The line-up at the Flames infirmary ward is getting longer by the second. All that talk about being over the cap to start the season has gone out the window as the Flames will have more than enough players placed on the Long Term Injured List, making their salary void against the cap. Daymond Langkow (neck), Matt Stajan (Shoulder), Ales Kotalik (Knee), David Moss (shoulder), and Ryan Stone (Knee) are also out indefinitely and have no time table for a return.
You can also add Adam Pardy to the list temporarily as he left Sunday night’s game with an eye injury.
Once faced with too many centers, the Flames now have not enough, as only Jokinen, Backlund, Conroy, and rookie Stefan Meyer are the natural centers left on the team. With all the injuries, the thought of Meyer starting the season with the big club has become a very realistic possibility. He has impressed in camp and has the size that Jon Rheault (just sent down) does not. If Flames fans know nothing else, it’s that Sutter likes bigger players.
Side Note: How good is Backlund looking these last couple games? He centered Iggy and Tanguay on Friday night and picked up two assists, while last night, playing with Hagman and Bourque, he looked great. He is reading the play much better and you can almost see the confidence grow in his game each and every night. Could a first round pick for the Flames actually pan out the way fans and management have hoped? Fingers are crossed.
The hype didn’t exactly live up to its billing. They cheered McNabb before the game and then booed once it all got started; or were they booing the porous play of their own team?
Andy Reid: "Kolb, no Vick, no it’s Kolb, no for real this time, the starter is Vick. Crap, it’s Kolb again."
The monumental differences between Mike Vick and Kevin Kolb are quite hilarious. Vick makes plays happen, spread the ball around and goes for the throat. Kolb checks down on almost every single play (ala Matt Leinart) and gives the ball to McCoy almost religiously. Vick is exciting. Kolb is, well, not so much. The NFC East is all of a sudden a toss-up with three 2-2 teams and the Cowboys (projected to win the division) sitting at 1-2 after their bye week.
Speaking of divisions, is there a division in all of sports worse than the NFC West? The Cardinals, Rams, and Seahawks are all 2-2. The 49ers or 0-4! I would likely say that a majority of pundits picked the Niner’s to win this division. Despite these records, the Cardinals look absolutely heinous without Warner but have somehow snuck out two wins. The Rams are this year’s version of the 2009 Detroit Lions and will most likely fizzle, while the Seahawks forget how to play football outside the friendly confines of Qwest Field. Watching these teams play is almost as difficult as watching the Bears v Giants game last night…Yikes!
Prediction: Buffalo Bills go 0-16 this year. You heard it here first. There only chances at wins would be next week when they host Jacksonville, Week 10 when they host Detroit and Week 14 when they host Cleveland. I really do not see it happening though as the Bills offence is more hopeless than Lindsay Lohan at an AA meeting, while their defence has never seen their own bench.
Props: To Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee for one of the best celebrations this year. The sprint away from your teammates after nailing a 59-yarder to win the game was awesome. But, when you make a near 60-yard kick at the buzzer to beat a division rival, you can pretty much do whatever you please.
Much better than this EPIC FAIL!
Celebrating what exactly?
Are the celebrations for winning the division pennant in baseball becoming a tad contrived? Ski goggles? Really? It is absurd how much of a side show it has become compared to the actual winning of the division. With the Wild Card spot available too, the lustre of winning the division has really been downgraded in my opinion as well. Before it was such a big deal because the only way to make the playoffs was to win your division, but now with the extra spot the prestige seems a tad less.
I am referring mainly to the situation in the AL EAST where the Rays and Yankees were both considered locks for the playoffs from September onwards, yet the division title was still up for grabs. Does the home field advantage really matter in baseball? I guess batting second is an advantage, but with the cookie cutter stadiums nowadays, the idea of actual ‘home field advantage’ has gone out the window in my mind.
Tampa knew they were in the playoffs a month ago. At least that gave them one month to import the Oakley ski goggles. Hockey teams don’t even go to those lengths when they win the Cup, much less seal up a division crown.
Newman
twitter.com/TSRNewman
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