yankees228

Wake is out of position. He's a 250 pound 3-4 outside linebacker playing DE in a 3-4. That is the worst possible switch for him. It might work if he was playing DE in a 4-3, but there's almost no chance he would be even a factor in a 3-4. That's two thirds of his offensive line, and it's going to really hurt him against off tackle runs, and in his pass rush. Those are the two main ones I mentioned. And there's also Vilma, as ital mentioned, but that isn't nearly as big a deal as the DEs.

I think YH deserved to be higher in the rankings, probably at 3 or 4. But based on the way he constructed his team (and this isn't his fault), I'm also not surprised that he was ranked 6th.

Thanks for voting YH and ital. YH, I obviously have no issue with someone picking against my team, but I have a question about your analysis. What gives you confidence that TK's front seven is going to play well, with so many players out of position (especially to the point where it seems like his front seven is one of the main reasons you picked his team)?

Twelve years too late.

Fair enough, I'll bump the thread tomorrow in one last ditch effort.

Thanks for voting yrtb. Hopefully others do the same.

Great game, and a well earned win for the Celtics. But there should have been more time on the clock for that final possession, and it certainly might have made a difference. It's amazing that even with replay, the officials can't get the calls right. http://www.theknicksblog.com/2010/12/15/right/

I like Ital's team here. While I think he has some issues on the offensive line, I absolutely love his offense. Putting all those receivers around Peyton Manning, with two solid running backs, is unstoppable. It isn't a hodgepodge of talent in my opinion. Each player seems to have his role, and Peyton will find a way to utilize them. WB's pass rush is hurt with Suggs out of position, as he'll be asked to do things in this 4-3 scheme that he has never done before with the Ravens. On the whole, I don't love his linebackers, especially in coverage. I think Peyton will be very successful working the middle of the field, and will find the end zone often. As is common in these match-ups, I also like the other team's ability to move the ball. WB has a lot of talent with well defined roles on that side of the ball. I don't think too highly of Ital's corners, and I think Roethlisberger and his receivers will have success throwing the ball. But I like Ital's speed rushers to make enough plays against the pass to help seal this game for Ital.

Well I guess this is the problem with these drafts - once people are eliminated they lose interest. I'll vote in the other semi-final, but if there are only a couple votes for each match-up, the results aren't really going to be legitimate.

Quoted for emphasis. It doesn't take long to look over both teams, read the explanations, and cast a vote.

I'm assuming this was said 'tongue in cheek', but I'd be all for this. He would fit very nicely into the number three or four slot in the rotation. I really don't care about his first stint in NY. It was a complete fluke.

My Offense vs. TK's Defense I think this is an area where I can have a lot of success, and what I will do will be based entirely off of how TK adjusts his personnel. Unlike in past match-ups, I plan on going with bigger sets early, and establishing the run. As I mentioned above, TK's line is going to really struggle on off-tackle runs because his DEs are undersized and out of position. I think Bush and Bradshaw, with their speed, will be able to turn the corner and reach the second level. If TK adjusts to this by committing more linebackers to the run, it will open up my passing attack, against what I view as an average secondary. Holmes and Nicks match-up very well with Webster and Clements, and should be able to have success in both the short passing game and on the deep ball. I'll also be able to take advantage based on what TK does with his safeties. If he brings Leonhard down to play the run, and goes with a single high safety, that should help me with big plays. If he keeps both of his safeties back, Cooley should have a field day working on linebackers. If he assigns Collins to Cooley, that should open up the deep parts of the field even more for my wideouts. My Defense vs. TK's Offense TK's offense is fantastic, and my defense will have to really show up here. I plan to go with a mixed bag on defense. I'll go with some traditionally 3-4, hoping for pressure off the edges to disrupt the passing attack. I also think this formation gives me the best opportunity to defend the run, as Ratliff should be able to disrupt plays between the tackle, and Ware and Harrison should be able to control the edges. If TK's backs get through the line between the tackles, James and Lofton are solid tacklers up the middle. On passing downs I'll show Brady a ton of different looks. He'll see the base package, but he'll also see the pass rushers blitzing the A and B gaps, similarly to what I did against YH. Rolle and Harper will come down into the box frequently and blitz the C gap, which should provide pass rushing speed off the edge with the power and speed of Harrison and Ware. I'll go with some zone blitzes where a combination of Harrison, Lofton, James, Wright, and Spears drop into coverage, helping with the underneath routes. I'll also play some 3-3-5, with Phillips subbing in for James, and playing some single high safety. This will allow more maneuverability for Rolle and Harper, and should also help against the deep ball. Special Teams As in my other match-ups, I see the special teams as relatively even. Rackers and Morestead will be careful with McCluster, and I hope that the combination of Bush, Royal, and Washington can get a big play in the return game. Both of our kickers should do a solid job. I think this is a very close match-up, but I like my team's chances better simply because I think my offense will be able to move the ball with ease against TK's defense, while my defense should be able to make just enough plays to win the game. Very interested to see how the voting goes, and best of luck to you TK.

