Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 70 of 133)

      Eagles open to trading Kevin Kolb?

      September 22, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 02: Kevin Kolb of the Philadelphia Eagles stands on the sidelines during a preseason game against the New York Jets at Lincoln Financial Field on September 2, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

      The plight of Kevin Kolb in Philadelphia has been rather amazing to watch of late. (Somewhere, Kolb just went, “Thanks, a-hole.”)

      Three weeks ago he was heading into the 2010 season as Andy Reid’s starting quarterback. One bad quarter and a conclusion later and now Kolb is backing up Michael Vick and soon enough, may be playing in another city entirely.

      According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Reid refused today to rule out trading Kolb before the NFL deadline in October. With Vick pegged as the permanent starter, a trade would make sense for the Eagles. Why let a young quarterback rot on your bench when there are so many quarterback-starved teams in the NFL these days?

      The Browns, Bills and Cardinals all have massive issues at the quarterback position, although whether Kolb would be a fit for those offenses is another topic for debate. Still, Cleveland was reportedly interested in Kolb around draft time, so maybe Mike Holmgren will get aggressive and make a move for the 26-year-old signal caller.

      Or what about the Vikings? Brett Favre obviously isn’t going anywhere this season, but he’s expected to retire (hahahahalolelolelohaha) at the end of the year. Plus, Childress runs a very similar offense to Reid’s and therefore the learning curve for Kolb would be minimal. A situation in which Minnesota trades for Kolb seems far-fetched at the moment, but things change all the time in the NFL.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Reid comes out either today or tomorrow and makes a definitive statement against trading Kolb. That happens all the time in this league – a report surfaces and then the team quickly refutes it.

      But where there’s smoke, there’s fire and there’s a lot of smoke coming out of Philly right now.

      Update: According to ProFootballTalk.com, the Browns have already inquired about Kolb, which is shocking considering Jake Delhomme (and now Seneca Wallace) is their starting quarterback.

      External Sports, NFL

      2010 NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

      September 21, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 02: Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers calls out signals during the preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on September 2, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      I gave the Cowboys and Vikings a mulligan after their opening week performances, but I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I ranked them in the top 10 again this week.

      So I dropped them sons of bitches like a Ryan Grant fantasy owner.

      Let’s do this…

      Check out Week 2’s Power Rankings

      1. Green Bay Packers
      Previous Week: 1
      No letdown for the Pack last week at home against the Bills. Their defense held Buffalo scoreless in the second half and Aaron Rodgers rebounded from a shaky Week 1 performance to throw two touchdown passes. Although…Brandon Jackson only rushed for 2.6 yards per carry? Ayeeh.

      2. Indianapolis Colts
      Previous Week: 2
      I didn’t want to drop the Colts too far down after their loss to the Texans in Week 1 and I’m glad I didn’t. That was child’s play for Peyton and the defense on Sunday night against the Giants.

      3. New Orleans Saints
      Previous Week: 4
      The Saints’ offense seems to lack the explosiveness it had last season and now Reggie Bush is out for six weeks with a leg injury. Still, Drew Brees and company are 2-0 and did well not to dump that game last night in San Francisco.

      4. Baltimore Ravens
      Previous Week: 3
      It’s a little jarring that Joe Flacco looked so bad against a defense that Tom Brady absolutely shredded in Week 1, but give credit to Cincinnati’s defense for stepping up. Flacco and the Ravens will get back on track this weekend against the Browns.

      5. Houston Texans
      Previous Week: 7
      The Texans were about five minutes away from the media crucifying them for being their inconsistent selves. But what a performance by Matt Schaub, who put the game on his shoulders and willed Houston to a victory in Washington. If he plays even half as well as he did last weekend then the Texans are going to win a lot of ballgames.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      A minute and 19 seconds might as well be a lifetime for Drew Brees

      September 20, 2010 /
      New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees looks to pass in the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers during their Monday night NFL football game in San Francisco, California September 20, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      If Alex Smith goes on to have a solid year in San Francisco, people are going to point back to this night as the moment everything turned for the 26-year-old former first round pick.

      The 49ers turned the ball over four times in their 25-22 loss to the Saints on Monday night, yet there they were with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth and a chance to tie the game with a touchdown and a 2-point conversation.

      What Smith did next was exactly what quarterbacks have to do in that situation: he orchestrated a flawless two-minute drive and tied the game. He completed four of five passes for 51 yards and managed to scramble for 24 yards on two carries after New Orleans defenders crashed the pocket. Frank Gore capped the drive off with a 7-yard touchdown run and then Smith found Vernon Davis on a successful 2-point conversation attempt, although the play had to be reviewed because the original ruling was that Davis was stopped short of the goal line.

      Unfortunately for Smith and the 49ers, Drew Brees still had 1:19 left on the clock and three timeouts. With his team only needing a field goal to win, Brees led the Saints on a seven-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a Garrett Hartley 37-yard field goal (which was partially blocked, yet still had enough mustard on it to get through the uprights).

      Smith did what he had to do to give his team a chance to win, but too bad for him Brees has long mastered the art of the game-winning drive.

