Category: Fantasy Football (Page 192 of 324)

      NFL Week 5 Quick Recaps: Ocho Cinco fails to kiss Dallas star

      October 5, 2008 /

      Chad Johnson– Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson said earlier this week that he would kiss the Dallas star if/when he scores a touchdown against the Cowboys on Sunday. But Dallas held him to only 43 yards on three catches in their 31-22 win over the Bengals, so the only kiss he got to plant was on head coach Marvin Lewis’s face. You know that kid at a birthday party who does a couple of funny things, gets people’s attention, but then eventually becomes annoying? That’s where I’m at right now with Ocho Cinco.

      – After getting destroyed by the Jets last Sunday, the Cardinals had one hell of a bounce back this week, beating the previously undefeated Bills 41-17. But ‘Zona has got to do something about its secondary. They gave up 56 points and allowed Brett Favre to throw six touchdown passes last week, and then proceeded to allow J.P. Losman to complete 15 of 21 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown today. That’s brutal. Losman hasn’t played in over a year and even when he did he was downright atrocious in most of his games. When J.P. Losman shreds you through the air, something’s up.

      – Seven carries, two yards. That’s what Carolina held Chiefs’ RB Larry Johnson to in its 34-0 win Sunday. This coming just one week after LJ rushed for nearly 200 yards against Denver. Rightfully so, everyone talks about the Vikings’ run defense being so good, but take a look at what the Panthers have done against some of the best running backs the past couple of weeks: LaDainian Tomlinson – 97 yards. Adrian Peterson – 77 yards. Michael Turner – 56 yards. Larry Johnson – 2 yards. Wow.

      Jay Cutler– Out of their three victories this season, the Broncos can be most proud of their 16-13 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. They beat a quality opponent (unlike their Week 1 win over the Raiders), they didn’t need a controversial call to go in their favor (unlike their Week 2 win over the Chargers) and for the first time all year, they didn’t surrender 30-plus points defensively.

      – So…who’s the real J.T. O’Sullivan? The one that threw for over 300 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in a win over Seattle or the one that played Sunday and threw three picks against New England? (Although in O’Sullivan’s defense, he did throw three touchdowns in the Niners’ 30-21 loss to the Pats, too.)

      – Did Laurence Maroney kick Bill Belichick’s cat one time at a team barbecue or something one time? For the life of me I can’t figure out why Sammy Morris continues to get more carries than Maroney.

      – Gutsy, gutsy performance by Big Ben on Sunday night. The Jags couldn’t get any pressure on him early on, but when they started to get to him in second half, he hung in tough and delivered a huge win the Steelers. Just when you think Pittsburgh is going to crash with so many injuries in the backfield and along the offensive line, they step up and play a complete game like they did in Week 5. The final score wasn’t a good indicator of how much the Steelers actually dominated the Jaguars.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      New regimes changing the culture in Miami, Atlanta

      October 5, 2008 /

      Ronnie BrownTwo of the worst teams in the NFL last year resided in Miami and Atlanta. So following the 2007 season, the two franchises decided to start fresh with new front office personal, new head coaches and a lot of new faces on their respective rosters.

      The Dolphins hired Bill Parcells to run the football operations and former Cowboys’ assistant Tony Sparano to replace Cam Cameron as head coach. The Falcons tabbed former Patriots’ director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff as GM and ex-Jaguars’ defensive coordinator Mike Smith as head coach.

      Few pundits figured that with all of the changes that were made, that the Dolphins and Falcons would compete right away. But that’s exactly what’s happening.

      After beating the Patriots two weeks ago, the Dolphins pulled off another big upset on Sunday, knocking off the Chargers 17-10 in Miami. The team once again used the “Wildcat” formation with Ronnie Brown taking direct snaps and gashing San Diego for 125 yards and a touchdown. Chad Pennington (one of those new roster faces) was also solid, completing 22 of 29 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown.

      Matt RyanMeanwhile, the Falcons and rookie QB Matt Ryan (one of the many new faces on the Falcons’ overhauled roster) waltz into Green Bay, mounted a 17-7 lead and eventually hung on for a 27-24 win. It was Ryan’s first win on the road as a starter, and the team’s third victory of the season. Not bad for a team that many prognosticators predicted would only have one or two wins total in 2008.

