THUNDERING BLURB

ANDREW GARDA'S ENDLESS TAKES ON NFL AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 8/30

Aug 30

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Another Monday is in the books and so is another Thundering Blurb Football Show. This week we welcomed Michael Felder of InTheBleachers.net to talk some college football in general and ACC Conference specifically.

We hit on a bunch of topics, including the aftermath of Conference expansion, the North Carolina Tarheels investigation and the NCAA’s recent cracking down. We also talk about some of his projections for both the Bowl games and Conference champions.

For all that and much more, click on the link here or subscribe to the ITunes feed so you’ll always download the episodes as soon as they become available.

Thanks to Michael for coming by during this busy week one of the college football season and thanks to all of you for coming out and supporting me, ThunderingBlurb.com and BigEastGridiron.com.

See you next week when we welcome TheJetsBlog.com editor Brian Bassett to talk some NFl and Jets football.

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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 8/23

Aug 24

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Hi – REALLY brief show post today as I was planning to do this tonight, but instead BTR has ITunes issues so in case someone comes looking for the show – well they can find it here.

Stuff I covered -

Lots of CHAT questions – if you want fantasy answers or just want a show topic heard, you should head to FSC.fm or blogtalkradio.com/thunderingblurb and hop in the chat. Be heard!

We talk some Nick Mangold/Jets contract talk and about how – sometimes – doing thing the right way (ie, showing up to camp) can work.

Turns out Tom Brady hates the Jets. Which is pretty much as it should be. Remember Jets fans – nobody hates the Bills. There’s a reason for that right now. (sorry Billsfan)

In other NFL news we talk about Bradford starting the next Rams preseason game, Anthony Dixon is still imperfect, Montario Hardesty is still not someone I want on a fantasy team and a few other odds and ends.

Then we get into the potential move of Michigan vs Ohio State, including splitting into seperate divisions and it’s affect on Big Ten football as well as football in general.

An excellent article by Dan Wetzel is the impetus for this concern on my part – it’s not the end of the world and you all know I’m a huge advocate of the super conferences but you HAVE to be careful monkeying with a 100 year old tradition just in the hopes that MAYBE POSSIBLY that game gets repeated in a title game.

We also spin it into some general College football talk and naturally some Big East Chatter.

As always, thanks for checking in – and hopefully Blogtalkradio will have the ITunes issues worked out soon(ish).

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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 8/16

Aug 16

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Great show again last night – kicked off an hour early by opening the chat to give the Jets/Giants fans a place to gather and trash talk.

By the time the show was going, we were already rolling.

We covered a lot of ground including:

  • Nick Saban banning NFL Scouts from Alabama practices. In my opinion, a move that is ridiculous and punishing the wrong people for the inability of colleges to control their players. I also touch on my axe to grind with the ex-Miami coach due to the way he left the NFL.
  • Brian Westbrook got his new contract with the 49ers, which tells you that despite the amazing game by Anthony Dixon, Singletary is still unsure he can rely on the rookie.
  • Tim Tebow went back to the form we didn’t like in predraft workouts as soon as he was pressured. Work in progress folks, work in progress. Also, Tim should avoid leading with his head on rushing TDs.

We also talk about the sudden lack of RBs in Buffalo as well as the awful play of the team on Friday night, the season ending injury to Ben Tate and what it does to Arian Foster’s role as well as the re-emergence of BIG Mike Williams in Seattle.

All that and some Big East talk with the chatroom and more news and notes from around the NFL and some discussion of the Jets/Giants game.

Thanks for coming by, thanks for downloading and as always, thanks for allowing me to be a part of your football off-season.

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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 8/9

Aug 9

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Last night’s show was a good one – we didn’t hit every topic I planned to, but we got some good discussion.

First, I want to again thank Aaron Nagler from CheeseheadTV for coming on to talk Packers during the second half of the show.

We cover his experience at camp, the offense, the defense and even Voldemort aka Brett Favre. Aaron was there when Favre’s retirement leaked so I wanted to hear how that went over in packers land. Some giggling, I’d suppose.

But we get Aaron’s in person take on Rodger’s struggles, Finley’s upside and some sneaky players to watch on the offense. He also gave us some good insight into the Packers D.

You can hear that insight all the time on the Cheesehead site or following him on twitter here.

