Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1150 of 1503)

      Jaguars beat Colts in final minute to earn first win

      September 21, 2008 /

      The Jacksonville Jaguars are finally off the schnide. After dropping their first two games of the season, the Jaguars earned their first victory, beating division rival Indianapolis 23-21 thanks to a 51-yard field goal by kicker Josh Scobee.

      Josh ScobeeIt was over when…
      In a fourth quarter that saw three lead changes in the final 2:36, Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee kicked a 51-yard field goal to put Jacksonville on top with four seconds remaining in the game.

      Game ball
      Maurice Jones-Drew got the glory with a 6-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but Fred Taylor did much of the dirty work all day, pacing the Jaguars with 121 yards on 26 carries. On one punishing 34-yard run in the third quarter the 32-year-old running back lowered his head and broke at least four tackles to set up Jones-Drew’s go-ahead touchdown.

      Key stat
      After recording just 97 total yards in Jacksonville’s first two games, Taylor and Jones-Drew combined for 228 yards on 45 carries against the Colts, who were playing without safety Bob Sanders. Jacksonville’s success running the ball allowed the Jaguars to dominate the time of possession (41:35-18:25), including a 26:01 to 3:59 advantage in the second half.

      Noteworthy
      Jones Drew finished with 161 yards from scrimmage and has now scored at least one touchdown in five career games vs. Indianapolis. … The Colts defense has allowed a 100-yard rusher in every game this season, including two Sunday in Taylor and Jones-Drew.

      Well, something had to give. Jacksonville hasn’t been able to run the ball the last two weeks because of a banged up offensive line, and Indianapolis hasn’t been able to stop the run. The Jaguars rushed for 236 yards and looked like a completely different team than they had the previous two weeks. Fred Taylor (26 carries, 121 yards) was outstanding and his 34-yard run was amazing. David Garrard looked better today too, completing 16 of 22 passes for 167 yards, although he did throw a pick. With Houston and a banged up Pittsburgh coming up the next two weeks, the Jags have a chance to get back on track after this win.

      The Colts got away with having a poor run defense the year they won the Super Bowl, but it doesn’t look like that will be the case this year. At some point you’d think that Peyton Manning (15 of 29, 216 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) will get it together and start producing 300-plus yard games with no interceptions. But as of now he looks shaky will he continues to recover from an offseason knee procedure. It’s crazy to think that the Colts are 1-2 right now, but it’s even crazier to think that they’re 0-2 at home. Should have stayed in the RCA Dome.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Mike Martz gets revenge on former team as 49ers blast Lions 31-13

      September 21, 2008 /

      Offensive coordinator Mike Martz helped his new team the San Francisco 49ers beat his former team, the Detroit Lions, 31-13 on Sunday.

      It was over when…
      Arnaz Battle recovered an onside kick with just over 6 minutes remaining and the 49ers holding a 15-point lead. Joe Nedney kicked a field goal with 4:25 left to take a three-score lead.
      Game ball
      Frank Gore rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown. His 27 attempts helped the 49ers control the clock in the second half, and his 33-yard run in the first quarter helped set up the 49ers’ first score.

      Key stat
      J.T. O’Sullivan was not sacked in 23 pass attempts, an almost unheard of streak in a Mike Martz offense.

      Noteworthy
      The 49ers are 2-1 for the second consecutive year. … Rudi Johnson rushed for 83 yards and caught a 34-yard touchdown pass for the Lions after replacing rookie rookie Kevin Smith. … Quarterback Jon Kitna was shaken up toward the end of the game and had his right knee examined by the training staff.

      The 49ers’ offense is starting to click. QB J.T. O’Sullivan was sharp, throwing for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 16 of 23 passing. Frank Gore was outstanding as well, rushing for 130 yards and touchdown. As long as the defense can hold its own, the 49ers can definitely compete in a weak NFC West, although it’s still hard to fathom that a J.T. O’Sullivan-quarterbacked team will make the playoffs.

      New week, same results for the Lions. They got down early, Jon Kitna had zero time to throw and the defense was bad. Outside of Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams, Ernie Sims, Kevin Smith, Dewayne White and maybe Kitna, the entire roster should be blown up.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Seahawks light up winless Rams 37-13

      September 21, 2008 /

      The Seattle Seahawks rebounded from their 33-30 overtime loss last week to beat NFC West rival St. Louis 37-13 on Sunday.

      It was over when…
      T.J. Duckett scored on a 1-yard run with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter. The touchdown capped a 15-play, 86-yard drive to give the Seahawks a 21-point lead.

      Game ball
      Running back Julius Jones’ 29-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave the Seahawks a 17-0 lead. Jones finished with 140 yards rushing.

      Key stat
      The Seahawks rushed for 240 yards, while holding The Rams to just 65 yards on the ground.

      Noteworthy
      Seahawks running back Duckett had his first two-touchdown rushing day in four years. … St. Louis lost for the 16th time in 19 games, and have lost seven consecutive games to Seattle. … The Seahawks avoided starting 0-3 for the first time since 2002.

      I know it was against the Rams’ defense, but how good did Julius Jones (22 carries, 140 yards, 1 TD) look? Maurice Morris’s injury has opened the door for Jones to be the feature back and he hasn’t disappointed. Amazing how productive Mike Holmgren’s offense can be with a running game. Matt Hasselbeck even looked good for the first time this season, completing 12 of 20 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown.

