Tag: Baltimore Ravens (Page 21 of 46)

      Rodgers is on the verge of taking the next step

      December 8, 2009 /

      Over the past two years, fans and pundits alike haven’t questioned Aaron Rodgers’ talent, just whether or not he could win. Brett Favre was a winner, so it wasn’t enough that Rodgers put up good numbers: He had to win, too.

      In his second year, Rodgers has proven that he can be a winner. Yes, he still must lead the Packers to the playoffs, but he’s on the verge of doing just that as Green Bay has won four in a row and has a grasp on one of the two Wild Card spots in the NFC.

      In the Packers’ 27-14 win over the Ravens on Monday night, Rodgers completed 26-of-40 passes for 263 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The two interceptions don’t look great on the stat sheet, but one was on an overthrow on a deep ball and the other was a fluke that bounced off of Donald Driver’s leg and into the waiting arms of a defender. The key was that Rodgers looked poised in and out of the pocket, used his legs to effectively buy himself more time and he didn’t make many mistakes to put his team in a position to lose (unlike Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, who made a horrendous decision near the goal line by throwing an interception to kill a potential scoring drive late in the second half).

      There’s still a chance that Rodgers will fade down the stretch and the Packers will miss the playoffs. But with the way he and the rest of the Packers are playing right now (especially the defense, which has really come together under new coordinator Dom Capers), Green Bay won’t miss the postseason. And that’s amazing given how bad the offensive line was playing earlier in the season.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      NFL Week 12 ROY Power Rankings

      December 6, 2009 /

      Percy Harvin keeps gaining momentum and votes here with every TD catch from Brett Favre. But it’s still a pretty wide-open race here for NFL rookie of the year.

      1. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings—Against the Bears, Harvin had another outstanding game—6 catches for 101 yards and a TD. Brett Favre might have more weapons than he’s ever had before, but none of them are more dangerous than this rookie.

      2. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos—In the last three games, Moreno has averaged almost 6 yards a carry. And if you noticed the moves he was busting against the Giants, you know he deserves to be high up on this list.

      3. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills—He’s now gone three games without a pick, but still has 8 of them.

      4. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—His 75 solo tackles not only rank at the top for any rookie, but that ranks Laurinaitis fourth in the NFL right behind Curtis Lofton, Jon Beason and Patrick Willis. Damn.

      5. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles—Brian Westbrook has some mighty big shoes to fill, but so far McCoy is filling them.

      Honorable mention: Hakeem Nicks, Giants; Johnny Knox, Bears; Ryan Succop, Chiefs; Michael Oher, Ravens; Matthew Stafford, Lions; Beanie Wells, Cardinals; Jeremy Maclin, Eagles; Brian Cushing, Texans

      NFL

      NFL Week 12 COY Power Rankings

      December 6, 2009 /

      Just like Drew Brees, we have to give Saints’ coach Sean Payton love for the way his team manhandled the Patriots on Monday night. It wasn’t so much the fact that the Saints’ offense resembled an arena league team again, it was the way their defense made Tom Brady and company look terribly average—and of course, beatable.

      1. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—Once again the fact that Payton gave up a quarter million dollars of his own money to lure Gregg Williams to run his defense was a stroke of genius, because this defense is suddenly shutting people down. And by people, we mean guys named Brady, Moss and Welker.

      2. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—The bottom line is, no matter how much talent the Colts have, or how they have had to come from behind a lot lately, they still have a rookie head coach who is 11-0 and has already clinched the AFC South.

      3 Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals—It’s positively mind-blowing to think that the Bengals are not only sitting in first place in the AFC North with a 2-game lead on both the Steelers and Ravens, but that they have run the table in their own very tough division at 6-0. Don’t think these guys won’t make some noise in January.

      4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—When you have guys named Favre, Peterson, Allen and Harvin making you look good, it’s easy to say anyone can be Brad Childress. But remember, he stuck his neck out to bring in half of those guys, so we prefer to use the words “borderline genius.”

      5. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos—We like the fire this guy displayed last week when he dropped the F-bomb on national TV, but we also like the way he has won at least 3 more games to this point than we all thought he would.

      6. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans—We had to add one more name in here this week, because turning a team from 0-6 into 5-6 and a dark horse playoff contender takes more than sticking Vince Young under center.

      Honorable mention: Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals; Jack Del Rio, Jaguars; Wade Phillips, Cowboys; Mike McCarthy, Packers

      NFL

      Dixon’s only mistake costs Steelers in loss to Ravens

      November 30, 2009 /

      For all intents and purposes, Dennis Dixon only made one mistake on Sunday night but unfortunately for him and the Steelers, that one mistake cost them a potential victory.

      Dixon’s interception in overtime set the table for the Ravens to kick a game-winning field goal in a 20-17 victory. The win helped Baltimore improve to 6-5 on the season and kept its playoff hopes alive, while Pittsburgh fell to 6-5 and has now lost three in a row.

      Dixon, a third stringer making his first career start, gave the Steelers a chance to win in the second half when he broke off a 24-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. He also threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the second quarter and had a 31-yard run called back due to a holding call.

      But on the possession following his fourth quarter touchdown run, the Ravens converted on a 4th and 5 from their own 46-yard line when Joe Flacco hit Ray Rice on a 44-yard completion. The drive ended in a field goal, which potentially forced overtime with the score tied 7-7.

      Take away Dixon’s interception and the Steelers’ offense played pretty good – ultra conservative, but good. It was Pittsburgh’s defense that yielded several big plays, including Rice’s fourth down reception and a 54-yard reception by Mark Clayton late in the second half that set up a 10-yard Derrick Mason touchdown. If the Steelers had limited the big plays, Dixon’s effort would have been enough.

      Pittsburgh needs a healthy Troy Polamalu back in the lineup if it has any chance of making another run at a Super Bowl, nevertheless the playoffs. Without him, Pittsburgh’s defense is good but certainly not great, which has been evident the past couple weeks.

      NFL

      NFL Week 11 ROY Power Rankings

      November 29, 2009 /

      Suddenly lots of players are making a case here. Moreno was outstanding against that sieve of a Giants’ defense last night, looking like the guy the Broncos knew they drafted.

      1. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills—Though he didn’t pick one off against Jacksonville last week, Byrd is still on pace for 12. That would be one heck of a season for anyone, let alone a rookie playing on a crappy team.

      2. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings—Another TD catch last weekend from his new best friend Brett Favre, Harvin is making coach Brad Childress look like a genius for taking a chance on him when many others turned their heads.

      3. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos—This guy had over 100 all-purpose yards last night against the G-men, and he could steal this award if he keeps that up.

      4. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—You aren’t seeing a misprint here. Laurinaitis had 16 tackles against the Cardinals last Sunday, and has 66 solo tackles on the season. That number has him fifth in the NFL, an amazing feat for a rookie on (like Byrd) a crappy team.

      5. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions—He gets a spot here solely on his guts, and for single-handedly bringing his team back last weekend against the Browns to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat. Sure, he regressed yesterday, but we’ll let that slide.

      Honorable mention: Hakeem Nicks, Giants; Johnny Knox, Bears; Ryan Succop, Chiefs; Michael Oher, Ravens; LeSean McCoy, Eagles; Beanie Wells, Cardinals; Jeremy Maclin, Eagles

      NFL

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