Author: Staff (Page 63 of 144)

      Joe Montana explains the quarterback position

      January 18, 2014 /

      Here’s a quote from Joe Montana:

      “The game is changing. Nobody wants to throw with pressure anymore. But the guys who can win in this league are the ones who can make throws from the pocket.”

      You can read the article for more context, as Montana is discussing how he likes the game of Colin Kaepernick but sees room for improvement. Kapernick is part of the new wave of mobile quarterbacks, but give him and head coach Jim Harbaugh credit as they have tried to limit how often Kaepernick takes off and runs. He’s starting to look more like a young John Elway as opposed to a “running quarterback” like year one RG3.

      But as Montana points out, the most important part of a quarterback’s game involves throwing in the pocket, and particularly the ability to make the right throw accurately under pressure. This is where many young quarterbacks struggle, but it can be even more difficult to develop this skill for mobile quarterbacks who take off running when the pressure gets too hot, as opposed to shifting in the pocket and making the big throw. Relying on scrambling will cause a quarterback to leave some big throws on the field, limiting some big plays.

      We’ll see if Kaepernick or Russell Wilson can actually win a Super Bowl. One of them will be matched up against a classic pocket passer in either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. And yes, the game is changing and we’re seeing more mobile quarterbacks. But Montana is pointing out a critical element for ultimate success in the NFL, and this gives us some perspective as we enjoy the rest of the NFL playoff season.

      NFL

      NFL gets smacked by digital realities

      January 18, 2014 /

      Dawg Pound

      Memo to the NFL – if you want to address the issue of fans staying home on game day, lower your ticket prices! While you’re at it, stop charging $9 for a glass of beer!

      We’ve gone through an era of escalating ticket prices across all of the major sports, and given the fallout of the 2008 economic crisis, expensive sports tickets have had to compete with other family dollars, and in many cases they are losing out. Throw in obsene prices for beer, soda and food and you end up with a pretty expensive proposition for families in particular.

      But when you listen to NFL executives, you hear about making the stadium experience better, particularly with easy Wi-Fi access and all sorts of cool apps relating to the game. That all sounds great, but let’s not pretend it’s going to move the needle on decisions to attend a cold game for a bad team versus watching it on a big screeen television. This recent article throws cold water on the notion that fans care much about team apps or sports apps while they’re at the game. Developing a cool team app is not a silver bullet here.

      I think plenty of fans will be happy to be able to upload Facebook photos and check fantasy football scores during an NFL game. But I suspect making the game day experience less expensive will go much further to bring the fans back.

      NFL

      Sportsbooks set early odds for NFL Final Four

      January 13, 2014 /

      After a typical NFL season with all sorts of surprises and countless ups and downs, we end up with four teams left standing who many would list as the four best teams in the NFL. New England pounded Indianapolis with the running game as LeGarrette Blount ran wild for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns, giving the rest of the NFL the blessing of not having to listen to Jim Irsay any more this season. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning and the Broncos took care of business against upstart San Diego last night to set up another Peyton Manning/Tom Brady matchup for a trip to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, on the NFC side, San Francisco took care of Cam Newton and the Panthers while Seattle won a slugfest against Drew Brees and the Saints.

      Anyone looking forward to next week already can check out the early NFL odds at online sportsbooks as Denver is a 5-point favorite at home versus New England and Seattle is a 3.5-point favorite at home versus San Francisco. Not only do we have 4 excellent teams, but we have some serious rivalries as well which makes these games even more interesting and also complicated to pick. We have the Manning/Brady matchup, though now Manning is wearing Denver orange. Can Tom Brady and the Pats take another championship run away from Manning in a season where Manning shattered the record books? Does New England’s new-found running game alter the analysis here?

      Also, with Seattle and San Francisco we have one of the more physical and bitter rivalries in the NFL, with a deeper rivalry between coaches Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll as well that’s been going on since their Stanford/USC days. Seattle has owned the 49ers in Seattle and has frankly overpowered them. But San Francisco has improved dramatically from early in the season with Colin Kaepernick playing much better. Also, Russell Wilson hasn’t been playing quite as well, and look for the 49ers to stack the box and dare Wilson to throw deep. We’ll see which young quaterback emerges this week.

      Regardless of the results next week, we should have an epic Super Bowl on our hands with contrasting styles, as the AFC has two traditional teams with classic drop-back passers while the NFC teams feature younger, more mobile quarterbacks. This should be fun!

      NFL, Odds

      Ana Ivanovic defeats Venus Williams

      January 4, 2014 /

      Tennis Hottie Ana Ivanovic defeated Venus Williams her first WTA Tour title in more than two years. This battle of former #1 players ended with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory for Ivanovic in the Auckland Classic giving her some momentum heading into the Australian Open.

      For you viewing pleasure we’ve posted this lovely photo of Ana from her Twitter account.

      Hotties, Tennis, Women

      UCF stuns Baylor

      January 2, 2014 /

      This should not have been a shock. Baylor has had an incredible season, but the hype surrounding this team’s offense and Art Briles has become ridiculous. There were even people suggesting Briles should be considered as an NFL coach, which is just absurd. Presumably even Texas is taking a hard look, which is more appropriate, but Texas doesn’t need a gimmick offense to be a power. I susect they’re much better off with a different coach.

      Plenty of people watched the game last night more interested in watching UFC’s Blake Bortles as an NFL quarterback prospect for the NFL draft. His performance was up and down, but he seems to have all the tools that will make NFL scouts drool.

      But back to the game, Baylor certainly had its moments on offense as they have very dynamic players, but good defense can really disrupt this offense, whcih makes all of their gaudy stats meaningless. I would have loved to see Baylor play a team like Michigan State as I think they would be overpowered based on this performance.

      UFC was a huge underdog but they outplayed Baylor for most of the evening. It was a fun game if you don’t care about defense. Both teams have no idea how to tackle, particulary in the secondary. But at least UCF managed a pass rush, and that really affected Baylor.

      In the end, both programs are on the rise, so we’ll be seeing plenty more of them in the years to come.

      College Football

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