Category: External Sports (Page 339 of 821)

Seahawks prove that there’s a need for the NFL to re-seed

January 5, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Throughout the NFL season, I’ve participated in the Washington Post’s NFL panel, “The League.” This week, I was asked for my take on the Seahawks and whether or not they’re the worst team in NFL history to make the playoffs.

Are the 2010-11 version of the Seattle Seahawks the worst playoff team in NFL history? Yes, considering they’re the only team to make the playoffs with a losing record. But that’s not the NFL’s biggest problem when it comes to its current playoff structure.

The Seahawks won’t be the only host team with a worse record than their opponent this weekend. Look at the schedule: The 10-6 Colts are hosting the 11-5 Jets, the 10-6 Chiefs are hosting the 12-4 Ravens and yes, the 7-9 Seahawks are hosting the 11-5 Saints.

I have no problem with the four division winners making the playoffs. “>Do I think it’s elephant dung that the 10-win Giants and Bucs didn’t make the playoffs and the 7-9 Seahawks did? Absolutely. This is the first time since 1991 that a pair of 10-6 teams will miss the playoffs, all while a 7-9 team gets in. That’s not fair but sorry, that’s just the luck of the draw.

But for the love of football man, can we get Roger Goodell to re-seed the playoffs after the regular season?

Seattle has proved that just because a team wins its lousy division doesn’t mean it earned the right to host a playoff game. The NFL wants to reward the four teams that win their division, which is fine – I’m on board with that. But it’s ridiculous that a team like the Ravens (a legit Super Bowl contender) will be on the road this weekend when the Seahawks play at home.

Read the full article.

External Sports, NFL

2011 NFL Playoffs Anthony Stalter NFL Playoff Preview Seattle Seahawks

Fantasy Points Per Touch: RBs

January 5, 2011 / John Paulsen

After each fantasy football season, I like to do something of a post-mortem by looking at certain stats that might give me a clearer picture of what in the hell just happened. One such stat is fantasy points per touch, which takes the total (non-PPR) fantasy points divided by the sum of the player’s carries and catches.

Here’s a look at the top 20 RBs (with at least 150 total touches) ranked by fantasy points per touch.

When trying to predict a player’s outlook, I always go back to the old fantasy addage, “Talent + Opportunity = Success.” This stat gives us an idea of a player’s talent by answering the question — how productive was this player with the touches he received? If a back is listed here, it indicates that he may very well have the talent to be a top 20 fantasy RB in the NFL if he were to receive the appropriate amount of touches.

A few takeaways:

– Brandon Jacobs can run the ball. His numbers here are a little skewed due to the nine TDs he scored in 147 carries, but he averaged 5.6 yards per carry and should be the feature back somewhere even if Ahmad Bradshaw is the better all around back. 2010 marks the third season in the last four that Jacobs averaged 5.0-plus yards per carry, so his poor 2009 numbers (3.6 ypc) look to be more of an aberration than a trend.

– Jamaal Charles is really, really good. If not for the presence of Thomas Jones, he would be a top 2 or 3 RB heading into the 2011 season. As it stands, I suspect he’ll be a mid-first round pick.

– Ryan Mathews has what it takes to be a very good RB2, but he needs to stay healthy and he needs RB2 touches. His teammate, Mike Tolbert, vultured his touchdowns and will do so again if he’s still a Charger next season.

– BenJarvus Green-Ellis figures to be a sleeper heading into the 2011 season. He’s a touchdown machine and a good runner (4.4 ypc), but Belichick’s fickleness at the RB position will likely depress the Law Firm’s value a bit. He should be a very solid RB2 next season.

– Peyton Hillis outperformed Chris Johnson, Frank Gore and Michael Turner on a per touch basis. Hillis should be the Browns’ feature back heading into 2011, and should continue to be productive even if Cleveland moves to a West Coast offense since he has the pass-catching skills to be effective out of the backfield.

– Michael Bush could be a star with a new team. He’s a free agent this summer, so if the Raiders don’t resign him (though they should), he could turn into a fantasy RB2 if he lands with the right team.

– Maybe Tim Hightower should be the Cardinals’ feature back. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry and has good hands out of the backfield. People complain about his breakaway speed, but he had an 80-yard run this season. In 292 career carries, Beanie Wells has a career long run of 33 yards.

