Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 662 of 1503)

      Report: Bradford to have season-ending surgery

      October 21, 2009 /

      ESPN.com is reporting that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will likely have season-ending shoulder surgery.

      Bradford, who won the Heisman Trophy last season, will address his future plans in a news conference at 6:30 ET Wednesday.

      Bradford re-injured his right shoulder on Oklahoma’s second possession during a 16-13 loss to No. 3 Texas on Saturday. The quarterback had previously been out a month with a sprain of the AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder.

      Bradford had been ruled out of Oklahoma’s game this week at Kansas (No. 25 BCS, No. 24 AP), but coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday any decision beyond that is yet to come.

      Bradford had been projected as an early NFL draft pick, but decided instead to return for his junior season with the Sooners. He was injured just before halftime against BYU and missed Oklahoma’s next three games before returning to throw for 389 yards against Baylor.
      He was hurt again when Texas cornerback Aaron Williams sacked him in the first quarter Saturday.

      The debate over the next couple months will be whether or not Bradford will enter the NFL draft. He’s not expected to announce that decision at his press conference today, but he’ll certainly be probed about it now that his season looks to be over.

      It’s always tough for a player to decide whether or not he wants to enter the NFL draft, but there’s an added element to Bradford’s decision because of his injury. Seeing as how this season didn’t go as planned, he might be inclined to return next year and try to lead Oklahoma back to the national title game. That said, if he returns to school next year, he risks getting hurt again and forgoing millions of dollars in the pros.

      I don’t envy his decision.

      College Football

      New details emerge in Steve McNair shooting

      October 21, 2009 /

      A CBS News investigation has raised doubts about the conclusion authorities have come to regarding Steve McNair’s murder-suicide.

      From CBSNews.com:


      Watch CBS News Videos Online

      ESPN.com also reports that McNair was also seeing a second woman besides Kazemi, and SPORTSbyBROOKS.com says there was a third woman as well.

      I find it convenient that CBS “uncovered” all of this new information, yet provide zero facts proving that there was another person involved. Despite the evidence they have that the police screwed up the time line of the event, there’s nothing concrete to suggest that this wasn’t a murder-suicide.

      CBS is going to have to do better than talk to a bunch of people who were close to Kazemi who claim it wasn’t in her nature to do something like this. People snap all the time and while that doesn’t always lead to murder, there’s no evidence to suggest that there was someone else involved. This just seems like CBS’ attempt to break a new story, when there’s very little here.

      NFL

      Terrelle Pryor’s HS coach: Tressel should let him run more

      October 21, 2009 /

      Ohio State sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s high school coach doesn’t like the way Jim Tressel is utilizing his former star.

      From ESPN.com:

      “They need Terrelle to run more,” former Jeannette (Pa.) High School coach Ray Reitz said. “They’ve put the reins on him and they need to let him go free. When I watch Terrelle play right now, I see a robot.”

      Reitz, now the coach at Latrobe High, said Pryor was recruited on the premise of a more diverse offense.

      “All I know is they promised him that they would teach him a pro-style system with both a shotgun and under center,” Reitz said. “Jim Tressel is a great coach and he’s been running his offense successfully for 30 years. But I’d like to see some zone-read plays where with one mistake [by the defense], he can be gone. With some zone-read plays, they wouldn’t be able to take away all the outside runs because he’d being a threat to go between the tackles.”

      Reitz said he believes that Pryor is being affected by criticism — though he would never admit it.

      “It’s gotten to the point where I turn the volume down when watching TV now,” Reitz said. “I believe the criticism has seeped into his mind. I’m sure there are some mechanical issues. But all I know is he was accurate when he was in high school.”

      Reitz said it would be a mistake to move Pryor to wide receiver — a move which Tressel said does not figure into his plans.

      “He would be a great wide receiver or even a great linebacker,” Reitz said. “But that doesn’t mean you should move him from quarterback. In fact, I don’t think he’d agree to a move to wide receiver. Give him time to grow. Put the ball in his hands and if there is a breakdown let him run. It doesn’t look to me like he’s relaxed. It doesn’t look like he has rhythm. It doesn’t look like he’s comfortable.”

      Tressel’s questionable game planning and playcalling aside, Pryor hasn’t shown that he can handle even the basic fundamentals of the position yet. His footwork is sloppy, his mechanics aren’t sound and he isn’t accurate. So this notion that Tressel isn’t using him effectively is a moot point right now because Pryor needs to figure out the basics of the position first.

