Tag: Joe Flacco (Page 12 of 18)

      Phil Simms chats with The Scores Report

      October 7, 2009 /

      Here’s what many sports fans know about Phil Simms: He’s a Super Bowl winner, a Super Bowl MVP and now is a lead analyst for CBS’ sports team.

      But what sports fans might not know about Phil is that he’s also one hell of an interview.

      We were fortunate enough to chat with Phil recently about a host of topics, which included his work with the FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week program, which starts every Tuesday morning throughout the NFL season and allows fans to vote for one player in each category through NFL.com/FedEX. FedEx will donate $1,000 to a local Safe Kids coalition in the name of each FedEx Air and FedEx Ground Player of the Week voted on by fans, so it’s definitely a worthy cause.

      We also couldn’t let Phil get off the phone without talking some football, which he was more than happy to do. He gave us his opinion on Brett Favre’s comeback, whether or not he would have played for a rival team (a la Favre) and what young quarterback (Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez or Matthew Stafford) he would choose to start for him if he were a GM and head coach. His answer may surprise you.

      The Scores Report: Hi, this is Anthony.

      Phil Simms: Hey Anthony, this is Phil Simms.

      TSR: Hey Phil, how are you?

      PS: Good, bud.

      TSR: Good, I appreciate your sitting down and talking with me today.

      PS: Don’t be silly – thank you.

      TSR: Talk to me about the FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week program that you guys are doing.

      PS: Well, I’ve been doing it for three years myself – six years for FedEx – and it’s about the fans voting for their favorite air and ground players each week. The nominees for this week are pretty easy: Brett Favre, David Garrard and Peyton Manning through the air, and Ronnie Brown, Matt Forte and Rashard Mendenhall on the ground. And what fans do is they go to NFL.com/FedEx, they vote, and those votes determine the winners. The two winners get $1,000 donated by FedEx to local Safe Kid coalition in their name and it goes for pedestrian safety, so it’s a great program and I’m really happy to be a part of it.

      TSR: How did you get involved in something like this, Phil?

      PS: Well, the people from FedEx came to me and asked me if I’d do it. And I had done a few things around schools with bike safety and pedestrian safety and it worked out well. So like I said, I’m real happy to be a part of it and it’s for a very good cause.

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      Interviews, NFL

      Receivers doom Ravens in loss to Patriots

      October 4, 2009 /

      If Ozzie Newsome doesn’t get Joe Flacco some receivers, he’s going to wind up wasting his young quarterback’s talents.

      Baltimore receivers dropped two passes inside the Patriots’ 20-yard line at the end of New England’s 27-21 win on Sunday, which cost the Ravens an opportunity to stay undefeated.

      Derrick Mason’s drop on 3rd and 4 from the 14-yard line with 35 seconds left was bad, but also forgivable considering the defender bumped him from behind right as the pass hit his chest. But Mark Clayton’s drop on the very next play was inexcusable because Flacco hit him right in the numbers and it served as the death nail for the Ravens.

      But let’s give credit where credit is due – this was an impressive victory by the Patriots, although not so much defensively. Baltimore racked up 363 total yards and moved the ball at will, but Tom Brady found a way to move the ball against a good Ravens defense despite not having a running game.

      One thing New England did do well defensively was confuse Flacco with various blitzes, which often caused him to throw off his back foot and not set his feet. Leigh Bodden produced a big interception in the red zone at the end of the first half because Flacco couldn’t set his feet while rushing to get the ball out of his hands. That’s just a case of Bill Belichick’s front seven getting the job done.

      The Pats still have plenty of flaws, but they’ve beaten two playoff teams in the Falcons and Ravens the past two weeks and face the winless Titans and Bucs in two of their next three games. If they can beat the Broncos in Denver next week and pick up wins over Tennessee and Tampa before their bye, they’ll be 6-1 and filled with confidence heading into the second half of the year.

      NFL

      Daily Six-Pack: NFL Preseason Thursday

      August 13, 2009 /

      Four games are on the Week 1 NFL preseason schedule tonight and there are some interesting headlines to follow. Below are six quick-hit thoughts on tonight’s action.

      1. Brady returns to live action
      The last time Tom Brady took a snap in a live NFL game, he tore both his MCL and ACL after suffering a season-ending hit in Week 1 of the 2008 season. Brady returns to action tonight and will start against the Eagles in Philadelphia. He probably won’t get more than a series or two, but if everything goes well, it’ll be yet another promising sign that Brady has recovered from the devastating knee injury that almost ruined his career.

