News, introspective, insight & opinion from around the NFL & NCAA

News, introspective, insight & opinion from around the NFL & NCAA

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini is a self absorbed egotistical jerk

No one likes Eric Mangini. The players don’t and people around the league don’t. Not that anyone condoned “Spygate”, but people around the league didn’t like the fact that he “broke code” and squealed on Belichick.

There is a little published fact that deserves some attention here. When Mangini was obviously a hot candidate for a head coaching job, Belichick who disliked the Jets (that’s a whole entire different story, Belichick is a dope himself for hanging the Jets out to dry like that) asked Mangini to take any job except the Jets job. Not that he had the right to do that, but the reality is that Mangini would be a school teacher somewhere right now if it is wasn’t for Belichick so I guess some loyalty was warranted…..

When Mangini returned back to the Patriots complex after interviewing for the Jest head coaching position he’s key card did not work. Belichick was pissed and changed the lock. And there started the feud between Mangini and Belichick …

Let’s look at where Mangini is coming from:

College

Mangini has a Wesleyan University education. In college he played nose tackle at Division III Wesleyan and holds the school's single-season (11.5) and career (36.5) sacks records. During the second semester of his junior and senior years, he coached the Kew Colts, a semi-professional football team in Melbourne, Australia, to two regional championships. Mangini joined the Chi Psi Fraternity that coaching mentor Bill Belichick, a Wesleyan alumnus, was part of two decades earlier.

Coaching career

Assistant coach

Mangini first caught the attention of Bill Belichick, as a 23-year-old ball boy with the Cleveland Browns. His work ethic impressed Belichick, and the head coach was instrumental in promoting Mangini to a public relations intern, and later, an offensive assistant.

After spending 1996 as an offensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, Mangini rejoined Belichick and spent three seasons as a defensive assistant with the New York Jets. When Belichick was hired as the New England Patriots head coach in 2000, he brought along Mangini as his defensive backs coach. Mangini, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, turned down defensive coordinator positions with the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns before accepting the position with New England in 2005.

Head coach

Mangini, 35, became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he was hired by the Jets on January 17, 2006, to replace Herm Edwards. He beat internal candidates Donnie Henderson, Mike Heimerdinger and Mike Westhoff and external candidates Jim Haslett, Mike Tice, Tim Lewis and Joe Vitt for the job.

In his first season, Mangini led the Jets to a 10-6 record and a postseason berth. New York, which finished the previous year 4-12, lost to New England in a wild-card playoff game.

New York went 4-12 in 2007, failing to make the playoffs. Early in the regular season, Mangini complained to league officials that Belichick's Patriots illegally filmed the Jets' defensive signals, causing the "Spygate" scandal.

In 2008, a late-season collapse—the Jets missed the playoffs despite an 8-3 start—led to Mangini's firing on December 29, 2008, one day after the season ended.

Mangini was hired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns on January 7, 2009, signing a four-year deal. Mangini currently has an 0-3 record as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and is now replacing his young QB 3 games into the season. Not that I like Brady Quinn better than Derek Anderson to begin with, but if you are going to name your young “franchise QB” the starter, you have to have a longer leash than that.

Mangini seems to pride himself on running a tight ship. He does in fact run a tight ship over there on the Cleveland Browns. How do we know? Nothing says d-bag no-nonsense like fining a player $1,701 over a bottle of water snatched from a hotel mini-bar. (The NFLPA has filed a formal grievance.) Apparently, the parched player grabbed the H2O but didn’t pay for it during a team road trip. Are you serious?

Some other reasons Mangini is an called “A-Hole” we haven’t discussed yet:

- He kept Brett Favre’s injury hush-hush while coaching the Jets last season. Oops, there’s a fine.
- He made rookies take a 10-hour bus ride (each way) to and from his one-day football camp in Hartford, CT. This took place on a weekend between voluntary minicamp and team activities slated for the following Monday. Oh, and he took a plane on the way down. After some heat, Mangini rode the bus with them back to Cleveland.
- He showed up in Cleveland and had a mural of Browns greats removed. Something tells us that isn’t a team-building exercise in the NFL Coach Handbook.
- During training camp he fined a player for parking in a spot that he did not first pre-approve of. (Ok, I don’t know that actually happened, but I heard it did, and why wouldn’t you believe it?)

This guy is more concerned with bullshit stuff that has nothing to do with playing the game. The bottom line is that he takes the fun out of it for the players as well as the fans and he won’t get the players to play for him or the fans to root for him.

I feel sorry for the Cleveland fans. I’m a Jets fan. I wished you would have asked me before hiring him, you would have saved yourself some pain. Get rid of him. -Keith A. Baker
Keith A. Baker is a sports agent in Stamford, Connecticut. His goal is to offer a unique insight to the world of sports and Major League Baseball in particular. Comments in his columns are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect the views and opinions of his firm or his clients.
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Earl Campbell - I wish you well...............

I had the privilege of seeing Earl Campbell yesterday. He was going to the food store. He literally took 6-7 minutes to six minutes to cover 40 yards across the parking lot – a distance he used to breeze through in less than five seconds as a punishing running back at Texas and during an eight-year, Hall of Fame career in the NFL, mostly with the Houston Oilers. Still wearing his trademark beard, now gray, he was standing at a 45-degree angle, unable to straighten at his lower back. He couldn’t straighten his knees, either.

I had a nice conversation with him. He was very polite and accommodating. In talking with him, Campbell was totally lucid one second and struggling to recall names and prominent dates the next. It was very uncomfortable.

He said that when the walker becomes too much work, he uses a wheelchair that he travels with at all times. He wasn’t bitter thought. He feels he’s lived a blessed life.

What a shame. People talk down upon Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Tiki Barber etc. (all great players) for retiring in their prime. They obviously knew what they were doing.



Earl Campbell and Walter Payton were the two greatest running backs I ever saw play in person. I never got to see Jim Brown, I was too young. I wish Earl well. He looked so uncomfortable just trying to go to the food store….. So Sad. - George Carson
George is an avid reader or Extra Point (Football Blogs). Thanks for your submission George.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

NFL WRAP-UP – Week 3 Final

Did anyone else besides me notice the crest on the 50 yard line of Qualcomm stadium this Sunday? 1960 - 2009??? The Chargers are actually celebrating the 49th year of the AFL? Who celebrates anniversaries this way? Would you celebrate your 50th birthday on your 49th because it is the start of your 50th year of life? Shesh!

On to the week that was.

Lions (19) – Redskins (14)
The Lions tear the Redskins Teepee apart finally winning a game. The people of Motown have been through a lot the past two years and this was long overdue. Good for the Lions and good for the people of Motown but bad for Jim Zorn, very bad. To say he’s on the hot seat is an understatement. Things were so bad for Zorn this week that he even got into an argument with Redskins legend Sonny Jurgensen on the air.

Patriots (26) - Falcons (10)
The Patriots defense clamps down in the 2nd half shutting them out.