Before Aaron drops his knowledge on us we cover the Beanie Wells injury which broke just before we went live (update, the team says he’s bruised but OK) and I give you my thoughts on the Darrelle Revis situation.

In brief – it’s ugly and I hate seeing both sides. I’d rather hate one or the other but I don’t. It’s business.

But there is much more on the show.

Thanks – as always – for letting me squawk at you for another hour. It looks like I might do 90 minutes or more on Mondays. Let me know what yo uthink of that at thunderingblurb (at) gmail.com.

And again, thanks to Aaron for coming by to talk some Green Bay football.

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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 8/2

Aug 2

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So before we get started, I’ve been a bit negligent updating these posts – last week (and this you twitter followers know) my older son fell ill and we spent part of the week dealing with that. But honestly half the problem is not doing it post show on Monday night. Hopefully this will change – work is slowing down, the Gridiron is rolling along now. Things are mellowing out.

Also I will be on the Here We Geaux Podcast this Thursday with Chad Potier and Mark Ennis to talk some College Football. Will follow with more details (like, where can you hear it?) but hit up the linked site for the details as well.

Listening to the show right now – and the audio is shaky at points. Is it skype? Is it my internet connection? My computer? Will work that out – I hope.

Speaking of the show, here it is!

We cover a ton of ground in this one, and all of it is NFL oriented. We’ll get back to some Big East/College Football but with camps underway and camp injuries rampant – well we had to shelve the college kids for a week.

First, I have a few people you should be keeping track of – in some cases non-traditional media – at training camps.

Packers – CheesheadTV’s Aaron Nagler and Brian Carriveau are crushing it in Green Bay. If you care. Which not everyone does…

Broncos – I’d be remiss without a big shout out to Big Mex – Footballguys’ own Cecil Lammey, now at the Broncos facilities for Training Camp. His stuff will eventually appear here.

Jets – And of course Brian Bassett of the Jets Blog needs to get mentioned because I can be a homer. Plus Bri does outstanding work and with Darrelle Revis holding out and Hard Knocks around you know it’s going to be interesting.

After that bit of business, we start talking specifics.

Among the topics (and in only vague order):

  • Knowshon Moreno’s leg, Marshawn Lynch/Brian Westbrook possibilities?
  • Dez Bryant’s foot, his impact for the season, and when that may actually take place now.
  • PUP list additions (Owen Daniels), subtractions (Wes Welker) and alleged subtractions (Marques Colston)
  • Jay Cutler and Johnny Knox cozying up in the Bears offense
  • DeSean Jackson & Sidney Rice injuries, outlook (and some Favre talk because I’m sure he needs the pub)
  • The Revis holdout
  • Rookie deals for Mathews and Gresham (earlier we touch on Bradford’s cash)

I also mix in some CBA and contract talk, some general fantasy discussion and a bunch of little topics from the chat.

I’m also talking about increasing the length of the show – to 90 minutes, maybe longer. Let me know what you think in the comments or via email (thunderingblurb at gmail) or twitter.

As always thanks for coming by and I’ll see you same bat time, same bat channel next Monday.

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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 7/18

Jul 20

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First things first – here’s the link for the show!

Sorry this is a bit late, work has been busy, which I should get tattooed on my head this summer. It’s been a crazy one.

So again, a short recap. Subjects we touch on:

  • Colorado Springs Gazette kills their Denver coverage – friend of the show Frank Schwab will be covering the Air Force. I admit here I don’t know all the facts and figures but really? Air Force is a bigger/cheaper draw than the BRONCOS?
  • Chris Johnson’s contract – they did what I figured they would and got it done. Good for CJ, good for the Titans – good for the fans. And you can now draft CJ with no worries.
  • We also cover some chat questions and the recent BigEastGridiron.com articles on Rutgers (offense and defense) and Louisville’s offense.

As always, enjoy the interaction of the chat (maybe not Pastor Pat the troll) and want to thank you all for allowing me to chat football at you all year long.

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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 7/12

Jul 13

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Morning folks – brief recap of the episode today as it looks like I’m in store for another round of chaos at the day job.
 
First of course, I am happy to announce the official launch of BigEastGridiron.com – my site dedicated to all things Big East football. Listening to the show, you’ll note that five minutes before air, the site imploded.
 
It’s back up and running now though, and there is a piece on the Rutgers offensive unit posted already.
 
