Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 45 of 133)

      Aqib Talib out for the season – are the Bucs finished?

      December 6, 2010 /
      TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 12: Cornerback Aqib Talib #25 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches play against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium on October 12, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

      It’s a stretch to say that a team is finished when they lose their top cornerback for the season. But when it comes to Aqib Talib and the Bucs, it may be reality.

      Talib tore a tendon off his hipbone (tore a tendon off his hipbone? I literally shuddered while writing that) in the Bucs’ 28-24 loss to the Falcons on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. He’ll avoid surgery, but he won’t recover in time for the playoffs if Tampa earns its way into the postseason.

      Which is going to be awfully difficult without Talib.

      At 7-5, the Bucs are very much in the hunt in the NFC. But the Falcons swept the season series with Tampa and now have a two-game lead in the NFC South. The Saints are right behind the Falcons at 9-3, while the Eagles/Giants and Packers are vying for that sixth and final spot at 8-4.

      A lot can happen over the last four weeks of the season, but the Bucs have an uphill climb ahead of them. From a production standpoint, Talib was the best corner in the league not named Darrelle Revis or Asante Samuel. Two weeks ago, he held Anquan Boldin to three catches for 27 yards and no touchdowns. Three weeks ago, he held Michael Crabtree to just one catch for 15 yards and five weeks ago he limited Roddy White (one of the best receivers in the NFL this season) to four catches and 49 yards.

      Granted, the Bucs don’t exclusively play man-to-man under Raheem Morris but when they do, Talib locks onto the opposition’s No. 1 reciever. He leads the Bucs in interceptions (six), pass breakups (11) and has easily been the team’s best defender.

      Fortunately for Tampa, it plays the Redskins, Lions, Seahawks and Saints over these next four weeks. But the Bucs could have used Talib for the likes of Santana Moss, Mike Williams (if he’s healthy) and especially Detroit’s Calvin Johnson. Ronde Barber is still a quality corner (even for his age), but the drop off from Talib to E.J. Biggers is enormous.

      The Bucs are in trouble.

      External Sports, NFL

      Is Josh McDaniels better off not playing Tim Tebow?

      December 6, 2010 /
      Oct 24, 2010; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Invesco Field. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 59-14. Photo via Newscom

      For a moment, let’s take a walk in Josh McDaniels’ size 10.5 shoes. (Actually, I have no idea what size shoes he wears, nor should I. That would be creepy.)

      If he benches Kyle Orton and starts Tim Tebow the rest of the year, he would appease fans that mercifully had to watch Orton complete only nine of his 28 pass attempts against the Chiefs on Sunday. They want to see Tebow play because he offers a glimpse of what the future may look like. (And while the future may look grim, the present isn’t anything to write home about so what’s the difference?)

      But McDaniels’ job status might as well be attached to Tebow’s right arm. If he plays the rookie and Tebow is Jimmy Clausen-like bad, management may ultimately decide that he shouldn’t be calling the shots anymore. After all, since arriving in Denver he jettisoned Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, traded Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn (yee-ikes) and dealt multiple draft picks in order to select the project that is Tim Tebow.

      Why give the Broncos’ front office any more reason to fire him?

      The downside, of course, is that Orton continues to struggle and McDaniels is fired anyway without having the opportunity to coach Tebow on the field. If you’re McDaniels, why not take a shot with Tebow and hope you catch lighting in a bottle? After all, you can’t get much worse than Orton’s performance on Sunday so why not?

      But the other problem is that Orton is due $8.8 million in 2011 and he’s earned the right to finish the season (his effort on Sunday notwithstanding). Plus, there’s a real good possibility that Tebow isn’t ready to see the field so it would be selfish of McDaniels to start him and risk stunting his career. Akili Smith and Joey Harrington are just two examples of quarterbacks who weren’t ready to take the field when they did and we all know how their careers turned out.

