Tag: Brandon Jacobs (Page 6 of 8)

      Cardinals still have a ways to go

      November 23, 2008 /

      Kurt WarnerThanks to the reemergence of Kurt Warner as a MVP candidate, the Arizona Cardinals have been a nice story this season. But as the Giants proved in their 37-29 win in Arizona on Sunday, the Cardinals still have a long way to go before anyone should consider them Super Bowl contenders.

      With how absolutely brutal the NFC West is, the Cards are going to win their division – they might even clinch next week. But a lot of people are talking about how their game Sunday might be a preview of the NFC Championship Game.

      Let’s not forget that if Arizona doesn’t secure one of the top two spots in the NFC, they’ll have to travel to the East Coast in the second round of the playoffs, assuming of course they win Wild Card weekend. Making the long trip is tough enough, nevertheless for a team who has struggled on the road over the past couple years like the Cards have.

      There’s no doubt that Warner’s performance this year has made ‘Zona an incredibly dangerous team. Not many of their opponents can match up against what the Cards do offensively, although the Giants made them one-dimensional Sunday by limiting Tim Hightower to only 21 yards. But this team has had issues defensively this year and good teams like New York will shred them in the playoffs.

      This was a Giants team that didn’t have Brandon Jacobs (the backbone of their offense), but still managed to total 321 yards. This was a great test for the Cards to see how they stack up against the best in the NFC, but they clearly have some work to do before the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see how this team responds next week on the road against Philadelphia, and then again on the road in Week 16 when they take on the Patriots in Foxboro.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      NFL Week 12 Primer

      November 23, 2008 /

      Brandon JacobsSunday’s Best: Giants (9-1) at Cardinals (7-3), 4:00 PM ET
      It might not be the sexiest game of the year, but this is one of the best matchups of the 2008 season. The Giants have been one of the best road teams over the last couple years, and the Cardinals are a completely (better) different team in the comforts of their own home than on the road. Kurt Warner is playing like a league MVP and it’ll be interesting to see how the underrated New York secondary matches up with the explosive Arizona passing game. There haven’t been a lot of opponents have been able to get pressure on Warner this season, but the G-Men have one of the best front sevens in the league. All indications are that Brandon Jacobs will play, which should help New York keep Arizona’s potent offense off the field. Both teams have a commanding lead in their respective divisions, but a win for the Giants could go a long way in eventually securing home field advantage in the postseason.

      Upset Watch: Buccaneers (7-3) at Lions (0-10), 1:00 PM ET
      I’m sure I’ll get crap for this one, but give me credit for taking a shot with this upset. Outside of getting their ass handed to them by Jacksonville two weeks ago, the Lions have been inching closer and closer to their first victory. Jon Gruden’s offense is effective, but the Buccaneers have had issues once they get into the red zone this year. They settled for three field goals inside the red zone last week against Minnesota, which essentially kept the Vikings in the game. Not that Detroit’s defense will provide much of a challenge, but if the Lions can keep the game close throughout, they might have a shot at a late score. Every year it seems that the Lions manage to win a game they’re not supposed to and I’m calling my shot this weekend – it’ll be Tampa. It helps that the Lions beat the Bucs last season, too, although it’s safe to say that the 2007 Detroit team was a shade better this year’s version.

      Philip RiversIntriguing Matchup: Colts (6-4) at Chargers (4-6), 8:15 PM ET
      After getting embarrassed by the Titans on Monday Night Football in Week 8, the Colts have won three straight and beaten quality AFC teams like the Patriots and Steelers. Indy has jumped right back into the playoff race and are one of the more dangerous teams in the league. But without Bob Sanders (knee injury) in the lineup, the Colts are a completely different team defensively. And although LaDainian Tomlinson has been quiet this year, he’s still one of the most explosive backs in the league and does anyone believe he can’t still take over a game? The Chargers are always dangerous on national TV because they play with a chip on their shoulder. They’ve also shown improvements defensively under Ron Rivera, who took over for Ted Cotrell at coordinator. Even though San Diego has struggled this year and has stumbled to 4-6, this is going to be a dogfight.

      Other Notable Games:
      Jets (7-3) at Titans (10-0), 1:00 PM ET
      Along with the Giants-Cardinals game, this could easily be the best matchup of the week. Pundits keep waiting for Tennessee to fall, but something tells me it won’t be this week. Brett Favre is susceptible to throwing an interception or two, which doesn’t bode well playing against a very opportunistic Titans’ defense. Some are smelling upset – I say the Titans remain undefeated after this week.

      Panthers (8-2) at Falcons (6-4), 4:15 PM ET
      The Falcons’ playoff hopes took a hit last week when they lost to Denver, but the Panthers have struggled with inferior opponents as of late. Jake Delhomme has not looked very sharp and Atlanta has been solid at home. This is a huge game for the NFC South.

      Eagles (5-4-1) at Ravens (6-4), 1:00 PM ET
      A loss for the Eagles and they can kiss their postseason hopes goodbye. The Ravens have a great chance to prove they’re for real after they were clowned by the Giants last week.

