Team Name - Railers

AJ Hawk Sucks

 by CVSrules

The world champion Green Bay Packers got better for about 12 hours when the cut AJ Hawk before a contract deadline. Unfortunately, they re-signed him, which (1) makes their defense worse (2) robs a roster spot from somebody who could play special teams. Obviously AJ Hawk was no Tony Mandarich, but seriously-- why would you resign Hawk when you have Bishop and Barnett and Chillar? They have 4 middle linebackers and probably only Chillar would be a special teamer. Thompson has gone off the reservation with this one.

Team Name/Jersey - Milwaukee Gulls

Is Ron Dayne Still a Bust

I think we can safely close the book on the NFL career of Ron Dayne. Here is the final stat line:

Some Background-
Ron Dayne played 7 seasons in his NFL Career. He was with the Giants, Broncos and Texans. He was released by Houston following the 2007 season. He did not play in the 2003 season due to a kind of a weird situation. He was taken with the 11th pick by the New York Giants in the 2000 draft, leaving after his senior season with UW (only Shaun Alexander, Mike Anderson, and Jamal Lewis were taken after Dayne and had more rushing yardage than him to have a somewhat relative comparison to the class). He played in a Super Bowl his rookie season. His most popular fan nickname was Thunder (to Tiki Barber’s lightning). He thought he had a couple more years in him after 2007, but he never got the call.

Stats (all regular season numbers)-
Total Rushing Yards = 3722 Rushing (good for #203 on the all time, some below him are Kevin Faulk, DeShaun Foster, LaMont Jordon just passed him by 12 yards)
Total Attempts = 983 (good for #182 on all time, Kevin Faulk is at 847, Alan Ameche 964)
Games Play = 96 (Julius Jones is at 94)
Games Started = 28
Rushing TD’s = 28
Yards Per Att = 3.8 (most 5.1 in his season with Denver)
Attempts Per Game = 10.2 over career (14.9 was his most in a season and that was in his last year with Houston. Brandon Jacobs has a career of 10.8 attempts per game, and last year in 2010 managed 9.2)
Avg Yards/game = 38.8 (highest in a season was 59.5 in his last year)
Avg Yards/season = 532
Total Reception = 57
Total Receiving Yards = 340 (nothing to write your drunk uncle about)
Yards per Catch = 5.96
Total Yards from Scrimmage = 4062
Career Fumbles = 7 (1 per year)
Longest Run 61 Yards
2 Successful 2 point conversions
Won All Iron Award in 2005 for Thanksgiving Game
*A couple of other notes, he was improving as the years went on. His YPA started in the 3’s but never got below 4 again after he left NYG. He scored 11 TD’s in his final 2 years.

To the Point, from 2002 until about 2006, and some say continually depending on how late you watch ESPN, Ron Dayne was thrown on just about every conceivable list of draft busts. This is of all time now. Not just running backs, not just Heisman winners, not just players selected from a certain state of birth, everyone who has ever been drafted in history of the draft. A relatively small city kid, phenomenal college player, with disciplined professional skills in a longer than average career and you are going to put him in what is essentially the Top 99 percentile of players you did not want on your team after the year 1980. How is a running back from the Big Ten (12) that you draft from middle first of the 2000 draft a Top 50 draft bust of all time? Does he deserve to still be a member even considering the most recent draft classes and the rest of his career extending passed the production dates of many of these polls/lists?

Taking everything into consideration I think he was a serviceable back that needed to fit into certain systems, but turned out a respectable career. He altered his style and began to show signs of improvement when his career was arguably cut short by a couple years. Not an All-Pro by any means, or someone who would even be to consecutive pro bowls but I’d be willing to put him on a Top 50 of something of the NFL other than draft busts. Knowing what we know now about running backs in the post 2000 era (i.e nary a few will play passed the age of a lord any savior in the league, Bettis might the last modern one inducted). To me it comes down to that he earned his paycheck, not too much, but didn’t get robbed. I thought his total attempts and att/game really stood out and illustrates he was just a workhorse for the Giants. These were teams that had Tiki Barber as the main back. They weren’t going to run formations with him catching passes in the flat, and he wasn’t going to break 60 yarders like he did in college and he was never meant to in that system. He was brought on as a 3rd down back, get short yardage, bruise defenders. He was like Sonny in the Godfather. I think he accomplished that well, well until he got shot up. After he slimmed down a few seasons in, he showed flashes of the break tackle, then speed off he did so well at UW. This may have led to the success he had with Houston. If the Texans would have brought him back for at least 2 more years he could have helped them out significantly and probably hit at least 5000 rushing yards. They had struggled with consistent backs since that and up until they found the gold mine, Arian Foster.

