documents and is in charge of marketing. Hollie consults with all Allplay staff on a daily basis to ensure open communication, team work and high levels of customer service operate within the business.
Danielle graduated from University of Edinburgh with a BDes Hons Interior Architecture in 2013. During her time in university she had internships at Knox and Clayton Architects and Walkers Interior Design. Since leaving university Danielle travelled to Australia where she worked as an editor for The Home Journal magazine in Melbourne, her role included completing weekly feature articles on the latest design trends and styles in Australia. She then came back to Northern Ireland to work for D&W Carlisle Wholesale Ltd as the Sales and Business Development Manager.
Since joining Allplay in June 2015 Danielle has been involved in projects from brief to completion, carrying out site visits, surveys, designing the play area using a variety of software packages, presentations, construction packs including detailed scaled AutoCAD drawings and post installation packs.
Peter Graduated from the Ulster University in 2017 with a BDes (Hons) in Product and Furniture Design. At the same time as attending university Peter under took a year as a design intern with a local charity for young people, Exodus. This involved designing all the materials for print and screen to be used across Northern Ireland, Romania and Spain. He was also involved in a telephone campaign for Ulster University where they sought to build stronger relationships with their alumni and share experiences.
Since joining Allplay in June 2017 Peter has worked on various schemes for Schools and Councils alike - carrying out site visits, surveys, designing the play area using a variety of software packages, creating presentations, construction packs including detailed scaled AutoCAD drawings and post installation packs.


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This analysis study analyzes the automotive steering methods market on a worldwide level and gives estimates by way of revenue (USD) from 2015 to 2021. On the basis of sort, the automotive contact display screen management techniques market is segmented into resistive and capacitive. It's advisable for the vehicle proprietor to find a reliable auto service mechanic to be common long run caretaker of the automobile in order that its upkeep and repair historical past is at all times taken into account. Our market analysis reviews on the automotive industry additionally identifies the vital growth drivers, newest developments, in addition to the eminent challenges that this sector is currently experiencing.
As Chevrolet's Management battle with the longer term for the Corvette, Chevrolet's Studio Division headed by Clare Mackichan, and the Engineering Division headed by Ed Cole pressed on with as many updates and revisions money would enable. North America and Western Europe, the opposite key markets for automotive wire and cable supplies can even witness vital progress in 2016. Because the US subsidiary of a worldwide large, this renowned manufacturer of automotive lifts has a world market share of roughly forty %.
This facility will present no-tuition coaching for the youth to obtain the abilities of an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), nationally certified technician. Bose Automotive engineers have transferred expertise developed for home theaters and music venues to automotive audio system and automotive methods. Nineteen p.c of the one hundred sixty million cars that use Nuance's expertise over the previous … Read More . . .


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Report hate crime with a new mobile phone app
Report hate crime with a new mobile phone app
Stop Hate UK have launched a new free phone app that allows people living in West Yorkshire to report hate crimes.
The app gives people a safe way to tell Stop Hate UK about hate crime. The app also lets you find out what you can do to report things further.
If you are a victim of a hate crime, or if you see a hate crime taking place you can report it via the app.
The app can be used to send a video, photo, audio or written report including the location of the hate crime to Stop Hate UK.
You don't have to include your name or any personal information when you send the report.
The app can be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android phones.


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Archive for the 'Wristband info' category
Child Safety & Identification at SchoolsJanuary 10th, 2013
Tyvek paper wristbands cheaperMarch 19th, 2012
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Income from WristbandsJune 10th, 2011
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Guadalajara, Mexico
I am back in the big city of Guadalajara, Mexico. Almost a month has gone by since I have been in work mode down here in Mexico. We have been bouncy from a few different cities installing snow machines for the upcoming Holiday season. The team is pretty close to being finished and now I am based here in Guadalajara for the next 2 months running snow shows at the Mall.
A few weeks back I said goodbye to beautiful fall in Baja, with a nice run of waves on the horizon. I dropped Kanami off at the airport, drove my van back to my parents, packed my bags and bought a big bag of dog food and left Charlie with Joel and Moses. As I boarded the plane on my way south, not for an adventure but for work, I asked myself, "Is this worth it?"
I leave behind everything I love, all in pursuit of putting money in the bank to pursue a future dream. Sometimes I just put my head down and work hard and realize that in life we have to work hard. Days will go by and I feel content with the work and with the paycheck that comes along. Then like a sudden car crash, it all changes.
A few weeks back as we left the hotel in Queretaro, for the short taxi drive to the mall, traffic came to a slow stop. I was in the front seat and as we drove around the accident, I noticed something no one else in the car had seen. The pickup truck looked as though it ran into a man trying to cross the street with his vendor cart. As we slowly drove by the scene, reality struck. There was a man lying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood and his body was violently convulsing. Was he in shock? Was he taking his last few breaths? Would he survive? Was I first hand watching a life slowly come to an end?
These are questions to which I have no answers.
My heart was in pain.
For the rest of the day the question, "Is this all worth it?" ran through my mind.
Life is so precious, and sometimes I forgot this. Sometimes I feel as though I am living so free and adventurous and then like that sudden car crash, it all stops.
This summer I was working on the Kern River, in what was said to be the best year for water levels since 1984. While things started off great and amazing I remember a text message I received early on in the season: "Please call it is important!"
In a text you can not hear the tone of voice, feel the anxiety or the pain. I walked away from what was happening to make a phone call.
Life is so precious.
As much as I didn't want to hear those words come out of her mouth, they did.
"Andrew I went to the doctor, I have breast cancer."
I am scared, the anxiety is a bit overwhelming, the pain is real, why? Why?
These are my thoughts, then it struck me hard, how is she feeling? The conversation seems a bit blurry now, it was all so hard to concentrate on the reality of life. All I wanted to do was be with her, drop everything and be by her side. A week or so went by before I went to San Diego. While the doctors may have said that it may not be the worst case scenario, it is scary as hell to think of a young 30-year-old with Breast Cancer. And that person is one of your best friends and family.
On my drive to San Diego, I had waves of emotions that swept through my mind and heart. When something fucked up happens, it is hard to be positive, to think the best, to trust that all will turn out well. I went for a visit, the whole family was there, kids, husband, what seemed like any normal visit. The anxiety, the pain seemed a bit departed, maybe because she had to manage a household as if everything was normal.