      Patriots (6-4) at Dolphins (6-4), 1:00 PM ET
      This is a massive game for the AFC East, especially with the Jets playing in Tennessee. A win for either one of these teams could mean a share for the AFC East Division lead and don’t forget the Dolphins absolutely crushed the Patriots in Foxboro earlier this season. The fireworks in this game have already started this week with Joey Porter.

      NFL

      Fantasy Football Podcast: Week 12

      November 20, 2008 /

      Listen in as Anthony Stalter and I discuss the Chargers/Steelers debacle, Brandon Jacobs’ knee, Deuce McAllister’s possible suspension, the Tampa Bay running game, and much, much more. I’ll also throw out a few QB and RB sleepers for fantasy owners in need.

      Click here to listen to the podcast.

      The opening and closing music is AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock & Roll)”

      Fantasy Football, NFL, Podcasts

      Kerry Collins For MVP?

      November 10, 2008 /

      Kerry CollinsWhile I was at the gym this morning, I caught some NFL highlights on ESPN including some of the taped commentary from Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. For the record, no one recaps games better than those two guys, not even the 11 or 12 characters on NBC, who just keep trying to outwit each other. Anyway, Jackson said something really, really intriguing. Something to the effect of that while no one is saying it out loud, you can make a case for Titans’ quarterback Kerry Collins for NFL MVP after nine games.

      Now think about that for a minute. Yes, it’s a strange year in the NFL, and yes, the Titans are 9-0 and way out in front of the AFC pack. But when you first think about it, Collins in MVP conversations sounds ridiculous. He is somewhere toward the bottom of the pack in passing yards, with 1525 (169 per game in 8-plus games), with just 5 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions and a QB rating of just 78.8. But here’s the thing. Drew Brees is putting up Tom Brady/Peyton Manning type numbers, with 2985 yards, 17 TDs and 10 picks. But Brees’ Saints are 4-5 and bringing up the rear in the AFC South. Jay Cutler is second in passing yards with 2616, and his team is 5-4 (and leading a pathetic AFC West). In fact, in pure yardage, you have to scroll down to number 10 (Brett Favre) to find a QB with more than five wins. Eli Manning of the 8-1 Giants is 12th and has a QB rating of 88.8.

      So throw the stats aside, and think purely in terms of MVP for a minute. Manning and Brandon Jacobs deserve consideration, because they lead an 8-1 team in the NFL’s toughest division. But the Giants have a whole team of great players and the G-men would still be very competitive if either of those guys missed a game or two. The Panthers are 7-2, but have also had many contributors. And among the teams that are 6-3 (Jets, Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Redskins, Bucs and Falcons), you can make a case for a handful of players–Favre, Clinton Portis, and Matt Ryan. But even Ryan has had help from Michael Turner and Roddy White and John Abraham.

      Then look at the Titans themselves. Aside from Collins, you have LenDale White and Chris Johnson piling up yards behind a very underrated offensive line. You have Albert Haynesworth absolutely terrorizing offensive coordinators and Cortland Finnegan playing out of his mind. All of them Pro Bowl possibilities, but not really MVP material. Collins, though, stepped in for Vince Young and has been a steady hand leading a very talented team to an undefeated record so far. You can’t say the Titans would be better than maybe 5-4 with Young as the starter right now. 9-0 with the veteran Collins is the only number that should be mentioned in MVP talk at this point, and for that I have to say Tom Jackson is on to something.

      Bookmark this page for when the real talk begins, and don’t forget you heard it here second.

      Barstool Debates, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Giants get benefit of calls in win over Eagles

      November 10, 2008 /

      Brandon JacobsYou never want games to come down to instant replay decisions, but unfortunately it’s unavoidable in the NFL. And hey, at least the NFL has instant replay to insure that the correct calls are made.

      The Giants got the benefit of two back-to-back challenges in their 36-31 win over the Eagles on Sunday night. The first was when Eli Manning appeared to have crossed the line of scrimmage on an attempted pass on a 3rd and 10 from the Philadelphia 20 yard line early in the third quarter. Manning completed the pass for a first down, but the refs had ruled he had crossed the line of scrimmage, which led to a loss of down. But Tom Coughlin wisely challenged the play and the call was reversed because replay (kind of sort of) showed that Manning’s right heel was still behind the line of scrimmage.

      The Giants were awarded a first down and after a dropped touchdown reception by Kevin Boss, Brandon Jacobs scored on a three-yard touchdown run. Of course Jacobs fumbled, but refs said he had broken the plane. Andy Reid challenged, but replay showed that the ball did (kind of sort of) crossed the end zone while Jacobs still had the ball. With the touchdown, New York took a 27-24 lead and never trailed from that point.

      The calls were close, but it appeared that the refs got them both right. Regardless, both of these teams are better than what they showed Sunday night. They each combined for four turnovers and while Donovan McNabb threw three touchdown passes, he wasn’t particularly sharp. Of course the Giants had a lot to do with that, taking away Philly’s running game and forcing McNabb to throw into tight passing windows.

      The key in this game was that the Eagles couldn’t stop Jacobs and the rest of the Giants’ plethora of running backs. New York owned the line of scrimmage and have found an emerging red zone threat in tight end Kevin Boss, who is cheaper than Jeremy Shockey and less disruptive.

      With the win, the Giants are now 7-1 in the division. But that NFC East is going to be a dogfight until the end.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