Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 193 of 1503)

Reggie Jackson wants the Jets to “shut up, play football”

January 14, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Former Yankee great Reggie Jackson doesn’t want to hear any more squawking from Jets players this week. He just wants them to shut up and play some damn football already.

From NESN.com:

“Shut up, play football,” Jackson said on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio. “What are you talking about Bill Belichick and these people for? Spend your time looking at film, spend your time knocking down a pass. What are you doing? You’re not affecting [Tom] Brady. You’re wasting time.”
Jackson, who said he’s hoping the Jets win, said he also wasn’t a fan of Rex Ryan’s jab at Brady, specifically the coach’s joke that Brady should have been watching football rather than a Broadway show last Saturday.
“This guy is an automatic Hall of Famer,” Jackson said of Brady. “Making fun of him is like making fun of Mariano Rivera. What are you doing? What are you doing?”
Jackson’s parting words for Cromartie were rather emotional.
“Go look at the hardware, dude,” Jackson said. “Walk through the lobby [in New England] and look at the stuff that’s there. You don’t have that — you don’t have anything close to that. You might want to shut up, you might learn something. Read, you might figure something out. Watch film, you might get educated. If not, you have a chance to get embarrassed on Sunday.”

I don’t disagree with anything Mr. October had to say, but I also think all of this is being a tad overblown.

Look, this is what the Jets do under Ryan. They psyche themselves up before a big game by talking trash and making it an “us vs. the world” thing. Ryan does this because his players usually respond by playing hard for him on Sundays, so it’s worth it to him to stir the pot from time to time.

Let’s not forget that Tom Brady was the first person this year to say that he hates the Jets. Granted, he didn’t follow that up by calling Antonio Cromartie an a-hole, but Brady is on record as saying that he hates them, too. Big whoop.

As far as Cromartie is concerned, he has a track record for losing focus during games so if talking trash gets him angry and propels him to play at the top of his game, then that’s good for New York. Besides, what’s the worse that could happen for the Jets? They lose 46-3 this time? Who cares.

That said, as Reggie Jackson alluded to in his comments: Let’s play some damn football already.

External Sports, NFL

2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs 2011 NFL Playoffs New York Jets Reggie Jackson

2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoff Predictions

January 14, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

I started off the NFL playoffs by hitting 3 of 4 last week in the Wildcard Round. I nailed the Seahawks, Jets and Packers, but I talked myself out of the Ravens earlier in the week. If the regular season is any indication, then I have a 1-3 weekend coming up…

The sides this weekend are way too hard to predict. I honestly would be guessing at whom to take with the spread, which is why I focused on the totals in the Divisional Round. But for those that are interested, I did offer a glimpse as to which team I would lean towards.

Enjoy and as always, Merry NFL Playoffs.

Ravens @ Steelers, 4:30PM ET, Saturday
Trying to decide between these two teams is like asking a parent to pick which identical twin he or she wants to keep and which one it wants to give away. (Kind of morbid I know, but it’s all I could think of on a Friday afternoon when my mind is on this weekend’s games. So back off.) Earlier this week, I loved the under in this matchup because you have to figure that the defenses and kickers will be busy. But then I saw a couple of trends that made my jaw drop. The over is 9-1 in the Steelers’ last 10 home playoff games and 5-1-1 in the last seven meetings between these two teams in Pittsburgh. The total has also gone over in 18 of Pittsburgh’s last 21 games in January. This matchup has 13-10 written all over it but with those stats, how could you not take a chance on the over with it sitting at 37? If I had to choose a side, I would go with the Ravens +3.5. But that’s only because I think this is will be a field goal game either way and therefore the hook would come in handy.
THE PICK: OVER 37

Packers @ Falcons, 8:00PM ET, Saturday
This is the best matchup of the weekend in my opinion because it might as well be a conference championship game. That’s how good both of these teams are and the only reason the Packers are a No. 6 seed is because they had to overcome injures all season. While everyone focuses on Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan, I think the key to this game will be the two defenses. The Packers haven’t given up more than 17 points in three weeks and the Falcons haven’t given up more than 18 points in four weeks. Both defenses are playing at a high level right now and given what’s at stake, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a relatively low-scoring game. The Falcons have to get Michael Turner going in order to slow the tempo of the game down and keep Rodgers on the sidelines. They can’t get into a shootout and considering neither of these teams turns the ball over much, I like the under.
THE PICK: UNDER 44

External Sports, NFL

2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs 2011 NFL Playoffs Anthony Stalter divisional round nfl playoff predictions NFL Playoff Predictions

Newton to enter NFL draft – is he a first rounder?

