Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo and Old Spice working to end “overspraying epidemic” Posted by Paul Eide (05/13/2014 @ 10:53 pm) There’s a war going on that you may not even know about. We hear a lot about world events like missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, Syria and the Middle East. But one thing we don’t hear about is the overspraying epidemic that exists for 75% of guys. Patriots All-Pro linebacker Jerod Mayo and Old Spice have teamed up to teach men how to scent responsibly and stop this epidemic the way Mayo stopped Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta in the 2013 AFC Championship. “I’m actually on my way now to educate young guys at Boston University to teach them how to scent responsibly,” said Mayo, concern evident in his voice. “They know how to drive responsibly, and do other things responsibly. It’s all about scenting responsibly in 2014. I’m very excited to help end the overspraying epidemic that’s happening now.” One reason the problem has reached epidemic levels is ignorance; 68% of guys admit that no one had ever showed them how to apply body spray properly. The first step is acceptance — realizing that you have an overspraying problem and then taking the necessary steps to move forward. Mayo, Captain of the Patriots defense, is here to call out your defensive spray audible. “There’s some rules you have to abide by. First off, it starts with a shower. You have to take a shower with your Old Spice gel. That helps gets the pores open so you can put on the Old Spice Refresh Body Spray. But the thing about Refresh is that you don’t need too much of it.” Read the full interview here. Posted in: Interviews, NFL Tags: Jerod Mayo, Jerod Mayo's Beard, Men's Body Spray, men's grooming, New England Patriots, NFL, Old Spice, Old Spice Refresh Body Spray, Overspraying Epidemic, Overspraying Epidemic Old Spice
Poor play of Pats’ defense bigger surprise than Sam Bradford Posted by Anthony Stalter (08/27/2010 @ 10:50 am) I haven’t done a Google search yet, but I can only imagine how many, “Should Sam Bradford start Week 1?” topics are floating around the web after the rookie’s performance in the Rams’ 36-35 win over the Patriots in Foxboro last night. The third preseason game is when starters usually play an entire half and maybe even some of the third quarter. So for Bradford to look as poised and as comfortable as he did completing 15 of 22 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns against New England’s starting defense was impressive. Whether or not he gets the opportunity to start as a rookie is a hot topic right now – as it should be. But the biggest takeaway for me last night wasn’t the play of Bradford, but how poor the Patriots’ first-team defense looked. Read the rest of this entry » 2010 NFL Question Marks: New England Patriots Posted by Anthony Stalter (08/13/2010 @ 6:00 pm) Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Patriots’ pass-rushing concerns. Bill Belichick is notorious for being able to mask a defense’s weaknesses due in large part because he to his schemes. Even if a player is lacking in physical tools, as long as they do their jobs within his schemes, the Patriots are usually fine. But a defense’s ability to generate a pass rush is something not even Belichick can scheme for. And pass rush is by far New England’s biggest weakness on defense, if not the team’s biggest weakness on a whole. The Pats busted out their checkbooks in 2007 to sign former Ravens’ outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, who turned out to be a dud for most of his time in New England. Now he isn’t even on the roster and once again outside linebacker is an area of concern for Belichick’s Patriots. After recording 9.5 sacks last season, Tully Banta-Cain is virtually ensured the starting right outside linebacker spot. But can he duplicate the success he had in 2009? If he can’t, then his limitations against the run will be expounded and Belichick might be left scrambling for a replacement mid-season. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NFL Tags: 2010 NFL Question Marks Series, 2010 NFL Season Preview, Anthony Stalter, Bill Belichick, Jermaine Cunningham, Jerod Mayo, Marques Murrell, Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots, Rob Ninkovich, Tully Banta-Cain, Ty Warren, Ty Warren out for season
Patriots need a win this week Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/25/2009 @ 2:00 pm)