Before I had to head back up to the river, I needed to make one more visit. This time the house was a bit quieter, it was just the two of us. I didn't know what to say, and I am sure everyone shared their own "Miracle Story" of some friend, relative or co-worker that went through the same thing and it all turned out okay. We share a real relationship, no bullshit conversation. I had no answer or positive words, I just sat there and held her hand. Tears came out, the pain was real, the anxiety, the thought of life ending too quickly.
My heart hurt. It still does.
To watch someone in pain, especially someone you love is terrible. It is even more terrible to not be physically present with that person you love.
I got through that day of work in Mexico, physically tired and also a bit mentally tired as well. During the rest of the install in Queretaro, I had moments that seemed a bit down. Maybe it was watching that guy lying in his pool of blood that had my thoughts run wild. We were working on a lift, 60 feet off the ground, fixing some of the lights that had been installed a few years back and also cleaning off the equipment. I found myself with the feather duster, being the guy who dusted off the light fixtures.
A smile came about, but one of those smiles that also reminds you of something heartbreaking. A long time ago, god maybe close to 15 years ago, a wildfire wreaked havoc throughout San Diego. As a result, my dad's company received an overload of fire restoration work lasting close to 6 months. They had to hire probably close to 20-30 laborers to help clean up houses with extensive smoke damage.
My dad has always been someone who has wanted to help out others. So for him, it was a time to hire anyone willing to work and who needed the work. The memory that popped up in my head while I was the dust master up on that lift was of a friends dad. At the time he was not working, so he took my dad up on the offer to work. I remember later laughing with Alise, probably with a beer in hand, about how her dad's designated job was to be the guy on the latter with that bright feather duster cleaning every nook and cranny in these million dollar homes.
The sad thing about this story and memory is that I wish I could be with Alice and her dad, and have a good laugh about our professional dusting days.
He is gone. My Heart Hurts.
Life is so precious.
I wish fucked up things didn't happen to good people and people whom I love. I don't have the answer to why they happen.
We all suffer in some way, feel alone, tears fall.
I try and remember the good days. The laughter, the love, the beauty of life.


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by Vincent Verhei (SEA-ATL) and Aaron Schatz (GB-DAL)
Our NFC divisional round games feature a pair of rematches from Week 6 of the regular season. The Saturday afternoon game pits the Seattle Seahawks against the Atlanta Falcons in a rematch of Seattle's thrilling win, and then on Sunday we'll watch the Green Bay Packers try to get revenge on the Dallas Cowboys for their two-touchdown loss.
The first Seahawks-Falcons matchup saw the Seahawks jump out to a 17-3 halftime lead on a pair of rushing scores, but then Atlanta rallied with touchdown drives of 75, 79, and 97 yards in their first three drives of the second half. The Seahawks appeared to tie the score in the fourth quarter, but Steven Hauschka missed an extra point. Fortunately for him, he got another try shortly thereafter and hit a field goal to put the Seahawks up 26-24. The Falcons had one more chance to win, but the game ended on fourth down on a controversial non-call.
At the exact same time, the Cowboys were taking care of business in Dallas. Dak Prescott threw three touchdowns and Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 157 yards as the Cowboys led 17-6 at halftime and then 27-9 early in the fourth. The Packers never got closer than 11 points after that, and eventually lost 30-16.
Hopefully we'll get two games like that Atlanta-Seattle showdown, and not so much like the pedestrian Green Bay-Dallas contest. For those who may be unfamiliar with the Football Outsiders stats, they are explained at the bottom of the page. Scroll down or click this link.
Game charting data appears courtesy Sports Info Solutions, unless noted. Please remember that all stats represent regular season only, except for weighted DVOA and anything else specifically noted.
Seattle at Atlanta
All readers can click here for in-game discussion on our message boards. If you have FO Premium, you can click here to see all the matchup of DVOA splits for this game.
Very quietly, the Atlanta Falcons have put together one of the NFL's all-time highest-scoring offenses this season. Only eight other teams have ever scored 540 points in the season, and all of them have higher profiles than this year's Falcons. Five of those teams featured all-time great quarterbacks (Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees) at the top of their games. One team was fresh off a Super Bowl win, and would play in another Super Bowl the next year. One paired a Hall of Fame wideout in Cris Carter with one of the greatest rookies of all time in Randy Moss and took the league by storm. The eighth was coming off a Super Bowl win, and was on its way to a second-straight appearance.
So why are these Falcons so anonymous despite their production? It could be that for all those points, no individual Falcons are threatening any offensive records. Matt Ryan will probably win the MVP, but he didn't throw for 5,000 yards or 40 touchdowns this year, when Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers did. Julio Jones' numbers are actually down significantly from 2015. Both Ryan's and Jones' statistics are suppressed because the Falcons were a run-heavy team this year, ranking 26th in pass attempts. And while Atlanta had a great rushing offense this year, they used a committee approach at running back, with Tevin Coleman getting about half as many carries as Devonta Freeman. That's partly why Freeman finished ninth in rushing yards instead of challenging Ezekiel Elliott for the rushing title.
It also must be said that these Falcons scored those 540 points in one of the league's highest-scoring eras. DVOA adjusts for that, and doesn't rank these Falcons anywhere near the best teams on record. Though they were first in both total offense and passing offense DVOA in 2016, they would not finish among the top 25 teams on record in the first category, and not in the top 10 in the latter. Even casual football fans probably realize it's easier to score 500-plus points now than ever before, and adjust their opinions of this Falcons offense appropriately.
The biggest reason the Falcons are being taken lightly, though, is more simple than that: they haven't won enough games, not in the postseason in years past, nor in the regular season this year. Since Ryan and general manager Thomas Dimitroff arrived in 2008, the Falcons have gone 85-59. Only five teams in the NFL have won more regular-season games in that timespan, including just one NFC team, the Packers. However, the Falcons have been almost totally unable to translate that regular-season dominance into postseason victory. They have gone just 1-4 in the playoffs since 2008, and that one win was one of the more unimpressive playoff victories you'll see: a 30-28 win against the Seahawks in 2012, when they blew a 20-0 halftime lead at home against then-rookie Russell Wilson and were bailed out by a last-second Matt Bryant field goal. As for those four defeats, two were nail-biters decided late in the fourth quarter, but two were blowouts lost by 20 points or more. Wins are a team stat, not a quarterback stat, but the unfortunate fact is that Matt Ryan and the Falcons have as many playoff wins as T.J. Yates and the Texans or Tim Tebow and the Broncos, and three fewer than Mark Sanchez and the Jets.