January 14, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Let the months of speculation begin.

Auburn quarterback Cam Newton has announced that he will forego his senior season and enter the 2011 NFL Draft. The Heisman Trophy winner finished his junior season with 2,854 passing yards, a 66.1 percent completion rate and 30 passing touchdowns to go with 1,473 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.

Oh, and he also led the Tigers to a national championship victory over Oregon.

Now comes the fun and nauseating part: Where will he fall in the draft? Is he a clear-cut first round pick? Is he a top 10 pick? Is he even projected to be a quarterback at the next level?

Most people would undoubtedly answer “yes” to that last question, although some pundits believe Newton will have to make the transition to tight end in the NFL. He certainly has the arm strength and size to be a great quarterback, but can he succeed in a pro-style offense? Can he be a leader? Can he read a defense? Does he have the accuracy to make all of the throws in a NFL offense? How is his football IQ?

It only took one man to believe that Tim Tebow was capable of developing into a starting quarterback for a team to select him in the first round. Granted, that man (Josh McDaniels) is now searching for work, but that’s more because he managed to trade away his two best offensive players (Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall) in two years and gave away Peyton Hillis for a third-string quarterback in Brady Quinn. Only some people criticize him for trading away draft picks in order to select Tebow…

Getting back to Newton, he’s going to wow scouts with his athleticism in pre-draft workouts but he’ll have to convince a team that he has the intelligence and work ethic needed to become a quarterback in the NFL. Because if he can’t, then he’s going to fall in the draft and he may be forced to switch positions in order to make it at the next level.

In other Auburn-related news, defensive tackle Nick Fairley is expected to announce Friday that he too is foregoing his senior year and entering the draft. If that’s the case, there’s no question that he’s a top 5 pick.

College Football, External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

Anthony Stalter Cam Newton Cam Newton NFL Nick Fairley Tim Tebow

Eight key players to watch in the NFL Divisional Round

January 14, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

This series is brought to you by T.G.I Fridays®, encouraging you to Rush in and Tackle their new Game Time Menu!

It’s the playoffs, where team matters more than individual players. But there are several key players that hold their team’s hopes in their hands this weekend and we’ve listed eight of them (one for each team) below.

In no particular order…

1. Terrell Suggs, Ravens
The Ravens have been waiting for this guy to return to form and he finally has. Suggs looks hungry, motivated and determined to get the Ravens to a Super Bowl. If Baltimore’s front seven is able to take away Rashard Mendenhall and force the Steelers to be one-dimensional this Saturday, then Suggs needs to get after Ben Roethlisberger. Mike Wallace is a true homerun threat and can score from anywhere on the field, so Suggs and Co. can’t give Big Ben time to throw. Getting pressure on the quarterback is always vital in football, especially in the postseason where one or two plays can decide the outcome of a game.

2. Troy Polamalu, Steelers
I realize this is an obvious one but I don’t care: Polamalu is the key to whether or not the Steelers will be playing in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. He’s vital to their defense because when he’s not on the field, it’s a completely different unit. When the Steelers and Ravens met in Pittsburgh late in the season, it was his forced fumble of Joe Flacco that set up Pittsburgh’s offense to score the eventual game-winning touchdown. He’s a playmaker in every sense of the word but he’s also been battling an Achilles/ankle injury so he’s not 100 percent. If he’s able to fly around the field and create havoc like he normally does, then Baltimore will have a tough time moving the ball this weekend.

3. James Starks (Packers)
The football world is now enamored with this young man – and for good reason. The past two games, Starks has given Green Bay something it’s been searching for all year: balance. The Packers have already proven that they can win when Aaron Rodgers has to throw the ball but it’s much tougher on a defense when they can’t sit back in coverage on most downs. In the first meeting between the Packers and Falcons, Atlanta didn’t have to respect the run. But after Starks rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries last weekend against the Eagles, the Falcons may not have the luxury of dropping extra defenders into coverage.

