A few of us from OV got together at the main offices and talked tv. This part is light on spoilers (not many at all), but the second part, which we'll publish after New Year's, has a lot more as we discuss our favorite shows of the year.
Best Episodes
dmick89: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad), Decoy (Justified), Hitting the Fan (The Good Wife)
berselius: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad), Felina (Breaking Bad), Decoy (Justified)
Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair. I still don't get all of the critics who used 'neat' as a perjorative when describing the BB finale. I thought it was just about perfect. Decoy stands out as just one great episode among many in Justified's fourth season, which wisely kept the focus on the relationship between Raylan, Boyd, and Arlo.
sitrick: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad), The Day of the Doctor (Doctor Who), Leslie and Ben (Parks and Recreation)
A ton of ink has been spilled regarding how superb an hour of television Ozymandias was, much of it by more talented writers than I, so I'll let that stand. Suffice it to say that it was exactly the dramatic, tension-fueled end to the reign of Heisenberg that the show promised.
The 50th Anniversary Episode of Doctor Who stands as pure, delightful fan service, bringing back David Tennant's Tenth Doctor to galavant across the twisted time streams of Matt Smith's Eleven and John Hurt's mysterious War Doctor. It was a perfect summation of everything Doctor Who does well when it's at its best, full of humor, pathos, mythology, and tons of tiny references to Doctors past (I now find myself desperately wanting a Tom Baker scarf, because I am a nerd cliche). This will absolutely be the 2013 television episode I rewatch most going forward.
Comedies often get overlooked for "Best of" and "Best Episode" lists, which is a shame, because the Parks and Recreation wedding episode from early in the year is an example of television's best sitcom at the height of its power. "Leslie and Ben" was written as a potential series finale due to the uncertainty surrounding P&R's place in the NBC schedule. As a result, it is an episode that lingers on small moments and potential farewells, particularly in the final wedding scene, where each cast member is allowed what amounts to a just-in-case final bow. And despite all this, it's still packed with more funny jokes than the best five Big Bang Theory episodes combined.
Best Performance
dmick89: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black. She played a billion characters and by the second or third episode, you didn't even realize it.
berselius: It would be tough to choose between anyone on Breaking Bad this year, since everyone on the show knocked it out of the park this year, from Walt and Jesse (expected) to Marie and Walter Jr. (not so expected). Luckily that decision doesn't have to be made since Tatiana Maslany outperformed all of them. The strangest part is how easy it is to forget that she's playing half the the leads on the show, and each of her five* main characters all seem different enough, even when one character is impersonating another.
*well, four characters and one impersonated character
dmick89: I'm counting Olivier's tail as the billionth character played by Maslany because I like neat numbers.
sitrick: I've yet to actually see Orphan Black, so my vote goes to Bryan Cranston for being the centerpiece of maybe the greatest final eight episode run of any series I can think of.
Best New Series
dmick89: Rectify.
berselius: Orphan Black.
sitrick: Broadchurch.
Shows that we lost interest in
dmick89: Sons of Anarchy, Dexter. Then again, I've said that for each of the last four years and have still watched the following seasons. Too far along to give up I guess. It's unfortunate that the showrunner of Dexter couldn't have switched places with an actual lumberjack.
berselius:
How I Met Your Mother – I still enjoy the show when I watch it but after missing an episode or two due to travel I never got around to adding it back to my rotation. At least it's wrapping things up this year.
Mad Men – I set the new season to record then never watched it. I have a hard time remembering why I liked this show, in retrospect, considering I basically like no one on it except maybe Roger (for pithy quips), Joan (too little screen time), and the rare Trudy Campbell appearance. It's a show that does great character work but not that appealing if you don't really care about the characters.
sitrick:
Mad Men – I like the show much more than berselius does, I think, but I still found this season uncompelling in pretty much every way. They've aged the characters too quickly, in my opinion, and I generally find the late sixties to be much less interesting than the earlier part of the decade. Combine that with the weird auteurist streak that Matt Weiner has put on display the past couple of seasons (with weird thematic episodes like last season's LSD episode or this year's speed episode) and the show lost me.
Community – This show just doesn't work without Dan Harmon, it's that simple. Sometimes it barely worked WITH Dan Harmon. I'm incredbily excited to see the upcoming Harmon-led Season 5 episodes and get the show I loved back.