External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

BenJarvus Green-Ellis Fantasy Football Jamaal Charles Michael Bush Peyton Hillis Ryan Mathews Tim Hightower

Arkansas has Sugar Bowl win in its hands…then drops it.

January 5, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Here are five quick-hit observations on Ohio State’s wild 31-26 win over Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl.

1. From the opening play of the game, Arkansas blew its opportunities.
Little did Arkansas know that the first play from scrimmage would be an omen for the rest of the game. Ryan Mallett threw a perfectly timed spiral to streaking receiver Joe Adams, who beat the coverage and would have had a touchdown had he hung onto the ball. It was the first of six dropped passes for the Hogs on the night, most of which came in crucial situations. And the drops weren’t the only opportunities Arkansas missed on the night. From Dane Sanzenbacher’s fluke fumble-recovery-turned-touchdown in the first quarter to the missed scoring opportunity after Boom Herron’s fumble late in the fourth quarter to Colton Miles-Nash’s inability to pick the ball up cleanly on teammate Ben Buchanan’s blocked punt to Solomon Thomas’ interception of Mallett in the final minute, the Razorbacks blew it time and time again. Wisconsin was heavily criticized for missing opportunities to beat TCU in the Rose Bowl last Saturday, but that was nothing compared to what Arkansas did Tuesday night. Their fans will need a lobotomy after watching that game.

2. Cameron Heyward will make one NFL team very happy some day.
Heyward is an absolute monster and he and the rest of his defensive linemates deserve major praise for harassing Mallett all night. He manhandled Arkansas offensive tackle DeMarcus Love and he didn’t allow Mallett to set his feet for many of his throws. When Mallett had to step up in the pocket to pass, he was widely inaccurate, often throwing the ball at his receivers’ feet. His wideouts didn’t do him many favors, but the Buckeyes’ defense really brought the heat on third down and made life uncomfortable for the Razorback signal caller. If it weren’t for Heyward and crew, Arkansas may have scored 40 points.

3. The SEC curse is over for Ohio State.
Try as they did to lose the game, the Buckeyes finally got the SEC monkey off their backs. The win snapped a nine-game bowl losing streak against SEC teams. OSU also saved some face for the Big Ten, which went 0-4 on New Year’s Day. Terrelle Pryor threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, while also rushing for 115 yards on 15 carries. On a night when Herron only gained 3.6 yards per carry and couldn’t get anything going on the early downs, Pryor stepped up several times when the Buckeyes’ offense faced third-and-long. He also picked up a huge first down on a quarterback sneak late in the game to shed time off the clock and keep the ball in OSU’s possession while they tried to preserve the lead. For the second year in a row, Pryor was special in a BCS bowl.

College Football, External Sports

Anthony Stalter Boom Herron Cameron Heyward Colton Miles-Nash Ryan Mallett Sugar Bowl Terrelle Pryor

Raiders won’t bring back head coach Tom Cable

January 4, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

In a shocking development, Al Davis has decided that he wants to hire a new head coach.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via his Twitter page, the Raiders have informed Tom Cable that they will not pick up his $2.5 million option for next season. Davis is extremely high on offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who was being pursued by the 49ers. The Crypt Keeper still had another two weeks to decide whether or not to bring Cable back, but obviously the Niners’ interest in Jackson spooked the Oakland owner.

Nothing against Jackson, but Cable should have been retained. The Raiders finished 6-0 against the rest o the AFC West this year and outside of Steve Spagnuolo in St. Louis, no head coach did more with less. Beating the Broncos twice isn’t impressive but going 4-0 against the Chargers and Chiefs (who will host a playoff game this Sunday) certainly is. Cable deserved another year in Oakland but because Davis is infatuated with offense (and is also bat-sh*t crazy), he won’t get that opportunity.

Jackson oversaw an offense that improved from 4,258 yards in 2009 to 5,674 in 2010 and deserves a head-coaching opportunity. But not at the expense of Cable in my opinion. The man transformed the Raiders from one of the laughingstocks in the NFL after the Lane Kiffin debacle, to an actual contender. Hopefully he lands on his feet elsewhere.

Update: According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raiders have promoted OC Hue Jackson to head coach.

External Sports, NFL

Al Davis Hue Jackson Hue Jackson head coach Oakland Raiders Tom Cable Tom Cable fired Tom Cable rumors