<posted on behalf of peytonsurdaddy>

Hello, fellow AFC South fans!  A new concept we're going to be trying out this season is a 24-hour open thread for fans of AFC South teams located in the FanPosts section of Battle Red Blog (a special thanks to Tim for allowing such nonsense).  A place where football fans can get together and chat about a variety of topics ranging from football to foot fetishes. Just think of it as your favorite bar/hang-out spot where you can get to know your fellow divisional fans on a more relaxed and personal basis. The point of this thread will be to bring us, the fans of the greatest division in all of the NFL, together for some friendly conversation and camaraderie.

• Nothing will be considered off-topic other than the usual religion/politics.
• Check your hostilities at the door. All previous problems you have had with other AFC South fans will be considered forgotten when you enter the thread. You may encounter others who seem to be ragging on each other. Please don't jump into the argument like you own the place. Things aren't what they always appear to be. It's probably people who know each other extremely well participating in some inside-joking or friendly ribbing.
• This is not a Game Thread. There are threads already dedicated to this, and for good reason . It's the same reason why I don't watch Pats/Colts games with my Pats-loving brother-in-law anymore. Things get crazy real quick.
• No trolling, please. If the only thing you have to say is, "Colts/Texans/Jags/Titans SUUUUUUUCK!!!1!!1" you're not going to make very many friends.
• If you are having problems with someone in the thread, please email me and we can work together to resolve the issue in-house. Our hope is that this thread will be self-regulated by the fans themselves and won't need any outside intervention. If you don't like what you see, treat it as any other unpalatable link you have clicked on in the past. Apply eye-bleach and move along.
  
• Have fun! We're all fans and fellow pathetic computer nerds. We have more in common with each other than we have with most everyone else in the real world. Try to remember that.

In the beginning, myself, peytonsurdaddy, and Shake (from BRB) will be hosting the threads. As time goes on we'd like to add a representative from both the Titans and Jaguars fans as well. You may lobby for the position by sending cash proving yourself to have a level head and basically nothing better to do with your life.

So please join us at: Battle Red Blog, and look for the latest AFC South thread.

Thanks,

peytonsurdaddy

This Sunday the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts square off in their 2010 season openers at Reliant Stadium. At 12 p.m. CST the two best teams in the AFC South division will go head-to-head in the hopes of grabbing the lead in the division and establishing themselves as the early-on team to beat.

I, a Colts Texans fan, am providing this thread as a place where you ex-SB Colts fans can get to know your enemy a little better. The strengths, weaknesses, off-season acquisitions and all-around insight into the Colts Texans that only a pack of football-obsessed nerds like us may be able to provide.

Now, I know that last season's Q&A went a little rough and some lingering animosity may be lingering between opposing fans as a result was fun as hell, so I'd like to lay down a few suggestions on how to treat this thread as to avoid ruining it for the people who actually have football related questions they want answered.

1. I will be establishing visiting a second thread this season entitled Troll-A-Colts Fan to work as a sister-thread to this one. It will be a place where you can go and curse Peightaun Menning and his big-headed mama to your heart's content.
2. Please try to keep the questions and answers football related. Example of a football question: How confident do you feel that Peyton's hurry-up style of offense will be able to adapt to the new umpire-placement rules the Texans can beat the Colts now that both Rosencopter & Shankopotamus are off the roster? Example of not a football question: So, do you think Peighton Menning will sit on the bench and cry like a big-headed baby the whole game because the umpires won't let him cheat anymore the current White House team should print another trillion dollars to weaken the country further?
3. No attacks please. Let's try to keep this thread civil. Please don't personally attack posters, teams or players. There's a whole other thread for that. If you feel yourself starting to grow angry enough that you feel you have to vent, go to the other thread and scream, "F#$@K THE COLTS COLTS DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!@!!!!!!!!!!!@!11!" all you want. I encourage it and will probably have more posts on that thread than anyone else.
4. I, myself, do not visit Stampede Blue., and this post is not officially sanctioned by BigBlueShoe, but there will be posters from that site over here answering and asking questions and commenting on them. But hopefully some of their ex-patriots (puns kick ass) will visit this thread to ask the folks of BRB some questions about the Texans.  They are fans just like you and me and I expect them to conduct themselves as civilly as I expect all of you to.
5. I have no power here. I can't shut down this thread or delete comments, and if I did have that power I wouldn't care to use it. It's not my place to take people to task on this site, for that I look to the other members of this community. It's your job to let others know when they cross the line.