(berselius: I'm cautiously excited for this year, if only for the sheer number of awesome guest stars they landed. That said, aside from the alternate timeline episode I was not a huge fan of season 3, and didn't think it was necessarily a bad idea at the time for NBC to fire Harmon. The guy put together a great show but holy shit does he have issues.)
(sitrick: I'm not saying I disagree with you, but you don't make the show without Dan Harmon. It probably should have just been cancelled after Season 3. That said, I suspect the hiatus has lit a fire under Harmon, and I'm expecting quality work this year.)
(berselius: To be fair, I forgot the excellent Law and Order and Glee-spoof episodes, and thought the video game one was in season 2. Still definitely a big step down from the excellent first two seasons. I am glad that Harmon's back.)
Series that I didn't watch but wish I had this year
dmick89: Boardwalk Empire. Looking forward to binging this show at some point.
berselius: Orange is the New Black. Though I still like Penny Arcade's title for it better.
sitrick: Orphan Black. I have the biggest nerd crush on Tatiana Maslany after her brief turn as Tom's girlfriend on Parks and Recreation, so I'm pretty annoyed with myself for not watching. As soon as this hits Netflix I'm binging it.
Best Old Series Discovered or Rewatched this Year
dmick89: Veronica Mars, Chuck. Missed both of these shows when they aired, but thoroughly enjoyed binging them earlier this year.
berselius: Being Human (UK). Its last season aired in the UK last spring, but I'm not sure if it ever did on BBC America. We were able to find most of it on Youtube, and it came out on DVD recently. I'll have more comments on the final season in part 2, but the rest of the series was pretty great too. Over the course of five seasons it turned over its entire cast without skipping a beat, and I have a hard time picking my favorite of the seven main characters over the run of the series. Well, second favorite. Nina is pretty awesome. I can't think if many shows where the pendulum can swing so quickly between utterly hilarious and terribly sad.
sitrick: Justified, Treme. Not having cable for a good long while (along with it not being on Netflix) kept me away from Justified for too long. I discovered it was streamable on Amazon Prime and proceeded to immediately plow through the first three seasons in a matter of weeks, much to the detriment of my finals. Looking forward to Season 4 once I can watch it for free or the bluray goes on sale for cheap.
As far as Treme goes, it's a show that never lived up to the post-Wire expectations it was tagged with from the beginning. I caught the first season as it aired and enjoyed it, but wasn't really enamored with the series until a friend lent me an HBO GO login and I started working my way through Season 2. I've never been to New Orleans, but Simon is so dedicated to recreating the atmosphere of the city and the people that inhabit it that it's quickly climbing the list of places I need to visit. Never heavy on plot, the series embraces its deliberate pacing, lingering on moments of musicians joyfully practicing their craft — both actors like Wendell Pierce, real-life New Orleans musicians recruited for authenticity, and those like Lucia Micarelli that lie somewhere in between. It's a joy just spending time with these characters, despite the way their lives are constantly imbued with tragedy. Check it out now before it becomes another after-the-fact classic like The Wire.
Comments
I didn’t watch Breaking Bad when most of you guys did, but I did finish the whole series recently. I recall being exasperated at all the horribly bad decisions Walt kept making.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Yeah, I went by the OV main offices like you said but nobody was there
[img]http://queenofsubtle.com/rt/photos/shack.jpg[/img]
Suburban kidQuote Reply
How about “New shows I tried to watch, but they were horrible” category?
My vote is The Bridge. FX had to have paid Sepinwall and every other TV critic to hype it up. Terrible acting (IMO), boring and sometimes confusing plot lines, and terrible character development. Just an overall waste of my damn time.
My wife and I really liked the first season of The Americans. It’s kind of cool to watch how they emulate how spies communicated back in The Cold War. The acting is good, IMO, and I care about the characters. Mostly, they don’t give too much air time to the children of the family which has been a tragic flaw Homeland dealt with this season.
Add Homeland to the list of shows I pretty much have stopped watching.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
we were remodeling. Now it looks beautiful. And spacious.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
I thought parts of The Bridge were good, but I think Sepinwall sticks with the idea of the show being good too long (this one, The Killing, Homeland and probably others).
dmick89Quote Reply
That’s gonna be a helluva story for you to tell the grandkids, Sitrick.
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I’m a multitasker.
sitrickQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
So now that you’ve finished the renvoation, can you afford to go out and get more talent for this site?
EdwinQuote Reply
My favorite show of 2013 was Hannibal. My least favorite show was The Following.
