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2010-11-22T16:21:00.001-05:00

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2010 NFL Season Predictions

2010-09-09T17:40:00.005-04:00

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to visit my blog. I am truly blown away by the amount of people who have dropped by. Secondly I want to apologize for not finishing the Two-A-Days NFL previews in time for the regular season opener. Life has thrown a lot of crazy things my way.

Right now I want to give you my predictions for the 2010 NFL season and my choice for Super Bowl XLV Champions.

AFC Division Winners:
East-Jets
South-Colts
North-Ravens
West-Chargers

Wild Cards: Bengals, Patriots

NFC Division Winners
East-Cowgirls
South-Saints
North-Packers
West-49ers

Wild Cards: Giants, Vikings

AFC Champions: Ravens
NFC Champions: Packers

Super Bowl XLV Champions: Green Bay Packers

Two-A-Days: Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals Preview

2010-09-02T00:56:00.007-04:00

Baltimore Ravens

Key Additions: WR Anquan Boldin, QB Marc Bulger, K Shayne Graham, WR Donte’ Stallworth, LB Sergio Kindle, DT Terrence Cody, Ken Hamlin

Key Subtractions: WR Kelley Washington, DE Dwan Edwards

The Baltimore Ravens come into the 2010 after two very good years, but failing to reach the big game with QB Joe Flacco. Flacco has lead his team well in his young career, and with the addition of QB coach Jim Zorn, Flacco will take even bigger steps with the additions made in the offseason. Anquon Bolidin was acquired from the Cardinals in the off season to give Flacco the big target hes lacked since he started. Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton are good receivers, but do not bring the presence Boldin does do opposing defenses. Now that Boldin is here, both Mason and Clayton should see more room down field to make catches. Ray Rice ran for over 1,300 yards last season earning a spot in the Pro Bowl. With McGahee as his backup and a solid offensive line up front, the Ravens are prime for a deep run into the playoffs this season.

The Ravens were ranked third in the NFL last season in total defense lead by their long time leader Ray Lewis. With the addition of Sergio Kindle to the defense, the Ravens defense gets a lot better. Kindle will play alongside Lewis and Terell Suggs. Up front, Mount Cody will be groomed into action by Lewis and Pro Bowler Haloti Ngata. The Ravens were number one in the NFL last season in yards per carry against, 3.4. In the secondary, Ed Reed always provides the opportunity to take an interception and turn it into 6 points. But beyond the aging Reed, the Ravens are facing questions in the secondary. Corners Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb are recovering from injuries, and Domonique Foxworth has not been consistent. If the Ravens have a weakness, its in pass coverage. They may be vulnerable to the big play if their are inconsistencies in the secondary. And come playoff time, receivers seem to show up a lot more than they do in the regular season, leaving them exposed. This is the biggest obstacle to overcome if they are to make it to Dallas in February.

Schedule:

1 Mon, Sep 13 at NY Jets
2 Sun, Sep 19 at Cincinnati
3 Sun, Sep 26 Cleveland
4 Sun, Oct 3 at Pittsburgh
5 Sun, Oct 10 Denver
6 Sun, Oct 17 at New England
7 Sun, Oct 24 Buffalo
8 BYE
9 Sun, Nov 7 Miami 1:00 PM
10 Thu, Nov 11 at Atlanta
11 Sun, Nov 21 at Carolina
12 Sun, Nov 28 Tampa Bay
13 Sun, Dec 5 Pittsburgh
14 Mon, Dec 13 at Houston
15 Sun, Dec 19 New Orleans
16 Sun, Dec 26 at Cleveland
17 Sun, Jan 2 Cincinnati

The Ravens have the 12th hardest schedule and opponents were 130-126 last season. They catch the AFC East and NFC South this year. The Ravens open up with against two playoff teams and two tough road games at New England and Pittsburgh. Their schedule doesn't get much better after the Bye either, traveling to the pass happy Texans and then at home against the Super Bowl Champs. A tough schedule, but look for the Ravens to be prime for a deep run this year.

Arizona Cardinals

Key Additions: QB Derek Anderson, G Alan Faneca, K Jay Feely, OLB Joey Porter, S Kerry Rhodes, NT Dan Williams

Key Losses: WR Anquan Boldin, QB Kurt Warner, S Antrel Rolle, OLB Bertrand Berry, LB Karlos Dansby, CB Bryant McFadden, LB Chike Okeafor, K Neil Rackers

The Cardinals enter the 2010 season two years removed from a Super Bowl, but huge question marks surrounding their offense. With Kurt Warner announcing his retirement and Anquan Boldin being traded to the Ravens, the Cards have some questions that so far have gone unanswered. The most critical one is who is going to be the quarterback. With the inconsistent play of Matt Leinart so far in the preseason, the Cards have began exploring the possibility of trading Leinart, according to reports. Leinart has appeared visibly frustrated with his receivers and the coaching staff so far in the preseason. It might be best for both parties for Leinart to move somewhere else and for Derek Anderson to start for the Cards. Anderson has done well in the snaps he has gotten. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Cards lost one of the most physical receivers in the NFL. What Boldin brought to the team not only made him look good, but cleared space for WR Larry Fitzgerald to work over secondaries, giving defensive coaches nightmares. Now WR Steve Breaston will be asked to fill his shoes, and he has the capability to do so. Early Doucet also gives the Cards good depth. The two headed monster of RB Beanie Wells, who had an excellent rookie season, and Tim Hightower will keep defenses honest. Receivers and RB will not be as big a problem as the QB situation will be if the Leinart situation isn't handled quickly.

The Cardinals have a lot of stars to replace on defense this season. Karlos Dansby and S Antrel Rolle left as free agents in the offseason, and the team traded CB Bryant McFadden. They traded for S Kerry Rhodes, a former Pro Bowler, but failed to replace Dansby. Joey Porter, 33, is not a viable replacement for a Pro Bowler with 109 and 119 tackles the previous two seasons. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is their top corner, but the team traded Bryant McFadden in the offseason, and his expected replacements have limited experience. Luckily, the AFC West does not house any high flying offenses.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 at St. Louis
2 Sun, Sep 19 at Atlanta
3 Sun, Sep 26 Oakland
4 Sun, Oct 3 at San Diego
5 Sun, Oct 10 New Orleans
7 Sun, Oct 24 at Seattle
8 BYE
8 Sun, Oct 31 Tampa Bay
9 Sun, Nov 7 at Minnesota
10 Sun, Nov 14 Seattle
11 Sun, Nov 21 at Kansas City
12 Mon, Nov 29 San Francisco
13 Sun, Dec 5 St. Louis
14 Sun, Dec 12 Denver
15 Sun, Dec 19 at Carolina
16 Sat, Dec 25 Dallas
17 Sun, Jan 2 at San Francisco

The Cardinals have the easiest schedule in the NFL and opponents were 114-142 last season. They catch the AFC West and NFC South this season. Their schedule could not be any more favorable as they catch the Super Bowl Champs and Dallas at home. They do have two tough road games at Minnesota and at San Diego. Look for the Cards to contend in what I consider the weakest division in the NFL, But do not be shocked if they miss the playoffs.

Comments

Two-A-Days: Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles Preview

2010-08-12T17:45:00.006-04:00

Green Bay Packers

Key additions: OT Bryan Bulaga, DE Mike Neal

Key Subtractions: DE Johnny Jolly, LB Aaron Kampman

The Packers have big expectations in 2010 after qualifying last season as a wild card team and losing in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals in the first round. The demise last season was the offensive line, which the Packers addressed in their first round selection of Bryan Bulaga. Bulaga joins an o-line that ranked last in the NFL last year giving up 51 sacks. The Packers lost the playoff game last year on a sack/interception of Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is a Pro Bowl quarterback who uses his legs well and has escape ability, but no one can play the position while on their back. The line must do a better job early in the season and protect him better. Rodgers targets continue to play well. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings had good years, and the emergence of TE Jermichael Finley will benefit the Packers in the red zone. James Jones and Jordy Nelson are good depth receivers who have good chemistry with Rodgers so far. The Packers were 2nd in the NFL last year with 17 passing plays over 40 yards. Ryan Grant carried most of the load for the Packers last season and put up some nice numbers, topped by 4.4 yards per carry and 11 TDs. Behind Grant are unproven backs, so an injury to him could make the offense significantly one dimensional if one does not step up.

The Packers defense ranked 2nd in the NFL last season behind the New York Jets. That can be attributed to their top ranked rushing defense which gave up 3.6 yards per carry, 1,333 yards, and 83.3 yards per game. Up front, Ryan Picket led the way along with B.J. Raji and the now suspended Johnny Jolly. Neal should take over for Jolly. In the Packers new 3-4 system under defensive coordinator Dom Capers, the transition went well. Linebacker Nick Barnett lead the team in tackles last year, and A.J. Hawk and Clay Mathews lead that group along with Barnett to a strong defense that should continue to do well this year. However, the Packers failed in the playoffs to defend the pass. They are however very good at taking the ball away and making big players. Charles Woodson played like the premier corner he is, but Al Harris' injury hurt. They need him healthy this year in a secondary that has a few Pro Bowlers and a lot of potential.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 at Philadelphia
2 Sun, Sep 19 Buffalo
3 Mon, Sep 27 at Chicago
4 Sun, Oct 3 Detroit
5 Sun, Oct 10 at Washington
6 Sun, Oct 17 Miami
7 Sun, Oct 24 Minnesota
8 Sun, Oct 31 at NY Jets
9 Sun, Nov 7 Dallas
10 BYE
11 Sun, Nov 21 at Minnesota
12 Sun, Nov 28 at Atlanta
13 Sun, Dec 5 San Francisco
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Detroit
15 Sun, Dec 19 at New England
16 Sun, Dec 26 NY Giants
17 Sun, Jan 2 Chicago

The Packers have the 22nd hardest schedule and opponents were 125-131 last season.
They catch the AFC East and NFC East this year, two divisions with at least 3 expected playoff contenders. Looking at the schedule right now, only 3 games look like slam dunks, the rest will be very interesting matchups for the Packers, who face a few high powered offenses. Look for them to be around when December rolls around.

Philadelphia Eagles

Key Additions: DE Brandon Graham, RB Mike Bell, S Marlin Jackson, LB Ernie Sims, LB Alex Hall, DE Darryl Tapp

Key Subtractions: QB Donovan McNabb, WR Reggie Brown, CB Sheldon Brown, WR Kevin Curtis, RB Brian Westbrook, Will Witherspoon

The Eagles enter the 2010 season with a fresh face at QB. Donovan McNabb was thought of so highly by the Eagles that they traded him to a team in their own division, someone they will see twice a year. Out goes McNabb, in comes Kevin Kolb, an inexperienced and unknown gunslinger who must lead a team that would have been prime to win a Super Bowl with his predecessor. Kolb is surrounded by plenty of weapons. Lesean McCoy had a decent rookie year and will see his carry load increase, and Mike Bell will provide a nice change of pace. The receivers for the Eagles include one of the best deep threats in the league, DeSean Jackson. Jackson was the focal point of the big play passing offense last year that had the Eagles leading the league with 21 passing plays of 40 or more yards. Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, and TE Brent Celek will make Kolbs transition a lot easier. But if Kolb does not pick up the offense quickly enough and causes turnovers, look for Andy Reid to feel the pressure to put in Michael Vick.

The Eagles highly emphasized the defense this offseason, drafting DE Brandon Graham in the first round to play opposite veteran Trent Cole. The Eagles were tied for third in the NFL last year in sacks. The Eagles acquired two linebackers in the offseason and drafted two more. They ranked ninth in the league against the run last year. They must be able to stop the run to force opponents into throwing the ball in uncomfortable down and distances in order to create turnovers, something they are very good at. They had 25 INT's last season, 4th in the league led by Assante Samuel who had 9. Overall the defense still appears weak against the run, especially with the unproven players at linebacker. With the explosive offenses in the NFC East, the Eagles might run into problems this year trying to stop them.

Schedule

1 Sun, Sep 12 Green Bay
2 Sun, Sep 19 at Detroit
3 Sun, Sep 26 at Jacksonville
4 Sun, Oct 3 Washington
5 Sun, Oct 10 at San Francisco
6 Sun, Oct 17 Atlanta
7 Sun, Oct 24 at Tennessee
8 BYE
9 Sun, Nov 7 Indianapolis
10 Mon, Nov 15 at Washington
11 Sun, Nov 21 NY Giants
12 Sun, Nov 28 at Chicago
13 Thu, Dec 2 Houston
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Dallas
15 Sun, Dec 19 at NY Giants
16 Sun, Dec 26 Minnesota
17 Sun, Jan 2 Dallas

The Eagles have the 9th hardest schedule in the league and opponents were 133-123 last season. They catch the NFC North and AFC South this season. The Eagles benefit from an easy schedule early, however after the BYE the schedule gets really tough. The whole month of December features three divisional games, two of which on the road, and games against the explosive Texans and the Favre led Vikings. Expect the Eagles to have a tough time staying in the race down the stretch this season.

Two-A-Days: Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots Preview

2010-08-04T22:38:00.003-04:00

Cincinnati Bengals

Key Additions: WR Antonio Bryant, WR Terrell Owens, WR Matt Jones, S Gibril Wilson, TE Jermaine Gresham, DE Carlos Dunlap, WR Jordan Shipley

Key Subtractions: WR Levarnues Coles, K Shayne Graham, RB Larry Johnson

The Bengals come into the 2010 season looking to defend their AFC North title from a year ago. The Bengals did a lot in the offseason to improve the passing game which was not a strength a year ago as they ranked near the bottom in the league. They signed both Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens and also drafted Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley. With those additions to go along with Chad OchoCinco, the passing game should be much better in 2010. But that all depends on Carson Palmer. Palmer's numbers were not great last year even though he started all 16 games. His 3,094 yards, 21 TD's, and 83.6 rating were all career lows in which he started all 16 games. The strength of the Bengals was their running game. Cedric Benson resurrected his career and rushed for 1,251 yards despite missing two games to injury. With the additions the Bengals made in the offseason to improve the passing game, this could help the Benson and the backfield tremendously. Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard will back-up Benson, but he is the primary guy. If the offensive line can protect Palmer and the Bengals can become much more balanced and consistent, their offense will improve on their 19.1 points per game average in 2009.

The Bengals defense in 2009 ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense lead by defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Antwan Odom missed most of the season with injury but is expected to be ready to start the season. The Begals drafted Carlos Dunlap, a troubled but athletic defensive end from Florida who should see some significant playing time. Robert Geathers and Tank Johnson are veteran players who will show Dunlap what it will take to succeed in the league. Linebackers Dhani Jones and Ray Maualuga along with Keith Rivers make up a strong starting 3 linebacking corps. The Bengals ranked 7th in the NFL in rushing defense in 2009. Corners Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph also are play makers in the secondary and the addition of veteran Gibril Wilson will help make the secondary better in 2010.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 at New England
2 Sun, Sep 19 Baltimore
3 Sun, Sep 26 at Carolina
4 Sun, Oct 3 at Cleveland
5 Sun, Oct 10 Tampa Bay
6 BYE
7 Sun, Oct 24 at Atlanta
8 Sun, Oct 31 Miami
9 Mon, Nov 8 Pittsburgh
10 Sun, Nov 14 at Indianapolis
11 Sun, Nov 21 Buffalo
12 Thu, Nov 25 at NY Jets
13 Sun, Dec 5 New Orleans
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Pittsburgh
15 Sun, Dec 19 Cleveland
16 Sun, Dec 26 San Diego
17 Sun, Jan 2 at Baltimore

The Bengals have the 4th hardest schedule in the NFL and opponents were 138-118 last season. The catch the AFC East and NFC South this season. They catch Pittsburgh after the Roethlisburger suspension, but face tough non divisional road games at the Colts and home against the Chargers. Tough schedule any way you look at it, but look for the Bengals to fight hard to retain that AFC North title from a year ago.

New England Patriots

Key Additions: TE Alge Crumpler, WR Torry Holt, OLB Jermaine Cunningham, MLB Brandon Spikes, CB Devin McCourty, TE Aaron Hernandez, TE Rob Gronkowski

Key Subtractions: DE Jarvis Green, LB Junior Seau, CB Shawn Springs, LB Adalius Thomas, TE Benjamin Watson, TE Chris Baker

The Pats come into the 2010 season coming off another division title last season, but they will have a tougher time this year as the Jets and Miami have lowered the gap between them. Tom Brady came back last season after tearing his ACL in the first game of the 2008 season and started all 16 games. He is one of the elite quarterbacks in the league and still has plenty left. Wes Welker tore his MCL and ACL in the finale of the regular season last year and although he is in camp, it is unlikely he will put up the numbers this year he has in the past. More emphasis will be put on Randy Moss and Jullian Edelman will be the primary receivers someone is going to have to step up among the Pats reserves. They brought in a lot of TE's this offseason which will create a lot of options for Brady in the red zone. Expect them to run more double tight end sets with Welker probably out, something they have not done a lot of in the past. The running backs on the team are all over 30 but all produce. Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris probably see an equal amount of carries in order to keep all of them fresh and healthy for the entire season. The Pats have one of the best offensive lines in football that have a good mix of veterans and young players. What it will come down to is when will Welker be back and how will he play.

The Pats began to overhaul their defense last season. Richard Seymour was traded before the season started last year and Jarvis Green is gone. Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork are the leaders of the line and must continue to play at a high level. The Pats drafted 2 Florida linebackers who stood out well in college. Cunningham is a good pass rusher who can be nice in the OLB in a 3-4. Spikes will take more time to develop to get used to the pro game, especially the speed. Jarrod Mayo and Tully Banta-Cain played well last season. With these additions, it just comes down to how well these players pick up the playbook and avoid mistakes. The secondary got some help with the drafting of CB Devin McCourty. Leigh Bodden, Darius Butler, and Brandon Meriweather round out the secondary. The Pats struggled though on third down in passing situations. They were second to last in the league ahead of only Detroit as opponents were 37.7% on third down when passing. By not getting off the field, it wears defenses down the longer the drives go and forces your high powered offense to sit on the bench. The Pats must do a better job of that this season or they will not be playing in Dallas in February.

Schedule:

WK DATE OPPONENT
1 Sun, Sep 12 Cincinnati
2 Sun, Sep 19 at NY Jets
3 Sun, Sep 26 Buffalo
4 Mon, Oct 4 at Miami
5 BYE
6 Sun, Oct 17 Baltimore
7 Sun, Oct 24 at San Diego
8 Sun, Oct 31 Minnesota
9 Sun, Nov 7 at Cleveland
10 Sun, Nov 14 at Pittsburgh
11 Sun, Nov 21 Indianapolis
12 Thu, Nov 25 at Detroit
13 Mon, Dec 6 NY Jets
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Chicago
15 Sun, Dec 19 Green Bay
16 Sun, Dec 26 at Buffalo
17 Sun, Jan 2 Miami

The Pats have the 6th hardest schedule in the league and opponents were 136-120 last season. They catch the AFC North and NFC North this season. They do catch most of their tougher non divisional opponents at home. They also play the Lions on the road on Thanksgiving after they play the Colts just 5 days prior. Tough schedule, but look for the Pats to be in the mix as long as Brady is under center.

Two-A-Days: Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans Preview

2010-08-03T22:15:00.002-04:00

Atlanta Falcons

Key Additions: CB Dunta Robinson, LB Sean Weatherspoon

Key Subtractions: CB Chris Houston

The Falcons head into this season after dropping a bit after Matt Ryan's rookie season. Ryan saw his numbers decrease as far as total yards and completion percentage goes. But Ryan will bounce back this season, he is surrounded by too many good weapons not too. Micheal Turner fought in juries last season but had a stellar 2008 season, rushing for over 1,600 yards. Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez are two big targets that Ryan can rely upon. White caught 11 TD's and had over 1,200 yards receiving. Michael Jenkins is the teams number two receiver, but his numbers are not where the Falcons expect them to be. They need him to improve so it gives Ryan more options to look to. What it will come down to is will Turner be able to carry the load the entire season and remain healthy along with Tony Gonzalez. I believe that they will be healthier this year and last year was just bad luck and poor defense.

The Falcons defense probably cost them a shot at the playoffs last season. They were fifth worst in the NFL in passing yards allowed. This was subject to, what else, a bad pass rush. The Falcons had only 28 sacks all of last season. John Abraham on the outside and Justin Babineaux on the inside must play better and get more pressure on the quarterback. Sean Weatherspoon was drafted to improve the linebacking corps and Dunta Robinson will be the teams shut down corner. The Falcons have a strong unit as a whole, but they will have to come together and play a lot better if they wish to compete for a playoff spot this season.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 at Pittsburgh
2 Sun, Sep 19 Arizona
3 Sun, Sep 26 at New Orleans
4 Sun, Oct 3 San Francisco
5 Sun, Oct 10 at Cleveland
6 Sun, Oct 17 at Philadelphia
7 Sun, Oct 24 Cincinnati
8 BYE
9 Sun, Nov 7 Tampa Bay
10 Thu, Nov 11 Baltimore
11 Sun, Nov 21 at St. Louis
12 Sun, Nov 28 Green Bay
13 Sun, Dec 5 at Tampa Bay
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Carolina
15 Sun, Dec 19 at Seattle
16 Mon, Dec 27 New Orleans
17 Sun, Jan 2 Carolina

The Falcons have the 20th hardest schedule in the NFL and opponents were 127-129 last season. They catch the AFC North and NFC West this season. The schedule appears favorable for the Falcons. They have three easier road games late in the season and finish their final two games at home against divisional opponents. Look for them to be in contention down the stretch.

Houston Texans

Key Additions: LB Danny Clark, K Neil Rackers, CB Kareem Jackson, RB Ben Tate, G Wade Smith

Key Subtractions: QB Rex Grossman, RB Ryan Moats, CB Dunta Robinson, G Chester Pitts

The Houston Texans have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, but have yet to reach the playoffs in their franchises entire existence. I believe this has a lot to do with coaching. The playoffs are a must for Gary Kubiac to keep his job. It will be interesting to see how he does now that he lost Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator. Matt Schaub put up career numbers last season along with Andrea Johnson, yet the team failed to make the playoffs. Schaub threw for 4,770 yards and 29 TD's while Johnson caught 101 balls for 1,569 yards. They were the number one passing team in the NFL. Owen Daniels also plays a key role in that passing game as well along with Kevin Walter. But the Texans can not run the ball with consistency. Steve Slaton led the team in rushing with just 437 yards and he rushed for only 3.3 yards per carry. The Texans drafted Ben Tate who can be a nice balance to go with Slaton who bruise and get the tough yardage. This offense is too good to be playing at the level it has been in previous seasons.

The Texans defense has Pro Bowl players at several positions, yet as a whole do not put up the flashy numbers. The team ranks in the middle of the pack in almost every statistical category. They have a freak DE in Mario Williams who has 39.5 sacks in his four year career. The Texans need someone else to step up and alleviate the double team Williams draws. DeMeco Ryans leads the linebackers that also includes Brian Cushing, each Pro Bowlers. With the addition of Danny Clark, they are set. Careem Jackson replaces Robinson, who left for Atlanta in free agency. Beyond him, the Texans lack depth and the players are not putting up the numbers. They are going to need people to step up and contribute or they will struggle.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 Indianapolis
2 Sun, Sep 19 at Washington
3 Sun, Sep 26 Dallas
4 Sun, Oct 3 at Oakland
5 Sun, Oct 10 NY Giants
6 Sun, Oct 17 Kansas City
7 BYE
8 Mon, Nov 1 at Indianapolis
9 Sun, Nov 7 San Diego
10 Sun, Nov 14 at Jacksonville
11 Sun, Nov 21 at NY Jets
12 Sun, Nov 28 Tennessee
13 Thu, Dec 2 at Philadelphia
14 Mon, Dec 13 Baltimore
15 Sun, Dec 19 at Tennessee
16 Sun, Dec 26 at Denver
17 Sun, Jan 2 Jacksonville

The Texans have the hardest schedule in the NFL and opponents were 140-116 last season. They catch the AFC West and NFC East this season, divisions with powerful teams in them. The Texans except for Week 4 at Oakland and Week 6 at home against the Cheifs. They also catch the Jets in an inter conference matchup on the road and the Ravens at home. Tough schedule any way you look at it, but the Texans are have too many weapons not to be a contender this season.

Two-A-Days: Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers Preview

2010-08-01T18:05:00.004-04:00

Carolina Panthers

Key Additions: QB Jimmy Clausen, WR Brandon LaFell, WR Armanti Edwards, LB Jamar Williams, S Aaron Francisco

Key Losses: QB Jake Delhomme, WR Muhsin Muhammad, LB Na’il Diggs, DE Julius Peppers

The Panthers enter this season with Matt Moore as their quarterback as Jake Delhomme has moved on to Cleveland. The Panthers are in the same situation as the Eagles are under slightly different circumstances. Moore started the final 5 games of last season and won 4 of them. The Panthers are putting their faith in him that he will play this season and beyond like he did the final 5 games of last year. He has only 8 career starts. His stats were not flashy but he did manage the team well and I expect he will do the same this season. If he wont, we may see Jimmy Clausen a little earlier than people may expect. The Panthers are built on their running game with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart. The Panthers as a team ran for 2,498 yards and 4.8 yards per carry last season, third in the NFL. The Panthers have been getting older at the wide receiver position. Mushin Muhammad retired after last year and Steve Smith is 31. The Panthers addressed this in the draft by selecting Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards. Dwayne Jarrett should will compete with those two for playing time. The Panthers will play it conservative on offense with the inexperienced Moore under center until he becomes more comfortable and opens it up. But the two-headed monster will rule in Carolina again this year.

Carolina averaged only 19.7 points per game last season, putting a lot of pressure on their defense, who averaged 19.2 points against a year ago. They lost their best player in the offseason in Julius Peppers. They no longer have a consistent threat on the d-line that will make offenses account for at all times. They have the fourth best passing defense in the league and take the ball away often. They had 22 interceptions last season. They are also good at getting off the field on thirds down, as teams were successful 36% on third down last season. What it will come down to on defense for the Panthers is will someone step up now that Peppers is gone and put pressure on the quarterback. No matter how good your secondary is, you give NFL quarterbacks time in the pocket, their going to find someone open. The success of the team this season will depend on that.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 at NY Giants
2 Sun, Sep 19 Tampa Bay
3 Sun, Sep 26 Cincinnati
4 Sun, Oct 3 at New Orleans
5 Sun, Oct 10 Chicago
6 BYE
7 Sun, Oct 24 San Francisco
8 Sun, Oct 31 at St. Louis
9 Sun, Nov 7 New Orleans
10 Sun, Nov 14 at Tampa Bay
11 Sun, Nov 21 Baltimore
12 Sun, Nov 28 at Cleveland
13 Sun, Dec 5 at Seattle
14 Sun, Dec 12 Atlanta
15 Sun, Dec 19 Arizona
16 Thu, Dec 23 at Pittsburgh
17 Sun, Jan 2 at Atlanta

The Panthers have the 26th toughest schedule this season and opponents were 122-134 in 2009. They catch the AFC North and NFC West this season. They finish the season with the final two games on the road, and one in Pittsburgh in the cold. With Atlanta improving this season and the Super Bowl champs in the division, don't expect the Panthers to contend this season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Key Additions: OT Flozell Adams, S Will Allen, WR Arnaz Battle, LB Larry Foote, QB Byron Leftwich, WR Antwaan Randle El, CB Bryant McFadden, C Maurkice Pouncey

Key Subtractions: WR Santonio Holmes, RB Willie Parker, CB Deshea Townsend, S Tyrone Carter

The Steelers enter the 2010 season after missing the playoffs last year and will have their starting quarterback out for at least 4 games to start the season as he serves his suspension for violating the leagues personal conduct policy. Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon will compete for the starting job in camp. But the loss of Roethlisburger is the least of their problems. WR Santonio Holmes was traded and Willie Parker departed as a free agent. Rehard Mendenhall had an excellent season last year rushing for 1,108 yards and 4.8 yards per carry. Replacing former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes wont be as easy. Hines Ward put up great numbers last year but he is 34 years old. Mike Wallace and Antwaan Randle El will have to pick up the slack that Holmes leaves behind. The line has had some injury problems this offseason, Willie Colon tore his ACL and is done for the year. The Steelers have been terrible in sacks allowed, and if not for the escape ability of Roethlisburger, they would have a lot more sacks on their record. The Steelers did a great move by bringing in veteran Flozell Adams. The unit must play better this season and get some better protection.

The Steelers defense has been and will continue to be the backbone of their team, but they are a completely different unit when Troy Polamalu is on the field. He needs to stay healthy for them to be sucessful. But the Steelers get after the quarterback, and get after him well. They recorded 47 sacks as a unit last year, second in the league led by James Harrison. The Steelers brought back Larry Foote to play alongside Harrison, Lamarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, and James Farrior. All those guys should see significant time. The Steelers brought back Bryant McFadden to play opposite Ike Taylor, and if Polamalu stays healthy, the Steelers secondary unit is very solid. A lot will depend on if the unit can collectively get through the season without significant injuries and keep putting pressure on quarterbacks.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 Atlanta
2 Sun, Sep 19 at Tennessee
3 Sun, Sep 26 at Tampa Bay
4 Sun, Oct 3 Baltimore
5 BYE
6 Sun, Oct 17 Cleveland
7 Sun, Oct 24 at Miami
8 Sun, Oct 31 at New Orleans
9 Mon, Nov 8 at Cincinnati
10 Sun, Nov 14 New England
11 Sun, Nov 21 Oakland
12 Sun, Nov 28 at Buffalo
13 Sun, Dec 5 at Baltimore
14 Sun, Dec 12 Cincinnati
15 Sun, Dec 19 NY Jets
16 Thu, Dec 23 Carolina
17 Sun, Jan 2 at Cleveland

The Steelers have the 21st hardest schedule and opponents were 126-130 last season. They catch the AFC East and NFC South this season. The Steelers luck out in the schedule department in the first four games. They only have 1 divisional game and two of their easier road games. Should Roethlisburger come back on time, he'll have a nice warm up game Week 5 vs. Cleveland. The rest of the schedule however is not that simple. The AFC East has 3 contenders and they have problems in their own division with Baltimore and the defending champs Cincinnati. However 3 of their final 4 games are home. Expect them to be in the hunt down the stretch.

Two-A-Days: New York Giants and Tennessee Titans Preview

2010-07-30T14:18:00.010-04:00

New York Giants

Key Additions: LB Keith Bulluck, S Antrel Rolle, S Deon Grant, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, QB Jim Sorgi, DT Linval Joseph

Key Subtractions: LB Antonio Pierce, P Jeff Feagles, LB Danny Clark, QB David Carr, DT Fred Robbins, CB Kevin Dockery,

The Giants enter this season 2 years removed from a Super Bowl win and one of the worst collapses in franchise history last season. After starting 5-0 thanks in large part to a weak early schedule, the Giants collapsed to finish 8-8 in what owner John Mara felt "was more like 2-14." Tom Coughlin is entering the year before the final year of his contract, and the outcome of this year will likely determine his future with the team. Although I believe he deserves an extension baring anything disastrous, another year without the playoffs might mean his time may be over with the Giants. The Giants fired defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan one year after taking over for Steve Spagnuolo. Sheridan appeared to have not formed a bond with the players, even having one walk out during training camp. His schemes were questionable and down right odd at times. But Perry Fewell takes over who is known for being a hands-on aggressive coach whos system creates a lot of turnovers. The defense gave up 31 TD's through the air last season, second worst in the league. The Giants went out and addressed that problem by making Antrel Rolle the highest paid safety in the league and added depth with Deon Grant. Rolle is expected to start alongside S Kenny Phillips if he is ready. If not, Grant, who is a veteran player with plenty of experience, will slide in no problem. One of the problems last season were too many receivers getting behind safeties and making big plays in the passing game. That was partially due to injuries in the secondary and terrible play by the secondary. The Giants at corner have the personnel. Corey Webster played great the year they went to the Super Bowl. Opposite him will be either Aaron Ross, injured for most of last season, or Terrell Thomas. If Ross is healthy he should have the edge. Regardless the other will play in the nickle package and give the Giants a nice rotation. The Giants lost linebackers Danny Clark and signal caller Antonio Pierce. They signed Keith Bulluck from Tennessee and will look to replace Pierce both on and off the field. Michael Boley played great towards the end of last year, but was injured for some of the year and missed time. Clint Sintim is expected to move in and replace Danny Clark. Gerris Wilkinson is waiting and adds some good depth. The Giants last year struggled on the defensive line and failed to get the the quarterback with some consistency and stop the run. They gave up 21 TDs on the ground last year. Basically, they couldn't get off the field or hold opponents to field goals. Osi Umenyiora was visibly frustrated and was removed from his starting position last year, being replaced by Mathias Kiwanuka. One of Umenyiora's main problems was his inability to stop the run. He was used by Bill Sheridan mainly as a pass rush specialist and was put too many times in pass coverage against TE's and RB's where he, and other DE's, were consistently burned. Justin Tuck was bothered all year by a shoulder injury after he was kneed in a dirty play by Dallas OT Flozell Adams, who is now in Pittsburgh. Tuck and Umenyiora must get back to 2007 form and apply more pressure on the quarterback and get off the line of scrimmage better. Inside the Giants lost long time pro DT Fred Robbins, but still have plenty of depth. Chris Canty should start after converting from a 3-4 DE to a 4-3 DT alongside veteran Barry Cofield. Jay Alford missed all of last season but should be ready to go, they signed Rocky Bernard last season, and the Giants drafted Linval Joseph this year. With the personnel the Giants have this year and a fresh face in Perry Fewell that will not tolerate inconsistent play, the Giants will be a much improved defense this season.

