SPORTS

[GaryCooper]

https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/the-so ... eaderboard

[laffite]

Brandon Staley's head should roll. Getting lucky and winning that game today does not excuse him for one of the most stupidly idiotic abominable absurd decisions ever possibly in the history of the NFL. He nearly cost the season for the Chargers. Is it fair to the players to have their season gone because a bad coaching decision. Mr. Staley is an imbecile. If I were owner or general manager of the Chargers, I would fire his ass immediately. I would have him clear his desk and out of the building within two hours or have him forcibly removed. He won the game but should be acutely embarrassed in the doing.

[jamesjazzguitar]

Brandon Staley's head should roll. Getting lucky and winning that game today does not excuse him for one of the most stupidly idiotic abominable absurd decisions ever possibly in the history of the NFL. He nearly cost the season for the Chargers. Is it fair to the players to have their season gone because a bad coaching decision. Mr. Staley is an imbecile. If I were owner or general manager of the Chargers, I would fire his ass immediately. I would have him clear his desk and out of the building within two hours or have him forcibly removed. He won the game but should be acutely embarrassed in the doing.

Dean Spanos is too cheap to fire Staley. Staley is indeed an imbecile and has been for the last 2 seasons.

[Dargo]

Brooks Robinson, Baseball Hall of Famer and 'Mr. Oriole' (and "The Human Vacuum Cleaner"), dies at 86.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/br ... r-AA1hjlgi

[jamesjazzguitar]

Brooks Robinson, Baseball Hall of Famer and 'Mr. Oriole' (and "The Human Vacuum Cleaner"), dies at 86.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/br ... r-AA1hjlgi

That is sad since Brooks will miss watching the Orioles play in the playoffs for the first time since, forever!

Here's to you, Mr. Robinson.

[movieman1957]

As one who has spent nearly my entire life in the Baltimore area there is no figure, let alone sports figure, who is more beloved than Brooks. (And I would argue more than Cal.) He retained his southern bred sensibilities while embracing this town. it is a sad day in Baltimore and in the world of baseball.

[GaryCooper]

The U.S. was trounced in the opening play. Need a lot of wins today ...

https://www.rydercup.com/

G.C.

[laffite]

Brandon Staley gets away with it again. Leading by seven with three minutes to go and facing a fourth one ON THEIR OWN 39 yard line, and instead of going with the usual, punting the ball, he tries for the first down to ice the game and for the SECOND WEEK IN A ROW misses it. Last week this type of mistake allows the opposing to get down to the Charger four-yard-line to nearly win the game. Yesterday the opposing team gets to the six yard line to force an overtime. Both times he lucks out, and so the team lucks out. After working hard in the field like all football do, the team nearly lose all BY RIDICULOUSLY STUPID decision by an idiot coach. It's frustrating to read real spineless sports writers who refuse to call Staley out on this. They say things like "a questionable call," when by any reasonable standard they are foolhardy at best. Staley has the freakin' gall to say that the decisions he makes are those that "give us the best chance of winning," when in reality he is making egregiously stupid decisions that puts his team in unnecessary jeopardy of losing. By winning them does not vindicate those decisions, although he probably thinks that way. He also said, "we could be 4-0 instead of 2-2" without realizing the higher possibility that might be 0-4. It's truly amazing that a head coach in the NFL would make these kinds of decisions. I get it, we are in a age of 'going for it' in fourth down situations but there are limits to that. Staley doesn't think so. He probably feels smug where others might feel sheepish. The Chargers are lucky to have their two victories this year. At the asinine BS (double entendre) cannot make another asinine call next week. The Chargers have the bye.

[Dargo]

...It's frustrating to read real spineless sports writers who refuse to call Staley out on this. They say things like "a questionable call," when by any reasonable standard they are foolhardy at best.

I agree that the present trend of many younger head coaches to go on fourth down in their own side of the field has gotten out of hand. On the other hand, it always used to grate on me that coaches wouldn't go for it on fourth and short when their team was past midfield but just out of field goal range and would decide to punt it, and which would and does usually end up just netting only about 20 or so yards after the change of possession because the punters would and will invariably punt the ball into the end zone. There's just doesn't seem to be any punters around anymore who have the abilty to "coffin corner" the ball within the opponent's 5 yard line and like Ray Guy was so good at doing back in the day.

However and in regard to the part of your post I excerpted here...Didn't Terry Bradshaw call out Staley's decision from last week's game in no uncertain terms?

[laffite]

...It's frustrating to read real spineless sports writers who refuse to call Staley out on this. They say things like "a questionable call," when by any reasonable standard they are foolhardy at best.

I agree that the present trend of many younger head coaches to go on fourth down in their own side of the field has gotten out of hand. On the other hand, it always used to grate on me that coaches wouldn't go for it on fourth and short when their team was past midfield but just out of field goal range and would decide to punt it, and which would and does usually end up just netting only about 20 or so yards after the change of possession because the punters would and will invariably punt the ball into the end zone. There's just doesn't seem to be any punters around anymore who have the abilty to "coffin corner" the ball within the opponent's 5 yard line and like Ray Guy was so good at doing back in the day.

However and in regard to the part of your post I excerpted here...Didn't Terry Bradshaw call out Staley's decision from last week's game in no uncertain terms?

If Bradshaw did that, then he is a HERO of our football times. AND HE WOULD KNOW !!!!!! He played before all the tomfoolery started. I will try and google those remarks if I can find them. And it would take a Bradshaw to speak the truth. He is an "elder statesman" and he can do what others might be reluctant to do. Ask Andy Reid or Bill Bilichick, as well. They would no doubt agree. Brandon Staley is a disgrace.

Thanks, Dargo.