The show I didn’t watch but wish I did was probably a tie between Person of Interest and Elementry.
The Best Old Series for me was Sherlock.
EdwinQuote Reply
Is Justified a good show? I’ve been a couple years without cable, so this is the first time I’ve gotten a chance to watch shows like Justified.
Also, Archer was my favorite comedy of 2013.
EdwinQuote Reply
@ Edwin:
Yes, Justified is fantastic. Berselius, IIRC, has that as his top show of 2013.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Edwin:
It’s my favorite show still running on TV right now. Been solid for four straight years.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
It’s put out some of the best episodes of the year each of those years.
dmick89Quote Reply
the only show that i watched this year was the new season of arrested development. i thought it pretty much sucked, although, much like the masturbating oregonian mentioned above, my expectations were about as high as possible.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I thought the masturbating oregonian was sitrick.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’ll agree, Justified is awesome. Holds a special place for me being from Appalachia, I feel they do a decent job with it. They make the place a character, in some of the same ways Simon uses Baltimore and New Orleans as integral part of his shows. Boyd Crowder is my favorite character, though I’m only halfway through season 4.
Recalcitrant Blogger NateQuote Reply
@ Recalcitrant Blogger Nate:
Yeah, feels like home to me too. West Virginia is my favorite state, if it weren’t for the people who live there (dying laughing).
BerseliusQuote Reply
I like Justified a lot. One of the best shows I’ve come across in the last few years. I picked it up about halfway through the season before last so it was cool to watch the previous years after I was already a fan. I thought last year was great – on par with the early years of the Sopranos which I really liked.
I also like Person of Interest and Elementary – good network TV. For some reason, Lucy Liu always annoyed me but she’s really good in Elementary.
cwolfQuote Reply
I thought this Tango post was interesting:
http://tangotiger.com/index.php/site/comments/most-perfect-hof-ballots?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Rice CubeQuote Reply
In response to sitrick’s comment about sitcoms getting left out in the discussion of best of lists, I’ve always left them out. I think they’re two entirely different formats and difficult to compare to one another. I’m not a huge sitcom fan these days, but Cheers is my all-time favorite and I can’t think of a single reason that I’d compare that show to something like The Wire, Breaking Bad or The Sopranos other than they all aired on television.
I also think it’s important to consider the number of episodes in a show. For example, The Good Wife airs 22 or so episodes each year and the cable dramas just 12 or 13. It’s a lot easier to be good over 13 episodes than it is 12.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Am I missing someone, but are all the Chicago writers below halfway point on that list? I’m not surprised.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I agree about sitcoms. Cheers was great as was Get Smart (way) before it and I think the Big Bang Theory is hilarious but sitcoms just don’t match up to a well-done dramatic show. Especially with the advent of the cable dramas like Justified, Boardwalk Empire and the Sopranos. I also think the cable dramas have made network drama-type shows step up in quality (although this might be based on my pretty limited TV viewership). .
cwolfQuote Reply
@ cwolf:
I also like Big Bang Theory too.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
It’s one of those shows I heard about a few years after it started and started watching it in reruns (like Seinfeld for me). It cracks me up whenever I watch it.
cwolfQuote Reply
Most everyone here knows I lived in PR until August, and was without English language TV there, so you can take these comments with a teaspoon of saltwater…and I still only subscribe to basic cable, mostly for ESPN.
Best new series for me was House of Cards. Great cast, mostly excellent from episode to episode, though the episode where Kevin Spacey goes back to have a library named after him at his alma mater was pretty lame.
Best series discovered. Scandal, on ABC. Another political thriller*. Funny thing about this one is that an important part of the show is a romance between two lead characters, which I detest. But I suspect I’m supposed to hate the romance anyway, and so it works in the show and plotlines. I love Cyrus Bean, played by some character actor with bug eyes (not Steve Buscemi (sp?)) that I recognize from I don’t know where.
Series I’ve lost interest in. Glee. Yeah, I know. I’m happy to watch kitsch sometimes and Glee started as a musical comedy series that would add in some drama. It was like eating candy. Some serious topics they handled quite well, like Kurt’s relationship with his dad and struggle for acceptance as a gay kid in high school. And some of the pointed writing early on was pretty funny. This year it has been pretty terrible, and I forget to watch it on Hulu. However, the tribute episode to the actor that OD’ed over the summer was quite well done.
I loved Veronica Mars, by the way, and saw it all because a friend in the states would tape it and send the episodes to us, along with Battlestar Galactica.
