Apparently Barry Sanders’ running moves rubbed off on his son, Barry Sanders Jr., who plays for a high school to in Oklahoma.
Check out this run:
Did he leap over a defender on the sidelines? My God…
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It’s essentially now or never for the New Orleans Saints. After a season in which some thought they would make a deep postseason run, the Saints need a victory to keep their slim playoff hopes alive in the NFC.
Tonight the holy men are in Chicago to do battle with a Bears team that is in desperate need of a win themselves. The Bears remain one game behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North and considering the Vikes are likely to start backup Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback on Sunday against Arizona, a win over New Orleans could leave Chicago tied for first in the division by Sunday evening.
But nobody outside of Chicago expected too much from the Bears this year. The same cannot be said for the Saints.
In the offseason, New Orleans made a great effort to rebuild their beleaguered defense by adding LB Jonathan Vilma (trade/Jets), DT Sedrick Ellis (draft/first round) and CB Randall Gay (free agent/Patriots). The moves were supposed to be enough to keep opponents in check while the explosive Saints’ offense put up 30 points a game. But while the offense has done its part (No. 1 in the NFL in total yards), the defense has yielded just over 25 points a game and ranks in the bottom half of the league in stopping the run (20th) and pass (26th).
Part of the issue this year has been injuries as both Mike McKenzie and Charles Grant, two starters, have missed more than half the season. But the main issue for the Saints has been a lack of consistency – on both sides of the ball. The defense has done a decent job of loading the box and taking away the run at times, but then leaves itself vulnerable to opponents’ passing attacks. And up until last week when they beat the Falcons, head coach Sean Payton has been publicly criticized for abandoning the run and not having enough offensive balance.
A win tonight in Chicago would go a long way in saving the Saints’ season. It won’t be easy – Solider Field is a tough environment to play in December – but the Bears have only beaten one quality opponent in their last seven games (Week 7 vs. the Vikings) and have struggled mightily with consistency themselves. The key will be weather or not Payton will show the patience to stick with the run against a Bears’ defense that has been solid in taking away opponents’ rushing games. If they can, Chicago has proven that its not afraid to give up the sideline route and has had issues all season putting opponents away when they have a lead. And can the New Orleans defense force Kyle Orton to make mistakes? If they load up to stop Mike Forte, they better get pressure on Orton because he’s had success throwing vertically this season.
Should be a good one.
ESPN’s John Hollinger thinks that the Suns’ deal to acquire Jason Richardson is a veritable steal:
The deal for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round pick cost him only Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary, and it immediately restores the Suns’ flagging hopes of breaking back into the West’s upper crust. Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr has faced a lot of questions during his short stewardship of the Suns, but the only question to ask after Wednesday’s trade with Charlotte is whether he was wearing a ski mask.
Raja Bell is not the player he was two years ago, so this trade is essentially Jason Richardson for Boris Diaw, so let’s take a look at each player’s numbers:
Richardson: 27 years-old, 18.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 44% FG%, 46% 3PT% (37% career)
Diaw: 26 years-old, 8.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 57% FG%
Since Diaw plays fewer minutes (24.5) than Richardson (35.1), it’s wise to compare their Player Efficiency Ratings as well. Richardson (16.97) is the 14th-ranked shooting guard while Diaw (13.47) is #48 amongst power forwards.
Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal are a little long in the tooth, so this is a “win now” move for the Suns. The trade doesn’t put them in bad shape for the summer of 2010, when they’ll have to re-sign Amare Stoudemire and try to attract another player to replace O’Neal and Nash, whose contracts expire after the 2009-10 season.
Richardson is a tremendous scorer and will fit nicely if the Suns try to push the tempo again. Currently, they are #14 in the league in pace, so with the arrival of O’Neal, and to a lesser extent Terry Porter, these are not the run-and-gun Suns that we saw under Mike D’Antoni. Even if they keep their current pace, Richardson is a good shooter and should thrive alongside willing passers like Nash, O’Neal and Grant Hill.
As for the Bobcats, I’d say that the Larry Brown Era is not off to a very good start.
According to FOX Sports.com’s Ken Rosenthal, the Boston Red Sox are inching closer to signing free agent Mark Teixeira.
The Red Sox are making progress in their quest to sign free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, according to a major-league source.
“Headway was being made earlier today,” one source said.
A rival general manager whose plans could be affected by the Red Sox’s addition of Teixeira also indicated that a deal was getting closer.
Teixeira is the Red Sox’s No. 1 offseason target. They view him as the perfect fit for the middle of their order.
Teixeira is seeking a 10-year contract for at least $20 million per season. The Red Sox preference would be to sign him to a deal between six and eight years.
With CC Sabathia taken, Teixeira is now the biggest prize on the free-agent market. He hit 33 home runs and had 121 RBIs as a member of the Braves and Angels last season. Teixeira has never hit less than 26 homers in his six major-league seasons.
This would be a fantastic move for the Red Sox because they not only get a quality hitter, but a young quality hitter for the middle of their lineup. He might not have Manny Ramirez’s pop, but again, he’s younger and comes with less baggage.
Conversely, this would be a huge blow for the Angels, who have made Teixeira their number one offseason target. The Orioles and Nationals have also shown interest in the first basemen, although it appears that the only real suitors for his services are the BoSox and Halos.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have officially offered shortstop Rafael Furcal an incentive-laden two-year contract. Furcal, however, is seeking a four-year deal.
The Dodgers have offered the 31-year-old shortstop an incentive-laden contract that is guaranteed for two years and includes a vesting option for a third, according to sources familiar with the negotiations who were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter. Furcal is asking for a four-year deal.
Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, said Wednesday that the Dodgers are one of four finalists to sign his client. Kinzer said the other three — Oakland, Toronto and Kansas City — also have offers on the table and that Oakland’s is for four years.
Kinzer says he expects Furcal to be signed by Christmas.
Furcal can guarantee the third year of the contract with the Dodgers by accumulating a certain number of at-bats in the first two years, sources said.
Considering Furcal is coming off an injury-riddled season, the Dodgers were wise to protect themselves with an incentive-laden deal. This is the second time L.A. has offered a quality free agent just a two-year deal (the first was Manny Ramirez), which again, is smart. They might not land either player because other teams will come to the table with more years, but at least they’re trying to protect themselves from getting burned on ridiculous guaranteed contracts that could kill their spending in the future.
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