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  • in reply to: According to Yale… #69684
    Avatar photozn
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    Haven’t all those “quick interest” media and technology issues also happened in Europe and Japan? So if all that impacts brains, why not theirs?

    And yet this is the country that denies climate change.

    I think maybe the main issue is that this is a country where the wealthy have enough political power to influence the messsages we get.

    You know, like Russia.

    ….

    in reply to: Robert Woods 2013 NFL Draft #69682
    Avatar photozn
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    . His weakness was being the #2 to Sammy Watkins on a team that ranked 32nd in passing attempts.

    Last year, in the games where Watkins was out so Woods led the receivers, his targets nearly tripled.

    .

    Ok…. I guess I can see that.

    Well mine’s the “on paper” answer anyway.

    We’ll see.

    in reply to: Robert Woods 2013 NFL Draft #69677
    Avatar photozn
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    Hard to believe that a guy with these attributes couldn’t get more than 700 yards receiving in his career. Does he a have a weakness that we are not seeing?

    Yes. His weakness was being the #2 to Sammy Watkins on a team that ranked 32nd in passing attempts.

    Last year, in the games where Watkins was out so Woods led the receivers, his targets nearly tripled.

    .

    in reply to: According to Yale… #69675
    Avatar photozn
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    Surveys of scientists’ views on climate change

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Surveys of scientists’ views on climate change – with a focus on human-caused or anthropogenic global warming (AGW) – have been undertaken since the 1990s.[1] A 2016 paper (which was co-authored by Naomi Oreskes, Peter Doran, William Anderegg, Bart Verheggen, Ed Maibach, J. Stuart Carlton and John Cook, and which was based on a half a dozen independent studies by the authors) concluded that “the finding of 97% consensus [that humans are causing recent global warming] in published climate research is robust and consistent with other surveys of climate scientists and peer-reviewed studies.”[2]

    Verheggen et al., 2014
    In 2014, Bart Verheggen of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency surveyed 1,868 climate scientists. They found that, consistent with other research, the level of agreement on anthropogenic causation correlated with expertise – 90% of those surveyed with more than 10 peer-reviewed papers related to climate (just under half of survey respondents) explicitly agreed that human production of greenhouse gases was the main cause of global warming.[3]

    Powell, 2013
    James L. Powell, a former member of the National Science Board and current executive director of the National Physical Science Consortium,[4] analyzed published research on global warming and climate change between 1991 and 2012 and found that of the 13,950 articles in peer-reviewed journals, only 24 rejected anthropogenic global warming.[5][6][7][8] This was a follow-up to an analysis looking at 2,258 peer-reviewed articles published between November 2012 and December 2013 revealed that only one of the 9,136 authors rejected anthropogenic global warming.[9][10][11]

    John Cook et al., 2013
    Cook et al. examined 11,944 abstracts from the peer-reviewed scientific literature from 1991–2011 that matched the topics ‘global climate change’ or ‘global warming’.[12] They found that, while 66.4% of them expressed no position on anthropogenic global warming (AGW), of those that did, 97.1% endorsed the consensus position that humans are contributing to global warming. They also invited authors to rate their own papers and found that, while 35.5% rated their paper as expressing no position on AGW, 97.2% of the rest endorsed the consensus. In both cases the percentage of endorsements among papers expressing a position was marginally increasing over time. They concluded that the number of papers actually rejecting the consensus on AGW is a vanishingly small proportion of the published research.[12]

    In their discussion of the results in 2007, the authors said that the large proportion of abstracts that state no position on AGW is as expected in a consensus situation,[13] adding that “the fundamental science of AGW is no longer controversial among the publishing science community and the remaining debate in the field has moved on to other topics.”[12]

    In Science & Education in August 2013 David Legates and three coauthors reviewed the corpus used by Cook et al. In their assessment, “inspection of a claim by Cook et al. (Environ Res Lett 8:024024, 2013) of 97.1% consensus, heavily relied upon by Bedford and Cook, shows just 0.3% endorsement of the standard definition of consensus: that most warming since 1950 is anthropogenic.”

    However, as the paper took issue in the definition of consensus, the definition of consensus was split into several levels: In the end, of all the abstracts that took a position on the subject, 22.97% and 72.50% were found to take an explicit but unquantified endorsement position or an implicit endorsement position, respectively. The 0.3% figure represents abstracts taking a position of “Actually endorsing the standard definition” of all the abstracts (1.02% of all position-taking abstracts), where the “standard definition” was juxtaposed with an “unquantified definition” drawn from the 2013 Cook et al. paper as follows:

    The unquantified definition: “The consensus position that humans are causing global warming”
    The standard definition: As stated in their introduction, that “human activity is very likely causing most of the current warming (anthropogenic global warming, or AGW)”
    Criticism was also made to the “arbitrary” exclusion of non-position-taking abstracts as well as other issues of definitions. [14]

    Craig Idso, Nicola Scafetta, Nir J. Shaviv and Nils-Axel Mörner, who question the consensus, were cited in a Wall Street Journal article by Joseph Bast and Roy Spencer disputing the 97% figure, as climate scientists who assert that Cook misrepresented their work.[15]

    Climate economist Richard Tol has also been a persistent critic of the Cook et al. paper, arguing that the authors “used an unrepresentative sample, left out much useful data, used biased observers who disagreed with the authors of the papers they were classifying nearly two-thirds of the time, and collected and analysed the data in such a way as to allow the authors to adjust their preliminary conclusions as they went along”.[16] Cook et al. replied to Tol’s criticisms, pointing out that “the 97% consensus has passed peer-review, while Tol’s criticisms have not”.[17]

    A new paper[18] by Rasmus E. Benestad, Dana Nuccitelli, Stephan Lewandowsky, Katharine Hayhoe, Hans Olav Hygen, Rob van Dorland, and John Cook examined the quality of the 3% of peer-reviewed papers discovered by this work to reject the consensus view. They discovered that “replication reveals a number of methodological flaws, and a pattern of common mistakes emerges that is not visible when looking at single isolated cases”.

