My Favorite Team is [This] Far Away From Being A Winner

[NSL]

Imagine this. You're watching your team falter through another crappy season. Analysts and experts are saying their crap, and will be for the foreseeable future. What I want to know is, what one thing do you think they need, to be competitive.



My favorite football team is the New York Giants. They're a great team, and have gotten there with a roster full of young talent, so they should be competitive for a while. What one thing could they use to push them over the hump? A wide receiver. I'll admit it. I was happy when we cut Plaxico Burress. He was a distraction, and there's no denying that. But, we have failed to re-sign Amani Toomer, so we're left with Steve Smith as our number one wide-out, and a list of unknowns behind him (Moss, Manningham, Hixon). We have running backs that can catch (Bradshaw, Hedgecock), and 3 capable tight ends (Boss, Matthews, Johnson), but we don't have that top receiver that will stretch the field for us. We're almost forced into being a team with a west coast offense.

 

[HBK-aholic]

Okay, so my rugby team are top of the league, and back to back champions. So I don't need to talk about them . I will, however, talk about the Great Britain/England Rugby League team. They are full of amazing players. I know Australians like to say it's because we rely too heavily on Australians in the league, but of course they'll think that - they're australian. Leeds are top of the league and are a majority English team. And not even English, a huge amount of their players are from Leeds, and have come up though their academy system.

Therefore, there has to be a different reason. I think it's because they can't gel as a team. The Super League is so competitive that players from opposing teams feel a genuine animosity towards one another, making them unable to bond as a team; crucial when playing teams such as NZ/Aus. They need to get over this, and it sounds stupid, but team buiding exercises are the way forward. They need to get over their rivalry in the league to work together.

 

[Hip2bsquare]

I have had to watch my team, West Coast Eagles, go from being the best team in the competition in 2006 to being second last in 2008. Losing two of the best players in the league as well as some key role players hurt them. As players that should of been able to step up and take up the slack but becasue of form and a shocking injury list where unable to do so.

This season I think a good run injury wise is one thing we need to be at least more competitve than we were last season. The ability to get you best team out on the park for as many weeks as possible is very important in the AFL.

I also think a change in gameplan is very important as well. In 2006 when they were at the top off the pile the Eagles played a very man on man game. The league has changed since then and the Eagles playing list is now worse. So the man on man gameplan as we saw last year does not work. It is pleasing that John Worsfold has, at least thus far this season, be able to change the gameplan with more use of zones and less one on one football.

Also personally I think getting games into the kids is important. Ebert, Masten, Scott Selwood, McKenzie, McKinley, Kennedy are just some of the young players that have shown some glimpses in the past year. Getting more games into them and letting them develop at the top level is important for the Eagles getting back to the top. Add in the likes of Nick Nat, Swift, Schuey the future does look pretty bright if all goes according to plan. Nick Nat could be anything, then again he is a high risk high reward player so there is also a chance he will be a bust.

The Eagles rebuilding has come at a good time. Before the new teams on the Gold Coast and West Sydney receive all their concessions from the AFL.

 

[Pimpin]

Last season I had to watch my Cowboys go from being a top-tier team in the NFC to missing the playoffs cause we have a pussy quarterback(Romo), soft pussy coaches(Wade Phillips), an offensive coordinator who can't keep his pussy quarterback in the game(Garrett), our corners getting injured, a certain guy getting suspended(Suckman Jones) & a receiver who "reportedly" whined for the ball & of course dropped some balls(T.O.). Hopefully the 2009 season will go well if Romo stops being a pussy & man the fuck up & if the coaches can keep the team in the game(i'm holding my breath for that).

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I'm a die hard Detroit Lions fan, have been by whole life so needless to say I've done alot a suffering. Obviously after an 0-16 season they need a lot more than 1 thing to be competitive, in fact the only areas they are half way decent at is their WRs, RBs, LB corps and kicking and even those aren't world beaters with the exception of Ernie Sims, Calvin Johnson and Jason Hanson all of whom are near the top at their respective positions. Other than that they need a ton of work even though their secondary is somewhat improved.

