Category: NFL (Page 1189 of 1282)

Merriman to be suspended for steroids

October 23, 2006 / Anthony Stalter

Sources around the NFL are reporting that San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman will be suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen is reporting that Merriman’s suspension is likely due to actual steroids and not a dietary supplement like some athletes get caught with.

Merriman’s positive test was “definitely for steroids … not one of those supplement deals,” said a source with knowledge of Merriman’s suspension. Both the initial A sample and backup B sample came back positive, Mortensen reported.

Merriman was honored with the Defensive Rookie Player of the Year award last season in which he posted 54 tackles, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles. That award will undoubtedly be questioned with this suspension.

However, in due time, fans of the NFL have proven that they are much more forgiving than Major League Baseball fans. Just look at Julius Peppers. Nobody remembers that he was suspended in 2002 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy too.

It’s a shame that Merriman cheated, but it’s a bigger shame that we as NFL fans will most likely forget and forgive him as soon as he is back to entertaining us on the gridiron.

NFL

Shawn Merriman suspended Shawne Merriman Steroids

Couch Potato Alert (10/23)

October 23, 2006 / John Paulsen

Pine tar or not, the World Series continues this week as the Tigers head to St. Louis for three games. Tonight, Eli Manning and the Giants visit Terrell Owens and the Cowboys in the final game of Week 7.

(All times ET.)

World Series
Tues, 8 PM: Detroit @ St. Louis – FOX
Wed, 8 PM: Detroit @ St. Louis – FOX
Thurs, 8 PM: Detroit @ St. Louis – FOX

NFL
Sun, 8:30 PM: NY Giants @ Dallas – ESPN

College Football
Thurs, 7:30 PM: (10) Clemson @ Virginia Tech – ESPN

NBA (preseason)
Thurs, 10 PM: Denver @ LA Lakers – TNT

College Football, MLB, NBA, NFL, Television

Hasselbeck, Roethlisberger among the walking wounded

October 23, 2006 / John Paulsen

According to a NFL Network report, an MRI on Matt Hasselbeck’s knee is a grade two sprain that should keep him out 2-4 weeks. This is a tough blow to a team that was already playing without Shaun Alexander.

Seneca Wallace relieved Hasselbeck, but wasn’t particularly impressive, throwing two picks in the loss. Fantasy owners should probably look to the waiver wire for help. Matt Leinart, Steve McNair, Charlie Frye and Vince Young all have favorable matchups next week. Don’t be surprised if Hasselbeck’s absence accelerates the timeline of Alexander’s return. Supposedly, he was lobbying hard to play this week, so he should return soon.

The NFL Network also reported that Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion that forced him out of the game on Sunday. Charlie Batch replaced him and played quite well in the loss. Keep an eye on Roethlisberger’s status and add Batch if necessary.

Fantasy Football, NFL

Weekend Wrap: Late action in the NFL

October 22, 2006 / Anthony Stalter

Here was your best late game in the NFL:

Colts 36, Redskins 22
Much like week six, the early games provided the most excitement, while the late games fizzled. This contest was close at halftime, but once Indy put 20 points on the scoreboard in the third quarter, the game went down hill quickly for Washington.

QB Peyton Manning continued his barrage on the rest of the league by throwing for 342 yards and four touchdowns. RB Joseph Addai made the most out of 11 carries – rushing for 85 yards (a nice 7.7 average per carry).

Most impressed with: Can you say enough great things about the Colts wide receivers? Every single week, the duo of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne continue to play at such a high level. The duo caught a combined 14 catches for 195 yards and three touchdowns. That punt return by Antwaan Randle El for a touchdown in the second quarter was sweet too. The guy went untouched for 87 yards – pure speed.

Least impressed with: The Skins offense wasn’t the problem today (like most Sundays). But while it’s easy to look bad against Manning and co., where has Washington’s stout defense gone? Indy put up 452 total yards and rang up 342 threw the air.

Quick Shots:
The only way to describe the Broncos defense this season is suffocating. Denver allowed just 165 total yards in a 17-7 win over Cleveland and stuffed the Browns for only 34 yards rushing. The offense still looks a bit anemic, but RB Tatum Bell was able to rush for 115 yards (one touchdown) and WR Javon Walker had a nice day while hauling in nine catches for 107 yards. Denver would be undefeated right now if it weren’t for a terrible Jake Plummer performance in the opening game against St. Louis…Bad news in Seattle as QB Matt Hasselback was forced to leave the game after getting rolled up in the second half. Hasselback left the game with a sprain knee and his status is uncertain for next week. You have to give a lot of credit to the Vikings for going into a tough environment in Seattle and coming away with a huge 31-13 win. What a day by RB Chester Taylor. Taylor popped off a 95-yard touchdown run to basically seal the deal for Minnesota and finished the contest with 169 yards on the ground. QB Brad Johnson had a decent game too, as “Elbow Pads” threw for 171 yards and a nice 40-yard toss to Marcus Robinson in the second quarter…So, let me get this straight Denny Green. You throw your offensive coordinator under the bus and fire him one day after the collapse to Chicago last Monday night. Then you come out against a winless Oakland team and only put up nine points against the Raiders? Who’s fault is it now – the new o-coordinator? Congratulations are in order for Da Raiders in notching a 22-9 win and their first victory of the year. WR Randy Moss hauled in seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Hmm, must have been a game he wanted to play in…

Don’t forget to check out my NFL Random Thoughts blog on Monday.