*I really prefer dramas because I think most sitcoms are dumb, unless they are over the top goofy. But I really don’t like gore (even more so now that I have kids), so a lot of the crime dramas I just can’t watch. Scandal has some gore and honestly that’s the limit of what I can take. Watching whichever Deschanel sister take apart a grizzled, bug-infested corpse on Bones really does me in.
Aren’t any of you guys in the OV GoT cult? I’m surprised that show didn’t get a single mention in any category.
SVBQuote Reply
As in using a particular search engine from MicroSoft? I’ve never seen this usage…
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
It’s in the followup post that we’ll probably put up next week. Spoiler alert – sitrick and I are fans.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Mike Imren from the Herald got an 84 (18th best)
SVBQuote Reply
Fuck the Big Bang Theory in its stupid asshole.
sitrickQuote Reply
(I’m drunk)
sitrickQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I died laughing at his original post. This whole grading system of his is so insufferable. This HOF shit is the fucking worst.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
Just the grading system? (dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
You can tell I’m a huge TV fan because of my vast knowledge of actor’s names…
SVBQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
You think Penn State will call Mack Brown for their HC position?
SVBQuote Reply
I’ve said it before but I just don’t get the love afforded Big Bang Theory. I maintain that it is at best mildly amusing in small doses, but its predictability and that over the top laugh track make it very easy to switch off. Good characters, meh scripts, cheesy production.
Internet has ruined television for me. I just don’t have the attention span required to immerse myself in longer shows. This is sad. I may need therapy.
Of those discussed above, I have enjoyed Treme, Mad Men, Parks and Rec, and HIMYM. I know I’m missing out on all these other great dramas and one day I will consider watching them.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
I don’t disagree regarding BBT, but I also feel the same way about Scandal and I like that show. It’s filled with 20 minutes of Kerry Washington’s cry-face each episode and the rest of it is quite good. If they could reduce Kerry Washington’s scenes in which she is crying, it would be a great show.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ SVB:
I liked House of Cards a lot and in most years it would have made my top 10, but there was just so much good tv this year that it didn’t.
dmick89Quote Reply
Hannibal was very good, but The Americans was my favorite new show easily.
Like You CareQuote Reply
I started watching Cheers for the first time, it’s pretty good.
GBTSQuote Reply
GBTS wrote:
The middle years are the best, so if you’re starting from the beginning, it gets better.
I just had a thought about Cheers and tell me if I’m full of shit. It seems to mock women who try to get ahead or improve themselves, while celebrating men who have not lived up to their potential.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Like You Care:
I kept hoping Margo Martindale’s show on CBS would be canceled so she could return to The Americans.
dmick89Quote Reply
I don’t know why it’s seen as bad news that the US population is growing less than ever. Do we really need more people fucking everything up?
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Is that something people are concerned about? I guess if you’re worried that the declining rate of population growth is coming from educated people deciding to have fewer/no kids that it’s making the gene pool dumber, but the world could definitely use fewer people.
sitrickQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Like You CareQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Well, there’s that whole social security timebomb thing.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ sitrick:
I’ve read a couple articles where it’s suggested in one way or another that it’s a problem. I see it as a good thing.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
I don’t think people could have enough children to fix that problem. Social Security, in its current form, won’t exist in 20 years.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I don’t really want to talk about this because my knowledge is limited, but isn’t the declining population also going to bankrupt or degrade other essential tax-funded services?
Of course you can have all the one-child families you want and still have population growth by turning the immigration spigot a couple notches.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I’m more of a movie person, but I watched a surprising amount of TV this year, old and new.
For new shows, I enjoyed The Americans, Orphan Black, Orange is the New Black, Moone Boy (Irish show on Hulu), Borgen (new in the U.S.), and I’m enjoying The Wrong Mans (another Hulu import). I didn’t enjoy House of Cards that much, but it did turn me on to the BBC original. I also started to watch Broadchurch, though I lost interest during the second episode.
As for shows I continued to watch, Breaking Bad was still great, though not as great as, say, season 3. And Parks and Recreation was still decent, though not in peak form.
Older series I watched for the first time included Justified (I’m watching season 4 now), The first seasons of Game of Thrones and Mad Men (I’d seen a couple episodes of those before), the entire run of The Prisoner (the 60’s version), House of Cards and To Play the King, and Twin Peaks (lost interest after Laura’s murderer was revealed, though).
