费城老鹰休赛期新闻汇总贴（8L－02年猎鹰绿湾之战后的vick颂文）

破折号王子

考虑到我们即将迎来一个漫长却不乏新闻的长草期，而队中又随时有可能传出一些诸如“哎呦喂，麦克纳布被交易去公羊/红雀/味精/布朗/海鹰/49人啦”或者“大事不好，小西退役啦”之类的新闻，再加上NFL养活了一群吃白食的纱布砖家脑残记者喜欢把一些事情翻来覆去地炒啊磨啊泡啊的，所以这里把一些英文资料或者流言新闻集中汇集着这楼里，除非是比较重大的新闻，否则就不开新帖了。

另外除老鹰外，还会贴一些与老鹰无关的文章，包括NFL其他球队其他球员的专栏文章评论分析之类，反正只要顺便看到比较有意思的文章或数据资料之类就贴上来了，做一汇总，以后就不必再google了。

文章来源主要集中于ESPN、SI、YAHOO、官网以及www.philly.com，这也是本人主要的NFL信息渠道。基本上都是英文资料，就不翻译了。也欢迎大家看到一些有意思的文章或者图片贴在这里。

1L－Rodgers寄语Kolb：乃要淡定
6L－Pro bowl？Zzzzzzzzzzz。。。
7L－NFL加时规则就是坨SHI
8L－02年猎鹰绿湾之战后的vick颂文

破折号王子

Eagles Notes: Rodgers' advice to Kolb: Be patient

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - After sitting and watching for three seasons behind the franchise quarterback, he finally got a chance in his fourth year.

That could be Kevin Kolb's story next season with the Eagles.

That was Aaron Rodgers' 2008 story in Green Bay, when the legendary Brett Favre retired, unretired, and then signed with the New York Jets. Favre's departure cleared a spot for Rodgers, a first-round pick in 2005, to take control of the Packers' offense and, in just his second season as a starter, he earned a spot on this year's NFC Pro Bowl squad.

So what advice does Rodgers have for Kolb?

"You just have to be patient," Rodgers said. "I watched Kevin play and he really did a great job when he got his opportunity. That's really all you can do until you get an opportunity to get your own gig. I know he's a very talented guy and I'm sure he's ready to play.

"By the time I got to my third season, I was like, 'All right, now I'm ready to play, the game is slowing down and that West Coast offense is a lot more familiar to me.' You just have to be patient."

Easier said than done?

"Much, much easier said than done," Rodgers said. "It's definitely a learned trait. It's not something that comes easy to a competitor who feels like they are ready to play. You just have to have small challenges for yourself and keep a long-term vision."

Rodgers said Kolb, a second-round draft choice in 2007, has never asked him for advice on how to handle his situation with the Eagles.

Kicker David Akers, who has a locker next to Kolb's at the NovaCare Complex, said he has never sensed frustration from the Eagles' reserve QB.

"No, I don't think so," Akers said. "Obviously, he wants that opportunity and he feels ready for it, but it's just a matter of getting that chance to do it."

个人点评：

替补QB总是最命苦的一类人。身处全联盟最僧多粥少教练用人最谨慎场上轮换几乎为零的位置，总是要在板凳上无尽地等待时机，如果身处布朗突袭者这种队倒也罢了，但如若压在你身前的是一个franchizeQB，那么除了祈祷此君早点退休或者受伤外就别无他法了。对于一名替补QB而言，机会总是可遇而不可求。回过头来看，如果不是主力受伤，tombrady也许还要在板凳上打发岁月甚至就此泯然众人，而去年的cassell则恐怕也只有在板凳上画圈圈的份。

kolb去年战乌鸦时曾一度看到拨云见日的曙光，但糟糕的表现却让他迅速成为联盟的笑柄。今年8月在球队签下vick之后，一时之间kolb看起来已经完蛋，然而在MC5撞伤肋骨之后kolb首发的两场球却交出了一张伟大的成绩单并用他光芒四射的表现震惊了整个世界，从通县到海淀，从崇明到徐家汇，全世界都在kevin kolb面前臣服。然而很遗憾，在MC5回归之后，他依然只能回到替补的位置。