      If I were to make a guess, I would say McDaniels will keep his job for at least another year. It’s hard for a team to invest in a coach only to let him go after only two seasons. I don’t agree with most of McDaniels’ decisions to this point, but two years is hardly enough time to put your stamp on a team. If the Broncos show zero signs of improving next season, then McDaniels should go. But for now, they might as well see what he’s got.

      Should McDaniels see what Tebow’s got in the meantime?

      Update: Well, clearly I’m a moron because Josh McDaniels has been fired. Nice work, Stalter.

      External Sports, NFL

      What in the name of Archie and Eli is going on with Peyton Manning?

      December 5, 2010 /
      INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 28: Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts walks off of the field after throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown during the NFL game against the San Diego Chargers at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 28, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Chargers won 36-14.(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

      Why, how, and why again? How did this happen? How did Peyton Manning turn into a combination of Jake Delhomme and well, Peyton Manning?

      How does a quarterback complete 36-of-48 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing four interceptions (two of which were returned for touchdowns) in the same game? What happened?

      Manning now has 11 interceptions in his last three games, four of which have been pick-sixes. After the Cowboys shocked the Colts 38-35 in overtime on Sunday, Indianapolis is now 6-6 on the year and one game behind Jacksonville in the AFC South.

      There no doubt will be plenty of theories on why Manning has struggled recently, but at this point you can’t pin it on one thing. First and foremost, the Colts can’t run the ball. Manning led the Colts to the Super Bowl last year without a running game, but he also had a healthy Joseph Addai available when he did need a couple of yards to keep defenses guessing. But Addai has been sidelined for over a month now and his absence is obviously having an affect on Peyton’s game. There’s just no denying it.

      His offensive line doesn’t appear to be giving him the same protection as they did earlier in the year and throughout his entire career. He’s being pressured well before he wants to deliver the ball, which is in part to blame for all the interceptions he’s thrown.

      Injuries have also been an issue. While Jacob Tamme has been a great replacement for Dallas Clark, you can’t replace years of cohesion and continuity in a month. It also hasn’t helped Peyton that Austin Collie has been in and out of the lineup, or that Pierre Garcon has had some costly drops throughout the year.

      But you know what? Philip Rivers is doing more with less. Hell, even Sam Bradford is doing more with less. All of the things mentioned above factor into how poorly Manning has played the past three weeks, but the bottom line is that Peyton just hasn’t gotten the job done. Many of his throws have been off the mark and there’s just no excuse to throw 11 interceptions in three games. None.

      Maybe he’s trying to do too much and this is the result. Who knows. Either way, we’re going to find out a lot about Manning and the Colts because they have four games to erase a one-game deficit in the AFC South and avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.

      External Sports, NFL

      Suh only has self to blame for penalty against Cutler, Bears

      December 5, 2010 /
      DETROIT - AUGUST 28: Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions looks on prior to playing the Cleveland Browns in a preseason game on August 28, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

      Some Lions fans are missing the point regarding Ndamukong Suh’s unnecessary roughness penalty in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ 24-20 win over the Lions on Sunday.

      Regardless of whether or not he hit Jay Cutler in the head or did something to deserve the penalty doesn’t really matter. What matters is that there were other ways to bring Cutler down besides breaking out a forearm shiver and Suh decided to go MMA anyway.

      For those that missed the play, the Bears were down 20-17 midway through the fourth quarter and driving inside the red zone. Cutler scrambled for an 8-yard gain and as he was falling to the ground, Suh drove his forearm into Cutler’s back and may have grazed his head. (I say “may have” because it depends on who you root for. It’s either clear that Suh hit Cutler in the head or it’s clear that he just hit Cutler’s upper back. Ah, fans.)

      Suh was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on the play, which gave the Bears a first-and-goal at Detroit’s 7-yard line. They scored on the next play and eventually went on to win, 24-20.

      Following the game, Suh said: “I was just going out there to make a play, get the ball out. We were in a tight situation in the red zone. We have to stop them some way from getting a touchdown. Obviously he broke a tackle. I had a great angle to make a play and get the ball out, and that’s what I went after.”

