Category: NFL (Page 917 of 1282)

      Refs blow crucial call in Falcons-Eagles game

      October 26, 2008 /

      Falcons-EaglesIt wasn’t anywhere near as crucial as Ed Hochuli’s gaff in the Broncos-Chargers game earlier this season, but the refs blew another call Sunday, this one costing the Falcons a chance to possibly drive for a late score and beat the Eagles.

      The 27-14 final suggests that Philadelphia soundly handled Atlanta, but it doesn’t provide the full story. Rookie QB Matt Ryan connected with Roddy White for his second touchdown pass of the game to cut the Eagles’ lead to 20-14 with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

      After forcing Philly to go three and out on their next possession, the Falcons were set to get the ball back with just over two minutes left and no timeouts. But after returner Adam Jennings let a punt bounce at his feet, the refs called a muff and awarded the Eagles the ball at that spot. Replays clearly showed that the ball never touched Jennings but because the Falcons had used all of their timeouts, they couldn’t review it. Brian Westbrook (who had a huge day coming back from injury) then broke off a 39-yard touchdown run to put the game away.

      Granted, Atlanta might not have scored anyway, but they never got the opportunity either. And it seems that more than ever, refs are way too flag-happy and it has cost teams chances to win ballgames. Earlier in this game, Trent Cole was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul penalty for a hit on Ryan that couldn’t have been a worse call. Cole hit him square and it wasn’t head-to-head or malicious at all.

      I hate to talk about blown calls because they happen to every team every week. But they’ve seemed especially bad this year and it looks like they’ll continue throughout the season.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Chad Pennington has been solid for young Dolphins

      October 26, 2008 /

      Chad PenningtonThe knock on Chad Pennington his entire career is that he has a noodle-arm and can’t complete passes over 15 yards. But in the Dolphins impressive 25-16 win over the Bills on Sunday, Pennington proved that there is something attached to his right shoulder.

      Pennington completed 22 of 30 passes for 314 yards and a touchdown against an underrated Buffalo defense and his 46-yard pass to Ted Ginn on the first play of the game set up a Anthony Fasano touchdown to put Miami up 7-0.

      I was definitely skeptical of the Pennington signing in the offseason because I felt the Dolphins weren’t giving their young signal callers a chance to compete. But Pennington has been great for a young Miami squad and at 3-4 they’re certainly in the playoff hunt in the AFC, albeit a long shot.

      The Bills really blew an opportunity to stay ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East. Trailing 17-16 at the start of the fourth quarter, Trent Edwards was intercepted, which Miami eventually turned into a field goal. On their next possession, Edwards fumbled and although Miami didn’t turn the turnover into points, they pinned the Bills at their own three-yard line and then sacked Edwards for a safety. Then down 25-16 with less than four minutes to play, Robert Royal fumbled, which allowed the Dolphins to run out the clock.

      This was a disappointing step back for a Bills team that was building momentum after beating the Chargers last week.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Condoleezza Rice interested in becoming president of 49ers

      October 26, 2008 /

      Apparently Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is interested in a front office job with the San Francisco 49ers, perhaps even becoming their president.

      Condoleezza Rice“We all know that change has swept through San Francisco, but now it looks like more could be coming. The 49ers have said they’re in the market for a front-office type of executive — a president.

      And interestingly enough … Condoleezza Rice has told people that she would like to become president of a football team. So, she’s headed to be out in California in January, the two sides could wind up speaking. The 49ers told me this week they are definitely interested in speaking to … Rice about taking on a president-type of role within the organization; a lot of people feel she could be very instrumental in procuring a new stadium for the … 49ers.”

      Yes, because a new stadium will solve the team’s inability to win games. Look, I know Rice is a huge sports fan, but why exactly is she qualified for the job? Oh, right, because she was so effective as National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State.

      The absurdity of it all naturally results in Warren Sapp providing a not completely insane observation: “The multi-tasking didn’t work in Washington so maybe the single-tasking will work in San Francisco.”

      Not that this is the same situation, but remember when the Lions pulled Matt Millen out of the broadcast booth to become their general manager because they liked his player evaluations? That it didn’t turn out too well. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see how Rice helps the 49ers situation outside of creating a buzz. Hiring a good football mind (you know, somebody who actually has been in the NFL), makes a little more sense.

      NFL

      NFL Week 8 Primer

      October 26, 2008 /

      Eli ManningSunday’s Best: Giants (5-1) at Steelers (5-1), 4:15 PM ET
      Does a matchup get more physical than this? The biggest news surrounding this game on the injury front is that Willie Parker is expected to return to the Steelers’ backfield this week after missing last Sunday’s win over the Bengals after aggravating his knee injury. He faces a tough front seven of the Giants, who bounced back last Sunday against San Francisco after being embarrassed on Monday night football two weeks ago in Cleveland. New York’s defense complied six sacks, forced four fumbles, intercepted two passes and held the 49ers to 2 of 10 on third downs. One thing to note is that the Steelers were manhandled by an Eagles team early in the season that runs a similar defensive scheme as the Giants do. Expect the G-Men to game plan against the run while blitzing Ben Roethlisberger early and often. Pittsburgh’s banged up offensive line is ranked 28th in sacks allowed, which doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Big Ben this weekend. Still, expect a Steeler defense pumped for the opportunity to stifle Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs and the rest of New York’s explosive offense.