Offensively, Eli Manning is coming off one of the best regular seasons of his career. He threw for over 4,00 yards and 27 Td's. Mannings high numbers are much to do with his much improved decision making and emergence of his wide receivers, but partially due to the fact the the Giants were playing from behind in a lot of games. Manning is a former Super Bowl MVP and will do even better this season. David Carr is gone, but Jim Sorgi is in. The Giants are hoping they don't see him on the field after preseason. The Giants last year however, did not run the ball well. This was due to Brandon Jacobs battling through injuries and the ineffectiveness of the offensive line. Jacobs numbers were way down, 835 yards averaging 3.7 yards per carry and only 5 TD's. The troubling number there is the yards per carry number. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry the previous two seasons. Hes not the home run hitter, hes the bruiser between the tackles runner. He needs to get back to that this year. Expect Ahmad Bradshaw and Danny Ware to see more time as well as the Giants will rotate more. The offensive line is where the Giants aren't really set as they head into camp. C Shaun Ohara and G Chris Snee will start. Rich Suebert should be the other starting guard and Karim Mackenzie should be the starting RT, but William Beatty will challenge David Diehl at LT. Bottom line is the best player out of camp will start, and if they don't play with consistency, they will be replaced. The line has been intact for a lot of years and is a stronghold of the team. They need to return to that this season. Steve Smith was second in the NFL in receptions last year and broke the Giants record for receptions in a season. He is Eli Mannings go to guy. Hackeem Nicks had a decent rookie season who has the explosiveness to be the deep threat the Giants need. Mario Manningham and Ramses Barden need to step up now that Domenik Hixon is out for the year with a torn ACL. Kevin Boss played well last year and is a very reliable tight end.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 Carolina
2 Sun, Sep 19 at Indianapolis
3 Sun, Sep 26 Tennessee
4 Sun, Oct 3 Chicago
5 Sun, Oct 10 at Houston
6 Sun, Oct 17 Detroit
7 Mon, Oct 25 at Dallas
8 BYE
9 Sun, Nov 7 at Seattle
10 Sun, Nov 14 Dallas
11 Sun, Nov 21 at Philadelphia
12 Sun, Nov 28 Jacksonville
13 Sun, Dec 5 Washington
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Minnesota
15 Sun, Dec 19 Philadelphia
16 Sun, Dec 26 at Green Bay
17 Sun, Jan 2 at Washington

The Giants have the 7th hardest schedule in the league and opponents were 135-121 lase season. They catch the AFC South and NFC North this year, two divisions with three or more competitive teams. Manning Bowl II takes place Week two in Indianapolis. The Giants finish the season with 3 of their last 4 games on the road. The Giants played well in their division last season but lost both games to Philly by big numbers, and Washington is no longer a pushover. The Giants should contend for the division and a playoff spot this season.

Tennessee Titans

Key Additions: LB Will Witherspoon, CB Tye Hill, DE Jason Babin, DE Derrick Morgan, WR Damian Williams

Key Subtractions: TE Alge Crumpler, DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, C Kevin Mawae, RB LenDale White, LB Keith Bulluck

The Titans resurrected their season last year and saved Jeff Fishers job after starting out 0-6 and finishing 8-2. Chris Johnson and Vince Young had a lot to do with that. Johnson did not rush for under 100 yards in the final 10 games of the season and Vince Young threw 10 TD's. The Titans look forward to seeing what they can do with a full season with this duo. Chris Johnson is Mr. Everything for this offense, everything they do revolved around him. He has a lot of expectations this season and its unrealistic for him to live up to them all. If he can produce 75% of what he did last year, it will be good enough. Johnson no longer has a reliable backup behind him as Lendale White has moved on. Vince Young needs to play for a full season like he played the final 10 games of last season. Kenny Britt had an excellent rookie season last year with 701 receiving yards. He and Justin Gage will look to carry the load for Vince Young.

The Titans lost Pro-Bowler Kyle Vanden Bosh to free agency, but they hope that first round pick Derrick Morgan will replace him. The Titans run defense was in the top 10 in the league last season in total yards, and opponents rushed for 4.3 yards per carry. They lost Keith Bulluck but picked up Will Witherspoon in free agency. The Titans major concern is in their pass defense, which was 31st in the league last year only ahead of the Lions. They allowed 31 TD's through the air and opponents averaged 258.7 passing yards per game. Cortland Finnegan should play alongside Tye Hill, who signed as a free agent this year. Those two need to play a lot better and bring those numbers down and put their offense in a better position.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 Oakland
2 Sun, Sep 19 Pittsburgh
3 Sun, Sep 26 at NY Giants
4 Sun, Oct 3 Denver
5 Sun, Oct 10 at Dallas
6 Mon, Oct 18 at Jacksonville
7 Sun, Oct 24 Philadelphia
8 Sun, Oct 31 at San Diego
9 BYE
10 Sun, Nov 14 at Miami
11 Sun, Nov 21 Washington
12 Sun, Nov 28 at Houston
13 Sun, Dec 5 Jacksonville
14 Thu, Dec 9 Indianapolis
15 Sun, Dec 19 Houston
16 Sun, Dec 26 at Kansas City
17 Sun, Jan 2 at Indianapolis

The Titans have 2nd hardest schedule in the league and opponents were 140-116 last season. They catch the NFC East and AFC West and play in the high powered AFC South that has two explosive offenses through the air. The pass defense can not play like they did a year ago or it will be a long season in Nashville. They do catch Pittsburgh before Ben Roesthlisburger will be eligible to return. They do have a lot of home games late and games on the road are in warm weather or indoors.

Comments

Two-A-Days: San Fransisco 49ers and Denver Broncos Preview

2010-07-27T22:30:00.010-04:00

San Fransisco 49ers

Key Additions: OT Anthony Davis, OG Mike Iupati, QB David Carr, WR Ted Ginn, Jr., S Taylor Mays,

Key Subtractions: DB Dre Bly, WR Isaac Bruce

The 49ers enter this season looking to improve on their 8-8 season last year under coach Mike Singletary. QB Alex Smith took over the starting job last year in Week 7 after Sean Hill was benched. Smith led the 49ers to a 5-6 record as a starter. Clearly the problem with the team lies with the lack of productivity from the offense, and it certainly isn't coming from the running game either. Gore ran for 1,120 yards averaging 4.9 yards per carry and caught 52 balls for 406 more yards. The problems with the 49ers offense lies with the quarterback. Alex Smith appears to be the starter heading into training camp, but he will be on a short leash if he can't produce with former starter and number one overall pick David Carr now behind him. He has Michael Crabtree and now Ted Ginn Jr. at the wide receiver position, Vernon Davis at TE, and a more than capable back to catch passes. Smith will have to improve and spread the ball around better for the 49ers to be successful.

The 49ers defense has done very well under Singletary. They had the sixth best rushing defense in the NFL last year thanks to a strong linebacking corps led by Takeo Spikes and Patrick Willis. They signed Nate Clements prior to the 2007 season, but he only started 6 games last year due to injury. The secondary will have to stay healthier this year in order for them to improve. They drafted S Taylor Mays to compete for a spot against Dashon Goldson.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 @ Seattle
2 Mon, Sep 20 New Orleans
3 Sun, Sep 26 @ Kansas City
4 Sun, Oct 3 @ Atlanta
5 Sun, Oct 10 Philadelphia
6 Sun, Oct 17 Oakland
7 Sun, Oct 24 @ Carolina
8 Sun, Oct 31 Denver
9 BYE
10 Sun, Nov 14 St. Louis
11 Sun, Nov 21 Tampa Bay
12 Mon, Nov 29 @ Arizona
13 Sun, Dec 5 @ Green Bay
14 Sun, Dec 12 Seattle
15 Thu, Dec 16 @ San Diego
16 Sun, Dec 26 @ St. Louis
17 Sun, Jan 2 Arizona

The 49ers play in the weak AFC West and have the 28th toughest schedule in the league and opponents were 117-139 last season. They catch the AFC West and NFC South this season. The schedule does not appear to be that bad to the 49ers, but they do have 4 of their last 6 games on the road. They face the Super Bowl champs at home Week 2, they will be put to the test early to see what they are made of.

Denver Broncos

Key Additions: QB Tim Tebow, NT Jamal Williams, DE Jarvis Green, WR Demaryius Thomas, QB Brady Quinn

Key Loses: WR Brandon Marhsall, TE Tony Scheffler, RB Peyton Hillis,

Josh McDaniels enters his second season as head coach of the Broncos after starting 6-0 last season only to collapse and go 2-8 the remainder of the year. The demise of the Broncos last year is partly due to their inability to stop the run and the inconstancy of QB Kyle Orton. Orton threw only 1 INT in the first 6 games, but threw 11 in the following 10 games. Orton no longer has a safety blanket after the Broncos drafted Tim Tebow and signed Brady Quinn this year. If Orton plays the way he did this year like the final 10 games last season, he will get the hook. Regardless of who is under center for the Broncos, who they will be throwing too will no longer include two Pro Bowlers in Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler. That means Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney, and this year draft pick Demaryius Thomas will have to pick up the slack. It will be difficult to replace Marhall and Schefflers numbers. The backfield consists of second year pro Knowshon Moreno, who rushed for 947 yards averaging 3.8 yards per carry, and Correll Buckhalter who rushed for 642 yards but averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Moreno needs to see his per carry numbers improve to the level of Buckhalter's.

The Broncos were dreadful against the run last season. They surrendered 2,059 yards and opponents averaged 4.5 yards per carry. The Broncos brought some help in DE Jarvis Green to help out the line. But no matter who you bring in, with numbers like that it gives offenses way too many options and leaves the defense off balance and on their heels entirely too much, putting their play makers in situations they do not like. Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins are ball hogs, but both are getting old. The front seven must do a better job and get pressure in order for their play makers to make plays.

Schedule:

1 Sun, Sep 12 at Jacksonville
2 Sun, Sep 19 Seattle
3 Sun, Sep 26 Indianapolis
4 Sun, Oct 3 at Tennessee
5 Sun, Oct 10 at Baltimore
6 Sun, Oct 17 NY Jets
7 Sun, Oct 24 Oakland
8 Sun, Oct 31 at San Francisco
10 Sun, Nov 14 Kansas City
11 Mon, Nov 22 at San Diego
12 Sun, Nov 28 St. Louis
13 Sun, Dec 5 at Kansas City
14 Sun, Dec 12 at Arizona
15 Sun, Dec 19 at Oakland
16 Sun, Dec 26 Houston
17 Sun, Jan 2 San Diego

The Broncos have the 24th hardest schedule and opponents were 124-132 last season. They catch the AFC South and NFC West this year. The NFC West is one of the weaker divisions in the NFL, however the AFC South is loaded with talent and three teams who should be in the playoff hunt. Their schedule does get lighter as the season goes on, so look for them to contend in the division next year.

Two-A-Days: Chciago Bears and Miami Dolphins Preview

2010-07-26T17:46:00.005-04:00

Chicago Bears

Key Additions: DE Julius Peppers, RB Chester Taylor, FS Major Wright, TE Brandon Manumaleuna, CB Tim Jennings

Key Subtractions: DE Alex Brown, LB Jamar Williams, CB Nathan Vasher

The Bears enter year two with QB Jay Cutler under center trading him for an abundance of drafty picks prior to last season. Cutler struggled last year throwing for 27 TD's, but 26 INT's, only the Lions and Bucs threw for more interceptions. Mike Martz takes over the offense that will do wonders for Cutler. However, Martz loves to throw the ball, and head coach Lovie Smith does not. Lovie went as far as to have Cutler only attempt 17 passes in a game last year against the Rams in which they won 17-9. But the message was clear that what Lovie wanted out of Culter wasnt resonating. Martz now is faced with the challenge of improving Culter and limiting his mistakes. Cutler has the weapons around him to succeed. Chester Taylor joins Matt Forte in the backfield as the Bears struggled to run the ball last year. But the real strength is at wide receiver, where Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Devin Aromashodu-ashodu lead the way, and bringing in Manumaleuna provides a big target in the red zone. With the weapons surrounding Cutler, he should improve big time this season.

The premier free agent this offseason was Peppers, and the Bears landed the big fish. Peppers improves the defense by himself, as there is no better coverage in my mind than an excellent pass rush. Urlacher returns after missing pretty much all of last season. He can still play at a high level and with Lance Briggs still there, the Bears are set at linebacker. They brought in Tim Jennings to compete for one of the starting corner jobsw, but the rest of the secondary is up in the eair with a lot of rookies and vets competing for spots, including FS Major Wright.

Schedule:

1 Sun. Sep. 12 vs. Lions
2 Sun. Sep. 19 at Cowboys
3 Mon. Sep. 27 vs. Packers
4 Sun. Oct. 03 at Giants
5 Sun. Oct. 10 at Panthers
6 Sun. Oct. 17 vs. Seahawks
7 Sun. Oct. 24 vs. Redskins
8 BYE
9 Sun. Nov. 07 at Bills
10 Sun. Nov. 14 vs. Vikings
11 Thu. Nov. 18 at Dolphins
12 Sun. Nov. 28 vs. Eagles
13 Sun. Dec. 05 at Lions
14 Sun. Dec. 12 vs. Patriots
15 Mon. Dec. 20 at Vikings
16 Sun. Dec. 26 vs. Jets
17 Sun. Jan. 02 at Packers

The Bears have the #14th hardest schedule and opponents were 129-127 last season. They catch the AFC East and NFC East, two of the toughest divisions in the NFL. Already having to contend with the Packers and Vikings twice each, this schedule doesnt favor the Bears. But they should contend for a playoff spot.

Miami Dolphins

Key Additions: WR Brandon Marshall, LB Karlos Dansby, DT Jared Odrick,

Key Subtractions: WR Ted Ginn Jr., LB Joey Porter, LB Jason Taylor

The Dolphins are now three years into the Parcells era and look to have something brewing down in Miami. Chad Henne is the quarterback the Dolphins feel they can win with. He took over in Week 2 last year and started every game for the remainder of the season. His numbers were decent even in the absence of a true number one receiver. In the offseason, the Dolphins acquired one...Brandon Marshall. Marhsall is the physical go to guy that Hennne can lean on in a big spot. But the strength of the offense has, and will continue to be, the running game. Ronnie Brown struggled until going down for the year in Week 10. Ricky Williams did pick up the slack, rushing for 1,211 yards averaging 4.7 yards per carry. If both of them can stay healthy and Chad Henne improves, the Dolphins will do better on offense.

Defensively, the Dolphins lost a few veterans. However, they did get the best middle linebacker in free agency in Karlos Dansby. Dansby will play alongside Chaning Crowder. However the Dolphins were playing with rookies at corner towards the end of the season and were terrible against the pass. They were worst in the league in giving up plays of 40+ yards through the air, surrendering 17. They must improve heading into year two. Mike Nolan may have his hands full if the defensive personnel currently in place does not do their job.

Schedule:

1 Sun. Sep. 12 at Bills
2 Sun. Sep. 19 at Vikings
3 Sun. Sep. 26 vs. Jets
4 Mon. Oct. 04 vs. Patriots
5 BYE
6 Sun. Oct. 17 at Packers
7 Sun. Oct. 24 vs. Steelers
8 Sun. Oct. 31 at Bengals
9 Sun. Nov. 07 at Ravens
10 Sun. Nov. 14 vs. Titans
11 Thu. Nov. 18 vs. Bears
12 Sun. Nov. 28 at Raiders
13 Sun. Dec. 05 vs. Browns
14 Sun. Dec. 12 at Jets
15 Sun. Dec. 19 vs. Bills
16 Sun. Dec. 26 vs. Lions
17 Sun. Jan. 02 at Patriots

The Dolphins have the 17th hardest schedule in the league and opponents were 128-128 last season. They catch the NFC North and AFC North this season. Both divisions have teams with three or more teams capable of making the playoffs. Three easy games at the end of the schedule at home sure help the Dolphins. If they can remain in the hunt once December rolls around, they'll be in good shape.

Two-A-Days: Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars Preview

2010-07-25T23:21:00.005-04:00

Buffalo Bills

Key Additions: RT Cornell Green, DE Dwan Edwards, LB Andra Davis, OLB Reggie Torbor, RB C.J. Spiller,

Key Subtractions: WR Terrell Owens, DE Aaron Schobel

Chan Gailey enters his first season as head coach of a struggling Bills team that can not score points. They drafted RB C.J. Spiller with the ninth pick who is a definite home run hitter and as nice compliment to Marshaun Lynch and Fred Jackson. The running game will be and must be the foundation for the Bills offense if they are to be successful. They lost Terrell Owens who opened up room on the other side for Lee Evans. Now that he is gone, defenses will key on Evans and leave the Bills in a tight spot. The Bills were in the bottom of the league only ahead of Cleveland and Oakland in total offense. The quarterback situation is also in a bad spot. Trent Edwards lost the job last year to Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was not any better. He had 21 interceptions last year. One of them will emerge as the starter, but both must play better.

The Bills are a total lopsided defense. They rank second in the league against the pass, but 30th in the league against the run. They racked in 28 INT's last season, second in the league. But they lost their interim head coach and defensive coordinator to the New York Giants. George Edwards takes over and appears to be transitioning the defense to a 3-4 in order to improve the run defense. They added solid linebackers to solidify the unit, but I don't think it will be enough as it will take a long time for the team to transition to the new scheme.

Schedule:

Week 1 vs. Miami
Week 2 @ Green Bay
Week 3 @ New England
Week 4 vs. New York
Week 5 vs. Jacksonville
Week 6 Bye
Week 7 @ Baltimore
Week 8 @ Kansas City
Week 9 vs, Chicago
Week 10 vs. Detroit
Week 11 @ Cincinnati
Week 12 vs. Pittsburgh
Week 13 @ Minnesota
Week 14 vs. Cleveland
Week 15 @ Miami
Week 16 vs. New England
Week 17 @ New York

The Bills have the 16th hardest schedule and opponents were 128-128 last season. They play in the much improved AFC East where the other three teams are expected to contend for a playoff spot. They catch the AFC North and NFC North, two strong divisions as well. Judging by the schedule and the lack of moves in the offseason, I expect the Bills to be one of the worst teams in the league this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Key Additions: DE Aaron Kampman, LB Kirk Morrison, LB Freddy Keiaho,

Key Subtractions: WR Torry Holt

Jack Del Rio enters this season after squandering a golden opportunity to make the playoffs last year. They ended the season on a four game losing streak. David Garrard played decent last season, completing 60% of his passes, throwing for over 3,500 yards and managing the game well. The team is carried on the legs of the bowling bowl Maurice Jones-Drew. Drew ran for over 1,300 yards and 15 TD's. Mike Sims-Walker had a breakout year last season, but there isn't another consistent threat on the team. The team dumped Tory Holt and have a lot of WR on the roster with limited experience. A few of them are going to have to step up and form a good chemistry with Garrard for the offense to be successful.

The Jaguars added big boy Erik Kampman to add a presence to the defensive line and get after the quarterback. The Jaguars were last in the league last season with only 14 sacks. They also added Kirk Morrison to add some veteran presence to the linebacking corps. Beyond that, they Jaguars don't look to have anything to rely upon on defense. They rank towards the bottom half in both rushing and passing defensive categories. Reggie Nelson has not provided the big play since his good rookie year in 2007. If they can apply more pressure on the quarterback and limit the big plays, they can be better.

Schedule

1 Sun. Sep. 12 vs. Broncos
2 Sun. Sep. 19 at Chargers
3 Sun. Sep. 26 vs. Eagles
4 Sun. Oct. 03 vs. Colts
5 Sun. Oct. 10 at Bills
6 Mon. Oct. 18 vs. Titans
7 Sun. Oct. 24 at Chiefs
8 Sun. Oct. 31 at Cowboys
9 BYE
10 Sun. Nov. 14 vs. Texans
11 Sun. Nov. 21 vs. Browns
12 Sun. Nov. 28 at Giants
13 Sun. Dec. 05 at Titans
14 Sun. Dec. 12 vs. Raiders
15 Sun. Dec. 19 at Colts
16 Sun. Dec. 26 vs. Redskins
17 Sun. Jan. 02 at Texans

The Jags have the 5th hardest schedule in the league and opponents were 137-119 last season. They catch the AFC West and NFC East. They do play the Raiders, Chiefs, Bills, and Browns who are some of the worst defenses in the league. The beginning of the schedule is brutal though, opening against the Broncos, then on the road to San Diego, then home against the Eagles and Colts. Tough schedule for any good team to face, no less the Jags.

Two-A-Days: Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders Preview

2010-07-23T15:50:00.004-04:00

Cleveland Browns

Key Additions: QB Jake Delhomme, CB Joe Haden, TE Benjamin Watson, LB Chris Gocong, QB Colt McCoy, RB Montario Hardesty, S T.J. Ward

Key Loses: QB Derek Anderson, QB Brady Quinn, WR Donte' Stallworth, S Brodney Pool, LB Kamerion Wimbley

Now that Mike Holmgren has taken a Bill Parcells role in the Browns, the future is in good hands in Cleveland. Holmgren kept Eric Mangini as coach who must improve in order to keep his job. Another performance like last year will certainly leave him unemployed. The Browns were awful on offense last season as Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson both could not get the job done. They are both gone and Jake Delhomme will probably start, allowing Colt McCoy to learn and observe the veteran until he is ready to take over. The Browns averaged 129.8 yards per game through the air last season. The Browns drafted RB Monario Hardesty from Tennessee to add to the backfield that has Jerome Harrison. Wide receiver is still a concern. Masaquoi has done well, but Joshua Bribs is a lot like Devin Hester and has not proven himself to be a reliable receiver. Delhomme is on a short leash. If he plays like he did in 2008 and manages the game and limits his mistakes, he'll keep his job. If not, you will see either Seneca Wallace or Colt McCoy.

Rob Ryan enters his second season as defensive coordinator after drafting a shut down corner in this years draft in Joe Haden from Florida. He is the type of player that he can feel comfortable leaving one on one, although it will take him time to get acclimated to the NFL. The rest of the Browns defense is one big question mark. They were 20th overall last season allowing 389.3 yards per game against. They were 8h in the league with 40 sacks. T.J. Ward comes in to replace Brodney Pool. The Browns are going to have to keep the points to a minimum in order to win more games this year than they did last season.

Schedule:

1 Sunday September 12 at Buccaneers
2 Sunday September 19 Chiefs
3 Sunday September 26 at Ravens
4 Sunday October 03 Bengals
5 Sunday October 10 Falcons
6 Sunday October 17 at Steelers
7 Sunday October 24 at Saints
8 BYE
9 Sunday November 07 Patriots
10 Sunday November 14 Jets
11 Sunday November 21 at Jaguars
12 Sunday November 28 Panthers
13 Sunday December 05 at Dolphins
14 Sunday December 12 at Bills
15 Sunday December 19 at Bengals
16 Sunday December 26 Ravens
17 Sunday January 02 Steelers

The Browns don't really catch a break with their schedule. They have the 10th hardest in the league and opponents were 132-124 last season. They already play in the competitive NFC North where the Steelers, Ravens, and defending champ Bengals can all easily make the playoffs. On top of that they catch the AFC East, where the Jets, Pats, and Dolphins can easily make the playoffs as well. The division I believe will be too tough for the Browns to handle.

Oakland Raiders

Key Additions: LB Rolando McClain, QB Jason Campbell, RB Michael Bennett, DE Quentin Groves, LB Kamerion Wimbley,

Key Subtractions: QB Jamarcus Russell, DE Greg Ellis, RB Justin Fargas, WR Javon Walker, DT Gerard Warren

Da Raidas enter season 2 under Tom Cable and have moved on from JaMarcus Russell. Russell was awful during his time with the Raiders and looked lost at times trying to gather the offense. Jason Campbell will battle Bruce Gradkowski for the starting job in training camp. Campbell played decent last season and needs to continue to improve. Gradkowski played well in relief of Russell as well. Louis Murphy had an excellent rookie season, however Darrius Heyward-Bey was awful. Those two need to improve their games this year for the Raiders to be successful. They were 31st in points per game and yards per game last season. The running game will be squarely on the shoulders of Darren McFadden after Justin Fargas was cut during the offseason.

The defense is one of the few bright spots on this Raider team. They have one of the best shutdown corners in Nnamdi Asomugha and stud safety Michael Huff. They drafted Rolando McClain from Alabama and signed Kamerion Wimbley to sure up the linebacker position. The Raiders traded for Richard Seymour last season to add more to the defensive line. He needs to play at a higher level and force opposing lineman to pay attention to him and free up some of his teammates for some more one on ones. The Raiders success will depend on who the quarterback is and will they not back up the defense into a corner like Russell has. The defense is talented enough to make this a playoff team.

Schedule

1 Sunday September 12 at Titans
2 Sunday September 19 Rams
3 Sunday September 26 at Cardinals
4 Sunday October 03 Texans
5 Sunday October 10 Chargers
6 Sunday October 17 at 49ers
7 Sunday October 24 at Broncos
8 Sunday October 31 Seahawks
9 Sunday November 07 Chiefs
10 BYE
11 Sunday November 21 at Steelers
12 Sunday November 28 Dolphins
13 Sunday December 05 at Chargers
14 Sunday December 12 at Jaguars
15 Sunday December 19 Broncos
16 Sunday December 26 Colts
17 Sunday January 02 at Chiefs

The Raiders catch the weak NFC West and strong AFC South this season. They have the 18th toughest schedule and opponents were 128-128 last season. They have tough end of the season home games against the Broncos and Colts. If they can shut down some high powering offenses and take advantage of some weak defenses, they can win a few more games than some people would expect.

Comments

Two-A-Days: Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks Preview

2010-07-21T20:24:00.007-04:00

Kansas City Chiefs

Key Additions: RB Thomas Jones, G Ryan Lilja, S Eric Berry, RB Dexter McCluster, CB/KR Javier Arenas

Key Subtractions: WR Bobby Wade

The Chiefs are looking to improve this year on what was a very inconsistent first year for head coach Todd Haley. He brought in Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel to surround himself with Super Bowl caliber coaches who know what it takes to win. Weis will be trying to make Matt Cassel into the quarterback he was in New England that led them to a playoff appearance two years ago. The running game gets even better with the addition of Thomas Jones to compliment Jamaal Charles, who broke out last year and rushed for 1,120 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. The addition of McCluster will also give the offense options as he is a dynamic player that can catch passes and line up in a variety of places. Dwayne Bowe must stay healthy and play a lot more consistently in order to be more successful. Behind him, their really isn't anyone that can produce numbers like he can. If Bowe plays better and McCluster is the player the Cheifs think he can be, they could be in good shape offensively.

Defensively, Romeo Crennel takes over a defense that ranked in the bottom of the league last season. They allowed over 2,500 yards rushing and opponents averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Their best linebacker is 35 year old Mike Vrabel, and Glen Dorsey and Tyson Jackson have not played well. They get an upgrade with Javier Arenas and Eric Berry that will help the secondary. Berry is great at stepping up in the box and stopping the run and the Chiefs are going to need to see that from him if they want to improve their run defense. However, that could leave the big play vertically vulnerable to the rookie. He has to pick his spots, and pick them well.

Schedule:

1 Monday September 13 Chargers
2 Sunday September 19 at Browns
3 Sunday September 26 49ers
4 BYE
5 Sunday October 10 at Colts
6 Sunday October 17 at Texans
7 Sunday October 24 Jaguars
8 Sunday October 31 Bills
9 Sunday November 07 at Raiders
10 Sunday November 14 at Broncos
11 Sunday November 21 Cardinals
12 Sunday November 28 at Seahawks
13 Sunday December 05 Broncos
14 Sunday December 12 at Chargers
15 Sunday December 19 at Rams
16 Sunday December 26 Titans
17 Sunday January 02 Raiders

The Chiefs catch the AFC South and NFC West this season. They have the 23rd hardest schedule and opponents were 125-131 last season. The schedule is better late than early, and have tough road games at the Colts and Chargers. However if they play well they can take advantage of a favorable schedule and win a couple of more games than they did last year.

Seattle Seahawks

Key Additions: RB Leon Washinton, OT Russel Okung, WR Golden Tate, S Earl Thomas

Key Subtractions: WR Nate Burleson,

The Seahawks are looking to improve on their 5-11 season last year under a new regime. Pete Carrol takes over for Jim Mora Jr. who only lasted one season. It appears that Carrol is going to stick with QB Matt Hasselbeck, who had an O.K. season last year, but must play a lot better. Leon Washington is added the the backfield that includes Julius Jones and Justin Forsett. They ran for only 1,566 yards as a team all of last season. The Seahawks strength will be the passing game. Golden Tate joins T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Deon Branch. However the big play is lacking. Seattle had only 39 catches of over 20 yards last season. With a more consistent running game and Golden Tate in the lineup, that number should go up.

The Seahawks were terrible on defense last season due to underachieving players who must play better this year. They ranked 30th last year in pass defense, giving up 3,927 passing yards and opposing quarterbacks enjoyed a 65.8 completion percentage. They drafted S Earl Thomas from Texas to help with the secondary and back-up Marcus Trufant. They recorded only 13 interceptions last year. They have talented linebackers in Lofa Tatupu and Aaron Curry, who need to play consistent. I do not see this defense doing anything spectacular this year, and if they can't get off the field, its going to be a long year.

Schedule:

1 Sunday September 12 49ers
2 Sunday September 19 at Broncos
3 Sunday September 26 Chargers
4 Sunday October 03 at Rams
5 BYE
6 Sunday October 17 at Bears
7 Sunday October 24 Cardinals
8 Sunday October 31 at Raiders
9 Sunday November 07 Giants
10 Sunday November 14 at Cardinals
11 Sunday November 21 at Saints
12 Sunday November 28 Chiefs
13 Sunday December 05 Panthers
14 Sunday December 12 at 49ers
15 Sunday December 19 Falcons
16 Sunday December 26 at Buccaneers
17 Sunday January 02 Rams

The Seahawks have a very favorable schedule this season. They have the 30th hardest schedule and opponents were 116-140 last year. 3 east coast teams make the cross-country trip. They catch the AFC West and NFC South, and a trip to New Orleans to face the defending champs. This division has been dominated by the Cardinals of late, however Kurt Warner has now retired and the Cards lost a lot of players this offseason. If Seattle plays well, they can be knocking on the door late in the year.

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Two-A-Days: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins Preview

2010-07-20T16:33:00.008-04:00

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Key Additions: WR Reggie Brown, WR Arrelious Benn, S Sean Jones, DT Gerald McCoy, DT Brian Price,

Key Subtractions: WR Antonio Bryant, DE Jimmy Wilkerson, DT Chris Hovan

The Bucs are looking to improve this year on their rushing defense that ranked dead last in the NFL last season. They allowed over 2,50 yards and opponents averaged 4.8 yards per carry. They selected 2 premier tackles in the draft, McCoy and Price ,to plug up the holes up front and released veteran Chris Hovan. The Bucs did alright last year against the pass with Talib and Barber at corner, and now with the addition of S Sean Jones, the Bucs are now becoming a more balanced defense. Jones has 16 interceptions in the last 4 years. Look for the Bucs to be more aggressive this year in pursuing the quarterback. Price and McCoy will help with that, but pressure off the edge must be there as well. They only recorded 28 sacks last season.

Josh Freeman begins his second season as the Bucs starter, and he lost his number one receiver Antonio Bryant to free agency. The Bucs drafted two wide receivers in the draft that must get comfortable with Freeman and the offense quickly if they are going to have a balanced attack on offense. Freeman completed 54.5% of his passes in 10 games last season and looked well in spots. The running game was inconsistent last year and free agent addition Derick Ward did not live up to expectations. Cadillac Williams rushed for 823 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per carry vs. Ward who rushed for only 409 yards. Both of those players need to play at a much higher level this year if Freeman and the offense are going to move the ball and put points on the board.

Schedule:

1 Sunday September 12 Browns
2 Sunday September 19 at Panthers
3 Sunday September 26 Steelers
4 BYE
5 Sunday October 10 at Bengals
6 Sunday October 17 Saints
7 Sunday October 24 Rams
8 Sunday October 31 at Cardinals
9 Sunday November 07 at Falcons
10 Sunday November 14 Panthers
11 Sunday November 21 at 49ers
12 Sunday November 28 at Ravens
13 Sunday December 05 Falcons
14 Sunday December 12 at Redskins
15 Sunday December 19 Lions
16 Sunday December 26 Seahawks
17 Sunday January 02 at Saints

Fairly light schedule facing the Bucs this season as they have the 25th hardest schedule and opponents were 123-133 last season. Besides catching the Saints twice, they face the AFC West, not exactly a strong division, but do catch the AFC North, known for tough defenses. Their play in the division must be better as they went 1-5 last year. Don't be surprised if they grab a few more wins this year than expected.