[Dargo]

If Bradshaw did that, then he is a HERO of our football times. AND HE WOULD KNOW !!!!!! He played before all the tomfoolery started. I will try and google those remarks if I can find them. And it would take a Bradshaw to speak the truth. He is an "elder statesman" and he can do what others might be reluctant to do. Ask Andy Reid or Bill Bilichick, as well. They would no doubt agree. Brandon Staley is a disgrace.

Thanks, Dargo.

Funny you mentioning Belichick in this context though, and because you may recall he was one of the first coaches to begin going for it on fourth down in "questionable" field position, and even in the Pats' own territory on occasion. I think he was actually the guy who started this whole recent trend...for better or for worse. He was also the first coach I remember calling a play-action pass on second and short yardage and thus surpising the Defense and often then resulting in a long gain. I still grumble whenever I see any coach (almost all do) decide to just run for the first down in these sorts of situations as I believe they're missing a golden oppurtunity for a big play.

Now, my feeling on this whole thing is that the coach must take into consideration how his running game has been doing during the game and especially during the most recent times during the game...i.e. the flow of the game. If his running game has been doing well, then yes and while taking into account the field position, his chances of success would favor him as I've always felt in key short yardage down situations a running play is the best play to call because as ol' "Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust" Woody Hayes used to say "There are three things that can happen on a pass play, and two of them are bad".

(...my basic feeling being that if you can't even get one measly yard by use of your running game when you need it, you don't deserve to win the game)

[laffite]

If Bradshaw did that, then he is a HERO of our football times. AND HE WOULD KNOW !!!!!! He played before all the tomfoolery started. I will try and google those remarks if I can find them. And it would take a Bradshaw to speak the truth. He is an "elder statesman" and he can do what others might be reluctant to do. Ask Andy Reid or Bill Bilichick, as well. They would no doubt agree. Brandon Staley is a disgrace.

Thanks, Dargo.

Funny you mentioning Belichick in this context though, and because you may recall he was one of the first coaches to begin going for it on fourth down in "questionable" field position, and even in the Pats' own territory on occasion. I think he was actually the guy who started this whole recent trend...for better or for worse. He was also the first coach I remember calling a play-action pass on second and short yardage and thus surpising the Defense and often then resulting in a long gain. I still grumble whenever I see any coach (almost all do) decide to just run for the first down in these sorts of situations as I believe they're missing a golden oppurtunity for a big play.

Now, my feeling on this whole thing is that the coach must take into consideration how his running game has been doing during the game and especially during the most recent times during the game...i.e. the flow of the game. If his running game has been doing well, then yes and while taking into account the field position, his chances of success would favor him as I've always felt in key short yardage down situations a running play is the best play to call because as ol' "Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust" Woody Hayes used to say "There are three things that can happen on a pass play, and two of them are bad".

(...my basic feeling being that if you can't even get one measly yard by use of your running game when you need it, you don't deserve to win the game)

You may be right about Bilichick but I have always seen him as basically a percentage player coach. Remember there are times when going on fourth down makes sense. I don't know what plays you are referring to but I would trust B hands down on whatever he does. That he has been the cause of this newfangled and reckless nonsense would surprise me a lot. But I know for sure that Bilichick would NEVER do anything that Staley has done in the last two weeks. In fact, few coaches (if any) would.

A "measly" yard is not a gimme. But Staley thinks it IS because it looks so easy. But allowing himself to get sucked in like yesterday and last week is stupid.

Respectfully, the 'flow of the game' doesn't mean anything when it comes down to a single play. It doesn't make it more likely or less likely that the fourth and one will work. That play, like all plays actually, singled out, are a thing in itself and there is no telling what will happen. But these thoughts should not even come to mind with the situations we are talking about. It's easy, punt the ball on fourth down and trust the defense. What, Staley cannot even trust his own defense? In last week's game, the opposing team had no timeouts left, that makes Staley's bungling all that much worse. He goes for it on his own 20!!!!!!!!!! That is so unconscionably bad that it defies belief!!!

Trust me and Terry, we are both right.


I

[laffite]

Despite the Diamondbacks leading the NL West quite a time earlier in the season, they were still much maligned that eventually proved to be a righteous call since they fell precipitously in the second half quite a bit back. Curtains? Not quite, they slipped into the playoffs the second last day of the regular season and now have taken a 1-0 lead in the Wild Card over Milwaukee. Watch out!

[umop apisdn]

Despite the Diamondbacks leading the NL West quite a time earlier in the season, they were still much maligned that eventually proved to be a righteous call since they fell precipitously in the second half quite a bit back. Curtains? Not quite, they slipped into the playoffs the second last day of the regular season and now have taken a 1-0 lead in the Wild Card over Milwaukee. Watch out!

I'm a Cubs fan who watched the Diamondbacks win 6 of 7 games. This cost the Cubs the wildcard spot along with losing series against the Pirates and Rockies in September.

The Diamondbacks are a fairly well rounded team more so than the Brewers. Brandon Woodruff is out for the rest of the season, so that puts the Brewers in a bad spot, since their pitching is what usually carries them. Their hitting has been inconsistent for a number of years, and against post season pitching, it means they are unable to advance very far. Craig Counsell is the superior manager, especially at deploying his bull pen. With David Stearns moving to the Mets job, I wonder if the magic will last.

[Dargo]

Considering all D-Backs games are shown via my cable service here in Sedona, this Dodger fan here since childhood has become a bit of fan of theirs as well. Their defensive skills, evidenced by that rally killing catch and double play Evan Longoria made yesterday, not to mention all the spectacular catches I've seen Alex Thomas make in centerfield, the same made by sure-to-be Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, and the overall play of young catcher Gabriel Moreno, are the best in the game, and their bullpen has been pretty darn good since their month of August slide.

(...but of course IF they advance to play the Dodgers, I'll still be rootin' for the Boys in Blue)