慢慢熬吧，如果下赛季你和MC5都还在费城的话。。。

ADDAI

突袭者 49er这些球队怎么堕落的那么快

厄尼

MC5暂时不会走了，起码下个赛季肯定不会走。

柴湾

标题应为“全明星QB A-Rod手把手教你怎样抱饮水机才能抱出水瓶来！！”

破折号王子

Pro Bowl? It's more like Pro Bore






When I was a kid, I would desperately root for the AFC to win thePro Bowl. Well, OK, I'm exaggerating a touch. The adjective"desperately" is too strong. I wasn't painting "AFC" on the side of myface or anything. I did care, though. I honestly cared. I can rememberfeeling happy when the AFC scored, unhappy when the NFC scored. I canremember, late in games, going through those mental gymnastics fans dowhen watching games and figuring what their team needs to do to win thegame. It mattered.
     
Then, I suppose everything mattered whenI was a kid. It mattered that the Globetrotters won on Wide World ofSports*. It mattered that Evel Knievel made his jump. It mattered who won the Superstars competition. It even mattered who won on Battle of the Network Stars. That Patrick Duffy ... what an athlete. But you could not never count out the competitive spirit of Robert Conrad.
     
*AndI can remember feeling frustrated because Howard Cosell or whoever wascalling the game would not give the score often enough. Were theGenerals coming back?
     
I would watch the Pro Bowl withinterest and passion -- Go AFC! -- until I realized that I had moreinterest and passion in these games than the players. I suppose I cameto that realization when I was about 13 years old. When you care morethan the players do, the event became pointless. And after that, thePro Bowl became more or less pointless to me. I might watch. I mightnot. But it never again mattered.
     
It's interesting: All-Stargames in every sport are always teetering on the brink of oblivion. Theothers use little tricks to make us care more.
     
Baseball'sAll-Star Game, for instance, was interesting for many years because ofthe complete separation of the two leagues. The All-Star Game was theone place where you could see Ted Williams face Warren Spahn (home run! Mickey Mantle follows with a homer too!) or Sandy Koufax pitch to Al Kaline(pop foul out to first -- overpowered him). Interleague play and easytravel between the two leagues took away some of this thrill, butthere's still some separation between the leagues and there is at leasta hint of meaning in the games. Even if the value has diminished,players would still rather win than lose the All-Star Game.
     
TheNBA All-Star Game -- and to only a slightly lesser extent, the NHLAll-Star Game -- are shows. No defense. No coaching. Lots of dunks andbreakaways. No, nobody cares who wins, but they go around this bymaking it into a laser show. It's sensory overload, but there is somefun in that. No, it's not emotionally riveting, but it can get youthrough the day.
     
But the Pro Bowl really could not offer anyof those things. The AFC and NFC do not have much separation. Theplayers don't care who wins -- and football is such a physical game,that caring who wins pretty much defines the game. That's whyexhibition football is the single most boring thing on earth. Footballon television is not really a game of matchups -- most of us are notreally spending a lot of our time wondering how Jordan Gross will block Dwight Freeney.And, anyway, football -- probably more than any of those other sports-- is a game of teamwork and timing and repetition. The other gamesallow the players the freedom to show off their athleticism and skill.Football ... not so much. And the Pro Bowls tend to be dull beyondwords.
     
To me, the one thing the Pro Bowl had was ... Hawaii.We all love Hawaii, right? And that gave the game a little extraromance. Players, in general, liked going to the Pro Bowl because itmeant taking their families and teammates to Hawaii. It was a reward.The coaches and announcers would wear Hawaiian shirts. The playerswould hang out on the beach after light practices. Everyone would eatuntil overload. There were television shots of hula dancers andvolcanoes and surfers and palm trees and all sorts of beautiful stuff.It was our visit to Hawaii.
     
Sure, even with Hawaii the ProBowl was the least interesting and meaningful of any All-Star game. Andevery so often, you would hear ideas about how to make the Pro Bowlbetter -- and I guess by "better" they meant "more profitable" -- butit seemed to me the Pro Bowl did not have much potential to GET better.It was what it was: a fun reward for the players who would party allweek and television viewers buried in two feet of snow. And the bigidea was for nobody to get hurt*.
     
