Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1484 of 1503)

      Branch heading to New York or Seattle?

      September 1, 2006 /

      New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch has tentative deals in place with the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli is reporting.

      But neither team, the sources acknowledged, has been able to come to an agreement with the Patriots on compensation for the four-year veteran. And without the second half of the deal in place, the deadline could pass without a trade, and again force Branch to decide whether to extend his camp-long holdout.

      Apparently the Patriots are seeking two No. 1 draft picks for Branch, which is just ludicrous in my opinion. Branch had a nice season last year and is a good target, but he doesn’t have game-changing ability like Steve Smith, Randy Moss or Chad Johnson.

      He would make a team better, that’s for sure, but two No. 1 draft picks? Please.

      My guess is that Branch will be back in New England by the 4pm deadline that they set for a deal to get done.

      Upadate: New England rejected both Seattle and New York’s offers (which reportedly were both pretty solid) and now the player’s union has filed a grievance on the behalf of Branch.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bullz-Eye’s 2006 College Game of the Week

      August 31, 2006 /

      In honor of the 2006 college football season, Bullz-Eye.com will preview an up-and-coming game of the week, each week, for the entire length of the NCAA season.

      Each week a game will be highlighted and broken down by each team’s strengths and weaknesses vs. its opponent. Plus, no preview would be complete without a forecasted score – along with the game breakdown, you’ll find a prediction on Bullz-Eye.com as well.

      On tap this week: #11 Florida State at #12 Miami (FL)

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, College Football, General Sports

      Bullz-Eye’s 2006 College Football Preview

      August 31, 2006 /

      Anybody ready for some football?

      With the NFL still a week away, the NCAA kicks off its action tonight with a bevy of games on tap. The only ranked team playing tonight is No. 24 Arizona State taking on Northern Arizona, but so what?

      We’ve been without football for nearly seven months and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m clamoring for some pigskin action that actually counts in the record book.

      Now that the college season is upon us, what would the fun be without a little look into the crystal ball? My NCAA College Football Preview is up on Bullz-Eye.com and for a little taste, here are the top five programs on my list.

      For the full 20, you’ll have to click on the link to Bullz-Eye at the bottom of the post.

      1. Ohio State
      Studs: Troy Smith, QB; Ted Ginn Jr., WR; Quinn Pitcock, DT; Antonio Pittman, RB
      Despite only returning two starters on defense, the Buckeyes are primed to make a run at the National Championship. QB Troy Smith’s comparisons to Vince Young aren’t as far off as some people will have you believe. Smith can make plays in the spread offense both through the air and on the ground. WR Ted Ginn Jr. will have plenty of opportunities to dazzle in OSU’s offense and on special teams while getting a chance to line up as a quarterback in shotgun formations. The running tandem of All-Big Ten Antonio Pittman and freshman Chris Wells will be hard to stop this year. Experience on defense will be the only question mark heading into the season, but having a dominating force such as DT Quinn Pitcock will help ease the transition. Also, facing a Texas team that will have an inexperienced QB so early in the season (Sept. 9) will only help the Buckeyes chances of being the top dog in January.
      Game to Watch: at Texas, Sept. 9

      2. Texas
      Studs: Frank Okam, DT; Tarell Brown, CB; Justin Blalock, OT
      With such high expectations heading into the season, expect either Colt McCoy or Jevan Snead, whichever young QB wins the job, to struggle initially. Look for the defense to carry the Longhorns early in the season with corners Aaron Ross and Tarell Brown. Both are dependable enough to play on islands and top LB recruit Sergio Kindle should make a huge splash even as a freshman. Texas has a solid offensive line led by All-American OT Justin Blalock and can run the ball efficiently with Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young. The Longhorns may take an early loss to Ohio State, but the defending champs have all the makings for a repeat title run.
      Game to Watch: vs. Ohio State, Sept. 9

      3. USC
      Studs: Dwayne Jarrett, WR; Lawrence Jackson, DE; Ryan Kalil, C
      No Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush or LenDale White? No problem for head coach Pete Carroll and the Trojans. USC has an explosive wide receiver duo in Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith. Jarrett is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound junior with unbelievable playmaking skills that should be double covered on every play. Smith is a nice complement on the other side of Jarrett and, sticking with the offensive theme, tailback Chauncey Washington should have no problem carrying the load left by Bush and White. In fact, when Washington was a freshman, coaches considered him the better prospect over Bush and White, but grades kept him from showing his potential. Weaknesses in the secondary and replacing so many high talent playmakers will be the only thing that can keep USC down this year.
      Game to Watch: vs. Notre Dame, Nov. 25

