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  1. Smokestack Lightning

    WaLi wrote:

    Is this the Cubs way of saying they tried?

    Not much more the Cubs can do than beat everybody else’s offer.

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  2. Suburban kid

    The New York Daily News reported that the Tanaka posting will begin Thursday morning and be completed by Jan. 24, according to a source.

    Jesus fuck

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  3. Author
    dmick89

    @ Berselius:
    I couldn’t tell you two things about this Shia LaBouef character, but I was laughing at the commenters there not getting the punchline. It was that he plagiarized other people’s apologies after plagiarizing something. I laughed out loud when I read about that on Tango’s site yesterday. I wish I had thought of that.

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  4. Like You Care

    Updated NFL mock:

    1. HOU: Bridgewater
    2. ATL (via STL via WAS): Clowney
    3. JAX: Carr – Reach, imo, but that’s what JAX does.
    4. OAK: Manziel – Can’t you just feel it?
    5. CLE: Barr – That defense just gets better.
    6. TB: Jake Matthews
    7. STL: Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn – Might be the best OL in this draft if he declares.
    8. MIN: Sammy Watkins – With him, Patterson, Peterson and Rudolph, I could be an effective QB.
    9. TEN: Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Bama – Locker to FA* and Cutler to TEN makes sense. Add an OT, and TEN can compete for that division.
    10. NYG: Mike Evans, WR, aggy – Eli might have a harder time throwing INTs if he’s targeting Evans.
    16. GB: Stephon Tuitt, DE, ND – Disruptive 5T will improve that defense significantly.
    21. CHI: Kony Ealy, DE, Mizzou – I have a feeling Ealy will test well and go earlier. Fits what CHI needs.
    27. SF: Blake Bortles, QB, UCF – I think he goes before this too, but he’s still available on nfldraftscout. Poor man’s Luck whose floor is higher than Kaepernick’s and ceiling is higher than Alex Smith’s.

    If TEN lets Locker go, CHI would be very wise to look into picking him up.

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  5. Like You Care

    Like You Care wrote:

    21. CHI: Kony Ealy, DE, Mizzou – I have a feeling Ealy will test well and go earlier. Fits what CHI needs.

    The more I watch Ealy, the more I see Aldon Smith (as a prospect). Same size, same burst and Mizzou used them nearly the same way.

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  6. Like You Care

    Apparently Guz Malzahn is out for Texas. The rumor is:

    Two coaches remain at the forefront of the race. They are Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and Baylor’s Art Briles.

    Briles would be tops.

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  7. WaLi

    Smokestack Lightning wrote:

    WaLi wrote:
    Is this the Cubs way of saying they tried?

    Not much more the Cubs can do than beat everybody else’s offer.

    They are already saying they will offer at least the same amount of money but that won’t be enough so don’t set expectations high. You know what though? Money talks. Blow other offers out of the water. FA won’t come to Cubs unless we have a winning team or overpay. We don’t have a winning team yet so need to over pay. And it looks like we won’t do that since already saying will be hard to get him to Chicago

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  8. Rice Cube

    @ WaLi:
    They said “it’ll be hard,” not “impossible,” so there’s always hope.

    [img]http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120220215354/fanball/images/d/dc/Impossibru.png[/img]

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  9. Like You Care

    @ Mucker:

    I’d put the Bears -5 over GB without Rodgers. With him, I’d go +3. It’s a swing, but it’s not over.

    Just like people penciling PHI into the playoffs just because Orton is starting. Orton isn’t all that bad.

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  10. Mucker

    @ Like You Care:
    As an outsider looking in, I don’t blame you for thinking that way Ryno. But the Bears, for about the past 3 seasons, can not beat good teams late in the season. I think the Packers will destroy the Bears because the Bears’ defense can’t stop anybody, let alone Rodgers.

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  11. Author
    dmick89

    @ WaLi:
    I don’t know how much the Cubs have to overpay, but doesn’t this offseason have to be viewed skeptically if they don’t sign him? If you want a young core that’s talented and you have no pitching in that group, you aren’t going to get it cheaper than by signing Tanaka.

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  12. Author
    dmick89

    @ WaLi:
    The Cubs probably aren’t contending with or without him, but considering his age, it’s a no-brainer to me. We can’t help what other teams are willing to give up, but if the Cubs aren’t considered a legitimate spot with a legitimate offer, people should be pissed.