Jets (24) – Titans (17)
Rookie Ryan Mouton’s two turnovers do in the Titans. The Titans (who we think will still make the playoffs) are officially the best 0-3 team in football. The Jets are now 3-0. Btw – the Jets need to nix the old NY Titans uniforms, they are awful. There has to be a better way to increase your merchandise sales.

Vikings (27) - 49ers (24)
Frank Gore left this game after his 1st touch of the ball with an ankle injury yet the 49ers (who are better that people expected them to be) were second from going 3-0 and had one taken from them in typical Brett Favre fashion with his long touchdown pass with just seconds to go. You will see this highlight for quite a while. The word is that Gore will miss at least two more games.

Ravens (34) – Browns (3) / Eagles (34) – Chiefs (14)
The Ravens and Eagles took care of inferior opponents. The Browns have scored just 1 touchdown in their past 9 games and the Chiefs are rebuilding. The Chiefs aren’t as bad as the Browns but it’s going to be long years for both. Did I say that the Browns have scored just 1 touchdown in their past 9 games? Mangini is a joke……… more on this to follow.

Bengals (23) - Steelers (20)
The Bengals show some resolve and come from behind to knock off the Steelers. The Steelers miss Troy Polamalu and have absolutely no running game (can’t remember ever saying that about a Steelers team.)

Saints (27) – Bills (7)
The Saints offensive machine continues as they come alive late. Great game next week, Jets vs. Saints.

Bears (25) – Seahawks (19)

The Bears hold off the Seahawks. Not sure how to look at this one as this was closer than many had thought with the Seahawks playing without 9 starters. The Seahawks uniforms were worse than the Jets. Awful really, what are they thinking? The NFL has so many rules about uniforms giving fines for sox being uneven, shirts not tucked in, players wearing unauthorized bandannas under their helmets, but they let the Seahawks wear fluorescent green over puke green?

Giants (24) – Bucs (0)
Not much to say here. Even Gaints fans were changing the channel.

Broncos (23) – Raiders (3)
Broncos too care of business. JaMarcus Russell may be a man boy, but he’s not an NFL QB. 61 yards passing? Ca’mon. How do they explain cutting Jeff Garcia? The defense plays their hearts out every week. If I were on the Raiders defense I would be pissed.

Jaguars (31) – Texans (24)
Can the Texans defense stop anyone? Put the Raiders defense with the Texans offense and you have a complete NFL team.

Chargers (23) – Dolphins (13)


The Chargers drowned the fish. Looks like Chad Pennington is done for the year, and maybe his career. What a shame. Throughout his career Chad, certainly showed that he has guts and, he’s one of the brightest and classiest guys in the NFL. Chad has the highest completeion percentage in NFL history.  He’s gonna make a great coach some day. Unfortunately, maybe sooner than later now; it’s hard not to root for this guy.

Colts (31) – Cardinals (10)
The Colts just don’t lose in September. Did you know that the Colts have the NFL best regular season record of 116-46 in the last decade? Think of how much money you would have made the past 10 years picking Peyton Manning and the Money Line in the regular season. When you think about it, it’s actually amazing that Peyton doesn’t get more press than he does!

Cowboys (21) – Panthers (7)
Wow, what an awful start for John Fox and the Panthers. It was a tight game with the Panthers actually staring a drive that could have given them a lead until Jake Delhomme threw 27 yard TD pick to Terrance Newman with 5:07 left in the 4th ¼. It’s an every other year thing for the Panthers. Unfortunately this one appears to be the other.
Mike Cardano is the founder of the Around The Horn (Baseball Blogs) and Extra Point (Football Blogs). Mike is also the founder of the fantasy sports games Ultimate Franchise Baseball™ and Ultimate Franchise Football™.
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Monday, September 28, 2009

College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

It was the week of the giant killers in college football, as Ole Miss, Penn State and Cal all fell to unranked opponents. In addition to the fourth, fifth and sixth ranked teams, the ninth ranked Miami Hurricanes were downed by 11th ranked Virginia Tech. 40% of the teams in the top ten will be different from the previous week, once again reminding us why they play the games, and why we love college football so much.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- O.K. really, the instant replays have gotten out of hand. At one point I was flipping between three channels and all three referees were waiting for word from the replay officials.
- If Wisconsin runs the ball effectively, watch out. Whereas they lost three fumbles last Saturday against Wofford, and fumbled five times total, the Badgers lost only one fumble yesterday. John Clay ran the ball 32 times, opening up the passing game enough for Scott Tolzien to throw 4 touchdown passes.
- Who are you FSU? You play well against Miami, squeak out a victory against FCS Jacksonville State, annihilate BYU and go down to South Florida.
- UNC's lackadaisical offense finally caught up to them. Besides a few big plays here and there, the Tarheels need to figure out a better way to consistently move the ball down the field.
- Fresno State is the best three-loss team in the nation. They've never been out of any game, taking Wisconsin to double overtime, sticking with Boise State's high octane offense up until the very end and playing keep away from Cincinnati all game, allowing the Bearcats to control the ball for just over a quarter. If they had been able to get over the hurtle and stole a win from one of their early opponents, would they have continued to do so? Hawaii is next, and the Bulldogs are looking at a much easier schedule to close out the year.
- Tate Forcier looks like he's the real deal. He's got guts. Down 26 to 21 to Indiana at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Forcier led the Wolverines down the field, diving head first into the end zone to give the Wolverines a three point lead after converting the two point conversion. With five and a half minutes left and trailing once again, Forcier led the Wolverines down the field again to answer the Hoosiers' score. Michigan won the game 36-33.
- The Miami Hurricanes looked absolutely flat against Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, stepped up their defense after being challenged by the coaching staff and managed to stymie the Hurricanes offense. Funny how the same analysts who were shouting 'Miami's back!' on Saturday morning are now calling such declarations premature.
- You shut down Jahvid Best and you shut down Cal. Oregon looked pretty good to say the least.
- JoPa said he wasn't out for revenge against Iowa. Maybe he should have been. After a 79 yard bomb to begin the game, Darryl Clark managed only 119 yards passing. It was Penn State's only touchdown of the game. Penn State couldn’t manage much offense last year either when Iowa downed the then third ranked Nittany Lions. Maybe Penn State should avoid a top five ranking in seasons they play Iowa.
- Arizona, down star tight end Rob Gronkowski, lost starting tailback Nic Grigsby and backup tailback Keola Antolin to injury, but still managed to beat Oregon State.

Without question, the game of the week was Houston's thrilling victory over Texas Tech. No giants went down in this one, but anybody who stayed up late enough, or stayed in late enough, was rewarded. With a few big boys taking hits on Saturday, a significant shakeup to the top 10 was inevitable.

This week's New Household Name is Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, who replaced Matt Scott as the starting quarterback on Saturday. It was Foles' first career start and he made the best of the opportunity, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdown passes. He probably isn’t a household name per se, but he earned the right to be recognized as the breakout performer of the week.

