Tag: Detroit Lions (Page 10 of 45)

NFL Week 16 ROY power rankings

It’s definitely been a solid year for rookies in the NFL, and here are the top offensive and defensive ones ranked in order of who we think wins the honors for 2010:

Offensive rookie of the year power rankings

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Led the Rams to the team’s biggest victory in years last Sunday, and has to do it again this Sunday.

2. Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—These two guys continue to put up ridiculous numbers if you combine them (81 catches, 1007 yards, 15 TDs).

3. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Two more TDs gave this kid 10 on the season, and he’s on the verge of 1000 yards.

4. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—He had 8 TDs (receiving and return) through 13 games before getting injured.

5. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Okay, so this time the young McCoy had a rough go against the Ravens, but we won’t wipe him off the list.

Defensive rookie of the year power rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—60 tackles and 9 sacks through 15 games for a DT is amazing for anyone, much less a rookie.

2. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—He hasn’t had an INT since Week 13, but the guy is all over the field making plays.

3. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—I’m sure U of Tennessee fans winced when they saw their former star return a pick for a TD against the Titans.

4. Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns—Had another pick against Baltimore along with five tackles. You think Mike Holmgren knows what he’s doing or what?

5. Jason Pierre-Paul, New York Giants—Even though he’s on a line that already has Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, JPP has 29 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 6 passes deflected. I think Jerry Reese chose well when many doubted this kid.

NFL Week 15 MVP power rankings

Boy, this is becoming a two-man race, isn’t it? You could probably wrestle with the Brady/Vick debate for days, and the next two weeks will likely determine the outcome of that. But for now, we have to pontificate…..

1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Well, his team is 12-2 and he leads in QB rating (109.9) with a modest 3561 yards, and 31 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. It’s hard to argue with that.

2. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—That game against the Giants and that comeback against the Giants are hard for this Big Blue fan to bear (242 yards, 3 TDs, 1 pick, 130 rushing yards and one more TD), but it’s hard not to respect Vick’s season and his own personal resurgence.

3. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs—First of all, dude was on the field like 8 days after having his appendix out. Not great stats (184 yards, 1 TD, one pick), but he led his team to a much-needed win and has done that all season.

4. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—Imagine what Rivers could have done with a healthy Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates all season?

5. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons—His numbers are still modest, but he just keeps winning and has orchestrated quite a few late-game comebacks.

6. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—His team lost to the Ravens, but still a strong body of work in 2010 despite being under the radar.

7. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—Almost 1900 total yards and 15 total scores are making this guy a possible #1 fantasy pick in 2011.

8 Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—Only 8 touchdowns, but 106 catches and 1284 yards both lead the NFL in a career year for Roddy.

9. Trent Cole, Philadelphia Eagles—10 more tackles against the G-men and the leader of a defense that has a lot of heart despite a ton of injuries.

10. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions—No TDs last week in Tampa, but 10 catches for 152 yards in an impressive win. For my money, Calvin might be the best receiver in the NFL.

NFL Week 14 ROY power rankings

Since they vote for offensive and defensive rookies, lets’ change it up this week…

Offensive rookie of the year power rankings

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—We’ll let the New Orleans game slide. For now.

2. Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—You shut one out, and the other will burn you. Or, of course, will Deion Branch and Wes Welker.

3. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Was almost shut out by Redskins, but like Bradford, we’ll let it slide because he’s had such as great season on a promising young team.

4. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—He will get the start Sunday against Cincinnati after missing a few games with an ankle injury. Let’s see if it makes a difference, because McCoy has sparked the Browns before.

5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—The Cowboys sure missed him against the Eagles.

Defensive rookie of the year power rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Is anyone really surprised at the ease the big fella transitioned into the NFL?

2. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—6 picks leads all rookies.

3. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Quiet the last few weeks, but who wants to throw in his direction?

4. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—Berry’s interception against the Chargers was the only good play of the game for his team, and it was a thing of beauty.

5. Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns—His five picks is right behind Thomas, and his overall play has been stellar.

The Packers’ playoff hopes take a humongous blow

DETROIT - DECEMBER 12: Aaron Rogers  of the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 12, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

About the only thing that is going right for the Packers today is that the Bears have no desire to beat the Patriots, because Green Bay’s season is currently hanging in the balance at Solider Field right now.

The Packers had a disastrous day in Detroit on Sunday, losing 7-3 to a Lions team that picked up its first divisional win in 19 straight tries. Things got started when Greg Jennings had a potential touchdown pass go off his hands in the first quarter and into the waiting arms of a Detroit defender, then quarterback Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the second.

Things only got worse as Matt Flynn struggled to move the ball against Ndamukong Suh (otherwise known as the Detroit Lions defense) and even when he did, he threw an interception to linebacker DeAndre Levy in the end zone late in the third quarter to kill a potential scoring drive. (He also overthrew Greg Jennings on a 4th-and-1 at the Detroit 31-yard line to put the final nail in the coffin.)

But the Packers can’t pin the loss entirely on Flynn because the Packers didn’t produce any points when Rodgers was in either. And some of the blame for that falls on Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff, which decided to run the ball early and often instead of attacking the league’s worst secondary. I’m not sure what the Packers’ game plan was, but it clearly wasn’t to go after the Lions’ weakness.

Now Green Bay must hope Chicago loses to New England so that they don’t face a two-game deficit in the NFC North by the end of the day. As of this writing, the Bears are trailing the Patriots 21-0 and look completely hopeless, so the Packers’ season is still very much alive.

That said, they travel to New England next Sunday and there’s a good chance that Rodgers won’t be medically cleared to play. Unless Flynn can produce a miracle, the Packers will probably be home when the postseason starts.

But first things first: Chicago must lose to New England.

NFL Week 13 ROY power rankings

This race is getting to be as exciting as the Heismann race. Well, maybe.

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Is everyone comparing this kid to Troy Aikman because of how he plays and leads his team calmly? Or because he’s lanky and wears #8? We’ll go with the former, for now.

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Leads all DTs with 8 sacks, and is third in total tackles among inside guys with 49.

3. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—Leads the NFL with 6 interceptions

4. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Wow, it’s turning out to be a monster DB class, isn’t it?

5. Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns—Like I said…..

6. Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—Really, the numbers are astounding from this dynamic TE duo: 65 catches, 835 yards, 10 TDs

7. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—On pace for 68 catches, 1025 yards and 9 scores. Not bad for a rookie.

8. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Well, yeah, it’s not like he had to play that great to keep the job from Jake Delhomme, but he went and got injured.

9. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—Another bummer of a season-ending injury.

10. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—His 69 tackles and 2 picks don’t tell the story about how QBs fear this kid

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