Oh yeah, Teta had just been kidnapped by the Death Brigade while Ramza and company were off trying to quell the loose stragglers at one of the Brigades last remaining bases. Dycedarg was injured and Algus was removed forcefully from the group after learning of his elitism.
Ramza and Delita are now forced to embark on their second rescue mission, but this one is personal.
Zalbag denotes the area of the last base camp for the Death Corp, so that is the direction the two young friends. Delita becomes more and more detached from the group, due to his growing concern over his kidnapped sister. Ramza is at a loss to try and calm his friend down.
...
On the way to the camp, they encounter a unit of the Brigade led by Wiegraf's sister. Though tough as nails, she proves no match for the fiery Delita and the cautious Ramza. She loses her life in the battle, though Ramza is unaware that she is related to Wiegraf at the time.
...
The scene shifts to Wiegraf and his few remaining soldiers. They are holding up in a windmill, still traveling to the fort they call home. A tied up Teta is among them as well. Wiegraf notices her dark brunette hair color and begins to berate his commander Golagros for kidnapping a peasant girl. The commander acts shocked and proclaims that she has to be a Beoulve because he caught her within the castle square along with Alma (Who is a Beoulve, also the Beoulves all have blond hair.) Wiegraf informs his mistaken commander that she is worth nothing in the eyes of the nobles and that it would be best to travel without her. As he is talking a messenger runs in and informs Wiegraf that his sister has perished and that her murderers are hot on their trail. Wiegraf goes outside to slow the pursuit and tells Golagros to leave the girl behind because she will just slow them down. As Wiegraf makes his exit, Golagros shows his cowardice and proclaims that its better to have a hostage regardless as the scene fades.
...
Meanwhile Ramza and Delita make it to the windmill and confront Wiegraf in battle. Wiegraf is shocked to see the kids that saved the Marquis are the same people that killed his dear sister. Enraged he charges the group, but forgets that his goal was to stall them. Delita screams out the whereabouts of his sister, and Wiegraf confirms his suspicion of her not being a noble to be true. As his fellow Death Corp members fall, Wiegraf regroups and retreats, but tells them that Teta is behind held within the windmill. After the battle Delita rushes inside, only to find the windmill to be abandoned and his sister nowhere to be found.
...
At the almost desolate fort, there are only a handful of Death Corps members left alive, and Golagros is confronted by Zalbag and Algus along with a collection of soldiers. His trump, Teta is his shield as he holds her by knife point in front of himself and between him and the army sent to eliminate the brigade once and for all. Wiegraf is nowhere to be found during this entire exchange. It seems he has given up on his revolution and has fled to an unknown location. Ramza and Delita arrive just in time to see Zalbag give Algus the the order to fire. Dycedarg's promise not to attack the Corp was another lie, and the two friends witness Algus fire his cross bow. One bolt strikes Teta, and to Golagros' shock his hostage falls from his grasp. The next arrow strikes the commander himself leaving the Deat Corp completely wiped out.
...
Zalbag retreats seeing this and leaves Algus to search the fort for any remaining survivors. Delita, at a loss for words is helpless as he witnessed his sisters murder at the hands of the noble Algus. Ramza is also disgusted by his brothers actions and the two friends turn their backs on the Houkoten and attack Algus. Algus is no match for Delita who starts to scorn Ramza for his brothers actions and vows to get his revenge eventually.
With Algus dead, Delita walks over to his lifeless sister. He picks her up and becomes lost in his despair. Meanwhile, Golagros, who with his dying breath had planted explosives within the fort, slowly escapes inside. Ramza notices the smell of gunpowder and begs Delita to withdraw from the fort, but it is too late. Ramza, safe from the explosions witnesses his friend caught up within the fiery inferno as the whole place erupts.
Delita's body was never found.
Ramza becomes a sell sword, ashamed at his brothers political scandals and deceit tries to live the way his father would have wanted.
~
So, that concludes the flashback of Ramza and Delita's past. It is also the end of the first chapter in the story. I should mention that there are four chapters to this story. The next chapter begins from where we left off before the flashback; with Ramza, hired by Agrias to protect Princess Ovelia. If you remember, Ramza is part of the dark knight Gafgarion's unit of mercenaries. There journey is far from over, as now there are more questions then answers left to be resolved.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Change
I figure that it's time to change things up around here.
I have two different angles with this blog. I have the sports side, and the writers side which is rehashing the story of an old game I played. Both are good subjects to write about, but the blog is getting cluttered with the two and it's hard for me to write about FFT when I take some time off and write about sports. I lose my train of thought and where I left off which makes me go through pages of search to locate what I wrote about last.
So... I made a new blog for the sports stuff. http://radshadowsports.blogspot.com/
Same website, just a new blog. Who knows, I may add some more pages as I improve on my ideas for the future of whatever I'm trying to do.
I have two different angles with this blog. I have the sports side, and the writers side which is rehashing the story of an old game I played. Both are good subjects to write about, but the blog is getting cluttered with the two and it's hard for me to write about FFT when I take some time off and write about sports. I lose my train of thought and where I left off which makes me go through pages of search to locate what I wrote about last.
So... I made a new blog for the sports stuff. http://radshadowsports.blogspot.com/
Same website, just a new blog. Who knows, I may add some more pages as I improve on my ideas for the future of whatever I'm trying to do.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dorter and Beyond
Ramza and his band of rapscallions make it to Dorter and confront Wiegraf, the leader of the Death Corps (or Brigade as I have said in mixed fashion.)
