Quotulatiousness

October 2, 2011

Vikings finally break habit of stinking in 2nd half by stinking equally in both

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 18:03

After showing some excellent results in the first half of each of the first three games of the season, then mentally checking out for the second half, Minnesota finally broke the habit. Unfortunately, they broke the good habit, not the bad one, falling to the 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 22-17.

One thing most seem to agree on is that even if he’s not the worst problem, Donovan McNabb has failed to live up to expectations. He’s been throwing the ball erratically and off-target (one Twitter comment jibed that he’s the perfect QB if receivers could catch with their feet). He was brought in on a one-year contract to take care of the team until Christian Ponder was ready to take over. “Taking care” of the team isn’t quite what you’d describe what he’s done in the last four games.

The argument is that it can be very bad to throw a rookie quarterback in before he’s ready to take over: some thrive, but many sink (taking their teams with them). The counter argument is simple: we’ve already taken four torpedoes, so why not give the keys to Ponder? If we continue to lose, we’ll be early favourites for the first pick in the draft next year (the “Suck for Luck” pick).

Here’s the immediate reaction to the game from various folks in the Vikings fan base and in the media:

  • Clint Starks, Viking Age: “With the Vikes moving to 0-4 and McNabb playing at what looks to be an all-time low the question moves to Ponder. Fans across Viking Nation are wondering when we were see the cocksure rookie from Florida State. Next week could present a good opportunity for the young rookie as the Arizona Cardinals are coming to Mall of America field.”
  • Eric J. Thompson, Daily Norseman: “For the fourth straight week, the Vikings have wrestled defeat away from the jaws of victory. It was more of the same for the hapless Vikes, coming up small against the Chiefs at the most inopportune times. Donovan McNabb missed passes with alarming consistency. Adrian Peterson was largely ignored in the second half game plan. The tired and inept secondary got burned. The pass rush disappeared.”
  • Tom Pelissero, ESPN1500.com: “Leslie Frazier said the Minnesota Vikings must “reevaluate everything” in the wake of their fourth consecutive loss on Sunday.

    • “That apparently won’t include giving consideration to replacing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb with rookie first-round draft pick Christian Ponder beginning next week against Arizona.”

  • Ray Tannock, BleacherReport.com: “Without giving away too much, some of the rising whispers in Minnesota have been for the possible sacking of quarterback Donovan McNabb in favor of the anticipated “quarterback of the future” Christian Ponder.

    • “Another comment that has passed in the wind over the weeks is whether or not this set of coordinators even know what they are doing.

    “Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac’s inability to adjust to the opposition and Offensive coordinator’ Bill Musgrave’s inability to get the right players on the field and involved, have been a growing concern in the minds of Vikings fans; concerns that haven’t had much resolution through three games.”

Penn Jillette on “bugnutty Christians” in politics

Filed under: Media, Politics, Religion, USA — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 16:52

As one of the best known non-Christians in public life, Penn Jillette is often asked about politicians who exploit their religious beliefs to score political points:

Christian used to be a throwaway word. People didn’t used to use it much. People didn’t start self-labeling or getting labeled Christian until the last part of the 20th century. Before that, you might identify as a Baptist, or a Southern Baptist or a Methodist. But there wasn’t one identifier that put you in a fold with all the other believers.

[. . .]

When I was a kid, politicians wanted to avoid talking about religion if they could. John F. Kennedy couldn’t duck the issue, being Catholic and all. So how did he address it? By reminding Americans that religion shouldn’t be an issue, that he was concentrating on big things like poverty and hunger and leading the space race.

When he finally got around to talking about religion, here’s what he said: “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.” Can you imagine a presidential candidate talking that way today?

Tyler Cowen on why “no new taxes” won’t work this time

Filed under: Economics, Government, USA — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 11:03

Almost everyone (except Warren Buffett) agrees that higher taxes are a bad thing, and the GOP candidates are all singing from the same hymn book about not imposing higher tax rates. Under normal circumstances, this might work. Tyler Cowen explains why these aren’t normal times and how “no new taxes” isn’t a serious way to deal with America’s financial problems:

Consider the example more closely. Cutting $10 in spending for every $1 in tax increases would result in $9 in net tax reduction. That’s because lower spending today means lower taxes tomorrow, and limiting the future path of government spending does limit future taxes, as Milton Friedman, the late Nobel laureate and conservative icon, so clearly explained. Promising never to raise taxes, without reaching a deal on spending, really means a high and rising commitment to future taxes.

Furthermore, this refusal to contemplate a tax increase — which I’d characterize as an extreme Republican stance — has brought what seems to be an extreme Democratic response: President Obama’s latest budget plan is moving away from entitlement reform and embracing multiple tax increases on the wealthy. We may be left with no good fiscal options.

The problems with a no-new-taxes stance run deeper. Because it’s unlikely that spending cuts alone can balance the budget, politicians who espouse extreme antitax views often end up denying the scope of our long-run fiscal problems.

[. . .]

The more cynical interpretation of the Republican candidates’ stance on taxes is that they are signaling loyalty to a cause, or simply marketing themselves to voters, rather than acting in good faith. It could be that candidates are more worried about having to publicly endorse tax increases than they are about the tax increases themselves. If that’s true, it is all the more reason to watch out for our pocketbooks; it means that the candidates are protecting themselves rather than the taxpayers.

The final lesson is this: Many professed fiscal conservatives still find it necessary to pander to voter illusions that only a modicum of fiscal adjustment is needed. That’s an indication of how far we are from true fiscal conservatism, but also a sign of how much it is needed.

The greatest 0-3 team ever?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 10:50

Christopher Gates at the Daily Norseman summarizes an argument from a behind-the-paywall ESPN Insider article:

First off, according to the article, only six teams in NFL history have had the same sort of dominance in the first halves of football games that the 2011 Minnesota Vikings have shown (scoring more than 50 points while allowing 7 or fewer). The Vikings have outscored their opponents 54-7 in the first half this year. Here are the other teams that fall into that same category.

Team Year Points For Points Against
Seattle Seahawks 2006 55 6
Dallas Cowboys 1973 53 6
Los Angeles Rams 1970 63 6
San Diego Chargers 1961 73 3
Cleveland Browns 1947 75 7
Cleveland Browns 1946 55 0

One minor difference between the 2011 Vikings and those other six teams . . . the six teams listed above all went 3-0. Minnesota has managed to go 0-3.

ESPN even managed to put a number on the odds of the Vikings’ losing all three of their games in the fashion that they have. With win probabilities at halftime ranging from 84.9% in the game against the Chargers to 97.1% in last week’s game against Detroit, ESPN put the odds of the Vikings losing their first three games with the halftime leads they had at 3,800-to-1. To put it another way, if you could have placed an actual bet of $50 on such a thing occurring, you would have walked away with a cool $190,000.

Powered by WordPress