All that article ends up saying is that most rookie linemen struggle. Well. You know. Duh.

Olbermann: Remember Deflategate and Ballghazi?

Published on Jul 2, 2015

As the NFL delays it’s announcement of the results from the Brady hearing, in all likelihood they will release their decision while no one is watching. Keith explains.

The root cause was states rights.

No, bnw, that’s the propaganda version that grew up after the war. Nittany just posted an entire article tracing the history of that kind of revisionism. No actual civil war historian anywhere in the world accepts that version.

The south seceded because of the threat of abolition. Each state made that entirely clear when they seceded. They weren’t shy about it. They spoke up. There’s speech after speech in the state capitals of the confederacy. There’s the official declarations of the national confederate government. Historians know this stuff.

It’s only later that the effort to bury slavery (and therefore race) as a cause showed up.

bump

This is going well. But it would be fun to hear more.

Warner

http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/STLRams/tabid/137/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/18141/Kurt-Warner-Discusses-Greatest-Show-Era-Says-Travesty-if-Rams-Leave-St-Louis.aspx

Life is funny in a lot of ways. Can you talk about how you were about to try out for the Bears when you got bit by something on your honeymoon. Can you imagine if you would’ve made the team and how different things could have been?

“It’s amazing how much perspective we gain after the fact. I think so much of my life…it’s hard to see sometimes why we’re fighting some of the battles we’re fighting. And then much later…you start to see how those moments…not just shape your career, but really shaped who I was and shaped the man I became. So when I finally did get my shot in St. Louis, I was ready to seize it. I believe there was a training process for me both on the field and off…that really helped me to be able to handle the situations I was placed in in my career. To be able to stay strong and say confident in this moments, there’s just so much to the journey. A lot of people don’t know how it started and some of the things I struggled with and where I was before that. I wasn’t always in a place of faith and a confidence of faith like I am now and that caused me to waiver a little bit early in the my career.”

On helping two different organizations (the Rams and Cardinals) get back to relevance:

“For me it’s the bigger picture, the blessing of having an opportunity to truly impact two different organizations. To be able to leave my mark much bigger than football. To instill in people this idea of character and work ethic and wanting to be excellent in everything you do. That to me that’s the stuff that’s exciting. To be able to prove that you can accomplish things no one thought you could. The coolest part is it happened twice. That it wasn’t just the first time in St. Louis. When everybody kind of said ‘OK, it’s over, it’s done,’ I got the chance…to show people again.”

Former St. Louis Cardinal QB Jim Hart recently said he envied your right arm the most of anybody:

“Honored to have Jim say that because I don’t think too many people would recognize my arm as being special. But what I always felt like I had that very few people had was great anticipation and great accuracy. I think that’s kind of what Jim was alluding to. The beautiful thing about what happened in St. Louis…was A: that system played to my strengths. The ability to anticipate and see things and throw to windows was so perfect for what I did. And then you couple that with the talent I had around me and guys that were so efficient. Isaac Bruce, I don’t think I’ve ever met a better route runner. And Marshall Faulk, who understand what I was seeing as a quarterback.

“All those things came together that really allowed me to play to my strenghths. I remember there would be times when (Mike Martz) would ask me why I threw a certain ball (because it was a tight window). I remember thinking, ‘Tight window? That was wide open.’ And you go back and watch the film and think, ‘Wow, that was a tighter window than I thought it was.’ You get into a zone where you see things so clearly and everything’s so defined…that things did seem a lot more open. They seemed like they were a lot easier.”

zn wrote:

Talk commences of a possible one-year L.A. delay

by Mike Florio

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/28/talk-commences-of-a-possible-one-year-l-a-delay/

At a time when it’s become a foregone conclusion that the NFL will return to Los Angeles in 2016, a possible caveat has emerged

The return might come in 2017.

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
LA scenario I’ve heard floated a lot is a little like this, with one big difference

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
That scenario: Rams go to LA in ’16, get head start for investing. Second Inglewood spot stays open, so Chargers/Raiders maintain leverage.

so screw STL with financing set?

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
No. If St. Louis has a solid plan in place in the fall, things get more complicated.

nittany ram wrote:

If they broke that down by position and then did a top 10 (or even top 5) list for each position you would see the names of many former Rams players. Not just Orlando Pace.

Oh yeah, no question

So, maybe to many white folks the confed-flag means “honor” or Anti-big-Government”
or “chivalry” or some such thing. It may not “mean” racism to everyone.

But it could only mean those things to people who do not know, or care about, the history. First, it’s not a confederate flag. It’s the battle flag of the army of north virginia. Second, it really came into prominence in the era of the pro-segregationist dixiecrat movement. To the degree it represents honor, it means honor fighting for the confederacy…yet, there would be no civil war without secession, and according to the confederates themselves, secession meant defending slavery and fighting off abolition. To the degree it represents anti-big government, that too is allied with the anti-civil rights viewpoint. Northern neo-liberals don’t identify with the so-called “confederate flag” (ie the battle flag of the army of north virginia made popular in the 20th century by anti-desegregation dixicrates.)

The question is, should that flag fly as an official symbol of the state government of south carolina?

In that sense, “who’s to say” is the state of south carolina, by means of a vote.