...
Wiegraf escapes, but Algus beats on one of the Death Corps members the team had captured until he reveals Wiegraf's whereabouts.
...
The teams confronts Wiegraf who himself is confronting one of his generals, Gustav. Apparently, Gstav was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the Marquis, not Wiegraf. the two get into a heatedexchange and Gustav lunges at Wiegraf with his weapon drawn, only to get parried easier as Wiegraf counters and stabs Gustav through the chest. Ramza and companying arriving just in time to see Gustav dead on the floor and Wiegraf alone in a cellar with a tied up Marquis Elmdor. Wiegraf uses Elmdor as an exchange for an escape, and to Algus' displeasure, Ramza agrees and Wiegraf flees.
With Elmdor safe again, the group heads back to Igros. There, they meet a surprisingly upset Dycedarg who is meeting with Prince Larg. unbeknown to Ramza, Dycedarg had plotted the entire kidnapping and had wanted marquis Elmdor dead, because he was a support of Goltanna. Again, the nobles were using the peasants to cause chaos in a political level.
...
Dycedarg orders Ramza to attack one of the Death Corps main bases, but while they are away the Death Corp rallies a counterstrike and attacks Castle Igros itself. During the raid, Dycedarg is severely injured and the Brigade attempts to kidnap Alma, but Zalbag rescues her at the last moment. Ramza and Delita arrive, only in time to hear the grim news, that Delita's sister, Teta had been kidnapped by the Corp thinking that she was someone of noble birth. Dycedarg promises to tread carefully because they hold Delita's sister captive, but Algus (who has never shown any care for the lower class) demands immediate results.
Algus starts to call Delita trash because he was born into a lower subdivision of class. Delita punches Algus, who has started to show his true colors of being a snob and prick, born into a label and someone who has no compassion for friends or otherwise, while Ramza sides with his long time friend and kicks Algus out of their group.
The two friends, before setting off to find Delita's sister share a moment as the stars begin to shine. Delita wonders why people look down on him just because of his birth. How is he any different then those born into nobility? Razma, who has both peasant and nobles blood doesn't care about rank or status and assures his friend that they will find Teta and bring her back safely.
...
Wiegraf escapes, but Algus beats on one of the Death Corps members the team had captured until he reveals Wiegraf's whereabouts.
...
The teams confronts Wiegraf who himself is confronting one of his generals, Gustav. Apparently, Gstav was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the Marquis, not Wiegraf. the two get into a heatedexchange and Gustav lunges at Wiegraf with his weapon drawn, only to get parried easier as Wiegraf counters and stabs Gustav through the chest. Ramza and companying arriving just in time to see Gustav dead on the floor and Wiegraf alone in a cellar with a tied up Marquis Elmdor. Wiegraf uses Elmdor as an exchange for an escape, and to Algus' displeasure, Ramza agrees and Wiegraf flees.
With Elmdor safe again, the group heads back to Igros. There, they meet a surprisingly upset Dycedarg who is meeting with Prince Larg. unbeknown to Ramza, Dycedarg had plotted the entire kidnapping and had wanted marquis Elmdor dead, because he was a support of Goltanna. Again, the nobles were using the peasants to cause chaos in a political level.
...
Dycedarg orders Ramza to attack one of the Death Corps main bases, but while they are away the Death Corp rallies a counterstrike and attacks Castle Igros itself. During the raid, Dycedarg is severely injured and the Brigade attempts to kidnap Alma, but Zalbag rescues her at the last moment. Ramza and Delita arrive, only in time to hear the grim news, that Delita's sister, Teta had been kidnapped by the Corp thinking that she was someone of noble birth. Dycedarg promises to tread carefully because they hold Delita's sister captive, but Algus (who has never shown any care for the lower class) demands immediate results.
Algus starts to call Delita trash because he was born into a lower subdivision of class. Delita punches Algus, who has started to show his true colors of being a snob and prick, born into a label and someone who has no compassion for friends or otherwise, while Ramza sides with his long time friend and kicks Algus out of their group.
The two friends, before setting off to find Delita's sister share a moment as the stars begin to shine. Delita wonders why people look down on him just because of his birth. How is he any different then those born into nobility? Razma, who has both peasant and nobles blood doesn't care about rank or status and assures his friend that they will find Teta and bring her back safely.
The BCS Top 25...
This past week, the BCS, which is some computer program that the NCAA uses to rank college football teams according to strength of schedule (SoS is basically how well they performed against good opponents.) and total records to produce a numerical rating system from the number one team (being the best) all the way to the twenty five spot. Number twenty five does not mean that team is the worst, because there is 120 total teams in college football. These twenty five teams simply recognize those teams that stand out as the best of the best.
The BCS comes out after oh...say seven weeks into the college season. I'm not sure how it works, because it seems to favor some teams over others, but that is not the point I am trying to make. By the way, Oklahoma jumped into the number one spot for the first week of the BCS rankings. They had been in the six spot of higher each of the previous weeks in all the other polls.
Anyway, back to my point.
The Miami Hurricanes are not in the initial BCS rankings. Why not? They are 4-2. there two losses have been against GOOD teams. They lost to Ohio State as well as Florida State. Both are good teams, both are ranked in the top twenty of the BCS, yet Miami sits outside in unranked land. After number 25, it is not known where teams rank, because the BCS and pretty much every other ranking system only goes to twenty five.