      4. Notre Dame
      Studs: Brady Quinn, QB; Tom Zbikowski, S; Jeff Samardzija, WR
      When you have a Heisman Trophy candidate as your quarterback, as the Domers do in Brady Quinn, expectations will understandably be soaring heading into the regular season. Quinn doesn’t have to do everything on his own, however, as he has some veteran weapons at his disposal in wide receivers Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight. Quinn also will be paired with RB Darius Walker in one of the top backfields in the nation. Depending on who you ask, Notre Dame’s weakness is in the secondary. However, cornerbacks Tom Zbikowski and Chinedum Ndukwe are leaders and can play man coverage as well as the pair from Ohio State can. If ND can get past a physical schedule early on and head into November undefeated, they’ll be tough to bounce out of National Championship contention.
      Game to Watch: at USC, Nov. 25

      5. Auburn
      Studs: Kenny Irons, RB; Quentin Groves, DE; Courtney Taylor, WR
      A top-five backfield and secondary will aid the Tigers’ chances at a title in ’06. Tailback Kenny Irons’ breakout 2005 season (1,293 yards, 13 touchdowns) provided a surprisingly smooth transition from Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown the year before. Teamed up with Irons will be steady QB Brandon Cox, who excels at the little things like selling play fakes and handling the ball. When new coordinator Will Muschamp moved All-SEC free safety Will Herring to linebacker this offseason, he improved his LB corps, but many wondered if he hurt his secondary. But with David Irons and Jonathan Wilhite returning at corner this season, Muschamp had the flexibility to make the move, and the risk should pay off during the season. Point of weakness for the Tigers heading into ’06: They need WR Courtney Taylor to bounce back to 2004 form quick, fast and in a hurry.
      Game to Watch: vs. LSU, Sept. 16

      Read the rest at Bullz-Eye.com

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, College Football, General Sports

      Ranking the NFL: Best and Worst defensive line units

      August 31, 2006 /

      Throughout the preseason, we’ll take a look at the best – and worst – the NFL has to offer, unit by unit. Look for a new set of rankings every few days.

      A powerful defensive line can do wonders for your entire defense. The d-line can keep guards off linebackers or create a rush to give the secondary a helping hand in the passing game.

      A team can have sack masters, space eaters or a combination of both if the line is good enough.

      Keeping in mind that some teams play the 4-3 and some play the 3-4, what defensive lines are the best in the NFL?

      Criteria for defensive line:

      80% of a team’s grade will fall on the four starters (or three if the team plays a 3-4). Of those starters, the unit must strike a balance between being able to stop the run and generating a pass rush up front.

      Since a lot of teams use a rotation in order to keep their line fresh for the fourth quarter, the rest of the 20% will go to the depth a unit has. Teams may rise or fall depending on their depth, but most of the emphasis will go on the starters.

      The Top 10:

      1. Carolina Panthers
      Julius Peppers, Michael Rucker, Kris Jenkins, Maake Kemoeatu, Kindal Moorehead
      It’s hard to argue the production this unit can generate both against the run and pressuring the quarterback. Julius Peppers is an athletic freak who occasionally lines up as wide receiver on the goal line, but mostly just sacks quarterbacks (10.5 put downs last year). Michael Rucker is 31, but is a relentless worker who had 7.5 sacks last year. Kris Jenkins is a former Pro Bowler who could be one of the best DT’s in the game if he could ever stay healthy, and Maake Kemoeatu adds massive size to this unit. Carolina finished fourth against the run last year. Kindal Moorehead and Al Wallace provide excellent depth for this unit.

      2. Seattle Seahawks
      Grant Wistrom, Rocky Bernard, Chuck Darby, Bryce Fisher, Marcus Tubbs
      Talk about depth. The Seahawks can go five deep with their defensive line unit and still get quality production from every player. Grant Wistrom had a bit of a down year last year and needs to rebound, but both Rocky Bernard and Bryce Fisher finished with just under 10 sacks apiece. Chuck Darby ended up being one of the better free agent pickups last season and Marcus Tubbs finished with five and a half sacks as a reserve.

      3. Chicago Bears
      Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, Ian Scott, Alfonso Boone
      This line is one of the more balanced front fours in the entire league. Adewale Ogunleye is a speed rusher from the outside and Alex Brown gets consistent pressure opposite the former Dolphin. Tommie Harris and Ian Scott make up two of the most underrated tackles in the league and the Bears have depth to burn with Michael Haynes, Tank Johnson, Alfonso Boone and rookie Dusty Dvoracek.

