Category: External Sports (Page 413 of 821)

      NFL Week 10 ROY power rankings

      November 21, 2010 /

      This is turning out to be a fine rookie class, isn’t it? There are game-changers on both sides of the ball:

      1. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—On pace for 73 catches, 958 yards, and 9 TDs; but also he’s averaging a ridiculous 14.4 yards on punt returns with 2 scores. Absolutely electrifying.

      2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—A monster in the middle, and something Detroit has not had in a long, long time.

      3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—It’s not like he’s throwing to Roddy White or Hakeem Nicks or Antonio Gates. In fact, I don’t know who this kid is throwing to.

      4. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—47 tackles and 4 picks through 9 games. That’s a full season for many safeties.

      5. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—If the Browns had beaten the Jets, and they almost did, we’d be talking potentially squeaking into the playoffs. And this kid is a huge reason the Browns are playing with confidence.

      6. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—DUI might hurt his chances for the top spot, but still no denying his numbers (40, 627, 5).

      7. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Give it a year or two, and this dude will be fawned over the way Jermichael Finley was this year.

      8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—He’s going to make life miserable for whoever is quarterbacking the Cardinals these days.

      9. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Slowed after a fast start and injury, but finally Megatron has defenses paying attention to someone else.

      10, Dexter McCluster, Kansas City Chiefs—If he hadn’t hurt his ankle, this Ole Miss product might be higher on this list.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 10 COY power rankings

      November 21, 2010 /

      Definitely a balance of power shift here. But that’s why the NFL is so great.

      1. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Look at the standings in the AFC South (Falcons 7-2, Saints and Bucs 6-3). And ask yourself, “Did I see this coming?”

      2. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders—Tied for first in the AFC West with the Chiefs. Really?

      3. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—A bad showing in Denver, but still exceeding expectations in a big way.

      4. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Seriously, no one expected 4-5 at this point and real contention, much less with a rookie quarterback.

      5. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—Does anyone else think the plan all along was to run Donovan McNabb out of town and then eventually start Michael Vick?

      6. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks—Is anyone going to give the Seahawks’ new coach credit for having them in first place on November 21?

      7. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots—Follows up a crushing loss to Cleveland with a thumping of the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

      8. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears—After they started 3-0 and then Jay Cutler was assaulted by the Giants, a tailspin ensued. But now it’s all bright and sunny in the Windy City.

      9. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—Okay, so after five wins in a row, the crap hit the fan last Sunday against Dallas. But Coughlin has this way of making his team look Super Bowl bound most of the time.

      10. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—It’s almost like no one is paying attention to this team, but they are serious contenders.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 10 MVP power rankings

      November 21, 2010 /

      Well, this sure got interesting, didn’t it? Michael Vick had an MVP type game, maybe the greatest game statistically for a quarterback in NFL history on Monday night against Washington. There is no argument here — Michael Vick is the MVP, and he’s going to have to have a total collapse in the next few games for anyone to claim that perch. Injury? Even if he’s injured Sunday and misses the rest of the season, Vick is still the MVP, because of this past game and because of his entire body of work this year, which is absolutely sick.

      1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—In just six games, Vick has thrown for 1350 yards with 11 TDs, 0 interceptions; and 44 carries for 341 yards rushing with 4 more rushing scores. Most of all, he makes the Eagles a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

      2. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—He hasn’t played a game since we last did this, so why penalize him except to let Vick take the top spot?

      3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Did you see Brady screaming at his offensive linemen in the middle of a rout of Pittsburgh on the road? Dude is not messing around.

      4. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—Quietly has his team contending again, despite guys off the street to throw to.

      5. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Like Rivers, Manning is getting it done without a strong receiving corps.

      6. Eli Manning, New York Giants—Little brother deserves love too. Why? The Giants are 6-3 and he has 19 TD passes. And half of his 13 picks were not his fault.

      7. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons—Yeah, we’re QB heavy, but aren’t the real voters?

      8. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—On pace for 2202 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns.

      9. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Off last week, so we’ll let Matthews and his 11 sacks hang out here some more.

