Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 788 of 1503)

Brandon Jacobs slams Tony Romo

Brandon Jacobs…not a fan of Tony Romo.

Brandon Jacobs, the Giants’ bruising running back, ranks among the NFL’s best trash talkers. The Cowboys, particularly Patrick Crayton, are his favorite target.

And Jacobs took aim at Tony Romo today on ESPN 1050 in New York, per Pro Football Talk.
“I don’t think he’s that good a passer, to be honest with you,” Jacobs said.

We could put together a pretty impressive statistical argument in Romo’s favor. But why ruin the fun?

“I’m not a fan of Tony Romo, no. Keep him in the pocket, he’s not that good. . . . His luck will be gone sooner or later. If you were to keep Tony Romo in the pocket he’s not that effective.”
We’ll be sure to revisit this subject in September, when the Giants come to town for the first regular-season game at JerryWorld.

Damn I miss football…

If the Phillies sign Pedro, does it take them out of the Halladay sweepstakes?

There’s an interesting situation developing in Philadelphia, where the Phillies are in serious talks with free agent Pedro Martinez, but have also been linked to Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay.

According to a report by SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Phillies and Martinez may have already agreed to a $4 million contract, which would be a hefty price for a club that has also been linked to Halladay. If they take on a $4 million contract with Pedro, would the Phils still be willing to pursue Halladay, who’s owed $14.25 million this year and $15.75 million next year?

My guess would be no, unless Philadelphia has another trade scenario in their back pocket involving another pitcher. A likely candidate would be J.A. Happ, a 26-year old who has pitched incredibly well this season, posting a 5-0 record with a 3.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.

Maybe the Jays would be interested in a package that involved Happ and a couple of minor league prospects. If so, a rotation that included Halladay, Martinez and Cole Hamels would be awfully tough to beat in the second half of the season, although Hamels has struggled a bit this year.

We’ll see if the Phillies go through with the signing of Martinez and then if they drop out of the Halladay-running soon thereafter.

Ellis: ‘Ware took himself out of games so I could play.’

Appearing on Michael Irvin’s radio show, former Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis said that DeMarcus Ware used to hide from coaches in order to help get Ellis onto the field last season.

According to Ellis, one of his prominent former teammates was so frustrated by the veteran’s diminished role that he’d hide from coaches during games to force them to put Ellis on the field.

“It’s a disgrace when DeMarcus Ware comes off the field just so I can get in the game and when the coaches tell him to come on the field, he tries to hide so I can play,” Ellis said during an appearance on ESPN 103.3’s Michael Irvin Show. “And you’re telling me we’re trying to win the Super Bowl?”

Ware, the weak side outside linebacker who threatened the NFL’s season sacks record during his third consecutive Pro Bowl campaign, could not immediately be reached for comment. Ware rarely sat out a defensive snap with the exception of late in the Thanksgiving win over the Seahawks, when he suffered a knee injury.

Irvin, the Hall of Fame former Cowboys receiver, asked for clarification that Ware would take himself out of games to force the coaches to play Ellis.

“On his own,” Ellis said. “He would say, ‘G, come on.’ And I would tell him, ‘No, DeMarcus, go ahead, man. You’re coming up on your contract year. Don’t mess that stuff up. Go ahead and do you, and we’re just going to do what the coaches, or whoever the powers that be, what they want to do.'”

Riiiight. I’m not saying this didn’t happen because it’s a little too bizarre for Ellis to make up, but he’s his comments are rather unclear. Did this happen several times throughout the course of the season? Did it happen once a game? Twice a game? Or did this just happen once throughout the entire 16-game schedule? Because if it was only once, then this isn’t a big deal at all.

Either way, Ellis isn’t helping his buddy score a new contract here. Ware is the midst of trying to get a new contract from the Cowboys and Ellis doesn’t really help him out by saying that Ware used to hide from coaches on the sidelines when they wanted him to go in.

What a weird story.

Report: Pirates pushing hard to deal Freddy Sanchez

One of the more intriguing names on the trade market is Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who is currently batting .316 with six dingers and 33 RBI. And as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting, the Bucs are pushing hard to deal him before the trade deadline.

Two teams that covet the second baseman are the Giants and Rockies, each of whom are battling it out behind the Dodgers in the NL West and are in the thick of things for the NL Wild Card. Sanchez would be a nice catch for either team, although something for both clubs to consider is his salary. The All-Star makes $6.1 million this year and will make $8 million in 2010 if he picks up another 271 plate appearances before the end of the season.

Colorado might hold an edge over San Fran in the Sanchez sweepstakes because Pittsburgh is reportedly gaga over Rockies’ minor leaguer Eric Young. The 24-year-old has 23 extra base hits, 37 walks and a whopping 47 steals so far in the minors and if the Rox are willing to part with him, they could have Sanchez in uniform sooner rather than later.

That said, the Giants always have an abundance of pitching, but whether or not they’re willing to give any of it up remains to be scene. Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson are certainly out of the question, but GM Brian Sabean could still put a decent package together with the likes of Jonathan Sanchez or Kevin Pucetas, coupled with a couple of offensive prospects. (Sabean would probably be willing to throw Fred Lewis into the mix as well, although who knows if the Bucs would even want the struggling 28-year-old outfielder.)

It’ll be interesting to see which team eventually winds up making a move for Sanchez. Either way, it appears that his days in Pittsburgh are numbered.

Judge blocks Williams Wall suspension, but will it hurt Vikings in the end?

The AP is reporting that a district judge has granted Vikings’ defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams a block against their four-game suspensions for using a banned substance. The “Williams Wall” now has a temporary restraining order against the NFL and the judge has also scheduled a July 22 hearing to consider whether or not he’ll put a hold on state court proceedings.

This could be construed as either good or a bad for the Vikings. Sure, Minnesota could have the Williams Wall for Week 1 against the Browns, but what happens if the NFL wins this battle and suspends the pair during a critical point during the season?

If the Williams Wall is truly innocent or victims are victims in some way, then nobody should blame them for fighting their suspensions. But the NFL isn’t going to give up here, especially considering it doesn’t want to take on an image that its players are using banned substances to help them compete on the field (a la Major League Baseball).

Last year, the Williams Wall avoided a four-game suspension during a critical stretch in the season and they helped the Vikings make the playoffs. If they serve their four game suspension over the course of the first four weeks of this season, they’ll miss games against the Browns, 49ers, Lions and Packers. Granted, no win is guaranteed in the NFL, but the Vikings certainly have a much easier schedule at the start of the year than the middle and end.

Again, if the Williams Wall is innocent, then they shouldn’t back down. But if the two think that they’re going to sneak one past the NFL with this judge’s help, then they probably have another thing coming and could wind up missing crucial games during the middle or end of the season. Everybody (i.e. the Williams Wall and the Vikings) seems to be playing with fire here.

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