Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 622 of 1503)

      Average Giants beat average Falcons

      November 22, 2009 /

      The Giants’ 34-31 overtime victory over the Falcons might have made for a nice highlight piece for ESPN, complete with a rousing effort by Eli Manning and a fourth quarter comeback engineered by Matt Ryan. But the truth of the matter is that one very average team beat an equally average team today.

      Both of these teams have noticeable holes, namely on the defensive side of the ball. Manning completed 25 of 39 passes for 384 yards with three touchdowns, but he accomplished all of that against cornerbacks that wouldn’t start for most teams in the NFL (Chris Houston is brutal). Ryan completed 26-of-46 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns (he also drove his team down the field for a game-tying touchdown with only 38 seconds remaining), but he too faced a suspect secondary dealing with injuries.

      Both the Giants and Falcons can move the ball offensively, but neither team has a defense that is ready to take on the likes of the Saints or Vikings in the postseason. New York is a tad better on that side of the ball, but that’s only because they can rush the passer. (They’re also dealing with injuries, whereas the Falcons defense is what it is – average at best.)

      Nevertheless, this was a big win for the Giants because it came against a conference foe. This may not be a team ready for the postseason, but a win is a win and now the G-Men are in the right position to at least win one of the Wild Card spots in the NFC.

      As for the Falcons, they’re still very much in contention for a Wild Card spot themselves, but they need a better defensive effort going forward. They can’t generate any pressure, they can’t make plays in the secondary and they can’t force turnovers. Mike Smith and coordinator Brian VanGorder better come up with a better scheme because they just don’t have the playmakers on that side of the ball to go toe-to-toe with opponents.


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      NFL

      Big Ben hurts head in overtime loss to Steelers

      November 22, 2009 /

      Teams never assume victory before they play the game (or at least they shouldn’t), but the Steelers must have felt great heading to Kansas City this weekend. After all, the Chiefs have struggled offensively all season and their top playmaker, Dwayne Bowe, was suspended four games earlier in the week.

      But not only did Pittsburgh suffer defeat on Sunday, but they’re key offensive player also suffered an injury.

      Ben Roethlisberger suffered a head injury in overtime of the Steelers’ 27-24 loss to the Chiefs in Week 11. Big Ben caught a knee to the head on a diving scramble and lay on the ground for several minutes before walking off under his own power. He finished 32-of-42 for 398 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

      Roethlisberger shredded Kansas City’s secondary the entire game, but three turnovers and one big play by Chiefs’ wideout Chris Chambers (four catches, 119 yards) doomed the Steelers in the end. Chambers’ 61-yard reception in overtime set up Ryan Syccop’s 22-yard game-winning field goal.

      This loss hurts the Steelers on many levels. Not only did they suffer defeat in a game everyone assumed that they would win, but once the Bengals beat the Raiders in Oakland later today, Pittsburgh will also essentially fall three games back in the AFC North. It’s never easy to fly cross-country and play on the road just one week after suffering a tough divisional loss. But this was a game Pittsburgh needed to win.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Big Ben misses any time. He’s a tough player, so one would assume that he’ll play next week but head injuries are always a little trickier to deal with.


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      NFL

      Simms expected to start for Broncos

      November 22, 2009 /

      According to the Denver Post, it’ll take a miracle for Kyle Orton to start on Sunday, which means Chris Simms will get the nod against the Chargers today.

      Simms has practiced all week. Orton has not because of a severely sprained left ankle. Orton has tried hard to get his ankle to heal. But as of Saturday afternoon, it had not recovered enough to play.

      There is one sliver of hope for Orton — the plan was to give him one more try Sunday morning at Invesco Field. But unless a good night’s sleep brings dramatic improvement to the mangled ankle Orton suffered late in the second half against the Washington Redskins last Sunday, Simms will get his first NFL start since Sept. 24, 2006, when he suffered a near career-ending ruptured spleen while playing for Tampa Bay.