    Lefsrud and Meyer, 2012
    Lefsrud and Meyer surveyed members of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), a professional association for the petroleum industry in Alberta. The aims of the study included examining the respondents’ “legitimation of themselves as experts on ‘the truth’, and their attitudes towards regulatory measures.”[19] Writing later, the authors added, “we surveyed engineers and geologists because their professions dominate the oil industry and their views on climate change influence the positions taken by governments, think tanks and environmental groups.”[20]

    The authors found that 99.4% agreed that the global climate is changing but that “the debate of the causes of climate change is particularly virulent among them.” Analyzing their responses, the authors labelled 36% of respondents ‘comply with Kyoto’, as “they express the strong belief that climate change is happening, that it is not a normal cycle of nature, and humans are the main or central cause.”[19] ‘Regulation activists’ (10%) “diagnose climate change as being both human- and naturally caused, posing a moderate public risk, with only slight impact on their personal life.” Skeptical of anthropogenic warming (sum 51%) they labelled ‘nature is overwhelming’ (24%), ‘economic responsibility’ (10%), and ‘fatalists’ (17%). Respondents giving these responses disagreed in various ways with mainstream scientific opinion on climate change, expressing views such as that climate change is ‘natural’, that its causes are unknown, that it is harmless, or that regulation such as that represented by Kyoto Protocol is in itself harmful.[19]

    They found that respondents that support regulation (46%) (‘comply with Kyoto’ and ‘regulation activists’) were “significantly more likely to be lower in the organizational hierarchy, younger, female, and working in government”, while those that oppose regulation (‘nature is overwhelming’ and ‘economic responsibility’) were “significantly more likely to be more senior in their organizations, male, older, geoscientists, and work in the oil and gas industry”.[19] Discussing the study in 2013, the authors ask if such political divisions distract decision-makers from confronting the risk that climate change presents to businesses and the economy.[20]

    Last updated 2012
    Farnsworth and Lichter, 2011
    In an October 2011 paper published in the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, researchers from George Mason University analyzed the results of a survey of 998 scientists working in academia, government, and industry. The scientists polled were members of the American Geophysical Union or the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and listed in the 23rd edition of American Men and Women of Science (AGU), a biographical reference work on leading American scientists, and 489 returned completed questionnaires. Of those who replied, 97% agreed that global temperatures have risen over the past century. 84% agreed that “human-induced greenhouse warming is now occurring,” 5% disagreed, and 12% didn’t know.[21][22]

    When asked “What do you think is the % probability of human-induced global warming raising global average temperatures by two degrees Celsius or more during the next 50 to 100 years?’’: 19% of respondents answered less than 50% probability, 56% said over 50%, and 26% didn’t know.[22]

    When asked what they regard as “the likely effects of global climate change in the next 50 to 100 years,” on a scale of 1 to 10, from Trivial to Catastrophic: 13% of respondents replied 1 to 3 (trivial/mild), 44% replied 4 to 7 (moderate), 41% replied 8 to 10 (severe/catastrophic), and 2% didn’t know.[22]

    Anderegg, Prall, Harold, and Schneider, 2010

    By Cook 2011 based on Doran 2009 and Anderegg 2010 studies. 97–98% of the most published climate researchers say humans are very likely causing most global warming.[23] In another study 97.4% of publishing specialists in climate change say that human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures.[24]
    Anderegg et al., in a 2010 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), reviewed publication and citation data for 1,372 climate researchers, based on authorship of scientific assessment reports and membership on multisignatory statements about anthropogenic climate change. The number of climate-relevant publications authored or coauthored by each researcher was used to define their ‘expertise’, and the number of citations for each of the researcher’s four highest-cited papers was used to define their ‘prominence’. Removing researchers who had authored fewer than 20 climate publications reduced the database to 908 researchers but did not materially alter the results. The authors of the paper say that their database of researchers “is not comprehensive nor designed to be representative of the entire climate science community,” but say that since they drew the researchers from the most high-profile reports and public statements, it is likely that it represents the “strongest and most credentialed” researchers both ‘convinced by the evidence’ (CE) and ‘unconvinced by the evidence’ (UE) on the tenets of anthropogenic climate change.[23][25]

    Anderegg et al. drew the following two conclusions:

    (i) 97–98% of the climate researchers most actively publishing in the field surveyed here support the tenets of ACC (Anthropogenic Climate Change) outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and (ii) the relative climate expertise and scientific prominence of the researchers unconvinced of ACC are substantially below that of the convinced researchers.[23]

    Doran and Kendall Zimmerman, 2009
    This paper is an abridged version of the Zimmerman 2008 MS thesis; the full methods are in the MS thesis.[26] A web-based poll performed by Peter Doran and Maggie Kendall Zimmerman of the Earth and Environmental Sciences department, University of Illinois at Chicago received replies from 3,146 of the 10,257 polled Earth scientists. The survey was designed to take less than two minutes to complete. Results were analyzed globally and by specialization. Among all respondents, 90% agreed that temperatures had generally risen compared to pre-1800 levels, and 82% agreed that humans significantly influence the global temperature. 76 out of the 79 respondents who “listed climate science as their area of expertise, and who also have published more than 50% of their recent peer-reviewed papers on the subject of climate change”, thought that mean global temperatures had risen compared to pre-1800s levels. Of those 79 scientists, 75 out of the 77 answered that human activity was a significant factor in changing mean global temperatures, a sample size which would result in a margin of error of 11 percentage points. The remaining two were not asked, because in question one they responded that temperatures had remained relatively constant. Economic geologists and meteorologists were among the biggest doubters, with only 47 percent and 64 percent respectively thinking that human activity was a significant contributing factor. In summary, Doran and Zimmerman wrote:

    It seems that the debate on the authenticity of global warming and the role played by human activity is largely nonexistent among those who understand the nuances and scientific basis of long-term climate processes.[24]

    Bray and von Storch, 2008
    Dennis Bray and Hans von Storch, of the Institute for Coastal Research at the Helmholtz Research Centre in Germany, conducted an online survey in August 2008, of 2,059 climate scientists from 34 different countries, the third survey on this topic by these authors.[27] A web link with a unique identifier was given to each respondent to eliminate multiple responses. A total of 375 responses were received giving an overall response rate of 18%. The climate change consensus results were published by Bray,[28] and another paper has also been published based on the survey.[29]

    The survey was composed of 76 questions split into a number of sections. There were sections on the demographics of the respondents, their assessment of the state of climate science, how good the science is, climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation, their opinion of the IPCC, and how well climate science was being communicated to the public. Most of the answers were on a scale from 1 to 7 from ‘not at all’ to ‘very much’.[27]

    In the section on climate change impacts, questions 20 and 21 were relevant to scientific opinion on climate change. Question 20, “How convinced are you that climate change, whether natural or anthropogenic, is occurring now?” Answers: 67.1% very much convinced (7), 26.7% to some large extent (5–6), 6.2% said to some small extent (2–4), none said not at all. Question 21, “How convinced are you that most of recent or near future climate change is, or will be, a result of anthropogenic causes?” Answers: 34.6% very much convinced (7), 48.9% being convinced to a large extent (5–6), 15.1% to a small extent (2–4), and 1.35% not convinced at all (1).[27]

    STATS, 2007
    In 2007, Harris Interactive surveyed 489 randomly selected members of either the American Meteorological Society or the American Geophysical Union for the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) at George Mason University. The survey found 97% agreed that global temperatures have increased during the past 100 years; 84% say they personally believe human-induced warming is occurring, and 74% agree that “currently available scientific evidence” substantiates its occurrence. Only 5% believe that human activity does not contribute to greenhouse warming; 41% say they thought the effects of global warming would be near catastrophic over the next 50–100 years; 44% say said effects would be moderately dangerous; 13% saw relatively little danger; 56% say global climate change is a mature science; 39% say it is an emerging science.[30][31]