In every other poll, the AP, Coaches, and Fans Power Rankings, Miami is ranked. granted, they aren't ranked high, but they are ranked dag nabbit!
Teams like Texas, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State all jumped from being unranked into the BCS top twenty five in its inaugural first week rankings. I find that pretty annoying.
Sure, it's only the first week, and all Miami has to do is win to get ranked eventually, but this is how it always is for the Hurricanes. It seems that they always have their backs against the ropes and that people just want to see them fall.
They play north Carolina this week at night. Butch Davis, one of their former head coaches has had the Hurricanes number as of late. He has beaten the Canes the past three years, but the tar heels are playing with limited talent this year due to some fines and legal stuff with the team and some of the players. A lot of their roster is unable to play because the NCAA has banned them from any collegiate activities.
Miami is playing a beaten and battered team. if they want to get some respect back. they need a win, and they need to keep winning.
Go Canes!
The BCS comes out after oh...say seven weeks into the college season. I'm not sure how it works, because it seems to favor some teams over others, but that is not the point I am trying to make. By the way, Oklahoma jumped into the number one spot for the first week of the BCS rankings. They had been in the six spot of higher each of the previous weeks in all the other polls.
Anyway, back to my point.
The Miami Hurricanes are not in the initial BCS rankings. Why not? They are 4-2. there two losses have been against GOOD teams. They lost to Ohio State as well as Florida State. Both are good teams, both are ranked in the top twenty of the BCS, yet Miami sits outside in unranked land. After number 25, it is not known where teams rank, because the BCS and pretty much every other ranking system only goes to twenty five.
In every other poll, the AP, Coaches, and Fans Power Rankings, Miami is ranked. granted, they aren't ranked high, but they are ranked dag nabbit!
Teams like Texas, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State all jumped from being unranked into the BCS top twenty five in its inaugural first week rankings. I find that pretty annoying.
Sure, it's only the first week, and all Miami has to do is win to get ranked eventually, but this is how it always is for the Hurricanes. It seems that they always have their backs against the ropes and that people just want to see them fall.
They play north Carolina this week at night. Butch Davis, one of their former head coaches has had the Hurricanes number as of late. He has beaten the Canes the past three years, but the tar heels are playing with limited talent this year due to some fines and legal stuff with the team and some of the players. A lot of their roster is unable to play because the NCAA has banned them from any collegiate activities.
Miami is playing a beaten and battered team. if they want to get some respect back. they need a win, and they need to keep winning.
Go Canes!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Super Special
Now THAT is how you play the game of football! The Miami Dolphins improved to 3-2 with a clutch overtime victory over the reeling Green Bay Packers. A win is always appreciated, but this one felt that much more special. Why? Because we won it with special teams.
If you remember, before the bye week, the Dolphins had just fired their special teams Coach following that debacle at home against the New England Patriots. The special teams played so horribly allowing a blocked punt, kick, (which was returned for a touchdown.) and a kick-off return for a score. That is unacceptable in the pro levels, and the Dolphins made sure to correct their mistakes.
They took a week off, and it showed in their preparation. Early on there was signs of the special teams falling apart when one of Miami Punter, Brandon Fields' punts was partially blocked. Thankfully that did not result in anything costly. It was mostly smooth sailing from then on out.
Dan Carpenter, last years Pro Bowl kicker, showed his worth as well. He was perfect on the day making all three of his field goals as well as his two point after try (or PAT for short) attempts. Carpenter even had to retry one of his kicks because of a Miami penalty. He made the first attempt, was forced to move back ten extra yards and still managed to kick it straight through the goal posts.
The Packers were a resilient bunch, however and forced Miami who was leading most of the game into overtime with a late TD by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Miami persevered in the end. After both teams had less then impressive opening overtime drives, Miami was left with favorable field position and the rest is history. Carpenter lined up in OT and kicked Miami into the win column.
By the way, this was in Lambeau Field; a place not known for easy wins from the road team.
What makes this win feel special is that the team corrected their mistakes and used that same area that was a concern into the reason for victory. The special teams were special on that day. let's hope that carries over when the 4-1 Pittsburgh Steelers come into Miami this weekend. Green Bay was a team riddled with injuries, and the Steelers are not and set up for a fantastic season. Pittsburgh welcomed back Ben Roethlisberger after his four game suspension for off the field issues. It's not going to be tough, but Miami has yet to win at home this year.
Against the Steelers would be a nice way to start.
If you remember, before the bye week, the Dolphins had just fired their special teams Coach following that debacle at home against the New England Patriots. The special teams played so horribly allowing a blocked punt, kick, (which was returned for a touchdown.) and a kick-off return for a score. That is unacceptable in the pro levels, and the Dolphins made sure to correct their mistakes.
They took a week off, and it showed in their preparation. Early on there was signs of the special teams falling apart when one of Miami Punter, Brandon Fields' punts was partially blocked. Thankfully that did not result in anything costly. It was mostly smooth sailing from then on out.
Dan Carpenter, last years Pro Bowl kicker, showed his worth as well. He was perfect on the day making all three of his field goals as well as his two point after try (or PAT for short) attempts. Carpenter even had to retry one of his kicks because of a Miami penalty. He made the first attempt, was forced to move back ten extra yards and still managed to kick it straight through the goal posts.
The Packers were a resilient bunch, however and forced Miami who was leading most of the game into overtime with a late TD by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Miami persevered in the end. After both teams had less then impressive opening overtime drives, Miami was left with favorable field position and the rest is history. Carpenter lined up in OT and kicked Miami into the win column.
