WTF IS THIS, 1999?

[SalTheButcher]

kurt warner and vinny interceptaverde starting, and bret favre being unstoppable

[Wadeb_21]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

[Kev]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly shit.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

[BoxingGorilla]

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

It wasn't like that before the salary cap was introduced. Now the "rich" city teams like Dallas and SanFransico don't have an advantage over teams like Cleveland and New Orleans.

www.Wikipedia.com
Unlike other leagues, for example the NBA (which permits certain exemptions) or Major League Baseball (which has a "soft cap" enforced by "luxury taxes"), the NFL has a "hard cap": an amount no team under any circumstances may exceed.

The NFL salary cap is calculated by the current CBA to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue for the upcoming year. This number, divided by the number of teams, determines an individual teams maximum salary cap. For 2006, this is approximately $102 million per team. For 2007, it is projected that this will rise to $109 million.

[RP33]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly S***.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

Doesn't the team who finished with the worst season deserve to pick first? That creates parity in the league.. Now Bilbo, i don't know if you're missing the point, but not only is sports entertainment, but it's also BIG F'IN BUSINESS. Maybe it's cause the UK is so tiny that you don't mind the same teams winning every year..
For example.. the Oakland Raiders are/were terrible and had first pick in the draft last year.. (for NFL fans, i know Jamarcus Russell didn't/hasn't work out yet) The Raiders pick a BIG name coming out of college, drawing attention to there team.. Now if you're a Raiders fan, any hope you had in making a comeback next season, has increased.. Thus wanting you to buy tickets to go to watch the game, and pay for overpriced food, and parking, and everything that goes along with the football experience. Without the salary cap and the draft system, the Raiders may NEVER have a chance at the playoffs again.. point being that if you're an Oakland Raiders fan, you won't be too interested, you won't want to attend games, and the Raiders overall have no marketability..

Generally, the only reason why teams "fade into oblivion" is due to the age of the players, and their contracts.. If you have a veteran QB (eg John Elway) who leads your team to the championship one year, and then retires, then the coaching staff and managers have to compensate for that loss.. This all adds to the fun of the game.. acquiring players via trades/free agency to become a contender again.. That is why it is so precious to win the Superbowl, because it is such an improbable task. If the same teams win every year, like the teams you are describing, it seems quite dull..

ALTHOUGH i can relate, because what you're describing is reminding me of High School sports.. All of the Division 1 teams were the private richer schools, where everyones parents wanted to send there kids to play sports because the same 2-4 teams finished at the top every year and they'd be recognized for college sports.... It really isn't as hard to win championships when you have a whole team of great players, as opposed to working together as a team to conquer a championship..

So again, maybe you're underestimating the size and marketability that Football has in the US.. for being the most watched sport in the US, i don't think you're going to win many arguments being negative about it, even if Soccer is the most watched sport outside of the states.

[Punisher136]

The difference between bad teams and good teams in the nfl has nothing to do with talent as they are all loaded with it to some degree (obviously not every team can have a brett favre ). Aside from a few really good athletes, everyone else is just as fast/strong as the other guys that play their position so it comes down to stupid mistakes. If the worst team in the nfl doesn't make any mistakes against the best team, they will beat them a majority of the time. Likewise, if the best team doesn't make any mistakes, they will never lose (unless of course the previously mentioned john elway guy is at QB).

[LEGION]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

So what are the Patriots supposed to do,let the other team catch up before they score another 7? Maybe those teams should learn to not let them score that many points in the 1st place. Lol. I'm not trying to get into a shouting match with you Wadeb_21, but I don't understand why grown men on other teams are crying because the Patriots are still on the field playing a game where the object is to score points? They wouldn't be upset if it was their team doing it. I just don't get what exactly the Patriots should do when they're up 56-10? Drop to their knee for 4 downs so they can punt to the other team so they can try again? No offense towards you Wadeb, I just don't get it. It would be funny if the Dolphins beat the Patriots though

[RP33]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

So what are the Patriots supposed to do,let the other team catch up before they score another 7? Maybe those teams should learn to not let them score that many points in the 1st place. Lol. I'm not trying to get into a shouting match with you Wadeb_21, but I don't understand why grown men on other teams are crying because the Patriots are still on the field playing a game where the object is to score points? They wouldn't be upset if it was their team doing it. I just don't get what exactly the Patriots should do when they're up 56-10? Drop to their knee for 4 downs so they can punt to the other team so they can try again? No offense towards you Wadeb, I just don't get it. It would be funny if the Dolphins beat the Patriots though

CC Legion.. you are correct i think except for the grown men crying part.. I don't really think that it's so much the Players crying..

