Category: NFL (Page 206 of 1282)

      Cromartie says he hates Tom Brady, calls him an A-hole

      January 12, 2011 /
      Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon (85) turns upfield after a 21-yard pass reception in front of New York Jets defenders Antonio Cromartie (31) and Eric Smith (33) during the fourth quarter of the Jets 17-16 AFC Wild-Card Playoff win at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on January 8, 2011. UPI /Mark Cowan

      Well, this Jets-Patriots game is certainly getting interesting.

      From the New York Daily News:

      Cromartie, in his first year with the Jets after four years with the Chargers, backed up Ryan Tuesday when he was asked by the Daily News if he’s ever seen Brady pointing after the Patriots score.

      “We see that a lot. He does it a lot,” Cromartie said. “That’s the kind of guy he is. We really don’t give a damn, to tell you the truth.”

      Okay, what kind of guy is Brady?

      “An ass—-.

      “—- him.”

      “That’s what I think about him. I don’t really give a damn about him,” he said. “I don’t have to play against him. I play against the receivers.”

      Well, Brady is the one throwing to those receivers. “Yeah, but if I beat the s— out of his receivers, he can’t throw the ball,” Cromartie said.

      He’ll beat the s**t out of his receivers? Apparently the only thing receivers have to do to beat Cromartie is make one hard step outside and cut back inside on a post pattern when he lines up off the wideout. Because that’s all Pierre Garcon of the Colts did last week when he scored on that 57-yard touchdown pass. After that play, Cris Colinsworth spent the rest of the game explaining how Cromartie can’t cover if he’s not jamming the receiver at the line.

      Meanwhile, the Patriots have gone about their business while refusing to talk about the Jets. And why should they say anything? The last time these two teams met, it took the Pats all of 14 minutes to build a 17-3 lead. That game was over before it started.

      External Sports, NFL

      Former Bears Scout: Passing on James Starks was the “most embarrassing moment” of my career

      January 12, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers running back James Starks gains 27 yards to the Packers 32-yard line as he shakes off a tackle attempt by Philadelphia Eagles Kurt Coleman during first quarter action of the Philadelphia Eagles-Green Bay Packers NFC Wildcard playoff game in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field January 9, 2011. UPI/John Anderson

      Former Bears scout Greg Gabriel wrote an interesting article for the National Football Post. He describes the scene as the Bears tried to decide between James Starks and Dan LeFevour.

      As we got closer to our pick, Angelo made the decision for the Bears to draft Starks. When we drafted a player there was a protocol we followed. After the decision on who to draft was made, Cliff Stein (the Bears contract negotiator) would call the players agent and tell him we were planning on drafting his player. He would tell the agent that the wanted to get a 4-year contract with the player and wanted the contract done by a certain date. If the agent agreed then I would call the player and give him the news that the Bears were going to take him. This is exactly what happened with Starks. I was on the phone for a minute or so with Starks when Angelo walked in my office and told me he had changed his mind and was drafting LeFevour. I put Starks on hold and then said to Angelo that Stein had already talked to the agent and I had the player on the phone…we couldn’t do business like that. He said he was sorry but he decided he wanted LeFevour and the card had been turned in.

      I then had to tell the player (a player that I had developed a good relationship with over the previous two years) that in fact we were not drafting him. Hearing a kid go from being extremely excited to silence was not easy. It was the most embarrassing moment I had experienced while scouting.

      This is something of a story now that Starks is emerging as the top tailback for the Packers. He rushed 23 times for 123 yards against the Eagles, showing very good burst and wiggle through the hole. He also showed some nice hands out of the backfield, which makes sense since he caught a total of 93 passes in 2007 and 2008 as a member of the Buffalo Bulls.

      After Ryan Grant went down, the Packers decided not to add Marshawn Lynch to the mix at tailback and it appears that Starks was the main reason why.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, News, NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      If makeup of current playoff coaches is any indication, Rivera was a good hire by Panthers

      January 11, 2011 /

      Only eight teams remain in this year’s playoffs and of those eight teams, six are being led by first-time head coaches. (Only the Patriots’ Bill Belichick and the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll had been head coaches elsewhere prior to being hired by New England and Seattle, respectively.)

      All six of these coaches were NFL coordinators before being hired as head coaches by their respective teams. And of those six, five of them have defensive backgrounds. (Only the Packers’ Mike McCarthy came from an offensive background, as he was the OC in New Orleans and San Francisco before arriving in Green Bay.)

      Even given this incredibly small sample size, the fans in Carolina have to be pleased that the Panthers decided to hire former San Diego defensive coordinator Ron Rivera as head coach. He’s best known for the role he played as defensive coordinator for the 2006 Chicago Bears team that went to the Super Bowl, but he’s done a tremendous job in San Diego over the past couple of years as well.