*I have told this story before ... but I cannot write about the Pro Bowl without telling my favorite Bill Belichickstory. People have often asked: What is it that makes Belichick so goodat this coaching thing? Sure, he's brilliant about breaking down filmand devising a gameplan that attacks another team's weaknesses. Sure,he's all about winning -- and as such has not allowed loyalty (Sorryson, we're letting you go), tradition (Fourth and two -- go for it) orgood taste (Are those cameras pointing right at the sidelines?) tomuddle the mission.
     
But there's something else -- something harder to describe. Tony Gonzalezwas in the Pro Bowl every year from 1999 to 2008. He is, in my view,the best pass-catching tight end in NFL history. Tony -- and I say thiswith a great deal of affection -- is also very Hollywood. Oh, he playshard and he blocks and he will get dirty if necessary. But he alsoinvented this new position: The glamour tight end. He co-wrote a dietbook. He worked with Oprah. He's friends with the Naked Chef. And so on.
     
So... he was at the Pro Bowl and Belichick was coaching (unhappily, nodoubt -- the Pro Bowl coach is the one who LOST the Championship Game)and he put Gonzalez on special teams. Well, that's part of the dealwith the Pro Bowl -- stars have to play on special teams. So Gonzalezwas going through the motions on special teams, like Pro Bowlers do. Hewasn't about to get hurt blocking someone at a Pro Bowl -- everyoneunderstood the rules. Well, Gonzalez thought everyone understood therules. He was walking off the field and Belichick says: "Why don't you(bleeping) block somebody, Gonzalez?"
     
Gonzalez lookedback at the man. Was he serious? He looked serious. Wait, WAS HESERIOUS? Tony Gonzalez, playing in his eighth consecutive pro Bowl, andthis guy was telling him to block somebody on special teams. He had tobe joking. No, seriously, he HAD TO BE JOKING.
     
But hewas not joking. Gonzalez was furious. He fumed on the sideline. Howdare this man -- HOW DARE THIS MAN -- yell at him, curse at him, who inthe hell did he think he was? And on the next kickoff, Gonzalez wasstill raging -- HOW DARE THIS MAN -- and the ball went over his head,and he found an opponent, and he crushed the guy, absolutely pancakedhis guy. And then Gonzalez made sure, absolutely sure, to walk by BillBelichick, that SOB, and Belichick did not say a word, not a singleword, and Gonzalez thought: "Yeah, that's right." And just as he wasalmost out of range, he heard Belichick say: "Nice block."
     
Andthen he knew -- he had been utterly manipulated by the master. And howdid he feel about it? Well: "I felt really good," Gonzalez saidsheepishly.     
You know, if we could see stuff like THIS happening, the Pro Bowl might be a lot more fun to watch.
     
So,we know what the Pro Bowl meant in Hawaii. It was a reward for players.And it was fairly exotic for fans. No, that did not make it must-seeTV, but I just don't think Pro Bowl can ever be must-see TV -- notunless they come up with some sort of crazy idea like:
     
1. Give some ridiculous sum of money to the winners (million dollars a player) and nothing to the losers.
     
2. Have Pro Bowlers face off against college football's national champion.
     
3. Give each team only eight plays, and let fans who love the old "Tecmo Super Bowl" coach each side.
     
4. Make it USA vs. Canada and play with a 55-yard line and big end zones.
     
Butthe NFL instead decided to do something much more bizarre. First, theytook the game out of Hawaii and put it in the Super Bowl town -- Miami,this year -- thus taking away the exotic nature of the game and anyreason that the players would want to play. Oh, ow, I think I tweakedmy hammy. Yeah, thanks for the invite. Don't think I can make it.
     
Second,they moved the game to the week before the Super Bowl -- thus takingout all the players who are actually playing in the Super Bowl. Heykids, how about a Pro Bowl without Peyton Manning and Drew Brees? Sound like fun?
     
Third ... where are the hula dancers? How can I have a Pro Bowl without hula dancers?