Expect a companion piece on the defense later this week, followed by more of the same on the other seven teams.
 
As the summer goes on, I’ll be adding a regular video feature, news links and analysis of the same.
 
I’m excited and very happy I was able to de-Plaxico the site last night post-show.
 
 
Beyond BigEastGridiron.com, we touch on quite a few things including:
 
- Lebron James and the fact that he needs to slap whoever suggested ‘The Decision’ to him. Nothing good came out of that except for the Heat.
 
- World Cup – I learned from my barber the final was going to be fixed. Beyond that, had both the elements I love about futbol (exciting near goals, energetic crowd) and hate (too many ticky tacky yellow cards, copious amounts of flopping). I wanted the Netherlands to win because nobody else seemed to but Spain played a fine game and honestly Netherlands side just wore down, much like the US against Ghana.
 
We then move from futbol to football and cover a wide range of news including the Bears running back situation, rumors of Randy Moss to the same Bears and then we talk about some interesting Big East games to look forward to this fall.
 
Lots of stuff to do and as always, thanks to the guys in the chat, thanks to you for listening and downloading and letting me be a part of your offseason experiance.
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The Thundering Blurb Football Show – 7/5

Jul 5

Posted by admin in Big East Conference, Phil Steele, college football, podcast | No Comments

Jammed packed show last night and a lot of ground covered – the 1 hour format is getting a bit crowded.

First the link – check the show out here at BTR or on Itunes (and subcribe won’t you?)

Second – I promised a big announcement and so here it is. In one week I will be launching a new website called Big East Gridiron whose aim will be to give you full coverage and analysis of all eight teams in the Big East ranks.

Big thanks to Jim Day (aka Fantasy Taz) who tweaked my logo/header from very good to awesome. You see the results above.

The site will contain a lot of analysis of all the teams, some video and audio links (including to the Blurb show) and I’m hoping to do a weekly roundup of college football news from around the web.

I’m very excited and look forward to sharing everything with you next Monday. Spread the word to anyone you know who loves College Football and especially the Big East.

After that Earth Shattering Pronouncement, we move on to the the business at hand.

Last week I read an article by Evan Silva at Profootballtalk.com about how QB “Guru” Tom Martinez blames the Raiders for JaMarcus Russell’s struggles. Of course he backpedals to say Russell needs to improve his work ethic as well but all in all on a better team – say the Jets – he might flourish.

You can imagine my issues with this. (Side note – this is Silva reporting on an article from the NYTimes, not Silva’s opinion.)

You can also imagine I go a little long on it. Sure, Martinez makes some good points about it but let’s be honest – Russell’s biggest problem (pun intended) is Russell. Even his teammates say so.

It isn’t brain surgery kids. And oh bye the way – someone tell Martinez that a run first team with a guy picked at #5 in the 2009 draft is not a perfect situation for Russell.

Just sayin’.

After that I talk about Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Magazine, one of my favorite pieces of reading material every year. We talk about how the Top 25 and how Rutgers isn’t in it, though Pitt is.

We’ll use it a lot more as a touchstone and common point of reference throughout the summer. (PS – I love Phil’s work but the website is a little painful to look at – don’t let it dissuade you. You’ll be missing out if you do.

Finally we touch on the Listener’s Segment, this week’s topic provided by frequent chat denizen GMoney.

G asks :

Was wondering what your thoughts are on why this off this off season it seems so many football players and front office personnel are getting into legal trouble.

Every day it seems someone is in the police blotter. I don’t understand why these guys want to jeopardize their careers. Love to hear what you think tonight on your podcast.

It’s funny but as I talked about it and thought about it, I started thinking maybe there isn’t really THAT much more being reported. I feel as though I was thinking the same thing last year and as soon as the season started, we forgot.

Regardless though, I touch on a few reasons – everything from a lack of follow-up help for incoming rookies (who are still young men and prone to silly decisions) to ever present media out of sensationalist stories.

There’s no single easy answer I think – more like there are many factors which make the news seem bigger, though there are certainly some serious issues.

Also, Goodell better be ready for some repercussions if Lions president Tim Lewand skates easier than players have.

That about does it – as always thanks for reading and listening.

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The Thundering Blurb Show – 6/28

Jun 29

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Lots of interesting stuff on the show last night – as always, appreciated the large turnout in the chat as well as all the downloads and live listeners.

If you missed it, hit it here for the show.