      There isn’t much you can say about the Rams. They easily rival the Chiefs as the worst team in the NFL and at least KC has an excuse as to why they’re so bad; Tyler Thigpen is starting at quarterback for Larry Johnson’s sake. St. Louis is this bad with a healthy Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson and Torry Holt. Amazing.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Derek Anderson, Browns brutal in 28-10 loss to Ravens

      September 21, 2008 /

      After winning 10 games in 2007, the Browns just can’t get it together this year. Cleveland dropped to 0-3 on the season after division rival Baltimore handed them a 28-10 loss on Sunday.

      Romeo CrennelIt was over when…
      The Ravens, leading 28-10, went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Cleveland 29 in the fourth quarter to keep alive a drive that would drain the clock and prevent the Browns from attempting a comeback.

      Game balls
      The Ravens’ defensive backs broke the game open for the Ravens in the third quarter. First Chris McAlister intercepted Derek Anderson’s pass and ran the ball back to the 12 to set up the Ravens’ go-ahead TD; On the next Browns’ drive, speedy safety Ed Reed picked off Anderson and dashed 32 yards to the end zone.

      Key stat
      The Ravens held onto the ball nearly 15 minutes longer than the Browns. Half of Cleveland’s possessions lasted less than one minute while the Ravens had one 14-play drive last more than nine minutes.

      Noteworthy
      Baltimore Strong Safety Dawan Landry was injured late in the second quarter while making a tackle on Jamal Lewis. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. … The Browns have just two offensive TD in 33 possessions this season. Dating back to last season, the Browns have just five offensive TDs in their last six games (1-5 record). … The last time the Ravens were 2-0 was in 2006 when they started 4-0.

      Is it time for the Brady Quinn era to start in Cleveland? He didn’t look good in preseason, but he has to be a better option than Derek Anderson (125 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs) at this point, right? I was a big supporter of Anderson and felt the Browns were wise to hang on to him in the offseason, but he’s been awful. And he hasn’t gotten much support from WR Braylon Edwards, either.

      And what do we make of the Ravens? Is their defense that good or are the offenses they’ve faced (Cincinnati, Cleveland) just that bad? Next week they play Pittsburgh, but with Ben Roethlisberger banged up, the Steelers might not be a great test for Baltimore next week, either. Regardless, rookie QB Joe Flacco (129 yards, 2 INTs) is 2-0 as a starter and RB Willis McGahee (15 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD) looked good in his first action since having an offseason knee procedure.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Eagles sack Ben Roethlisberger, drop Steelers 15-6

      September 21, 2008 /

      The Eagles bounced back from their Monday night defeat in Dallas by shutting down Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers 15-6 in Philadelphia on Sunday.

      Ben RoethlisbergerIt was over when …
      Steelers backup QB Byron Leftwich threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 with 35 seconds remaining to end their slim chances of pulling off an improbable comeback. The Eagles took over on downs and kneeled down to run out the clock.

      Game ball
      This contest featured a dominant performance by the Eagles’ front-seven on defense, but not to be overlooked was the sensational effort from Philadelphia punter Sav Rocca. Rocca punted the ball three times in the fourth quarter and all were pivotal in the victory. In the Eagles’ first possession of the quarter, they were forced to punt from their own 11-yard line. The Steelers expected to get the ball back in good field position, but Rocca boomed a 64-yarder that Santonio Holmes was only able to return for 5 yards because of its hang time. On his next effort, Rocca blasted another 54-yarder that went out of bounds and pinned the Steelers at their own 6-yard line. Finally, Rocca used his touch to kick a 37-yarder that bounced out at the Steelers’ 7-yard line. Without those punts, the Eagles may not have gotten the win.

      Key stat
      The Eagles recorded nine sacks and a safety during the game and had at least twice that many knock-downs. Even more amazing, is that the stat is somewhat deceiving because Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger barely escaped four other times and was credited with 6 rushing yards on those plays. If Roethlisberger was less elusive, the Eagles very easily could have tallied 15 sacks or more.

      Noteworthy
      Eagles RB Brian Westbrook left in the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. … Roethlisberger left late in the fourth quarter with a hand injury and did not return. … The Steelers did not have a play of 20-yards or more until Heath Miller’s 21-yard grab with less than two minutes left. … In one eight-play stretch of the second quarter, the Steelers gave up five sacks, committed a false start penalty and threw an interception. … Pittsburgh did not get into the red zone until its final drive. … Donovan McNabb set a new Eagles franchise record with his 176th career touchdown pass..

      I think Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jim Johnson took out his frustrations from Monday night on the Steelers today because he was absolutely relentless in blitzing his defenders (even more than he usually is). And had RB Brian Westbrook not suffer an injury early in the game, it’s likely the Eagles would have won by more than nine points.

      It was clear Big Ben’s shoulder dramatically affected his play today. Several times throughout the game he set up to throw long and checked down to his running back instead. And while he normally has issues holding on to the ball too long in the pocket, it was a major problem today. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Steelers choose to rest Roethlisberger over the next couple weeks with tough defenses in Baltimore and Jacksonville coming up.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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