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Also, I watched lots of Mary Tyler Moore episodes. And Louie season 3. And some 30 Rock.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
And while I disagree strongly with anyone who says dramatic shows are superior to comedies, I admit that it’s difficult to compare the two.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
I don’t know enough about this to talk about it either, but immigration is the easy way to increase population. Researchers seem content to say that the declining rate of growth is due to the economy, and it may well be, but I’m not convinced. It’s a different world today than it was even 10 years ago. It wasn’t long that children here in the US couldn’t wait until they turned 16. They could drive without a parent. That’s not the case anymore. My nephew is 16 is and he, and may of his friends, don’t give a shit about it. Does that have anything to do with having children? I don’t know, but it’s just not the same place it is and I’m not sure that the reasons from the past necessarily explain the lower growth right now. Kids do stuff at later ages than they did before. People in the US tend to think that problems exist elsewhere. Overpopulation is a problem elsewhere. Not here. Well, it isn’t right now, but it could become an issue and I’d rather not try to get there.
But mostly, I just don’t think it’s an issue. Maybe I’m wrong.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
do some people actually say that? I prefer dramas, but wouldn’t say they’re superior. They’re different.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
It’s what cwolf said in #22.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Also watched this year:
Season 1 of Adventure Time
Several episodes of The Bridge (lost interest)
Sleepy Hollow (I’m a little behind on this, but the show is at least weird enough to keep me interested).
I’ve also been watching the odd episode of this and that, so I’ve been pretty busy.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
This.
I’ve seen too may 20 somethings recently with no desire to move out of mom and dad’s house. It’s a different culture here, but my wife was like me — couldn’t wait to leave home when we were 18.
There’s a word for the lengthening of childhood and adolescence – can’t think of it right now. But I suppose it will limit reproduction in the long run, or extend menstruation into the late 50s.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Moone Boy is good. My daughter is an extra in it (her episode won’t be out for at least a year though).
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
That’s not how I read his comment, but I could see how you did. I assumed he was saying they don’t match up in that they don’t compare well to dramas. I agree. I don’t mean that in a negative way for sitcoms.
dmick89Quote Reply
Suburban kid wrote:
I was thinking it was just a simple fact that not all 18 year olds live to 25 and so on.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’m a big fan of 30 Rock. I don’t know why, but I can watch episode after episode all day long and not get tired of it.
The Prisoner was a pretty cool show. My dad bought the collection on VHS back in the day. I haven’t seen it in awhile though, so I forgot most of the last half of the series.
EdwinQuote Reply
Off topic question, but did Kevin Brown fall off the HOF ballot?
EdwinQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Rizzo the Rat wrote:
Rizzo —> Tattletale
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
I actually meant that I can’t compare dramas vs comedies – not that one is better or worse than the other. My comment was poorly stated.
cwolfQuote Reply
@ Edwin:
Yeah, he got only 2.1% of the vote in the 2011 class.
dmick89Quote Reply
Suburban kid wrote:
It definitely mocks successful people and makes the losers into heroes, but it’s set in a barfly’s world. But it’s not based on gender, since Frasier is roundly mocked while he’s a success and then finds himself part of the group after having numerous disasters befall him.
Carla is one of the main protagonists who mock success and she’s as big a loser as anybody on the show.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Matt Miller’s 7-round mock: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1906095-2014-nfl-mock-draft-matt-millers-complete-7-round-projections/page/1
I like Matt Miller and generally agree with his analysis. I also think he pretty much nailed the draft for the three teams we generally discuss here:
CHI
1. LB C.J. Mosley, Alabama
2. CB Bradley Roby, Ohio State
3. QB Brett Smith, Wyoming
4. DE Trevor Reilly, Utah
5. DT Anthony Johnson, LSU
6. SS C.J. Barnett, Ohio State
6. FS Marqueston Huff, Wyoming
GB
1. FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama
2. OLB Kyle Van Noy, BYU
3. DT DaQuan Jones, Penn State
4. TE Arthur Lynch, Georgia
5. CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Nebraska
6. OT Billy Turner, North Dakota State
7. WR Noel Grigsby , San Jose State
SF
Rd 1: WR Marquise Lee, USC
Rd 2: SS Ahmad Dixon, Baylor
Rd 2: CB E.J. Gaines, Missouri
Rd 3: QB Tajh Boyd, Clemson
Rd 3: DE Ed Stinson, Alabama
Rd 4: OLB Jeremiah Attaochu
Rd 5: TE Joe Don Duncan, Dixie State
Rd 6: NT Ryan Carrethers, Arkansas State
Rd 7: WR Shaq Evans, UCLA
Rd 7: OT Donald Hawkins, Texas
Rd 7: DT Beau Allen, Wisconsin
Rd 7: FS Jeremy Deering, Rutgers
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Thanks. For some reason I’d have thought he’d stick on the ballot a little longer. I mean, I understand why he wouldn’t make it, since his Win total wasn’t overwhelming, but he was still one of the best pitchers of his era.
