Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 231 of 1503)

      Aqib Talib out for the season – are the Bucs finished?

      December 6, 2010 /
      TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 12: Cornerback Aqib Talib #25 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches play against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium on October 12, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

      It’s a stretch to say that a team is finished when they lose their top cornerback for the season. But when it comes to Aqib Talib and the Bucs, it may be reality.

      Talib tore a tendon off his hipbone (tore a tendon off his hipbone? I literally shuddered while writing that) in the Bucs’ 28-24 loss to the Falcons on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. He’ll avoid surgery, but he won’t recover in time for the playoffs if Tampa earns its way into the postseason.

      Which is going to be awfully difficult without Talib.

      At 7-5, the Bucs are very much in the hunt in the NFC. But the Falcons swept the season series with Tampa and now have a two-game lead in the NFC South. The Saints are right behind the Falcons at 9-3, while the Eagles/Giants and Packers are vying for that sixth and final spot at 8-4.

      A lot can happen over the last four weeks of the season, but the Bucs have an uphill climb ahead of them. From a production standpoint, Talib was the best corner in the league not named Darrelle Revis or Asante Samuel. Two weeks ago, he held Anquan Boldin to three catches for 27 yards and no touchdowns. Three weeks ago, he held Michael Crabtree to just one catch for 15 yards and five weeks ago he limited Roddy White (one of the best receivers in the NFL this season) to four catches and 49 yards.

      Granted, the Bucs don’t exclusively play man-to-man under Raheem Morris but when they do, Talib locks onto the opposition’s No. 1 reciever. He leads the Bucs in interceptions (six), pass breakups (11) and has easily been the team’s best defender.

      Fortunately for Tampa, it plays the Redskins, Lions, Seahawks and Saints over these next four weeks. But the Bucs could have used Talib for the likes of Santana Moss, Mike Williams (if he’s healthy) and especially Detroit’s Calvin Johnson. Ronde Barber is still a quality corner (even for his age), but the drop off from Talib to E.J. Biggers is enormous.

      The Bucs are in trouble.

      External Sports, NFL

      Is Josh McDaniels better off not playing Tim Tebow?

      December 6, 2010 /
      Oct 24, 2010; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Invesco Field. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 59-14. Photo via Newscom

      For a moment, let’s take a walk in Josh McDaniels’ size 10.5 shoes. (Actually, I have no idea what size shoes he wears, nor should I. That would be creepy.)

      If he benches Kyle Orton and starts Tim Tebow the rest of the year, he would appease fans that mercifully had to watch Orton complete only nine of his 28 pass attempts against the Chiefs on Sunday. They want to see Tebow play because he offers a glimpse of what the future may look like. (And while the future may look grim, the present isn’t anything to write home about so what’s the difference?)

      But McDaniels’ job status might as well be attached to Tebow’s right arm. If he plays the rookie and Tebow is Jimmy Clausen-like bad, management may ultimately decide that he shouldn’t be calling the shots anymore. After all, since arriving in Denver he jettisoned Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, traded Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn (yee-ikes) and dealt multiple draft picks in order to select the project that is Tim Tebow.

      Why give the Broncos’ front office any more reason to fire him?

      The downside, of course, is that Orton continues to struggle and McDaniels is fired anyway without having the opportunity to coach Tebow on the field. If you’re McDaniels, why not take a shot with Tebow and hope you catch lighting in a bottle? After all, you can’t get much worse than Orton’s performance on Sunday so why not?

      But the other problem is that Orton is due $8.8 million in 2011 and he’s earned the right to finish the season (his effort on Sunday notwithstanding). Plus, there’s a real good possibility that Tebow isn’t ready to see the field so it would be selfish of McDaniels to start him and risk stunting his career. Akili Smith and Joey Harrington are just two examples of quarterbacks who weren’t ready to take the field when they did and we all know how their careers turned out.

      If I were to make a guess, I would say McDaniels will keep his job for at least another year. It’s hard for a team to invest in a coach only to let him go after only two seasons. I don’t agree with most of McDaniels’ decisions to this point, but two years is hardly enough time to put your stamp on a team. If the Broncos show zero signs of improving next season, then McDaniels should go. But for now, they might as well see what he’s got.

      Should McDaniels see what Tebow’s got in the meantime?

      Update: Well, clearly I’m a moron because Josh McDaniels has been fired. Nice work, Stalter.

      External Sports, NFL

      2010 College Football Bowl Schedule & Matchups

      December 6, 2010 /
      CORVALLIS, OR - DECEMBER 04: Darron Thomas of the Oregon Ducks looks to pass against the Oregon State Beavers during the 114th Civil War on December 4, 2010 at the Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

      Looking for a college football bowl game schedule? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let The Scores Report be your one-stop shopping experience for all things bowl game schedule.

