Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 716 of 1503)

      ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings: Week 2

      September 15, 2009 /

      Here are ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings for Week 2:

      1 Steelers
      They need to get their running game going, but Big Ben seems better than ever. (Chadiha)

      2 Patriots
      Tom Brady is magic in the final minutes, but the Pats’ defense appears shaky. (Clayton)

      3 Giants
      The Giants might not have a No. 1 receiver, but they seem like a No. 1 team. (Clayton)

      4 Eagles
      By going for a meaningless fifth TD against the Panthers, Donovan McNabb fractured his ribs and the Eagles’ season. (Clayton)

      5 Colts
      Jim Caldwell showed some killer instinct at the end, but his running game didn’t prove to be worth the faith. (Kuharsky)

      6 Chargers
      They escaped with a win in Oakland, but the injury to center Nick Hardwick could be a big issue. (Kuharsky)

      7 Falcons
      They beat the Dolphins comfortably without getting much production from Michael Turner or the ground game in general. Matt Ryan already seems to have a rapport with Tony Gonzalez. (Sando)

      8 Vikings
      Adrian Peterson already seems like this season’s MVP. (Chadiha)

      9 Titans
      Mistakes in Pittsburgh kept the Titans from a potential upset, but Jeff Fisher won’t let them dwell on the opener. (Kuharsky)

      10 Ravens
      Even though it was against the Chiefs’ defense, the Ravens’ offense appears far more diversified and explosive this season. (Chadiha)

      My problem with power rankings that are compiled early in the season is that they put too much emphasis on preseason predictions and not enough on performance.

      For example, did the Patriots play like the second best team in the league against the Bills on Monday night? Absolutely not, but because they’re the Patriots they find themselves ranked high in everyone’s rankings. The fact is that the Bills were a Leodis McKelvin touchback away from beating the Pats in Foxboro. That doesn’t sound like a team that should be ranked No. 2.

      How about the Chargers? They played uninspired in Oakland and still find themselves in the top 10. For the record, I think San Diego is a Super Bowl contender this year. But there was something very unsatisfying about the Bolts’ (and the Patriots’ for that matter) win last night.

      I understand this isn’t how power rankings work, but if we were to rank each team based off of last week’s games, then the Eagles would be No. 1 in my book. No team (outside of the Saints, who played the lowly Lions) dominated their opponent like the Eagles did to the Panthers.

      NFL

      Bettis rips Panthers’ Delhomme, Fox

      September 15, 2009 /

      Former Steelers running back and current SI.com writer Jerome Bettis says that somebody needs to be fired in Carolina after quarterback Jake Delhomme followed his atrocious outing in last year’s playoffs with an equally brutal performance Sunday in a loss to the Eagles.

      Fox saw that playoff game last year firsthand. He had an entire offseason to evaluate his passers. And he didn’t take the necessary steps to ensure the franchise’s success down the line. Whether it was a free agent — Matt Cassell, Sage Rosenfels, Michael Vick — or even a rookie in the draft, he didn’t demand a quarterback to challenge Delhomme.

      Instead, the Panthers gave Delhomme a five-year contract extension, and now they don’t have anyone else who can compete for the position. Fox went through the whole darn depth chart yesterday and didn’t see a positive thing from anyone.

      To me, that all goes on the coach. Coaches live and die by their quarterbacks, and Fox is riding Jake Delhomme to his grave. If he wants to save his job, he ought to be looking for options, whether it be a veteran who got released in the preseason or someone in a trade. Maybe it’s time to call Minnesota about one of its backups.

      While I don’t know what “To me, that all goes on the coach” means, I agree with Bettis. Regular readers know that I have ripped the Panthers in the past for not planning for their future at the quarterback position and now they’re stuck with Delhomme, the underwhelming Matt Moore or the recently signed A.J. Feeley.

      I always hear about how good of a coach Fox is and how he gets the most out of his players. That may be, but he seriously screwed the pooch in evaluating Delhomme this summer, because it’s apparent that the QB has lost a ton of arm strength. Not only that, but his decision-making and awareness have been terrible and he’s prone to throwing into tight coverage.

      Delhomme isn’t the quarterback he once was and as soon as Feeley learns Jeff Davidson’s offense, Fox will probably make a switch. Either that, or Fox will probably go down in flames with Delhomme, just as Bettis suggests.

      NFL

      Cubs to shop Zambrano in offseason?

      September 15, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs plan to shop starter Carlos Zambrano this winter.