      10. Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos—Really? 48 catches for 968 yards? That’s a ridiculous 20.2 yards per catch

      External Sports, NFL

      Maybe the SEC just isn’t that good this year

      November 20, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Jordan Jefferson of the LSU Tigers breaks a tackle by Neiko Thorpe of the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I know it’s blasphemy in college football to even think it, but what if the conference that has ruled the sport for most of the last decade just isn’t that good this year?

      Yes, there are still great athletes all over the field in these games. Yes, some of the best coaches in the country are leading these teams. But what exactly has the SEC done this year to prove that it’s worthy of being called the best conference in the country?

      What are the conference’s big nonconference wins? LSU has two wins over other BCS conference teams, but those are against a scandal-ridden North Carolina team (a game the Tigers very nearly lost) and a mostly erratic West Virginia team. Alabama has a win over Penn State, but so what. Not only are the Nittany Lions down this year, but they were playing with a true freshman in his first road start.

      The nation’s No. 2 team, Auburn, is even without a signature nonconference win. The Tigers struggled to put away a Clemson team that came into tonight 4-4 in the ACC.

      I understand the difficulty of going through conference games, and that the physical play of the SEC is tough to go through week after week. But what, other than past performance, do we have to go on when judging the SEC this year?

      If Auburn beats Alabama next week, it will go to the national title game, and that’s fine. I have no problem with that. But all the talk of a one-loss SEC team somehow finding its way into the title game seems based completely on what we’re used to, not what we’re seeing on the field.

      If you want to bring past performance into it, how do you overlook Boise State, which hasn’t lost a game since the Poinsettia Bowl in 2008 against TCU? Or how about a TCU team that’s only loss over the last two years is that same Boise team in last year’s Fiesta Bowl?

      I think everyone who’s voting should learn a lesson from the 2006 season, when many thought Michigan and Ohio State deserved a rematch in the title game because they had been so dominant all season. The problem was, the perceived tough games they played were all either in conference, or against teams with more tradition than punch (Notre Dame and Texas). Luckily, the voters voted against that and the Big Ten was exposed, oddly enough, by the SEC.

      College Football, External Sports

      Ohio State squeaks by Iowa, makes final week of Big Ten season very interesting

      November 20, 2010 /
      COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Cameron Heyward of the Ohio State Buckeyes chases after quarterback Matt McGloin of the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium on November 13, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

      Ohio State has yet to be overly impressive in any of its wins this season. But the Buckeyes are simply getting things done when they need to. Their 20-17 win today over Iowa keeps it a three-team jumble atop the Big Ten standings, as they’re tied with Michigan State and Wisconsin.

      The Buckeyes play host to rival Michigan in a game they should win. Michigan State goes on the road against Penn State in a game that all of the sudden looks very dangerous for the Spartans. Wisconsin, meanwhile, plays at home against a Northwestern team that has proven to be dangerous at times.

      Against Iowa, it was the Ohio State defense that stepped up when it needed to, especially on the last drive of the game. The Buckeyes may have committed a pass interference penalty on the first play of the drive — OK, they did and it was missed — but the next three plays they were able to get good pressure on Ricky Stanzi from their defensive line, and maintain great coverage downfield. The big play was Cameron Heyward’s sack of Stanzi on third down, which forced a fourth-and-21, which Iowa came two yards short on.

      Some praise needs to be heaped on the Buckeyes quarterback, as well. Terrelle Pryor may still throw an interception at a bad time. He may still miss an open receiver. But right now, he’s making the plays Ohio State needs him to to win football games.

      Pryor had a huge fourth-down scramble late in the fourth quarter to keep Ohio State’s go-ahead drive alive today against Iowa. Perhaps more impressive, he did it one play after Devier Posey dropped a sure touchdown pass — he also evaded the officials when he took his helmet off on the field after the play, which should have made it fourth and 25 instead of fourth and 10, but I digress.

      The bottom line is that three teams still have a shot at the Big Ten’s Rose Bowl berth, meaning three games will be very important next week.

      College Football, External Sports

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