Category: NFL (Page 526 of 1282)

      It’s going to be a big Saturday in sports

      January 9, 2010 /

      Earlier this week, I took a look at the sports schedule for Saturday and asked my wife, “Please don’t volunteer me for anything on Saturday. It’s a huge day in sports.”

      I live in California, so things start early for me. Those of you on the East Coast or in the Midwest have a few hours in the morning to get the husband/boyfriend duties out of the way. Here’s your Big Saturday itinerary:

      12 PM ET / 9 AM PT: #13 UConn @ #12 Georgetown (ESPN)
      Sure, Georgetown’s loss at Marquette on Wednesday takes a little sting out of this matchup, but a home date with UConn should get the Hoyas plenty focused. Georgetown has a balanced attack (three players averaging 14+ ppg) while UConn is The Jerome Dyson-Stanley Robinson Show. (Side note: The Huskies still haven’t won a game away from home this season.)

      1:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM PT: #4 Purdue @ #20 Wisconsin
      The Boilermakers face a tough test on the road against the Badgers’ stingy defense. Sadly, this one isn’t on national TV. Bummer.

      2 PM ET / 11 AM PT: #5 Duke @ #17 Georgia Tech (ESPN)
      Another top 5 team faces a tough road test. This time, it’s The Team That Everyone Loves To Hate who visits a good Georgia Tech squad in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets’ feshman big man Derrick Favors (currently projected to be the #2 pick in the draft) will battle the Dookies inside.

      4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT: Jets @ Bengals (NBC)
      The Jets come in surprisingly confident (considering they have a rookie QB who has thrown 20 interceptions this season) after thrashing an uninspired Cincy team in Week 17. Look for the Bengals to play well and take advantage of Mark Sanchez’s inexperience. The Jets have a great defense, so this should be a low scoring affair.

      7 PM ET / 4 PM PT: Hawks @ Magic (Fox Sports South)
      I know, it’s the NBA regular season, but if the Jets/Bengals game gets out of control, this Atlanta/Orlando matchup features two of the top four teams in the East.

      8 PM ET / 5 PM PT: Eagles @ Cowboys (NBC)
      All eyes will be on Dallas tomorrow night as the Cowboys try not to suffer another late season meltdown. The Eagles looked terrible in Week 17 — could they possibly play that bad back-to-back? We’ll see. The Cowboys are one of the hottest teams in football right now, but game smells like it will be a close one.

      There you go — East Coasters can go to bed while those of us living on the West Coast can take our ladies to a late movie. Good times.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Basketball, NBA, NFL

      NFL Playoff Preview: Saturday games

      January 9, 2010 /

      New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
      4:30 pm ET
      TV—NBC

      Last Sunday night, the Jets closed out the actual regular season history of “old” Giants Stadium the way the Giants wanted to the week before, turning a win-and-in situation into a rout against the Bengals, 37-0. The Jets and their # 1 pass defense held the Bengals to zero passing yards for the game. That’s right, ZERO passing yards. That’s not likely to happen again today, when the Jets visit the Bengals for a rematch that will determine who goes home and who moves on to the divisional round of the playoffs. Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis held RB Cedric Benson out of the Week 17 game, and only let QB Carson Palmer play a few series before letting some bearded guy named J.T. O’Sullivan take over. Lewis didn’t want to show too much, but what he may have shown in the process was that his team is fading fast and may have won games early in the season with smoke and mirrors. The Bengals’ defense is also solid, ranked #7 against the rush and #6 against the pass, but if they allow Thomas Jones and the Jets’ running game to control the clock again, this could very well be another dominant performance by the Jets. And don’t forget the way Jets’ all-world CB Darrelle Revis shut down WR Chad Ochocinco on the field and then on Twitter. The hotter Jets should prevail again, but either way, this is a game featuring two of the NFL’s best defenses, so it’s likely to be ultimately determined by who makes the least mistakes.
      THE PICK: JETS 17, BENGALS 13

      Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
      8:00 pm ET
      TV—NBC

      For as surprising as the Jets’ thrashing of the Bengals was last weekend, the fact that the Cowboys shut out the Eagles may have been the biggest surprise of Week 17. Sure, the Cowboys have been on a roll since handing the Saints their first loss of the season a few weeks back, and haven’t given up a point since then. But the Eagles had won six in a row and were (insert cheesy line here like “flying high” or “soaring”). Despite having Brian Westbrook back, the Eagles have fallen to 22nd in the NFL in rushing offense and have been living by the big pass play most of the season, with second year WR DeSean Jackson changing games by himself on offense and special teams. The Cowboys, however, have beaten the Eagles twice this season, and their only losses came to the Giants twice (in games that could have gone either way), Denver, Green Bay and San Diego. They can run the ball (7th overall), pass with Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Jason Witten (6th overall) and they can stop the run (4th overall). The only blemish for the Cowboys is they are prone to big pass plays, but they seem to have remedied that recently, and with DeMarcus Ware coming off the edge, Donovan McNabb has to have eyes on the side and back of his head at all times. This game will certainly be close, and maybe come down to a field goal. And in that case, would you rather have David Akers or (gulp) Shaun Suisham as your kicker? That’s what I thought.
      THE PICK: EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 24

      NFL

      Report: Carroll to Seahawks “looming”

      January 8, 2010 /

      Updating a previous post, it appears that the Seahawks’ hire of USC head coach Pete Carroll is “looming” according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

      Here’s a breakdown of all the Carroll-to-Seattle rumors via the Post Intelligencer:

      The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke was in Southern California earlier this week to talk to Carroll and gauge his interest in the Seahawks’ job.

      ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was the first to link Carroll’s name with the Seahawks. Mortensen said on SportsCenter his league sources indicate it would be almost surprising at this point if Carroll doesn’t make the move. Here’s his story on ESPN.com.

      Jay Glazer of FOX Sports posted a note on his Twitter account that two people close to Carroll said the Seahawks are “dangling an exhorbitant amount of money at him.”

      Former Los Angeles Times columnist J.A. Adande, now with ESPN, writes that a football source told him Carroll to the Seahawks is a “done done done deal.”

      Seahawks owner Paul Allen certainly has the money to make this deal happen, but Carroll has had the opportunity to return to the NFL a couple of times and hasn’t done it. If he does leave USC, why choose the Seahawks? What makes them a more intriguing employer than some of the other teams that have courted him over the past couple of years? It can’t be the money because I’m sure other NFL owners have been willing to pony up before. Maybe this is just the right time for Carroll.

      From a scheme and game plan standpoint, Carroll is a fit for the NFL because he already runs a pro style system. (USC is essentially a junior NFL team based on the way the program is run under Carroll.) But is he too much of a ra-ra guy to succeed in the pros? He was criticized when he was the head coach of the Jets and Patriots in the 90s because he was too much of a “player’s coach.” Should we expect anything different this time around?

      It’ll be interesting to see if this deal gets finalized and based on Seattle’s decision to fire Jim Mora without hiring a new GM to replace Tim Ruskell, there’s a good chance it will.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Seahawks fire Mora – Do they want Carroll as replacement?

      January 8, 2010 /

      It only took the Seahawks one year to figure out what the rest of the league should know by now: Jim Mora isn’t cut out to be a head coach.

      On Friday, the Seahawks fired Mora (who had replaced Mike Holmgren) after just one season. The move is rather surprising because Seattle did this before hiring a new GM to replace the departed Tim Ruskell, so that means the front office had already made the decision that it wanted Mora gone.

      Mora has pulled the blanket over everyone’s eyes one too many times. He’s a fine defensive coordinator and I doubt that he’ll have problems latching on as an assistant elsewhere because he’s a good motivator and players like him. But as a head coach, he just doesn’t have it and he’s proven this on two different occasions.

      Mora has always been completely outmatched as a game planner and he often leaves his teams unprepared on Sundays. He has never been good at halftime adjustments and he can’t out scheme other coaches in order to produce wins. If his teams can’t get by on talent, then they’re doomed at kickoff because Mora can’t make the necessary in-game decisions to put his players in the right position to win.

      Mora might make a fine college head coach because teams can get by on emotion and passion at the collegiate level, much more than they can in the NFL. Maybe he’ll drop down to the college ranks now that Seattle has decided to part ways.

      As for potential coaching candidates, the Seahawks have already been linked to Vikings’ defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and USC’s Pete Carroll. Of course, every year Carroll’s name is linked to some NFL team and he always winds up heading back to USC. I doubt this year will be any different, but you never know. Owner Paul Allen has enough money to lure Carroll away and ESPN’s Adam Schefter says that the USC coach wanted back into the pros.

      This could be a developing story.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Anquan Boldin expected to be a game-time decision

      January 8, 2010 /

      The Arizona Republic is reporting that Cardinals’ receiver Anquan Boldin will be a game-time decision on Sunday vs. the Packers.

      Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Antrel Rolle were both able to practice for Arizona on Thursday, however

      Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and free safety Antrel Rolle practiced Thursday on a limited basis, an encouraging sign for the Cardinals, who are battling significant injuries on defense.

      Rodgers-Cromartie, who suffered a knee contusion last week, participated in a good portion of practice, coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
      DRC said: “I was out there full speed and it felt good. It felt good to be out there flying around, to be back with these guys practicing and working toward something good.”

      Receiver Anquan Boldin remained out with a sprained knee and ankle. Boldin’s status likely won’t be known until Sunday. Guard Deuce Lutui also missed practice with back spasms, but Whisenhunt expressed confidence that he would play.

      If the Cardinals want to avoid being knocked out in the first round of the playoffs then they’re going to have to do two things: Run the football and pressure the quarterback.

      Even if Boldin plays, he won’t be at 100% and the Packers match up well with the Cardinals’ passing game regardless. So if ‘Zona can’t get Beanie Wells and the ground game working early, then the Cards might be in store for a long day. And teams that have had success against Green Bay this season have all been able to get after Aaron Rodgers.

      Obviously the Cardinals want Boldin to be healthy; he’s a game-changer when he’s on the field. But in the end, he won’t be the difference between victory and defeat.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