EdwinQuote Reply
Like You Care wrote:
Mosley is the best LB in the draft. Scheme diverse, imo. Will improve the middle of CHI’s defense.
Roby is high upside CB whose stock dropped a bit.
I guess Miller liked my Brett Smith-to-CHI-in-the-third idea.
Reilly and Johnson are two more high-upside picks with good value.
Overall, I like this draft for CHI. It covers all the positions of need with players that have starting ability.
Like You CareQuote Reply
Like You Care wrote:
Another very good draft by Miller. Van Noy is a pass-rushing terror. He and Clinton-Dix should help GB force more turnovers.
Jones will provide good DL depth.
GB needs at least one TE this off-season to continue their offensive metamorphosis. Lynch will go along way toward that.
I think Jean-Baptiste will go higher than that. It seems the NFL is trending toward more physical CBs.
Like You CareQuote Reply
Like You Care wrote:
This is a HR draft, imo. SF has a lot of questions with players (injuries, developement, etc.), and Miller gives SF players that will answer those questions or at least provide depth.
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Yes, perhaps there isn’t a gender distinction to be made. I was just thinking about the gist of the show being a woman (first Diane and then Rebecca) who sees herself “above” Sam and the barflies, and getting most of the humor out of them mocking her thirst for success (and dragging her down to their level). Carla goes against my original thesis, but Frasier sort of works as an example of a a guy who is seemingly happier after becoming resigned to his life as a jilted barfly. Diane and Rebecca resisted the pull of loserdom much longer. God I loved that show.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Edwin wrote:
He had the misfortune to be on the ballot before the current “best pitcher of his era,” Jack Morris, came off. There isn’t room for two of these guys.
SVBQuote Reply
With the successes of Julius Thomas, Jimmy Graham, and even Tony Gonzalez, do you see more teams trying to find two sport athletes to play TE in the NFL?
JonKneeVQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
Gates was a two sport athlete as well, correct? I thought teams have been looking for two sport athletes for awhile now.
EdwinQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
Yes.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Much of Europe has been experiencing declining population for years. Their economies in a broad sense don’t seem any more problematic than ours. Both the USA and much of Europe rely on immigration to fill entry level blue collar and service jobs.
One person in the USA uses far more resources than one person in, say, India or Ghana, and so the ecological footprint of each USAmerican is far greater than most of the folks in the developing world. That footprint isn’t just climate change. If you haven’t heard about microplastics in aquatic systems yet, just hang on, you will, and it isn’t good.
A declining US population is a good thing, IMO. All economies are based on resource extraction and less people extract less resources. We would be smart to consider shifting our economy toward one based on economic development, rather than on economic growth. That shift can still be capitalist, but it places a greater premium on the value of production rather than simply relying on having more people to sell shit too or digging more whatever out of the ground.
SVBQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
@ Suburban kid:
Recently I saw a reference to the Cubs being concerned about “the extra wear on Samardzija’s arm from football.” Seems like 3 years ago they were saying how he’d be more durable because his arm had less wear since he played football. And, WTF, he was a receiver at ND, right?
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Can’t we just print food and money with our 3D printers?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Suburban kid wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oIk04OQ1Ec&feature=player_detailpage#t=14
sitrickQuote Reply
@ cwolf:
OK, I see what you meant now.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Like You Care:
With the change twords more athletic “basketball style” (I don’t know how best to describe it) TE, do you think that a similar change will happen on defense, where teams start to look for either a LB or a S that can start to better matchup with these new TE’s? Will NFL teams start to change how they line up against a 21 personnel?
EdwinQuote Reply
So I’m an idiot and made the mistake of tuning into ESPN Chicago today, and here are two gems I heard:
1) John Clayton thinks drafting a QB is the WORST IDEA EVER since you can’t “break up the offense”, but also thinks they need to revamp the defense without spending much money. And he seems to think there are a lot of DE and DTs in the draft. So.