As for 2016, you would be hearing a lot more about those 540 points if the Falcons had won 15 games and a No. 1 seed. Instead they went "only" 11-5, held back by a defense that was 27th in points allowed and often dug holes so deep even the league's best offense couldn't escape. Atlanta gave up at least 24 points in all five of its losses, and the defense was hardly any better in victory than it was in defeat -- the Falcons were the first team in league history to win six games in which it allowed 28 points or more. Overall, the losing team in Atlanta's 16 games this year averaged exactly 24 points. Three touchdowns and a field goal will win you a lot of games in the NFL, but that's just where they get started in Atlanta.
Stepping into battle against this team come the Seattle Seahawks, one of the league's more schizophrenic clubs, and also one of its more dangerous. The Seahawks have won 11 games this year, beating playoff teams like Miami, New England, and then Detroit last week, as well as these Falcons. They also had five losses and a tie, and five of those games came against teams that missed the playoffs. While Atlanta was consistent as most any team in the NFL, Seattle was 29th in both overall and offensive variance. At their worst, they would be one of the weakest teams Atlanta (or anyone else) has played all season. At their best, they are more than capable of upsetting the Falcons on the road.
Earlier we called the Falcons a run-heavy team, and while that is technically true, it is not true all the time. They ran the ball 39 percent of the time in the first quarter, which ranked 27th. But they ran the ball 51 percent of the time in the fourth quarter and overtime, which ranked third. In other words, they come out throwing to build early leads, then start running to kill clock when they are ahead late in games.
And when they pass, they have plenty of weapons. The Falcons had ten players this year with at least 200 yards receiving and 13 players with at least one touchdown catch, most in the league in both categories. In years past, if you stopped Julio Jones, you stopped the Falcons, but that is not even close to true anymore. Jones missed two games this year, and was held to 35 yards or less in three others. The Falcons won all five of those games, with Matt Ryan completing 68 percent of his passes with a 9.2-yard average, 11 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Julio Jones is just a cog in the machine this year.
Mind you, he's a really valuable cog. Though he was just 17th in the league in catches, he was second in receiving yards, and his 17.0 yards per catch was second-best behind DeSean Jackson's 17.9 among thousand-yard receivers this year. He was fourth in catches resulting in first downs, second in catches that gained at least 10 yards, and second in catches that gained at least 20 yards -- all on a team that was in the bottom ten in total pass attempts. This is how you finish first among all wide receivers in DYAR, and second in DVOA.
Yes, Jones was second in DVOA -- behind his own teammate, Taylor Gabriel. This is something of a sample size fluke, because Taylor finished with exactly the 50 targets needed to qualify for our wide receiver tables, but there's no doubt that Gabriel made the most of those 50 targets -- a 70 percent catch rate, 16.5 yards per catch, and a half-dozen touchdowns, tied with Jones for the team lead. And he wasn't just catching red zone slants, either -- those touchdowns went for 9, 25, 35, 47, 64, and 76 yards, a 42.7-yard average on six scoring plays.
While Gabriel was a hit in his first season in Atlanta, Mohamed Sanu, the Falcon's other free-agent wideout acquisition, was a more subdued success, ranking 43rd in DYAR and 34th in DVOA. Mind you, with 32 teams in the league, there's no shame in having a No. 2 receiver finish 34th. The Falcons are deep here, too -- with 32 and 31 targets respectively, neither Aldrick Robinson nor Justin Hardy came terribly close to qualifying for our tables, but both had DVOAs that would have been in the top 20. This shows again that even if you take away Julio Jones, Matt Ryan can still beat you with his fourth and fifth receivers.
Unless, of course, he decides to beat you with his running backs or tight ends instead. Freeman and Coleman both finished with more than 400 yards receiving, and were fifth and sixth among running backs in receiving DYAR this year. Coleman was particularly impressive, leading all running backs in receiving DVOA and producing a passel of explosive plays. Coleman, Atlanta's backup running back, had eight catches this year that gained 20 yards or more. (Jermaine Kearse, Seattle's starting wide receiver, had seven.) As for the tight ends, though Atlanta didn't use them very frequently (as a group, Falcons tight ends had 84 targets, tied for 29th), Austin Hooper still finished 11th among tight ends in DYAR and second in DVOA. That comes with a healthy amount of sample size skepticism -- Hooper had 27 targets, barely reaching the 25-target threshold for tight ends -- but the fact remains that by receiving DVOA, the Falcons finished the year with the top two wide receivers, the top running back, and the second-ranked tight end. Yikes.
How can the Seahawks match up against an offense like that? It's tempting to guess that we'll get 60 minutes of a Richard Sherman-Julio Jones one-on-one matchup, but that's not likely. Current Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard has let Sherman follow top receivers across the field far more often than predecessors Dan Quinn and Gus Bradley, but that's not a primary tactic. More than half of Sherman's targets this year came on the defense's left side, with about one-third on the right side and the leftovers up the middle. When he did go to the right side, it was almost always to cover an elite wideout like Jordy Nelson (three targets to the right), Brandon Marshall (eight), or Jones himself. Jones had ten targets when Atlanta played in Seattle in Week 6, and Sherman was the primary defender on five of them, including four on the defense's right side. So we'll certainly see a fair number of Jones-Sherman battles, but it won't be an all-day thing.
Instead, we're likely to get a heavy dose of the usual Cover-3 scheme the Seahawks have been using for most of the Pete Carroll regime, with Sherman usually manning the left side and DeShawn Shead taking over on the right. Whoever lines up on that side, that's not a good matchup for Seattle -- see last week's Detroit-Seattle preview for a look at Shead's horrible charting numbers. The worse news, though, is still at free safety, where the dropoff from Earl Thomas to Steven Terrell has been as massive as you might think.
