Tag: Oakland Raiders (Page 7 of 33)

NFL Week 6 MVP, COY and ROY Power Rankings

Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

JaMarcus Russell is still clueless

OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 03:  JaMarcus Russell #2 of the Oakland Raiders walks off the field against the Baltimore Ravens during an NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on January 3, 2010 in Oakland, California.  (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell recently appeared on Showtime’s Inside the NFL and admitted that he made some mistakes that led to the Raiders’ releasing him last May.

Of course, he doesn’t know what those mistakes were, but he’s taking full responsibility for them.

From USA Today:

“Now looking back on it, I could have went about certain things different,” Russell said.

What specifically did he do wrong?

“I am not sure,” Russell told Showtime interviewer Josina Anderson. “I don’t know where they went wrong. But the things that did go wrong I take full blame for whatever was my fault, and the things that did happen. Being drafted No. 1 there are so much that they want you to do at a snap of a finger. It didn’t happen that way which brings us to today.”

That doesn’t sound like a guy who knows he messed up and is now taking the appropriate steps to ensure he doesn’t make the same mistakes twice. This sounds like someone who is trying to tell everyone what he thinks they want to hear in order to get what he wants (i.e. another chance at the NFL). Just based on his statement above, it seems like Russell doesn’t have the faintest idea how he got to the position he is today.

Here’s the real kicker:

The former LSU product told Fox he knows “for a fact” that he will return to the NFL. “I can’t say when, but until it happens I am going to stay here in Houston and continue to work out each and every day no matter how long it takes,” he said.

Russell told Showtime he will not consider playing in the UFL and brushed off a question about whether he would consider playing a position other than QB.

“I am not going to speak on that,” he said. “I am a quarterback.”

He knows he screwed up and that teams want nothing to do with him because they know he’s a malcontent, yet he basically says he’s above playing for the UFL and switching positions.

Good luck, JaMarcus. You’re going to need it.

Frank Gore helps 49ers win first game

SAN FRANCISCO - SEPTEMBER 20: Frank Gore  of the San Francisco 49ers is introduced against the New Orleans Saints during an NFL game at Candlestick Park on September 20, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

It’s been a long six weeks for Mike Singletary’s 49ers, but they finally earned their first victory on the year.

Frank Gore shredded the Raiders for 149 yards on 25 carries to lead San Fran to a 17-9 victory. He didn’t have a catch or a touchdown, but his 64-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter helped the Niners ice the game.

Alex Smith only completed 16 of his 33 pass attempts for 196 yards, but he threw two touchdowns and more importantly, didn’t turn the ball over. He got Michael Crabtree (4 catches, 57 yards, 1 TD) and Vernon Davis (4 catches, 35 yards, 1 TD) somewhat involved, which is one of the many things San Francisco fans have been calling for over the past month.

On the other side, Jason Campbell was filthy bad. He completed just 8-of-21 passes for 83 yards and was intercepted twice. You would have thought that San Francisco was playing with 20 guys on defense with how poorly Campbell performed. He was atrocious and should get acquainted with the bench for when Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder) comes back.

This wasn’t a pretty win for the Niners, but it didn’t have to be. They have a long road ahead of them to get back into the race in the NFC West, but maybe this victory will give them confidence.

NFL Week 5 MVP, COY and ROY power rankings

You think it’s hard to predict the games and standings from week to week? Try picking MVP candidates. There are five or six different candidates emerging every week. We’ll do this as one post again today and start separating them out next week. And I’m sure by this time Tuesday everything will be turned upside down again. Enjoy the games today everyone!

MVP Power Rankings

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—He didn’t play last week and yet the Eagles still won, but barely, on the road in San Fran. Against a team that still hasn’t won a game yet. And hence my case is made again. And when Kolb and the Eagles lose at home to the Falcons today, fans in Philly will be chanting Vick’s name, which will have made my case again.

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NFL Week 4 MVP, COY and ROY power rankings

We are a quarter of the way through the NFL season, and there are lots of wacky things happening. The Chiefs are 3-0 and the only undefeated team. That’s a far cry from last year, when the Colts and Saints were unbeaten almost all the way to the end of the 2009 campaign. There are also some interesting candidates emerging for MVP consideration, as well as for Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year. And like last year, we’ll start to analyze them in power rankings fashion. For this week and maybe the next few, we’ll put this in one post and give three names for each category. Around the halfway point of the season, more candidates will emerge so we will separate things out. Sound good? Right. Let’s go……..

MVP Power Rankings

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Do we even have to spell this out? He steps in for Kevin Kolb in Week 1 and almost leads the Eagles to victory against the Packers. Then he wins against Detroit and Jacksonville before having his ribs crushed on a meaningless play vs. Washington last Sunday, knocking him out of the game early. Kolb comes back in, and the Eagles lose. Vick is averaging 200 yards passing per game, has 6 TDs and no interceptions, and is also averaging 7.2 yards per rush on 26 carries and one TD on the ground. He has a QB rating of 108.8 while Kolb’s is 71.1. Simply put, this team is dangerous with Vick, and not scaring anyone without him. That’s the very definition of MVP.

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