Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 208 of 1503)

      Texans to hire Wade Phillips?

      December 31, 2010 /

      The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain writes that the Texans will hire former Cowboys’ head coach Wade Phillips, although not to replace Gary Kubiak.

      Owner Bob McNair’s game plan is to keep Kubiak and hire Phillips to run the defense. There’s still a chance that an embarrassing loss to the depleted Jaguars this Sunday would cost Kubiak his job, but McNair likes Kubiak’s offense and wants to keep him around.

      Bringing in Phillips certainly makes sense on the surface. The Texans rank 29th in total defense and their secondary needs plenty of work. Phillips lost his touch this season in Dallas but in previous years, his defenses always performed well. He also has more experience and a better track record than current coordinator Frank Bush, who oversees the worst secondary in the league.

      Now, will it work? Who knows. There are plenty of pundits who think Kubiak is a lame duck head coach and the Texans should just cut bait and move on. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that he doesn’t have what it takes to get the Texans to the next level, although his offenses have been very good in Houston. He also has already worked with Phillips when the two were with the Broncos in the late 90s, so maybe the partnership will breed success.

      We’ll see if the reports are true and McNair does bring in Phillips. Either way, he needs to do something to turn around the losing mentality in Houston.

      External Sports, NFL

      Chris Johnson cries “bogus” again

      December 30, 2010 /

      Remember back in 2008 when Chris Johnson said it was “bogus” that Matt Ryan won the rookie of the year award and not him?

      Here’s what he said if you need a refresher:

      “He’s a good player, and he played quarterback and did a good job this year,” Johnson said of Ryan. “But the whole thing is bogus, because people are voting for it that are not on the same field as the people who are playing.

      “I’m disappointed. I did all I could to win it. I feel I did the best. I feel I did all I could do to win it; it just didn’t come my way.”

      After the Pro Bowl rosters were announced on Monday, Johnson once again took issue that he had been slighted.

      “I think it’s bogus,” Johnson said. “I figured I should be a lock. I am top three in the league. … I didn’t think there was a way I wouldn’t get in. It was disappointing. I was surprised. But there’s not much I can do about it.”

      Does he have those couple of lines saved on a Rolodex somewhere? Come up with something new, Chris.

      Johnson currently ranks as the league’s third-leading rusher although the three guys going to the Pro Bowl rank first (Arian Foster), second (Jamaal Charles) and fourth (Maurice Jones-Drew). Johnson can cry foul about MJD getting the nod instead of him, but at least the Jaguars are still in postseason contention (although their chances of making the playoffs fall somewhere between slim and none). Granted, it’s certainly not Johnson’s fault that the Titans struggled this year – he did all he could. But number of wins factor into whether or not a player is going to get voted into the Pro Bowl. (Unless you’re Foster, who leads the league in a major statically category like rushing).

      Johnson has every right to voice his displeasure about not getting nominated to go to the Pro Bowl because in terms of pure talent, he’s easily a top 3 back. But it’s not like he was a total snub when you consider the stats. If I were starting a team tomorrow and I had the choice of taking Johnson, Foster, Charles or MJD as my starting back, I would probably take Johnson. But players aren’t nominated to the Pro Bowl based on that.

      The good news for Johnson is that he’s probably heading to Honolulu anyway. There are reports that state Jones-Drew needs knee surgery and if that’s the case, he won’t be making the trip. If he doesn’t think it’s too bogus that he got in because another player was injured and therefore skips the game, then Johnson will be playing in two weeks anyway.

      External Sports, NFL

      Should the Dolphins fire Tony Sparano?

      December 30, 2010 /

      Tony Sparano is currently in the third year with the Dolphins, which is right around the time front offices start to get antsy about the development of their teams.

      Sparano made the playoffs in his first year with Miami but the Dolphins haven’t shown much improvement since. Their defense got remarkably better under new coordinator Mike Nolan, but the offense has been a disaster under playcaller Dan Henning. In fact, only the 2-13 Panthers have scored fewer touchdowns (16) than the Dolphins (25) this season.