By the way, this was in Lambeau Field; a place not known for easy wins from the road team.
What makes this win feel special is that the team corrected their mistakes and used that same area that was a concern into the reason for victory. The special teams were special on that day. let's hope that carries over when the 4-1 Pittsburgh Steelers come into Miami this weekend. Green Bay was a team riddled with injuries, and the Steelers are not and set up for a fantastic season. Pittsburgh welcomed back Ben Roethlisberger after his four game suspension for off the field issues. It's not going to be tough, but Miami has yet to win at home this year.
Against the Steelers would be a nice way to start.
Back to the Past
So back to Final Fantasy Tactics, (which I will refer to as FFT from here on after...) you got the tiny little exert from the current timeline. Delita, who was until previously was thought to be dead has just kidnapped Princess Ovelia. That was now, this is then. They flashback to when Ramza and Delita were still recruits in a low level militia for the Hokuten. (which is Prince Larg's faction name) They are best friends and Delita has Ramza's status and fame to thank for his acceptance in the academy they are both enrolled in.
The threat of war breaks out and the recruits are called to duty. (I'm going to have to make up something for the meaningless fights that take place between travels. Some have minor importance so I cannot just leave them out, less the reader be even more confused as is!)
... <------This will signify a fight of some importance, or those that I remember!
Ramza and Delita with their little army of no named fledglings are quick to try to decipher what is going on and look to Ramza's brothers for guidance. House Beoulve sits at the stronghold of Igros castle. Along the way home they encounter a band of Deatn Corps renegades.
...
*The Death Corp is a small time band of mercenaries and hired sell swords who were thrown away so to speak by the government after the fifty year war without receiving their pay. They turned their anger and hostility to the nobles who turned their backs on them. Led by Wiegraf Folles they execute guerrilla warfare style tactics to weaken and annoy their former comrades.
*The Fifty Years' War was a huge war that gets brought up repeatedly during the course of this story. This is one place where the story turns and praises Balbanes Beoulve for his acts of heroism and bravery. Wiegraf was also a major player during this war, but was considered a peasant in the end and denied his pay for his help. The most storied general during this war is a man by the name of Count Cidolfus Orlandeau. Known on the battlefield as Thunder God Cid, (or T.G. Cid for short.) this is man who strikes fear in any who oppose him. (You will hear more about him later!)
So, back to the story. Ramza and Delita save a man who was being attacked by remnants of the Corps Brigade. This man turns out to be Algus, the sole survivor of a Marquis' convoy. Marquis Elmdor, another important figure was taken prisoner by the Brigade and upon hearing that he is a Beoulve, Algus begs Ramza for his aid. The three of them then book it towards Igros.
At castle Igros, Dycedarg barely looks up from his paper work to address his brother and the impatient Algus. Ramza is ordered to stay in the castle and Dycedarg will take care of the matter. Out in the courtyard, Ramza and Delita share some family time with their respected sisters, Alma and Teta. The siblings take about the war and how the ghost of the past will not give up. Delita believes the Corps Brigade, while not in the right, deserved better treatment from the nobles. Algus, who is an apparent upper class dislikes Delita's ideology. Tension between the two can begin to be seen. Zalbag, Ramza's other half brother comes into the courtyard and drops a hint as to where the Marquis is being held. Zalbag tells ramza to be careful, because he is starting to get involved in something he shouldn't and implores him to stay out of it. Knowing his brother though, Zalbag can see the young Beoulve is the spitting image of their father and cannot allow the brigade to get away with these acts of terrorism.
The three young squires, with the tip from brother Zalbag head toward the trade city of Dorter.
and that is where I will stop for now!
The threat of war breaks out and the recruits are called to duty. (I'm going to have to make up something for the meaningless fights that take place between travels. Some have minor importance so I cannot just leave them out, less the reader be even more confused as is!)
... <------This will signify a fight of some importance, or those that I remember!
Ramza and Delita with their little army of no named fledglings are quick to try to decipher what is going on and look to Ramza's brothers for guidance. House Beoulve sits at the stronghold of Igros castle. Along the way home they encounter a band of Deatn Corps renegades.
...
*The Death Corp is a small time band of mercenaries and hired sell swords who were thrown away so to speak by the government after the fifty year war without receiving their pay. They turned their anger and hostility to the nobles who turned their backs on them. Led by Wiegraf Folles they execute guerrilla warfare style tactics to weaken and annoy their former comrades.
*The Fifty Years' War was a huge war that gets brought up repeatedly during the course of this story. This is one place where the story turns and praises Balbanes Beoulve for his acts of heroism and bravery. Wiegraf was also a major player during this war, but was considered a peasant in the end and denied his pay for his help. The most storied general during this war is a man by the name of Count Cidolfus Orlandeau. Known on the battlefield as Thunder God Cid, (or T.G. Cid for short.) this is man who strikes fear in any who oppose him. (You will hear more about him later!)
So, back to the story. Ramza and Delita save a man who was being attacked by remnants of the Corps Brigade. This man turns out to be Algus, the sole survivor of a Marquis' convoy. Marquis Elmdor, another important figure was taken prisoner by the Brigade and upon hearing that he is a Beoulve, Algus begs Ramza for his aid. The three of them then book it towards Igros.