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  13. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89 wrote:

    @ WaLi:
    The Cubs probably aren’t contending with or without him, but considering his age, it’s a no-brainer to me. We can’t help what other teams are willing to give up, but if the Cubs aren’t considered a legitimate spot with a legitimate offer, people should be pissed.

    At who? If Theo offers the most money and Tanaka for whatever silly reason decides he wants less to play elsewhere, then there’s not much Theo can do about it.

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  14. Smokestack Lightning

    WaLi wrote:

    @ dmick89:
    Absolutely. I view tanaka as an absolute must sign for the Cubs.

    Eh, I wouldn’t go that far. Unless the plan here is to set yourself up to be extremely disappointed.

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  15. Author
    dmick89

    @ Smokestack Lightning:
    Sure, I agree with that. I’m just assuming he signs for the most money. If he does and the Cubs don’t appear to be legitimately involved, people should be pissed. If he signs for less money than the Cubs offer, well, nice try.

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  16. Author
    dmick89

    @ Smokestack Lightning:
    I won’t be disappointed. I don’t think they’ll sign Tanaka (I’d say there’s a less than 5% chance they do). However, if we learn they offered $30 million less than everyone else, the 40 times ownership and the front office mention buying young assets will be kind of pointless.

    If I had to guess, I’d say the Cubs max offer will be $60 million. I’d also say there’s little chance he signs with them unless he just wants less money.

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  17. Smokestack Lightning

    @ dmick89:

    Agreed. If the source who says the Cubs won’t be outbid for Tanaka is full of shit and Theo offers something stupid like 5/55, then yeah, plenty to criticize. I guess I’m just thinking the Cubs might be serious about outbidding everyone this time.

    It will probably take what in the eyes of many would amount to a significant overpay, but taking into account the cost of a win these days, I’d be okay with something like 6/130. Probably even more.

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  18. Author
    dmick89

    Smokestack Lightning wrote:

    Agreed. If the source who says the Cubs won’t be outbid for Tanaka is full of shit and Theo offers something stupid like 5/55, then yeah, plenty to criticize. I guess I’m just thinking the Cubs might be serious about outbidding everyone this time.

    This is what I think happens, but hopefully I’m wrong. We’ll have to see how it plays out, but I’ll pretty pissed to learn that the Cubs were nowhere serious about signing him.

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  19. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89 wrote:

    This is what I think happens, but hopefully I’m wrong. We’ll have to see how it plays out, but I’ll pretty pissed to learn that the Cubs were nowhere serious about signing him.

    My gut says the Cubs don’t get this done either, but everything I’ve seen so far says they’re at least serious about landing Tanaka, and if that’s true, then no way they don’t offer at least 100MM.

    Seems to me if they weren’t preparing to go after him like they did with, say, Anibal Sanchez, there’d be a little more hemming and hawing in the leaks coming out of Theo HQ.

    Of course, no clue if the rumors we’re getting have their ultimate source with Theo at all. (dying laughing)

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  20. WaLi

    I’m thinking they offer an identical bid or equal dollars/more years compared to the winning, thus still not being outbid nit not landing Tanaka. As dm said, Tanaka is the exact player the Cubs should be targeting.

    Isn’t it weird there’s a report that says the Cubs won’t be outbid? Why would we leak that.

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  21. Smokestack Lightning

    @ WaLi:

    I can’t really figure that one either.

    Unless the plan is to lose by outbidding every other suitor by one dollar.

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  22. Author
    dmick89

    Thing is, the Yankees also are reportedly not going to be outbid. I put a lot more faith in the Yankees spending the money and that’s where I think he ends up. I’d say there’s a 50% chance he ends up a Yankee.

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  23. SVB

    @ Suburban kid:

    Built in 1937, the Colonial-style house has a brand-new kitchen with an island, a first-floor office, a four-season sunroom on the first floor and a finished basement with a media room and bar.

    (dying laughing). There is no such thing as a four-season sun room in Chicago.

    Coach Hyde must like projects: Buys a 1937 home, works for Cubs…

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  24. Like You Care

    Tony Romo is officially out for the season. Place your bets on DAL now, because the sports gods will spite me. Kyle Orton will QB DAL to a win against PHI, which will send the Romo haters around me into overdrive for the next year. There are already so many who think DAL has a better chance to win with Orton at QB. He’s a decent QB, but Romo has been a top-10 QB in the NFL for the last few years.