We went over Seattle's pass defense DVOA with and without Thomas last week -- minus-6.8% with Thomas, 28.6% without him (including the 17 snaps he played against Carolina in Week 13). On further review, that's a little misleading and based on a few big plays -- nine touchdowns and nine interceptions with Earl, eight touchdowns and two interceptions without him (including the playoff win over Detroit). The differences in yards allowed per pass (7.5, up from 7.0) and sack rate (6.5 percent, down from 7.8 percent) were much smaller, and the Seahawks actually improved in completion percentage allowed (60.6 percent, down from 61.9 percent). Where Seattle really misses Thomas is on deep middle passes. With Thomas playing centerfield, opponents completed only 2-of-11 passes to the deep middle area of the field for 53 yards. That's 4.8 yards per pass, and 5.3 yards per game. Since Thomas went out, opponents have completed 7-of-12 deep middle passes for 248 yards -- 20.7 yards per pass, 35.4 yards per game.
And it just so happens that Matt Ryan loves passing to the deep middle of the field -- only four quarterbacks threw more passes to that region than Ryan's 32, and remember that Ryan threw very few passes overall this year. And he was good at it too, with a league-high 20 completions for 490 yards. His leading receiver to that part of the field, naturally, was Jones, who had nine deep middle catches (nobody else on the team had more than three). So the key matchup in the secondary probably won't be Julio Jones vs. Richard Sherman. More likely, it will be Julio Jones vs. Steven Terrell -- and that is bad news for Seattle.
What's good news for Seattle is that while their secondary looks more overmatched than it has in years, their defensive front should have a big edge over Atlanta's offensive line. The one potentially fatal flaw in the Falcons' passing game is an inability to keep Matt Ryan safe and sound. The Falcons were only 23rd in adjusted sack rate, and 18th in pressure rate. Seattle's defense, meanwhile, was 10th in adjusted sack rate and 11th in pressure rate. Perhaps due to the problems in the secondary, they were more aggressive on defense this year. They used at least five pass rushers on 26.9 percent of opposing plays this year, 16th in the league and their highest rate in the past five seasons. And they really cranked up the pressure on third downs with a blitz rate of 39.4 percent, ninth-highest in the league. Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard has said that to beat Matt Ryan, "you put him on the ground." Does that mean he'll be even more aggressive on Saturday?
While Seattle's front has done a good job of disrupting pass protection, they have been even better at shutting down opposing running games, with linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright keying one of the best run defenses we have ever measured. They weren't particularly dominant in any one area of our defensive line stats, but they were good at all of them. They also forced eight fumbles on runs, and they led the league with just 3.4 yards allowed per rush. Seventeen players have carried the ball at least ten times in a single game against Seattle this year, and more of them have averaged fewer than 3.0 yards per carry (five), than have averaged more than 4.0 (three). Freeman (14th in rushing DVOA) and Coleman (12th) had excellent seasons for Atlanta, and their offensive line had some good numbers as well, but the Falcons look overmatched here.
If not, though, it could be a double whammy for Seattle, because success on the ground would give the Falcons ample opportunity to throw play-action passes. Atlanta used play-action on 26 percent of their passing plays, highest rate in the league, though it should be noted that they were second in yards per play with play-action, first without it. The Seahawks, meanwhile, were killed by play-action -- 10th in yards allowed per play without it, but 23rd in yards allowed per play with it. However, as noted, it's likely that Seattle's front will cut down Atlanta's options on the ground. The Falcons will likely need to rely on their edge in the dropback passing game to beat the Seahawks on Saturday.
In a very literal sense, the Seattle offense this season has looked at times like one of the best in the league -- and at times like one of the worst. The top five offenses this season all had full-season DVOAs of at least 16.1%, a mark Seattle surpassed in six games this year. The bottom five offenses, though, all had DVOAs of minus-12.9% or lower, and Seattle's offense fell below that mark five times.
Is there a personnel reason for these wild swings? As we mentioned last week, the constant shuffling on the offensive line can't have helped, and their offensive output has gone way up when the current starting five of George Fant, Mark Glowinski, Justin Britt, Germain Ifedi, and Garry Gilliam has taken the field. However, closer inspection shows that those five may not have made as big an impact on the offense's statistics as it appears on first glance, at least not where we would expect superior blocking to be noticed. When those five men start, Seattle's sack rate is actually higher than when one or more is missing (7.6 percent, up from 6.6 percent), and their knockdown rate has also gone up (19.3 percent from 19.0 percent). The Seahawks were also among the bottom three teams in pressure rate no matter who was starting on the line. While the pass pressure didn't change much, though, Seattle's overall passing attack sure did -- they averaged 7.4 yards per pass play in games with the current starting line, with 14 touchdowns and one interception. When any of those five lineman was not starting, Seattle averaged 6.3 yards per pass play with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. So has the offensive line helped carry Russell Wilson to his biggest games? Or have they just been lucky enough to be on the field when Wilson has played his best? It's probably not a coincidence that this five-man unit didn't see the field until the second half of the year, when Wilson was starting to heal from early-season knee and ankle injuries.
The image painted by the running game is just as murky, and again a rotating cast of characters is likely to blame. Eighteen different players had at least one carry for Seattle this year. That includes five running backs with at least ten runs, plus a backup quarterback who was forced to play tailback late in one game. Their leading rusher was cut in November and now plays for Green Bay. Their second-leading rusher came into the year recovering from a broken ankle and then missed seven games with a broken leg. Their third leading rusher was their gimpy quarterback. Their fourth-leading rusher missed four games with a broken hand, then six more with a broken shoulder blade. Get the picture?
All these ups and downs and ins and outs make it very hard to get a grasp on what Seattle has been for the past four months, so the best we can do might be to look at what the Seahawks have done in the past few weeks. In his past four games, since his five-interception meltdown in Green Bay, Wilson has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 8.0 yards per toss, with 10 touchdowns and only one interception, though he has been sacked 12 times. Granted, that includes games against the Rams, 49ers, and Lions, but it's not as if he'll be playing the 1985 Bears this weekend either. In those four games, as has been the case for most of the season, Doug Baldwin has been the leading receiver, catching 31-of-41 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns. In the absence of Tyler Lockett, Paul Richardson has come on strong, catching 11-of-16 passes for 130 yards and two scores. On the other hand, Jimmy Graham (10-16-175-1) and Jermaine Kearse (8-21-95-1) have seen their roles in the offense decrease.
