Category: NFL (Page 600 of 1282)

      Is the NFC South on the line tonight?

      November 2, 2009 /

      With over eight games remaining on the schedule, it might be a little early to suggest that a division winner could be theoretically crowned tonight in the NFC South, but a closer look reveals otherwise.

      At 6-0, the Saints currently have a two game lead over the 4-2 Falcons in the division. A win tonight and New Orleans will open up a three game lead over Atlanta with nine games remaining for each team. Granted, a lot could happen in nine games but barring injury to Drew Brees the Saints don’t look like a team that will implode in the second half.

      A quick peak at the rest of the Saints’ schedule reveals very winnable games against the Panthers (twice), Rams, Bucs (twice) and the Redskins. The only games that present a challenge are home dates with the Patriots (Week 12) and Cowboys (Week 15), as well as a trip to Atlanta in Week 14. The Falcons have a longer roe to hoe, with road games against the Giants and Jets, as well as home games against the Eagles, Saints and pesky Bills. So with all things considered, a loss tonight and a three-game hole would be incredibly tough to climb out of if you’re Atlanta.

      Even at 4-2, the Falcons have a lot to prove. Michael Turner is averaging a full YPC less than he did last season, Matt Ryan started off hot but is now fading and the defense has major issues in the secondary. After they were spanked last week in Dallas, the Falcons need a good showing tonight in New Orleans not just to keep pace in the NFC South, but also to prove to themselves that they’re a legitimate playoff contender.

      Atlanta will certainly be tested tonight. The Saints have the most balanced offensive attack in the league and if the Falcons can’t generate any pressure on Brees, he’ll light up a secondary that is athletic, but is often overmatched in coverage do to lack of size (Brent Grimes) or technique (Chris Houston). The Falcons’ corners don’t play well in man-to-man coverage, so blitzing extra linebackers isn’t always a possibility. That means the front four of John Abraham, Jonathan Babineaux, Jamaal Anderson and Chauncey Davis must step up and provide a consistent pass rush or else Atlanta will get torched.

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      NFL

      JaMarcus Russell is clueless

      November 2, 2009 /

      Following his 109-yard passing day in a 21-16 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell thought that he did a “pretty good job.”

      From the Contra Costa Times:

      “I did a pretty good job,” Russell told reporters. “When it all boils down to it, you had a chance at the end to try and win. Didn’t do too much damage with the interception. No matter what happened, I think we came out and fought despite the score and just kept pushing and just came out short in the end.”

      Just the mere fact that he thinks a 109-yard passing day is good shows how far Russell has to go in order to become a leader. And if you think I’m being too hard on him, remember that he also threw an interception that led to a touchdown for the Chargers, fumbled once, averaged just five yards per pass attempt and took five sacks.

      Compared to some other games this year, Russell’s performance wasn’t that bad. But for him to say that he was “good” would be disconcerting to me if I were in the Raider organization because he clearly isn’t striving to make himself better if he’s willing to settle for a performance like that.

      He’s long overdue to put on the big boy pants and start working on his craft. He continues to take his situation for granted (i.e. he knows the Raiders won’t replace him) and refuses to put in the work to become better. I realize he doesn’t have the best supporting cast around him, but the Raiders still deserve more from their former first overall pick.

      NFL

      Should the Browns stick with Mangini?

      November 2, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Browns owner Randy Lerner said that Eric Mangini’s job is safe heading into the team’s bye week, but also noted that he was sick about their 1-7 record. Lerner also said that the Browns’ quarterback situation “doesn’t seem sensible” and that he may bring in a team president to overlook Mangini and GM George Kokonis.

      Considering Mangini only has one offseason under his belt in Cleveland, he deserves more time. He’s essentially not working with the roster that he wants yet, so it makes sense that Lerner won’t pull the plug on him after only eight games.

      That said, Mangini has to get this team to at least be competitive or else nobody will blame Lerner for scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch again in the offseason. That might sound nauseating to Browns fans, but if Mangini is in over his head, then why waste one or two more years?