    Oreskes, 2004
    A 2004 article by geologist and historian of science Naomi Oreskes summarized a study of the scientific literature on climate change.[32] The essay concluded that there is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. The author analyzed 928 abstracts of papers from refereed scientific journals between 1993 and 2003, listed with the keywords “global climate change”. Oreskes divided the abstracts into six categories: explicit endorsement of the consensus position, evaluation of impacts, mitigation proposals, methods, paleoclimate analysis, and rejection of the consensus position. 75% of the abstracts were placed in the first three categories, thus either explicitly or implicitly accepting the consensus view; 25% dealt with methods or paleoclimate, thus taking no position on current anthropogenic climate change; none of the abstracts disagreed with the consensus position, which the author found to be “remarkable”. According to the report, “authors evaluating impacts, developing methods, or studying paleoclimatic change might believe that current climate change is natural. However, none of these papers argued that point.”

    Early 2000s
    In 2003, Bray and von Storch conducted a survey of the perspectives of climate scientists on global climate change.[33] The survey received 530 responses from 27 different countries. The 2003 survey has been strongly criticized on the grounds that it was performed on the web with no means to verify that the respondents were climate scientists or to prevent multiple submissions. The survey required entry of a username and password, but the username and password were circulated to a climate skeptics mailing list and elsewhere on the internet.[citation needed] Bray and von Storch defended their results and accused climate change skeptics of interpreting the results with bias. Bray’s submission to Science on December 22, 2004 was rejected.[citation needed]

    One of the questions asked in the survey was “To what extent do you agree or disagree that climate change is mostly the result of anthropogenic causes?”, with a value of 1 indicating strongly agree and a value of 7 indicating strongly disagree.[34] The results showed a mean of 3.62, with 50 responses (9.4%) indicating “strongly agree” and 54 responses (9.7%) indicating “strongly disagree”. The same survey indicates a 72% to 20% endorsement of the IPCC reports as accurate, and a 15% to 80% rejection of the thesis that “there is enough uncertainty about the phenomenon of global warming that there is no need for immediate policy decisions.”[citation needed]

    1990s
    In 1997, the conservative think tank Citizens for a Sound Economy surveyed America’s 48 state climatologists on questions related to climate change.[35] Of the 36 respondents, 44% considered global warming to be a largely natural phenomenon, compared to 17% who considered warming to be largely man-made. 89% agreed that “current science is unable to isolate and measure variations in global temperatures caused ONLY by man-made factors,” and 61% said that historical data do not indicate “that fluctuations in global temperatures are attributable to human influences such as burning fossil fuels”, though the time scale for the next glacial period was not specified.
    In 1996, Dennis Bray and Hans von Storch undertook a survey of climate scientists on attitudes towards global warming and related matters. The results were subsequently published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.[1] The paper addressed the views of climate scientists, with a response rate of 40% from a mail survey questionnaire to 1000 scientists in Germany, the United States and Canada. Most of the scientists accepted that global warming was occurring and appropriate policy action should be taken, but there was wide disagreement about the likely effects on society and almost all agreed that the predictive ability of currently existing models was limited. On a scale of 1 (highest confidence) to 7 (lowest confidence) regarding belief in the ability to make “reasonable predictions” the mean was 4.8 and 5.2 for 10- and 100-year predictions, respectively. On the question of whether global warming is occurring or will occur, the mean response was 3.3, and for future prospects of warming the mean was 2.6.
    A Gallup poll of 400 members of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society along with an analysis of reporting on global warming by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a report on which was issued in 1992. Accounts of the results of that survey differ in their interpretation and even in the basic statistical percentages:
    Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting states that the report said that 67% of the scientists said that human-induced global warming was occurring, with 11% disagreeing and the rest undecided.[36]
    George Will reported “53 percent do not believe warming has occurred, and another 30 percent are uncertain.” (Washington Post, September 3, 1992). In a correction Gallup stated: “Most scientists involved in research in this area believe that human-induced global warming is occurring now.”[37]
    Stewart, T. R.,[38] Mumpower, J. L., and Reagan-Cirincione, P. (1992). Scientists’ opinions about global climate change: Summary of the results of a survey. NAEP (National Association of Environmental Professionals) Newsletter, 17(2), 6-7.
    In 1991, the Center for Science, Technology, and Media conducted a survey of 118 scientists regarding views on the climate change.[39] Analysis by the authors of the respondents projections of warming and agreement with statements about warming resulted in them categorizing response in 3 “clusters”: 13 (15%) expressing skepticism of the 1990 IPCC estimate, 39 (44%) expressing uncertainty with the IPCC estimate, and 37 (42%) agreeing with the IPCC estimate.
    Global Environmental Change Report, 1990: GECR climate survey shows strong agreement on action, less so on warming. Global Environmental Change Report 2, No. 9, pp. 1–3

    ferences
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    Verheggen, Bart; Strengers, Bart; Cook, John; van Dorland, Rob; Vringer, Kees; Peters, Jeroen; Visser, Hans; Meyer, Leo (19 August 2014). “Scientists’ Views about Attribution of Global Warming”. Environmental Science & Technology. American Chemical Society. 48 (16): 8963–8971. doi:10.1021/es501998e.
    Powell, James Lawrence (June 12, 2014). Four Revolutions in the Earth Sciences: From Heresy to Truth. Columbia University Press. p. 367. ISBN 0231164483.
    Powell, James Lawrence (November 15, 2012), “The State of Climate Science: A Thorough Review of the Scientific Literature on Global Warming”, Science Progress, retrieved September 21, 2016
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    Plait, P. (11 December 2012). “Why Climate Change Denial Is Just Hot Air”. Slate. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
    Sheppard, Kate (1 December 2012). “CHART: Only 0.17 Percent of Peer-Reviewed Papers Question Global Warming”. Mother Jones. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
    Plait, P. (14 January 2014). “The Very, Very Thin Wedge of Denial”. Slate. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
    Gertz, Emily (10 January 2014). “Infographic: Scientists Who Doubt Human-Caused Climate Change”. Popular Science. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
    The study in question was: Avakyan, S. V. (2013). “The role of solar activity in global warming”. Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 83 (3): 275. doi:10.1134/S1019331613030015.
    a b c Cook, John; Dana Nuccitelli; Sarah A Green; Mark Richardson; Bärbel Winkler; Rob Painting; Robert Way; Peter Jacobs; Andrew Skuce (May 2013). “Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature” (PDF). Environmental Research Letters. IOP Publishing. 8 (2). Bibcode:2013ERL…..8b4024C. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024.
    Oreskes, Naomi (2007). “The scientific consensus on climate change: how do we know we’re not wrong?”. Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (PDF). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 72. Retrieved 9 August 2013. [Scientists] generally focus their discussions on questions that are still disputed or unanswered rather than on matters about which everyone agrees
    Climate Consensus and ‘Misinformation’: A Rejoinder to Agnotology, Scientific Consensus, and the Teaching and Learning of Climate Change, Science & Education 2015, Volume 24, Issue 3, pp 299-318.
    The Myth of the Climate Change ‘97%’, By Joseph Bast And Roy Spencer. Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2014
    The Climate Wars’ Damage to Science by Matt Ridley, Quadrant magazine, June 19th 2015. Ridley credits Joanne Nova for this summary of Tol’s views.
    The Cook et al. (2013) 97% consensus result is robust, reply posted at Skeptical Science, last updated 5 May 2014
    Learning from mistakes in climate research
    a b c d Lefsrud, L. M.; Meyer, R. E. (2012). “Science or Science Fiction? Professionals’ Discursive Construction of Climate Change”. Organization Studies. 33 (11): 1477. doi:10.1177/0170840612463317.
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    a b Doran, Peter T.; Maggie Kendall Zimmerman (January 20, 2009). “Examining the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change” (PDF). EOS. 90 (3): 22–23. Bibcode:2009EOSTr..90…22D. doi:10.1029/2009EO030002.
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    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    leafnose wrote:

    after sorting out Aaron Donald’s absence at length, like 15 minutes, and some notes that at least Tavon Austin is showing even with the cast, DeMarco hesitates on celebrating Kupp. He doesn’t want to jinx it.

    Kupp just seems to have it. They toss his work around as being a very nice compliment, and the key to these sessions to being able to build chemistry.

    Knock around Woods and how they perceive they work the ball to him.

    Look at RT. Certainly the move to put Jamon Brown in there with first team is notification that your not making your bones, GRob.

    DeMarco note Tank Younger and his wisdom, especially as he grows older. Tank told him that the nfl is littered with athletes, remarkable ones. Doesn’t mean you’ll be a great player.

    They are struggling like I am with Hav inside, and not having Aaron Donald to give him hell sort of doesn’t give him the benefit of working inside.

    The OL will be different. The center, lg, and lt are all long time vets. How they sort the right side of the line is the issue. Again, not sure of what the future is with rg, and rt.

    Touch on the number of balls that are not hitting the ground. This group is not letting the ball kiss the grass; a distinct difference from last year. And they can’t help it again, but mention……Cooper Kupp in passing.

    Joyner making hay at safety in DeMarco’s view.

    Ogletree spending a lot of time at the facility.

    the problem with podcasts, for me, is the amount of time wheedling around to saying something. Thankfully it’s easy to hit fast forward.

    in reply to: Carbon-sucking machines #69670
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    So the response to climate change is to profit off of it.

    Reminds me of this thing I read where it turns out that because of the american diet 50% of those born after 2000 will get diabetes II.

    The american industrial response?

    Not change the diet.

    Work on profitable pharmaceutical responses to diabetes II.

    in reply to: Robert Woods 2013 NFL Draft #69666
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    his report makes Woods look like a number one WR.

    I know what you mean and how you’re using the term “number one.” I think you mean he has the physical specs to do it.

    As I keep saying…to me a #1 WR is any guy who gets 70 catches and 1000 yards. Doesn’t matter what the skills are or the strengths are. If he does it he does it. It’s a production measure. To me people mix up elite and #1. Most elite WRs are #1s, but not all #1s are elite.

    Can I think Woods can be that? Yes. Does he have the physical specs too? IMO yes.

    .

    in reply to: Putin on Syria #69663
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    What die Putin say exactly that was wrong? What did he say that was not factual?

    w
    v

    He didn’t say he was backing an anti-democratic regime in the interests of Russian sphere of influence power and nothing else. He doesn’t want Syria to become Libya. The USA didn’t want South Vietnam to become North Vietnam. No difference.

    All the rest is bs and rhetoric.

    There is no good gain from acting like an ex-KGB autocrat like Putin is actually a thoughtful statesman.

    We’re critical of americans for doing less. Why would we act like Putin of all people is something he’s not.

    Some euro-leftists defend Putin. It made me lose respect for them. It’s like they lost their ability to think and analyze.

    in reply to: Putin on Syria #69656
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Next…Stalin on Estonia.

    Hussein on Kuwait.

    Nixon on Vietnam.

    in reply to: 17 spy organizations… #69655
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    That’s a very thin “Russia refutation.” I don’t know why you’re invested in wishing that issue away. Seems quixotic.

    in reply to: 15 Mythical Creatures That May Actually Exist #69654
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    but it was on the Science Channel that the Minotaur may have existed in Ancient Greece.

    That was the history channel. The same channel that talks about ancient aliens building the pyramids. It’s all fake Jack. Just made up stuff for ratings.

    in reply to: off-season grades, projections, & power rankings #69649
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    Off-season report card: Los Angeles Rams

    By Chris Burke

    https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/06/02/los-angeles-rams-offseason-grades-free-agency-nfl-draft

    2016: 4–12, third in NFC West

    Significant additions: Head coach Sean McVay, DE Connor Barwin, RB Lance Dunbar, QB Aaron Murray, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, C John Sullivan, DT Tyrunn Walker, CB Kayvon Webster, OT Andrew Whitworth, WR Robert Woods, TE Gerald Everett (R2), WR Cooper Kupp (R3), S John Johnson (R3), WR Josh Reynolds (R4)

    Significant losses: C Tim Barnes, WR Kenny Britt, S T.J. McDonald, DE Eugene Sims

    The best news about Jared Goff’s rookie year is that it’s over. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft looked lost and overwhelmed during his seven starts last season, games in which the Rams finished 0–7 with a combined scoreline of 221–85. Los Angeles finished the season with the league’s worst offense, both by points and yardage.

    The Rams earnestly began their attempt to solve their production woes (and to reverse course on Goff’s trajectory) by hiring new coach Sean McVay, a 31-year-old wunderkind who helped Kirk Cousins play his way into back-to-back franchise tags. In free agency, Rams GM Les Snead revamped his offensive line with the signings of center John Sullivan and outstanding veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth. And then he attempted to find Goff some help via the skill positions by signing free agent Robert Woods and drafting rookies Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds and move TE Gerald Everett.

    “I don’t think you can ever have enough playmakers,” McVay said during a press conference following Day 2 of the draft. “And if those guys merit it by the way that they compete in practice, then those guys will be on the field, as well.”

    Without question, there are more options for Goff this season. Will they be effective options, though?