And then there's Thomas Rawls. Half of his rushing yards came in two games this year, in Week 13 against Carolina and last week against Detroit. In those two games, he ran 42 times for 267 yards (6.4 per carry) and three touchdowns. In his other eight games, he ran 94 times for 243 yards (2.6 per carry) with just one touchdown. It's hard to reconcile the guys who just broke Marshawn Lynch's team record for rushing yards in a playoff game with the guy who had eight carries for 8 yards against Arizona two weeks ago, or seven carries for minus-7 yards in Week 2 against the Rams.
While Seattle's offense is a mystery, Atlanta's defense is consistent and simple -- they have consistently been simply awful. True, there was some statistical improvement at the end of the year -- the Falcons were 28th in defensive DVOA in Weeks 1 to 13, and 13th in defense in Weeks 14 to 17 -- but given the nature of some of those games it's reasonable to skeptical about that improvement. Two of the Falcons' three best defensive games of the year came in Weeks 16 and 17 against Carolina and New Orleans -- two teams that had been eliminated from the postseason and had nothing to play for. Another came against the Rams and Jared Goff, who showed in half a season why he had spent September and October nailed to the bench. Besides those three games, Atlanta only had two other outings with a negative defensive DVOA (which means good defense): against Paxton Lynch and the Broncos in Week 5, and against the Cardinals in Week 12.
So no, this is not a good unit, and they are particularly vulnerable to the run. That may be surprising, considering the Falcons ranked 17th in rushing yards allowed -- Atlanta gave up only two 100-yard rushers this year, and never more than Ryan Mathews' 109 in November -- but remember that opponents were often forced to pass to keep up with Matt Ryan and the explosive offense. The Falcons rotate players on their defensive front quite frequently. Only four were on the field for even half of Atlanta's defensive snaps: linebackers Deion Jones (81 percent) and Vic Beasley (60 percent), defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (57 percent), and defensive end Adrian Clayborn (53 percent). All that shuffling, though, has failed to produce a quality run defense. The Falcons were 25th in adjusted line yards and 26th in second-level yards.
The pass defense, then is the relative strength of this unit, and it's built on a very conservative scheme. Atlanta blitzed just 17.2 percent of the time (30th), and used a big blitz of six or more pass rushers on only 2.1 percent of all pass plays (31st). They rely on their defensive front to pressure the quarterback, which means they rely almost exclusively on Vic Beasley to pressure the quarterback. The eighth overall pick in 2015 led the NFL with 15.5 sacks this year, but no other Falcon had more than five. Beasley was also 11th in the league with 30.0 hurries, but nobody else on the team had more than 19.5, and the Falcons were just 22nd overall in rate of pressure.
That put a heavy burden on Atlanta's cornerbacks, who played well under the circumstances, even with Desmond Trufant out for the year with a torn pec. Robert Alford has stepped into the top cornerback role and played admirably, finishing 28th out of 87 qualifying corners in success rate and 39th in yards allowed per pass. Second-year man Jalen Collins was brought along slowly after a four-game suspension to start the year for performance enhancing drugs, but he has been a starter since mid-November and finished 29th and 46th in the same categories. Nickelback Brian Poole was worst of the bunch in success rate (64th) but best in yards allowed per pass (27th). The Falcons have close to zero depth beyond those three -- no other Atlanta corner played more than 116 defensive snaps this season, and they finished 29th in coverage against "other" wide receivers this year -- but Seattle's not the kind of team that can go four-wide and exploit that, unless you want to rely on Tanner McEvoy or Devin Hester to win games in the playoffs. (Then again, this is the same coaching staff and quarterback that nearly made Chris Matthews a Super Bowl MVP.)
The other area where Atlanta has been weak in coverage has been against running backs, where they rank 26th. This means the health of C.J. Prosise could be critical. Prosise led Seattle running backs with 208 receiving yards this year despite playing only six games, but hasn't played since breaking his shoulder blade against Philadelphia in Week 11. Prosise was limited in practice this week and will be a game-time decision against Atlanta.
The Falcons defense has had the luxury this season of playing with the league's best offense. This means they haven't needed to dominate opponents to win games. They have only needed to prevent big plays, force opponents to make long drives down the field, and wait for a dropped pass or a penalty or some other mistake to set up a long-yardage situation and a stop. This seems like a fine strategy against Seattle, an offense that often shoots itself in the foot and relies on big plays to score. Seattle's average touchdown drive this season lasted 6.6 plays. Only the Chiefs (!) and Dolphins averaged fewer plays per touchdown drive. That could change this week, though. Seattle will probably need to target Atlanta's soft run defense to win. That would extend the length of each drive, while suppressing the number of possessions for each team -- always a good strategy against an offensive juggernaut.
We covered Seattle's special teams last week, and little has changed since then. Short version: they're not very good, and worse than their full-season numbers appear because Tyler Lockett is out for the year with a broken leg. Devin Hester was a non-factor in the wild-card win over Detroit, while Steven Hauschka missed his seventh extra point of the year, and Jon Ryan had a 34-yard punt that was fair caught at the Detroit 23.
On the other hand, there figure to be a lot of kickoffs in this game, and Seattle should have the edge there whether kicking or receiving. Eric Weems has been nothing special for most of the season on either kick or punt returns for Atlanta (though he did have a 73-yard punt return against Oakland). The Falcons' kickers, though, have been significantly better than Seattle's this year. Matt Bosher's average punt traveled 2.8 yards further than Jon Ryan's, and he had only one touchback all season. And if the game comes down to one kick, you've got to like Matt Bryant's chances (92 percent on field goals this year, 98 percent on extra points) more than Hauschka's (89 percent, 83 percent).
