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07 Sep 2012

NFL Lowdown: Week 1

We'll keep on posting the link to game previews from our ol' buddy (and still buddy) Mike Tanier at his new site Sports on Earth. I don't know what's up with the photo at the top though. Eek.

Posted by: Aaron Schatz on 07 Sep 2012

45 comments, Last at 11 Sep 2012, 9:31am by dryheat

Comments

1
by Mike Tanier :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 10:35am

Aaron and the guys have never seen how I look when I knock around the house before ...

2
by wwhit (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 10:48am

Mike, please have the SOE Web guys change that awful font. Italics is hard to read for extended periods, and the super-italics they put on the game details is super-hard to read.

(Oh, and the article was the usual awesome. Looking forward to following your writing at the new site.)

4
by Joseph :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 11:13am

And here, when the article loaded for me, I thought they had fixed it. Nope, they had a legible font that went about 2 characters outside the margins on some lines, and then when I got to the 3rd of 4th preview, it went back to the font described above. PLEASE GET THEM TO FIX THIS, MIKE!!!
And the "swami" turban isn't good. A clown-face would be better, as the present pic indicates "insider" mystical knowledge, not the best football humor on the web.

5
by Mike Tanier :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 11:25am

It loads fine on Firefox on my laptop, and is only italics for the little lead-in. So help me get the info to our tech folks: on what type of system is it coming up italics, or with weird margins?

6
by sebajoe1 (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 11:46am

I only have access to Internet Explorer at work. It's in italics.

12
by 0tarin :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 1:13pm

Just tested on three browsers:
Chrome--Fine
FF--Fine
IE7--Superitalics. It also takes an eternity to load all the weird site formatting/layout nonsense and refused to download any of the images (banner, whatever the missing thing in the SF-GB paragraph is).

Admittedly, IE7 is a bit old, but it's not uncommon still.

23
by RC (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 4:56pm

Tried IE9, FF, and chrome.

Looks fine to me.

26
by nojo :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 5:25pm

IE7???

So, how does it look in Mosaic?

43
by Mikey Benny :: Sun, 09/09/2012 - 12:09pm

Some corporate networks still have IE7 as the standard, and employees don't have the option to upgrade/install other browsers. 3% of users still use IE7. That's 1 in 30. You still have to design for it: you don't want to tell 3% of your customers to screw off.

44
by billsfan :: Sun, 09/09/2012 - 2:44pm

It looks great in lynx, with only the occasional ​ after each preview.

(I also like the Eagles)

8
by Noah of Arkadia :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 12:29pm

Firefox here. Looks ok to me. There seems to be a picture missing in the first paragraph (SF-GB), unless it's an ad, in which case my broswer is blocking it.

------
FO posters are a peacock. You got to let us fly!

9
by Matt Bowyer :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 1:02pm

It's an ad.

3
by JohnD (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 10:57am

It's not a "settlement" when the jury hands you your head on a platter.

Thanks for being generous and predicting the Colts will reach 19 points. 13 sounds about right.

13
by Sergio :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 1:19pm

A predisposed jury, at that.

Mike think Miami is breaking double digits... he's probably in that "preseason optimism" mode I hear so much about.

-- Go Phins!

7
by Noah of Arkadia :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 12:24pm

"The real Eagles won a preseason split-squad scrimmage two weeks ago, with their backups playing extra hard after seeing where they could wind up."

That made lol.

------
FO posters are a peacock. You got to let us fly!

10
by CraigoMc (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 1:02pm

Anybody else think the shot at Schiano was a tad bit unfair? He made his point poorly, but FO tends to distinguish between defensive penalties and offensive penalties as well, so you can where his "execution penalties" reasoning is coming from.

11
by CraigoMc (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 1:04pm

On a happier note, it's good to read Tanier again.

15
by JoeyHarringtonsPiano :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 2:24pm

Coaches, players, and politicians always get pilloried for poor wording in public speech, whether or not their underlying logic was sound. Mike's ribbing was on the pretty light end of the spectrum

-I'm not Billy Bad-Ass.