External Sports, NFL

2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs 2011 NFL Playoffs Ben Roethlisberger Brian Urlacher Danny Woodhead Jay Cutler LaDainian Tomlinson Michael Turner Raheem Brock Shonn Greene Terrell Suggs Troy Polamalu

Five Questions: Jets vs. Patriots

January 14, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Matchup: Jets (11-5) @ Patriots (14-2)
Kickoff: 4:30PM ET, Sunday

1. Can the combination of Sanchez and Schottenheimer top Belichick?
Earlier this week, Jets’ coach Rex Ryan essentially told the media that this game will come down to whether or not he can raise his level of coaching to match that of Bill Belichick. I understand what he was saying, but I disagree with him. This game won’t come down to Ryan – it’ll come down to whether or not Brian Schottenheimer can raise his game. While Ryan certainly has his hands full trying to figure out a way to slow the Patriots’ offense, Schottenheimer must design a game plan that will top Belichick’s defense. Outside of a couple of throws, Mark Sanchez did not play well last weekend in Indianapolis. It was the Jets’ running game and defense that propelled them to victory. So first off, can Sanchez play better? If he can, will his offensive coordinator put together an intelligent game plan so that he can exploit the very few weaknesses that the Patriots have?

2. Will the Pats overlook the Jets?
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Patriots are the better football team in this matchup. They have a tremendous coaching staff, they’re always prepared and they have the best quarterback in the league in Tom Brady. But in Week 9, the Pats were beaten by the Browns because they started reading their own press clippings. They did it again in Week 15 after rattling off five in a row and were set to face an Aaron Rodgers-less Packers team at home. Matt Flynn nearly beat them that night, as New England’s defense looked flummoxed in a narrow 31-27 victory. With all the trash talk the Jets have been doing this week, it’s highly unlikely that the Patriots will overlook their most hated rivals. But they also beat this team 45-3 just over a month ago and it’s human nature to think that things will play out the same way. Belichick needs to remind his team that the Jets have already beaten them once this season and they’re not going to be caught unprepared like in the last meeting.

3. Can the Jets get their running game going again?
The Jets beat the Colts last week because they were able to run the football in the second half and leave Peyton Manning on the sidelines. They have to do that again if they’re going to pull off another upset. It’s a pipedream to think Sanchez will out-duel Brady, so the Jets need their defense and running game to be as good, if not better than they were against the Colts. A couple of costly turnovers by Sanchez hurt the Jets in their 45-3 loss to the Patriots in December. He must protect the football so the Jets don’t fall behind early and are forced to throw in order to get back into the game. New England has given up 108.0 yards per game this year and an average of 104.0 YPG over the past three weeks. LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene won’t be able to run all over the Pats this weekend, but they might be able to control the tempo again like last Saturday.

4. How will Woody’s injury affect the Jets?
Damien Woody was arguably the Jets’ best run-blocker, so losing him for the season could be catastrophic. New York needs to be able to run the ball on Sunday if it’s going to pull off an upset and without Woody that could be difficult. Plus, you have to figure that Belichick will figure out a way to exploit the injury and cause some havoc for Sanchez. There’s no other way to put it: Wayne Hunter (Woody’s replacement) must step up this weekend.

5. Can the Pats stop Keller again?
I the Jets’ 28-14 victory over the Patriots in Week 2, Dustin Keller caught seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. In the teams’ second meeting, he caught just three passes for 27 yards and was only targeted four times. You can probably bet that Sanchez will look his tight end’s way more this weekend in effort to spread the ball around and keep New England’s defense guessing. Keller has long been a hidden weapon in the Jets’ passing game and he’s killed teams over the middle this season. New England can’t fall asleep on this guy because he can hurt defenses.

External Sports, NFL

2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs 2011 NFL Playoffs Anthony Stalter Bill Belichick Brian Schottenheimer LaDainian Tomlinson Mark Sanchez New England Patriots New York Jets Shonn Greene Tom Brady

Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 193 of 1503)

Reggie Jackson wants the Jets to “shut up, play football”

2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoff Predictions

Newton to enter NFL draft – is he a first rounder?

Eight key players to watch in the NFL Divisional Round

Five Questions: Jets vs. Patriots

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