I hope all of your questions get answered to your satisfaction, and may the best team win.

Thank You For Your Hospitality,

Shake

**Did I ever mention how much my English teachers taught against the blatant use of plagiarism?  F*#k them.

Special hat tip to Nolander for teaching me a new link to click in the Interwebs.  It's always great to learn something new like that, even if that link doesn't promise me gratuitous barely legal boobies.

So in light of this new-found trick, I bring to BRB some of the archives from the days when DGDB&D lived.  There are some things in life that should never die.  Today's special:  Travis MF'ing Johnson

Continue reading this post »

1Texan & myself are planning to meet up for lunch either Thursday or Friday of this week somewhere on the NW side of Houston.  This is an open call for any other BRB family members who will be hungry at the same time in this area.

The idea right now is to hit the Hot Dog Shop  which is located here.  But that is by no means set in stone. 

So let's hear it......anyone want to join this blog dork luncheon?

 UPDATE:  How is 1PM on Friday for everyone??

OTA's, for all you pun-happy BRB enthusiasts.

So I'm sitting here working my ass of on a Friday afternoon, and I stumble across this little item up for sale:

The Beer Belly Cooler

How's that for a return on investment versus the $8.50 Bud Lights?  Or, say you have season tickets to college football, where they no longer serve outside of the "Endzone Clubs".  (Note:  My birthday is this month)

Since it seems that I am the only one awake this morning, here is your place to post all your thoughts about the picks taken in Rounds 3-7.

As I type this, we are 8 picks away with some very interesting prospects still on the board.  (Justin King, Jamaal Charles, Reggie Smith, Jeremy Thompson, etc.)

See you in the comments.

For those who haven't been paying attention in class, it turns out that we are in the offseason.  We're still a month out from the draft, and about a month past the opening of FA season.  So what exactly is Captain Obvious leading into here?

It's time for a preview of what's to come at BRB this summer.  It seems that the SBN sites are in the infant (or maybe toddler) stage of rolling out a new universal platform on all their sites.  The word on the street is that the NFL-related sites will go under the knife for this cosmetic surgery during the summer, so they will all be on version 2.0 when the '08 season kicks off.

Just this Monday, the SBN site for our local MLB team was assimilated.  So if you want a preview of things to come, head over and take a gander at The Crawfish Boxes.

FYI....all SBN sites will finally have a single user login that is shared.  I haven't had time to play with any of the other new features just yet, but the feedback seems positive in the posts/comments.

OK, so apparently the '08 Draft is going to just be retarded in how RB-loaded it is.  I just read that Kevin Smith and Rashard Mendenhall announced this weekend that they will enter the NFL Draft.

I'll say it again.  Trade down from 18.  Take a better-than-average RB in the 2nd (if trade happens) or 3rd Round.

I'm sure most have already seen this, but it just seemed appropriate to post it for today's shootout.  Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the infamous Texas Tech Bell Ringer.

Enjoy the clip, and I'll see you at the game.

Arkie-St seemed to commit a fair amount of False Starts on Saturday evening, and the majority occurred in on the north side of the 50 yard line.  Obviously, I like to think that this is one area of the game that we as screaming fans can help our beloved team.  While the stadium was fairly full, it definitely wasn't at max capacity.  However, it still seemed louder than last year.

Now, I have thought for some time that the changes to the North EZ along with increased bleachers would greatly increase the decibels on the field.  Obviously, that impact will not have its full effect until the upper deck is finished for the 2008 season.

My seats are dead center in the North EZ, so it is difficult for me to really judge if the loudness of the crowd is amplified by the stadium changes.  I would imagine someone on the lower east or west side could get a better feel for it.

Continue reading this post »

It's a little after 9AM on Friday morning.  I quit my job (well, at least until Tuesday), and discovered that there is still NOTHING on TV weekday mornings.  I don't get NFL network yet, so I couldn't watch the Hou-TB game replay at 8AM.  And thus, my first mistake in months.....I watched SportsCenter.

