Category: NFL (Page 251 of 1282)

NFL Week 12 ROY power rankings

It’s turning out to be a pretty awesome rookie class.

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Turning out to be a very strong rookie campaign—on pace for 3586 yards, 25 TDs and 13 picks. And the upstart Rams are now in a tie for first with the Seahawks.

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh is like Albert Haynesworth—doesn’t put up huge numbers, but teams have to game plan around him. Just think how good he’s going to be in five years.

3. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Leads all NFL safeties with 5 picks, and averaging 6 tackles a game.

4. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Averaging almost 200 yards a game and has a stunning 63.8 completion percentage. If only he didn’t get hurt, we would be putting him up there with Bradford.

5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—Let’s see if Jon Kitna gets him the ball a bit more today.

6. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—Funny how Bill Belichick manages to lose guys like Asante Samuel and replaces them with rookies.

7. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Strong start and will hopefully finish strong and move up. He has the talent.

8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—Numbers are fading, but that might be because no one is throwing in his direction.

9. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Give him a couple of years, he’s going to be a star.

10 (tie). Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—Combined, here are their numbers—61 catches, 772 yards, 9 TDs.

NFL Week 12 COY power rankings

The coach of the year carousel continues to spin each week in this crazy NFL season….

1. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—Bonus points if he runs up the score today against the Chiefs at home.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Yes, they are just 5-6 but that is good for a tie of first place in the NFC West. Say it out loud—the Rams could be playoff bound.

3. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—Temporary setback against the Bears last week but in the driver’s seat for the NFC East crown.

4. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—Tough win at home against the Packers keeps Smitty in the hunt.

5. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears—That mid-season swoon seemed to be an aberration rather than the rule, and Lovie has this bunch believing.

6. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Lost big to Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which knocks Raheem down from the top.

7. (tie) Bill Belichick, New England Patriots and Rex Ryan, New York Jets—We’re going to leave these two tied until after they face each other on Monday night.

8. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If Stevie Johnson hangs on to that OT pass, we’re probably knocking Tomlin off this list, fair or not.

9. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens—He knows this is the Ravens’ favorite time of year and expects to win in December.

10. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—Holding his team together through injuries, some mental lapses on the field and a tough schedule.

NFL Week 12 MVP power rankings

Now we’re into December, the month that separates the contenders from the also-rans—for both the playoff hunt and the race for NFL MVP.

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Where do you think the Eagles would be if Kevin Kolb had been the starter all year? Not 8-4 and on top of the NFC East. Hence we give to you your projected MVP.

2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Of course, you can surely make a fine argument for this guy too.

3. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—Sometimes you have to know when to just hand the ball off and manage the game, and Rivers proved last Sunday he can do that, too, and win. His team is just slightly on fire.

4. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—On pace for 122 catches, 1550 yards and 10 scores. The receptions alone would put White in the company of folks like Marvin Harrison, Herman Moore, Cris Carter and Jerry Rice.

5. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—Just continues to flat out dominate the ground—including this past Thursday’s game—on pace for 2278 total yards and 20 total TDs. That’s LT in his prime-esque.

6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons—Falcons are on fire and Matty Ice hasn’t thrown a pick since Week 7.

7. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—He’s right up there in yards (3321), TDs (23) and team wins (8).

8. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Cooled off just a bit since the start of the season, but defense has made that possible for this total pro.

9. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs—2307 yards, 22 TDs, 4 picks…..and his team is in first place in the AFC West.

10. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Still averaging better than a sack a game.

Childress says Moss tried to get him fired

MINNEAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings on the sidelines against the Green Bay Packers at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on November 21, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

In an interview with the Pioneer Press, Brad Childress gives his version of his departure from Minnesota.

“If you pull a couple of quotes from a locker room, it all gets exacerbated a bit,” Childress said. “By and large, I know the support I had. It’s a good group of guys in that locker room.”

Regarding Moss, Childress heard late in the process that Moss was lobbying to owner Zygi Wilf for Childress to be fired, but he was already set on waiving him. Childress did not consult with upper management about the move.

Not every Viking was against parting with Moss.

“Some players came up to me afterward and said, ‘Coach, we would have been disappointed if you didn’t do something,’ ” Childress said.

Sure, Childress’s stories are anecdotal and he’s probably overstating the support he had in the locker room, but with the way Moss was reportedly acting, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were several players who understood why Childress put him on waivers.

Whatever the issues, Childress will receive $5 million total through the 2012 season, which isn’t a bad severance package.

Andy Reid bothered by the hits on Michael Vick

CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 28: Michael Vick  of the Philadelphia Eagles fumbles the ball as he is sacked by Julius Peppers  of the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on November 28, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Eagles 31-26. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Instead of figuring out ways to protect his quarterback (you know, like running the ball), Andy Reid took the opportunity on Friday to let everyone know how upset he is about the hits Michael Vick has been taking lately.

From ESPN.com:

“That bothers me, that bothers me. He runs, but he is a quarterback, so you can’t treat him like a running back. It concerns me,” Reid said, adding, “I’ll deal with the people I need to on that.”

Reid can’t be serious, can he? This is a joke right? He doesn’t want defenders to treat Vick like a running back when he’s burned defenses time and time again with his legs? Seriously, he’s f**king with us, isn’t he?

I like Andy Reid and I’ve defended him in the past when Philadelphia fans wanted fired/gone/dead. But this has to be the dumbest thing he’s ever said in his 10-plus years of coaching in the NFL. Quarterbacks are going to take hits in the pocket – that’s just part of the game. And when a quarterback can also beat you with his legs, he’s going to get treated like a running back because defendes don’t want to be the ones left grasping for air when he takes off to run. Sorry, but that’s the way it is, Andy.

Again, instead of complaining about nonsense, Reid should be sitting down with Marty Mornhinweg right now and devising ways to help keep Vick upright. The duo failed to utilize “Shady” McCoy more Thursday night against the Texans, which would have saved Vick from taking the pounding he did. But regardless, he’s going to get hit. He runs. Running quarterbacks get hit.

I wonder what Reid’s response would have been if Vick played for another team and an opposing coach complained about the Eagles hitting him too hard.

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