    Cowboy fans are so fucking ignorant. They talk about how much Romo sucks, especially in the fourth quarter. When you point out that he’s led several game-winning drives this season, they say things like, “Well that’s because he’s put them in the position to lose so many times.” Got that? The QB is the one responsible for the opposing team scoring more points. Not the worst defense in football.

    They always point to the INTs he throws, but they’re too fucking ignorant to realize that most of the time they aren’t his fault. His receivers running the wrong routes or even stopping their routes were the cause of at least six of the INTs he threw this year.

    That doesn’t even take into account the brilliant plays that counter his bad decisions. With QBs like that (Brett Favre was the paradigm), you take the bad with the good.

    Tangent aside, the rhetoric annoys me now and it’s only going to get worse. Mark it down.

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  25. uncle dave

    Like You Care wrote:

    Tangent aside, the rhetoric annoys me now and it’s only going to get worse. Mark it down.

    Why would you let the facts get in the way of your narrative? This is why you’re not a member of the sporting press.

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  26. Berselius

    @ Like You Care:

    This. Same goes for Washington fans and Kirk Cousins, though obviously less extreme an example. A couple of people in my long time keeper league laughed when I took Romo in our draft this year, while i thought I grabbed him three rounds too late. I laughed when I won my second straight title.

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  27. uncle dave

    @ Rice Cube:
    Great minds & etc.

    On Tanaka, I’ll jump in and say that they’ll at least put 7/130 on the table. Who knows if that’ll be enough, but if F7 is going to command 12-15 mil on the open market, I’d lay out 150 for seven years of Tanaka’s prime in a heartbeat. It also wouldn’t surprise me to learn that they’re keeping F7 in their pocket until they know on Tanaka, and if they do wind up winning the bidding war F7 will be gone sooner rather than later. If they’re smart, the potential return on F7 is part of their calculus in terms of valuing Tanaka. (I’d be tempted to make it part of my calculus in valuing, say, Ervin Santana as well.)

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  28. Berselius

    @ Like You Care:

    At least the Cowboys went ahead and did the season-ending surgery, and we don’t have a Prior/Cutler-esque “why isn’t he starting, the pussy” controversy. Those are the fucking worst. Luckily I didn’t hear much of that on Rodgers but I’m not really plugged in to the Packers echo chamber the way that I am here with the Bears.

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  29. Berselius

    @ uncle dave:

    I’m still hoping they extend Shark, even with a potential big Tanaka signing. I don’t put much stock in the rumors that making a splash with Tanaka will make much of difference in Shark’s desire to sign. The Cubs still have most of the leverage, they’ll keep trying to sign him and keep trying to trade him while asking for the moon, if no one bites they can always give him a QO in two years.

    Mostly I just think they don’t *need* to trade him, which seems to be what a lot of the assumptions have been swirling around.

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  30. JonKneeV

    @ Berselius:
    Agreed, b.

    If they have a rotation of Tanaka, Shark, Wood, EJax, and Arrieta/Baker/Villanueva, it’s an above average rotation. Add in an improved bullpen and that’s an above average staff overall.

    If the offense can take some steps forward with Rizzo & Castro, and some of Baez/Alcantara/Olt/Bryant and contribute, we might see some significant progress close to that of a .500 team.

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  31. Like You Care

    @ uncle dave:
    @ Berselius:

    I just don’t understand why ignorant people are the loudest. I’m not saying you have to know everything to be a football fan. It just seems like you should WANT to know what you’re talking about if you call into a radio station or write a column.

    It also seems like it would be pretty easy to break into the “knowledgeable media outlet” market pretty much anywhere.

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  32. Like You Care

    @ Berselius:

    I think that happening would make my head explode. He led the game-winning drive against WAS with a herniated disc. He could barely walk for a bit and they were still running stretch plays.

    Two years ago he led DAL to an overtime win in SF with broken ribs and a punctured lung. Even the biggest Cowboy idiots can’t argue that.

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  33. uncle dave

    @ Berselius:
    I’m really not sure what their payroll constraints are, honestly. I’d like to think that they’ll stay north of $100MM if they have the chance to do so in a way that makes sense. That wouldn’t preclude a Tanaka signing and F7 extension, and they could probably sneak both in even if they were cut by another 10% this year, down to $90MM or so.

    It’s tough to say what their payroll cap truly is for a couple of reasons. First, these guys are all about the value play, and there haven’t been many chances to get involved in the free agent market this year when looking through that lens (at least with the big-ticket guys). Tanaka’s really the first guy who fits that mold, being squarely in his prime, past the arm injury danger zone, etc. And I don’t think that they’ll spend money just to prove that they can spend money, as much as it would quell some of the anxiety growing within the fanbase.