You might make the argument that Tori Gurley is the new household name based solely on his name and his appearance in primetime on Thursday, but I'm giving it to Foles nonetheless.

This week, Tate Forcier Proved He's Worth The Hype with another breakout performance. This guy is growing up right before our eyes, letting pressure bounce right off of him and leading his Wolverines on game winning drives almost weekly it seems.

Next week's games to watch include Oklahoma's trip to Miami, the always entertaining Michigan/Michigan State matchup, LSU vs. Georgia and Washington vs. Notre Dame. Cal takes on USC in the primetime headliner. - Danny Hobrock
Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.
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Sunday, September 27, 2009

L.T is Diminishing Just like the Others before Him

Try to remember what happened in the NFL four years ago. Now try to remember it five years ago. Try to remember the trend that started back in 2002.

Do you remember Priest Holmes? How about Shaun Alexander? Larry Johnson? Can you even remember Ahman Green back when he was relevant?

These guys set the trend that LaDainian Tomlinson is currently following.

In 2002, Priest Holmes scored 21 rushing touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry while running for his career-high 1,615 yards with the Kansas City Chiefs. The next year, Holmes scored an astonishing 27 rushing touchdowns.

He has only played in 19 games since then.

Ahman Green rushed for even more yards in 2003 with 1,883 while scoring 15 touchdowns with Green Bay. He never played a full season after that.

Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander took over the spotlight in 2005 and reached the end zone 20 and 27 times, respectively. The Seahawks lost their best guard Steve Hutchinson and Alexander started his decline. Johnson had some issues off of the football field, suffered some injuries and hasn’t really been the same since.

Then L.T emerged and started his reign over opposing defenses. The very next year in 2006, L.T rushed for his career-high 1,815 yards and scored a league record 28 rushing touchdowns. He even recorded 508 receiving yards. It was simply remarkable.

But now L.T is starting to disappear just like the others. It is just taking a little more time than what we are used to seeing.

Since that amazing year of 2006, Tomlinson’s total rushing yards has decreased each year by at least 300. His rushing touchdowns dropped to 15 in 2007 and 11 in 2008. His yards per carry have also significantly decreased. In 2006, L.T averaged 5.2 yards per carry. In 2007, that stat was reduced to 4.7. It was then dropped to 3.8 the next year.

After a season where he rushed for his career-low 1,110 yards, L.T was supposed to break out again this season. He was fully healthy at the end of training camp and he was supposed to be more explosive than ever.

Now, L.T is going to miss his second consecutive game on Sunday when the Chargers face the Dolphins due to a sprained ankle. That means he will have missed three of San Diego’s last four games, dating back to the playoff loss to the Steelers in January.

It looks like his backup Darren Sproles is better for the team. Philip Rivers looks like he is the leader. And it looks like there isn’t going to be any room for L.T whenever he is ready to comes back. This very well could be the end of the road for L.T and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. It has happened before. So forget about the Madden curse. Start paying attention to the curse of the seemingly unstoppable running back.

But who knows? Maybe Adrian Peterson has what it takes to break this trend. It certainly looks like he does.

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Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie Baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship! - Michael Klopman
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Saturday, September 26, 2009

Roto-Rx

If your question was not answered this time, you can go directly to the source @ https://www.roto-rx.com/ where Dr. Roto will answer all your Fantasy Baseball and Football questions.

The Doctor is in...

Question #1: Where does Frank Gore rank in your list of fantasy running backs? – Albert, San Francisco, CA

Albert: Dr. Roto is a big fan of Frank Gore. I've been watching him since he's been at the U and he has only gotten faster and tougher. I'll put him down as my number 3 RB. Got to go with AP at number 1, and MJD at number 2. If the Niners can find a QB and sign Crabtree you might see Gore climb one spot.

Question #2: Aren’t the Steelers known for their smash mouth running game? Willie Parker 27 attempts and 66 yards? Should I look for someone else? – Murphy, Stanford University

Murphy: It doesn't look good for Fast Willie. Right before the season started, Mike Tomlin told reporters that Parker would get close to 30 carries a game. Two weeks later he is lauding R. Mendenhall for his good work. Parker looks a step slow this year. My sources tell me there might be an injury that we're not hearing about. Keep a close eye on it, but you may need to figure out other options.

Question #3: Trying not to go off of just one game…. is Dallas Clark your number one rated fantasy tight end? – Gene, Buffalo, NY

Gene: Dr. Roto thinks that Clark is the number 1 TE. Witten is great (as is Tony G. and Antonio Gates) but Dr. Roto loves the Peyton Manning-Dallas Clark hookup.

Question #4: Who actually gets more fantasy points over the course of the year, someone like Chris Johnson who breaks long runs and runs for lots of cumulative yards or someone like LenDale White who often gets put into the game when the Titans get on the goal line? – Christopher, Round Rock, TX

Christopher: Let's assume that your league gives 6 points per TD and 1 point for every 10 yards rushing/receiving. White will get you about 1000 total yards with 9 TD (a total of 154). Johnson should get you close to 1600 yards with 8 TD (a total of 208). Plus Johnson can break a few big ones which could be extra points in your league. A PPR league would only add to Johnson's value.

Question #5: How many QB’s do you rank ahead of Kurt Warner? – Shawn, Antioch, CA

Shawn: One of the few things Dr. Roto likes about Warner this year is his receiving corps. They are arguably the best in the NFL. I'll put Warner in my top ten because of their skill and the fact that Ken Wisenhunt is a terrific coach. IF Warner were my QB, I would make sure I had Matt Leinart as my backup along with another solid QB on my roster.

The Doctor is out...

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Friday, September 25, 2009

An open letter to Jerry from Portland

Jerry,

By now most of the college football world has heard of Chip Kelly's check-writing ways. I had only heard about the story in passing until your email came through and I was able to delve deeper into the story. For anybody who doesn't know, Tony Seminary, an Oregon alum and season ticket holder who attended Oregon's disastrous opener in Boise, apparently felt so disappointed and let down by his Ducks that he sent Coach Kelly an email with an invoice for his trip. The invoice, which was sent in jest according to its source, included the cost of the game tickets, airplane tickets and his meals. Coach Kelly responded with a $439 check to cover the cost of Seminary's trip, which Seminary returned to Kelly with a thank you note attached.

For some reason, and I don't know why, the first thing that popped into my head after reading the story was an episode of Seinfeld…

Specifically the episode titled 'The Opera' from the fourth season. There's a scene in the episode where Jerry and another man argue over whose quarter is lying on the ground. The argument progresses to the point that both men ask each other, "you think I care about money?" and proceed to rip up dollar bills, throwing the remnants on the ground.