Washington Redskins

Key Additions: QB Donovan McNabb, WR Joey Galloway, WR Bobby Wade, RB Willie Parker, OT Trent Williams, RB Larry Johnson

Key Subtractions: RB Ladell Betts, DT Cornelius Griffin, WR Antwaan Randle El

The Washington Redskins pulled off the trade of the year as they acquired QB Donovan McNabb from the Eagles. Mike Shanahan takes over as head coach and the success will depend on how well Donovan grasps offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan's system. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Houston, who had a prolific passing attack. They must be balanced though, and the addition of Willie Parker and Larry Johnson will make them that, however Johnson must improve on his numbers that have fallen significantly since his days with the Chiefs. Donovan immediately makes the team better, and Santana Moss, Bobby Wade, and Joey Galloway will benefit from his presence. However, the line must keep McNabb off his back. The Skins were fifth worst in the league last season in sacks, allowing 46. Not a whole lot McNabb can do starring at the turf half the game. They drafted Trent Williams this year to solidify the line and moved out three lineman improve on that problem.

Shanahan hired former Saints coach Jim Haslett as the defensive coordinator and will implement the 3-4 scheme. Albert Haynesworth is the key to the teams success up front. If he can play nose, the Skins will do well. If he can't, all bets are off. Brian Orakpo and London Fletcher need to continue to play at a high level and make plays in the running game. The Redskins strength on defense has been in pass defense. They ranked 8th in the NFL last year, however they do not take away the ball enough. They recorded only 11 interceptions last year. The Skins need to take the ball away more and create some better field position for the offense.

Schedule:

1 Sunday September 12 Cowboys
2 Sunday September 19 Texans
3 Sunday September 26 at Rams
4 Sunday October 03 at Eagles
5 Sunday October 10 Packers
6 Sunday October 17 Colts
7 Sunday October 24 at Bears
8 Sunday October 31 at Lions
9 BYE
10 Monday November 15 Eagles
11 Sunday November 21 at Titans
12 Sunday November 28 Vikings
13 Sunday December 05 at Giants
14 Sunday December 12 Buccaneers
15 Sunday December 19 at Cowboys
16 Sunday December 26 at Jaguars
17 Sunday January 02 Giants

The Skins schedule is brutal out of the gate. Besides games against the Lions and Rams, the remaining games leading to the BYE are brutal. They have the 8th toughest schedule and opponents were 134-122 last season. They catch the NFC North and AFC South. The Skins did not win one game in divisional play last season, going 0-6. That is not the recipe for success, and Mike Shanahan is going to have his hands full completing that schedule above .500.

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Two-A-Days: St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions Preview

2010-07-19T17:52:00.008-04:00

St. Louis Rams

Key Additions: QB Sam Bradford, DT Fred Robbins, LB Na'il Diggs, WR Mardy Gillyard

Key Subtractions: QB Marc Bulger

The Rams are coming off a dismal one win 2009 season under first year coach Steve Spagnuolo. He inherited a team that was dreadful on defense and is still looking for the right pieces to get the Rams back on track. The Rams last year under Spagnuolo, known for the aggressive style he initiated on the Giants defense when he was there, were near the bottom of the league in sacks, interceptions, points allowed per game, and yards allowed per game. The Rams are young on defense, especially at linebacker. It is going to take probably another year or two for the Rams to get all the personnel on defense for them to be consistent. Fred Robbins has come over from the Giants and knows Spagnuolo's system, but he is on the back end of his career.

On offense, they are hoping that Sam Bradford can become what everyone in St. Louis hopes will be a quarterback as good as Kurt Warner once was. Bradford is going to get paid a lot of money for a rookie who wont even have taken the field before he sees millions. He has to convince the other 10 guys in the huddle that he is a leader. But the other 10 guys around him certainly lack the talent necessary to win. Steven Jackson, the running back, led the team in receptions last season. Anytime a RB leads a team in receptions, you know you are lacking at the wide receiver and tight end position. Donnie Avery is the only receiver remotely close to league averages among wide receivers. They are hoping 4th round pick Mardy Gilyard steps in and plays a big role in the offense. But the Rams just simply lack the personnel on the field in order to be successful. Steven Jackson was the only bright spot of the Rams offense totaling 1,416 yards rushing, but only 4 TD's. With the addition of Bradford, look for the Rams to become a little more balanced on offense if he can stay upright and avoid sacks.

Schedule:

1 Sunday, September 12 Arizona
2 Sunday, September 19 at Oakland
3 Sunday, September 26 Washington
4 Sunday, October 3 Seattle
5 Sunday, October 10 at Detroit
6 Sunday, October 17 San Diego
7 Sunday, October 24 at Tampa Bay
8 Sunday, October 31 Carolina
9 Sunday, November 7 BYE
10 Sunday, November 14 at San Francisco
11 Sunday, November 21 Atlanta
12 Sunday, November 28 at Denver
13 Sunday, December 5 at Arizona
14 Sunday, December 12 at New Orleans
15 Sunday, December 19 Kansas City
16 Sunday, December 26 San Francisco
17 Sunday, January 2 at Seattle

Not exactly a tough schedule, in fact they have the 31st hardest schedule in the NFL. Opposing teams were 115-141 last season. Winnable games before the Bye include the Raiders, Lions, and Bucs. After the Bye, the schedule gets difficult as the go to New Orleans and Denver and catch Atlanta at home. Look for the Rams to maybe peel off an unexpected home win or two, but I see them wining no more than 5 games this year.

Detroit Lions

Key Additions: WR Nate Burlesson, TE Tony Scheffler, DT Ndamukong Suh, RB Jahvid Best, DE Kyle Vanden Bosh, CB Dre Bly, DT

Key Subtractions: LB Larry Foote, LB Ernie Sims,

The Lions improved last season after the miserable 0-16 2008 season. O.K. then won two games, still an improvement none the less as they are still trying to pick up the pieces that former GM Matt Millen left. Mathew Stafford played unbelievably in his rookie year and they are looking to continue to build the team around him. They added WR Nate Burlesson to compliment Calvin Johnson and also a great TE in Tony Scheffler which gives the Lions options in the red zone. The Lions had only 16 TD's through the air last season. The Lions drafted RB Jahvid Best from California to add to a backfield that already has Kevin Smith, however he only averaged 3.4 yards per carry last season. The Lions offense must execute better and protect Mathew Stafford a lot better than they did last season.

The Lions have a void on defense with the departure of Larry Foote. Foote led the team in tackles and was a veteran presence on a young Lions defense that was last in the league last season. They were the only team in the NFL to average over 30 points allowed per game. The Lions were especially vulnerable through the air as opposing quarterbacks threw for over 4,200 yards and had a 68.1 completion percentage. They allowed 35 passing TD's to only 9 interceptions. Rookie Ndamukong Suh is going to have to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and get in their face in order to improve the Lions passing defense. Suh, Corey Williams, and Kyle Vanden Bosh will be giving opposing offensive lines headaches next season. The Lions basically are a mess in the secondary and did not make the necessary additions in the offseason to improve. CC Brown and Dre Bly are not the answer the Lions are looking for. But putting pressure on the quarterback will hide that a little bit. The Lions offense is much farther along than the defense is right now, and for them to be any better than they were last year, the offense will have to carry the team.

Schedule:

1 Sunday September 12 at Bears
2 Sunday September 19 Eagles
3 Sunday September 26 at Vikings
4 Sunday October 03 at Packers
5 Sunday October 10 Rams
6 Sunday October 17 at Giants
7 BYE
8 Sunday October 31 Redskins
9 Sunday November 07 Jets
10 Sunday November 14 at Bills
11 Sunday November 21 at Cowboys
12 Thursday November 25 Patriots
13 Sunday December 05 Bears
14 Sunday December 12 Packers
15 Sunday December 19 at Buccaneers
16 Sunday December 26 at Dolphins
17 Sunday January 02 Vikings

The schedule does not look favorable as the Lions catch the AFC and NFC east, two of the toughest divisions in the NFL. The Lions have the 13th toughest schedule and opponents last year were 130-126. The Bills, Lions, Rams, and Bucs are the only games I see the Lions potentially winning. Given injuries and upsets they could possibly take one or two more, but 6 wins is looking like what the number would be for the Lions this season.

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Two-A-Days: 2010 NFL Team Previews Starting Tomorrow

2010-07-18T23:22:00.017-04:00

We are less than 2 months away from kicking off another season of the National Football League. So starting tomorrow, The Tuna Sports Blog will be giving in depth previews of all 32 teams during our NFL 2010 season preview. Two teams will be previewed each day. Previews will start based on the original 2010 draft order as shown below.

1. ~~St. Louis (1-15)~~
2. ~~Detroit (2-14)~~
3. ~~Tampa Bay (3-13)~~
4. ~~Washington (4-12)~~
5. ~~Kansas City (4-12)~~
6. ~~Seattle (5-11)~~
7. ~~Cleveland (5-11)~~
8. ~~Oakland (5-11)~~
9. ~~Buffalo (6-10)~~
10. ~~Jacksonville (7-9)~~
11. ~~Chicago (7-9)~~
12. ~~Miami (7-9)~~
13. ~~San Francisco (8-8)~~
14. ~~Denver (8-8)~~
15. ~~New York Giants (8-8)~~
16. ~~Tennessee (8-8)~~
17. ~~Carolina (8-8)~~
18. ~~Pittsburgh (9-7)~~
19. ~~Atlanta (9-7)~~
20. ~~Houston (9-7)~~
21. ~~Cincinnati (10-6)~~
22. ~~New England (10-6)~~
23. ~~Green Bay (11-5)~~
24. ~~Philadelphia (11-5)~~
25. ~~Baltimore (9-7)~~
26. ~~Arizona (10-6)~~
27. Dallas (11-5)
28. San Diego (13-3)
29. New York Jets (9-7)
30. Minnesota (12-4)
31. Indianapolis (14-2)
32. New Orleans (13-3)

Comments. St. Louis and Detroit coming tomorrow

RIP George M. Steinbenner III (1930-2010)

2010-07-13T17:35:00.003-04:00

Two days after the Yankees mourned the death of their longtime PA announcer Bob Sheppard, the Yankees said goodbye to their beloved owner, Geroge M. Steinbrenner III. Mr. Steinbrenner died of a massive heart attack at the age of 80 in Tampa, FL. Under his ownership, the Yankees won 7 World Series and 11 American League Pennants.

There is no doubt that some of the behaviors displayed through the years by Mr. Steinbrenner were controversial to say the least. But he bought the team for a little over $8 million in 1973 and turned it into an empire worth billions, and didn't do it for the money. He did it because of one thing....winning.

The world lost a great man today.

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RIP Bob Sheppard (1910-2010)

2010-07-12T00:00:00.007-04:00

Bob Sheppard, the voice of Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium for over 50 years, died this morning at the age of 99. He will always be in the hearts and memories of all the Yankees and Giants players and fans who had the privileged to hear him call the names of so many great players through the years. He will be greatly missed.

Ilya Kovalchuk to the ...Islanders?

2010-07-03T15:34:00.006-04:00

UPDATED: 7/5 11:00 P.M. We all bought it...hook, line, and sinker. I just want to be wrong.

According to the Islanders beat writer Katie Strang, the Islanders never got passed the preliminary stages of negotiation with Ilya Kovalchuk regarding a contract. According to the report, the Islanders were only interested in a short term deal, while Kovalchuk is seeking a long term one. No offer was ever extended.

We all get a little too hyped up over the fact that Garth made a phone call, then told people about it. The fact of the matter is, hes supposed to make a phone call. We shouldn't be shocked when he does. Its like when your shopping for a new item, you call/go the store or go online to find out what the price is. When its out of your range, you move on. Granted this situation did not happen that quickly, but that is it in a nutshell.

The bottom line still remains, as long as the arena situation is still in question, don't expect anyone prominent, much less Ilya Kovalchuk, to sign with the New York Islanders. The biggest news that will come out of Islander land in the coming days/week will be the Town of Heampsteads' counteroffer to Charles Wang regarding the Lighthouse Project. If you thought Fourth of July fireworks were something, you aint seen nothing yet.

Oh, the pain!

*

According to multiple credible sources in the hockey world (Chris Botta and Katie Strang, among others), the New York Islanders have a serious stake in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes. Kovalchuk is considered the best available free agent in a weak pool of them this year. It is also being reported that the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils, whom Kovalchuk joined at the deadline last year, are also in the mix to sign the Russian sniper. The Islanders have already signed Zenon Kanopka, Milan Jurchina, PA Parenteau, and Mark Eaton.

Kovalchuk would bolster a weak Islanders unit offensively and be a prominent player to mentor the young Islanders squad. An interesting statistic brought up is that Kovalchuk's goal totals the past 8 years would have led the Islanders in all but 1 season. The Islanders have not had a 40 goal scorrer since Jason Blake in 2006-2007. Kovalchuk has scored more than 40 in 6 of his 8 seasons.

As I stated in a post earlier this year, my opinion on the Islanders personnel situation was that as long as the uncertainty around the Lighthouse project continued, the Islanders would not sign any prominent free agents. With the circumstances surrounding this situation, it appears that my assumptions are incorrect. In this case, I am glad I am wrong. Charles Wang appears to be willing to give Kovalchuk a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

We'll see how this plays out, but even if Kovalchuk does not sign with the Islanders, it is good to see the Islanders being mentioned about something this big other than the uncertainty surrounding the arena situation and possible relocation. All Islander fans hope one day that the situation will be settled, and all we have to think about are the team and the players.

But in the meantime, GO GET EM!

Comments

Robinson Cano Having an MVP Type Year

2010-06-28T15:09:00.006-04:00

Ever since Robinson Cano came into the fray as the everyday second baseman for the New York Yankees, the comparisons to Rod Carew and the like were coming from every direction. As I watched this kid for the first time in 2005, I thought in no way would he live up the the expectations set forth.

Boy was I dead wrong.

Cano has not only held his own with the bat, but his fielding is nothing short of spectacular. He supports a lifetime .984 fielding percentage and has a stellar arm for a second baseman. His ability to turn the double play is something to watch. The time it takes for him to field a ground ball and release to second is one of the shortest and best in the league. His range in both directions also are a huge benefit to his defensive game.

But where Cano is most notably excelling is at the plate. Batting behind Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, he has had his fair share of RBI opportunities, and he has taken advantage. He currently is second on the team to Arod with 53 RBI's this season. But Cano leads the team with a .359 batting average among the everyday players, a testament to his ability to take the ball the other way as he demonstrated in extra innings yesterday. Cano in the 10th inning against the Dodgers struck a line drive that landed 5 rows deep in left center to give the Yankees the lead which Mariano Rivera closed out. Time and time again, Cano has shown the ability to spray the ball hard all over the field. His hitting chart amply displays how evenly dispersed all of his hits are. Cano also has the advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium in right field, which he has taken advantage of since he came here. It would be a mistake though for Cano to turn into a pull hitter and to get too caught up in the short porch in right.

Kevin Long is to be given en enormous amount of credit with what he does, especially with guys like Cano and Arod. I always see him continuously talking with players before and after at bats not only going over scouting reports, but working on techniques and simple tendencies hitters sometimes fall into. The only knock you can possibly have on Cano is his batting in the postseason. He is still young, and playing on a team like the Yankees, he will continue to have plenty of opportunities to show why he is one of the best second baseman in the league, as demonstrated by the All-Star voting. Cano is a sure thing to be the starting second baseman for the American League in Los Angeles for the 2010 All-Star game. If he continues his hot bat in the second half of the season, you could be looking at the 2010 American League MVP.

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Only at the U.S. Open Can a Dream Like Erik Compton's Come True

2010-06-16T12:07:00.007-04:00

What is so great about the U.S. Open are stories like Erik Compton's along with so many others who have the opportunity to play in the most storied event in the sport of golf. You can read more about his story here.

In no other sport can a story like Compton's ever come true. This is what makes this event and this sport so wonderful. Anyone with a registered USGA handicap of 1.4 or below can qualify for the U.S. Open by competing and passing both local and sectional qualifiers. All it takes is 3 magical rounds and you are in with the best.

Overcoming all odds this man fulfilled his dream to step on a golf course with the best in the world on the biggest stage.

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110th U.S. Open Championship Preview

2010-06-13T23:49:00.014-04:00

The one week of the year that brings me the most joy has arrived. Some of my fondest memories so far in my life are from this week, sharing memorable moments with my dad and grandfather playing the wonderful sport of golf and trekking several distinguished golf courses for a U.S. Open. A week where dreams come true in every single way on golf courses everywhere around the world is about to take place.

The 110th United States Open Championship begins this Thursday at Pebble Beach, where Lucas Glover will begin the pursuit of defending his memorable win last year at Bethpage Black. Glover beat out the resurging David Duval, 2002 U.S. Amateur Champion and newcomer Ricky Barnes, and Phil Mickelson, who has a long list of Open heartbreaks I will get to later. Phil has come oh so close way too many times in this Championship, and you have to think with all that's happened to Tiger, is there anyone who can stop Phil? Ya, there are a few actually.

Ernie Els is at the top of the Fed Ex Cup standings with 2 wins coming earlier this year, but his play of late has slipped. Jim Furyk also has 2 wins this year, 4 top 10's, and, like Els, has won a U.S. Open. Lee Westwood squandered a chance for the Masters with a poor final round, but finally came through with his first PGA Tour victory at the St. Jude Classic last week. All three of these guys have a shot, along with Tiger, to give Phil a run for his money this week. But in my mind, this tournament is Phil's to lose.

Too many times I have seen Phil Mickelson have a share of the lead at a U.S. Open late in the final round only to squander it. In 2004, I sat in the grandstands at the 18th green at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday waiting for Phil to come and take the trophy, only to see him 3-putt the par 3 17th. In 2006, I watched Phil pull a driver out of his bag on the 72nd hole and spray his drive off the merchandise tent which would lead to a double bogey and another squandered title. When I thought it could not get any worse, I walked through the rain last year at Bethpage Black to see Phil make bogeys on 15 and 17 to yet again give away the U.S. Open. Phil, I can't take any more of these.

If this is the year Phil Mickelson finally exercises his demons and takes home a U.S. Open, he is going to have to stick to doing things simple. But Phil is far from simple, hes been bombing drives farther than anybody I have ever seen and launching iron shots farther than I think they were designed to go. But at a U.S. Open, everybody knows the rough is think and the greens are slick. Phil has to slow things down, think fairways and greens, and pick his pins he wants to attack. You can not go for birdie on every hole at a U.S. Open, the course will eat you alive. But this course suits Phil well. He has won here 3 times at the Pro Am, finishing -14, -19, and -20 each time. Phil knows how to make birdies, but he has to avoid those bogeys, and others, to win.

Phil has been chasing Tiger to take over the top of the world golf rankings for several weeks, but so far he has failed to do so. Tiger and longtime swing coach Hank Haney have parted ways after several years. Tiger has not hired a new coach and has been using video to alter his swing. He better be watching a lot of video. Since he has returned, he has finished in the top 10 only once. He is spraying drives all over the place and has an inconsistent iron game. But 10 years ago, all of us witnessed the four most unbelievable rounds in United States Open History shot by Tiger, who is more than capable of just half of that, which in my mind is more than enough to take home the championship.

Should be one memorable week none the less.

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NCAA lowers the hammer on USC; Other College Football News

2010-06-10T12:59:00.006-04:00

The NCAA has ruled that USC will receive a two year ban from the postseason, a loss of scholarships, and will forfeit some wins according to an ESPN report that you can read here. A formal announcement from the NCAA will take place at 3:00 P.M. today.

This is a big blow to the USC football program. This will effect recruiting not only next year but the year after as USC will not be eligible to play in a bowl game until 2012. This also effects current players who have the ability to transfer, although they must sit out a year if they choose to do so. Lane Kiffin has his work cut out for him in the upcoming years, as he has his hands tied as he enters his first season as head coach of the USC football team. The people with smiles on their faces today are the people of Knoxville, whom Kiffin ditched after coaching for only one year to coach at USC.

In other college football news, Nebraska has accepted an offer to join the Big 10. Other teams are also expected to join the Big 10 some time in the near future. The Pac 10 also added the University of Colorado to join its conference. According to Pac 10 officials, it is only a matter of when more teams will join the conference.

A major change in the landscape of college football is taking place. It has been speculated that the Big 12 will dissolve if they lose more teams. We will wait and see if that happens. But what is taking place is something I do not think benefits the game of college football. The better teams will only get better and there will be more of a gap between the bad teams and the good ones. Expansion does not increase competition, and no one wants to see bad football. Expansion also does not benefit the average football fan. These programs are all in it for the revenue. They want more revenue to put more money into their schools to buy more things for their programs in order to recruit better players which only passes the burden on to the fans. Fans should expect ticket prices to continue to increase significantly, while more benefits will be given to boosters who contribute more to the pot. That is just how it works. Just like PSL's are ruining the average Joe NFL fan, expansion in college football will be a detriment to the average Joe college football fan.

What college football may get out of this is the possibility of a playoff system for the postseason. I have never been a fan of the computer system currently in place for the BCS, even though it has benefited the teams I root for. We have to wait until everything settles before we can talk about what type of system we can get.

Comments on USC and college football Conference expansion

The Year of the Rookie in MLB

2010-06-08T22:16:00.005-04:00

With the phenomenal debut of Stephen Strasburg tonight in Washington, it seems appropriate to point out all of the rookie talent making major contributions to their ball clubs so far this year.

Jason Heyward is the rookie sensation in Atlanta. Atlanta currently leads the close NL East thanks in large part to their pitching. But Heyward has kept the offense going, providing multiple walk offs this season to propel the Braves into first place. Heyward is on pace to hit 30 HR's and over 100 RBI's. Heyward has cooled off of late, but if he can keep the pace he is on, he can keep the Braves in the race down the stretch.

Stephen Stasburg made his major league debut tonight in front of the first of many more sellouts at National Park in the nations capital. Strasburg was everything he was made out to be, and more. In 6 innings he gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 14 with 0 walks to earn his first win in the bigs. He had unbelievable command of all 4 of his pitches, and even hit triple digits on the radar gun several times. The Nationals have not had this much excitement around their team since the relocation. The Nats are only 5.5 games behind first place in the tight NL East. If they can keep pace and Strasburg keeps pitching like this, its going to be a wild couple of months for the D.C. area.

Austin Jackson was part of a trade this offseason to bring Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, and he is tearing the cover off the ball so far in Detriot. Jackson has a .325 average and is on pace to steal over 25 bases. He is also getting the job done in center field, thanks to his range. He is not a power hitter, and his job as a lead off man will be to get on base. His on base percentage could be higher, but experience will lead to more patience at the plate. Jackson will be the Tigers center fielder for a long time.

Ike Davis was called up by the New York Mets in late April to provide some support for the Mets offense. The rookie has made some significant contributions so far, including 2 home runs tonight, the second a walk off in the 11th inning against the Padres. Ike came out of the gate very strong, and even though he has cooled off of late, his on base percentage has stayed strong. In the Mets lineup, especially when Carlos Beltran comes back, getting on base more and more will be all the Mets can hope for. Jason Bay, David Wright, and Beltran have to be the major contributors to the offense if the Mets look to contend this year in the NL East. But so far, Ike has done everything the Mets have asked of him, and has played great defense at 1st base.

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The Perfect Game that Wasn't...What it means for Major League Baseball

2010-06-03T16:17:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, an unfortunate circumstance took place as Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game after umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on what would have been the 27th out of a perfect game.

What should be acknowledged first is the conduct of both Joyce and Galarraga during and after this highly disputed incident. Jim Joyce stood his ground on the field and made a call he believed in his mind was true, and stood there and took abuse from several Tigers including the manager as he walked off the field after the next out. Joyce, after viewing the replay after the game, admitted his mistake, said he blew it, and apologized to all parties involved, including a personal apology to Galarraga. He handled the situation better than anybody could have ever imagined.

Other pitchers would scream and yell and kick dirt after being denied a perfect game after a call like that, but not Galarraga. He did not utter one word to Joyce after the call was made. He calmly walked back to the mound and finished his job and got the next hitter out. He didn't walk around the mound, pout, yell, or look over. He conducted himself better than anyone could have imaged.

Now the debate begins. As MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has stated today, the call will not be overturned and a perfect game will not be rewarded to Galarraga, as it should be. If you overturn a call from the past, you open it up to review every other questionable call that has ever been made. However, the commissioner did say he will examine the current system that is in place. Human error has been and always will be apart of baseball. Bad calls are made in almost every game played. What MLB should be, and is committed to is limiting those calls as much as possible. In order to do that, some sort of instant replay should be implemented. That is what instant replay is for, it is to right a wrong caused by a inadvertent human mistake. Jim Joyce did not blow this call on purpose. Nobody makes bad calls on purpose. Instant replay is there to right a wrong, it is not there to be a detriment to the game or to take the human element out of the game.

The other question is if we have instant replay, what do we limit it to and how do we conduct it? Do we replay balls, strikes, and checked swings? No. Do we replay home runs, fair/foul, and base plays? We should. Home run replay was implemented last year after the All-Star break. The umpires huddle together and decide whether or not to look at a replay. Whether or not they review a play or not is solely the umpires discretion. The current replay system should be expanded to include fair/foul plays, and plays on the bases. Umpires will continue to make the calls, and if there is a questionable call and a manager comes out to argue, it will solely be the umpires discretion as to whether or not to use instant replay to review the play. If the umpire feels there is no need go to replay, there will be no replay. No matter how much the manager or coach or player kicks and screams about a play, the decision on whether or not to use instant replay will be at the discretion of the umpire.

Will this slow down the game? No it will not. Managers will continue to argue questionable calls and umpires will continue to give them their explanations. If an umpire is not sure, the argument will be much shorter, the umpires will review the play, and the right call will be made. This is the only way we can get the game to be as correct as possible. All any fan, team, or player can ever want is for the umpires to get the calls right, and this is the best way to get it right.

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Pulled from the Attic: Super Bowl XLII Write-Up

2010-06-01T00:02:00.002-04:00

Dug this out from an old facebook note I wrote back in 2008 during the memorable Super Bowl run. Enjoy

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So I thought I would right down my daily thoughts I had daily up until Super Bowl Sunday. I will update every night.

Monday 1/21/2008

My thoughts today, the Monday after one of the most dramatic games I have ever seen, go back to last night and the resiliency of kicker Lawrence Tynes after missing 2 go-ahead field goals, one at the end of regulation, that could have sent the Giants to Super Bowl XLII. His resiliency is a huge understatement. No one in the world would have thought that Tynes would make that 47-yark field goal attempt in overtime after missing the first 2. And lets not forget how he got that opportunity. The Packers won the coin toss to start overtime and on the second play, Bret Favre was under enough pressure to where he had to get rid of the ball off a little quicker than what he may have wanted to which caused him to under throw an out pattern to Donald Driver that was read nicely by Corey Webster and picked off for a chance for Tynes to redeem himself. An all around great performance by a great football team yesterday, the New York Football Giants. I plan on watching the film of the game tomorrow, so expect some analysis then.

Tuesday 1/22/2008

When you look at the success of the New York Football Giants this postseason, you have to look at the consistency of quarterback Eli Manning. Lets look at some stats from his post-season:

Game: Comp-Att Pct. Yds. Avg. TD Int
18 01/06 @ TB W 24-14 20-27 74.1 185 6.9 2 0
19 01/13 @ DAL W 21-17 12-18 66.7 163 9.1 2 0
20 01/20 @ GB W 23-20 21-40 52.5 251 6.3 0 0

TOTAL 53-85 62.4 599 7.0 4 0

The number one stat that has the Giants where they are right now, 0 Interceptions. 0 Interceptions by a quarterback who was under scrutiny all year about the 20 Interceptions he threw in the regular season. Eli has shown poise, confidence, and much improved accuracy during these past 3 games than any span in his career. When you look at maybe where it all started for him, most people want to point to the Patriot game where he threw 4 TD’s, but I am going to look somewhere else. I’m gonna look at :53 seconds left to go in the first half of the NFC Divisional game @ Dallas. After Dallas goes 90 yards on 20 plays in a span of 10:28, Eli took over:

New York Giants at 00:53
6-N.Folk kicks 54 yards from DAL 30 to NYG 16. 44-A.Bradshaw to NYG 29 for 13 yards
1-10-NYG 29 (:47) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short right to 81-A.Toomer.
2-10-NYG 29 (:42) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass deep right to 12-S.Smith to DAL 49 for 22 yards. Timeout #2 by NYG at 00:34.
1-10-DAL 49 (:34) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short right to 12-S.Smith pushed ob at DAL 38 for 11 yards. PENALTY on DAL-35-J.Reeves, Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards, enforced at DAL 38.
1-10-DAL 23 (:28) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete deep middle to 17-P.Burress.
2-10-DAL 23 (:21) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short middle
3-10-DAL 23 (:17) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short right to 89-K.Boss to DAL 4 for 19 yards.
1-4-DAL 4 (:11) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short middle to 81-A.Toomer for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN. 9-L.Tynes extra point is GOOD.
NYG 14 DAL 14 Plays: 7 Possession: 0:46

Eli Manning on the drive: 4-7 56 Yds, TD. What took Tony Romo and Dallas over 10 minutes to do, Eli and the Giants did it in :47 seconds (not including kickoff). That drive I believe was the start of Eli’s new found confidence and poise that he needed to take it to the next level. Ever since that drive, he’s been more accurate, more consistent, and much more confident that he has the ability to have what it takes to take a team to a Super Bowl and win it.
In -4 degree weather in Green Bay, he threw for more yards than a legend Brett Favre. He absolutely outplayed him on his own turf in the 3rd coldest game in NFL history. He and Plaxico Burress, who I will discuss later, tore apart Al Harris and the Green Bay secondary. They we no where near the level Eli and the Giants offense were in that game on Sunday. I will go more in depth about the game tomorrow because I haven’t watched the tape yet.

Wednesday 1/23/2008

With the injury to Giants cornerback Sam Madison in Week 17 against the Patriots, R.W. McQuarters has drastically improved his game, coming up with an interception in all 3 postseason games this year for the Giants. The first came late in the 4th against Tampa Bay where they were down by 2 scores, forcing Jeff Garcia to press a little bit with time dwindling down. The second came in Dallas on 4th and 11 with under a minute to go in the game. He intercepted Tony Romo’s intended pass in the end zone that gave the Giants a trip to Green Bay for the NFC Championship game, where he had a real up and down game.

With Green Bay driving near midfield in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, McQuarters intercepted Brett Favre at the Giants 8 yard line, and then took off, a mistake that almost cost the Giants a trip to the Super Bowl. McQuarters was dancing around offensive lineman when Green Bay running back Ryan Grant forced McQuarters to fumble the ball right into the hands of Green Bay offensive lineman Matt Tauscher. Green Bay would later tie the game on that drive with a Mason Crosby 37-yard field goal. No, I’m not done. With 2:30 to go in the game, Green Bay punted from their own 17 yard line. McQuarters dropped back for the punt, fielded it cleanly, and then took off again, leaving Giants fans to hold their breath, fearing the worst. Well the worst did happen, sort of. Green Bay again forced McQuarters to fumble around the Green Bay 40 yard line. The ball was about to be picked up by the Packers before Michael Johnson made the play of the year by knocking the ball out, giving Anthony Hixon the opportunity to fall on it for the Giants.

Tom Coughlin’s first item on the agenda when he became head coach of the New York Giants was to fix the fumble-itis problem of Tiki Barber. Prior to Coughlin’s arrival in New York, Tiki fumbled the ball 43 times in a span of 7 years. Under Coughlin, 9 fumbles in 3 years. Tom Coughlin makes a living off of fundamentals of coaching football. He preaches discipline and character to his team. Coughlin needs to do a little more of this to McQuarters. High and tight is the way to carry the ball so it is not forced out. McQuarters has been careless with his ball-handling, and trying to do too much on his own. My philosophy on interception returning and kick returning is that when your coming near a player, that you wrap both hands around the ball and get low, putting the ball in your gut where it is very hard for someone to get their hands on it. My message to McQuarters is this, “Stay aggressive, but don’t be careless!” Watching the film tomorrow, today was a hectic day, so break down of the game will be then!

Thursday 1/24/2008

After watching the tape, I still can not believe that Lawrence Tynes missed that chip shot with :04 seconds left in the game. And don’t tell me the snap was bad, because Jeff Feagles handled it superbly and got it down no problem. But, it all worked out and I’m over it. As far as the game goes, it was pretty good as far as offense goes. The Giants had 2 drives that they staled on in the red zone and had to settle for field goals. One of those drives Tyree looked like he could have came down with a Touchdown but it was broken up. Those stalled drives wont do against the Patriots. Field Goals mean nothing when playing them. You need touchdowns, and you need a lot of them. Also just before the half Manning hit Plaxico Burress for 2 nice catches down the field. On the third one, Plaxico caught the pass and lost the ball as he hit the ground, and the pass was ruled incomplete. I know Burress had the best postseason game of his career, but that catch he has to hold onto next week if the Giants expect to win. Eli also had his problems too. He underthrew 2 big passes that were sure Touchdowns. One to Burress and one to Steve Smith in the 3rd quarter on a nice stop and go route that completely burned the Packer corner (I cant remember which one). Eli has got to make sure those passes are crisp and placed to where his receivers can catch it and run.