2) One of the on-air personalities said “Tom Ricketts is not an American. Tanking is un-American, he is NOT American!” (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
AkabariQuote Reply
JonKneeV wrote:
Nick Saban was the reason Gates didn’t play football in college.
The more you know…
Edwin wrote:
The Set Up To My Answer
The en vougue personnel groupings these days are 12 (1 RB, 2 TEs, for those who don’t know) and 22 (2 RBs, 2 TEs). NFL teams, imo, have figured out how to attack speedier defenses (geared to stop the spread) with creative running (mixing read option, zone read, whams, etc.).
As I’ve said before, these big, athletic TEs are everywhere now. Most teams have one and many have two. Offenses are using 22 personnel to run packaged plays out of the pistol. The offensive line blocks one way, the QB reads the defense after the snap and chooses to give to the RB, keep it or throw a quick pass. Having two TEs isn’t new. Having an inline TE that can run routes and catch like a flex TE IS new.
Offenses like SF use that to their advantage. They can show a power formation with 22 personnel and end up running four vertical routes. They can also show four wideouts (Davis, Boldin, TE2 and Crabtree) and motion to a power formation. The scary thing is, most of them still aren’t using it to its full potential.
Defenses think they’re catching up to this. They’re not. They never will. They can prepare for tendencies (i.e. This QB usually hands off to the RB when the defense shows this…), but it’s all about how quickly they react to what the QB does.
My answer
Once offenses really start ramping this up, defenses will have to innovate. One thing you’ve started to see more of is pressure through the A gaps rather than off the edges. A lot of times, offenses don’t even block edge players anymore. So a demand for impact DTs is through the roof right now. 3-4 defenses will have an advantage because they’ll force the QB to react more quickly to pressure.
The problem with matching up with these guys physically is that they’d rather be on offense. More money, more notoriety, etc. Besides, you’re already starting to see the answer to two-TE sets. Look at SEA’s DBs. They have a smaller high S, but their coverage DBs are all 6′-6’3″. You’ll see shift in the size of DBs in the league over the next few years, but defensive coordinators will put more emphasis on pressure and disrupting the QB.
Truth
I’m probably way off and you should ignore everything I just wrote.
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
I hope that person actually contracts rickets.
sitrickQuote Reply
Akabari wrote:
…or listening to ESPN Chicago.
SVBQuote Reply
Like You Care wrote:
To clarify, I’m not saying this new offense is unstoppable. There will always be passive OCs, dumb QBs and miscommunication.
When run properly, though, the offense I described above is based entirely on what the defense does. Traditional offenses (and audibles) are based on what the defense shows. And how often do you see a defense do something other than what they show? It seems like every play.
Baylor is a good example of how this offense can work. Watch their bowl game. I’ve seen them run the same play 6-8 times in a row and score easily. Imagine being a QB and waiting until after the snap to call the play. Smart offenses will call the right play every time and move the ball at will.
Like You CareQuote Reply
Justified S4 just got added to Amazon Prime, for those who’s interests this concerns.
sitrickQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
No need to do that for money. Bitcoin: Not just for smugglers.
I guess.
SVBQuote Reply
[img]http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/2504635/segura.gif[/img]
Happy New Year, everyone.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Akabari wrote:
He’s right. Good teams don’t ever draft QBs.
Akabari wrote:
[img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080130030645/uncyclopedia/images/e/e1/Guiness-Brilliant!.jpg[/img]
Akabari wrote:
There sure are. There are like…dozens of them.
There actually is a lot of DL depth in this draft. The problem is that all the guys worth a damn will be gone by the end of the second round.
DE: You can take a chance on USF’s Aaron Lynch or UNC’s Kareem Martin in the third. If you want a quality DE, though, you’d better get Clowney, Tuitt, Murphy or Ealy. I think that group will be gone by the time GB picks in the first.
DT: Here’s your best bet to grab a faller. Florida’s Dom Easley might fall because of his knee. PIT’s Aaron Donald might be too small for some coaches. CHI will have to take either with their second rounder at worst, though.
Like You CareQuote Reply
Like You CareQuote Reply
Edwin wrote:
Same here, love the show and it had a great final season.
BerseliusQuote Reply
New shit: http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/obstructed-views-self-indulgent-retrospective-of-our-own-posts-from-2013.html
Aisle424Quote Reply