solution... find a new mechanic who knows what the hell he's doing & has built fast cars before. (& no, i'm not bashing LB)

well TMS... there's one argument isnt there? What cars has Isiah built? He's proven he find good parts (draft) but he's lousy at putting them together. Thats not just here, its other places he's been also.

THe factory fresh parts are ok.

THe used parts are off wrecks, or we over bid on Ebay!

we need someone like this.

Posted by TMS:

solution: put Isiah in charge of ordering new parts only... LB in charge of tune ups, transmissions & engine work... we still need an engineer who knows how the parts need to fit & work together in order to make a machine we can win some races with... any suggestions?

well one problem is Isiah traded away all his store credit and cant get good parts until 2008. As for LB I would say NO. Get a like minded GM or GM prospect he's worked with before with some vision and fundamental knowledge of the salary cap and go from there

or Isiah Thomas.

rv you play tackle? I did for 4 years. In those 4 we ran BR's 46 defense and never lost a game tying only once. Full contact no pads. 4 teams. At one point we had 30-40 people a week coming to see us and the NJ Star Ledger did a small piece on us. We never even had a team name but were dubbed "black" by the teams we played. It was for 2 reasons, one we had black jerseys and 2 we played teams from Patterson and Roselle. They called us black because their teams were all black guys and ours was about 50/50. Go figure. Kind of a joke but it stuck.
We ran 3 plays. Sweep left, dive off tackle and a bomb pass. We had one reciever. A white kid who printed "the burner" on the back of his jersey. He ran one and only one pattern. Fly. He also scored about 2-3 TDs a game. We never lost because we played unselfish and together. This kid was a prima donna. Never got his jersey dirty but knew he only did what he did because guys like me blocked for his pretty ass.
We were built around a defense that was smaller and faster (by alot) than every team we played against. Hell... at 6'4 and 215 I was one of the biggest guys. We had a full back who was 5'9/240 (all natural) and whos blocking was simply legendary. We swarmed, hit, and swarmed some more. I would tell you more about it but the 2 concussions erased a little of the data. Still I know we were good. We played simple and we played team.

I dont know what LB is doing at practice or why his team cant get it. I do know the lack of fundamentals are clear even to my poorly trained eye. I also know from watching NBA ball that winning any other way is fools gold if gold at all.

I disagree about the set rotation thing. It definitely would make us a better team. LB has mentioned this twice publicly. But unfortunately we cannot teach guys how to play if we aren't going to lay out consequences for lack of effort or making the same mistakes over and over again. We have to finally set a higher standard. A standard that cannot be compromised. Once you compromise you lose the players. I'm telling you the day LB dos this is the day he is either going to quit or you are about to see 4 or 5 guys jettisoned.

I think Channing is working hard but like I've said a million times basketball is a game of habits. You have to change the bad habits and reinforce the good ones. You can go over some things a thousand times. Players listen for 3 plays and then revert back to what they were doing before. You can tell a person to stop biting their nails and they will but the next time they are nervous they will do it again. We need to smack their hands everytime those fingers go in their mouths. Channing is guarding mobile players and is learning positioning. I'm fine with this. We all understand it's going to take a while for him to grasp this concept. But this doesn't mean you coddle him and let him play when he makes the same mistake 4 TRIPS IN A ROW. But as a fan I'm saying don't worry because Channing will get sick of getting yanked and will learn soon. One day it will just click and he will find himself positioning better without realizing he is. That day his minutes will skyrocket and we will all be saying how his D has improved.

Crawford I disagree highly. This guy does not even attempt to fight through a screen. He runs at shooters after they are in their shooting motion to make it appear that he is trying to get out on them. It's false hustle and is clear when you know what to look for. I watched him specifically in the LA game and don't understand how he thinks his team could possibly win with him playing this way. Then he loses confidence not realizing that it is his insufficient effort that is contributing to his lack of performance which leads to his loss of confidence.

I could break down every trip for you if you were watching with me and show you some obvious things that you don't see when you just watch the game as a fan. Some of the things they do on the court, away from the ball are mind boggling. I would yell at 5th graders for doing the same things. The funny thing is 5th graders would listen and figure it out after 3 games. Millionaires tune you out becasue they are millionaires and no one should talk to them that way.