Defensively I thought the Giants played a stellar game. The one big 90-yard play was just a bad play by Corey Webster as he fell down leaving Driver wide open with no safety on that side. Webster would make up for it later, but on that play I saw something I did not like. Gibril Wilson was coming over from the far side and had an angle to push Driver out of bounds but he pulled-up for some odd reason and let Wilson walk into the endzone. Wilson absolutely can not give up on a play like that. You can not assume that if you make the play they will score anyway. Fumbles and Interceptions happen all the time, especially in Green Bay where it was -4 degrees. A horrible play that I hope Coughlin spoke to Wilson about. Also early in the game the Giants put 8 and 9 guys in the box assuming what everyone else in the world thought, which was that Green Bay would run the ball a lot. Once Steve Spagnuolo recognized that the Packers were leaning more to the pass than the run as the game wore on, he did a nice job utilizing some nice blitzes out of the nickel package. The coverage by the corners down the field was good all game accept on a few plays where the Packers had receivers on linebackers, which is a mismatch any day, but the Giants did a great job to prevent that mostly.

On the interception in overtime, they were in a nickel package, man coverage, and the Giants blitzed 7 guys (4 down and 2 linebackers) with the linebackers coming up the middle and it was picked up by the Packers but Favre just made a bad throw on an out route that was covered beautifully by Webster and he came up with the pick. More on what the team needs to do to beat the Pats next week.

Friday 1/25/2008

According to what only the media can see, Tom Brady has not practiced at all this week, leaving everyone wondering the health status of the number one quarterback in the league. When asked about it on Thursday, coach Bill Belichick would not say whether or not Brady practiced. Today, Belichick was asked a question and the VP of media said "last question." As soon he answered it, another question was asked, which was "can you tell us if Brady practiced yesterday?" Bill turns to the VP of media and asks "Was that the last question?" The guys sasy yes, and Bill walks out of the room. I do not get what the big secret is about his damn foot. Did he practice or not? Is he injured or not? Putting someone on the injury report every week for 3 years just to piss people off has really fucked him over because now when he really has an injury, he wont disclose it. Make the injury report legit and the NFL should fine teams that dont. ESPN had a good point also that medical people could sell injury information to sports betters who want insider info and will pay for it. The NFL is a serious business and Bill Belichick should treat it as if it weere one, not his own personal game to play with the media.

Saturday 1/26/2008

I have nothing really to say today, accept that the Patriots are 18-0, and that scares me.

Sunday 1/27/2008

As we are a week away from Super Sunday, my thoughts today were about the players and their families and how exciting it must be to be going to a Super Bowl. A lot of planning and time go into this humungous event, and people behind the scenes need to be recognized for that. The equipment people and the travel and communications department for both teams and the NFL do a fabulous job so that the players and coaches can have as little stress as possible in getting their loved ones to see them in the Super Bowl.

But any player for either team will tell you, getting there is not enough. And that attitude is what you need these 2 weeks with the circus that goes on surrounding the game. You have to remind yourself that going there is not your ultimate goal, even though it may feel like it right now. That’s why this week, practices must be tough and long as to not let the media think it’s a field day these 2 weeks. Players and coaches must be focused on winning just one more game for footballs ultimate glory.

Monday 1/28/2008

As we are less than one week away from Super Sunday, here is where we start to break down all 3 phases of the game coming up. Today will be offense, tomorrow will be defense, and Wednesday will be special teams. Offensively for the New York Football Giants, they just need to do what they have been doing these past 3 games, and that’s not turning the ball over. The Patriots are so good that even the slightest hick-up will lose you the game. Eli Manning needs to be accurate and make good decisions with his passes and not force anything into tight coverage. The receivers will be open, the Patriots defense is average at best, and the Giants have playmakers at the receiver position. Plaxico Burress, although not at 100%, is still a big time playmaker and he will be open down the field with the aging secondary of the Patriots. With that, it allows guys like Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, and Kevin Boss to be open across the middle and underneath. Basically the Giants need to do what the Patriots do. They need to scare the Patriots with the deep threat Burress, and look for the underneath wide open guy. Although they should not throw the ball as much as the Patriots do because they do not have Tom Brady, they have Eli Manning. He is efficient, but he can not handle throwing the ball 45+ times a game. They need to run the ball effectively to keep the Patriots on their toes. Brandon Jacobs needs to run and run hard at the linebackers too wear them down as the game goes on to open things for the passing game. And Ahmad Bradshaw could be effective in shotgun formation running the draw. I saw the Giants do this well in Chicago and in Buffalo.

The one thing the Giants need to do is do something they did not do in Week 17 and that is having the advantage in time of possession. The Patriots had 12 more minutes (36:18 Patriots-23:42 Giants) than the Giants did in time of possession and that is one reason why they lost that football game. If you dominate the time of possession, you keep Brady and the offense off the field and frustrated. You keep the ball in your hands and give them as little time as possible to score. Another thing the offense needs to do is not settling for field goals. The Chargers are the perfect example of this. They had the ball in the red zone 4 times in the AFC Championship game and kicked 4 field goals. End result, they lost the game. I read an article recently that had a study in it that found that statistically if you go for it, you have a high percentage chance of making it than if you punt. I think in this game the Giants have no choice because of the offense on the other side. I think they have to risk going for it instead of a field goal, and even if they miss one or two, it could pay off. I see them going for it five or more times in this game. I’ll put the over-under at five as far as going for it on fourth down goes. If they make four of five, I think they have a real shot at winning. But field goals do not beat the Patriots, touchdowns, and lots of them, do. Probably, 35 plus points are needed to win this football game because the firepower on the other side. Score points, and score them in bunches, and the Giants may pull it off.

Tuesday 1/29/2008

I know I said I would do defense tonight, but it is very late and I don’t have enough time to say all that I want to say about it, so special teams is the topic tonight. Basically, when it comes to special teams, I do not want to see a whole lot of them come Sunday. The only time I want to see Lawrence Tynes on the field is kicking extra points and kicking off. The only time I want to see Jeff Feagles on the field is holding extra point snaps. Punts and field goals will absolutely NOT win this football game on Sunday. Touchdowns, touchdowns, and more touchdowns win this ball game. Now, kickoff returns are a plus for the Giants this year. I love the pick-up of Anthony Hixon from Denver, he has been a tremendous threat and has given the Giants tremendous field position in the later part of this season. I think he needs to return and return balls out of the end zone. The Giants need every yard they can get, so I expect Hixon to take a few out of the end zone to hope to create something big for the Giants. Now if somehow the Giants have no choice but to punt, I would expect a lot of directional kicking by Jeff Feagles, who is one of the best. The Giants need to give the Patriots the longest field possible to score so that the defense can try and make a big play. And R.W. McQuarters MUST doa much better job of securing the football as I mentioned last week. Any special teams turnovers will result in disaster for the Giants, and they need to avoid that at all costs.

Wednesday 1/30/2008

Before I address the defense, I want to talk about Plaxico Burress and his “prediction” he made on Tuesday. What would you like him to say? Someone asked him a question…he answered it. The media would be all over him had he answered it either way. If he said we would lose, they would say that their defeated, if he said they would win, hes being too confident. If you ask me about any game and ask me to predict it about a team I like or play for, I tell you that I think we will win every time. You never go into a game thinking you are going to lose. You always think you can win, no matter how steep the challenge or how mighty the opponent. It all goes back to me to former New York Jets head coach and now Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards. He was asked a question on whether or not he thought his team would quit and not play hard after a 1-4 start to the 2001 season. This was his response:

"Hello, you play to win the game! You don't play to just play it. Thats the great thing about sports. You play to win. And I don't care if you don't have any wins...you go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire...get out! Cause it matters!"

That’s basically it, you play to win the game. No matter what game, what time, what place, what setting, what the opponent. You go play, and you go play to win. When you find someone who goes and plays anything to lose (unless hes being bribed), than find me and I will give you a buck because I know no one, especially a professional football player, who would do such a thing, especially on a stage as big as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the most watched event every year, and one of the most cherished team accomplishments in all of sports. So when you ask any Giant player or fan and Patriot player or fan, guaranteed 100% will tell you they will win the game. Because that’s the reason we all play, to win.

Now as far as making a prediction and making the other team mad, that’s for them to decide. But as a Giant fan, I have no problem with him saying what he said, and neither did Michael Strahan. I absolutely love the fact that he is confident, in fact I prefer it because it means that he does not fear the opposing team. When you answer “Well, we are going to do our best,” that means to me that you know they are good and that you know you are probably going to lose. So be confident Giants fans and players, and leave it all out on the field. Since I went on a lot about this subject, ill save the defensive game plan for tomorrow.

Thursday 1/31/2008

Moving on to the third phase this week for Super Bowl XLII, the defense needs to be the stars of the game. We all know that Tom Brady has an ankle sprain, and if he has all day in the pocket to throw the football, he is going to eat up the Giants secondary. What must happen is the Giants must get pressure from the front four up the middle and in the face of Brady forcing him to flush out of the pocket. Now I’m not talking about little side steps back and forth, I’m talking serious rollouts to the sidelines, making him run on that bad ankle. The Giants need to do this early and often so they can get a feel for how bad Brady’s ankle really is.

Now if the front four can not get pressure early on Brady, the Giants should turn up the heat with corner blitzes and linebacker blitzes up the middle, making sure though they have enough people in coverage. Big problem with this though is that it leaves the screen pass to Welker and Faulk vulnerable. So I expect a corner to be assigned to each of them so they cant get loose in the open field. Also safeties Gibril Wilson and Michael Johnson MUST stay home and not come down in the box under any circumstances. I saw a play where the Steelers strong safety bit hard on a play action fake and the cornerback left Randy Moss to the safety that wasn’t there, for an easy touchdown connection from Brady to Moss. What this means for the Giants is that it puts added pressure on the linebackers to stop the run and not have any missed tackles. They have got to make the play because they won’t have any help. No mistakes, no missed tackles, and no dumb penalties (cough Sam Madison cough!). Also Giant cornerbacks need to get physical at the line of scrimmage with Patriot wide receivers. Aaron Ross, Sam Madison, and Corey Webster must get a push to knock the receivers off their timing and routes. This came back to bite Corey Webster in the butt in the NFC Championship game, but I think it balanced out as the Giants secondary did an excellent job in coverage. And Corey Webster certainly made up for it with the interception in overtime. A lot of it was Brett Favres’ fault, but he still made the catch and saved the day. Also turnovers are a necessity in this game, they are going to need one or two to come their way to help the offense out with field position throughout the game. If the Giants can do this, they have a good shot at pulling off the upset.

Friday 2/1/2008

I would just like to spend a little time talking about Tiki Barber today. Tiki Barber made an interesting decision last year by choosing early retirement. A little more than one year later, he’s seeing his old team one win a way from a Super Bowl victory, something that Barber did not accomplish during his short career. I wonder what he’s thinking now. We know what Michael Strahan would have been thinking as he was asked the same question this week, and Strahan said he would have been extremely frustrated had he chose to retire also at the end of last season. Tiki at the beginning of the year had a lot to say on NBC’s Football Night in America, saying that Eli’s leadership skills were “comical.” They couldn’t have been that comical Tiki if his teammates elected him into the leadership counsel of the New York Giants. They couldn’t have been comical Tiki if Eli has not thrown and interception in the entire 2008 postseason. They couldn’t have been comical Tiki if Eli has led his football team to 3 straight road playoff victories, done only 3 times in NFL history. I have nothing against Tiki Barber as a football player. On the field he was one of the most persistent running backs of the last few decades. But what I do not like about Tiki Barber is that once the going got tough, he folded. He bitched out on his team and himself. But he’s entitled to do what he wants. But when he starts saying the things he said about Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin, that’s where I have a problem. He would not shut up about how tough Coughlin’s practices were his first two seasons. He went to the G.M. Ernie Accorsi and he told him that he is the coach and you must go by his rules. Then he went to owners Wellington Mara and Steve Ticsh and they told him the exact same thing. So when no one told him what he wanted to hear, he quit. So if Tiki comes running back on Monday if the Giants win the Super Bowl and he stats saying “Yeah I knew all along Eli and this team could do it,” he is full of shit and I wouldn’t want to see him at the victory parade or ring ceremony or anywhere around this team, because Tiki doesn’t deserve this team.

Saturday 2/2/2008

Since its been talked about all day today on every sports channel imaginable, I will spend today talking about the New England Patriots and the “spygate” scandal. For those of you that don’t know what spygate is, it happened Week 1 of this season when a member of the Patriots coaching staff was caught filming the New York Jets defensive signals during their 38-14 win. The man was confronted by security, the camera was taken, sealed, and sent to the NFL. The NFL found what they did violated league rules, and they stripped the Pats of their first found draft pick in 2008, fined the team $750,000 and coach Bill Belichick $500,000. The league then destroyed the tapes, and according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, they did this because they had no more use for them. Now, a Senator from Pennsylvania has asked Roger Goodell to testify before a Senate Judiciary committee and answer questions about why he destroyed those tapes. Some questions will be why they were destroyed, and if nothing was on there, and maybe what they were hiding if something else was on there. Lot of questions and I’m sure they will all be asked by the committee.
This week, a former Pats employee who worked with filming indicated that he had discriminating evidence against the NFL and the Pats. Today, a report came out in the Boston Herald that the Pats filmed the St. Louis Rams walkthrough before Super Bowl XXVI. A walkthrough is basically practice where you run plays at about half speed so you get your timing down and you know which people are going where and what they are supposed to do. The Rams have stated that during their walkthrough that year, they practiced plays that were going to take place in the red zone. All of this is pure speculation at this point, because no one has seen the videotape. But what I do know is the Patriots were caught CHEATING! Plain and simple. They cheated, they got caught, and punishment was given. In my opinion, the punishment didn’t fit the crime. The game should have been forfeited to the New York Jets. Point is when you cheat during the game, the game should be called off. Its basically like cheating in a card game in Casino’s. If they catch you, all your winnings are taken (Although I would like to think they do it like the movie Casino where they take you out back and ask “You can have the money and the hammer, or you can walk out of here, but you cant have both. What do you want? But it doesn’t happen that way.). So the Patriots win in Week won should be stricken from the records and they should be 17-1 right now. Now I will take nothing away from what they did after that, and they deserve to be in the Super Bowl, but that game should count as a forfeit. Now, as far as Super Bowl XXXVI is concerned, that is a much more complicated matter and I hope what they say the Pats did didn’t happen so we wont have to talk about whether or not that game was legitimate. But for now, we are less than 24 hours away from Super Bowl XLII, enjoy the game everyone. I will be back for analysis of the game probably next week. GO GIANTS!

Sunday 2/3/2008

The day has arrived, the game you have been working all year for has finally come. One game, one chance, to be crowned Super Bowl Champion. Who will it be? My prediction:
Giants 34
Patriots 31

Enjoy the game everyone, and GO GIANTS!

Monday 2/4/2008

New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII Champions, defeating the now 18-1 New England Patriots 17-14 in the most watched and probably most unbelievable Super Bowl ever played. So much to talk about, Tyree, Manning’s great escape, the defense, Steve Smith, it all really just has not sunk in. Tomorrow maybe it will be a little clearer.

Sunday 2/10/2008

One week ago, the New York Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in football history, and arguably the biggest, although Joe Namath’s famous guarantee in Super Bowl III might edge this one by a little bit since it was an important game for professional football. The game had everything you could ask for, drama, big plays, heartbreaking moments, and everything in between. It started off well for the Giants, they moved the ball effectively on their first drive, converted several key third downs, and put points on the board on what turned out to be the longest drive in Super Bowl History. The first series for the Patriots was very typical of what we have seen all year from them. Spread formation, lots of four wide receiver sets, and Welker had a few nice catches on the drive that was capped off by a Lawrence Maroney touchdown. The Giants did do something positive though on the drive, matter of fact on the very first play. The Pats lined up for a bootleg screen that the Giants blew up right in their face. They got pressure right up the middle forcing Brady to get rid of the ball too early and his pass to be off target. That would be a sign of things to come in this game. So the score remained 7-3 up until the fourth quarter, but in between there were several key things that happened.

The Giants had several chances to score points and missed. After the touchdown, Amani Toomer made another spectacular sideline catch, much like the one in Green Bay, down inside the Pats 20. Then with the ball at the Pats 14 yard line, Manning tried to hit Steve Smith on a route where he faked the outside and turned his body all the way around to the inside, a route that takes time to develop, but Eli had pressure in his face and had too let the ball go a tad too early. As Smith was just turning around to the inside, the ball was there and he tried to scoop the ball, but ultimately tipped it right into the hands of Ellis Hobbs for an easy interception. I don’t blame either Manning nor Smith for that interception, it was just a matter of the Pats pressure causing Eli to get rid of the ball too early and throw a ball that maybe if Smith isn’t a rookie, he may catch, and may not, who knows, but it was just good pressure by the Pats to cause that. Then with the ball at midfield and under 2 minutes left in the half, Brady was sacked and Justin Tuck forced Brady to fumble the ball that Osi Umenyora recovered and the half ended.

At the start of the second half, The Pats had the ball near midfield and were forced to punt when the Giants actually lined up with 14 guys on the field, one stepped off and the other one was almost to the sideline but he didn’t make it, and coach Belichick challenged that the Giants had 12 men on the field and won the challenge. The Patriots then had 3rd and 7 from the Giants 25 yard line. Brady went back to pass and was sacked by Michael Strahan setting up 4th and about 13. The Patriots decided to go for it rather than trying a field goal to go up by a touchdown. The attempt failed and the Giants took over on downs. The decision by Bellichick is an interesting one, leading people to believe he did not have confidence in his young kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, to make a 50 plus yarder. I think it was a bad move because the Pats had 4th and over 10 yards, and you should try and go up by a touchdown there. And even if you miss the field goal, your still giving them about the same field position as you would if you went for it on 4th down and missed, so a bad decision.

Then at the start of the fourth quarter, the Giants got the ball rolling. Manning hit Tight end Kevin Boss on a seem route up the middle of the field for 47 yards that set up Eli’s 5 yard touchdown pass to David Tyree that put the Giants ahead with a little over 11 minutes left in the game. After the touchdown, the Giants forced the Pats to punt after they converted only one first down. So the Giants took over with 9:20 left and the ball at their own 29 yard line. On 2nd and 9, Eli rolled left and had Plxico Burress wide open down the left sideline that would have went for big yardage, but Eli over threw the pass and the Giants had to punt. Later in Eli’s career, he has to realize that in order to be great and beat great teams, he has to put games away. That play had a chance to put the Pats away, and he blew that opportunity. On the Pats ensuing drive, the Patriots marched 80 yards on 12 plays in 5:12 to take the lead 14-10. On the touchdown play, Corey Webster slipped when he bit on the fade route on Randy Moss when he went in for a slant for an easy touchdown. On the drive, the Giants looked just plain tired. I saw Umenyiora stumble over to the sideline out of breath and gasping. A few other players in the secondary were doing the same. Basically the offensive line gave Brady protection and the Giants could not get to him. And when you give Brady time, he will find somebody. Also interesting was the play calling of Josh McDaniells in the red zone. On 1st and goal on the 6 yard line with a little under 3 minutes left, The Pats called 2 straight passing plays that both fell incomplete, which meant that little time came off the clock AND the Giants could keep all 3 timeouts. I believe if you give a team too much time on the clock after you score, you run the risk of giving them the opportunity to score again. I would run the ball one or two times, but at least one, to force the Giants to use those timeouts and to run as much time off as possible. They scored with over two minutes left, and the Giants had all 3 timeouts and the two minute warning.

So the Giants had to answer with a touchdown, down by 4 points, with 2:12 left in the game, and Eli Manning under center. This is the kind of drive that defines what kind of football player a man is, and Eli Manning responded. Eli found Toomer for a first down on the first play of the drive, which is very key because it gives you some momentum going forward. Later, they would have a 4th and 1 on their own 37 yard line, and in came Brandon Jacobs and he plucked his way for a first down. Then it came, 3rd and 5, from the Giants 44 yard line. Eli goes back to pass, and three Pats rushers bear down on him, and unbelievably, Eli escapes the sack roles right, and heaves the ball down the middle of the field towards David Tyree. Tyree jumps up, grips the ball with one hand, rests it on his helmet, and b rings his other hand over on the ball, all this while he was in mid-air and with Rodney Harrison on him with his hand on the ball trying to rip it loose from Tyree. Amazingly he falls to the ground and never lets the ball touch the ground for one of the most unbelievable catches you will ever see. Truly remarkable, but the job wasn’t finished. The play to Tyree went for 32 yards and set up the Giants with 1st and 10 from the Pats 24 yard line. On 3rd and 11 from the 25, Manning hit Smith on an out route out of bounds for 12 yards and a huge first down. The play set up with 3 wide receivers right, and one left. Smith was set up on the inside right of the formation, and the receiver to the right of him in the middle ran a slant route that caused 2 Pats cornerbacks to collide, leaving Smith open on the sideline for him to make the catch and extend forward to reach for the first down. A great play call, and great execution. So its now 1st down and 10 from the New England 13 yard line, the Giants have 3 receivers right, one left again. Burress is lined up left one on one with Ellis Hobbs. The Pats dialed up a blitz from the right side, and Burress fakes a slant and runs to the corner and absolutely fakes Hobbs out of his pants for an easy go ahead touchdown.

So the Pats had :40 seconds to try and tie or win the game, but rookie Jay Alford quickly closed that door when he sacked Brady on 2nd and 10. The Pats tried 2 Hail Maries, but failed and the Giants won the game. How did it happen? It happened because of two things. One, both the Giants offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage and dictated play most of the game. Two, the Pats did not adjust in game. They stayed with their spread formation, stayed with the 4 wide receivers thinking that eventually they would break loose and the Giants secondary would break down, but they didn’t. The Pats absolutely should have done much more max protection, 2 tight end sets, run the ball more, wear down the Giants front seven, and cause them to be off-balance. But they didn’t, and that’s basically why they lost this football game.

Stanley Cup Finals Preview: Blackhawks vs. Flyers

2010-05-29T17:33:00.003-04:00

The Philadelphia Flyers will face-off against the Chicago Blackhawks in a best of 7 series for the Stanley Cup beginning tonight in Chicago. It has been a long and wild ride for both of these teams in getting to this point.

The Philadelphia Flyers have had one crazy year. They got into the playoffs on the last day of the season, defeating the New York Rangers in a shootout. They fired their coach John Stevens midway through December and replaced him with Peter Laviolette, who has been credited for the unbelievable turnaround the team has made. Laviolette previously won a cup with the Carolina Hurricanes and coached the New York Islanders to two straight playoff appearances. After getting into the playoffs as the 7th seed, they defeated the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after falling behind 3-0 in the series, the third NHL team ever to do so.

The Chicago Blackhawks lost a crushing series to the Detroit Red Wings last season in the Western Conference Finals. But with the core of great young players like Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane, they knew would be back. And they are back a year later after sweeping the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.

Unlike any sport, a team in the NHL can ride the streak of one player who can put the team on his back and carry them all the way to a championship. That is exactly what the Philadelphia Flyers are doing on top of Michael Leighton. Leighton has lost only 1 game since taking over for Brian Coucher, who was injured in Game 5 of the Bruins series. He has also recorded 3 shutouts. The Flyers were heavily criticized for not going after an established goaltender at the trade deadline, but that decision has paid off tremendously now.

The Blackhawks are riding the play of Jonathon Toews who is the leading point getter in the playoffs so far this year. Antti Niemi leads all goaltenders with 16 playoff victories this year, supporting a 2.33 goals against average. The Blackhawks do have home ice in this series, however that does not have as much an impact as it normally should.

The power play chances will be key for the Flyers in this series. They do not have the firepower that the Blackhawks do, but if they can create power play opportunities they can help offset that. I give the goaltending edge to the Flyers, if Michael Leighton is not the gaolie we think he is, the Flyers would not have made it this far. He is the real deal. In the end, I believe the Blackhawks will be just a little too much for the Flyers to handle and I think they will win in 6 games.

Comments

Mets Rebounding, but Need to do More

2010-05-27T16:37:00.008-04:00

The New York Mets have resurrected their season this past week with series wins over the Yankees and Phillies, looking for the sweep over the ladder tonight. The fans are going to games and are developing some hope to what can be a playoff team. But they can not be one with what they have now.

I am a Yankees fan, and I will admit I do not and have not payed as much attention to the Mets and the rest of baseball as I do the Yankees. But ever since I started this blog, I have made a commitment to myself and to you to follow baseball a little more broadly. If I didn't it would be unfair to you the readers.

From what I have seen so far the Mets have 2 reliable starters that are worthy enough to go out every 5th day and take the ball. If the Mets wish to continue with their good play of late, they must go out and acquire a reliable starting pitcher. That pitcher can be anybody from Roy Oswalt to Kevin Millwood and anyone in-between, but they must acquire one. Oswalt last week has demanded a trade from the Astros and I think the Mets would be silly to not inquire about the dominant right-hander who has pitched great in his last four starts. Can the Mets get him or any of them? It depends what other teams would want in return, but I believe they have the minor league resources to pull off such a trade.

The call-up of Ike Davis has settled down the talk of bringing back Daniel Murphy. Ike has provided a spark to the team, but as I have said before he can not be the reliable source for offense in that lineup. Reyes, Wright, and Bay must take the pressure off of the rookie if the Mets are to compete. Rod Barajas has saved everybody this season so far with his hot bat as he continues to be everything the Mets could have hoped for, and more.

When, and if, Carlos Beltran comes back, the Mets should have made an addition to the starting rotation and will have all the pieces in place to make a second half run at the Wild Card and perhaps the Phillies. But none of this can happen if certain additions are not made and the bats from the core do not pick up.

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NFL Spring Meetings: 2014 Super Bowl Announcement

2010-05-25T12:18:00.011-04:00

At the NFL Spring meetings today in Dallas, in what was an event even more dramatic than a pick at the NFL draft, the owners have voted on the site of the 2014 Super Bowl, which will be held at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This will be the first Super Bowl held in a cold-weather city. This is a great decision for the people New York/New Jersey area, the NFL, and the game of football.

For those of you whining about how the Super Bowl will negatively impact the game itself, please sit down. Some of the greatest games ever played were played in bad weather. The Ice Bowl, the Tuck Rule Game, and the 2007 NFC Championship games are 3 classic examples. We let playoff games be impacted all the way up to the Super Bowl, so why should the Super Bowl be any different? We let warm weather teams go to cold weather cities to play Conference Title, Divisional, and Wild Card games year after year. This is football, the players can handle it.

The league has waived its rule of having the Super Bowl in a city where the average temperature is below 50 degrees. This will not bode well for other cities in the country where the temperature is insufficient for a Super Bowl. I believe the league will not regret this decision, and will end up pocketing an enormous amount of money from this game.

The city of New York has more than enough of the resources necessary to carry out events leading up to, during, and after a Super Bowl. They have 3 major airports, and another 2 in the surrounding 30 miles. They have the necessary amount of Hotel rooms, and they have the Javits Center to hold all the necessary events the week of the game. The experience for the people who fly in will be spectacular. There is Radio City, there are museums, there are tours, there are restaurants, there are clubs, there is Central Park, there is more than enough to keep every single person occupied and entertained for at least a week.

The city handles these types of events all the time without anybody even knowing it. They hold conventions and retreats, and the United Nations even holds conferences without the city even blinking an eye. The transportation is second to none to any city in the world. Subways, buses, and taxis will be even better in 2014 than they are now.

The only thing that will be a slight problem are people going to the game itself who are not used to being exposed to those types of elements for a long period of time. Not your everyday football fan attends the Super Bowl, mostly corporate people and celebrities get into that game, only a select few fans from the teams make their way in. The Super Bowl is 4 hours minimum with commercials and concerts and all the hoopla that goes on with it. And if by chance the weather is not comfortable, the people will have to be prepared and the Stadium will have to accommodate some sort of a setting where people who are outside can get warm.

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2010 MLB Quarter Season Report

2010-05-23T19:36:00.007-04:00

Its a little more than a quarter of the way through the 2010 baseball season and there are some interesting stories brewing in baseball so lets hit a few.

Stephen Stasburg has absolutely destroyed hitters so far in AA and AAA minor leagues for the Washington Nationals. He is 6-1 with a 0.89 ERA in minor league starts this season. The Nats are expected to call him up to make his Major League Debut in the early part of June. Can't wait to see the kid in the majors.

A lot is being made about David Wright having the day off last Tuesday. Please do not make a big deal about this. Every player needs a day off every now and then. You need them to be sharp physically and mentally for the course of 162 games. Wright has hit well since taking the day off, he will be fine the rest of the season. The Mets on the other hand are not fine. After a 9-0 home stand in late April, the Mets have cooled off considerably thanks to horrible starting pitching. John Maine was pulled after 5 pitches on Thursday, and Oliver Perez has been moved to the bullpen. Mike Pelfrey has been the only solid starter of the 5. Jason Bay has only 1 HR, Jeff Francoeur and Jose Reyes are batting .215. Basically, the Mets are not hitting, and they need to find a bat and find it quickly. The call-up of Ike Davis has gone well, but you can not put the weight of the team too much on the kid. Wright and Bay must start hitting if Jerry Manuel wants to keep his job.

The Toronto Blue Jays are 6 games over .500 and 15-9 on the road this season. With the loss of Roy Halladay, I expected the Blue Jays to lose around 90+ games this season, however I give manager Cito Gaston a lot off credit, but lets see if they continue this streak through 162 games.

The Baltimore Orioles are struggling and I believe manager Dave Trembley will lose his job by the end of the year. Nick Markakis is the only regular player hitting above .300 and their best pitched Kevin Milwood has yet to win a game, he is 0-4.

The Yankees have gotten unexpected production out of Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner. Mark Tiexiera had his usual April and did not wake up until May. He is still only hitting .204 and must pick up his production. The Yankees can not expect the bottom of the order to carry them all year. The Yankees are winning because of their starting pitching. Phil Hughes is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA and has totally electric stuff. The ageless Andy Pettite is also 5-1, with Sabathia and Burnett having 4 wins. The only bad spot is Javier Vazquez, who looks a lot better since being skipped last week. He pitched well against the Tigers in a no decision, and picked up a mop-up win against the Red Sox in relief, and then pitched a gem against the Mets. The Yankee bullpen, aside from Mariono and Joba, is a mess. Alfredo Aceves is hurt, causing Nate Robertson to be overworked. Chan Ho Park and Boom Logan have been ineffective. The Yankees need to get healthy, Granderson will be off the DL by next weekend, and Posada will be back next month. Nick Johnson is probably done for the year, so look for the Yankees to go out and get a bat. They just need to not fall too far behind the Rays by the trade deadline.

The Rays are the best team in baseball so far at the quarter point. They have the number 1 team ERA among starting pitchers with David Price leading the way with a 7-1 record with a 2.41 ERA. Shields and Garza each have 5 wins. The Rays are unstoppable. They are getting big time production out of Evan Longoria who has 38 RBI. Zobrist and Crawford are also producing and producing well. If the Yankees struggle with injuries and the Red Sox keep struggling, the Rays could run away early with the division.

The Red Sox are a struggling ball club to this point. Josh Beckett has an ERA over 7 and has been put on the disabled list. Their starting pitching must be better because they offense is not going to carry them. Ortiz is showing his age, and the numbers are not coming or him. Youkilis and Victor Martinez can not carry this team by themselves. I picked he Red Sox to miss the postseason this year. They have to pick it up if they want to keep pace with the Rays and Yankees.

Jason Heyward has been a rookie sensation for the Atlanta Braves and looks to be the front runner for rookie of the year. The Braves are keeping pace with the Phillies. Tim Hudson and Derick Lowe are pitching well, but the rest of the rotation has been shaky. Melkey Cabrera has not been producing so far, but Erik Hinske has. Its going to be an interesting race in the NL East this year.

Roy Halladay has been leading the Phillies starting pitchers, going 6-3 with a 2.22 ERA. Every time he steps on the mounds, you would expect the Phillies to win, and that will bode well later in the year and the playoffs. The offense is still their with Utley, Howard, and Werth. Whether the Phillies win or lose will come down to the rest of their starting rotation, if Cole Hammels and Jamie Moyer keep pitching the way they are pitching, they will be the NL East champs at the end of the year.

Comments

The Tuna Sports Blog Mailbag

2010-05-17T11:16:00.007-04:00

Thank you all for the questions. I will respond to as many as you ask, so if you have any more, please post them here.

Anonymous said...

Baseball - Why are there only 4 teams in the american west division, and 6 teams in the nationalcentral division? It would make sense to move one to the american division to even things out.

Interesting question, the Central was formed in 1994 when the MLB had their realignment. The following year the Wild Card was initiated. Every league goes through some sort of realignment, just like the NFL did in 2002. Leagues expand and contract all the time. In 1998, the Central expanded to 6 teams when the Brewers joined from the American League, making 16 National League teams and 14 American League teams. I do not believe MLB has any plans at this time to realign the divisions.

