Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 67 of 133)

      Marshawn Lynch back on the trade market?

      September 28, 2010 /
      Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch charges into a hole on a carry in the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on September 26, 2010. UPI/Matthew Healey Photo via Newscom

      Apparently a 0-3 start has turned Bills GM Buddy Nix into Brian Cashman.

      ESPN Milwaukee’s Jason Wilde is reporting that the Bills have put the word out that Marshawn Lynch is available for trade. This comes a day after Trent Edwards was released, so it appears that Nix is starting to get more aggressive in his decision-making.

      Too bad he wasn’t this aggressive six months ago when he could have actually helped the Bills build a more competitive team. I don’t understand why he would wait until now to try and get something in return for Lynch. He likely had the opportunity to trade him around draft time and he never did. Now he’s stuck with three starting-caliber running backs (Lynch, Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller) on his roster and is trying to trade one if them when teams know he has three starting-caliber running backs on his roster.

      It just doesn’t make any sense. If the intention was to eventually deal Lynch (and don’t kid yourself – as soon as the Bills drafted Spiller, the intention was to deal Lynch), then Nix should have gotten something before the draft when teams were more motivated to buy. Don’t wait until the season kicks off and teams have had the chance to fall in love with some of their own players that they had throughout training camp and preseason.

      Nix will be fortunate to get a fifth round pick in return for Lynch if he winds up trading him now. If he had traded him back in April like he should have, then maybe he would have gotten a third or fourth rounder in return.

      Just more bad timing from a bad organization.

      External Sports, NFL

      Packers avoid costly mistakes, somehow still lose to the Bears

      September 27, 2010 /
      Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) reacts after an incomplete pass during the first quarter of their NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Chicago, September 27, 2010. REUTERS/John Gress (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Two turnovers, 18 penalties (for 152 yards), horrendous special teams play and poor ball security late in the game were just some of the things the Packers accomplished in their 20-17 loss to the Bears on Monday night.

      If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Green Bay wanted to lose tonight.

      It was undisciplined football at its best and yet, the Pack still had an opportunity to win the game in the end as long as they continued to move the ball down field (as they had done for most of the night) and not turn it over. But with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the scored tied 17-17, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs knocked the ball out of receiver James Jones’ grasp after a short reception. Then, by the grace of George Halas himself, somehow the ball tight roped down the sideline and Chicago cornerback Tim Jennings was able to recover it at the Green Bay 38.

      Thanks to a holding penalty, the Bears were backed up to their own 44-yard line, but soon thereafter Jay Cutler made an outstanding throw to Greg Olsen, who made an even better catch for a 21-yard gain down to the Green Bay 35. Two plays later, Morgan Burnett was called for molesting Earl Bennett on a pass interference penalty and the ball was moved inside the 10-yard line. Four plays later Robbie Gould kicked the 19-yard game-winner to propel Chicago to victory.

      You may not witness an uglier loss by a Super Bowl contender all season. And not all the ugliness was due to the players either, as the Green Bay coaching staff shares in the misery too.

      Why didn’t the Packers instruct punter Tim Masthay to kick the ball away from Devin Hester? He sent a bullet at him late in the second quarter and Hester almost broke it for a touchdown. Then, with his team only up a field goal early in the fourth quarter, the genius once again tempts fate by kicking it straight to Hester, who promptly returns it 62-yards for the go-ahead score.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Mark Sanchez makes strides for second week in a row

      September 27, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 19: Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets huddles with his team before a game against the New England Patriots at the New Meadowlands Stadium on September 19, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

      Sometimes Mark Sanchez does things that make you want to claw your face off with a cheese grader. He’ll lock onto one receiver, he’ll telegraph a pass to a defender, or sometimes he’ll just lob a pass to Kendall Langford, who was so stunned by the throw that all he could do was drop it.

      But the Mark Sanchez that has lined up under center for the Jets the last two weeks makes you realize what the front office saw in him when they took him with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft.

      Outside of the brain-fart to Langford late in the fourth quarter, Sanchez was outstanding last night. He completed 15 of his 28 pass attempts for 256 yards and three touchdowns in the Jets’ 31-23 win over the Dolphins and more importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over for the third consecutive week. He only completed 54% of his passes, but his average yard-per-completion was 9.1 and he actually threw the ball vertically, which was something that had been absent from his game in a Week 1 loss to the Ravens.

