Matthew Stafford

I really like what I am seeing from the Detroit Lion's first round pick. His name is Matthew Stafford and he has quite an arm. I have watched quite a few qb's enter the game and not have half the arm that Stafford possesses. When I look at his strength and compare it to other qb's I think not of Peyton Manning, but of Jay Cutler and Michael Vick. Now let the prison term on Vick's resume be banished from this blog; I think he has a wonderful arm.
Back to Stafford. I have not seen too much from this young qb, and I really shouldn't at this point. When I think of Stafford and Culpepper together I remember the Cutler Plummer days. Plummer was named the starting qb for the beginning of the season and midway through, Cutler got the nod to finish out the rest of the year. This in my mind, was a gamble of gargantuan proportions. Cutler being a rookie could have done something to tarnish his name or lose his grip similar to fellow draft mate Vince Young. Instead, the gamble paid off and Cutler was the seasons gun slinger. Now, with this in mind I return back to Stafford.
Mr. Stafford did pretty well at Georgia. I am not going to post his stats on here because you can dig them up on Yahoo! if you really want to. What I am going to say is that his arm is decent for his tim in the NFL. To bench him for Culpepper is a very, very smart move. I think he needs to sit a year or two behind a good qb like Culpepper and "marinate" similar to the way Aaron Rodgers did under Brett Favre and Phillip Rivers did under Drew Brees. When the media hype is gone, he will be able to come back out and play harder. This makes things easier for Stafford(who would puke at the sight of this blog because of it's truth) while he becomes a better player. Just my thoughts, check out Michael Silver on Yahoo! for more.

Milwaukee Brewers fall from grace

Everyone sit down, it's only the Brewers that I speak of. Then again, stand up; YANKEES! Sit back down, BREWERS. Which one were you more apt to support? For me it would be neither because I am in love with the Rockies (until they fall into the hands of the Dodgers and Giants for the next week).
The loyal Wisconsinites know that something horrible has happened in Miller town. Last season, the Brewers relieved C.C. Sabathia of the horrible Cleveland Indians. Sabathia performed well in guiding the crew to a post season berth. Firth time since '84, while in the process almost throwing a no hitter (that was controversial because it should have been an error, not a man on base). But, whatever; the people who are good will shine. Unlike Milwaukee, who led their division two and a half months ago, there will be no after thought on how well the Brewers did this season. The attention will focus on the Packers and Miller Park will close down in the same fashion that it always has 24 of the last 25 years (county stadium in that count as well). The custodians will sweep the hall one more time, while the vendors will lock up their stores for a six month layoff. Then the players will leave and head to wherever they came from. Pheonix, Denver, Seattle, you name it they will be gone.
While all this is happening, Miller Park will receive a nice coat of snow to cover up the horrible season that preceded the closing. Fans will turn their televisions to Basketball and Football with some navigating to Minneapolis or Chicago for some hockey. No one will think anything while passing the large stadium which holds the keys to Milwaukee's freedom from a curse that really was never caused by anything. Chicago has the fact that they suck curse, Boston had the great bambino curse, and on the reverse side; New York has the so much money that we cannot produce curse (usually lasts about seven years and then they inject a needle in a few players and buy the world series). In the end though, you can count on Milwaukee doing nothing again next year, or the year after that. Ryan Braun and Prince field are two good players that could be traded for some decent pitching. Management says otherwise, and your ticket prices will fall. At least this time you can see a professional sporting event all while being considered a cheap date.

Michael Crabtree

Let the games begin! No, seriously, the fight for the right to play will be ever present in the coming weeks out of 49er land. This story is quite simple and relates heavily to how well the NCAA can market it's players. For the past three years, Michael Crabtree has been considered by many to be the cream-of-the-crop. He has caught more pigskins than any other player comparable to his efforts. Touchdowns, deep routes and complex catches are all part of Mr. Crabtree's luggage. He can take you to the next city, and then take you to the bank. He'll rob you of any thoughts you had concerning other wide receivers.
This is why I think Michael is a crappy player, and quite possibly a Crabass. Rather than negotiate his contract in a civilized way, he is choosing to use the biggest media outlets that he can. His message is this: "We will not stop until the contract is right". Although I made most of that quote up, the general idea follow's what the college wide receiver intends to do. Well, what exactly does Mr. Crabtree intend on doing? His current plan is to hold out for next years draft and re-enter as a new candidate. I think this is a horrible idea on many fronts. The first being that next year will be a Quarterback's year. Colt Mccoy, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow to name a few top shelf players that will likely dash the first round. Take them away and you will see your usual niche` of USC players making headway into top teams. Even without them, somebody, somewhere will stick out and make great plays. With all of this tallent ready to go, who is going to be thinking about Michael Crabtree? I would first like to point out that he will have spent at least a year without taking throws from college level players. His mental toughness will diminish along with his chances of being considered a rookie pro bowler ( for which he is now). This situation is getting ugly, and frankly I do not see a finishing touch that says anything more than disaster. San Fransisco will lose their first round pick, Michael Crabtree will fall into the cracks and become another Javon Walker all while we sit and wonder what could have been for Texas Tech's only decent player to make the pro's. Sorry Mike Leech, I guesss we'll have to wait another 20 years for someone this good to come out of your institution.