    I also suspect that they’ve not been active with at least a couple of free agents because they know that they can’t sell a rebuilding project to a good chunk of the market. Maybe I’m wrong about this, but that seems to me like it would be an issue to a guy who was on the wrong side of his prime and about to get paid a nine-figure salary to go play with a winner instead. It’s different when you’re talking about handing a guy his first real long-term deal and he’s looking at significantly smaller numbers all around, but if you’re Jacoby Ellsbury, would you really take an extra $10MM to play for a team that’s two years away?

    Anyway, I think Tanaka’s by far the best fit on this year’s market for them and I do believe they’ll make a credible offer. I don’t think that will have an effect of F7’s willingness to resign with the Cubs, but it very well might constrain the team from doing so. And, although this depends on his demands, it’s my feeling that he’ll wind up failing the value test. He’ll be a 30-year-old who very well could never have put up a three-win season by the time he hits the market. I know pitching is at a premium, but is he really anything other than an average number three guy?

    I don’t think you trade him to trade him, but if doing so facilitates bringing in better options at the MLB level, I think you do it. Then again, I think I’m lower on him than a lot of folks are.

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  34. uncle dave

    @ Berselius:
    The owner can make it impossible for members of the sporting press to get access to the team, while the QB can’t. It’s a pretty straightforward thing, and it’s why the press will always carry water for the ownership. (It’s also not hard for me to imagine Jerry Jones absolutely savaging Romo for no good reason at all, which I’m sure gets passed through to the press.)

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  35. uncle dave

    @ Berselius:
    Yeah, I don’t pay too much attention to that stuff. Jones just seems like the type of guy who would bitch to anyone about anything behind everyone’s back. You know, like an asshole or something. Maybe I’m wrong, though.

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  36. Like You Care

    The DAL/GB game is a perfect example of what drives me crazy.

    DAL’s first 10 offensive drives resulted in nearly 450 yards, 36 points and two punts. It’s hard to justify being upset about that.

    (Cowboy idiot voice)But then he threw an intersepshun!(/voice)

    Here’s the play: http://youtu.be/Z3ptjgOixpg?t=3m43s

    Yes, he barely escaped an untouched (for a reason) Clay Matthews and threw a pass about 5 inches behind his WR. The DB made an amazing play on the ball and intercepted it. If he puts the pass where he wants, his WR scores and it’s game over.

    (Cowboy idiot voice)Well he shouldn’t have changed the play!(/voice)

    The play called was a trips right strong-side wham with a built-in check to a weak-side slant. Watch the play again. It’s a run play designed to go off tackle while TE Gavin Escobar pulls and blocks Matthews on the weak side, but it gives the QB the option to throw to the weak-side WR who’s running a quick slant. It’s a packaged play.

    GB shows Cover-0 with 10 defenders lined up in the box. The weak-side WR is left one on one with a CB and no safety help. Tony Romo ABSOLUTELY made the right read on that play. That play should have been run with Romo in the pistol and a read-option fake. If it is, it’s a TD.

    The only thing Romo did wrong on that play was failing to realize that he couldn’t make the throw faster than Matthews would get to him. He knows Matthews is coming free. Change the alignment, run the wham or call a timeout.

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  37. Like You Care

    @ Like You Care:

    Another thing that bugs me about that play is that Jason Garrett implied after the game that Romo should have handed the ball off.

    1. Romo ran the play that was called. It was a run with a pass option in case the defense lined up…wait for it…exactly how GB’s defense did. If Garrett wanted to run the ball, he should have called a straight up run play.

    2. Garrett shouldn’t bitch about the decision Romo made on that play with a stupid blocking scheme. If you’re going to design a strong-side wham with a weak-side pass option, maybe the guy the OL leaves unblocked for the TE to wham shouldn’t be the one guy that’s going to be between the QB and the WR. The LT should pick up Matthews and the TE should wham the weak-side 5T.

    Back me up, Mucker.

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  38. Like You Care

    The second INT is easier explained:

    http://youtu.be/Z3ptjgOixpg?t=4m21s

    GB is playing cover-3 zone. The slot WR runs a quick out toward the sideline. Romo correctly reads the coverage and goes with the quick pass that gets the first down and stops the clock when the WR runs out of bounds. Except the WR stopped his route and the GB defender made a good play on the ball. If the WR finishes his route, DAL has a first down with one time out and 80 seconds to play needing only about 30 yards to get into field goal range.