There is still a part of me that recalls mornings before high school 15 years ago, when SportsCenter was a magical 30 minutes of every single score and game highlights from the previous day.  The internet was still in its 1st trimester (props to Al Gore's inventing skillz), and the paper would print without all the final scores.  It was 30 minutes of sports church, before reporting to real life duties.

And now there's the craptastic flagship show of the WWL, used like a politician's speech at a luncheon....only to promote themselves.

So what's the spark that ignited this dry pile of frustration, you ask?  Well it's simple.  I missed most of the game last night.  I was really hoping to see just a few highlights....especially of BFD's latest love interest.  But alas, after subjecting myself the the entire f'ing hour, there was nothing.  No highlights, no score, not even a kiss before they got dressed and left.

Sure, they did show magnificent 64 yard night of Brady Quinn, Medicine Woman...the 2006 Heisman winner.  Wait....what's that?  You say that he did not win the Heisman.  How can that be?  ESPN repeatedly told me for 5 months that Quinn would win the trophy.  So there just couldn't have been anyone else taking it home.  That would make them wrong about something, and I'm not willing to accept that.  (for you young 'uns out there, they call this a tangent)

Back to the point....No Texans reporting....None.  They didn't even just show Gruden and the Tampa sidelines.  Nothing.

Someone high up at Disney must have received a severe beating during a trip to Houston in the past.  I mean, it has to be something logical like that....right?

CBS-11 in Houston is showing the Carolina vs. New England in high-def, and there is definitely nothing else on to watch right now.

Just in case anyone lurking in the BRB community wants to know, below are the results of David Carr's performance in tonight's preseason game.

Samson entered the game about halfway through the 3rd Qtr, played 2 series, and left halfway into the 4th.

1st Series

• Handoff
  
• Pass completed for -1 Yards
  
• Stares down 1 receiver, trips in the pocket, trys to scramble, SACKED

• Nice pass to a wide-open Dwayne Jarrett
  
• Pass to the RB
  
• WR Screen
  
• Pass completed to the slot WR on a slant
  
• Scrambles right...throws way behind Jarrett
  
• Pass to DJ on the right
  
• Quick check down to the RB (maybe a really weird looking screen?)
  
• Waaayyy overthrows Jarrett in the endzone (good coverage by the DB)
  
• Handoff
  
• Short pass to the TE
  
• Perfect pass to a rookie LB wearing the other team's jersey.....INT

Carr-Out

***It should be noted that most of the 1st-team defense was in for N.E. on Samson's first series, and all backups in for his 2nd series.

While visiting the Texans' official website today, I found some very interesting quotes regarding BRB & DGDB&D favorite, Jacoby Jones.

It appears as though Kubes is also developing a crush on JJ, which will only serve to make BFD & MDC extremely jealous.

A few quotes from Kubes:

"Boy, that play he made on the punt, to even field the punt? Me, I'm talking in the headset, expecting him to make a fair catch," coach Gary Kubiak said of Jones. "He's fearless. He's a playmaker, and you know, we've got something special right there. We just need to keep him going. But boy, is he a good football player."

"I think there's an excellent chance (Jacoby is) going to be on the field a lot," Kubiak said. "I think he's pushing Kevin extremely hard to get on the field, but I also think Kevin's playing good football. In the National Football League, you're probably going to play three (receivers) anyway, but I think right now he's pushing the heck out of (Walter)."

Read the article & watch the interview video, folks.  This is a classy kid, and he saved the football from his 80-yard scamper....because "that's my momma's ball."

Update [2007-8-19 22:30:33 by Shake]: So after letting the Arizona game settle for 24 hours, I believe the BRB community should weigh in on who should be our #2 Wide Receiver. Thus, I have added the poll below.

Well if consistency is a good thing, then we are sitting pretty.

The AP released their pre-season poll today, and our Longhorns hold the #4 spot.

The hype-machine is rolling, and USC is by far #1.  Other Big 12 & notable teams on the list:

8-Oklahoma sucks
20-Nebraska
22-TCU
25-A&M

Update [2007-8-18 20:17:21 by Shake]: Here is MBTF press release with the announcement.  Eight consecutive seasons opening with a ranking in the Top 7.  That's beyond respectable for Mack & Co.