      2. Is Flacco in store for a major sophomore slump?
      Reports out of Baltimore haven’t been promising for second-year quarterback Joe Flacco, who has struggled in the passing game thus far in training camp. He apparently has struggled reading defenses, is missing open receivers and has thrown a high number of interceptions. The Ravens would like to open the playbook more in Flacco’s second year, but if his struggles carry into the preseason, then the team might have to scale back his responsibilities and once again make him more of a game-manager like he was as a rookie.

      3. How will the T.O.-less Cowboys look?
      During the offseason, one of the main reasons the Cowboys cut toxic (but highly productive) receiver Terrell Owens was so that quarterback Tony Romo wouldn’t have any distractions entering the 2009 season. Dallas wants Romo to step up and be more of a leader both in the locker room and on the field and it would appear that the 29-year-old’s career is at a crossroads. One preseason game in Oakland isn’t going to answer whether or not Romo is ready to become the leader that Dallas wants him to be, but it’ll be interesting to see how well he gels with his receivers without T.O. commanding his attention. Apparently Romo and Roy Williams are finally starting to get their timing down.

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      NFL

      Should Sanchez start for Jets as a rookie?

      April 29, 2009 /

      Even though it appears he’s stating more of his opinion rather than actual fact, Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post writes that Mark Sanchez is going to start for the Jets next season. He notes that Sanchez can be a game manager and can certainly handle the offense, although he also notes that the Jets will likely rely on their defense early in the season in order to allow the rookie to gain confidence.

      Before the 2008 season, I wrote how the Falcons should start Matt Ryan because he was the most NFL-ready quarterback in last year’s draft. I also noted that since Atlanta’s roster was so young, he should take his lumps with the rest of his inexperienced teammates and they could grow together. (Of course, while I was right on that projection, I was also the idiot that said the Falcons should have drafted Glenn Dorsey with the third overall pick and then fill their quarterback need with Brian Brohm in the second round.)

      When the notion of starting a rookie quarterback is brought up, most pundits and fans rattle of the list of signal callers that eventually succumbed to the pressure (David Carr, Joey Harrington, etc, etc), and therefore note how awful of an idea it is. But Ryan and Joe Flacco’s performances last year might have gone a long way in changing that mindset, and you can’t leave Ben Roethlisberger out of the discussion of quarterbacks that started as rookies and went on to have great success.

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      NFL

      Mark Sanchez excellent at USC Pro Day

      April 2, 2009 /

      Quarterback Mark Sanchez is making a strong case to be selected in the top 10 (or thereabouts) after dazzling at USC’s Pro Day.

      The consensus at USC on Wednesday was that Sanchez had an excellent performance in front of a full house that included NFL scouts and coaches, family and friends, and even a few fans in the stands. He showed balance, solid footwork and most importantly, accuracy on all of his throws.

      He estimated that he threw about 80 passes — a strong number for a pro day workout.
      There were even whispers that Sanchez’s pro day was better than that of Georgia’s Matt Stafford. Again, whispers. But Sanchez was confident and effortless, and did nothing but help himself.

      “I think he showed better arm strength than people generally give him,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. “He’s not Stafford, he’s not [Kansas State’s Josh] Freeman; but his arm is every bit as good as Matt Ryan’s. And as Matt Ryan showed this year, when you’re accurate and you show good anticipation, a good arm is good enough. That’s what Matt is, and that’s what Mark Sanchez is. What he showed is consistency.”

      Mayock makes a great point about arm strength. Two years ago everyone marveled at how JaMarcus Russell could throw a 60-yard pass while sitting down. But having that much arm strength doesn’t amount to much if you’re only completing 53.8 percent of your passes, which is what Russell did last year.

      The one big knock on Ryan last year was that he lacked elite arm strength. Yet he proved last year that he can complete all of the NFL throws and he showed great touch on the deep ball. As long as Sanchez can do the same thing, it doesn’t necessarily matter if he doesn’t have the arm strength of Matthew Stafford or Josh Freeman. The key is whether or not Sanchez (or any of the quarterbacks for that matter) have the mental makeup in order to succeed at the next level. Ryan and Joe Flacco did and that’s why they succeeded.

      NFL, NFL Draft

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