Month: September 2009 (Page 35 of 66)

      Rhodes wants to embarrass the Patriots

      September 17, 2009 /

      Jets’ safety Kerry Rhodes is taking a page from his head coach in calling out the Patriots, saying that he wants to “embarrass” New England this Sunday when the two teams clash in New York on Sunday.

      From ESPN.com:

      “You go out from the first quarter on, from the first play on, and try to embarrass them,” Rhodes said, according to the New York Daily News. “Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them. Try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don’t want to just beat them. We want to send a message to them, ‘We’re not backing down from you and we expect to win this game, and it’s not going to be luck, it’s not going to be a mistake.’ ”

      Brady, returning from a knee injury that cost him almost the entire 2008 season, was hit only six times by the Buffalo Bills in Week 1’s comeback victory. Rhodes said Brady will be hit far more often by the Jets’ defense, which hit Texans quarterback Matt Schaub eight times in Week 1.

      “We will hit him more than six times. I promise you that,” Rhodes said, according to the Daily News.

      Rhodes insisted the Jets “won’t play dirty” but that Brady will be vulnerable.

      “I’m sure if somebody is around his leg, or he feels pressure below, he’s not going to step into his throw,” Rhodes said, according to the Daily News.

      As a writer, I love this kind of smack talk. But I don’t think it’s wise for Rhodes (or anyone else for that matter) to give the Patriots any extra motivation on game day. That said, New England is coming off a short week and its defense didn’t play well without Jerod Mayo on Monday against Buffalo. Mayo won’t play this week, so maybe the Pats are primed for the taking.

      The Jets backed up Rex Ryan’s offseason talk last week in Houston, so maybe they’ll do the same for Rhodes this Sunday against New England.

      NFL

      Gilbert Arenas wants protection…from himself

      September 17, 2009 /

      Gilbert Arenas said he’s doing great with his knee rehab, but criticized the Wizards for — get this — letting him play when he said that he could play.

      “If you have a kid that loves basketball, that eats, sleeps, drinks and thinks basketball and all he knows is basketball and he gets hurt and he’s your franchise player, you need to hold him back from himself,” Arenas told the newspaper. “If I’m saying I feel good and you know it’s supposed to take six months, instead of letting me at four months run … they should have held me back. Rather than saying, ‘Let’s let this guy do what he wants and use him to sell tickets’ — sometimes you have to protect players from themselves. I don’t feel like I got that type of protection. But, I don’t judge them for that. Some things just happen. I told them I felt OK because I wanted to play, and they did what they did.”

      Man, that takes balls, doesn’t it? Sometimes you have to protect players from themselves. Give me a break.

      Athletes come back early from injuries all the time. Sometimes it backfires and sometimes it doesn’t. If Arenas told the team he was ready to go, it’s not the Wizards’ fault that he wasn’t. It’s his fault.

      Had the team pressured Arenas to get back on the court, then this criticism would be justified. But for Arenas to blame the Wizards for his mistake is pure projection.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Marvez: Starcaps case a blow to NFL drug policy

      September 17, 2009 /

      Now that Charles Grant, Will Smith, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams all escaped suspensions, Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.com writes that the Starcaps case is a blow to the integrity of the NFL drug policy.

      Not even the thousands of NFL steroid tests administered each year are enough to catch all the cheaters. For all we know, some players are taking “exotic” boosters either undetectable or unknown through testing. The steroid nicknamed “The Clear” was one of those once-untraceable designer drugs that surfaced earlier this decade in baseball and football.

      Human growth hormone use is an even bigger problem. The only reliable testing method involves the drawing of blood, which the NFLPA will not allow. A player hell-bent on using HGH for a physical edge despite potential long-term health effects can get away with it. You’d be naïve to think that isn’t happening.

