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      Larry Johnson rushes for 107 yards in Bengals’ win

      November 29, 2009 /

      It didn’t take long for Larry Johnson to make an impact for the Bengals.

      Just two weeks after Cincinnati signed the troubled running back, Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries to help the Bengals beat the Browns 16-7 in Week 12.

      Johnson started by splitting carries with Bernard Scott, but after rushing for 42 yards on his first four carries, Marvin Lewis gave him more opportunities throughout the game. Then after Scott was injured in the third quarter, Johnson took over as the team’s primary back and helped the Bengals earn an unimpressive win.

      Johnson won’t unseat Cedric Benson as Cincinnati’s top back, but it never hurts when a contender has two capable runners come playoff time. KC fans will want to throw up when they read this, but LJ gave his best effort of the year, which is huge given Benson’s injury.

      With this win, the Bengals completed a season sweep of the entire AFC North and at 8-3, Cincy is right in contention for a first round bye.

      NFL

      Falcons’ last-minute win over Bucs could be season defining

      November 29, 2009 /

      There are moments every NFL season that could be deemed as defining for playoff contenders.

      The Falcons had one of those moments in Week 12.

      Atlanta lost Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and two starting offensive linemen on Sunday, but found a way to come from behind in the closing minutes to knock off division rival Tampa Bay, 20-17. Chris Redman completed 23-of-41 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns while subbing for Ryan (who hurt his foot early in the first quarter and never returned), and also found Roddy White on a 4th and goal from the 5-yard line to lift Atlanta to victory.

      Outside of two separate 18-yard runs by Turner and Jerious Norwood, the Falcons had no running game, which made things tougher on Redman. It also didn’t help that starting left tackle Sam Baker and starting right guard Harvey Dahl left the game due to injuries and the Bucs revved up the pressure. Tampa produced six sacks on the day and harassed Redman for the majority of the game.

      But with the game on the line, Redman was excellent. With 2:30 left on the clock and zero timeouts, he led the Falcons 59 yards for the game-winning score by taking what the Bucs gave them and methodically marching down the field. On the crucial fourth down attempt, Redman threw a bullet to White, who made an incredible catch in between defenders to secure the catch.

      The Falcons have a ton of injuries, can’t defend the pass, need a new kicker (Jason Elam is horrible) and have two daunting home games against the Eagles and Saints over the next two weeks, but if they can build off the momentum they seized today, then they’ll make the playoffs. One could argue that they should have beaten a bad Tampa team by more than three points at home. But considering they were playing with several backups (including Redman), the only thing that matters is that they produced a victory. And with winnable games against the Jets, Bills and Bucs down the stretch, if they can find a way to beat either the Eagles or Saints over the next two weeks then a 10-win season is a possibility.

      Speaking of Tampa, Josh Freeman (20-of-29 for 250 yards, 2 TDs) played very well and the defense responded to Morris calling the plays for the first time this season. But Morris’ decision to attempt a long field goal late in the fourth quarter set the Falcons up with prime field position to mount their comeback. Had Morris decided to punt, the Falcons would have had to drive the length of the field with no timeouts. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the decision to attempt the field goal doomed the Bucs.

      NFL

      Colts sink Texans’ playoff hopes

      November 29, 2009 /

      Stick a fork in the Texans – they’re done.

      In a tale of two halves, the Colts beat the Texans 35-27 on Sunday to stay undefeated and drop Houston to 5-6 on the season. In order to secure victory, Indianapolis had to erase first half deficits of 17-0 and 20-7.

      In the first half, Matt Schaub had ample time to throw and the defense harassed Peyton Manning into two key interceptions. But in the second half, Manning picked them apart using the no huddle and Houston started to assume its fate. The Texans have had issues finishing off opponents all season and it was once again evident today.

      The Texans had a golden opportunity to prove that they can take the next step and get the Indianapolis Colts monkey off their back and both slipped through their fingers. Once again, Houston is on the cusp of making the postseason and once again, they probably won’t be playing past the first weekend in January.

      It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the Texans are missing (outside of a reliable kicker that is). Their young defense has shown flashes of massive potential, but they struggle producing in crunch time. Whether it’s coaching or the need for another playmaker on that side of the ball, it’s apparent that the Texans are missing one final component.

      NFL

      Nikolay Davydenko wins ATP finals

      November 29, 2009 /

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Nikolay Davydenko defeated Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets at the ATP World Tour Finals to capture the first big championship of his career. Davydenko overcame world No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals before facing del Potro.

      Del Potro had three chances to break Davydenko, but the Russian saved them all to complete a sweep of all three of this year’s Grand Slam champions at the season-ending tournament.

      “For me it was amazing,” Davydenko said. “Coming here as No. 7 and winning the tournament, it was surprising for myself.”

      Davydenko lost in the final of last year’s season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world, falling to Novak Djokovic in Shanghai.

      The Russian finished the match with 25 winners and only 15 unforced errors, while Del Potro had 20 winners and 19 unforced errors at the O2 Arena.

      Davydenko had a miraculous run at this tournament. After losing his opening match to Novak Djokovic, Davydenko would go on to beat some of the world’s greats. He followed his loss to Djokovic with wins against Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, and Federer. This streak reached its peak in the finals against del Potro, where Davydenko outplayed the U.S. Open champion in front of the London crowd.

      Tennis

      Q&A Question of the Week: Week 12

      November 29, 2009 /

      Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from RJR, who is wondering how he should cut Dustin Keller for James Casey.

      “Do you think it would be worth dropping [Dustin] Keller for [James] Casey? My TE position is killing me and even though it seems like Keller has a lot of targets he does not put up a ton of points. What do you think Casey’s value going forward is? (or I can wait and drop Finley on Monday for Casey but a few teams in my league also need TE help and he may not last that long) or should I just leave it alone unless he blows up.”

      My answer: At TE, I’d stick with Keller. Like you said, he gets a ton of targets and that’s half the battle. I’d rather have Finley than Casey right now.

      Over the last three weeks, Keller is averaging 5.7-57-0.3, which are very good TE numbers. Clearly, he went through a bad stretch in the middle of the season, but he seems to have developed a better rapport with Mark Sanchez as the season has worn on.

      While Casey does have some upside filling in for Owen Daniels, he is a rookie and it’s not often that a rookie TE becomes a viable starting option in fantasy football. Keller has more experience and a decent QB and should be starter-quality for the remainder of the season.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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