If I had to pick one area that they need the most it would be either a run stuffing defensive tackle or an offensive lineman. Their DTs are terrible, I watch teams just run down their throat all season which is a killer. For one it runs the clock which shortens the game and keeps your offense off the field, another reason is that it tires out your defense and makes them play longer, it also forces them to bring down a safety or a linebacker to help stop it which opens up the passing game. If they had a great one like an Albert Haynesworth ore even Shaun Rogers(who they had but traded him last offseason)that would make them atleast 3 games better I think.

The offensive line is another area of concern, I thought they improved last year as the season went on particularly run blocking but they still don't give the QB enough time to be effective. Yeah our QB situation sucks but if you give an NFL QB enough time to throw any of them could atleast be managable. Where as we give them hardly anytime to throw and when you give a QB no time to throw almost everyone of them will fail.

So I think if they shored up them 2 areas they could be competitive next season despite going 0-16 the year before cause after all the previous year they were 7-9 and right in the thick of the playoff race the final couple weeks so I don't think they are that far off from being a 7 or 8 win team. The last dozen or so games last year they were competitive with the exception of a couple home games where they were smoked. In the 4th quarter of most of those games they were either tied or down 1 possesion so if they made a couple plays they could have won a few of them.

 

[TwistofRKO]

The (Philadelphia) Eagles are in prime position to return to deep in postseason play if we address a few different positions on the offense. WR is a luxury need, if we can get a veteran like an Edwards or if Boldin comes available i'd say that would throw us just that much higher, but i'm looking at TE or RB. We have Celek who's a good young recieving TE, but he's not a red-zone specialist, and that's the main thing I want. Next would be another RB to take the load off of Westbrook. But for the thread's sake..

The Philadelphia Eagles are a great TE away from being a winner.

 

[NSL]

The Philadelphia Eagles are a great TE away from being a winner.

"Great" is the keyword here. The Eagles have always had good TEs, but not a great one. If they had someone like Gonzalez (who is available through trade), McNabb would have an option over the middle, and someone he can make dump-offs to when he's under pressure. Buckhalter is gone, and that option went with him. Westbrook is too unreliable, because of injuries, to trust as a consistent receiving option.

 

[BooCocky]

hmm, this sounds fun.

I am a huge Pirates fan and boy do they have some problems. Their Bull Pen is a little shaky, and there First and Third baseman suck. There outfielders look good, and they have a solid closer in Capps.

They have a decent amount of young players in the minors who could be solid pro baseball players like Walker and McCutchen. So when it is all said and done my Pirates are an Ace away from being a competitive franchise, as long as Ohlendorf and Duke pitch the way they have been pitching.

Now my Steelers, they just came off the SB, and they showed signs of having a really good offense and there only downfall is a bad offensive line. So the Steelers are an offensive line away from winning SB number seven. They have a solid core of young players, Ben is still young, Mendenhall is an unproven back, Timmons will be great and Woodley is already awesome. Even though there defense is old especially on the line. But if I want them to be competitive now, they are an offensive line away from being a dynasty.

My Pens have two great players in Crosby and Malkin and a young solid GT in Fleury. But Crosby usually plays with a bunch of shitty wingers, so the Pens are basically a good young winger away from being a complete franchise.

 

[TwistofRKO]

"Great" is the keyword here. The Eagles have always had good TEs, but not a great one. If they had someone like Gonzalez (who is available through trade), McNabb would have an option over the middle, and someone he can make dump-offs to when he's under pressure. Buckhalter is gone, and that option went with him. Westbrook is too unreliable, because of injuries, to trust as a consistent receiving option.

When we had Chad Lewis I felt comfortable, too bad he was basically retired right before the Super Bowl when he broke his ankle on the game-sealing TD against the Falcons in the NFC CG. Had he been healthy vs the Patriots I can only dream of what could have happened. Adds to the misery of an Eagles fan.

I'd preferably go through the draft. I really have liked Pettigrew through his Oklahoma State career, and I think he'd be an excellent fit. I just think we'd have to trade up for him.

Anyways, your (terrible ) Giants are in good position to get a WR, whether its the draft or by trade. You are in the prime position when the run of WRs should go at the end of round 1, and you have two 2nd rounders to play around with if you go the trade route.

 

[FromTheSouth]

The Houston Astros were in contention until Hurricane Ike destroyed Houston, forced them to play in Milwaukee, and highlighted the two most glaring weaknesses on the team.