      It was a significant win for the Saints because in all honesty, it was a game they couldn’t afford to lose. Obviously there’s an entire season yet to be played, but the 49ers handed this game over on a silver platter and had San Fran completed the comeback, we would be looking at a reeling New Orleans team heading into a huge divisional matchup with the Falcons this Sunday. (A game in which they may not have Reggie Bush, who injured his leg on a muffed punt midway through the fourth quarter.)

      But at 2-0, the Saints remain perfect on the young season.

      External Sports, NFL

      Michael Turner’s groin is fine, should play against Saints

      September 20, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - SEPTEMBER 19: Michael Turner of the Atlanta Falcons walks to the locker room with trainers after injuring his groin against the Arizona Cardinals at Georgia Dome on September 19, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before, but I just re-read the headline to this piece and it hit me that part of my job is to write about other mens’ groins.

      Mom must be proud.

      Falcons head coach Mike Smith reiterated today what he confirmed yesterday following Atlanta’s 41-7 thrashing of the Cardinals: Michael Turner is fine and barring a setback, will play against the Saints this Sunday.

      After rushing for 75 yards on nine carries in the first quarter against the Cardinals, Turner suffered a groin injury and wasn’t inserted back into the game. But he didn’t need to go back in, as the Falcons built a big lead thanks in part to Jason Snelling’s (24 carries, 129 yards, 3 total TDs) monster day. It would have been foolish had Turner gone back into a blowout and risk further injury.

      With a trip to New Orleans coming up this Sunday, the Falcons will need a healthy “Burner.” The Saints’ biggest weakness defensively is arguably up the gut and with the way Atlanta ran the ball yesterday against Arizona, having the backfield duo of Turner and Snelling is vital. The key to beating the Saints is a) getting pressure on Drew Brees and b) keeping him and his offense off the field. The Falcons can accomplish one of those two goals with a healthy dose of Turner and Snelling.

      That said, this is also a game that Matt Ryan needs to step up. He played extremely well in the win over the Cardinals (21-32, 225 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs), but he failed to make plays against the Steelers in Week 1. That’s not to say that he didn’t play well, he just didn’t play well enough. When Pittsburgh shut Atlanta’s running game down, Ryan couldn’t come up with that one play in the passing game to turn the momentum on its head. If he’s in a similar situation this Sunday, it’s time for “Matty Ice” to produce.

      This will be a great test for a team that many consider to be a sleeper Super Bowl contender this season. If Turner is 100%, the Falcons certainly have enough weapons to go toe-to-toe with the most explosive offense in the NFC. The Saints and Falcons played two thrilling games last year (both NO victories), and their first meeting this season should be more of the same.

      External Sports, NFL

      Why can’t football have game clock replays like in basketball?

      September 20, 2010 /
      SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 04: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish watches as his team takes on the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium on September 4, 2010 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      In basketball, when a last-second shot during the end of a quarter or half is made and officials aren’t sure if the play clock or shot clock had expired before the ball left the shooter’s hands, the referees will review the play.

      If the player got the shot off in time, the basket counts. If he didn’t, the basket doesn’t count. It’s pretty cut and dry.

      With that in mind, why can’t the clock be reviewed during a football game too?

      Take what happened in the Notre Dame-Michigan State game this past Saturday for example. The Spartans lined up for what would have been a game-tying field goal in overtime but instead, they faked the field goal and Aaron Bates wound up throwing a 29-yard touchdown to Charlie Gantt to win the game.

      The problem is that the play clock had already hit double zero before MSU got the play off, which therefore should have resulted in a delay of game penalty. But the play stood and now Irish fans are rightfully screaming shenanigans.

      It was a Big East crew working the game that night and since the play occurred, the conference has released this statement:

      “The responsibility is assigned to the Back Judge, who in this situation was standing beneath the upright. Proper mechanics dictate that his focus be directed to the play clock as it approaches zero. When the play clock display reads zero, he must re-direct his attention to the ball. At that time, if the snap has not started, a flag will be thrown for delay of game. If the snap has begun, no flag will be thrown.

      “Under these procedures, there will always be a small amount of lag time between the time the clock reads zero and the time the Back Judge is able to see the football.

      “On the play in question, this lag time created the situation where it appears the play clock expired just before the snap. We believe the snap occurred well within the normal lag time for the Back Judge to make this determination.

      In essence, the Big East defended the no-call and by rule, it appears that the play should have stood.

      But again, why wasn’t the play reviewable? I understand that the NCAA (or NFL for that matter) doesn’t want to slow the game anymore by reviewing every single play that comes close to being a delay of game penalty, but they don’t have to. All reviews are done by officials in overtime, so why couldn’t the refs go under the hood before awarding MSU a game-winning touchdown? A touchdown that also cost Brian Kelly’s team a potential victory?

      Maybe the call would have stood anyway under the rules, but it should have at least been reviewed. If plays that are affected by the clock can be reviewed in basketball, I don’t see why they can’t also be reviewed in football.

      College Football, External Sports

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