Robert said...

what do you have to say about the eastern conf finals being 7 seed vs 8 seed, and Boston being only the 3rd team in NHL history in blowing a 3-0 series lead AND a 3-0 lead in the game

The Bruins made NHL history this year, an unbelievable accomplishment in any sport. There have been memorable comebacks, some good some bad, but we wont mention which, but this one ranks pretty high up. Montreal is one of five teams to knock out the defending cup champions AND the number 1 seed in the same playoffs. Should be a long and intense series, regardless of the blowout from last night. The Blackhawks and Sharks were the 2 best teams in the West all year, Kane and Toews are force. Nabokov must be spectacular if the Sharks are gonna win this series.

Phil said...

Is Chipper Jones done in the MLB? Will this be his last year and if it is, what do you think his legacy will be and how will he be received as a candidate into the Hall of Fame?

Chipper Jones has had an outstanding 17 season career so far in MLB. He has a World Series ring and is a career .300 hitter, has 1 NL MVP, and has over 400 HR. However, he has some knocks, he was not the greatest defensive player and was injured often. Chipper says he plans on playing through the 2011 season, but if he continues to get hurt and struggle like he is, I do not see him playing past this year. If his career ends right now, I believe he still gets into the Hall of Fame, maybe not first ballot, but he will get in. As far as his legacy, he will be forever loved in Atlanta and may have his number retired.

Mark said...

The Cleveland Cavaliers recently lost to the Boston Celtics last Thursday. It has been rumored and talked about in the Ohio area that Lebron purposely played bad (at least in game 5) to prove a point (that the team is nothing without him). If you were the coach/owner, what would your response be if, hypothetically, this rumor is true (what actions would you take)? Also, what would your plan be during the offseasons with the Cavs? (with Lebron's contract ending)

If the allegations you speak of are true, If I were the owner/general manager I would not want a player like that on my team. No matter how good a player is, he is not bigger than the team. And if a player on my team had developed that mentality and expressed it in that way, I would remove him from my team any way possible. As far as the offseason goes with Lebron, it is my understanding that the contract Cleveland can offer surpasses any other max contract offer any other team can make. I would do whatever possible to accommodate Lebron and do whatever possible to surround him with the best players to win a championship.

Anonymous said...

Let's say College Football is heading for a major shift if the Big 10 adds 16 teams, let's just say they add (Neb, Mizzou, Pitt, Cuse, and Rutgers)

I wanna know where other teams will go and who will be in what conf (assuming all conf start trying to go to 16 teams)

Assuming that the Big 10 expands, (which we will probably know about prior to the start of the 2010 college football season), I foresee a major shift occurring in college football. I believe the Mountain West, Big 12, and Big East Conferences will dissolve and the remaining teams will join either the Pac 10, Big 10, SEC, or ACC, expanding each Conference to about 16 teams. The NCAA and the BCS will then be forced to incorporate some sort of a playoff with the winners of these 4 major conferences. This is how I see it, however I do not agree with it. I like when teams play more in their own conference, and I also like inter conference rivalries. Expanding would be detrimental to both.

Mark said...

There has been talk of all of the conferences dissolving and leaving the NCAA

What would happen is they would form a new college league so they wouldn't be bound by the NCAA

I find those rumors very hard to believe. The NCAA has been, and always will be the association for college athletics and there is nothing any of the colleges that have athletics can do to change that.

The Tuna Sports Blog Q & A

2010-05-15T00:36:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past few weeks. Crazy scheduling and slow sports stories has put the blog into a stall. The Yankees are killing everyone, I am so sick and tired of hearing about everyone complaining about the Mets, and no one wants to hear me analyze rookie OTA's in the NFL.

So now lets introduce the first ever Q & A. Ask anything sports related and I will respond with my answers as promptly as possible. I will have another update early next week.

Post your questions in Comments

What do you want, Long Island?

2010-04-27T19:51:00.005-04:00

According to a story in today's Newsday, Ed Mangano has spoken with the Shinnecock Indians about building a Hotel and Casino on the Nassau Coliseum site. A site where Charles Wang, owner of the New York Islanders, submitted, and won, an RFP, spent millions of dollars on environmental and other studies, submitted those studies to the Town of Heampstead, conducted hundreds of community outreach meetings, and is currently patiently awaiting a decision on zoning for the site. The above sequence has taken over 8 years, and a decision has still yet to have been made on whether or not to put a shovel in the ground.

The question is what do Long Islanders want on a site that is within a few square miles of two colleges and other elementary, middle, and high schools. Do they want a place where prominent businesses will call home for decades, will bring millions of dollars in tax revenue to local municipalities, affordable housing, create thousands of jobs, and will provide a proper home for the New York Islanders? Or do they want a monstrosity that will create twice as much traffic, low wage jobs, and little to no tax revenue to the local municipalities.

What do you want, Long Island?

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2010 NFL Draft Winners and Losers

2010-04-24T17:43:00.004-04:00

The 2010 NFL Draft is officially over. Lets take a look at some of the winners and losers over the past 3 days

Winners

1. New England Patriots: The Pats looked to move toward youth on defense in this draft. They drafted cornerback Devin McCourty in the first round, then drafted Brandon Spikes and Jermaine Cunningham out of Florida. They also added a TE for Tom Brady in the second round. The Pats were a middle of the pack defense last season, something that is unacceptable to coach Bill Belichick. The Pats also added several more picks in next years draft by moving around a lot.

2. Seattle Seahawks The Seahawks add an anchor to their left tackle position, and then add safety Earl Thomas to improve a defense that gave up the third most passing yards per game in the NFL. They also add WR Golden Tate from Notre Dame to a receiving corps that lacks young talent. The Seahawks also acquired RB Leon Washington from the New York Jets to add to their backfield.

3. Cleveland Browns The Browns went out and added the best cornerback in the draft in Joe Haden from Florida. The Browns had only 10 interceptions all of last season, Haden will add to that by himself. They also add a safety in T.J. Ward from Oregon. On offense, they addressed the running game with Montario Hardesty from Tennessee, and quarterback with Colt McCoy from Texas. Just have to worry if both players can stay healthy as McCoy left the national title game last season after getting hit in the shoulder, and Hardesty has battled knee problems.

4. Carolina Panthers The Panthers select the second best quarterback in the draft and get him at a steal all the way at 48th overall. The Bills, Raiders, and Browns, all in need of a quarterback, all passed on him, which left Carolina to take him. They also added youth to the WR position by taking Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards. That will alleviate some of the pressure off of Steve Smith and create some more room for him down the field.

5. Baltimore Ravens The Ravens get a talented OLB in Sergio Kindle who will rush the quarterback with some consistency. They also grab Mount Cody from Alabama to play nose. With all those weapons already on defense, I wouldn't want to be an offensive lineman looking across to that lineup. They also grab two TE's, Ed Dickson from Oregon and Dennis Pitta from BYU to add to their repertoire on offense.

Losers

1. Jacksonville Jaguars The Jags went all defense and totally reached with their pick of DT Tyson Alualu. They did not add a wide receiver to a unit that had 15 touchdowns in the air all of last season. They also did not do anything to improve their pass defense that ranked fifth worst in the NFL last season.

2. New York Giants The Giants stressed VALUE in this draft, but did not do anything to improve the void they have at the linebacker position. They also took a risk on their 15th pick with a DE that has one year of real football experience. They also failed to add an OT in a draft filled with them for a team who struggled to run the ball with any consistency last season.

3. Washington Redskins The Skins chose an offensive tackle with the fourth pick, but they did not have any picks until the fourth round, and failed to trade back in to the second or third rounds, where gems are found. They also were actively shopping DT Albert Haynesworth, but were unable to find a partner to take on that massive contract.

4. Buffalo Bills For a team with a lot of needs on offense, running back was not one of them. But with the 9th pick they drafted RB C.J. Spiller from Clemson. Its a pick that probably left a lot of people shaking their heads. They needed help in the passing game, and they passed on Golden Tate and failed to pick up a wide receiver until the 4th round. They also do not have the quarterback position set in stone either.

5. Minnesotta Vikings The Vikings traded out of their 30th spot in a trade with the Lions when they desperately needed help in the secondary. They also took a running back that is not really a compliment to Adrian Peterson or speedster out of the backfield. They better hope Favre comes back...

Comments

2010 NFL Draft- Live Blog

2010-04-22T18:17:00.049-04:00

Thanks for checking out the blog. I will post a whole recap after the draft is over

11:05: The Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints select DB Patrick Robinson from Florida State. The Saints are a Juggernaut on offense, but the defense surprised a lot of people, including me with the amount of pressure they put on opposing teams. They blitzed second most in the NFL behind the Jets under defensive coordinator Greg Williams. With the amount of blitzing they do, they need a corner to go 1 on 1 with receivers.

10:55: The Colts with the 31st pick select DE Jerry Hughes from TCU. They Colts have Freeney and Mathis, and Hughes will add some depth to the DE position.

10:48: The Vikings have traded the 30th pick to the Detroit Lions, and with the pick the Lions select RB Jahvid Best from Cal. Detriot has Kevin Smith in the backfield, but adding Best will alleviate some of the pressure on Matthew Stafford who can dump balls to Best out of the backfield.

10:37: The J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS! select CB Kyle Wilson from Boise St. With Darelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and now Wilson, the Jets are set at corner for a long, long time. The schemes Rex will come up with now with all these corners will be scary, but again I am surprised Kindle did not go here...

10:31: The Miami Dolphins select DT Jared Odrik from Penn State. He will be converted to DE in the 3-4 that Miami plays and he is certainly big enough to play the position, I just don't understand why they didn't take Sergio Kindle to replace Jason Taylor...

10:25: The New England Patriots select DB Devin McCourty, Rutgers. Don't know a whole lot about the kid, but the Pats do need help in the secondary.

10:20 The Arizona Cardinals select NT Dan Williams from Tennessee. The Cards need to sure up their defense, they play a 3-4, which is what Williams played at Tennessee. Good fit for Williams.

10:08: The Baltimore Ravens have traded their pick to the Denver Broncos, and the Broncos select QB Tim Tebow from Florida. Denver shipped away Jay Cutler, and I hope Tebow is not forced to play now. They have Kyle Orton and Brady Quin, so lets hope they don't rush him.

10:00: The Dallas Cowboys have traded up to #24 and select WR Dez Bryant. Bryant is the best WR in this raft, although he comes with a lot of baggage, but that fits nicely in Dallas. Lot of targets for defenses in the NFC East to defend now on Dallas.

9:53: The Green Bay Packers select OT Bryan Bulaga from Iowa. The Packers offensive line struggled big time early last season as they got off to a slow start. He is going to have his hands full with Jared Allen.

9:47:The Pats have traded their first round pick to Denver, who has traded down twice. And with the pick, Denver selects WR Demaryius Thomas from Georgia Tech. After the Broncos traded Brandon Marshall, they are desperate for a WR, just surprised they chose Thomas over Dez Bryant. According to ESPN, Thomas met with head coach Josh McDaniels who fell in love with him.

9:41: The Bengals select TE Jermaine Gresham from Oklahoma. The best TE in this draft, and a hell of a target for Carson Palmer in the red zone.

9:37 The Houston Texans defense is the reason they are not a playoff team. They select CB Kareem Jackson from Alabama. Played opposite Javier Arenas and is a heck of a player who sees the field well.

9:33: The Falcons select OLB Sean Weatherspoon from Iowa. Tremendous athletic ability and the best OLB in the draft in my opinion.

9:29: The Pittsburgh Steelers select C Maurkice Pouncey from Florida. Pouncey is a hell of a lineman and can play either center or guard. Mendenhall will be buying a lot of dinners for him in the years to come.

9:26: 49ers select Mike Iupati G from Idaho. This means they are sticking with Alex Smith and strengthening that line for Frank Gore with Iupati and Davis.

9:22 The Tennessee Titans select DE Derick Morgan from Georgia Tech 16th overall. The Titans defense struggled last season compared to the stellar season the year before. They lost Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vandenbosh, so they are rebuilding, starting with Morgan.

9:14 The Giants select DE Jason Pierre-Paul. The Giants do not need a DE, however I feel they were forced to make this pick at this time. They already have Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Mathias Kiwanuka at the DE position. However, they do need help on defense. They need help on the interior of the defensive line and desperately need a linebacker. I expect one of those 3 DE's to be traded by the end of the Draft. With Spiller and McClain both gone, Jerry Reese goes with the best available player with this pick.

9:05 The Seahawks make their second pick of the night, and select S Earl Thomas. They rank 30th in pass defense, and Earl will certainly help their secondary.

8:58 The Eagles select DE Brandon Graham from Michigan. Graham will improve the already aggressive Eagles defense up front. Only hope they aren't sacrificing their secondary with this pick.

8:51 The Broncos have traded down again, this time to the Eagles for two 3rd Round picks. The Eagles need to get younger in the secondary, and Earl Thomas is what I am thinking here.

8:50 The Chargers select Ryan Mathews, RB from Fresno State. One of the bigger backs in this draft, he will be a nice compliment to Sproles in the Chargers backfield.

8:45 The Dolphins have traded their first round pick to the Chargers. The Chargers need a running back. They rank next to last in the NFL in rushing.

8:44 The 49ers select Anthony Davis, the OT out of Rutgers. Davis will secure the LT position in San Fran. Two big DE's still on the board......

8:39 Jacksonville takes Tyson Alualu. WHO? A defensive tackle out of Cal. After signing Aaron Campman at DE, the Jags decided they needed to beef up inside. Since Spiller was taken, the Jags might have panicked a little.

The Broncos have swapped their 11th overall pick with the San Francisco 49ers. The Broncos will receive a 4th round pick for the swap and will pick 13th overall.

8:31 Not wasting any time, the Bills have drafted RB C.J. Spiller. Buffalo needs a QB, and I am surprised they did not either trade out of this spot or draft Clausen. But Spiller is a game changer, something the Bills have not had for a long, long time.

8:30 DA RAIDAS select LB Rolando McClain, by far the best inside linebacker in this draft. A bit of a reach though with the 8th overal pick, but its to be expected when the Raiders are picking. Jerry Reese much be scratching his head right now...

8:22: The Cleveland Browns have a lot of needs, but they go with CB Joe Haden with the 7th pick. Haden is a stellar cornerback who will help the Browns defense who are one of the worst in the league against the pass.

8:14 The Seattle Seahawks select OT Russell Okung 6th overall. Okung will anchor the offensive line for many years and protect Matt Hasselbeck for the remainder of his career.

8:08: The Kansas City Chiefs have selected Safety Eric Berry from Tennessee. One of the most dynamic safeties in this draft, Berry will contribute right away in the Chiefs defense.

8:00: Little bit of a surprise as Trent Williams is drafted by the Washington Redskins fourth overall ahead off Russell Okung. The Redskins need help on the line to protect Donovan McNabb and Williams certainly is that guy, who's stock rose dramatically over the pas couple of days.

7:55: No surprises so far as Suh goes to the Lions and McCoy goes to the Bucs. Two players that will certainly help two of the worst defenses in the NFL last season.

7:37: The St.Louis Rams have selected Sam Bradford first overall. No surprise here, the Rams are desperate for offense after ranking last in the NFL last year in total offense.

The St. Louis Rams are on the clock.....

I will be blogging live throughout the draft tonight, posting picks and insight on my perspective as it happens. If you have any questions, please put them in comments and I will respond to them.

HAPPY DRAFT DAY!

2010 NFL Mock Draft - Round 1

2010-04-21T22:11:00.003-04:00

Here is how I see the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft going down on Thursday:

1. St. Louis (1-15): SAM BRADFORD, QB, OKLAHOMA
2. Detroit (2-14): NDAMUKONG SUH, DT, NEBRASKA
3. Tampa Bay (3-13): GERALD MCCOY, DT, OKLAHOMA
4. Washington (4-12): RUSSELL OKUNG, OT, OKLAHOMA STATE
5. Kansas City (4-12): BRYAN BULAGA, OT, IOWA
6. Seattle (5-11): TRENT WILLIAMS, OT, OKLAHOMA
7. Cleveland (5-11): ERIC BERRY, S, TENNESSEE
8. Oakland (5-11): BRUCE CAMPBELL, OT, MARYLAND
9. Buffalo (6-10): JIMMY CLAUSEN, QB, NOTRE DAME
10. Jacksonville (7-9): JASON PIERRE-PAUL, DE, SOUTH FLORIDA
11. Denver (CHI): DEZ BRYANT, WR, OKLAHOMA STATE
12. Miami (7-9): DERRICK MORGAN, DE, GEORGIA TECH
13. San Francisco (8-8): JOE HADEN, CB, FLORIDA
14. Seattle (DEN): C.J. SPILLER, RB, CLEMSON
15. New York Giants (8-8): ROLANDO MCCLAIN, ILB, ALABAMA
16. Tennessee (8-8): BRANDON GRAHAM, DE, MICHIGAN
17. San Francisco (CAR): ANTHONY DAVIS, OT, RUTGERS
18. Pittsburgh (9-7): GOLDEN TATE, WR, NOTRE DAME
19. Atlanta (9-7): EARL THOMAS, S, TEXAS
20. Houston (9-7): KYLE WILSON, CB, BOISE STATE
21. Cincinnati (10-6): SERGIO KINDLE, OLB, TEXAS
22. New England (10-6): SEAN WEATHERSPOON, OLB, MISSOURI
23. Green Bay (11-5): JERMAINE GRESHAM, TE, OKLAHAOMA
24. Philadelphia (11-5): JERRY HUGHES, OLB, TEXAS CHRISTIAN
25. Baltimore (9-7): MAURKICE POUNCEY, C, FLORIDA
26. Arizona (10-6): MIKE IUPATI, OT, IDAHO
27. Dallas (11-5): CHARLES BROWN, OT, SOUTHERN CAL
28. San Diego (13-3): JARED ODRICK, DE, PENN STATE
29. New York Jets (9-7): TAYLOR MAYS, S, SOUTHERN CAL
30. Minnesota (12-4): TERRENCE CODY, DT, ALABAMA
31. Indianapolis (14-2): BRIAN PRICE, DT, UCLA
32. New Orleans (13-3): EVERSON GRIFFEN, DE, USC

Comments

New York Giants 2010 Schedule

2010-04-20T18:07:00.006-04:00

Giants 2010 schedule according to Big Blue Interactive.

Sept. 12 CAROLINA 1:00 PM (FOX)
Sept. 19 at Indianapolis 8:20 PM (NBC)
Sept. 26 TENNESSEE 1:00 PM (CBS)
Oct. 3 CHICAGO 8:20 PM (NBC)
Oct. 10 at Houston 1:00 PM (FOX)
Oct. 17 DETROIT 1:00 PM (FOX)
Oct. 25 (Mon.) at Dallas 8:30 PM (ESPN)
Oct. 31 BYE
Nov. 7 at Seattle 4:05 PM (FOX)
Nov. 14 DALLAS 4:15PM (FOX)
Nov. 21 at Philadelphia 8:20PM* (NBC)
Nov. 28 JACKSONVILLE 1:00PM* (CBS)
Dec. 5 WASHINGTON 1:00PM* (FOX)
Dec. 12 at Minnesota 1:00 PM* (FOX)
Dec. 19 PHILADELPHIA 1:00 PM* (FOX)
Dec. 26 at Green Bay 4:15 PM* (FOX)
Jan. 2 at Washington 1:00PM* (FOX)

4 prime time games. Schedule starts off O.K. BYE is in a great spot, but finish 3 of the last 4 on the road.

UPDATED: The way I see the schedule, the Giants must get off to a fast start next season. The first 4 home games are all winnable games against weak opponents. All 4 did not make the playoffs last season. In the middle of that you have @ Indy where it will be Eli vs. Peyton II. Peyton got the better of Eli in the first meeting at Giants Stadium in 2006. You like to see the BYE as close to the middle of the schedule as possible, and the Giants have it at Week 8, can't get much better than that. The Giants do not play a divisional game until Week 7, and play 5 of their 6 divisional games in the second half of the season. Kolb will have adjusted to running the offense in Philly by then, and McNabb and Shanahan will be on the same page in Washington by the time the Giants see them the first week in December. The Giants schedule is rough, ranked 7th toughest according to NFL.com. With 3 of the last 4 on the road, including @ Green Bay the day after Christmas, the Giants can not do what they did last season and put it in cruise control mid way through the season.

Comments

NFL News and Notes - April 13

2010-04-13T20:31:00.008-04:00

Updated 4/14 11:50 A.M.: The Denver Broncos have traded WR Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins for a second round pick in the 2010 draft and a second round pick in the 2011 draft. The Dolphins clearly had a need at the wide receiver position and with Marshall now on the team that need has been addressed. Davone Bess and Ted Ginn Jr. have not stepped up like the Dolphins would have liked, so Bill Parcells brings in a nice target for QB Chad Henne to throw to who will make big plays.

For the Broncos they have good receivers in Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney, and Brandon Stokley, but none of them are the caliber receiver Marshall is and probably never will be. Dez Bryant has the potential to be what Brandon Marhsall is. Will they take a shot at the receiver with the 11th pick? Or will they address a serious need on defense and draft LB Rolando McClain? That will be a highly debated topic in the next two weeks leading to the draft.

*

A lot has been brewing in the NFL this offseason so lets take a look at a few stories making headlines these past few weeks.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have traded Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets for a 2010 fifth round draft pick on Sunday night. The following day the NFL suspended Holmes for the first four games of the 2010 season for abusing the leagues substance abuse policy. Holmes was cited for possession of marijuana in 2008. If you look at this trade from purely a football standpoint, the Jets clearly got the better of this deal. The Steelers however downplayed this the following day saying that they would have cut the Super Bowl MVP had they not found a trade partner. What this means for the Jets is, they are out to win at all costs. What this means to the Steelers is they are looking to clean up their organization. The Jets add Holmes to go along with Braylon Edwards and Jericho Cotchery to complete their receiving core. The Jets are going to be a lot of peoples favorites to win the AFC this year, but we'll discuss that after the Draft.

Brandon Marshal has signed his tender offer from the Denver Broncos, making it a lot easier for a team to trade for him knowing they do not have to negotiate a contract for him for the upcoming season. Their are several teams in need of a WR, the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Seattle Seahawks included among others. Obviously his value drops below what was tendered for him, a first round pick, to probably a second to third round pick.

Ben Roethlisberger escaped charges on Monday when a DA in Georgia decided not to charge Ben with a crime for conduct with a 20 year old women in the bathroom of a nightclub several months ago. Conduct like this is unacceptable from any human being, but for a celebrity or professional athlete who carries responsibilities beyond themselves, is reprehensible. The league has taken a black eye from this incident and I believe the league must impose some sort of retribution on Ben for his conduct. The league has a strict personal conduct policy and can impose a suspension or fine regardless of whether or not a crime was committed. I also applaud the district attorney for coming out and explaining the events leading up to the incident and why he chose not to pursue charges in this case.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly taken WR Dez Bryant off their draft boards. This can mean several things to a lot of different teams. Originally I thought Bryant would go to Jacksonville and the Broncos would select Rolando McClain. With Bryant now off at 10, the Broncos may now be looking at Bryant in the 11 spot. Meaning Giants fans like me can take a deep breath if this is the case and would expect McClain to be there when the Giants pick at 15. A lot of scenarios that will play out that will probably change 100 different times between now and the draft.

Comments. I'll do a Mock Draft for the First Round next week

New York Islanders 2009-2010 Season Review

2010-04-11T21:12:00.007-04:00

The highly anticipated rookie year of John Tavares and the 2009-2010 New York Islanders season came to an end on the same note it started, an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice. It was a crazy and unexpected year on many levels that fell short of expectations for management and coaches, but far exceeded mine. A record of 34-37-11 with 79 points after a 26-47-9 with 61 points last season. And the only additions were Tavares, two goaltenders, and two long shot dream free agent signings in Matt Moulson and Rob Schremp. Lets go through and give a year in review for all the players, coaches, and management.

Garth Snow: B+
Garth went out and signed Dwayne Roloson and Marty Biron, two top NHL quality goaltenders in the offseason thinking he would trade one of them when Rick DiPietro returned. He ended up not trading either of them, as DiPietro played only 8 games this season. He also found little known Matt Moulson and Rob Schremp who will be a big part of the Islanders future. Garth traded Andy Sutton at the deadline for a second round pick which was the result of a weak market. It was only a year ago Snow got a first rounder for Chris Campoli. Garth did a lot with a little, but he must go out and find a goal scoring winger and a top 4 defenseman this offseason. He says he has no restrictions on what he can spend, so hopefully the team salary will climb significantly this offseason.

Scott Gordon: A
Coach Gordon entered his second season as the Islanders head coach and turned the Islanders from a basement team to a middle of the pack team. He had his team in the thick of the playoff race all year. The players are buying into his system, and the goals are coming. The penalty kill was his only weak spot. They finished the season at 76%, 29th out of 30.

John Tavares: B+
John had a fantastic rookie season with 24 goals, 30 assists for 54 points. His play after the Olympic Break was significantly improved, not just statistically, but his defensive and play without the puck got better. He will easily score 30 goals on a consistent basis in the future. The kid is only 19 years old. He will get bigger and stronger and will be a force. He is the cornerstone of the Islanders future.

Mark Streit: A
Streit is the backbone of the defense and would be my choice for captain next season. He averaged over 25 minutes of ice time and quarterbacked the power play. An outstanding all around defenseman who's play on defense is surprising a lot of people, including me. The stats were down, but once the Islanders get bigger and better up front, his numbers will increase.

Kyle Okposo: B+
This was Kyles second full season with the Islanders. His offensive numbers do not give him enough credit. This kid has the potential to score 40 and reminds me so much of Jason Blake with his speed and peskiness he brings to every game. The puck just seems to find him. He is only 21 years old, so give him a few more years and he too will be making eye opening plays on a consistent basis.

Matt Mouslon: A+
The biggest surprise of the Islanders season. A long shot to even make the team out of training camp, Moulson played well enough in camp to earn a roster spot. He was the teams leading scorer with 30 goals, and the only real consistent sniper the Isles had. They must bring him back next year.

Frans Neilsen: B+
Will win a Selke trophy by the time he retires. Underrated defensively and a great distributor of the puck. Kills penalties and is always matched up against the opposing teams top line. Reminds me of Michael Peca, only better.

Blake Comeau: B
Really turned his game around toward the last month of the season. Needs to be more consistent and play like he did the last part of the season for a full one.

Josh Bailey: B
Played well given the fact that this was his second full season. He switched from center to wing and back and forth a lot. Played much better without the puck this season than last, and will get bigger and stronger, hes only 20.

Rob Schremp: B
Excellent skills and puck handling ability. The goal he scored while batting the puck out of mid air was phenomenal. Above average skater, should be back next season.

Sean Bergenheim: B
Above average skating ability and strong along the boards with the puck. Just wish he would put himslef in better positions to shoot more, but he turned it on late. I could see him playing with Rob Scremp and Josh Bailey on a line next season.

Rest of the defense: B-
The play of Jack Hillen and Andrew MacDonald are the real bright spots on the defense along with Mart Streit. The way Hillen and MacDonald are engaging and reading plays has far exceeded everyones expectations and they both deserve the contracts they have for next season. Freddy Meyer is by far the teams best defensive defenseman. He shut down a lot of good offensive players on opposing teams on a consistent basis. Reminds me of a younger Brendan Witt and at age 29, should be brought back. Bruno Gervais did not live up to expectations after a good season last year. The team traded Andy Sutton at the deadline and Gervais was expected to fill the void, but did not do so. The Islanders need to bring in a high quality defenseman for next season.

Rest of the offense: C
Jon Sim played much better this year after being sent down to Bridgeport towards the end of last season. He was a pest to opposing teams and drew a lot of penalties. Tim Jackman played well on the fourth line and had 98 penalty minutes. Jeff Tambellini did not make the most of the limited time he played this year and did not secure a consistent spot in the lineup. I believe Richard Park, Jon Sim, Jeff Tambellini, and Doug Weight will not be back next season.

Rick DiPietro: I
Ricky played in only 8 games after returning from knee injuries in November. He had swelling in his knee and did not return after the Olympic Break. He is under contract for a long time, and the story will continue once training camp begins next September. Will he be ready? I don't think he even knows.

Marty Biron: B
Played well after the All-Star break sharing time with Dwayne Roloson. Could have been useful to another team at the trade deadline. I believe he played well enough to earn a contract next season with another NHL team.

Dwayne Roloson: A
The teams MVP by far. Hands down the only reason why the Islanders were not at the very bottom of the cellar in the league. .907 save % and 3.00 GAA with 23 wins. Will be the teams starting gaoltender entering camp next season.

Comments

Mickelson Wins 3rd Green Jacket

2010-04-11T19:56:00.007-04:00

Phil Mickelson was asked after shooting 67 in the Final Round at The Masters what is the difference between a great shot and a smart shot. His answer paraphrased was 'a great shot is one you execute well, and a smart shot is a shot you don't have the guts to take.' That sentence right there just sums up Phil Mickelson. If you've followed Phil over the years, gone through all the ups and downs, you know he always goes for it. And that is exactly what he did on the par 5 13th on Sunday from the pine needles behind a tree. He went for it. And he made it.

Phil doesn't always make it. There have been breakdowns. There was the breakdown in the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot on the 72nd hole where he drove the ball off the merchandise tent. The 2009 U.S. Open where he 3 putted the par 4 15th at Bethpage Black, along with another 3 putt on 17 at Shinnecock Hills in 2004. The moments haven't always been great.

When I could tell from hearing Phil talking to his caddy that he was going for the green on 13, I thought that it was the beginning of the end. Here we go again, classic Phil has to go for it. He's got a 2 shot lead with 6 holes to play, and I'm thinking to myself, "What are you doing, Phil?" But Phil was doing what he does. He hit a 6 iron to 5 feet.

Mickelson had a blemish free 5 under par 67 on Sunday to win his third Masters. He had to scramble a lot though. After driving the ball beautifully the first three rounds, Phil drove the ball very inconstantly today, even pulling out 3 wood on several occasions on holes he had pulled Driver on earlier in the week. His chipping and putting helped him get through the front nine today with no bogeys. On the latter part of the back nine he got a little more consistent and drove the ball in better positions to go after some pins and make more birdies.

Blemishes were plentiful for a lot of other players on Sunday. Fred Couples dreams of a green jacket were washed away when he put his tee shot on the par 3 12th in the water and went on to make double-bogey. For a 50 year old though, he had an outstanding week and he is going to tear up the Champions Tour for a long time.

Anthony Kim had a huge run on Sunday and shot 7 under, 5 under on the back nine, to shoot 65 to finish at -12. His one over par 73 on Saturday really hurt his chances to catch the leaders, but a remarkable Sunday none the less.

Lee Westwood entered Sunday with a one shot lead looking for his first major. He had or shared the lead all the way to the 12th hole where Mickelson would birdie and take the lead he would never surrender. Westwood's putter let him down this week, especially on Sunday where he missed a couple of short putts at some bad times.

Tiger Woods got off to a horrible start Sunday, bogeying 3 of his first 5 holes. But on 7 he holed out for eagle from the fairway and then proceeded to birdie the next two holes. With the easier back nine, you would think Tiger could go low and catch the leaders. But a bogey on 11 and a 3 putt bogey on 14 took him out of contention.

All in all this was a memorable tournament for a lot of reasons. The product on display and the quality of golf being played by everyone over the weekend was just spectacular. With Mickelson almost having 3 eagles in a row on Saturday, Tiger's return to golf, to the ageless Fred Couples and Tom Watson playing like the days of old, the constant back and forth was just amazing. It will go down as one of the most memorable tournaments in Masters history.

Comments

Who's gonna win? Masters 2010 preview

2010-04-07T18:51:00.003-04:00

The first Major Championship of the year begins tomorrow at the storied Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. With all the distractions that have gone on off the course the last few months, its nice that the attention is now on golf.

Phil Mickelson has not gotten off to a promising start this year in Tiger's absence. He has 1 top 10 and has had at least 1 round in each tournament where he put up a monster number that took him out of contention. But at Augusta, where he has won 2 green jackets, Phil could be back in business by Sunday.

Tiger has looked a little rusty in the practice rounds this week, spraying drives left and right. Tiger has never been known to be deadly accurate off the tee, so he is going to have to rely on his irons and short game if hes going to win this week.

Ernie Els leads the Fed Ex Cup standings and has won twice already this year. If the Big Easy keeps up how hes been playing, hes gonna be in good shape.

The putting of Geoff Ogilvy is just outstanding. He averages 28.72 putts per round, more than 1 putt under tour average. With his short game, watch for him to be a contender this week.

Fred Couples has been lighting up the Champions Tour this year, becoming the first golfer to win three of the first four Champions Tour events he played in. He is not the longest guy in the field, but with a swing like his, there is no way he can't do what Tom Watson almost did last year at the Open Championship.

Defending Champion Angel Cabrera has gotten off to a rocky start of the 2010 season with only 1 top ten finish. If hes accurate, he could be in contention over the weekend.

