Peter King releases his 2010 NFL Power Rankings Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/17/2010 @ 12:13 pm)  SI.com’s Peter King released his first NFL power ranking for the 2010 season and has more than a handful of surprises, most notably at No. 1. 1. Green Bay. It’s not just the maturation of Aaron Rodgers. It’s the carryover from a fluky end to 2009 (the weird playoff loss at Arizona) and the fact that only one team in football — New Orleans — had a better point differential than the Pack’s plus-164 last year. I like Jermichael Finley to become a great player in his second starting season. I don’t trust the pass-rush (where Clay Matthews is the only real thing), and I worry about two of the top three corners coming off ACL surgery, and aging. But the defensive front is formidable, and a very good match for the good run teams of the AFC North. I also like Weeks 2 through 5 on the schedule (Buffalo, at Chicago, Detroit, at Washington), which sets up for a strong start.
This should make my colleague John Paulsen extremely happy. The Packers’ offense is explosive, although the offensive line will once again be the focus. Rodgers endured a ton of hits last season and those blows eventually catch up with a quarterback. His O-line must do a better job of protecting him for them to get back to the playoffs. With Green Bay ranking first, King must have the Saints at No. 2, right? Wrong. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NFL Tags: Aaron Rodgers, Carolina Panthers, Clay Matthews, Drew Brees, Green Bay Packers, Gregg Williams, John Fox, Julius Peppers, Matt Moore, New Orleans Saints, NFL Power Rankings
Hurney’s decision to draft Clausen will pay off for Panthers, Moore Posted by Anthony Stalter (04/26/2010 @ 10:23 am)  After the Panthers selected Jimmy Clausen in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday, many pundits started to wonder whether or not the team had confidence in Matt Moore as a starter. Then when GM Marty Hurney selected Tony Pike in the sixth round, some experts’ heads were ready to explode as they feverishly talked about how Moore may not be wanted in Carolina. But let’s take a step back for a moment and look at the situation as a whole. Entering the draft, the Panthers had Moore and Hunter Cantwell on the depth chart at quarterback. Even if the team has confidence in Moore (which it still sounds like they do), they had to take a quarterback as insurance in case he turned out to be a disaster or suffered an injury. Say again, they had to draft a quarterback. Reports have surfaced that Hurney was attempting to trade up in the second round to take Clausen, which does indicate that the team isn’t completely sold on Moore as their franchise quarterback. But considering Clausen was a top 15 pick who fell into the second round, Hurney would have probably kicked himself if he didn’t at least try to trade up for him. He knew he needed a quarterback and considering Clausen represented so much value in the second round, it made sense for him to try and trade up to get him. Then when Clausen fell to him anyway, it was a perfect situation. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NFL, NFL Draft Tags: 2010 NFL Draft, Armanti Edwards, Carolina Panthers, Everette Brown, Hunter Cantwell, Jimmy Clausen, Jimmy Clausen Matt Moore, Marty Hurney, Matt Moore, Tony Pike
Steve Smith 1.0 should have a nice 2010 Posted by John Paulsen (01/21/2010 @ 6:35 pm) All in all, it was kind of a disappointing year for Steve Smith. In PPR leagues, he finished WR19, and considering he was typically being taken WR5 to WR10 in fantasy drafts, owners didn’t really get what they expected out of him. But from a QB standpoint, he just couldn’t get any consistency out of Jake Delhomme, who threw just eight TD (versus 18 interceptions) in 11 games, and generally couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. During that span, Smith averaged 4.2 catches for 55 yards and 0.4 TD per game. This was a far cry from his four-year average of 5.9 catches for 87 yards and 0.6 TD per game from 2005 to 2008. Is Smith slowing down? While he is on the wrong side of 30 — he’ll turn 31 this May — his yards per catch in 2009 (15.1) was his third-highest in the last five years, and looked every bit as quick as he did three years ago. His 130 targets weren’t far off his four-year average (141.5), so he’s still a huge part of the Carolina offense even though the Panthers are more of a running team. Those 130 targets were the 14th-most amongst wide receivers, so barring something unforeseen, Smith should have plenty of opportunities to make plays in 2010. But what about Matt Moore? Even though he started the final five games of the season, he’s still going to be a question mark for fantasy owners heading into drafts this summer. He averaged 198 yards, 1.6 TD and just 0.2 INT per game over that five-game span. From 2005 to 2008, Delhomme averaged 211 yards, 1.3 TD and 0.8 INT per game, so Moore’s 2009 numbers already compare favorably in terms of Smith getting good play at QB. (If you’re wondering about his competition, the first four games were against defenses ranked in the top 20 in pass yards allowed and he threw seven of his eight TD in those games.) To gain a better understanding of Moore’s prospects, I asked our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter to chime in. Here’s what he had to say: Read the rest of this entry » Has Fox saved his job or is Cowher destined for Carolina? Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/28/2009 @ 12:28 pm)  The Carolina Panthers have been the model for inconsistency under head coach John Fox for the better part of a decade. One year they’re up, the next they’re down. But much like previous down years, the Panthers are finishing strong in 2009. They’ve won three of their last four games and have the opportunity to finish .500, which is quite an accomplishment for a team that had Jake Delhomme under center for most of their year. Their strong finish begs the question: Has Fox saved his job? Rumors are circulating that Bill Cowher wants to return to the sidelines in 2010 and Carolina might be a fit because his daughter attends N.C. State. If Cowher is interested, will the Panthers jump at the opportunity to bring him on board or will they stay loyal to Fox, a man that led the team to their only Super Bowl appearance? Much like in previous down years, the Panthers struggled with injuries and inconsistency this season. Delhomme was a train wreck and should no longer be viewed as a starter, especially given that Matt Moore is gaining confidence with each passing week. The defense has gelled nicely under new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks and the running game is sound with the two-headed monster of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The team could use a No. 2 receiver opposite Steve Smith but other than that, they don’t have a ton of holes. With that in mind, is Fox the right person to get the Panthers back to the playoffs or should the front office go in another direction? Personally, if Cowher is interested I don’t know how the Panthers don’t entertain the thought of hiring him. But if he turns them down or isn’t interested, then Fox should be retained.
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Giants should be embarrassed by their effort vs. Panthers Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/27/2009 @ 5:20 pm) 
The New York Giants owe their fans an apology after the horrendous effort they gave today in their 41-9 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Despite having their playoff hopes on the line and the fact that they were playing their final game at Giants Stadium, New York couldn’t have cared less. Their effort was pathetic on both sides of the ball and it was clear from the start that their players wanted nothing to do with football today. This is a loss where somebody losses their job. It won’t be Tom Coughlin, but I can’t see any scenario in which defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan is retained for next season. The Panthers were without DeAngelo Williams, yet the Giants allowed Jonathan Stewart to rush for 206 yards and a touchdown, and for Matt Moore to throw for three scores. I realize Stewart is a fine back and Moore is gaining confidence week to week, but there’s no excuse for a team with playoff aspirations to allow 416 total yards and 41 points at home. None. Sheridan has to go; New York has to hire someone that understands that the team’s best attribute defensively is its defensive line. That said, his players should be embarrassed with the way they played today. They didn’t tackle, they didn’t play disciplined and they played with zero emotion. The Giants didn’t deserve to go to the playoffs this year and maybe this was a fitting end to their season. |