      The Browns are a putrid 1-7. After giving a good Cincinnati team a run for its money in Week 4, Cleveland has scored a combined 29 points in four games. That’s barely a touchdown a game, which is staggering. Making matters worse, Mangini has already made one quarterback change this year switching from Brady Quinn to Derek Anderson, and may have to make another as Anderson continues to drive the Browns further into NFL purgatory. (He has failed to throw for over 100 yards in four of the six games he’s played in this season.)

      Cleveland isn’t going to even sniff the playoffs this season, but what Lerner needs to see is a team that competes. If the players quit on Mangini, he may never get them back and then it’ll be time to make a change. He deserves another offseason to build the roster he wants, but at the same time he better earn it over the next eight games.

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      Should the Browns fire Eric Mangini?
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      NFL

      Favre claims he played through groin injury

      November 2, 2009 /

      Brett Favre told SI.com’s Peter King that he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to play against the Packers yesterday because of a groin injury. Favre claims he suffered the injury last week in practice and then re-aggravated it in pregame warm-ups.

      “I told T-Jack [backup Tarvaris Jackson] and [offensive coordinator] Darrell Bevell I may not be able to do it,” he said. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to drop back very well. After I aggravated it, there was no way I was going to be able to move around in the pocket very much. We never called one bootleg the whole game. But we made it through OK.”

      And now, I wondered, how was the groin four hours and a lot of lost adrenalin later?

      “It’s throbbing right now,” he said.

      Oh…come…on. Look, I don’t doubt that Favre injured himself in practice (he is 60 years old after all) and then re-injured himself during pregame warm-ups. I also don’t doubt that he told Jackson and Bevell that he was hurt and might not be able to play.

      But I don’t buy for a minute that he was going to hold himself out. He wasn’t going to allow a groin injury to get in the way of beating the Packers at Lambeau and if anything, I’m willing to bet that he wanted people to know that he was hurt just so he could build the moment up even more.

      Some are going to look at this as the “gritty” Brett playing through pain; I’m sure ESPN is already salivating thinking about the story. But I think this guy has a lot of people fooled.

      Maybe I’m being to cynical and over thinking this, but it’s Brett’s comments that bug me the most. If King asked him how he was feeling and Brett said, “Well Pistol Pete, I’m a little sore because of a groin injury I suffered last week,” then I wouldn’t question him because the comment would have been more fly-by.

      But no, Brett made damn sure to note that he might not have been able to play. To me, that’s just another prima donna move by one of the more underrated prima donna athletes of all-time.

      NFL

      Fantasy Fallout, Week 8: QBs

      November 2, 2009 /

      – Donovan McNabb (240 yards, 3 TD) shredded a dinged-up Giants secondary.

      – Mark Sanchez (265 yards, 2 TD) was able to take advantage of the Dolphins young CBs.

      – Alex Smith (198 yards, TD, INT) had a better-than-expected game against the Colts’ stingy pass defense.

      – Neither Matthew Stafford (168 yards, INT) nor Marc Bulger (176 yards, INT) played well even though they both had great matchups.

      – Tony Romo (256 yards, 3 TD) posted big numbers for the third straight week. He has 918 yards and 8 TD over that span, but faces a tough test in Philly next week.

      – Jay Cutler (225 yards, INT) had a very disappointing day against the Browns.

      – Coming into Week 8, the Titans had the league’s worst pass defense, so David Garrard’s performance (139 yards, 2 INT) is a major disappointment.

      – Vince Young completed 15/18 passes (for 125 yards and TD) en route to a nice day. He also ran 12 times for 30 yards. If Young wants to get back to what made him so successful in his rookie season, he needs to run the ball.

      – Kurt Warner (242 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT) turned the ball over six times.

      – Brett Favre (244 yards, 4 TD) stuck it to his old team. He was sharp, but the Packers weren’t able to put much pressure on him.

      – Aaron Rodgers (287 yards, 3 TD) played well in a tough situation, or at least in the second half. He is still taking sacks that he shouldn’t be.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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