Top dogs
Page 7 of 18 -- A: A-Rod is a better shortstop than Nomar. A-Rod wins games with his glove. The reason, as we write this, you can't keep Nomar is because you've reached a contract impasse. If that's straightened out, I could see entertaining keeping both A-Rod and Nomar, but Nomar would have to move to third or to the outfield. Is he ready to do that at age 30?
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Hey, Nick, great forum here. One aspect of being a baseball fan that is easier than a football fan is being able to tell whether a play happened because one guy messed up or the other guy stepped up (i.e.: fighting off a good pitch vs. hitting a meatball) but with football it is hard to tell whether something is a good juke or a missed tackle or one line is winning the battles because they are good or the other line is terrible. (It's probably somewhere in the middle, but where in the middle exactly?) Could you or your buddy Ron dedicate a few lines to this in explaining some plays each week. This going under the assumption that sports writers are a sort of "expert fan." I'd appreciate it, if possible. Thanks.
Micah Goldwater, Newton, and Austin, Texas
A: We try to do that as often as possible. But if I look at a tape of the game, I might think this guy messed up when he didn't. One of the assistant coaches would have to have the authority to say, "OK, Joe Smith missed a block and that's why Tom Smith was sacked." The Dolphins were very up front on what happened on the Harrison blitz and stripping of the ball from Fiedler -- McMichael missed as block. Now as I watched that, I figured it was probably McMichael. But we don't alway know what the blocking assignments are. That's why I stay away from report cards on a game to game basis. I have no idea what the blocking assignments are for the offensive line, tight end, or running backs.
I've been a Pats fan for 17 years, and I have to say this is the most exciting year to be one. The Super Bowl Year was great, but we were considered underdogs then. Right now there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the Pats are the best team in the NFL. What do you think? Are they better than KC, and do you think we will ever find out?
John Adams, Wichita Falls, Texas
A: Right now the Patriots are the best team in football. The numbers don't lie in this case. They are tied for the best record and they've demolished the best teams in either league. They haven't played KC or Baltimore or St. Louis, but my sense is if they're playing like they are after the Dolphins game, they'd likely be the Super Bowl champions. Continued...
