Category: External Sports (Page 542 of 821)

      Why the shotgun is taking over the NFL

      September 15, 2010 /
      NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 09: Quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints drops back to pass against the Minnesota Vikings at Louisiana Superdome on September 9, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

      In the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine, David Fleming discusses why the shotgun has become so prevalent in the NFL.

      For starters, the shift is proof of the influence of college football’s spread offenses. The NFL is always reluctant to give credit to its minor league affiliate (the NCAA), but you can spot a trend in the NFL when someone puts money behind it. Drew Brees, who set a league record last season with a 70.6% completion rate, actually fell to the second round of the 2001 draft because he had a reputation as a “shotgun QB” at Purdue. Cut to last April: The Rams took Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford No. 1 overall and handed him $50 million guaranteed, even though he threw just one pass from under center last season. Teams are not passing more frequently — attempts have fluctuated over the past four seasons — but they are throwing differently. From 2006 to 2009, the use of shotgun passes jumped an astronomical 24 percentage points.

      That’s an interesting bit about Brees versus Bradford. Just nine years ago, Brees’ stock took a hit because he was known as a shotgun QB. This summer, the Rams took Bradford #1 even though he was exclusively a shotgun QB.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Tom Brady not happy that Patriots fans left game early

      September 15, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterbacks Tom Brady of the New England Patriots throws a pass during a the NFL season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      When asked on Wednesday about the challenges of playing against the Jets on the road, Patriots’ QB Tom Brady took the opportunity to voice his displeasure with his own team’s home crowd.

      From ESPN Boston:

      “It’s a tough place to play. The Meadowlands is always a tough place to play,” Brady replied. “The road environment is very different than our friendly home crowd, who, when I looked up, half the stadium was gone when we were up 21 points in the early fourth quarter, which I wasn’t so happy about. But I don’t think the Jets fans leave early.

      Hey, it’s a free country so people should be able to come and go to a football game as they please – especially when they pay for the tickets.

      But Brady’s right.

      Apparently three Super Bowls and a 16-0 season have made the fan base in New England rather content. Even diehard Patriot fans will admit that the crowds at Gillette Stadium are quiet on a whole and for the life of me, I don’t get why someone would pay hundreds of dollars just to leave a game early.

      That said, and not to get into a social or economical discussion here, but the majority of people that can afford ticket prices these days are professionals who also have better things to do than watch an entire football game. They’re not your typical diehard fan, so when the opportunity presents itself to head out early in order to beat traffic, people take it.

      But again, Brady is right – especially about Jet fans. You wouldn’t see them leaving a game halfway through the fourth quarter.

      External Sports, NFL

      Reggie Bush to forfeit Heisman, as he should

      September 15, 2010 /
      USC Trojans Reggie Bush is seen with coach Todd McNair during the 92nd Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California, in this January 4, 2006 file photo. Bush said on Tuesday he will forfeit the Heisman Trophy he won in 2005 while representing the University of Southern California (USC). USC was slapped with severe penalties by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in June after reports that Bush had accepted money and other benefits from marketing agents while playing for the school. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Reggie Bush is giving back his 2005 Heisman Trophy award.

      Good – he should.

      Not to sound preachy, but when you mess up in life, there are usually consequences that you eventually have to face. Granted, those consequences may come later down the road, but eventually karma catches up with people.

      Bush did something wrong at USC. An argument that often gets brought up in relation to this topic is whether or not you or another athlete would have done the same thing (i.e. accept gifts from an agent, booster or what have you). But that’s irrelevant. The point is that he screwed up and until now, he didn’t have to pay for his actions.

      But USC certainly did, now didn’t they? They had to forfeit all of their wins during Bush’s tenure with the program and also had to cough up scholarships for future recruiting. Considering Bush broke rules under their watch, they should have been punished and they were. It’s not fair to the current players that they were punished because of what Bush did, but unfortunately they’re the only true victims here.

      Some are going to claim that Bush shouldn’t have to give back the award because it was earned for what he did on the field. I buy that and I certainly don’t disagree. But he can’ t keep his Heisman, his Super Bowl ring and his millions of dollars from the NFL while USC is stuck footing the bill for mistakes that he made.

      Life doesn’t work like that – what goes around comes around, which is a notion that Bush was just reminded of.

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      2010 College Football Week 3 Odds

      September 15, 2010 /
      LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 08: A general view of the opening kickoff during play between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 8, 2008 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      We’ve still got a couple of days before another Saturday in college football kicks off, but here are some point spreads that jumped out at me for this weekend’s slate of action.

      East Carolina +19 at. Virginia Tech, 1:30PM ET
      The Hokies are reeling after dropping their opener against Boise State and then being shocked by James Madison at home last Saturday. While they’re still very much alive in the ACC, I’m not sure what kind of mental condition Frank Beamer’s squad is in right now. So getting almost three touchdowns with an underrated, undefeated East Carolina team is a gift. This smells a little bit like a trap, but still…19 points? I like the Pirates.

      USC vs. Minnesota +12, 3:30PM ET
      Virginia Tech’s defeat to James Madison overshadowed the Gophers’ embarrassing 41-38 home loss to FCS South Dakota. But USC is 0-2 ATS to start the year and barely squeaked by Virginia at home last weekend. I generally like taking home teams getting points and considering this is unfamiliar territory for USC, I like Minnesota. (Although I’d like them a lot more if they were getting two touchdowns instead of 12 points.)

      Texas vs. Texas Tech +3, 8:00PM ET
      This is a statement game for the Red Raiders, who would love to earn a victory and catapult into the top 25. The Longhorns are only 3-3 in Lubbock under Mack Brown and we all remember what happened the last time Texas traveled to Tech. The Raiders won’t have Michael Crabtree for this game, but I see an outright victory.

      Utah -22 at. New Mexico, 8:00PM ET
      Twenty-two points is a ton to give up when taking a road team, but the Lobos have allowed 124 points this season, which is the most of any FBS team. Utah has won three straight over New Mexico and leads the all-time series 32-17-2. Yes, I think the Lobos are as bad as they played in the first two weeks of the season, which includes a 72-0 loss at Oregon and a 52-17 loss to Texas Tech at home last week.

      Read on for the rest of this weekend’s point spreads.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 2

      September 15, 2010 /

      ATLANTA - DECEMBER 13: Reggie Bush #25 of the New Orleans Saints is tackled by Kroy Biermann #71, Mike Peterson #53 and Curtis Lofton #50 of the Atlanta Falcons in the first half at Georgia Dome on December 13, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

      Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

      Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

      To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Let’s see how my Week 1 picks fared:

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