Category: NFL (Page 249 of 1282)

      Don Meredith passes away

      December 6, 2010 /

      One of the original members of the Monday Night Football crew passed away on Monday as Don Meredith died at the age of 72.

      In memory of Meredith, USA Today shared some of his best lines.

      “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, wouldn’t it be a merry Christmas?”

      On teammate Walt Garrison: “If you needed four yards, you’d give the ball to Garrison and he’d get you four yards. If you needed 20 yards, you’d give the ball to Garrison and he’d get you four yards.”

      His comment when Vice President Spiro Agnew visited the Monday Night booth: “I didn’t vote for you, but you do have a nice suit on.”

      On playing for Tom Landry: “He’s such a perfectionist that if he were married to Dolly Parton he’d expect her to cook.”

      Unfortunately, I was just a twinkle in my father’s eye when Meredith was doing his thing on MNF but I’ve heard these quotes before and they’re classic.

      External Sports, NFL

      Hard to fault John Harbaugh for deciding against field goal vs. Steelers

      December 6, 2010 /
      BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens cheers on his team during the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at M&T Bank Stadium on November 28, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens defeated the Buccaneers 17-10. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

      Monday morning quarterbacks will bemoan John Harbaugh’s decision not to kick a potential game-tying field goal with less than a minute to play Sunday night in Baltimore. But given the situation, it’s hard to argue with his rationale.

      With less than a minute remaining in the game, the Ravens trailed the Steelers 13-10 and faced a fourth-and-2 from the Pittsburgh 31-yard line. Instead of attempting a 48-yard field goal, Harbaugh decided to go for it in order to give Billy Cundiff an easier attempt.

      But the decision backfired as Joe Flacco short-armed a pass to Ed Dickson along the sidelines and the Ravens were forced to turn the ball over on downs. Flacco had Dickson open, but he threw the ball off his back foot and didn’t get enough on the pass, which fell at the tight end’s feet.

      Following the game, this is what Harbaugh had to say about the decision:

      “It was just a tough wind up there,” Harbaugh said. “It was really outside of our range, as we designated going in. We felt like we had a better chance to get the first down.”

      Fourth-and-2 is a very manageable down-and-distance, so it’s hard to blame Harbaugh for deciding to go for it. In that instance, he felt as though converting the fourth down was a higher percentage play than Cundiff making a 48-yard field goal with swirling winds. And had Flacco not Chuck Knoblauch’d the throw, Harbaugh would have been right.

      The real crime for the Ravens came on a second-and-5 from their own 38-yard line when they were up 10-6 with roughly three minutes remaining in the game. On that play, Flacco either didn’t see or didn’t adjust the play to account for a blitzing Troy Polamalu, who stripped the Baltimore quarterback to help set up the Steelers’ go-ahead touchdown a few plays later.

      Some will argue that the Ravens shouldn’t have been throwing in that situation, but there’s nothing wrong with staying/being aggressive late in the game. But Flacco has to make an adjustment at the line so that Polamalu doesn’t get a free release. He came in unblocked and the outcome was disastrous for the Ravens, who missed a golden opportunity to sweep the Steelers and take sole possession in the AFC North.

      External Sports, NFL

      Fantasy Fallout, Week 13: Where several big names come up small

      December 6, 2010 /
      LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 31: Kyle Orton of Denver Broncos gives instructions during the NFL International Series match between Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium on October 31, 2010 in London, England. This is the fourth occasion where a regular season NFL match has been played in London. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

      I suspect that Week 13 will go down as one of the most frustrating weeks of the season. Not only did several so-called studs put up goat-like numbers, but many leagues were in the final week of their regular seasons so there were more than a few owners in must-win situations. Let’s hope that they didn’t have one (or more) of the guys on this list:

      Dwayne Bowe (0-0)
      78 points. That was the total of the first matchup between these two teams and, on Sunday, they combined for a measly 16 points. The biggest goat of the game was Bowe, who somehow failed to register a catch against one of the worst pass defenses in the league after posting an average of 7.0-105-1.9 over his last seven games. That is a mind-boggling drop in production for a guy who was the top fantasy wideout over the last two months.

      Brandon Lloyd (2-31)
      Kyle Orton (117 yards, 0 TD)
      Last time he faced the Chiefs, Lloyd caught six passes for 90 yards and two TDs. In his last four games he racked up 413 yards and six TDs. Lloyd reminded the fantasy community why he was one of the most frustrating fantasy players of the mid-00s. Meanwhile, Orton looked dreadful, missing on 19 of his 28 pass attempts and failing to find the endzone. Thanks for that, Kyle.

