Steelers’ kicker Jeff Reed cited for public intoxication

Steelers kicker’ Jeff Reed is a big fan of exposing himself publicly it seems.

From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

Steelers kicker Jeff Reed was given a citation for public intoxication and disorderly conduct around 9 p.m. last night outside of McFadden’s bar on the North Shore, according to Pittsburgh Police.

Earlier this year, Mr. Reed, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief after police said he damaged a paper towel dispenser and harassed employees at a Sheetz convenience store in New Alexandria in February.

In that incident, witnesses told police that Mr. Reed, 30, went into the store bathroom and then became infuriated that there were no towels in the dispenser. He began banging on the dispenser and hurling profanities at employees, even after leaving the store.

Well, at least this time no towel dispensers took the brunt of Reed’s actions.

I wonder what this ass clown does after he screws up in a game. Liiiike…when he choked not once, but twice in a loss to the Bears earlier this season.

Falcons’ defense steps up in win over Bears

Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and the rest of the Falcons’ potent offense may get more attention, but Atlanta can thank its defense for the team starting the season 4-1.

The Falcons beat the Bears 21-14 on Sunday night, as Atlanta’s defense forced three turnovers and stopped Chicago on a 4th-and-6 attempt from the 10-yard line with only 34 seconds remaining. The Falcons also held Matt Forte to only 23 yards on 15 carries.

But while Atlanta’s defense deserves credit for its effort on Sunday night, this game was more about Chicago squandering opportunities. Jay Cutler threw an interception to kill a potential scoring drive in the first quarter and then Forte cost the Bears another opportunity with a fumble at Atlanta’s 1-yard line in the third. The Bears moved the ball at will at times, but often shot themselves in the foot with turnovers or costly penalties.

For two teams that are supposed to contender for a playoff spot in the NFC, this wasn’t a very cleanly played game on either side. The Falcons turned the ball over twice and would have added another had Ryan not pounced on a Turner fumble in the second quarter. Neither team was very impressive and while Atlanta won, I can’t say the Falcons are definitively better than the Bears are after this performance.

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Big Ben shreds the Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers are far from perfect, in fact, they might be the best imperfect team in the NFL, if that makes any sense. But as long as they have Ben Roethlisberger under center, they’re going to have a chance to win most on most Sundays.

The Steelers beat the Browns 27-14 on Sunday in a sloppy game that had little to no flow to it. Both teams combined for eight turnovers and Cleveland didn’t even total 200 yards of offense. Yet through all the muck, Big Ben was 23-of-35 for 417 yards and two touchdowns while helping Pittsburgh gain 543 yards of total offense.

Rothlisberger absolutely shredded the Browns’ secondary, connecting with Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller and Mike Wallace with regularity on plays that gained 25-yards or more. He also rushed six times for 11 yards and once again kept plays alive with his mobility in the pocket. I realize shredding a Browns secondary that is susceptible to giving up big plays isn’t a monumental event for a quarterback, but it’s hard not to appreciate how good Big Ben looked on Sunday.

Tom Brady and Petyon Manning are known for putting their teams on their shoulders and leading them to victory. He’s usually not brought up in the same discussion, but Roethlisberger is definitely on Brady and Manning’s level when it comes to that ability. Granted, he’s often aided by how good Pittsburgh’s defense is, but there’s no denying that he’s an exceptional quarterback. And more times than not, he covers up how flawed the Steelers truly are.

The best team in the NFL routs Giants

The New Orleans Saints are the best team in the NFL. Not just the NFC, but in the entire league. And if you disagree, then make sure you watch the highlights of the Saints’ beat down of the Giants on Sunday.

In what was supposed to be a battle of the two best teams in the NFC, the Saints absolutely guerrilla-smacked the Giants 48-27 at the Superdome. Soon-to-be MVP winner Drew Brees was brilliant, completing 23 of his 30 passing attempts for 369 yards and four touchdowns. He finished with a QB rating of 156.8.

The Giants turned the ball over twice and had nine penalties that totaled 110 yards, but this wasn’t a matter of New York shooting itself in the foot. New Orleans was just flat out better in all facets of the game. The stepped on the Giants’ throats and kept it there for four quarters.