      Okay, but there are other ways to try and knock the ball out – ways that won’t draw a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. He could have grabbed Cutler with one arm and tried to strip the ball with his free hand. He could have given Cutler a bear hug (no pun intended) and tried to punch the ball out that way. He could have read Cutler his favorite bedtime story and hoped that the quarterback let go of the ball while falling asleep.

      All good options (well, that last one is debatable), none of which involves throwing a forearm to, or around the back of Cutler’s head.

      Lion fans feel they have a gripe and maybe they do. But the bottom line is that the play was completely avoidable on Suh’s part.

      External Sports, NFL

      2010 NFL Week 13 Picks

      December 5, 2010 /
      LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 15: Donovan McNabb of the Washington Redskins waits for play to resume in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 15, 2010 at FedExField in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

      As expected, the wheels have fallen off. I’ve gone 2-6 the past two weeks and my once-winning record is now tattered and torn. But f&$k it, let’s make some picks this week anyway.

      Falcons (9-2) @ Bucs (7-4), 4:15PM ET
      Call it a hunch, a feeling or intuition, but I think the Falcons are due for a letdown. They’ve won five in a row, have covered in three straight games and have not turned the ball over in four straight. Five straight would be a NFL record, so something tells me this house of cards comes down on Sunday in Tampa. That’s not to say that I’m not a believer in the Falcons because I am. But I can see it now: On Monday, everyone will be talking about how the Saints are the “forgotten team” in the NFL. If they win in Cincinnati on Sunday and Atlanta loses in Tampa, the Saints and Falcons would have the same record. The media is dying for a here-comes-the-Saints frenzy and I think they’re about to get it. The Bucs have yet to beat a team with a winning record this year, but they’ve always given the Falcons trouble. I smell an upset.
      THE PICK: BUCS +2

      Saints (8-3) @ Bengals (2-9), 1:00PM ET
      As previously mentioned (if you had bothered to read my write up on the Falcons-Bucs, that is), everyone is ready and waiting to jump back onto the Saints’ bandwagon. The Saints have been lying in the weeds for most of the season and now their crap schedule (the Bucs and Steelers with winning records that the Saints have beaten this year) has allowed them to stay right up the Falcons’ butts in the NFC South. And once they wax the floor with the inconsistent Bengals on Sunday and the Bucs spring an upset over the Falcons in Tampa, New Orleans and Atlanta will be tied at 9-3 heading down the stretch. Oh yes, I can see it all now.
      THE PICK: SAINTS –6.5

      Redskins (5-6) @ Giants (7-4), 1:00PM ET
      Everyone has been ready and willing to write the Redskins off and at 5-6, maybe we can. But when nobody expected the Skins to beat Dallas in the opener, they did. When nobody expected them to take down the Eagles in Philadelphia, they did (albeit without Michael Vick playing most of the game). When nobody expected them to go on the road and beat the Packers and Bears, they did. So now that nobody expects them to pull off an upset in New York this Sunday, will they surprise us again? Donovan McNabb has had the G-Men’s number over the years and even if Washington doesn’t win outright, I’m willing to bet the Skins keep it close.
      THE PICK: REDSKINS +7

      Steelers (8-3) @ Ravens (8-3), 8:20PM ET
      This one is set up too nicely for the Ravens. Big Ben is hobbling around with a bad foot/ankle, the Ravens are at home and they’ve already beaten the Steelers once this year (in Pittsburgh, no less). But Roethlisberger (much like McNabb when it comes to playing the Giants) has had Baltimore’s number over the years. In games that he starts against the Ravens, he’s 7-2 in his career. When he doesn’t start due to injuries or him being suspended for being a perv, the Ravens are 4-0. There’s just something about the Steelers getting points that makes me feel all warm and secure inside.
      THE PICK: STEELERS +3

      Season Record: 21-22-1

      External Sports, NFL

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