Ochocinco tries to ‘bribe’ official
Posted by John Paulsen (11/09/2009 @ 6:11 pm)
From SHUTDOWN CORNER…
The impish Cincinnati Bengals receiver playfully tried to bribe an NFL official today during his team’s game with its division rival, the Baltimore Ravens. With the Cincinnati Bengals up 14-3 in the third quarter, Ochocinco caught a 15-yard Carson Palmer(notes) pass near the sideline. The side judge ruled it a catch, but the Ravens contended that Ochocinco’s foot was out of bounds. While the ref was under the hood looking at the replay, Ochocinco borrowed a dollar bill from an assistant and playfully tried to hand the one-spot to another official.
It’s funny, but not to his fantasy owners. They’re just hoping that this doesn’t result in anything more than a fine.
DeAngelo Hall calls out Falcons’ head coach
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/09/2009 @ 1:15 pm)
 Photo from fOTOGLIF
During the first half of the Atlanta’s 31-17 win over Washington on Sunday, former Falcon DeAngelo Hall got into a skirmish along the sideline with some of his former teammates and wound up mixing it up with Atlanta head coach Mike Smith.
Afterwards, Hall (who is a complete loudmouth) had this to say to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“I ran over there to kind of pull my guy away,” Hall said. “One of their strength and conditioning coaches put his hands on me and started grabbing me. Then it went to various other guys pulling at me and grabbing me. Through the whole time, I’m trying to get the guys’ hands off of me.”
“I can’t wait for guys to sit back and watch the replay. I can’t wait to watch the replay. I’m going to be giving Commissioner [Roger] Goodell a call myself because something needs to be done about that.”
Hall didn’t think that Smith was simply trying to break up a fight.
“When he comes over to put his hands on you in a harmful way, something needs to be done about that,” Hall said. “Like I said, I’m going to call Commissioner Goodell. Ray Anderson, who used to be with the Falcons, I know him very well, and he’s the vice president over there in the league office. I definitely will be calling some of my friends to work out this situation.”
Hall was asked again if he was contending that Smith came after him.
“Oh, yeah,” Hall said. “He put his hands on me in a harmful way. Talking about that he was going to kick my [butt] and all this other [stuff]. That’s not how you do things.
I saw the fight live and in no way was Hall trying to help the situation by, “getting his guy away.” He went to the sidelines looking for a fight and he got one. Smith did grab him, but it appeared that he was trying to get Hall away from the sidelines and his players. I don’t know what words were exchanged between the two, but Hall is trying to play the victim role in this situation, which is an absolute joke.
Now, maybe there’s a rule that coaches can’t touch opposing players and maybe the league will look into the situation. But I guarantee you Smith earned the respect of his players by getting into Hall’s face and the whole situation could have been avoided had Hall not carried on like the punk he is.
Hall has always had attitude problems and this isn’t the first time he’s gotten into skirmishes in the middle of the game with opponents, referees or even his own teammates. He’s a cocky, selfish player and it’s clear that he has a long way to go before he matures.
Cowboys make statement in NFC East – are the Giants done?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/09/2009 @ 9:00 am)
With their 20-16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys made a huge statement in the NFC East.
After squeaking by a bad Kansas City team in Week 5, Dallas went into its bye week on a mission. They emerged in Week 7 and took it to a good Falcons team at home, beating Atlanta 37-21. They took care of business at home the next week by beating Seattle 38-17 and then proved they could win on the road in a hostile environment last night.
There’s a lot of football left to be played, but the Cowboys are finally playing with some consistency under Wade Phillips. Granted, maybe nothing has changed and Dallas will go on to lose five of their next eight games and miss the playoffs. But at least for the moment, the Cowboys are playing as good as any team in the league right now.
All is certainly not lost for the Eagles following this loss, but this was a disappointing defeat after routing the Giants 40-17 last Sunday. They couldn’t sustain drives and Donovan McNabb threw two costly interceptions. With teams like the Chargers, Falcons, Giants, Broncos and Cowboys left on their schedule, the Eagles certainly have their work cut out for them in the second half.
Speaking of the Giants, with they have now lost four in a row after the Chargers came from behind in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to beat New York 21-20 on Sunday. Eli Manning threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns, but the Giants twice settled for field goals in the second half and it came back to haunt them.
Even after losing four straight, I don’t think anyone is ready to completely write off the G-Men, but what is this team’s identity is at it stumbles into its bye? The Giants have been a team that lives and dies by rushing the quarterback it’s apparent that this isn’t the same pass-rushing team that it was earlier in the year. Of course, they did rack up wins against the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders, so that built some false hope.
Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff has a lot to work on heading into the bye. We’ll see if the Giants can emerge from their off week ready to go, because they’ll face the Falcons, Broncos, Cowboys and Eagles in succession starting in Week 11. That’s not exactly the kind of schedule a team wants to deal with after dropping four straight.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Posted in: NFL
Tags: 2009 NFL Week 9, 2009 NFL Week 9 scoreboard, Cowboys, Cowboys vs Eagles score recap, Dallas Cowboys, Eagles, Eli Manning, Giants, New York Giants, NFC East standings, nfl week 9 2009 scores recaps, Tony Romo, Wade Phillips
 
Fantasy Fallout, Week 9: QBs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/09/2009 @ 8:00 am)
- Kurt Warner (261 yards, 5 TD) bounced back in a big way against a struggling Bears pass defense.
- In that JAX/KC matchup, David Garrard (264 yards, TD) and Matt Cassel (262 yards, 2 TD) both predictably had nice fantasy days.
- Josh Freeman (205 yards, 3 TD) had a productive game in his first start.
- Aaron Rodgers (266 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT) threw three picks, but had two pass TD and a rush TD for a nice fantasy line.
- It was a relatively quiet game for Drew Brees (330 yards, TD, INT), who had a rough first half before a pretty big second half.
- Vince Young (172 yards, rush TD) wasn’t spectacular, but he was solid and had a nice TD run.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Fantasy Fallout, Week 9: RBs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/09/2009 @ 7:40 am)
- Clinton Portis (4 carries, 4 yards) left the game with a concussion. Ladell Betts (16 touches, 93 yards, TD) got most of the touches, but Rock Cartwright (7 carries, 16 yards) was also involved.
- Ray Rice (12 carries, 48 yards, TD) scored in the ground game, but did a ton of damage (8-87) through the air. He is on pace for 92 catches.
- Michael Turner (18 carries, 166 yards, 2 TD) now has 10 TD on the year. He has ran very well over the last few weeks.
- Tim Hightower (16 touches, 88 yards) and Chris Wells (13 carries, 72 yards) evenly split the work in the Arizona backfield.
- Matt Forte (5 carries, 33 yards) didn’t a lot of carries in the running game, but went for 6-74 in the passing game.
- Cedric Benson (34 carries, 117 yards, TD) grinded out a nice game against a pretty stout Ravens rush defense. He’s an every-week start.
- Joesph Addai (19 touches, 112 yards, 2 TD) continues to be a very good start with Donald Brown sidelined.
- Ryan Moats (19 touches, 53 yards, TD) got the start, but Steve Slaton (9 touches, 29 yards, TD) was involved. Moats did fumble around the goal line.
Read the rest of this entry »
Fantasy Fallout, Week 9: WRs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/09/2009 @ 7:15 am)
- Roddy White (3-27) played, but wasn’t all that productive. The Redskins have a pretty stingy pass defense.
- Larry Fitzgerald (9-123-2) looks like a man playing a child’s game.
- Steve Breaston (5-66-1) filled in admirably for Anquan Boldin, who missed the game with an ankle injury. Breaston also had a 25-yard run.
- Devin Hester (6-94) and Earl Bennett (7-93) benefited from the fact that the Bears trailed all day, posting nice numbers in PPR leagues.
- Pierre Garcon (5-60) outperformed Austin Collie (2-26) for the first time since Week 3.
- It didn’t take Chris Chambers (3-70-2) to make an impact in Kansas City. Chambers is the consummate tease, so don’t bother picking him up unless he has another good week or two. Lance Long (8-74) filled well in for Bobby Wade.
Read the rest of this entry »
Fantasy Fallout, Week 9: TEs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/09/2009 @ 7:00 am)
- Fred Davis (2-26) didn’t do much in place of Chris Cooley.
- Greg Olsen (5-71-3) finally broke out with a big fantasy day.
- Dallas Clark (14-119) continues to tear it up with Anthony Gonzalez sidelined.
- Brandon Pettigrew (7-70-1) had by far his best game of the year, and looks like a decent option for fantasy owners still reeling from the loss of Owen Daniels.
- Kevin Boss (2-17-1) shook off a big hit and returned to catch a TD.
- Vernon Davis (10-102) had a big day and has great chemistry with Alex Smith.
Check back in a bit for the QB, RB and WR positions.
Saints still unbeatable
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/08/2009 @ 8:14 pm)
For the second week in a row, a division rival walked into the Superdome and punched the Saints in the mouth in the first half. Just as the Falcons did on Monday night earlier in the week, the Panthers took a 17-6 lead into halftime on Sunday and looked to have the Saints on the ropes.
But the Saints never packed down, didn’t beat themselves and once again came away with a victory.