      Speculation is running rampant that Sparano will be fired by“Black Monday” of next week. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said that Sparano’s last game with the Dolphins will be this Sunday, although NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi reports that Bill Parcells has convinced owner Stephen Ross to keep Sparano for at least another season.

      But if they do fire Sparano, whom will the Dolphins hire as his replacement? Some rumors state that Bill Cowher’s second choice after coaching the Giants would be the Dolphins, but thus far there haven’t been any hard facts to support those claims. And if Cowher doesn’t want to take his talents to South Beach, then the Dolphins could be stuck with either another first-year head coach or a Josh McDaniels-type retread. Would someone like McDaniels really be an improvement over Sparano?

      There isn’t just one thing wrong with the Dolphins – it’s a collection of issues that are holding them back. First and foremost, they need a consistent quarterback because Chad Henne isn’t it. They have scattered talent in Brandon Marshall, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, but this team lacks an identity offensively. The defense has been fixed, but what happens if Sparano is let go? What happens to Nolan (who is behind Miami’s resurgence on defense)? If the Dolphins fix one leak, they may spring two more.

      Of course, Sparano has done very little to prove that he deserves to keep the job. His decision-making (particularly late in games) has been questioned several times this season and he shows an unwillingness to adjust and adapt. Miami’s fourth quarter collapse last week against Detroit didn’t help, nor did its massive struggles this year at home.

      The bottom line is that the Dolphins’ brass has a tough decision to make regarding their head coach position. Miami doesn’t want to waste another year if Sparano isn’t the right man for the job but as of now, it doesn’t have any clear-cut choices to replace him either.

      External Sports, NFL

      Vick out, Kolb in versus Cowboys

      December 30, 2010 /

      As expected, Michael Vick won’t play against the Cowboys in the Eagles’ season finale on Sunday. Vick hurt his quad on the first play from scrimmage Tuesday night in Philly’s loss to the Vikings and with the Dallas game being meaningless in terms of playoff seeding, the Eagles don’t want to take any chances with their star player.

      With the No. 3 seed locked up, Kevin Kolb will get the start against the Cowboys. Depending on the outcomes from Week 17, the Eagles will play either the Packers, Giants or Bucs in the first round of the playoffs next week. If Green Bay beats Chicago on Sunday, then Philly will host the Packers. If the Packers lose to the Bears and the Giants beat the Redskins, then the Eagles will host New York. If both the Packers and Giants lose and the Bucs beat the Saints, then Tampa Bay will head to Philly next week.

      Vick’s regular season ends with 3,018 passing yards, 676 rushing yards and 30 total touchdowns. He also finishes with a QB Rating of 100.2, which is a career high for him. He finished with an 81.6 QB Rating in his second year with the Falcons, which was his previous high (when he attempted at least 300 passes) before this year. If it weren’t for what Tom Brady has accomplished in New England this year, Vick would probably win the MVP award.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Vick is healthy enough to play in the first round of the playoffs. Considering he stayed in the game against Minnesota, chances are good that he’ll start against the Eagles’ first round opponent next weekend. But how effective will he be?

      External Sports, NFL

      Terrelle Pryor, rest of Ohio State suspended players to return next season

      December 30, 2010 /

      There was speculation that the five Ohio State players that were suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season would forego their senior years and declare for the NFL draft.

      But according to their head coach, none of them are ready to leave the Buckeyes.

      ESPN.com reports that Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas were all “unanimous” in saying they would stay for the 2011 season. All would be eligible for the NFL draft if they decided to leave, but as of now the group is saying they’re staying put.

      “I’m excited to say that all of the guys who were involved, knowing perhaps they had some options like playing in this game and then leaving and maybe another option would be to take themselves out of this game hoping the appeal for the future would be softened, none of them want to do that,” Tressel said.

      “They are going into this opportunity with their eyes open knowing they have significant sanctions for their senior year. They know they have to live with those.”

      This is obviously great news for Tressel and OSU, although the Buckeyes still have to make due without those five players for their first five games next season. But assuming they’ll start the year against a few cupcakes, the Buckeyes could still be undefeated by the time Pryor and Co. return.

      College Football, External Sports

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