    Lacking, for the moment, is a clear-cut No. 1 receiver—perennial source of frustration Tavon Austin doesn’t fit that bill, nor does Woods, who served as Sammy Watkins’s sidekick in Buffalo and is cut from a complementary-WR cloth. Kupp was the go-to guy on his Eastern Washington offense, but he doesn’t necessarily have the physical or athletic traits to project as an NFL lead dog. The likeliest candidate is Reynolds, a lanky 6′ 3″ wide receiver capable of making big plays downfield—at the very least, he could step in as Goff’s preferred target in the red zone. Last year’s team leader in touchdowns (as well as receptions and yards), Kenny Britt, signed a free-agent deal with Cleveland.

    How rapidly any development occurs from the newcomers will go a long way in dictating Goff’s chances this season. In reality, though, the recent additions on offense are as much about the future as they are about the ’17 season. L.A. drafted a combination of three tight ends and receivers in 2016 (WRs Pharoh Cooper and Mike Thomas, TE Tyler Higbee), then matched that number last month.

    The benefit, in theory, is that all of these fresh faces can mature together, headed by Goff. Woods, Austin, Whitworth and Sullivan all have been around the block enough times that they should be able to offer some guidance.

    But growing pains are inevitable.

    For one, McVay still has to decipher exactly how mesh Goff’s skill set with RB Todd Gurley’s game. The former comes from a West Coast-scheme, shotgun-heavy background; the latter is better suited to attack in downhill fashion, with his QB under center.

    McVay put both concepts to work in Washington, and he figures to do so again. The additions of Whitworth and Sullivan up front should help the Rams across the board up front, while the overstocked roster of receivers and tight ends will allow McVay to spread the field when he so chooses.

    Again, though, this is going to be a steep uphill climb for a bit, which will shift a great deal of pressure onto the Rams’ defense. Helping the cause there is new coordinator Wade Phillips, who brings decades of experience to supplement McVay’s youthful energy. In tune with the transition from their base 4–3 defense to Phillips’s more flexible, 3–4 plan, the Rams picked up Barwin to add a little pop off the edge. They also added D-line depth in Smart and Walker.

    The defense kept the Rams in several games last season, only to crumple down the stretch under the weight of the offense’s issues. McVay’s presence, another off-season’s worth of development for Goff and the free-agent/draft additions to the Los Angeles attack should help a bit in 2017.

    But expecting too much, too soon would be a mistake. Repairing Goff will be a substantial challenge for McVay, and Goff can be only as good as the unproven talent around him.

    Grade: B+

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    Legends Interview with Torry Holt & Orlando Pace

    Relive the Bob and Weave celebration with former Rams wide receiver Torry Holt and Hall of Famer Orlando Pace.

    http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Legends-Interview-with-Torry-Holt–Orlando-Pace/ec4366b8-3ace-48e7-9514-2fba845672e4

    ===

    Legends Interview with Jackie Slater & Jim Everett

    Rams reporter Dani Klupenger reminisces with Rams legends QB Jim Everett and Hall of Famer Jackie Slater.

    http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Legends_Interview_with_Jackie_Slater_Jim_Everett/206bd3ad-c66f-4311-91c8-425a7f0a3809

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    Rams Legends Reunion Highlights

    Go behind-the-scenes for our Rams Legends Reunion where former players gathered to mentor current Rams, tour the facility and more.

    http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Rams-Legends-Reunion-Highlights/efcb4f38-7ae0-42d0-b623-eeb981e3db35

    in reply to: "they also rape Orangutans" #69641
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    Alright…your sentence has been handed down, wv.

    For every 2 uber-depressing posts, you have to post one optimistic and/or “interesting knowledge!” post.

    If that sounds harsh, well, you reap what you sow.

    in reply to: Paris Climate Change Accord #69635
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    Here’s how much Exxon paid Republicans who urged Trump to ditch Paris climate deal

    link: http://resistancereport.com/politics/exxon-paid-republicans-paris/

    22 Republicans were behind the push to get President Trump to leave the Paris climate agreement. Those senators are also favorites of polluters.

    A letter sent to the White House last week — signed by 22 of the most conservative Republicans in the U.S. Senate — rejected the overwhelming global scientific consensus behind climate change in favor of short-term economic growth. Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) led the coalition of Republicans who co-signed the letter, which calls on Trump to exit the climate accords so he can successfully repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. ExxonMobil was one of the chief opponents of the Clean Power Plan, with then-CEO Rex Tillerson (who is now Trump’s Secretary of State) blasting the proposal in a 2015 speech.

    “A key risk to fulfilling this objective is remaining in the Paris Agreement. Because of existing provisions within the Clean Air Act and others embedded in the Paris Agreement, remaining in it would subject the United States to significant litigation risk that could upend your administration’s ability to fulfill its goal of rescinding the Clean Power Plan,” the letter reads. “Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to make a clean break from the Paris Agreement.”

    Inhofe, who has served in the Senate since 1994, has received $1.8 million from the oil and gas industry throughout his career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making the industry his top donor by more than $1 million. Here’s how much all of the letter’s co-signers received from the industry throughout their senate careers, ranging from $184,250 for Senator David Perdue (R-Georgia) to more than $3 million for John Cornyn (R-Texas).

    (It should be noted that Luther Strange, the junior senator from Alabama, has only been in his position since January of 2017, as he was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he was confirmed as Attorney General, and no donor data is immediately available for him as of this writing.)

    Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming): $728,766

    Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri): $1,143,574

    Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas): $281,352

    Senator Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi): $462,890

    Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas): $3,031,956

    Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho): $440,937

    Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas): $2,484,520

    Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming): $513,733

    Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah): $772,179

    Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah): $281,620

    Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky): $1,975,245

    Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky): $286,465

    Senator David Perdue (R-Georgia): $184,250

    Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho): $209,900

    Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas): $817,150

    Senator Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota): $204,900

    Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina): $523,276

    Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama): $532,846

    Senator Luther Strange (R-Alabama): (NO DATA AVAILABLE)

    Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina): $263,400

    Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi): $686,876

    in reply to: How Kromer uses OGs #69634
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    SYNOPSIS

    the new coaching staff of Marc Trestman and Kromer…believe in building an offensive line from the inside out.

    If you want to know about the new Kromer OL this is one of the best threads you could read. Read as much of all of it as you can.

    Now on how AK uses guards—I pulled up a lot of articles on that from Chicago. There just happened to be a lot of “Kromer’s guards” articles about that (I didn’t even look at them all and just sampled them for this thread).

    Why so many Chicago articles?

    Because the Chicago football community wanted to know why Kromer was putting Kyle Long at guard, not tackle. According to conventional wisdom, that seemed to mean that Kromer put less value on Long. So a bunch of articles got written about how with Kromer, guard is actually more important than tackle.

    Which brings us to the Rams.

    Kyle Long is 6.6, 313.

    Rob the Hav is 6.7, 321.

    So physically anyway, Hav is Kromer’s perfect guard in the Kyle Long mold.

