I grew up and still live in the San Jose area.

I have 2 older brothers, 1 was and is a 49ers fan, the other was and is a Rams fan.

Growing up, I liked both teams because of my brothers….. the clincher for me to be a Rams fan was a game when I was in Jr High, we were at my cousins house and I was in a back room watching the Rams play the Vikings in Minnesota on national TV …..the game resulted in 10-10 tie, I think it was 1976….. That was such a great emotional game that it got me hooked on the Rams…..Then in HS I loved the Rams, another memorable game was a MNF game against the Steelers in LA where the Rams won 10-3, I was a sophomore in HS when that happened as I used to get badgered by Raider and Steeler fans for being a Rams fan… my biology teacher that year was from UCLA and was also a Rams fan during that season…..

I still had a soft spot for the 49ers, because when I was in HS I worked their training camp at Santa Clara University in the summer of 1979 and 1980 when NOBODY was a 49er fan… when SF won the Super Bowl in 1981 all these Raider fans and fans from other teams jumped on the 49er bandwagon and it made me SICK!!!! It fueled my deep dislike of the 49ers and their fair weather fans and it strengthen my loyalty to the LA Rams…. I really loved those John Robinson teams of the 80’s……

Zooey wrote:

<P>Listen, I know this is going to be difficult for you guys to hear, but I’m afraid I just have to say this. The Lakers are the only team that matters. Other teams can win a championship once every 50 years, or whatever, but the Lakers have won 1 out of every 3 championships over the past 35 years, and with all the cap space in the world, and the #2 pick overall, they are a couple of years away from reasserting their Lakerdom.</P>
<P>So…enjoy it while you can.</P>

I think the days of seeing Jack Nicholson and Dyan Cannon courtside at a Laker playoff game is over.

Dr. Bus is dead, Phil Jackson left the dysfunctional Laker family to join a very lousy Knicks team……….. Mitch Kupchak is no Jerry West.

BTW, Jerry West works for the Warriors now, and yesterday showed that he still has an eye for talent…. he gets rid of guys like Monte Ellis and helped assemble a very decent Warriors team and he doesn’t look for has beens like Steve Nash to shore up a roster.

The days of Chamberlain and Kareem finishing their careers as great Laker centers are over, Dwight Howard and Shaq both left Laker dysfunction. Dr. Bus’s kids have gutted the Lakers.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by joemad.

one of my favorite scenes from the movie…. I loved Captain Quint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9bde0nYF5Q

I like PA’s 2 long shots…. Quick and Jenkins….. but I’m not sure a QB like Foles can make Quick elite……..

bnw wrote:

<P>With the impending move to LA I have zero optimism.</P>

be hopeful…….The last time the RAMS moved to LA, they won the NFL Title during a lame duck season in Cleveland….

Finished career with 30 fumbles and 54 interceptions.

that’s a lot of friggin turnovers……..9 of the 30 fumbles were recovered by the defense, he might need Tom Brady’s ball boys…..

More stuff: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1737484/sean-mannion

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: Tall with an adequate build…keeps his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage with a natural over-the-top delivery…adequate arm strength when stepping into his throws, controlling his ball speed well…improved footwork and base to create the framework to get the most out of his arm…sees the field well to scan and make precise reads in his drops…accurate deep ball thrower with terrific touch on bucket tosses.

Not afraid to test small windows and gives his man a chance to attack the ball…tough and bounces back after hits…shy personality, but in full control of the offense…calm and always appears under control, getting his teammates lined up correctly and making checks at the line…develops strong chemistry and feel with his targets, which stems from his practice habits…son of a high school head coach and carries himself like a professional, leading by example with natural leadership intangibles.

Strong football resume as a four year starter and first three-year captain in school history (43 career starts), owning 18 Oregon State passing records, including career touchdown throws (83)…holds the Pac-12 career record for passing yards (13,600).

WEAKNESSES: Struggles to consistently drive the ball if he doesn’t step into his throws or have a firm base, struggling to add juice or adjust his trajectory…improved footwork and pocket maneuverability but neither are a strength as he struggles to re-set his eyes once moved from his spot…experienced with his three, five and seven step drops, but sluggish with his depth.