The general consensus surrounding the New England Patriots these days is that the sky is falling. Tom Brady doesn’t look the same. Bill Belichick can’t win without his coveted videotapes. The entire defense is a mess. It’s true – the Patriots are in trouble. Brady didn’t look comfortable last week as the Jets’ defense used multiple looks to confuse him at the line. He generally looked confused and befuddled as Rex Ryan sent extra defenders from all angles and for Brady to look confused and befuddled is a telltale sign that things aren’t right in New England’s world. But doubting Brady and Belichick when their backs are against a wall is about as smart as taking anything Skip Bayless says to heart. It’s just not wise to write off the Pats, especially coming off a loss. Read the rest of this entry » 2009 NFL All-Spectator Team: All Pros, No Playoffs Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/25/2009 @ 12:00 pm)
Granted, guys like Peyton Manning, Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu had wonderful seasons. But don’t they already get plenty of love? With our third-annual NFL All-Spectator Team, we want to shine the spotlight on the players that had great seasons, but for one reason or another, missed the postseason. So there won’t be any Steelers, Cardinals, Eagles or Ravens on this team. Nor any Giants, Panthers, Vikings or Falcons. They’ve had their opportunity to shine. We’ll recognize those great players that spent the postseason on their couch, or maybe on a beach somewhere. After all, it’s not their fault that they’re on a mediocre (or a crappy) team, is it? Hell, we’ll even honor a couple of Detroit Lions – how’s that for spreading the love around? Check out our 2008 and 2007 All-Spectator squads. OFFENSE QB: Drew Brees (NO) 5,069 yards, 34 TDs, 17 INTs, 96.2 QB rating For the second straight season, Brees is our choice at QB. On one hand, it’s a nice honor because it means he’s consistently productive, but we’re sure he’d rather be guiding the Saints into the playoffs. Brees improved his numbers across the board, and almost broke Dan Marino’s single-season yardage record; he averaged 317 passing yards per game! He posted the second-highest QB rating of his career and even turned someone named Lance Moore into a fantasy star. For this, he was named AP Offensive Player of the Year, a well-deserved honor. RB: Matt Forte (CHI) 1,238 rushing yards, 63 rec., 477 receiving yards, 12 total TD It was a tough call between Forte and Thomas Jones, but with 1,715 total yards, the rookie gets the nod. Some draft pundits questioned his ability to be an every down back, but didn’t have any problems taking over as the Bears’ RB1. He caught an eye-popping 63 catches and was (by far) the Bears’ best offensive weapon. It’s scary to think what he could do if Chicago had another playmaker in the passing game that would keep defenses from stacking the line against the run. FB: Earnest Graham (TB) 563 rushing yards; 23 rec., 174 rec. yards; 4 total TD Were there better fullbacks that we could have chosen? Yeah, especially considering Graham isn’t technically even a fullback. But we chose Graham (who missed the last six games of the year with an ankle injury) because of his unselfishness this season. He volunteered to move to fullback when the Bucs were in need of a power blocker and he never griped about losing his feature back role. When he went down with a season ending injury in Week 11, Tampa clearly missed his power running style over the past two months of the season and even more so, they missed his leadership.
WR: Andre Johnson (HOU) 115 rec., 1575 yards, 8 TD All AJ did was lead the NFL in catches and yards, anchoring one of the league’s best offenses in the process. He posted 9+ catches eight times and went over 100 yards in each of those games. This included success against the very best competition; he racked up 11 catches for 207 yards and a TD against the Titans, who have one of the top pass defenses in the league. A big day for AJ usually meant a Texans win; Houston was 6-2 in games where Johnson went off. WR: Brandon Marshall (DEN) 104 rec., 1265 yards, 6 TD Marshall missed the first game of the season due to suspension, but he made up for it the next week, posting an amazing 18 catches for 166 yards and a score against the Chargers. He was one of the most consistent wideouts over the rest of the season, catching no fewer than four passes in 12 of the next 14 games. Surprisingly, he only caught six touchdowns, but with the third-most catches and seventh-most yards in the league, his stats are plenty impressive. TE: Tony Gonzalez (KC) 96 rec., 1058 yards, 10 TD Gonzo makes his second-straight appearance on our All-Spectator Team. Jason Witten may have earned this spot if not for a midseason injury that hindered his production, but Gonzalez was every bit the top TE in the league this season. He was 12th in the league in yards and tied for 4th in