Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1084 of 1503)

Kyle Orton suffers ankle injury in Bears win over Lions

Kyle OrtonChicago quarterback Kyle Orton was carted off the field at the end of the second quarter in the Bears’ 27-23 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Lions’ defensive end Dewayne White fell on Orton on a scramble and the signal caller’s ankle snapped back awkwardly on the play.

It’s uncertain at this point how long Orton will be out, but the replays didn’t look good. Rex Grossman took over in the second half and threw for 58 yards and a touchdown while also running for a score as well. He wasn’t overly impressive, but he did rally Chicago from a 10-point deficit and allowed them to avoid embarrassment in losing to a winless Detroit team.

If Orton is out for an extended period of time, it would be a huge blow to the Bears’ postseason hopes. Grossman is a liability every time he drops back to pass and while he has shown signs of being an NFL-caliber quarterback, he’s just way too inconsistent to be counted on to lead Chicago to the playoffs, especially with the amount of injuries this team has on defense.

Speaking of Detroit, if they’re looking for a positive, Dan Orlovsky did throw for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns. Of course he did it against a banged up Bears’ secondary and did throw two costly picks but hey, the Lions have to take good news where they can get it.

Hell officially freezes over as Bengals win first game

Ryan FitzpatrickThey’ve put their fans through misery this season, but for at least one week the Cincinnati Bengals gave them something to cheer about. The Bungles notched their first win of the season on Sunday, beating the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars 21-19.

Amazing what a team can do when its defense plays well. Things got hairy in the fourth quarter, but the Bengals defense played its best game of the season by continuously coming up with huge plays all afternoon, including stopping the Jags on a 2-point conversation that could have forced overtime.

What happened to Jacksonville? This was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender and they can’t even beat a winless Bengals team. Not only that, but they allowed former Bears’ castoff Cedric Benson to rush for 104 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw for two scores and Chad Johnson (who had been non-existent before today) to snatch two score his first two TDs of the season.

Everything that worked so well for the Jags last year is working against them this year. David Garrard hasn’t been as sharp, the running game hasn’t been as productive and the defense isn’t as dominant. Jack Del Rio has his work cut out for him in getting his team back on track. It might be too little too late, however.

Texas Tech upsets Texas – ‘Bama top team in the nation?

Texas Tech-TexasThe 2008 College Football Season just got a bit more interesting as No. 7 Texas Tech knocked off top-ranked Texas 39-33 in Lubbock on Saturday night.

Pundits noted all week how the Red Raiders don’t play defense and while they did give up 33 points, the final score wasn’t a true indication of how well they shut down Colt McCoy and the Longhorn offense. Tech did a fantastic job of taking away what Texas does best – moving the ball with underneath routes and racking up the yards after the catch. Of course it didn’t hurt that Longhorn wideouts couldn’t hang onto the ball either. UT just couldn’t match Tech’s intensity the entire night and pressured McCoy with four, five and even three-man rushes.

Texas didn’t match Tech’s emotion from the start. It’s clichéd to say that one team wanted a game more, but it really seemed like the Raiders went out and grabbed victory by the balls while Texas waited for things to happen. Even when they seized their first lead with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t keep Tech out of the end zone when all they were after was a field goal.

So Alabama has to move into the top spot, right? Where do the Red Raiders fit into the picture? Penn State was idle so they could move down, but it’s doubtful. Florida absolutely hammered Georgia so they can only move up. The same could be said for Oklahoma, which waxed Nebraska. It’ll be interesting to see how things fall in the BCS when the new polls are released Sunday.

Rich Rodriguez first year at Michigan total disaster

Rich RodriguezTo say Rich Rodriguez’s first year at Michigan has been a failure would be a gross understatement. In their 48-42 loss to Purdue on Saturday, Michigan is guaranteed its first losing season since 1967. It also ensured that the Wolverines’ 33-year bowl streak is now over, too.

There’s really no doubt that Rich Rod is going to turn things around at Michigan and get that program back on track soon. He’ll find a quarterback to run his spread option offense and things will start to quickly fall in place. He just needs time to get the right players to fight his scheme and everyone should be patient while he goes through the process.

But there’s no other way to cut it – this season was a total debacle. I realize these young men are learning an entirely new system and will need time to develop, but you can’t lose to Toledo at home. You can’t get beat by Purdue on a hook and ladder on the final play of the game. You can’t turn the ball over six times in an embarrassing loss to Notre Dame.

Rich Rodriguez will turn Michigan around. But they’ve been a total embarrassment this season and an absolute joke.

Florida gets revenge on Georgia in 49-10 rout

Tim TebowWhat’s that old saying? Revenge is best served cold? Well cold, hot, lukewarm, whatever – Florida absolutely gave it to Georgia on Saturday in a 49-10 rout in the game formerly known as “The World’s Outdoor Largest Cocktail Party.”

Urban Meyer and the rest of the Gators didn’t appreciate Mark Richt and the Bulldogs celebrating as a team after scoring the first touchdown in last year’s contest. So Meyer’s team made it personal this time around and while the game was close until the third quarter, once Florida got a lead, it never took its foot off Georgia’s neck.

The Bulldogs really never stood a chance Saturday. There was no way Meyer was going to allow his team to forget about what Richt and UGA did last year and it was comical when he called a time out to savor the flavor with under a minute to play and the game well in the bag. It was nice “up yours” to Richt.

Nothing against Texas, Penn State, Alabama and the rest of the top rated teams in college football, but Florida is the most dangerous team in the nation right now. The loss to Ole’ Miss could have been crippling, but now Tim Tebow and the rest of the Gators are playing with unwavering passion and focus.

Looking at the rest of its schedule, Florida has a solid chance to finish with only one-loss. Vanderbilt, South Carolina and certainly Florida State will provide a challenge, but the Gators should finish 11-1 and with some help, could still play for a national title.

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