Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 706 of 1503)

      Pass defense a concern for the Ravens

      September 22, 2009 /

      While they’ve started the year 2-0 and have a winnable game against the Browns coming up this Sunday, all is not right with the Ravens.

      After two games, Baltimore’s secondary has given up 580 yards through the air and 50 points. That’s 290 passing yards and 25 points per game, which are two big reasons why the Ravens currently own the fourth worst defense in the league right now.

      That ranking is jarring considering the Ravens have had one of the most feared defenses in the league for almost a decade and employ the likes of All-Pro safety Ed Reed in their secondary. But it’s apparent that Baltimore’s D is still transitioning from Rex Ryan to new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison’s scheme and it might take a while for the unit to gel.

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      NFL

      NFL Week 3 Odds & Point Spreads

      September 22, 2009 /

      Along with the odds and over/under totals, here’s a look at some of the marquee matchups for Week 3 in the NFL.

      Falcons (2-0) at Patriots (1-1), Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      This will be a great test to see where both of these teams currently lie. The Falcons are 2-0 with wins over two struggling 2008 playoff teams, while the Patriots could very easily be 0-2 right now. Behind quarterback Matt Ryan’s (108.5 QB Rating) great start, Atlanta’s offense is gearing up for big things this season, but the defense is giving up 5.1 YPC and just lost starting DT Peria Jerry for the year. New England has its own defensive problems without middle linebacker Jerod Mayo and Tom Brady still hasn’t looked comfortable on his surgically repaired knee. It would be unwise to doubt Bill Belichick and the Patriots, but the Falcons would go a long way in proving that they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender with a win at Foxboro.
      Odds: Patriots –4.

      49ers (2-0) at Vikings (2-0), Sunday, 1:00PMET
      Who would have thought that the only matchup this week featuring two 2-0 teams would be the 49ers at Vikings? San Francisco’s defense has been solid in the first two games, yielding less than 300 total yards per game and limiting opponents to only 13 PPG. But neither Arizona nor Seattle posed the rushing threat that Adrian Peterson and Minnesota will provide this Sunday. This will be a great test to see where Mike Singletary’s team is and whether or not the Niners are legitimate playoff contenders. Can Shaun Hill beat the Vikings through the air if/when the Williams Wall takes away Frank Gore?
      Odds: Vikings –7.

      Titans (0-2) at Jets (2-0), Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      Panic hasn’t set in yet for Jeff Fisher and the Titans, although a loss this week in East Rutherford would make things unsettling in Tennessee. Jets’ rookie Mark Sanchez has looked more like a five-year pro than a quarterback with only two career starts under his belt, but will this be the week that he finally suffers some growing pains? Tennessee’s defense has a way of making opposing quarterbacks look bad, although that certainly wasn’t the case last week when Houston’s Matt Schaub threw a career high four touchdown passes against the Titans. If Fisher’s squad falls to 0-3, the Titans may never recover. On the flip side, if the Jets start 3-0 they’ll set themselves up for making a run at the AFC East crown.
      Odds: Jets –2.5.

      (2-0) Colts at Cardinals (1-1), Sunday, 8:20PM ET
      If you like watching quick-tempo offenses, then the Sunday night game will be right up your alley. The Colts defeated the Dolphins on Monday might despite only running 35 plays, which means Peyton Manning and the rest of Indy’s offense is already in midseason form. The Cards bounced back from their opening week loss to the 49ers by pounding the Jaguars last Sunday thanks to Kurt Warner’s amazing 24-for-26 passing day. Watching Manning and Warner dissect the opposing defense is going to be one of the more intriguing things to watch in Week 3.
      Odds: Cardinals -2.5.

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      NFL

      Burress sentenced for two-years, begins serving time

      September 22, 2009 /

      Former NFL receiver Plaxico Burress has been sentenced to two years in prison and will begin serving his time immediately.

      From USA Today:

      Burress was accompanied by this wife, son and father to the hearing this morning. He pled guilty to a weapons charge last month stemming from an incident in which he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Manhattan nightclub in Novembver.

      ESPN reported Burress’ attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said it was “a tragic day for a decent man.”

      I think the tragedy was avoided in this situation because Burress only shot himself and nobody else. Hopefully other athletes will think about this incident and how Burress will lose two years of his life because he was careless about a weapon and be more careful themselves.

      Burress says he intends to play football once he’s released from prison, although he’ll be 34 and probably won’t have many options. His best football days are definitely behind him.