     
Oh,maybe the timing of the game will punch up the ratings ... I don't knowenough about the TV side of it. Maybe some accountants will find thatthe game makes a few more bucks. Maybe.
     
But, from here, itseems to me they took a flawed game and made it significantly worse.They took a game already without much star power and took away its starpower. They took something that was at least unique and stripped itdown so that it's now both boring AND commonplace. Yes, I'll admit, ithas been a long time since I cared about the Pro Bowl as anything morethan a novelty. But now I don't even care about it as that. Hey, look,I get to see Matt Schaub and Aaron Rodgers play in a meaningless game in Miami? Really? What time is that on? Because there will have to be some golf on somewhere.

点评：任何一场双方没有求胜欲，没有激烈的碰撞和对抗，而纯粹只是走个过场的作秀比赛都是鸡肋（慈善类比赛除外），就算你堆砌了再多明星也没用。。。与SB相比，pro bowl甚至连开胃小菜都算不上。

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/01/29/probowl/index.html

破折号王子

You've heard my feelings on overtime, and you're tired of them. I think.
      
ButI'm not finished advocating for a change to the archaic system thatcalls for the two teams to take part in a coin flip at the start ofovertime, beginning a period of sudden death. In the past twopostseasons, two playoff games have been decided with the teams thatlost the coin flip (Indianapolis in 2008, Minnesota in 2009) nevertouching the ball in overtime. To those who say defense is an equalpart of the game, I say, Why have only seven of the 460-some overtimecoin-flip winners in NFL history chosen to play defense first if it'ssuch an equal part of the game?
      
Enough about my thought. This morning I've enlisted former Naval pilot Brian Burke, founder of the site Advance NFL Stats, to make a case about why he thinks the overtime rule should be changed. You might remember Burke from the Bill Belichickfourth-and-two drama in November. Burke said Belichick's reasoning wassound and he actually backs Belichick going for it on fourth-and-twowith a lead in the fourth quarter at Indianapolis. The Patriots lostafter failing to covert the fourth down, but Burke wasn't swayed. Heproduced numbers that backed his beliefs. (I still disagree to thisday, but I appreciate that Burke's reasoning was math-based.) Burke'smini-essay on overtime:
      
Over the past decade, there were158 overtime games, including the playoffs. There were two ties, andthere was one game in which the coin flip winner chose to defend a sideof the field rather than choosing to receive. (The Lions in 2002. Theylost.) In 96 of the 158 overtimes, or 61 percent, the coin flip winnerwon the game. And in 58 of the 158 OTs, or 37 percent, the coin flipwinner won on their first possession while the loser never touched theball. This includes two of the last three OT games in the playoffs.
      
Don'tbe fooled by other numbers. In 2009 there happened to be only 13overtime games, and the coin flip winner won seven (54 percent). In sixof the 13 (46 percent), the loser never touched the ball. The samplesize for any single year is too small for a reasonable estimate of thetrue numbers. Also, don't be tricked into thinking "only 61 percent."If we agree 50 percent would be the fairest rate, you might think 61isn't very far from 50. But that's not the right way to look at it. Theappropriate comparison is 61 percent versus 39 percent, the respectivewinning percentages of the coin flip winners and losers. That's a bigadvantage --over 3:2 odds.
      
The primary culprit hereis the kicking game. When the current overtime format was instituted 35years ago, kickers have become far more accurate. From 1974 untiltoday, the NFL's field-goal percentage has climbed from 61 percent. In1974, 35 percent of kicks were from 40 yards or beyond, but by 2008that number had climbed to 41 percent.
      
In responseto the increasing range of kickers, the kickoff spot was moved from the35 back to the 30-yard line. But this only worsened the imbalance inovertime. For example, had Ryan Longwell's 71-yard kickoff tostart the Vikings-Saints overtime period been from the 35, it wouldhave almost certainly resulted in a touchback instead of a return tothe Saints' 39. It would have been considerably more difficult for theSaints to score on their first possession.
      
While we may not agree on a solution, it's fair to say the current OT format is broken.
      