      Simms looked completely unprepared when he had to sub in last week against the Redskins. Maybe now that he has a week of practice under his belt he’ll be better, but either way this isn’t what the Broncos want while getting ready to square off against the Chargers for sole possession of the AFC West.


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      NFL

      2009 NFL Week 11 Picks & Predictions

      November 20, 2009 /

      Here are my locks (locks, ha!) for Week 11 in the NFL:

      Chargers (6-3) at Broncos (6-3), 4:15PM ET
      Denver quarterback Kyle Orton is questionable this week with an ankle injury, which means Chris Simms could make his first start of the season. Simms looked Brady Quinn-like bad in a loss to the Redskins last week and I wouldn’t expect much out of him if I were a Broncos fan. If Simms starts, I fully expect the Chargers to load up to stop Knowshon Moreno and force the former Bucs’ QB to beat them through the air. It’s not going to happen and even if Orton does start, how effective can he be on a bum ankle? About as effective as he was last year for the Bears on a bum ankle? The Chargers are hot, have revenge on their minds and are eyeing sole possession of first place in the AFC West. Plus, Philip Rivers is playing just as well as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner. I’m taking the Chargers to win outright and to cover.
      Odds: Chargers –2.5.
      Prediction: Chargers 31, Broncos 16.

      Redskins (3-6) at Cowboys (6-3), 1:00PM ET
      Now that the Cowboys have once again established that they’re still the same inconsistent team under Wade Phillips as they’ve always been, I’m wondering if the Redskins can pull off a huge upset this week in Dallas. Then again, without the brutal play of Chris Simms’ aiding them in victory, I can’t see Washington winning this weekend. In fact, I see this game being a blow out since the Redskins will once again be without running back Clinton Portis and Albert Haynesworth is doubtful to play as well. The Redskins have shown the ability to stop the pass, but if the Cowboys can control this game with Marion Barber and Felix Jones then Washington doesn’t stand a chance. Dallas’ offense should rebound from its horrid performance last week as long as the ground attack can help set things up for Tony Romo and the passing game. Washington just doesn’t have the players to compete with Dallas for four quarters and given how bad the Redskins’ O-line has played this season, they’re going to have trouble stopping the Cowboys’ solid pass rush.
      Odds: Cowboys –11
      Prediction: Cowboys 34, Redskins 13.

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      NFL

      Carroll says he won’t forget Harbaugh, Stanford’s 2-point attempt

      November 20, 2009 /

      USC’s Pete Carroll says he’s over Stanford head coach John Harbaugh going for two when the Cardinal were already up 48-21 in the second half of their victory over the Trojans last Saturday. But Carroll also said that he wouldn’t forget about the play either.

      From SPORTSbyBROOKS.com:

      MASON: What do you think, now a couple of days removed, of Harbaugh going for the two-point conversion?

      CARROLL: Well, really, even since the time that it happened, you know, I haven’t bothered with it, and I know everybody else has and taken a lot of time to kinda discuss it and all. I think, you know, it is what you think it is, you know, it’s a statement that you can take away that maybe they were trying to accomplish something that seems out of the ordinary, you know, I don’t really care, to tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter.

      And when you look at it like, uh, they’re ahead in the game and they’re in command of it, they really get to do whatever they want to do, and it doesn’t bother me to worry about it anymore, you know what I mean? Jim came out and said what he wanted to say, you know, a couple different times about it and, you know, to me it’s dropped, I don’t care.
      Will I forget it? No, I’m not forgetting it. But uh, you know, to me, it’s in the past.

      What’s funny is that everyone is concentrating on how Stanford went for two to make a statement to USC, but what Carroll and everyone needs to focus on is that the Cardinal whipped the Trojans’ ass for four quarters. It wasn’t just one play; Stanford owned USC on the Trojans’ home field for 60 minutes. That’s the bigger deal.

      So Carroll truly does need to forget about the one play (albeit, an embarrassing play) and concentrate on what has happened this year to his program. To hell with the two-point conversation: How does that once stout USC defense allow 36 (Oregon State), 47 (Oregon) and 55 (Stanford) points over the course of a four game span?


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      College Football

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