I doubt the african-american population (and much of the white population)of south carolina sees it in that capacity, as an official symbol of the state, as representing honor. They see it as both representing the old world of confederate slavery AND forgetting about the meaning of slavery. Who else can tell them it means different?

So this is one of those things that gets settled by a vote.

zn wrote:

There’s always going to be new things you’re going to learn,” Foles said. “Each play based on front and coverage — it can change.

Here;s a question answered. Do they still rely heavily on sight adjustments? Yes. Or so it would seem.

Michael Sam reportedly left the Alouettes after getting the sense that he wouldn’t make the team.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/michael-sam-left-cfl-team-fear-cut-report-article-1.2259917?utm_content=buffer55d89&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=RVacchiano Twitter

Michael Sam’s disappearing act in Montreal was due, in part, to his diminishing chances of making the Alouettes’ roster.

Sam, who signed a two-year deal with the CFL team last month, requested a leave of absence on Friday and hasn’t been back. The team suspended Sam on Monday, a calculated move that allows the Alouettes to retain his rights while he’s away from the team.

While Sam hasn’t explained his absence — the team says he’s away for personal reasons — the Montreal Gazette reports that sources think Sam fled Montreal once he got a sense that he would not make the team.

The newspaper reported that the “theory … in the Als dressing room” is that Sam wanted to spare himself and the team the awkward situation of trying to explain Sam being cut.

The team released six players on Monday, trimming its roster down to 65 players. CFL teams carry 46 players; NFL teams carry 53-man rosters.

Foles Feeling at Home with Rams

By Myles Simmons

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Foles-Feeling-at-Home-with-Rams/407faf2b-8142-42b6-b53a-67ff1700f843

Though he’s been a member of the Rams for only a short time, quarterback Nick Foles has already made enough of a positive impact to trigger talk of a contract extension.

“We’ve had some discussions,” head coach Jeff Fisher said last week. “I think what Nick has done early in his career — he’s proven he can get the job done on the field.

“He’s carried things on here and so we’re going to continue to talk and see if we can get something that’s good for both sides,” Fisher added.

While there are no guarantees a deal will be worked out, all indications are that Foles has been a great fit for St. Louis. That’s come not only from Fisher, but also offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, players like Jared Cook, and the quarterback himself.

“I felt like this was home from when I got here, and got to meet the guys, and talk to the coaches,” Foles said at OTAs last week. “That’s nothing against Philly. I had a great time in Philly and I built strong relationships. But, just how the team was when they brought me in here and how they treated me, and how my teammates have helped me grow, and the relationships that I’ve built — I want to be here.”

Foles has talked plenty about being comfortable with the team, but last week he also said that he’s feeling the same way about playing in Cignetti’s offense. Given that the Rams have completed only the offseason program, Foles said he knows more to install will come in training camp and the regular season.

“There’s always going to be new things you’re going to learn,” Foles said. “Each play based on front and coverage — it can change. So it’s just continuing to learn and continuing to grow to where it’s just second nature — where I feel extremely comfortable just seeing everything. But it’s getting there.”

With Foles coming from the Eagles, one criticism has been levied that perhaps the quarterback’s stellar 2013 season — in which he threw 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions — was a product of the offensive system. But that’s not an issue Foles has given any attention.

“People are going to say what they’re going to say. They always have throughout my entire career,” Foles said. “Each and every player deals with it. The way I do is [say], I’m just going to play. I know who I am. I know what kind of player I am and my job is to help my team win games.”

And winning is exactly what the quarterback helped the Eagles do, as he held a 14-4 QB record over the past two seasons with the club. As general manager Les Snead said at the time of the March trade, the signal-caller’s victories in a tough division was one of the factors that made him an attractive addition. Foles said last week that success sometimes gets lost when critics find fault solely based on stats.

“I think people look at numbers so much that you forget that we were at the top of the NFC East at the time,” Foles said. “We were able to come back. And I think four of those games we were down by double digits, and the team was able to rally back and win those games. I look at that as, although those stats weren’t as good, it’s about the team. It’s about rallying through.

“I’ve never been a stat guy,” Foles continued. “I care about the wins and it doesn’t matter how you do it. Of course, you don’t want to throw interceptions or do that, but if you throw a couple and you get the ‘W,’ I’d take that over throwing five touchdowns and losing.”

There’s still a lot of time to wait until Foles and the Rams start putting crooked numbers in the left-hand column. But during the summer break, aside from spending some good time with family, the quarterback said he’ll keep his nose in the playbook in order to continue growing familiar with the offense.

“We’re going to be going against our defense a little bit during camp, so [I’ll be] studying them, studying a little bit of Seattle, and getting ready for preseason,” Foles said. “Then, of course, workout and do the fundamentals, drops, throwing and all of that.”

And as for that chatter about Foles sticking with the Rams for the long haul, the quarterback headed off for the summer break with positive vibes.

“This is where I want to play,” Foles said. “As a player, you want to be somewhere and you want to play there the rest of your career. This is where I want to be, but that’s why we have agents. My most important thing right now is just to continue to work with my teammates and continue to be the best player and person I can be, so we’ll see what happens. I want to be here. I love Coach Fisher and the staff and everybody in this building, so I’m very fortunate to be here.”