First,a quick and easy improvement would be to restore the kickoff line tothe 35 for the overtime kickoff. This would essentially cause lots oftouchbacks, forcing the offense of the coin-flip winner to start on the20, instead of the 30 or so. It sounds like a small difference, butteams with first downs at their own 20 are no more likely to score nextthan the team currently on defense. By just getting past a team's own30-yard line, the team on offense now has a 60 percent chance ofscoring next -- exactly the odds we see in the current OT format.Moving the kickoff spot back to the 35 would give both the coin flipwinner and loser about an equal chance of winning. I realize nobodytunes into the NFL on Sunday for the touchbacks, but it's a small priceto pay for a fairer system.
      
But as you know, that'snot what most people are upset about. The bigger problem is that inover one-third of OT games, one team loses without getting a chance totouch the ball.
      
An excellent summation. But I don'tsense traction on this right now. It's been five years since theCompetition Committee presented a proposal on a two-possession overtimeto be voted on by membership. It got 16 votes, eight shy of the 24needed to change the overtime procedure. One Competition Committeesource told me he thinks sentiment peaked toward overtime when "about19'' teams favored the rule if the kickoff were advanced to the 35-from the 30-. But he said it's never been close to winning approval tochange the rule. My feeling is it'll take a one-possession game in theSuper Bowl to get any real sentiment to change.
      
One morething: I knew the winner of the coin flip in New Orleans in the NFCChampionship Game would win the game on the first possession. In thestadium, you could just feel it. It was a rock-'em, sock-'em-robot kindof game, and the two teams were absolutely spent by the end ofregulation. "I think both Brett [Favre] and Percy [Harvin]were finished by halftime,'' one Viking told me. And the defenses weredragging to the finish line. It's no wonder the opening kick ofovertime was returned to the 39."
      
In the past three years,the team winning the coin flip to start overtime has won 64 percent ofthe games. It's too much of an imbalance. The NFL should act now to fixit.
      
The other day, one respected member of the CompetitionCommittee told me, "I struggle with why we want a coin flip to playsuch a major role in who wins and loses games. The statistics havegotten to the point where I feel they're unreasonable. In the lastthree years, almost two-thirds of the games were won by the teamwinning the flip. It just doesn't smell right.''

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/01/31/mmqb/index.html

点评：还有比NFL的加时规则更纱布的规则么？我一直很好奇是什么支撑着狗戴尔，让他能够一次又一次在面对他人针对加时规则提出质疑时脸不红心不跳地说：“现在的规则挺好的丫丫丫丫”。。。

破折号王子

8L－02年猎鹰绿湾之战后的vick颂文

An hour after the biggest win of his football life, Michael Vick was outside Lambeau Field late Saturday night, dressed only in a blue suit and matching blue shirt. Snow swirled around his head, some flakes nesting in his close-cropped hair. Vick loved being outside at this moment, just soaking in the historic 27-7 Atlanta victory over Green Bay. He didn't look cold. Just cool.

"This game defines why the Falcons drafted me," the 22 year-old quarterback said happily. "I can't help it. I'm just so proud of myself."

Vick had plenty of help from his friends in handing Green Bay its first home playoff loss in the 82-year history of the franchise. Running back Warrick Dunnhad 104 rushing and receiving yards combined, and backup T.J. Duckettbroke loose several times, including a six-yard touchdown run up the middle. The offense controlled the clock for 36 minutes and did not commit a turnover. The defense forced five turnovers, including three by Brett Favre, who threw his second interception of the day and fumbled once while desperately trying to rally the Packers from a 24-0 halftime deficit. LinebackerMark Simoneau blocked a punt deep in Green Bay territory, and linebacker Artie Ulmerrecovered the ball and rolled one yard for a touchdown.

Vick's numbers weren't spectacular: 13-of-25 passing for 117 yards and one touchdown, plus 10 rushes for 64 yards. But this game was not about stats, it was about Vick's commanding presence. He did what he wanted when he wanted, most spectacularly late in the first half, on a third-and-three play at the Packers' 39. Vick rolled to the left and was about to be sacked for a huge loss, but he escaped the clutches of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilanear the sideline, reversed field and left four more Green Bay players in his wake for an 11-yard gain.