Struggles to recognize the blitz and doesn’t do enough after the snap to evade pressure, failing to speed up his process…hesitant when the pocket shows cracks and looks like a deer in headlights…holds the ball too long with a suspect internal clock that can be read with a sun dial…tends to telegraph his throws, staring down his targets…pre-determines passes and makes puzzling decisions that end with too many defenders at the other end of his passes…doesn’t have the mobility to improvise or keep plays alive, needing to slow himself and set his feet before pushing the ball.

Load-up delivery isn’t a glaring issue, but he lacks an efficient release with small hands…lean with room to add muscle mass on his frame…loses confidence too easily, causing poor ball placement and keeping him from processing what he sees quick enough when things go downhill…not the same quarterback without Brandin Cooks as his safety valve…career 46.4% passer on 3rd down attempts with a 21-16 TD-INT ratio.

In Our View: Mannion has an attractive resume as a four-year starter with impressive production in a pro-style offense. He has adequate arm strength and accuracy, but isn’t above average in either category as the ball doesn’t shoot off his hand. Mannion is too methodical with his movements and tends to deteriorate when the pocket crumbles, struggling with his pocket awareness, internal clock and improvising skills, which is a recipe for disaster in the NFL.

He is a high character human being with exceptional make-up and intangibles – teams will never have to worry about him off the field or not putting in enough work. Mannion has shown promise over his career, but tends to be too careless with his decisions and lacks the consistency against pressures to be a consistent NFL starter. If he can learn how to speed up his process for the NFL level, Mannion can carve out a Shaun Hill type of career, but if he doesn’t, his career will likely follow a Tony Pike-like path.

–Dane Brugler

Player Overview
A four-star quarterback recruit out of high school, Mannion committed to Oregon State as a junior in high school because of the Beavers’ coaching staff and the offense was similar to what he ran in high school.

After redshirting in 2010, Mannion beat out incumbent starter Ryan Katz (who later transferred) as a redshirt freshman, passing for 3,328 yards, which was third best in school history at the time. He showed improvement in 2012 as a sophomore, but missed a few games due to a knee injury and Cody Vaz did a nice job in relief and didn’t concede the job when Mannion returned healthy. However, Mannion beat out Vaz and was named the starter for the 2013 season opener and had a record-breaking year, passing for a Pac-12 record 4,662 yards with a 37-15 TD-INT ratio, earning All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention honors.

With Brandin Cooks leaving early for the NFL Draft, Mannion’s production dipped as a senior in 2014, including a career-low 263.7 yards per start, 62.3% completions and only 15 passing scores. He won the 2014 Manning Passing Academy Air-It-Out Challenge in July 2014 and served as a counselor at the Nike Elite 11 quarterback Camp, winning the counselor’s challenge. He earned an invitation to the 2015 Senior Bowl.

Go Warriors!!!! It’s been 40 years since the Warriors won a championship, it’s been a remarkable season for the Golden State….

BTW…..I was talking to my boss from France who lived in Houston and is pulling for the Rockets…. he thought that Golden State was based in New Jersey…….. they’re moving to San Francisco soon, I hope they keep Golden State as their name.

Zooey wrote:

I am glad my name is not Chase Goodbread.</P>

me too, but it might be better than Todd Gurley…..

Stars that are stars because of cheating.

I’d be pissed if I was Joe Flacco and the Ravens….forget about the Championship game, but the divisional game when you lose a game that close, a ball 20% reduced in size makes a huge difference.

Imagine a pitcher throwing a ball 20% smaller or a basketball team using a ball 20% smaller HUGE ADVANTAGE.

Folks need to remember, the reason Brady is a star is because of his Super Bowl victories, 3 victories at the aid of Spy Gate in games decided by 3 points. I’ve stated this dozens of times, it only takes 1 3rd down stop to win a game by 3 points……and when you know the plays being called because of SpyGate it’s a huge advantage….

Now games decided by using a ball 20% smaller in size.