      Despite the fact that Zambrano has a full no-trade clause, the Cubs plan on shopping him this off-season, sources said, believing he’ll waive the clause to go to the right team, as Jake Peavy eventually did when the Padres consummated a deal this summer with the White Sox.

      Zambrano said recently he’s weary of the media scrutiny after being criticized for playing softball on a scheduled day off during his rehab stint.

      “Maybe if I go to a different city next year, if I get traded, I can do what I want,” Zambrano told the Tribune.

      Zambrano later said he was kidding and has veto power over any trade.

      Zambrano is only 28, but he’s already stated that he wants to retire after the 2013 season when his contract is up. So it makes sense that the Cubs are thinking about moving him while his value is still somewhat high.

      That said, good luck trying to move him, Jim Hendry. Big Z still has over $50 million remaining on his contract and there probably won’t be many clubs that will want to take on his salary plus give up multiple prospects.

      MLB

      Tomlinson hurts ankle in Chargers’ win over Raiders

      September 15, 2009 /

      Running back LaDainian Tomlinson rolled his ankle in the first quarter of the Chargers’ 24-20 win over the Raiders on Monday night. He returned to the sidelines, but watched as teammate Darren Sproles scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 18 seconds remaining.

      Many thought before the year started that LT would be a candidate to rebound this season, although “rebound” is a relative word seeing as how he still rushed for 1,110 yards and 11 touchdowns in ‘08.

      But regardless of his ankle injury, it now it appears that he and Sproles are going to get equal amount of time in the offense. It’s apparent that age has caught up with LT and that Sproles is more of a weapon in the passing game. I assume that San Diego will still split the amount of touches that both backs receive, which means that LT’s 300-carry seasons are over.

      As for the game, the Raiders played inspired football and actually looked better than the Bolts for much of the contest. If Richard Seymour is upset about being traded to Oakland, he didn’t show it last night because he lived in San Diego’s backfield.

      JaMarcus Russell still has major issues with his accuracy. It’s not that he’s susceptible to throwing a ton of interceptions (although he did throw two last night), it’s just that he misfires badly and usually winds up throwing passes 10 feet over his receivers’ heads. Still, he showed flashes of promise and should have had two touchdown passes to his credit last night instead of just one, but receiver Louis Murphy dropped a pass in the end zone towards halftime. (Although it wasn’t a clean drop; officials called it a touchdown and then overturned the ruling when they saw Murphy didn’t hang onto the ball all the way down to the ground.)

      NFL

      Patriots fortunate to be 1-0 as Bills choke

      September 14, 2009 /

      For 58 minutes of Monday night’s game between the Bills and Patriots, it appeared that New England was headed for a 0-1 start to the 2009 season. The Pats were dominating the Bills in every category except where it mattered most: The scoreboard.

      But with just over two minutes remaining in the game, New England cut Buffalo’s lead to 24-19 after Tom Brady threw a bullet to tight end Ben Watson for an 18-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Buffalo cornerback Leodis McKelvin (who played well defensively all night) foolishly decided to return the ball out of his end zone instead of taking a knee. He wound up fumbling and the Patriots recovered. Three plays later Brady again found Watson, this time on a 16-yard touchdown to give New England a 25-24 lead. (They would eventually win by that score.)

      New England racked up 441 total yards of offense, including 368 passing yards. But this wasn’t your typical Patriot win in which they took control from the start and stepped on their opponent’s throat. Several times throughout the game, Brady looked uncomfortable on his newly repaired knee and New England’s defense looked befuddled by Buffalo’s no-huddle offense. If it weren’t for McKelvin’s fumble, the Patriots probably wouldn’t have walked out of Foxboro tonight with a win.

      This loss doesn’t fall solely on McKelvin’s shoulders though. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell made several mistakes tonight, none bigger than switching to the prevent defense with under five minutes remaining. Instead of staying aggressive like he had been all night, Fewell went to a shell coverage and Brady picked the Bills apart.

      And where was T.O. tonight? While Randy Moss was busy racking up 141 yards on 12 receptions, Owens totaled just 46 yards on two catches. He did make another grab, although he had to throw the defender down in order to make the catch and was called for pass interference. Granted, New England did a great job blanketing him all game, but he was non-existent. One would think that for as much as quarterback Trent Edwards scrambled out of the pocket that T.O. could have shaken loose from the defenders once or twice to make more catches.

      The Bills let one get away tonight.

      NFL

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