Cadillac Williams experienced back spasms after the team’s loss to Baltimore Sunday. The young RB dealt with the same problem early in training camp and is expected to play in Week 2, but the situation is worth monitoring this week…There are rumblings that Jerry Porter is headed to the Patriots, but at this point, they are just that – rumblings. Even if he’s not traded to the Patriots, I don’t think we’ll see Porter in an Oakland uniform anytime soon…Koren Robinson has signed a two-year deal with the Packers. He hasn’t yet been suspended by the league and is free to play until he is. Hopefully, as part of the contract, the Packers will provide him with a personal driver…Fantasy owners with Antonio Gates and Keenan McCardell on their rosters have to be a little worried after witnessing the Chargers’ attack Monday night. San Diego ran the ball 48 times versus only 11 pass attempts. Phillip Rivers looked very efficient running the offense, so expect that to even out over the next few weeks. If it doesn’t, LaDainian Tomlinson is sure to wear down…Two catches for –3 yards is not what Chris Cooley owners were expecting. Mark Brunell did target the tight end seven times, so his numbers should be much better next week…Troy Williamson caught four passes for 77 yards Monday night, but dropped three others, including a 30-yard bomb in the second quarter. It’s clear that Williamson is the best playmaker in the Minnesota passing game and the team will continue to try to get him the ball. Expect several 100+ yard receiving days for the talented, yet unpolished wideout…Owners who drafted Clinton Portis can breathe a sigh of relief. The back carried 10 times for 39 yards and a score and caught a pair of passes as well. He looked healthy and should be a good play as long as that shoulder holds up…On his second consecutive drop, Javon Walker suffered a slightly dislocated finger. Walker looked pretty rusty after being away from football for a year and only getting one preseason game to get ready for the opener. The good news is that he was able to get open, but he just wasn’t able to hang on to the ball. The entire Denver passing game should look better at home against the Chiefs in Week 2.
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In a recent ESPN.com article, Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz suggested that just because the Yankees are in playoff contention doesn’t mean that shortstop Derek Jeter should get more consideration than himself for the MVP award in the American League.
Ortiz also alluded to the fact that the Yankees have a more powerful lineup than Boston has.
“Don’t get me wrong — he’s a great player, having a great season, but he’s got a lot of guys in that lineup,” Ortiz said of Jeter. “Top to bottom, you’ve got a guy who can hurt you. Come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be.”
To that, Jeter replied “I don’t have to do it in his lineup.”
“I’m not thinking about the MVP right now,” he told reporters Monday. “We’re thinking about winning a division. We’ve still got something to play for.”
This is what’s wrong with the Boston Red Sox. They have guys on their squad that are more concerned with individual awards than the success of the team. What Jeter told reporters about winning a division is what players should be worried about.
But no, Big Papi is concerned with getting his – being a politician for an individual award during the final month of the season when he should be wondering how in the hell his team choked as bad as they did after the All-Star break. Maybe this is why Boston is now 10 and half games behind the Yankees in the division.
Don’t you understand that you just made Jeter look more like a hero Ortiz? Don’t you understand that you just threw your own teammates under the bus with the: “come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be,” statement?
The bigger problem for the Red Sox is the unbelievable infatuation with the New York Yankees. I bet their stomachs hurt just thinking about the Bronx Bombers on a daily basis.
New York hasn’t won since 2000 and yet every year people in the Red Sox organization talk about how they must compete with the Yankees – how they must do enough to keep up with the Yankees – how they must stop the Yankees.
Hello? You won a world championship two years ago Boston!
Love or hate the Yankees – love or hate Jeter, but they are focused every single year on one thing: winning a championship. They don’t care about the Red Sox unless they’re in the way of aWorld Series title. They don’t talk about beating just one team; they talk about building a winning organization to complete with the rest of the Major League.
The Boston Red Sox are focused on one thing too: The New York Yankees. Beat the Yankees and it’s the greatest season known to man.
With Ohio State and Texas in the books, here are my College Football Players of the Week.
Before we get to the offensive and defensive players of the week, let me first say that anyone who thinks that I’m going to crown a player as top dog in a game where they played a high school team you’ve got another thing coming. Unless the young man did something unheard of, the game has to hold some kind of importance to a national audience.
However, if you feel that a different player is just as deserving as the guys I mention below, give me a post and we’ll discuss it.
Offensive Player of the Week: Brady Quinn, QB Notre Dame
Quinn looked uncomfortable while trying to get his feet wet in Notre Dame’s win over Georgia Tech in week one. Against Penn State, however, Quinn showed everybody why he is being considered a Heisman candidate in ND’s 41-17 victory over the Nittany Lions. He was 25 of 36 for 287 yards and threw three touchdowns with no picks in getting the Irish back into the #2 spot in the AP Top 25 Poll. Quinn also looked very comfortable in the pocket and went through his progressions better than he did a week before in Atlanta. He will face his second Big Ten opponent in as many weeks when (#11) Michigan comes to South Bend this weekend.