      While he’ll keep the Panthers in a 4-3, Rivera has had success running both the 4-3 and the 3-4 fronts. He’s known for being a “players coach” and likes to be aggressive in his defensive schemes. Behind his leadership, the Chargers went from 16th in total defense in 2009 to first in 2010.

      No offense to Jim Harbaugh or the 49ers, but it’s proven that teams that hire pro coordinators usually have the most success. Current playoff coaches McCarthy (Packers), Jim Harbaugh (Ravens), Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Mike Smith (Falcons), Rex Ryan (Jets) and Lovie Smith (Bears) were all NFL coordinators before becoming head coaches with their respective teams.

      Granted, being a coordinator doesn’t always guarantee success, as there are plenty of examples of former OC’s and DC’s failing as head coaches. Plus, as former Cowboys’ head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer can attest, coaches with college backgrounds can still succeed as well.

      But Rivera’s knowledge and experience in this league should serve him well in Carolina. Panther fans have a reason to be optimistic after such a dreadful season.

      External Sports, NFL

      Strength of Schedule: Playoffs, Week 2

      January 11, 2011 /

      For those of us playing fantasy football (in one form or another) during the NFL playoffs, I thought it would be worthwhile to calculate end-of-year strength of schedule. I won’t be updating the SOS data throughout the playoffs, but I should be able to post a table each week with updated matchups.

      What am I looking at?

      Below you’ll see a table with a list of team names on the left and a list of positions (including PPR data) along the top. If a square is pink, it means that the matchup is tough. If it’s green, it means it’s a favorable matchup.

      It’s important to note that this is NOT straight fantasy points allowed. I removed the bias of schedule by looking at the opponents of each defense and how they fared in their other games. For example, if a particular defense faced a series of great QBs, then that is taken into account in these tables.

      For those of us who are going to play fantasy football through the playoffs, I thought it would be worthwhile to calculate strength of schedule for the first week of the playoffs. I’m not going to be updating SOS throughout the playoffs, but I should be able to post an updated table each week with SOS data updated through W17.

      How do I use SOS?

      Generally speaking, I use strength of schedule as a tiebraker between two similarly ranked players. Let’s say I’m trying to decide between starting BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Cedric Benson. All else being equal, these two players are very close in my mind. But if BGE has a great matchup and Benson has a bad matchup, the choice is clear. In fact, if BGE just has a mediocre matchup while Benson has a bad matchup, I’d probably go with the Law Firm.

      Be careful not to read too much into these tables. You aren’t going to bench Chris Johnson in a bad matchup unless you have a bona fide RB1 with a good matchup waiting in the wings.

      The Bears look like solid starts this week all the way around, especially since the Seattle defense doesn’t fare nearly as well away from home…The Jets also have good matchups, though be warned that the Patriots defense has played a lot better of late…Tony Gonzalez looks like a good start at TE.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Rex Ryan once again opens his mouth to take attention away from players

      January 11, 2011 /
      New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan watches his team play the Indianapolis Colts in the third quarter during their AFC Wild Card NFL playoff football game in Indianapolis, January 8, 2011. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      You can’t fault Jets’ coach Rex Ryan for trying to take pressure off his players by providing bulletin board material for the opposing team. (Wait…does that take pressure off his players?)

      One week after saying it was “personnel” between him and Peyton Manning, Ryan took a few more shots at Patriots’ QB Tom Brady.

      From ESPN.com:

      Ryan claimed he didn’t mean to take a shot at Brady last week. Ryan, in talking about how much he respected Peyton Manning, suggested Brady didn’t measure up because he has Belichick “dialing up plays,” while Manning runs the Indianapolis Colts’ offense.

      But Ryan expressed his disdain for Brady’s “antics on the field,” which include pointing at the opponents’ sideline after a touchdown.

      “That’s just Brady being Brady,” Ryan said. “I don’t like seeing that. No Jets fan likes to see that. He can’t wait to do it. He’s not going to say anything publicly, but he does it. It’s what it is. It’s my job to keep him out of the end zone.”

      I’ve always liked Rex Ryan. His defensive game plans are usually outstanding and for the most part, his teams are prepared. He’s also funny and he has a personality, which is refreshing these days in sports.

      That said, whatever he says to the media leading up to the game doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, he still has to figure out a way to beat Bill Belichick in Foxboro, which he has yet to do as a head coach. In the same article that I pulled the above quotes from, Ryan admitted that he was outcoached in the 45-3 Monday night bloodbath in early December. And he went on to say that he needs to rise to the same level that Belichick is in order to beat him.

      But at least leading up to kickoff, he provides the media something to talk about.

      External Sports, NFL

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