Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 988 of 1503)

      Breaking down the potential upsets of the Divisional Round

      January 10, 2009 /

      There are eight teams playing in four playoff games this weekend. Of the eight, two of the teams (the Ravens and Eagles) have legitimate shots of pulling off upsets, one has a decent shot (Chargers) and one might be lucky to still be in the game by the fourth quarter (Cardinals).

      Granted, these are playoff games we’re talking about, so every team has a chance to pull off an upset. But does anyone outside of Arizona truly believe that the Cardinals will fly east and beat the Panthers with Carolina coming off a bye week? The Cards were impressive in their win over the Falcons, but they’ve always played better on the road than at home so there’s a big possibility that ‘Zona won’t make it to the next round.

      The Chargers could very well go into Pittsburgh and knock off a Steelers team that has offensive line issues and a quarterback that doesn’t mind turning the ball over from time to time. But Pittsburgh’s defense is freaking nasty and I can’t see Darren Sproles rushing for over 100 yards like he did last week. Again though, a few key bounces go the Chargers way and SD could pull off the upset.

      But the two games people are mostly taking about are the Ravens-Titans and the Eagles-Giants matchups. Those are easily the best two matchups of the weekend and games that could go either way.

      Let’s gauge these two potential upsets:

      Ravens at Titans: Baltimore’s defense has stifled opponents all year, but Tennessee’s has played just as well. Look for the Titans to gang up to stop the Ravens’ outstanding rushing game and force rookie quarterback Joe Flacco to beat them via the pass. For as good as Baltimore’s defense is and for as well as Flacco has played this season, he’s still inexperienced, as is head coach John Harbaugh. A lot of folks are getting wrapped up in how good the Ravens defense is, but inexperience is eventually going to catch up with Flacco and Harbaugh. I think it will be this week against a veteran Titans squad with an equally good defense.
      Upset rating: 7 out of 10.

      Eagles at Giants: Philadelphia has been one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL this season and they didn’t necessarily rough up the Vikings as many predicted last Sunday. But the G-Men haven’t looked sharp in over a month and if the Eagles can stop Brandon Jacobs and the running game, Eli Manning might succumb to the pressure without having a big time playmaker at receiver. Philly has also already beaten the Giants in New York this year and their defense matches up very well with what the G-Men bring to the table. Brian Westbrook isn’t 100% and it’s tough to win in New York, but I actually think the Eagles have a better shot with Donovan McNabb and company of producing an upset than the Ravens do in Tennessee.
      Upset rating: 8 out of 10.

      What’s your upset of the weekend?

      NFL

      Strahan wanted to return to Giants

      January 9, 2009 /

      Michael Strahan told Newsday.com’s Bob Glauber that if the Giants had called three weeks ago requesting for his services, he would have gladly returned to his former team for the playoffs.

      Michael Strahan“I was like, ‘Man, if they called me, I’d go back there now,’ ” Strahan told me yesterday at Giants Stadium, where he recorded an interview with Giants running backs Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw for Sunday’s Fox pregame show. “When they played Carolina? Definitely. You ‘jones’ for this thing, especially in the playoffs.”

      The Giants never did call Strahan, nor will they; the last time they reached out to him was during the summer, when Osi Umenyiora suffered a season-ending knee injury. But after a 15-year career that someday will put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Strahan told them he wanted to remain retired.

      So Strahan wasn’t ready to help the Giants in preseason when Umenyiora went down, but now that all of the training camp practices and grueling regular season are behind him, he was ready to jump at the chance to join them for the playoffs? Does that rub anyone else the wrong way or is it just me?

      I know Strahan means a lot to the Giants organization and was with the franchise through thick and thin, but I don’t blame the team for not picking up the phone and reaching out to him so he could have another shot at a ring without having to play an entire season.

      NFL

      Florida finishes No. 1 in polls, Utah No. 2

      January 9, 2009 /

      The final votes are in and to the shock and dismay of approximately zero people, the Florida Gators are college football’s No. 1 team. The undefeated Utah Utes are No. 2.

      Urban MeyerThe Gators received 48 first-place votes and 1,606 points in the poll released early Friday, after they beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS national title game.

