Kevin's Watch

I see Titans cheapshot artist Cortland Finnegan has completely escaped punishment for his headshot on Colt McCoy last week. As any football fan knows , you are not permitted to go after the QB's head, and you aren't permitted to hit the QB at all once he begins his slide. Finnegan drew the flag, but no fine . Further proof that the NFL is only interested in protecting certain QB's.

Finnegan needs to take his tired act to retirement. I'm guessing the NFL is waiting to he either paralyzes someone or kills them.

Eagles are worst than I thought after 1st week. But losing by jumping offsides, when everyone knows they aren't running a play? How precious!

Way to go Lions!

Yeah, Eagles are really sucking wind. So much for the dream team. Lions look great this year, GB is rocking but beatable and Pats are doing well. Some really good playing going on by some teams.

I'm a Falcons fan but its gonna be a long year. They cant seem to get their act together. They are playing (as Cail says) bipolar this year. They had two great quarters and then two terrible ones. Their offense started very well with two touchdowns early on. they went up the field like GB wasnt there. The defense was sacking Rogers like mad.... then the second half started and it all went south. UGH

Bengals have won a few games and thats unusual for them.

Its early yet .. we will see.

The NFC South is the only division since the 2002 realignment to have each of its teams make a conference championship game appearance: Tampa Bay (2002), Atlanta (2004), Carolina (2003 and 2005), and New Orleans (2006 and 2009). All four teams have also made a Super Bowl appearance: Atlanta (XXXIII), Tampa Bay (XXXVII), Carolina (XXXVIII), and New Orleans (XLIV), with Tampa Bay and New Orleans having won. All four members of the NFC South have made postseason appearances before entering the division in 2002. Also since 2002, each team has got at least two division titles, the only such division in the league.

I was making that point to some Texans fans...

How bout them Bucs?
Niners expose our team's lack of veteran players.
Tampa Bay looked like the glorified college team they are.
I'm sick of hearing people say that we're building for the future. The blackouts here locally reinforce the idea that fans don't give a crap about how a team becomes competitive they want to feel as though there is at least a chance their fandom will be rewarded.
If you had to read a story about Abraham Lincoln I'm sure you'd want it to detail his work as president not spend 400 pages going over how he spent his time when he was 8 years old.
The Bucs aren't terrible but they aren't particularly good either and as long as ownership spends the lion's share of their money on Manchester United we'll have to watch the most boring parts of the "Hero's Journey", waiting for something good 2 or 3 seasons from now.

grumble grumble grumble grumble......

I think the blackouts have more to do with the local economy than the Buccaneers' youth. The Rays don't sell out either, and they made the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years.

dANdeLION wrote:I think the blackouts have more to do with the local economy than the Buccaneers' youth. The Rays don't sell out either, and they made the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years.

I don't discount the impact of a poor economy however there are a number of other factors that affect Rays attendance. If for example the Rays adopted the "win today" philosophy of the Arizona Diamondbacks instead of the "win in a decade" approach they used, then the fan base wouldn't have been assaulted with a team that couldn't win more than 60% of their games year after year after year after year until the area just became accustomed to the fact that their team wasn't worth wasting time on. Kids grew up doing other things than watching Rays games and now that they are old enough to be adult fans they find it hard to shake that legacy now that the team is genuinely competitive. Then there is the question of the ball park. Tropicana Field is located AWAY from the core of where most of the local fans live. And the stadium lies in a depressed area of town where people wouldn't spend time there were it not for the Rays. If the stadium was situated in an area, say near downtown Tampa next to the Hockey arena and the multitude of attractive businesses and other attractions, then, depressed economy or not, I believe attendance would be significantly higher and there would be a great deal more corporate sponsorship. I know I'd be far more likely to go to the games for certain.
Now the Bucs are a different story in terms of recent history. They too had their problems with the perception that they sucked from about 1984 to 1995 however once the team became competitive the stadium sold out, more than that there was very long waiting list for people to buy season tickets, all of that leading up to 2002 when the team won the superbowl. Then, little by little, the ownership began reducing the team's payroll until they couldn't afford to rejuvenate the roster with enough talent to offset the steady loss of players due to free agency and retirement. With the firing of Jon Gruden the new era began that featured an unabashed philosophy of disposing of nearly all veteran players and replacing them exclusively through the draft. The team representatives stood up before us all and declared confidently that they were totally rebuilding the team and you'd need to be a die hard fan of college football in order to know who the heck would be playing in Bucs colors from now until enough time passed to make all those rookie players veterans.
Is there any wonder why average Tampa Bay fans are feeling so lost?
Who the heck are we supposed to cheer for?

In 2015 the Bucs will really be a lot of fun to watch.
Until then I just don't know what we're expected to do.

By the way I am not for a moment suggesting that spending a ton of cash on free agents will definitely translate to wins.
Look no further than the Washington Redskins to see what a team of "Mercenaries" will get you. (Washington fans do however recognize the players on their team, for good or ill)

However lets examine this hypothetical: Tampa Bay acquires Peyton Manning from the Colts or Tom Brady from New England arguably the two best, highest profile quarterbacks in the league.
What do you think the impact on stadium attendance would be?
I can't guarantee the blackouts would be over forever but there wouldn't be many empty seats for certain.

It would never happen but it's worth considering.

Today as I briefly perused the sports section of Cleveland.com, I stumbled on a headline that read " Just imagine Lebron James catching passes from Colt McCoy", and then I threw up.

i'd rather see Lebron continue to fail in just the one sport.

read in a few different articles that Jimmy Claussen is available and that he is thought of as a bust already.

too bad the taxi squad doesn't exist to get players experience but to stash them...

The only thing worse than a bad call is a no call, or nine . Not to mention following a team that never fights back. If you are already losing,badly , and they are still late hitting your QB, then earhole theirs. If every call is going to go for the opposition, then make a point of sidelining as many of their starters as you can. Show a little self respect, even if it doesnt show on the scoreboard.

Yet another late hit on Colt McCoy by Richard Seymour, late and helmet to helmet. No call, no flag. Typical.

Browns robbed on last offensive play , Mo Massoquai had to settle for wearing silver, and black, since the officials didnt see fit to provide any laundry. Officiating has become a joke in the NFL. I dont care who died, be impartial, or dont bother.

Well, there is always next week, Mr. Broken. Browns will be hosting Seattle. I am a little torn...but having been out here for twelve years, I suppose I will be rooting for the birds. Not too confident in either team at the moment.

Much more interested in next week's Denver - Miami game. Tebow returns to Florida as the Bronc's starter. Heheheheheh. About time they gave him the ball...

sean payton breaks his leg on the side line but continues to coach - what a guy!

Im curious as to someone elses take on the near coach fight between Jim Harbaugh, and Jim Schwartz, Sunday. I didnt see any mailicious intent on the part of Harbaugh, I think this one is all on Schwartz. Sore loser, just like me.

Nah, he's jumpin across the field, practically gives a bear hug to Schwartz in joy. Great you're happy, but give me a break. And, I can't tell on video, b/c Harbaugh is facing away, but I wonder if he said something, then Schwartz really went after him.

Used to be they announced how long it has been since Tom Brady threw an intrerception in seasons. Now it's in minutes. But I can't help but like the shaky, how-the-hell-did-they-win-again Pats. Reminds me of how they played when they were winning superbowls. Bumble along, stay alive, then big drive in the last two minutes.

Brady!?

GO BOLTZ!

Bucs rebounded from getting killed in San Fran by doing a pretty good job against the Saints. Defense looked decent.
Now the Bucs and Bears will both suffer playing in London. I guess it comes down to who handles the jetlag better.