Texas A&M has just announced that they will immediately offer one of the football team's full scholarships to this aspiring Aggie, and are requesting that the courts release a copy of the game tape for review.  The university and team are still discussing how to best utilize such a raw talent, and have not concluded whether he should be on the actual team or a beloved Yell Leader instead.  A decision is expected soon.

Footnotes:
- The majority of the above story is fiction (as far as I know).
- Sadly, the sickest part is absolutely true.
- Trash talk is fun, and filler is needed for the next 6 weeks.
- Kellen Heard is jealous of Roger Henderson II.

     Wow.  No real college football news.  No Texans news.  And so now we are left to be entertained by some serious word-throwing.  It's not exactly the fighting style I am used to, but allow me to spell out the details thus far.

     The opening bell sounded here, and the race was on.  And 4 hours before Tim even had a chance to let us at BRB know what was taking place, Matt had already returned fire at BigBlueShoe. {Note to Self: Don't piss off Matt}

     Then this morning, Shoe came out of his corner throwing a series of jabs back at Matt, along with enough misspellings and literary mistakes to induce heart-failure for any middle school English teacher.  That's right, Shoe fights dirty by using bad spelling and typos.....which only cause you to read everything twice, while your brain attempts to make sense of the letter combinations. (But then again, StampedeBlue also has a resident named PaytonMenning)

And I'm pretty sure that if you actually followed all those links above, then I have helped you waste a good portion of the past hour...which makes me feel like my work here is doing some good.

So, get a cold Shiner Bock, have a seat in front of the screen, and enjoy the match...because there really is NOTHING ELSE to do...and you never know when Matt will drop a Trucker Gang Bang reference.

If only someone had this on video...

Apparently, yesterday involved an afternoon of team-building activities for the Washington Redskins that went horribly wrong for our former BRB-favorite draft prospect.  

I believe that FOX would title it along the lines of: When Paintballs ATTACK!  
CNN these days would probably headline it as: Global Warming Melts Ice-Breaking Activities

My favorite quote from the article has to be "...Joe Gibbs allowed the players to leave early at the end of the voluntary spring workouts."  By the very definition, why do you need permission to leave a voluntary activity?

All jokes aside.......OUCH!

As everyone knows, DKR Memorial Stadium is under some heavy reconstruction during the offseason.  The old horseshoe has been demolished to make room for a bigger, better horseshoe.

It's usually about this time of year that the packages for season ticket renewal get sent out to us.  I am wondering if anyone out there has heard any details at all regarding what the seating layout will be.  And more importantly, where will my (and many other) seats be migrated to in the new design?  I'm pretty sure my old seats aren't available, as apparently the pieces are being sold off as "collector's items".

Then logic dictates that 2 Andre's would be fantabulous, right?  {Yes, fantabulous is a word.  Look it up.  The antonym is 'craptastic'.}

Thursday, the Texans signed WR Andre' Davis.  It appears as though we now have a policy of only signing FA receivers from Buffalo.  I'm just not sure that is a very robust strategy.

Other than his NFL.com Player Page, I really don't know much about the guy.  What can I say?  I follow a lot of teams, but Va-Tech, Buffalo, & Cleveland just aren't up there on the list.

If anyone has some insider information (or could maybe get some from fellow SBN folks), then please add it in the comments.  I am always seeking new weapons in the war against ignorance.

I wanted to have a place to post the selections made so far, and a Diary seems like the best options.....mainly since it will allow me to edit after original posting.  I am listing the picks by Name 1st, as this is the easiest way to glance and see who is no longer available.

So, here are the picks so far in the SBN Mock Draft:

1st Round

1. JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)--OAK
   
2. Calvin Johnson (WR, Georgia Tech)--TB (via trade with DET)
   
3. Joe Thomas (OT, Wisconsin)--CLE
   
4. Gaines Adams (DE, Clemson)--DET (via trade with TB)
   
5. Levi Brown (OT, Penn State)--ARI
   
6. Jamaal Anderson (DE, Arkansas)--WAS
   
7. Adrian Peterson (RB, OU sucks)--MIN
   
8. LaRon Landry (DB, LSU)--ATL
   
9. Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)--MIA
   
10. Patrick Willis (LB, Miss)--BUF (via trade with HOU)
    
11. Adam Carriker (DE, Nebraska)--SF
    
12. Alan Branch (DT, Michigan)--DEN (via trade with HOU)
    
13. Amobi Okoye (DT, Louisville)--STL
    
14. Reggie Nelson (S, Florida)--CAR
    
15. Jarvis Moss (DE, Florida)--PIT
    
16. Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)--GB
    
17. Leon Hall (CB, Michigan)--JAC
    
18. Darrelle Revis (CB, Pitt)--GB
    
19. Robert Meachem (WR, Tenn)--TEN
    
20. Paul Posluszny (LB, Joe-Pah U.)--NYG
    
21. Joe Staley (OT, Central Michigan)--HOU
    
22. Aaron Ross (CB, Texas)--DAL
    
23. Ted Ginn, Jr. (WR, tOSU)--KC
    
24. Eric Weddle (S, Utah)--NE
    
25. Greg Olsen (TE, Miami)--NYJ
    
26. Chris Houston (CB, Arkansas)--PHI
    
27. Dwayne Bowe (WR, LSU)--NO
    
28. Ben Grubbs (G, Auburn)--NE
    
29. Justin Blalock (G, Texas)--BAL
    
30. Dwayne Jarrett (WR, USC)--SD
    
31. Lawrence Timmons (LB, FSU)--CHI
    
32. Justin Harrell (DT, Tenn)--IND

    2nd Round
    

    33. Zach Miller (TE, ASU)--OAK
        
    34. Marcus McCauley (DB, Fresno St)--DET
        
    35. Buster Davis (LB, FSU)--TB
        
    36. Ryan Kalil (C, USC)--CLE
        
    37. Michael Griffin (S, Texas)--CHI
        
    38. Brandon Meriweather (S, Miami)--ARI
        
    39. Tony Ugoh (OL, Arkansas)--ATL
        
    40. Arron Sears (OT, Tennessee)--MIA
        
    41. Anthony Gonzalez (WR, tOSU)--MIN
        
    42. Sidney Rice (WR, South Carolina)--SF
        
    43. Antonio Pittman (RB, tOSU)--BUF
        
    44. Charles Johnson (DE, Georgia)--ATL
        
    45. Brandon Siler (LB, Florida)--CAR
        
    46. Anthony Spencer (DE, Purdue)--PIT
        
    47. Tanard Jackson (CB, Syracuse)--GB
        
    48. Tim Crowder (DE, Texas)--JAC
        
    49. Jon Beason (LB, Miami) --CIN
        
    50. Josh Wilson (CB, Maryland)--TEN
        
    51. Eric Wright (CB, UNLV) --NYG
        
    52. Craig Davis (WR, LSU) --STL
        
    53. Steve Smith(WR, USC) --DAL
        
    54. Doug Free (OT, Northern Illinois) --KC
        
    55. Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)--SEA
        
    56. Jonathan Wade (CB, Tennessee)--HOU
        
    57. Brian Leonard (RB, Rutgers) --PHI
        
    58. Rufus Alexander (LB, OU sucks)--NO
        
    59. LaMarr Woodley (DE, Michigan)--NYJ
        
    60. Aundrae Allison (WR, East Carolina)--MIA
        
    61. Quentin Moses (DE, Georgia) --BAL
        
    62. Aaron Rouse (SS, Virginia Tech)--SD
        
    63. Daymeion Hughes (CB, Cal)--NYJ
        
    64. David Harris (LB, Michigan)--DET

        3rd Round
        

        65. Tank Tyler (DT, NC State)--OAK
            
        66. Drew Stanton (QB, Mich St)--DET
            
        67. Ikaika Alama-Francis (DE, Hawaii)--CLE
            
        68. Quinn Pitcock (DT, Ohio St)--TB
            
        69. Justin Durant (LB, Hampton)--ARI
            
        70. Victor Abiamiri (DE, Notre Dame)--DEN
            
        71. Ryan Harris (OT, Notre Dame)--MIA
            
        72. Matt Spaeth (TE, Minnesota) --MIN
            
        73. Jason Hill (WR, Wash St)--HOU
            

As reported today by ESPN, Ricky has started down the path of playing again in the NFL.  

