Tag: Tom Brady (Page 17 of 46)

Cromartie says he hates Tom Brady, calls him an A-hole

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon (85) turns upfield after a 21-yard pass reception in front of New York Jets defenders Antonio Cromartie (31) and Eric Smith (33) during the fourth quarter of the Jets 17-16 AFC Wild-Card Playoff win at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on January 8, 2011. UPI /Mark Cowan

Well, this Jets-Patriots game is certainly getting interesting.

From the New York Daily News:

Cromartie, in his first year with the Jets after four years with the Chargers, backed up Ryan Tuesday when he was asked by the Daily News if he’s ever seen Brady pointing after the Patriots score.

“We see that a lot. He does it a lot,” Cromartie said. “That’s the kind of guy he is. We really don’t give a damn, to tell you the truth.”

Okay, what kind of guy is Brady?

“An ass—-.

“—- him.”

“That’s what I think about him. I don’t really give a damn about him,” he said. “I don’t have to play against him. I play against the receivers.”

Well, Brady is the one throwing to those receivers. “Yeah, but if I beat the s— out of his receivers, he can’t throw the ball,” Cromartie said.

He’ll beat the s**t out of his receivers? Apparently the only thing receivers have to do to beat Cromartie is make one hard step outside and cut back inside on a post pattern when he lines up off the wideout. Because that’s all Pierre Garcon of the Colts did last week when he scored on that 57-yard touchdown pass. After that play, Cris Colinsworth spent the rest of the game explaining how Cromartie can’t cover if he’s not jamming the receiver at the line.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have gone about their business while refusing to talk about the Jets. And why should they say anything? The last time these two teams met, it took the Pats all of 14 minutes to build a 17-3 lead. That game was over before it started.

Rex Ryan once again opens his mouth to take attention away from players

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan watches his team play the Indianapolis Colts in the third quarter during their AFC Wild Card NFL playoff football game in Indianapolis, January 8, 2011. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

You can’t fault Jets’ coach Rex Ryan for trying to take pressure off his players by providing bulletin board material for the opposing team. (Wait…does that take pressure off his players?)

One week after saying it was “personnel” between him and Peyton Manning, Ryan took a few more shots at Patriots’ QB Tom Brady.

From ESPN.com:

Ryan claimed he didn’t mean to take a shot at Brady last week. Ryan, in talking about how much he respected Peyton Manning, suggested Brady didn’t measure up because he has Belichick “dialing up plays,” while Manning runs the Indianapolis Colts’ offense.

But Ryan expressed his disdain for Brady’s “antics on the field,” which include pointing at the opponents’ sideline after a touchdown.

“That’s just Brady being Brady,” Ryan said. “I don’t like seeing that. No Jets fan likes to see that. He can’t wait to do it. He’s not going to say anything publicly, but he does it. It’s what it is. It’s my job to keep him out of the end zone.”

I’ve always liked Rex Ryan. His defensive game plans are usually outstanding and for the most part, his teams are prepared. He’s also funny and he has a personality, which is refreshing these days in sports.

That said, whatever he says to the media leading up to the game doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, he still has to figure out a way to beat Bill Belichick in Foxboro, which he has yet to do as a head coach. In the same article that I pulled the above quotes from, Ryan admitted that he was outcoached in the 45-3 Monday night bloodbath in early December. And he went on to say that he needs to rise to the same level that Belichick is in order to beat him.

But at least leading up to kickoff, he provides the media something to talk about.

NFL Week 17 MVP power rankings

Well, I’m pretty sure the announcement for NFL MVP comes down this weekend, so let me begin by saying that I was not influenced by anything that I read when making these picks…..

1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Brady, who is going to run away with this award, played about half a game last Sunday, and still threw for 199 yards with 2 TDs and 0 picks. He hasn’t thrown an interception since like early October.

2. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Vick did Brady a favor by not being in the lineup against Dallas in Week 17, but he and his coach know what’s more important, and that is for him and some nagging injuries, resting up for the Packers.

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—He wound up third in yards (4620) and tied for second in TDs (33) but uncharacteristically threw for 22 interceptions.

4. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—4700 yards, 33 TDs, 17 picks. But most impressive is the way Peyton led his team to the postseason when things looked bleak.

5. Matt Cassel/Jamaal Charles/Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs—Cassel had a dreadful game in Week 17, but we stand by the fact that this was a trio that helped a young KC team win their division and a 4-seed.

6. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—Not only did he lead the league in rushing (1616 yards), but Foster added a whopping 66 receptions for 604 more yards—giving him 2220 yards from scrimmage and 18 TDs.

7. Matt Ryan/Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—Well, at 13-3, someone had to be good for them to get there, especially with all of those come from behind wins.

8. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Finished with 3922/28/11 in 15 games, but what counts is leading his team to the postseason berth they deserve.

9. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—If they could do last year’s draft over again, do you think Matthews would still be picked at #26?

10. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—You know, he led the NFL in passing yards (4710) and had 30 TDs with 13 interceptions. He didn’t have Antonio Gates for a while, and he had Vincent Jackson for maybe two games. That’s why we can’t discount Rivers’ numbers.

11. Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Bucs—We had to add one more. This kid is going to be a star. Oh wait, he already is. Freeman started every game and wound up with 3451 passing yards with 25 touchdown passes and just 6 interceptions. By comparison, Eli Manning had more than FOUR times as many picks.

2011 NFL Playoffs Power Rankings: Wildcard Round

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady lines up in the inflatable tunnel with teammates before the start of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on November 21, 2010. The Patriots defeated the Colts 31-28. UPI/Matthew Healey

Here’s how I would rank the 12 playoff teams heading into the Wildcard Round. If you disagree, then f*#k you.

No wait, that wasn’t very nice. I’m sorry. Merry NFL Postseason to all of you. It’s the best time of year…

1. New England Patriots
Thanks to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the Pats look indestructible and bound for Dallas. But the one concern I have is whether or not this team will start reading its own press clippings again. It happened earlier in the year when they lost to the Browns and then again late in the season when they took on the Matt Flynn-led Packers and were almost beaten at home. It’s the playoffs, so I don’t think Belichick has to worry about his team getting a big head but you never know. Other than that, yeah…Patriots for world domination.

2. Atlanta Falcons
I don’t fault anyone who thinks the Falcons will go down in flames over the next two weeks. Their defense is still a question mark, their offense looked putrid against the Saints last Monday night and they rarely blow anybody out. But one thing this team has going for itself is that it’s been in a ton of close games this year and is battle tested. They also have home field advantage (Matt Ryan is 20-2 as a starter in the Georgia Dome) and will be well rested. They also kept things vanilla offensively last week against the Saints, which I think was smart given how New Orleans may very well wind up being their first postseason opponent.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers
With Troy Polamalu in the lineup, the Steelers own the best defense in the playoffs (with Green Bay and Chicago being right behind them). The offensive line is still a concern, but this team scored 68 points the past two weeks (albeit against Carolina and Cleveland) so things can’t be that bad. The Steelers aren’t flawless by any means, but teams shouldn’t fall asleep on them either.

4. Baltimore Ravens
There are some pretty damn good wildcard teams in this year’s playoffs, headlined by the Ravens. They’re currently on a four-game winning streak and thanks to the outcomes last week, they’ll be making a trip to Kansas City this weekend instead of Indianapolis (where they’ve struggled mightily). Baltimore proved last year in Foxboro that it doesn’t mind playing on the road and as long as their secondary holds up, don’t count the Ravens out for making a Super Bowl run.

5. New Orleans Saints
Even with their Week 17 loss to the Bucs at home, this is still a dangerous team. They know what it takes to win a Super Bowl and they employ one of the best offensive minds in football in head coach Sean Payton. Injuries and Drew Brees’ interceptions are two major concerns, but playing on the road throughout the postseason should keep the Saints sharp and focused.

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NFL Week 16 MVP power rankings

So Michael Vick slipped a little on Tuesday night, which makes us feel better about keeping Tommy Brady (as Charlie Weis calls him) in the top spot.

1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Amazingly, Brady has thrown for an NFL record 319 pass attempts without an interception, going back to Week 6. So let’s review—3701 yards, 34 TDs (NFL high) and just 4 picks, and his team is 13-2 and in the fast lane in the AFC. Damn.

2. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Look, we can’t disregard what Vick has done this season, because it’s phenomenal. But he looked mortal against the Vikings, and also for 52 minutes against the Giants before that.

3. Matt Cassel/Jamaal Charles/Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs—This trio has led the Chiefs to the AFC West crown. Cassel has 27 TDs to 5 picks/Jamaal has 1835 all-purpose yards and Bowe leads all NFL receivers with 15 TDs. The league won’t view this as one person, but that doesn’t mean we can’t.

4. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—What, did you think the Saints were just going to go away? Not with this guy leading the team. But the 21 picks may hurt him in the voting.

5. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—This kid is just a beast week-in and week-out.

6. Matt Ryan/Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—Sure, the Falcons are impressive, especially some of the late-game heroics, but losing at home to Saints hurt.

7. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Rodgers admitted that sitting out with a concussion allowed him to come back fresh in Week 16—to the tune of 404 yards and 4 TDs.

8. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Do you get the feeling you have to account for this dude as if he were Lawrence Taylor?

9. Donte Whitner, Buffalo Bills—136 total tackles (92 solo) with a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and 7 passes defensed. I know the Bills suck, but Whitner is a one-man wrecking crew.

10. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Look who’s back, and he even showed he can run—in slow motion, but he can run.

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