Month: September 2009 (Page 64 of 66)

      Brett Favre throws crackback block at Eugene Wilson’s knees

      September 1, 2009 /

      During the Vikings-Texans preseason game on Monday night, Brett Favre threw a crackback block at the knees of Houston safety Eugene Wilson, which many are calling a dirty play.

      Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski were right to call Favre out. You can’t go for a guy’s knees when he’s not looking, not too mention the play is illegal. And I thought Brett might have a cracked rib? Apparently the rib must not be hurting him too much if he’s willing to throw his body at the knees of a opposing defender.

      This isn’t to say that Favre is a dirty player, because he’s not. As far as I can remember, this is the first time where he’s been involved in a play that could be deemed as “dirty” and one dirty play doesn’t make him a dirty player. (I feel like I’m writing lyrics for a rap song with how many times I referenced dirty in that last sentence.)

      That said, Favre shouldn’t have gone low like that and he deserves to be criticzed for his actions.

      NFL

      Bengals’ first round pick Andre Smith breaks foot

      September 1, 2009 /

      Andre Smith clearly wasn’t in football shape when he signed his $42 million deal, because the first round pick fractured his foot in practice on Tuesday just 48 hours after signing his rookie contract.

      From Bengals.com:

      In a statement released through the Bengals public relations department, Lewis said, “Andre suffered a small fracture in his left foot during a non-contact drill. Our medical staff tells me the injury will not require surgery. It’s too soon to closely predict how long it will be before he can return to practice. But it looks like he’s going to miss a few weeks.”

      “A few weeks” could mean anything. Cornerbacks David Jones and Morgan Trent suffered foot fractures during this preseason and their rehab took about five weeks. But Smith’s may not be as long because both Jones and Trent had surgery.

      This is yet another bump in the road for a player who was suspended for the 2009 Sugar Bowl, showed up to the NFL combine out of shape and then held out for the entire length of the Bengals’ training camp.

      Cincinnati’s offensive line had question marks before Smith’s injury, but the team was hoping that the sixth overall pick would eventually start at right tackle this season and anchor the line. That could still happen at some point, but there’s no doubt that Smith’s rookie season is off to a rough start.

      NFL

      Falcons acquire corner Tye Hill from Rams

      September 1, 2009 /

      Embarrassed by his team’s play in the secondary last weekend in a preseason win over the Chargers, Falcons’ GM Thomas Dimitroff acquired former first round pick Tye Hill from the Rams in exchange for a 2010 seventh round pick.

      From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

      Hill, a former first round pick by the Rams in 2006, has started 21 of 28 games. He will be expected to compete for one of the starting positions.

      Hill entered last season as the starting left cornerback for the Rams. The spot has been problematic for the Falcons since they decided to trade DeAngelo Hall over the 2007 offseason.

      Anyone who watched San Diego’s Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson shred the Falcons last Saturday knows that Atlanta needed to do something to address its secondary issues. While Hill has major injury concerns, he played well in his rookie season in 2006 and has solid coverage skills.

      While he isn’t the biggest cornerback, Hill has great speed and maybe a change of scenery will serve him well. He’ll challenge Chris Houston and Brent Grimes immediately and could wind up starting at some point during the first month of the season, if not the Falcons’ opener.

      NFL

      2009 NFL Preview: #28 Cincinnati Bengals

      September 1, 2009 /

      Check out all of our 2009 NFL team previews.

      Offseason Additions: Roy Williams (S); Laveranues Coles (WR); Abram Elam (S); Tank Johnson (DT); George Foster (OT).

      Offseason Losses: T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR); Stacy Andrews (OT); Eric Ghiaciu (C); Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB).

      Player to Watch: Keith Rivers, LB.
      If it weren’t for Hines Ward’s jaw-breaking crackback block that prematurely ended his ’08 season, Rivers would have probably led the Bengals in tackles last year. Rivers has fully recovered from the jaw injury, as well as offseason arthroscopic ankle surgery, and should emerge as Cincinnati’s best defender this season. He was one of the few bright spots on the Bengals’ defense last year and with the offseason additions of Roy Williams, Abram Elam, Tank Johnson, Rey Maualuga and Michael Johnson, Rivers should be freed up to make plenty of plays in ’09.

      Team Strength: In Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall, the Bengals have two young playmakers at the cornerback position. Joseph says he’s 100% healthy after missing half of the ‘08 season with a foot injury and is looking to build off the success he had last year before being placed on IR. After being burned repeatedly in his rookie season in ‘07, Hall emerged as the Bengals’ best pass defender in ’08 and could play his way into receiving a contact extension at the end of the year. As long as these two stay healthy, the Bengals have a nice young corner tandem heading into the season.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Reassessing the T-Wolves’ draft night

      September 1, 2009 /

      Given the news that Ricky Rubio plans to stay in Spain for two more years, TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott looks back at the 2009 NBA Draft to try to make sense of it all. Minnesota GM David Kahn is being criticized for taking Rubio when it was somewhat of a long shot that he’d be suiting up for the T-Wolves in 2009. Even so, drafting two point guards (Rubio and Jonny Flynn) back-to-back was…um…unorthodox, to say the least.

      The truth, to me, is — in that scenario Kahn’s draft night is being judged short-term while it is really a long-term plan. (Not to mention, have you heard David Kahn talk? He is not dumb. Anyone could tell you that.)

      But mainly my point is: If you are arguing he should not have taken Rubio, you need to also argue who he should have taken instead. Stephen Curry? Maybe, but you still have the two point guard problem. The same goes for Brandon Jennings. On the wing, where the Wolves have real need, some people love Demar DeRozan, I guess, or Gerald Henderson.

      There is no way the Timberwolves needed another non-center big man like Jordan Hill to sit behind Kevin Love and Al Jefferson.

      The point: It was tricky. There was no low-risk proposition. You either take Rubio, widely considered to be one of the two or three best prospects in the draft, or you take … someone with a higher probability of reporting to camp, but a lower ceiling as a player.

      And close your eyes a moment and imagine Ricky Rubio, NBA All-Star. If ever that happens, people will then reverse engineer how he got there, and make somebody look like a genius. They don’t hand out the rights to all-stars for free, though. What they do hand out for free, however, on draft night, are the rights to players who have chances at becoming All-Stars.

      I don’t agree that Stephen Curry would create a two point guard problem, not in the way that a Rubio/Flynn backcourt does. Curry is a shooter first. I think he can probably play the point, but he’s better suited off the ball in a situation where his lack of height doesn’t hurt him on the other end of the court.

      If Rubio does one day become and All-Star, Kahn will be lauded for this pick, but if Rubio does not play for the T-Wolves, it is imperative that Kahn get something for the young Spaniard that will make the T-Wolves better.

      It’s definitely a long-term play, but the NBA is typically a short-term business.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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