Category: External Sports (Page 340 of 821)

      Are the Panthers already set on Andrew Luck at No. 1?

      January 4, 2011 /
      Stanford Cardinals quarterback Andrew Luck (12) completes this first half pass against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the 77th Annual Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life stadium in Miami on January 3, 2011. UPI/Michael Bush

      If the 2011 NFL Draft were to start in 20 minutes, the Carolina Panthers would already know whom they’d select with the No. 1 pick.

      According to NFC South beat writer Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com, Carolina has already decided to select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick if the redshirt sophomore enters April’s draft. Luck torched Virginia Tech for 287 yards and four touchdowns in Monday night’s Orange Bowl, but has yet to state his intentions about next season.

      If Yasinskas’ report is accurate, then the Panthers obviously have decided that Jimmy Clausen was a waste of a second round pick in last year’s draft. Some regarded Clausen to be the most NFL-ready quarterback because he ran a pro-style offense for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. But the rookie struggled mightily this year with his decision-making, his accuracy, his pocket presence, his leadership skills, with making the morning coffee for team meetings, with buckling his chinstrap and with parking in between the lines when he arrived to Bank of America Stadium on Sundays.

      Making matters worse for the 2-14 Panthers is that they don’t have a second round pick after trading up for receiver project Armanti Edwards last year. He was a healthy inactive for most of the season and wound up hauling in a whopping zero passes for zero yards and zero touchdowns. The former Appalachian State star has plenty of raw talent and athleticism but given the current state of the Panthers, it’s fair to say that they made a bad decision in reaching for him last April.

      Getting back to Luck, if he decides to return to Stanford then the Panthers can’t draft a quarterback at No. 1. Jake Locker had a brutal senior season, Christian Ponder didn’t even make it to halftime before being benched in Florida State’s bowl game last Friday and Blaine Gabbert of Missouri isn’t No. 1 material. Carolina will still get a great prospect with the top pick but it won’t be a quarterback if Luck stays in school.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Hannah Storm and Adam Schefter high five after Mangini is fired [video]

      January 4, 2011 /

      I have two things to say about this video: 1) I have no idea why they are high-fiving each other and yelling to people off camera just because there was some breaking news, and 2) this has to be one of the most awkward transitions ever. They go from a joyful celebration into a somber “the families are affected” mode. Odd.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL, Video

      Michigan fires head coach Rich Rodriguez

      January 4, 2011 /
      Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez shouts instructions in the 1st half of their NCAA BCS bowl football game against Mississippi State at EverBank field in Jacksonville, Florida January 1, 2011. UPI/Mark Wallheiser.

      Just three days after Michigan suffered its worst bowl loss in school history, the university has decided to fire head coach Rich Rodriguez according to FOX News Detroit.

      Rodriguez finishes his three-year stint at Michigan with a 15-22 record. He lost a school-record nine games in his first year and went 5-7 after starting 4-0 last season. He also managed to turn a 5-0 start into a 7-5 finish in 2010 and apparently Michigan AD David Brandon had seen enough after Mississippi State embarrassed the Wolverines 52-14 in this year’s Gator Bowl. (Michigan was also 1-10 against ranked opponents and was a combined 0-6 against Ohio State and Michigan State under RichRod.)

      This news hardly comes as a surprise. Rodriguez was a freaking embarrassment to a proud program like UM and obviously a total mismatch for the Big Ten. He found a gem in quarterback Denard Robinson but his offenses struggled against top competition year in and year out. When a team racks up 65 points on Bowling Green or 42 on Indiana but only scores 17 against Michigan State and 7 against Ohio State, there’s an obvious problem with consistency. Making matters worse, Michigan’s defense was brutal this year and special teams were an absolute embarrassment. (Brandon should demand that the coaches he interviews bring a place kicker with them for on-the-spot tryouts.)

      That said, if UM doesn’t land Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh (who is currently mulling over his choices after his team destroyed Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl), then whom will they get to replace Rodriguez? Brady Hoke? No offense to the current San Diego State head coach but would he really be the right fit to turn around a program in disarray?

      Regardless of whom Brandon hires, the next head coach has a long journey ahead of him. Not only does he have to recruit heavily on the defensive side of the ball, but he also has to work with offensive players that Rodriguez handpicked to run his offense. Brandon will no doubt go with a “Michigan Man” as his next head coach, which means someone who will implement the run-heavy attack that they employed before Rodriguez was hired. It’s tough to go Power-I when your personnel is built for the spread-option.

      Just because UM has rid itself of Rodriguez doesn’t mean its problems will be instantly fixed.

      Update: Check that: TheWolverine.com reports that RichRod has not been fired. What the devil?

      Update on the Update: Okay, now Michigan has officially fired Rodriguez.

      College Football, External Sports

      Marvin Lewis to remain with the Bengals now?

      January 4, 2011 /
      Cincinnati Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis talks to quarterbacks Carson (L) and Jordan Palmer as they play the Baltimore Ravens’ at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on January 2, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

      In rather surprising news, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Marvin Lewis is now expected to return as the Bengals’ head coach in 2011.

      Schefter knows what I ate from breakfast, so I’m sure this report is on the money. If so, it’s rather shocking considering it looked like Lewis was on the outs as of yesterday.

      I don’t know why Lewis would want to return to the mess that is the Cincinnati Bengals but maybe owner Mike Brown promised to make some changes. The Bengals have one of the smallest scouting staffs in the league and Lewis was reportedly frustrated by the way Brown runs the organization. But maybe he had a change of heart after meeting with Brown on Monday.

      If Lewis is given a new contract, his first order of business should be to figure out what to do with quarterback Carson Palmer. If the Bengals still feel as though Palmer can get them to the playoffs and beyond, they may want to think about parting ways with Chad Ochocinco. Palmer’s best game came against the Chargers in Week 16 and he played well against Baltimore in Week 17. Both of those performances came with Ochocinco and Terrell Owens were both out with injuries.

      At this point, it might be worth it to the Bengals to see what Palmer can do next year without receivers like Ochocinco, T.O. and T.J. Houshmandzadeh buzzing in his ear. One would think that the Bengals’ offense would be worse off without a player like Ochocinco, but Palmer’s last two games tell a different story.

      External Sports, NFL

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