Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 620 of 1503)

Rex Ryan to stick with Mark Sanchez

According to a report by the New York Daily News, Rex Ryan won’t bench struggling rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez in favor for Kellen Clemens.

Sanchez has followed poor outing after poor outing the past couple months and is now only two interceptions behind league-leader Jay Cutler. Sanchez has also seen his completion percentage drop to 52.1 as the Jets have lost six of their last seven games.

But wasn’t all this expected? Just because Sanchez and the Jets got off to a hot start doesn’t mean that it was going to last all season. After all, he’s a rookie quarterback that didn’t have a ton of experience in college and is struggling in his first year. That’s not uncommon.

It’s important that Ryan stick with Sanchez and see him through the rest of the year. If Sanchez can get through this season, then he’ll see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that he can play in this league. But he needs to learn from the mistakes that he’s making or else he’ll never develop. It’s Ryan’s job to do everything he can to help Sanchez transition to the next level, which includes supporting him when he isn’t playing well.

Confidence is everything to a young quarterback. Ryan chose Sanchez to be his starter in preseason and unless the young signal caller turns into Ryan Leaf over the next couple weeks, then he should remain the starter. Don’t forget that Peyton Manning struggled in his first season with the Colts, yet he remained the starter the entire season. I’m not trying to compare the two players, but the situations could wind up being similar in the end if Ryan allows Sanchez to suffer through his growing pains.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

Is Notre Dame still an elite coaching job?

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports thinks so:

Anyone who thinks Notre Dame isn’t still an elite job doesn’t know anything about how college football works. By beating USC, Florida and Texas for more than his fair share of coveted prospects the last few years, Weis dispelled the theory that top talent no longer want to play at a tradition-rich, academically strong school that’s on national television every week.
He had enough players to go 10-2 this year. He just couldn’t coach them.

Weis’ recruiting work is why this is actually a better job today than five years ago.

I don’t think there’s any question that Notre Dame is still an elite job. The program is always in the national spotlight and a head coach could become one of the kings of college football if he wins in South Bend.

But the problem is that the job has become a black hole for failure and the microscope that head coaches are constantly under while coaching at Notre Dame can certainly wear on someone. (Although maybe that was only true for Weis given the way Tyrone Willingham was ushered out before him.)

Wetzel references Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly as the perfect replacement for Weis. Given how Kelly has won everyone he’s gone, that certainly wouldn’t be a bad fit – especially if Jimmy Clausen (who could put up even better numbers in Kelly’s offense) sticks around another season. Plus, considering the way Kelly had no qualms about leaving Central Michigan in the lurch to join Cincinnati, I’m sure he’d have no issues about pulling the ripcord on the Bearcats in order to coach in South Bend.

Video shows LSU’s Miles calls for spike vs. Ole Miss

Following LSU’s 25-23 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday in which Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson spiked the ball with :01 left remaining, Les Miles told the media that he didn’t know who instructed his signal caller to “clock” the ball.

Apparently Miles is either a liar or doesn’t have a real good memory, because it was him (thanks to SPORTSbyBROOKS.com for the video link):

This is damning evidence for Miles on several levels. Not only did he lie about what happened, but he also completely threw Jefferson under the bus by telling the media he didn’t know who told him to spike the ball.

Miles should have owned up to the mistake (maybe he thought there was more time on the clock when he was doing the gesture?) afterwards and took his medicine then. Now he’s going to feel the wrath of not only lying about the situation, but he also stands to lose some credibility with his players and the program.

Devin Hester moons Sunday Night Football crowd

For those of you that stayed up to watch the end of the Eagles-Bears’ game on Sunday night, you might have caught a glimpse of a full moon rising.

Chicago wideout Devin Hester might want to invest in a belt!

I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the fact that I have now seen what Devin Hester’s ass looks like or the fact that people actually taped this, posted it on YouTube and then slowed it down so everyone can see the receiver’s derriere.

Cutler struggles again as Bears lose to Eagles

It wasn’t a five-interception type of game, but Jay Cutler once again struggled as the Eagles beat the Bears 24-20 on Sunday night.

Cutler finished 24-of-43 for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The interception came on Chicago’s final offensive possession as Cutler was trying to lead the Bears to a game-winning score.

Cutler was trying not to throw interceptions tonight. He seemed overly cautious in his decisions and overthrew three receivers throughout the course of the game that cost Chicago a chance for touchdowns. The most damning overthrow came with just under four minutes remaining when he overshot Johnny Knox, who had beaten Sheldon Brown down the sidelines and could have streaked into the end zone for a go-ahead score.

Cutler and Donovan McNabb shared a nice moment after the game at midfield. McNabb spoke with Cutler at length and while it’s unknown what was said, one could imagine that the Philly QB offered words of encouragement and advice. Once the Bears build him an offensive line, Cutler is going to prosper. But until then, he’s going to suffer these roller coaster moments.

For the Eagles, this was a huge win because the Cowboys and Giants both won as well. This wasn’t a clean victory for Philadelphia by any means (they turned the ball over three times), but youngsters like LeSean McCoy (20 carries, 99 yards, 1 TD) and DeSean Jackson (8 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD) stepped up and that was key.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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