Month: September 2009 (Page 40 of 66)

      Patriots fortunate to be 1-0 as Bills choke

      September 14, 2009 /

      For 58 minutes of Monday night’s game between the Bills and Patriots, it appeared that New England was headed for a 0-1 start to the 2009 season. The Pats were dominating the Bills in every category except where it mattered most: The scoreboard.

      But with just over two minutes remaining in the game, New England cut Buffalo’s lead to 24-19 after Tom Brady threw a bullet to tight end Ben Watson for an 18-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Buffalo cornerback Leodis McKelvin (who played well defensively all night) foolishly decided to return the ball out of his end zone instead of taking a knee. He wound up fumbling and the Patriots recovered. Three plays later Brady again found Watson, this time on a 16-yard touchdown to give New England a 25-24 lead. (They would eventually win by that score.)

      New England racked up 441 total yards of offense, including 368 passing yards. But this wasn’t your typical Patriot win in which they took control from the start and stepped on their opponent’s throat. Several times throughout the game, Brady looked uncomfortable on his newly repaired knee and New England’s defense looked befuddled by Buffalo’s no-huddle offense. If it weren’t for McKelvin’s fumble, the Patriots probably wouldn’t have walked out of Foxboro tonight with a win.

      This loss doesn’t fall solely on McKelvin’s shoulders though. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell made several mistakes tonight, none bigger than switching to the prevent defense with under five minutes remaining. Instead of staying aggressive like he had been all night, Fewell went to a shell coverage and Brady picked the Bills apart.

      And where was T.O. tonight? While Randy Moss was busy racking up 141 yards on 12 receptions, Owens totaled just 46 yards on two catches. He did make another grab, although he had to throw the defender down in order to make the catch and was called for pass interference. Granted, New England did a great job blanketing him all game, but he was non-existent. One would think that for as much as quarterback Trent Edwards scrambled out of the pocket that T.O. could have shaken loose from the defenders once or twice to make more catches.

      The Bills let one get away tonight.

      NFL

      Ten Surprises from Week 1 in the NFL

      September 14, 2009 /

      Who would have thought that Jay Cutler’s debut for the Bears would go so poorly? How about Jake Delhomme picking up right where he left off in last year’s playoffs? The 49ers beat the Cardinals on the road?!

      Below are 10 surprises from Week 1 in the NFL. Feel free to add what surprised you in our comments section.

      1. Cutler’s atrocious Bears debut.
      When Chicago acquired quarterback Jay Cutler from the Broncos this offseason, fans immediately started believing that their Bears were a legitimate Super Bowl contender. After all, the only thing that had held this team back over the years was not having a franchise quarterback. Now that the Bears had one in Cutler, the sky was the limit. Given the lofty expectations that fans had for the Bears, Cutler’s debut Sunday night in Green Bay was startling. The numbers were bad enough: 17 of 36, 277 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs. But it was Cutler’s demeanor during the game that was most troubling. He constantly threw across his body into traffic, was rarely on the same page as his receivers and it appeared as though he flat out stopped trying after throwing his third pick of the night. Granted, there’s still a lot of time left. But nobody expected Cutler to get off to this bad of a start.

      2. Miami shoots itself in the foot.
      Even though Atlanta’s defense rose to the challenge on Sunday, it was still quite surprising to see the Dolphins routinely beat themselves with costly turnovers and dumb penalties. Early in the second quarter, Miami drove to the Falcons’ 16-yard line only to have tight end Anthony Fasano fumble after receiving a bone crunching hit from Mike Peterson. Cornerback Brian Williams returned the gift 53 yards and Atlanta capitalized with a Jason Elam 36-yard field goal. Midway through the third, the Dolphins again drove into Atlanta territory, but quarterback Chad Pennington didn’t see Peterson waiting in the flats and was picked off by the linebacker. The Falcons again capitalized, this time on a Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez 20-yard touchdown pass to give them a 16-0 lead. On Miami’s very next series, Fasano fumbled again, only this time Elam missed a 38-yard field goal. Later in the fourth, the Dolphins had a touchdown taken off the board after offensive lineman Vernon Carey was called for holding. This was a Miami team that won the AFC East last year because they did all the little things right. They never hurt themselves with mistakes and always capitalized on their opponents’ miscues. But the opposite happened on Sunday and considering Tony Sparano’s team isn’t talented enough to overcome turnovers and penalties, the Dolphins can’t have what happened in Atlanta become a routine occurrence.

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      NFL

      MJ’s strange HOF speech

      September 14, 2009 /

      Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wasn’t impressed with Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction speech.

      This wasn’t a Hall of Fame induction speech, but a bully tripping nerds with lunch trays in the school cafeteria. He had a responsibility to his standing in history, to players past and present, and he let everyone down. This was a night to leave behind the petty grievances and past slights – real and imagined. This was a night to be gracious, to be generous with praise and credit.

      Jordan wandered through an unfocused and uninspired speech at Symphony Hall, disparaging people who had little to do with his career, like Jeff Van Gundy and Bryon Russell. He ignored people who had so much to do with it, like his personal trainer, Tim Grover. This had been a moving and inspirational night for the NBA – one of its best ceremonies ever – and five minutes into Jordan’s speech it began to spiral into something else. Something unworthy of Jordan’s stature, something beneath him.

      When basketball wanted to celebrate Jordan as the greatest player ever, wanted to honor him for changing basketball everywhere, he was petty and punitive. Yes, there was some wink-wink teasing with his beloved Dean Smith, but make no mistake: Jordan revealed himself to be strangely bitter. You won, Michael. You won it all. Yet he keeps chasing something that he’ll never catch, and sometimes, well, it all seems so hollow for him.

      You can see the speech for yourself after the jump.

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      NBA, News, Video

      Reggie Wayne chats with The Scores Report

      September 14, 2009 /

      In order to keep athletes safe and performing at their best during the hot summer months, Gatorade joined forces with the NFL in July to educate parents and coaches about heat-related illness and the importance of hydration. As part of Gatorade’s “Beat the Heat” program, NFL players, coaches and their wives lead hydration awareness efforts, while also raising funds for the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation.

      One athlete that has been working with Gatorade on its “Beat the Heat” program is Indianapolis Colts star receiver Reggie Wayne. Reggie was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk about his alma mater Miami beating rival Florida State on Monday night, who the toughest cornerback he’s ever faced is and what was going through his mind when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XL back 100-yards for a touchdown.

      Side Note: TSR must be a good luck charm for Reggie, because after he talked to us he caught 10 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in the Colts’ 14-12 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. Anytime, Reggie…anytime

      The Scores Report: Hey, Reggie – how are you?

      Reggie Wayne: What’s going on?

      TSR: You still waking up from that Miami hangover from last night?

      RW: Yes I am!

      TSR: I know you watched it – what did you think? How’d the Canes look to you?

      RW: They showed me something. They showed me that they have a little fight in them. I remember when I was there and I was playing it was so easy to say, you know what? We’re not going to win this one. (Laughs)

      TSR: (Laughs) Were you impressed with their quarterback, Jacory Harris?

      RW: I was, although he might have been a little too cool back there (in the pocket)!

      TSR: (Laughs)

      RW: I saw him play when he was younger, playing on playgrounds and things. I’ve heard a lot about him and his play at Northwestern High School, which is a good school. So it doesn’t surprise me to see him play well. In the summer time (the coaching staff) said he was ready and he showed it last night by staying poised and winning the game for them.

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      Interviews, NFL

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