      Upset Watch: Falcons (4-2) at Eagles (3-3), 1:00 PM ET
      Bragging alert: I’ve called the last four upset-watches and five of the first seven this season. And if Martin Gramatica wasn’t awful, I would have nailed the Saints over the Broncos in Week 3 as well. I’m going out on a major limb this week in calling a Falcons upset over the Eagles. Not only is Philly a 9-point favorite, but the Eagles are also 9-0 under Andy Reid coming off the bye. But I’ve bought hard into the Matt Ryan hype and happen to believe Atlanta is better than what people are making them out to be. They trust Ryan to make throws in the passing game, can run the ball with Michael Turner and have beaten two quality teams in the Packers and Bears in their last two games. For them to walk away with a win on Sunday, however, the defense will need to step up. Donovan McNabb is shredding opposing defenses and will likely have Brian Westbrook, Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis back from injuries. But the Falcons have moved the ball well this year, are protecting Ryan (which will be huge this week against Jim Johnson’s blitz-happy defense) and are coming off a bye themselves. They have a lot of momentum after the win over the Bears and have been a more physical team under first-year head coach Mike Smith. A win might be out of reach, but at the very least, I’m calling for a Falcons cover.

      LaDainian TomlinsonIntriguing Matchup: Chargers at Saints, 1:00 PM ET
      Both of these teams were highly regarded as playoff contenders in preseason – if not Super Bowl contenders. But both of struggled with inconsistency so far and the Saints will be without Reggie Bush for the next 3 to 4 weeks. LaDainian Tomlinson has not looked like the same MVP back he’s been in recent years, but QB Philip Rivers has more than picked up the slack. Which one of these teams can get back on track this week playing overseas in London? Chances are, the winner might be able to save its season while the loser could start to fall off the playoff radar. (Especially New Orleans, who now plays in a surprisingly tough NFC South.)

      Other Notable Games:
      Cardinals (4-2) at Panthers (5-2)
      Had it not been for the Giants-Steelers game, this matchup might have been the best the NFL had to offer this week. Each team is starting to make some noise, but both have also looked incredibly bad at times this year (see the Cardinals effort against the Jets and the Panthers against the Buccaneers).

      Buccaneers (5-2) at Cowboys (4-3), 1:00 PM ET
      No Tony Romo again for Dallas – will Monte Kiffin’s defense eat Brad Johnson alive?

      Colts (3-3) at Titans (6-0), 8:30 PM ET Monday
      The Monday night matchup is a great one. Can Peyton Manning turn around the Colts’ misfortunes this year against the surprising undefeated Titans?

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Top 10 Active NFL Rushing Leaders

      October 25, 2008 /

      Racking up yards in the NFL looks easy, but these guys take a beating like nobody else in football. The ones that do it year in and year out are just tough physical specimens who are also quick and elusive, and probably work their butts off in the gym. Here is a list of the active career rushing leaders…..

      1. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals (11,970)—Most of these yards were in Indianapolis playing in one of the best offenses in NFL history. But Edge is still only 30…and no, that’s not a typo.

      2. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (11,096)—LT needs to get over his toe injury and have a few LT-like games to climb past James. If he doesn’t do it this season, he will in 2009.

      3. Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars (10,957)—Taylor and WR Joey Galloway are those older players who just won’t go away. Just when you think they have reached the peaks of their careers, they drink from the fountain of youth, as Taylor did last year with 1202 yards.

      4. Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay Bucs (10,604)—Dunn only has 48 career touchdowns, but this guy has always had breakaway speed in the open field.

      5. Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns (9508)—He tormented Cleveland for years with those “former Browns” known as the Baltimore Ravens. Now he’s one of the good guys.

      6. Shaun Alexander, Washington Redskins (9437)—Was it as weird for you to see Alexander in a Redskins uniform last week as it was for me? Clinton Portis has rushed for the equivalent of a few country miles the last few weeks, so Alexander could see some action soon.

      7. Ahman Green, Houston Texans (8929)—He can’t seem to stay on the field, but when he does, he still has skills. Could Green now be used as a touchdown vulture to Steve Slaton?

      8. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins (8533)—I always want to avoid this guy in my fantasy drafts, but then he always comes back to haunt me when I play against him.

      9. Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins (7363)—Williams, who likes to smoke reefer, missed the 2004 season, the 2006 season, and 15 games of the 2007 season. Yet, he’s still on this list. Well, those 1853 yards in 2002 have something to do with that.

      10. Thomas Jones, New York Jets (6981)—Julius’ older brother has had a nice career, but you get the feeling he is on the downside of it, don’t you?

      Source: Pro Football Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Football, NFL

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