by FallsLlamas

I would label Ron Dayne as a bust. However, he is not one of the biggest busts of all time. When you consider how high he was drafted, he should have been a more productive back. He was not a speed back, and wasn't really a great NFL-type RB. He was a good, solid backup, worthy of a 2nd or 3rd round pick, but not that high. Yes he left as the NCAA career yardage leader, and Heisman trophy winner, but with the UW system, O-line, and situation, his draft stock was overrated. I would say he is a minor bust, but no Ryan Leaf.

by CVSrules

Fallsllama doesn't know what he's talking about. Ron Dayne is a Joey Harrington-esque bust. Does anybody else remember that All Iron game? He broke away from everybody on the field, was running as fast as he could, and somebody caught him.

The Arena Itself

You can't just throw a lot of money at a building, put in millions of bells and whistles and expect people to love your new monstrosity (see New Meadowlands, or previous Metrodome). Using principles of Frank Lloyd Wright it needs to be adapted into the surrounding areas not on top of it, and not to mention be embraced by the city that has to see it almost every day.

A positive of starting a hockey franchise over football is certainly facility costs. It won't be cheap, but we won't approach the $1 Billion level that NFL stadiums are costing now. NHL arenas hold typically about 15,000 people, the Bradley center and Kohl center hold 18,700 and 15,300 respectively for hockey. If we go with a smaller district, having it around 14,000 to start with would fit nicely, but have areas where we can expand easily already built in. Another positive is that many areas in Wisconsin already have an ice arena in place. Would it be possible to build around the existing one some way or add extensive improvements to help save money?

One likely obstacle is will major tax dollars have to go in building and maintaining it. Let's not touch that one yet, should a referendum like that have to pass with 80% approval? Any city that this would go into, a vast majority should want to have it.

Features:

The Barn/Ice Rink - I kind of like the ring that the name "The Barn" exudes as a place to go watch hockey. A possible sponsorship to the facility could be Leinenkugel. Different from Miller in that they don't have to pretend they are from Wisconsin anymore.

The Crows Nest - Seats high up in the rafters to watch the game. It could be used for parties or events, with full bar, multiple/gigantic TV's, etc, but you watch the game from a balcony or if it is over the center through glass in the floor. What not possible?

Hall of Pioneers - One of my favorite features of Lambeau Field are the Packer museums and hall of fame that border the stadium. If we run with the team name of Pioneers one of the things we would like to see as part of the complex is a kind of hall fame that not only showcases Pioneers of Hockey and the franchise but Pioneers of Wisconsin in general. People like Bob La Follette, Harry Houdini, William Sylvester Harley (Harley Davidson), Orson Welles, Hank Aaron, Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette, among others. Essentially it would become a great museum of Wisconsin's rich history that could operate within the systems of the local education districts.



Community Therapy pool/Fitness center/Rehabilitation Center- Operating at different schedules than when the team uses it, this area would hold classes for the community promoting physical strength and exercise. We don't see it operating as a come-when-you-like gym but rather as set times for certain activities. Not only does this prevent conflicts with team exercises but when you have a gym you can go anytime, you have excuses not to go, but if you have a set schedule, it helps you focus a little more. It also would have a rehabilitation center for physical therapy. When not in use by the team this could be a very valuable asset for the community. These centers are normally few and are between but with the help of the arena a state of the art facility could be achieved for the region to help people after debilitating injuries. Fingers crossed on this place having rope and rock climbing.

Outdoor Skate Rink - I love hockey that is played outdoors. Not only could this be used by the community for open skates but could also hold practices every once and awhile to keep the team on their toes.