      4. Jacksonville Jaguars
      Reggie Howard, John Henderson, Marcus Stroud, Paul Spicer, Rob Meier
      This unit could easily be the top defensive line in the league if they were just a bit better against the run. Marcus Stroud and John Henderson form possibly the best defensive-tackle duo in the NFL and since the team added Reggie Howard, he and Paul Spicer give Jacksonville a nice pass rush from the outside. Howard led the Jags with 8.5 sacks last year and Spicer was right on his heels with 7.5. Rob Meier can play both the tackle and end position when rest for the starters is needed.

      5. Indianapolis Colts
      Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Montae Reagor, Raheem Brock, Corey Simon
      These guys are about average or slightly above against the run, but man, can they rush the passer. Dwight Freeney is the big name out of this group, and rightfully so with his speed and athleticism, but pass-rush specialist Robert Mathis is a handful himself. Freeney and Mathis combined to give Indianapolis 22.5 sacks last year. Montae Regor has become the d-line’s leader while Corey Simon fit in well last year as a free agent. Raheem Brock may be the most versatile player among the front four.

      6. Pittsburgh Steelers
      Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Orien Harris
      The first three-man defensive line on the list goes to the Super Bowl Champions. This unit leaves the sacks to the linebackers, but Casey Hampton gives opposing interior offensive linemen fits trying to man up on him. Aaron Smith is great at the point of attack and gives the Steelers their best pass rush while opposite end Brett Keisel was needed to secure the void left by Kimo von Oeloffen’s defection. If rookie Orien Harris is ready to play at the start of the season, he may claim the starter’s spot from Keisel. Pittsburgh finished third against the run last season.

      7. New England Patriots
      Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Dan Kleco
      You could make a serious argument that the Patriots should flip-flop with the Steelers because of end Richard Seymour, but we’ll leave New England here for now. All three of these guys are former number-one picks and Seymour is the best of the bunch by fitting so well into head coach Bill Belichick’s scheme. Ty Warren has started 32 straight regular season games, which speaks volumes about his dependability, and Vince Wilfork finished second on the team last year with 91 tackles. The depth is a bit better on the Steelers at this point, but New England reserve Dan Kleco has a high motor.

      8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
      Simeon Rice, Greg Spires, Chris Hovan, Anthony McFarland, Jon Bradley
      This group gets passed over a lot when analysts talk about defensive lines because Tampa has such a good front seven as a whole, but the Bucs are talented up front. Simeon Rice is a sack demon virtually every year and, although Greg Spires finished with only four sacks, he is probably the best overall player on Tampa’s line. Anthony “Booger” McFarland finally stayed healthy last season and the addition of Chris Hovan propelled the Bucs to a top-10 finish against the run in 2005. Jon Bradley found his way into the regular rotation last season.

      9. Miami Dolphins
      Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Vonnie Holliday, Keith Traylor, Dan Wilkinson
      Miami has a solid balance of rush and pass with Jason Taylor leading the way with 12 sacks last year. Kevin Carter and Vonnie Holliday provided a nice pass rush as well last season, and adding big Dan Wilkinson in the offseason will help shore up the run defense in ’06 along with Keith Traylor.

      10a. Atlanta Falcons
      John Abraham, Patrick Kerney, Rod Coleman, Grady Jackson, Chauncey Davis
      The Falcons were on the verge of missing the top 10 due to their atrocious run defense last year, but they didn’t have two of these two guys in ‘05. The Atlanta foursome of John Abraham, Patrick Kerney, Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson has a combined for 190 career regular season starts between them. No other foursome in the league can touch that number and the recent addition of Jackson gives this unit some beef in the middle to help stop opposing runners this year. How excited are Chris Simms, Jake Delhomme and Drew Brees to face this bunch twice a year?

      10b. San Diego Chargers
      Luis Castillo, Igor Olshansky, Jamal Williams, Chase Page, Jacques Cesaire
      The Giants just missed the list in favor of the Chargers’ young trio. Odds are not a lot of people have heard of this group, but they, along with the Chargers’ linebacker unit, finished number one in the NFL against the run last season. The best thing about this unit is its youth too, with Luis Castillo heading into only his second year and Igor Olshansky a mere pup too. Jamal Williams is the veteran of the group and made his first Pro Bowl appearance last season.

      The Bottom Five:

      28. Oakland Raiders
      Derrick Burgess, Tyler Brayton, Tommy Kelly, Warren Sapp, Lance Johnstone
      Derrick Burgess led the league in sacks, but he and the rest of this unit get abused in the running game and Warren Sapp should be regulated to a backup at this stage in his declining career.

      29. Kansas City Chiefs
      Jared Allen, Lional Dalton, Eric Hicks, Tamba Hali, Ryan Sims
      Jared Allen is the only true stud of the group with 11 sacks last year, but Eric Hicks is going to get a lot of pressure from rookie Tamba Hali and Ryan Sims continues to be a disappointment due to injuries.

