Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 251 of 1503)

      Brett Favre plays poorly, so of course there’s injury news to report

      November 15, 2010 /

      Whenever Brett Favre loses there always seems to be injury news that surfaces either directly following the game or a day after.

      ESPN.com is reporting that Favre will contact Dr. James Andrews about the pain he’s having in his right shoulder. The fear, apparently, is that the pain stems from a 2008 surgery that Favre had to repair his biceps tendon. As usual, his playing status for this week is up in the air.

      I’m not one to call for someone’s retirement. If Lord Favre wants to play until he’s 97 then he holds the right to do so. And if a team still thinks he can play at a starter’s level, then by all means – lace ‘em up, Brett.

      But every week there’s a new injury to go along with his poor play on the field. I’m sure there was a report in some dark corner of the internet, but I don’t recall him suffering from anything last week when he rallied the Vikings from two touchdowns down late in the fourth quarter to beat the Cardinals in overtime. But sure enough, a day after he throws three picks in a lousy effort against the Bears, he’s getting an MRI on some part of his anatomy.

      With all that has transpired this season (Jenn Sterger, injuries, losing), it might be a good time for Favre to start his retirement tour. I’ve enjoyed watching him play throughout the years, but he’s turned into one big punch line after another. Maybe it’s time to call it a day.

      Of course, now that I write that, you know he’s going to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Packers this Sunday in Minnesota. Then the Brett Favre media cycle from hell will start again.

      “He can still play this game! It’s amazing what he can do at his age! Look at him – he sure has fun out there, doesn’t he?”

      News, NFL

      Kevin Walter’s touchdown leads to more controversy over catch rule

      November 15, 2010 /
      JACKSONVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 14: Kevin Walter of the Houston Texans catches a touchdown pass during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on November 14, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

      The same referee who overturned Calvin Johnson’s touchdown at the conclusion of the Lions-Bears game in Week 1 is once again at the center of controversy.

      Or at least the rule he keeps having to make decisions about is.

      During the fourth quarter of the Texans-Jaguars game on Sunday, Houston’s Kevin Walter caught a pass in the end zone, rolled over on his back, stuck the ball up and then it fell out of his hands.

      The ruling on the field was an incomplete pass, but referee Gene Steratore reviewed the play and overturned the call, which gave Walter and the Texans a touchdown.

      Following the game, Mike Pereira (the NFL’s former director officials) said the call was right.

      “No question this should be a touchdown. The action where Walter lost the ball was clearly after he completed the catch, and he actually seemed to be showing the officials he had maintained control.”

      “The referee, Gene Steratore, who was the referee in the Lions-Bears matchup in Week 1 for the controversial Calvin Johnson play at the end of the game, made the right call again. This time there was clearly a second act, which to me, is reminiscent of a second baseman losing the ball while taking the ball out of his glove in an attempt to turn a double play. So the Texans win this challenge, but ended up losing the game on a wild Hail Mary by the Jaguars on the last play of the game.”

      Here’s the thing that continues to befuddle me about this end zone possession rule. If a running back dives into the end zone and the ball goes over one of the pylons it’s considered a touchdown, even if the ball gets dislodged from his hands at the end of the run. In essence, the play is a touchdown as soon as the tip of the ball crosses the goal line.

      But when a receiver makes a catch, has two feet down (or his butt and an elbow in the case of Johnson’s touchdown in Chicago), he has to maintain the catch until next Wednesday. Why? I can see the differences between Walter and Johnson’s touchdowns, but it doesn’t change the fact that CJ had secured the catch, had two feet, his butt and his forearm on the ground. I get it – he didn’t maintain control throughout. But you can’t tell me that a running back can dive for the end zone, lose the ball and have it count for a touchdown when a catch like Johnson’s doesn’t count. The rule stinks.

      Now, by rule, I guess you can say that the running back already had possession of the ball when he was diving for the end zone and that’s the difference between that play and a receiver making a catch when he’s already in the end zone. But that hardly seems fair, especially considering guys like Johnson had already secured the catch (not by rule mind you, but by common sense).

      That said, I’m fine with the Walter ruling. It was a touchdown – just like Calvin Johnson’s was. (Again, not by rule, but by common sense.)

      External Sports, NFL

      Writer plays race card when it comes to Donovan McNabb’s benching

      November 15, 2010 /
      Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb outruns the St. Louis Rams defense for a 26-yard gain in the second half at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on September 26, 2010. UPI/BIll Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Author John Feinstein says race is factoring into how Mike Shanahan is handling Donovan McNabb in Washington.

      After he benched McNabb for Rex Grossman at the conclusion of the Redskins’ game in Detroit two weeks ago, Shanahan said that McNabb wasn’t physically fit enough to run the two-minute offense because of a hamstring injury. Later it was reported that the Redskins have had to cut the playbook in half because McNabb is having a hard time picking everything up.

      That prompted Feinstein to play the race card when he appeared on a local Comcast Sports talk show in Washington recently.

