Month: September 2009 (Page 2 of 66)

      Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Smith, MBIII, Coffee and Beanie

      September 30, 2009 /

      Kevin Smith to be a game time decision. Smith has shoulder and knee injuries, but the shoulder is more worrisome. The feeling from the Lions beat writers is that he won’t play, so Smith owners should make other plans. Glen Coffee is a nice alternative, if available. Tashard Choice should get plenty of playing time with Felix Jones sidelined and Marion Barber banged up. If neither are available, Maurice Morris will get most of the work with Smith out.

      Cowboys expect MBIII to play on Sunday. The team says he was close to playing on Monday night, but they decided to rest him another week. With Felix Jones out, I’d expect Barber and Tashard Choice to split the work, with Barber getting the goal line duties and Choice getting a healthy number of carries and most of the third-down snaps. Denver’s defense has played well, but the competition (CIN, CLE and OAK) has been very suspect. Barber and Choice are both decent starts this week.

      Glen Coffee should get plenty of work with Frank Gore sidelined.       The 49ers do use Michael Robinson from time to time in the passing game, but expect Coffee to get the lion’s share of touches while Gore is out. Coffee is a good start (RB2) this week against the Rams and is a must-grab if he’s still somehow out there on your waiver wire.

      Chris Wells isn’t playing much because he doesn’t know the entire offense. HC Whisenhunt says that Wells is behind the curve because he missed time in camp. When the Cardinals trail, they’ve been using Tim Hightower exclusively, which is why he’s been so valuable in PPR leagues. With Arizona on bye this week, Wells should be able to play catch up. It might be a good time to sell Hightower while his stock is pretty high.

      Fantasy Football

      Will the Redskins ever win under Snyder?

      September 30, 2009 /

      When it comes to examining the Washington Redskins, let’s take our foot off Jim Zorn’s neck for a second, shall we?

      Since Daniel Snyder purchased the Redskins in May of 1999, they’ve had a winning record only three times in those 10 years (1999, 2005, 2007). In each of those winning seasons, they went to the playoffs but advanced no further than the first round. (And in 2007, they didn’t even make it past the first round.)

      During Snyder’s reign as owner in Washington, the Redskins have been aggressive in free agency, inking notable names Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Deion Sanders, Jeremiah Trotter, Jessie Armstead, Randy Thomas, Lavernous Coles, John Hall, Phillip Daniels, Marvin Washington, Shawn Springs, Antwaan Randle El, Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, London Fletcher, Fred Smoot, Jason Fabini, Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall.

      But where has it gotten them?

      This past offseason, Snyder made Haynesworth the richest defensive player in NFL history and so far, the Skins have an ugly win against the Rams and a loss to the previously 0-19 Lions to show for it. Granted, it’s still early and Washington can turn things around, but a team doesn’t lose to the Lions without having massive internal bleeding.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Indians to fire manager Eric Wedge

      September 30, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Indians will fire manager Eric Wedge at the end of the season.

      Eric WedgeWedge and his coaches will finish the final six games of the season, including today’s doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, the final home games of the season. The Indians play a four-game series in Boston this weekend.

      Wedge is in his seventh year as manager. The Indians are 64-92 and in fourth place in the AL Central. They have lost 20 of their last 25 games.

      Wedge ranks fifth among Tribe managers with 560 victories.

      Although it wasn’t his fault that his players were made of chandelier glass and could never stay healthy, it’s kind of hard to argue the firing of Wedge.

      The Tribe were set up to win long-term after they were one win away from making a World Series appearance in 2007, but the last two years the club fell apart under Wedge. It’s amazing to think that Cleveland has to rebuild again after spending 2002 to 2006 building what seemed to be a roster that could compete for the long haul.

      MLB

      Needing a spark, Browns go back to Anderson

      September 30, 2009 /

      Browns head coach Eric Mangini told reporters on Wednesday that Derek Anderson would replace Brady Quinn at quarterback and start this Sunday against the Bengals.

      From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

      Mangini said “giving Derek the opportunity is something I think will help us offensively.” He said Anderson’s performance on third down Sunday in Baltimore — including 3-of-4 on a field goal drive — helped him clinch the job. He said he needs to improve on throwing interceptions, after throwing three in Baltimore.

      Mangini had little choice. Quinn wasn’t moving the offense, looked uncomfortable in his decision-making and wasn’t giving his receivers a chance to run after the catch. While Anderson shouldn’t be expected to fix what ails the Browns, he does have a stronger arm, will test defenses vertically and did move the ball more efficiently than Quinn last week against the Ravens. (Granted, Anderson also threw three interceptions against Baltimore.)

      Cleveland’s defense has played well enough to keep the Browns competitive, but the offense has been stagnant and while Quinn isn’t the only one to blame, the quarterback is always the first one to be replaced when a team is losing. If Quinn had showed any signs that he was progressing as a passer, then maybe Mangini would have given the young QB more time. But he wasn’t, and thus it’s time to give Anderson a shot to lead the offense again.

      Mangini needs this move to pay off or else he’s going to start losing the locker room (if he hasn’t already). He got off to a rough start with players like Shaun Rodgers when he was hired, and hasn’t endeared himself to others with his crass attitude and Bill Belichick-like demeanor. It may be too early to suggest that he’s on the hot seat, but if he doesn’t get a win soon he’s going to have a mess on his hands.

      NFL

      2009 NHL Preview: Florida Panthers

      September 30, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Edmonton Oilers…

      Team Play: ISSUE – The Blueline. Truthfully, Florida has more than a couple of question marks among the forward lines, too, but the New & Not-Necessarily-Improved blueline corps (Now Bouwmeester Free!!!) earns OGA’s focus. In addition to the departure of Jay “30-minutes-a-night” Bouwmeester, Florida also said goodbye to Nick Boynton (now with Anaheim), Karlis Skrastins (Dallas), and apparently, to Jassen Cullimore (UFA), as well. Replacing those ‘Cats are Jordan Leopold, Ville Koistinen, and…who else? Well, that’s why they have training camp every year, right? – To find the answers to such questions. Seriously, the Panthers have invited veterans Martin Skoula and Christian Backman (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to camp, and they’ll compete with a handful of rookies for available roster spots. No matter who ends up on the Opening Night roster, the Panthers’ defensemen have big skates (and minutes) to fill.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