Category: NFL (Page 574 of 1282)

      Waiver Wire Watch: Week 12

      November 24, 2009 /

      Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.

      Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.

      Alex Smith (12.8)
      Why Smith is still available in 87% of leagues is beyond me. Since taking over as the starter, he is averaging 207 pass yards and 1.8 pass TD. Moreover, he has three good matchups coming up — JAX, SEA, ARI — and another good matchup in Week 16 (DET).
      Mark Sanchez (43.5)
      He had a rough go of it against New England, but with a pair of nice matchups in Week 14 (TB) and Week 15 (ATL), he wouldn’t be a bad backup for the home stretch.
      Vince Young (9.4)
      Jason Campbell (19.5)
      Jake Delhomme (11.8)
      Matthew Stafford (6.8)
      He’d be higher on this list if not for the injury to his left shoulder that he suffered at the end of Sunday’s game.
      Josh Freeman (3.1)
      Ryan Fitzpatrick (0.6)

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      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Kris Brown blows another chance for Texans

      November 24, 2009 /

      For the second week in a row, Texans’ kicker Kris Brown blew an opportunity for his team to tie a game and force overtime. This time, Browns’ miss came in a 20-17 loss to the Titans on Monday night.

      Brown missed a 49-yard field goal with six seconds remaining, which would have tied the game and forced overtime. Granted, a 49-yard attempt is no chip shot but he also missed a 49-yarder early in the second half that could have given Houston the lead, not to mention he blew a 42-yarder last week against the Colts as time expired that could have forced overtime.

      Again, 49 and 42-yarders are no gimmies. But Matt Schaub and the offense put their team in position to at least force overtime the last two games and their kicker couldn’t convert. One could make the argument that Schaub and the offense should have done more before that point, but the bottom line is that Brown needs to be more clutch if Houston wants to reach the next level.

      As for the Titans, they’ve now won four in a row since Jeff Fisher made the switch from Kerry Collins to Vince Young. VY was once again far from explosive as a passer, but he kept drives alive with his legs (11 carries, 73 yards) and also did a fantastic job of getting the hell out of the way of Chris Johnson, who rushed for 151 yards on 29 carries.

      Tennessee’s defense also did a great job bottling up Steve Slaton and Houston’s running game, limiting the Texans to just 57 yards on the ground. The Titans also pressured Schaub throughout the night and forced him into some inaccurate throws.

      Tennessee held the Texans to only a field goal in the second half after allowing 14 points in the first two quarters. It was a complete effort from the Titans, who have damn near erased their 0-6 start.

      NFL

      Decade Debate: 6 Greatest Sports Rivalries

      November 23, 2009 /

      The word rivalry is defined as “competition for the same objective or superiority in the same field.” Rivalries exist in all facets of life, but they are no more apparent than in the world of sport. With the end of the decade looming, here are the six most intense rivalries of the last ten years.

      6. Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson

      Competition between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson may not produce the mystique that Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus once did, but their rivalry has been exciting nonetheless. Without Tiger Woods, professional golf’s popularity would be a mere morsel of what it is today. The man has won 14 majors, holds his own tournament (the AT&T National), designed two beautiful courses, is the only golfer with his own video game, and garners public intrigue on the same level as world leaders. Still, his status as figurehead of professional golf wouldn’t have any merit without some stiff competition. Enter Phil Mickelson, Tiger’s only adversary with any staying power. When Mickelson won the 2000 Buick Invitational, he also officially ended Tiger’s streak of consecutive tournament wins at six. Over the years, Mickelson would hire Butch Harmon, Tiger’s former coach, and joke about Tiger’s use of “inferior equipment.” Still, their rivalry always remained amicable, even as Phil won his first major in ’04 (The Masters), the PGA Championship in ’05 another Green Jacket in ’06. During this year’s Masters, Tiger and Mickelson were finally paired together in a major event. Trudging down the final back nine at Augusta, the two golfers put on a show that thankfully lived up to the hype. –- Christopher Glotfelty

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      Barstool Debates, College Basketball, Golf, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Tennis

      Is Parcells interested in joining Browns?

      November 23, 2009 /

      According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Bill Parcells may be interested in leaving the Dolphins taking a position with the Browns next season.

      What sounds unthinkable is actually gaining a little credence. There is chatter initiated in NFL personnel ranks that Parcells would be agreeable to leaving the Dolphins midway through his four-year contract to take on his next rebuilding project in Cleveland.

      “The one thing about Bill is he’s unpredictable,” said a league source, who would not discount the possibility.

      Parcells has an escape clause in his contract to leave the Dolphins at any point and still receive the remaining money owed him. Further, the new team would not be required to compensate the Dolphins with money or draft picks.

      Parcells is always looking for a new challenge, they say, and he feels the organization he has set up in Miami will carry on fine without him.

      Wooing Parcells would have to wait until Miami’s season is over. There’s the very real possibility of him playing one suitor against another. He has left the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the altar on separate occasions twice each during his illustrious career.

      There is also the realization that Parcells, 68, is not going to preside long over what he builds.

      “You just have to find the steady hand [to oversee] after he gets bored,” a source said.

      Even if Parcells came to Cleveland for two years it would still be worth it for the Browns, because he would build a coaching staff that could succeed once he bolts. The key would be to get him for those couple of years to point the ship in the right direction and get it moving forward. Then when he decides to move on to greener pastures, the organization will hopefully be filled with competent people.

      As the article notes, Parcells is always intrigued by a challenge. He has a massive ego and wants to see his name mentioned in the headlines. He has to be getting a little complacent in Miami and Cleveland would be the ultimate reclamation project.

      We’ll see if the Big Tuna bites if Cleveland offers.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Bill Simmons vs. Wayne Winston

      November 23, 2009 /

      In last week’s column about Bill Belichick’s ill-fated decision to go for it on 4th-and-2 on his own 28, Bill Simmons took a shot at Mavs stat-man Wayne Winston.

      Which brings us back to statistics. Yes, they enhance the discussion. Many times. (FYI: The “to punt or not to punt” numbers, in general, are interesting. You can make a strong case that good offenses should almost always go for it on fourth-and-short beyond their own 40.) There are also times when statistics make that same discussion dumber. For instance, a former Mavericks statistician named Wayne Winston recently debuted a complicated plus-minus statistic for basketball that included the following two revelations:

      1. Kevin Durant made the 2008-09 Zombie Sonics worse.
      2. Tim Thomas is underrated.

      (Deep breath.)

      I don’t want to get into my thoughts about plus-minus data and all the inherent problems with it. Some other time. We’ll ignore the Durant lunacy for now. But to argue, insinuate or even blink that Tim Thomas is underrated — by any metric — cannot be allowed.

      He goes on to discuss Thomas’s lack of heart, and how he hurts his team spiritually and emotionally.

      Winston got wind of Simmons’ shout out and responded on his blog.

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      NBA, NFL

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