      That’s the ultimate goal the NFL and NFLPA should share — catching the cheaters who threaten to undermine the game’s credibility like Barry Bonds and Co. did in Major League Baseball. Protecting athletes who want a level playing field is even more important. The NFLPA agreed to drug testing in the late 1980s after late union chief Gene Upshaw was approached by players who didn’t want to take the health risks inherent with steroid use to compete against their peers.

      Here’s hoping the NFL and NFLPA can compromise and work through their differences to achieve those ends. That would be the only positive result to come out of the Starcaps spectacle that has taken some of the shine off a once-respected NFL drug testing program.

      As the article suggests, if the NFL and NFLPA can’t work together, then the league will never be able to have a full chokehold on its drug testing policy. The NFLPA’s sole purpose is to protect the interest of the players. But in doing that, it sometimes impedes the progress the league is trying to make in keep performance-enhancing drugs out of the game.

      As the NFL heads for an un-capped 2010 season, it’s clear that the league and the NFLPA can’t get on the same page in regards to big issues like contracts and drugs. It’s too bad, because it’s the fans who suffer the most – not the players, owners or coaches.

      NFL

      Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Gonzalez, LT, Pierre and more

      September 17, 2009 /

      A. Gonzalez hopes to return Week 7. Well, it could have been worse. Fantasy owners who drafted Gonzalez in the 4th or 5th round expecting him to be a solid WR2 are going to have to weather the storm until he returns. Austin Collie is the Colts’ WR3 and figures to see the biggest jump in targets, though Pierre Garcon could eat into those as well. Neither player did much of anything against the Jaguars on Sunday. The Colts signed Hank Baskett as well. Gonzalez’s absence probably helps Dallas Clark the most since they both work the short game pretty well.

      Tomlinson not practicing; ankle in a boot.             This is so demoralizing for LT2 owners who drafted him in the first round expecting a bounce-back season. It is especially demoralizing for owners who didn’t draft Darren Sproles in the middle rounds to back Tomlinson up. Regardless, the Chargers have a tough matchup against the Ravens this week, though if LT2 doesn’t play, Sproles is a solid start in PPR leagues due to his ability to rack up catches in the passing game.

      Pierre Thomas practicing, still may not play. Fantasy owners that have both Thomas and Mike Bell would like to see Thomas sit until he’s healthy. Those owners who have Thomas but don’t have Bell are rooting for Thomas to return ASAP. The best thing for those owners might be for Thomas to sit out another week and hope Bell struggles against a very solid Eagles defense. The Saints offense is prolific, but I don’t know that it can support three starting fantasy RBs.

      Jamal Lewis limited by neck injury. Don’t cut James Davis yet. Davis sat out of practice with a shoulder injury, but Lewis’s neck injury is pretty worrisome considering his age and mileage.

      S. Smith tells Delhomme, “I never really liked you as a quarterback.”             Of course, the NFL has pulled the video from YouTube. Sigh.

      Fantasy Football

      Stoops won’t discuss Bradford’s return

      September 17, 2009 /

      When probed about the pending return of his Heisman-winner quarterback, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said he wouldn’t discuss the subject.

      From Tulsa World.com:

      During his press luncheon on Tuesday, Stoops was asked about Bradford’s progress coming back from a separated shoulder, and Stoops quickly replied, “I’m not even going to go there,” fearing that discussing Bradford’s rehab schedule would only fuel speculation.

      Instead, it was Stoops’ comments that fueled speculation on talk radio and message boards Wednesday — speculation that either Bradford is progressing faster than anticipated and may play against Tulsa, or that Bradford’s injury is worse than first feared and he may be out longer than the original prognosis of 2-4 weeks.

      After practice Wednesday, Stoops told reporters that Bradford won’t play against TU, but declined to discuss specifics of Bradford’s rehab or return schedule.

      Hopefully Bradford won’t be rushed back onto the field. As much as Oklahoma needs him (as well as college football fans looking forward to another tight race in the Big 12), Bradford has bright future ahead of him and can’t risk further injury.

      He should return when he’s at or near complete health.

      College Football

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