The final decision will be left to Goodell.  And with the NFL setting standards higher for players, I am curious as to how this will progress.....especially with the gossip about Pacman being made into an example. {and yes, I realize that 'alleged' gunfire and burning grass are not equivalent}

Here's to wishing Ricky the best with whatever happens.  I will always be grateful for the good times he gave us.  It was painful to watch him burn out a few years ago. (Yes, there may be a pun intended)

I heard yesterday that the Texans had scheduled a meeting with former Longhorn & Seahawk linebacker DD Lewis.

He is a guy who has not had the NFL career that was expected when coming out of college 5 or 6 years ago, and to be honest I really haven't followed his progress (or lack thereof).

Any thoughts from the masses regarding not only DD himself, but this hardcore focus on picking up linebackers by Smithiak (as Tim so lovingly calls them).

Jake "The Snake" Plummer has apparently ended the speculation, and announced his retirement.  

Unless he has been taking lessons in interviewing from Nick Saban, it appears that this option is off the table for Kubes.

Could someone please get Tim a tissue, as the tears have probably already started.

Please take a look at this site that I stumbled across while searching for a few Mock Drafts.

It seems to be a fantastic list, showing the site and the projected pick for their team. (and with a "last updated" column)

I am not even going to start pretending like I know how much work or time it would take for you guys to do this.  But if it is at all possible, I (and hopefully everyone else) would love to see a running list like this updated every few days....with a link in the sidebar of the homepage.

It could make for some interesting discussions, and we all know how much fun speculation can be.

Thanks in advance for even considering it.

I just gave the update over in this posting.

I apologize to everyone for having to cross-link this information.  But after posting the new info, I realized that this is probably worthy of it's own Diary.  Well, you live & you learn.

All of this new information will definitely prompt the 'worldwide leader' to start stating that there is NO WAY the Texans can pass on Mr. Magnificent if he is available at #8(Brady Quinn to you new readers).  I have previously made my feelings clear about the Golden Boy, and also in general about taking an early QB who isn't named Vince Young.  But I'll leave those feelings out of this Diary, so as not to bias anyone.

Once you have followed the labyrinth of links and read the stories, please feel free to post your feelings here.

I know that Tim will be overjoyed that Plummer is no longer an option for us.

It was announced this afternoon that Jamal Lewis was cut by the Baltimore Ravens.

Obviously, Lewis isn't the same back anymore who is capable of breaking off 2k yards in a season....but he is definitely a downhill runner.

I just wanted to start the discussion....I am very interested to see what everyone's feelings and/or thoughts are.

Is this a viable option (at the right price) for the Texans?

Alright, I'm calling everyone out right here & now.  

Please take a few minutes out of your day to add a sentence or 2 here on BRB.

There are plenty of people who read the blogs & diaries, but there are not many folks who are actually adding their thoughts and comments.  I realize that there are plenty of potential reasons or fears that could cause you not to post.  But what everyone needs to realize is that the comments of this community are what make a blog great.

So please, don't worry about if you don't know how to format text to make it look fancy or add hyperlinks to your posts.  Just take a moment and add a quick thought to BRB.  Who knows, you may start the next great discussion or debate.

WARNING:  
   Posting on BRB may make your experience more enjoyable, and thus lead to an addiction.

That's right, it's time again for the mass speculation and debate that are the Mock Drafts.

But with so many out there now, and the extreme discrepencies between them, which one should we trust?  I'm not being sarcastic...well at least not with that question.  

But really, as Texans fans, the Mock Drafts are like our bye-week in the playoffs. [What, we made the playoffs? SWEEET!]  This is our time to debate how we will move forward, what strategy we will employ, and for us hopeless optimists: how much we will definitely be able to build the franchise around this pick.

What's that you say, get to the point?  OK, fine.

The many different Mock Drafts so far have us picking Peterson, Quinn, Jarrett, etc.  Which one is most realistic, and why??

Also note, I completely open this Diary up to include the projected 2nd rounder.  But this is only because I saw a Mock Draft which had us getting Gonzales from 'the OSU'.  And having been at the game in Austin last September, and wondering: Who the hell is this guy that's single-handedly whipping us?....well, let's just say my interests are peaked.  He could very well be our speedy little receiver we need to line up opposite Andre Johnson.

Let the Games Begin...