      BCS National Championship: Auburn vs. Oregon, January 10, 8:30PM ET
      In the end, there really wasn’t any debate to which teams should play for the national title. The Tigers beat six teams this year that finished in the top 25 of the BCS standings and went 13-0 on the year. Their 56-17 pounding of South Carolina in the SEC championship game left no doubt about their spot atop the BCS rankings. On the other side, Oregon blew out Tennessee earlier in the year, but the Ducks’ made their best statement in a 52-31 thrashing of Stanford. They outscored opponents by nearly 31 points a game this year, with only one team (Cal) coming within single digits of Darron Thomas and Co.

      Sugar Bowl: Ohio State vs. Arkansas, Tuesday, January 4, 8:30PM ET
      The Buckeyes have another shot to end their woes against the SEC when they take on the Hogs on January 4. If Terrelle Pryor plays as well against Arkansas as he did against Oregon in the Rose Bowl last year, then OSU will be fine. But the Buckeyes will certainly have their hands full with Ryan Mallett and the Hogs’ explosive offense. Arkansas has a chance to win 11 games in a season for the first time since 1977.

      Orange Bowl: Stanford vs. Virginia Tech, January 3, 8:30PM ET
      This is a great matchup but it’ll be overshadowed by the persisting rumors that Jim Harbaugh will be coaching elsewhere next season. Stanford’s defense will have its hands full with VA Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who took the ACC title game over against Florida State. But the Hokies will need more than Taylor to defeat a Stanford team that is arguably the best one-loss teams in the country. Andrew Luck can further cement his status as the No. 1 pick in April’s draft with a great performance.

      Fiesta Bowl: Connecticut vs. Oklahoma, January 1, 8:30PM ET
      The Huskies stumbled to a 3-4 record while losing their first two Big East conference games, but they rebounded to go 5-0 down the stretch and their reward is that they get to take on Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The Sooners will be heavy favorites against Connecticut but remember that Oklahoma is on a five-game BCS bowl losing streak that include three national title losses and a pair of Fiesta Bowls. Statue of Liberty, anyone?

      Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. TCU, January 1, 5:00PM ET
      This may be the most underrated matchup of the five BCS bowl games. Wisconsin won its final seven regular-season games and did so by averaging 48.3 points per contest over that span. They also combined for 201 points in their final three games and now take on a TCU team that owns the top-ranked defense in the country. That’s impressive considering they lost Jerry Hughes and Daryl Washington (their top defenders from a season ago) to the NFL last April.

      2010 College Football Bowl Schedule:

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Don Meredith passes away

      December 6, 2010 /

      One of the original members of the Monday Night Football crew passed away on Monday as Don Meredith died at the age of 72.

      In memory of Meredith, USA Today shared some of his best lines.

      “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, wouldn’t it be a merry Christmas?”

      On teammate Walt Garrison: “If you needed four yards, you’d give the ball to Garrison and he’d get you four yards. If you needed 20 yards, you’d give the ball to Garrison and he’d get you four yards.”

      His comment when Vice President Spiro Agnew visited the Monday Night booth: “I didn’t vote for you, but you do have a nice suit on.”

      On playing for Tom Landry: “He’s such a perfectionist that if he were married to Dolly Parton he’d expect her to cook.”

      Unfortunately, I was just a twinkle in my father’s eye when Meredith was doing his thing on MNF but I’ve heard these quotes before and they’re classic.

      External Sports, NFL

      Auburn favored over Oregon for BCS title game

      December 6, 2010 /
      ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 04: Quarterback Cam Newton of the Auburn Tigers celebrates after their 56-17 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks during the 2010 SEC Championship at Georgia Dome on December 4, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      Even before the BCS crunched all of its mythical numbers to come up with a mythical matchup for a mythical national championship, oddsmakers had already made Auburn a 2.5-point favorite over Oregon in the national title game.

      The line has since gone up to Tigers –3, while the over/under total is currently sitting at 74.5. After beating South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game, Auburn held onto its No. 1 spot in the BCS rankings, while Oregon stayed at No. 2 following its 17-point beating of Oregon State in the Civil War.

      Oregon finished with a 12-0 record and covered in seven of those games with one push (vs. Washington). But they failed to cover in two of their last three games, which were against Cal (15-13), Arizona (48-29) and Oregon State (37-20).

      Auburn finished 13-0 and covered in nine of those games, including six of their last seven. They crushed the Gamecocks 56-17 as a 4-point favorite and also rallied to beat Alabama 28-27 as a 4.5-point underdog despite falling behind 24-0 in the second quarter.

      Odds have yet to be released for the Rose Bowl (TCU vs. Wisconsin), Fiesta Bowl (Connecticut vs. Oklahoma), Orange Bowl (Virginia Tech vs. Stanford) and Sugar Bowl (Arkansas vs. Ohio State), but when they do I’ll update this post.

      College Football, External Sports

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