This page is no longer active

Da Blog has moved to MorganWick.com. Please update your bookmarks, links, and RSS readers.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

NFL Preseason SuperPower Rankings

In the same vein as my 100 Greatest Movies Project, here's my NFL Power Rankings based on the Power Rankings of most of the leading sports sites. I include ratings from the following sports sites: ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, USA Today. I'm willing to take in NBC Sports, Yahoo, and Sporting News if they choose to take part in this excersize. One point per rank; #1=1, #2=2, so on. Lower scores score higher. The asterisk indicates a Lineal Title holder.

Note: The Fox Sports rankings occured at the start of this month; the others, right after the draft. Among other things, it explains why they rank the Falcons near the bottom when the others put them in the middle of the pack.
Team NameTW (LW)ESPNCBSFoxSI.comUSATComments
Patriots1-T12221Should be a lot scarier with Randy Moss.
Colts1-T21113Don't sleep on SB champs, or overstate impact of losses.
Chargers333332Maybe the most talented team in the NFL.
Saints467444One of the NFC's best teams only improved. The D is still an issue.
Ravens546575Expect McGahee to be an immediate help on offense.
Bears655756A lot of question marks but the SB defense is still there.
Broncos774667Made some impact additions in offseason. Will Cutler be enough?
Eagles8881289If McNabb's healthy, they could be a powerhouse.
Seahawks911158910They need a healthy Alexander to remain top dog in a tougher division.
Bengals1010109178Bengals underperformed last year, but D still an issue.
Cowboys1199131411The good news is they dumped Parcells. The bad news is they dumped Parcells. All eyes on Romo.
Jets121216101112Revis, Harris, Jones are impact additions, but still not enough D.
Steelers131311151213Will Tomlin get the '05 Steelers or the '06 Steelers?
Jaguars141412111814.5All eyes are on the QB position after a mediocre '06.
*Rams151817181018The Rams made sure to get better in the offseason. Will it be enough?
Panthers161621161614.5Good draft, not much else. All eyes on Delhomme with Carr looking over shoulder.
49ers171519142216.5With improving young players, could contend in West and win in '08.
Giants181714192120All eyes on Manning and Brandon Jacobs.
Falcons191918302016.5Will probably stink without Vick, but they still have strong pieces.
Titans202129221519Young will have a lot of weight on his shoulders without more offensive help.
Cardinals212213203022"No, this really is the Cardinals' year, really!"
Chiefs22-T2026172621The QB question still looms, especially with good but not SB-carrying D.
Bills22-T2320212323Went with youth by dumping vets and hoping Losman improves.
Vikings242523293125.5Good defense and Peterson is good RB, but weak WRs and is Jackson ready?
Packers252422232524Favre may be getting an absolutely awful offense. Retire already!
Dolphins262624271928Will Green provide the pick-me-up the team needs?
Lions273027261329The WRs are meeting their potential and Kitna can carry the team, so they could surprise.
Buccaneers282725242925.5A boatload of QBs with other questions going ignored.
Redskins292828252427Campbell must perform or Gibbs could be running back to NASCAR.
Texans302930282731Schaub and Green will help but the OL is still nonexistent.
Raiders313231312832D is good, but even with Russell they were likely to struggle.
Browns323132323230Young team with two top draft picks that could be a big contender... in '08.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Remember what I said about posting on the Project again?

I'm still waiting for the person I've already lined up and my own pace has dramatically slowed. I'm still taking anyone who wants to contribute to the Project by writing up their favorite films. A link to my e-mail is available from my profile; link on the right side. A firm list of taken films won't be available until I'm back from LA. Feel free to provide your own suggestions if you want to contribute.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The strangest part of the Rangers' demolishing of Baltimore?

How do you come in with a 14-3 lead, bulked up from 5-3 not in the just-ended half inning but in the one before, have three scoreless innings to end the game while your team more than doubles its score, and get a save?

This move-up-the-primaries thing is getting out of hand...

As if a mass of states moving their primaries to Super-Duper Tuesday wasn't enough, now Michigan wants to move its primary to January.

I'm going to make a guarantee here. By 2012, someone, either the parties or the government, will mandate that all primaries and caucuses must occur on the same day in all 50 states. New Hampshire and Iowa will just have to deal.

Some sports musings

Couple of things:

*I'm seeing an international pool-play game in the Little League World Series on ESPN while Major League Baseball, a game between two playoff contenders, is on ESPN2. Please don't tell me the former outdraws the latter.

*The NFL Network is going to put its "Total Access" program on "My Network TV" Saturday nights starting in September. Which means it will now be on a "network" that as many people watch as the NFL Network reaches.

Best. Video. Ever.

If you have ever been on an Internet message board, EVER, I suspect you will recognize something in this video. Warning: profanity alert.

I'm also taking the opportunity to cut down the size of the front page down to 10-20 posts.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Changes to Da Blog that also affect Da Web Site (and other musings)

Very few people who visit Da Blog appear to be going from there to my web site. In a related story, my sidebar has become rather cluttered.

Therefore, I've added a link to the web site to the right side and booted Da Counter to the bottom, since it's the element of Da Blog you're probably least interested in.

Have you noticed that I have a lot of rather short posts? And that I tend to talk a lot about Da Blog and my web site, and not about actual, substantial things? Seriously, Technorati says my most common tags are "blog news" and "web site news" followed by "my comments on the news". Just shows how much I need you to help give Da Blog direction.

Of course, in a sense you could say I need direction.

This summer, for me, has become dominated by the Greatest Movies Project. I've been writing 1-2 entries a day and goofing off the rest of the day. I've gotten a bit better at writing entries on movies I haven't seen as I've gone along. As I write this I have about 28 entries written, two more written in incomplete form, and some ideas on entries I haven't written. Six or seven of the entries are, in my opinion, rather great - up to about one-fourth from about one-eighth a few days ago. Most of the entries are from 1953 and earlier; the rest pretty much is composed of films at the very beginning of the list. At a rate of two a day, I could finish in 36 days by myself. That would get me a ways into September, and I could probably start posting entries before I'd completely finished. I'd probably rather get them done a little quicker, though. I have one person lined up to help write entries but I'm still open to any other movie fans who want to lend their expertise. I may post a list of off-limits films later this week.

In early September I'll be taking a trip to Los Angeles to visit my dad. At the pace I'm on, I would hit 50 entries right as the trip started. I'm hoping to hit 50 before then and 100 by the end of the trip. Then when I came back, most of the work would involve formatting it for the site.

I'll have more on things I'm looking for when I post on the Project again later this week.