At castle Igros, Dycedarg barely looks up from his paper work to address his brother and the impatient Algus. Ramza is ordered to stay in the castle and Dycedarg will take care of the matter. Out in the courtyard, Ramza and Delita share some family time with their respected sisters, Alma and Teta. The siblings take about the war and how the ghost of the past will not give up. Delita believes the Corps Brigade, while not in the right, deserved better treatment from the nobles. Algus, who is an apparent upper class dislikes Delita's ideology. Tension between the two can begin to be seen. Zalbag, Ramza's other half brother comes into the courtyard and drops a hint as to where the Marquis is being held. Zalbag tells ramza to be careful, because he is starting to get involved in something he shouldn't and implores him to stay out of it. Knowing his brother though, Zalbag can see the young Beoulve is the spitting image of their father and cannot allow the brigade to get away with these acts of terrorism.
The three young squires, with the tip from brother Zalbag head toward the trade city of Dorter.
and that is where I will stop for now!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
They Won't Make it Look Easy
Rays lost.
I am still super sad.
So lets look at the only positive I got out of this week(end) so far, and that would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What a great season so far for these upstart Bucs. (I like that word: upstart!)
This Tampa team, who everyone...EVERYONE (except the crazies and yours truly) had written them to the bottom feeders of the NFL before their very first snap. Most predicted them to go 2-14, or at best 5-11. Not me! I have said that despite what everyone said, the Bucs could very well go ten and six...10-6! That is playoff bound usually. That would also make this year a great improvement over last years growing pains and their 3-13 record. Hell, they already have three wins after their first four games. Their only loss came against a hungry Pittsburgh team who looks to be at the top of the NFL food chain.
So, they have already matched their win totals from last year Still everyone doubts them.
Let's look at some of their games left to be played and dissect them individually.
Next week: @ home against the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints. At a glance, everyone would count them out right off the bat. But, the Saints aren't the same team that won it all last year. They just lost to the Arizona Cardinals who are not a good team at all, and started a rookie QB against them... Even if the Saints manage a win, I was not counting the Saints as a win in either game they play, just for arguments sake. So lets give them a L here.
3-2
@ home vs the St. Louis Rams (2-3). Rookie QB, no offense other then Steven Jackson who is running with one leg. Their defense stinks.This game is the Bucs game to lose. W
4-2
@ Arizona (3-2). I've already stated my disdain for the Cardinals and their lack of anything. Easy win hopefully. W
5-2
@ Atlanta (4-1). The Falcons will probably be the hardest team they play and they usually play them well. Again for arguments sake, I gave the Falcons the edge here. L
5-3
@ home against the Carolina Panthers (0-5). That record is atrocious! The Bucs can't afford to lose to this bad of a team. W
6-3
@ San Fransisco (0-5). Another team that is not playing well at all. The Bucs need to beat these teams in order to make people take them seriously. W
7-3
@ Baltimore (4-1). The Ravens are for real. They have a defense that looks similar to the Steelers who pounded the Bucs earlier this season. We will be nice and give the Ravens the win here. L
7-4
@ home against the Falcons again. I said I would give them both games just to make a point. I don't thin the Bucs will give away four losses in the division, but I will here right now. L
7-5
@ Washington (3-2). The craziest team in my eyes this year are the Washington Redskins. Donovan McNabb has given them a passing game finally and they look for real. We will be nice and give the Redskins the victory here. L
7-6
@ home against the Detroit Lions (1-4). Their record is a lie. They are much better then a one win team, but still it is a home game and will need this win after a tough loss. W
8-6
@ home against the Seattle Seahawks (2-2). They stink. Should be an easy win. W
9-6
@ New Orleans (3-2). We should split the series against the Saints. If not here then back in week 6 (this week actually hahaha). So I give them a W here to break even. W
Final record of 10-6.
BOOM!
I am still super sad.
So lets look at the only positive I got out of this week(end) so far, and that would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What a great season so far for these upstart Bucs. (I like that word: upstart!)
This Tampa team, who everyone...EVERYONE (except the crazies and yours truly) had written them to the bottom feeders of the NFL before their very first snap. Most predicted them to go 2-14, or at best 5-11. Not me! I have said that despite what everyone said, the Bucs could very well go ten and six...10-6! That is playoff bound usually. That would also make this year a great improvement over last years growing pains and their 3-13 record. Hell, they already have three wins after their first four games. Their only loss came against a hungry Pittsburgh team who looks to be at the top of the NFL food chain.
So, they have already matched their win totals from last year Still everyone doubts them.
Let's look at some of their games left to be played and dissect them individually.
Next week: @ home against the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints. At a glance, everyone would count them out right off the bat. But, the Saints aren't the same team that won it all last year. They just lost to the Arizona Cardinals who are not a good team at all, and started a rookie QB against them... Even if the Saints manage a win, I was not counting the Saints as a win in either game they play, just for arguments sake. So lets give them a L here.