For years, the one thing that had been missing for this Saints team was a stellar defense to go along with their explosive offense. Now now they have one under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and we’re finally seeing what this team is capable of. New Orleans limited the Giants to only 84 rushing yards, 241 passing and as previously noted, they also caused two turnovers and sacked Eli Manning twice.

Speaking of sacks, the Giants’ explosive pass-rush was limited to just one today. ONE. The Saints have one of the more underrated offensive lines in the league, which is something that is often overlooked when pundits gush about Brees and Sean Payton’s offense. One of the keys for the Giants today was being able to generate pressure on Brees and they couldn’t. New Orleans’ offensive line was that good and it doesn’t even have Pro Bowl left tackle Jammal Brown, who was placed on injured reserve in late September after he had to have sports hernia surgery.

As for the Giants, they saw today just how behind they are to the best team in the league. They certainly don’t have to go back to the drawing board, but they tried to match wits with another elite team and got their asses handed to them. They better get healthy defensively and figure out how to wake up Brandon Jacobs or else they won’t last in the postseason. Today was certainly a wake up call for the G-Men.

I don’t think any NFC team can beat the Saints in the Superdome. If they earn the top seed in the NFC, they will be on the fast track to the Super Bowl.

2009 NFL Picks & Predictions: Week 6

Giants (5-0) at Saints (4-0), 1:00PM ET
Hopefully readers will give me credit for attempt to predict the toughest games this week. No? All right then…This is by far the hardest game to predict on the Week 6 schedule, so let’s look at some of the facts. The Saints should be well rested coming off a bye and are playing at home. They have the edge then right? They should, but don’t forget that the Giants essentially had a bye themselves since they played Oakland last week and New York always travels well. Drew Brees hasn’t seen a pass rush as good as the Giants’ all season and I think New York will disrupt his rhythm. And while Darren Sharper and the New Orleans defense is playing out of their minds right now, Eli Manning won’t make the same mistakes rookie Mark Sanchez did two weeks ago when the Saints earned a victory against the Jets. I like Brandon Jacobs to get back on track and for the G-Men to pull off a huge win at the Superdome.
Odds: Saints –3.
Prediction: Giants 27, Saints 24.

Ravens (3-2) at Vikings (5-0), 1:00PM ET
So, are the Ravens just in a slump or were they overrated to begin with? Give yourself a gold star if you answered, “A little of both.” Baltimore lost several defensive starters and their coordinator Rex Ryan in the offseason – they were due to have a setback at some point. While I think the Ravens are a solid football team, I don’t like this matchup for them. They’re reeling after two straight losses and play an unfamiliar foe in a hostile environment. I also don’t like the matchup between the Ravens’ receivers and the Vikings’ corners and wonder how Joe Flacco will do once Ray Rice and the running game is shut down by Minnesota’s Williams Wall. As long as Brett Favre doesn’t get turnover-happy for the first time this year, I like the Vikings to remain undefeated.
Odds: Vikings –3.
Prediction: Vikings 21, Ravens 17.

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Skins’ Rogers calls out Snyder

While reflecting on his team’s struggles this season, Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers was quick to note that Daniel Snyder doesn’t escape blame.

From NBC Sports.com:

“We’ve got a lot of things we need to iron out, a lot of problems,” cornerback Carlos Rogers said. “It’s from personnel to coaches to whatever it is, there’s a lot of things we need to iron out, and until we address those issues and turn it around, we’re going to be the same, going up and down. It not only starts with the players, coaches; it starts with the ownership. They bring everybody in and they’ve got last say-so of everything, so that’s where it starts, I guess.”

It’s unusual for a player to implicate owner Dan Snyder and executive vice president for football operations Vinny Cerrato along with everyone else. After painting that picture, Rogers was asked what could be done in the short team to address the team’s needs.

“You can’t do too much right now,” Rogers said. “You just have to go with what you’ve got and make the best for it, and that’s what we’re doing. They’re making changes where they feel they need to make changes. Other than that, players are going to have to step up, coaches are going to have to step up, and we’ve just got to find a way — that’s the bottom line — we’ve got to find a way to turn it around and deal with what we’ve got.”

The Redskins will have a hard time winning with Snyder in control. He signs free agents at will with no regard for team chemistry and then wonders why his jambalaya never pans out. What’s interesting is that now his players are starting to realize his methods don’t work.