First we chatted about the information surfacing that Chris Henry (the Bengals wide receiver who died last year after being flung from the bed of a pickup) had incurred chronic traumatic encephalopathy which may have contributed to his poor decision making.

I go into my opinions thoroughly in the show but a few brief thoughts here. First, we need to cut back on the gasps and ‘oooohhhh’ responses I am seeing. One study of one guy who died being flung out of a truck – likely incurring more head injuries – is not the answer.

How much can we really glean that much from studying a person who died in part due to massive trauma like Chris henry did? Shouldn’t we be studying living individuals over a period of time – from a very young age to retired players – before we draw definitive analysis?

I mean, we know repeated trauma does damage. But how, when and what the threshold for permanant damage is way too unknown to start inferring that Henry’s bad decisions were because of them.

I’m always hesistant to spin that kind of explanation anyway. People – concussed or not – do really dumb crap. All the time. As a race, humans like explanations that are simple. We want to believe that a guy like Henry – by all accounts a very nice guy – wouldn’t do the foolish and dangerous things he did on purpose. That there is some reason for it.

Maybe there is. But there’s always the chance that a guy just does dumb things until he pays for them.

I will say this – it’s ridiculous that it takes an alleged rape (Roethlisberger) and a death (Henry) to get the NFL and the NFLPA to take this seriously. I know a lot of ex-players. I have a young son who wants to play organized football.

I’d like to know that both the above parties are safe and protected. This has to be dealt with and should NOT be lumped into CBA talks. It’s above it and shouldn’t be a chess piece.

I also talk a bit about the affect of better protection and highlight reel hits on the general health of players.

Next up, I talk a bit about fantasy analysis and the difference between forging a new path and ice skating up hill – in other words ranking or being high or down on a player ‘just to go against the group’. I touch on group-think and we talk a bit about how just following the herd sometimes gets you nowhere in fantasy football.

Finally we start a new segment where tackle a topic suggested by the listeners. You can throw me an idea via thunderingblurb at gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter.

Monday afternoons I will put out the call for topics. Follow me and you can toss in your suggestions.

Last night’s topic was delivered by Joe Everrette of The Fantasy Exchange - one of the fellows I did Smashmouth Wednesdays with for the past year before the change.

Joe suggested I talk about how the injury to Willie Colon will affect the already shaky Steelers offensive line as well as the fantasy (and non-fantasy) prospects of the offense as a whole.

So I spend some time on that and following the chatroom lead (as I am wont to do) also touch on the San Francisco 49ers Oline status as well.

Good show – as always, thanks for listening and reading.

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The Thundering Blurb Show – 6/21

Jun 22

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Hey folks – short on time again today as I have a ‘moving up ceremony’ to go to in a bit. My son is moving from pre-k to k.

It’s sort of crazy having a ceremony for that but he’s excited and I wouldn’t miss it for anything.

For the show, click here and head over to BTR for the extra long episode!

Yup, we went long last night but I’ll get to why it happened in a few minutes.

We caught up on a lot of NFL talk last night, starting with the somewhat ridiculous injury to Steve Smith’s arm while – depending on who you believe – he was playing with kids or playing in an adult flag football league.;

Either way, Panthers (and fantasy owners) are likely disgruntled this morning.

I talk a little more news and then get special surprise guest Matt Waldman, fellow staff writer at Footballguys.com. If you’ve followed the show for any length of time you’ll also know his work from the Rookie Scouting Portfolio and his Weekly Gut Check column at FBGs as well.

We bat around a bunch of fantasy players, generally talking about some guys coming back from injury like Cadillac Williams, Marion Barber, Clinton Portis and Matt Forte.

Some good back and forth so check it out. i also pick Matt’s brain about some sleeper players, some deep fantasy guys and Jeremiah Masoli leaving Oregon.

After we wrap that, the show is butting up against 60 minutes but I stayed around another segment to recap the general chaos and aftermath of College Football Realignment Shuffle.

I talk about a few good articles over at ESPN on the subject which I came across. I don’t agree with all of it but there are some solid points.

Anyway, as always, thanks for coming by, thanks for listening and thanks for spreading the word. Monday has been a huge success so far and I appreciate the patience as I find the balance between the college and NFL stuff.

You can always email me comments, requests and general chitchat at thunderingblurb AT gmail.com or catch me on twitter here.

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