This "running up the score" issue has been talked about SO MUCH lately in the media, and it's really not the current players that are complaining about it.. Most players realize what is going on, and a loss is a loss.. I think it was Joe Gibbs who said that it's up to "us" to stop them from scoring. The Pat's really are NOT running up the score on teams.. they need to play at a continuous high level to be able to continue to win. I think the media and former players/coaches (Don Schula) are the ones complaining about the "running up" of score. It's kind of funny how because of the whole "spygate" thing during week 1, people are completely discrediting what the Pats are doing this year.. If anything, ALL eyes are on the Pat's with the numbers they're putting up, and there is nothing that anyone can find that they are doing that is against the rules.. but i suppose those people who discredit what is going on could be thrown into the category labeled "jealousy."

[SalTheButcher]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly shit.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

its also cuz theres no relegation,



in the NFL if a team finishes last they are rewarded with the first draft pick, so if u finish last 3 years in a row u jhave a pretty good chance to improve the team, and you wont be subject to relegation of any kind

[SalTheButcher]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

So what are the Patriots supposed to do,let the other team catch up before they score another 7?

its the going for it on 4th and 5 when they are winning 40-7 in the 4th quarter with 5 minutes left that pisses people off



noone should be offended tho, cuz they will be humiliated in the playoffs by peyton manning, and if manning gets a season ending injury or something it wont matter, cuz NOBODY is stopping favre from winning the superbowl this year



also the patriots will lose to the jets, it will be the one success of the jets season

[Kev]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly S***.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

Doesn't the team who finished with the worst season deserve to pick first?

Er NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

I think it's a shitty horrible awful idea. Why would you reward a team for being crap? How does someone finishing last deserve to get the first pick of players the following year?

In the rest of the world they do things properly. You finish last you get relegated, literally kicked out of the league in shame and you have to spend the next year in a lesser division and work your way back up.

This is completely how it should be. Team sport is supposed to be about competition not handouts and charity.

It seems to me you Yanks have got things the wrong way around. When it comes to your sick and poor, in need of health care and support they get fucked over completely and forced to go to Cuba to buy their inhalers but when it comes to sport, just because they want your tickets and cash they attempt to bolster up the shitty struggling teams so that their fans will still come out in force with wallets open the following season.

Forgive me for my cynicism but America is all about the dollar.

No wonder you don't allow the rest of the world to play sports with you as if your teams failed against other nations you'd expect them to have to give their best players to you the following year just so you could have a chance to win next time.

That's why you all play on your own, just selfish spoilsports who make up their own rules rather than play and risk getting beat by everybody else.

I say all this in love of course

[RP33]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly S***.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

Doesn't the team who finished with the worst season deserve to pick first?

Er NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

I think it's a shitty horrible awful idea. Why would you reward a team for being crap? How does someone finishing last deserve to get the first pick of players the following year?

In the rest of the world they do things properly. You finish last you get relegated, literally kicked out of the league in shame and you have to spend the next year in a lesser division and work your way back up.

This is completely how it should be. Team sport is supposed to be about competition not handouts and charity.

It seems to me you Yanks have got things the wrong way around. When it comes to your sick and poor, in need of health care and support they get fucked over completely and forced to go to Cuba to buy their inhalers but when it comes to sport, just because they want your tickets and cash they attempt to bolster up the shitty struggling teams so that their fans will still come out in force with wallets open the following season.

Forgive me for my cynicism but America is all about the dollar.

No wonder you don't allow the rest of the world to play sports with you as if your teams failed against other nations you'd expect them to have to give their best players to you the following year just so you could have a chance to win next time.

That's why you all play on your own, just selfish spoilsports who make up their own rules rather than play and risk getting beat by everybody else.