The Falcons have not been a particularly good home team this season, going 5-3 in Atlanta, including losses to non-playoff teams in Tampa Bay and San Diego. In fact, their offense has played slightly better on the road (27.4% DVOA) than at home (22.9%), as has their defense (4.4% on the road, 12.5% at home). Unfortunately for Seahawks fans, Seattle's home/road splits go in the opposite direction, and to a greater degree. They went 7-1 in Seattle, but just 3-4-1 on the road, including losses or a tie to four non-playoff clubs: the Rams, Cardinals, Saints, and Buccaneers. The Seahawks had a 13.7% offensive DVOA at home, but that free-falled to minus-16.6% on the road. The defensive also suffered away from Century Link Field, going from a minus-16.7% DVOA at home to a minus-5.8% DVOA on road trips. The Falcons have been a better team than Seattle overall this season, but they definitely have flaws, flaws that the Seahawks would have a better chance of exploiting were this game in Puget Sound. In Atlanta, though, they lose that edge they will probably need. Odds are that the Seahawks will become the second football team from Seattle in the last two weeks to see their playoff dreams come to an end in the Georgia Dome.
Green Bay at Dallas
All readers can click here for in-game discussion on our message boards. If you have FO Premium, you can click here to see all the matchup of DVOA splits for this game.
Like the other three games this weekend, this last game is also a rematch from the regular season. Back in Week 6, the Cowboys went on the road and beat Green Bay, 30-16. Although this wasn't the start of a losing streak -- the Packers did beat the Bears the following Thursday night -- it was essentially the start of Green Bay's midseason dip, the period that had so many people asking "what happened to Aaron Rodgers?"
At first glance, the final score of this game looks to be primarily based on turnovers. The Packers turned the ball over four times, losing three of five fumbles plus a Rodgers interception. This has not been a problem in recent weeks, as the Packers have committed just one turnover in their current seven-game winning streak. But dismissing the first matchup is not as easy as saying "OK, well, the turnovers are fixed now." The Packers only committed one of those turnovers in the first half, and Dallas had a turnover too, yet the Cowboys went into halftime up 17-6. Rodgers' first-half totals (15-for-22, 135 yards) don't look so bad, but those totals are padded by five passes for 61 yards in the final 27 seconds of the half, a drive that ran out of time right when it reached field-goal range. The biggest story of the first matchup wasn't Rodgers but rather Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. The Packers run defense had kept running backs to an absurd 2.2 yards per carry through the first four games, but Elliott came in and picked up 157 yards on 5.6 yards per carry.
So here we are three months later, in Dallas this time instead of Green Bay. The Cowboys are essentially the same team they were back in Week 6, and the same team they've been all year. The Packers are playing much better on offense, but worse on defense, setting up a very likely shootout at American Telephone and Telegraph Stadium. Now with extra telegraphs!
We normally start these playoff game previews by looking at pass offense vs. pass defense, but of course the Dallas offense is really built around Ezekiel Elliott and the running game. And the Green Bay run defense did not come out of that first Dallas matchup anywhere near the same way it came in. You can split the numbers and look at the Packers before Elliott and after Elliott, or you can look at the first half of the season compared to the second half. Each split will show a decline:
|Green Bay Run Defense, 2016
|Run Def DVOA
|RB Yd/Carry
|Adj Line Yards
|Stuff Rate
|Weeks 1-5
|Weeks 6-10
|Weeks 11-17
The Cowboys' advantage here is biggest at the start of each series. The Cowboys have the No. 3 offensive DVOA in the league on first downs, including No. 1 on running plays. Green Bay, on the other hand, is 28th in first-down defense. However, it's the Packers pass defense that's most vulnerable on first downs. The Packers are 12th in run defense on first downs, but 31st in pass defense. That makes first down the perfect time for the Cowboys to pull out their play-action passes. As you might imagine, the run-first Cowboys use a lot of them. Only Atlanta and Cincinnati used a play fake on a higher percentage of passes. Green Bay significantly struggled against play-action passes this year, allowing 9.2 yards per pass against play-action but only 7.0 yards per pass otherwise. That was one of the ten largest gaps in the league.
The Cowboys' run DVOA was actually quite disappointing on third and fourth downs, ranked only 26th in the league. However, the Packers are just 29th in run defense on third and fourth downs. Also, there's a bit of a fluke here with the Cowboys' rating. Dallas actually converted 62 percent of runs on third or fourth down, better than the NFL average of 54 percent. They converted 73 percent of short-yardage runs. The Cowboys end up with a lower DVOA because a) they tied for the league lead with three fumbles on third-down runs, two on botched handoffs, and b) they have a low average on third-down runs because they didn't have a lot of long third-down running plays. Elliott had no runs longer than 7 yards on third or fourth down, and the Cowboys had only five: a Chris Jones fake punt, a Lucky Whitehead end-around, and three Dak Prescott scrambles. The Packers' poor rating is much more "real," as they forced no fumbles on third or fourth down and allowed more than 7 yards on 14 of 44 runs.
When it's time to pass, all eyes should be on the Cowboys receivers against the Green Bay secondary. As noted last week,
we track three categories of receivers, but if you combine them all, Green Bay comes out 31st in the league covering wide receivers. The Packers allowed 8.86 yards per pass to wideouts, worst in the league and a full yard above the NFL average. Things are better against tight ends (seventh) and running backs as receivers (15th). Jason Witten caught just four passes for 42 yards in the first matchup, while Elliott had just two catches for 17 yards.
Quinten Rollins has been practicing all week and should be returning from a concussion this week, but according to SIS charting metrics he was the worst of the three primary Packers cornerbacks although he generally covered shorter routes. In general, the Packers use Damarious Randall on the left side (offensive right), Ladarius Gunter on the right side (offensive left), and Rollins and Micah Hyde in the slot. The players here are ranked out of 84 qualifying corners:
|Green Bay Cornerback Charting Metrics, 2016
|Suc Rate
|Avg Air Yds
|Ladarius Gunter
|Damarious Randall
|Quinten Rollins
|Micah Hyde (CB/S hybrid)
Rollins' charting metrics suggest that Cole Beasley, not Dez Bryant, may be Prescott's No. 1 target in this game. Beasley was the Cowboys' top receiving target on both first and third downs this year, and particularly stood out with 50.1% receiving DVOA on third down. Bryant is the most frequent target on second down, with nearly half his targets. That probably is related to the use of play-action, but as I note above, the Cowboys might want to switch and use play-action more on first down than on second.
