Pirate Galaxy » highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus.Grat

When are the New Zealand rugby public going to ease up on the All Blacks?They are never satisfied.When we have a team that is doing really, really well, we continue to look for the drama all the time. Why cant fans just sit back and enjoy what is being played out in front of them?Lets face it, the quality of rugby the All Blacks are playing is sensational. No-one can complain they are not getting their moneys worth when watching them play. But the attitude of New Zealand fans blows me away. We have never been able to have enough of winning, but the All Blacks are a great streak and we are still managing to criticise one way or another.Theres no such thing as perfection, in any walk of life; thats just the reality. But when youve got something that is pretty close with a team that is growing and doing really good things, your job as a fan is to sit back and enjoy not criticise it.Lets not forget that when this whole international season started no-one was expecting this sort of rugby from a team that had lost so much experience. Steve Hansen admitted that, and now four international sides, Wales, Australia, Argentina and South Africa know how it feels.The way it stands at the moment, the success is almost working against the team.It is the nature of New Zealand fans, not only in rugby, but other sports as well. At the same time, all those sports do tend to bring the best out of themselves because they are fuelled by a desire to prove the doubters wrong.Its the sportspeople who go out onto the field, or to the Olympics or Paralympics or whatever, who respond to those people who tell them: Youll never do this, or youll never do that. They get out there and show people they can do it, and I guess thats probably because we are such hard knockers that it brings out the best in our athletes.But you do have to wonder how much better they might be if they didnt have to go through that and could concentrate on their sports and playing to their best.I remember losing a couple of games for Wasps when playing in England and being almost embarrassed to go out and sign autographs for fans afterwards and to shake their hands. They were telling me that everything would be fine and that a win would come along eventually. And they would still be there to watch it.My belief was that it wasnt the attitude I had come from in New Zealand. What the fans were saying was they could accept it, and were used to it, but having come from the All Blacks and Auckland environment of the 1990s, that wasnt something I could accept. And I couldnt understand why they could accept it.This All Blacks team have been put on a massive pedestal where a whole bunch of New Zealanders are finding any reason they can to eat away at the bottom of it to cause it all to come crashing down.Its frustrating: How good were they on Saturday night?They were as good as they could be, and South Africa to their credit played well -- much like Argentina the week before. They did what they could do but they just couldnt live the All Blacks.If I were Owen Franks, I would be getting outside Dane Coles whenever he touches the ball because he just seems to be able to put people over the tryline.Ive got a good mate, who I spent a lot of time throwing my arm around and smashing in the front-row for Auckland and the All Blacks in Sean Fitzpatrick, who is generally regarded as one of the great All Blacks of all time.But Dane Coles is certainly reminding me a lot of Fitzy, especially in his attitude towards that All Blacks jersey, and the way he plays the game; he has got leadership written all over him. If ever Dane Coles is out there when Kieran Read had an injury then as a shining light in the No. 2 jersey Coles epitomises what being an All Blacks players is all about.Weve watched this kid mature.Ive criticised him at times for his hot temper but he has that under control, although a hot temper directed in the right way can be a good thing. If he can harness that and point it in the right direction in all that he keeps doing he could be incredible; he is still coming to his peak and has a lot of years ahead of him.Regarding the other night, we need to take one step outside and look back at teams like South Africa and Australia, who have key players out injured, and recognise they do not have the depth that New Zealand enjoy.I do think Elton Jantjies froze on the big stage, as did Lions teammate Faf de Klerk inside him. Theyve had a great year and done really well with the Lions, but theyve had to step up to international level and they look like theyre lacking experience.Its thrown out there all the time, but experience means that you just go and do your job, and you dont freeze, when the spotlight is on you.But if youve never been there before and you have to front up to a full stadium and 50 million people around the world watching, you can sometimes go back into your shell; and I think the Springboks halves did that on Saturday.Its a bit like Argentina in Perth. They failed to start like they did against New Zealand and suddenly after 15 minutes they were 21 points down. With all the best intents in the world, that is game over.Perhaps that is a measure of how much their effort against New Zealand took it out of them because they certainly didnt look the same side. And again that is experience as they are still getting used to this competition and the need for consistency above all.Kerryon Johnson Youth Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Jahlani Tavai Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-Austin-Bryant-Elite-Jersey/ . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Custom Detroit Lions Jerseys . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Kerryon Johnson Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.The Los Angeles Rams waived cornerback Troy Hill as part of a series of roster moves Tuesday, three days after Hill was arrested on suspicion of DUI.Rams coach Jeff Fisher said hes not going to rule out a second opportunity.I think people deserve second chances in life, Fisher told reporters after Tuesdays practice. I think he learned from it, but I was just disappointed in his choices.The Rams also waived fellow cornerback Dwayne Gratz and put rookie linebacker Josh Forrest on injured reserve, promoting cornerback Michael Jordan and linebacker Nic Grigsby from the practice squad to the active roster.Forrest suffered a knee injury?Sunday that was expected to keep him out four to six weeks.Hill was arrested on Saturday morning, after his Mercedes swerved over multiple lanes on an L.A. freeway and crashed into the back of a semi-truck around 8 a.m. PT, according to multiple reports. The 25-year-old was then given a field sobriety test and was handcuffed on the spot, booked in Van Nuys, California, and de-activated by the Rams for Sundays game against the Miami Dolphins.Hill -- the Rams fourth cornerback on the depth chart, after Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines and slot corner Lamarcus Joyner -- was released from custody later in the afternoon on $15,000 bail and has a preliminary court date for Dec. 14.I was disappointed in his choices, as they relate to Friday night and Saturday morning, Fisher said. I dont think he put the team first. I got information, and we made the decision. Because Trroy was truthful with me in our conversations the last couple of days, I also said that Im not going to rule out a second opportunity.ddddddddddddThe Rams also signed linebacker Randell Johnson to their practice squad.Hill, undrafted out of Oregon, spent last season with the Cincinnati Bengals and had started four games for the Rams in 2016, emerging as a key fill-in with improved play. In a 9-6 win over the New York Jets in Week 11, Hill came off the bench to play in 52 percent of the defensive snaps and was the Rams highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus.Gratz, a third-round pick out of Connecticut in 2013, was claimed off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 11 to combat the release of Coty Sensabaugh and subsequent ankle injury suffered by Johnson.Fisher called parting with Gratz a tough decision and hinted at other moves in the secondary.Jordan -- not to be confused with the greatest basketball player of all time --- went undrafted out of Missouri Western State earlier this year and was among the Rams final cuts during training camp.Hes so excited, Fisher said. It was really fun to talk to him today. He understands our system. Hes played really hard in practice; he was productive in the preseason games. He understands that theres maybe a 50-50 chance of him being active this week, just because of numbers and things, but hes really excited. ' ' '