3-2
@ home vs the St. Louis Rams (2-3). Rookie QB, no offense other then Steven Jackson who is running with one leg. Their defense stinks.This game is the Bucs game to lose. W
4-2
@ Arizona (3-2). I've already stated my disdain for the Cardinals and their lack of anything. Easy win hopefully. W
5-2
@ Atlanta (4-1). The Falcons will probably be the hardest team they play and they usually play them well. Again for arguments sake, I gave the Falcons the edge here. L
5-3
@ home against the Carolina Panthers (0-5). That record is atrocious! The Bucs can't afford to lose to this bad of a team. W
6-3
@ San Fransisco (0-5). Another team that is not playing well at all. The Bucs need to beat these teams in order to make people take them seriously. W
7-3
@ Baltimore (4-1). The Ravens are for real. They have a defense that looks similar to the Steelers who pounded the Bucs earlier this season. We will be nice and give the Ravens the win here. L
7-4
@ home against the Falcons again. I said I would give them both games just to make a point. I don't thin the Bucs will give away four losses in the division, but I will here right now. L
7-5
@ Washington (3-2). The craziest team in my eyes this year are the Washington Redskins. Donovan McNabb has given them a passing game finally and they look for real. We will be nice and give the Redskins the victory here. L
7-6
@ home against the Detroit Lions (1-4). Their record is a lie. They are much better then a one win team, but still it is a home game and will need this win after a tough loss. W
8-6
@ home against the Seattle Seahawks (2-2). They stink. Should be an easy win. W
9-6
@ New Orleans (3-2). We should split the series against the Saints. If not here then back in week 6 (this week actually hahaha). So I give them a W here to break even. W
Final record of 10-6.
BOOM!
Agony
I'd first and foremost like to give my thoughts on what now very well be one of the more depressing seasons the Tampa Bay Rays will ever have to overcome.
The season is over for them. And what a season it was. Not only did they top the American league with the best record, but they proved to be formidable against the best teams in the game and even had winning records against the defending World Series champions, the New York Yankees.
However, that celebration was all for naught as the Rays could not get past the first round of the American League playoffs. They lost the first series they played to the Texas Rangers. It was not the prettiest of losses to be sure. neither team could win at home, and Texas took three games from us in our own home field, Tropicana Field.
The Rangers, to give them credit played hard every game, but this was a team who had never won a playoff series...ever. That means in their existence as a pro sports team, they had never advanced past the first round. Well now they have, and it was against the Rays of all teams.
The Rays had a season of highs and lows. They proved to be competitive against the best, but also gave up a few bad games. They were in at least three games that the opposing pitcher posted a no hitter or worse: a perfect game. This outing was no better. Ranger ace, Cliff Lee played a complete game, and not only did he win the first game in the series, but he also closed out the series and knocked the Rays out of the playoffs and off the mountain.
Now the Rays deal with the sad off season that will steal all their talent. The owners have already said they are going to cut cost of the team dramatically, nearly 20 millions dollars worth in fact. With the contracts expiring for some of their pivotal players, this does not bode well for the team.
Here are some of the few players the Rays will most likely lose this coming off season: Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza, B.J. Upton, Jason Bartlett, and possibly some more well known and well loved players on the team. Crawford will be one of (if not) the most sought out after free agent(s) this off season. He is a great player and has spent nine wonderful and very memorable seasons with the Rays. A speedy base runner and a great left fielder, Crawford will be an upgrade for almost any team who has the money to offer him instantly. Sadly, the Rays do not have that privilege. They just do not earn enough revenue and the owners will not spend the money to keep Crawford.
Next years Rays are already looking to be a team on the outside, trying to rebuild after what will be its hardest off seasons to date. Its a sad state, after what looked to be such a promising year.
Last nights loss was a hard one to swallow.
The season is over for them. And what a season it was. Not only did they top the American league with the best record, but they proved to be formidable against the best teams in the game and even had winning records against the defending World Series champions, the New York Yankees.
However, that celebration was all for naught as the Rays could not get past the first round of the American League playoffs. They lost the first series they played to the Texas Rangers. It was not the prettiest of losses to be sure. neither team could win at home, and Texas took three games from us in our own home field, Tropicana Field.
The Rangers, to give them credit played hard every game, but this was a team who had never won a playoff series...ever. That means in their existence as a pro sports team, they had never advanced past the first round. Well now they have, and it was against the Rays of all teams.
The Rays had a season of highs and lows. They proved to be competitive against the best, but also gave up a few bad games. They were in at least three games that the opposing pitcher posted a no hitter or worse: a perfect game. This outing was no better. Ranger ace, Cliff Lee played a complete game, and not only did he win the first game in the series, but he also closed out the series and knocked the Rays out of the playoffs and off the mountain.
Now the Rays deal with the sad off season that will steal all their talent. The owners have already said they are going to cut cost of the team dramatically, nearly 20 millions dollars worth in fact. With the contracts expiring for some of their pivotal players, this does not bode well for the team.
Here are some of the few players the Rays will most likely lose this coming off season: Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza, B.J. Upton, Jason Bartlett, and possibly some more well known and well loved players on the team. Crawford will be one of (if not) the most sought out after free agent(s) this off season. He is a great player and has spent nine wonderful and very memorable seasons with the Rays. A speedy base runner and a great left fielder, Crawford will be an upgrade for almost any team who has the money to offer him instantly. Sadly, the Rays do not have that privilege. They just do not earn enough revenue and the owners will not spend the money to keep Crawford.
Next years Rays are already looking to be a team on the outside, trying to rebuild after what will be its hardest off seasons to date. Its a sad state, after what looked to be such a promising year.
Last nights loss was a hard one to swallow.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Not Special at All...
UGH!!!!!!!!!
Miami what in God's holy name was that!? I mean lose, that's fine. But don't lose like THAT!
What the crap was that?
So...after the Miami Dolphins started the 2010 season with a great and positive record of 2 and 0, they have lost consecutive games to go into their bye week a measly 2 and 2. That's average, okay, five hundred, nothing special, not a good record and not a bad one, but COME ON!
Monday Night against the New England Patriots better have been a wake up call for that team. Let me explain...