Fantasy Football, General Sports, NFL

Fantasy Football: The Postgame, Week 7

October 22, 2006 / John Paulsen

Most of Week 7 is in the books, and several big names put up even bigger numbers. Peyton went apeshit on the Redskins, Hines carved up the Falcons, while LJ ran roughshod over the Chargers. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Peyton Manning (342 yards, 4 TD)
After a fairly quiet first half, Manning exploded in the second, throwing two touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison and one to Reggie Wayne. He did this despite taking a nasty hit in the first half where his back was bent the wrong way and his helmet got knocked off. Maybe he will be the one to eventually break Brett Favre’s consecutive game streak.

Honorable Mention: Michael Vick (232 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT, 40 rush yards), Jon Kitna (269 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT), Ben Roetlisberger (238 yards, 3 TD), Donovan McNabb (303 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT, 76 rush yards), Joey Harrington (414 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT)

Larry Johnson (30 touches, 161 yards, 2 TD)
It’s tempting to give this award to Westbrook, but LJ had the slightly bigger day with the two touchdown runs. There has been a lot of talk about about the Chiefs’ offensive line, but they played well today against a tough Chargers rush defense.

Honorable Mention: Brian Westbrook (20 touches, 214 yards, 1 TD), Chester Taylor (30 touches, 188 yards, 1 TD), Leon Washington (21 touches, 137 yards, 2 TD), LaDainian Tomlinson (21 touches, 138 yards, 1 TD, 1 pass TD), Kevin Jones (21 touches, 143 yards, 1 TD), Tatum Bell (26 touches, 126 yards, 1 TD), Ahman Green (18 touches, 118 yards, 1 TD), Wali Lundy (23 touches, 108 yards, 1 TD), Corey Dillon (14 touches, 47 yards, 2 TD)

Hines Ward (8 rec, 171 yards, 3 TD)
Ward had by far the best day of any wide receiver, torching a normally stout Falcons secondary en route to a career day. On a personal note, I played against Ward in three of my four fantasy leagues. (Ouch!)

Honorable Mention: Darrell Jackson (7 rec, 136 yards, 1 TD), Marvin Harrison (7 rec, 73 yards, 2 TD), Randy Moss (7 rec, 129 yards, 1 TD), Reggie Wayne (7 rec, 122 yards, 1 TD), Mike Furrey (9 rec, 109 yards, 1 TD), Marty Booker (7 rec, 110 yards, 1 TD), Andre Johnson (8 rec, 106 yards, 1 TD), Donald Driver (10 rec, 93 yards, 1 TD), Steve Smith (8 rec, 126 yards)

Alge Crumpler (6 rec, 117 yards, 3 TD)
Mike Vick threw four TD on the day, three of them to his favorite target – Crumpler. Vick has been in the press a lot the last couple of weeks, grumbling about his offensive system and his receivers, but Alge stepped up today.

Honorable Mention: Antonio Gates (9 rec, 63 yards, 1 TD), Tony Gonzalez (6 rec, 138 yards), Chris Cooley (4 rec, 42 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Matt Leinart (203 yards, 2 INT)
Given his matchup, many fantasy owners were counting on Leinart this week, but he and the rest of the Cardinals offense still look hungover from the debacle last Monday night. He’s a rookie and is going to have some ups and downs – today was definitely a “down.”

Dishonorable Mention: Byron Leftwich (125 yards), Bruce Gradkowski (104 yards), J.P. Losman (193 yards, 1 INT)

LaMont Jordan (0 touches, 0 yards)
Leading up to the game, it looked like Jordan was going to play, but he ended up sitting and hamstrung fantasy owners in the process. Maroney’s performance against a bad Bills rush defense wasn’t good either.

Dishonorable Mention: Laurence Maroney (9 touches, 30 yards), Edgerrin James (14 touches, 38 yards), Willie Parker (20 touches, 47 yards), Maurice Morris (19 touches, 58 yards), Reuben Droughns (16 touches, 60 yards), Clinton Portis (14 touches, 64 yards), DeShaun Foster (16 touches, 79 yards)

Joey Galloway (0 rec, 0 yards)
Galloway did play, but you wouldn’t know if from his stat line. Gradkowski is a rookie and will struggle, so expect some inconsistent games from Galloway and Michael Clayton.

Dishonorable Mention: Lee Evans (1 rec, 11 yards), Braylon Edwards (2 rec, 6 yards), Greg Jennings (1 rec, 14 yards), Santana Moss (3 rec, 20 yards), Chris Chambers (2 rec, 29 yards), Laveranues Coles (4 rec, 29 yards)

Kellen Winslow (3 rec, 34 yards)
Winslow was one of the top fantasy TEs heading into the game, but the Denver defense was smothering, and the Browns’ offense never really got on track.

Dishonorable Mention: L.J. Smith (4 rec, 38 yards), Alex Smith (1 rec, 6 yards)