I say all this in love of course

Bilbo, i respect your opinion, but whatever you just typed is pretty DAMN ignorant.. I'm on my way out, and i'll elaborate and post later tonight or tomorrow, but you're WAY off with the majority of that post.. I know where the boundaries lie regarding my knowledge of sports outside of the US and i don't bash Soccer or any European sport, for a number of reasons.. and one of them is the lack of knowledge that i have of the culture supporting these sports.. and all you proved in your last post was your COMPLETE lack of knowledge of a few things.. one of them being American culture towards sports. You can't bash something you don't fully understand..



Again, i say this in respect and i'll post again later but i'm off to work now..
til later!

[LEGION]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

So what are the Patriots supposed to do,let the other team catch up before they score another 7?

its the going for it on 4th and 5 when they are winning 40-7 in the 4th quarter with 5 minutes left that pisses people off



noone should be offended tho, cuz they will be humiliated in the playoffs by peyton manning, and if manning gets a season ending injury or something it wont matter, cuz NOBODY is stopping favre from winning the superbowl this year



also the patriots will lose to the jets, it will be the one success of the jets season

I honestly very rarely watch football, and haven't since 90' or 91', so I might not be the best judge on this subject. Either way, 4th down and 5 with 3 minutes left in the game with the score 100-5, I'd still go for it F#ck em' if they can't take a joke Guys like Randy Moss can't just keep building up those stats for the future. What's wrong with that? Though, I guess if I was on the losing team I'd be pretty pissed about it. Just adding insult to injury I suppose.

[Punisher136]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

So what are the Patriots supposed to do,let the other team catch up before they score another 7?

its the going for it on 4th and 5 when they are winning 40-7 in the 4th quarter with 5 minutes left that pisses people off



noone should be offended tho, cuz they will be humiliated in the playoffs by peyton manning, and if manning gets a season ending injury or something it wont matter, cuz NOBODY is stopping favre from winning the superbowl this year


also the patriots will lose to the jets, it will be the one success of the jets season

CC sal

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly S***.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

Doesn't the team who finished with the worst season deserve to pick first?

Er NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

I think it's a shitty horrible awful idea. Why would you reward a team for being crap? How does someone finishing last deserve to get the first pick of players the following year?

In the rest of the world they do things properly. You finish last you get relegated, literally kicked out of the league in shame and you have to spend the next year in a lesser division and work your way back up.
This is completely how it should be. Team sport is supposed to be about competition not handouts and charity.

It seems to me you Yanks have got things the wrong way around. When it comes to your sick and poor, in need of health care and support they get fucked over completely and forced to go to Cuba to buy their inhalers but when it comes to sport, just because they want your tickets and cash they attempt to bolster up the shitty struggling teams so that their fans will still come out in force with wallets open the following season.

Forgive me for my cynicism but America is all about the dollar.

No wonder you don't allow the rest of the world to play sports with you as if your teams failed against other nations you'd expect them to have to give their best players to you the following year just so you could have a chance to win next time.

That's why you all play on your own, just selfish spoilsports who make up their own rules rather than play and risk getting beat by everybody else.

I say all this in love of course

Team Coach at 3/4 of the way thru season
With the parity rule: "Yes we sucked this season but atleast we have a shot at a really good player so the fans won't lose hope and we can rebuild"

Without: "I don't fucking care if all the way up to our cheerleaders have to juice, we will not finish last in this fucking league. You will injury their qb and running back in the first quarter. We will do whatever it takes, I don't care if we have to sneak poison into their gatorade bottle."

I'm not saying the rest of the world is unmotivated or anything but in america the pressure to win/succeed at anything is high. People cheat now without the threat of being demoted a professional level. Football would be just like Blitz (the videogame having football structured under a three teir system). A lot of cheating and dirty playing would result and all around ruin the game (its a fun videogame to play tho).

[RP33]

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

So what are the Patriots supposed to do,let the other team catch up before they score another 7?

its the going for it on 4th and 5 when they are winning 40-7 in the 4th quarter with 5 minutes left that pisses people off



noone should be offended tho, cuz they will be humiliated in the playoffs by peyton manning, and if manning gets a season ending injury or something it wont matter, cuz NOBODY is stopping favre from winning the superbowl this year


also the patriots will lose to the jets, it will be the one success of the jets season

CC sal

I don't know but I'm just about sick of the patriots. I mean there definately head and shoulders above every other team in the league but I'm just sick Tom "marsha" Brady and company running up the points and just being disrespectful to every team they play. I hope miami beats them this weekend but I"m not holding my breath.