    .

    in reply to: How a psychopath is made #69633
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    This is just typical pinko, bleeding heart, soft-on-crime libtard-speak from you snowflakes.

    Nittany…it’s okay with us that you suffered neglect. It’s cool. No shame. We understand.

    .

    in reply to: How Kromer uses OGs #69626
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    SYNOPSIS

    the new coaching staff of Marc Trestman and Kromer…believe in building an offensive line from the inside out.

    n New Orleans, where the Saints play a level of offense only dreamed about in Chicago, guards are more important than tackles. And the Bears are adopting the Saints’ philosophy.

    Conventional wisdom no longer applies on the Bears offensive line

    “We feel protection starts from the inside out,” said offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer, who came to the Bears in the offseason from the Saints, for whom he was the offensive line coach. “With the Saints we really felt we needed to keep the interior part of the defensive line at the line of scrimmage in protection, so we put a big emphasis on our guard position to do that. We feel that same way here.”

    In the passing scheme being installed by coach Marc Trestman and Kromer, the Bears rather would risk pressure from an outside rush than an inside rush. An argument can be made that interior rushes have become considerably more effective in recent years as coordinators have schemed more inside blitzes. And it is easier to help tackles than guards.

    “If they can get in the face of your quarterback, it’s a problem in the throwing game,” Kromer said. “So we try to keep them on the line of scrimmage (with interior blockers) and control our edges and help our tackles with formation, tight end presence and back presence.”

    An athletic guard who can move his feet is all well and good, but what Trestman and Kromer really are looking for is powerhouses who could win an airplane pull. It’s about being stronger than the player across the line and the ability to set the pocket.

    in an offense like what Sean Payton uses or Trestman’s West Coast scheme, guards help establish the pocket for the quarterback and second, in the run game, it uses a lot of athletic, fast, pulling guards to get outside and downfield to block defenders.

    The Bears are getting a great coach in Aaron Kromer,” said Saints center Brian de la Puente. “He’s great in coaching different techniques, working with everybody on an individual level and working to their strengths. The Bears are lucky to have him. I know we’re sad to see him leave.”

    In Kromer’s four seasons tutoring the offensive line, New Orleans sent five linemen to a combined nine Pro Bowls and tied for the fewest sacks allowed in the NFL with 96. The all-stars included tackles Jermon Bushrod (2012) and Jon Stinchcomb (2010), guards Jahri Evans (2010-13) and Carl Nicks (2011-12) and center Jonathan Goodwin (2010).

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    Eric Dickerson, Jackie Slater attend Rams Legends event in a show of team unity across eras

    By Gary Klein

    http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-legends-reunion-20170601-story.html

    It’s been nearly 70 years since Jim Hardy played quarterback for the Rams.

    But at 94, Hardy still apparently maintains his skills.

    “Even to this late date, I’ll get out in the neighborhood and punt and pass with the local kids,” Hardy said Thursday during a Rams Legends reunion event in Thousand Oaks. ”I can still throw a tight spiral and turn my punts around.

    “I just don’t want to get hit anymore.”

    Hardy, a USC star before playing for the Rams from 1946 to 1948, was among about 50 former Rams players from the Los Angeles and St. Louis eras who met current players and coaches and sat in on meetings.

    Pro Football Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson, Jackie Slater, Orlando Pace and Tom Mack were among the attendees.

    Dickerson was at the center of controversy last season when he became embroiled in a conflict with former coach Jeff Fisher. The dust-up sprung from his criticism of the team and his request for extra sideline passes to a game.

    New coach Sean McVay has said that he welcomed Dickerson and former Rams players.

    Rams offensive lineman Greg Robinson staying positive while competing for a starting job
    The three-day Legends event is an attempt to “bridge the gap” between generations, to allow former players to interact with current players and coaches and reconnect with teammates they might not have seen for years, said Kyle Eversgerd, the Rams’ director of external football affairs.

    “When you have a guy that played in the 70s standing next to a guy that played in the 2000s, it’s just a really unique way to build the NFL brotherhood, as we call it, specifically the Rams brotherhood,” Eversgerd said.

    Torry Holt earned Pro Bowl recognition seven times during his 10 seasons as a Rams receiver. He said he enjoyed speaking with Rams receivers such as rookie Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.

    “I’m a Ram forever,” said Holt, a 1999 first-round pick who won a Super Bowl title as a rookie.“Whether we’re in St. Louis, whether we’re here, whether we’re in Cleveland. Hell, if we’re on the moon.

    “I’m a Ram, so it feels good to get back home.”

    Slater, an offensive tackle who played for the Rams from 1976 to 1995, said bringing together players from the Los Angeles and St. Louis eras “gives you kind of a harmonious feeling and what it means to have played with this organization.”

    During an offensive line meeting, Slater said the former linemen “all stood up and gave our two cents on what we thought was important.”

    Nolan Cromwell, a safety who played for the Rams from 1977 to 1987, was encouraged by the “We Not Me” slogan that McVay has adopted.

    “When I played with guys, we were all talking, it was all we played for each other, we played together,” Cromwell said. “And I think the thing has really swung to a ‘Hey, look at me’ concept in today’s game, and I hope this message gets across to the team and he’s able to preach and they go with it.”

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    Rams legends return to the franchise they helped build

    http://www.vcstar.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2017/06/01/rams-legends-return-franchise-they-helped-build/363973001/

    A group of 50 former Rams greats, ranging from Jim Hardy, the oldest living Ram, to possible NFL Hall of Famer receiver Torry Holt, descended on the Rams practice facility at Cal Lutheran on Thursday as part of the Rams Legends Reunion.

    The ex-Rams spent the day at the facility, talking with the team’s current players and coaches, observing OTA drills and sitting in on position group meetings.

    “I’ve been sitting in the meetings over there with the offensive line coach (Aaron Cromer), listening to him coach these guys,” said Jackie Slater, the team’s left tackle from 1976 through 1995. “He’s a smart coach. It’s been fun meeting the guys. It’s cool.”

    At 6-foot-4 and roughly 275 pounds, Slater was considered a large left tackle during his playing days, but things have changed a lot since he retired.

    “Those guys in that room are a whole lot bigger and more powerfully built than we were,” Slater said. “It’s just different.

    “But when you sit in a meeting room with an offensive line coach whose covering detail, that’s when the similarities start rearing their head. On the offensive line in particular, there is so much detail to how you move your body around and how you use your strength.”

    Hall of Fame guard Tom Mack, who anchored the offensive line from 1966 through 1978, visited the team’s facility last season when Jeff Fisher was the head coach. Mack said the biggest change he’s noticed is the way the coaches are instructing the players under new head coach Sean McVay.

    “The focus on technique is biggest change I have seen,” Mack said. “A year ago they were focused on what their assignment was, not how to do their assignment. The biggest failing they had a year ago, in particular, was pass blocking. Most of the guys could not execute and complete pass blocking.”