As I've written a couple of times this season, the lauded Cowboys offensive line allowed a surprising amount of pass pressure, rakning 22nd in the league by SIS charting numbers (subscription required). It does look like a lot of that pressure has to do with blitzing Prescott, but he wasn't blitzed as much as you might expect: 25 percent of pass plays, slightly above average. The problem is that opposing pressure was much more likely to get to Prescott with a blitz. SIS recorded pass pressure against Prescott on 35 percent of blitzes, the fifth highest rate among 34 qualifying quarterbacks. (By comparison, Aaron Rodgers was pressured on 27 percent of blitzes, even though the overall pressure rate for the Green Bay offense was roughly equal to the pressure rate for the Dallas offense.)
The Packers allowed 8.0 yards per play when rushing the standard four men, the worst figure in the league. They were better blitzing, although it was a high-risk, high-reward proposition: the Packers allowed 5.9 yards per play on the blitz, sixth in the NFL, but their 53 percent success rate ranked 17th. Dak Prescott's numbers were fairly consistent no matter the number of pass rushers, which might be another testament to the Dallas offensive line (and the ability of Prescott and center Travis Frederick to identify blitzers.) The Packers bring their pressure from all around the defense, and SIS counted five different defenders with at least 10 hurries. Datone Jones led with 19.5, Nick Perry had 17.5, Mike Daniels 15.5, Clay Matthews 15, and Julius Peppers 14. SIS charting suggests that right tackle is the weak link of the Dallas offensive line, as Doug Free was near the top of the league in blown blocks with the rest of the Dallas line far behind him. (Blown blocks here incorporates blown blocks leading to sacks and hurries but also blown blocks leading to run stuffs.)
There's one other issue worth noting as we get into the playoffs. We still have very little clue how the Dak Prescott will do if the Cowboys fall behind early, especially if the Cowboys are still behind in the second half and the threat of using Elliott is minimal. Prescott only threw 16 passes this year with the Cowboys losing by more than a touchdown, and only half of those came after halftime: Week 8 against Philadelphia, when the Cowboys made up a 10-point deficit and went on to win in overtime.
One of the confusing questions about the Green Bay offense is figuring out how much Jordy Nelson's ACL injury last season contributed to the "struggles" of Aaron Rodgers. (Aaron Rodgers struggling, of course, is still an above-average NFL quarterback, but not the MVP candidate of the past seven weeks.) Last year, it certainly seemed like removing Nelson from the Green Bay offense caused the entire Jenga board to collapse, especially given how brutal Davante Adams was. But this year, Rodgers was down for a few weeks at midseason again, despite the presence of Nelson in the lineup, not to mention the fact that Adams played better than he did a year ago. (Better, but he still has trouble getting open and drops a lot of passes.) So it's hard to tell just how much to discount the Packers offense with Nelson absent due to broken ribs suffered in the wild-card game last week. Even though he didn't seem to fully recover his speed from before the ACL injury, Nelson still ranked third in the league in receiving DYAR this season. Nelson will be replaced as an outside receiver by rookie Geronimo Allison, who had 15.3% receiving DVOA on 22 targets during the regular season.
When two teams have a playoff rematch, the football media generally makes too much out of the numbers from the first meeting. However, the strategy Dallas used to slow down Aaron Rodgers is very important because a) it worked all season for Packers opponents and therefore b) they are likely to use it again this week. The strategy here is to send fewer pass rushers and throw as many defenders into coverage as possible.
According to Sports Info Solutions charting, Dallas rushed only three men on 13 of 46 pass plays in Week 6, holding Rodgers to 5.8 yards per play. It was a particularly good strategy on third and fourth downs, with Rodgers converting just 1-of-6 on those downs when SIS lists three pass rushers. By contrast, SIS lists only four Dallas blitzes all game. Rodgers converted all four of those passes for 35 yards and two first downs.
It looks like this has been the best way to play against Rodgers all season. For the entire year, Rodgers only averaged 5.0 yards per play with three pass rushers; only Case Keenum and Eli Manning were lower. Compare that to 7.3 yards per pass against four pass rushers and 7.7 yards per pass against five pass rushers. The Cowboys also were better the smaller their pass rush:
|Aaron Rodgers and Dallas Defense, Based on No. of Pass Rushers, 2016
|2-3 pass rushers
|4 pass rushers
|5+ pass rushers
|Aaron Rodgers
|Dallas defense
|Rodgers ranked out of 34 QB; all success rates are from the defensive perspective.
Rodgers has continued to gain less yardage against three-man rushes even during his current hot streak. Since Week 12, and including the wild-card game, he has gained 4.9 yards per pass on 31 plays where SIS has marked a two- or three-man rush, compared to 9.0 yards per play against a four-man rush and 7.4 yards per play against a blitz.
Like Green Bay, Dallas will have a cornerback returning from injury. However, the Cowboys are getting back the player who was their best cornerback this season, Morris Claiborne. For the first half of this season, Claiborne finally fulfilled the potential he had when the Cowboys chose him out of LSU with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft. But halfway throught he year, he suffered a groin injury and missed the rest of the regular season. This week he'll finally be back in the lineup. The other Dallas cornerbacks are close enough to each other that it's hard to definitely say any one of them had a better year than any other. However, all of the Dallas cornerbacks have something in common. They all rank better in yards allowed per pass than they rank in success rate, by about 20 places in the rankings. Similarly, the Cowboys as a whole rank 29th in DVOA against short passes (up to 15 yards through the air) but fourth in DVOA against deep passes. This all fits the pattern of a team with a lot of late-game leads: you let your opponent complete passes underneath as long as you don't get burned deep in a way that lets the opponent start a big comeback. It also fits the style that worked for the Cowboys against the Packers in Week 6: don't blitz, rush only three a lot of the time, and flood the field with coverage to prevent big gains even when Rodgers can find an open receiver.
|Dallas Cornerback Charting Metrics, 2016
|Suc Rate
|Avg Air Yds
|Anthony Brown
|Brandon Carr
|Morris Claiborne
|Orlando Scandrick
|Byron Jones (CB/S hybrid)
The biggest weakness Dallas has in pass coverage is against tight ends, where the Cowboys rank just 30th in DVOA. Tight ends caught 78 percent of passes against Dallas this year, the highest catch rate against any defense in the league. Jared Cook missed the first Dallas-Green Bay matchup. Richard Rodgers had just two catches for 12 yards, but I would expect more than that from Cook.