Drew Brees completed 24-of-35 passes for 330 yards, one touchdown and one interception to lead New Orleans past the Panthers, 30-20. As usual, Brees was calm and cool despite some early mistakes that cost his team and he spread the ball around to take advantage of holes in Carolina’s stingy secondary.
These past two wins for the Saints are perhaps more impressive than any in previous weeks. It’s not a shock that Atlanta and Carolina hung with New Orleans on its home turf, because the Falcons and Panthers are familiar with the Saints and Sean Payton’s tendencies. Yet in the end, the Saints proved to be the better team on both sides of the ball and it’s no surprise that they’re running away with the NFC South. (Not to mention the top seed in the NFC.)
There are two more games on the Saints schedule that I’m interested to see how they respond in: Home against the Patriots in Week 12 and at Atlanta in Week 14. Can New Orleans beat (one of) the best the AFC has to offer? And if the Falcons keep things somewhat close in the division, can New Orleans go into Atlanta and beat a good division rival on the road? As of right now, I’ll say an unwavering “yes” to both.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
The NFC North is the most overrated division in the NFL
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/08/2009 @ 6:35 pm)
Once Brett Favre signed with the Vikings and the Bears acquired Jay Cutler this offseason, pundits couldn’t help but to gush over how good the NFC North Division would be.
But now that nine weeks are in the books, it’s clear that the NFC North is the most overrated division in football.
With Favre under center, the Vikings have been as good as advertised this season. But the Bears were crushed 41-21 at home by the Cardinals on Sunday and the Packers lost 38-28 to the freaking winless Buccaneers and rookie quarterback Josh Freeman, who was making his first career start.
Turnovers killed Green Bay today in Tampa. The Packers managed to rack up 404 yards of total offense, 170 yards on the ground (Ryan Grant was effective) and also held the Bucs to just 81 rushing yards of their own. But Aaron Rodgers was intercepted three times, including once with time ticking down in the fourth to seal Green Bay’s fate. (Tanard Jackson returned the interception 35 yards for a touchdown to put Tampa Bay up for good at 38-28.)
Somehow, the Packers allowed Freeman to throw three touchdown passes without much threat of a running game. Freeman was far from perfect as he threw an interception, struggled with his accuracy and fumbled a snap (which was recovered by Tampa). But he was solid in the second half, showed nice poise for being a rookie and bought extra time for himself while scrambling out of trouble. Head coach Raheem Morris said his rookie signal caller was ready to play coming into the game and it showed.
The Packers still haven’t beaten a team with a winning record this season. I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong when I said in the preseason that they were Super Bowl contenders. They haven’t been able to overcome the injuries on the offensive line and the defense has been inconsistent. Rodgers wasn’t great today, but for the most part he has kept his team in games on his own by buying himself extra time to find open receivers.
Green Bay’s schedule is tougher in the second half than it was in the first. This is an 8-8 team at best and so are the Bears (if that). That’s not exactly what most pundits had in mind when they were talking up the NFC North in preseason.
Posted in: NFL
Tags: 2009 NFL Week 9, Aaron Rodgers, Bucs beat Packers, Green Bay Packers, Jay Cutler, Josh Freeman, nfl week 9 2009 scores recaps, Packers vs Bucs scores recaps, Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tanard Jackson
2009 AFC North Champion…Bengals?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/08/2009 @ 5:54 pm)
With their impressive 17-7 win over the Ravens on Sunday, the Bengals have set themselves up to win the AFC North.
Yeah, yeah I know – the Steelers have yet to play this week and they could have an identical record as Cincinnati if they win Monday night in Denver. They also host the Bengals next week.
But don’t forget that Cincy has already beaten Pittsburgh once this year and the Steelers will be coming off a short week of rest after playing what should be a very physical game against the Broncos. Plus, after playing in Pittsburgh next week, the Bengals take on well-known powerhouses in the Raiders, Browns and Lions, and also have the Chiefs in Week 16. If they can beat the Steelers next week, they’re set up for an 11 or 12-win season.
The Bengals owe most of their success to Cedric Benson and an underrated defense. Benson rushed 34 times for 117 yards and a touchdown in the win over Baltimore and is now on pace for 1,674 yards and 12 scores. He has really found himself in Cincinnati after stealing paychecks in Chicago.
The defense has been exceptional as well. To hold a potent Baltimore offense to only seven points is quite an accomplishment and the job Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall did on the Ravens’ receivers was outstanding. Joe Flacco had no one to throw to because his receivers couldn’t get open and he wound up throwing two interceptions. All in all, it was an impressive performance by a Bengals team that has its sights on a division title.
On the other side, this was a punch to the gut for the Ravens, who thought they had ironed out some issues with their win over the Broncos last Sunday. But they ran into a well-rested, well-prepared Cincinnati team that clearly has their number this season.
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