Defensive Player of the Week: James Laurinaitis, LB Ohio State
Anybody who witnessed Laurinaitis’ play against Texas this past weekend had to have thought they were watching A.J. Hawk from a year ago. Laurinaitis led the Buckeyes with a career-best 13 tackles and added a tackle for loss, two forced fumbles and intercepted Long Horns QB Colt McCoy early in the second half to propel OSU to a 24-7 victory. Both turnovers that he had a hand in, caused killed any momentum Texas had built in each half. The sophomore linebacker was also named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
With the first week of the NFL season coming to a conclusion with the Chargers 27-0 thumping of the Raiders last night, I give you my NFL Players of the Week:
For the record, the players of the week could have put up large numbers in their respective games, but what I’m really looking for are the guys that seemed to go above and beyond helping their squad win.
So stat guy, take your numbers and go sit in the corner – we’ll call you when we need you.
AFC Offensive Player of the Week: Chad Pennington, QB NY Jets
Chances are pretty good that I won’t be mentioning Pennington or another NY Jet here a lot during the season, so let me give credit where it’s due. This is a guy who is coming off of two shoulder surgeries within an eight-month span and he goes on to throw for 319 yards and two touchdowns against a very underrated Tennessee defense (remember, it’s the Titans offense that is atrocious). Pennington hooked up with receiver Laveranues Coles eight times for 153 yards and finished with a QB rating of 123.2, which (where is my stat guy?) was the best QB rating in week one. The result: A 23-16 victory and a 1-0 start for the Jets.
AFC Defensive Player of the Week: Justin Smith, DE Cincinnati Bengals
With all due respect to San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman, who absolutely obliterated the Oakland Raiders last night, Smith was a force to deal with all Sunday afternoon in Kansas City. He finished with three sacks, five tackles and a forced fumble (which re-covered himself) in the Bengals 23-10 victory over the Chiefs. Much like Pennington, a lot of people feel that Smith has something to prove this year. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft, but really has yet to deliver on the promise he flashed as a rookie. If Smith can give the Bengals this type of effort all season, Cincinnati’s defense probably won’t have to lead the league in interceptions again just to get themselves off the field.
NFC Offensive Player of the Week: Donte’ Stallworth, WR Philadelphia Eagles
Boy did the Eagles need a guy like this. Donovan McNabb only needed eight passes to hook up with Stallworth for a 42 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of Philly’s 24-10 win over the Texans. Stallworth finished with six receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown and for a moment, he made everybody in Philadelphia forget about the man whose name we do not speak of. His production might not last for an entire season, but for one week Stallworth was dominant and showed why he was a former number one selection. Mark Simoneau and a forth-round pick for this guy? Sorry New Orleans, that was a stretch.
NFC Defensive Player of the Week: John Abraham, DE Atlanta Falcons
Abraham must have attended a real estate seminar before his game against the Panthers, because he took up land in Carolina’s backfield all day long. Even without fellow Pro Bowler Patrick Kerney on the other side for most of the afternoon, Abraham was a one-man wrecking crew in the Falcons 20-6 victory. He finished with two sacks, two forced fumbles, five tackles and made Jake Delhomme carry on a five minute tirade on the sidelines in the third quarter because he had no time to throw. Although he suffered a groin injury on the final defensive series of the game, Abraham is going to be a force to deal with for left tackles all season.
Stat guy wants me to list these guys too:
Offense
Kurt Warner, QB Cardinals – 23/37, 301 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, 114.8 QB rating
Donovan McNabb, QB Eagles – 24/35, 314 yards, 3 TDs, 1INT, 113.3 QB rating
LaDainian Tomlinson, RB Chargers – 31 carries for 131 yards, 4.2 AVG, 1 TD
Warrick Dunn, RB Falcons – 29 carries for 132 yards, 4.6 AVG
Laveranues Coles, WR NY Jets – Eight receptions for 153 yards
Larry Fitzgerald, WR Cardinals – Nine receptions for 133 yards
Defense
Shawne Merriman, LB Chargers – Three sacks, six tackles
Brian Young, DE Saints – Three sacks, four tackles
DeMeco Ryans, LB Texans – 12 tackles
London Fletcher, LB Bills – Nine tackles, one fumble recovery for a TD
Keith Bullock, LB Titans – Nine tackles, one forced fumble
Andre Dyson, CB Jets – Two interceptions, five tackles
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