      One thing that both of these teams lacked in prior years was toughness and neither franchise was very physical. But Sparano and Smith have changed that in just a short period of time and it’s amazing how much of a difference a year can make. Especially in Atlanta’s case, which was left in complete disarray following Michael Vick’s arrest and Bobby Petrino’s spinelessness.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Redskins proving doubters wrong

      October 5, 2008 /

      Entering the year, pundits gave the Washington Redskins about as much respect as Paris Hilton gives herself. The team had a first-year head coach, a new offensive system for quarterback Jason Campbell to learn and they play in a stacked division. And after their dazzling performance against the Giants in Week 1, it was easy to see why the Skins weren’t given any respect in preseason.

      Washington RedskinsBut after rallying 23-17 to beat NFC East foe Philadelphia on Sunday, the Redskins are proving critics wrong. And it’s not like they’re beating the Lions, Chiefs and Texans every week – they’ve knocked off some of the best teams in the NFC over the past couple weeks, including the Eagles and Cowboys on the road.

      They’re also not winning by smoke and mirrors, either. Campbell’s development has been solid (he’s yet to throw an interception), Clinton Portis (145 yards, 1 TD vs. Philly) has been excellent and the defense has tightened up in clutch situations. They’ve also kept up the physical brand of football that Joe Gibbs implemented when he was head coach.

      It’s time to admit that the Redskins are better than what most people thought they’d be. And that’s a huge credit to rookie head coach Jim Zorn.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Ravens jobbed by blown call in loss to Titans

      October 5, 2008 /

      Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun writes that the Ravens were screwed in Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Titans after Terrell Suggs was called for a personal foul penalty late in the game.

      John HarbaughIt has been my policy for a long, long time — long before I became a blowhard blogger — to avoid any discussion of officiating that might appear partisan unless the situation is so impactful that it cannot be left out of any meaningful conversation about the game.

      I think the personal foul call on Terrell Suggs late in today’s game rises well beyond that standard. Suggs was rushing Kerry Collins and was batting at the ball when his right arm came down on Collins shoulder pad. The supposed helmet contact that basically turned the game around was ridiculously incidental and should never have been called.

      “I was nowhere near his head,” Suggs said afterward. “We just hit arms. I’m guilty of playing physical football. They said I hit him in the head. I wasn’t anywhere near his head.”

      Perhaps the strangest thing about the call was the revelation after the play that the officials had called a false start on the Titans, but it was outweighed by the personal foul because the NFL’s 5-15 rule. I understand the rule and agree with it. In cases where there is a minor penalty and a major personal foul, the personal foul is penalized instead of offset. In this case, however, I’m trying to figure out why the play continued long enough for the second foul to be called.

      There was no flag visible at the beginning of the play and no attempt by the officials to stop the play. Frankly, I’m surprised they even mentioned it after the play, since the result would have been the same without it. It simply made them look even more inept.

      That’s two weeks in a row that personal foul penalties played a huge role in Raven losses. Good teams overcome those calls and still find ways to win, but momentum swings can have such a damning effect for teams, especially young ones like Baltimore.

      Small change of subject – how clutch is Tennessee’s defense? They remind me a little of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense, not necessarily for how dominant they are, but how they always seem to come up with the big play at the end of the game. And just like those ’00 Ravens, the Titans’ D isn’t getting a ton of help from the offense.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bears should be 5-0 right now

      October 5, 2008 /

      Kyle OrtonIt’s amazing when teams don’t do the little things and how it can affect an entire season. Take the Chicago Bears for example, who could easily be 5-0 right now after destroying the Detroit Lions 34-7 at Ford Field on Sunday.

      The Bears are 3-2 on the season, but they had double-digit leads in the fourth quarters of each of their two losses. And had Kyle Orton and the offense managed just one first down late in the game against the Panthers and Bucs, we would be discussing how Chicago stacks up to the Giants and Cowboys as the best in the NFC.

      One of the problems the Bears have had this year is that they get too conservative in the second half of games. Orton and the offense have come out firing in the first half of every game this year, only to fall back on the run in the second half. In theory, the game plan is solid. Build a lead, control the game on the ground and rely on your defense and special teams to win. But the problem that Chicago has had is that once one thing goes wrong, that game plan is shot to hell. The offense turns the ball over, then all of a sudden they can’t pick up first downs and then the defense tires out. See the Bears’ losses to Carolina and Tampa this year as proof to what I’m referring to.

      Chicago did a great job today not letting up in the second half. They were still throwing late into the fourth quarter despite having a comfortable 24-point lead. Orton (24 of 34, 334 yards, 2 TDs) is better than what most make him out to be and he does have a bit of a gunslinger mentality. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner needs to be as aggressive as he was today with his play calling, because the Bears are a much better team when is.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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