Barring a dramatic turnaround, Jim Zorn will be fired at the end of the season. But for real change to occur, Snyder is going to have to allow his general manager and scouting staff to find players and not meddle in their game plan by carelessly throwing money at top dollar free agents. If he can’t trust his staff to put together successful roster, then the Redskins are doomed because he certainly doesn’t have what it takes to build a winner with his current strategy.

Anderson, Browns torch Eli, Giants

Derek AndersonWhat Derek Anderson and the Cleveland Browns did to the New York Giants in their 35-14 win Monday night was shocking, unpredictable and awfully impressive. Not only did Anderson save his job, but the Browns might have also saved their season.

The numbers for Anderson were impressive – 18 for 29, 310 yards, 2 TDs – but what doesn’t show up in the stat sheet is how well Cleveland’s offensive line played. They picked up every blitz the Giants’ defense attempted and consistently opened holes for Jamal Lewis and the Browns’ running game. (Lewis, by the way, had his best game of the year. He ran hard all night.)

What Cleveland did was turn the Giants’ game against them. The Browns were more physical, aggressive on both sides of the ball and constantly pressured Eli Manning. And besides committing 45 penalties (including 40 on one drive in the forth quarter), the Brownies played close to perfect. Without a doubt, this was a complete performance.

That said, the Giants also played like absolute crap. Eli had that same dumfounded look on his face tonight as he did when he first came into the league. He made a couple of nice throws, but his three interceptions were brutal and ones that rookie quarterbacks make. Cleveland did a great job of getting in his face all night and he didn’t handle well. Again, the Browns took what New York does best and used it against them.

I know Brown fans love the win, but some of them must feel a little queasy knowing Romeo Crennel will still patrol the sidelines with each victory.

Keep the bench warm Brady – Derek Anderson is on fire

Derek AndersonThey’ve only played one half of football in Cleveland, but so far Derek Anderson is rewarding Romeo Crennel and the Browns for sticking with him as their starting quarterback. DA is 11 of 16 for 225 yards and a touchdown at the half, and outside of a couple of misfires on their first drive of the game, he’s played flawless.

Anderson found Darnell Dinkins for a 22-yard touchdown pass before half and Cleveland has built a rather shocking 17-14-halftime lead. The deficit should be more, but the Browns continue to shoot themselves in the foot with penalties, including one that negated a fumble recovery that eventually led to a Plaxico Burress 3-yard touchdown reception.

One thing to note is how well Cleveland has played defensively to this point. Shaun Rogers has been a beast in getting pressure on Eli Manning, while Brodney Pool came up with a huge interception when New York was driving for a score in the first quarter.

It’ll be interesting to see if Anderson cancels out his first half performance with a second half collapse as Cleveland fans cry out for Brady Quinn. If the Browns can’t hold on to the lead, surely Crennel will have played into it somehow.

Week 6 provides plenty of examples of why you shouldn’t gamble on the NFL

Jason ElamFar be it for me to tell someone how to live their life. But as I sat on my couch watching Week 6 unfold in the NFL, one question kept popping up in my head: Why would anyone gamble on pro football?

For the record, this isn’t about bashing gamblers because, to be brutally honest, I am one. In fact, anyone that shells out a little coin in office pools or even fantasy football is a gambler to some degree. So as it stands, I’m referring to myself when I write this.

This article is about shinning even more light on how unpredictable the NFL is, and how quickly a football game can turn on its head. It has to be easier to predict winning lotto numbers than it is to predict which teams will cover the spread on a consistent basis.

Below are just three examples from Week 6 of how snake-bitten you can be as a gambler of the NFL. And remember, I’m using just three examples from one week of the season. Think about how many times a gambler could get screwed over the course of an entire NFL season and it’s enough to lose your lunch.


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Peter King has amnesia about Jeff Garcia

In his latest edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback,” Peter King of SI.com writes this about Jeff Garcia:

5. Tampa Bay (4-2). How admirable is Jeff Garcia? He goes 15 of 20 with no picks or sacks against a formidable Panther D, and all he talks about after the game, in effect, is how he appreciates the chance to be an NFL quarterback.

Admirable? Garcia didn’t seem to appreciate the chance to be an NFL quarterback this offseason when he demanded a new contract from the Bucs or else he’d sit out of football.

“MMQ” is the best but King is off on this one.

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