Padriag Harrington has been playing well so far this year. Even though he has yet to win, hes been in contention on the weekend several times resulting in 2 top ten finishes. Look for him to be be in contention this weekend as well

My Pick: Geoff Ogilvy

Predict the winner in Comments

MLB Needs to Pick up the Pace

2010-04-07T15:01:00.005-04:00

Three days into the Major League Baseball season and already the games are going much longer than any of us want. Four hours is just way too long for any fan to endure, even a die hard like me.

The National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, and National Football League all have time constraints on each and every game. They all put limitations to certain aspects to keep the game flowing. The NHL allows five seconds for the road team to decide to change lines after a whistle, and the home team has five seconds after that to decide on their change, then the puck is dropped. The NBA has the shot clock, and the NFL has a play clock. There is no such instance of this in MLB. Pitchers can take as long as they want in between pitches with no harm or foul. According to this report in 2005, the average time in between pitches was 26.3 seconds, an eternity in my opinion.

So the question is, what can be done? What rules could MLB put in place to speed up the game? One possibility would be to call a balk on the pitcher if he exceeds a certain time between pitches when runners are on base. But that would mean an umpire on the field would have to keep a stopwatch and keep track of the time. Another scenario would be to limit the trips to the mound by catchers and coaches. This would certainly help matters, but do we want a rule like that effecting the outcome of a game? We all know catchers and pitchers get crossed up a lot of the time even with these trips to the mound.

I am not an expert in this situation and these suggestions are two of many that are out there. Time between innings isn't a problem, we know bills need to be paid and revenue needs to be collected. In game alterations need too take place so that the games go faster. MLB should be experimenting, and quickly, the use of some method to help speed up these games so we can all get a decent night sleep after they end.

Comments

Rams Release Bulger; Clear the Path to Draft Bradford

2010-04-06T12:53:00.004-04:00

The St. Louis Rams yesterday released their 33 year old starting quarterback Marc Bulger, all but solidifying Sam Bradford as the #1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Bulger would have earned $8.5 million this season under the six-year, $65 million contract that he signed in 2007. He was the Rams starter for eight seasons after taking over for Kurt Warner. Bulger will certainly land somewhere, Oakland, Chicago, and Buffalo are the front runners in my opinion to land him.

For a franchise to be successful in the NFL, a team needs a stable owner, a head coach, and a quarterback. Without these 3 positions being filled with stability, a team has no chance to succeed. The Rams will have 2 of the 3 if they draft Bradford. The Rams ownership situation is still a little iffy as the draft looms, but with Steve Spagnuolo and Sam Bradford, they will be headed in the right direction on the field to building a consistent contender.

Comments

Eagles Trade McNabb to Redskins

2010-04-05T12:22:00.008-04:00

The Philadelphia Eagles have traded quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins for a 2nd round pick in 2010 and a conditional 4th round pick in 2011 that could turn into a 3rd round pick.

This moves just leaves me shaking my head. Not only did the Eagles trade their franchise quarterback, they traded him to a team in the same division, a rarity in the National Football League.

The Eagles were entertaining offers not only for McNabb, but also for Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb in the last couple of weeks. Eagles coach Andy Reid said in a press conference last night that this was the right move at the right time for the organization and that everyone understands that this is part of the league.

Anyone who follows the league knows trades happen, but for a franchise quarterback in the prime of his career to a team in the same division? I can not remember an instance of this ever happening since I have been following the NFL. I am not even going to try to justify this trade, because it does not make any sense to me. But lets look at what this means going forward.

Obviously the Redskins will not draft QB Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame now that they have McNabb. They will certainly go after the best left tackle in the draft which would be Russell Okung, who should be there at #4 when the Redskins pick. They have been having offensive line trouble for years, just ask quarterback Jason Cambell. The Redskins gave up 46 sacks last season, tied for 4th worst in the NFL. Okung will give McNabb the protection he needs. But McNabb wont have the top receiving core he had in Philadelphia. The Eagles are stacked with playmakers such as DeShaun Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, and TE Brent Celek. The Redskins have Santana Moss, TE Fred Davis, and thats about it. McNabb may have to make plays on his own and fit some balls into some tight spots because of the lack of talent at the wide receiver position. He will fit in nicely with new coach Mike Shanahan, who runs the same west coast offense the Eagles and Any Reid run and something McNabb has been doing for years. The transition should be smooth, he will just have to get used to the receivers.

For the Eagles, I believe they go from Super Bowl contender to barely a playoff contender after this move. Only because of the superb talent among TE's and WR's do they have a shot. Kevin Kolb will be the starting quarterback entering camp, according to Andy Reid. But look for Vick to come into the game more out of the wildcat formation, something McNabb did not like last year, saying it disrupted the rhythm of the offense subbing in and out different personnel. Kolb has looked good when he has played over the last 3 years, including throwing for over 700 yds and a 64% completion percentage in 5 games last season. But Kolb has not endured a full season, and has never entered camp a starter. This will be a big step for Kolb and a risky one for the Eagles, who are banking on him to become the next Aaron Rodgers. If Kolb's play is anything like it was the previous 3 seasons, the Eagles will have their young franchise quarterback of the future. Apparently the risk was worth it for the Eagles. Look for the Eagles to draft a linebacker and a defensive lineman with their early round picks in the draft as they will look to get younger on defense.

Comments on the McNabb trade

2010 MLB Over/Unders

2010-04-01T17:28:00.005-04:00

Here are my predictions for the 2010 MLB Over/Unders for each team according to these opening numbers.

Arizona- 82 UNDER
Atlanta- 86.5 OVER
Baltimore- 72.5 OVER
Boston- 94 UNDER
Chicago C- 83 OVER
Chicago W- 82 UNDER
Cincinnati- 78 OVER
Cleveland- 73 UNDER
Colorado- 83 OVER
Detroit- 81 OVER
Florida- 81 UNDER
Houston- 77 UNDER
Kansas City- 71 UNDER
LA Angels- 84 OVER
LA Dodgers- 84 OVER
Milwaukee- 80.5 OVER
Minnesota- 82 OVER
NY Mets- 81 OVER
NY Yankees- 94.5 OVER
Oakland- 78 UNDER
Philadelphia- 92 OVER
Pittsburgh- 71 UNDER
St. Louis- 88 OVER
San Diego- 71 OVER
San Francisco- 83 OVER
Seattle- 83 OVER
Tampa Bay- 89.5 OVER
Texas- 83 OVER
Toronto- 71 UNDER
Washington- 72 UNDER

New York Yankees 2010 Preview

2010-03-30T13:38:00.008-04:00

Its that time of year again. The time when your putting away the shovels and the boots you find that dusty baseball glove laying in the corner of the garage. Time to dust that baby off. Spring is here, and that means baseball is here too.

The New York Yankees are coming off their record 27th World Series Title and 40th American League Pennant after an exhilarating 2009 season. The new stadium opened and the atmosphere could not have been better last season. However last season is last season, and we Yankee fans know, its no good unless you can do it all over again. Lets take a look at the projected lineup, starting rotation, and key additions and losses.

Starting Rotation
L C.C. Sabathia
R A.J. Burnett
L And Pettitte
R Javier Vazquez
R Phil Hughes

Starting Lineup
SS Derek Jeter
DH Nick Johnson
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
C Jorge Posada
CF Curtis Granderson
RF Nick Swisher
LF Brett Gardner

Key Additions: Curtis Granderson (OF); Chan Ho Park (RHP); Marcus Thames (OF); Randy Winn (OF); Nick Johnson (DH/1B)

Key Subtractions: Johnny Damon (OF); Phil Coke (LHP); Hideki Matsui (DH); Ian Kennedy (RHP); Chad Gaudin (RHP)

The Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson early in the off-season and said goodbye to Melky Cabrera, who came on last season but was very inconsistent in his time with the Yankees. Granderson is the perfect clubhouse guy and an outstanding team player with a great swing suited for Yankee Stadium, but his defense in the later part of last season is a concern for me and I'm sure a lot of other Yankee fans. You wouldn't mind lesser numbers from Granderson this year if his defense is significantly better. With all the power in front of him, he just needs to be consistent.

After what could have been a disaster for the Yankees last year in the playoffs, the Yankees do not want to go through what they went through last season, and that is carrying only 3 starting pitchers in the postseason. Even though it worked out, the downfall is far too great in a best of 7 series. So the Yankees went out and worked out a deal with Javier Vazquez. Many Yankees fans cringed when they heard of the signing. Not me. Vazquez is perfect for the role he will play on this team. He will not be called upon to be their ace like he was in 2004. The pressure is no where near the level this year it was back in his first stint with the Yankees. The Yankees didn't have to go out and sign John Lackey or trade for Halladay or Cliff Lee. They have their top of the rotation set, and anything more would just be greed and an overkill.

The biggest question entering spring training was who was going to be the fifth starter. After a month of competition, Phil Hughes will be the fifth srater, leaving Joba Chamberlain to the bullpen, where he belongs. Another year learning from the greatest of greats Mariano Rivera will mold Joba into the closing role once Rivera retires, which I believe will be after this season. Joba had a bad spring and Hughes won the job decisively. With Joba and Rivera, along with Mitre, Marte, Robertson, and Aceves, the bullpen is in good hands. With Hughes in the rotation, if Pettitte stays healthy, the Yankees have a rock solid starting five, definitely one of the top five in the MLB.

There were some losses for this team. Johnny Damon is an irreplaceable clutch hitter. The Yankees will definitely miss his presence both in the clubhouse and once October rolls around. But the blame can only go to Damon. He was offered a 2 year $14 million contract by the Yankees but declined it, seeking more. The Yankees parted their ways and went and traded for Granderson. Damon reluctantly signed a one year $8 million dollar contract with the Tigers after he tried to go back to the Yankees who had moved on. Damon will be missed, but I thought the Yankees treated Damon fairly. Hideki Matsui on the other hand I don't understand. I thought when the Yankees got rid of Nick Johnson the first time it was a mistake, and Brian Cashman desperately wanted to bring him back. But after the postseason Matsui had, it is mind boggling to me that the Yankees did not even offer him a contract. If I had my choice at DH of either Matsui or Johnson, I choose Matsui any day of the week. But Matsui is not getting any younger, and whether or not he can play in the field is still a question. Nick Johnson is versatile and can give a few guys here and there a day off by playing the field.

With everything still intact and a few minor moves this off-season, the Yankees look poised to defend their World Series Title in 2010.

Comments

NFL owners adopt new OT rule for playoffs

2010-03-23T19:33:00.003-04:00

The NFL will now be a little more like college football. NFL owners voted 28-4 in Orlando today to change overtime rules for the playoffs.

Under the new rules, if the team that wins the coin toss and kicks a field goal, the team that lost the toss will have a possession. If they kick a field goal on that possession, then the next team to score wins. If they score a touchdown, the game is over. Also, if the team that wins the toss in overtime scores a touchdown on the first possession, the game is ends. For a complete breakdown and reaction from owners and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, please click here.

This has been a debate that has gone on for some time now in the NFL. Statistics have shown over the past 15 years that ever since the kickoff was moved back 5 yards to the 30, the team that won the toss won nearly 60% of the time. That was apparently enough to convince more than enough owners to change the rule. 24 owners needed to vote yes in order for it to pass.

Players have stated this week that they want to have a say in this process, but all rule changes are made by a vote by the owners.

Interestingly, the Vikings voted AGAINST the rule change. Had the rule been in effect last year, the Vikings would have had a possession after the Saints kicked the winning field goal in overtime of the NFC Championship last season. Owner Zygi Wolf said he voted against it because he wanted consistency between the regular season and the playoffs.

I like this rule change. The regular season is the regular season. We can have ties in the regular season. We can't in the playoffs. The statistics don't lie, since the kickoff was moved back and the game has advanced dramatically offensively, more teams are scoring on their first possession. The same can be said on the first possession of the game and the first possession after the second half. This rule makes sense for all the teams and does not favor one over the other.

Comments

Tiger STILL not answering questions people want answered

2010-03-21T20:58:00.007-04:00

Tiger Woods today granted a five minute interview to ESPN's Tom Rinaldi in Orlando, the first since he crashed his SUV in his driveway last Thanksgiving. You can watch the entire five minute interview here.

Tiger once again refused to answer questions regarding what happened on Thanksgiving night at his home where he crashed his SUV. He still contends the events surrounding Thanksgiving night are between he and his wife. That just does not add up to me. Crashing a car and having affairs with several women are two distinctly different issues. If they are one in the same, then I would assume that Tiger Woods crashed his SUV after getting into a dispute with his wife after she confronted him about having extramarital affairs, something Woods denied happened in his press conference a couple of weeks ago. If they are not one in the same, then I believe Tiger's problems stem deeper than sex addiction. I do not care about the women Tiger has slept with and the motives he had to sleep with them. That stuff is for The View. What matters to me and golf fans is to why he's been away from the game for 5 months.

It has been reported that Tiger underwent treatment for sex addiction at a rehab facility in Mississippi. Quietly, the National Enquirer has also reported that Tiger Woods sought treatment in Arizona for substance abuse of prescription medications after he finished rehab in Mississippi. You can read that story here. In the police report, it was cited that Tiger's wife Elin turned over two prescription drug bottles to police officers at the scene. This along with the fact that Tiger declined to be interviewed by the Florida highway patrol after the accident is more than enough evidence to me that something else is going here.

The events of the past several months do not add up. If you ask me, I believe that Tiger Woods has a problem of abusing prescription medication, which may or may not have possibly lead to other inappropriate actions in Tigers life. But we don't know, and that's the problem. Tiger again controlled this press conference by limiting the time to five minutes. No time for follow-up questions, and no time to get deep into certain issues the public wants to hear about. Tiger again had the opportunity to set the record straight and put this entire thing behind him. Instead it continues to drag on as the Masters gets closer and closer. And that is something I would not want to be hanging over my head as I play the biggest major championship of my career.

Your thoughts on Tiger in Comments

Florida Pro Day

2010-03-17T13:54:00.010-04:00

The Day Tim Tebow fans have been waiting for has finally come. Tebow today worked out in front of pro scouts and coaches for his final shot to prove he is NFL ready and fit to be a starting quarterback in the league. Will his new and improved motion on display in front of scouts elevate his draft status come April? Only time will tell. You can read my take on Tebow from an earlier blog here. For a complete breakdown of Tebow's day, be sure to check out the Fox Sports Blog.

CB Joe Haden was also looking at a shot to improve his draft status after a not so good showing at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Haden reportedly ran a 4.43 40, much better than the 4.57 he ran at the Combine. Need to be in that range to be able to run with wide receivers in the NFL. Haden will be a first round pick come April, and his showing today only solidified that.

TE Aaron Hernandez also had a nice showing today by reportedly running a 4.5. He is going to be a beast of a tight end in the NFL. At 6-2, 250 he is a big, physical tight end with great hands that will be an unstoppable weapon in the red zone come Sundays. He gets off blocks and his lack of ability in pass protection is overblown in my opinion. Behind Oklahoma's Jermain Gresham, he is the best TE available in the Draft.

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin was on site to see the 15 or so University of Florida players workout at their Pro Day. The Giants are in desperate need of linebacking help after they released their middle linebacker and leader Antonio Pierce. Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes was an option for the Giants to replace him along with Alabama middle linebacker Rolando McClain. I say was because Spikes has been a concern for a lot of pro scouts because of his speed and is not projected as a top 15 pick by most. Most draft experts have Spikes going late first round, early second round. But his stock may drop even further after not breaking 5 seconds on his 40 time today, leaving me and many others shaking their heads. He ran a 5.02 and 5.08 in his two attempts, according to reports. The Giants might be looking in a direction other than Spikes for their middle linebacker, but regardless this issue must be cleared up prior to the start of the season if the Giants wish to return to their Super Bowl form from 3 years ago. If they do not sign or draft a middle linebacker by the start of the season, the competition in camp will be between Chase Blackburn and Jonathon Goff.

The Giants current starting linebackers are Danny Clark, who is 32 and his tackles have declined in recent years, and Michael Boley who, when healthy last year, was great in pass defense and productive in stopping the run. The Giants really could have settled this issue by pursuing LB Carlos Dansby, but Giants GM Jerry Reese decided to go in a different direction and build through the draft after a busy offseason last year in signing free agents on defense.

If the Giants want to use their #15 pick to get a middle linebacker, they will have to hold their breath between picks 9-14 to see if McClain falls to them. Denver plays a 3-4, a system McClain thrived in at Alabama under coach Nick Saban, and would fit perfect in their defense. A system the Giants do not play. If Denver loses WR Brandon Marshall prior to the draft, they will undoubtedly take WR Dez Bryant from Oklahoma State. If not, McClain could be their man. The Browns also need help on defense, although mainly in the secondary. McClain may be their guy. If hes gone, look for the Giants to trade down.

Comments. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tiger Woods to make return at The Masters

2010-03-16T11:24:00.004-04:00

Tiger is back. He will return next month at The Masters. This will be Tiger's first tournament since his accident and subsequent fallout from last Thanksgiving.

The choice makes total sense from his standpoint. TMZ and the like do not have credentials to the Masters and won't be there to hound Tiger with questions not pertaining to golf. He may get some non-golf questions from the regular golf media but nothing that will make Tiger uncomfortable.

The fans are another distraction Tiger must face on his return. Another advantage for him in choosing the Masters is they are strict about golf etiquette. They will escort off the grounds anyone they deem is disrupting either other fans or the players. This is something only done at Augusta and no other PGA tournament or USGA tournament. No one will be yelling in Tiger's swing or chanting any obscenities. The following clause appears on the Masters website:

"In golf, customs of etiquette and decorum are just as important as rules governing play. It is appropriate for spectators to applaud successful strokes in proportion to difficulty but excessive demonstrations by a player or his partisans are not proper because of the possible effect upon other competitors."

"Most distressing to those who love the game of golf is the applauding or cheering of misplays or misfortunes of a player. Such occurrences have been rare at the Masters but we must eliminate them entirely if our patrons are to continue to merit their reputation as the most knowledgeable and considerate in the world."

Tigers return will do wonders for ratings for The Masters, which always usually have high ratings.

More on The Masters as it gets closer. Comments

Giants and Jets both to open new stadium Opening Weekend, but WHY?

2010-03-15T17:47:00.003-04:00

The New York Giants have been planning for nearly 5 years the construction of the new Meadowlands Stadium set to open next month. The New York Jets originally planed to build their own stadium on the West Side of Manhattan before that was thwarted by politicians. Don't even get me started on trying to build ANYTHING in the state of New York, its just a joke.

After the West Side Stadium collapse, the Jets and Giants joined forces in a 50/50 partnership in the Meadowlands Stadium. Unlike the current stadium where the Jets are tenants, the new stadium will not be named after the Giants and even the colors will be interchangeable to reflect who is playing.

So when the question came up as to who would open the new Stadium, both teams demanded that it be them. One solution that made perfect sense for everyone and would please a lot of fans would be to let the 2 teams play each other Week 1. But that was quickly thwarted by the NFL. Since the 2 teams are not scheduled to play each other until next year, the NFL would not alter the schedule to solve the dispute. No problem. We all know how complex and particular the schedule is and how far in advance its planned. So the next thing was to just award it to the Giants, after all they started the process. The Jets quickly whined about that idea. So the NFL decided it would flip a coin to see who has the first game. When the NFL conducted the coin flip without representatives from either team present, the Jets whined again saying the flip was biased.

O.K. on to solution number three, have BOTH teams open the stadium on the same weekend, which the NFL has decided it will do. The Giants will be first and open on Sunday with the Jets hosting on Monday Night Football. The Jets will open the first preseason game, not that it matters because no one shows up to them anyway.

But how we got here was sketchy to say the least, with a lot of back and forth by both the Jets and the NFL. This solution makes total sense, but oh man wouldn't it have been fun if the two faced each other Week 1 in September? Try getting a ticket to that game!

Comments

NFL Free Agency Tracker 2010

2010-03-05T12:16:00.020-05:00

3/14 7:30 P.M.: Ladainian Tomlinson has signed a two year contract with the New York Jets. The Jets were in need of a backup running back after Thomas Jones decided not to re-sign with the Jets in a limited role and chose to be the focal back in Kansas City. LT on the other hand comes in understanding that the lead role will primarily be Shonn Greene. LT will be a nice compliment to a team that lead the NFL in rushing a year ago behind the best offensive line in football. Unlike Jones, LT comes to a team that is prime to win now. With Greene, LT, and Leon Washington in the backfield, Mark Sanchez in year two, and assuming they resign Braylon Edwards, the Jets are set for another great run at a Super Bowl in 2010.

Following up yesterdays move by the Browns, they have traded Brady Quinn to Denver for RB Peyton Hillis and two conditional 2011 draft picks. The starting job in Cleveland will now be Jake Delhomme's, barring an injury in the off-season or a leap by Seneca Wallace who was signed earlier in the off-season. The Broncos add Quinn to most likely backup Kyle Orton, who resurrected his career last season after being traded from Chicago to Denver. Orton had a fantastic 2009 throwing for 3,800 yards and 21 touchdowns.

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3/13 9:30 P.M.: The Cleveland Browns have signed former Panthers QB Jake Delhome to a 2 year contract. Delhomme enters after being benched midway through last season in favor of Matt Moore. Delhomme will be competing for the starting job against Brady Quin once training camp begins. Quinn was originally slated to be the starter the year he was drafted, 2007, but after a hot camp by Derek Anderson Quin sat his rookie year and watched Anderson lead the Browns to a 10-6 record. Anderson was immediately named the Browns starter for 2008 but struggled mightily as Quinn started to take over late in 2008 and won the job in camp in 2009. Last season under new coach Eric Mangini, The Browns turned to more of a rushing team as neither Quinn or Anderson held onto their starting jobs. Bringing in the experienced Delhomme will no doubt push Brady Quinn to improve his game, as he is only 3-9 as a starter in the NFL. Mike Holmgren seems to believe that Quinn still is either not ready to be a starter, or will never be one. Either way Delhomme has a great shot to resurrect his career after an abysmal season last year in Carolina last season.

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3/12 11:20 P.M.: The Washington Redskins have signed former Chiefs RB Larry Johnson to a 3 year contract. Johnson enters the Skins backfield that has Cinton Portis but no longer has Ladell Betts. Portis only played in 8 games this past season and ran for under 500 yards for the first time in his career. Johnson comes in after a nasty departure from the Chiefs when he had some unkind words about their head coach Todd Haley. Johnson has not lived up to his hype after the back to back 1,700 yard seasons in 2005 and 2006. He has been injured off and on and has only averaged above 4 yards per carry in 1 season since 2006. The Redskins problems run much deeper than the running back position. The offensive line needs work and the Skins are still undecided as to whether new coach Mike Shanahan will move forward with Jason Cambell or start over and pick a quarterback with the #4 overall pick in the Draft this April. This is a good depth signing by the Redskins, although I do not believe he will contend for the starting job is Portis is healthy. If hes not, Johnson is a great insurance policy and will take over if called upon.

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3/11 10:45 A.M.: The Cincinnati Bengals have signed former Buccaneers WR Antonio Bryant to a four year, 28 million dollar contract. Bryant has been inconsistent throughout his career with only two 1,000 yard seasons and no seasons of 10 or more TD's. Some of the blame can be put on the fact that Bryant never played with a great quarterback, playing with Trent Dilfer in Cleveland and Rookie Alex Smith in San Francisco. Once Bryant got to Tampa Bay with Jeff Garcia, he had the best season of his career with 1,200 yards receiving and 7 TD's. But once Garcia left last year and Josh Freeman took over as quarterback, Bryants numbers declined significantly.

With Pro-Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer, when not injured, leading the Bengals on offense, Bryant could be a valuable asset playing opposite Chad OchoCinco. The Bengals were also exploring bringing in the older Terell Owens, but chose for the younger Bryant instead. The Bengals have been lacking WR talent for years, weaving in and out several different receivers. The Bengals had their guy before the unexpected and tragic death of Chris Henry last season. With Bryant, OchoCinco, and Bubba Caldwell now set as the top 3 receivers in Cincinnati, the Bengals seem set on offense to defend their 2009 AFC North title.

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3/10 10:00 A.M.: Thomas Jones has signed a two year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Jones leaves the Jets after 3 stellar seasons behind the best offensive line in football to go to a mediocre team in the AFC West with no shot at a Super Bowl. Why would a 30+ year old back want to leave a contender to become the featured back on a bad team? Ego. Thomas Jones is more concerned about being a starting running back then being a winner. With an attitude like that, the Jets should hold their heads high and say "don't let the door hit you in the but on the way out." I'm sure the Jets offers to Jones were more than satisfying for most 30+ year old backs in this league.

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3/7 3:10 P.M.: The New York Jets have traded safety Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2010 fourth round pick, and a 2011 seventh round pick. Rhodes fills a void that was left in the Cardinals secondary after Antrel Rolle signed with the Giants yesterday. Rhodes should be a very good fit for the cards as they play a lot of cover 2. The Jets, meanwhile, have a huge void at the safety position. Rhodes played alright last season after 3 stellar seasons. Eric Smith and Jim Leonhard, who is a free agent, are the only regulars left on the Jets roster. I would expect the Jets to use their first round pick this year, #29, to pick a safety. Eric Berry will be a top 10 pick, but if the Jets trade up a few spots, they can grab Taylor Mays out of USC and he would have an immediate impact on the defense.

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11:10 P.M.: The Baltimore Ravens have acquired WR Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals in exchange for a third and fourth round draft pick in 2010. Boldin has been a hot commodity for 2 years now and it was only a matter of time before the Cardinals traded him. There is no way they would trade Larry Fitzgerald, and with the emergence of Early Doucet and Steve Breaston, Boldin was the odd man out. The Cardinals will not skip a beat at the WR position because the aforementioned Doucet and Breaston are more than capable of picking up the slack. As far as the Ravens go, this is a huge addition for them. Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason are getting up there in age and are not the players they used to be. Mason is still a great receptions guy, but they needed someone to go deep, and Boldin is their man. He is a big, physical receiver who will catch the ball in traffic.

The Giants have added another safety from THE U, Antrel Rolle. Rolle previously played for the Cardinals and had recorded 10 interceptions over the last 3 season. It is being reported that the contract will be the highest in NFL history for a safety. Well worht it for the Giants. Thier secondary was TERRIBLE last season. Actually, terrible is an understatement. Most plays of 40+ yards given up in franchise history. The loss of Kenny Phillips certainly reflects that, but the Giants now have a back-up plan in case Phillips is not 100% by the start of camp. Giants GM Jerry Reese seemed concerned about this when talking today, so it seems Phillips is behind schedule as far as rehab goes. Lets hope this is not the case. And if that is not the case, the Giants will have a U at both safety positions starting next season, much to the delight of Giants fans.

After watching the Jets make big moves yesterday, the Dolphons could not sit quietly. They have signed MLB Carlos Dansby to a 5-year contract. Dansby joins a linebacking core that already has Jason Taylor. They released Joey Porter last month. No doubt this was a huge pickup for the Dolphins whose defense fell last year compared to years past as they tried to get younger. Dansby will be called upon to lead this young defense as they try to compete with the Jets and Pats at the top of the AFC East in 2010.

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3:15 P.M.: The frugal Chicago Bears have opened their wallets and have signed Julius Peppers to a 6 year contract. Peppers was the #1 free agent this year and a very talented pass rusher. The Bears defense could use this boost. With the Bears trading their first and second round draft picks this year, this was their only opportunity to add impact players to their team. Not stopping there, they have also signed former Vikings running back Chester Taylor and former Chargers TE Brandon Manumaleuna. Manumaleuna is a nice target for quarterback Jay Cutler, who struggled last season to finish drives. The Bears with these moves have boosted their roster dramatically and appear ready to challenge Green Bay and Minnesota for the NFC North title in 2010

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The leagues #1 defense just got better. The New York Jets have acquired Antonio Cromartie from the San Diego Chargers for a conditional third round pick in 2011. This is a no brainier move by the Jets. Recently released corner Lito Sheppard struggled during the end of the season and was benched in the AFC title game. Cromartie will fit right in opposite Derell Revis. The Jets as everyone knows loves to send pressure, that means corners will have to play tight and play quick to the ball, which Cromartie does extremely well. I wouldn't want to be trying to play the Jets next season trailing in the fourth quarter.

More reaction to signings as they happen

NFL Free Agency 2010

2010-03-04T17:22:00.005-05:00

The bidding begins at midnight for several prominent NFL players who will become free agents.

Julius Peppers, Darren Sharper, Carlos Dansby, Garry Brackett, Kevin MaWae, Thomas Jones, and LaDainian Tomlinson are at the top of the wish list.

This year, unlike most in the past, any team who finished out of the top 8 last year will be able to throw any amount of money they want to lure in free agents. This is because 2010 will be an uncapped year in the NFL.

Rumors are circulating everywhere as to where these players, among many others, may land come midnight. It's anyone's guess, but Washington, Chicago, Arizona, Carolina, Giants, and Seattle are expected to be major players with holes to fill at big money positions. Just because teams have the ability to spend all the money they want does not mean they will. Several teams are not expected to reach the cap floor set last year. No ceiling, no floor. A lot of teams will take a year off and collect their TV money.

Jerry Reese, GM of the Giants, has publicly stated he is not pursuing free agent LB Carlos Dansby, a good move in my opinion. A better move would be to draft one with the #15 pick taking either McClain or Spikes. The Giants should go after Julius Peppers. The Giants pass rush was lacking significantly last year even with Osi Umenyiora's return. It has become clear that Osi is frustrated with the way he has been handled by the coaching staff and the organization. I think the Giants think of him as their #1 pass rusher, but Osi's actions off the field have to be concerning to the coaches and management. If the Giants have faith in Osi, come out and say it publicly. If not, make an offer to Peppers and trade Osi. Another gaping hole the Giants have is safety. I stated a few months ago that Bob Sanders would be a perfect fit if the Colts released him. I figured they would because of his injury's, but they have not. The next best thing is Darren Sharper. He has been a Giant killer over the years with New Orleans, Minnesota, and Green Bay. It would be nice to see him in Giant blue next season. If these needs are not addressed during free agency, the will be addressed at the draft in April.

The Jets are limited as to who they can sign because they reached the AFC Championship last year. In order to sign someone, they must lose someone of equal or lesser value. The Jets have cut Thomas Jones, but they are trying to turn around and resign him. If they could, they would love nothing more than to throw all the money in the world at Julius Peppers. That is a void that cost them a shot at the Super Bowl last year. But they can't. They must make do with what they have and add through the draft. This year more than other, the draft will be very very important for teams who are unable to spend money and are only a player or two away from being championship teams.

I'll have more on the Draft as we get closer. Comments on free agency here.

Canada wins Gold in Vancouver

2010-03-01T18:25:00.004-05:00

From elation to disbelief, all in a matter of about a half an hour.

When Zach Parise scored the tying goal with 24 seconds left in the third period for the United States, the air was sucked right out of Canada Hockey Place as team Canada went into the locker room at the end of regulation. The United States were still celebrating as they went in with a wave of momentum on their side heading into OT. Canada would have to kick it into another gear to sustain the U.S.

One thing they had going for them, 4 on 4. The United States was no match against Canada 4 on 4. In fact, play a full 60 minutes 4 on 4 and Canada wins hands down. Too much space for the superstars on team Canada to utilize their skill and create scoring chances. And sure enough 2 of those superstars would create the situation for the game winner. After a simple dump to the corner, Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby worked a simple cycle play along the boards. Defenseman Brian Raflaski let Crosby get ahead of him and left him in alone on Miller. As Miller went to poke check the puck away from Crosby, Crosby looked up, saw Miller reach out, and pushed the puck in the exposed 5 hole of Miller. Its one of those bang bang situations for a goalie that once you decide to go for a poke check, you leave the 5 hole (the area between the goalie pads) totally exposed. The helpless Miller fell to the ice in disbelief as Crosby and team Canada celebrated to his left along the boards.

If that same situation had happened 5 on 5, that goal never happens. Once the puck is dumped in, a defenseman and the center would flow towards the boards in pursuit of the puck and the second defenseman would stay back. In that situation both defenseman went along the boards to pursue the puck and the centerman stayed high to defend the point. Its just a situation that is not practiced a lot by NHL players because they rarely play 4 on 4.

But to get to that point in the game, Zach Parise had to get us their. And who would anyone else think it would be besides him? With the goalie pulled under a minute to go, Patrick Kane cycled the puck around the net, turned, and shot towards Luongo. Both Parise and Langenbrunner were left alone in front of Luongo behind the defense as everyone on Canada was watching Patrick Kane. Parise would put home the rebound on Kane's shot to tie the game. Another huge defensive let down that we saw too much of in this game from both teams. On Canada's first goal, Eric Johnson tried to pass the puck up the middle to his defense partner rather than clearing high up the boards. The puck was turned over, and Jonathon Toews buried home a rebound for the first goal for Canada.

The great thing about this game and these Olympics is the exposure hockey is getting. Normal people who normally do not watch hockey were glued to their TV sets over the past 2 weeks, and are still talking about the game today. The U.S. Canada preliminary round game was the highest rated show on MSNBC besides Election Night coverage (not a shocker by any means). The NHL needs to take advantage of this for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs this year in their marketing. Let the casual sports fans know that this is what happens year round for all 30 teams for 82 games followed by the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their case isn't helped by the fact that Versus is not carried on DirecTV in an ongoing dispute over a contract.