Of course, I highly doubt that Chip Kelly was trying to prove a point about money, but wouldn't it be funny if he were doing it for spite (another Seinfeld reference)? Coach Kelly had to have been in a sour mood following the game in Boise, and reading an email from a fan demanding his money back couldn't have done much to help turn his frown upside down. What if he was so bothered by the email that he let himself get heated to the point that he busted out the old checkbook and scribbled a reimbursement check for the unhappy alum? Take that!

No way that's what happened, though. A more accurate description of what actually went down may be that Coach Kelly agreed with Seminary. The Ducks had played poorly in the opener, managing to put up only eight points, as the post-game actions of one frustrated player sent the Ducks spiraling even further. Kelly had to have been embarrassed by his team.

Seminary said that he only sent the email to a few friends. But his friends forwarded it to hundreds of others. From there, it made its way into the hands of the media, who reported the story. Coach Kelly had to have known that sending a refund check to a disgruntled fan would make the news. Perhaps that was his intent. It sure shows Oregon fans that he agrees with their assessment of his team's performance in the opener against Boise State. It might even reassure some fans that Kelly has the team's best interests at heart.

Whatever his intentions, Coach Kelly's actions sent a message to Oregon fans: He understands their frustration. And that's a good thing. He knows that the Ducks' performance was unacceptable, and that the actions of LeGarrette Blount, who did apologize, were intolerable. Not many other coaches, if any at all, would even look at the email. It shows that Coach Kelly has his heart in the right place.

But hey, that's just what I took from it.- Danny Hobrock
Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.
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Oher entry

As a Yankee fan, every time I watch Nick Swisher, I feel like a proud father watching his son in little league. No, I am not his father, in fact, we are not even related. I get this feeling because I read Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball and have been following Swisher’s career ever since I was introduced to him in the book. Well, now I have a new guy to root for in the NFL. He plays on a team I hate, the Baltimore Ravens, but that is mostly because of the grudge I hold for the Super Bowl in 2000 when they humiliated my Giants. But this kid has such a compelling story, I would be a scrooge of a sports fan to not root for him.

Michael Oher was drafted this year in the first round with the 23rd overall pick. He was a four year starter at Ole Miss and is the starting right tackle for the Ravens. With a drug addicted mother and uninvolved father, Oher was brought up in foster homes most of his life. He got bad grades and was held back several years in school. He was living with a friend’s family sophomore year of high school, when he was accepted to a prestigious private school for his junior year.

Oher had played football for only a season, having dropped the sport after his freshmen year. Then he took the game up again as a junior and his prodigious talent unfolded before America. He was named to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl his senior year, and was considered the number one tackle prospect in the country. In the meantime, he was adopted by a family at his high school and caught up with his classmates academically.

I cannot do justice to the emotional appeal of this story, and luckily I don’t have to. Oher was the subject of another Michael Lewis book, The Blind Side, which chronicles the evolution of the left tackle position and Oher’s life. I would highly recommend it, as it is much more than the average sports book about overcoming adversity. This gives an in-depth look at the evolution of football strategy and player development, not in an complex or overly technical manner, but rather, it enriches every snap a person watches thereafter.

Reading the book has made me an automatic fan of Oher, and I no doubt will have that proud father feeling when I see the Ravens play. In a league where guys are constantly making news for screwing up, this is a story that really brings out the positives of the game. And for those of you who hate to read, the movie based on the book comes out in November… - Matt Aibel...

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

NFL Week #3 Picks

Last week we were + $72.50 for the week.

Week #1 = + $77.50
Week #2 = + $72.50

Total = $150.00 after 2 weeks.

Remember, we are using a $1,000 betting pot to start out with so we are up 15% after 2 weeks (winnings go to charity). Slow and steady wins the race……

This week we are picking 2 NCAA games and 4 NFL games. Here we go.

Not a knock against higher ranked VT (depending on the poll) but Miami is on a roll and momentum will propel them.
$50 -Miami Hurricanes -3.0 (EVEN)

Nebraska is baacckk…..
$75 - Nebraska Corn Huskers -27.0 (-110)

I think Eric Mangini is starting to regret taking that job.
$50 - Baltimore Ravens -13.0 (-110)

Alright don’t laugh…… It’s gonna happen sometime
$25 - Detroit Lions MONEY LINE (+250)

Singletary’s 49ers are playing with confidence. Gore outrushes Peterson. A long day for Favre
$50 - San Francisco 49ers MONEY LINE (+250)

John Abraham in Tom Brady’s face all day. Same result as last week
$25 - Atlanta MONEY LINE (+180)

Pittsburgh doesn’t lose 2 games in a row... At least not this one. Grandma Fairchild could be playing safety, they run away with it late.
$30 – Pittsburgh -4.0 (-110)
Robert Fairchild is a professional sports gaming professional. He legally wages on professional and collegiate sporting events for a living. Robert is NOT suggesting that you quit your day job and try to wager on sports for a living. He is contributing his thoughts and experience to assist you in a recreational activity that you as an informed adult may choose to take part in.
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Have a Fantasy Football or Baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.
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Roto-Rx

If your question was not answered this time, you can go directly to the source @ https://www.roto-rx.com/ where Dr. Roto will answer all your Fantasy Baseball and Football questions.

The Doctor is in...

Question #1: Do you see Pat White getting any significant playing time in any capacity over the course of the year? – Walter, Charleston, WV

Walter: Dr. Roto has big worries about Pat White. I think that he may have been a waste of a 2nd round pick by the Fins. For this year, Dr. Roto sees Ronnie Brown getting most of the Wildcat snaps. Also don't forget Chad Henne there on the sidelines. The Dolphins really like him and he will probably be the starter next year.

Question #2: Do you consider Mario Manningham a front line receiver? – Melissa, Nyack, NY

Melissa: It's way too early to call Manningham a front line WR. What we can call him is a talented young WR with big upside. It would be no surprise to watch him fulfill his vast potential that he showed while at Michigan. If he's still on the waiver wire in your league, grab him ASAP.

Question #3: Who do you think will end up with more all purpose yards, Darren Sproles or Leon Washington? – Mike, Giants Stadium (friend of Fireman Ed)

Mike: You're putting me in a tough spot here Mike, because if I say Sproles, Fireman Ed is going to revoke my New York Jets library card. Ryan has been saying that he wants to get Washington 20 touches a game, but Dr. Roto hasn't seen that yet and doubts that he will. The longer LT is out, the more chance Sproles has of being the better player. Truth is, if Washington is getting too many touches it means the Jets are playing from behind. So far, Mark Sanchez isn't letting that happen!

Question #4: After two weeks, what defense has impressed you the most? – Frank, Baltimore, MD

Frank: This is an easy one. It's the J-E-T-S. They have been swarming and impressive. Darrell Revis is one of the top 3 CB in the NFL. They have stopped Schaub and Brady in the first two weeks...not an easy thing to do. They are getting Calvin Pace back soon, which will make them even more dangerous.