      From FOX Philadelphia:

      “The situation with Shanahan and McNabb has gotten completely out of control. Shanahan simply won’t say ‘I made a mistake. I got mad at Donovan, I put Rex Grossman in the game and it was a mistake.’ Instead, the first spin is that he doesn’t know the terminology of the two-minute offense, i.e. he’s stupid. The next day, it’s, well, his cardiovascular, he’s out of shape, i.e. he’s fat. Now, he’s leaking to Chris Mortensen — who is culpable in this, too, because I guarantee he didn’t call Donovan McNabb for a response — that we had to cut the playbook in half because of McNabb.”

      “I think there’s racial coding going on here, and it’s my belief that that kind of behavior is worth firing a coach for. Dan Snyder’s not gonna do it, but I think it’s out of control.”

      I’ve got one, big, fat trump card for Feinstein and his name is JaMarcus Russell.

      While the Redskins didn’t sign the mammoth bust, Shanahan did bring Russell in for a workout two days after the Lions game. If Shanahan doesn’t want to work with black quarterbacks, then why bring in Russell? If Shanahan feels as though he has to cut his playbook in half for black quarterbacks, then again…why bring in Russell? It doesn’t make sense.

      I think what happened here is that Shanahan got caught overthinking. Grossman had been running the two-minute drill in practice because McNabb had been nursing a hamstring injury, so Shanahan thought he could sneak one past the goalie by bringing in Grossman. Plus, it’s not like McNabb had been sharp up until that point, so Shanahan took a gamble.

      Obviously that gamble didn’t pay off, but to accuse the man of racial coding is a bit extreme. This appears to be a classic example of the media looking too much into a situation instead of keeping the matter on the surface. McNabb wasn’t benched because he’s black. He was benched because Shanahan thought he was smarter than everyone and it backfired.

      External Sports, NFL

      Patriots hand out road map on how to beat Steelers’ defense

      November 15, 2010 /
      New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady waits to go onto the field to face the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first quarter of their NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania November 14, 2010. REUTERS/ Jason Cohn (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Entering Sunday night, most pundits would have agreed that the Steelers’ front seven is probably the best in football. Observers know that Pittsburgh can be had through the air (as long as you stayed away from Troy Polomalu), but that was if you figured out a way to neutralize their pass rush, of course.

      Well, Tom Brady and the Patriots figured out a way to neutralize the Steelers’ rush in a lopsided 39-26 victory in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. And not only that, but they laid out a blueprint on how other teams can do the same.

      Chris Collinsworth said it best during the broadcast when he mentioned how the Steelers “like to play in a phone booth.” They want teams to try to line up and run the ball right at them. And when they stop the run, they want their opponents to be one-dimensional so that defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau can disguise where the pressure is coming from and frustrate the quarterback.

      But the Patriots turned their game with the Steelers into a track meet. Brady spread the ball out, worked the middle of the field, found receivers on the outside for quick gains and often set his offense up with short down-and-distances all night. His offensive line was also outstanding, as they picked up the Steelers’ blitzing linebackers and allowed Brady to work through all of his progressions.

      Defenses can’t give any quarterback time to throw. When they give someone like Brady time, they might as well be signing their own death wish.

      Granted, not every team can do what Bill Belichick’s Patriots can do. But the NFL is a copycat league and you can bet offensive coordinators that have the unenviable task of facing the Steelers over the next two months will be dissecting that tape. Pittsburgh won’t play that bad defensively every week, but suddenly they look a little vulnerable on that side of the ball.

      External Sports, NFL

      Cowboys smoke Giants in Jason Garrett’s debut

      November 14, 2010 /

      Jerry Jones would have fired Wade Phillips a month ago if he knew the Cowboys would have played as well all season under Jason Garrett as they did in New York on Sunday.

      The Cowboys routed the Giants 33-20 in Garrett’s debut. Even though Dallas’ win was only by a 13-point margin, I use the term “routed” because many believed that this New York team was the best in the NFC coming into this game. (Not to mention the Cowboys have looked like an utter train wreck for most of the season.)

      There really was no secret to how the Cowboys dismantled the Giants: they stayed balanced offensively, they won the turnover battle and they produced some big plays. The Giants turned the ball over three times, including once at the goal line as Bryan McCann picked off Eli Manning and returned the gift 101 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception return for a score in franchise history for the Cowboys.

      Jon Kitna, who clearly located a genie sometime this week and cashed in one of his three wishes, threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Rookie Dez Bryant caught three passes for 104 yards and a score, while Felix Jones (who saw a lot of playing time after Marion Barber was benched) caught three passes for 85 yards and one touchdown.

      Outside of Mario Manningham (10 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD), it was a day the Giants would like to forget. Dallas punched them in the mouth from the opening bell and New York had no response. They tried to make it close at the end, but a Hakeen Nicks touchdown was wiped off the board because of a holding penalty and then Manning turned the ball over twice on the Giants’ next two possessions to ice the game for the Cowboys. (Although a botched snap was part of the blame for one of Manning’s turnovers.)

      It’s not completely shocking that a divisional rival was able to walk into the New Meadowlands (a dark New Meadowlands at that, as the stadium suffered a couple of power outages during the game) and beat the Giants. What’s shocking is that the divisional rival was a Dallas team that had just fired its head coach earlier in the week and had played like crap in its previous three games. If I’m Tom Coughlin, I don’t even watch the reply from this loss. Just pitch the tape in the trash and look ahead to next week.

      External Sports, NFL

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