Another thing up in the air is the 2014 games in Sochi. The NHL collective bargaining agreement will expire prior to those games, so the NHL right now will not commit to sending their players to them. It would be a monumental mistake should the best hockey players in the world NOT be playing in those games. Every player that was their this week said they would not give up a chance to play in these games for anything. Lets keep it that way.

Comments on the Olympics

Go for the Gold: USA vs. Canada Men's Hockey Preview

2010-02-27T20:23:00.011-05:00

They said it was a fluke. They said it wont happen again next time around. They said, "we'll have our shot at redemption." They chanted, "We Want USA!"

Be careful what you wish for.

A week ago removed from the preliminary round battle, Canada will have their re-match against the U.S. tomorrow in Vancouver. This time it's for gold. And this time, Martin Brodeur will not be in net. In that game, Broduer didn't know what to do with himself without the trapezoid. He played the puck so much it led to two goals. Two goals for the U.S. Brodeur dug his team a hole early that his team could not dig him out of. Brodeur tried to do way too much and it backfired on him. I am surprised about how bad Brodeur played. In the preliminary round I criticized the decision by coach Mike Babcock to even give Luongo a game. That's why I am here and he is there. Luongo looks so much more relaxed in the crease and controlling of rebounds and is the clear better of the two right now.

But on the other side of the ice stands U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller, who has stood on his head all tournament and has carried his team all the way to an improbable shot at gold tomorrow. Something I thought, and I'm sure a lot of other U.S. hockey fans thought, was not possible. It was bad enough they were matched in the same pool as Canada. But after that win a week ago, and the play of Miller, it jump started the whole team. They were playing much more aggressive, and much like a team that has been here before, instead of the team who's average age is 26.

After the win over Canada, the U.S. had a first round bye and faced the Swiss in a re-match of the preliminary round in which the U.S. won a tight 3-1 game. The Swiss, known for some big Olympic upsets, hung around with the U.S. all game, but once again it was the Ryan Miller show and he would not be beaten. Zach Parise (Hey Mike Milbury, what do you think of Zach Parise now?) scored both U.S. goals (one an empty netter) and lifted the U.S. to the semifinals against Finland, who won Silver in 2006 in Turin as they were defeated by Sweden. Led by goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, the Fins were no pushover. Or so it seemed. Kiprusoff was awful in net for the Fins and let in 4 first period goals before removing himself from the game. He was not comfortable, playing very deep in his crease and not moving well at all. Before the first period was over, the U.S. put in 5. They would cruise to a 6-1 win and a shot at gold tomorrow.

By losing to the U.S. Sunday, it meant Canada would not have a bye and would play Germany in the first Qualifying round. No sweat for Canada as they won 8-2. But a sweat was coming, and it would be from the Russians who they would play in the Quarterfinals. Led by Alexander Ovechkin and goalie Evgeni Nabokov, the Russians were a huge favorite to medal in these Olympics. A showdown I thought would be for gold, would send one of the favorites home without a shot at a medal. Much like Kiprusoff for the Fins, Nabokov was equally as bad in that game giving up 6 goals not even half way through. Canada would win 7-3 and face Slovakia led by Zedeno Chara and Ziggy Palffy in the Semis. Canada had a 3-0 lead in the third but gave up 2 goals in the final ten minutes. Slovakia had a chance to tie the game with under a minute left but missed a bad angle shot on the right side of the net and Canada held on for their shot at the re-match.

Last Sunday, Canada put 45 shots on Ryan Miller and the U.S. They dominated play and controlled the puck for a majority of the game. The U.S. can not allow this to happen again tomorrow. You can only rely on a goaltender for so long it is only a matter of time before those shots start going in if he is under that amount of barrage. The U.S. has to get their forecheck going early and try and sustain it throughout the game. Keep the play in the Canadian zone. Make them play defense. With all those stars on their team like Crosby, Getzlaf, Staal, Heatly and so on, get them frustrated early. Make them play in their own zone and limit the opportunities for Canada. Do that, and I think the U.S. will have their first gold since the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.

Your thoughts on the game in Comments. LETS GO USA!

30th Anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice"

2010-02-22T11:34:00.008-05:00

30 years ago today, 23 unknown college kids defeated what was arguably the greatest hockey team that ever lived in one of the greatest sports moments in United States history. Everyone who was alive that day remembers where they were and how they heard the news. It was one of those "where were you?" moments we compare to national tragedies like 9/11 and the JFK assassination. But unlike those moments, this moment was one to celebrate.

I was not alive that day, but the feeling I get when seeing highlights makes me feel like I was there. The story has been told over and over in books and in movies, but it can not duplicate the raw emotion someone feels when it takes place. It was a storybook moment that will never be forgotten.

Yesterday on NBC, Al Micheals went back to Lake Place along with team Team USA captain Mike Eruzione, goaltender Jim Craig, and leading scorer and current Team USA Women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson, to relive the spectacle and describe it in their own words. They went through game by game recapping all that took place and told some inside stories that most people knew and some stories that we haven't heard before.

Everyone knows the story of how the team had one enemy, their coach, and how he put them through a vigorous 6 months program before the 1980 Olympics. Herb Brooks put the team together by himself and was determined to put together a group that would beat the Soviets in Lake Placid. Three days before the Olympics started, Team USA faced the Soviets in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden and were annihilated 10-3. Eruzione and Mark Johnson said yesterday they were mesmerized by the Soviets and how they skated and scored goals. The team then faced Sweden in the first game of the preliminary round and forced a 2-2 tie with under a minute to go in the third period. They would then beat the Czechs 7-3 followed by wins over Norway, Romania, and Germany to set up the semi-final showdown with the Soviets.

Herb Brooks was known to give his fair share of speeches. In fact, the team had a name for them and called them "Brooksisms." They included some wacky sayings, but none will top this one he gave to his team in the locker room prior to the semi-final game against the Soviets:

The rest as they say, is history. Team USA defeated the Soviets 4-3 and then defeated Finland to win Gold. In the games since, the IOC has used professional athletes in the games. That doesn't make the games any less meaningful or less exciting. As we have seen in Vancouver this year, the enthusiasm and the following is still there, even if the games are not even on network television.

For anyone who does not know the story of that memorable February 30 years ago, I highly recommend the movie "Miracle" starring Kurt Russel as coach Brooks as you saw above. It is a clearly accurate portrayal of the entire story surrounding that team. Even if you know nothing about hockey, I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Comments...

Buy or Sell? Tiger Woods' Apology

2010-02-17T16:08:00.007-05:00

Updated Feb. 19 12:15 P.M.: Instead of shedding some light into what he has been doing the past 2 months, Tiger Woods started the blame game in his statement this morning. He blamed the media for relentlessly pursuing his wife and children. Now I do not agree that his wife and kids should be harassed because of what Tiger did, but Tiger caused more damage to his family than the media could ever do. Tiger is in no position to blame anyone but himself. Had it not been for Tigers actions, he would not have put his family in that kind of situation. No one is at fault but Tiger. Not his wife, not his kids, not his mistresses, not the fans, and not the media. Just Tiger.

Tigers deficient apology today left me and I'm sure a lot of people scratching their heads as to why here and why now. We learned little to nothing about the past 2 plus months of Tigers life. He did say that he has been in therapy, but not for what. He read an insincere, prepared speech that everyone knew he did not write and I'm sure if you asked Tiger he would honestly say he probably would rather not give. It was total PR damage control that probably did more harm than good.

What would have been better for him to do was make a brief statement and apology followed by a brief question and answer. The best thing is you could have prearranged the media and even the questions you wanted asked. No one was forcing him to do this. This is not a PGA Tour event where he must sit down and answer questions from the golf media. He could have answered or not answered anything he wanted. Something unprepared and from the heart would have gone over much better. And anyone who says that Tigers' apology today was "sincere" and "from the heart" was not watching the same press conference the rest of us were. You couldn't get any more insincere than that.

So do you buy or sell tigers apology? Comments...

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Tiger Woods is scheduled to make a statement on Friday to lay out his future plans and to make a formal apology. He will not answer any questions from the small media that will be in attendance.

Sounds like he will do what Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee did when they went back and forth with each other about Clemens' steroid use.

Lets hope Tiger will shed some light into his life between Thanksgiving and now, and hopefully he will announce when he will return to golf.

I'll have more after his statement Friday

XXI Winter Olympics: Vancouver 2010

2010-02-16T17:21:00.009-05:00

Updated: Feb 17, 11:30 AM: NBC should be ashamed of themselves the way they are handling coverage of the Olympics. This Sunday night, US mens hockey is playing Canada in prime time and the game is not being carried on network TV. One of the biggest Olympic hockey rivalries and you cant find it on any station below channel 10. What an absolute disgrace.

To add more to the fact, last night the US mens curling team took on Norway in an epic match, that was not even televised anywhere in the US. What was on you ask? Womens hockey between Finland and China. No offense to those countries, but I'm in the US and I want to see US teams in any sport when they are playing, LIVE. They showed the rerun at 2:30 in the morning when most people are asleep. NBC has no excuse for not showing live US teams when they are competing. Not only were they not televised, but if you logged on to www.nbcolympics.com to try and watch it, NBC made you jump through 50 hoops just to get to the feed. Absolutely rediculous. I hope NBC loses Olympic coverage when their contract expires. The network is going down the tubes, and it is clearly obvious why that is.

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Whats so great about the Olympics is that no matter what sport is being played, everybody has a sense of pride for their countries that's not experienced anywhere else. Whether its hockey, speed skating, or curling, it doesn't matter. We root as hard for them as if we are rooting for our favorite professional NFL, NBA, or NHL teams. Maybe even more. Its a feeling that runs through our bodies that is indescribable that so many of us feel. Call it patriotism, call it whatever you want, but the feeling is like no other.

Every 4 years I get strange looks when I tell my friends that I am "so pumped" for Olympic Curling. It's a sport I found accidentally 8 years ago while home sick from school one day. I happened to catch the US Olympic Curling team playing a match and I just simply could not change the channel. Anyone who has watched the sport can probably say the same thing.

But the one sport that always get my blood pumping is hockey. The US men defeated Switzerland 3-1 in their first of 3 preliminary games. Each Country plays every team in their pool, usually 4 teams consisting of 3 games, in the Preliminary Round. The team with the most points (3 points for a win in 60 min, 2 points for overtime/SO win, 1 point for overtime/SO loss) in each pool advances. The US Mens pool consists of Switzerland, Norway, and Canada. Canada is the host country and one of the favorites to medal this year along with Russia. The US should get passed Norway on Thursday, but will have a tough time with Canada on Sunday Night.

Canada has made some questionable moves and haven't even played a game yet. They have chosen to start Roberto Luongo in their first game against Norway Tuesday over the worlds greatest goalie Martin Brodeur. Brodeur will start Thursday against Switzerland, but have yet to declare a starter for the game against the US. Ron Wilson, Scott Gordon, and John Tortorella along with all the US players are praying nightly that the starter is Luongo. I have no idea what Mike Babcock is thinking sitting the best goalie the world has ever seen in favor of the hometown Luongo. We'll have to wait and see if it pays off for them.

But if your sitting home on Sunday Night with nothing to watch, turn on this game at 7:00 P.M. EST on NBC 8 "THE OCHO" (OK OK, MSNBC)

Enjoy the games everyone. Comments

Gaints making moves: Cut LB Antonio Pierce

2010-02-11T13:40:00.005-05:00

It is being reported that the New York Giants will cut middle linebacker Antonio Pierce. Pierce was their on-field leader and signal caller for the past 5 seasons which include a Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XLII. I can't say that this is a move that shocks me. Pierce was starting to show his age the past two years playing in pass protection and tackling. His tackles dropped significantly since 2006. Running backs were starting to run by him as he began to slow this year prior to his season ending due to injury.

I will be forever grateful to Pierce for how he lead the defense to that memorable Super Bowl in 2007. I wish him well in his future in the NFL, someone will sign him.

But I think this move is the right one for the Giants to make taking into account the collective bargaining agreement. The Giants need to make a move to get younger, and this is a great start. I believe Jonathon Goff played well in the time he was given and would like to see more of him in the coming year. The Giants need another outside linebacker to play opposite of Michael Boley. Boley, when healthy, played well last season and was their best pass defender at the linebacker position. I believe the Giants will look in the draft to pick up some linebackers who can step up.

I have searched through many draft sites and found that most have the Giants selecting either Brandon Spikes from Florida or Rolando McClain from Alabama. Considering the big Gator fan I am I would love to see the Giants take Spikes, but I think the better fit would be McClain. Much faster and much more versatile, but not the tackler Spikes is. But tackling can be taught, speed can't.

The Giants should also look into terminating the contracts of Rocky Bernard and Fred Robbins. Both veterans who's contracts can be dumped to pursue younger players on the defensive line. Let Jay Alford and Barry Cofield, both very good young players, get the starting job next year and bring in some other players to compete with them.

While we are on the topic of the Giants, one guy I would love to see in a Giants uniform is Bob Sanders. Assuming the Colts terminate the final 2 years of his contract, I think he would be a PERFECT fit to play opposite Kenny Phillips at safety. Sanders can show the young Phillips the ropes of the position and, assuming he's healthy, still contribute as one of the best tackling safety's in the league. Michael Johnson is a good safety, but not yet ready to be a starter every week. I believe he will benefit from Sanders' presence as well.

Jerry Reese has some tough and interesting decisions to make in the coming weeks. We'll have to wait and see what he does and react to it as it happens.

Comments

New Orleans Saints: Super Bowl XLIV Champions!

2010-02-08T12:23:00.008-05:00

Updated 3:23 P.M.:The NFL has a rule that if a receiver commits a "second act" while trying to reach the ball over the goal line and is successful in the act, then that act will overrule the fact that a receiver dropped the ball. As in the case with Lance Moore's two point conversion last night, Moore was ruled to have committed that "second act" thus overturning the original incomplete pass call. A strange rule that I did not know, nor do I really understand what constitutes a "second act." I hope that rule and the "complete the play" rule is looked at and changed in the off season.

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Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints took a lot of time to get going in Super Bowl XLIV, but when they did it was memorable.

Both teams needed to shake off the early jittery feeling everybody gets when playing in the Super Bowl. Marques Colston and Pierre Garcon each dropped passes early. New Orleans did not get too Manning in the first half and the Colts took an early 10-0 lead.

On the Colts first touchdown drive, Addai carried most of the load and the Saints missed a lot of tackles. On the Addai 29-yard run, Saints corner Jabarie Greer was injured on the tackle. Greer's replacement comes in and is matched up on Pierre Garcon. Garcon fakes like hes going outside, and the corner takes away the outside move like he should with safety help over the top on the inside. Garcon then comes inside and runs straight up the seem where Safety Roman Harper gave up on the deep route and let Garcon run right by him when his responsibility is deep. Bad play by the safety there and the Colts look on their way to a route.

The Saints responded with a field goal on their next possession, and then came the game changer. On 3rd and 4 Manning threw a dart to Pierre Garcon that looks to be going to the house, and Garcon dropped the ball. Colts go 3 and out and punt. The Saints drive all the way down and have 1st and goal from the 3 yard line. They commit a penalty, but get it to 2rd and goal on the 1. At this point if your Sean Payton, you either know or not if you are going on 4th down and if you are you attempt a pass on either 3rd or 4th down. They don't pass on either down and the Colts stuff them. On plays that close to the goal line, all 11 defensive players are so close to the line of scrimmage it is impossible to get everyone blocked. On 4th down linebacker Garry Bracket and corner Tim Jennings were unblocked and stopped Pierre Thomas short.

So Manning is getting into his bread and butter, 2 minutes and 2 timeouts. But what do the Colts do? They play conservative and run 3 times up the middle. They gave up thinking they get the ball back after the half no matter what. The Colts punt and the Saints sneak in another field goal as time expired to make it 10-6.

Opening the second half, the Saints go for the jugular. Payton calls for the onside kick after having to think about it for 30 minutes during an elongated Super Bowl halftime. The gamble, which will go down as one of the gutsiest calls in Super Bowl history, paid off as the Saints drove right down the field and took the lead 13-10.

The Colts come back and answer like they normally do. The Saints played soft coverage and missed a tone of tackles on the drive that lead to the Colts retaking the lead 17-13.

Dwight Freeney and the Colts defense was very effective in the first half getting to Drew Brees and disrupting what the Saints tried to do. During the second half, the Colts defense hindered significantly without Dwight Freeney after he came out in the 3rd quarter and would not return. Brees was on fire in the second half, but still losing. They kick another field goal to make it 17-16.

Peyton takes over in the 3rd quarter and the possession carry's over to the 4th quarter. Its now 4th and 2 for the Colts on the Saints 46. They go for it, and make it. The play was a slant to Wayne that he juggled but caught. The coverage was pressed but I have a problem with the fact that Wayne was not bumped at the line of scrimmage. I feel that if Porter would have bumped Wayne at the line it would have significantly impacted the decision Manning made their. Manning saw it and converted. Then the Saints defense came up big blowing up a screen play on 2nd and 8, and on 3rd down Manning sees a great match up which is WR Austin Collie on a MLB Jonathon Vilma. Collie ran up the seem and was matched stride for stride with the linebacker Vilma who broke up the play. Incredible coverage on a WR by a middle linebacker which is usually a clear miss match. This left Matt Stover a 51-yard field goal attempt that he misses. I do not agree with the call to kick their. I would have gone for it in that situation, but would not have a problem with a punt. The Saints dominated field position all night and backing them up their would have given a reason for them to be a little skeptical. Instead the Saints took advantage of their field position, Brees stayed hot and drove right down the field and scored to take the lead 22-7. The Saints go for the 2 point conversion to go up 7 with 5 minutes to play, good decision. Brees throws an out to Lance Moore who catches the ball, falls down, extends the ball passed the plane, appears to be bobbling the ball, and is ultimately drops it. The play is ruled incomplete on the field and is challenged by Payton, good challenge. The rule states that if a player completing a pass in the endzone falls to the ground, the players must maintain possession through the play regardless if he has broken the plane or not. The play on the field was overturned and the attempt was ruled successful, contradictory to what the rule says. Its a fascinating call that I can not wait for the NFL to explain.

None the less the Saints now lead 24-17 with a little over 5 minutes left. The Colts start driving downfield and get to 3rd and 5 on the Saints 31. The Saints called a blitz, Reggie Wayne and Manning adjust to the blitz to a sight adjustment they and every other teams run a hundred times throughout the year. Tracy Porter notices it, sees it, intercepts it, and takes it to the house. Ball Game. A lot of analysts are blaming Reggie Wayne for giving up on the route and not running it at full speed. Who is to blame on that play, no one will ever know because neither Peyton Manning or Reggie Wayne will tell you. Now the Saints have a headlock on the game up 2 touchdowns with 3 minutes left.

The Colts drive down the field again easily, this time because the Saints are guarding against the big play and giving up the underneath routes which the Colts took which also chewed up a lot of clock. The Colts got the ball to the Saints 3 yard line, but took a timeout. An unnecessary timeout that you could tell Manning after he took regretted it and tried to act like he didn't call it. You don't want to call a timeout in that situation because you want to be able to onside kick and be able to get the call back regardless if you recover the kick or not. But in order to do that you need all 3 of your timeouts, and the Colts blew one after that play. The Colts then attempt a pass which falls incomplete, then for some dumb reason run on 3rd down which is stopped so now they can't take another timeout so they hurry up the 4th down play which Wayne drops and the Saints take over and knee it to end the game.

A crazy and memorable Super Bowl on many levels. The Colts did not play the way they're known to play. They played conservative in the final two minutes of the first half and played confused in the final 3 minutes. Credit the MVP Drew Brees who played an outstanding game 32/39 for 288 and 2 touchdowns. Flawless performance by a very very underrated quarterback who the Chargers moved on from and the Dolphins thought was done 5 years ago.

Congratulations to the city of New Orleans and all Saints fans on being Super Bowl XLIV Champions!

Comments...

The UNhyped Super Bowl XLIV Preview

2010-02-05T16:30:00.005-05:00

The only story this week leading up to Super Bowl XLIV is...there is no story. The only thing creating any buzz is whether or not Colts DE Dwight Freeney will play in the game and at what level of strength.

There is no doubt in my mind that he will suit up for the game even if he does not play a down. My guess is he will be around 70%, which is probably more effective than his replacement would be. Just the presence of Freeney on the field forces the Saints to be aware of where he is and adjust to him. If the Saints treat him lightly and don't pay attention to him early in the game, look for him to have an impact and make a big play.

On the opposite side, what are the Saints going to do to stop Peyton Manning? Better question is, WHAT HAS ANYONE done to stop Peyton Manning? The answer is really nothing. He's had an answer to just about every possible scenario defenses have thrown at him this season. When teams have blitzed and blitzed often, as the Jets did in the AFC title game, Peyton adjusted and quietly put up 30 points while throwing for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns. When teams stick with the conventional rush, he stands in the pocket with all day to throw and eventually dinks and dunks and then throws on a dime where you think there is no spot to put it. Realizing all this, the best scenario to attack the Colts offense is something I heard from an analyst this week. For the first half have one game plan and in the second half, have an entirely different game plan. This way whatever adjustments Manning has made will have no effect on what your plans are. Easier said than done because if your first game plan fails, your down by 3 scores before you even know what hit you.

Putting all that aside, the Saints must get to Manning, but not at all costs. They must get to him with their conventional front, knock passes down at the line of scrimmage, and make him do the one thing he does not do well...scramble. Of the 3 Manning quarterbacks, Peyton by far has the worst feet. He takes a lot of 3 step drops, gets rid of the ball quickly, and does not take hits. Look for the Saints to play a lot of press coverage to try and offset some of that and try and make Peyton move around a little bit.

The Saints offense this season has been spectacular, averaging over 30 points a game and 400 yards of offense per game, and not all of it through the air. Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell have combined for over 1,600 rushing yards this season. Drew Brees continued his resurgence throwing for over 4,300 passing yards and over 70% completion during the regular season. The Saints have one of if not the most complete offenses in the NFL, but the Colts have a very underrated defense. Freeney and Mathis have disrupted quarterbacks all year, and the Colts have stopped the run without their most effective run stopper, safety Bob Sanders. The Cots in the postseason faced 2 teams who's strength was clearly running the football. They stopped it by bringing safeties down in the box and playing a lot of single high. The Colts will not do that in this game. They were burned in the AFC Championship game by the Jets through the air on a couple of plays that they wont allow the Saints to do in the Super Bowl. The Saints will score points, but not at the rate Manning and the Colts will.

Prediction: Colts 35 Saints 31

Comments...

New York Islanders Mid-Season Crisis

2010-02-04T23:01:00.006-05:00

The New York Islanders entered the 2009-2010 season with limited expectations in year 2 of their "re-build". They got their prized franchise player in the draft and kept the core intact while adding depth between the pipes after going through all of last season without a legitimate NHL goaltender.

But when the team plays better than expected and goes on a nice mid-season run, people raise their expectations. When you are sitting in a playoff spot after January 1, all of a sudden the playoffs look much better then a lottery pick.

But what happens when you lose 6 in a row and find yourself chasing 7 teams ahead of you for 3 playoff spots? Panic starts to set in. Which is where the Islanders find themselves at this point and time. They are a team that has lost their identity from earlier in the year and is struggling to regain it. A team that was always praised by opponents for their relentless puck pursuit and work ethic earlier in the year are now being dominated by their opponents on a nightly basis. This has not come from a lack of work ethic or heart, but a lack of talent.

Garth Snow started this process with the intent of seeing it all the way through. I am glad him and Assistant GM Ryan Jankowski are sticking to that. Considering the situation Garth has been put in, I believe him and his staff have done a great job. Compliments go to his scouting staff for finding their leading scorer and number 1 goaltender as free agents completely under the radar this past off-season.

But what the Islanders lack they do not have internally. What they have now are about 9 players they plan to build a Stanley Cup team around, the rest are expendable. For the time being, the current roster is filled with 3rd and 4th line players that are plugged in to get by this season and possibly next.

As long as Garth Snow's hands continue to be tied by Charles Wang, who's hands are tied by a terrible arena lease and the Town of Heampstead, me and every other Islanders fan around the world have to realize that as long as the situation remains status quo, the Islanders will not be a contender. You can not expect the team to pay $100 million for Ilya Kovalchuk when they wont even pay for the team to have a regular radio station and broadcasters.

That last paragraph may be tough to swallow for a lot of Islander fans. Go back and read it again if you have to, but do not try and convince yourself that it is not true, because it most certainly is.

So what do you do now if you are an Islanders fan? You sit and wait. You watch the remainder of this season hoping they turn things around and make a strong push, or hope they bottom out and end up with a lottery pick. You also hope for good news from the Town of Heampstead about the redevelopment of the arena.

If your Garth Snow you stick some lines in the water for players YOU think are best for your team in the future and you DO NOT pull the trigger unless you are satisfied with the terms. You also look to sell of dead Weight for as much as possible.

As far as the present goes, the Islanders need to ask themselves one question...who is going to step up? Who is going to take responsibility and put this team on their back for stretch run? My bet would go to Kyle Okposo with pretty good odds too. They need to play much more hungry then they have in the past 2 weeks and they absolutely must improve their play on special teams. If you have watched this team all year you've noticed that in recent games they have not been getting any quality scoring chances whatsoever. Goals have come from battles in the front of the net or 30 foot shots that ricochet off of bodies on their way to the net. They have not scored a goal scorer's goal in at least 3 weeks. Get back to the team you were a month ago that teams were afraid to play on a nightly basis, and you make a decent run at a bottom playoff spot.

I will have a Super Bowl XLIV preview tomorrow, needed to rant about this now. Comments

NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and What it Means to You and Me

2010-02-02T17:03:00.008-05:00

The one topic NFL fans are very hush-hush about as the Super Bowl gets closer is the collective bargaining agreement. Lets put it in perspective for everyone.

If you are a person like my mother and stepfather, you will no longer be annoyed that you DVR'd 60 Minutes and when you press play you are seeing the 4th quarter of a Chargers/Raiders game.

If you are the obsessed college football fan and casual NFL observer, flick to TNT and move on with your Sunday afternoon.

For the rest of us like me who live and breathe everything football, we will be needing lots of Prozac to get through Sundays come Fall 2011.

Before everyone jumps off the ledge, take a step back, take a deep breath, and repeat after me..."Their will be NFL football in 2010." After that, its sketchy.

Immediately after the completion of the 2010 NFL season, the current collective bargaining agreement will expire after the owners opted out of the current agreement in 2008. If you want an in-depth Q & A of what the particulars are for the upcoming season, please click here.

I am not interested in arguing over who wins and who loses because if their is no football in 2011, we all lose. The NFL does not need this right now. No one benefits from a cancellation or even an abbreviated 2011 season.

Certain circumstances, such as the NHL lockout of 2004-2005, constitute a work stoppage. Had the NHL not shut down the league for an entire season, the sport would not have survived in its current form. That is a fact. Even though looking back I hated not having hockey, I understand it was for the better of the sport in the long run.

The NFL and the Players Association can not allow this to happen. Both sides know what they need and what works and what doesn't. Work it out like everyone else who negotiates does. If you want an 18 game season, give up something in return. If you want a Rookie Salary Cap, give up something in return.

Also the NFL and the Players Association MUST do something about retired players. This afternoon I listened to former NFL player Conrad Dobler tell a sad story of how he had to sell his house over him and his wife's medical expenses after he had 9 knee replacements and his wife became paralyzed. Listen to the interview here.

There are hundreds of stories just like Conrad's all around the league about how the League and Players Association refuse to take care of their former players. Lets all hope this and many other issues are ironed out sooner rather than later.

Please react in Comments

Giants name Perry Fewell as New DC

2010-02-01T00:13:00.007-05:00

The New York Giants have announced that Perry Fewell will replace Bill Sheridan as the Giants signal caller on defense next season. The change was to be expected. Two days after the season ended, co-owner John Mara met with the media and said that the status quo was "unacceptable". Understandably so, because the Giants defense was awful this season. They gave up an average 26.7 points per game, 3rd worst in the NFL. They also gave up 40 points 5 times, one of which on a Sunday Night at home against Philadelphia which i witnessed in person (Yes, Desean Jackson is still running!)

A change was necessary after Sheridan struggled as a first year defensive coordinator. At the time I was not in favor of the move, but I trusted Tom Coughlin's judgment of the matter. I did not feel at the time that someone with no prior coordinator experience should be calling signals for a top NFL team. I also felt that job should have gone to defensive line coach Mike Waufle, who was also fired by the Giants after this past season. Coughlin comes from an offensive background, having won a Super Bowl with the Giants as a wide recievers coach with Bill Parcells. Coughlin's decision now on Fewell will be a big determination of his next few years with the Giants.

But I think Coughlin made the right choice in Fewell. He has coordinator experience, having been calling the plays with the Bills the past 4 seasons. The Bills have been effective at limiting their opponents in the passing game, something the Giants new nothing about in 2009. I believe that Fewell will bring some much needed enthusiasm to a team that seemed to lose their mojo after former coordinator Steve Spagnuolo left after the 2008 season to become the St. Louis Rams head coach.

The players did not seem to embrace what Bill Sheridan brought this past season, exemplified by the fact that Pro-Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora walked out during training camp. The blame can also be put on the players for their lack of discipline and their commitment to the game plan. Blame can also be on the fact that they lost star safety Kenny Phillips, who the Giants had huge hopes for this year.

Fewell takes over a team that Coughlin said "Needs to re-establish their identity". The team that won the Super Bowl 2 years ago was remembered for having a ferocious pass rush. Now they need to reestablish that next year. I believe Fewell will bring some much needed enthusiasm and teaching skills, something I saw none of from Sheridan last year. During offensive possessions, more often than not he was standing alone with his arms folded not talking to anyone. I believe Fewell will be in the face of his players, holding accountability and shouting encouragement and praise when needed.

The Giants also have some personnel decisions to make on defense. During the Super Bowl run in 2007, the Giants were deep at defensive back. They had players like Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters who played a huge factor in helping the Giants win the Super Bowl. During the past 2 season, General Manager Jerry Reese slowly began transitioning his depth from secondary to defensive line. In doing so, the Giants thought they could keep their pass rushers fresh late in games. This turned out to backfire on them, with the loss of Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross last year. I would expect the Giants in this offseason to add depth to the secondary and cut some waste that they spent up front on Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard. What they do might be limited based on the NFL collective bargaining agreement, but I expect them to do something.

I will have more on the Giants as we get closer to the NFL Draft in April. Comments...

Tim Tebow and the NFL

2010-01-28T21:35:00.006-05:00

The biggest story surrounding this years NFL Draft does not surround the number one pick. It revolves around a young man who may not even be drafted in the first round come April.

Tim Tebow is arguably one of if not the most successful college football player in history. A Heisman Trophy, 2 National Titles, 2 First-team All Americans, the list goes on and on. But everyone in the football world is asking what is in store for Tim Tebow at the next level.

The NFL has transitioned into a passing league the past few years, with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning shattering records year after year. The play at the quarterback position has been elevated significantly in the past decade. So the question is, will a man who rode most of his success and fear with his legs, have the arm to make it in the NFL?

I have watched every single game that Tim Tebow has played at the University of Florida, and from watching I can safely say that Tim Tebow will not be a successful every-down quarterback in the NFL. Tebow has taken less than 10 snaps under center in 4 years as a quarterback at Florida. The Gators added a goal line I-formation in his Senior year in order to mix it up in the Red Zone. A little late in the process to learn how to take snaps under center in a league where around 75% of the plays run are under center. If you have been keeping up with Senior Bowl talk this week, you would find out that Tebow struggled under center, having to learn the footwork and the feeling of working from under center. Its not just the snapping of the ball, its the footwork of hand offs to the right and left sides, the play action passes, and the 3,5, and 7 step drops. Play action passes are vital in the NFL today. With defenses committed to stopping the run on early downs, that little fake is a vital decoy to keep defenses on their heels and think twice about taking one step up before the running back has the ball. Tim Tebow has only attempted play action passes out of shot gun with the running back lined up either directly to the right or left of him. He is a little late in the process where his colleagues have been doing it consistently for a decade.

Once you look past all the pre-throw routine, lets get into Tebow's most vital flaw, his throwing motion. Lets take a look at how the all time great Peyton Manning defines the throwing motion:

That may be the kindergarten version of the basic fundamentals of the throwing motion, but there is one element that is Tebow's Achilles heel. Notice how Peyton does not drop the ball below his waist when he begins to move his arm back. Tebow consistently drops the ball to as low as his knee while winding up his arm. Now a lot of Tebow lovers will argue that he did it for 4 years in college and that he can do it in the NFL. With the NFL, things come at you twice as fast and twice as hard and every millisecond counts. The window of opportunity to fit in the ball closes faster than you can snap your fingers. On routes where timing isn't a problem that wont hurt him. But most passing plays are drawn up to go no more than 15-25 yards down the field. On outs, ins, curls, and hitches, the longer it takes for Tebow to deliver the ball, the easier it will be for defenses to close the gap on receivers.

