Category: NFL (Page 876 of 1282)

The Giants are the best team in football – period

Giants-RedskinsNothing against the New York Jets or Tennessee Titans, but the New York Giants are clearly the best team in the NFL right now. How many teams would have gone into Arizona and Washington the past two weeks and soundly beat two good football squads in the Cardinals and Redskins as soundly as the Giants just did?

In their 23-7 win over the Skins on Sunday, the Giants shutout Washington in the first half and limited them to just 92 total yards on the ground. They also dominated time of possession (35:44 to 24:16), racked up 404 total yards of offense and caused two turnovers. The way the G-Men win is machine-like.

Even though this loss hurts, Washington is still in good shape. They have a tough matchup next week in Baltimore, but then they travel to Cincinnati, face Philadelphia at home and then wrap up the season in San Francisco. They should finish no worse than 9-7 and considering they already beat the Eagles on the road earlier this season, they should be expected to beat Philly. One would think 10-6 should be good enough for a playoff berth in the NFC.

But getting back to the topic at hand – will any team beat the Giants in the postseason? Tampa’s defense is good enough, but their offense has been hit and miss this year. Arizona’s passing game is dangerous, but the Cards would be no match for the G-Men in New York come playoff time. Carolina can be dangerous, but they’re also inconsistent. Washington, Atlanta and whoever wins the NFC North don’t seem

So who’s left? The team that many people had representing the NFC in the Super Bowl – the Dallas Cowboys.

Stick a fork in the Packers – they’re done

Aaron RodgersWhen the Saints blasted them 51-29 last Monday night, my writing cohort John Paulsen wrote in the comment section of my game recap that his Packers just weren’t a very good team. After watching them choke away multiple leads in a 35-31 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, I would have to agree to JP – the Packers just flat out aren’t that good this season.

The offense is fine – Aaron Rodgers threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday – but the defense is average at best. Pundits like to talk about what kind of team the Packers would be if they still had Brett Favre, but Brett had a better defense on the other side of the ball last year.

This was a Panthers team that couldn’t move the ball against Oakland three weeks ago, struggled to beat the Lions and then was waxed last Sunday in Atlanta. Yet they were able to rack up 130 yards on the ground and 35 points despite losing the time of possession battle 37:52 to 22:08. It’s amazing how ineffective the Green Bay front seven has been this year after being one of the bright spots in 2007.

Mathematically the Packers are still in the playoff hunt (they could still even win their pathetic division), but how could you like this team’s chances of making a run over the next four weeks? Offensively they can hang with most opponents, but defensively they consistently get gashed on the ground.

Conversely, this was a massive victory for the Panthers. That catch by Steve Smith to set up the eventual game-winning touchdown was unreal. To go into Lambeau Field and beat the Packers in Green Bay in late November is impressive. Unfortunately for them the Bucs won, but they’ll have their shot to revenge a Week 6 loss to Tampa next Monday night in Carolina. Winner takes sole possession of first place in arguably the most exciting division in the NFL – the NFC South.

Bucs make MVP candidate Brees look brutal

Saints-BucsFor all the talk about how Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees is an MVP candidate this season, the Tampa Bay defense made him look ordinary in the Buccaneers’ 23-20 victory on Sunday.

Brees threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times, including once on the Saints’ final offensive possession. Granted the weather did neutralize the potent New Orleans’ offense, but Brees looked awful. He consistently threw into double coverage and often behind his receivers. I hate to keep piling on Brees because he’s been fantastic all season, but the Saints’ defense played well enough to win. But he just wasn’t very good in the clutch.

Both the Bucs and Panthers won on Sunday, which means the Saints’ best hopes for a playoff spot is the Wild Card. And if the Falcons beat the Chargers, then even the Wild Card looks bleak.

Tampa, meanwhile, couldn’t separate itself in the NFC South, but they essentially control their own destiny. They still have to play the Panthers and Falcons one more time, but they also hold the series advantage against those teams, too. And with the way their defense is playing, they’re going to be tough come playoff time.

Plaxico Burress accidentally shoots himself?

FoxSports.com is reporting that Plaxico Burress was a victim of an accidental gunshot wound on Friday.

Not only was he the victim, he was the shooter too.

The New York Giants wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the leg on Friday night, FOXSports.com has learned, not long after being ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Redskins with a hamstring injury.

He spent the night in the hospital and the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. The team is still trying to gather further information on the incident.

I’ve heard of some unconventional treatment for leg injuries, but this is ridiculous.

Ba-dum-bump.

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College Basketball

Friday, 3:30 PM: NIT Season Tip-Off Championship – #13 Oklahoma vs. #9 Purdue, ESPN2
Friday, 5:30 PM: Old Spice Classic Semifinal – Maryland vs. #10 Gonzaga, ESPN
Friday, 8 PM: California vs. UNLV

College Football

Saturday, 3:30 PM: Auburn vs. #1 Alabama, CBS
Saturday, 3:30 PM: #4 Florida vs. #20 Florida State, ABC
Saturday, 7 PM: #23 Oregon vs. #17 Oregon State, Versus
Saturday, 8 PM: #3 Oklahoma vs. #12 Oklahoma State, ABC

NBA

Friday, 8 PM: Miami Heat vs. Phoenix Suns, ESPN
Friday, 10:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN
Friday, 10 PM: New Orleans Hornets vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Saturday, 8:30 PM: San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets
Sunday, 9:30 PM: Toronto Raptors vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Sunday, 8 PM: Houston Rockets vs. Denver Nuggets

NFL

Sunday, 1 PM: New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins, Fox
Sunday, 4:15 PM: Denver Broncos vs. New York Jets, CBS
Sunday, 4:15 PM: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots, CBS

NHL

Friday, 7 PM: Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
Saturday, 7 PM: Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins
Saturday, 7:30 PM: New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

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