    Dennis Harrah, Mack’s former teammate on the offensive line, said one of the greatest moments of his life was having his two sons with him when he was given the honor of lighting the torch before the start of a game at the Coliseum last season.

    Harrah, who played with the Rams from 1975 though 1987, believes McVay and his staff have the team moving in the right direction.

    “It’s hard to tell you how much I appreciate today and them bringing us back and letting us be part of it,” Harrah said. “Listen to him (McVay) talk. The offensive line coach was talking about how he knows the offensive line play so well so you don’t want to make a mistake because he’ll catch it.

    “Most head coaches they are not in tune with offensive line. It gives me chill bumps thinking about it. I have a real positive feeling about what he’s doing. His excitement, his knowledge, it’s all a 10 in my book.”

    Holt spent his entire career playing for the St. Louis Rams. Holt admitted he had some issues with the move back to Los Angeles, but was glad to be invited to the reunion.

    “I am a Ram forever,” said Holt, who played with the team from 1999 through 2008. “Whether we are in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cleveland, it feels good to get back home to a place where I am comfortable.

    “When I was walked in the building this morning I thought about what would it have been like to be an L.A. Ram. I talk to Eric Dickerson all the time and he tells me great stories about what that was like playing in L.A. If the move was going to happen, it feels good it happened coming back to Los Angeles. We have a tremendous fan base out here.”

    Holt spent time with the team’s receivers and coaches on the field and in the meeting room.

    “Saw some attention to detail, pretty good understanding of what they need to do on the offensive side of the football,” Holt said. “I thought (quarterback) Jared Goff threw the ball really well. There are still some timing and quickening up things that come along with playing and getting experience.”

    Other legends like Nolan Cromwell and Vince Ferragamo echoed Holt’s thoughts.

    “I am very excited to see what Coach McVay is putting together,” Cromwell said. “The ‘We Not Me’ is a great slogan. When I played with guys, we all played for each other.”

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    That was great. All of it.

    .

    in reply to: How Kromer uses OGs #69610
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    Saints linemen: Bears lucky to have Aaron Kromer

    Feb 7, 2013

    http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Saints-linemen-Bears-lucky-to-have-Aaron-Kromer/1bcdbd5b-3a3d-4189-94b5-f2babae8956b

    Saints offensive linemen who were coached by Aaron Kromer are convinced that their counterparts in Chicago will love playing for the new Bears offensive coordinator/offensive line coach.

    “The Bears are getting a great coach in Aaron Kromer,” said Saints center Brian de la Puente. “He’s great in coaching different techniques, working with everybody on an individual level and working to their strengths. The Bears are lucky to have him. I know we’re sad to see him leave.”

    Aaron Kromer chats with Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief on the New Orleans sideline. Marc Trestman hired Kromer Jan. 16, less than 24 hours after being named Bears head coach. An NFL assistant since 2001, Kromer spent the past five seasons with the Saints, coaching running backs in 2008 before working with the offensive line/running game from 2009-12.

    “First and foremost the Bears are getting a coach who really understands offensive football and will bring a lot of knowledge and experience,” said Saints tackle Zach Strief. “I also think they’re getting a guy who relates incredibly well to his players and can get them to do things other coaches can’t because of the respect level he will garner.”

    In Kromer’s four seasons tutoring the offensive line, New Orleans sent five linemen to a combined nine Pro Bowls and tied for the fewest sacks allowed in the NFL with 96. The all-stars included tackles Jermon Bushrod (2012) and Jon Stinchcomb (2010), guards Jahri Evans (2010-13) and Carl Nicks (2011-12) and center Jonathan Goodwin (2010).

    “[Kromer’s] greatest strength is that he’s very versatile and receptive to the players, and you want to play for a guy like that,” De la Puente said. “Working alongside someone who is willing to help and put the work in is something you look for in a coach. As a player, you get lucky when you come across a coach like that. I’m very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to play for him and selfishly sad to see him leave.”

    This season the Saints ranked second in the NFL in total yards with 410.9 per game and third in scoring with 28.8 points. They also permitted only 26 sacks, tied for the third fewest in the league.

    In 2011, the Saints set NFL records with 7,474 total yards (467.1 per game) and 5,347 passing yards (334.2) while ranking second in scoring (34.2 points) and tied for second with 24 sacks.

    Strief feels that Kromer’s greatest strength as a coach is the way he relates to his players.

    “What guys will notice quickly is that he’s a guy that gives professionals a lot of respect,” Strief said. “The way that he relates with his players and communicates with them is unlike anybody I’ve been around. He will bring a family atmosphere to that room that will cultivate the types of relationships that you need on an offensive line.”

    De La Puente entered the NFL in 2008 as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers. After getting cut by San Francisco, he spent portions of his first three seasons with the Chiefs, Seahawks and Panthers before re-signing with the 49ers-all without ever appearing in a regular-season game.

    After De La Puente joined the Saints in 2011, however, Kromer helped groom him into a starter. De La Puente has started 28 of 32 games played the last two years, including all 16 in 2012 when he was ranked New Orleans’ top offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus.

    “[Kromer] was very important in my success the last couple of years,” De La Puente said. “Him believing in me and giving me the chance to play was huge in my career. I’m very thankful to coach Kromer for that opportunity. His ability to develop speaks volumes about his coaching.”

    in reply to: How Kromer uses OGs #69609
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    .
    MORE ON KROMER

    ***

    from (link): http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/OL-coach-Aaron-Kromer-All-5-spots-open-to-competition/6e2b7f94-15f8-4705-8b87-d50ff27adcaa

    Apr 14, 2015

    Kromer has had all of a week with his linemen in the offensive line room as the second week of Buffalo’s offseason conditioning program just got underway Monday. Work on the field however, is still a couple of weeks away. So for now Kromer’s focus with his players is to instill the base blocking concepts and how they pertain to offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s system.

    “The most important thing is understanding the fundamentals that we’re going to employ and just applying them to the scheme right now,” said Kromer. “They can’t go out and do it yet, so they just have to have in their mind the reasons why things are happening in these plays and where they fit in. With the basic fundamentals and the basic schemes, then carry it over to the overall schemes that we’re trying to put together. Guys can feel better about a new scheme or a new offense if they do that.”

    By the time training camp rolls around, Kromer along with Roman hopes a starting offensive line will be taking shape.

    “You try to find a starting O-line, which is a long way down the road, and then you try to find guys who can fit into multiple spots because when you only dress seven in a game they have to be multiple and play both guards or guard and tackle on one side,” Kromer said. “However it fits with the personnel we have at the end that’s how you have to use them.”

    in reply to: Paris Climate Change Accord #69607
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    Yes-what I meant is that when it comes to this particular issue the Republicans will always default to economics.

    This is a good n important thread to start W, thanks for the contribution.