No one is doubting Tebow's arm strength. He could throw the ball 50 yards down field without breaking a sweat. The arm is there, its the mechanics. For those who I've talked to about Gator football over the last 4 years, they know I have advocated for Urban Meyer to bring in an experienced quarterback coach to specifically work with Tebow on his mechanics. Sadly my pleas were not answered.

So where will Tim Tebow fit in in the NFL? With the "Wild Cat" becoming more and more of a fixture in the league, its a perfect scenario for Tebow to jump into. What would work best for Tebow is to incorporate himself into a Wild Cat package for a team and run about 25 plays per game out of that package only. Work in some sweeps, some dive plays, some draws, and some passing plays. All things he has done and done well in his career. The formation is very successful in Miami, where they average 7 yards a play out of it. Incorporating Tebow in that type of scenario will work, and work successfully. But what will not work successfully is Tebow running a conventional package under center game in and game out. His mechanical flaws, along with the fact that he does not respond well to pressure at his feet, does not equal a great scenario for Tebow in the NFL.

I have one message for Tebow, and it is this...PROVE ME WRONG!

Championship Sunday Recap

2010-01-25T11:49:00.006-05:00

Colts 30 Jets 17

If you would have told me early in the week the Colts would score 30 points, I would have told you the Colts would win.

If you would have told me early in the week the Jets would not rush for 100 yards, I would have told you the Jets would lose.

If you would have told me early in the week the Colts would score 30 points, I would have told you the Colts would win.

With those combined circumstances coming true on Sunday, it would be hard for the Jets to win, but they came close. They had Peyton confused early and they tried some different disguise coverages that worked to perfection on the first 2 Colt drives. Then Donald Strickland got injured on the Colts third drive, and Peyton took advantage of Lito Sheppard who looked like a completely different person from last week. He was awful. Garcon catches the ball for a big gain, but the Colts commit a false start and come away with only 3 points. On the very next play after the kickoff, the Jets hit the big play in the passing game I said they would need if they wanted to win. They run a SLO-GO with Edwards on Powers replacement Lacey for an 80 yard TD to put the Jets on top. The Colts respond on their next drive with a FG again to cut the lead to 1. The Jets drive right down the field and answer thanks in part to a Wild Cat pass by Brad Smith that lead to a Keller TD and the Jets are up 8. The Jets are smelling blood. The Colts drives are stalling and the Jets are looking to blow it open. On the Colts next possession, Pace comes flying into the backfield and hits Addai before he even has a chance to secure the hand-off from Peyton and the Jets recover the fumble at the Colt 29. This is where the Jets need to punch it home. They commit a false start penalty at the most inopportune time on 1-10 and they settle for a field goal. Great teams make the most of their opponents mistakes. The Jets did not. Now Manning has a little over 2 minutes left in the half and he begins to feel it, he hits Collie in the seem who was covered by Drew Coleman who had great position, but got greedy and laid out for the ball looking for an INT but missed. What are you doing there son? You are with the receiver stride for stride and had more of a chance for the INT if you hadn't dove for it. Its a play he will look back on and ultimately regret. Peyton hits Collie again in the endzone where he was wide open where Rex said there was some "miscommunication" and the Colts were right back in it.

In the second half, Shonn Greene got injured after 2 plays and would not return. The Jets again did not deviate from their offensive identity. They stuck with the running game with Thomas Jones who was fighting an injury and doesn't have the explosiveness that Greene has. The Jets on their first drive missed a 52 yard FG, Peyton drives down the field again and scores, and the feeling Jets fans know all too well began to take effect. The Jets did not move the ball offensively in the 2nd half as well as they did in the first half, but don't blame the Jets offense, credit the Colts defense. The Colts defense committed to the run for the entire game. They did not let the Braylon Edwards TD or the Brad Smith Wild Cat pass to Cotchery effect their game plan. They knew if they took away the Jets running game they would not win.

The Jets lost this game because of their defense. The Garcon and Collie were running uncovered in the secondary all game long and the Jets had no answer for it. Now what can cover that up is a pass rush. The Jets sacked Manning on the first 2 drives, they never sacked him again. The only thing that covers up shaky coverage is a pass rush, and the Jets did not have it. Manning dinked and dunked and caught fire, throwing for 377 and 3 TD's and the Jets had no answer. Ball game.

Saints 31 Vikings 28

This had to be one of the sloppiest championship games I have ever seen. Neither team looked like they wanted to win the game. Adrian Peterson's fumbling issues continued, Reggie Bush muffed a punt, and interceptions took place that were mind boggling.

At the end of the half, Reggie Bush muffed at his own 10 yard line that the Vikings recover. 2 plays later, Favre and Peterson have exchange problems and the Saints recover to keep the score tied at the half.

Lets fast forward to the Vikings final drive. The score tied at 28. 1-10 and the 21. The Vikings execute a perfect drive combining the run and pass to get the ball down to the Saints 33 yard line. The Vikings call a timeout with 19 seconds left. They come out of the timeout, and they have 12 men in the huddle. 12 MEN IN THE HUDDLE, AFTER A TIMEOUT! Now they are on the outer boundary of field goal range. Favre rolls right on a boot, has a bout 15 yards ahead of him to run out of bounds. What does he do? He sees Sidney Rice open in the middle of the field. He throws across his body, forces the ball to Rice, and is intercepted. This is a play that defines Brett Favre. He has the safe play right in front of him right there for the taking to put it in the hands of one of the most reliable kickers in the league. Now if Favre had not come out of the game earlier to get his ankle tapped up after the abuse he was taking, would he have run? Probably not. Favre was manhandled all day, but the Saints did not have a single sack.

Game goes to overtime, Saints win the toss. After 2 first downs, the Saints have 1-10 from the Vikings 41. Brees overthrows his receiver on the left sideline, but the back judge calls a dumb penalty on the Vikings linebacker on a ball that is clearly uncatchable. The Saints get another 1st down, and Hartley kicks the game winner from 40 to send the Saints to their first Super Bowl. I could not be any happier for the people of New Orleans, Drew Brees and Sean Payton.

But the better team lost this game. Its been said over and over and over again that the team that commits the most mistakes usually does not win, and the team that makes the most of their opponents mistakes usually does. The Vikings made the most mistakes, and the Saints made the most of their opportunities.

Your thoughts about Championship Sunday in Comments

NFC Championship Preview

2010-01-22T18:01:00.007-05:00

The Minnesota Vikings head on down to New Orleans to face the Saints this Sunday Night in a big time offensive showdown. The Saints are looking for their first ever Super Bowl appearance while the Vikings look to go for the first time since Super Bowl XI.

The Vikings at home are a completely different team then they are on the road this season. They almost look like 2 totally different teams. Will that dynamic front 4 of Allen, Williams, Williams, and Edwards show up this Sunday? Going to have to if the Vikings have any shot to win. The Saints have given up the 4th fewest sacks in the NFL this season. If the Vikings are going to let Drew Brees sit in the pocket and have his time to pick apart the Vikings secondary that ranks in the middle of the pack against the pass, the Vikings will have no shot. The Saints are going to look to spread out that Vikings defense and turn the game into a backyard, 7 on 7 type of game. Do the Vikings have an answer to all those weapons the Saints have? I don't really see any.

On the other side of the ball you have Brett Favre having a spectacular season where he threw for 4,000 passing yards and turned ordinary players *cough* Vishante Shiancoe *cough* into offensive superstars. Everyone who followed Percy Harvin in college knew he would become an explosive NFL player but Favre has elevated him to another level. The Vikings have gone from a top 5 rushing attack with Peterson and Chester Taylor last year to an explosive passing team and a mediocre running team this year. Does this have to do with Favre? Definitely. But Brad Childress this season on a couple of occasions has tried too much to lean on the running game and create passing opportunities. This has become a burden on Favre many times this year. The Vikes do not run to set up the pass anymore. They are not the running team they were a year ago. They need to come out of the gate passing and passing and passing some more.

Besides the Jets, the Saints blitz more than any other team and at a rate 10% above the league average. Greg Williams believes in a highly aggressive defensive system dating back to when he was with Joe Gibbs and the Redskins in the earlier part of the past decade. The aggressive style has paid of with interceptions, as the Saints ranked third in the league with 26. If the Saints can get to Favre and Favre turns into the Favre of old when he threw 6 interceptions against the Rams a decade ago, it will be a long night for the Vikings.

Prediction: Saints 37 Vikings 21

Enjoy the games everyone. Make your picks in Comments.

AFC Championship Preview

2010-01-21T16:47:00.008-05:00

In Week 16, the Jets limped into Indianapolis at 8-7 with a slim glimmer of hope that with 2 wins and help they would be eligible for the playoffs after losing a heart breaker at home to Altanta 7 days earlier.

The Colts were a freight train rolling in at 14-0 looking to make history. 4 days before the game even kicks-off, Colts President and General Manager Bill Polian decided to not play his starters for the entire game and pull the plug on the pursuit of perfection. Midway through the 3rd quarter with the Colts leading 15-9, Peyton Manning hit the bench. In the first play of the second series that Peyton came out, backup Curtis Painter, playing his first ever NFL game, gets sacked, fumbles, Jets recovered for a Touchdown. After that play, it was all Jets. The Colts defense basically laid down the rest of the game.

The Jets have said since then that they didn't get any credit for the win. What kind of credit are you looking for? The Jets played a team with a quarterback that had zero NFL experience and a defense that did not play the entire game. Credit should be given to where credit is deserved, and the Jets deserve credit in that they showed up for the game, and that's about it.

4 weeks later, we have come full-circle and the match-up we have all been hoping for has finally come true. A chance for the Jets to solidify that they in fact are better. A chance for the Colts to show that perfection is not worth the sacrifice of a Super Bowl berth.

For statistical purposes in the Week 16 game, we will only visit the first half. The Jets attempted 16 rushes for 58 yards. They put up 3 points and had two 3 and outs on 5 first half possessions (1 at the end of the half). The Jets on offense did nothing to solidify themselves in the game.

The Jets are a totally different team then they were 4 weeks ago. The running game has been a force with the emergence of Shaun Greene in week 17 and the 2 playoff games. How the Jets win this game is very very simple. Lets start on offense. The line has finally emerged as one of the best in the NFL and they have a great fullback. They should be lining up in some power formations, lot of 2 tight end sets, and lot of I-formation. The Colts know the Jets are built to run the ball. So the Jets should just say "O.K. here it is, line up and stop us." And the Colts do not line up as well on defense man for man than the Jets in the running game. The Colts are in the bottom 3rd in the NFL in rushing defense, averaging 126 ypg. The Jets need to create opportunities to pass the ball when the Colts are thinking run, and run the ball when they are thinking pass. How do you do that? You stay out of predictable down and distances. Positive yardage on 1st and 2nd down, creating manageable 3rd down situations. The Colts feed off of their pass rush with Freeney and Mathis, so if the Jets can keep them on their heels and make them commit to the run, this will create the opportunities for Sanchez to get some big chunks of yardage in the passing game because there is going to come a time in the game when the Jets are going to have to throw if they want to win.

For the Jets on defense, it all revolves around one thing...PASS RUSH! The Jets live and die by how often they get to the quarterback. Not necessarily sacks, but pressure and penetration. They made Phillip Rivers day last Sunday a bad one and forced him to throw when he wasn't ready or his receivers weren't ready. Different situation this week, but they need similar results. Peyton is an expert on identifying defenses and calling them out to his line for pass protection. If you've ever watched the Colts or the NFL, you know that Peyton calls more signals at the line of scrimmage than almost any other quarterback. The Jets need to confuse Manning, not an easy thing to do. But teams who have had success against him in the past during the playoffs that confuse Manning run a 3-4 defense. Go back to the days when Bellichick and New England faced the Colts in '04 and '05. The Pats held the Colts to 17 points in 2 playoff games.

The Colts have one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game and a suspect running game. Rex Ryan pointed out this week that when you have a cornerback as good as Derelle Revis is, it puts you in a situation where you can put him 1 on 1 with their number 1 receiver, rather than double cover the number 1 receiver and put the best cornerback on the number 2 receiver. He says that this entices the ball to be thrown to the number 1 reciever and with a corner like Revis, Rex feels he and the receiver both have an equal chance of coming down with the ball. This has worked out quiet effectively for the Jets this year. Revis has shut down Randy Moss, Chad OchoCinco, Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, and Marques Colston. But the Colts also have the best tight end in football this year in Dallas Clark. What do you do with him? Do you put a linebacker on him? Do you put Kerry Rhodes on him? Do you bring in an extra corner to cover him? That decision will be a difficult but the best choice would be to bring in an extra DB. That allows you to disguise the coverage better and be able to send him on the pass rush to get to Manning. The Jets have had problems this season getting to the quarterback with a conventional pass rush. They blitz 58% of the time, way more than the rest of the league. I believe Lito Sheppard will handle Pierre Garcon, so look for the key match-up to be Dallas Clark on whoever the Jets decide to cover him.

For the Colts to win, I think it comes down to one thing...get up by 2 scores. If the Colts are up at any point in the game by more than 2 scores, I think it would be extremely hard for the Jets to overcome. What the Colts can not do is become one dimensional on offense. They must keep the Jets guessing and stick to the game plan. Mix in the run in a few unconventional places early in the game. Do not become predictable like the Chargers did last week.

If you've ever watched an NFL films highlight of the Colts, you would know that Peyton Manning always has 2 plays for each play, a running play and a passing play. If Peyton gets to the line of scrimmage and does not think the original play called looks like it will work, he will change the play. Also the Colts run a lot of no huddle, so if the Jets get into a situation where they have bad personnel on the field, Manning will get his team to the line quickly and get the snap off and keep running plays until he can't. Those two things are what put Peyton Manning ahead of a lot of great quarterbacks who have played the game. The Jets are going to need to be very aware of those 2 things to have a chance this Sunday.

Prediction: Jets 20 Colts 17

Make your predictions and thoughts on this game in Comments. Saints/Vikings preview tomorrow

Recapping NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend

2010-01-19T17:33:00.007-05:00

They saved the best for last this weekend as 3 of the games again were snoozers and one had some pretty good excitement. Lets take a look at all 4.

Saints 45 Cardinals 15

As I wrote last week, I expected Boldin to play and unfortunately he did not and it was a burden on the Cards offense this past week. Warner was roughed up badly by the Saints defense that played much better than they have going into the playoffs. The Cards need to invest some money into the offensive line and defense in the offseason or they are going to continue to have problems. I expect the defensive coordinator for Arizona to be fired and for them to hire a big time coach to call defense because Ken Whisenhunt has an offensive background and seems clueless with what to do with that defense that lacks personnel to play the defense they are playing. Will Warner retire or not? No one knows at this point, but I expect Matt Lienart to have a great NFL career. The Saints did everything right on Sunday, and it appears that Reggie Bush has re-established himself in the Saints offense and specials. More on the Saints later in the week

Colts 20 Ravens 3

I did not give the Ravens a shot at all to win last week and rightfully so because Flacco was awful. Everyone knew they were going to have to pass the ball more to win, which they attempted to do passing 35 times, however Flacco threw 2 INTs. But the play of this game was Ed Reed's interception and subsequent fumble. I know Ed Reed is a dynamic football player trying to make a play for his team with his offense struggling, but how does he not go out of bounds on that INT return? Defensive players play defense for a reason, if you watch defensive backs hold the ball after interceptions or fumbles, they hold them like a loaf of bread. Ed Reed did not hold the ball "high and tight" as coaches like to call it. It was a game changing play that would have given the Ravens huge momentum, but the game ended for them on that play. Peyton was as good as he needed to be, he wasn't great but he did what he had to do to win. If the Colts are going to win next week, they are going to have to run the ball better than they did against the Ravens. More on that matchup later in the week.

Vikings 34 Cowgirls 3

I said this game would come down to the Dallas offense against the Vikings defense and it turned out to be true. Flozell Adams left the game in the second quarter, and on the 2nd play after he left, Jared Allen went right around Jason Witten and got the strip sack. Not that Flozell was playing great anyway, but what it did was take Jason Witten out of the game and force Dallas to use him in pass protection. So now one of the primary Dallas weapons has been totally neutralized which releases the safeties to double on the outside. It was an unfortunate break for Dallas and certainly something that the Vikings took advantage of. Now as far as the Vikings going for it on 4th and 3 from the 11 with 2 minutes to go in the game up by 24. Questionable? Yes. Bush league? Maybe. The decision is not bush league, but the celebration by Favre and Shiancoe was bush league. Act like you've scored before! You show no respect for your opponent when you act like that. Favre was a pinhead who is no straight shooter either.

Jets 17 Chargers 14

The J-E-T-S- JETS! JETS! JETS! are on their way to the AFC Championship for the first time since 1998. The Jets did what they do to win, rushing and defense. The offense went 3 and out on their first 4 possessions. But to the Jets credit, they stuck to what they do, and they did not try to become a team that they are not. I give Rex and Brian Schottenheimer an enormous amount of credit for that. Its very easy to abandon everything you have worked on all week and all year in the heat of battle in a playoff game. But the Jets stayed true to who they are, relied on their defense, kept pounding, and pounding, and pounding the ball and that pays off late in games. If you have a defense that can keep the score down like the Jets do, 14 points per game in the regular season, it allows you to cover up flaws on offense. When you run the ball 38 times like the Jets did Sunday, that takes a toll on defenses in the interior who are sick of hitting you by the 4th quarter and then all of a sudden are subbing and guys are going in and out and thats when you catch them for big play like Greene made on the 53-yard run late in the game. Thats the kind of game the Jets play, and they play it effectively.

The Chargers did a lot to help the Jets also. Nate Kaeding missed 2 easy field goals from 40 and 36 yards (I don't count the 57 yarder you can't expect anyone to make that). Nate must have thought it was deja vu and 2004 all over again.

Norv Turner also had some questionable calling of his own. After the Chargers got it to within 3 with 2:14 left, Norv tries for an on-side kick. As I'm watching I am saying to myself, WHAT IS HE DOING? Now this is a totally different story if there is less than 2 minutes left and no timeouts. But the Chargers had a time out AND the 2 minute warning. They on-side kick, and don't recover. Now the Jets run 3 times, get it to 4th and 1 from the 29. San Diego has used their time out and the 2 minute warning has passed. No brainier for Rex, puts in the power I, puts in the veteran Thomas Jones, runs it up the gut, 2 yard gain. GAME OVER. If the ball is kicked deep, the Chargers would have gotten the ball back and had an opportunity for a field goal to tie. Instead it was game over, another questionable call for Norv Turner who's playoff woes as head coach of the Chargers continue.

Later in the week, I'll have the Jet/Colts and Saint/Vikings previews.

2010 Australian Open

2010-01-19T13:42:00.006-05:00

The 2010 Australian Open is underway in Melbourne, so lets take take a look at who has the best shot on both the mens and womens side.

Mens

1) Roger Federer: RFED has reached the finals in 17 of the last 18 Grand Slams. He lost the first set in his 1st round match, then won the next 3 easily. Gonna take him a few matches to get him going to the RFED we know, but once he gets going, you don;t want to get in his way.

Chance to win:65%

2) Rafael Nadal: The defending champion is coming in looking to repeat after winning his first Ausie Open last year over Roger Federer. He has a chance to face Andy Murray in the fourth round, followed by Andy Roddick in the quarters.

Chance to win:15%

3) Andy Roddick: Andy reached the semifinals last year after Novak Djokovic had to retire in the Quarters. Roddick cruised in his first round match, but you never know when the wheels may come off.

Chance to win: 10%

4) Novak Djokovic: Novak as we mentioned had to retire last year in the Quarters because of heat stress last year. Can he handle the sun down under better this year?

Chance to win: 10%

5) Marcos Baghdatis: Just because he is my favorite, I had to give him a shout out. GO MARCOS!

Chance to win: less than 1%

Womens

1) Serena Williams: I have lost all respect for Serena after what she did last year at the U.S. Open. She is seeded #1 and is the defending champion and cruised in her first round match against Radwanska.

Chance to win: 40%

2) Kim Clijsters: Kim came back last year after having her first child and totally shocked the tennis world by winning the U.S. Open last fall. If she plays the way she played in the U.S. she has a great shot.

Chance to win: 25%

3) Carolina Wozniacki: Just because shes my favorite womens player. I give her a shot!

Chance to win: 15%

4) Venus Williams: My favorite of the two sisters has not won a major since Wimbledon in 2008. Can she get back on track this year?

Chance to win:10%

5) Elena Dementieva: The top Russain, now that Sharapova is out, has a great shot with a favorable draw.

Chance to win: 10%

Make your predictions in Comments.

Troy Calhoun will leave Air Force for TennesseeUPDATED 9:12 P.M 1/18/2010 Vols hire Derek Dooley as head coach

2010-01-14T13:45:00.012-05:00

UPDATED 9:12 P.M. 1/18:Sorry I could not update this sooner, but this news broke after I left for the weekend.

Tennessee has named former Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley as their new head coach replacing Lane Kiffin. You can't get them right all the time. Just 3 years ago, everyone on earth thought Les Miles would leave LSU to go to Michigan, and look how that turned out...

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An unnamed source has told me that Troy Calhoun has called a team meeting for 3:50 Mountian time and is expected to announce that he will be leaving Air Force to become the new head coach at Tennessee. Calhouns tenure has been a successful one for the Falcons, leading them to 3 bowl games in three years.

NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend

2010-01-14T12:05:00.007-05:00

Here it is folks, the best weekend in the NFL is upon us. Lets take a look at the 4 matchups and make a few predictions.

Arizona @ New Orleans

The Cards are coming of a WILD Wild Card win against the Packers at home last week where neither team played ANY defense. I like the way that the Cardinals are playing right now. Early Doucett came in for the injured Anquan Boldin and stepped up tremendously scoring 2 TD's. I have to believe that Boldin will be back this week, which means the deathly combo of Fitzgerald and Boldin will be back in action and I believe that will be too much for Sharper and the Saints defense. I also expect Beanie Wells to have a huge game on the ground against a Saints run defense that ranks in the bottom third of the league.

PREDICTION: Arizona 37 New Orleans 28

Baltimore @ Indianapolis

Joe Flacco and the Ravens travel into Lucos Oil to take on the 4 time NFL-MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts. I give the Ravens NO SHOT to win this game. The Ravens are not going to be able to do what they did last week to Brady. Brady had his worst postseason performance in his career, and looked totally confused. Flacco completed only 4 passes last week because...well he could. Manning is not going to hand them the game like Brady did lat week.

PREDICTION : Baltimore 10 Indianapolis 35

Dallas @ Minnesota

The Cowgirls are coming of their first postseason win since 1996 after routing the Eagles in 2 straight weeks. Will this trend of Dallas' hot play continue this week? I believe so. The Minnesota defense has been playing badly of late, giving up 30 points against Arizona and Chicago. With the way Tony Romo and the Dallas offense is playing right now, I dont see the the Vikes stopping them. Brett Favre has had an excellent season (on my fantasy team btw) and I expect him to have a decent game, but this game will come down to the Dallas offense against the Vikings defense.

PREDICTION: Dallas 35 Minnesota 27

New York Jets @ San Diego

The Jets head a little further west than expected this week to take on Phillip Rivers and the Chargers who have won 11 in a row leading up to the playoffs. Mark Sanchez and the Jets ran all over the Bengals 2 weeks in a row to get themselves to a place no one expected to be at the beginning of the season. But you know what, their here, and their playing like they deserve to be too. The defense is playing absolutely outstanding and this matchup favors them well this week. The Chargers are next to last in the NFL in rushing, only the Colts are worse. That has been a liability for the Jets for some parts of the season. I think that Rivers throws at least 40 times Sunday which will play right into the Jets hands. I think Vincent Jackson will be next to join the many on Revis Island. So it will come down to how well the Jets defend Naanee, Gates and Sproles. Heres what you have with that matchup, you have Sheppard on Naanee, I like Sheppard. Then you have a combination of Rhodes and the Jets linebackers on Gates. HUGE edge to Gates there. Look for him to have a big game recieving. If the Jets are going to win this game, they are going to have to put big pressure on Rivers and make him force those passes to the outside and the Jets can not allow checkdowns to go for 5+ yards. The Jets offensively are going to have to play big ball control like they have been with Shawn Greene and Thomas Jones. Sanchez needs to play smart, no turnovers, but he also is going to need to get the ball downfield to Cotchery and "Don't let it hit me in the hands" Edwards.

PREDICTION : Jets 24 Chargers 21

Enjoy the games everyone! Make your predictions in comments.

Lane Kiffin ditches Knoxville for LA

2010-01-13T11:37:00.007-05:00

Lane Kiffin is no stranger to controversy. Over the past 14 months as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, he has committed at least 3 NCAA violations.

USC is no stranger to controversy either. The school is under investigation for a slew of NCAA violations involving Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight. McKnight has allegedly been driving an SUV owned by a California businessman, a violation of NCAA rules. Bush has been sued by Lloyd Lake for allegedly accepting $300,000 in gifts during his time at USC.

So what does this all mean? This leaves Tennessee in a real bind. They have no head coach, and a bunch of recruits who have only verbally committed to the school. This means that they they did not sign a letter of intent, meaning they are free to decommit and choose a school of their liking, including USC. Tennessee must now frantically search for a head coach, even though most of the talented ones are gone. My guess is they hire Mike Leach, who has filed a lawsuit against Texas Tech after they fired a few weeks ago.

Lane Kiffin must pay Tennessee $800,000 for leaving his contract at Tennessee. Then he is off to USC to become their next head coach after Pete Carrol left to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. So the question remains, why did Lane Kiffin take this job? Well it is a higher profile job then Tennessee, who has not won the SEC since 1998. USC has been a powerhouse in the PAC-10 under Carroll, winning at least a share of 2 National Titles and 7 PAC-10 titles. USC is the cream of the crop right now. And the cast Kiffin is surrounding himself with is incredible. His Dad, Monte, will join him as defensive coordinator after he left the NFL to be with Lane at Tennessee last year. Ed Orgeron will also be on his defensive staff. It has been rumored that Norm Chow will leave UCLA and head to USC to become their offensive coordinator. Chow had that position while Carrol was their but left for UCLA 2 years ago.

But these sanctions are still hanging over USC. What will happen after these investigations are over is anyone's guess. But if they tie Lane Kiffins hands, he is going to have a difficult time getting USC back to where it was.

Where in the World is Tiger?

2010-01-12T17:19:00.008-05:00

We have not seen or heard from Tiger Woods since the day after he crashed his Cadillac into a fire hydrant and then a tree in his driveway in Orlando on Thanksgiving. Where hes been since that time is anyone's guess.

Is he out of the country trying to repair his marriage with his wife and his relationship with his kids?...I sure hope so.

Is he on his yacht "Privacy" circling the Caribbean Sea for the past month plus with a bunch of beautiful women?...Possibly

Is he hiding out in the Oheka Castle on Long Island gaining his thoughts and planning his next move?...Probably not

Whatever Tiger is doing, he is contemplating some very important and difficult decisions about his life. When will he return to the sport he has dominated for the past decade? And when he does return, will he be a more open and accessible Tiger Woods?

From my perspective, no matter what he does from now until he retires, he has lost all of my respect. In a press conference years ago, in reference to his personal life, Tiger responded with "you know me." No Tiger, we don't know you. We know nothing about you. All we know about you is what we see on a weekly basis between the ropes on the course. What we all thought we knew about you shattered in the days after Thanksgiving when one woman after another came out admitting their affairs with the man.

Now I have no idea what motives these women had, but I do think we all know what motives Tiger had. I will leave those motives unsaid.

So the question still remains, whats next? Many, including me, have said that he needs to be out their on the course playing in every single tournament he possibly can from now on. But someone told me last month that Tiger Woods has only one shot to repair his life with his wife and his children, and once that shot is gone, its gone and its not coming back. So if he's is out doing that, I would understand. But if he is doing anything other than that, it is a big mistake.

So here is the question, where in the world is Tiger?

No Love for Hockey

2010-01-12T13:03:00.008-05:00

I like to believe that hockey is a sport that does interest a lot of people, but the lack of coverage it gets on all stages just angers me. When a goal like this is scored and it does not even make Top 10 plays OF THE DAY.....never mind the year......THE DAY, it angers me. This will probably be one of the NHL's Top 10 goals of the year.

Now I'm no fan of basketball, but I do like seeing slam dunks and alley-oops from time to time, but how much of the same thing can ESPN show on their Top 10 plays of the day? Besides the Top 10 issue, I rarely see highlights of the major NHL games on SportsCenter the following day. But they are sure to show all NBA highlights, including last place teams playing each other. Turn on TSN in Canada and they are sure to show highlights of every hockey game that happened the previous day on SportsCentre.

ESPN also has a separate show dedicated to the 3 other major sports, Baseball Tonight, NFL Live, and NBA Fastbreak. Where is the NHL's show?

I do think that the NHL lockout in 2004-2005 was a detriment to the league from the public standpoint, but it did wonders for the sport in a lot of ways. Also not having live NHL games on ESPN probably has a lot do with their lack of exposure on that network. But last time i checked they are still the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE, and still part of the 4 major sports in this country. When the commissioners were asked by Congress to testify about performance enhancing drugs, Garry Bettman was there. I hope soon ESPN will give hockey some more exposure.

Mark McGwire

2010-01-11T15:16:00.002-05:00

It is being reported today that Mark McGwire has finally come clean about his steroid use during his playing days. McGwire has admitted he did use steroids during the 1998 season when he broke Roger Maris' single season home run record.

McGwire is someone I did admire growing up. I was 10 years old when he and Sammy Sosa were in that great home run race. I was always fascinated by home runs and my favorite players were power hitters like Griffey, Tino Martinez, and Jason Giambi,

I believe McGwire needs to take a note from Arod. He needs to sit down at a press conference right when the Cardinals begin spring training, make his statements, apologize, and answer questions leaving nothing to suspect. I believe if he does this the Arod way, he will be forgiven for his mistakes. We are a forgiving society, and I believe if he does this the right way, he too will be forgiven. But he can not stop with just this statement to the AP. He must man up and answer questions at a press conference or do an interview as Pete Rose did.

As far as the consequences that should happen to players who have taken steroids, I wish that they would have some type of asterisk or something similar, but I don't think the records will be taken out of the books. There is no way that MLB will do that, but I do believe that Mark McGwire will not make the Hall of Fame.

UPDATED 5:30 P.M.: Mark McGwire will be on MLB Network at 7:00 tonight doing his first interview since coming clean

UPDATED 7:45 P.M.: In his interview with Bob Costas on MLB Network, Mark McGwire told the world that he never took steroids with the intent to enhance his performance. He also told us that he thought he hit more home runs because his "swing got better" and that he "got more underpin on the ball".......UTTER NONSENSE! It would be rediculous for anyone to believe either of those two statements. For him to say that taking performance enhancing drugs DID NOT in any way help his baseball performance is nonsense. He took one step forward and two steps back with this interview.

Mark McGwire is doing this all for himself, not for his family, his former teammates, or his fans. He is doing all this as a plea for the Hall of Fame.

Welcome

2010-01-11T13:19:00.004-05:00

First of all let me start by introducing myself and stating my sports alliances.

My name is L.J. and I am a 21 year old college student. I attend the University of Central Florida, originally from Long Island, NY and moved to a small town called Niceville, FL. Love sports, love talking about, watching it, sometimes re-watching it.

We'll start with football because obviously that is the most popular sport in this country right now. I am a dedicated New York Giants fan since 2004. I have followed the team religiously since that time. During my pre-teen years I was never a football fan, in fact I HATED football for reasons I can not think of today. College football is the reason I started watching football in the first place. Moving from the northeast to the south, you can see a huge disparity in the following of college football. I am a huge fan of the Florida Gators.

Baseball I stand with the 27, YES 27 time World Series Champion New York Yankees. I went to my first game in 1995 and I haven't looked back since.

Hockey is a sport that I am most passionate about even though it does not get the publicity that the other 3 major sports get at least in the States. The New York Islanders are a team rich with history and unfortunately for me that history took place before I was born, but I am hoping in years to come I will be there when they write some new history. And I'm not talking about history that has them moving to Kansas City.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was an intern/sales executive for the New York Islanders during the summer of 2008.

Basketball is a sport that is hard for me to watch, because I can't really get into it, so you will rarely see me write about it in this space unless its something major.

I am an avid golfer and my ups and downs live with Phil Mickelson. Ive been playing since I was 3 years old thanks to my father and grandfather.

Now that you know my teams, know that I am a knowledgeable sports fan. You may hear me rant about my struggles rooting for some of my teams, but you will never see me write something I can't back up. Yes I loath some teams, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Rangers among others, but I give credit where credit is due.

I welcome all comments from all sports fans, but please do not write anything that is not FACT, and keep comments on the topics I am talking about. Also I know we will disagree, probably often, on most topics, but personal and silly attacks will not be tolerated and will be deleted. "Are you stupid" and the like included. Please have respect for me and fellow readers.

I will update as often as I can with topics going around in the sports world, plus on some topics I sometimes have to vent about (Probably after Islanders loses after blowing 3 goal leads), but I hope you enjoy the blog and have some fun.

Please start by introducing yourself and your sports teams in Comments.