Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Talk About Loyalty

Now that Preseason week 2 is over, I just wanted to get a quick overview and watch all the games before I started blogging away. Last week ended with all the Brett Favre fiasco and I started thinking about this and thought it is kind of sad. I mean what happened to the days when you said Lawrence Taylor and you thought? or Joe Montana and thought? It's kind of sad what the days of Free Agency has brought. What are people going to think years from today about T.O. - I mean really, think about it. Yeah TO the clown that played for a number of teams and never won a Superbowl with any. It's sad to see this. It's almost as if a team or player looses their identity. Players come in and out. Ron Curry I guy I met and knew as a Oakland Raider is now playing for the St. Louis Rams, Dominc Rhodes - Played a good game in the Superbowl with the Colts, is now a Carolina Panther after a few other teams in between. Albert Haynesworth, 7 years with the Titans is now a Washington Redskin and I think it is a sad sight to see him march out with the Redskins. Not because the Skins are a disgracefully team, it is because he had identity with the Titans. The list goes on and on.. Take it there are a few players out there that you can hope will ride the wave with their team such as Payton Manning, Tom Brady, Brian Urlacher, and Ben Roethlisberger.. to name a few but one never knows...

I think it would be hard to stomach Tom Brady as a Raider. On the same token it must have been hard for Green Bay fans to stomach Brett Favre as a Viking. Then for him to make the statement "a true fan would understand" ... Excuse me? I think it was taken personally by Green Bay fans and the Team. Watch the game against the Bills. The fans came out in full force, they had signs reading "Brett who" . Aaron Rogers threw for 200yards and 3 touchdowns and only played half the Game. The Defense turned the ball over 5 times. The Bills looked like cub scouts and going into the locker room with their tails between their legs at the half. Being outscored 24 to 0.. That's right as in NADA. T.O. had no part of it and I don't think he would have made a difference if he did. I think they heard those NFL Network analyst say that Minnesota will be the team to beat.. Yes it was a preseason game but I think they were making a statement - players and fans.

On the other side you had the Vikings, with Brett being tossed into the game. My guess was for a marketing scheme. Because Shame on Brad Childress for putting Favre out there. I just heard he will be playing half of the next game against Arizona as well. Shame, Shame! If you wanted to get his feet wet you should have just put him out there to hand off a few balls, and then take a seat. Because Kansas City came after him and put a hit on Brett. He threw as if he didn't know his ass from his elbow. I just hope he does not get injured in the next preseason game. Then all he will have is shattered dreams of him going out in glory.

It's unfortunate that the game has come to this, Greed. No bones about it. Loyalty, commodore, and team Identity have all been thrown out the window. Greed let's buy another billion dollar stadium, Greed lets sign another 60Million dollar contract.. Greed

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Preseason - Preseason- Preseason

I know it is a long haul from Feb. 1st to Aug 9th HOF game.. 6 long horrible months, and there wasn't even Arena football this year :(

So for the big football fans like myself we tend to get carried away in the games. I mean don't get me wrong I loved the fact that the Raiders beat the Cowboys. I just hope the Cowboys don't return the favor during regular season in Dallas. Some teams look good and organized while others still look dazed and confused like the Kansas City Chiefs. But again no weight should be held with these pre-season games. No one knows what happens until the bell for regular season begins.