      Chris Johnson (67 total yards, 0 TD)
      Over the first 10 weeks, Johnson averaged 107 total yards and 0.9 TDs. We wrote off last week’s miserable outing against the Texans due to the Titans’ problems at QB, but with Kerry Collins back under center, Johnson would get back to normal, right? WRONG. Chris Johnson looked more like Larry Johnson circa 2009. This was not what owners were expecting when they drafted him #1 overall this summer.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      I’m Just Saying: How bad could Matt Leinart have really been?

      December 5, 2010 /
      Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback Derek Anderson leaves the field after the Cards game with the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ December 5,2010. Anderson was replaced in the second half as the Rams defeated the Cards 19-6. UPI/Art Foxall Photo via Newscom

      I’m starting a new column and I’m calling it “I’m Just Saying.” Peter King has a column (Monday Morning Quarterback), so it only makes sense that a well-respected sports blogger like myself has a column as well.

      What? I’m not well-respected? Who the hell is Anthony Stalter? Peter King is more established?

      What-ev.

      – Let’s hold off on the Giants-look-like-Super-Bowl-contenders-again talk after they beat a crap Redskins team. After their effort against the Eagles and Giants over the past few weeks, I’m fully convinced that Oregon could beat the Redskins on a neutral field.

      – Hey Josh Freeman, I’d stay away from Brent Grimes the next time Atlanta comes to down. Dude is small but he’s often the most athletic player on the field.

      – Lion fans are pissed about the unnecessary roughness penalty on Ndamukong Suh for the forearm shiver that he delivered to Jay Cutler’s back, but riddle me this, Batman: Was the play avoidable? Could Suh have chosen not to go GSP on Cutler and still gotten him down? What I’m asking is: Was it necessary roughness?

      – I’m pretty sure I could think of two reasons not to start Brett Favre for every one reason that Leslie Fraizer comes up with. Let’s start with these: His touchdown to interception ratio this year is 10:17 and even after his effort on Sunday, one could make an argument that Ryan Fitzpatrick is better at this point in his career. That’s right – Ryan Fitzpatrick. So why not Tarvaris Jackson, Leslie?

      – Is there any reason Marion Barber should get carries for the Cowboys with how good Felix Jones and Tashard Choice looked against the Colts? Sorry, is there any good reason I mean to write.

      – You’re lucky the Colts wound up scoring anyway, Eric Foster.

      – Hey Peyton: blue shirts, white helmets, my man.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      What in the name of Archie and Eli is going on with Peyton Manning?

      December 5, 2010 /
      INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 28: Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts walks off of the field after throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown during the NFL game against the San Diego Chargers at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 28, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Chargers won 36-14.(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

      Why, how, and why again? How did this happen? How did Peyton Manning turn into a combination of Jake Delhomme and well, Peyton Manning?

      How does a quarterback complete 36-of-48 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing four interceptions (two of which were returned for touchdowns) in the same game? What happened?

      Manning now has 11 interceptions in his last three games, four of which have been pick-sixes. After the Cowboys shocked the Colts 38-35 in overtime on Sunday, Indianapolis is now 6-6 on the year and one game behind Jacksonville in the AFC South.

      There no doubt will be plenty of theories on why Manning has struggled recently, but at this point you can’t pin it on one thing. First and foremost, the Colts can’t run the ball. Manning led the Colts to the Super Bowl last year without a running game, but he also had a healthy Joseph Addai available when he did need a couple of yards to keep defenses guessing. But Addai has been sidelined for over a month now and his absence is obviously having an affect on Peyton’s game. There’s just no denying it.

      His offensive line doesn’t appear to be giving him the same protection as they did earlier in the year and throughout his entire career. He’s being pressured well before he wants to deliver the ball, which is in part to blame for all the interceptions he’s thrown.

      Injuries have also been an issue. While Jacob Tamme has been a great replacement for Dallas Clark, you can’t replace years of cohesion and continuity in a month. It also hasn’t helped Peyton that Austin Collie has been in and out of the lineup, or that Pierre Garcon has had some costly drops throughout the year.

      But you know what? Philip Rivers is doing more with less. Hell, even Sam Bradford is doing more with less. All of the things mentioned above factor into how poorly Manning has played the past three weeks, but the bottom line is that Peyton just hasn’t gotten the job done. Many of his throws have been off the mark and there’s just no excuse to throw 11 interceptions in three games. None.

      Maybe he’s trying to do too much and this is the result. Who knows. Either way, we’re going to find out a lot about Manning and the Colts because they have four games to erase a one-game deficit in the AFC South and avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.

      External Sports, NFL

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