Thereafter, whenever the Packers showed signs of life, Vick responded. For example, with the crowd roused after Green Bay had cut the lead to 24-7 midway through the third quarter, Vick took the snap on third-and-three at the Atlanta 40, patiently looked for a receiver, then saw a seam up the middle and took off. Strong safety Marques Andersonappeared to be in position to stop Vick short of a first down, but the quarterback shifted into another gear and ran for 22 yards. Eight plays later Jay Feeley closed out the scoring by kicking a 23-yard field goal, and the Falcons were headed for an NFC divisional playoff game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

At midfield after the game Favre told Vick, "I'm proud of you. You're going to be a superstar in this league."

He already is. This game was a testament to how quickly a quarterback can turn around a team, an impact the Falcons were sure Vick would have when they began exploring a trade for the first pick in the 2001 draft. It was a desperate time in Atlanta: The Falcons had gone 5-11 and 4-12 after their 1998 Super Bowl season, which was looking more and more like a fluke; season-ticket sales had dropped to 29,000; and the team was on the block. Atlanta held the fifth pick, and as team scouts prepared for the draft, they became increasingly excited about the 20-year-old Vick, a run-first quarterback who'd played only two seasons at Virginia Tech. But was that excitement justified? Vick may have been an electric player, with 4.3 speed in the 40 and a cannon for a left arm, but skeptics wondered how he'd handle the transition to the NFL. After all, they pointed out, he had thrown the ball only 313 times in college, while running with it 212 times.

The Falcons' supervisor of college scouting, Mike Hagen, wondered too -- until he saw Vick's individual workout for NFL teams a couple of weeks before the draft. Vick threw for about an hour, "and I bet the ball hit the ground three or four times," Hagen recalled last Saturday. "We'd heard about how he wasn't accurate enough [Vick was a middling 56.5% passer in college], but he wore out three receivers that day. All he did was put the ball on the money."

The San Diego Chargers owned the first pick in the draft but gave it up in return for Atlanta's first-and third-round selections in 2001, a second-rounder in 2002 and wideout Tim Dwight. "Nobody had to convince us it was a good deal," cornerback Ray Buchanansaid after last Saturday night's victory. "I thought it was going to be the turning point for this organization. We'd been in turmoil since the Super Bowl. I had no idea it would turn around this fast. But a night like tonight happens only because we were bold and got a great player like Michael to lead us."

Vick still has to work on his accuracy; his 54.9% completion rate this year was at least five points shy of where he wanted it to be. He still has to strike a balance between scrambling and staying in the pocket. "I never want to be known as just a running quarterback," he says. "People don't realize this, but to me, it's more beautiful for a quarterback to take his seven-step drop and hit a receiver on a 17-yard out route. That's the way the game should be played, and that's how great quarterbacks define themselves. There's a part of me that always says, Sit back and let things happen. Use your arm and brain, not just your legs."

But Vick excelled in other areas in his first full season as a starter, such as his flawless handling of the silent snap count in loud environs like Lambeau Field. "I haven't had a false start or illegal procedure using the silent count all season," Vick says. "Last year I had no idea what I was doing with it." Atlanta used the silent count on about 80% of its snaps against the Packers and will likely have to rely on it again this weekend at rowdy Veterans Stadium.

If Donovan McNabb, out since Nov. 17 with a broken right fibula, returns to the Eagles' lineup as expected, he and Vick -- two of the NFL's best young quarterbacks -- will play against each other for the first time. That would be another big challenge for Vick, who chose Virginia Tech over Syracuse in 1998. "Nothing against Donovan," Vick says, "but I didn't want to go to Syracuse and be in his shadow."

After this season Vick won't be in anybody's shadow anytime soon

.点评：曾几何时，vick是一个看起来将拥有远大前程书写华美乐章的现象级球员，状元郎的身份、赏心悦目的打法、纷至沓来的商业合同、万千的粉丝让他一度拥有光鲜的岁月。然而懒惰、对自身天赋的挥霍、对场外事件糟糕的判断处理，再加上斗狗案的东窗事发，最终毁掉了曾经人们对他所报的希冀。现在回过头来看这些赞颂他的旧文，不由得令人唏嘘：一切本不该如此的。