Month: December 2010 (Page 10 of 52)

      The Chiefs continue to prove doubters wrong

      December 26, 2010 /

      I’ll be the first to admit that I thought the Chiefs would have collapsed by now and the Chargers would have overtaken the top spot in the AFC West. Kansas City has been in control of the division for most of the year but I’ve patiently waited for disaster to strike.

      But it hasn’t. Perhaps I should have considered that their win over the Chargers in Week 1 wasn’t a fluke and this team is for real. But I didn’t. And they are.

      Matt Cassel was brilliant in the Chiefs’ 34-14 win over the Titans on Sunday. He completed 24-of-34 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, all while showing no ill effects from the appendectomy surgery he had three weeks ago. It’s amazing to think that at the start of the year, many people believed KC would have to search for a new quarterback in 2011 and now it appears that the Chiefs will only go as far as he takes them. Understandably, it took a while for him to get comfortable in Charlie Weis’ system but now that he is, the skies the limit for both him and KC. (It also doesn’t hurt that he has a couple of great weapons around him in Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe).

      Granted, things could still turn sour for KC next week and seeing as how I have deemed them “for real,” the jinx has probably been set.

      But as of this writing, the Chargers are losing at halftime to the Bengals, so it looks like the Chiefs are in good shape. If Cincinnati holds on, KC would win the AFC West for the first time since 2003. If San Diego mounts a comeback and wins, then the Chiefs would have to beat the Raiders next week or have San Diego lose at Denver.

      Let’s assume for a second that the Chiefs do win the division and wrap up the No. 3 seed in the AFC. How far could this team go? Well, given how bad the Jets’ (who will have the No. 6 seed) defense has looked in recent weeks, it’s not a stretch to think that KC would move to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. And then, who knows? Nobody outside of the Patriots looks indestructible in the AFC so there’s a chance that this pesky Chiefs team could be the dark horse of the conference.

      But first things first: they need to get in and then they can worry about seeding and opponents. Either way, the Chiefs continue to make noise.

      External Sports, NFL

      Are the Bears and Jets’ defenses overrated?

      December 26, 2010 /

      Here are five quick-hit thoughts on the Bears’ wild 38-34 win over the Jets in Week 16.

      1. Are the Bears and Jets’ defenses overrated?
      Not to take anything away from Jay Cutler (who has played well for most of the season) or Mark Sanchez (who has played well for most of his last two games), but what happened to the defenses for these two teams? The Bears came into this game with the 30th-ranked offense and Sanchez was playing with torn cartilage in his shoulder. Yet you would have sworn that this was an Arena League game with the way both teams went up and down the field. In the Jets’ embarrassing loss to the Patriots on Monday night a few weeks ago, their pass rush was non-existent. It was the same case on Sunday, as their front seven failed to lay a hand on Cutler in most situations. New York’s vaunted secondary was brutal in coverage as well, and the entire defense had a poor day tackling. In the past two games, the Jets have allowed 700 total yards, which is a concern to say the least (especially now that they’ve managed to back into the playoffs again). The Bears defense was no better, as it allowed Sanchez to complete 24-for-37 pass attempts for 269 yards and a touchdown. Granted, Chris Harris came up with a huge interception to seal the game for the Bears late in the fourth quarter, but Lovie Smith can’t be too pleased that his defense gave up 393 total yards of offense. With the way both teams played on Sunday, it makes you wonder whether these defenses are living off past reputations.

      2. Teams still haven’t learned not to kick to Hester.
      It’s amazing how teams foolishly believe week after week that they’ll be the ones to negate what Devin Hester can do in the return game. And I blame the kickers, because no coach that wants to retain his job is ordering his team to kick to the former Miami product. Jets coach Rex Ryan said earlier in the week that the Jets wouldn’t punt to Hester, but Steve Weatherford did it anyway. After successfully playing keep-away in the first half, Weatherford booted a line drive right to Hester in the third quarter, who returned the gift 32 yards to New York’s 32-yard-line. He caught a 25-yard touchdown three plays later to give the Bears a 31-24 lead. Later in the third quarter, he returned a kickoff 40 yards to set up a Cutler touchdown pass to Johnny Knox. The impact that Hester is having this year is eerily similar to the one he had when they went to the Super Bowl in 2006. Given how much more explosive the Bears are offensively than they were back then, teams that could play Chicago in the postseason better figure out a way to keep it out of his hands.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Andre Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew doubtful for Sunday

      December 26, 2010 /

      The Texans and Jaguars could be without their biggest offensive weapons on Sunday.

      Sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter that both Andre Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew are doubtful for their respective games in Week 16. The Texans are in Denver for a meaningless (in terms of playoffs) game against the Broncos, while the Jaguars play a very meaningful game against the Redskins in Jacksonville.

      Johnson told the media earlier in the week that he would test his injured ankle in pre-game warmups but he didn’t sound optimistic that he would play. Should he sit against the Broncos, Jacoby Jones would start in his place and could have a big game against a brutal Denver defense (save for cornerback Champ Bailey, of course).

      Jones-Drew’s knee is still swollen and the Jags want to give it a chance to rest and heal. And even though they have a huge game on Sunday, the Redskins’ defense is both decimated and awful, so Jacksonville could probably get by with backup Rashad Jennings if MJD can’t go. Jennings is averaging 6.8 yards-per-carry this season and he should get anywhere from 15-25 touches against Washington.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jerry Jones “mad as hell” about Cowboys’ situation

      December 26, 2010 /

      Jason Garrett didn’t help his chances of earning a full-time coaching gig with the Cowboys’ after his team blew a late lead to the Cardinals on Christmas night. The Cowboys had scored a touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the game to make the score 26-24, but the Cardinals managed to get into field goal range and kick a game winner to pull out a 27-26 final

      It didn’t help Garrett’s cause that the ‘Boys missed an extra point after their final score or that their defense gave up a 4th-and-long on Arizona’s last possession to help set up the game-winning field goal.

      Following the game, Jones was asked whether or not the loss would affect Garrett’s chances of earning the head job on a full-time basis.

      “That’s not something that I’m even thinking about right now,” Jones said. “I’m mad as hell and I know all of our fans are. That’s where that is.”

      The response isn’t surprising. What do you want Jones to say? That he’s happy his team blew an opportunity to win a game when they came back from a 21-3 deficit? Of course he’s going to be mad. And saying anything definitively either way on Garrett’s future with the team wouldn’t be a prudent move on Jones’ part either. You’re not going to disqualify a guy after one loss and you’re certainly not going to sing his praises either.

      Jones will take his time making this decision. He was asked by Deion Sanders on the NFL Network pre-game show whether or not he would consider Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden for the position and Jones point out that (I’m paraphrasing), “No head coach that has won a Super Bowl has ever won another one with his second team.”

      Does that mean that Jones isn’t considering Cowher or Gruden? Of course not. But who knows what’s going on in Jones’ head right now. He needs time to digest everything and go from there.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 15 ROY power rankings

      December 25, 2010 /

      There was an article in USA Today’s Sports Weekly about what a solid rookie class this has been, and it’s so true.

      Offensive rookie of the year power rankings

      1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s thrown for 3065 yards on a team that won one game last season, and might possibly lead them to a playoff berth.

      2. Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—Between them, 953 yards and 13 TDs through 14 games. Those are Antonio Gates-esque numbers.

      3. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Did you need more proof that this kid is the future at QB? Yeah, the Browns lost to the Bengals, but McCoy put up 243 yards with 2 TDs and no picks, and completed 19 of 25 for a ridiculous 76% completion percentage.

      4. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Through 14 games—58/880/8, and a big reason for the Bucs’ resurgence this year.

      5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—As electrifying a young player the NFL has seen in a long time.

      Defensive rookie of the year power rankings

      1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Becoming a defensive leader on his team as a rookie, and helping the young Lions become respectable again.

      2. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—Not only does this young stud have 6 interceptions, but he has 77 total tackles to rank near the top for NFL corners.

      3. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—This is a guy you just don’t throw the ball near, and even if you don’t , he has ridiculous closing speed.

      4. Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns—McCoy is the offensive bright spot, Haden the defensive one on a team showing promise in the Holmgren regime.

      5. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Hasn’t had a pick in a while, but his 5 still ranks near the top in the NFL.

      External Sports, NFL

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