Category: NFL (Page 320 of 1282)

      Steven Jackson “fine” as Rams win for second straight week

      October 3, 2010 /
      St. Louis Rams Steven Jackson scrambles for a 42-yard touchdown in the first quarter against the Washington Redskins at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on September 26, 2010. UPI/BIll Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Steven Jackson told reporters following Sunday’s game against Seattle that his groin felt fine during and after the Rams’ 20-3 win over the Seahawks.

      And even if Jackson weren’t feeling okay, he wouldn’t care.

      The Rams are now 2-2 on the year and had a couple of more breaks gone their way in the first two games, they could be 3-1 or even undefeated. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Jackson is healthy (relatively speaking), rookie Sam Bradford (289 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT on Sunday) is playing better than expected so early in his career and the defense has been outstanding.

      Outstanding.

      St. Louis held Seattle to 257 total yards, including 193 passing and 64 rushing, while forcing two turnovers and allowing just one Olindo Mare field goal on the day. Steve Spagnuolo is obviously leaving his impression on the Rams’ defense, which has yet to allow more than 17 points in any game this season.

      Granted, it’s not like the Rams have played any offensive juggernauts to this point. But this was a team that won only one game last year and was beaten like a rented mule week in and week out. A 2-2 start is about as much as the Rams’ brass could ask for at this point.

      External Sports, NFL

      Steelers defense finally falters as Joe Flacco steps up for Ravens

      October 3, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 03: Anquan Boldin of the Baltimore Ravens runs after a catch in front of Bryant McFadden of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the game on October 3, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      If you had gotten Mike Tomlin liquored up before the season started and asked him if he would take a 3-1 record without Ben Roethlisberger, it’s highly unlikely that he would have responded with a “no.” He may have even admitted that he would have taken a split without his starting quarterback.

      But considering his Steelers were so close to a 4-0 start, he must be disappointed today.

      For three weeks, Pittsburgh’s defense had played better than any unit in the league. But on Sunday against the Ravens, their secondary cracked late and Baltimore was able to steal a 17-14 victory in the final minutes.

      I’ll be honest, after Joe Flacco threw that lame excuse for a pass to Anquan Boldin on a 4th and goal with just under three minutes remaining (the one that had little to no chance of being caught by Boldin), I thought the game was over. But the Steelers couldn’t kill the rest of the clock and when Flacco got a second chance to lead his team to victory, he didn’t falter.

      Flacco completed all four of his pass attempts for 40 yards on the Ravens’ final drive, which ended with a T.J. Houshmandzadeh 18-yard touchdown reception with roughly 30 seconds remaining. Flacco shredded Pittsburgh’s secondary, which failed to cover a couple sideline routes and then allowed Houshmandzadeh to get behind them on the final play. Pundits said before the season started that the secondary was the Steelers’ biggest weakness (save for Troy Polamalu, of course) and it showed today.

      But give credit to Flacco. All three of the Ravens’ running backs were banged up and the third-year quarterback stepped up when he had to. There hasn’t been one quarterback (that includes Matt Ryan and Vince Young) who has looked good against Pittsburgh’s defense this year, but Flacco managed to.

      Now that Big Ben is set to return next week, it’s going to be fun watching the Steelers and Ravens battle it out in the AFC North.

      External Sports, NFL

      LaDainain Tomlinson running like it’s 2006 again

      October 3, 2010 /
      ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 03: LaDainian Tomlinson of the New York Jets runs against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on October 3, 2010 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

      LaDainian Tomlinson was deemed washed up well before the Chargers finally dumped him in late February of this year. Despite his claims that he still had a lot to offer on the field, the Bolts wanted to move on – get younger.

      The Jets are glad they did.

      In New York’s 38-14 rout of the Bills on Sunday, Tomlinson rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He also had three catches for 22 yards and is now on pace to rack up 1,692 total yards this season.

      There’s a good chance that he’ll wear down at some point and never reach that yardage number, but then again he’s already made the Jets’ brass look wise for taking a flier on him this spring. There were reports that he looked “old” and “slow” in training camp, but nobody is saying that now.

      But while Tomlinson displayed outstanding vision, balance and quickness today in Buffalo, his rejuvenation is due in large part to the play of the Jets’ offensive line. One thing many of L.T.’s critics tend to overlook is the fact that San Diego’s offensive line was a poor run blocking unit. That’s not a problem for Tomlinson now, as the Jets’ O-line absolutely dominated an overmatched, undermanned Buffalo front seven on Sunday.

      It’s a long season and at some point, the Jets will need second-year back Shonn Greene to do exactly what he did today (22 carries, 117 yards) on a regular basis. But as of right now, they can continue to reap the rewards of their offseason investment and Tomlinson can continue repaying them for believing that he hadn’t lost a step.

      External Sports, NFL

      Roddy White makes play of the day (if not season) in Falcons’ win over 49ers

      October 3, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 29: Roddy White #84 of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates his game-winning touchdown in the final seconds against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Eric Weems #14 and quarterback Chris Redman #8 at Georgia Dome on November 29, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      The 49ers must feel a massive sense of déjà vu right now.

      In a Week 5 game in San Francisco last year, former 49er cornerback Dre Bly intercepted a Matt Ryan pass and had a clear beat on the end zone.

      The only problem is that he started high stepping around midfield and Falcons’ receiver Roddy White caught up to him and stripped him from behind. One of Atlanta’s offensive lineman was able to recover the loose ball and the Falcons went on to beat the Niners, 45-10.

      Fast-forward to today, where San Fran outplayed the Falcons in Atlanta for three and a half quarters and while nursing a 1-point lead with under two minutes remaining, Nate Clements intercepted Ryan and headed for the end zone.

      A touchdown would have likely sealed the win for the Niners, but White chased Clements down from behind, stripped the ball and one of the Falcons’ offensive lineman (I’m not making this up) recovered it at Atlanta’s 7-yard line. (The lineman’s name who recovered the ball was Harvey Dahl, who never gave up on the play either and made just as big of a play as White did.)

      With just over a minute remaining in the game, Ryan gathered himself and orchestrated an impressive drive to get the Falcons into field goal range at the San Francisco 25-yard line. After Mike Singletary tried icing the kicker (does that ever work?) by calling a timeout, Matt Brant kicked a 43-yard field goal to lift Atlanta to a 16-14 victory.

      The Niners did a lot of things right today and they seemed destined to earn their first victory of the year. Even though they only scored 14 points, new offensive coordinator Mike Johnson put together a sound game plan and if it weren’t for a couple of Alex Smith-drive-killing-interceptions, San Fran may have won easily.

      But the game essentially came down to White’s play late in the fourth quarter. At the risk of sounding like a motivational poster, the Falcons won today because of White’s hustle and determination. And considering he’s made a play like this before, it goes to show you that he’s much more than just a Pro Bowl receiver.

      It was one of the best plays you’ll see all season.

      External Sports, NFL

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