This guy should not have gotten past the Tuck Rule in 2001, but clearly cheating has made him a star….

i’m sorry to hear the news ……..RIP Thordaddy.

The Greg Cosell Article: URL – http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/greg-cosell-s-draft-review–three-teams-whose-drafts-i-liked-195814345.html

He liked Jags, Saints and Rams:

Only the Rams portion below……

RAMS:

St. Louis Rams

I liked the Rams draft more because they have a clear plan and stuck to it in the draft.

The Rams drafted with a specific purpose in mind. They want to be a power-running football team and play great defense behind that. Their entire draft followed that plan.

They drafted running back Todd Gurley (I thought he was a top-three prospect in the draft) and match him with Tre Mason, who I thought was the best back in last year’s class. So they’re set there. The selection of Gurley was clearly a pick where their plan and their draft board matched up. Their pick of quarterback Sean Mannion in the third round fits their plan; I think Mannion can only play in a system where the run game is the foundation relying heavily on play action. Then four of their first seven picks were offensive linemen who were all similar.

Rob Haverstein of Wisconsin might not have been a second-round pick on every team’s board, but he fits what the Rams want to do. He is a a road-grading right tackle in the run game. If that’s the style you’re going to play, then he’s your guy.

Jamon Brown, at 323 pounds, was a tackle at Louisville but he’ll play guard in the NFL. Iowa tackle Andrew Donnal, a 313-pound fourth-round pick, can play guard too. In the sixth round the Rams took Fresno State guard Cody Wichmann, who is not an athlete but a 315-pound mauler. He fits what they want to do.

The Rams told you in their draft how they want to play football. That’s why I don’t get into the criticisms like, “There were better players on the board!” Not to the Rams there weren’t; their picks fit the exact style they want to play.

– – – – – – –

NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.

it took Payton 9 NFL seasons to experience the 85 Bears… he was drafted by Chicago in the mid 70’s when they were the “Bad News Bears” Jack Pardee was still learning to coach… coincidentally, years later….Fisher replaced Pardee in Houston….

I was hoping for Andrus Peat from Stanford or some type of OLine protection…. i’m confused with this pick especially with Tre Mason in the backfield and the holes in the offensive line…

i’m “disheartened” because Sam Bradford is gone…… he played very well right before his last 2 knee injuries….This might be the first time since 1997 that I do not get Sunday Tix and just go with “Game Rewind” because they might have a Tony Banks QB situation with Nick Foles…… I’ll wait and see what I feel in September when it’s time to renew Sunday Tix…..

In regards to the move, I was on the Save the Rams committee snail mail list in 1994 (before the internet was widely available).

I was sad to see the RAMS move, I mean how could a team from LA, rich in tradition, move to STL?????, but when I saw those Ram helmets in a preseason game vs the Raiders as the ST LOUIS Rams, I still found myself rooting for the team…. also, when the internet was made available, the fans on the Post Dispatch message board kept me engaged… Thanks to HAPPY4LA, GRITS, TONYDE, DAVEL, BARF, XACH WVRAM, RFIP, and all the early adopters of the Rams social network to keep me engaged and accept the St Louis Rams….. i think starting off 5-0 in 1995 helped…………then, Ken Norton punched the goal post and the 4 year spiral began………

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by joemad.

bnw –

I’m shocked too. Turner Field was an excellent ballpark each time I was there. I wonder why they would want to rebuild so soon?

Turner field was built in part to support the 96 Olympic games…. Turner field does not have a good parking in downtown ATL.The new stadium will be built outside of ATL.

I remember the “Launching Pad” (Fulton County stadium) more so than the Turner field. In part because the Braves were on TBS almost everyday during baseball season. the Braves had the biggest friggin homers doing play-by-play baseball games on TV when their biggest stars were Dale Murphy and Bob Horner…..

What would your NFC WEST QB ranking look like?

Russell Wilson
Kaepernik
Carson Palmer
Foles

w
v

that’s pretty fair…..

what about the NFC East?

Romo
Sam
Eli
RGIII or the Cuz?