It's funny I followed American football for one season many years ago when the London Monarchs were popular over here in the UK.

I remember when I followed it the New York Giants had won the superbowl but the year I follwed the best sides were the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. In fact the Bills had been in about 3 or 4 straight superbowls.

Anyway the point of this was that back then the Patriots had finished dead last and were completely and utterly S***.

I'm really suprised to learn now that they are the dominant side.

How things turn around in American football is incredible to me, as over here in the UK the same big teams like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool etc will do well year in year out.

Your league seems to be topsy turvy with teams coming from nowhere to win the superbowl only to fade back into oblivion again a couple years later.

I guess its because you have this strange rule where instead of buying players you draft them with the shittest teams getting to pick first

Doesn't the team who finished with the worst season deserve to pick first?

Er NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

I think it's a shitty horrible awful idea. Why would you reward a team for being crap? How does someone finishing last deserve to get the first pick of players the following year?

In the rest of the world they do things properly. You finish last you get relegated, literally kicked out of the league in shame and you have to spend the next year in a lesser division and work your way back up.
This is completely how it should be. Team sport is supposed to be about competition not handouts and charity.

It seems to me you Yanks have got things the wrong way around. When it comes to your sick and poor, in need of health care and support they get fucked over completely and forced to go to Cuba to buy their inhalers but when it comes to sport, just because they want your tickets and cash they attempt to bolster up the shitty struggling teams so that their fans will still come out in force with wallets open the following season.

Forgive me for my cynicism but America is all about the dollar.

No wonder you don't allow the rest of the world to play sports with you as if your teams failed against other nations you'd expect them to have to give their best players to you the following year just so you could have a chance to win next time.

That's why you all play on your own, just selfish spoilsports who make up their own rules rather than play and risk getting beat by everybody else.

I say all this in love of course

Team Coach at 3/4 of the way thru season
With the parity rule: "Yes we sucked this season but atleast we have a shot at a really good player so the fans won't lose hope and we can rebuild"

Without: "I don't F****** care if all the way up to our cheerleaders have to juice, we will not finish last in this F****** league. You will injury their qb and running back in the first quarter. We will do whatever it takes, I don't care if we have to sneak poison into their gatorade bottle."

I'm not saying the rest of the world is unmotivated or anything but in america the pressure to win/succeed at anything is high. People cheat now without the threat of being demoted a professional level. Football would be just like Blitz (the videogame having football structured under a three teir system). A lot of cheating and dirty playing would result and all around ruin the game (its a fun videogame to play tho).

Great point Punisher..

Bilbo, you mentioned team sports being about competition.. THAT IS THE POINT of giving the "worst" team first pick in the draft the next year.. to INCREASE competition the next year. If you are "kicked out" of the league if you have a bad season, then after 10 years you wouldn't have many teams left and the same team would keep winning the championship A LOT easier if there were 32 teams.. so i don't know if you're missing something regarding the way competition works, but this is the system that encourages competition, not the opposite.

I've only been referring to football in my posts, but as someone else mentioned, other sports that have softer salary caps are QUITE different.. for example, the Boston Celtics of Basketball, are my home team, and they have been TERRIBLE for the last WHO KNOWS how long.. They've had 1 really good player who has been scoring all of there points (with a few decent players thrown in here and there) for the last at least 5 years... In basketball there is a lottery draft where the worse your record is during the season the better CHANCE you have at getting a top pick in the draft.. Well unfortunately even though they were one of the worst 2 teams last year they only got like the 5th pick in the draft.. BUT the coaching/managing staff pulled off two trades getting two HUGE names to the Celtics, forming what is now known as "The Big Three" adding those two guys to the guy who's already great on their team. They exceeded the salary cap, but they just pay a "luxury tax" which they could careless about. Now all of a sudden their games are selling out, and even I would like to go see a game cause they're undefeated as of right now, and are a playoff favorite. Up until this point, i think i've been to ONE Celtic game ever, and now i'd love to go.

Seems to make sense to me.