First, in the 3-4-5 spots we have Tejada, Berkman, and Lee. This is an outstanding heart of the line up. The problem is that there is no legitimate lead off man. For 15 of his twenty years in the bigs, Craig Biggio manned this spot, or the two hole. There was always someone on base for Bagwell, Berkman, Bell, Lee, Alou, Kent, Beltran, etc. to drive in. Now, with no one on base, teams can pitch around Berkman, and take their chances that they can get either Lee or Tejada out with two outs in the inning.

We also need to starters. Oswalt is a top ten guy. Wandy Rodriguez is emerging, but he is not a number two starter. When Brandon Backe is healthy, he is a clutch guy. Backe is a great option for any big game. Mike Hampton and Brian Moehler are not the option we need in the rotation.

 

[Ty Burna]

I need a quarterback, straight the fuck up. I've seen my Vikings be oh so close to the Super Bowl, but faltered because of their defense in the 90's. Now I have a defense and a superior running game, and not a decent quarterback to at least have a semi apparent passing game. Let me take a look at my quarterbacks I have now:

Tarvaris Jackson - Inconsistent, inaccurate, doesn't make smart decisions. Has a tendency to attempt jump passes. I will give him this he can scramble and gain yards.

Sage "Helicopter" Rosenfels - Yeah we traded a 4th round pick for this guy? A QB who essentially on his own wasted away a big 4th quarter lead to lose to the Colts. I will say that it was on Kubriak for not running the damn ball, but if you're up by 14, why as a QB do you attempt jumping in the air instead of sliding?

John David "Arggggh Me Pirate's" Booty - He didn't look good in preseason last year, but he was a rookie so I give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure what he would do if thrown into the mix, I don't think he has a very strong arm, he may have better accuracy and he knows the pro system since he came from USC and all. He can't scramble and is a pocket passer. I'm not sure how well Booty would do, probably no worse then Rosenfels or Jackson would do.

So yeah, I need a QB in the worst way, but I'm not sacrificing 2 drafts to get it like the Bears did. I'll wait when we can trade up and get Bradford or Tebow next year. Either that or Mcnabb will get sick of Philly not doing shit for him and he'll jump on the Vikings bandwagon for a year or two.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

The Portland Trailblazers are a great point guard away from an N.B.A. championship. Portland has played well all year; they tied for the second best record in the strong Western Conference. As the youngest team in the league, they surpassed nearly everyone's expectations, making the playoffs and having home court advantage in the first round. We've witnessed Brandon Roy play at superstar level for the second consecutive year. Lamarcus Aldridge, a former number 2 overall draft pick, has turned into a consistent scorer and has been at the top of the league in offensive rebounds all year, crashing the boards hard on every play. Batum, our 19 year old rookie from France, has grown into a more complete player since the start of the season. He frustrates the opponent on defense, never giving an inch and always getting his hand somewhere near the ball. He has great speed and, like Prince from Detroit, is one of the best at catching up at blocking shots. His three point shooting has gotten much better and he has started to drive to the hoop once or twice every game. Joel Pryzbilla has been great on defense all year. He's pulled down rebound after rebound and is our main reason for being one of the best teams in the entire N.B.A. in that category. Steve Blake has had the best season of his life, averaging near 10 points a game and distributing the ball well.

Off the bench, Rudy Frenandez broke the rookie record for 3-point shots made. Greg Oden averaged over 9 points a game in about 60 games this year and has shown great hustle and toughness, fighting for every rebound and always being there to tip in a shot. Travis Outlaw should win 6th man of the year. At the start of the year, he was one of the most streaky players on the team. He was like the Katy Perry song, "Hot 'n' Cold". He's become a clutch player though, making the outside jumper when we really need him. He's taken 7 seven shots to win games this year and he's made six. Our bench is loaded with other talent, Bayless, Rodriguez, Frye, Randolph... All players that could start someday in this league. Don't forget about Martell Webster either. He led our team in 3-pointers last year, but has been out all season with an injury.

Portland isn't there yet. We were blown out on our home court last night. It was the playoffs and it was obvious that our young team let the pressure get to them. Portland has a great load of talent and a very deep bench. They have the loudest fans in the N.B.A. and a top-ten talent in Brandon Roy. All they need is time.