      But I agree with Reitz that Pryor shouldn’t be moved to another position yet. If he continues to regress at quarterback, then Tressel can re-assess the situation at the end of the year. But Pryor is only a sophomore and is still learning so at least for the time being, OSU should continue to try to shape him as a quarterback before moving him to another position.

      College Football

      2009 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7

      October 21, 2009 /

      Here’s how I see things 1-32 in the NFL now that the first six weeks of the season are in the books.

      1. New Orleans Saints (5-0)
      As of right now, I don’t see how any team in the NFC can walk into the Superdome and beat the Saints on their home turf. Drew Brees is the early-season MVP and Gregg Williams has transformed New Orleans’ defense overnight.

      2. Indianapolis Colts (5-0)
      Outside of maybe Miami, the Colts haven’t been tested by a formidable foe. But they’ve done what they’re supposed to do: Crush bad teams. They’ll crush another one this week in the Rams.

      3. Minnesota Vikings (6-0)
      The way the Ravens moved the ball at will on the Vikings’ defense in the fourth quarter on Sunday is troubling, but nobody can stop Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson right now…except maybe the Steelers, that is. Minnesota gets another huge test this weekend in Pittsburgh.

      4. Denver Broncos (5-0)
      I see an offensive growing under Josh McDaniels, which is a bad sign for future opponents. What a great special teams effort by Eddie Royal on Monday night.

      5. New York Giants (5-1)
      Sunday proved that the Giants have to get healthy on defense. They can get away with not having several defensive starters against teams like the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders, but the Saints made them look like a JV squad.

      6. Atlanta Falcons (4-1)
      The Falcons weren’t overly impressive on Sunday night, but their defense rose to the challenge. They forced two red zone turnovers, completely shut down the Bears’ running game and held Chicago to only 14 points. It looks like Mike Smith’s young defense is starting to come together.

      7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
      The Steelers played a sloppy game on Sunday, but Ben Roethlisberger continues to make plays vertically in the passing game and now that Troy Polamalu is healthy, Pittsburgh’s defense is almost back to form.

      8. New England Patriots (4-2)
      Sure, the Titans are a bad football team. But Tom Brady finally looked like Tom Brady again on Sunday and New England’s defense turned in its best effort of the season.

      9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)
      I think the Bengals’ loss to the Texans on Sunday will actually do them more good than bad. The players may have started to read their own press clippings and now Marvin Lewis can remind his team that they have a long way to go.

      10. Chicago Bears (3-2)
      The Bears missed so many opportunities to earn a victory Sunday night in Atlanta that I would need a calculator, a ruler, an abacus and a stiff drink to total all of them up. The offensive line better start gelling soon or else Chicago’s running game is going to be non-existent all season.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Has the Bears’ identity changed with Cutler?

      October 21, 2009 /

      The identity of the Chicago Bears has almost changed overnight.

      The offseason acquisition of quarterback Jay Cutler has suddenly transformed Da Bears into a team that relies on the pass to set up the run; for decades, it used to be the other way around. In fact, Chicago fans had been waiting for a strong-armed quarterback to aid their ground game, not hide its weaknesses.

      Through five games this season, the Bears have attempted 172 passes to only 119 rushing attempts. They’re throwing nearly 60% of the time, which, for the Bears, is unheard of.

      On Tuesday, Cutler and the Bears agreed to a two-year extension that will keep the quarterback in Chicago through 2013. Does the move signal the end of the Bears’ philosophy of being a run-first team? Given Cutler’s gun-ho mentality as a passer and Chicago’s sudden desire to throw the ball more, one would think that Chicago’s smash-mouth days are over.

      But a closer look tells a different story. The Bears are currently 27th in rushing yards per game this season, averaging 89.8 YPG. They haven’t run the ball much this year because quite frankly, they can’t run the ball. The changes the Bears made to their offensive line in the offseason haven’t amounted to much as Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and the rest of Chicago’s O-line has failed to gel. And while people are quick to assume running back Matt Forte is suffering from the dreaded sophomore slump, the fact of the matter is that the line hasn’t been opening up holes for him like they did last year.

      So are the Bears becoming more of a pass-first team with Jay Cutler? Yes, but that’s only because their O-line is under performing. If the line starts opening more holes for Forte (who seems to be tiptoeing into holes more this season because of the amount of licks he’s been taking), the Bears will undoubtedly become the balanced squad that they envisioned when they traded for Cutler.

      Until then, don’t expect the Bears to stop putting it in the air. And as long as they’re throwing, offensive coordinator Ron Turner better start calling more vertical passes in order to take advantage of Cutler’s strengths.

      NFL

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