Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 677 of 1503)

      Revisiting the Jared Allen trade

      October 12, 2009 /

      Brady

      In his latest edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback,” SI.com NFL guru Peter King makes a great point about the possible mistake the Chiefs made in not paying defensive end Jared Allen and subsequently trading him to the Vikings in the ’08 offseason:

      What the Chiefs got:

      1st round (15th overall) Branden Albert, OT — Starting LT has a chance to be good. In-and-out work ethic.
      3rd round (73) Jamaal Charles, RB — Change-of-pace back averaging five carries a game in 21 pro games.
      3rd round (82) DaJuan Morgan, S — Sub safety who still has to prove self to new coaching staff.
      6th round (182) Kevin Robinson, WR — Cut by Chiefs in ’08.

      What the Vikings got:

      Jared Allen, DE — The league’s best all-around defensive end has 21 sacks and three safeties in 22 Viking games.
      6th round (187) John Sullivan, C — First-year starting center on one of NFL’s best lines.
      It’s not certain, but it’s possible that history will show that the Vikings got a more productive player at 187 (Sullivan) than the Chiefs got at 15 (Albert). Ouch.

      King makes a great point by illustrating that the Chiefs are definitely on the losing end of this trade so far. Allen has been outstanding and the Vikings felt confident enough in Sullivan’s abilities not to panic when long-time center Matt Birk signed with Baltimore in the offseason.

      That said, Albert was a highly regarded offensive line prospect in the 2008 draft. In fact, he was even being considered as a top 5 pick entering the draft and many pundits were surprised that he slipped to the Chiefs at No. 15. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he winds up being a good player once he gets a few years of experience under his belt.

      It would probably be more fair to look at this trade after the 2010 season when the Kansas City players have had three years of service in the league. Plus, Allen wouldn’t have been a fit for their new 3-4 defensive front anyway, so the Chiefs shouldn’t lose sleep over the deal. Still, it’s always interesting to look back.

      NFL

      Monday night to serve as test for youngster Sanchez

      October 12, 2009 /

      Brady

      For all intents and purposes, last week was an utter disaster for Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. He threw for only 138 yards, was intercepted three times and had a fumble recovered for a touchdown in the Jets’ 24-10 loss to the Saints in New Orleans.

      Simply put, the kid looked like a rookie.

      One of Sanchez’s many issues last week was that he tried to do too much when plays broke down. Instead of chucking the ball out of bounds when he was in trouble, he forced passes into coverage and paid for it. Credit the Saints for generating a consistent pass rush throughout the game, but Sanchez needs to learn how to get rid of the ball and live to fight for another play.

      But the growing pains he suffered last week weren’t anything that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger didn’t go through early on in their development. In fact, Manning threw so many picks his rookie year that fans used to hold up signs mocking him to remember that his team wore blue jerseys and white helmets.

      It’s what Sanchez does tonight against the Dolphins that I’m most interested in, because he was bound to suffer a let down eventually. He wasn’t going to walk through an entire season playing as well as he did the first couple games and not be exposed for the inexperienced player he is. In fact, it’s better that he got his first ass-kicking of his career early in the year rather than later on at a crucial moment in the season. He can learn from the beating he took last week in New Orleans.

      Pundits like to marvel at how calm and cool Sanchez has looked so far leading the Jets’ offense. Well, let’s see how he reacts after suffering his first loss. Let’s see if he can learn from what happened last weekend and turn it into a positive for he and his team. He was eventually going to be exposed and he was, but now let’s see how he responds.

      I think he’ll respond favorably. He has a great defense at his disposal, a solid running game, an excellent offensive line and now a No. 1 receiver in Braylon Edwards (when he’s not dropping passes that is). Sanchez doesn’t need to do too much; he needs to let the game come to him and rebound from his first defeat as a pro. That said, it’ll be interesting to see how he does playing in his first prime time game of his career.

      NFL

      Jaguars’ Groves involved in hit-and-run

      October 12, 2009 /

      First Coast News is reporting that Jaguars’ defender Quentin Groves has been accused by a motorist of being involved in a hit-and-run car crash, which took place on Friday.

      The father of one of the drivers, Robyn Jackett, says Groves hit his son’s car and another car and then fled the scene.

      According to an crash report, it happened Friday, which was when the Jaguars were flying to Seattle, near the entrance to the airport at Pecan Park and Yankee Clipper Drive.

      Jackett says his son was approaching the intersection when a Cadillac Escalade changing lanes clipped another car and sent it spinning.

      The Escalade then changed lanes again and stopped abruptly and Jackett’s car ended up wedged under the Escalade.
      According to Jackett, Groves then stepped out of his car, said he was a Jaguars player and had a plane to catch and drove off.

      Both Jackett and the other driver involved told First Coast News another driver that witnessed the crash then followed Groves down the road and blocked him from driving away until airport police arrived.

      But the report shows Groves was only given a warning for improper lane change.

      I don’t want to draw conclusions from one article, but this sounds like another athlete who doesn’t think the law applies to him. But let’s see what other details emerge.

      NFL

      Yankees sweep Twins, set up ALCS matchup with Angels

      October 12, 2009 /

      Brady

      Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada each homered on Sunday as the Yankees defeated the Twins 4-1 to complete a three-game sweep in the ALDS. New York will now face the Angels in the ALCS.

      “People can say whatever they want about home runs and big hits,” Rodriguez said. “If you don’t pitch and you don’t defend, you are not going to win. The story of this has been CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, and all three of them were fantastic.”

      “I think we played the same way we have been playing the whole regular season,” Posada said. “I think pitching is just so important when it comes to a series like this. Once you see it, you understand why pitching is so important now.”
      Pavano frustrated the Yankees for four years of an injury-marred signing, and for six innings, he did it in a different way.

      Setting a new Twins postseason record with a nine-strikeout performance, Pavano saw his cruise turn sour in the seventh as A-Rod continued his monster ALDS.

      The reborn slugger crushed a game-tying line-drive home run that struck the top row of the football bleachers in right field. It was the second homer of the series from Rodriguez, who belted a game-tying shot late in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium and finished the series with a .455 batting average and six RBIs.

      The Yankees have a long way to go before they’re hoisting a World Series trophy, but they have to be encouraged from what they saw vs. the Twins. A-Rod is actually hitting in the playoffs and their biggest concern over the past couple of years (their pitching) is coming through as well.

      That said, it’s imperative that CC Sabathia pitches well to help set the tone for the ALCS. The Angels have one of the top offenses in baseball and will certainly test the Yankees’ resolve. This should be a great series.

      MLB

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