Question #5: Would you start Tony Romo or Jay Cutler this week? - Anthony, Fairfax, VA

Anthony: Dr. Roto is going to say Romo. Don't be surprised to see Matt Forte have a big game in Seattle. The Seahawk run defense is suspect and the Bears really need to get Forte on track. Romo is starting on MNF...it will be a good time for him to show his critics that he really is a top 10 QB.

The Doctor is out…

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Breaking that unwritten poll rankings rule


With the first major upset of the season behind us, some have called for a team unranked in the preseason polls to take Southern Cal's place in the top 5. It's gotten me thinking about the rankings and wondering if those lucky enough to have a say really do their due diligence in picking the best 25 teams in the nation. How much does a team's reputation play into their spot in the rankings? Don't worry. I won't start any campaigns to do away with the BCS or pitch a fix to the system. If that's what you want you need only type 'BCS' into Google and you'll have reading material until the next presidential election. I'll go a step further and not mention those three little letters in that order again in this article. You're welcome.

Not to get into the specifics of who should be ranked where, but it's eerie how much the AP Poll and Coaches' Poll look alike every week. Moving 20th ranked Miami up to #5, as Kirk Herbstreit said he planned on doing on his ballot, would break the unwritten rule that limits the number of spots a team can jump in the week following a win. I guess nobody likes to rock the boat by moving an unlikely team into the top 10, or top 5, even if they've played well enough to warrant the spot.

Anybody who's seen Miami's first two games would have a hard time counting them out against any team in the country. Most would have a hard time submitting that the Hurricanes have looked better than Alabama, Texas or Florida, but might be more willing to admit a more equal relation when compared with Penn State, Mississippi, Cal, LSU, Ohio State and Boise State. Should a team that is obviously as talented, or more so, than teams ahead of them be relegated to wait until those teams lose a game?

One of the most famous instances in which a team has risen or fallen significantly in a single week was following Michigan's loss to Appalachian State in their 2007 opener. They were ranked 5th in both preseason polls (with 2 first place votes in the Coaches' Poll) and fell out of the rankings completely following the loss. Does anybody think that Appalachian State was really a better team than Michigan following the loss? The 2007 Missouri Tigers were the consensus #25 team in Week 5 (Sept. 23) of the '07 season. The same week, the AP Poll ranked Appalachian State higher than Michigan. Who do you think had a better chance of beating the Tigers that year? Michigan or Appalachian State?

To keep things recent, who's the better team? USC or Washington? Most would agree that USC is still the better team despite the upset. But the Huskies downed the Trojans on a last second field goal so they've got to be the better team, right?

You won't see the Trojans fall below the Huskies in the polls at any point this season barring some catastrophic meltdown. Back in 2007, at no time did the coaches put Appalachian State in the rankings. And that's how it should be, because Appalachian State was not one of the top teams in the nation even though they beat fifth ranked Michigan. Clearly, Michigan was not the fifth best team in the nation when they played Appalachian State, so Appalachian State did not deserve to be credited for downing the fifth best team. Make sense?

How does this relate to Miami's ascent to the top 10? Few thought Miami was worthy of being ranked following a string of disappointing seasons. They climbed up to about #20 in both polls following a victory over Florida State. In the win, the Hurricanes looked better than the #20 team in the nation. They were favored over #14 Georgia Tech heading into Friday's game despite the lower ranking, probably voted on by many of those that picked Miami to win. Why would you place a team at #20 when you were going to predict them to take down the #14 team in the nation a few days later? Shouldn't they be ranked higher than 14 if that's where you placed the other team?

The AP Poll was just released and the writers placed the Hurricanes at #9 (Coaches' #13). I know teams have risen higher than 11 spots in a week, but in most cases they beat a top 5 team. Miami, on the other hand, beat the 14th ranked team and the 18th ranked team.

'How could you move a team from #20 to #9 in a week!?!?' more conservative voters may ask. Critics of the decision may also argue that the Hurricanes beat an overrated Georgia Tech team and a volatile Florida State team. You put them at #9 because Miami has played like the #9 team in the nation. Simple, right? - Danny Hobrock
Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.
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One Bad Play Call - “good night, the lights…..”

The Miami Dolphins had the perfect offensive game plan against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night. It reminded me of the “keep away” strategy the New York Giants used against the high-octane Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. Bill Parcells had a part in that as head coach, and I’m sure as GM he had his hand in this.

The Giants had just shocked the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco and were boarding buses for the flight back east. Parcells, playing with a backup quarterback and no scary offensive weapons, knew they'd have to face the best offense in football, Buffalo's, in the Super Bowl. He looked across the aisle of the bus at offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt and said to him, "Shorten the game.''

The Colts had the ball for just 3:07 in the first quarter, 6:25 in the second and 1:30 in the third. That's right -- three plays and 90 seconds in one quarter, sandwiched around 11- and 13-play Miami drives.

Dan Henning and Tony Sparano made a mistake in play calling though. With 4:33 left in a 20-20 game the Dolphins had ball at the Colts 30 yard line and it was 3rd and 6 yard to go for a 1st down. They play they called / ran was a run by Brown behind the left side of the line, behind guard Justin Smiley and Jake Long. The play gained only three yards and Miami settled for a Carpenter field goal from 45 yards out to take a 23-20 lead and gave the ball back to Peyton Manning with 3:55 to play. Opps!

It took Manning 32 seconds to go 80 yards, thanks to the 48-yard catch-and-run by Pierre Garcon, the replacement for Anthony Gonzalez. That made it 27-23 with 3:18; “good night, the lights…..”, the Dolphins couldn't score in the last 3:18 and the game was over.

Think about it. If the Dolphins converted made a meaningful attempt to convert that 1st down and made it, they get to cut more time off the clock, and maybe the Colts have to start using their three timeouts? Maybe Peyton Manning gets the ball back with less than two minutes left, needing a field goal or touchdown to tie or win? Maybe the Dolphins can get two more first downs before kicking a field goal or scoring a touchdown, the clock could bleed down to zero and Miami will have won without letting Manning have another possession. If Pennington throws an incompletion, kicker Dan Carpenter has a 48-yard field-goal attempt. Carpenter's a second-year kicker; his career-long is 50, and on the evening, he had already hit from 45 and 44 yards missing once on a 49 yarder.

Chad Pennington has the highest completion percentage of all time in the NFL at 65.61%. That’s his strength, short accurate passes. He had been very efficient and safe with the ball all night – they should have let him throw the ball. …….


P.S. Observation - Besides NOT BEING ABLE TO CATCH THE BALL Ted Ginn Jr. is a wonderful receiver.  He is in the wrong profession, he should be in track and field. -Keith A. Baker
Keith A. Baker is a sports agent in Stamford, Connecticut. His goal is to offer a unique insight to the world of sports and Major League Baseball in particular. Comments in his columns are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect the views and opinions of his firm or his clients.
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

THE WORST OF THE WORST – NFL WEEK 2

TONY ROMO – There is no better way to completely ruin the opening night of a new billion dollar stadium than throwing three interceptions and basically giving the Giants 21 points. On the night that Jerry Jones’ enormous spectacle finally opened, quarterback Tony Romo showed why he is the most overrated player in the NFL.