They started off strong. The offense drove down the field and made New England's defense look lost early, scoring on their second possession. They struggled for a bit, but maintained a 7-6 lead going into half time.
It was the start of the second half where everything fell apart. The Patriots started the 3rd quarter by returning the opening kick off for a touchdown. We call that a special teams play. Right from the get go they were down 13-7. The Dolphins offense struggled again and were forced to punt. Again, this is a special teams play. Guess what, the punt was blocked and it gave NE great field position.
Hooray for special teams fudge ups!
The Patriots scored with their short field and made it a quick 20-7 hole the Dolphins faced.
Miami recovered somewhat. They scored a Touchdown not long after and cut the lead to six points. The defense however, would not give us any help this time. The Patriots scored again making it a two score lead going into the 4th quarter. Miami's offense looked poised to get some points on the board and try to mount a comeback, but they fell short of the goal line and were forced to try for a long field goal.
Field Goals are special teams work as well. (No this can't be foreshadowing...)
So guess what happens? The Patriots block the FG attempt and run it all the way back for a touchdown for their own.
That pretty much wrapped it up.
I have never seen a team fail so badly on special teams before.
I think ESPN stated that this was the first time a team has given up a blocked punt, and blocked field goal and a kick off return for a touchdown all in the SAME GAME!
The special teams coordinator for Miami was promptly fired after this debacle. Good riddance I say!
Miami gets a bye week to ponder at their mistakes and hopefully, to rectify them as well.
That was just sad. It truly broke my spirit as a fan of that team.
And the road doesn't get any easily either. They get to play a Packers team out of their bye who is on fire right now.
Yay, Dolphins!
(Let's hope I can get a win from my less-then-stellar Buccaneers this week to help the pang.)
Miami what in God's holy name was that!? I mean lose, that's fine. But don't lose like THAT!
What the crap was that?
So...after the Miami Dolphins started the 2010 season with a great and positive record of 2 and 0, they have lost consecutive games to go into their bye week a measly 2 and 2. That's average, okay, five hundred, nothing special, not a good record and not a bad one, but COME ON!
Monday Night against the New England Patriots better have been a wake up call for that team. Let me explain...
They started off strong. The offense drove down the field and made New England's defense look lost early, scoring on their second possession. They struggled for a bit, but maintained a 7-6 lead going into half time.
It was the start of the second half where everything fell apart. The Patriots started the 3rd quarter by returning the opening kick off for a touchdown. We call that a special teams play. Right from the get go they were down 13-7. The Dolphins offense struggled again and were forced to punt. Again, this is a special teams play. Guess what, the punt was blocked and it gave NE great field position.
Hooray for special teams fudge ups!
The Patriots scored with their short field and made it a quick 20-7 hole the Dolphins faced.
Miami recovered somewhat. They scored a Touchdown not long after and cut the lead to six points. The defense however, would not give us any help this time. The Patriots scored again making it a two score lead going into the 4th quarter. Miami's offense looked poised to get some points on the board and try to mount a comeback, but they fell short of the goal line and were forced to try for a long field goal.
Field Goals are special teams work as well. (No this can't be foreshadowing...)
So guess what happens? The Patriots block the FG attempt and run it all the way back for a touchdown for their own.
That pretty much wrapped it up.
I have never seen a team fail so badly on special teams before.
I think ESPN stated that this was the first time a team has given up a blocked punt, and blocked field goal and a kick off return for a touchdown all in the SAME GAME!
The special teams coordinator for Miami was promptly fired after this debacle. Good riddance I say!
Miami gets a bye week to ponder at their mistakes and hopefully, to rectify them as well.
That was just sad. It truly broke my spirit as a fan of that team.
And the road doesn't get any easily either. They get to play a Packers team out of their bye who is on fire right now.
Yay, Dolphins!
(Let's hope I can get a win from my less-then-stellar Buccaneers this week to help the pang.)
Friday, October 1, 2010
Frustration!
Sunday night was supposed to be one of pure jubilation, instead it ended up as another night a Dolfan would soon want to forget. I need to analyze this game further, the Miami Dolphins loss to the New York Jets. It's hard to imagine that Miami (who gave up 31 points AT HOME) was walking around with the best defence in the league before that drudging. They had only given up 10 points in both of their first two games and then allowed New York's abysmal Offense to rack up 31 points in a single night! ARGH!!!!!
Well it's not all that bad. Miami only has the one loss so far in the season and it is still early, so they can and should (I hope) learn from their mistakes.
I just want to know why the Defense looked so bad Sunday night after it looked so dominant for the past two weeks.
First and foremost I want to call out Defensive back (DB) Jason Allen. How are you going to allow Braylon Edwards to score on you? The guy is a bust if I ever seen one. he is big, sure...but the guy is slow as molasses. Allen lost his footing and slipped which allowed Edwards to run for 87 yards and a quick score after Miami had taken the lead. Talk about momentum killers. There are plenty of speculations running in my head as to why Allen might have fallen, but he was still out of place to begin with since he had no help from the safety. That was his mistake. He also, later on, allowed a crucial reception go to Edwards on a third down play that would have (if not converted) forced the jets to punt the ball to Miami. Instead he does the opposite of what killed him before and allowed Edwards to snag the reception, but this time he had help from the Safety and should not have been covering the receiver so loosely. Edwards caught the pass, converted the first down, and the Jets eventually scored to pull too far ahead for the Dolphins to come back from.
