Page 1350 of 2957

      2009 NFL Power Rankings: Week 9

      November 4, 2009 /

      Here’s how I see things 1-32 in the NFL after eight weeks in the books:

      1. New Orleans Saints (7-0)
      The Saints have the most balanced offensive attack in the NFL, have been a more aggressive and opportunistic defense under new coordinator Gregg Williams and are off to their best start in franchise history. There is a lot of season left, but this team has a Super Bowl-feeling about them.

      2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
      I don’t know if the 49ers necessarily laid out a blueprint on how to stop Peyton Manning and the Colts, but they at least showed how to contain the potent Indy offense for four quarters.

      3. Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
      I bet Brett Favre and Jared Allen wish they could play the Packers every week, because they’ve owned Green Bay in two games this season.

      4. Denver Broncos (6-1)
      Teams always learn more from losses than they do wins, so it’ll be interesting to see how Josh McDaniels and his coaching staff adjusts heading into Monday night against the Steelers.

      5. New England Patriots (5-2)
      We’ll see what kind of team the Pats are over their next five games: vs. Miami, at Indy, vs. the Jets and at New Orleans. Is Tom Brady back to his usual self or did he just benefit from putting up outrageous numbers against two bad teams in the Titans and Bucs the past two games?

      6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
      The Bengals should be fresh coming off their bye, but they face two opponents in the Ravens and Steelers in the next two weeks that are looking to avenge losses to Cincinnati earlier in the season. Can the Bengals at least earn a split to stay atop the AFC North?

      7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
      The Steelers are feeling good after beating the Vikings two weeks ago and then getting Week 8 off. But they travel to Denver and then host Cincinnati the next two weeks, so we’ll see whether or not their record isn’t just a byproduct of facing bad teams like the Titans, Lions, Browns and the ever-inconsistent Chargers.

      8. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
      Wade Phillips’ defense is starting to do a better job of creating turnovers and getting pressure on the quarterback. In the Cowboys’ last two games, they’ve racked up five takeaways and seven sacks. It’s no surprise that Dallas won both of those games and they’ll need more of the same when they travel to Philadelphia on Sunday night.

      9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
      What an impressive win last Sunday as the Eagles thumped the Giants in every facet of the game. Can they do it again this week in another big divisional test?

      10. New York Giants (5-3)
      I don’t know what to make of this team – are they suffering from injuries or have the last three weeks been the norm? To date, the G-Men only have one win against a winning team, which came in Week 2 against the Cowboys. Their four other victories came against the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders. Yikes.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Most disappointing college football teams of 2009

      November 4, 2009 /

      FOX Sports.com ranked the 10 most disappointing teams of 2009:

      1. USC
      A loss to Washington was the beginning of the end. Still, we’ve almost come to expect the Trojans to lose one game every year that they shouldn’t. While USC was slightly favored to beat Oregon, the manner in which they lost was downright ugly. Pete Carroll’s signature unit — the defense — got embarrassed by the Ducks. Sure, USC had to replace eight defensive players who are now playing on Sundays, but the Trojans always have reloaded, and the expectations were high this year despite those defensive losses. USC fans accustomed to “settling” for the Rose Bowl may need to aim a little lower.

      2. Virginia Tech
      The class of the ACC is now fighting Miami for third place in the Coastal division behind Duke and Georgia Tech. Let that sink that in. The Hokies’ consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina have probably ended their Orange Bowl dreams. Either Beamer Ball isn’t working anymore or parity in the ACC has finally caught up to Virginia Tech. Either way, 2009 will be a major disappointment for Gobbler Nation.

      3. Ohio State
      The Buckeyes’ loss to USC wasn’t that shocking, but their loss to Purdue was. With Navy, USC, Toledo and New Mexico State on their non-conference schedule, the expectations of a special season were pretty high in Columbus. But plenty of fans are starting to question whether Tressel’s offense will work with Terrelle Pryor as quarterback. With Penn State, Iowa and an imploding Michigan still left on the Buckeyes’ schedule, Ohio State fans should start making travel plans for Tampa, site of the Outback Bowl. Now.

      A lot of people thought they were overrated coming into the season, but I think Ole Miss (which ranks No. 7 on FOX’s list) should be in the top 5. I know they lost a couple of key defenders from last year’s squad, but for the Rebels to currently be 5-3 is surprising to say the least.

      Big Ten haters aren’t surprised, but Ohio State wasn’t expected to be this inconsistent either. Some thought that Terrelle Pryor would progress as a passer and lead the Buckeyes to at least a Big Ten title, but he’s actually regressed and now people are questioning whether or not he should remain OSU’s starting quarterback.

      Personally, I’m not shocked that the Trojans are where they are right now with a freshman quarterback. They always lose a game every year that they’re not supposed to and the writing was on the wall last week for them in Eugene. Oregon is playing better football right now and is tough to beat at home.

      College Football

      Line of the Night (11/3): Dirk Nowitzki

      November 4, 2009 /

      Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points in the fourth quarter — you read that right — to give the Mavs a 96-85 win over the Utah Jazz. He posted 40 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals. He shot 12 of 22 from the field and 15 of 16 from the charity stripe. The Mavs trailed by 16 with 8:17 to play before they made their charge.

      After a somewhat surprising loss to the Washington Wizards on opening night, the Mavs beat the Lakers soundly on the road and derailed the Jazz at home, all without Josh Howard. They look like a fringe contender in the West. If they can stay healthy and get a few lucky bounces, they could challenge.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Five reasons the Phillies could still win

      November 4, 2009 /

      SI.com’s Jon Heyman compiles five reasons why the Phillies can still pull off an upset and rally to beat the Yankees in the World Series.

      Here are his top 3:

      1. The Phillies aren’t called the Fightin’ Phils for no reason. And they aren’t the defending champs for no reason, either. As Yankees GM Brian Cashman said, “We’re playing the world champions, and it’s going to take a world-championship effort to beat them.” Being down 3-2 isn’t going to faze the Phils. They create comebacks without the fanfare and cream pies that have marked the Yankees’ wonderful season, but the Phillies did post a National League-high 43 come-from-behind wins. Manager Charlie Manuel considered talking to them as a team before Game 5, but Jimmy Rollins said Manuel merely threw up his hands when it became clear the Phillies were as focused as ever. According to Rollins, the only major change they made going into Game 5 was to remove Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind from their pregame clubhouse soundtrack. (Not sure if Elton John’s Philadelphia Freedom is a worthy replacement, but New York-based songs are definitely not the way to go.)

      2. They are road warriors. The Phillies were a baseball-best 48-33 on the road this year.

      3. Chase Utley is currently unstoppable. Reggie Jackson couldn’t be found for the first time this Series on Monday, but it would have been interesting to see what he would have had to say about Utley tying Jackson’s World Series record with five home runs. Utley’s five have come in one less game (five to six) and mostly against left-handers (four of five were vs. lefties, three vs. CC Sabathia). “He’s not missing pitches. He’s tough,” Sabathia said. “He’s not missing, so you have to make (all) quality pitches.”

      Not to be a downer, but it’s tough to beat any team three times in a row, especially the Yankees. I realize the Phillies are a quarter of the way there, but winning two in a row at Yankee Stadium will be tough, especially with CC Sabathia on the bump in Game 7.

      We’ll see though – I know a lot of casual baseball fans will be rooting for them to knock off the “Evil Empire.”

      MLB

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