Take your time and just try to think of someone more overrated… Did you think of anyone yet? It’s just not possible.

If it wasn’t for running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones, the Cowboys would have been blown out. Romo made some terrible passes throughout the night, including three picks that looked like they were thrown right to the New York secondary. He might be able to throw all over the Tampa Bay defense, but the NFC East defenses are going to make his life miserable.

JEFF REED – It’s hard to place blame entirely on a kicker, but in this case it is kind of hard not to. In a hard-hitting typical Pittsburgh game, the Steelers had a couple opportunities to get ahead in the fourth quarter. But kicker Jeff Reed missed two (that’s right… two) field goals in the final 15 minutes from 38 and 43 yards out, respectively.


With less than 12 minutes to play, the Steelers faced a fourth-and-17 on Chicago’s 20 yard line when Jeff Reed went in for the field goal attempt. He could have put Pittsburgh up 17-7, but the ball went wide left. After a Bears touchdown, Reed had another opportunity to put the Steelers ahead, but the 43-yarder went wide left again. It is unacceptable for the defending champions to squander opportunities like that.

JIM ZORN – Zorn’s offense made five trips to the red zone and only came out with three field goals. Yes, Mike Sellers and Devin Thomas dropped easy touchdown passes, but other than that Zorn showed he has no confidence in his quarterback when he is within 20 yards from the end zone.

Zorn’s red zone play calling was horrendous to say the least. On the seven-yard line, Zorn called two running plays to Clinton Portis and gained a total of two yard, and then called a half-back pass to tight end Chris Cooley. Why is he so afraid of Jason Campbell in the red zone? He rarely throws interceptions and if it wasn’t for two dropped balls, Campbell would have two touchdown passes.


And to top that off, Zorn had the offense go for it on fourth-and-inches on the two-yard line. Washington could have just kicked a field goal, making the score 12-7 and forcing the Rams to have to score a touchdown to win with less than two minutes left (the reasonable and just plain smart call), but Zorn was too desperate. And of course, he called a horrible running play to the outside (a play that never worked throughout the game) and Portis lost two yards. Fortunately for Zorn and the Redskins, they were playing the Rams. - Michael Klopman

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My Son is closing in on Brett Favre's streak

So Brett Favre now has the all-time record for consecutive NFL starts (271) as last Sunday, he past the Vikings Jim Marshall. Those of you old enough to remember those Vikings teams that went to four Suuperbowls remember Jim Marshall as a member of one of the most famous NFL Defenses of all time. The Vikings had a famous defensive unit in the late 60’s and early 70’s called "The Purple People Eaters" (they used to name defenses…… this was just before the Steelers famous “The Black Curtain” defense) which consisted of Marshall (DE), Alan Page (DT), Gary Larsen (DT), Carl Eller (DE), Wally Hilgenberg (OLB), Jeff Siemon (MLB), and Roy Winston (OLB).

As for Marshall, during his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Marshall was involved in one of what is considered by many to be one of the most embarrassing moments in professional sports history on October 25, 1964. In a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble, but ran 66 yards with it the wrong way, into his own end zone. Thinking that he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, Marshall then threw the ball away in celebration. The ball landed out of bounds, resulting in a safety for the 49ers.

Back to Favre’s new record, let's get this straight…… The guy has now gone to works 271 days in a row. Did you realize that’s a smidge more than 1 years work for most of us? Could you imagine going to work for a year and not calling in sick and then being told that you held an industry record that will probably be written on your tombstone?

Look, I’m not saying that staying healthy enough to play in that many NFL games is not an achievement, it certainly is. No one else has done it. I’m certain that he’s played through scrapes, bumps, bruises, strains, even a broken bone or two. (Let's not forget that if not for a timely BYE week in the Green Bay Packers schedule, Favre's streak would have ended at 164) in but to crown this feat as some sort of an ironman thing like Cal Ripken’s record is just silly.

Ripken started and played in 2,632 games in a row, Favre 271. Ripken played in 502 straight games AFTER breaking Lou Gehrig’s record? There are plenty of people in this country that go years without missing work. When I was a kid my dad went over 9 years, almost 2,300 days without missing a day at one point and there were guys no doubt that went longer than him.

Last year one of my children received a certificate from his grammar school because he has perfect attendance in 1st grade. He went to 1st grade 180 days in a row and on time. If Favre plays all 16 NFL regular season games this year his streak will be at 285. Sometime this coming February my son will break Bret Favre’s record of consecutive days as he will have a streak going back to 2nd grade. I guess I’ll post it here so he gets some PR but I doubt you’ll see him on the nightly news.

If you are one of those who have gone to work for more than year or so without missing (271 days), give yourself a hand. Treat yourself to something special; maybe even buy yourself a trophy. You have beaten Bret Favre’s consecutive streak. And if you were able to do it without being addicted to pain killers like Farve (my son is clean) you get the record without an asterisk!
P.S. – One good things about John Madden retiring this year is that I don’t have to listen to him wax poetically about Brett Favre anymore…. or at least so I thought. At halftime on Sunday Night Football during the Giants vs. Cowboys game, Bob Costas interviewed Madden and of course the topic of Brett Favre came up. Costas wanted to know what he thought about the never ending Brett Favre saga and this particular episode. Costas didn’t think he was going to get Madden to say something negative about Favre did he? I thought Madden was both a great coach and announcer but his love for Favre and his inability to be objective about Favre’s shortcomings has always been a bit much for me. - Mike Cardano

Mike Cardano is the founder of the Around The Horn (Baseball Blogs) and Extra Point (Football Blogs). Mike is also the founder of the fantasy sports games Ultimate Franchise Baseball™ and Ultimate Franchise Football™.
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Monday, September 21, 2009

Monday Morning Quarterback

Cincinnati Bengals @ Green Bay PackersFINAL 31-24 Bengals, both teams are (1-1)

For a while Carson Palmer was able to hook up with Charles Woodson seemingly at will and threw a 37 yard touchdown pass to Woodson. Unfortunately for the Bengals, Woodson plays defense for the Packers…

With the Bengals up 10 points and 2 minutes left, they almost gave up the ghost for the second week in a row. Remember last week they gave up an 87 yard touchdown pass off a tipped pass.

Coming down the stretch the Packers took over at their own 21. Aaron Rogers hit Donald Lee for 11 yards and scrambled for 16 more. 7 plays and 1:11 led to a 45 yard field goal by Mason Crosby to get the Packers within 7 points. Green Bay successfully recovered the onsides kick at their own 43 with 44 seconds left. On 3rd and 10, Rodgers hit Jermichael Finley for 22 yards to the Cincinnati 35 with 17 seconds left. Rodgers hit Donald Driver for a 25 yard gain to the Cincy 10, with no timeouts and the clock ticking. They tried to spike the ball with one second left, but a false start led to the runoff that ended the game. Despite another almost meltdown, the Bengals survived.

Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City ChiefsFINAL 13-10 Raiders, Raiders (1-1) Chiefs (0-2)

The end of the 1st half represented exactly how ugly this game was. The Chiefs had 1st and goal at the Oakland 9 with 14 seconds left and no timeouts. A West Coast Offense swing pass led to an inbounds tackle and the clock running out. It doesn’t get any worse than that.

The Raiders offense is absolutely dreadful but their defense is as good as their offense is bad, so they can stay in games. They made some plays on the final drive when it counted and escaped with the win from Arrowhead. The Chiefs led in total offense 409-166. They led in plays from scrimmage 79-51. They led in rushing yards 173-67. They led in possession 38.5 to 21.5. Yet when all was said and done, it was the Silver and Black that had won a shocker. For the third straight year, the Raiders won at Kansas City.

This team has many questions on offense, especially with JaMarcus Russell. Yet they won, and are 1-1. Tom Cable has this team competing hard but Russell finished the game 7 of 24 for 109 yard passing. That’s two weeks in a row now, not good. That’s got to improve or it will be hard to overcome, no matter how well the defense plays.


New England Patriots @ New York JetsFINAL 16-9 Jets, Jets (2-0) Pats (1-1)

Everyone talks about Mark Sanchez being the toast of the town and that’s all well and good, but the story on this day was Rex Ryan and his defense. The Jets were in Tom Brady’s face all day and he was harassed all game, as New England never reached the end zone. Sanchez threw only 22 times, 17 of them after halftime. These Jets are for real (at least the defense is).
 
As an aside, those claiming the demise of the New England defense may be premature as the Jets didn’t do much on offensive. Also, Wes Welker did not play do to a banged up knee. You can be sure that some of those 3 and outs would have been 1st downs moving the chains so let’s not write the Pats off just yet.

Houston Texans @ Tennessee TitansFINAL 34-31 Texans, Texans are (1-1) Titans (0-2) a surprise to all...

Chris Johnson ran wild, with 179 yards on the ground, including touchdown runs of 91 and 57 yards and Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson put on a passing clinic hooking up 10 times for 149 yards and 2 TD’s. Schaub ended up throwing for 357 yards and 4 TD’s. This was a wild one.
 

Arizona Cardinals @ Jacksonville JaguarsFINAL 31-17 Cardinals, Cards (1-1) Jags (0-2)

Kurt Warner began by completing a ridiculous 18 of his first 19 passes. Ultimately, Warner was benched because he was 24 for 26…. This one was no contest really. At current the Jaguars are a mess.

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta FalconsFINAL 28-20 Falcons, Falcons (2-0) Panthers (0-2)

Jake Delhomme looked much improved from the last couple of nightmarish games going 25-41 for 308 yards but Matt Ryan remained red hot and Ryan to future hall of famer Tony Gonzalez 7 times for 71 yards and a TD was ultimately too much.

New Orleans Saints @ Philadelphia EaglesFINAL 48-22 Saints, Saints (2-0) Eagles (1-1)

Kevin Kolb started for an injured Donovan McNabb. As for Kolb, he was 31 for 51 for 391 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with 3 interceptions. Drew Brees picked up right where he left off last week, throwing for 213 first half yards.
 
At halftime it was 17-13 Saints but the second half was a blowout. Brees continues to be a fantasy football machine finishing 25-34 for 311 yards and 3 TD’s. Just to prove that he is human, (there were some questions going into the game) he did throw a pick.

After the game, Andy Reid made it clear that if McRib can’t go, Kolb is the starter, not Michael Vick. The Eagles are not that bad. The Saints are that good.

Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit LionsFINAL 27-13 Vikings, Vikings (2-0) Lions (0-2)

Brett Favre set the all time NFL record for consecutive games started in a row at 271 breaking Jim Marshall’s record of 270 games. Woop-de-friggin’doo - More on that to come in another post.

Favre and Adrian Peterson proved to be too much for Matthew Stafford and the Lions as Favre was very efficient on the day, completing 23 of his first 27 passes for 155 yards. Stafford is talented no doubt, but it’s going to take time. He was 18-30 for 152 with 1 TD and 2 picks. He’s no Ryan Leaf - remember Troy Aikman had a rough go of it his 1st year too.

St. Louis Rams @ Washington RedskinsFINAL 9-7 Redskins, Redskins (1-1) Rams (0-2)

Sometimes a game between a pair of bad teams can produce a thriller. But not this time… Boring!!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Buffalo BillsFINAL 33-20 Bills, Bills (1-1) Bucs (0-2)

A field goal had the Bills up 17-0 after one quarter, with the game on pace to be 68-0 and 8 Byron Leftwich interceptions.

Leftwich threw a 42 yard touchdown pass to Kellen Winslow Jr. early in the second quarter. Winslow does play for Tampa, which brought the Bucs to within 17-7. With 3 1/2 minutes left in the half, Buffalo looked to turn out the lights. Trent Edwards drove the team from their own 9 to the Tampa 14. Yet the game quickly changed when Buffalo fumbled, Sabby Piscitelli picked it up at the 20, and raced 72 yards to the Buffalo 8 in front of a stunned Bills crowd. Leftwich hit Cadillac Williams with seconds left in the half for the touchdown, and instead of trailing 27-7, the Buccaneers were only down 20-14. The Bills should be 2-0.


Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ersFINAL 23-10 49ers, 49er (2-0) Seahawks (0-2)

The 49ers have something going here as Mike Singletary seems to have found a way to get through to these guys. Shaun Hill isn’t bad; very efficient at managing the game again going 19-26 for 144.

I checked this morning to see if Frank Gore has stopped running and they are unable to locate him at the moment. So for now, he’s at 16 rushed for 207 yards and 2 TD’s. I’ll let you know what he ends up at….

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Chicago BearsFINAL 17-14 Bears, Bears (1-1) Steelers (1-1)

Both of these teams have superstar quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger and Jay Cutler, despite Cutler’s 4 interception debacle last week. Yet these teams, despite Brian Urlacher and Troy Polamalu not in the game, are about defense. This game was expected to be an old fashioned slugfest, and it was.

The game came down to the kickers with Jeff Reed missing a 43 yarder with 3:18 on the clock and Robbie Gould hitting his 44 yarder with 20 seconds left. This game was as good as advertised for those that like tough defense.

Cleveland Browns @ Denver BroncosFINAL 27-6 Broncos, Broncos (2-0) Browns (0-2)

The Josh McDaniels era needed an 87 yard miracle doink reception touchdown by Brandon Stokely to avoid imploding after one week of the post Mike Shanahan and Jay Cutler era. While they did not have the luxury of playing Cincy again, there is a pair of bad teams in Ohio for Denver to practice against.

