It was only mentioned in passing on ESPN and other sports networks, but Justin Smith, the defensive tackle for the 49'ers retired last week. A shame that his career wasn't properly praised by all those talking heads.
A terrific player and by all accounts a great teammate. Did so many things well, including the little things that don't show up in stats or highlight clips.
Smith for a good part of his career played his position better than 95% of the starting players in the NFL played their respective positions. He had a Hall of Fame-type career, but because he was a grinder and not a flashy player, his excellence was routinely overlooked by the media.
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 12122 Location: It was fun while it lasted. Country:
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:43 am Post subject:
Ken Stabler dead at 69
Longtime Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler died Thursday in Gulfport, Miss., according to WPMI. He was 69 years old.
His death was confirmed by Fox WBRC, via a University of Alabama spokesman, and through a statement from Stabler's family that said he died of colon cancer.
"He passed peacefully surrounded by the people he loved most, including his three daughters and longtime partner, as some of his favorite songs played in the background, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' and Van Morrison's 'Leaves Falling Down.'"
A native of Foley, Ala., Stabler played collegiately under legendary head coach Paul �gBear�h Bryant at the University of Alabama. He led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated season in 1966 was an All-American in 1967.
After his time at Alabama ended, the Raiders selected Stabler in the second round of the 1968 draft. He played in Oakland for 10 seasons and led the team to a Super Bowl XI victory against the Minnesota Vikings in 1977.
During his time in Oakland, Stabler, nicknamed �gThe Snake,�h was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named the NFL�fs Most Valuable Player in 1974, when he led the league in touchdown passes with 26.
Prior to the 1980 season, Stabler was traded to the Houston Oilers, where he played for two seasons before finishing his NFL career for three seasons with the New Orleans Saints from 1982-84.
In his professional career, Stabler threw for 27,938 yards, 194 touchdowns and 88 interceptions.
After Stabler retired from the NFL, he worked as a color commentator for CBS�f NFL telecasts and also called Alabama games on the radio until 2009.
The Football Writers Association picked its 75th anniversary All-American team.
Not saying these guys are idiots, but a number of their picks and/or placement (1st team, 2nd team, 3rd team) are baffling. And without a doubt, a player's pro career influenced some of their picks--even though this was supposed to be about their collegiate careers only.
The Football Writers Association picked its 75th anniversary All-American team.
Not saying these guys are idiots, but a number of their picks and/or placement (1st team, 2nd team, 3rd team) are baffling. And without a doubt, a player's pro career influenced some of their picks--even though this was supposed to be about their collegiate careers only.
Pretty tough to single out just a few over such a long period of time... Maybe a better way would be to sort players out by decade, since the game, rules, and equipment have changed over time.
Pretty tough to single out just a few over such a long period of time... Maybe a better way would be to sort players out by decade, since the game, rules, and equipment have changed over time.
The Football Writers Association has in the past selected teams by era. They came up with this list in order to celebrate their 75th year as an organization.
News: Tom Brady's four-game suspension has been struck down by a federal judge. Nine months to get this adjudicated. And it may not be done yet--the NFL will appeal the decision. All this time, effort, and money about a little extra air in footballs. Ridiculous.
Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 11363 Location: �I�[�X�g�����A Country:
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 4:09 pm Post subject:
Have you guys been paying attention to Aussie Jarryd Hayne's attempt to get into the Niners 53? Looks like he is going to make it. Doesn't surprise me. He was a superstar in rugby league.
Have you guys been paying attention to Aussie Jarryd Hayne's attempt to get into the Niners 53? Looks like he is going to make it. Doesn't surprise me. He was a superstar in rugby league.
He made the 53-man roster. Good for him.
The rugby player I would have been interested in seeing attempt to play football would have been Jonah Lomu from New Zealand's All Blacks.
Good opening weekend for college football. Actually started on Thursday and ran through Monday night.
Some big upsets. Hawaii beating Colorado--how can a Pac 12 team be so bad? Washington St., a 31-and-a-half point favorite, losing to division 1AA Portland State--big hit to the reputation of The Pirate (Cougar head coach Mike Leach). Northwestern bullies Stanford--so much for the Cardinal being a conference favorite. Temple blugeons Penn St.--the Nittany Lions gave up 10 sacks. BYU beats Nebraska at Lincoln on the last play, a Hail Mary--this was the most entertaining game I watched all weekend.
Big dogs Ohio St., Alabama, Auburn, and TCU all won against decent teams. Michigan with Jim Harbaugh making his coaching debut at his alma mater lost to Utah at Salt Lake City. Utah is a good solid team; Harbaugh doesn't walk on water yet, contrary to what many Wolverine fans believe. Notre Dame humiliates Texas--there's a storied football program that could be in for a rough year, especially playing so many young guys.
This coming week won't have as many interesting match-ups, but that's OK since the NFL starts this week.
As the LA times mentioned, the Arizona State game was a trap game for UCLA and that's what exactly happened: The Bruins got ambushed 38-23 by the Sun Devils.
So typical of UCLA football teams.
Not surprisingly, as a result of the upset, UCLA dropped like a boat anchor in the rankings, from number 7 down to 20.
As the LA times mentioned, the Arizona State game was a trap game for UCLA and that's what exactly happened: The Bruins got ambushed 38-23 by the Sun Devils.
So typical of UCLA football teams.
Not surprisingly, as a result of the upset, UCLA dropped like a boat anchor in the rankings, from number 7 down to 20.
In the pre-season polls I think Arizona St. was ranked higher than UCLA. ASU has had a disappointing year thus far but they still are a talented football team.
UCLA has had some key injuries, but irregardless of that, it's tough to be a Top 10 team when you have a true freshman at QB, no matter how good he is. The jump in just one year from playing QB in high school to playing QB in a Power 5 conference is pretty daunting.
Heard an interesting NFL stat this morning. Last year there were a total of eight missed PATs the entire NFL season; that number was already exceeded by the end of the second week of this season (nine missed attempts); through the first four weeks there have been a total of 17 missed PATs.
In the pre-season polls I think Arizona St. was ranked higher than UCLA. ASU has had a disappointing year thus far but they still are a talented football team.
UCLA has had some key injuries, but irregardless of that, it's tough to be a Top 10 team when you have a true freshman at QB, no matter how good he is. The jump in just one year from playing QB in high school to playing QB in a Power 5 conference is pretty daunting.
I thought UCLA's play calling was horrendous... Pretty much run-run-pass, then punt.
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