Category: NFL (Page 621 of 1282)

      NFL Coach of the Year Power Rankings

      October 18, 2009 /

      Amazingly, Josh McDaniels and Marvin Lewis are still tied atop this list. And even if they were ranked 1-2, what difference would that make? They both have exceeded expectations in a big way to this point.

      1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos & Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals—After last weekend, these two are still tied, even though McDaniels’ team is 5-0 and Lewis’ is 4-1. Denver beat the Patriots and McDaniels’ mentor Bill Belichick last weekend in Denver, while Lewis’ Bengals had an emotional win over the Ravens in Baltimore a few days after defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife tragically passed away.

      2. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—Really, did anyone expect the Colts to be 5-0 out of the gate? Everyone thought that with the departure of Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison, there would be a regression. Then Anthony Gonzalez got hurt, and still, Caldwell and Peyton Manning are carrying on the winning tradition.

      3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—You have to give a guy credit when he has his team fully prepared each week. The last three weeks, the Giants have utterly dominated their opponents, because Coughlin and his team take no one lightly. The Giants have been hit fairly hard by injuries too, but Coughlin always seems to have a guy to plug in.

      4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—With a 5-0 start, it’s time we gave this guy his due for having the balls to coax Favre back even after Favre’s waffling act teetered on the retirement side again.

      5. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—His team came flying out of the gate with the same high-flying offense, but also with a much-improved defense. We’ll see if Sean is still sitting here after the big showdown against the G-men Sunday.

      Honorable mention: Mike Smith, Falcons; Andy Reid, Eagles; Lovie Smith, Bears

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NFL

      NFL MVP Power Rankings

      October 18, 2009 /

      Some of the candidates for NFL MVP strengthened their case last weekend and some did not. Of course, some also were on bye, maybe hurting their chances but not helping the ones ahead of them who had poor performances. Here is an update on the MVP power rankings through Week 5…

      1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Manning did nothing to hurt his standing here against Tennessee last Sunday, throwing for 309 yards with 3 more TDs, and leading his team to a 5-0 mark going into the bye week.

      2. Eli Manning, New York Giants—Remember all the talk about how this guy wasn’t worth his huge new contract? Well, little brother is making his own case for MVP with a 111.7 QB rating, second only to Peyton, and 10 TDs to just 2 picks. And he only played two quarters last Sunday with a bad foot and still turned in a near-perfect performance. Dude is on fire.

      3. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—He wasn’t as flashy against the Rams after that emotional win over Green Bay, but the fact remains that the Vikings would not be 5-0 without Favre, and that’s the definition of MVP.

      4. Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings—He was already having an MVP season but then added a fumble return for a TD last Sunday. He’s at least the best defensive player this year.

      5. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals—With all due respect to Adrian Peterson, Cedric does not have Steve Hutchinson to run behind and he’s currently leading the NFL in rushing with 487 yards, and has 3 scores.

      Honorable Mention: Drew Brees, Saints; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Antwan Odom, Bengals, Matt Ryan, Falcons; Steve Smith, Giants

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NFL

      Bears trade for Gaines Adams

      October 17, 2009 /

      In a rather surprising move, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded former top 5 pick Gaines Adams to the Chicago Bears for a 2010 second round pick according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

      This could turn out to be a great move by Bears general manager Jerry Angelo, who continues to acquire talented defensive players. The Bears are going to have trouble re-signing Adewale Oguneleye, who is having a solid start to the season and who becomes a free agent in the offseason. Angelo knows this and if doesn’t think he can find a premier pass-rusher in the second round next April, then it’s worth it for him to take a shot on Adams, who was the top defensive end prospect in the 2007 draft. Adams is also under contract through 2012 and is only 26.

      The X-factor in this trade is Chicago defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who has a knack for getting the most out of his players. Adams has the talent, but it hasn’t developed yet and unleashed his full capabilities as a pass rusher. If anyone can get him to reach his full potential, it could be Marinelli.

      As for the Bucs, they get a second round pick out of this deal but lose their most talented pass rusher. I realize that Adams wasn’t exactly the player Tampa that he’d be when they drafted him, but this seems a tad early for the Bucs to give up on him.

      Who knows, maybe Adams will never develop and Tampa will draft a starter with the second round pick it got out of this deal. But as of now, this is a questionable decision by the Bucs’ new regime.

      NFL

      Will Freeman take over the Bucs’ starting QB job soon?

      October 16, 2009 /

      According to a report by NFL.com, the Bucs could start rookie first round pick Josh Freeman as early as Week 9, or the week after Tampa has its bye.

      From Rotoworld.com:

      NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora reports that “people in the (Bucs’) organization” expect first-round rookie Josh Freeman to take over as the team’s starting quarterback by as soon as Week 9.

      Week 8 is the Buccaneers’ bye. There has been a startling lack of commitment to quarterbacks among team brass so far, so this isn’t a surprise. Coach Raheem Morris also admitted following Week 5 that he strongly considered letting Freeman make his debut against Philadelphia. La Canfora says a change may only happen if Tampa loses its next two games, but that’s a fair bet to happen against Carolina and New England.

      I’ve been befuddled by the way Raheem Morris has handled things in Tampa since taking over for the fired Jon Gruden. I don’t know if the guy is completely overmatched and incapable of being a NFL head coach, or if he’s just feeling his way through things in the early going. He deserves a chance either way, but he has plenty of skeptics already.

      As far as Freeman is concerned, the Tampa coaching staff knows if he’s ready or not. If he has made significant strides since offseason workouts and preseason, then maybe he deserves to start. Personally, I wasn’t very high on him as a prospect. He’s a great kid with great work ethic and he has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, but he’s incredibly raw and will probably need a few years to develop.

      Hopefully Morris and company exercise patience with Freeman.

      NFL

      2009 NFL Picks & Predictions: Week 6

      October 16, 2009 /

      Giants (5-0) at Saints (4-0), 1:00PM ET
      Hopefully readers will give me credit for attempt to predict the toughest games this week. No? All right then…This is by far the hardest game to predict on the Week 6 schedule, so let’s look at some of the facts. The Saints should be well rested coming off a bye and are playing at home. They have the edge then right? They should, but don’t forget that the Giants essentially had a bye themselves since they played Oakland last week and New York always travels well. Drew Brees hasn’t seen a pass rush as good as the Giants’ all season and I think New York will disrupt his rhythm. And while Darren Sharper and the New Orleans defense is playing out of their minds right now, Eli Manning won’t make the same mistakes rookie Mark Sanchez did two weeks ago when the Saints earned a victory against the Jets. I like Brandon Jacobs to get back on track and for the G-Men to pull off a huge win at the Superdome.
      Odds: Saints –3.
      Prediction: Giants 27, Saints 24.

      Ravens (3-2) at Vikings (5-0), 1:00PM ET
      So, are the Ravens just in a slump or were they overrated to begin with? Give yourself a gold star if you answered, “A little of both.” Baltimore lost several defensive starters and their coordinator Rex Ryan in the offseason – they were due to have a setback at some point. While I think the Ravens are a solid football team, I don’t like this matchup for them. They’re reeling after two straight losses and play an unfamiliar foe in a hostile environment. I also don’t like the matchup between the Ravens’ receivers and the Vikings’ corners and wonder how Joe Flacco will do once Ray Rice and the running game is shut down by Minnesota’s Williams Wall. As long as Brett Favre doesn’t get turnover-happy for the first time this year, I like the Vikings to remain undefeated.
      Odds: Vikings –3.
      Prediction: Vikings 21, Ravens 17.

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