With 12 minutes left, Denver only led by 7 in a game they were dominating. Ultimately, they pulled away. A 49 pass from Kyle Orton to Jabar Gaffney followed by a 2 yard touchdown toss to Peyton Hillis had the Broncos safely in front 20-6 and off they went. The Broncos are bad, but they are 2-0 and out of awful Ohio teams to play. The Browns are even worse at 0-2, and looking forward to playing the improved Cincy rival to avoid 0-16. It has happened before. In case you were wondering, yes the Browns do play the Lions this year they play them in week # 14.


Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego ChargersFINAL 31-26 Ravens, Ravens (2-0) Chargers (1-1)

Will the people that keep claiming the Chargers have Super Bowl potential finally concede that Norv Turner will not get them there? I will say it again. They have no shot with Norv! Yes they have the players, but it doesn’t matter.

This was a good game really with playmakers making plays on both sides.  With 3 minutes left and down by a touchdown the Chargers took over at their own 27 and Philip Rivers immediately fired 38 yards to Vincent Jackson at the Baltimore 35 at the 2 minute warning. On 3rd and 3 from the 28, Rivers picked up 5 to the 23. On 3rd and 2 from the 15, Rivers fired incomplete. On 4th and 2 from the 15, (Rivers had thrown for 436 yards at that point and the running game had done nothing - even Norv Turner can understand this - no, he can’t) a trap run by Darren Sproles was blown up in the backfield by Ray Lewis. Remember him? The Ravens have Super Bowl rings. The Chargers have Norv Turner.

New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys - FINAL 33-31 Giants, Giants (2-0) Cowboys (1-1)

The Sunday night game. Jerry Jones spent 1.2 billion dollars on the stadium, and an NFL record over 105,000 people attended the game.

Firstly, in case you were wondering, no one hit the scoreboard. Eli Manning passed for 330 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tony Romo had only 129 yards passing, but that was because the running game gashed New York for over 250 yards. This game was simply terrific. Back and forth body offensive body blows all night.

With 4 seconds left, Lawrence Tynes lined up for the field goal. This was about redeeming his earlier miss, and also the winning or losing the entire game. After the first attempt was nullified when Wade Philips called a last second timeout (thank you Mike Shanahan for screwing up the game with that,) Tynes connected perfectly down the middle.

105,000 fans went home dejected. Jerry Jones found out that a billion dollars cannot buy a championship, or even a home opening win. 8 lead changes made for a thriller. The rematch is already anticipated. – Mike Cardano
Mike Cardano is the founder of the Around The Horn (Baseball Blogs) and Extra Point (Football Blogs). Mike is also the founder of the fantasy sports games Ultimate Franchise Baseball™ and Ultimate Franchise Football™.
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Sunday, September 20, 2009

College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

This week taught us a lot about the college season; more so than the previous two weeks. It taught us that reputation might play into the polls more than we'd like to think. It revealed which players we should follow as the season progresses. It showed us how important a quarterback is to a team's success and that continuity at the position is a good thing. Week 3 also taught us a few things we already knew or weren't too surprised to see confirmed.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- Where to start? Oh! Washington beat USC with three seconds remaining! It really makes you think: How important is the quarterback position!? Matt Barkley, whose ascent to the top of the depth chart was questioned by many, sat out with a shoulder injury. Aaron Corp, whose snubbing at the beginning of the season was questioned by some, got the start. Barkley hasn't been All-World or anything in his two starts, but he's led a couple of two minute drills to close the half and win the game against Ohio State. If Barkley plays, does he let the Trojans lose?

- On the other side of the ball, how big is Jake Locker's return? Washington was 0-12 without him a year ago. With Locker back under center, the Huskies are 2-1 and took down the mighty Trojans. Who would have thought that next week's Washington/Stanford matchup would determine the early leader in the Pac-10?

- Tyrod Taylor is going to have to become more of a passing threat if Virginia Tech hopes to compete for the ACC Championship. I was, however, impressed with his final drive on Saturday to beat Nebraska. His throw to Danny Coale was near perfect and his scramble on third and goal bought him enough time to hit Dyrell Roberts in the end zone to win the game. He'll have to be more consistent with his passing if Virginia Tech hopes to beat Miami next week.

- Eric Decker is tough. In the process of catching his first of two touchdown receptions, Sean Cattouse dealt a crushing blow to Decker's face. Decker was knocked unconscious momentarily, his mouth was bleeding and he couldn't breathe for a moment. The hit was legal, by the way. It was Decker's second catch of the game. He finished with eight.

- Is there any doubt that Jahvid Best is the best back in the nation? I think not.

- Michael Floyd underwent surgery following an attempted touchdown reception that left him with a broken collar bone. Huge blow to Notre Dame, as Armando Allen and Jimmy Clausen must now carry the Irish offense. Equally as crushing was Arizona's loss of Rob Gronkowski for the season. Gronkowski missed the Wildcats' first three games with a strained back and will have season ending surgery this week.

- Was I the only one who noticed the ridiculous amount of instant replays used to confirm or overturn receptions, ball spots, touchdowns, etc.? The NCAA Board of Whatever Panel Commission will soon vote on whether to use instant replay to make sure that players have tied their shoes correctly. I miss the days when a catch was a catch and a touchdown a touchdown.

- Thirty point underdogs, I can't decide if Tennessee should take a partial win out of Gainesville. No, they shouldn't, but at least they didn't give Urban Meyer the chance to run up the score. And Tebow didn't look too hot through the air against Eric Berry and the Volunteers secondary.

The polls have just been released following an interesting week in college football. USC dropped to 12 in the AP and 10 in the Coaches', while Washington climbed to #24 in the AP and remains unranked in the Coaches'. Miami was the week's biggest riser (9th in AP, 13th in Coaches') following another impressive showing.

This week, Jahvid Best Proved He's Worth The Hype. He's had an impressive start to the season, but Saturday's five touchdowns showed why he's considered the best running back, or football player, in the country. Saturday's five scores was roughly one third of his entire scoring production from last season (16 touchdowns). Scary.

The New Household Name for this week is Eric Decker. Decker caught 8 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He became Minnesota's all-time leader in receptions in the process. He even threw a touchdown pass to boot. This all coming on a day where he was knocked out, required stitches and left the game only when he sprained his ankle on Minnesota's final drive.

Some big games await us next weekend. Fourth ranked Ole Miss looks to continue to prove they belong in the top 5 when they take on South Carolina on Thursday night. In Saturday's early games, never-say-die Fresno State takes on 17th ranked Cincinnati and 22nd ranked North Carolina takes on a Georgia Tech team on the rebound. ABC will air a trio of games in the 3:30 P.M. ET slot: #6 Cal at Oregon, #9 Miami at #11 Virginia Tech and Illinois at #13 Ohio State. Top ranked Florida travels to Kentucky at 6 P.M. ET and Arizona State visits 21st ranked Georgia at 7 P.M. ET. Iowa travels to #5 Penn State in the primetime headliner. - Danny Hobrock
Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.
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