Red Sox. Not even debatable.

Very much appreciated.

Haha I appreciate that. The rotation is in big trouble moving forward.

Huge disappointment. Not really much else to say lol.

Why does it matter what they would do over the course of an entire season? Based on the way the voting is conducted, these teams are being built, essentially, for a playoff run three years from now. As for Ratliff, how many big games has he played in? First off, he was really good in their 2007 playoff game vs the Giants, and he was also decent in the playoffs last year. Additionally, the sample size for him in big games is so small that it's pretty much irrelevant.

My game-plan and such? Absolutely, just don't have time to do it just this minute, but I'll get it in before the deadline.

My roster: Offense: QB: Aaron Rodgers RB: Ahmad Bradshaw RB: Reggie Bush WR: Santonio Holmes WR: Hakeem Nicks WR: Eddie Royal WR: Demaryius Thomas TE: Chris Cooley LT: Marcus McNeill LG: Justin Smiley C: Jason Brown RG: Chris Kuper RT: Ryan Harris Defense (3-4): DE: Marcus Spears NT: Jay Ratliff DE: Mike Wright OLB: DeMarcus Ware ILB: Curtis Lofton ILB: Bradie James OLB: James Harrison CB: Johnathan Joseph FS: Antrel Rolle SS: Roman Harper CB: Leon Hall BU: Matt Cassel, QB BU: Kenny Phillips, SS KR/PR: Leon Washington K: Neil Rackers P: Thomas Morestead Coach: Tom Coughlin I'll post my game-plan/rationale for victory in the next post, but I want to quickly hit on a couple key points here. TK's team is number two in the power rankings, and it deserves to be high, he put together a very good squad. His offense is phenomenal top to bottom, and he should be able to move the ball against most opponents. But there are two main components to a football team, and TK has some serious flaws on the defensive side of the ball, ones that apparently have been overlooked based on the voting in his previous match-ups. His linebackers are solid, but he has some legitimate problems on the defensive line and in the secondary. Defensive Line: Haloti Ngata is excellent, but both of his defensive ends are way out of position. Cameron Wake, while he's having a great year, is a 250 pound 3-4 scheme pass rushing linebacker, playing DE in the 3-4. The average weight at this position is over 290 pounds, and Wake's great pass rushing abilities will be completely ineffective in this role. On the other side is Chris Long, who's a 4-3 pass rushing defensive end, also playing DE in the 3-4. He's undersized for this position, and once again, his pass rushing abilities will be wasted in this scheme. Additionally, having these two players out of position will severely limit TK's ability to defend off tackle running plays. Secondary Again, TK has one good player in this unit. Nick Collins is an excellent ball-hawking safety, but it's downhill from there. Corey Webster is a decent number one corner, but he's going to struggle to consistently defend any of the number one wide receivers in this league. At the other corner, while he has been decent this year, Nate Clements has been on an overall decline since he left Buffalo, and will be 33 years old for this league. Considering where he's at right now, I'd be very surprised if he was an adequate number two corner in three years. At the other safety is Jim Leonhard. Leonhard is decent against the run, but is undersized for a low-playing safety. He's also atrocious in pass coverage, whether it be zone or corners coverage, routinely giving up big plays. Against teams that can stretch the field at both wideout positions, TK is going to really struggle with those two corners and only one safety who can defend the pass. I don't mean to harp on the deficiencies of TK's team, but based on what has been said in his match-ups, I felt like people were completely overlooking these items, and that they needed to be clearly addressed. At some point later tonight I'll post my entire game-plan (and explain how I'll take advantage of the above weaknesses), but I wanted to stress the importance of these individual items.

Thanks for the compliment TK. This match-up is certainly going to be tough. You have a hell of a team, and Brady is going to be tough to beat on this forum lol.