I recall my first year with the Raiders, I was very excited and pumped because the Raiders Where playing in the HOF game, John Madden got inducted into the HOF, and Art Shell was named head Coach of the Oakland Raiders. I was beyond myself I mean what else could possibly go wrong? So on we go!! We played the Eagles in the HOF game and Win.. Ugly but hey a win is a win dammit. Then on to play Minnesota.. another ugly win .. Then we played San Francisco at home - yep pre-season battle of the bay, lots of fans- lots of excitement even for a preseason game. We beat them 23-7 and all hell broke loose. Calls were coming in, I was so busy with fans wanting to sign up, "the silver & black are back" one fan said. Signs went up all over the building from booster clubs. Claiming Art Shell is back, "BRING BACK THE NASTY" .. It gets better, we play the Lions and beat them 21-3 that whole week was busy I worked easy 12 -13 hour days and lunch was being brought in for us. I remember telling a few of my fellow workers that Seattle should give me a gauge as to where the team stood. So on to Seattle! Well ... it was 20 - 7 at the half, we lost that game 30 -7. Thinking back that was a Thursday night game, and I was in the office. It was a quiet night to say the least. Maybe the calm before the storm? The Nasty was about to come back and not the kind the fans talked about .. We opened up our season on 9/11/2006 that should have been a warning - Monday Night Football on ESPN- yeah it's all downhill from here. We got spanked on National TV by the Chargers. That had to be one of the toughest times for me not only as a fan but as part of the team. Reality hit and it hit hard but it was not until the end of the season that it all sunk in. We only won 2 games that year.

So before you go a hootin an a hollering about your team during preseason.. Take a seat, enjoy the game, and just look for the up and coming rookies and players battling for position. Beyond that Preseason doesn't mean a thing.

The Rumors are fun too.. I wonder if Coach Cable punched out his assistant coach- I was like Wow that's a page right out of Bill Romanowski's "how to punch a player" book.

Til next time all - enjoy week 2 preseason games

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Preseason, Madden 2010 and M. Vick.

Wow, certainly a lot to talk about. I am sure everyone seen the Oakland Raiders Slam the Dallas Cowboys 31-10. Okay okay it's preseason and no need to get worked up. But (here is my commercial for the Raiders) If you don't have your season tickets or any ticket plan for that matter you need to give them a call at 1-800-Raiders. I would recomend a few Reps. but they all are very good! Now that being said if you are a fan of an opposing team and you plan to come out to see your team play the Raiders .. Call the 800 number and they can get you a group rate or let you know options on single game tickets.

Other News
Looks like Tom Brady bunch is back at it lets see how far the Pats get this year.

Michael Vick is now an Eagle .. this ought to be interesting, let's see how the season pans out with Mcnabb VS. Vick

Did the Skins really score no points?

Why - why... why is Darren Mcfadden always getting caught on the long runs.. I guess BO knows..

Madden 2010

I went out a 1AM on Friday morning and bought my copy. Played for about 6 hours. If you have been a long time buyer of Madden you will like this one. It is a lot of fun and the menus are very easy to use. Online play like always a blast, but the online options this year are very nice, I was not able to try them all but it's nice to see more options.

Game play, just a few notes here. Fumbling the ball in the pile, you actually get a chance to fight for the ball by hitting a series of buttons in order to win the pile struggle.. very cool addition. speed I thought was just about right this time not overly fast but not sluggish like 2006 version. I could go on about more but you can probably get a better review on the details on IGN. But for my take it is a fun game and worth getting.

The few complaints: The music is horrible all those rock songs with the whining guitar can drive you crazy sometimes. Unless of course you are into that. Half time review is a little long and the voice is a little robotic. Main menu picture is of the Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald.. and I could not find an option to change that. I mean kind of sucks if your a Cincy fan you would probably want a picture of former Cincy WR TJ Houshmandzadeh (pronouced TJ who's your mama) whipping his shoes with a terrible towel. LOL

Fun Factor: 9 (unless your the wife)
Graphics: 9
Presentation and ease of use: 8
Music: 3

That's my thoughts. please write your comments Enjoy the games today. There is plenty more too come.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It's 11:30 PM and I am upset because I thought Madden 2010 was out today and I was wrong.. Guess I will have to wait until Friday- Woo HOO. I will be sure to give you my take on Madden plus my thoughts on the franchise.