I'm not saying this loss falls entirely on Jason Allen's shoulders, but he needs to correct his mistakes.
The defense in general was playing off Sunday night. I mean, how does Dustin Keller get two touchdown? REALLY!? UGH! Come on Miami...
One of the bright spots in the loss was watching Chad Henne grow up. The dude can flat out play some football. he is still young in his Quarterback maturation stage, but I think (despite ESPN saying otherwise) he is progressing faster then Mark Sanchez is at least.
Why you ask? I will tell you! Sanchez got lucky in he threw a lot more balls that were, and should have been intercepted. He had no picks in the official stats of the game, but that's because his interceptions were called back by penalties or dropped by Miami defenders. YOU CAN'T DO THAT! Don't miss opportunities, you rarely get a second try to cash in on those chances. Miami needs to work on finishing on defense. the D produced tons of turnovers against theit first two teams, but did not collect one against New York. That is not a good stat for the defense. Finish the play.
Did I mention how much I enjoyed watching the offense last week? Cause I did! In a losing effort, the passing game looked marvelous. Brandon Marshall finally had his emergence game for Miami collecting 10 passes for a whopping 166 yards and one touchdown. The Henne to Marshall connection should only build off of this production and get better which will help the other WRs get into the action and most importantly it will soften the coverage in the box (The box is a short name for players who occupy the defensive line, along with linebackers should they play up against a run). No one was fearful of Miami's passing game for the longest time, so everyone would crowd the box with extra men while the WRs would be single covered. that seems like a trend that will end (Ha, I rhymed!) due to Marshall's demand for double coverage on most plays.
The running game definitely needs to improve. Ronnie Brown is running decent, but decent will only take you so far. Ricky Williams has started to have a fumbling problem which needs to be corrected PRONTO! Those are two good workhorse backs. They are due for a breakout game, one of them at least.
I have no idea what to make of their next match up, a Monday Night Football showdown against division rival New England. The Patriots (or Gaytriots as my cousin would say!) have a solid offense which scares me a lot more then the Jets'. So how will the defense look on Monday night?
Only time will tell. GO MIAMI!
(Tampa was on a bye, and I didn't get to see the spanking they received, so i won't comment on that loss.)
=)
Well it's not all that bad. Miami only has the one loss so far in the season and it is still early, so they can and should (I hope) learn from their mistakes.
I just want to know why the Defense looked so bad Sunday night after it looked so dominant for the past two weeks.
First and foremost I want to call out Defensive back (DB) Jason Allen. How are you going to allow Braylon Edwards to score on you? The guy is a bust if I ever seen one. he is big, sure...but the guy is slow as molasses. Allen lost his footing and slipped which allowed Edwards to run for 87 yards and a quick score after Miami had taken the lead. Talk about momentum killers. There are plenty of speculations running in my head as to why Allen might have fallen, but he was still out of place to begin with since he had no help from the safety. That was his mistake. He also, later on, allowed a crucial reception go to Edwards on a third down play that would have (if not converted) forced the jets to punt the ball to Miami. Instead he does the opposite of what killed him before and allowed Edwards to snag the reception, but this time he had help from the Safety and should not have been covering the receiver so loosely. Edwards caught the pass, converted the first down, and the Jets eventually scored to pull too far ahead for the Dolphins to come back from.
I'm not saying this loss falls entirely on Jason Allen's shoulders, but he needs to correct his mistakes.
The defense in general was playing off Sunday night. I mean, how does Dustin Keller get two touchdown? REALLY!? UGH! Come on Miami...
One of the bright spots in the loss was watching Chad Henne grow up. The dude can flat out play some football. he is still young in his Quarterback maturation stage, but I think (despite ESPN saying otherwise) he is progressing faster then Mark Sanchez is at least.
Why you ask? I will tell you! Sanchez got lucky in he threw a lot more balls that were, and should have been intercepted. He had no picks in the official stats of the game, but that's because his interceptions were called back by penalties or dropped by Miami defenders. YOU CAN'T DO THAT! Don't miss opportunities, you rarely get a second try to cash in on those chances. Miami needs to work on finishing on defense. the D produced tons of turnovers against theit first two teams, but did not collect one against New York. That is not a good stat for the defense. Finish the play.
Did I mention how much I enjoyed watching the offense last week? Cause I did! In a losing effort, the passing game looked marvelous. Brandon Marshall finally had his emergence game for Miami collecting 10 passes for a whopping 166 yards and one touchdown. The Henne to Marshall connection should only build off of this production and get better which will help the other WRs get into the action and most importantly it will soften the coverage in the box (The box is a short name for players who occupy the defensive line, along with linebackers should they play up against a run). No one was fearful of Miami's passing game for the longest time, so everyone would crowd the box with extra men while the WRs would be single covered. that seems like a trend that will end (Ha, I rhymed!) due to Marshall's demand for double coverage on most plays.
The running game definitely needs to improve. Ronnie Brown is running decent, but decent will only take you so far. Ricky Williams has started to have a fumbling problem which needs to be corrected PRONTO! Those are two good workhorse backs. They are due for a breakout game, one of them at least.
I have no idea what to make of their next match up, a Monday Night Football showdown against division rival New England. The Patriots (or Gaytriots as my cousin would say!) have a solid offense which scares me a lot more then the Jets'. So how will the defense look on Monday night?
Only time will tell. GO MIAMI!
(Tampa was on a bye, and I didn't get to see the spanking they received, so i won't comment on that loss.)
=)
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