      Utah, the only team in major college football to go undefeated this season, got 16 first-place votes and 1,519 points.

      “I thought we had an outside chance,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a telephone interview with the AP. “There was enough national sentiment, I thought we might get the No. 1 slot. It wasn’t to be.”

      Florida won its third AP national championship and second in the last three seasons. Steve Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led the Gators to the 1996 title.

      No. 3 USC received one first-place vote. Texas was No. 4, and will have to settle with finishing ahead of fifth-ranked Oklahoma.

      The Utes from the Mountain West Conference swept through their regular season, while Florida and Alabama from the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 and Southern California from the Pac-10, jockeyed for position in the national title chase.

      The Mountain West does not have an automatic bid to the BCS — it’s not considered a strong enough league to deserve one — but the Utes earned their way in.

      Utah was seventh in the final regular-season poll, but that perfect record looked much more impressive after the Utes beat Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl last week.

      The Pac-10 should do the right thing and bring Utah and BYU (or TCU?) into its conference. Then they could have a conference championship game and Utah and BYU (or TCU?) could show how good they really are.

      Imagine if the NFL had the same system college football has. We wouldn’t have had the opportunity to witness one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time when the Giants beat the Patriots last year, because the Giants would have been ranked No. 6 in the polls.

      College Football, NFL

      Bill Romanowski makes pitch to become next Broncos head coach

      January 9, 2009 /

      Former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski is openly campaigning to become the next head coach of the Denver Broncos.

      He said he sent Broncos owner Pat Bowlen a lengthy PowerPoint presentation touting his credentials and outlining the fresh ideas he would bring to the job that Mike Shanahan held for 14 seasons before his stunning dismissal last week.

      “I can’t stop thinking about this,” said Romanowski, who played for San Francisco, Philadelphia, Denver and Oakland during a standout 16-year career in the NFL that was marred by a bad temper and his admitted use of THG, the designer steroid at the center of the BALCO scandal.

      “This may be a complete fantasy and that’s all right … At the end of the day, nothing may happen from it.”

      Romanowski has no official NFL coaching experience, just a knowledge from the players’ perspective.
      “For Pat to do something like this, it would take him being a visionary, thinking outside the box,” said Romanowski, whose coaching experience includes helping with his son’s football team. “Him hiring me, it’s a long shot. I understand that. I know that.”

      This makes zero sense. Never mind the fact that the guy openly talked about getting away with taking banned substances (he damn near bragged about it at the end of his career), but he also has zero experience as a coach – none, not even as a linebacker coach at some Podunk college.

      If he’s serious about coaching, then maybe the Broncos should give him a small role at first and go from there.

      NFL

      Oklahoma’s gaffs just more blown decisions by “Big Game Bob”

      January 9, 2009 /

      Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star took aim at Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops after several of his decisions in the national championship game cost the Sooners a chance to beat Florida:

      Bob StoopsBig Game Bob Stoops lost his fifth straight BCS game and third straight national-title game. He eschewed a chip-shot field goal and directed his Sooners to convert a fourth-and-goal situation. The Gators blew up the fourth-down run. In the final seconds of the first half, the Sooners stayed superaggressive with their passing game and tossed a critical interception with Oklahoma at the Florida 6.

      Big Game Bob left a lot of points on the football field Thursday night. He’ll be second-guessed in Oklahoma at least until he wins a second national title.

      I don’t think any coach should be criticized for being aggressive. If you’re Oklahoma and you’re scoring 60-plus points a game, you stay aggressive. But what’s the harm in calling a time out and talking about what you’re going to do? The momentum from play to play had just shifted to Florida after the stop on the third down, so when Stoops and his coaching staff decided to essentially run the same play on fourth, he sent Chris Brown right into the meat grinder.

      Oklahoma wasn’t going to fool anybody by lining up quick and running the same play. Stoops should have called a time out and first decided whether or not he wanted three or six points. If he wanted the six, he should have come up with a better call than the exact same play he ran the down before. It was a major gaff in a major situation. Did it cost the Sooners the win? Yeah, maybe.

      College Football

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