    I wonder if diehard dogmatic republicans can be explained by genetics.

    in reply to: Brown pushing Robinson to be starting ROT? #69605
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    I’d still prefer GRob at LG, and Havenstein at RT. Brown, Weichman and Eldercamp(sp.) can battle it out for RG. Rhanwy could be the back up Center, and Saffold and Donnel could battle to for the backup Tackle spot.

    Kromer knows what he is doing, as he has proven time in and time out. And Hav is set at LG. Hav is ahead of every single guy you name there.

    So maybe this is one of those rare cases where the coaches know more than we do.

    I will say this.

    1. Kromer does not use guards in ways we’re used to. “Conventional wisdom” on this won’t work. He actually puts more emphasis on guard play than on tackle play. And…he knows what he wants and knows it when he sees it.

    2. He has been very very good at it. Under Kromer in Buffalo Incognito had the best seasons of his career. In New Orleans before that, he produced 2 top guards out of lower round picks: Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans.

    Trust The Kromer.

    .

    in reply to: Wade Phillips & the 2017 Rams defense #69601
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    Rams’ defense comes into focus
    Ogletree shows leadership during offseason workouts at Cal Lutheran

    http://www.theacorn.com/news/2017-06-01/Sports/Rams_defense_comes_into_focus.html

    The Los Angeles Rams’ offense hogs all the attention.

    That’s fine with the defense.

    “We aren’t here to get attention,” linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “We are here to play ball and do what we need to do to win games. As long as we keep doing that, I feel like we will be all right.”

    The microscope is on secondyear quarterback Jared Goff’s progression, Sean McVay’s ascension as the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era, and free agent signee and wide receiver Robert Woods, who played at nearby Serra High and USC.

    What about the defense?

    The defense gets none of the glory, but the unit has plenty of guts. The defense was largely responsible for the team’s first win of the 2016 season, a 9-3 slugfest against the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum.

    Winning is something the Rams did not do often last fall. Despite boasting the No. 9 defense in the entire league, L.A. finished with a 4-12 record. The Rams’ offense (14 points per game) ranked dead last in points scored in 2016, but the defense refuses to point fingers or make excuses for mediocrity.

    The Rams count on Ogletree.

    He’s been an active participant during offseason organized team activities at Cal Lutheran the past two weeks. Since joining the Rams in 2013, he’s been one of the most consistent players in the organization. He’s recorded more than 100 tackles in three of his first four seasons; an ankle injury limited Ogletree to four games in 2015.

    Ogletree has proved he’s one of the best linebackers in the NFL. His combination of size and speed allows him to patrol the field like a ravenous wolverine.

    This offseason has been hectic for Los Angeles. They revamped the coaching staff, and McVay hired Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator.

    Phillips, who started coaching in the NFL as an assistant in 1976 with the Houston Oilers, was defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos last season. Denver boasted the fourth-best total defense in the league.

    For the past three years, the Rams ran a 4-3 defense under former coordinator Gregg Williams. The Rams are learning the nuances of Phillips’ 3-4 scheme during OTAs.

    The learning curve has been relatively smooth for Ogletree and his teammates.

    “It’s basically just learning the terminology of it,” Ogletree said. “Other than that, it’s pretty simple.”

    Despite the formation change, Ogletree’s duties haven’t changed much.

    “It’s pretty much the same,” the linebacker said.

    The Rams’ defense is expected to carry a heavy load this season.

    Phillips believes in his defense.

    “I really like the group,” Phillips said. “I think we’ve got a lot of good players. Again, we’ve got to utilize their talent, but I think we have enough talent to do some really good things.”

    Ogletree and fellow inside linebacker Mark Barron anchor the middle of the defense.

    The Rams signed outside linebacker Connor Barwin, a ninth-year veteran, to shore up the pass rush. Barwin is expected to help Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald, two of the league’s best defensive linemen, harass quarterbacks.

    No matter how well the defense performs, the offense needs to have a pulse.

    Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, who is new to the staff, said he likes what he’s seeing from his starting quarterback. Goff had a rocky rookie campaign in 2016.

    “Goff ’s been awesome,” LaFleur said. “He wants to be great, and he’s doing everything that we’ve asked him to do and then some. He’s working hard every day. I think he’s getting better every day, and he’s done a great job.”

    The building blocks are moving into place. No matter how the team looks in the fall, the defense will be ready to play.

    L.A. Rams’ defensive stars

    • Alec Ogletree, linebacker: 136 tackles, two INTs

    • Aaron Donald, defensive tackle: eight sacks, two forced fumbles, 47 tackles

    • Mark Barron, linebacker: 118 tackles, two INTs, one sack

    • Robert Quinn, defensive end: four sacks, two forced fumbles

    in reply to: Paris Climate Change Accord #69599
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    France, Germany, Italy say Paris climate accord can’t be renegotiated

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/06/01/france-germany-italy-say-paris-climate-accord-can-renegotiated/0lH3rowhqv7TtQynlx7S1J/story.html

    The leaders of France, Germany and Italy say the Paris climate accord cannot be renegotiated as President Donald Trump has demanded.

    French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said in a joint statement Thursday that they take note ‘‘with regret’’ the U.S. decision to pull out of the 2015 agreement.

    The three leaders say they regard the accord as ‘‘a cornerstone in the cooperation between our countries, for effectively and timely tackling climate change.’’

    They added that the course charted by the accord is ‘‘irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated.’’

    The White House said Trump spoke with the leaders of Germany, France, Canada and Britain Thursday to explain his decision.

    The president thanked the leaders for holding ‘‘frank, substantive discussions’’ with him on the issue. He reassured them that the U.S. is committed to the trans-Atlantic alliance and ‘‘robust efforts to protect the environment,’’ according to the White House readout of the call.

    Trump also vowed that the U.S. will be ‘‘the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth’’ going forward.

    The president met with all four leaders last week at the NATO and Group of 7 summits in Europe.

    Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement ‘‘a major disappointment.’’ He says through a spokesman it’s ‘‘crucial that the United States remains a leader on environmental issues.’’

    Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday the U.N. chief believes the transformation envisioned in the accord is already underway.

    Dujarric says the secretary-general is confident that cities, states and businesses around the world ‘‘will continue to demonstrate vision and leadership by working for the low-carbon, resilient economic growth that will create quality jobs and markets for 21st century prosperity.’’

    He said the secretary-general ‘‘looks forward to engaging with the American government and all actors in the United States and around the world to build the sustainable future on which our grandchildren depend.’’

    in reply to: Paris Climate Change Accord #69598
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Well we knew this was coming. When it comes to big business and economics vs the survival of this planet the former will always prevail. It’s always about the economics-even when its based on faulty analysis.

    I know what you mean W but actually, it doesn’t always prevail. There’s only one nation threatening to withdraw (plus a few others who were never part of it). The rest stand united. Let’s not try to construe our uniquely american ignorance as the universal human condition.

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