Thought for today.. Boston Cream Cake. UMM I have a big sweet tooth ask anyone of my relatives or any of my former co-workers at the Raiders. They all knew where to get the sweets from. I was in the store today, and took a look at this wonderful Boston Cream Cake. I got to say that out of all the cakes I enjoy .. this is by far my favorite. Well just looking at this I imagined all the joy it would give me. To take it home open it up and to first get a smell of that wonderful chocolate. I would then take a knife and cut out a piece.. just cutting it gives me a preview of how moist the cake is.. I put on my plate, I then slice into it with my fork and put it into my mouth and the flavors of chocolate , cream and cake.. bring this magnificent flavor and feeling. It's like being in Disneyland.. That's where the dream stops because I realize that after I enjoy my slice the rest ends up in the fridge and 50% of it gets waisted. Yes I enjoy it but It's too much for one person since I am the only one that enjoy's it in my house.. Well Chester can't have any he's my dog.. and I don't give chocolate to my dog.....

Ok..so what the heck does this have to do with the NFL? Good question and glad you asked. Take a good look at the league and think about what all these teams that draft players, or get a high caliber free agent.. Everything sizzles and seems to be the piece they are looking for. The problem is it's not always the fastest 40 time, the strongest one, the biggest arm or the one that can leap tall buildings in a single bounce that become a Hall of Famer or Legends.. Look at Ryan Leaf A huge amount of talent in college but is considered one of the biggest bust in the NFL. Now time out this isn't bash Ryan Leaf... His talent was recognized and was drafted 2nd in the first round pick in 98 to the San Diego Chargers. Some experts already known about his maturity problems. Big question here is where is the thought process behind the picks? Yes it all looks good on paper, it feels right, and this could be the win all answer.. But because this was one persons favorite cake.. they took a gamble on it and well we all know the rest of the story. Take a look at the best teams out now, and see how this applies, it's always the ones that take the time to not only see the talent but the chemistry to make the team. As we all heard before it is a team sport and individuals stand out more when they believe in the system and the team plays as a unit.

I guess that's why they say "you can't have your cake and eat it too"

Sunday, August 9, 2009

UPDATE

I was right Titans win 21 to 18!!!

more to come stay tuned

2009 NFL Preseason is just about to kick off!!

Are you ready for some football!



Well let me start by introducing myself. My name is Tom Ybarra and I have worked for the Oakland Raiders for a little over 3 years and enjoyed everyone of them. I no longer work with the team and went on to do other things. Now that I am no longer with the team I get to be a fan, and enjoy football as entertainment and fun. So, let's just get this out of the way now, I am a Raiders Fan. However, this blog will not be a Raiders blog or web-site. The whole point of this blog is to talk about pro football and have fun. I love the sport and love talking about it. All the different teams, players, coaches, comentators, referees, NFL network, post game reports you name it. Everything and anything regarding NFL football will be commented on - right here. So feel free to comment send me e-mails on what topics you think are most pressing in the NFL.



Well it's early Sunday morning 7AM and I have not got an ounce of sleep last night. Preseason will officially start today. Lets face it no one really gets over excited about preseason. Unless of course you are nut.. Like me LOL.. Yeah I am just a true fan of the sport. I enjoy preseason to see new talent, because after all that hype of the Combine and talking up players -who has the best 40 time, vertical jump and so on.. nothing is really proven until they get out on the field. So, preseason is a preview and nothing more. No one knows how anyone will actually turn out until they get a shot during regular season. So yes I do enjoy preseason and to see players compete for positions, and so on.



So it's Buffalo and Tennessee - Titans will take it.. (ok you can laugh at me if I get this wrong)



So just to wet your appitite for what is to come.



Ref's - Yeah every Raider Fan has to talk about this.. But face it other teams have got some shady calls as well .. Just ask the Seahawks.



NFL Network: Are you getting tired of those commercials yet? They drive me crazy - I mean common!! "This summer I got to hang out with.... " aahhh not again!! Thank God for DVR



Madden 2010 - Love this game but is it fair that EA has the rights? BTW my gammertag on Xbox live is tmraider



Fantasy Football - does this interfere with your work? Maybe you don't think so.. But what about your boss - LOL

I will be blogging along all season long and during the offseason.. if you are looking for for Articles and insights this is not the place. But I can gaurantee you will be entertained, you will get a few laughs and this will be a very interactive blog.