Team Names - Pioneers, Our First Attempt

You want something simple, to the point, and can stand the test of time. They recently did a survey of best helmet logos of the NFL. The Packers, Steelers, and Colts were up near the top and they haven't changed in decades and probably never will for good reason. Yet you have teams that are trying to capitalize on current trends and try to make it too creative that they end up having to re-design it every few years. The Brewers have been around since 1970 and have changed their logo 5-6 times depending on who you ask even when the fans love the ball and glove.

Next to location, this is another top variable that needs a solid thought out process. It's a lot like naming your children, you have to plan every step of their future as a reflection of their names. It's hard to imagine someone actually approved the name Marquette Gold.

I remember awhile back SI for Kids had a contest where you would design the expansion team's logos for the NFL along with picking their names. Being in 3rd grade I was so jacked for this project, I must have done 30 different designs over the weekend. I thought at least one of mine would get looked at. They ended up going with the Jaguars and Panthers. I'm not sure if they even considered using the SI submissions, or if it was just a way to boost subscriptions and readership with kids. Naming a team after a jungle cat anymore just means you're not trying, and they did it twice to the same expansion set. Fast forward a few years later and a during a project where we wrote out what we wanted to be when we grow up, I dreamt of running a sports franchise. It was a baseball team that I aptly named the New Orleans Hurricanes. Cheap lesson learned, it's also probably not a good idea to name a team something that could potentially devastate that region down the line.

I liked the term Pioneers because it is rarely seen in sports. There are several colleges that use it though (UW Platteville). It also fits Wisconsin as it embodies the nature with which our state was settled along with our independent spirit.

A Pioneer can be anything, it doesn't have to be a guy in a covered wagon. Pioneers are innovators, tenacious, and risk takers which I think fits our state pretty well when thinking of our settlers and Native American heritage. Wisconsin had always been great about naming teams based off state institutions and I was trying to think of others. Miners was a possibility, but it didn't roll off the tongue nicely. Another was related to how great the fishing is up north, so maybe the Wausau Muskies (ode to another legendary team of Wisconsin), or Bullheads. If you like the alliteration there is always Wausau Warhawks or Warriors.

by Erika While I do like the Pioneers name, I don't see a team forming in Wausau. I really think it has to be Milwaukee or Madison, regardless of what everyone else seems to think about places being a college hockey town. I don't think Milwaukee is a college hockey town, I think at the time we were voted down before, they looked at us as not bringing enough money and fans compared to other cities. That however, is another rant, for another topic!

Let's just say Milwaukee, for travel purposes. (You know you'd get chicago/IL visitors coming up here to watch NHL games because it would be much less expensive to see a game here than it would be there! Plus it's easy from all freeways) What is Milwaukee? I don't even know our slogan anymore, but it used to be "A great Place by a great Lake". We can't be called the Milwaukee Lakes, although maybe the goalie of the other team would be trying to figure that one out and we could score a few. I thought about the history of Milwaukee and while there is German, Polish, and Beer history in Milwaukee, I find other teams easily making fun of us for names like Milwaukee Brats & Milwaukee Ice-Poles. I did think Milwaukee Millers had a nice ring to it, but I imagine the gold and red jerseys to look terrible, like the beer cans. If we went with the Milwaukee Bocks, I imagined waves of mass confusion when trying to order tickets to games over the phone.. when someone on the other line thinks you're ordering Bucks tickets. Bocks and Bucks are just too close. "Hey did you see the Bocks game last night?" "The Bucks were on? I didn't know they were playing" "Yeah, they won, 3 - 2" "wait..... what?"

I guess we'll have to go with the last resort. The Milwaukee Braves.

Erika

Postby admin I think you bring up a lot of great points, and I love the idea of calling them the Milwaukee Braves. I started to work on a logo for that even. I like how some teams do that now a days where they name it after a historical team that has already dissipated. Even the Milwaukee Brewers technically fall under that.

It definitely would increase traveling between the cities bringing in more people from Chicago to see games and vice versa. Let's face it you probably don't get many people traveling to Minnesota from Chicago to games, but if there was a closer option it would boost it.

There may be some confusion between the Bocks and the Bucks especially if games are around the same dates and sharing the Bradley Center. What if we used the full term Einbocks, does that sound good? What about putting a color in front of them like the Gold Bocks, Green Bocks, Brown Bocks. Maybe if they were located in Green Bay or Madison it could work.

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