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  39. Mucker

    @ Like You Care:
    LMAO…..dude, you are doing a great job without my help. I haven’t looked at the play from an X and O standpoint but I do agree the defender made a great play on the intended pass. I too find it bullshit for Garrett to basically put all the blame on Romo. QBs need about 2.6 seconds to make their read, finish their dropback and release the football. Matthews unblocked forced Romo to get rid of the football quicker than he would’ve liked. Looks pretty self-explanatory from the highlight.

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  40. Mucker

    @ Like You Care:
    To add to this, that play by Matthews is exactly the reason why Pressures are just as good, if not better than sacks. The amount of people that say the Bears’ offensive line is so good because they’ve given up the 4th fewest sacks is ridiculous. They might give up fewer sacks, but they give up a shit ton of pressure and pressure forces the QB out of the pocket or into a bad decision. All QBs want a clean and comfortable pocket to throw from and if you can pressure a QB and disrupt the play, then plays like that Romo int is the reward.

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  41. Like You Care

    @ Mucker:

    And Matthews was left ublocked by design. That’s what so WTF about this. Why leave the weak-side edge defender unblocked on a play with a weak-side pass option? It’s either an awful blocking scheme for that play call or the LT whiffed on his assignment.

    And looking at the play again, I think the play was designed correctly. It looked like the wham TE was looking to block the 5T based on his reaction to Matthews. I think the LT blocked the 5T when he was responsible for Matthews. If that’s the case, it probably cost them the game (along with Romo’s poor throw under pressure).

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  42. Like You Care

    @ Mucker:

    Exactly. Getting into the backfield changes the play. It forces a RB to choose between a loss of yards or hitting a different gap. It forces the QB to change his throw, run or roll out (which makes the WRs change their routes).

    It’s why a QB’s ability to move in the pocket is more important than mobility. Peyton Manning might as well have a shell on his back (turtle or snail joke), but he feels pressure and moves in the pocket better than anyone.

    It’s also why most first round picks should be DL (disruption), OL (protection) or QBs (avoiding disruption), imo.

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  43. Mucker

    @ Like You Care:
    When it comes the Cowboys, nothing makes me scratch my head. They have a running back who averages about 6 yards per carry and never give him the ball. Their playcalling is the worst I’ve even seen so it doesn’t surprise me about their inability to scheme properly.

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  44. Mucker

    @ Like You Care:
    LMAO……I’ll take your word for it. Stafford has the luxury of arguably the most physically perfect WR in the history of football. It’s amazing his accuracy is still an issue.

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  45. Mucker

    Like You Care wrote:

    @ Mucker:

    Exactly. Getting into the backfield changes the play. It forces a RB to choose between a loss of yards or hitting a different gap. It forces the QB to change his throw, run or roll out (which makes the WRs change their routes).

    It’s why a QB’s ability to move in the pocket is more important than mobility. Peyton Manning might as well have a shell on his back (turtle or snail joke), but he feels pressure and moves in the pocket better than anyone.

    It’s also why most first round picks should be DL (disruption), OL (protection) or QBs (avoiding disruption), imo.

    I don’t want to sound like a faget……but this entire post gave me a boner.

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  46. Like You Care

    Mucker wrote:

    It’s amazing his accuracy is still an issue.

    In addition to the times where he has a relatively normal delivery, he has the sidearm:

    [img]http://guardianlv.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/matt-stafford-side-arm-450×359.jpg[/img]

    the back foot:

    [img]http://media.mlive.com/lions_impact/photo/film-stafford1jpg-5e58c6e3298fa412.jpg[/img]

    the sidearm off the back foot:

    [img]http://media.mlive.com/lions_impact/photo/11893218-large.jpg[/img]

    whatever this is:

    [img]http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/003/425/909/hi-res-187599332-matthew-stafford-of-the-detroit-lions-passes-against_display_image.jpg?1384143478[/img]

    and more…

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  47. Mucker

    Like You Care wrote:

    @ Like You Care:

    Footwork, hips, shoulders and arm slot. All inconsistent.

    Stafford does have a strong arm so it’s amazing he’s able to throw the ball so hard with such shitty mechanics.

    Like You Care wrote:

    @ Mucker:

    This place is turning into Football Penthouse Forum.

    LMFAO It definitely has. I can talk football anywhere, anytime.

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