      NFL

      Meyer, Kiffin exchange verbal barbs

      September 22, 2009 /

      Apparently nobody told Florida’s Urban Meyer and Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin that the game is over.

      Via ESPN.com:

      In looking back at the game, Meyer said Sunday he probably should have opened up the defending national champs’ offense. But he said there was no reason to because of the Vols’ conservative approach to their own offense.

      “When I saw them start handing the ball off, I didn’t feel like they were going after the win,” Meyer said.

      “The way we lose a game there is throw an interception. Why put yourself in that position? Let’s find a way to win the game. We’re not trying to impress the pollsters.

      We’re trying to win the game. A lot of it had to do with the way they were playing. It made our life a little easier.”

      Kiffin said he put his Volunteers in the best position they could be in to beat Florida. Then he took one more shot at Meyer, who said several of his players had been hit by the flu.

      Asked whether he was worried about the flu also hitting Tennessee, Kiffin said: “I don’t know. I guess we’ll wait and after we’re not excited about a performance, we’ll tell you everybody was sick.”

      “They wanted to shorten the game. I remember looking out there and there’s 10 minutes left in the game and there’s no no-huddle, they are down, I think it was 23-6 and [there’s no] urgency,” he said.

      I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I actually side with Kiffin here. This sounds like Meyer is trying to make excuses and deflect attention away from the fact that his team didn’t give Tennessee the beating of a lifetime when everyone expected them to. Watching Florida defeat Tennessee by 10 points was like waiting all week in school to watch a huge fight at the flagpole and instead both kids exchanging blows, they came out slapping each other.

      The Gators may have won, but they weren’t impressive. And as I wrote after the game, maybe that’s the medias fault for hyping up a Tennessee massacre but the bottom line is that thanks to Monte Kiffin’s defense (and Tim Tebow’s second half fumble), the Vols were able to keep things relatively close.

      As far as Tennessee not showing any urgency, Kiffin is right – he put the game in the hands of his tailbacks, which were the only offensive production the Vols had. Kiffin knew that defense and his running game were the only things that were going to get him a win, so he stuck to that plan.

      Meyer should move on. Florida got the win and that’s the most important thing. Maybe the massacre at the flagpole will come next year.

      College Football

      Dolphins completely blow final series in loss to Colts

      September 21, 2009 /

      I’ll get to the greatness of Peyton Manning in a second, but first I’d like to know what the hell the Dolphins were thinking on the final series of their 27-23 loss to the Colts on Monday night.

      For three and a half quarters, Miami’s game plan was executed to perfection. They ran the ball well, grinded out the clock and kept Manning and the Colts’ potent offense on the sidelines.

      But once Manning led Indy on one of his vintage drives late in the fourth quarter to put the Colts up 27-23, Tony Sparano and his coaching staff didn’t make any adjustments. The Dolphins played their final offensive series like it was their first drive of the game. They ran the ball, they wasted time by not getting to the line of scrimmage quickly and on least two occasions, they called play action passes.

      Now why, in the name of all that is holy, would you run play action in an obvious passing situation? Did offensive coordinator Dan Henning think that he would get the Colts’ safeties to bite on the run with 36 seconds left and Miami needing a touchdown to win? It’s wasted time for Pennington to mimic a handoff to his running back when he could have used it to find open receivers. He should have been in the shotgun or at the very least in a five or seven step drop so he could survey the entire field. Play action doesn’t do Pennington any favors in that situation.

      And I’m sorry, but if Ted Ginn Jr. wants to be a No. 1 receiver in this league, then he’s got to come down with that pass in the end zone on 3rd and 10. It wasn’t an easy catch by any means, but he out jumped the defender and Pennington put the ball in only a place where Ginn could get it. I know he had a good night (11 catches, 108 yards), but Ginn has to come down with that ball and give his team a chance to win.

      I don’t have the numbers, but I’ve never seen a team win in the NFL by only running 35 total plays like the Colts did tonight. For the Dolphins to execute their game plan for 58 minutes and lose in such a way at the end should piss Sparano off. And if it doesn’t, then maybe Bill Parcells made the wrong choice for head coach a year ago.

      As for Manning – he’s a freaking machine. The way he read what Miami was trying to do on that 48-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon was pure Peyton. I love watching Tom Brady play in a tight ball game, but I don’t think any quarterback is smarter than who the Colts employ under center every week.

      NFL

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