catches. What’s most impressive about Gonzo’s season is that, at 32, he turned in what was arguably his third-best season of his illustrious 12-year, Hall of Fame career. OT: Ryan Clady (DEN) The Broncos might have produced one of the worst collapses of any team in NFL history by surrendering a four game lead over the Chargers with only four games remaining in the season, but Clady deserves praise for his exceptional play this year. The rookie gave up just a half sack and helped anchor the left tackle position for an offensive line that tied the Titans for fewest sacks allowed in the NFL (12). He’s the type of player the Broncos can build their O-line around and he was clearly a Pro Bowl snub. OT: Joe Thomas (CLE) Did Thomas take a slight step back this season? Yes. Even some in Cleveland’s organization will admit it. But offensive linemen aren’t immune to having sophomore slumps and even though his production might have dipped a little, Thomas was still one of the best tackles in the AFC and worthy of his Pro Bowl roster spot. He was also part of a Browns’ offensive line that finished eighth in sacks allowed. Some are going to wonder where Jason Peters’ (Bills) name is, but don’t strain your eyes looking too long because he didn’t make the cut. Peters gave up more sacks (11.5 sacks in just 13 games) this year than any starting left tackle in the league. OG: Leonard Davis (DAL) Two years ago, the Cardinals gave up on Davis because they didn’t feel he was consistent or dominant enough to be their cornerstone left tackle. Not that they were wrong, but they might regret giving up on him with the way he’s excelled since the Cowboys moved him to right guard after signing him to a seven-year, $49.6 million contract in March of 2007. Davis had another outstanding year and some believe that he was the most dominant right guard in the NFL this season. The Saints’ Jahri Evans (who made our honorable mention list) got a starting look for our guard positions, but in the end we couldn’t pass up pairing Davis with Alan Faneca. OG: Alan Faneca (NYJ) The Steelers didn’t want to pony up to pay a 32-year old guard with plenty of mileage on his body, but the Jets signed the veteran to a five-year, $40 million contract and it’s safe to say that Faneca was worth the money. After breakout seasons as rookies in 2006, the play of left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold dropped in 2007. But the addition of Faneca turned out to be the shot in the arm that the two youngsters needed. Faneca’s presence also helped running back Thomas Jones bounce back after a rough 2007 campaign, as he rushed for 1,312 yards this season. C: Dan Koppen (NE) Whether it was because of a down year or the inexperience of quarterback Matt Cassel, the Patriots’ offensive line was brutal in pass protection this season. They gave up 48 sacks despite returning all five starters from their Super Bowl team. Regardless, the Patriots still had the fifth best offense in the NFL and were the sixth best running team. At the center (no pun intended) of their success was Koppen, who continues to be a quiet leader on a team filled with exceptional players. Cassel’s success this season had a lot to do with having a veteran center setting the line protection every play and guiding the young signal caller along the way. Read the rest after the jump...Posted in: NFL Tags: Aaron Kampman, Alan Faneca, Andre Gurode, Andre Johnson, Barrett Ruud, Bernard Pollard, Brad Maynard, Brandon Marshall, Brandon McDonald, Buffalo Bills, Calvin Johnson, Calvin Pace, Charles Woodson, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Dan Koppen, D’Qwell Jackson, DeMarcus Ware, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Drew Brees, Earnest Graham, Gibril Wilson, Green Bay Packers, Greg Jennings, Houston Texans, Jahri Evans, Jason Hanson, Jason Witten, Jay Ratliff, Jerod Mayo, Jerod Mayo Rookie of the Year, Joe Thomas, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Josh Wilson, Kansas City Chiefs., Kris Jenkins, LaRon Landry, Leodis McKelvin, Leonard Davis, Mario Williams, Matt Cassel, Matt Forte, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL All-Pro Team, NFL All-Spectator Team, NFL All-Spectator Team 2009, Nick Collins, Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders, Patrick Willis, Reggie Bush, Richard Seymour, Ryan Clady, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Shane Lechler, Shaun Ellis, Shaun Rogers, Stephen Gostkowski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Third Annual All-Spectator Team, Thomas Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Vince Wilfork, Walter Jones, Washington Redskins
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