27
by Paddy Pat :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 5:27pm

Personally, I loved this observation. The core of Schiano's coaching aside, verbal bungling like this feels similar to the shifty mechanics of Butch Davis' contract. If Schiano really wants to emulate Bill Belichick as a coach, he needs to learn that the first rule of coaching is never say anything even remotely quotable to the press, and punctuate every phrase with "you know" to the point that you're hard to listen to...

14
by Raiderjoe :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 1:31pm

Will tea tonight

16
by TomC :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 2:43pm

"Higgledy piggledy" means "a real mess."

18
by mathesond :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 3:34pm

Will the Pentagon ever recover?

19
by Raiderjoe :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 3:52pm

When accidentally break a can of tomato sauce on floor in Florida supermarket it called a Piggly Wiggly Higgledy Piggledy

34
by TomKelso :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 7:16pm

Thank you. That boggled the mind. (Gotta love a Bloom County reference!)

17
by The Anti-Dave (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 3:32pm

Yet another inane "no fan base" reference to the Jaguars two years after you promised to stop making them. Why does a talented, clever, and funny writer like you turn into a lazy hack when it comes to covering that franchise?

21
by Intropy :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 4:03pm

You've angered the Popular Front of Judea.

22
by Hurt Bones :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 4:10pm

Splitter!

41
by billsfan :: Sat, 09/08/2012 - 8:48pm

I thought we were the Popular Front?

(I also like the Eagles)

25
by Aaron Brooks Go... :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 4:58pm

He's probably not concerned about angering Jacksonville's fan.

28
by Paddy Pat :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 5:28pm

+1

29
by JoeyHarringtonsPiano :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 6:15pm

Lines like that are meant for humor, and not to be mistaken for actual analysis or statement of fact.

In his Lions-Rams blurb, he basically implied that Suh and Fairley are "evil", but I managed to not get all hot-and-bothered about it because I remembered that it was meant as a joke.

-I'm not Billy Bad-Ass.

20
by Steve in WI :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 3:55pm

"The Bears were a solid team before Cutler got hurt last year and should be a solid team at least until he gets hurt this year." I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that.

24
by Aaron Brooks Go... :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 4:57pm

"Ryan Tannehill will not be able to throw passes to himself."

That actually does seem to happen a couple of times each season.

30
by JoeyHarringtonsPiano :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 6:17pm

I remember one year Brad Johnson managed to throw a touchdown pass to himself. Maybe that will be the unconventional offensive strategy the Dolphins use this year to remain competitive, like they did with the Wildcat a few years ago.

-I'm not Billy Bad-Ass.

32
by justanothersteve :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 6:41pm

A certain former Packers/Jets/Vikings QB who shall not be named completed his first pass to himself, a sinister foreshadowing of the ego that would consume ESPN and all other sports media for several consecutive offseasons.

36
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 8:41pm

I think this has come up here before, that was his first pass as a Packer, if I remember correctly his first pass in the NFL was picked off.

39
by justanothersteve :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 11:48pm

It was both his first pass as a Packer and his first completed pass unless you include passes completed to the opponent.

31
by JoeyHarringtonsPiano :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 6:20pm

By the way, Mike, anytime you manage to work in the term "sommelier" into a football column, it automatically gets an A+ for trying to reach a more refined audience.

-I'm not Billy Bad-Ass.

33
by akn :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 7:10pm

Or a more drunk audience.

40
by LionInAZ :: Sat, 09/08/2012 - 8:46pm

A drunkenly refined audience... my kind of people!

35
by Nathan :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 7:52pm

Mentally, I read "Sports on Earth" in the "Pigs in Space" voice. That is all I have to offer to this discussion.

37
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 8:44pm

And now I do too.

38
by mm (old) (not verified) :: Fri, 09/07/2012 - 9:05pm

Good stuff Mike,

Though I will point out that that Tannehill is mis-characterized as a 'converted receiver'. He was recruited as a QB and practiced as a QB throughout his time at A&M. He played receiver on Saturdays while waiting for his chance at the starting QB job.

42
by billsfan :: Sat, 09/08/2012 - 8:49pm

It's just not the same without the randomly sized team logos.

(I also like the Eagles)

45
by dryheat :: Tue, 09/11/2012 - 9:31am

a son named Camden Jack (Cutler ordered “Popular Baby Names” from Amazon but got “Pirates of the Barbary Coast” instead).

Delaware River. Pirates of the Delaware River.

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