      Sanchez also seems to be developing a great relationship with tight end Dustin Keller, who caught six passes last night for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The tight end can often be a quarterback’s best friend and considering Keller is more of a receiver in a tight end’s body, it helps that Sanchez can use him to work the seams of a defense.

      This is the second week in a row that Sanchez has been impressive and to do it against a solid Miami defense last night will go a long way for his confidence. Things could always start unraveling again, but for now Sanchez is finally starting to come into his own.

      External Sports, NFL

      Saints’ issues go beyond Garrett Hartley

      September 27, 2010 /
      NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints looks on against the Minnesota Vikings at Louisiana Superdome on September 9, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

      When a kicker misses what would have been a game-winning field goal and sets up his opponent for victory instead, it’s not hard to figure out where to point blame.

      Garrett Hartley should have made the 29-yard field goal that cost the Saints a victory over the Falcons yesterday in overtime. But the defending champs have more than just kicking issues to worry about.

      Hartley’s kicking woes are obvious, which is why the Saints are set to work out veteran John Carney today. If they decide to make a change, then hopefully Carney will help bring some stability to the position.

      But John Carney isn’t going to solve the Saints’ inability to stop power running games or help generate a pass rush. He’s not going to fix Reggie Bush’s leg injury or help a suddenly struggling interior offensive line either.

      The Falcons have consistently proven that they can run the football. They rushed for 221 yards against the Cardinals, so for them to produce another 200-yard effort (201 to be exact) against the Saints wasn’t necessarily surprising. But it’s obviously still a concern.

      The straw that broke the camel’s back was when the Saints’ defense couldn’t stop Michael Turner and Jason Snelling on the Falcons’ game-winning drive in overtime. On that drive, Turner and Snelling combined for 46 yards on 10 carries and picked up three first downs by keeping the ball on the ground. (Although one of those runs by Turner was negated because of a penalty.)

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      The Bills continue to lack direction

      September 27, 2010 /
      TORONTO, CANADA - AUGUST 19: Trent Edwards of the Buffalo Bills looks on during a break in game action against the Indianapolis Colts on August 19, 2010 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Brad White/Getty Images)

      This was the first thing I wrote about the Bills in their 2010 team preview back in late August:

      There’s no doubt that the Bills are moving in the right direction now that Buddy Nix is their new general manager.

      One month later and I already feel myself searching for the delete button when it comes to the above statement.

      What was the Bills’ plan of attack here with quarterback Trent Edwards? Instead of signing a veteran in free agency or drafting a signal caller in April, they decided to stick by Edwards and give him all the first team snaps this offseason. Then they named him the regular season starter and after two bad games, they benched him in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick and then flat out released him on Monday.

      Benching Edwards for Fitzpatrick isn’t the problem. Fitzpatrick isn’t great, but he proved yesterday in New England that he can keep the Bills competitive and gives them a better chance to win than Edwards did.

      Releasing Edwards isn’t the problem either. He clearly lacks the physical and mental tools to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and he hasn’t played with any confidence in over a year and a half.

      The problem is the lack of direction that the Bills organization continues to display. They should have acquired a quarterback when they had the opportunity earlier this offeason, or at the very least made an attempt to acquire one. If you remember correctly, Buffalo was mentioned repeatedly as a possible landing spot for Michael Vick and had Nix gotten aggressive, maybe Vick would be running around making plays for the Bills instead of the Eagles right now. There’s no guarantee that he would have had the same success in Buffalo as he’s having now in Philadelphia, but the point is the Bills did nothing to address their quarterback situation when they had the chance five months ago.

      It’s staggering to think that Nix and Chan Gailey actually believed that Edwards was the answer at quarterback based on what he’s shown over the past two years. And even if they did truly believe he could run the offense, they still should have drafted a quarterback to develop just in case Edwards didn’t pan out (which was the more likely scenario all along).

      Now what? Is Fitzpatrick their long-term answer? Is Brian Brohm? If it’s Brohm, then they might as well play him now so he can get some experience. If neither of them are the answer, then the Bills are going to waste another year without having their quarterback of the future on their roster.

      This is how bad teams stay bad.

      External Sports, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