There's another important pattern from the first matchup, but unlike the Cowboys' pass-rush philosophy, this one is unlikely to carry over for this week's rematch. One reason that the Cowboys held down the Packers in Week 6 is that they got a number of important stops on third and fourth down in the first half:
- The Packers could not convert a third-and-1 run from the Dallas 19, leading to a 37-yard field goal.
- Jordy Nelson couldn't get to the sticks with a 4-yard gain on third-and-6 from the Dallas 29, leading to a 43-yard field goal.
- Near the end of the first half, the Packers stalled out with incomplete passes on third-and-5 and fourth-and-5 in no man's land, at the Dallas 38.
The turnovers mostly came in the second half, but the halftime lead was built with these stops. However, over the course of the season, the Packers haven't been particularly bad on third down (fifth in DVOA) and the Cowboys haven't been particularly good (18th in DVOA, including 25th on third-and-short). So the Packers should see fewer drives stall out and should settle for field goals less -- especially if they are willing to put the ball in Rodgers' hands when they need a conversion in short-yardage situations. The Packers converted just 49 percent of short-yardage runs this season, 30th in the NFL, and they were 2-for-4 on these runs in the wild-card game. (Of course, this wasn't particularly a Dallas strength, either. The Cowboys defense allowed conversions on 69 percent of these runs, 25th in the NFL.)
The Packers' running game improved at midseason, just as their passing game has. The Packers ranked 16th in run offense DVOA through Week 9, but were third in Weeks 10-17, trailing only Buffalo and Dallas. On the other hand, the Dallas run defense really is good. A couple weeks ago on Twitter, I made fun of one of the TV commentators for saying that the Cowboys had the best run defense in the league. I don't remember who it was, but I have a bit of a mea culpa. Yes, the Cowboys allowed the fewest rushing yards because they were always ahead, but they also ranked eighth in run defense DVOA and allowed just 3.9 yards per carry. The Packers may want to look to run on second down rather than first. On first down, the Packers offense ranks 12th running the ball while the Dallas run defense is third. On second down, the Packers rank No. 1 in run offense DVOA while the Dallas defense ranks 25th. Unfortunately for the Packers, their directional strength running the ball is to the left, which matches the Cowboys' strength defending the run.
Dallas had better special teams than Green Bay during the regular season, although the Packers' strong special teams performance in the wild-card round makes things closer. It's important to remember that special teams varies from game to game and season to season more than offense or defense, so last week's Packers special teams performance isn't any kind of indicator that they will suddenly have another good game this week. They got a spark from using Jeff Janis on kickoff returns after he only returned six kickoffs during the regular season, but Janis had negative value on those six returns. His positive value in the wild-card game isn't necessarily predictive.
The weakest part of the Packers' special teams was on kickoffs, where they ranked 30th, but that's not exactly a strength of the Cowboys either, as the Cowboys ranked 20th in kickoff return value. Lucky Whitehead is the primary return man on both kickoffs and punts.
Chris Jones had a fine season punting for the Cowboys; Jake Schum had a great game last week for the Packers, but was not as good during the regular season. The other Cowboys standout on special teams is placekicker Dan Bailey, who was seventh in value this year by our numbers.
Missing Jordy Nelson is a problem, but the other reasons for Green Bay's offensive improvement should still hold: more creative play calling, an improved running game, and spectacular throws from Rodgers. It's hard to imagine that the Cowboys will be able to keep the Packers offense as bottled up as they did back in Week 6. But their offense isn't exactly chopped liver. Even during this period when the Packers have been red-hot, the Cowboys have kept their offense on schedule and kept the chains moving at roughly the same rate. The big difference has been turnovers, as the Packers' only turnover since Week 12 came on a botched handoff while the Cowboys turned the ball over six times in Weeks 12-16. (Forget Week 17, which was stupid.)
The Packers aren't likely to suddenly start turning the ball over as frequently as they did back in Week 6, but the Cowboys can still use all that pass coverage to keep the Packers from too many big yardage gains. Their run defense will make it difficult for the Packers to run their way into advantageous down-and-distance situations. You can't hold Aaron Rodgers down, but this offense is good enough to outscore him given the holes on the Packers defense. It's going to be very hard to stop Ezekiel Elliott all day long, and it's going to be hard to cover all the Cowboys receivers well unless you can have constant success blitzing Dak Prescott mercilessly. And while that strategy would probably have some success, it probably wouldn't have enough success.
All year long, the Dallas Cowboys have been powered by their fabulous offense, but both teams in this game have a fabulous offense. This week, the Cowboys are the favorite to move on to the NFC Championship Game because they have the better defense, not the better offense. And a week of rest and home-field advantage certainly don't hurt.
DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) breaks down each play of the season and compares it to the NFL average based on situation and opponent. You'll find it explained further here. Since DVOA measures ability to score, a negative DVOA indicates a better defense and worse offense, and a positive DVOA indicates a better offense and worse defense.
Team DVOA numbers incorporate all plays; since passing is generally more efficient than rushing, the average for passing is actually above 0% while the average for rushing is below 0%.
SPECIAL TEAMS numbers are different; they represent value in points of extra field position gained compared to NFL average. Field goal rating represents points scored compared to average kicker at same distances. All special teams numbers are adjusted by weather and altitude; the total is then translated into DVOA so it can be compared to offense and defense. Those numbers are explained here.
Each team is listed with DVOA for offense and defense, total along with rush and pass, and rank among the 32 teams in parentheses. (If the DVOA values are difficult to understand, it is easy to just look at the ranks.) We also list red zone DVOA and WEIGHTED DVOA (WEI DVOA), which is based on a formula which drops the value of games early in the season to get a better idea of how teams are playing now (explained here).
Each team also gets a chart showing their performance this year, game-by-game, according to total DVOA. In addition to a line showing each game, another line shows the team's trend for the season, using a rolling average of the last five games. Note that even though the chart appears in the section for when each team has the ball, it represents total performance, not just offense.


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