      30. San Francisco 49ers
      Bryant Young, Anthony Adams, Marques Douglas, Ronnie Fields
      Marques Douglas led all 49er linemen with 62 tackles last year, but Anthony Adams is playing out of place in a 3-4 system. How much longer will Bryant Young play?

      31. Buffalo Bills
      Aaron Schobel, Larry Tripplett, Chris Kelsay, Kyle Williams, John McCargo
      Aaron Schobel had a nice year, posting double-digit sacks, but Chris Kelsay isn’t much help on the other side and rookie John McCargo will push Kyle Williams and newly acquired Larry Tripplett for their jobs.

      32. Cincinnati Bengals
      Justin Smith, Sam Adams, Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson, Shaun Smith
      How can a team with such a good offensive line have such a below average defensive front? This unit is terrible; they just don’t do one thing particularly well. Justin Smith can rush the passer, but hasn’t lived up to the number-four selection the Bengals used on him in 2001, and Sam Adams is getting up there in age. Robert Gethers isn’t much against the run and who knows what Cincinnati has in Bryan Robinson?

      General Sports, NFL

      Steroids in the NFL: Are we turning a deaf ear?

      August 30, 2006 /

      How can a problem be so publicized, so scrutinized and so downright shoved down our throats by the media get so much attention in one sport but not another?

      It was the late Ken Caminiti who opened up a lot of people’s eyes in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that steroid use in sports was perhaps a bigger issue than what most people thought.

      It would be a vast understatement to say that since then, the media has run with the story.

      Current major league players such as Barry Bonds and Jeremy Giambi along with former stars like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have come under rapid fire over the years about their involvement with performance enhancing drugs.

      The players are criticized for using, commissioner Bud Selig is chastised for possibly being aware of the steroid use in his league and overall the sport is under a constant microscope by fans and analyst.

      Back to the original question, though: how can one sport’s problems with performance enhancing drugs be brought to light by the media and fans, but not another?

      In a recent blog written by C.W. Nevius on sfgate.com, Nevius wonders aloud if anybody really cares that the NFL might have just as big of a problem with steroids as the MLB does.

      In the blog, he writes that since the NFL is a league that is basically adored by the public and crushes other programs in television ratings, that people are simply don’t care.

      Nevius uses the newly uncovered facts released by The Charlotte Observer that several players of the ‘04 Carolina Panthers team used performance-enhancing drugs on several occasions that season, as a backdrop for his argument.

      The Observer quotes Dr. Gary Wadler, a well-known expert on performance enhancing drugs, who prepared a report for the U.S. Attorney General’s office.

      “Several of them were using disturbing, particularly alarmingly high amounts with high dosages for long durations — some in combinations,” Wadler said. “This wasn’t just a passing flirtation with these prohibited substances. When I see (prescriptions) `renewed five times,’ I say, `What are you trying to accomplish?’ ”

      It certainly seems like it. Wadler’s report, based on the players’ medical records, showed that Steussie and another player picked up prescriptions for drugs just days before leaving for the 2004 Super Bowl. (The Panthers lost that game, 32-29 to New England.)

      Dr. Wadler identified former Panthers’ Todd Steusie, Jeff Mitchell, Kevin Donnalley and Wesley Walls as players who were known to have taken steroids.

      Those weren’t exactly practice squad members – every single one of those players contributed to Carolina going to the Super Bowl that season.

      Let it be known that it wasn’t all of the Panthers players involved in the drug use, but the point is that the NFL is seemingly ducking a lot of scrutiny by use of smoke and mirrors.

      By suspending a few players each season, the NFL is making the public believe that its drug testing is on the up and up. But are we to believe that the majority of the NFL is clean?

      Nevius details in his blog that the average linebacker 20 years ago was 225 pounds. Now the average LB is upwards of 265 pounds and can still run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

      Now I love the NFL. To me, there is no more organized and classy league out there. Come Sunday’s in the fall, there is no better feeling than waking up to a full schedule of football games and nothing to do but sit back in watch.

      But how can we as fans berate one league (going as far to say that Barry Bonds’ stats should have an asterisk by them in the record books), but simply turn away from another league when there is full documentation stating that players were using steroids during a Super Bowl run?

      The 2004 Panthers are simply not discussed, while news reports and debates on national radio and TV stations bring up ‘riods in the MLB virtually every day.

      Now, I don’t equate players using steroids to enhance their performance as say, someone who is handed all the answer to a test, but it is still wrong. It is still someone using an unfair advantage over the next guy.

      It is still cheating – and we as fans should start paying attention to the rug that is being pulled over our eyes by the NFL.

      NFL

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